A/N: Howdy. It feels great to be back after so long away from regular uploads. It was quite a long and bumpy road to feeling ready, and I had some things set me back, but I finally feel ready to get back to it, and here I am! The first chapter was really more of a prologue meant to establish some plot and act as a hook. This will be the first real chapter if that makes any sense. Please enjoy!
The sun had just gone below the horizon on a warm summer night. The stars in the sky were barely visible from the light of the city drowning them out. No one born in the city had ever seen more than a couple on a clear night, and most mammals would never live to see the billions that were visible from a spot outside the city limits. Zootopia was in twilight, and some of its citizens were beginning their nightly routines, preparing themselves for the Monday that lay ahead of them. Others were just beginning their night, taking advantage of the last few hours of the weekend while they could before reality set back in the next day.
Nick Wilde was one of the latter. His work weeks were constantly spent working hard to protect the city that he had lived in his entire life, so he cherished any time that he had off. He was one of the luckiest, having both Saturday and Sunday off, free to do whatever it was that he wanted. Tonight was a special night. His old friend Finnick had threatened to find him in his sleep and pound his head in with his favorite bat if he didn't hang out with him, so Nick and Finnick were going to spend the night catching up with each other at a bar. Nick wasn't one for drinking all that much, but he figured he might have just one. Not only was he not too much of a fan of alcohol, he also didn't like the whole bar scene. It probably stemmed from his earlier years, back when he was selling fake wool rugs and he was just barely legal for drinking when he would party it up at dirty and disgusting bars, only to wake up the next morning with the hangover of a lifetime. No matter his past experiences, Nick was glad to finally have the time to catch up with an old friend.
The two foxes were walking down the street just a couple of blocks from their destination.
"Man, you need to get a notha job or somthin'. You neva wanna chill or anythin'!" Finnick exclaimed. Nick chuckled at the smaller fox's frustration.
"I know, bud, I'm sorry I haven't been available. Work is always busy, you know how it goes." Nick said. He was genuinely sorry that he didn't have nearly as much time to talk to Finnick anymore. He was the one mammal that truly understood him, well, at least understood the old Nick.
"Yeah yeah. You and bein' that big city cop and all. I don't get what happened to you! Ya used to be cool, now you just a regular old tod, all borin' and the likes!"
"Hey now, I'm still Nick. I just have different priorities. And if you want to blame anyone for this, blame Judy. She's the one that got me tied up in being a cop." Nick chuckled.
"Ah, so it was the bunny girl! I knew she was runnin' 'round with you!" Finnick said.
"No, it's not... I could never be with her like that. We're just partners at work and good friends. That's all, Fin. Nothing more." Nick said, getting a little more defensive that he would have liked.
"Oh, so she got you in the friend-zone! Dude, you ain't ever gettin' outta there! She got you in a locked cage, and she's just pokin' you with a pointed stick from the outside!"
"No, trust me when I say that we have a professional, platonic relationship. I don't even think she likes me that way, and I'm no different." Nick said. Finnick rolled his eyes and scoffed.
"Women." the smaller fox mumbled. Nick was already tired of the conversation, so he decided not to fire it back up. As Nick looked up from the smaller fox, they were just approaching the doors to the bar. Nick could already hear the loud chatter and smell the alcohol from outside.
This was the bar that Fin wanted to go to? Nick thought. He shrugged as he pushed open the door, a blast of cool air blowing his fur back slightly as he let Finnick in before him. Nick walked in himself and the door slowly closed behind them.
The sudden change in atmosphere was a bit shocking to Nick. He had just come from the quiet late night streets of the city and now it was loud with other mammals talking and music playing in the background, though it was impossible to make out any of the lyrics. The smell of bar food, alcohol, and something that reminded Nick of piles of throw-up filled his nostrils and caused him to grimace. It came on to him quite strong, but after a few minutes, he was sure he'd get used to the interesting mix of scents.
The bar was dimly lit from a few long fluorescent bulbs hanging from the ceiling as well as neon signs of various types of brews hanging on the walls. Finnick led Nick through the crowded bar and over to a couple of open chairs with a familiar mammal sitting in one of them.
