AN: To those who might not know, this is going to be soft-reboot/re-write of my previous story, Kerosene Scars. It's real unfortunate to have to redo everything, but right now, I feel it's for the best. I believed that I could do this story a bit more justice than I did with the previous iteration. I have high hopes for this one, and I hope you will enjoy it too.
Sahara Square, Tanez Residence, 1:40 AM, Monday
The western district had always been a dump. It wasn't always so. There used to be more business to be done here, but lack of services and the growth of a criminal hotbed led this area to have less incentive for any future homeowners or investors. As the rich young mammals went, in came the ones who cared less about who they catered their services to. The apartments went year without maintenance, potholes unpaved, streetlamps unchecked. The alleys were filthy, and no one would ever go out at night alone. Ever.
Flynn Barkowitz tapped his feet impatiently, cigarette in paw. He leaned idly on the wall in the dimly lit hallway, waiting for his partner to come out of the adjacent room. The Tanez Residence was a run-down apartment, housing no more than a handful of mammals. Mammals who didn't care who came or went, as long as they did not bring any unwanted authorities. Flynn shifted his weight across his back and the dried out wallpaper quietly crumbled behind him. The deal was supposed to be a quick exchange of words, a shake of a paw, and the disappearance of both parties into the night. Yet Flynn had been waiting for almost an hour. That could only mean one thing.
The wolf could make out voices, although he couldn't hear any clear words. Flynn was silent, trying to grasp any morsel of the ongoing conversation for himself, even though he knew perfectly what is was all about. With that, the voices ceased and chairs scraped back. The door handle turned and opened. A tall, dark coated kudu strode out. Flynn threw down his cigarette.
"How'd it go, Ed?" Flynn gritted his teeth in a fanged smile. "You don't look to happy."
The kudu huffed, returning the smile. "Quite the contrary. I drove a real hard bargain. The boss will be happy."
Flynn laughed and slapped the kudu's back and made for the stairs. "That's the Ed I know. C'mon."
Ed followed the wolf down the stairs and out of the rundown apartment. It was late, and the streets were poorly lit by the last few functioning streetlamps in the derelict area. The whole street was deadly silent, aside from the ambient bustle from the city itself. Suddenly, there was a faint roar of multiple engines, causing the two to stop to turn towards the source of the noise, which came from the other side of the building. The engine noises soon faded into the distance.
"That was fast." Flynn quipped. "Those the other guys?" Ed nodded, and they continued forward. "Who were they, anyway?" Flynn asked.
"Some suits. The corporate kind. You know, the corrupt ones." Ed answered. They were the best customers. Large wallets but largely empty heads, as he would put it. It was easy to get them to pay, so long as it ensured that no one else would know about their dealings. Ed had always used that as a pivot for his bargains countless of times. No "honest" mammal would want to be caught in this part of town. Flynn nodded silently in understanding.
The wolf walked ahead towards a darkly colored pickup truck parked by a flickering streetlamp. He entered through the left, sliding the key into the ignition and starting up the vehicle. Ed entered soon after, arching his head in habit, so as to not let his horns knock against the door frame. He pulled out his phone.
"Hey, how much did you get out of them?" asked Flynn, rolling down the truck window and pulling a pack of cigarettes from his coat pocket. "Ya gotta tell me."
Ed dialed a number and put his phone to his ear. "Twenty grand." Flynn whistled in astonishment.
"Twenty grand for that little? Impressive. Well, not too surprising for such a sly business mammal as you. Boss'll be delighted to see that junk out of his hand, and for a fine price too. " Flynn thumped the kudu's chest and chuckled. Ed sighed and put down his phone.
"No answer. Whatever. I'll tell him in the morning." Ed pocketed the device and looked over at Flynn. "You plannin' on going somewhere?"
Flynn smirked. "Y'know, this calls for a drink. Tony's?" he asked, referring to a bar located in the downtown district of Sahara Square.
Ed smiled back at his old friend. "Sure, sure, as long as y-"
WHUMP
The interior of the truck immediately burst into a fireball. Flames engulfed the two, shattering all the windows of the pickup, an intense orange and black plume billowing up into the sky. The intense flash lit up the night sky, temporarily rendering the skyline with a bright tint, as if it were suddenly day. The truck tires popped, one by one, by the heat, and the ground was scorched to a carbon black as the inferno grew. The roar of the flames drowned out the sounds of screaming, flailing occupants of the vehicle. Suddenly, a lone howl pierced through it all, slowly fading away, until it too was engulfed by the crackling and the hissing of the flames. The truck burned with an intense ferocity, the inferno's unquenchable hunger consuming the entirety of the vehicle.
And all was soon silent.
