Music that Inspired this chapter:
"Super 8" By Michael Giacchino
"Signal Decoy" By Christophe Beck
The figure was comfortably adorned in black, laying upon a grassy hill with a lollipop loosely hanging out of his young canine mouth and a dishonest smile plastered firmly on his face. A large ring of black covered his left eye, a result from a recent failed heist.
The corner of his mouth lifted with a hint of reminiscence.
A couple hundred yards next to the vulpine, stood the front of an unassuming cream colored house in the middle of the godforsaken farmland, tinted blue from the beauty of the moon and the twinkling of the stars.
Now, the fox would never admit it. To anyone. But ever since he was a pup he would adore the stars. He admired their brightness from afar, seeing them as tiny specks of hope on a dark gloomy background. Did they give him hope? No, he had been hurt far too much too indulge in that belief. Still, their mysterious dancing always attracted him in a strange way.
Even in his new room, he would sit at his dirty, broken window and simply stare at the ignitions. He would lose hours upon hours of sleep, getting him in trouble from his orphanage countless times. But to him, the heavy bags under his eyes were of well worth when the morning came.
The 12 year old fox was marveled, with a now bittersweet dimple forming at the corner of his lip. With a star flaring in almost every direction, the canine continually shifted his gaze. His eyes flickered back and forth, constantly wanting to burn the full illustrious night view into his corneas.
The stars danced around him in joy throughout the late hours causing him to imagine his mother, no longer bound to her deprived life, dancing with the others around her. Spreading her infectious smile. He could hear the chorus of his mother's old warped records playing in the back of his mind, drowning him in a nostalgic happiness that seemed to be harder to access every other day.
He wanted her back. More than anything.
He pulled his crimson lollipop out of his mouth and began wrapping it back in the wrapper it originated from. The paper crinkled and crackled it as he tucked it away in his backpack. Quietly turning over the bag into a makeshift pillow, he innocently shut his eyes and snuggled against it. His cheek fur flexed and prickled as he laid his heavy head onto the fabric.
And as the final star twinkled and danced before settling down with its peers, he could swear she was staring back at him.
The figure was awake once again hours later, this time blissfully eyeing the house in front of him. So this is the place huh? Small, affordable I bet.
His unkempt red tail thumped against the hard ground with excitement, erupting airborne dust and soil from the ground at an exponential rate. I think I like it. He felt electrified from the mere thought of another heist. It invigorated him, filled him with a purpose. He pictured it with a cunning beam as he sucked on his translucent crimson lollipop once again.
To those who knew him, Nicholas Piberius Wilde was a hero.
His chuckled as his eyes drooped; the dawning threat of drowsiness was quickly catching up to him again. Already slept. Can't fall asleep on the job again. He slowly reached his small red paw up, and began to pant. He hyped himself up, trying not to delay the inevitable. His paw flew through the air and connected itself to his face with a loud TWAP! Realizing that he had hit his bruised black eye, he felt salty tears form in the corners of his sockets.
If you can even call this a job! He thought angrily as he leaned on his elbows, making his body into a perfect obtuse. He clutched his aching face, trying to seize the hot raging pain from spreading through his nerves like a monstrous wildfire.
He rapidly reached for his ancient and damaged flip phone, that rested inside his sweatpants pocket. He pulled it out and gazed at it, admiring it's dents and cracks residing in the plastic as it reflected the beauty of the night. He adored the piece of junk, for one reason only.
It was his.
He worked hard and spent the time and the money to provide himself this pleasure. His perspective could finally shift from being owned, to owning something. He stared at the LCD screen studying the info displayed on the front.
Saturday, November 3rd
2:42 AM 52° F
New message from "Fin".
His caller ID lit up onto the anterior of the closed phone to reveal a picture of his friend/partner in crime(s). The wily orange fox had just texted him 13 minutes prior... He flipped the phone open with an unhealthy snap before scanning the previous messages.