"Oh, I forgot to tell you, I invited Weaselton. I hope you don't mind, but he said he needed to talk to ya or somethin' like that. Figured tonight would be a good way to get that done, too." Finnick said.
Great… Nick thought. This is going to make everything a little more interesting. Nick played it cool, acting as though he didn't mind. Both him and Finnick took a seat at the bar. He turned to Duke Weaselton.
"I haven't seen you in a while, Duke. What have you been up to?" Nick asked, trying his best to be friendly.
"Oh, you know, the same as usual, Wilde. The boss has been keepin' me busy." There were a few moments of silence between the three mammals before Weaselton spoke again. "I understand that you're a cop now, Wilde. That cute little rabbit do something to ya, or what?" he said. Nick couldn't help but feel an anger wash over him when he heard Weaselton say that forbidden word. He didn't know why he felt so angry, but he knew that if Judy were here, she'd have already socked him a good one.
"First of all, only rabbits can call other rabbits cute. Second, her name is Judy. And third, yes, she is the one responsible for me being a cop." Nick said, once more getting quite defensive. Weaselton backed away from Nick a little as he spoke his mind, then put on a devious smile.
"Well, then. I didn't think you were one to be so sensitive to stuff like that, Wilde," he remarked.
"I just think that someone like Judy is deserving of a lot more respect than that, don't you think?" Nick barked. Nick's tone had caused Weaselton to jump a little in his seat. Even though he acted tough, the weasel knew that Nick could put a pretty good beating on him in the current setting. He held both of his paws up in defense.
"Well sorry. I'll just stop talking about it then," he said. Nick placed his elbows on the counter and rested his chin in his paws.
"Good," Nick mumbled under his breath.
Everyone was quiet for a while after Weaselton nearly got himself beat within seconds of addressing Nick. The weasel figured it would be best to let him cool off for a while before asking him what he wanted to. Nick got a glass of water and quickly gulped down every drop in the glass, then asked for a refill. Finnick ordered three shots of some tequila and offered one of them to Nick. His first and last time trying the liquid occurred in his early twenties, and that ended in the worst hangover Nick could remember. He refused the shot and Finnick took his own and the one intended for Nick, while the other went to Weaselton, who also knocked it back with ease.
After Nick cooled down he started conversing with Finnick, pretty much ignoring the presence of the weasel next to him. He still managed to catch some of Nick and Finnick's conversation and took every opportunity to butt in when he could. Weaselton was getting tired of waiting for an opportunity to ask Nick what he wanted to ask, but he was brought relief when Finnick left to go to the bathroom.
"So, Wilde. What's it like being a cop?" he asked, hoping that his ice-breaker wouldn't anger the already on-edge fox. Nick turned in his seat and faced the weasel. His face remained completely neutral to the addressing that the weasel gave him.
"It's pretty enjoyable. It gets stressful at times, but I like it a lot. It helps to have a good partner." Nick said. Weaselton relaxed after finding out that Nick didn't actually want to kill him and was content with having a casual conversation.
"You don't get nervous or anything when things get a bit dangerous?" the weasel asked.
"No, those are the times when I think I enjoy my job the most. It really gets your blood pumping."
"But you never think that your life is in danger? I would think that'd scare away most mammals from doing what you do."
"Oh, there's hardly a day that goes by when I don't have at least one incident that gets me a bit nervous. Nobody wants to die in the line of duty, but I'm not afraid to put my life at risk to save another." Nick said. Deep down, Weaselton was thinking that it was going to be really hard to convince Nick to quit.
"And what about all the negative attention the media gives you lot? I know the press really likes to point out everything the ZPD does wrong." Weaselton said. This had to stump the fox. Nobody can stand to have their faces plastered on the news with all kinds of negative things being said for everyone to hear.
"I really don't mind it all that much. As long as I do my job right, then I don't get chastised. Any negative attention the media gives us is all a stereotype that a few officers created a while back. Officers like them are no longer with the ZPD anyways." Nick replied. The weasel cringed internally. Damn, that fox is good. It was time to bring out the big guns.
