Author's note
Before I start, I want to say this is my very first time posting something I wrote online. Feel free to tell me your thoughts, opinions, and advice. I finished up this chapter after posting a much shorter version of it. This story revolves around Nick and Judy's lives, and their work at the ZPD, and things take a dark and unexpected turn. I won't spoil anything else for you awesome readers out there.
Nick's POV
I was half awake as the buzzing of my phone blared into my ears. I grabbed the air next to my pillow for my phone. As I searched, I felt it on the tip of my claw. The phone fell to the floor, making me sigh. Once I was on my feet, I turned off my alarm and set my phone on my dresser. I quickly got a shower, making sure to wash around my eyes, as I went to sleep late last night. I put on my police uniform, grabbed my phone, grabbed my keys, and then went for breakfast. As I ate my cereal, I got a text. It was from Judy, asking me to hurry up, and that she was waiting for me outside. I dropped my keys as I rushed out the door, not wanting to be late for the second time this week.
"Aww, does Nick needs his beauty sleep?" Judy laughed as I jumped into her car. I cracked a smile, but it would take more than that to make me set my alarm back.
"As a matter of fact I do, Carrots. The truth is, without it I wouldn't look half as good as I do." I stated professionally, placing my paw on my chest, holding my chin high. I held the pose for a second longer before Judy and I started laughing.
"You better start going to sleep earlier then because it's clearly not working." She shot back. My eyes actually widened a bit at that, not expecting such a heavy hit. She noticed my surprised face. "Got anything left in yah?" She asked, pity in her voice. I cocked my head towards her, my smile returning.
"I didn't get my beauty sleep last night." Was all I said. It wasn't my best, but getting a good amount of sleep helps me sound so charming yet so idiotic. Judy slammed on the brakes causing me to fall forward. I barely caught myself before hitting the dashboard, as I was busy on my phone.
"That should wake you up then." She said calmly. I held my smiling and sighed, rolling my eyes. Every morning was like this, and it was great. Just the two of us. We didn't talk as much the rest of the ride, as I was on my phone and she was just listening to the radio. I didn't pay attention to what exactly. After a good ten minutes, we arrived at the Zootopia Police Department.
"Good morning Nick! Good morning Judy!" Ben Clawhauser said while we walked in. Nice guy he was, even if he was a little awkward from time to time. I didn't mind though.
"Same to you Ben." Judy said looking up to him as we passed. I simply shot him a smile. Judy and I arrived for roll call as usual, and Bogo assigned jobs. We don't do this everyday. This is because some assignments can take more than one day to complete, and if you're early, just talk to Chief Bogo. It's Monday however, so we start fresh.
"Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde, you two will be responsible for investigating a domestic violence case, nothing big." Bogo said before moving onto the next assignment. Nothing big, Good enough for me, I don't mind these small simple cases, they are usually boring for sure, but when we finish, we sometimes get to leave early, or take on a more interesting case.
"Another domestic violence case, sounds exciting!" I chuckled as we left the room. Judy said goodbye to Clawhauser as we left for the parking lot.
"It's not that boring. Okay just a little." Judy responded once we got to our squad car. We got inside, and she drove us out onto the street, looking at the address she was given.
"Carrots, you know just how boring they are, but look on the bright side, if we finish early, maybe Bogo will spare us with something like a robbery." I said, looking at my phone for further entertainment. She kept silent as we drove around the city, before entering the Rainforest district. Judy had trouble finding the address right away, and we ended up going in a circle twice, but we finaly found ourselves in front of a small, discreet house off the main roads.
"Would you do the honors?" Judy asked me. I brought my paw up to the door, giving it a soft rattle. We waited for about ten seconds before Judy knocked, slow but loud, against the old wooden door. I sighed as another few moments passed with no answer.
"Come on Carrots, we can come back later, let's go get a bite to eat or something." I said before spinning around to walk to our car.
"Nick the faster we get this over with the faster we can move on to something else." She said, almost begging for someone to end her misery. I dropped my shoulders, pressing my lips together. Just as I was about to drag her to the car, the door opened, creaking the whole way, which was only a couple inches. Before Judy could peep through the door to get a better look it swung all the way open, revealing a black panther, small and frail.
"Aww, aren't you the bunny officer that stopped the nighthauler thing?" She said softly. I mentally rolled my eyes, not wanting Judy to hit me for being rude.
