Nick placed his hand on Judy's shoulder, causing her to look up and see his comforting smile. "Hey, Fluff, it's not your fault. We'll both talk to him and make sure he is alright before we continue on with the case, ok?"
"I can't possibly imagine the pain he is feeling right now," Judy mumbled. The screeching of brakes caught her attention, her ears swivelling towards the source. She was met with the sight of a beat-up brown "bug," as the vehicles were called. The bunny watched with a heavy heart as the car finally stopped. The door flew open, and a distraught bunny rushed out of the car.
"Judy! Where is he? Where is Gerome!?" Michael cried out, but he didn't wait for a response, running to the building as soon as he laid eyes on it. Judy quickly blocked his path.
"I don't think you want to see it just yet, Michael! Calm down for a moment, and we will take you inside." Judy said, painfully watching as Michael's tear-soaked face contort with anger as he tried to push her out of the way.
"He's my brother! I can't just leave him alone in there!" The distraught bunny exclaimed. While screaming and shouting, Michael managed to push Judy out of the way and only took a few steps before Nick grabbed him by the shoulder, forcing the bunny to stop. As he turned Michael around, he stared him down with concern in his eyes. Micheal could only stare back at Nick, unable to break free from Nick's firm yet reassuring hold on him.
"Michael, we are here for you. Please sit down ,and once our guys are done, we can go inside," Nick said, slowly released grip on the bunny as Judy cautiously took hold of Michael's hand. His head slowly turned to Judy, and before he knew what he was doing, he threw his arms around her, shaking as he cried into her shoulder. Judy was surprised by the sudden action but recovered quickly as she wrapped her own arms around Michael. The hug's calming effect was immediate and powerful, letting him release his pent-up emotions as he slumped against the snow with Judy. Nick quickly looked away out of respect and went inside to check on Guy and Terrie.
Judy could only hug Michael tighter as she felt his tears soak into her uniform. As she pulled him closer, she could feel him violently shake against her.
"Michael! You're so cold! Let me get you a blanket," Judy suggested with concern, noticing the rabbit's shaking. She wasn't sure if it was from the cold or him crying, though.
Judy finally realized that Michael was only wearing shorts and a plain green T-shirt - not suitable for the Tundra Town climate. She helped him get up and led him over the car, opening the door for him. After he climbed into the cruiser, she closed the door and walked to the back, opening the trunk and removing the thick blanket from it. She returned to see that Michael was crying intensely again; this didn't stop, even when she threw the heavy blanket over him.
"It's ok, Michael. I'm here for you. We will find the person who did this and bring them to justice. You have my word," Judy encouraged, rubbing his back in a way that would hopefully calm him down as she sat in the seat with him. Judy and Michael sat in the car for a few minutes before he slowly managed to calm down. All the while, Judy encouraged him that everything would be alright and that he was not alone.
"Judy? I... I want to help bring this guy in," Michael stuttered a bit as he looked over at Judy with eyes that looked as though he had been crying for days, not minutes.
"I'm sorry, you can't. We have strict guidelines left by the killer to receive no help," Judy explained. She dared not look Michael in the eyes as she denied his request as politely as possible.
"I don't care! I want to help avenge my brother!" Michael repeated, his voice a little harsher than before as he continued to look at Judy.
"We can't. If we receive any help, he will kill members of our family. I... I can't have you helping us, ok? Please understand this," Judy tried explaining again, ashamed of her bluntness in refusing Michael the only way he could avenge his brother. She felt a heavy feeling sink in the pit of her stomach. Was it guilt? Was it fear? Judy didn't know, but she felt terrible nonetheless. Michael didn't say anything, but Judy could feel the anger emanating from him as he pulled the blanket tighter around himself.
The tension in the car was building at a really fast rate. Judy was quickly trying to find something to deescalate the situation. Luckily, Nick was now leaving the building. The bunny cop quickly got out of the car and headed over to Nick, leaving Michael still wrapped in his blanket. "So, is he allowed inside yet?" asked Judy as she looked up at Nick.