Finnick: Which area are you hitting tonight? (Sent November 2nd at 10:21 PM)
Nick: The Burrows. Took the train. Figured I'd oughta check out the farms. You gonna keep texting or help me? (Sent November 2nd at 10:26 PM)
Finnick: Who else would be crazy enough to be your partner? (Sent November 2nd at 10:33 PM)
Nick: All systems go? (Sent at 2:33 AM)
Finnick: Had a hard time sneaking out. The old lady's starting to catch onto us Wilde. Don't know how long we can keep this up. I'm at the computer. Call me when you're ready. (Sent Just Now)
Nick deviously smiled and quickly hit the illuminating green button on his phone.
"You ready?" The prepubescent yet surprisingly semi-gruff voice asked him.
"Oh, not even a 'Good Morning Wilde'?" The red fox asked with a long yawn before commenting, his lollipop whirling around in his mouth. "Since when has Zootopia's orphans become such a rambunctious and unmannerly group?" Nick dramatically stated as he stretched.
"Can it Nick! We only have 16 minutes left on the phone plan, make this one quick." The slender red fox ignored him, comically mouthing 'blah blah blah' as he stood up and put his cheap, uncomfortable Bluetooth earpiece into his ear.
"No problem. Should only take me 8, if there's no hiccups." Nick replied as he pulled up his black backpack he was laying on and rummaged through his supplies before he finally pulled out some fox-sized binoculars. "And there won't be."
"Well you know these bunny farmers are notorious for their adamant security." Finnick corrected. Nick snickered. "They're also not very lenient towards trespassers."
"It's gonna be a cakewalk. How many heists have we done this year, Fin? Hell, we already did four last month. We've been getting cleaner and no one's gonna find or suspect us." Nick egotistically answered before Finnick's sigh. "Besides, who's gonna suspect two kids?"
"Tell that to the pig who gave you that shiner." Nick grimaced. "Of course, there was Timothy from when you beat him at chess, Wade from the counterfeiting, Peter... well I don't remember why Peter hit you-"
"Okay I get it. I can be an undersized punching bag, now can we get back to business?" Nick huffed in annoyance as he walked through the giant blades of seemingly dead grass, each one ruffling and scratching his clothes with the sharpness of a butter knife.
His hoodie and sweatpants didn't make a single audible sound through the vegetation. It was obviously a tactical reason why he wore them. They were smooth and didn't make much noise; the color made it hard for anyone to see his red fur, making him virtually unrecognizable. They were strategic, as well as comfortable. Plus, It made sneaking into houses and thieving from people a whole lot easier.
Laziness totally had nothing to do with it.
"You're cocky attitude is going to get us in trouble." Finnick snapped, dragging Nick back into reality as he remembered the situation at hand. He crouched on one knee, observing the house before replying.
"No, It's not. This is Bunny Burrow Fin. They're just a bunch of old hicks." He paused, and picked up his binoculars and shoved his eyes through the lenses, while his lollipop still delicately hung in his mouth. He quickly looked towards front of the house. A small, sun-scorched sign read, 'Protected by ATP'. The Bunnies in Bunny Burrows actually use their home security. Who woulda thought? "Alright buddy, time to work for a living." Finnick chuckled.
"The security here doesn't look that advanced. Do me a favor and search up ATP." He heard the quick pitter patter of the small foxes fingers on the keyboard of their old home computer.
"There's a problem. All I'm getting is Adenosine Tri... Tripostate?"
"It's Triphosphate Fin." Nick interrupted, quickly remembering his 6th grade biology textbook.
"Thanks smartass, but how is a macro-molecule gonna help us right now." Nick closed his eyes, and pushed his fingers to his temples.
"Language, Fin."
"Oh, shove-it Nick."
The red fox chuckled, before focusing once again. ATP. ATP. ATP... Why does this seem so familiar... "Can you try looking it up with security systems?" He waited a mere second as Finnick's fingers tapped against the cold keyboard again. Suddenly a click.
"Got it. Advanced Threat Protection Security." Nicks lips curled into a sly grin.
"As in, 'our first heist', Advanced Threat Protection Security?" Nick asked, though fairly confident in his answer. This technology is outdated.
All Finnick could do, was chuckle in response. I'll take that as a yes.
