Nick figured out much faster this time around that he was in a dream. Yet again he found himself powerless over his actions; he was just along for the ride to wherever his self conscience was taking him.
He found himself in the same spot from where he left off in his last dream: sitting in the passenger seat of a large SUV as a wolverine drove, his eyes fixed on the road ahead of him. Nick found himself staring out of the side window, gazing longingly out into the world as it zoomed by in the blink of an eye. He remembers that he did this quite often when with Mr. Big. Being in the mafia gave him very little freedoms, as he did whatever the big boss told him to do. Rarely was he ever aloud to do anything on his own free will; the boss fearing that he might get kidnapped and tortured for information. Back then, Mr. Big respected Nick and saw him muck like a son. Unfortunately, Nick knew how that ended. Anyways, Nick often found himself staring longingly into the city, wishing that he had freedom to do what he wanted. A dream he had been having for awhile now. But he was loyal to Mr. Big; his family brought him in at his time of need and he was indebted to them. He wasn't about to turn his back on them. He still remembers that day from 8 or so years ago very clearly.
It was supposed to be just like any other job he and Finnick had been doing for the past year. Finnick, a fennec fox that he had met a year earlier, and himself ran into each other after Nick caught the small fox trying to trick him out of a few dollars. Finnick found some respect for the red fox and asked if Nick wanted to make a few extra bucks; Nick agreed without hesitation. His family hadn't been doing all to well financially and he felt that this could be a way for him to help. That was until he got kicked out of his house when his mom found out what he was doing; and when Nick refused to quit with it, she threw him out. Now he was on the streets hustling away just to make a living.
Him and Finnick had set up a deal in Tundra Town, going to sell some 'valuable' products to some sketchy animals. Obviously, the products they were going to give the buyers weren't a hundred percent legit; as in they weren't worth nearly as much as they were going to sell them for. Both the foxes knew the risks of doing these jobs, but they hadn't been caught yet and they didn't plan on getting caught any time soon. Of course, plans tend to go awry much to often.
Nick didn't remember much of the actual sale, probably because he ended up with a concussion after it, but what he did remember was that some wolves were coming to purchase from them some 'valuable' street recourses. The bad thing is, the foxes had no idea they were dealing with wolves until it was already too late. The second the canines stepped out of their vehicles, Nick and Finnick knew that they were screwed. They were supposed to be selling some very high-quality Cuban Cigars; apparently some high up crime boss really liked his fancy smokes and he somehow got the names that Nick and Finnick used for their less-than-legal jobs. So Nick got a call and now here they were about to end up six feet underground. Wolves tend to have a very acute sense of smell and the foxes knew it would only take one little sniff for them to tell that they were fakes. The worst thing of it all, Nick and Finnick had nowhere to run to; they were trapped.
To make a long story short, the deal went bad and the next thing Nick knew he was waking up in a snow bank. His whole body ached, blood covered his now ripped shirt, and when he tried to move waves of pain washed all over his body. He was sure of a few things: he had a broken snout, his ribs were either broken or bruised, and he was all alone in the freezing snow. All he could do was slightly move his neck, and when he looked around he couldn't see Finnick anywhere. He was bloody, beaten, and alone, just like his mom had predicted. His body began to tremble as reality hit him like a truck. He was kicked out of his house and basically disowned, he barely got a full meal a day, he either slept on a bench or shared the back of an old beat up van with a short fused fox. Tears began to well up in his eyes as his emotional dam burst. The last time he could recall crying was that night with the scouts, almost ten years ago.
Nick felt as though that was the end for him, dying cold and alone in a snow bank. "What a great way to go" was all he could think to himself. Yet it seemed that fate had a different direction for our foxy friend. Just before Nick fell into unconsciousness again, the bright lights of a car flashed in his face. He groaned in pain, the bright light agitating his eyes immensely with his concussion. He figured the car would keep driving and not give him another look; but to his surprise, he heard the vehicle come to a stop. That's when a new fear settled in him; he figured it was the wolves coming back to finish him off, maybe torture him a little more before offing him for good.
