Chapter 1 – Rumor Mill
I was scared. That case set off too many alarms for me to comfortably tackle with the same enthusiasm I usually did. I wanted to pass it off, have someone else take a crack at it but it was Nick's lead and he'd taken the reigns. Part of me still wonders how differently things would have gone had I told him that we shouldn't have gone through with it. I know that if I tried hard enough, he'd have given in to me. But perhaps it was best that it happened to us of all animals. Cause honestly, I would not have wished what we'd gone through on anyone else.
~Judy Hopps
~o~~~o~
She wakes in a haze, carrying the scent of early morning heavy in her nostrils as she snorts uncharacteristically. She rolls from side to side, trying to find the edge of the much larger bed so her legs could dangle off them but the soft mattress feels larger than it actually is and she never finds purchase over the sides of the bed. She grunts in frustration but it comes out like a sigh in her meek little throat. So she falls asleep again, letting her body relax into the mattress.
Her dreams are misty, basked in the soft mysticism of an erstwhile twilight that chased the morning sun away. But she is at home with the shadows of the languid night, quiet and contemplative as it draws her into her deepest thoughts. There are tufts of orange fur in her dream, drenched in a sea of lavender silk, mixing with her steely grey that glistened with sweat and contorted when they pressed desperately together. There is a warm breath that tickles her ears as he whispers sweet nothings into them. His roving chest is thick and toned, heaving over her as she digs her paws into the silk beneath them. She dares to touch him, feeling her fingertips catch fire as his skin burns softly at her tender caress that trails over his chest then around his neck. But this dream is ephemeral, caught clocked in mere seconds in her mind that was altogether too brief to remember. Then she wakes again, an hour later from her last, with stardust etching her lashes, forgetting the dream but feeling heat pool to her cheeks nonetheless. She blinks away the drowsiness, rubbing her eyes as she yawns strong and long. Her muscles loosen and her bones snap into place. She groans audibly this time as she throws herself off the bed, landing with a muffled thud upon the carpeted maroon floor.
Her eyes scan the room, faintly remembering where she was as reality fought to return to her. This is his room, she thought, the one he should've slept in had she not collapsed onto his bed last night out of exhaustion.
The room is filled with mismatched objects, oddities and garage sale bargains he'd accumulated over the years but the room had too many empty spaces amidst the furnishings where dust gathered thick. There is a desk she is only almost sure is her own and, if she could recall correctly, it is the only thing in the room that is really hers. His cabinet is large, a third higher than it should be for a little rabbit but she kept her clothes in there anyway. There is an old fern by the window, rare and, as Nick could barely recall, probably stolen from some forgotten chapter in his life. The ceiling fan is old but fine, rimmed with chapped gold and a false jade coating. Nick got that from a trash bin and restored it with a little ingenuity. Fox would take anything if he could make it look valuable, she thinks.
Unconsciously she straightens her spine and fixes herself the brightest smile she can muster, then pushes through the door with a not-so-unconscious sway in her hips. She makes a pass at the sofa from behind in the middle of the living room, trying to catch a glimpse of the sly fox. But she makes it to the side and huffs when she realizes that he isn't there, just a folded blanket and stacked pillows. Sighing, she plops onto it, lying on the haphazardly woven together cloth, wondering after her partner.
She eyes the vanity against the window by the TV, seeing her own reflection on the cracked glass as it splinters over her ears. Nick got it on a discount in a garage sale. He wanted to spruce it up, have it painted by a professional through a favor and replace the glass by cutting out the right piece from a large enough elephant mirror from the local dumpster. But then she came over, heated breath, face burning from anger as she fought tears. Her neighbors wouldn't let her sleep as they blasted their music through the thin walls. They told her off when she tried to talk them down. She called in a complaint for public disturbance and left fuming when she found out that her landlady didn't care. She walked into his living room and cried in his arms. And after an hour of that, she laughed at the ugly faded pink that was the vanity, wondering why he'd bought such a thing.
She shut up when he said it was for her.
It was supposed to be a surprise and she couldn't help but feel like she'd ruined it. But he patted her on the head and smiled, telling her that she can just pretend to be surprised when he's done.
She's lived here for about a month now and the vanity hasn't left the room. When asked why, Nick would only tell her that he was still getting things ready and that she'll just have to be a patient little bunny until then. So when she huffs, he laughs. When she rolls her eyes, he hugs her. When she nestles her head against his neck after an exasperated sigh, he nuzzles her. And then she forgets to keep asking questions.
She sits up, puffing out her chest. Her tank top hangs loosely, doing little to hide her tiny breasts that were already hard enough to see behind the large tuft of fur. She squeezes them together, feebly trying to make them larger, easily surrendering like she always did. Her shorts are comfortable and baggy, with a waist band that sags only a little on the side because they aren't even hers. She can't quite place how she ended up having them with her but this is the third consecutive night she's worn his shorts and part of her wishes that bothered her more.
She eyes the shoddy plastic wall clock and realizes that she only has an hour till she has to come in for work. "Breakfast," she announces to the empty room, a hint of loneliness tilting her lip.