"Looks like incredibly old tech. The company hasn't updated in the past couple of years. It's a standard circuit. Door and window sensors, all controlled by a primary controller. Simple enough for ya?" Nick grunted in approval.
"Good to know…" Using his binoculars, he could notice blinking green lights inside of the house. "Well, I see those sensors you were talking about…" Scanning the house quicker than normal, he located the front door. To which he discovered- "Oh, there's the controller baby! This is gonna be way too easy Finnick." He squealed in excitement
"Now, don't get too cocky Wilde."
"Uh-huh. Yeah sure buddy, sure..." Nick ignored while lowering his binoculars.
"You're gonna get yourself caught, then what!" Finnick cautiously warned.
"That's why we have a plan for that Finnick! I'm taking all of the precautions that we've talked about." Nick mumbled as he folded his binoculars and placed them in his backpack while continuing to talk. "And we're not renegotiating this again." He finished as he discreetly closed his bag with a loud zip!
"So let me guess. You're plan is to just stroll right through the front door. Isn't it Wilde."
...
"You've gotta be kidding me."
...
"Well, when you say it like that, It sounds stupid Fin."
"It is stupid Wilde." Finnick huffed angrily. "You're not thinking this through enough. We need more time. We need a better plan."
"No can do buddy, got less than 14 minutes left on the phone call." Nick told matter-of-factually. Finnick didn't answer. "Besides, as far as I see it we're not going to last any longer without helping ourselves. Since Lionfart redirected all of the orphanages public funds, we're going to have a hard time staying afloat." Nick began rubbing the bridge of his nose. "This is the only way to keep our home. To stay together." Still no response. "And I'm with you till the end of the line Fin." He stopped, emotion draining from his pitchy voice with no taste of his usual pride. Finnick huffed, still unmoved, even though Nick explained the situation.
"Listen bud. We just need one more anonymous payment to keep our home up and running for the rest of the month." Nick waited, an alluding silence enraptured the two of them. Nick wasn't sure if Finnick would even respond. "We have history with this security system Fin. That means we have the edge. Its just muscle memory at this point."
After an endless pause Finnick responded with dread. "Please. Please! Don't get caught Nick."
"I won't. This isn't our first rodeo." The red fox chuckled. "I guess I should say heist." He clamped his jaw on the remnants of the lollipop, erupting a loud crunch. He grabbed the white stick in his mouth and threw it on the ground losing it in the underbrush of vegetation. Giving a precautionary push onto the Bluetooth headset, and making sure it was snug in his ear, he began to step towards the house.
"We've got 13 minutes left on the call." Finnick notified.
"Alright, radio silence Fin." Always wanted to say that haha.
Nick smoothly pulled his black hood over his ears and ruffled messy fur, leaving only his emerald eyes to shine in the darkness.
He lightly stepped out of the grass, heading towards the house all the while admiring its structure once again.
Y'know, this house really is lovely. I wouldn't mind getting one like this in the future.
He began to jog, which gradually turned into a quiet sprint.
Well, minus all of the farmland. And the bunnies.
Despite his short legs, the fox ran with an eccentric speed. He was fast. Definitely quicker than most adult foxes by default. Dare he say, faster than an average bunny? The only thing that could stop him from running was the heat from the friction of his clothes. Though, the slight disagreeable disturbance never edged his love for the feeling of the wind that brushed his fur.
He always considered himself as a bullet in a quiver of arrows.
Of course, Nick had learned a thing or two from his orphanage, considering the fact that the kids at the orphanage were composed of many misfits, from many different species. From cheetahs who taught him how to run quickly to catch up to ice cream trucks, to raccoon's who taught him how to sneak around the orphanage quietly in exchange for some late night cookies from the kitchen; Nick had become a stealthy, agile fox in the past months.
He hugged the cream colored wall as he made his way to the porch in front of the house. Using his learned skills, he made his way up the brown wooden stairs without so much as a creak.
At the top, the windows on the sides of the door revealed the control panel inside.
He struggled to see the dim lettering on the LCD screen. He snickered before closing his eyes shut. Opening them quickly, he peered into the house as his eyes adjusted.
