Victory walked out of the little art-supply store with her torn-up messenger bag weighing her right shoulder down. It was never filled with books; she didn't need them to do well in school. They were full of spray-paints, a roll of paper towels and a paint-scraper. The bag also held some money and a notebook with some pencils.
Her cPhone 12 was in her navy-blue hoodie and his black headphones hung around his neck, plug into the hidden device. Her blue jeans barely touched the cement she walked across, but was stained with paint and ink. Judy found she didn't mind so much. It looked different and not too bad where it looked like Victory did her shopping at the dump. Nick always said it showed how creative she was. Judy said it showed how hard she worked.
The sun was sinking behind the tall buildings and leaving long shadows behind the smallest mouse. The air was warm and cozy, making it difficult not stay out of a peaceful doze. The young raccoon stopped at an ice-cream parlor and bought a can of Mr. Pepper to wake her up a bit. Much better.
Her parents wouldn't be home until after dinner, and by then she would be home and getting dry from a nice shower. They were always at the ZPD, but she was used to it. In fact, she was proud. She was proud to have such brave, successful, amazing parents that overcame so much in a few short years.
She can remember as a kid holding her head up high whenever her last name was called for roll-call. Wilde. On the first day of school, some heads would turn, but not many. The teachers may look again and smile, but that was it. She didn't want a trophy, she didn't choose her parents. They chose her.
Victory was also very proud to have been adopted. Some other used-to-be orphans she's met weren't a huge fan of it, wondering who they're birth parents were, or mad that they were told a lie until they were teenagers. She didn't care. So what? They had always told her proudly that they adopted her, and it's not like they could keep it a secret from her anyways.
They had never pressured her to become a cop, ever. Judy had earned from her parents not to do that and Nick was happy with what she wanted to do. True, she did consider doing it when she was a preteen, liking the idea of excitement and stopping bad guys, but she had a stronger, deeper calling and she knew she could do some good for the world in her own way.
Victory wanted to be an artist. She wanted to be free to paint and draw what her heart felt and eyes saw. She had so much on her mind that she felt overwhelmed without putting it on paper, a canvas, or a wall.
At first, it was a thrill. Heart racing and blood flowing fast, it was exciting and new! To set the limits and do something she knew she wasn't supposed to do, and hey be able to get away with it! It was her way of putting her mark on the world without a name, which she had no problem doing.
She found a dark alley with an untouched wall and decided that it was perfect. There was enough sun to see, but enough darkness to be hidden. She put her grey bag down and the metal cans rattled against each other. Victory pulled out her notebook and saw a rough sketch she had drown in Trigonometry that day. It wouldn't be just a sketch anymore.
She put it down on a closed trashcan and woke up her cPhone. She chose Centuries by Fall Out Boy and put on her headphones, leaving one ear free to listen for the authorities. As the cold music played, she pulled out a blue can and shook it before opening it and getting to work.
It was exciting, keeping a secret from her parents, especially since they were both cops. It gave her a thrill to go past the boundaries and to test the limits! The only one who knew what she was doing was her best friend, Matt.
Matt Russell, an athletic tiger, played basketball since he could walk and had been Victory's best friend since Middle School. They had known each other since Elementary, but they didn't have any classes together and never really talked. Victory liked to spend her lunches in the art class, working on little projects instead of eating in the cafeteria with no one to talk to.
One day, about a month into the 6th grade, Matt missed out on school for two days from a cold and was behind on a painting due in art class. So his teacher said he could come in and work during lunch to get caught up if he wanted and he accepted, sick of eating at a table in silence as he did his Math homework.
The tiger walked in and saw Victory listening to the 50s radio station and dancing as she painting on a canvas she paid for with her own money. He walked in and sat up his station next to her and asked if she liked 50s music. She replied that she liked all kinds of music, and that led to a nice discussion while they painted.
The next day Matt came back and finished his project. The two got to be close as the days wore on, either eating lunch in the art room or on the basketball court. They had a lot in common and became the best of friends.
Nothing changed when they went up to High School. Matt made the basketball team, which was no surprise, and Victory never missed a game. She told the tiger everything, and he did the same to her. They had been to each other's houses, covered the other's backs, and even helped their best friend find dates, which never really worked out.
Victory told Matt about her evening-outings painting the town and he was worried about her getting into trouble, but he let her make her own decisions and didn't think much of it. Victory loved Matt for that and swore she would repay him someday.