She turns on the TV, letting the news fill the empty air. "Mr. Harrier from the Mildew Burrows brings with him an entourage-" She pays the news little mind and makes her way into the kitchen.
The kitchen is a ghost of another place and another time, with a stove so old and bright blue that it looks like it came from a retro 60's sitcom. The cupboards are creaky and bright yellow with the wood skin peeling off its face. The sink is scratched and more than a little loose against its frame but luckily isn't rusted. The counter is the only pristine thing here, marble with smooth modern drawers. The counter wasn't originally there. Nick had it fixed into place with some of his earnings. It was supposed to be the first step into turning this bland little discount apartment into a modern luxury home but in comparison to the rest of the room, it is gaudy and bright, a stark contrast to the brown and faded white, cracked tiles and stained walls.
On the counter is a plastic plate with a collard green salad on it. A few sliced strawberries are hidden underneath it, peeking out with their distinct bright red. It is neatly covered in cling wrap with a note taped to its side that reads: Heard a rumor. I'll see you at the precinct. Sorry, ran out of dressing. Hope you still like it. Heat for 45 seconds. -Nick
She waits for her breakfast to microwave when her phone rings.
"Jude the dude!" her dad announces, much to the delight of her earnest siblings bustling in the background.
"Hi, honey," her mother edges into the frame, "ooh! Is that a new apartment? It looks so much bigger than the other one! Do you think it can fit the whole family? I'm sure your siblings would just love to come over."
She coughs, trying to stall so her thoughts can gather. There is a hint of panic beneath her cheeks but she holds steadfast. Quickly enough, she responds. "Yeah, Nick helped me find it but I'm planning to get a different one instead. This one just isn't working for me. I've got my eye on one closer to the precinct. Bigger too, with two bedrooms! As soon as I get it, I'll let you know so we can plan a visit. I'd love to show you guys the city."
"Well that sounds great, kiddo!" her dad exclaims, "We'll make a big deal about it and maybe take Gideon along!"
"Gideon? Why would-"
"That'd be perfect!" her mother excitedly jumped in, "make it a full family trip!" She proceeded to go on about various activities while Judy's ears flopped with a hard grit of her teeth; she could barely get a word in edge-wise.
"Oh!" Her father looks to the side, spotting something that shocks him. "Sorry, Judy, we gotta go!"
"Um… okay! Love you! Bye!" She waves at them hurriedly and the call ends abruptly at her mother waving and just before her dad could.
Judy was an honest girl, or so she swears, but being cunning didn't require such a saintly descriptor. But there was no denying that she could lie through her teeth like a pro now, with a leveled calm you could hustle a conman with alongside wit with the propensity of greased lightning. She owed much of it in part to Nick. Dumb fox was rubbing off on her and again she had hoped that that bothered her more.
She really had planned on getting that larger apartment, that part wasn't a lie. But she couldn't tell them she was living with Nick. She'd talked about the one bedroom bachelor pad in a shady part of the town and the mere thought of her partner owning a place like that made them reel, more so if it turned out she was now living in it even if it was temporary. And if they came by early anyway and they recognized the kitchen Nick owned was remarkably similar? She'd just pass it off as her switching ownerships with Nick and that she'd be living in a hotel till her belongings were delivered to the new apartment. And if they found out she was sleeping there? Late night planning for another case. She had alibis at the ready, a veritable plethora of them to ensure that this little lie doesn't come out.
It didn't excite her, lying, but it was a skill she picked up too naturally to ignore, just a modification to her cunning that happened to mesh well with her partnership. Nick had a habit of pulling less-than-ethical lies to pull them out of things and she could run along with them as if they shared the same mind. And that thought, that thought seriously should have bothered her more.
We're all liars, he once said, everyone single one of us. But that doesn't make us the bad guys.
Another ring from her phone drew her from her stupor. "Nick?" Speak of the devil.
"Found a lead for a case." His breath was bated, like he'd been running. She heard him inhale as a heavy breeze tore through the air.
"What case? Nick, are you alright?"
"I'm fine." He gasped. "It's an old case. I'll fill you in when I see you." She heard rustling in the background, the crunching of snow with heavy footsteps.
"You're in Tundra Town!?"
"Gotta go!" He hung up.
An exasperated sigh escaped her tiny lips as she got up. Just what had Nick gotten himself into this time? She tried to chase her fears away, trusting that he'll make it back to her again. This wasn't the first time he'd found trouble while chasing a lead and it certainly won't be the last. The best she could do was trust him. But that didn't stop her from chewing her lip.
She left quickly, locking the door with the spare key he gave her, and hoped that he'd be there at the precinct when she arrived so she didn't have to panic and rush to Tundra Town herself. There was little comfort when the car was still parked outside, even less so when she realized that he hadn't taken his spare car key off her key ring.
When she enters the precinct she waves at Remy, a quiet goat with a smile as old as the building. His orange jumpsuit is wrinkled and haphazardly stitched together from wear and tear. It was the oldest variant for the custodians but one he has never wanted to exchange, proud for his decades of service. Etched on this his right breast is the woven lettering of his name, mirroring the one etched on the face of his cap whose colors are faded but altogether still there.