"Ok, but have you thought about what everyone else thinks of you switching sides?" Weaselton said. Nick looked curiously at the weasel sitting next to him.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, everyone from the good ol' days hates you now. They all think you're gonna go after them or somethin' like that. I mean, you do know what we all do for a living, and it's not necessarily one hundred percent legal."
"I think you guys are getting a little too paranoid," Nick said. He leaned back a little and took another sip from his water. "I'm not going to go after anyone on purpose. But if you find yourself doing illegal things when I'm around, then be prepared to get arrested. But otherwise, you have nothing to fear, dude. I'm still Nick, after all."
While Weaselton did find some solace in Nick's words, he knew that the boss was not going to take a no for an answer. He needed to get Nick to quit the police force.
"Well, I don't think anyone else is going to believe that. And I have a feeling eventually that is going to haunt you. We did use to work with some pretty brutal mammals. I know that they could do some pretty bad things if they ever felt threatened by your position." Weaselton said. Nick chuckled from deep within his throat.
"Hey, I've got some pretty big guys to protect me if that ever happens. I don't think I have anything to fear but thank you for the concern." Nick said. Just as Weaselton was about to continue, Finnick returned from his trip to the restroom and sat back down, taking Nick's attention from the weasel to the much smaller fox. Duke Weaselton had just been defeated and he growled in frustration as he got off of his seat and started walking away. Nick turned around and called out to the weasel.
"Hey! You leaving or what?" Nick said. Weaselton didn't bother turning around for his response.
"I got some things to do. I'm sure I'll see you around, Wilde," he said with disdain as he disappeared behind some other mammals. Nick turned back around and re-focussed on Finnick and his stories of trying to make pawpsicles on his own. He couldn't help but feel a little bit nervous at his abrupt dismissal, but he shook the feelings and continued his night of catching up with Finnick.
Overall, Nick thought his meeting with Finnick was enjoyable. He had the chance to talk to one of his best friends again and that was something that he wished he could do more often. Seeing Duke Weaselton there threw Nick off a little bit, but after he left everything seemed to go smoothly. He was finally able to have a meaningful conversation with Finnick and find out that the smaller fox had actually managed to get a real job, even if it was cooking at a fast food place. He told Nick that he wasn't giving up hustling for good, but it would be more of a side job rather than full time. Nick was happy for his friend and he wished him luck as he left the bar, and at nearly one o'clock in the morning.
Nick exited the place and turned down the street towards his apartment. He had about a ten-minute walk ahead of him, but he wanted to keep that as short as possible due to the area he was currently in. Nick figured he could handle himself in case he got jumped, but he wasn't fond of fighting other mammals, and he wasn't the biggest one out there either. It was just best to avoid a situation like that altogether.
Nick had only been walking in the cool air of that summer night for a short while when he heard someone whisper to him from an alley as he passed it. Nick looked in the alley but kept walking, though he froze when he saw a shadowy figure that he thought he recognized standing there. Nick looked closer and the figure moved out into the light that the street lamps provided.
"Weaselton?" Nick said. The weasel had been waiting for Nick probably since he left the bar.
"That's right, Wilde," the weasel said, his voice filled with smugness. Something had changed with him, and it was making Nick a bit nervous. "I still haven't gotten the answer that I desire. You will leave the police force. Boss wasn't taking no for an answer." The weasel stepped forward onto the sidewalk and into the light completely. Alongside him were two other weasels who Nick didn't recognize.
"I know the boss doesn't like violence when he's not in control, but he'll have to understand the reason I beat the correct answer out of you."
Instantly Nick's fight response triggered and he braced himself for an attack.
Weaselton nodded and both of the weasels at his sides charged at Nick with impressive speed, but Nick was faster and was able to jump to the side, avoiding the coming animals. They skidded to a stop and turned around to face Nick, who stood strong in a fighting stance, fists raised and eyes fixed on his opponents. They charged Nick once more, the weasel to the left being faster than the other. As they approached, Nick firmly held his ground until the last second when he jumped to the left, and in one swift motion, brought his elbow into the side of the weasel's head, sending him careening into the path of the other.