He slowly twisted his head towards the direction of the vehicle and landed his eyes on a very nice, very expensive looking, black limousine. Nick had no doubt in his mind that he was living through his last moments, death being just around the corner; or in this case, about one hundred feet to his right.
Nick couldn't help but flinch when the door opened, but became a bit perplexed when he saw a massive sized polar bear step from the car. He was to weak to actually show it, but on the inside he was crying out for help. Little whines escaped him as the bear got closer to him, emitting a loud thud with each step he took until he stopped only a couple feet away from the beaten fox. Nick was never one for religion, but he couldn't help but pray that he'd somehow survive this. He stared up at the polar bear who wore a blank expression as he gazed back down at the todd. He reared back when he saw the bear stick out his arm, he was sure he was a goner; instead, something much more unexpected happened.
"Oh, you poor thing," A soft and somewhat squeaky voice said. Nick opened one eye and peeked to see what was happening. Once he saw the one who spoke to him, he cocked his head in confusion, and a bit in interest. An old well dressed shrew stood in the paw of the bear looking down at the beaten animal with pity. Nick didn't understand why this woman had stopped for him or even who the hell she was. He felt like she was someone he should know, but he couldn't quite place her.
"Come now, Francis, let's help this poor dear up and get him to the car," she demanded, earing a soft "yes, ma'am" from the large animal. At this time, Nicks mind was racing with so many questions: who were these people, why was a polar bear listing to a shrew, and where were they about to take him. Fear mixed with confusion flooded his head as the bear picked him up and began taking him over towards the limo.
And that is the story of how he ended up with the Big family. Ms. Big took him in and patched him up, gave him food, and a place to stay. Eventually Nick decided to join the family business. He usually just assisted in sales and deals; he stuck with what he was good at. And Ms. Big loved him as if he were her own. She felt it her duty to help the young fox, though Nick never really understood why. It wasn't until Mr. Big took the place of Ms. Big that Nick started being forced into much more uncomfortable situations. At first he wasn't at all happy about his new placement, but he eventually learned to get used to it. And now here he was, going on another dangerous mission that would end with someone dying, whether it be the target or himself, he was never certain of the outcome.
He glanced lazily over at the wolverine driver and couldn't help but smirk, he looked like Finnick when he drove; pissed off at the world and showing it with a constant glare of discontent. He had made sure that Finnick was alright soon after he himself had recovered. He had assumed that Nick came crawling back to him waiting for their next job, but was in for a big shock when Nick explained his situation. Finnick had been speechless when he was told that Nick was working for the Big family. Nick expected a lot of things to be said from the small fox, but didn't think that he'd here actual concern. He warned him that the life of a gang member was no easy task and he advised against it, but Nick ignored him and went with what he wanted to do.
Nick sighed, he wished he had listened to the older fox. It started out fine but was now slowly starting to wear him out. He couldn't do this forever, and he knew that. He just hoped that Mr. Big would give him a break eventually and maybe give him a few vacation days. He doubted it would ever happen, but he could wish.
The car came to a sudden stop and the wolverine placed the vehicle in park. "Stay here," He demanded as he jumped out of the car leaving Nick all alone.
The fox was abruptly pulled from his dream when he felt himself getting lightly shaken awake as someone called his name. He groaned and forced his heavy eyes open. The first thing he noticed was that he wasn't in a bed, and that he was still in the office. He sighed as he realized what was going on.
"Another long night?" He asked aloud, knowing exactly who shook him awake without even having to look at her. It's not the first time this had happened, and he was certain it wouldn't be their last. They'd probably be in the same situation in only a few months.
"Yah, you fell asleep halfway through your final report so I finished it for you," Judy told him as she set down a cup of coffee in front of him. He smiled down upon the energizing drink and picked it up eagerly, needing the caffeine to work its magic so he could function properly for the day.