She is greeted by her colleagues as she makes her way to the front desk where Clawhauser sits, his eager fingers tracing the edge of an unopened donut box. "Hey, Clawhauser, is Nick in yet?"
"Oooh," he bites his lip apologetically, "I'm sorry. I just came in so I couldn't tell you." He looks from side to side, scanning the area in panic. "Please don't tell the Chief. He'd have a fit if he found out I came in late again!"
She rolls her eyes and nods. Then her face twists, as if considering something. "Why have you been coming in late anyway? It isn't like you."
"Been binge watching Wild Hunt," he replied sheepishly, "I swear I'll start arriving on time just as soon as I'm done with it."
"You have to start controlling yourself. You'll get another series one day and you'll repeat the process. I don't want you losing your job over a TV show!"
"I…" he sighs, he knows she's right and there's no way he could win an argument with Judy Hopps of all animals. Only Nick could do that and that required a very different level of skill that he's familiar with. "I understand. I'll cut down on the late night watching." He paused contemplatively, almost instantly brightening up when he did so. "But I make no apologies for loving Ylda Braveheart," he announces proudly, much to her amusement.
She ponders for a bit, him half expecting her to give him an irrefutable rebuttal. What she says is much, much worse. "Ylda or donuts?"
He gasps. "How could you even ask such a thing?" She giggled. He laughed.
He offered her a donut, the snare to his cunning trap. She took it without a second thought, thanking him. But as she chewed the strawberry filling, cooing at the taste he knows she'd long been wanting, he spoke. "So… I heard from down the grapevine that you moved in with Nick." His eyebrows did a suggestive wave.
"Well, yeah. Couldn't stand my old place."
"Ooh! Taking it to the next level, huh?"
She lifted an eyebrow, not sure what to make of what he was saying. "Taking what to the next level?"
"Your relationship, duh!" he jovially remarks as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
And really, it should have been but Judy was unfamiliar with the term "relationship" in the way everyone else did. Most of her friends were in the family and she'd associated the term with such. To her, Nick was the best friend she'd ever had and "the next level" meant that they'd only gotten to know each other better which was nothing to be ashamed of.
"Well I suppose living with him for a month has gotten us closer." She chews her lip. She wasn't sure if she should be sharing her thoughts with Clawhauser but she trusted him like the rest of the station did. He could keep a secret, right? No, she knew that wasn't true. Whatever the rumor mill chewed out about them living together was probably somebody's secret. But she couldn't keep it to herself, not this. She looks at him and sees that same innocent smile she'd grown to love and she knew that, in the very least, he wouldn't do anything that could harm her relationship with her best friend. "You know, Clawhauser," she paused only for a split second, catching herself quickly, "to be honest, I'm not really sure how to feel about how he's been rubbing off on me."
"Ah, trouble in paradise?" He seemed concerned but he was screaming inside. It felt so scandalous! His face threatened to twist into a grin, inappropriate with the topic at hand but it just felt right. He could not wait to tell the gang at the donut shop about this. But his heart sank when he realized what she just said.
"No, not really," oh, that was a relief, "just… well I wish I was more bothered by it, really."
"Hopps!" Chief Bogo called from afar, making his way to them.
"Yeah, Chief Bogo?" He hands her a thick case file which she almost drops due to its surprising heft. She struggles with it, cradling the folder in her arms with some difficulty. "What is this?"
"The case file Wilde was looking for. He was in the records room yesterday looking for it."
Clawhauser's eyes widened, unsure of what to make of it. He knew that Bogo wouldn't dare mess with the records in the basement. But there was one case he was sure he kept looking at regardless. The one he'd dig up if he found the time on some particularly relaxed day. He knew it made Bogo tense and uneasy, but it would make sense that he'd just decided to keep it with him. The thought of it though, it still wracked his mind, calling back memories of yesteryear's demons he was sure the buffalo still kept looming overhead. "Is this-?"
"Yes, the Bronc Town Abductions." He spoke calmly, as if it wasn't the one damning thing that haunted his career, and the cheetah was almost in complete shock at the way he basically passed it off.
"What's that?" Of course Judy didn't know what it was, Clawhauser thought, she was in the burrows tending fields and growing crops. The dark clouds looming overhead in the cities and towns of tomorrow were of little consequence to those who lived so far away from them. It's not like it was all over the news either. Back then it was just chalked up as a set of forgettable happens-all-the-time disappearances. And even then it was buried under the announcement of Gazelle's album, and the political power struggle between Lionheart and Councilor Treads for next season's elections. He frowned at the thought that such a devastating case was swept under the rug by the media.
And then he realized that they had gone silent. Judy twisted her foot into the ground, trying not to show how incredibly embarrassed she was at making her chief so distraught. Speaking of which, Bogo hadn't met their gazes at all. His stoic visage vanished, a thin layer of weakness passing through him like a specter. Then his snout tightened and he fixed them a straight, pointed look. "It was–" he faltered momentarily, "–it was a series of kidnappings. I was assigned to it early on in my career. It's the only case on my personal record that has gone unsolved."
