A/N: Hey, what's up? I'm Spook (Or spectre, whichever you'd like) and this is my first attempt at fanfiction! Hopefully I've done everything properly in terms of formatting, rating, publishing, and such, and if not let me know. Please let me know how I did story wise too!
I've had ideas bouncing around in my head for a while and I finally decided to organize them into a story. I had a tough time deciding what sort of tone I wanted this to have, and finally decided it should be exactly what it is: creepiness dropped Into the middle of a Disney movie, with emphasis on the creepiness.
Even though it starts off focusing on Nick, it won't really focus on anyone in particular, this was just a way to introduce it, and to set the tone for how Nick feels, since a lot has changed for him since the events of the movie.
So, without further ado, enjoy
...
Nick stirred from his sleep, his radio alarm going off. Good morning zootopia! The time is currently 5:30 AM, Monday morning. The weather forecast for today looks like we're starting the day nice and clear, just a few clouds, temperature hovering in the mid-70s, but as we get further into the morning up to the afternoon we're going to see a storm coming in from over the water to the southeast. You can expect some moderate rain and some lightning, nothing serious but a bad day for a picnic…
Nick shut his alarm off. Even though it was early Monday morning, he was happy to be awake. Today was going to be another day of his new life. He had become a respected member of the community and got to work a meaningful job with a good friend. Nothing could get in his way. Not even Monday morning.
He got out of bed and went about his morning routine. He made coffee, took a shower, got dressed, and ate breakfast. He pinned his badge to his chest and smiled at what he saw in the mirror. After all these years he could be himself, and not have to lie and cheat his way through life. It was like he had finally become a member of the ranger scouts.
He left his apartment complex and began his walk to the precinct. The sun was just rising and not very many animals were out and about yet. The golden yellow morning light gave everything a warm hue. He smiled as he passed by mammals, a few saying 'good morning officer' to him as he walked along. He beamed every time, and gave them an enthusiastic 'good morning to you too!' to every one of them, adjusting his sunglasses accordingly.
Once he made it to the precinct, he strolled in and saw Judy and Clawhauser, chatting away about nothing in particular, as always. They both spotted him and halted their conversation.
"Good morning Nick!" Judy said, Clawhauser waving as well.
"Good morning Mr and Ms gossip!" He quipped.
"Yeah right, like we actually gossip," Judy said
"I'll believe it when I hear it fluff. So what's new around here?" He said, leaning up against the front desk.
"Well, my favorite donut place just released a new flavor, orange creamsicle. Imagine that! I can't wait to try it."
"Sounds a little horrific but you gotta try new things. How about you Carrots?"
"Eh, nothing much… Oh! We're getting new assignments today!" Judy said, a smile forming as she realized this.
"Yeah, I'm getting a little tired of the three P's myself." He said, referring to the infamous 'Patrol, Paperwork, and Parking duty.' Ben chimed in, hoping to get them excited.
"Well then I have some good -well, good for you two- news, a margay went missing in the rainforest district and I think you two might just get the case."
"Well, we are good at those aren't we Nick?"
"Yes we are carrots, yes we are," He replied with his usual smirk. He then checked his watch.
"Looks like we should head over to the bullpen," he said. She nodded and they both said their goodbyes to Clawhauser.
They made their way into the briefing room and sat in their shared chair. Judy sat there smiling, while Nick assumed his normal posture. She looked at him, a little confused.
"Aren't you excited Nick? A real case!" She asked. He tried very hard to be his usual, flat self, but her excitement got the best of him.
"Yeah, this Is a little exciting," he admitted as a more genuine smile spread across his face.
"Ha! good ol' slick Nick is coming out of his shell!"
Nick gave another eye roll.
"Just for you fluff."
Their little moment was then interrupted by Higgins shouting and the chief bursting through the door, followed by a cacophony of pounding and grunting. He walked to the podium and bellowed out his greeting.
"Alright, alright... ALRIGHT! You guys need to quit doing that..." he said, lamenting the tradition. He then began giving assignments. After he made his way through roughly half the room he got to Nick and Judy.
"Hopps, Wilde, a margay recently went missing in the rainforest district, it may be drug related so keep a lookout for gang activity. Try not to get yourselves into any crazy ordeals this time, please?" He said with a smile, knowing their track record with missing mammal cases. The Chief handed Nick the case file. The two saluted him and walked out of the briefing room.
"Yes! I knew we'd get the case!" Judy said, beaming.
"Let's look this thing over," Nick said with a hint of excitement. They went back to their office space to check it out. Nick placed the folder on the desk and sat down in his chair, Judy taking a seat on the desk.
"Steven Paradit. Margay. Male. Age 24. Works in graphic design and marketing for Targoat. Also a known small time catnip dealer. No criminal record aside from nonviolent drug offenses. Came from a working-class family and according to them only deals to close friends for recreational purposes and is generally kind, nonviolent, and law-abiding..." Nick read aloud.
"Hah, 'generally law-abiding,' aside from selling illegal drugs. Anything detailing the circumstances of his disappearance?" Judy asked.
"Says here he called his friend, Paul, at around 8 O'clock Saturday night, saying he was hearing strange noises outside his house. Apparently he hung up and went to investigate and he hasn't been heard from since."
"Strange noises? Does it give any description?"
"Nope."
"He is a catnip dealer, he's gotta be connected with organized crime at some level. Perhaps his 'friends only' thing wasn't working out so they called a hit on him?"
"Seems possible… why don't we check out the scene?"
"That's probably our best bet, let's go," Judy said as she hopped off the desk. Nick got out of his chair and they headed to the garage, talking along the way.
"So, I'm thinking we should interview this guy's friend about what kind of noises he was hearing if we don't get anything from the scene," Judy said.