"I don't know how many times I have said this," He paused and took a sip of the drink, "But you are just so perfect, and I'm really lucky to have someone like you in my life," He ended his statement with that signature smirk of his, which drove Judy absolutely insane... in a good way. Even from the first day she met the damn fox, his smile sent chills up her spine. He just had that kind of affect on other animals, well most others.
"Now let me show you how much I appreciate you," He said leaning in for a kiss. She simply rolled her eyes and gave a little giggle before holding up a paw to her partners muzzle.
"You know we're not aloud to do that at work, Bogo made it really clear," Judy reminded him, remembering very clearly the talk they had with their chief about working relationships. He wanted it pounded in their heads that any affection that was not appropriate for the work place was strictly prohibited; other than that, he could care less what they did outside of work as long as it didn't give the ZDP a bad name. Nick gave off a small huff and crossed his arms playfully, locking eyes with Judy.
"Then I guess I'll have to save that one... for another time then, huh?" He asked, leering at her with a devilish smile. A hard blush fell over her and she turned her head away from the flirting fox. She always hated when he did this at work. Anywhere else would be better, even in public where they'd get weird and sometimes hateful looks from animals that passed them by. She could handle that, but when he did it at work he was risking their jobs, or at least them staying partners. And what made it worse was that she was just so helpless to it, the bastard was a master at it and always knew what to say to push the right buttons.
"Come on Nick, stop it. We have a case we have to get back on," Judy reminded him, trying to steer the conversation in a different direction that wouldn't end in a disaster for the both of them. Nick gave a little frown and decided it would be best to listen to his partner.
He flipped his chair back around and faced his computer then proceeded to pull up different files from the case. They scanned over to see if anything new had been put in and groaned because when they did find something, it wasn't anything helpful.
"Whoever this is, they're an asshole," Nick growled sinking into his chair. He had to admit, though, this animal is extremely clever and knows exactly what he's doing. Making sure not to leave a trace of anything and even finding a way to make sure the wolves can't get a hit on their scent. Clever? Yes. Extremely aggravating? Also yes.
"And I have a feeling that it's not going to end anytime soon," Judy sighed heavily, already thinking about the many long days and nights they had ahead of them. "Also, we have to assume that he's going to kill again soon so we have to get working now." Judy insisted. Nick nodded, fully agreeing with the bunny.
"So where do we start?" Nick asked. Judy was about to answer when another voice cut into their conversation.
"You can start by going to another crime scene," Judy and Nick turned towards the voice of their superior. Nick couldn't held but notice how awful the chief was looking this morning: tired eyes, droopy face; he wanted to make a comment about it but decided at the last moment that it probably wouldn't be a very good idea considering he had mentioned a crime scene. That could only make Nick suspect...
"There's been another murder, I need you two to go and see what you can find. Anything, at this point, is better than nothing," Bogo was sounding really defeated, Nick noted. He had never seen their boss like this before, it was a little nerve racking.
"Another? That's three murders in less than a week. Are we sure this last one is of the same killer?" Judy exclaimed, becoming extremely upset with this. Judy has worked on murder cases in the past, but none quite like this. Usually it was one murder and the animal who did it was typically easy to catch. So to have three in less than a weeks time and still have nothing, it was pushing Judy to her limits.
"Yes it's the same killer; the animal had five stab wounds to his chest area, the seeming signature of our killer." Judy nodded unhappily.
"How's the media handling all this?" Nick questioned, a bit curious as to how the news was portraying the cops this time. All he got was a cold hard stare that just dared for him to continue talking. Nick gulped and gave a nervous chuckle. "Right, the case. I imagine Clawhauser has the address for us so I guess we'll just be on our way," Nick said pushing Judy along with him to get out of the room away from the angry buffalo. When they were far enough away and were walking at a normal pace, Judy looked up at Nick with amusement.