Savannah Central, Snarlbucks, 5:42 AM
Nick thumbed the home button on his phone again, checking to see if there were any new notifications. Nothing yet. The day was still young, and the streetlights were still bright, their automatic sensors not yet deeming the sky bright enough to be turned off. The occupants were few, and the establishment quiet. He put his phone back into his pocket of his police uniform, and looked back at the counter. He stood silently, waiting, his eyes shifting behind his sunglasses, observing the morning crowd. He contemplated removing them, just for the sake of blending in a bit better. As if a fox in a police uniform could attract any less attention.
"Mr. Wilde?" a green aproned pig called out from behind the counter, putting two cups of coffee down. Nick immediately stepped up towards the counter, holding a hand up in recognition. As the counter was slightly taller than he was, he tiptoed and grabbed one cup, but he seemed to miss the other with his paw. At that moment, he felt a tap on his shoulder.
"Is this for me?" Nick spun quickly, narrowly spilling his coffee and upsetting his sunglasses from his snout. A rabbit stood behind him, paw on hip and the other holding a smaller cup. Nick sighed, putting his paw up to adjust his glasses, and reached out and took the cup out of the rabbit's hand, surprising her slightly.
"Sorry, Carrots. These are both mine." Judy paused, a confused look in her face. After a brief awkward silence, Nick, grinning ear to ear, returned the cup to Judy, who rolled her eyes.
"Never stop being yourself, Carrots." Nick smirked, taking a sip from the cup. Judy gave him a little punch on the shoulder, smiling. "It seems like I've been rubbing off on you."
"Let's call it a draw today, then." She pried the plastic lid of the cup and sniffed at it. "What is this?" she said as she took a small sip.
"Same as mine. Americano." They both took a seat by the window. The streetlamps now turned off one by one as the sun rose from the east. There were more people in the coffee store and on the streets, now growing louder as more cars passed by. Judy had received Nick's text in the morning. It was a bit of a surprise; she was more accustomed to her being the one to wake Nick up if needed be, and they usually got their coffee at the station. They met everyday in front of a nearby florist and walked together to the station, but they had never had their morning coffee anywhere else. Even so, she had taken a short walk from her apartment here, and the cool morning breeze was very comfortable.
Judy looked up to Nick, who was scrolling through his phone now. "Why today?" Nick turned to her. "Mm?"
"I mean, why'd you want us to meet here, today, of all days? Is there something special going on? We never meet for coffee." Judy inquired. Nick looked he was at a lost for words.
"Well, I guess, for a change, well, I mean, you've always been the one to get me up, so I kinda decided to, y'know, treat you today." Nick smiled widely, hoping that Judy didn't notice his face reddening. Judy rolled her eyes, but still returned the grin.
"As long as you're paying, Slick." Nick chuckled as he took another sip of his coffee. He opened his mouth to reply, but noticed Judy's face, now suddenly focused. He turned. She had paused, her attention caught as the six o'clock news started playing on the mounted TV set behind Nick. The swirling graphics gave way to the news anchors, a snow leopard and a moose.
The leopard spoke, "Good morning, Zootopia, and welcome to the six o'clock news. I'm your News anchor Fabienne Growley-"
"And I'm Peter Moosebridge," the moose continued, "Our top story this morning is of an accident in Sahara Square, occurring around midnight last night. According to eyewitnesses a small pickup exploded in the western district, leaving two fatalities. The fire was put out shortly after by the Zootopian Fire Department very shortly after." Peter turned to his co-anchor, who picked up where he left off.
"We currently have no word on the identities of the two victims, nor the circumstances surrounding this accident. Authorities are currently suspecting foul play. Be sure to stay tuned for more updates on this incident. In other news..."
Nick, who had turned to watch the TV turned back to Judy, who met his gaze. They both had a similar thought in mind. Judy began to get up.
"Well, let's get to it. C'mon Nick, time's wasting." Judy sprang towards the door, followed closely behind by Nick. They two pushed through the door of the Snarlbucks and made their way to the station. The sky was much lighter, and the streets were now bustling with early commuters on their way to work. The two walked side by side. Judy looked up to Nick.
"Something on your mind, Nick?" Judy asked.
"No, why'd you ask?" Nick quickly answered. He turned his head to Judy. "You're acting real jumpy today. Was the coffee too much?"
"The coffee was enough. Everything's fine. Besides the fact that you sounded like had a frog in your throat. And that you looked like a ripe tomato. Was your coffee enough? "Judy quipped, smiling as she noticed Nick's face reddening once more. Satisfied with invoking such a reaction from the fox, she skipped forward ahead of Nick. The fox sighed and shook his head.
"That rabbit's going to be the death of me." He muttered to himself.
The pair soon made it to the Precinct. As they made through the large glass doors of the station, they were both greeted by Clawhauser.
"Good morning, you two!" He greeted. "How's the Snarlbucks?" Clawhauser pointed at the cups the pair held in their paws.
"Just wonderful, it was Nick's treat." Judy answered, and Clawhauser half-squealed.
