Author's Note:
Thanks to Detective Desires for your constructive criticism on chapter one. I'm glad to see you enjoyed it, even if the opening is a bit slow. It may not seem like it, but the story is moving a lot faster than I would've liked. But it's not a big deal, as I still have a lot more to go with this story.
Thank you, SerpentBane007 for your review on chapter one. I'm glad you really like it so far.
And, starting in this chapter, I will add some other alternating perspectives, because there is more to be told then can be through Nicole's eyes. But, Nicole will be the narrator, so as it will still stay the same perspective somewhat.
Chapter 6 – Family History
I drove through Zootopia, heading towards highway 69. On the way, I dialed Chief Bogo. He answered after three rings.
"Nicole!" the cape buffalo said once he answered. "It's nice to hear from you. How's it going?"
"Not so good," I said. "Listen, I need you to ping my phone and track it. Do the same for Dad."
"What's the situation?" Bogo asked, moving to a serious tone. I could hear his hooves clacking against his keyboard.
"I'm going to meet someone who I don't trust. I want someone to watch my back."
"If you don't trust the person, I'd advise not going," Bogo warned. "But I trust your judgment."
"Thanks, Mason," I said. "I'll call you if I need anything."
"Glad to help, Nicole. Bye."
"Bye." I hung up as I got onto the on ramp for the highway.
I drove aggressively, yet slow at the same time. I wanted to get to Zane and make him pay, yet also wanted to stay as far away from him as possible.
My paws were numb from gripping the steering wheel so tight—if you could see the skin on my knuckles, they would be white as blank paper.
A few lone tears fell down my face as I drove. I didn't know why I was crying. Was it fear? Was it anger? I still don't know.
The drive wasn't long, only about ten minutes. But I saw a red fox waving me down next to a dirt road. I pulled into the road and stopped. Zane opened the passenger door and sat down. "Drive down the road," he ordered. I did as he asked without saying a word. "So," Zane started. "Long time no see. How's it been going?"
"Go to hell," I replied.
Zane laughed. "Same old Nicole."
I was silent. I was mad, furious, angry, enraged—whatever words could be used for anger, I was feeling them at that moment.
"Pull in here," Zane said, pointing to a barn off the road. I did as he said. I parked the car and applied the parking brake. I left the car running and in neutral.
Zane pulled a device about the size of a phone, but with a large button on the top. He led it out between me and him and pressed the button. Instantly, all the electronics in the car died. The engine kept running, though.
"What was that?" I asked.
"An EMP Jammer," Zane said, putting the device back in his pocket. "I thought the engine would die, too. I guess Viper knows how to make a good engine."
"Why did you bring me here? Did you do this just to ruin the electronics on my car?"
Zane chuckled. "No, no. That was just for fun. I wanted to test my little jammer I built."
"What?"
"But the first part is so I could tell you a story," Zane said.
"A story? Really?"
"Just sit there, and I'll tell it to you," Zane said. He cleared his throat and began his story. "In 2001, I was born. My mother is Dian Weather. You might remember that name, do you?"
"Sounds familiar," I said. "She was a friend of Dad's form high school."
"More like a one-night-stand," Zane said. "I was the result."
"So that means… you are… oh God!"
"That's right, sister," Zane said "I am the biological son of Nick Wilde."
"I think I'm going to throw up," I said.
"Hold it in; it gets better," Zane said. "Over the next few years, Mom became a crime boss. She had lots of connections, and, most importantly, she had access to money. Money will make anyone do anything. Later on, she married. Her first and only child was put up for adoption at the Savannah Central Adoption Agency. You know who that is?"
I was really about to throw up now. "Me?"
"Correct again."
I opened the door and threw up on the ground outside. "I couldn't be related to you!" I said when I was done. "You're a criminal!"
"Well, we're only half related."
"It doesn't matter!" I said. I punched Zane in the face as hard as I could.
Zane's head hit the window. He put a paw on his head and moaned. "That hurt," he said.
"And there's more where that came from, too," I said, ready to throw more fists.
"We'll see," Zane said.
The door beside me opened and the two white wolves were there. They grabbed me out of the car and held me captive. I tried to wrestle free, but I wasn't able to get out of their powerful grip.
Zane stepped up to face me. "Looks like we'll have to do a little bit more negotiating than previously thought." Zane then looked down towards my waist. "Hang on, What's this?" he said as he lifted my shirt to reveal the gun. "Packing heat are we?" Zane said as he took the gun out of the holster. He flipped the safety and pointed the gun in the air and pulled the trigger. It fired as it should. "A loaded one, too. She wasn't gonna bluff with this one, boys," Zane said, elbowing one of the wolves as they snickered. Zane emptied the gun and tossed it on the ground. "Follow me," Zane ordered.
The wolves carried me into the barn. The place looked as you'd expect a barn to look; a mix of straw and hay on the floor, a few bales in the loft and against the walls, all sorts of tools scattered about the place, a workbench with a mangled piece of steel that looked like it could have been a water pump out of an engine at one point, and, in the middle of the floor, an old, rusted, cab-less IH 1206 tractor. My grandparents have two of them on their farm, so I could tell what it was.
Zane walked towards a door to what looked like a closet and opened it. Inside was, well, a closet. Zane spit an the ground, a tooth and some blood splattering on the ground.
"You're just gonna lock me in a closet?" I said.
Zane gave me an angry sideways glance right before he grabbed at the floor and pulled to the side, revealing a concrete staircase leading down.
