Chapter 1
"Zootopia noir chapter 1"
The rain fell like cheap liquor.
It soaked into the ground, leaving behind a foul taste and releasing the smell of dried blood into the air. The city of Zootopia, the garbage of the earth as he referred to it, always smelled the same during a storm. It smelled like petty crime gone bad, the type of crime that leaves shell-casings and a white chalk outline on the asphalt, soon followed by salty tears and dead rose petals. The weather always seemed to take in all those scents, only to piss it back onto the earth.
He hated the rainy season.
Not even the smoke of his cigar could push the smell
The small beat of his electric fan pulsed through the room, pushing away the thick smoke like a torn lover kicking out its two-timing spouse. He placed the empty shot glass beside his now empty bottle of
The slim bottle seemed to vex him and mock him for finishing her so soon. After just three shots, he had drank the very lost drop. He inhaled another puff of smoke into his sore lungs. Once he had his fun with alcohol, he could always come back into the warm embrace of Nicotine.
With one final kiss, he placed his fine cigar into his glass ashtray. The warm embers died out against the unfeeling glass. He tilted his white fedora down over his eyes as he leaned back against his chair. His tired eyes were closing, in expectation of another quiet and boring night in the office.
pUntil 'She' walked through his door.
pNick Wilde tilted his fedora up to look at the animal who had interrupted his nap. br
Nick was a down-on-his-luck private detective. He never would have thought he would fall upon hard times when he first set up business. With the amount of crime and thefts in the city, he should have had stacks of gold bricks in his safe from animals needing his "special" skills. With no such luck, he suspected the closest Catholic priest was seeing more action than he was.
With no cases or money, he had less than a month to pay the rent for his worn-down office, which also served as his
He lifted his head up and leaned back on his rickety chair. His red tail swept the floor clean, depositing the discarded hot dog wrappers under his desk, out of sight from his new customer. Water dripped from the ceiling, the drops plinking against the tin pail he had put out in the middle of the room. The constant slow rhythm seemed to silence the showers that pattered against his glass window.
He blinked at the small bunny standing by the doorway, slowly taking in the sight of her. She had grey fur and legs that would make the goddess Aphrodite jealous. The floor creaked in pain when she took a step into the dull light emitted from the flickering bulb that hung from the ceiling. She wore a rose-colored ruffled skirt and matching coat with gold buttons. No female in the city could afford that type of coat. The gold locket around her slim neck also told him how good she must have it in life. br
She wore a black beret over her ears,which showed off her diamond earrings. Everything about her just screamed the good life. She seemed like a real daddy's girl, the type of dame who wanted envy from those around her. Well, she got it. br
Ignoring her short height, she seemed to stand as tall as the skyscrapers outside, perhaps a result of an aura of authority that emanated from her. This competed with her sculpted curves, which cried out Vixen, but her eyes told a different story. Her amethyst-colored eyes seemed to fog over when she spoke with a voice that was softer than snow./p
p"Are you Detective Wilde?"
p"Depends on who's askin', doll." he replied, holding a sleepy gaze. He did not care for the rich, but if this girl had a case for him he was would take it, no matter how much he didn't want to. He straightened his red tie as he sat up.
pThe bunny closed the door behind her, obviously wanting privacy, before taking a seat in front of his desk. His nose crinkled from the smell of lavender on her neck. The scent of her perfume was strong enough to peel cheap wallpaper. She sat down with her paws clutching at the fabric of her skirt. Her eyes darted toward the door behind her, almost as if she was wishing to turn around. Nick reached for the right top drawer of his desk, taking out a pack of cigarettes. A good smoke was a good way to calm the nerves, if the lungs could handle it.
pHe held out a cigarette toward her.
p"No, thank you." she said putting her paw out in protest. He let out a scoff, putting the white rolled tobacco into the inside pocket of his mud-brown trenchcoat. The rich always preferred the cubans, he supposed. She coughed. The thick smoke and strong odor of liquor made her cover her pink nose and red stained lips. The whole room stunk like an alcoholic.
p"Please, I need your help." she whispered, before letting out another cough. Nick rolled his eyes, rose from his chair, and strolled to the lone window in the room. He forced the rusty hinged frame open, letting the smoke escape to the outside, only to be consumed by the rain. It brought some relief to bunny but pain to him. Already he regretted letting go of the sweet smoke.
p"Make it quick, will ya? I got places to be, animals to see and I don't have time to listen to some doll's sob story." he said, his irritability becoming obvious. Either that or the drink was making him cross. Her eyes narrowed, sharing his annoyance.
p"Some doll?" she repeated, her jaw clenched. "This 'doll' came to this backwater office to ask for some compassion and help from a fox, who smells like he came from the back of a bar."