"They have finished up and have Gerome and his fur inside a bag, so Michael can go inside and say his farewells. Judy, there was a locked room upstairs. I'm going to check that room to see if there was anything we missed. I'll call you on the radio if I find anything," Nick explained putting his hands in his pockets. Judy saw the worried look on his face.
"Alright. I'll take Michael to his brother. You go find out what's in that room," Judy said, watching as Nick slowly turned around and walked back inside.
Nick was sure something was in that room. "Why else would that ONE room be locked out of the dozens of others?" he thought to himself. Nick's brows furrowed as he thought about what was inside the CEO's office. He climbed the stairs one step at a time, beginning to feel the chill in the air.
"Sheesh, it's cold in here," thought Nick again as he rubbed his arms to warm himself up a little. He pulled out his phone and saw that it was nearing ten at night - that would certainly explain why it was getting could rather quickly. Nick reached the top of the stairs again and headed down the hall like he had down a little bit ago. He pulled out his police baton as he drew closer to the CEO's office. Standing in front of the door, he hesitated as he decided on whether or not to turn the knob. It didn't budge - as expected. Nick took a deep breath before lifting his baton and swinging at the glass window that distorted the view from both inside and outside the room. The sound of glass shattering was loud and echoed all the way down the hall, causing Nick to grit his teeth at the new sound. He had grown used to the silence in the building, and even though he was prepared for most other situations, he had not been ready for the reverberating sound that bounced off of the walls of the desolate hallway.
Nick reached his arm inside and fumbled around, looking for the handle to the door. It didn't take long for him to find the lock and turn it, granting him access to the room. He removed his arm from the broken hole he had made and opened up the door. Entering the office, Nick was surprised to find that despite being covered in ice like the rest of the building, the office was shockingly clean. He looked around the room, first heading to the oak desk and pilfering through it as quickly as possible.
Nick didn't find anything inside the desk and sighed. "Hmm, nothing in the desk. Doesn't look like there is much in this room to begin with," he mumbled to himself. Nick's eyes scanned the room as he looked for anything that stood out.
Even with his natural night vision, Nick couldn't see much. Pulling out his flashlight to help him see, he shined the light over the bookcase and realized that all the shelves were empty. The room continued to get colder. Not wanting to risk getting sick while on such an important case, Nick turned to leave. As he headed towards the door, the light from his flashlight brightened up the hole he had created, revealing something that the fox hadn't seen. He closed the door, helping finish the full picture of whatever it was that he found. Nick felt a chill run down his spine as he realized that he was staring at another painting. It was a moment he never wanted to remember.
On the canvas was Judy with her paw held out as though to keep someone back; her other paw reached for the small object on her belt. The look of fear was very evident on her face even though she was in her police outfit and inside of the ZPD station. The fox's eyes drifted over to the other figure in the picture and saw himself, baring his teeth and claws as he reached for Judy. There was anger in his face, his ears were folded back, his snout scrunched up, and hate in his eyes. "Do you think I might try to... eat you!?" The memory echoed in his mind, the past painted before him.
As Nick glared at the painting, he saw a dark red jagged line painted between to two of them as though they were breaking apart. It took him a moment, but Nick could smell the sickly, metallic scent of blood coming off of the painting. "He made that line with the blood of Gerome?" Nick muttered, his eyes widening at the whole scene and the very painful memory that damn near ruined the relationship they had established so long ago.
Nick took a step back and pulled his radio to his face as he called out to Judy. "Judy, I found a painting. Come up here when you can, over," Nick spoke into the radio, walking over and sitting down in a chair covered in frost and dust.
"Nick, I'll be up there in a moment. Michael isn't taking it very well right now and is not happy that he can't see his brother properly, over," came Judy's voice. Nick didn't respond right away, the press conference repeating in his head like a bad song.
"Alright, I'll see you in a few minutes, Carrots, over," Nick finally said, standing back up and taking photos of the painting. "It's going to be hard to keep this intact once this starts to thaw," Nick thought as he saw the frost covering the "art" in front of him.
Nick stood outside the room with his flashlight pointed down the hall so Judy could see him when she came to find him. He had been standing there for maybe twenty minutes and was beginning to shiver rather frequently as the night dragged on. Placing the flashlight under the pit of his arm, he rubbed his paws together and breathed onto them, warming them up. It didn't take long for his paws to be a little warmer, letting him shine the light again without being too shaky.