Both weasels lay on the ground, moaning in pain as Nick looked to Duke Weaselton, who wore a furious face as he began his charge at Nick. In the light of the streetlamps, Nick noticed something glistening around Weaselton's fingers. It was a weapon that seemed so simple, but in reality could be incredibly fatal if the wielder knew what they were doing.
Brass knuckles.
Nick had become so distracted by the sight of the dangerous weapon that He failed to react when they were sent straight towards Nick's muzzle. Nick's head whipped back and to the side, the power from the punch being enough to knock him onto his back. There was an instant surge of pain in Nick's jaw and he knew that he'd be feeling that in the morning, but he refocused on his assailant as he spat out a tooth, saliva, and blood. Weaselton was just about to bring a knockout blow to Nick's skull, but the fox quickly lifted his feet and kicked with full force into the weasel's stomach. He was sent flying backward into the brick wall of the building behind them and then fell face first onto the sidewalk, struggling for air and consciousness.
Nick got to his feet, rotating his jaw as he reached for his phone. He was going to need some backup.
Nick could see himself. He was somewhere above his body, viewing himself from a high angle. But he could feel nothing; he couldn't move at all. The whole space he could see was white except for the fox that stood below him. But the strangest part of this whole experience was the version of him that he could see below. It didn't look like himself. The version below looked exactly like him, yet completely different. This Nick was missing something. His face remained unreadable like nothing was there.
He looked like he had lost everything.
He began walking. He began walking and saying things only to himself. There was no one else around.
"I was happy once. I felt like I was on top of the world, and no one could touch me. I had the life; I was my own boss and no one was better at my job than me. I never thought anything would change, and I was fine with that because I was happy."
Nick remembered the time when that was him. This fox below him was definitely him, no doubt about that now.
"But I couldn't have been any more wrong,"
The space surrounding them went from white to a scene of Nick walking through a field of short green grass. A young and wide-eyed rabbit was seen walking next to him. Nick knew exactly who that was.
"Things changed, but not for the worse like I would have thought. I met someone who completely changed the way I saw the world. Nothing from that day forward would ever be the same. I didn't think that soon after I met her, she'd become the most important person in my life,"
The figure of the rabbit disappeared, the scene around him darkened, and the fox fell onto his knees and his paws covered his face as he wept by the small stone in front of him
"Little did I know that she would be taken from me just as I realized that."
"Ahhhhh!"
Nick awoke with a start in his bed, panting heavily and wide-eyed. The sound of his alarm clock beeped loudly and it nearly brought a ringing to his ears. His fist slammed down on the snooze button and he lay back down on top of the pillow. After last night he hadn't gotten much sleep. He didn't get back to his apartment until nearly 3 A.M. because of that whole incident with Duke Weaselton and his cronies. He still didn't know what happened to the other two weasels, but he figured they took off while he and Weaselton were in the middle of their little battle.
Nick lay in bed and staring at the ceiling, his eyelids beginning to feel heavier with each passing second. His eyes closed for only a few seconds, then they shot open again. He definitely wasn't feeling it this morning, but he knew that he needed to get up or he'd be late for work. Nick turned his head over to look at his alarm clock once again.
Uh-oh…
It was at that moment that Nick realized that he had fallen asleep again and he was about to be late for work.
In a blur of motion, Nick flew out of bed and straight for the bathroom in nothing but his boxers. Just before he entered his bathroom he stopped himself. He knew that he wouldn't have time for a shower. That would take way too long. Lots of scent-blocker today… he thought.
Nick retreated back to his bedroom and sloppily threw on his uniform. He usually took pride in the way he looked in his uniform and made sure he always looked his best, but today was an exception. He did take a few moments to make sure that his badge was extra shiny.
Still not completely pleased with his appearance, but dreading the talk he was sure to get from Bogo and Judy, the latter being the one he feared most, Nick ran out the door to his apartment. Not showering did save him several minutes, and he knew that he'd only be slightly late if he ran.
And run he did.
Nick had never run so fast in his life. The last time he'd sprinted like his life depended on it was when his life actually did depend on it as he was being chased by Mr. Manchas who was savage at the time.