pHis eye twitched, this dame was as aggressive as a tiger staring down the barrel of a shotgun. If she thought that just because she wore her best he'd be just another maroon in a dance hall, she had another think coming. Nick Wilde refused to be played by some rich, hoity-toity mistress. He crossed his arms.
p"If you're here just to tell me your husband been cheatin' on ya, then he has my compassion and you have my help in showing you the exit." tilting his head toward his solid oak door for emphasis. She stood up in a fury, the chair thrown to the ground. Her cheeks turned as red as the lipstick she wore.
p"I'll have you know that you are not the first male to be intimidated just because of how I carry myself. You treat me like I am your enemy, but you do not know me." He dug his paws into his pockets and took a step forward, ready to throw her out. He did not care how much dough she carried. He knew her kind.
The bunny took a sharp breath, her eyes fogging over, stopping him in his steps. "I came here for you because you are the only one who can help me. It doesn't matter to me if you are a fox, or your office smells like a dumpster, all I want…is you to help me."
pHe bit the inside of his cheek and cracked his sore neck. His paw scratched under his chin in thought before he leaned back against the wall. Something about her was throwing him off his game. It was as if she was a roulette and every ball that landed set off something different. He knew that if he placed his chips on the table, he would be in for a loss, but he couldn't help but gamble. She dressed like an heiress, but underneath she was a different animal altogether. That certainly spelled trouble, but he wasn't one to run from it./p
p"All right." he sighed, rotating his wrist. "Tell me what it is you want, then I'll tell ya if I'm up to it."/p
p"It's my family…" She sat down on his desk and looked down at her paws, almost in shame. "We have recently been robbed in our home, the thief taking every last jewel we owned from our safe. It was all that me and my mother had…".
Nick rubbed his chin while he listened. "They are worth thousands of dollars, and they were our livelihood. I had gone to the police but they were no help…"
p"Well the police never are." He replied with a dull tone. "They are occupied with the current drug cartels…" and from the murders caused by them, he thought.
p"Please, would you help me?" she whispered. "I'm desperate."
pHe shrugged "Depends sweetheart, there is the matter of my fee…"
pHer eyes widened slightly, making his narrow in suspicion as he circled his way around the desk toward her. She bit the inside of her cheek and squeezed the fabric of her skirt, wrinkling the fine material.
p"I…I don't have money on me, the thief took everything!" she exclaimed, her eyes glossing over. "But if you can locate the thief you can have one third!"
p"Tempting." he smirked, then scoffed. "But I ain't some chump buying fake rolexes. I need a portion of my fee, now." he stated firmly.
p"B-but…but I don't have anything. I have nothing to give!"
p"Nothing eh?…" he strolled right up to her, placing a firm paw on the desk. She froze when he wrapped his other paw around her locket, pulling it slightly by its nimble chain. "How about this?" He could tell it was real gold. The weight was almost perfect and the color shone brighter than most street lamps. His thumb grazed across the engraved words.
p'To my love'
pShe pulled away, snatching the locket and cupping it in between her paws, almost like she was afraid that he might rip it off of her neck. The dame was hysterical. br
"No! I can never part with this!" She exclaimed. It was more than obvious that something in that locket meant everything to her, maybe even more than he realized. Her mouth went into a straight line, catching her outburst and embarrassed by her own shouts.
"But…." Her paw went to her earrings. She took the small diamonds and placed them on the desk.
p"They're worth more than my necklace…that's enough, isn't it?"
pNick gave the diamonds a glance. "Yeah…yeah, it's enough." They were just enough to pay for rent and a week of food. "Just remember our deal, doll…" Her temple pulsed at the word. He could tell that she hated it. Good. "When I find your guy, I get one-third of the loot."
He sat down behind his desk, scooping the prized diamonds and placing them in his drawer, under lock and key.
p"Of course…" She brushed her skirt, as if there was dust. Reaching into her coat pocket she pulled out a white card, and placed it on his desk. "This is my private number, please call me if you have any questions."
She walked away and turned the knob to the door. She stopped and pivoted her hips to the side, giving him a sideways glance. "And by the way, my name is not "doll"…" br
He placed a cigarette in between his lips, lighting a match as he stuffed the card into his pants pocket. The flame seemed to flicker once she opened her mouth. "It's Judy Hopps."
And with that she walked out the door, disappearing like a dream, with only the scent of her perfume lingering.
p—–/p
pI finally finished this chapter! This is going to be a ten or so chapter long story. This story is going to be dark and gritty from what you have read, but don't let that sway you, it's going to have some light hearted parts. I hope you enjoyed it! br
Thank you" obsessivegeekgirl13/a for editing! ^_^/p
