Judy looked over as Nick climbed into the driver's seat, tossing a small box into the back seat of the car. They had just finished retrieving all of the items on the list, but as a result, it had gotten late into the evening, as was evident by the setting sun. While Nick and Judy had both retrieved most of the items listed, Nick insisted that he be the one to get whatever was at the addresses. Each time it led to a business – dental, laundry, and electronics – where Nick walked in, disappeared for fifteen minutes, then walked out with a small package. When Judy asked what it was, the fox gave a shrug and set it in the back seat. And while she was curious, she didn't dare try to inspect them.
So instead she waited, striking idle talk with Nick as they went about the city but only briefly going anywhere outside of Tundratown. They were far from friends, but it surprised Judy to see how quickly they had gone from bitterly despising one another's presence to what seemed like respectful tolerance. Though respectful was being rather generous at times, as Nick insisted on referring to her as 'Carrots' or 'Fluff' or some other crude nickname, and still called the rabbit 'cute' more than once.
It was such a change, though, that Nick offered to make a stop somewhere for dinner once the rabbit's stomach gurgled. Initially, Judy declined, but after Nick made a joke about her stomach disagreeing at its second gurgling, she gave in and accepted. Nick only gave a satisfied grin at this as he changed course, not saying where they were going but promising to Judy that she would enjoy it.
And of course, Nick was right. He didn't choose some cheap fast food place like she had expected – no, he went to an actual restaurant, and one of Judy's favorites to boot. Pawlive Garden wasn't something she'd had often when growing up, but every once in a while her family would order a to-go meal for the family (It was only on rare occasions, as the price for such a thing was rather high), and Judy quickly found herself debating if sneaking bits and pieces of the few leftovers were worth it. She couldn't place it, but there was something about the food that she absolutely loved.
Nick clearly found this very amusing, almost unable to stop his chuckling as she bounced in her seat eagerly as they pulled into the parking lot. While she knew he would hold her childish behavior against her, she didn't care – the last time she had eaten here was as a celebration dinner after her graduation from the police academy. And while the memory stung, it was replaced by excitement at returning to this place.
"Calm down, Carrots," Nick snickered as he killed the engine to his car. "The restaurant isn't going anywhere." Judy nodded, taking a deep breath as she calmed herself down and climbed out of the vehicle. Nick locked the doors before he began to walk to the door, just ahead of her. He tugged it open just enough for Judy to duck inside before he himself entered, and Judy smiled widely as the smells of the restaurant reached her nose.
It didn't take long for the two to be seated, menus passed out and the doe waitress wandering off to give the two time to order, though not before Nick asked for mozerella sticks as an appetizer. The waitress nodded and wrote it down, as well as their drinks – Judy settled for water, while Nick ordered wine – before walking off.
Judy felt her mouth watering and stomach growling as she scanned the menu, unable to decide what to order. The eggplant parmigiana? Fettuccini alfredo? Perhaps the rigatoni? Or what about the ziti al forno?
The rabbit looked over her menu to see Nick setting his down, the fox leaning back in his seat across from her with a small smirk. "Having trouble deciding there, Carrots?" he asked. Judy rolled her eyes, returning to the menu.
"There's just so much to choose from," She muttered. Nick let out a small snort of amusement, before leaning forward in his chair. Judy glanced at him again, noticing his bored expression as he rested his head in a paw, elbow on the table. Again, she rolled her eyes, before returning to the menu. She continued to look over it before Nick's voice drew her away.
"You know, if you're having trouble deciding, you can get more than one thing," he said. "There are such things as to-go boxes, you know."
"But I can't afford a whole lot here," Judy replied, ears falling slightly as she lowered her menu.
To this, Nick snorted. "Carrots, I may be brash and all, but I'm not making you pay. I am a gentlemammal after all."
Judy laughed once, shaking her head. "Right, you, a gentlemammal?"
"Oh it's true," Nick said, sitting back in his seat as he smiled smugly at her. "A handsome fox such as myself has expectations to meet – something I'm very good at."
"I see," Judy responded. "Expectations that involve you paying the meal of someone you seem reluctant to be around?"
"Respect is a part of it," Nick yawned. "It's part of the gentlemammal's code."
"Gentlemammal's code?" Judy laughed, bringing her menu up again. "Does that mean there's a lady's code as well?"
"Clearly your mother kept that a secret from you." Nick chuckled as he tapped his fingers against the table. "Never would have guessed that."
"Excuse me, are you implying that I'm not a lady?" Judy said, feigning hurt and shock.