"Unsolved?" She looked at Clawhauser, who she swore held distress in those eyes, before returning to Bogo. "For how long?"
"Ten years cold." He shook his head, as if chasing the thought of it away. "I trust that you and Nick will be able to put it to rest."
She almost made to go right there and then, twisting her waist in the direction of her and Nick's joint office, but she turned to them, seeing the looks on their faces and felt like she was the most innocent bunny in the world for not knowing what damning quality the case in her paws held. "What made it so difficult to solve?"
"I'm sure Nick will fill you in." And at that, Chief Bogo walked away.
Clawhauser watched as Judy fought to decipher just what had happened, but then she shook her head and made her way to her office. "I'll talk to you later, Clawhauser."
It was like her first day on the job, carrying a level of innocence he was sure would be the death of her. Just like before, but without the spring in her step, entirely unaware of the weight that was about to be put on her shoulders. And he sighed, a familiar disdain dropping into his gut as he catches the memory of Bogo tearing himself apart and fears that Judy would soon do the same.
"Coffee?" Nick offered immediately as she pushed the door open with her shoulder. He tugged his mug away as she dropped the thick case file onto the twin desks that stood in the middle of the room, back-to-back. He pulled another mug meant for her from behind him, sliding it into her hands as she sat on the desk beside him.
She takes an appreciative sip and lets out a pleasant sigh. "Thanks, Ni-" her eyes widened in horror as she looked up at him. "Nick! What happened to you!?"
His eye was only slightly swollen, his toothy grin nudging the black bulge sordidly. His uniform was unfrayed, however, clean and neatly pressed against his lean frame, shades hanging off his breast pocket. If he wanted to cover his eye, he honestly should have used it, she thought. And he would have had it not sat uncomfortably over the bulge, making it sting.
"Uh…" he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Would you believe me if I told you I tripped and fell?"
She looked at him with disbelief. "Nick!"
"No, I'm serious!" he waved his hands to stall her. She huffed and motioned for him to explain himself.
"So… I went over to Mr. Big in Tundra Town to confirm a few rumors. And while I was there, the polar bears dragged me into some drinking after my business."
"You were out drinking!?" She almost slammed her coffee down, heat pooling across her temple.
"No, no! Calm down, don't get so emotional yet." She eased at that, simply glad he wasn't stupid enough to go drinking so early in the morning. She actually felt rather silly assuming he would do such a thing. Because despite his flaws, she knew he was still incredibly sensible.
"They were drinking in one of the train cars and most of the floor outside was covered in a foot of snow. So when I told them I had to go, I stepped out a little too quickly and misjudged where my feet would land. I ended up jumping onto a rock under the snow then I stumbled and fell onto one of the train tracks." He points at his swollen orb. "Eye first."
He didn't know when she picked up the cloth but she immediately dabbed it with alcohol. Were it not for how tense he felt, he would have noticed that her features had softened. "You klutz…" He winces at the cold sensation as she disinfects it, careful not to touch his eye too closely. There was hot water on it too somehow, probably from the thermos.
After some dabbing and the use of a rag wrapped around some ice for him to press on it, her lips arch into a frown. "You sounded exhausted over the phone."
"Yeah, so… you know how I left the car?" She nodded. "Well, I ran." She glared at him and he tore out that same innocent yet apologetic grin.
She sighed. "You didn't commute?"
"Tundra Town doesn't have buses that early in the morning."
"And not taking the car was sensible because…?"
"I didn't want you late for work?"
"I could have commuted! You know I can handle it on my own."
"Carrots, you had a long night and you didn't wake up when you usually did. I figured you could use a break."
She felt backed into a corner. He was concerned about her, considered her entirely today and last night even when she stole his bed. Nick didn't mind doing this for her, and she had no rebuttals for the kind fox. So she gave in, let him win this time around because in all honesty, she fought to see this in ways that wasn't sweet and failed miserably in that.
"I was worried about you," she finally said.
"I know. And I'm sorry but-" he takes her tiny hand and rolls his thumb over her knuckle, "-I can handle it on my own." He mimicked her. A soft smile cresting her lips. "I'll always make it back to you. That's a promise."
She hugged him then. He could tell she was secretly terrified, trembling in his grasp. Tundra Town held all of Nick's remaining enemies. Other conmen who felt he'd overstepped, corrupt attorneys whom he'd screwed over, and even a variety of other criminals. Ironically, his only real ally there used to be his greatest enemy: Mr. Big. But even as the elderly shrew welcomed him into his home, he could not protect him outside of his territory.
And outside the walls of the mafioso's property was a thick shroud of snow, covering those devils that lurked in the pale mist. It was there that she was most afraid, gripping tight and cold around her heart as she shivered. But she was more afraid for him than herself. Afraid to lose him to the mist and his past, where his history of a conman, the past he fought to bury, came back to snatch him away from her. But she steeled herself, features tightening in some solid resolve. She still had him and she would not yet – no, never – lose him to that.
He wiped rouge tears away, brushing her cheek where more still threatened to follow. "Feeling better?" he asked as she emerged from his chest.
