In this chapter, I remembered Bryon in a featurette having talked about two ideas he would have really loved to have added in the film: A bar with the name of "The Golden Hoof", but mainly the amusement park "Wild Times"; The original setting the movie was going to be based on more than the spy idea. I really liked how they were going to be used to tell a different story and thought they'd make a great addition to the fanfic: Mainly to show how they can add them, should they make a sequel, to Judy and Nick's next adventure. The names of the two places are different on here as I do not want to accidentally impose any kind of copyright infringement.
Chapter 4: The Night City
The trio disembarked from the train. In front of the station to the side of each entrance were tall bald cypress trees on both sides of its huge entrance. There was a moderate crowd of animals going in and out of the station, those whom arrived were already being loud jumping around to start their night of fun. The city was starting to come alive at night, signs from the many businesses attracting costumers lit up the streets. A lot of them were eating at outdoor diners and food stands. Judy looked at her surroundings in awe.
She began to wonder off, twirling as she gazed at the whole scenario, but bumped into a reed cat whom did not have a friendly face at all that had been dining outside. He had a scar that ran from his right eyebrow to his bottom eyelid.
"Hey, watch where you're going cop!" He was not pleased of what happened.
"Oh, sorry, just got lost absorbing the whole scene. I'm new to this district."
"Yeah? Well how about you really get lost?" The reed cat said in an antagonizing manner.
She giggled nervously as she backed away bumping into an elephant whom was waiting by a food stand. He wasn't mad at first until he saw Judy in uniform, "What's this? You want to start something fuss?"
Nick shook his head as he buried his face with his left hand seeing Judy cause the disturbances.
"No, no, I just wasn't watching where I was heading, it's my first time here."
"Hey I recognize you, you're that rabbit cop whom caused that turmoil between preds and prey, what, five, six months back?" He rubbed his chin with his trunk trying to remember.
She chuckled nervously with her ears drooping down, "I manage to fix everything as I'm sure you've seen, heh." She twiddled her fingers.
"Well you should be cautious. A little bunny like you is bound to get eaten alive here."
Nick then appeared grabbing Judy by both her shoulders and moving her away from the elephant, "OK, nice to meet you sir, I'll be taking her away now alright?"
The elephant resumed waiting at the food stand as the trio walked on.
"Boy people here really don't like officers do they?"
"What I tell you carrots. The sooner we get out of our uniforms the better. Come on I know where we can get ourselves some costumes to fit in with these clowns."
A group of different types of animals waiting in line at a theater heard Nick and began complaining at him.
At a clothing store they tried on a few clothes, looking for shirts and pants that suited each one of them. Judy had a small black vest on a purple long sleeve shirt with darkish blue jeans on. Nick had gotten a black collar button shirt and dark red tie with dark gray slacks.
"Look at you Mr. Detective." Judy complimented Nick as she was leaning on a wall by one of the mirrors holding her folded up uniform with her left arm.
"Of course, got to blend in where we're going. Really like what you got on too carrots." He winked at her.
"So are we all ready?" Robert appeared wearing a dark navy button shirt with chest pockets and black jeans.
"Oh wow, looking to impress our squirrel are we?" Judy lightly teased.
Robert did not care for what she said, "Let's just go pay and leave our uniforms."
Once dropping off their uniforms at the police station they headed off to find the Platinum Paws bar. The streets were busier with group of friends and couples of all sorts walking around. The street wasn't too muddy, there were puddles of water having rained a day before.
"If we take a right here it should lead us directly to the Platinum Paws. Officer Laremy said to keep an eye out for its sign."
"So what exactly is this place? I've seen so many violations." Judy was a bit agitated of what she has seen.
"Relax Judy, there are officers around. They just don't ticket people for petty crimes."
Judy then notices a couple of young animals, two weasels, three rams, two reed cats and a squirrel spray painting the side of a building, "Hey! You all stop that right now!"
They quickly stopped and turn to see who shouted.
"Mind your own business lady." A young ram who had a T-shirt of a rock band said with his friends backing him up saying things and repeating what the ram said.
"Whatchu gonna do little bunny, arrest us?" The snarky squirrel added with the hoodlums laughing.
"Actually I can." Judy had a sly smirk lifting her head up as she flashed her badge underneath her black vest.
The teens mouths dropped as they gasped until a weasel stepped up, "That's not a real badge, you're a phony."
"Oh yeah?" She turned over to a lion and tiger in uniform who were pretty buff and were looking out for trouble walking on the other side of the street.
She whistled to get their attention, "I'm officer Hopps, ZPD officer." She showed them her badge, "The hoodlums over there just painted graffiti along that wall over there. I currently don't have any cuffs on me, so I was wondering if you all did?"
They turned to the gang of teens whose mouths dropped again with bigger gasps as their eyes widen. The ones in the back tried to dispose of the spray cans by tossing them to the side away from the group. The officers noticed them trying to get rid of the cans and begin to run towards the group calling out to them. The group of vandals then disperse each heading their own way as they evaded the officers.
Judy padded her palms as if she was trying to pat dirt off them, "That'll teach them." She smirked, "Come on guys off we go." Nick and Robert looked at each other for a second shocked at what Judy had done and followed behind.
"You brought your badge? Are you crazy?"
"Calm down Nick, it's not like I'm going to be flashing it where we're going."