It grew very dark and the music went from rock to classic to 80s as the wall was filled with color and the air smelled of metal and paint. Her baby-blue eyes were used to the darkness and she could see what she was doing.
It was trails of different colors and patterns moving left to right, slowly merging into one path. But one path stayed stood out and distant, being away from the crowd and standing out because of it. She found the other paths represented the paths others took, and the one that went its own way was her. Victory smiled and kept spray-painting to touch it up and fix a few things.
Meanwhile, a wolf, an armadillo, and an otter snuck into a store a few blocks away from the raccoon. They grabbed all the money and a few valuable items like TVs, radios, headphones, ect. They had everything when they were heading to the door, but they triggered an alarm!
A team was riding around when the alarm sounded and alerted their radio. They raced over and were able to see three hooded figures running from the store with a broken window with their backs and arms loaded with goods and money.
Officers McHorn, Riderbits, and Wolfered jumped out of their car and ran to catch them. The criminals ran down the streets with the officers closing in on their tales. The armadillo waddled across the street and Riderbits went after him. The otter slipped into an alleyway and Wolfered went after him, jumping over the fence the otter wiggled through.
McHorn went for the shadow in front of him and it turned into a different alley. McHorn lost sight for a moment but then slid to a turn and ran after it. He saw it standing by a wall, backing up to undoubtedly try to hide, and knocked it down with his horn. The criminal was knocked into the dirt and tried to get up, but the rhino held it down with a heavy paw.
He was very shocked when he saw the mammal under his grasp turn to look at him and it was Nick and Judy's daughter, Victory! Her blue eyes were small with fear and she gasped his name at recognizing him. McHorn hadn't seen the robbers clearly, and so he had no idea if one of them was a raccoon or not. Victory didn't have any TVs or goods like that, but he reached for her bag after coming out of shock and found some money and cans of spray-paint.
McHorn didn't have any proof that Victory had anything to do with the robbery, but it was suspicious and she was clearly doing something she wasn't supposed to. Plus, he would never say it out loud, but… it seemed like something she might do. After all… she was a raccoon.
He got off of her and held her arms together as he handcuffed them.
"Hey!" She yelled in shock. "What's going on? What did I do?"
"Victoria Wilde," McHorn said gravely. "You are under arrest for possible robbery and vandalism. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can, and will, be used against you in the court of law."
"But, I…" She said through gritted teeth in nervousness.
McHorn went a step too far and muzzled her for good measure. When Riderbits and Wolfered met up with McHorn empty handed and saw Victory in his hold, they were shocked and the rhino explained as they got in the car.
Her heart was beating so fast she was so sure she would pass out in the seat. The muzzle made it hard to breath and it made her mouth and nose hot and sweaty. Her arms were already cramped from the metal cuffs that forced them behind her back and near the beginning of her ringed tail.
How many times had she been in the back of a cop car for a ride home from school as a child? Why? Why did she have to get arrested? She would rather be shot in the forehead that what was coming. What would her parents say?!
The drive took an eternity. McHorn took her out steadily from the car and into ZPD. Clawhauser, at the front desk, was eating some cheesecake and smiled when he first saw the raccoon he's known since Judy and Nick found her, but his smile faded and his raised paw to wave lowered.
Victory? Arrested? Muzzled? No. Not Victory. Never. Clawhauser knew there must have been a mistake. Did she try to help stop a crime and accidently got assumed to be helping? Yes! Yes, that was it! She'd tell Bogo that it was all a misunderstanding and it would be okay! Clawhauser looked down at the rest of his cheesecake and he stared for a moment before putting it on his desk and pushing it away. He wasn't hungry.
Bogo was just as shocked. He can remember her visits as a toddler and a young child. Once or twice on the weekends she surprised her parents with lunch. So what in the world was she doing here under arrest? McHorn explained why he took her in and Bogo had to be Bad Chief and put her in a room for questioning.
At first, the two merely looked at each other with Victoria's paws cuffed to the table. She looked at Bogo, but her eyes were unfocused and thinking. Bogo studied her before he spoke. He had known her for the longest time. Almost fifteen years now. How did she get from the daughter of his best cops to a criminal charged with robbing and vandalizing?
"Alright, Wilde." He said gravely, but there was love and concern in his stern voice. "What happened tonight?"
Victory was snapped out of her thoughts and she looked away from the chief in shame. If she told Bogo, he'd tell her parents. It'd kill her for them to know. But, wasn't it better than being seen as a thief? Would he even believe her?