"Oh, Nick, you're such a gentlemammal!" Judy chuckled at the notion. Nick pulled off his shades, giving a faux bow, renewing laughter from both of them. Clawhauser's smile faded.
"In all seriousness, though, did you hear what happened last night?" Clawhauser asked, his voice lowering to a half whisper. Judy nodded.
"Yeah, we saw it on the news just now. Who were they? I mean, the victims." Judy replied. Clawhauser shook his head.
"No clue. But Bogo's having nearly the whole precinct on the case." Clawhauser answered.
Nick threw his empty coffee cup into a trash bin at the side of the receptionist's desk. "Well, we'd better get to it then. See you later, Benji." Nick waved goodbye, and he and Judy both left to the bullpen. Like most days, it was jampacked with officers and was a bustle of loud noises and voices. The two made their way to the front, climbing up on a chair in the front row. Judy looked towards Nick and nodded her head to the other officers.
"It seems that they're all talking about it too. Seems like a serious case." Judy said, Nick nodding in acknowledgment, but saying no more. At that moment, the door of the bullpen opened and Chief Bogo stepped in. All the other officers immediately stood in attention. Bogo motioned them to be quiet as he stepped to the podium.
"Enough, ENOUGH." He put the manila folder squarely on the podium. "Alright, settle down. We've got a large case on the docket today. As some of you may know, there was a car fire down in Sahara Square last night. Two fatalities. One wolf and one kudu. We don't have any exact identification as of yet, but we do have some officers there to secure the area." Bogo paused to let it sink in. He continued.
"We have reason to believe that this was not a mere accident. There was no crash, nor any car accident. Those who called in the incident said that they heard a large boom and a flash of light from that area. We suspect a bomb." There was a slight murmur throughout the room. Gang violence wasn't all to uncommon, but the usage of such a device on the streets had been seldom heard of, even in the more violent of places. Even possessing parts intended to make an explosive device was dealt with severely.
"Before I start giving out the assignments, are there any further questions?" Nick raised his arm.
"Where was this again?" Nick asked.
"Sahara Central, West district. Near the Tanez residential area." Nick nodded and sat back down. Bogo snorted and began giving out assignments.
"Not a big surprise." Nick muttered to himself. Judy looked at him, curious.
"Huh?"
"The Western district's a hodgepodge of crooks and dealers. Especially around the western residential areas. Back in my day it was almost common knowledge that that was the place you would go if you needed anything. Drugs, guns, money, you name it." Nick explained, leaning back, putting an arm on the chair back.
"So it could be gang violence?" Judy asked. Nick nodded.
"Most likely."
Bogo read from the list. "Grizzoli, take a team down to the scene to get some eyewitness testimonies. Hopps, Wilde, I want you two to meet up with our forensic team at the site, and see if you can get an ID on the two fatalities. The rest of you, go to your assigned areas and await further instructions."
The briefing drew to a close, and the two hopped off their seats and retrieved their case folder. They made their way to the Precinct parking lot and got into their assigned black and white police cruiser. They got in, Nick looking over the file as Judy prepped the car.
"Never thought I'd ever go back there." Nick grimaced in disgust, flipping through the pages. "What a dump," he remarked as he looked at one of the photos in the folder.
Judy leaned over and clicked on her seat-belt. "Been there before?"
Nick nodded slowly. "Yeah." That was all Nick wanted to say, and Judy could see a look of discomfort on his face. She decided that it would be best to leave the subject alone, as she had already been poking fun at Nick the whole morning. She disengaged the parking brake and pulled out of the lot and headed east towards Sahara Square without saying another word.
Somewhere in Sahara Square
The black-coated sable antelope paced angrily across the warehouse floor, phone up to his ear. He rubbed the bridge of his snout with his hoof. The armed guards watched him from their positions around the room, all silent and still, with an air of unease. The antelope stopped in his track.
"Yes, yes, I got it. I know. Thank you." The phone beeped audibly and he dropped his arm, still gripping the phone. He inhaled and exhaled heavily, shoulders moving with his heavy breath. With one swift motion, he swung his arm, smashing the phone into the wall.
"Damn!" The guards all flinched, even though they were accustomed with the boss' sudden but all too common outbursts. A common eland stood by him, not moving, waiting for the sable antelope to stop. The antelope turned and sat onto a chair, running his hoof across his horn. "It was Flynn and Ed. They were operating in that area last night." He thumped the table with his hoof.
The common eland spoke up. "Could it be their customers?" The sable antelope shook his head.
"Nothing of value was exchanged last night. They had literally nothing to gain from doing such a thing. And nobody's that stupid to double-cross me. But once I get my hands on who did..." He looked sideways at the eland. "Ed was a good mammal..." The sable antelope trailed off.
"You know what to do."
AN: I really hope that you've enjoyed this read. Please leave a review if you feel like it. Thanks!
Edit: fixed some time-stamps. Sorry for any misunderstandings!