"Implying involves much more subtlety than I used, Carrots," Nick snickered back.
Judy let out a faint, almost inaudible giggle. "Good. Because I'm just the most dainty little flower."
Nick opened his mouth for a response, but shut it as the waitress walked back over. "Have we decided on what we'll be having?" she asked.
Nick glanced over to Judy, who nodded as she set down the menu. Nick nodded and sat back in his seat, still tapping his fingers along the table. "I'll have the shrimp scampi and lasagna." He and the waitress turned their attention to Judy, making her glance at the menu again for a brief moment.
"And I'll have the... Eggplant parmigiana and..." She glanced to Nick, silently asking if she really could order more food. The fox rolled his eyes and made a 'get on with it' gesture. "Five cheese ziti al forno," Judy finished. The waitress nodded and wrote their order down, before telling them she'd have it out to them as soon as she could and walked off again, taking their menus with her.
Nick reached over and plucked the dessert and drinks menu from the center of the table, going through it. He muttered a slight 'ooh' at one of the things listed, making Judy's ears perk up. "Anything good?" she asked.
Nick glanced up at her and turned the menu around, revealing to Judy something that made her let out an 'ooh' echoing Nick's. A picture of a pastry, filled with golden apples in some sort of sauce and topped with vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of caramel sat before her. "That... Looks really good," she muttered. Nick nodded and turned the menu back around, continuing to go through it.
"Really wish they had mudslides here," he muttered. "Carrots, we might make another stop before we get back," he spoke a little louder this time.
"Are you kidding?" Judy sighed. "You've got wine right there, you want more alcohol?"
"Wine is good and all, but it's all a bit dry. And besides, I drink most liqour for the flavors. Not to get drunk." Nick slid the menu over to Judy, pushing himself back in his seat as he stared out the window. "I don't drink often as it is."
"And I don't drink at all," Judy said, taking the menu and going through it. There were other desserts – cheesecakes, pastries, and something like a parfait and a cupcake – but nothing else really caught her eye.
"Somehow I'm not surprised," Nick said dryly. Judy gave him a brief glare, to which he only smirked back. The fox frowned next, his eyes shifting to over Judy's shoulder. The rabbit turned in her seat slightly to see another red fox, this one dressed in jeans and a dress shirt, approaching. Judy looked back to Nick curiously, but the fox didn't meet her gaze, instead watching the other's approach as he took a sip of wine.
"Well look who it is," the newcomer said, stopping between Judy and Nick at their table.
"Long time no see, ah... Let's see, I know your name... Houston? Austin?" Nick said, looking up in fake thought as he came up with names.
"Dallas," the other fox growled.
"Right, right! Dallas!" Nick snapped his fingers, nodding as though he had recalled the name. "So, how're things? You still playing as Diego's errand boys?"
Dallas scowled at Nick, and it seemed only to deepen as the fox smirked back at him. It took a moment, and as Judy looked back and forth between them she debated saying something. Dallas sighed, letting his expression soften. "To answer your question, no. We aren't playing as Diego's 'errand boys' anymore. We're in charge of more important things."
"Oh? Like polishing his boots?" Nick quipped, his smirk growing as Dallas visibly grew more frustrated.
"At least we aren't touring around a country bunny," Dallas retorted. Judy sat up in her chair a bit, now staring at the standing fox.
"I think you might want to take that back," Nick commented. Dallas rolled his eyes, glancing at Judy.
"Why? You scared of country bumpkin here?" He asked.
"No, I'm more concerned what she's going to do to you," Nick replied. Judy was glaring daggers at Dallas, though the fox seemed oblivious to it.
"I'm not afraid of some cute little rabbit," Dallas sneered.
Judy launched herself from her seat at the red fox, tackling him to the ground as she grabbed his shirt with one paw, the other holding her fork. Nick acted faster than Judy expected, slipping from his seat and putting his paw on her chest, pushing her off of Dallas as she spat at the downed fox. "Now now, let's try to avoid bloodshed here, Carrots. I like this place." He chided, slowly pushing the rabbit back to her seat. Judy took deep breaths, shaking her head as she realized how easily she let her anger get to her. That was unlike her; something she would have to find the source of.
"Blasted rabbit," Dallas muttered, standing up and dusting himself off.
"Call me cute again," Judy hissed. Dallas seemed to listen, his ears pressing against his head as he watched Judy sit down and Nick lean against her seat.