She nodded, nuzzling under his neck. It was a gesture they had grown accustomed to, discovered at first by accident. She needed comforting once upon a time and he held her close like any friend would. But then she nuzzled him, silent and unwitting, and he almost flinched, sensing the obscure nature almost instantly. Yet he stood there and let her soft fur brush against his throat before nuzzling her back in finality. It was an affectionate thing, they knew, one that only couples and close family did, but were they not close? Were they not family in some sense of the word? She told herself this when they began and does so even now.
She tried her best to push these thoughts away, she swears, but her thoughts lingered to the act and wondered what people might think if they found out. But a part of her wanted to be found. She looked at the door and remembered that it hadn't been locked. She could hear footsteps drifting passed the door, casting faint shadows at the gap underneath, and any one of them could open it and see them. How would he react? How would she? What would they say if posed the question? And with a feeble understanding of romantic relationships as a whole, she would honestly not know what to say. She wasn't even sure of the billowing in her gut, what truths it carried and if it was an altogether good or bad thing. She would not know.
"Nick?" she asks, peeking from underneath his snout.
He is lost in his stupor, relishing in the softness of her fur and gives her a dreamy "Mhm?"
"So what's this case?"
"Oh!" he excitedly says, pulling back. He slides into his chair, the case file going with him, opening it. He pulls out some newspaper clippings and printed articles he had stacked on his desk, fanning them out above the case file. "The Bronc Town Abductions was an unsolved case that started about eleven years back. It was a series of disappearances that shocked the little town and it still haunts the place in local ghost stories. The police only ever gave up on it when the abductions stopped altogether. Thing was a nightmare. And the absolute lack of leads made it the single biggest failure in the ZPD's history."
The wording troubled her, not to mention his suddenly serious tone. "And why is that?" She was almost afraid to ask.
"Cause up until that point, they thought the ZPD could solve anything. Well–" he pulls out a newspaper photo of a young Bogo and a young female tiger both walking out of a crime scene with a criminal cuffed between them, "–they could solve anything."
"I heard about her," she remarks, "Samsara Stripes, solved a total of six major cases in the first three years of her career, valedictorian from her academy, first Bengal tiger on the force and–"
"–Bogo's old partner," he finished for her. "Before the buffalo became our most illustrious leader, he was a young man on the force with a spry young partner in his arm, and they took the world by storm." He pulls out several other clippings of the pair, solving murders and sundering syndicates, even exposing an old crime boss in the Sahara Square. "Six years of successful crime solving and Zootopia thought they found themselves a pair of heroes."
"But then this happened?"
He nodded. "It began as a series of disappearances but it escalated when they became daily occurrences. The station hadn't even made it a case yet but by the third disappearance, Bogo and Sam were already on site. They had a hunch it was connected and were there before the rest of the police even thought it was a big deal." He'd heard about the pair's dedication from the last chief whom he talked to yesterday. Nick had a whole new respect for Bogo then, seeing the look of wonder in the old elephant's eye as he recounted stories of the buffalo. But it was short lived as the old creature sighed, leering towards the old case. "But they found nothing, and would continue to do so."
"Nothing?"
"No trace, no ransom, no bodies, no nothing. It went cold cause there were no leads to follow, no feasible pattern other than being in town and that's only as far as they knew. All they had were three suspects who ended up being dead ends."
He pulls out a profile from the case file. He points at the photo of a ragged lion, who was clearly drunk on the mugshot. "Calvary Pride, violent drunk, hated everybody, declared too stupid or inebriated to commit any kind of careful planning necessary for the MO."
He produces another, showing a badger in a purple Hawaiian t-shirt and sunglasses walking down the street. "Kurt Bellows, information broker for the criminal underworld, was declared innocent when his sister and mother disappeared. He'd later on assist the police in imprisoning many other criminals whom he suspected may be the culprit or would otherwise be involved but none of them would turn out to be the kidnapper. Later committed suicide on September 15th, 2004."
The final profile is that of a grey wolf. He is well suited in the photo, sporting a toothy grin but missing a tooth behind one of his major fangs. "And finally, Alexander Wolfgang, suspected ties to the mafia and other crime syndicates. Tagged as the most likely suspect. Declared innocent after his own disappearance, and emerging from a warehouse in absolute horror after surviving an encounter with the culprit."
"A victim? What happened to him?"
"I'm about to find out." He peels through the file, seeing a plethora of notes that pointed toward him being the major suspect. Suspicious encounters, daily activities, places he frequented. There were other notes that looked like a journal of sorts where Bogo seemed to almost force himself to see Wolfgang as the culprit, trying to personify him in a way that fits the MO. But as they went on, Nick could see that it became more and more clear that he wasn't. Bogo, deep down, knew Wolfgang wasn't the animal they were looking for but he tried anyway, clinging to some feeble miracle that it would somehow turn out that he was the guy.
The profile for Wolfgang is huge so Judy pulls out the lower half, scanning through them herself. The later parts go through reports that seemed to act like a personal diary for Bogo's partner, Sam. Her cursive is different from Bogo's, she could tell as she glanced over what Nick was reading. She talks about the MO and how near no one in town seems to fit it but they knew it simply had to be. There was no other town or home of any kind within a feasible radius for the culprit to come in and out of to do a daily abduction. Otherwise they were otherwise missing a major clue for it somewhere.