"Nick, is that you?" called a familiar voice from down the dark corridor.
"No, its me, Mr. Big. Of course it's me, Carrots!" Nick joked as he began to walk down towards the Judy.
"Oh ha ha, that's very funny. Seriously though, where is the painting?" Judy asked. She could now see her partner, her own flashlight falling upon Nick.
Nick simply gestured to the room behind him with his snout. "This way," Nick said, using his flashlight so Judy could see.
It didn't take long for Nick to show her where the painting was when they entered the room. "Nick this is when we - I mean when I..." Judy trailed off, looking down at the ground as she also remembered the whole conversation they had back then. She gazed at the crystalized water that laid on the ground at her feet, feeling guilt rise up and down her body like waves on a beach. Nick hated it when Judy got like this: when she got upset because she remembered something horrible she did or how she couldn't help someone in need. Nick slowly bent over and reached out to Judy.
"It's ok Judy, that's behind us now. We both have changed for the better," Nick soothed, reassuring Judy by placing his finger under her chin and lifting her face to meet his.
"I know but still. I'm not proud of what I said back then," Judy said. She would have continued to speak if it wasn't for the soft, quick kiss that Nick gave her. She understood what it meant and closed her eyes as she brought Nick back in for a deeper kiss. It couldn't last long, but it gave them both comfort in knowing that they were both forgiven, and always would be.
"You bunnies are so emotional," Nick smiled at Judy as she pulled away, but she kept her paw on his cheek.
"Shut up Nick." she teased. "Let's go; we have work to do," Judy smirked at Nick, lightly tapping him on the cheek before turning around and leaving the room.
"Wow, she never ceases to amaze me!" Nick breathed, rubbing his cheek as though she had kissed it and followed her out and down the hallway.
It didn't take long for them both to find that Michael and the others were outside. Michael sat next to his car, quiet and still. Nick and Judy both headed over to him and sat down in the snow next to him. No one said anything as Nick placed his hand on the bunny's shoulder and Judy scooted over so they were touching shoulders.
"You guys!" He said bashfully, looking at both of them two or three times before continuing. "You guys are great friends and... and thank you, so much." Nick and Judy both gave him strong smiles as Judy spoke up.
"Let's get you out of the cold and somewhere nice and warm." Judy grabbed Michael's hand and pulled him to his feet, forcing Nick to stand up as well.
"That sounds nice, thank you," the bunny said, giving Judy a weak smile before a rumbling sound echoed between them all.
"Maybe we should go somewhere that serves food?" Nick suggested as he wiped the snow off of his uniform, noticing that the weather was starting to pick up.
"I know a bar that's nearby," Michael suggested, entering his car and rolling the window down. "Follow me!" he shouted as he slowly began to head down the street.
Nick and Judy both ran over to get inside their car and quickly followed Michael to the local bar. It was a rather short and quiet drive, and the group reached the bar in the course of a few minutes. The sign read "The Sloshed Sloth"; Judy couldn't help but chuckle at the thought of a drunk sloth as they found a parking spot.
The two cops watched Michael get out of his car and wait for them both by the front door. Judy gazed at the building, the "dive" feeling of the place rather prominent with its rather plain look. It didn't stand out save that lone, half-lit sign above the door. Nick and Judy followed Michael into the bar. They made a beeline straight to the counter, each of them taking a stool with Michael sitting in between the two cops. To Judy's surprise, there was no one else but a zebra at the other side of the building grabbing dishes off of tables.
Once Michael had seated himself, he placed his elbows on the table and threw his face into his hands, shaking again. Both Nick and Judy saw this and at the same time patted him on the back.
"Hey, Michael, you're a strong rabbit like me! You will make it through this horrible time," Judy soothed. "Listen, Nick and I will pay for the food and drinks tonight." Judy leaned forward so she could see his face.
Michael stopped shaking and lowered his hands, staring at Judy in awe. "You think I'm strong?" He asked, his expression of shock enough to make Judy realize that he was genuinely surprised by her statement.
