Zootopia: A Wolf-Dragon's POV
By
Toa Coy
From one late update to another, here we go on this one
~Toa Coy~
Chapter Seven: Can You Be Conned If You Never Played
Nick was a bit on edge as he noticed his old guardian with another cop near where he and Finnick were planning to 'buy a jumbo-pop'. It was no slang for drugs, Nick would never deal with that stuff. It can turn it's dealers into users and that leads to many bad things for the seller and the dealer. Nick had to shake his head and focus on the task at paw, due to Fin's smaller stature he would play Nick's child. The elephant onesie did well to hide the fact the fennec fox was as old if not older than the red fox in the lime green hawaiian shirt and brown pants. Jumbeaux's Café patrons are mostly elephants so the foxes' plan was get one of their normal size, which was almost as large as Nick but lighter than Fin, melt it down in Sahara Square take the juice to Tundra Town make smaller pawcile. Then sell them for a profit, Nick looked at the food stand licenses he had to make sure he could get out of a jam with Officer Coy and his bunny sidekick.
The sound of the van almost hitting the pair of foxes brought the red one from his head space and back them away from the vehicle, given it was an unmarked truck Nick wanted to say as far away from that.
"Hey, watch where you're goin', fox!" The sheep driver yelled out before driving away.
Nick could have sworn that he saw a fist from the driver but that was done and gone. Now he just needed someone to get the door open. As luck would have it a pair of elephants started to head in, it was like the world was saying 'go on with the plan' and the fox started to be a bit more sly.
That was almost dropped the moment he noticed the crimson wolf eating a overly large ice cream for them and it was halfway done. The elephants in front of him also noticed this but took it as to how good this place was, but Nick was not as pleased. The red fox had no doubt that his old friend spoke to the female about him, which would throw a wrench in his plan for today.
Finnick elbowed the taller fox, only having his eyes visible let him grimace at how Nick was acting. This is a simple plan and one that had a little investment but with the killing they would be making a lot of money off of this but they needed to get the Jumbo pop. But all that, and the ire that the smaller fox had for the red fox dressing him in this outfit, would be for nothing if he did not play his part.
The elephants got there order and this was the moment Finnick acted like a child wanting something, this did get Nick out of his head and it move the plan along.
"Excuse me sir, I wanna buy a Jumbo-pop for my little boy here." Nick spoke a fatherly tone to his voice with Finnick acting cute. "You want the red or the blue, pal?"
Finnick pointed to the cherry red one, with Nick giving a parental grin before looking up to the elephant behind the counter.
The elephant would have refused the pair normally as he would think that not even they could eat the Jumbo pop but the crimson wolf at the counter beside them was almost done with a sunday that she should not be able to finish but that was a net lost on it so anyone willing to buy from him will just make it less impactful.
"Sure one cherry Jumbo pop coming up." the elephant replied reaching into a large, giant by the other animal's standards, freezer and pulled out the pop to them and Nick handed the money from the board. However saw that the tax had gone up on his purchase but that did not matter as he payed it.
Nick handed it to Fennick, who really did lean a bit from the weight and were about to leave when the sound of a spoon hit the counter. This cause all of the noise was the crimson wolf in gray jacket, gray jeans and a crimson shirt picked up a dish that must have been half of her body weight. She was careful not to to get the ice cream on her as she drank the melted remains from the bowl.
That one action caused everyone to look at the wolf in shock and awe, the door opened with Coy and Judy entered the building with Nick and Finnick politely passing by them. Not unnoticed as Coy just smiled and nodded at the two foxes as they walked off, but the elder wolf did see a bit of panic in the red fox's step.
Judy on the other hand noticed Dracana at the counter and the large dish in front of the wolfess, she did not need to be a cop to see that the elder female ate the contents of the dish. And from the looks of the elephants around her the assumption of that her caretaker did eat a small elephant size dish of ice cream all by herself. The rabbit knew of the carnivore's appetite but this seemed plane crazy, this same wolf would never take seconds while she lived in the main house with Judy's family and even when said female moved out it was only a small increase in food.