And as disturbing as her telling of the culprit was, she didn't seem altogether unimpressed. The Modus Operandi dictates that he/she was calm and collective, as certain victims were taken in broad daylight, in crowded areas without being noticed. Intelligent and careful, no trace and no marks, and had a distinct awareness for any kind of surveillance. Never used a gun, too many ways to leave a trail that way, she figured. Whoever the culprit was, he/she was only a haunted house short of being a specter. She spoke highly of the individual, curiously wondering just how that sort of mastermind came to be. But just as Judy thought Sam would be a sympathizer, another note from her dispelled those thoughts.
"He's a ghost," it read, "a demon, a monster. The kind you tell your kids about, the bad man that lurks around every corner if they aren't careful. The kind horror movies are made of, thrillers and slasher films. And I fear that even the idea of him is scaring me. Cause I can't put a face to him. I can't even imagine. One of the townsfolk? Sure, maybe. But what if it's not? What if it's someone no one in town has ever seen? Someone hiding in the shadows, adept at being completely ignored. That's someone in this small town we haven't even met yet. And if that's true, then we've nowhere else to go. Cause anyone and no one in town could be this bastard."
"We've looked everywhere. Found nothing and I can see that it's getting to Bogo. I'm not even sure how hard it's getting to me. Half of me thinks I've kept a leveled head, the other half thinks I've just gone crazy. But we hide it, mask ourselves so the world doesn't see our weakness, that this case is tearing us apart."
"A little otter girl asked me if we'd "catch the bad man" and I honestly had no idea how to answer her. I stood there, stock still, and with my damn mouth hanging open like that drunkard Calvary… But Bogo, bless that buffalo, stepped in and talked her down. He told her it was our job to do just that and that she can rest easy knowing that we'll put him away… It was a lie though, I could see it. Bogo knew that catching this bastard would take much more than we had. And we gave it our 110% and it STILL wasn't enough."
The note seemed to have been tossed in by accident. It was crumpled but collected anyway, with a coffee stain off on the lower left end. She assumed it was gathered when they gave up on the case, labeling it unsolved. "This is depressing."
If Nick had heard her, he didn't respond. His eyes were frantic now, searching through the papers for the third time already. He poured through Judy's half only to be immediately disappointed after going through it twice. "Nothing…" he muttered under his breath.
"Nothing else on Wolfgang?" she guessed but of course she was right. She'd skimmed through his half and there was no mention of him after his rescue. "You know, we could always just ask the chief."
"I was hoping we didn't have to. He clearly doesn't like talking about this case."
"He'll have to buck up then."
Nick calmed quickly enough, breathing in an easy sigh before settling on a weak smirk. His takes with him all the paperwork, bundling them under one arm, patting it despondently.
"You know where the town is?" he asks suddenly.
"Never heard of it till now, so no."
"Then I'm driving." He slides off his seat, taking the keys swiftly from her waist, making her yelp.
"Nick!"
"Sorry, old habits die hard."
"Wait right there, you two." Chief Bogo marches toward them with a big black suitcase in his hand. He is careful with the case, with a reverence that makes Nick raise an eyebrow, a reaction that is promptly ignored.
They look at each other confused until he motions for them to follow him. He leads them to Clawhauser's before setting down the suitcase gently.
"What's this about, Chief?" Nick asked.
"This just came in for the two of you." He unclasped the suitcase, letting cool air spill to his hands when he took out the objects inside. One was a pistol, colored a hardened black with a soft brown grip. The other was a miniature rifle of about the same size, faintly resembling a paintball gun with a thick yet surprisingly light frame. He hands them their pieces gently along with their respective holsters, almost with a hint of sanctity out of respect for their craftsman. "I'd usually say they were standard issue but they had to be custom made."
Judy lit up, mostly glad that he'd go through the trouble for them. "Wow thanks, Chief! I... actually I don't know how to feel about this." She hoists the surprisingly light weapon in her grasp and levels it with uncertainty. The dangerous thing seemed to glare at her through the scope.
Nick pinches the pistol and dangles it like it was infected. He too found it surprisingly light but distrusted its nature by principle even if it was meant for him. "Yeah, me neither. Though I'm sure they were lovingly made, I'm really more of a lover than a fighter, you know?"
"I don't expect either of you two to really make any use of them. Most of our officers don't either. It's no secret that we're almost exclusively tranquilizers and stun guns, but that doesn't mean that we can't ever be too careful." His tone shifted grimly, giving them a serious look. "But you have to understand that not every criminal deserves the cell. Sometimes a dirt nap is exactly what society needs of them. Or, in the very least, an injury they won't immediately recover from."
"That sounds like a really tough call, Chief."
"This job is all about tough calls, Hopps. Some are just tougher than others."
Judy fiddles with the sling-like holster, strapping it on. She tries to get as comfortable as she can with the new amount of weight on her back that she has to balance, which is initially uncomfortable no matter how light the thing actually is. Nick on the other hand slides it onto his hip like he'd done it before, with an ease that surprises him.