One thing the kids at the orphanage couldn't teach me. He thought slyly. Night vision just happens to be my specialty...
Well, If you don't consider eating a whole pizza in one sitting as a specialty that is.
His eyes quickly read the letters, now seemingly illuminated from his green tapetums. They spelled out, 'ARMED'. He shook his head in annoyance. The slight hope that they left their security off vanished.
Not like an alarm system is going to stop me from raiding this house.
He smirked from his naughty thought before turning around. But something minuscule caught his eye. He turned around once again, and squinted inside.
Uh-oh. He thought as he stared at the sensor. A battery compartment was wrapped around it, in duct tape.
A makeshift battery compartment huh? Someone here actually knows a thing or two about circuitry. Probably the father.
He crawled down the porch and circled around the cream colored house, counting. One sensor on front, another on back. Major doors are covered. Both are tampered with. His head tilted to the side, his ears twitching as he heard the sounds of the night as he considered his next option.
Suddenly his luminous green eyes opened again, and the right side of his cheek rose in an arrogant grin. He walked towards the side windows of the house with glistening emerald eyes, examining the multiple panes gleaming from the moon.
Haven't checked the windows. Odds are one sensor is bound to be dead.
The reflection stunted his vision, and the bright moon did not aid his night vision in the slightest. Stealthily scanning the living room, the continuous glances of green light from the corners of the aperture confirmed his dreadful thought. Bottom floor windows are activated.
He sighed internally before he sprung from his location with a stealth unlike other animals, and quickly climbed up the white wooden beams of the old creaking house. 2nd floor… He quietly walked across the top of the skinny shingles. They barely shifted under his slender figure. After a quick walk around, he clenched his jaw angrily. All windows are armed. After inspecting the house another time, he realized he was left with his last resort.
Gotta cut the power. He quickly made his way to the power box on the side of the house, and quietly studied it. Straightaway, he spit on the hinges.
Not gonna let a squeak get me in trouble again. Nick inaudibly removed his backpack, and pulled out some bobby pins. With a quick click of the lock, the door to the power box was free. He studied the breaker switches and noticed the labeling of each one was uncharacteristically faded. Damn. Just what I need. He leaned forward and practically stuck his eyeball onto the masking tape, hoping that he could decipher the tiny words in the dark moonlight. After straining his eyes a bit, he finally found the "1st floor" switch.
FLICK!
Nick leaned to his right and peered through a window. The sensors were still glowing green.
"What was that?" Finnick asked concernedly.
"That would be the circuit breaker." Nick answered with a questioning frown. "I was trying to shut off the power to the first floor so I could get the sensors to shut down."
"What went wrong?" He asked.
"Didn't work." Nick answered as he flicked the switch back on.
"That plan should've. ATP runs through the house's electricity. Why did they stay on?"
"It looks like there's been some self improvements." Nick answered bashfully. Finnicks line was soon filled with grumbles and clicking. "The father here must like to tinker with electronics. It looks like its hooked up on backup battery power. Probably updated from the owners of this house. They must've paid extra for their security though, it looks airtight. I don't think we've broken into a house with self upgraded security before." Nick said while peering at the power box. "But there's a first time for everything."
"Can you tell what type of batteries they were?"
"Definitely not Furacell, if that's what you're wondering." Nick grumbled as he shut the power box closed. "Looked like some small duty capacitors. Big enough to hold a decent charge for some time."
"Well, it's an old system. Maybe we can just wait until the control panel dies." Finnick replied with an exhausted sigh.
"There's only... 9 minutes left on the call Fin." The red fox let out an angry growl. "We need another plan."
"We? You're the one who comes up with plans Wilde. I'm just your researcher."
"Well then what are we gonna do?" The red fox groaned in frustration before angrily slamming his head against the power box. His face began to flood with pain as his black eye rammed into the cold metal. Why did I do that. Gods that was stupid.
"We need this Fin, people are depending on us."
Her long ears twitched in the night.
"We can heist tomorrow. You don't need to raid this house, and frankly you need some sleep." The fennec fox reassured. "I need some sleep Nick."
...
