The trio had finally collected all they would need from their homes and started to drive to Tundratown. Nick was at the wheel while Judy and Chris were seated on plastic chairs with blue cushions placed on them for comfort. Chris typed on the computer as he got acquainted with it. Judy on the other hand looked over all the luggage they'd brought along. From a few bags to a wooden bucket which she found odd.
"What's with the bucket?" She asked with a raised eyebrow and pointed at it.
Chris momentarily looked over at it before getting back to work on the computer. "Let me answer that question with a question."
"Okay..." Judy asked finding that odd as well.
"What are the two most important things in any bathroom." He asked still typing.
Judy looked up at the roof in thought. "That would be the shower or bath depending on what you fancy. And the second would be the toilet." She said with a smile.
Chris grinned. "I already have deodorant spry."
Judy didn't understand at first, but then her smile slowly started to fade as she got the idea. "Eww. Your not seriously gonna... ? In that?" She asked disgusted.
"Well I'm not going to do it outside in the cold snow." He said as if it was obvious enough.
"You sure you'll survive in here?" Nick asked from the drivers seat glancing into the rear view mirror for a moment.
"Believe it or not I've survived like this before back when me and my friends were full on gamers." He said chuckling at old memories. "That reminds me, we should think of code names."
"Is that really necessary?" Judy asked not being a fan of the suggestion.
"Come now carrots. Code names is one of the best parts of this kind of thing." Nick mused.
"Fine. However, I'm not going to be called carrots." Judy said sternly.
"Cottontail it is." Chris simply decided. "And Nick you can be Redcoat."
"Cause of my fur? And what will you be?"
Chris stopped typing for a moment. "Everyone knows the guy mammaling the computer is called Overwatch." He said spreading his arms out for empathizes.
"You know what? You talk to much." Judy inquired leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms.
"That's it Cottontail! We can call him Jabber mouth." Nick chuckled as he turned a corner.
"Perfect!" Judy exclaimed.
Chris sighed and went back to typing. "Alright, it's not like I'll be able to change your minds."
"You'll get used to it." Judy reassured.
09:45, Tundratown, stakeout apartment.
The van stopped at the apartment and Nick and Judy stepped out with their luggage. The van drove off and hid in a nearby location in an old ally-way. Deep enough to not be seen by anyone simply passing by. Judy and Nick on the other hand entered the building and went to the receptionist.
The female arctic fox looked up from the fashion magazine held in her paws. She placed it down next to a computer and smiled at the two. "Hello there sir and madam. How may I help you?" She asked kindly.
"We reserved a room here." Nick said putting down his heavy luggage.
"Just give me your name and I'll find it."
"Mr. Trueman." Nick said the name he was meant to use.
"Ah, hear you are. Room 42, but... " She looked up at him strangely. "It's a one bedroom apartment. Will you be staying in a separate apartment ma'am?" She looked at Judy.
Judy looked down a bit embarrassed. "No. I'll be staying with him in that one bedroom apartment."
The arctic fox stared down at the bunny and back at the fox with a perplexed look. She shook it off trying not to get into their affairs as it wasn't her place. "Here is you key than." She handed Nick the key.
"Thank you." Nick thanked her an they started to walk up the stairs.
Nick took one last glance at the receptionist and saw her staring at the door probably in deep thought. He didn't take it to mind and continued up the stairs. They reached the room and Nick unlocked the door and opened it allowing Judy to enter first. It was a small place not much bigger than Judy's. After dropping their Luggage on the floor Judy turned her attention to Nick.
"Nick, we should probably talk about last night now that we have a chance." She said rubbing her left arm uncomfortably.
Nick sighed. "Alright, but we should get set up while were at it."
"So, what happened?" She asked opening a bag with a laptop inside.
Nick stared at a corner in the apartment before turning back to Judy. "I couldn't find the right words. I panicked and choked as a result."