Bogo closes the suitcase, not meeting their gaze as he continues to speak. "Both of your firearms have the same caliber: 10mm, with the same kind of magazine. The pockets of your holsters carry an additional three magazines each. The clip set and extra rounds have been placed in your trunk. And even though you two won't be using them regularly, do try to clean them every once in a while." He punctuates it in a way reminiscent of an exasperated mother repeating her warnings.
"I'll be sure to keep my death machine extra shiny." Judy punches Nick in the shoulder, briefly terrifying Nick for fear of discharging his weapon with his jump.
"What he means to say is that we'll keep them maintained. Don't you worry, Chief. We won't squander something made so personally."
He gives them a relaxed and solemn nod. "I'd hoped you wouldn't. They were made by a sloth after all. Their gunsmith services aren't cheap since they take so long to carefully craft. There's a lot of taxpayer's money in them so maintaining them is the least you two can do."
Nick motioned to leave but stops dead in his tracks. He bites his lip, thinking of how nonchalantly he can ask Bogo without outright appearing insensitive. He knows the topic of the case is a little touchy but one look at the buffalo's stern gaze told him that, eh, he can take it. "Say, Chief, what can you tell us about what happened to Wolfgang?"
"He's dead, Wilde," he responds immediately, "committed suicide before we could speak to him."
"Oh," was their resounding response. Clawhauser didn't even realize he'd said it himself.
"He had cyanide poisoning too. If he hadn't killed himself, he would have died anyway before he was sane enough to talk to. The crook was mocking us when we thought we'd had a lead." He huffed, mighty and stoic, steeling himself from whatever emotion that dented his ironclad visage. "Put this case to rest. I'm counting on the two of you."
"We'll get you your bad guy, Chief." Nick surprised everyone, including himself, when he'd said it. Cause it was sincere, the most serious thing Bogo and Clawhauser had ever heard him say in their ten month acquaintance. And it was certainly a little awkward, the way they all looked at him wide-eyed, tearing away the stoic visage of their chief and the snide composure of the fox.
Nick proceeded to walk away, stiff as a board, with Judy scampering off to his side. They whispered to each other until even the hint of their voices faded into the background noise of the precinct.
Chief Bogo was still a little shocked, his thoughts elsewhere as he watched them.
"Look at them. Aren't they cute together?"
He gave him a quizzical look, so out of it that he couldn't put two and two together. "What? Who?"
"Nick and Judy? Your star officers? The little animals that just walked out of the room?"
He deadpanned. "Get your head out of the clouds and focus on the paperwork, Clawhauser."
He wasn't so willing to give up. "You know, they've been living together for over a month now."
Yet another uncomfortable surprise. "That was... fast." He had honestly never considered the rabbits' promiscuous stereotype to find itself in the unsullied Judy. But there she was, philandering with a fox as they shared an apartment together. It painted her in a very different light, and then the look in her eyes as the two shared what was a perhaps another helping of healthy banter suddenly turned very… naughty. His expression twisted into one that was disturbed, trying not to imagine just how often the two did it. And honestly, if they really were, Nick's pelvis would have shattered by now.
"They actually kinda remind me about you and-"
"Stop." Oh, he knew exactly where this conversation was going.
"Sorry, sorry, but a cat's gotta speak his mind." He twiddled with his whiskers, grinning from cheek to cheek as Bogo shifted uncomfortably. "Though, honestly, I wish that other cat spoke more her mind."
"What are you insinuating?" he growled.
He gave him a sidled sigh, punctuating his suddenly dower expression and made to meet his gaze. "Look, even if you don't feel the same, I swear she felt something for you."
Bogo huffed. Of course he'd start talking about Sara again but now was not the time. Though, really, there was never a good time to talk about her. Clawhauser was there when they started working together and there was no denying how keenly he could see passed his partner. Sam was like an open book to him, but Bogo refused to see his insight every time, chalking it up to gossip. "Our relationship was purely professional, Clawhauser."
"To you, maybe."
"To both of us," he shot back. "Nothing ever came of us, and it never will. We were colleagues and nothing… more…" He scrunches his snout as if debating something with himself. Eyes shifting and widening as if considering a thought. Then nodded to himself as if deciding.
"Chief?"
"I have to make a phone call."
Benjamin Clawhauser's heart sang at those words, delighting at the idea of encouraging what he hoped was a final confession. He'd watched those two teeter off the edge of basically pouncing each other and here Bogo was, just about ready to let loose that tired old sexual tension. The chief walked away with a determined look in his eye, accented meekly with a slight slump of his shoulders, making it clear that his unyielding persona was only a mask. Because he knew what talking to Sam did to him, and it did not surprise him the tiniest bit that the buffalo he'd grown to know for the better part of seven years had decided to put on an act as he readied to make that call.
But of course he was completely wrong. Bogo wanted to ask a favor, not make some story book confession over the phone. Nick and Judy would be treading unfamiliar territory, in a quiet little town with one particular criminal who might very well look at them like easy prey. He wanted them to stay safe. It wasn't that he doubted their ability to survive, lord knows how well they'd kept their heads on in the savage case alone, but he'd be damned if he didn't take every precaution he could. Rushing to have those guns ready before they left was his first act of caution. Talking to his old partner would be the next.