Maybe that's a good idea. I don't need to break into this house. I can find a smaller, and less secure one tomorrow… We'd only be a day behind.
"You calling it?" The deep voiced fox inquired. Right before Nick was about to admit defeat, the small fox joked, "The first house to stump Nick Wilde huh?"
Suddenly Nick's whole demeanor changed. Though he knew Finnick was joking, he was still offended. He felt his eyebrows narrow. He bared his white teeth. Nothing stumps Nick Wilde.
"No, I have another plan."
"They never stop do they?" Finnick joked with a grin. "What's the gameplan?" The young red fox had never felt more devoted in his life.
"Time for some science shit." He said with a sly grin.
"Language, Wilde." Finnick joked.
Nick chuckled before he quickly pulled off his backpack with a sling! He rummaged through it's contents, looking for one bag in particular. "Hey Fin? Remember when I found that old microwave and disposable camera in the garbage bin on 6th street?"
"Yeah, you're an A1 dumpster diver Nick. Nice job. Now, how that hunk-of-junk gonna help us?" Finnick reminded as he slouched back in the libraries uncomfortable plastic chairs.
"Well I was saving it for a moment like now." Nick said as he pulled out his headphones, pocket knife, disposable camera and a spool of wire out from the bag.
"What are you gonna do? Take pictures of the house?" Finnick replied sarcastically.
"Not necessarily." Nick replied with a half open mouth before producing a mischievous grin. He grasped the headphones between his fingers. Whipping out his dark pocket knife with a shing he quickly cut off the earbuds and the jack leaving only wires. "I took apart that microwave for its pole motor."
"As one would do." Finnick mocked.
"Lo and behold, the microwave had bits of magnet wire." Nick continued, oblivious to Finnicks snarky remark as he was too deep in thought. He wrapped the wire around his wrist, trying to make a coil that was as smooth as possible."And - if I do this right - you can use the flash capacitor and connect it to a magnet wire coil, you could possibly make an EMP."
Nick said in a 'matter-of-fact' voice, while pressingly getting to work on his project. Finnick became silent for a while. The sly fox could imagine his friends eyes widening in curiosity.
"Um... Nick, can you repeat that in English please?"
Nick sighed.
"I'm going to shut the sensor off by using an electric magnet." Nick clarified.
"It's only a short-ranged blast, enough to disrupt the communication between one window sensor and the control panel for a second." Nick quietly explained as he took apart the camera, gutting it until only the circuit was intact. "The camera runs off of batteries. Not a whole lot of electricity for an EMP, but it should be enough for a two timed use. One blast to get in, One to get out. Hopefully frying the circuitry of the sensor." Nick wrapped the wires around the positive and negative connections to the circuit board, and urgently put the plastic panels back around the camera. Pressing the plastic casings back together with a snap, the camera was now rigged for the foxes unholy desires.
"Y-You're a genius Nick."
His blade-like teeth shined in the moonlight as he smiled, proud of his invention.
"So I've been told." The canine said over confidently,
"Who even keeps that crap in their backpack." The beige fox countered, flustered that he unintentionally complimented his friend. "You should consider throwing that thing in the Junior High science fair."
Nick smile widened. "You know, it's not exactly legal to possess one of these things in Zootopia. Let alone make one." Finnick chuckled over their call.
"Charging." He said as charged the camera. It produced a quiet whirring as it drained power from the battery and flooded the capacitor with electricity. When the whirring stopped, he placed his hand on the shutter. "Here we go Fin." He commentated before pressing the coil against the glass of the window. He lined it up with the sensor on the bottom of the window sill. "Firing."
Click!
The bunny awoke. Her magenta eyes quickly dilating to the darkness.
The LED on the sensor quickly shut off. No light was emitting from the rectangle. His mouth curved into a smile.
Nick rapidly hopped in through the window and shut it. Finally inside of the house, Nick huffed in victory.
Nothing stumps Nick Wilde.
"I'm in." Nick murmured silently. He turned to look at the innards of the tall building. His night vision flawlessly kicked in, revealing several of expensive items throughout the house. Leaving the camera set up next to the window, he snickered. "Give me 5 minutes Fin. I'll be in and out."
