Chapter 2- The Café

Thursday, 3:54pm

Nick had tried his best to explain who the leopard in the photo was and what her connection to him was. He dodged all the messy parts that involved him, he didn't want to make the tension in the room any worse.

Bogo rubbed his temples, "So, you're telling me that this woman was your accomplice?"

Nick glanced at Judy, who was watching him intently, hiding her jealousy well, and then back at Bogo, "You could say that. It was only a one time thing though, I only worked with her once."

"What about her boss?" Bogo leaned forward in his seat eagerly.

"If I'm honest, Chief, if he's looking for me I'm better skipping town if I want to live." Nick said rubbing his neck.

"And why would he want to kill you, Wilde?"

"I don't want to bore you with the details, but I hurt him bad and I don't he'll spare me any pain if he finds out I'm a cop." Nick sighed, "what's this 'big deal' you mentioned?"

Bogo shrugged, "I was hoping you could shed some light on that." He gets up from his seat and takes the case file from Nick who reluctantly hands it over. "What is this big boss' name?"

"Mr Croc, not the most creative name for a crocodile but he's no joke." Nick sighed, "I found that out the hard way. Look the guy has his claws in everything. Gambling, theft, organised crime, kidnap and probably murder. He hates cops. But other than that I don't know much about him, just that if he's looking for me I'd be better off faking my death."

"But…" Judy piped up optimistically, "you are not going to do that because you are a policeman, and with that comes responsibility."

She always had to be right didn't she?

Smart little bunny.

"Yeah. Carrots is right. But I'll need to lay low for a bit." Nick said, a slight bit of panic edging into his voice.

"Actually" Chief Bogo said, leaning back in his chair, "you said he doesn't like cops? You could go undercover, infiltrate his organisation from the inside."

"Nick is the first fox on the ZPD, his face has been all over the news, there isn't a chance that Mr Croc doesn't know that Nick is on the force." Judy defended. The last thing she wanted was Nick in danger without her there to help him.

"And he also hates me so he would never trust me." Nick pointed out.

Bogo breathed heavily, "What if he was to give you another chance, to prove yourself to him, would you consider it?"

Nick raised an eyebrow, "And how do you suppose I do that?"

(Scene Break)

Thursday, 7:13pm

He couldn't believe that it worked. Here he was, sitting in a café downtown, waiting to meet with Tanya, the leopard from his past.

Nick was sure Bogo's plan would fall through, that there was no way Mr Croc would believe that Nick was a dirty cop. Did he really have that bad of a reputation that people honestly thought he was sleazy? Sly yes, but sleazy?

He took another sip of his coffee nervously.

Judy was in the café too, hidden at one of the tables at the back. Ready to jump into action if needed. She had his back as always.

He could sense Tanya before she sat down. The familiar fragrance of musk filled his nostrils as she sat down. Dressed all in black, you would think she had been to a funeral, maybe she had, maybe the poor soul was her innocent victim, he would never know. She wore a black beret to finish off the outfit, but kept it on even though she was indoors. "Nicholas. Long time no see" Tanya spoke softly in her Spanish accent, her pearly teeth shining, catching the last rays of sunshine.

"Yeah." Nick said, bewildered by her still apparent beauty. "Let's cut the crap and get down to business, huh?" He said, wanting to get as much info from her as possible.

Tanya tutted, "Always in such a hurry, Nicholas" she said, looking at him from under her long lashes.

Nick shrugged, "I'm a busy man."

"So I've seen. Becoming friends with that cute little bunny. I'm surprised you haven't eaten her." Tanya laughed.

Nick wanted to snap at her, tell her to leave Judy out of it, but he had to remember that he was still undercover, sort of.

"I like to keep my cop status without killing my partner. The job has its perks, I'm tellin' you this is the path all us criminals should take. You should see the bribes I take!" Nick boasted, hating every second of it.

Tanya blinked causally, as if Nick hadn't said anything, "Mr Croc is very interested in you. He thinks you could be very resourceful to him."

"Does he really? I'm glad someone is finally seeing my potential." Nick said sarcastically. "And he doesn't hold a grudge anymore?"

Tanya didn't say anything.

Nick's eyes widened in amusement, "Ah, so it's a trap then?"

"Not at all, Nicholas. Mr Croc is still very angry at you, but you are the only person who can get him what he wants"

"Really?" Nick asked, keeping his voice as full of sarcasm as he could, "and what would that be?"

Tanya smiled, "Your bunny friend."