"and we should probably talk to some neighbors and family, ask if he had been acting strangely recently" Nick replied.
"Good thinking, maybe he knew he was in trouble," she said as they walked through the door into the garage. They got to their cruiser and climbed in. Judy pulled it out of its spot and began working her way out of the parking garage.
They made it to the exit and the mammal on garage duty opened the door for them. As it slid up, the door revealed the dreary day it had become. Moderate rain and occasional thunder.
"Well, the weather really took a turn for the worse," Nick said as they drove out, the rain hitting the roof of their cruiser.
"I don't mind it really. I've always liked the sound of rain," Judy said.
"I tell ya carrots, I don't think I've ever met someone who doesn't," Nick replied as he sank a bit into his seat, enjoying the cozy dreariness.
"Now all you need is a blanket and some tea."
"Maybe a Long Island iced tea…"
"Oh you! Lazy drunkard," Judy teased. The drive was smooth and relaxing. No emergency calls, no traffic stops, just a car ride in the rain. Nick didn't show it, but he was pretty happy at the moment, riding around with Judy, going to investigate their first real case in weeks. After half an hour of working their way through the streets in the rain, they finally arrived at their destination, the home of Mr. Paradit.
It was a quite modern home, with a flat, sloping roof. The front of the house was entirely metal, wood, and large picture windows. It was on a quaint street, with most of the other houses being more typical looking. Behind it was thick rainforest.
"How about we check the inside first?" Nick said, wanting to avoid the rain.
"I like that idea," Judy replied as she put on her rain gear. They got out of their cruiser, stepped under the police tape, and made their way to the door. Nick took out the keys that had been provided with the file and unlocked it. They stepped inside and looked everything over.
"Well, I guess you could say that dealing was probably not his main source of income, otherwise we would be in big trouble standing here," Nick noted, looking around at the well decorated, ultra-modern interior.
"Yeah he's either the mob boss or the graphic design boss," Judy joked. They began looking for signs of a struggle or intrusion into the house, but everything seemed to be in order. They made their way to different rooms to look for smaller pieces of evidence, and Judy was in the kitchen when Nick called to her from upstairs.
"Well carrots, I think I found his stash… definitely not a very big one..." He shouted as he removed a plastic bag with a small amount of what was apparently catnip from a case on the dresser.
"That kinda leaves out any sort of gang activity!" She replied.
"We don't know that yet!" He said, mostly in agreement but not wanting to rule things out. Judy then called out to him.
"I found his phone! It was just sitting on the counter in here!" She said.
"Hopefully that has something useful on it," Nick said, now coming down the stairs.
"Well, I didn't find anything other than the phone, did you?" She asked him.
"Other than the catnip, no."
"I guess it can't hurt to check the outside..." She said as she looked out at the rain. They put their raincoats on and shuffled outside. They split up, Judy going to the left of the house, Nick taking the right. They walked around the perimeter and Judy found something as she rounded the corner to the backyard.
"Nick, you gotta come see this."
Nick quickly jogged over.
"There are claw marks in the ground here… some seriously deep claw marks. it's like he got dragged away into the forest…" She said, taking a picture of the now muddy trail leading into the brush. They both kneeled to get a better look.
"It's not very long. It's like he was tackled by someone hiding in the foliage and dragged away," Nick said.
"Yeah but there's only one set of claw marks…" She said, trailing off as she noticed a bit of fur stuck to some barbed weed. She picked it up with her gloved paw and put it in an evidence bag.
"Good eye carrots," Nick said as he stood up to look further into the brush. Judy stayed down, looking for more pawprints, or hoof prints for that matter.
"Yeah I just wish I could see some signs of another individual," she said. Nick didn't see any signs of the foliage disrupted, and it would be impossible to track someone now that it was raining. He turned around and gasped.
"Oh my god… Judy..." He said, calmly but clearly caught off guard.
"What, what is it?" She said, standing up. She looked at him to see a shocked expression on his face. Then she realized what he was looking at. On the side of the house were dozens if not hundreds of claw marks and holes in the siding. Nick stepped closer to get a better look.
"Any idea what they're from?" Judy asked.
"No clue... this doesn't make sense…" He said as Judy walked over.
"It looks like it was made by sets of 2 claws… what has 2 claws?" She said.
"Not only that, but what can climb on walls like this? And how many of them were there?"
"Nick I don't like this."
"Really? Gee this looks like a good ol' time to me fluff," He joked, nervous about the implications of this find. Judy snapped a picture of the wall. They stood looking in silence for a few moments before Judy spoke up again.
"Gosh Nick, this is really strange... I just can't imagine what in the world could have done this," she said. They stood there staring at the wall in total disbelief. Nick touched the siding, feeling the ridges of the claw marks.
"Well, at least now we know we're probably dealing with multiple suspects…" She said as they began to walk back to their cruiser. They discussed some more before getting in. They put their seatbelts on, started the car, and drove off in the rain. Little did the two officers know they were being watched from a nearby parked car.
In a black sedan with heavily tinted windows sat two mammals, both in business suits. A snow leopard was in the driver's seat, and she was currently holding her tail in her mouth. Beside her was a whitetail deer. The 6 point buck looked over at his partner.
"Would you quit it with the tail thing? that can't be hygienic. That giant duster sweeps everything you walk on," he said. She glared at him, her voice muffled by her tail.
"Oh stop it, you know I do this when I'm nervous," she replied. This statement caught him off guard.
"Nervous?" He said. She dropped her tail to respond.
"What did they find that would have them talking so much? Maybe it's worse than we thought… maybe they know too much… if I'm right about what is going on, it's not going to be a fun time. There are a million reasons I'm nervous," she said. This left him silent, mulling over the possibilities. Stranger things have happened… he thought, dreading what they were getting into this time.