Notes: I've gone back and re-read some of my earlier chapters, and I realize a difference in writing quality between the beginning and my later chapters. This is my first attempt at long-form writing, and in my opinion, my writing quality improves quite a bit from this first initial chapter. I've been told to resist the urge to come back and improve my earlier chapters until the fiction is complete(which will be quite a while as I have a massive amount of content planned for this story, my goal is to reach at least 600k words before the end). So I must ask that anyone interested in reading this fiction to have the patience to read through these initial chapters as my writing quality does improve! (I promise! Although I guess that's all relative to my opinion eh?) Please leave comments if you enjoy or if you have any feedback. I read them all, even if I don't respond.

Thanks! And enjoy Contrasts!

So tell me. What do you think the world runs on?

What do you mean?

Well, a car runs on gas, cops run on donuts, politicians run on ego.

I hope this isn't one of your pessimistic rants again

I prefer the term realistic, but no, I'm just trying to set the mood for my story.

Ok Mr. Mysterious. Um, the world runs on hard work, dedication to a cause-

Oh, you are so cute! OK, I'll give you that, the world is run by the mammals, some of which provide hard labor, and focus to a profession. But I'm talking about the fuel, the catalyst.

You know I'm no good at these riddles, are you talking about money?

Close! But there's one thing that's more refined, one thing more valuable.

I don't get it…

It's information, this is what runs our world. Information can be bought, sold, traded, manipulated, used, used to build, or destroy. This is what runs our modern world, and he who controls the information… well, I think you know where this is going.

You asked me what I 'used to hustle', it was information. Information that could change lives, make them better, even ruin them all in the blink of an eye. I was powerful, I had associates and business partners but I never worked for anyone.

What changed? Why'd you leave that life?

It wasn't by choice, I made a mistake. A big one. Hah, I dealt with all the information in the world, but I couldn't stop myself from making one stupid mistake. But, I guess it was for the best, I wasn't really happy with that life.

I never got my hands dirty, but I still held myself responsible, and I did a lot of things that I'm not proud of. I was good at it, and I liked doing it, but I wasn't happy with it. If that makes any sense.

Then… why did you do it?

Well, it was a living I guess. It kept me busy, paid the bills, I found it exhilarating!… and… I was looking for something. Someone…

Did you… ever find what you were looking for?

… No …

Are you still looking?

Nah, I gave up on that a long time ago. Besides, I found something better… I found you.

June 4th, 20X8

Afternoon

Sahara Square

"So, we just gonna let her follow us around?" Finnick asked, raising an eyebrow.

The two were driving towards Tundra Town, the jars of melted jumbo pop sloshing around in the back of the van.

"Yeah, let's just see how long she keeps at it. What's wrong? Afraid the little bunny's gonna give you a parking ticket?" Nick quipped, tapping his claws on the opened passenger window.

"Tch, Nick, I ain't afraid of no bunny. It's a bunny of the law that makes me nervous. Didn't you see the news? She's an actual police officer," Finnick said, referring to the news on TV as well as the Internet that savannah central was getting its first Rabbit officer today.

"Ugh, OK, I don't know what the big deal is," his tone suddenly becoming slightly annoyed. "Yeah, ok she's got the costume on, complete with the cute mini-badge- but she's still just a little fluffy bunny that's in way over her head. I guarantee you, she's not going to last 3 days in this city, let alone that joke of a uniform."

"Whoa, whoa, that's a little harsh. She really getting to you or something?"

Nick realized he was getting worked up. Embarrassed, he stayed silent. He looked in the rearview mirror as they entered the tunnel leading into Tundra Town. The rabbit was still a few cars behind them, but she stuck out like a sore thumb. Who does she think she's kidding? I can see that joke mobile from a mile away.

"I mean, we almost didn't get that jumbo pop without her, plus she paid for it for us." Finnick continued. "Maybe we need some new blood, our act might be getting stale after all these years-"

"Hey, whoa! Big guy, did I just hear you correctly?" Nick interrupted, taken aback, his eyes wide and his ears splayed out. "Are you suggesting we work with a cop?!"

"OK, first of all," Finnick shot back, "you just said she wasn't a real cop, second, she did do a good job of getting us this product-"

"Ahh! Such a great idea!" Nick interrupted sarcastically, "Oh officer! You see me and my little boy here were just wondering if you would be interested in some less-than-legal activities for fun and profit," he let out a forced laugh.

"Nick, look man, all I'm sayin' is that we don't make as much money as we used to," Finnick sighed.

"Oh, Finny, I swear if you keep bringing up Mr. Big..." Nick cringed internally.

"With things the way they are now, maybe we should just keep our options open. Don't know about you, but I gotta make a living," Finnick said sternly, not wanting to drag up past mistakes. "And what's up with you all of a sudden anyway, mister nothing-gets-to-me? This bunny fuzz starts following us and you gettin' all sorts of sticks stuck up your tail."