Judy had already removed the laptop and was holding it in her paws. "Why would you panic?" She asked concerned.
Nick bit his lower lip and looked back at the corner. He knew he could lie his way out of this and even if he could. Would he want to? "Because I-I."
"What is it Nick? You can tell me anything." She reassured him.
Nick looked at her straight in the eyes. "I don't know if I want to be just friends anymore."
Judy's heart started to race and her breathing became heavy. Was Nick saying what she thought he was saying? "Are you saying you want to be more than friends?"
Nick nodded. "I know it's not the best time to bring this up and I understand if you don't feel the same. It's just-"
"Nick." She cut him off. "I think and want the same thing." She gave a warm and inviting smile.
Nick was both surprised and overjoyed. Was this real or had he fallen asleep on the way here. Judy stepped closer and placed her paw on is cheek. That was all the confirmation he needed. That felt to real to be a dream.
"I want to give this a try, but at the same time we have to stay focused on the job." She said looking deep into his emerald green eyes.
Nick couldn't hold back his smile and nodded in agreement. A static noise then came from one of their bags. Judy moved over to the bag and removed a walkie-talkie.
"Come in Cottontail an Redcoat. Are you there? Over." Asked Chris.
She held in a button to allow her to speak through it. "This is Cottontail. We are in the room and just getting set up."
There was a moment of silence. "Oh, your done talking. Say over when your done so I can know. Over."
Judy giggled at how into this the jackal was. "Will do Jabber mouth. Over."
"Good. When your done in there remember to set up the cameras outside so we I can get a visual. Over."
"We'll be out in a few. Over and out." She had to admit she did enjoy saying that. She turned back to Nick who was wearing his trademark smile. "Let's get on with it."
"Sure. Back to work." Nick said rubbing his paws together and looking around the bags to see what he could do first.
After a quick setup Judy and Nick made their way on to the streets. There were only a few mammals walking around here and there, each occupied with something. A small bar on the other side of the road a few blocks down was what they were interested in. According to the file Andy Kozlov came there often and it may be a meeting point of some sort.
"We have six cameras." Judy said looking at the tiny little devices in her paw. All six fit comfortably in her paw with room to spare and a clear color to blend in. "You take three and I'll take three. Remember to look as casual as possible when you plant them."
Nick nodded and took three from her. He placed them in his jackets pocket and casually walked away on the same side of the road in the direction of the bar. Judy on the other paw crossed the street.
She kept an eye on her surroundings, including the caribou that walked passed her. "Can't be too careful." She thought to herself. She leaned on a trash can and acted as if she was dusting off the snow on her foot. When she walked away she left behind the tiny device. She peaked over at Nick who was walking as casually as ever, paws in his pockets and that smug face of his.
"Dumb fox." She muttered smiling at him.
A few carefully placed cameras and a trip the a grocery store latter the two came back to the apartment building. Nick carried the grocery bags while Judy walked next to him eating a slightly frozen carrot.
"You think we should have bought something for Chris?" Judy asked.
"Nah. Were not suppose to make visual contact with him anyway." Nick said and stopped at the door waiting for Judy to open it.
"What? Your not gonna open it for me?" Judy teased him.
"Very funny, carrots." He said sarcastically.
She opened it and went ahead of Nick up the stairs. He came in and looked at the open door. "Great." He muttered.
He walked up behind the door planning to push it closed with his back. Before he could though, the arctic fox from the reception came to his aid. "That wont be necessary."
Nick stood out of the way while she closed it for him. "There, much better."
"Thanks for that." Nick said.
The white fox faced him and smiled. "You seemed to need help."
"I was kind of left hanging." Nick joked and chuckled.
"So you and the rabbit huh?" She asked nudging her head at the stairs.
"Oh, well uh... " Nick was unsure what to say. They haven't actually confirmed anything yet, but he had to make her believe they were. "Yeah, we're... yeah." Was all he managed and nodded his head.