Emerald eyes gleamed through the darkness. Nick's bag silently clanked and banged with all the loot he stole as he tried to soundlessly head his way down the endless black hallway. His feet demonstrated a certain finesse and experience as he walked only on his pads, making sure that his claws didn't scratch the wooden floor.
A glisten abruptly caught his eye, causing him to quickly veer his head to the right. On top of a dresser sat a beautiful, drop-dead-gorgeous violet necklace in a display case. His eyes widened.
Nick approached the case, and violently grabbed it.
It's probably just a show piece. Or maybe an old prom relic from some old bunny's glory days. No one will need this.
He imagined an old bunny clasping the necklace around her neck.
Bunnies... too cute for their own good. He chuckled internally and shook his head.
He held the display case in his hands, admiring it before he started to put it in his bag while he walked towards the window.
Tap. Tap. Tap!
Footsteps began to approach him from behind. Suddenly time seemed to stop. He could feel the blood rushing through his ears.
...
Someone had spotted him.
"Stop or I'll scream." He heard the small bunny demand. He froze, while imagining who was standing behind him. Immediately, he began thinking of a scheme to charm his way out of this one.
"You okay Nick? I thought I heard you say something." Finnick asked through Nick's earpiece.
"You've been caught breaking and entering with the intent to commit a felony. That's a federal offence, and you can be punished for up to a year." She robotically stated.
She's smart, but that's insignificant. He judged.
"Okay first off, I never broke anything. Second, I think we're way past the intent to commit a felony." He said with presumptuous smile, his snarky personality slipping through his half lidded eyes. He couldn't take the young bunny very seriously.
"You've been caught already fox. Put your hands on your head and turn towards me!"
He was stopped right in front of the window he had entered from.
"Yeah, I don't think that's gonna happen cottontail. I'll see you la-!" His eyes darted to the window sill. Eyebrows rose from his realization.
The camera was missing. Stolen.
"Missing something?" He heard from behind him. He grimaced. Should have taken the camera with me. "This is quite a contraption. It would be a shame if it were to break."
She must be small.
"You make it yourself? Surely, you couldn't have. Only a smart person could, and considering the fact that you've broken into a house with over 250 bunnies, you can't be smart at all."
Nick huffed at her sarcasm. Maybe aged around 7-9?
Though, he suddenly felt stuck between a rock and a hard place. Having no choice but to comply, he began to shove the necklace in his backpack while simultaneously turning.
Finnick's eyes widened with worry.
His best friend had been caught.
"Nick I know we talked about what to do if you got caught, but just lis-" Nick reached a hand up to the Bluetooth headset and fluidly pressed the red button while also placing his hands on his head.
The call ended and Finnick was gone, left to his imagination as to what actually happened to the red fox.
The foxes phone lit up, displaying Nick's caller ID, indicating that the call had ended. Nick's contact picture was blurry, as Finnick had taken the picture from a cracked computer screen where the original had been stored. It was a picture the orphanage had taken of them on the first day they met. They both had an arm wrapped around each other's shoulder (Finnick had to stand on a box to reach his friends), both smiling awkwardly. That was their first day together. The start of their friendship.
Finnick's heart fell, knowing there would be no more, now that Nick was probably headed towards the police station in Bunny Burrows.
Nicks picture faded into black.
Finnick fiercely grabbed his phone and hit the bright green button, Nicks picture appeared again. As it began to ring, it suddenly stopped.
"Sorry. You have used all of your minutes on your phone plan for the month. To update to a better plan please-" Finnick violently slammed his phone shut, ending the call and the automated voice.
He was surrounded in a world of loneliness now that his friends comforting voice was gone. He would never admit it, but he secretly cared for Nick a lot. They both only wanted the best for each other. He was upset that he let someone so close to him, to let someone throw him back into a world of abandonment again. He looked up to the computer monitor and saw that the machine had shut down from its non-use. His dark reflection stared back at him.
A measly tear began to furrow its way from his eye and down his cheek.
Sorry bud. I'm not getting you any more involved...