It was true, he had been getting worked up. Nick let out a sigh and forced himself back into his usual smug persona.

"Yeah," Nick said, "I suppose I have a few words for her. Trust me pal, I know exactly how to handle this," and with that, his signature smirk was back on full display.

"Man, I know we're friends and all, but it gets tiring talking to you," Finnick remarked, realizing that Nick wasn't going to answer his question.

Tundra Town

As the van exited the tunnel, the two rolled up their windows as the air suddenly became much colder. They drove for a while in silence. Nick checking the rear view mirror occasionally to scan for the relentless rabbit.

"So, s'there a reason you won't let me change out of my Elephant suit?" Finnick said, itching at his costume.

"Wouldn't want my little treasure getting pneumonia in the middle of Tundra Town!" Nick replied with a gratuitous amount of honey. He patted Finnick on his head.

Finnick swatted at his hand, "ugh, If you keep talkin' to me like that, you're gonna be the one wearing this suit."

"It's kinda funny, did you see the look on her face when she saw you bringing the jars into the van?" Nick laughed a with a toothy smile.

"Oh, so we're just putting on a show for this bunny then?" Finnick said. The big-eared fox shifted to low gear as the van started to drive up the icy incline. "My mom always said I could put looks on people's faces."

"Let's just let this rabbit follow behind and let her see how we work, best case scenario, we have an 'officer' on our side when she sees how much money we bring in, worst case, she tries to arrest me and I put her in her place. No risk!"

Finnick rolled his eyes "Yeah, you all about the no-risk ventures." He started pulling over the van next to a snowy field. The van stopped and idled for a moment.

"Uh, Fin, if I'm recalling correctly, you're the one who wants to work with a cop."

"We worked with a dirty cop before, I don't remember you having any issues with it then," Fin put the van into park but left it running.

"Again, that was your idea," Nick displayed one finger before raising a second, "and I wasn't involved in that decision." He turned his attention to surveying the field, "Looks clear, this spot'll do nicely,"

Nick unbundled his seat belt and opened the door to hop out. He looked around for the rabbit, but she was nowhere in sight. Did we lose her?, he thought to himself, a little disappointed.

He walked around to the back of the van as Finnick opened it from the inside.

"Tell me this, Nick. Asking her to join us was my idea." Finnick started, some suspicion in his voice. "You're the one who wanted me to let her follow us. What exactly is your plan?" He shoved one of the jars of red liquid at Nick's chest.

"Well, you know, great minds think alike," Nick grinned as he accepted the liquid and set it on the ground next to the van.

Finnick let out a deep laugh, "Oh no, you don't! You clearly didn't like my idea when I brought it up the first time." Finnick grabbed another jar and passed it to Nick.

Nick looked down the road they drove up from as he set down the second jar. The caution lights from a familiar traffic cart caught his eye. Nick chuckled to himself, better late then never. She was keeping her distance, but Nick wondered if she realized those traffic lights were on.

Finnick hopped out of the van with the last of the jars under his arms. His baby pacifier was back in his mouth. Good, I guess he's done with the questions then. It was, of course, not for him to suck on, but to grind his teeth in annoyance.

"I just like messing with cops, you know that," Nick finally replied, closing the doors to the van. He picked up the two jars and followed Finnick across the street to the empty field. Snow started to fall.

June 4th, 20X8

Evening

Savannah Central

"You make a cute meter maid, though, hang in there!" He said with a forced amount of sincerity as he jogged across the road, satisfied with the verbal beating he had dealt to the bunny. His smirk a bit wider than usual.

He put his hands in his pockets as he walked down the sidewalk, replaying the conversation he just had. Nick had dealt with the more than occasional rookie officer thinking they could put him in cuffs on a technicality, so he was well-equipped in sending them on their way. However, he couldn't shake the feeling that this particular naive hick of a Rabbit had gotten on his nerves a bit more than it should have, and made him act much more hostile than normal.

He licked the cherry-flavored sugary taste from his fangs, I really need to stop eating my own product, he thought to himself, recalling the pawpsicle he was eating when he was so savagely confronted.

He reached into his front pocket to feel the blueberries he had pocketed from the fruit stand, but decided not to eat any. They wouldn't help much in getting rid of the sugar taste.

He put his hand back in his pants pocket. He recalled the expressions that the meter maid had made. He really cut into her, and she deserved every word, he thought. Who did she think she was? Some little kid bunny from the countryside, who had no business being in the city, and god forbid be wearing that uniform, lecturing him on how he never tried to be anything more. He was a fox! What did she expect? That he was going to be some upstanding-

Nick realized he was making a scowl, and slowly stopped walking. She really had got to him; he was angry and his mind was racing.

He quickly shook his head and forced himself to smirk as he resumed walking.