"Ladies first," Zane said as the smaller wolf shoved me towards the stairs. I started walking down the stairs as my night vision began to kick in. At the end off the stairs was a short hallway, then a door. Zane squeezed by the wolves and opened the door. Past the door was a hallway that looked very similar to the one my cell was in last year. Then it dawned on me—it was the same place.
I started to sweat as the memories came flashing back.
"I'll take her from here, boys," Zane said, taking a hold of my arms. The wolves walked off, and Zane led me to another door. He opened it and pushed me in.
The lights were off, but I could make out the shape of a table and chairs, a cabinet, and a bed. Zane switched the lights on to reveal what looked like a doctor's office. But the bed had places to strap a mammal down onto.
"What is this?" I asked. Zane released me, but the door was locked tight, and I knew fighting him would be counter-productive.
"Riddle me this," Zane said, ignoring the question. "Why go meet the person you hate the most—alone?"
"Because I—" I didn't have a good answer, so I shut my mouth.
"Exactly," Zane said as he sat down at a computer. He booted it up and started typing. I sat down on one of the chairs. I felt something bump against my paw—it was my knife! I had forgotten about it. I took it out of my pocket and held it tightly in my paw.
"So," Zane said. It startled me, and I hid the knife as best I could. "You have two choices. You can either work for us, or, you can go home. Your choice."
"I'd love to go home," I said, sarcastically.
"There's a catch, though," Zane said. "What do you see here?" Zane said, pointing to the computer screen. I got up and moved over to the screen. I gasped when I saw it. "That's right. We have your entire family captive."
In my anger, I flipped the switchblade open and tried to stab Zane. "You bast—"
In one quick motion, Zane pushed my arm up, wrenched the knife out of my paw and held it against my throat. "So what's it gonna be, Nicole?" Zane asked. "If you go with us, we'll set them free. If you don't, we'll kill them, and you will be all alone. And with your eighteenth birthday coming up, Child Services can't do anything for you. So who is it? You or them?"
I realized now I really didn't have a choice. I made a decision. "I'll do it," I said. "I'll work with you!"
Zane released me and tossed the knife into the wall, the blade sinking deep into the sheet rock. "Glad to have you join the family business, Nicole," Zane said.
"I'm not a part of this family!" I shot back.
"You are now."
I was about to say something back, but my phone started ringing. The color drained from my face. Zane reached into my pocket and took it out. The caller ID showed Bogo's name and face.
"Well, we have the high-and-mighty police chief calling. What shall I do?" Zane said, exaggeratedly feigning fright. "Oh! I know!" Zane dropped the phone to the ground and stomped on it. The ringing stopped. "No more tricks, Nicole."
Two hours earlier, Dad drove up to the Strip Weather's Tire warehouse. The address was on the card that was left in the house. He walked up to the building and knocked on the door.
"ZPD! I have a warrant to search this building," he said. No answer. He knocked again. "ZPD! Open up!"
Eventually, the door opened, and a red fox in his mid-fifties stood there. "What can I do for ya?"
"I'm Officer Wilde with the ZPD, and I have a warrant to search this building," Dad said.
"What for?" the fox asked.
"There's evidence that this place may be linked to kidnapping," Dad said. "May I come in?"
"Sure, sure," the fox said, stepping aside. "'S long as you've really got a warrant." Dad walked in and began looking around the room. "There's nobody here other than me, right now," the fox said.
"Why?" Dad asked, looking at his watch. "It's only a little after five thirty."
The door to the stairs opened, and a middle-aged vixen walked out. "Nicky! It's so good to see you!" she said.
"I'm sorry, but do I know you?" Dad asked, confused as to who this was. She did seem familiar.
"Why, I'm Dian!"
"Dian?" Dad said. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm the manager of this building. Strip over there is the owner of the company."
"Nice to meet you," he said, shaking Dad's paw.
"Anyway," Dad said. "At a kidnapping there was left a business card with this address on it and a note." Dad handed the note to Dian for her to look it over. "Do you happen to recognize—wait." Dad took out his notebook and pen and handed them to Dian. "Write out a few sentences for me."
"Anything for you, Nicky."
"And please, stop calling me that. We were never together."
"Whatever you say," Dian said, handing Dad the notebook back.
The sentence she wrote was "Have you figured it out yet?"
Dad looked back up at Dian. "You?" he asked, surprised. "You wrote the note?"
"I've been waiting for you to figure that out," she said, then snapped her fingers.
The two wolves came in and took a hold of Dad. He wrestled around with them for a while, as he could match their strength. Eventually, Dad broke free of their grip and pulled his gun on them.
"Don't move! Paws in the air!" he said. Dian then stuck a needle into his neck from behind. Dad instantly felt woozy. "What… was… that?" he asked as he dropped to his knees, dropping the gun beside him.
"Oh, just a little mixture I whipped up in my spare time," Dian said. "You'll be asleep for hours."
As soon as she said that, Dad's eyes became too heavy, and dropped shut.
When Dad opened his eyes, he had no idea where he was. He sat up and rubbed his head, as it was sore. His vision was a bit blurry, so he rubbed his eyes, trying to clear them up.
"Dad?" came the voice of Kenny's voice.
"Kenny?" Dad asked, blinking as he looked to his side. Sure enough, Kenny was sitting beside him. "Where are we?" Dad asked. "And where is everyone else?"
"We're here," Mom said. Dad turned around to see Mom, Josh and Kenny.
"Where's here?"
"We don't know," Mom said. "But we do know we've been kidnapped."
"And where's Nicole?"