"Hey Sis." Coy spoke walking up to the jacket wearing wolf. "What was the bet on that feat?"
"Cheap food for me and double the normal price to him if I hurl within the next thirty minutes." The she wolf replied.
"Neat," The blue cop giving thumbs up. "So when did ya get in?"
Dracana knew her brother was acting dumb for Judy but the rabbit was skeptic at that line. The doe knew the trickster nature of her partner and the acts that her elder sister figure did on the farm, and she was not thrown out that the siblings did not plan this out but why is the question. Coy looked at his watch and noticed the time, enough to give Nick his head start, with a break over and if they wanted lunch they either need to eat here or not at all.
"This morning," Dracana looking out the window. "Dropped off my stuff at your house brother."
"Or did you just leave what you had there during my time at the academy." Coy poked her a bit. "But that matters not we need to get back to work."
With that Coy and Judy began to leave with the rabbit waving back the the she wolf who waved back.
Nick almost forgot how much he hated the set up for this 'business' in . He was just thankful that none of the jars broke when they got here but that was the easy part. Getting up on this roof of this house for sell was the tricky part, any of the sweet that does not go into a jar is a lack profit and food for either of them. However the red fox did notice a bit of a familiar blue in the sea of reds, browns, and tan; but it could have been a car or a different cop. Still keeping an eye out Sahara Square was not a bad idea as if it rains it ruins the plan, while also setting the pop wrong could make it so he loses out on it while the sun is just right to stay on track.
Near, but out of earshot of the foxes, Coy and Judy began doing a round of marking vehicles before moving to another street. Judy did recall the cafe where for a moment Coy and that red fox seemed to acknowledge each other like she would if she could not speak abound seeing a family member, this made a question form in her mind.
"Did you know that fox that passed by us in that cafe?" Judy asked as she drove the meter maid cart. "Is he a repeat offender like robbing someone or cheating a mammal out of money?"
Coy was on the back of the cart holding the chalk marking the cars as Judy drove. "Robbing aint in that fox's nature." The wolf replied a bit more reserved tone. "More of con man with a heart of gold, and is in the legal grey area where he can't be arrested because he does it by the book to stay legal."
"But he still is breaking the law." Judy spoke a bit firmer than normal. "We should follow him around and catch him in the act." The shift in tone to a bit more excited, given her feelings of being a meter maid made this more appealing.
Coy just chuckled, 'So naive, but that spirit is much needed in this world." He thought to himself before speaking. "Alright but no slacking off."
And thus they began doing loops around the residential area of Sahara Square, writing tickets on non-residential parts until they could see the foxes from the cafe. From what Coy could tell that the former frozen treat had been melted down into jars given the red liquid from the drain pipe to said jars.
Nick did not really pay attention to the pair as he took the remaining stick and surf down the roof before he and the smaller fox picked up the jars and the van started moving.
"I wonder where they are going?" Judy asked more to herself than out loud.
"I say we follow them," Coy said with grin. "I mean the only place around here is a residential area and not our beat."
Judy nodded and moved as fast as the cart was able to go much to her annoyance and the senior cop amusement. Coy knew the road so they are heading towards Tundratown which meant snow and easy tracking the foxes. Once there the pair entered the divided the hot dry desert to the frigid cold thundra, which was an interesting point with how it was like a locks for canal crossing. This only took a moment for them to move from one extreme to another, only much colder but uniforms and fur kept the pair warm.
The roads were scrapped clear of the earlier snows of the day but that was just temporary until the next heavy snow or until nightfall. It was not hard to find the van in question, the morel on the sides of the van made it tough to miss. Pulling up to a street not too far from the van and a pair of convent snow piles giving the wolf and rabbit a good view of the pair of foxes.