"Wait…" She cautioned. Nick stopped, his claws now touching the maple floor with a clack. "That's my mom's necklace!" His body was now perpendicular to hers, as he couldn't finish his turn.
Mom… Nick's eyes drooped down from his remorse. He looked down at his bag, seeing the corner of the display box still showing, wondering what his mother would think of him now.
It's her moms... I should give it back...
"Take the hood off! Right now!" The bunny commanded. He bit his tongue.
His jaw clenched as he slowly reached his paws up and violently jerked the hood off of himself scaring the bunny in the process.
She gasped, and stepped back cautiously. His scorched ears felt the coolness of the night as his face was exposed. His ruffled fur made him look messy, uneven. His 90 degree angle highlighted his profile against the moonlight.
"You're just like Gideon." She said fearfully after a long pause.
"Who's Gideon?" Nick asked as his curiosity peaked.
She didn't respond. He finished his turn and finally saw her face to face. She was small, grey furred, and probably no taller than his shoulder. Her eyes were purple and shone against the moon, her tapetum luminous in the early hours of the morning.
She noticed the black orbit, surrounding his left eyeball. It startled her to see such a young creature with damage like that.
What she couldn't see though, was the emotional damage. All the desertion from his life, seemingly hidden behind dishonest, half-lidded and glass-like eyes.
The injury seemed to illuminate his cunning green eyes, so much so that they appeared to see right through her, while at the same time they peered into her. The feeling was one she hadn't felt a lot. With people always looking over her and ignoring her every word, she quickly began to feel meek.
But the fox... He had noticed her. Out of all animals.
"He did this to me." She said with ferocity as she turned her head to the right, revealing bandages on the left side of her face. Three red streaks seeped through the gauze. Bleeding through it.
Whoever Gideon was, he'd hurt her… Nick thought with a resentment he never knew he had.
"He's a mean fox." She said passionately, gripping the camera in her hand. "Just like you." Nick's eyes filled with hurt as he let out a silent gasp, his mouth agape.
"I would never do that. To anyone." Nick stated confidently albeit a little bit prideful.
"Then whats with your bruised eye?" She tried to counter.
"I've been punched. Doesn't mean I punch back." The bunny looked up and down the at the young tod. His unkempt fur, bruised eye, busted lip and lanky physique screamed at her that he was wrong.
"People like you always punch back." She seethed back at him.
"Well what do you want me to do, fluff? When people like you already think they know who I am. I'm just an untrustworthy, stealing fox huh?" He was slipping, slowly and consistently.
"That's exactly who you are, yes." The bunny immediately regretted saying those words to him, as she saw the hurt flicker in his eyes. That flicker was soon replaced with a fire, surrounded in a room of endless fuel.
Nick couldn't take it anymore. All the prejudice that he and his mom had suffered through came spilling out. "That's the thing with you prey, always thinking I'm the bad guy." He said ferociously, yet with a conscious quietness. "You're probably thinking that I'm doing this for fun, right?" He questioned. Her glare never wavered. "Right?" He asked again, this time more desperately.
The bunny unknowingly nodded.
"Well let me tell you this, Fluff! Without this some families won't eat this week, and several kids will end up homeless." Her glare lightened as she listened.
His anger began to die down. He shut his eyes, trying to calm himself. "I'm not trying to hurt you or your family," He lowered his hands from behind his head. "and I'm not doing this because I want to." He boldly informed as he began to take baby steps towards her, his arms now at his sides. He took a deep breath. Exhaling before finally responding, "I'm doing this because I'm... I'm willing to take the blame. I can't stand by and have the people I care about suffer."
She had barely known him for a minute, and yet she could feel the loneliness inside of him. It off-balanced her naturally positive demeanor, making her still. She felt uncomfortably sorry for the animal, while also feeling the need to comfort him due to the expression he created on his young red face. It looked like he was punched in the gut.
"The ends - as unfortunate as they are - justify the means. I won't let... my fear outweigh the importance of my family. " He concluded.
After all the time she spent trying to do the right thing for other animals, she never realized that she was antagonizing others. She was no better than the fox. Still, this fox was no purist.