"Do you think the chief believes in us?" Judy asked suddenly when they hopped into the car.
"The savage case we solved threatened to be a follow up to his previous failure. If he's ever left any hint of faith in our partnership, this would be it."
"But they've had six years of successful case solving! Six years of solid, field-work experience. What makes you think we can do what they couldn't?"
He chose not to answer, shaking his head. "What's with the cynicism?" She was being stubborn, with her fears running rampant, making her usually heroic composure wilt as if dying.
"This case scares me, Nick. You can see it in the way it gets to the Chief, this case tore him and his partner apart. Clawhauser had only heard of it as it was happening and even he seemed shaken at the thought of it. Who's to say we won't end up failing like they did? We even have a reported suicide because the guy couldn't stand knowing what he did about the perp! This case does things to animals, Nick. The kind a town doesn't forget. The kind that tears partners apart." She was being irrational and she knew it, fought hard to deny it as it crept into her skin and told her she was giving him losing arguments. But she wanted to lose this debate, tell him all the stupid things she feared so he could beat those thoughts away.
"That's not gonna happen to us, Judes. It's going to take a lot more than one case to lose me. You won't get rid of me that easily." He had hoped that joke would have calmed her but she didn't. They shifted uncomfortably and it didn't help that Nick hadn't started the squad car yet. Then he chanced a glance at her, meeting her worried gaze.
Despite her absurd fears, there was truth behind those words and he could see them. She wanted a safer case. Maybe the new slew of robberies cutting through Savanna Central. That was an easy one, they even already had a hunch about who would be slipping through homes and peeling through pockets in a child's elephant costume, or at least who sold the suit. But aside from Nick not wanting to arrest Finnick, there was still the underlying weight pressed on their shoulders.
A bus stopped in front of the station, prompting them both to look at it. There was a large blue banner on its side, showcasing the precinct and its two star officers. Nick and Judy had long since been the faces of the ZPD, Predator and Prey working together to keep the city from harm was the kind of image Zootopia needed to feel safe again. And really, it hadn't been difficult to keep up. The two were a natural pair. Outsmarting anyone who thought their size would get the better of them. And even on the rare occasion that they couldn't outsmart a criminal, be it by circumstance or dumb luck, they could always outpace them, easily tiring out even the slickest of criminals. Bank robberies and kidnappings, hot pursuits and tense hold-ups, they'd beaten them all.
And the world was no stranger to them. Because Zootopia was a beacon of the modern age and every major city heard of its exploits. And where there was once the proud countenance of the unstoppable Bogo and Sam was now the heroic visage of Nick and Judy. Everyone watched their steps as if they were giants, felt the ground tremble as they entered a room to solve yet another case.
So expectations were high, placing them on a pedestal they both now felt was too large for them to handle. And Judy relented, that same sense of trepidation she had when she almost failed the savage case, and it dipped low and hard in her gut. Then she felt Nick's grasp close over her weary paw.
He didn't give her that same toothy grin she'd grown accustomed to. It was a gentle smile, kind and reassuring, the same one he shared with her that night he stole her away from Bogo to continue the case she thought she'd already had to give up on. "Have a little more faith in us. Like we did on our first case, we'll beat the odds."
She shifts over to his seat, hugging him by the waist as his hands found purchase along her the smooth arc of her back. "Just… stay with me, alright? I don't want to lose you to this case. Not in any sense of the word." Cause to her, her grasp on him felt loose, almost intangible. And that made her dread what was to come. The quaint little countryside town felt like a void waiting to suck them in. A fresh hell that would either consume them for all that they were and echo in the backs of their minds.
"I'm not taking you out of my sight." His hand brushed down the curve of her neck, paw meeting soft fur that sent a subtle shiver down her spine and a tingling in his own fingers.
"Same." It was a promise, solemn and true, and Judy felt that maybe, just maybe they could crack this case where no one else could. Cause he had her back and she had his, and no one was going to stop their winning streak. It was just another case, and she was determined to make sure their luck didn't run out.
"Say, you never mentioned what that lead you got was."
"Oh, wow, stupid ol' me forgot to mention it." He would have face palmed would it not have sidled toward his stupidity any further. He had assumed she knew, felt that she could read his mind, but of course she couldn't. How silly a thought that would've been. "You see, unlike them, we have a solid lead."
"And what's that?"
"Rumor has it that our criminal's at it again. And this time, he slipped up."
~o~~~o~
I remember eying that distant horizon as we sped passed the city, watching Zootopia turn into a speck as the morning dew akin to the countryside filled my senses instead. There was a beautiful valley, swaying in the distance as the winds combed through them like waves in an ocean. How romantic that morning would have seemed to anyone else, a young pair of animals taking in the sights. But it was deceptive. I remember watching it again with disgust as we drove back home. How that beauty mocked that thick aura of dread in the air. I vowed never to go back to Bronc Town. As much as I'd pained to admit it, Bogo was right to leave it behind even if it was for different reasons.
~Nick Wilde