Nick's lungs burned for oxygen as he fought against the clock. He flew past mammals and nearly ran into a light pole while weaving between civilians. By the time he'd made it to the ZPD, Nick was out of breath, wheezing, and ready to go towards the light that he was seeing in the distance. But on the bright side, he'd made it to work in record time, which was only fast enough to get him there ten minutes late, but it was better than if he'd actually taken his time.
Nick huffed as he ascended the stairs to the station and he relied on the railing to help him up because he could barely breathe and his legs felt like gelatin. Nick pushed the door to the ZPD, but it wouldn't budge. He tried a few more times, but he still couldn't get the door open. Nick looked at the handle in bewilderment and nearly slapped himself in the face when it read "Pull." Dumb fox… Nick thought. He pulled the door open and felt a wave of relief wash over him as a blast to cool air hit him.
Nick walked up to the front desk where Clawhauser sat in his usual spot. The cheetah looked up from his desk and spotted Nick coming his way, then spoke something into the microphone on his desk. Nick couldn't make out the response he got, but judging by the expression on his face it probably wasn't good.
"Chief would like to see you in his office," Clawhauser said quietly. Nick knew immediately that he was going to get chewed out for being late.
"Alright, thanks, bud. Wish me luck!" Nick said as jovially as possible while still panting from his unplanned morning run.
"You're gonna need it," Clawhauser mumbled as Nick walked towards the stairs. The cheetah's unjoyful response was enough to unsettle Nick to actually feel nervous. Though it wasn't a lecture on punctuality from Bogo that was making him feel that. It was the same thing, but coming from Judy. And the mystery of when that would occur made it even worse.
Nick approached the oak and frosted glass door that bore the name of his boss. Without hesitation, he placed three knocks on the wood of the door. He heard Bogo's deep baritone voice deliver a hefty "come in," and Nick opened the door.
Inside sat Chief Bogo, whose face remained as stark as ever. That was what Nick expected. What de did not expect was the form of his partner sitting in the single chair designed for mammals of much larger stature. She turned around to face him and the expression she wore was priceless in Nick's eyes. It was a mixture of 'you're a complete moron,' and 'Oooo! You're in trouble!" She had a devious little grin on, but Nick could tell from her eyes that she wanted to wring his neck. She'd probably gotten an earful from Bogo just because Nick was late. He made himself a mental note to apologize for that later.
Nick walked up to the chair with his trademark grin and half-lidded eyes. The eyes were partly because of lack of sleep, but mostly because he loved seeing Bogo get annoyed by Nick's carefree attitude. He liked to see the buffalo get right to the point of snapping, and then he would stop pestering him.
Nick jumped onto the same chair as Judy and he sat down, the towering cape buffalo never releasing his gaze from the fox. Bogo sighed and put on his glasses, grabbing a document from off of his desk.
"I'll deal with you later, Wilde. For now, we have some important business to discuss."
"You're not even going to properly greet me? Where are your manners?" Nick said sarcastically.
"As I said, we have things to do, Wilde, so I'd appreciate it if you didn't continue to waste time. Of course, you could push me a little further and hear how parking duty for a month sounds to you both," Bogo said, raising his voice at the fox. Nick knew that he'd reached the limit, so he closed his muzzle and sat back in the chair.
"Despite the situation of today, I am going to be assigning you two to a case, a missing-mammal case, so you two should have no problem with it considering your previous displays of teamwork in a case of this caliber," Bogo said. Both Nick and Judy knew what he was talking about. Judy could feel the excitement growing deep within her. From the sound of things, this was a pretty big case, which Nick had not yet experienced as an officer.
Bogo reached down and opened a drawer at the bottom of his desk. He shuffled through the contents until he pulled out a red folder with a few pieces of paper visible from the outside. Judy figured it was the case file.
"This is everything we have so far. It isn't much, but you will have a few places to look for leads." Bogo said, passing the case file onto Nick who placed it in his lap and continued to have his full attention on Bogo. "That is all I have for you two. Dismissed." the buffalo said. Both Nick and Judy thanked Chief Bogo and then left his office, Nick still staring at the case file blankly.