"Yes, yes you are. You managed not to freak out with the terrible news, and to think that you even tried to be an officer like me takes guts. Most rabbits are content with their simple life, but not you or me. You went out of your way with your brother to make a living in the city where not many rabbits even live. You are strong, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise!" Judy encouraged, taking both of Michael's hands in hers and smiling the biggest smile the male bunny had seen from her.
Sitting there like a bump on a log, Michael was stunned by the positivity he was receiving from Judy. "Judy, please, let me help. Just the smallest thing I can do will mean the world to me and give me some closure of this whole thing. Just one small, little instance of feeling helpful is enough for me," He asked, grabbing Judy's hands and shaking them as he begged and begged for a chance to help.
Nick looked over Michael to Judy and gave her a slight nod and the why-not shrug. Judy thought for a moment, hesitant to put her family or Nick's mom in danger. She pondered over the possibilities and quickly came to the conclusion that they indeed needed help as they were very far behind. "Alright Michael, you can help. But it's only on our latest clue left by the killer," Judy said, looking to Nick as he pulled out his notepad and placed it on the countertop just as the bartender came by.
"Can I get you three anything?" asked the rather tall, scruffy-looking zebra with a very heavy accent that made him sound like he was drunk.
"Some fries if you have any," Nick spoke up, raising his hand as he ordered.
"A carrot salad for me, please," Judy looked at the zebra as she ordered next.
"And you?" asked the zebra as he handled the pen in his hoofs extremely well, much to Nick and Judy's surprise.
"I would like some onion rings and a whole bottle of Buck Daniels," Michael said after a moment of thinking.
"Rough day, huh?" the zebra asked, looking at both Nick and Judy with some curiosity as he tried to possibly think of what could have happened.
"Yeah, our friend here has had it rough tonight, so please get him whatever he needs. We'll pay for everything," Judy said as she pulled out her wallet, placing a fifty dollar bill on the counter.
"Say no more, I understand," the zebra said, taking the bill and heading over to his register to input the order.
"So, this is our latest clue, and we haven't had any time to look at it yet," Nick explained as he slid the note pad over to Michael. The bunny's face scrunched up slightly as he began to think of possibilities.
"That's rather strange. It's like it's directed at you, Judy," Michael reasoned, poking the message a couple of times as he looked over to her.
"Yeah, all of the things we found are directed at me or Nick, whether it's the location or the clue itself," Judy agreed as the zebra gave back her change, along with a big bottle of whiskey, which Michael gladly took.
Michael popped the lid off and took quite a few big gulps from the bottle itself, not waiting for a glass. Nick's eyes grew wider and wider as more and more of the bottle was slowly drained by the rabbit. Judy's mouth hung wide open when Michael finally place the bottle back on the counter, nearly half of its contents missing.
"Sweet cheese and crackers! That bottle is meant for equines Michael, and you downed half of it like a champ!" Judy exclaimed as she sat there, flabbergasted that the sight of the smaller buck downing so much whiskey.
"Yeah, I've always been a heavyweight when it came to drinking. I was the life of the party when I was in highschool," Michael joked, looking up slightly as he recalled some memories. "But back to the clue. It also seems as though he doesn't like anyone getting close to you, so I think I may have to head to a friend's house for a few days until this is over," Michael stated thoughtfully.
"Yeah," Judy looked down at her paws as she spoke with a guilty tone.
Michael and Nick noticed this, but neither said anything as the rabbit looked at the clue once again. "I wonder why past is all capitalized like that," Nick said as he pointed to the word.
"I'm not sure. Maybe it has to do with the next sentence, the one mentioning me and running?" Judy put in her thoughts as the three hovered over the paper with Nick's handwriting.
"What could have possibly happened that made me run indoors, let alone get scolded for it, as the note makes it sound?" Judy mumbled, letting her thoughts run wild as she attempted to lock in on a possibility.
"Mmmm, can you smell those fries!?" Nick began to sniff the air as his stomach roared like a lion.
"Yeah, I can also smell those onion rings as well. I forgot to mention this place has some stellar food," Michael said as he began to longingly watch the door behind the bar leading to the kitchen.