He had spotted her following them all the way from Sahara Square after they had melted the giant elephant popsicle. She had been tailing them for at least 6 hours. Didn't she have anything better to do? Like writing parking tickets?, he thought.

Nick pulled out his phone, but promptly forgot what he was going to do with it. He stared at his notifications, not actually reading any of them.

Looks like you got yourself a stalker, Nick! Complete with Fox repellant, he thought as he stared into the street. The phone in his hand slowly lowered.

He raised an eyebrow, Seriously, what was up with the fox repellent? Did she have some kind of vendetta against foxes? He shook his head again, trying to clear the thoughts from his mind, and pocketed his phone. He was coming up to the front of his apartment building. It was a tall, mostly inconspicuous building that matched the usual design of most older era architecture in this area of the savannah district.

"Don't let her get to you," Nick quietly said to himself as he walked to the entrance, he let out small chuckle, "After all, what are the odds you'll run into her again?"

June 4th, 20X8

Night

Savannah Central

"A coolant coil explosion in the environmental control wall, separating Tundra Town and Sahara Square, occurred earlier this morning causing a partial shutdown of the wall," said the snow leopard on the TV, in her usual low-key accent, "The resulting explosion caused internal damage to the wall, as well as minor injuries to 2 engineers working in the sector at the time."

"This marks the third such explosion after city officials announced a partnership with a new contractor, BCP, that provides technology and maintenance for the weather control columns less than 5 months ago. The deal was made after the previous contractor, DewLabs Performa, rose its estimate for the cost of maintaining the wall, citing increasing summer temperatures and a change in year-to-year humidity."

"ZNN has reached out to BCP for an official statement, but the company has refused to comment. Mayor Lionheart has announced that all new equipment and chemical orders to BCP are being placed on hold indefinitely until the cause of the explosion is investigated. This places strain on BCP following a decline in reported revenue for its 4th fiscal year in a row; stock prices for the company have also plummeted by 35 percent mere minutes after market opening. This after a 42 percent drop since the first explosion in February earlier this year."

"The mayor also announced that temperatures in both Tundra Town and Sahara Square are not expected to be affected, as the wall was able to engage several backup columns in compensating for the partial shutdown-"

The news continued on in this fashion, stating traffic rerouting and air quality changes in the area due to the smoke and airborne chemicals released from the explosion.

Nick stopped paying attention to the TV as he rummaged through his undersized kitchen. He didn't really watch TV but kept it on in the background when he needed to get his mind off something. He finally gave up looking for something to eat and went over to lay on his couch. Sighing into the cushions, he pulled out his phone.

1 Message from Finnick, was the only notification displayed. He tapped it to bring up the message.

( I'm at her place, I can't do this man )

Nick grinned and tapped away his reply.

( Get in there and talk to her! Try wearing the elephant outfit, no one can stay mad at you when you wear that )

( Man, I'm gonna reach through this damn phone and choke you out )

Nick chuckled, already tapping back.

( I'm serious, if you go up there like that then she'll just have to forgive you )

Finnick took a bit longer to reply this time, Nick grinned as he imagined the tiny fox considering the idea. He turned off his ignored TV, leaving his phone as the only source of light in his apartment.

( Yeah… well, I guess I'll think about it if she turns me away again. Going up to her apartment now, wish me luck )

( Good luck, buddy ) He tapped in "Daddy loves you" but deleted it, deciding he gave big-eared fox enough crap for today.

Nick turned off the screen to his phone, leaving him in the darkness. He let the phone fall to his chest as his fox eyes adjusted to the lack of light. Nick normally didn't need any lights on at this time of night; there was enough visibility from several blinking lights around his apartment, as well as the lights from the city that shone in through his window. He stared at his ceiling, his mind going once more to the naive bunny from earlier.

No one tells me what I can or can't be! Especially not some JERK who never had the guts to try to be anything more than a pawpsicle hustler, the words echoed in his head.

That was what really got to him.

"Ohoh, I tried…" Nick barely whispered to himself, making a scowl on his face. "You have no idea how hard I tried… what life I used to live." Nick went quiet.

But, thanks for expecting better of me, I guess… That was it, something clicked in his head. She expected more of me…?

"Hah", he scoffed after a pause. How naive, how cute! Whoever looked at a fox and thought "Oh, I wonder what he is, a doctor? an engineer? A lawyer?" Well, I guess I can see a fox lawyer…

Nick shook his head, and jumped up from the couch, trying to shake the thoughts from his mind. Nick, my boy, you have dwelled on this dumb bunny enough for one day, forget her, move on, and get the hell to bed.

Nick walked through his dark apartment, pulling his tie off from over his head without actually undoing the knot and dropped it on the floor. He would need that tomorrow. He stripped an article of clothing every few steps. Leaving a trail leading from the couch, should he get lost and need to find his way back.

Nick fell face first onto his mattress wearing just his boxers. He did what his mind bade him, and went the hell to bed. Now if I could just get the hell to sleep.