"Aren't you excited, Nick? Our first big case!" Judy exclaimed while skipping down the hallway. Nick remained cool on the outside, though he did still feel a little bit excited. In his short time as an officer, he'd only ever worked on very small cases with Judy. It seemed to him that old buffalo-butt was finally warming up to him. Nick cracked a weak smile as she watched his over-energetic partner.
"It'll be a nice change of pace. I've actually been hoping to get something like this." Nick said in a less-than-enthusiastic tone. Judy noticed that he seemed a little under the weather. He seemed tenser and focussed. Judy stopped and looked curiously at the fox, specifically at the smile that was lazily appearing on his muzzle.
"Nick, are you alright? You don't seem to be all that excited."
"I'm good. Just a little tired is all." Nick replied. Judy walked closer to Nick who had stopped smiling and looked closely at his muzzle.
"Open up," she stated. Nick raised an eyebrow to his partner.
"Excuse me? What did you just say?"
"I said open up. Show me those pearly whites." Judy said, pulling Nick's muzzle lower so that it was level with her vision. Nick rolled his eyes as he opened his mouth to reveal his sharp and pointy fangs to Judy. She only had to search for a couple of seconds before she found what seemed so odd about Nick's smile.
"Nick, why are you missing a tooth?" Judy asked sternly. Nick grabbed her paw and began walking towards their office, dragging her along with him.
"I'll tell you while we walk. It's a fun story."
"So he actually had the audacity to assault you with two other mammals?" Judy asked in bewilderment as they entered their shared office space.
"Yep. He's going to be spending a while in a jail cell because of it. He's even facing up to ten years depending on how he pleas, of course." Nick said with a slightly less toothy grin.
"And he kept trying to dissuade you from being a cop?"
"Yeah, that was the strangest part about last night. He said 'the boss' wasn't going to take no for an answer, which tells me that he might have been either pressured or paid to do it. If I know Duke Weaselton, then it was definitely the latter. Whatever he was trying to do, I have a feeling we're done with it." Nick said while closing the door behind them. "Well, shall we take a look at this case file?" Nick held up the folder which contained all necessary information about the mammals in question. Nick wheeled two chairs up to the desk and Nick offered one to Judy as he sat down right next to him. With a smooth flick of the wrist, Nick uncovered the details to the case file.
"Looks like we have one, Damien Meyer, a black-furred mink of 27 years. He lives alone in a small home in Sahara Square and is employed by the Mojave Dunes branch of Bank of Zootopia. He was reported missing on Saturday, but he never showed up to work the previous day." Nick looked at Judy with concern. "Bit warm for a mink, don't ya think? Rhyme not intended." Nick said with a smirk.
"Oh, hush. Just keep reading." Judy said while lightly jabbing Nick in the side. Nick made sure to guard his ribs with his free paw from any more attacks from Judy.
"His boss went to his apartment, but found the door open slightly and according to his boss, it looked like the was a fight in the living room area." Nick set the file on the desk and slid it towards Judy so she could take a closer look. "How do you want to go about doing this, seeing that you've dealt with missing mammal cases before," Nick said. Judy continued checking out the case file.
"First off, I've only dealt with one case, but we definitely need to check out his house. Once we do that it would also be beneficial to see if we can get some more information about him from his boss. It says here that he has no known family living in the city."
Nick leaned back in his chair and smiled. His first big case was underway and he couldn't have a better partner to have help solve it.
"Sounds good. Let's get a car ready."
A/N: Now Nick's first big case has begun. He and Judy are going to have a long road ahead of them.
I'm super excited to share this journey with you guys. I've put in a lot of work and a lot of late nights getting this ready, and even though at times I felt like quitting, I stuck with it, and hopefully, you will too. It starts out pretty slow, but I assure you that things get pretty interesting. I also would like to make a disclaimer. I have no idea what a real police investigation is like, so it probably isn't completely accurate. Anyhow, I hope you find it entertaining and come back for more.
I have the story completely finished and I only need to edit everything and make sure it flows correctly. That being said, the next chapters are going to be posted once a week, Saturday mornings at 6 A.M. CST.
Thank you all for reading, reviewing, following, and favoriting. I love all of your support and thoughts.
Cheers!
-Ande