"You're not a hero." She distinctly told him. Nick's face contorted from his confusion. "Despite all the good you think you're doing, you're still a thief. You're not a hero. You've never been a hero." She answered with a preponderance.
"You hurt more people then you help."
His nostrils flared, erupting steam from the heat of his lungs into the cold air.
Up until this night, he thought he had been doing the right thing. Changing the way that people would look at foxes. Even after all the good he had done for the need of others, he was still only a pawn.
A pawn that supported the prejudice that he was lower than the lowest. He was a villain. He was overcome with greed. He was a stupid. stereotypical. fox.
His nose was inches from hers, as he had slowly gotten closer to her throughout their banter.
Flashes of Gideon ran through the bunnies mind, causing her to flinch unintentionally. She was prey after all, standing in front of her worst enemy. The animal who, if was in 1000 years in the past, would have ripped her throat apart and used her blood as a pancake batter. The one predator who she had been warned about since she could comprehend.
And yet, there was a common ground between them. Neither were the protagonist. Neither were the antagonist.
They were two children, terrified of being found out.
In their little infinity, they were the same.
"I'm so sorry that happened to you." He responded wholeheartedly while looking at her bandage. She felt his words. They imprinted on her young mind.
He slowly reached a finger out, trying to point at the bandage on her cheek. She backed up defensively. Still terrified of the young fox. She startled him, and made him pull back his hand from fear. Nick released a small breath that he had been holding in without realization. His eyes fell to the floor.
"I know you're still fresh from that. I'm sorry." He glanced at her bandage before shifting his gaze to the floor. "But please... not all predators are bad." He finished solemnly, before once again connecting their gaze. He quickly thought of his mother. "Not all foxes are bad. I promise you."
They both stood in silence, seemingly bathing in the others perspective. She didn't realize how close they were.
She wanted to apologize, but her lips failed her. She instead relied on trying to communicate through their never breaking eyesight, causing his insecure green eyes to widen before worryingly gluing themselves to the floor. She knew then that she had lost him. Lost him to the inner workings of his own mind.
"I doubt a promise from you means anything." She found herself slipping out.
The fox paused momentarily, looking up at her once again. His eyes were slightly watered, but as his gaze rose from the floor the bunny noticed a devilishly charming smirk spread across his shattered mug.
A whirring began to escalate.
In the heat of their argument, the sly fox had taken his camera back.
"Yeah well, maybe you're right." He tried to answer arrogantly, but in all honesty he took her words to heart. She had already made her mind up about him. He couldn't change her mind.
He cockily grinned, knowing he had schemed the bunny. Yet, to the young Judy Hopps, she could see past his smile that was full of charm. She saw a hint of sadness. A hint of remorse.
Unbeknownst to Judy, The fox could feel his eyes start to water with a sudden realization.
His mother wouldn't have been proud of him.
Purple met green. He saw her worrying eyes. He caught himself admiring turned sharply, his tail becoming a streak of red.
Click!
And he was gone. Gone from her view, his bag with him, her mom's necklace with it. The fox who had just been standing inches away from her mere seconds ago was gone in a snap. It was one of the first crimes she had under control and she blew it. Yet, she didn't feel angry or upset, instead she just felt lost. The cold air circulated, creating a shiver that journeyed it's way down her spine.
She would never forget those emerald eyes.
(Chapter Updated: 5/2019)
I would like to say thank you if you made it all the way to the end. It was a little hard trying to do a heist scene that still had heart to it. I went back and tried to flesh out everything too many times to count, which was so frustrating!
I approached the heist as if I were to plan one, hence all the talk about EMP's, security systems and sensors. To be honest, I'm not sure if a lot of this is technically correct, but I like the way it turned out so I just kept it the same.
There will be another chapter, but I'm not sure how long the story will be. I have some ideas to make it to the 3rd chapter, but beyond that I'm not sure. I guess it will depend on how well this story is liked!
Once again thank you for reading this, it truly means a lot. If you could drop a quick review telling me what I can improve on(and if you liked it) it would be very rewarding to me!