Robert had placed his left hand on the left half of his face, "Oh Hopps." He let out a deep breath.
"Look let's not worry about it, I'll keep it hidden." She assured them, "And please Robert call me Judy."
Robert sighed, Fine."
They reached the Platinum Paws bar. It was almost full with nearly every table, booth and stool by the bar occupied by different types of animals. It had two floors inside, the top floor was for the much smaller mammals whom would be missed and stepped on in the bottom floor. Like any old bar there were televisions with a sports game on or a TV show on. But most of the animals were more into socializing than keeping track of what team was winning or what any of the characters in the show were saying.
"Alright, any one sees a squirrel with brown fur, a white belly and a shade of brown on the tip of her tail?"
Nick and Judy looked around and they spotted quite a few squirrels fitting the description all around the bar. They looked at each other with a confused expression on their faces.
"Yeah, you think you got some other detail that will help us? Or could it be your lady friend multiplied since she was gone?" Nick sassed.
"She'll have a golden necklace that has golden squares and a silver watch on her left wrist. She'll probably still have brown hair with a light brown streak on her right bang."
"It'll probably be best if we searched individually. It'll take a while in this crowd." Nick insisted since the crowd was too big to stay together as they search.
"Fine, remember to use the communicators I gave you in case you find her. Her name is Loren, but she might go with a different alias."
Judy nodded, "OK let's go look."
They each went to search different sections in the crowd, straightening up to look above certain heads at times. Nick and Judy asked the different squirrels they came by if their name was Loren, but they mainly shook their heads. When Nick had gone by one she seemed generally interested in him asking if she'd like to join her and her friends. Judy noticed the confrontation across three tables away as Nick did put his paws up to show he was not interested despite the squirrel insisted.
She lowered her ears as she frowned and made her way to Nick and acted kindly to hide her real feelings, "There you are I been looking all over for you." She grabbed his left arm.
Nick stood straight looking at Judy while his head was looking forward, "Oh, yeah, here I am."
"Do you know this bunny?" The squirrel asked confused at them both.
"This little bunny is with him and this fox is with this bunny. Who's your friend Nick?" She kept pretending as she looked at him.
"Uh, I don't know we just met. Sorry but what is your name by the way?"
The squirrel then backed off slowly, "Not one you'll need to remember, bye." She walked off back straight to her friends.
Nick sighed in relief, "Thanks for that, I gotta say squirrels are persistent let me tell you." Nick poked fun at what just happened.
"Oh stop it." Judy smiled giving Nick a light bump on his left arm as she held it with her right arm.
Robert could see the two from near the far right end of the bar and sat to watch them conversing as he was ordering a drink.
"Are you sure you should be drinking while on the job?" A voice came his right side.
"What's it to you, what do you even mea-" Robert turned around to see who was talking to him taking a drink from his mug and it was none other than Loren herself.
Robert spat out a little bit of his drink and gets a napkin to clean his mouth, "Loren..." Robert stuttered a bit as he wiped his mouth off, "What are you doing here, or rather where have you been?"
"Oh I go where ever the business takes me. How about you Robert? Still see you're up to catching bad guys." She chuckled as she sat on top of the counter, "I see you brought new friends along." She point to Judy and Nick before Robert could deny he did.
"So what can I help you three in?" She sat next to him, "Or are you here to finally take me in?"
"Not yet. I recently got transferred to Zootopia and I'm here to catch whomever your bosses are."
Loren hummed a small laugh, "And why would I want to do that? Pay has been great and there's been plenty of work."
"Loren whatever they're up to it's going to be big and we need to-"
"Loren I presume." Judy interrupted with Nick standing beside her smiling.
"Yes and whom might you two be?"
"Just fellow coworkers of Robert here. I'm Nick and this is Judy." They both shook Loren's hand, "So glad to finally meet you, Robert has been talking about you all the time on our way here."
Robert quickly answered, "That's not true." He pointed at Nick.
Loren laughed at Robert's reaction, "So what do you all want to know?" She drank from her mug with a straw she had on her left side.
"We want to know who's been behind the wave of crimes going on all around Zootopia for one."
"Hmm, well I'm afraid it's not that simple. I don't get jobs directly from the people in charge, just their closest henchmen. The only one I know that is closest to the top guy is his right hand leopard."
"And where can we find this right hand leopard?"
"I wouldn't go looking for him if I was you. He's a big guy, not that friendly and a nasty tempered one at that."
"I'm sure we'll be able to handle them, you're looking at ZPD's best officers." Judy boasted.
Loren laughed at Judy's optimism and confidence, "There's a secret place hidden below an amusement park down at the docks near a river in the Marshlands. It happens to be inside an abandoned factory next to it. The thing is I wouldn't approach it directly from either side since there are guards protect it all around. And there is also a patrol on boats."
"So how do you expect us to get in?" Robert wondered.
"As it so happens, there is a secret entrance inside the small sick bay building in the park. I've seen some of the henchmen get in and out through there."
"So what are we waiting for? Let's go." Judy was enthusiastic to get moving.
Nick had been rubbing his chin as he was trying to remember something, "Wait you said an amusement park in the Marshlands?"
"Yes that's correct."
Nick sinks his head behind his right hand, "Oh no."
"Is something the matter Nick?"
"It just so happens I know what place she's talking about. I worked there once. It's call Wild Bliss."