She took in a deep breath and looked Bogo in the eye. "You won't believe me, sir."
He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arm over his chest. "And why is that?"
"Because you already see me as a criminal." The raccoon answered. "Why do you think McHorn arrested me? He was chasing a robber, saw me, and took me in. Mammals only see raccoons as thieves, everyone knows that. You probably thought I'd do something stupid, because I'm the Wilde child and I'd wanna do something that would break their hearts. I'd wanna prove I'm not like them and my own person. So, even if I tell you the truth, you won't believe me."
Bogo observed her and she look away again. It was just that simple. He was stunned at how much Victory reminded the chief of Officer Wilde. So quick to do only what the world expected them to be, thinking there was no point in being anything else.
"Victoria," Bogo said and sat up. "I don't believe for one moment that you stole anything. I've known you since you were hardly smaller than your mother. I just want to hear you say it so we can sort this out. That is, unless you wish to spend the night here."
Victory could nearly sense the joke in his last sentence, and when she looked up, his face was stern, but his eyes held compassion and reassurance. She took in a deep breath and told her side of the story, every detail.
Bogo believed every word and offered her one phone call so she could get picked up. She did, however, commit a crime, so a fee must be paid. She thought to call her father first, but she couldn't bear it. She called her godfather, Mr. Big, and hoped he would come in and save the day. He said he would take care of it, and when he hung up with Victory, he called Nick.
Nick's heart shattered. His knuckles were white as he held the phone and it was a mystery on how the screen didn't crack under the pressure. He was on his feet but looked ready to fall to his knees. His ears were droopy and every muscles was tense with worry and the deepest sadness.
He had failed. He had failed.
Judy was watching, and when he hung up, it was a full minute before he answered her. He spat it out without looking at her, ashamed, and he took the keys from the table in the hallway and walked out the door, leaving his wife to pace nervously.
Nick drove as fast as he could without having to arrest himself. He had not changed out of his uniform out and it shook with nerves. Was she okay? What happened? Was she hurt? Did she break the law? What had his little Victory done?!
He parked extremely crooked and ran into the ZPD. Clawhauser watched and slowly sunk a little behind his desk, quite scared. His cheesecake was still sitting alone and hardly touched. The fox went straight for the cells and found Bogo sitting right in front of one, where his daughter sat on a wooden bench, handcuffed, and her head down.
Was his shattered before? No. No it wasn't. Not compared to now anyhow. Bogo walked up to Nick and they talked a little ways away from Victory's cell. Nick's boss told him what happened and he gave some advice. It washed over Nick and didn't soak in, only the fact of what Victory had done.
He paid the fee and Victory was let go. Bogo personally released her wrists and she stepped out reluctantly. She was sickened with herself and felt ready to throw up. She didn't deserve a father like him. He didn't deserve to have to take a daughter like her home. He should have left her there to rot.
Nick started to walk and Victory reluctantly followed. He never looked at her, not even when she was let out. His feet or the floor must have been very interesting to observed, because his green eyes were kept down. They walked by Clawhauser's desk and she look up at him and paused.
Her eyes screamed out, "What will I do?"
Ben didn't have an answer, but he did have a lollipop. He gave Victory a blueberry one, her favorite, and she took and nodded thank you, not having the strength to smile or say it. She pocketed it in her jacket and left.
The drive could kill. Nick paid more attention to the road than normal and didn't say anything or look at her. She wished he would yell or scream, do something! The disappointment broke her. He blamed himself and Victory knew it was NOT his fault! She chose to break the law, all for a stupid thrill! She was the one who wanted to make her mark on the world, still did.
So many times her right paw twitched to just open the car-door and jump out onto oncoming cars. She could stand getting arrested, having that on her record for all time, but disappointing her father? Her mentor? Her hero? It was more than she could bear.
A tree to hit. Another tree to hit. Maybe that one! He knew at the beginning he would screw up big-time! He knew it, had ignored it, but now it slapped him right in his goddamn face and he knew he was right! What made him think he could do this?! He failed her! He failed Judy, himself, his whole family! He failed! He had messed up big time and would show forever! If he could just go back in time, and…
They parked and Nick left the car. Victory stayed for a moment before composing herself and forcing her feet to move her out of the vehicle and to her front door. Nick unlocked the door with a click and Judy looked to see them come in, down and disappointed.
She ran to her only daughter and hugged her. Victory wished she wouldn't. When Judy let go, she held her by the shoulders and looked at her, demanding without words for an answer to her unasked question.
She didn't have one.