"Houston," Nick started, grinning as Dallas hissed a correction to him. The well-dressed fox ignored the correction, continuing what he was saying. "Unless you want to end up missing an eye I suggest you go back to your buddies and stop trying to cause trouble."
Dallas began a retort, stepping forward, but Nick made a movement Judy couldn't see and the other fox backed off. He grumbled indecencies as he trudged off, returning to his table. Judy was surprised to see a zebra, wolf, and bear waiting, each one glaring at Nick – correction, them.
"Friends of yours?" Judy asked, looking up as the waitress brought over their food and set the plates down. She uttered a quick thank you before the waitress nodded with a smile, and returned to doing her rounds.
"Long time ago, yes," Nick replied. Judy watched as he picked up a single shrimp and popped it into his mouth. "But we had some... Differences in ideals, and I left."
Judy let out an 'ah' as she began to cut her meal into smaller pieces. "Who's Diego?" she asked.
"The mob boss for Sahara Square," Nick explained. "Cheetah, real nasty guy. Has a scar over one eye, part of an ear missing. Not someone to hang out with."
"A mob boss?" Judy asked, surprised. "And he's roaming free?"
"Free is a loose term for it," Nick stated, eating another shrimp. "He has safe zones he can roam in, that even the ZPD won't go to, but there's also areas where the police and rival families will try to take him down."
"Do you know what the safe zones are?" Judy muttered after having a mouthful of parmagiana. She let out a 'mmm' at the flavor, savoring it as she waited for Nick's response.
"If I did, I wouldn't tell anyone. Besides, there's no reason for me to know. I'm not part of his family, and he has an uneasy truce with the Big family. We keep vague tabs what happens in his territory, but that's something every family does to one another."
Judy nodded, taking another bite. "An uneasy truce with the Big family?" She muttered. Nick must have overheard, as he nodded before taking a bite of his salmon.
"It's like that with most of the other families." Nick said through a mouthful of fish. "There's a respect to everything. Understanding of what invisible lines we can and can't cross."
"What's a line that shouldn't be crossed?" Judy asked, taking a bite of her ziti al forno, letting out another 'mmm' from the amazing flavor. Oh, she loved the food here.
"Well," Nick said, taking a moment to finish his current bite. "It should be obvious, but spilling the blood of someone from another family is a big no-no. So is moving in on their territory. And messing with their business – mostly."
"Mostly?"
"Mostly," Nick nodded, taking a sip of wine. "If you get customers naturally, that's all fine and dandy. But if you're actively trying to steal business, that causes problems."
Judy nodded, drinking in all of the information. "What are the other families?"
"Well, Diego Sanchez leads what're known as the 'Sandcats', and they have control over most of Sahara Square and some of Savannah Central. Likewise, there's Ruby Narirh, who has most of Savannah Central and some of Sahara Square." Nick took a pause to eat another piece of fish. "The Rainforest District is split between Sabine Beau and Artyom Fero, though Arty has control over the Canal District and Sabby has the Masrhlands. The Nocturnal District is run by someone known only as Count V, Outback Island by Joey Hopsin... Little Rodentia is, by proxy, run through the Mr. Big, who also has Tundratown. And... The last one, the Canyonlands. That's run by Kitsu Hantā."
"That's a lot of families," Judy commented.
"Mmhm. And that's not all of them, just the biggest ones." Nick took another bite as he spoke, his words becoming muffled. "But we all have this strange code we live by. I'm sure you'll learn it someday."
"Who's to say I'm joining?" Judy replied calmly. Nick raised an eyebrow as he paused mid-bite.
"Who's to say there's a choice?" Nick asked, though it was more of a statement.
Judy spoke again before she could stop herself. "And what's to keep me from just going to the ZPD with information on all the families?" The rabbit's eyes widened as she threw her paws over her mouth, almost sending her fork off the table in her haste.
"Because: A, you'd be dead first. B, now that I know that little idea is in your head, I can relay it to Mr. Big, who can in turn either keep a very close eye on you, have you iced, or make your life a hell. And C, because there's a reason the ZPD hasn't gotten involved." Nick's voice started out as a warning and threatening hiss, before evening out to his normal tone.
"Wh-Why haven't they?" Judy asked, taking a deep breath and thanking the stars she didn't mess up as much as she thought she had.
"Specifically, they don't get involved with the Big family," Nick said. "And the reason's very simple. Normally I'd leave it for Mr. Big to tell you himself, but I think it'd be best to do it myself before you and your cute fuzzy-wuzzy little tail try running off to the ZPD.
"You can't stop crime. But you can control it."