"You mean Nighthowlers? Yes, that's me, Judy Hopps, can I get your name?" Judy nervously said. I could tell how much she wanted to change the topic.
"My name is Helen, I believe you were sent here because of my call earlier today?" The panther spoke. At least she didn't continue on with the Nighthowlers, because I'm pretty sure Judy would have died of embarrasment. Don't get me wrong she deserves the credit, but after the obvious mistake she made with it all, I don't think she would want any.
"Yes we were, and not to be pushy, Helen, but what took so long to answer the door? It was like thirty seconds." I jumped in. It only took a second for Judy to punch my shoulder.
"Nick! Don't be rude, she probably didn't hear us." Judy spat at me with a piercing whisper. I couldn't help but smile, mostly due to Judy's knock being obnoxiously loud.
"No officer Hopps, your friend here is right. I took so long because I didn't want to answer it. I know that I made the call, but I was rather nervous. However, then I heard the young and dear voice of yours. I couldn't help but want to meet you!" Helen said with a warming smile. Heh, serves Carrots right.
"Right..." Judy said, dragging on for an entire three seconds, "So onto that call of yours, who exactly is the perpetrator?" Perpetrator. Based on what I've seen so far, someone barely touched her.
"My husband, but he left about thirty minutes ago, right after I called the department, but he should be back here by lunch, which is in about two hours, atleast I hope he will." Helen said, still smiling.
"What exactly did he do to you? You haven't gave us the slightest details yet." I said frankly. Maybe Judy would punch me again for being 'Rude'. Luckily she kept still, seeing that Helen didn't find me as such.
"Well he pushed me, and called me a few names before leaving, nothing too bad. I'm not injured or anything, just wanted to stay safe." She responded. I exhaled deeply, but not loud enough for her or Judy to notice. Calls like these are what keep us cops away from the real trouble.
"Well that's okay ma'am, but me and my friend have quite a busy schedule, and we think it'd be best if you just would give us a call when he returns." Judy said, holding her head high. Who am I kidding, she had to keep her head high this whole time, since both me and Helen are taller than her. I said my goodbyes as well, giving a joking salute to Helen before leaving. Judy and I hopped back into the squad car and drove back towards the main road.
"We could tell Bogo that we finished up here, and perhaps we could strike gold." I laughed, throwing my feet up on the dashboard. Carrots swatted at my feet, and I sighed before taking them down.
"We are not lying to Bogo to get a more interesting case, we have to take our job seriously Nick." She said, scowling at me.
"Oh please Carrots, I'm sure Bogo would agree that what we just heard back there was a waste of time. We could have been working on something important, hell, I would have rather just did paperwork at my desk." I sighed, rolling my eyes. I could tell Judy wanted to punch my shoulder again, but she was driving on the main road into central Zootopia, and it would be an understatement to say it's busy. Judy managed not to respond to my criticism of Bogo's assignment for us, probably because she knew I was right. Once we got back to the ZPD, Ben greeted us again.
"Back already! That was less than an hour!" Ben said in a friendly tone. If Bogo was the one saying that, Judy probably wouldn't have reacted as positive as she did.
"Yup! You know how fast Nick and I work!" She gave Ben a wave and we continued to Bogo's office. Judy will probably tell him exactly what I wanted her to say in the car.
"Come in!" Bogo said simply, before Carrots and I slide through the door. We both took a seat in front of his desk. Bogo looked both angry and surprised, "Back already? Please enlighten me Hopps." He shot at us.
"It was an open shut case, there was almost no problem at all, Helen, the lady who called, told us she just wanted to play it safe." I mentally patted myself on the shoulder as Judy did exactly what I wanted. Without Bogo realizing, she shot an evil glare at me, letting me know not to push her about it.
"Alright, well I guess you two deserve a little treat then." Bogo put on his glasses and turned to his computer. His eyes widened before he turned backa to us. "Just a moment ago we got a call about a robbery, I think you two can handle it, after all, Nick, I know how boring you think these domestic violence calls are." He finished. Like I said, Judy and I just struck gold. When officers take on robbery, murder, or any cases like those, everyone wants to at least ask one question about it. Judy and I got up from our seats and left his office after he gave us the remaining details.
Judy and I were quite on our way to get extra equipment for our gold mine. As we packed, multiple of our co-workers asked us what we were in for. One that stands out is Alex, a slender, but athletic wolf who I talk to often when I get bored of doing paperwork. I even went on a few rides with him, nothing spectacular, just some minor calls.