The next few minutes were rather quiet as they waited and waited for the food to come out from behind that swiveling door, steam rising off of it. The anticipation was killing Judy as she realized that they had not eaten anything since last night. With that thought, the hunger hit her like a punch to the gut. She almost doubled over as the feeling began to nag at her insides. "Sheesh, I can't possibly imagine how hungry Nick must be, since he is a bottomless pit," thought Judy as she peeked a look over at Nick to see if he was showing any signs of pain.
Too her amazement, he was sitting there looking perfectly normal as he leaned on the edge of the counter and patiently waited. His eyes shifted to meet hers as he finally noticed her gaze. "Well, someone looks to be in some discomfort," Nick teased, giving her a smug smile as he rested his cheek on the arm propped up on the counter.
"I'm good, since I am getting a nice big salad to keep my strength up. What did you order? Salty fries?" Judy made a quick jab, annoyed with his smug look.
"Oh, you ordered a salad at a bar. You must be healthier than me," Nick shot back, keeping his pose as he slowly smiled, revealing just the tiniest bit of his teeth.
Judy's face went bright red with anger at Nick's demeaning comment, but before she could say anything, the front door opened. A few loud polar bears entered the bar, having trouble walking as they stumbled into some chairs in the corner of the bar. Judy turned back around as the sound of ceramic clattering against wood could be heard behind her. She was greeted with the sight of lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, and other goodies laid out in front of her. She didn't wait for an invitation as she quickly grabbed a fork and began to dig in. She didn't pay any attention to Nick or Michael as they too began to ferociously eat with her. Judy had just finished her third bite when a sharp chill hit her leg, causing the scar on her leg to tingle uncomfortably.
Michael noticed that Judy had stopped eating as she leaned over to rub her leg. "What's wrong, Judy?" Michael asked with concern as the bunny cop a had a slightly pained look on her face.
"Its this darn scar on my leg. This is why I don't like Tundra Town: it acts up when it's cold out. I didn't notice it back at the abandoned building since I was so focused on work and... well..." she stopped talking as the realization clicked in her mind.
"Nick, I know where the next place is!" Judy dropped her fork and slammed her paw on the table. "Can we get some boxes to go?"
"What, you know where it is?" Michael asked, jumping up at her sudden excitement.
"Yeah, Nick grab your food and let's go!" Judy exclaimed, jumping off of the stool as she scraped her food into the styrofoam box that was handed to her.
Nick was quick to follow as he too shoveled his fries into a box given to him. "You gonna tell me what you have planned, Carrots?" Nick asked as he picked up his box and stared at Judy with a quizzical look.
Before she responded, Judy turned to Michael. "Oh Michael, will you be alright here by yourself? I don't want to leave like this but we are short on time," she asked.
"You have work to do, and I was able to help. So, I'm just going to stay here and drink to my brother's memory," Micheal said, using both hands as he lifted up his bottle and took another drink out of it.
"Sir, can you make sure he gets a taxi home tonight?" Judy looked over at the zebra who began to gather up their plates. The striped mammal looked at her and then at Michael.
"Of course! Michael here is one of my regulars!" The zebra smiled at the three as both Nick and Judy ran out the door.
"So where are we going, Carrots?" Nick asked as he followed her outside, still munching on his fries.
"We are heading to the place where I got this scar - the history museum!" Judy got inside the car and placed her box of food on Nick's seat. The fox picked it up and placed it on his lap before buckling himself in. Just as they began to pull out of the parking lot, Nick saw Michael standing outside, waving goodbye before giving them a thumbs up. Both Nick and Judy waved back as they quickly drove down the road.
((((Author's Notes))))
Told ya I'd make it up to you with a long chapter. I just hope its not too much :/
Nick and Judy have helped Micheal through an extremely difficult moment in his life with many more to come. Nick has also found a painting
of the moment when he had scared Judy after her interview with the press all those years ago.
With Micheal helping them Judy had figured out where the next clue is with most likely a body as well.
What will they find at the history museum and will they be able to find the killer in time as they began to fall behind.
Please have an absolutely day or night!