"Never seen you that nervous before, it's not like you," she giggled. Judy looked up at Nick to find him pretending to look mortified.
"I've never seen him so angry and annoyed before. Looking at his eyes was like looking into a black hole," He stated, causing Judy to laugh even more. Judy knew she couldn't ask for a better partner. Between his cleverness, his ability at being a great cop, and the fact that she was uncontrollably in love with him, she couldn't think of anyone else that could fill his place.
The two quickly picked up the address to the new crime scene and started making their way towards the garage. At some point before they even reached Clawhauser, Nick had brought up something about Judy and her obsession with carrots. He told her he knew that she was a bunny and all, but even so she still had to have almost everything be carrot related.
"I mean come on Fluff, be original," He scoffed teasingly. Judy was getting a little annoyed at his rant, mostly because it was all true. She didn't know why she liked carrot themed things, she just always had. Everything in her life she had done was to break stereotypes of rabbits, yet she couldn't shake the carrot thing.
"First off, I am original," she said gesturing to her police uniform. A bunny cop was pretty original, and Nick gave that to her. "And it's kind of our culture, I guess. I don't know," she shrugged. It's not like it actually really mattered to her anyway, her obsession with carrots wasn't hurting anyone else; well maybe Nick by being forced to eat carrot flavored everything.
Their conversation was suddenly cut short by the ringing of Nicks phone. He took it out of his pocket and smiled once he saw who it was. He flashed the screen towards Judy for a split second then told her to go and start the car and that he'd be there in a minute. Judy nodded and happily obliged in doing so, she didn't want to keep Nick from his mom after all. Especially since he had just reconnected with her after so long.
She doesn't know all of the details, and she honestly doesn't want to, but what she does know is that when Nick was around 18 or 19 he got into a big fight with his mom about something which caused him to leave and never go back. Then about six months ago when Judy had brought up something about family, she found out about it and talked Nick into finding his mom. Now, six months later, they talk nearly every other day.
It put a smile on Judy's face to know that she was a major role in them getting back together. Had it not been for her constant pestering to Nick about going to see his mother, he would not have been able to do it. There's only a few times that Judy hasn't seen Nick with his usual calm, laid back attitude, and that was one of those times. He was literally shaking with angst and fear of what his mother would say to him once she saw him again. Nick had made it very clear that they had not parted ways on good terms. He didn't tell Judy what it was he said, but he explained that he regretted saying what he said almost everyday after he left.
Obviously, though, everything worked out in the end. Nicks mom, Sarah, had been ecstatic to see him again. A lot of tears were shed that day between Sarah, Nick and even Judy who witnessed the while thing since Nick wouldn't have gone without her. But she was glad that Nick finally found some more happiness in his life.
Judy had been sitting in the car for around ten minutes before Nick finally came and hopped in the passengers seat.
"So, what'd you guys talk about?" Judy questioned, eager to hear the details.
"You know, the usual mom, son stuff. Told her I was working on a case, she talked about how she's been doing. Nothing really new since the last time we talked. Oh, and she also wanted to know if we could come over for dinner tomorrow," Nick replied, looking at the window and observing the scenery around him as they drove by.
"Dinner sounds nice, tell her we'll be there"
Nick smiled, having already told his mom yes, knowing that Judy would never give up a chance where she'd see him and his mother together. Another reason he loved her so much, knowing that she'd do anything in her power to try and make him happy. He tried to do the same for her, but it was hard considering she was already such a joyful ball of fluff. He did his best, and he knew that's all that counted. That's why he offered to go to Bunnyburrows for vacation. Yes, he'd like to get out of the big city for once, but he knew how much Judy was missing her family, so that's why he proposed to go and visit them.
He silently sighed, "Now all we have to do is get this case over with and we're home free for a long overdue vacation," Nick thought to himself, hoping that they'd get a lead soon on this pesky investigation.