"Is that a vest I see? Nick, are you sure you can handle this?" Alex smirked. I knew he was refering to the vest and not the robbery itself. He also likes to joke around, similarly to how Judy and I do.
"Don't worry, I've had special training for this piece of equipment. Certified Kevlar officer, Nick Wilde." I said, my sarcastic ego shooting through the roof. Alex then patted me on the shoulder.
"Good luck, and whatever you do, be careful." He said slowly, being much more serious than before. I nodded my head and he strolled away.
"I'm surprised you guys don't hang out more often," Judy got my attention, "He seems like the guy that's there when you need him, but is also witty and fun to be around, similar to yourself." She pondered. I understood what she meant, Alex was a great guy, but I just don't seem to have the time for other friends, as Judy took up quite a lot of that time.
"Maybe I'll find the time someday, let's focus on our mission, Judy." I redirected the conversation. I don't usually call her Judy unless I am serious and focused. We finished getting our appropriate gear ready, such as tranquilizers, Kevlar vest, and a few other small gadgets. Judy and I ran out to the parking lot, realizing we already were taking to long to get going. Ben didn't even get a goodbye from Judy, which is a rare occurrence. I threw myself into the squad car as Judy started the engine. She really wanted to make us for lost time, since a screech escaped the car as we drove off. Judy turned on the siren, and slid right through all traffic in our way. "Hey Carrots, I just want to let you know, robbery is a pretty big deal, especially at a mall." I told her. I probably should have worded it differently, because she may take it the wrong way.
"You think I can't handle a robbery? Nick, you know I scored top of my class during training." She responded, not daring to even looking at me with how fast she was driving. I knew she would take it as an insult rather than a precaution. Classic Carrots. She swerved into the parking lot of the Central Zootopia Mall, making me grab the door for safety. Once we parked, she hopped out of the car, no pun intended. I followed behind her as we jogged towards the mall's front entrance. Two officers to stop a mall robbery, I guess Chief Bogo really did trust us. Judy and I were across from each other, the two sets of doors between us. I peeped inside, darkness. The mall appeared to be closed, but then who would have reported this? There was no alarm going off.
"Nick, on three, you take the right door, I'll take left." She commanded. I nodded my head, awaiting her countdown. "One..." She started, I could see her fingers readjusting around her tranquilizer, "Two..." I sensed how nervous she was, and she had every right to be. I was right there with her anyways. "Three!" She declared before the two of us bolted through the doors, which were unlocked for some reason. I think Bogo chose us specifically for this because we were the two smallest officers, light on our feet, and harder to hit. I had to put my mind in the right place, because although I always act confident and charming, I can be just as nervous as Judy. Once inside, we walked slowly, keeping our entire upper bodies completely still, tranquilizers raised. The ZPD doesn't give us lethal guns for the vast majority of the work we do, this is because it isn't necessary when we can knock them out instantly, almost like simulating death, but for only a period of time. We didn't know exactly where to look in the mall, so Judy and I walked on opposing sides of the large corridor. We continued like this until we searched everywhere, except for entering each individual store and diner of course. We were beginning to theorize that the thieves had already left, and we were wasting our time.
"Hey Judy, I think we hit a dead end here. I think we should report back to Bogo." I told her quietly from across a set of benches and plants. Judy walked around the benches, about to respond. Then a ringing tore through my eardrums. I felt light-headed, my mind void of any thought. I looked down and saw my fur damp with blood. As the ringing faded, all I could hear was Judy screaming as I fell backwards, my vision blurring. We didn't strike gold.
Author's Note
Yes that took quite a dark turn. I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter, I wrote a storyboard, ideas, concept and everything, and was even a bit scared of writing a fanfic, something I have never done before. Please leave a review about what you think, if I should improve on anything, and if I represented the characters well, and I'll hopefully get chapter two out before long.
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Oh yeah I almost forgot, I need a "Catchy" little saying that I use at the end of each author's note. Shit, I don't know. Anyways, since I wrote this while on break, I have the time to write chapters much quicker, so if I post three in the next four days, try not to get used to it.
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Some extra words, not to get the word count to three thousand in total or anything to that sort, don't mind me here. Stalling? I'm not stalling anything. Yes you are. No I'm not. *Points finger at me* You are... you are doing it right now. I'm stalling? Yes! Stalling? STALLING! You think I'm stalling? EEHHH WHAT AM I IN CRAZY TOWN?! I HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS NONSENSE!