"Alright, we'll shes probably waiting for you and I best be getting back to work." She said looking back at the desk with the computer.
Nick looked at it as well and noticed the fashion magazine from earlier. "Seems important." He said putting his grin back on.
She laughed a bit nervously. Nick then turned around and went upstairs to his partner leaving the other fox behind. She watched as he went back up walked back to her desk, sighed and got back to reading her magazine.
Judy stood by the room waiting for him as he had the keys. Her arms were crossed and she shifted her wait to the left as she stood with an annoyed expression on her face.
"What took you so long?" She asked spreading her arms when he came up next to her.
"Well you did leave me to close the door on my own." Nick said in defense. "Could you get the keys out of my pocket?"
Judy's long ears dropped to the floor and she looked at Nick with a perplexed face.
"What?" Nick asked confused.
"Put the bag down and get it out with you own paw." She said frustrated.
Nick chuckled and did as he was told. "Of course! Why didn't I think of that?"
Judy placed her paw on her forehead and dragged it down her face. "Are all males this dense?"
Nick unlocked the door and faced her. "It's not that. We're just so focused on the important stuff that we sometimes overlook the little things. It's called prioritizing."
Judy rolled her eyes. "Yeah right. It's called being simple minded." She said walking inside.
Nick only stared at her as she walked in, watching her swaying hips. When he realized what he was doing he shook his head, picked up the bag and followed her inside.
19:52
Nick stared at the laptop placed on the desk in front of him. Monitoring the six video feeds displayed on the screen. He leaned back in his chair, eyes moving from one video feed to the next.
"Redcoat. Come in Redcoat. Over." Came Chris's voice over the walkie-talkie.
Nick picked it up and pressed the button. "This is Redcoat. Like 15 minutes ago there's still nothing to report. Over."
"Not a thing? Over."
"Nope. You do know where staring at the same thing here? Over." Nick said sitting up straight.
Nick waited for a reply that didn't come and leaned back after he was sure it wouldn't come.
"You know, his just looking for a little conversation." Judy pointed out when she came out of the bathroom in her pajamas.
Nick sighed. "His got wifi in there. He can find something to do."
Judy rolled her eyes and stood next to Nick, putting her paw on his shoulder.
"Jabber mouth said he'll take the night shift, but one of us have to be up early to take over." Said Nick.
"And let me guess. That duty will go to the farm girl who's used to early mornings?" She asked knowing what he had in mind.
"Thanks for offering carrots." Nick said holding back a laugh.
"I didn't." Judy protested. "Dumb fox." She gave in.
Nick grinned. "It's only fair anyway."
"What do you mean by that?" She asked raising an eyebrow.
"You get the bed and a more restful experience in a shorter time. I get the sleeping bag and therefore need a longer resting period to properly restore my energy." He explained.
Judy looked at him with a gaping mouth, rewinding what he just said in her head. "So, if I take the sleeping bag you'll get up early?"
"Sure, but I'm obviously not gonna let my female partner sleep in my old sleeping bag on the floor." He gestured at the floor.
"How gentlemammal of you." She said sarcastically.
Nick got up from the chair and walked over to his luggage. He grabbed some clothes and toiletries. "I'm going to get ready for the night."
Judy looked at his clothes and noticed he didn't have anything warm. "You don't have much there."
"Well I prefer to sleep na..." He cleared his throat. "Shirtless." He said quickly. "So I never considered buying something warm for the night."
Judy blushed. Nick might have stopped himself from finishing the word, but she knew exactly what he was going to say. "Oh, okay. Hope you don't get to cold."
Nick gave a nervous smile and went inside the bathroom.
Note: So now Nick and Judy know how each other feel, but still have to keep it professional. Wonder how long that will last? ;)
Thanks for all the favs, follows and reviews. It's all highly appreciated. Anyway hope you enjoyed it and feel free to drop a review to tell me what you thought and have a good day/night.