The smaller of the pair was using the elephant outfit to make paw prints in the snow, thanks to his draconic heritage Coy could see where the pair set up was far enough from any slush to dirty the snow. After that the fox placed normal sized popsicle sticks at the base of them, then Nick carefully poured the melted Jumbo-pop into the paw prints making pawsicles.
"Clever," Coy spoke to himself more than anyone else but Judy did cock her head in confusion going from the foxes to the wolf. "If I'm right then I know what the are going to do but we have our rounds to do before that happen."
Judy just shrugged and followed the senior officer to the cart and the began to mark cars and checking the meters. By the time the pair returned, and fifty more tickets written, the foxes had packed up the operation and the van began to move back to downtown. Again the cart was slow but once they found the popsicle flippers the smaller one was moving a still container into an empty recycling cans while Nick has the treats in an open air ice cart. Judy still did not fully get it until a bell chimes 5 o'clock. Like clock work a large group of Lemmings, reading the building name it made more scents, and then Nick called out to them.
"Pawpsicles!" The red fox waved drawing them them in. "Get your pawpsicles."
The lead lemming was heading to the fox with money in hand which in turn was exchanged for the refrozen treat. It was like a production like, smooth and efficient even to the point of the lemmings throwing the sticks in the recycling cans. Judy was at a loss for what she had seen, though this was not that unsimilar to someone doing a lemonade stand, but this seemed to be a bit more capital to it.
"Isn't this counted as a small businesses and doesn't he pay taxes for running it?" Judy asked the wolf.
"Yep and without probable cause to look at it anything out of order could be filed under harassment." Coy replied as the two watched Finnick pulled the carts holding the sticks from pawpsicles and hauled them into the van.
The two cops followed the foxes to Little Rodentia, a rodent size city with a fence around it and areas that are being worked on in the middle of a large park. Coy had to decline following any farther as he was over the maximum high restriction for the area, mostly due to if a mammal of his size fell down in there it would not end well for those involved. Judy took this as her chance to put some of the academy training to work. A tall grouping of grass was as good as any to watch the pair.
Judy heard Nick say something to the Foreman Mouse.
"Lumber delivery!" The tall fox said with pride.
The mouse, knowing he was not born yesterday, eyed the fox and the lumber. "What's with the color?"
And at that moment Nicholas Piberius Wilde had a brain fart, looking over his shoulder all day put a strain on him so this was bound to happen. "The color?" He staruder for a moment before coming up with a clever pun. "Uhh... It's red wood."
The mouse gave him a look but need that wood and agreed to pay for it. Judy saw this and was somewhat angry that someone would use a popsicle stick as a building supply. The rabbit walked back to the wolf waiting by the cart. The doe was in a bit of a huff after what getting back.
"So I take it that he sold the sticks as lumber?" Coy asked noticing the bunny's angry cute look.
"How did you guess?" Judy growled a bit mostly because how this all seem illegal but she could not do something about it. "This seems like something I would break up if this was back at the academy."
"You're not wrong but the gray area of law means as long as base product is not bought or made through illegal means it is all legal." Coy replied watching the van drive away. "Sometimes those that live on that side don't do it by choice."
"What do you mean?" Judy asked also watching the van leave as well.
"I'm sure I've made today bearable." Coy said his face not going into a smirk or look of pride. "Imagen today only you are by yourself and how you would have spent it?"
"I would think it would be just the same minus your jokes." The rabbit thought aloud.
"You might be right," The wolf shrugged. "But what if you went up to the fox and he stopped you at every turn with legal argument. Then humiliated you while also just making you question your choice to even move out here and follow your dreams."
Judy had a thought there for a moment, as much as she hate to say it he was right. Being given a meter maid job felt demeaning to her, she worked twice as hard as anyone else at the academy if not harder. Being given this as her first assignment would have made her be more reckless to prove herself but with Coy it was not as demeaning because who would laugh at a wolf writing you a ticket.
"You know that fox might talk to ya when you are off duty." Now the wolf smiled. "Try to build a bridge who knows you might make a friend out of him."
Judy thought about it and shrugged what had she to loose.