"Nothing is more important than family at the moment for me." Jack said to Nick and Judy as they stood outside Judy's apartment building.
The fox crossed his arms, "Good to know you're not about to keep crying over your past."
Judy nodded in agreement, "We're here to support you alright?"
"Thanks, I'm going to need it." He looked out across the busy street, "Let's grab a quick bite shall we?" he suggested pointing at a cafe.
"Sure, I'm game. Carrots, what do you say?" Nick said smiling at his partner.
Judy smiled happily, "You read my mind, I'm feeling pretty peckish right now."
The trio made the short trek to the cafe and sat themselves down at a table in the corner as not to arouse unnecessary attention from others.
"I should call William, let him I'll be a little longer." He retrieved his phone, but noticed the battery died, "Oh perfect. Well, I assume you don't happen to have a charger on either of you?" The buck asked.
The fox shook his head, "Nope, different model, can't help you, how about you fluff?"
"Nope, sorry Jack." the doe answered with her ears flopping down.
The buck sighed, "Figured as much. Well, William's a grown responsible adult, he can take care of himself fine until I return."
A female Jackal came up to the group, "What will it be this lovely morning for y'all?"
"Slice of blueberry pie, hash browns, and a cup of coffee." Nick ordered.
"I'll have a carrot cake, an apple, and some orange juice, please." Judy asked.
"Just some toast with strawberry jam, and a cup of tea; make it Earl Grey, thanks sweetheart." Jack said.
The jackal giggled, "Yes mister. Coming right up!" She said blushing.
Jack was used to some mammals being charmed by his accent, and he rolled his eyes.
Nick grinned, "Say, a lot of girls seem to like you Jack, why don't you ask for her number? Considering you seem to have a thing for predators." he teasingly suggested.
Judy groaned, "Nick, cut it off, we're not here to scout potential girlfriends for Jack, we're on an important mission, right Jack?"
The buck sat there looking a little bored, "Yeah, Judy's correct. Shouldn't be chasing some birds right at the moment. Besides, she looked too young for me."
Nick took a gander at the jackal, "Mm, I guess you're right, she could be still in school."
"Nick. Don't do that, it makes me feel uncomfortable when you stare at her." Judy said noting the fox's demeanor towards the jackal.
The fox looked quickly back at his partner and chuckled, "Don't worry fluff, I'm not going to perv on a possibly underage mammal. You could cuff me right now if you really think I would do things like that."
Jack cleared his throat, "We should start planning our next move right now, Skye's probably on the move, and she will not wait for us."
The fox's tail twitched, "Jack's right. Who knows what's she doing now, maybe causing more trouble as we speak."
The food was delivered to their table, "Here you go! And let me know if you need anything else!" she cheerily said, specifically towards Jack.
The buck shuddered a bit, "I hate it when they do that." he said as he spread the jam on his toast.
"Is our city's hospitality too much for you, your Highness?" Nick sarcastically asked.
"As you said earlier Nick, she looks a touch young to be flirting with adult men like me. Well, that's the price to pay when they watch shows from my country. Getting the impression that we're some kind of royalty to be hitched with. Their parents should have a talk to them." Jack tersely stated taking a sip of his tea.
Judy laughed, "It's the same at my house, some of my siblings are so into rabbits like you Jack. I'm sure you wouldn't last a single day at Bunnyburrow without a hoard of them trying to marry you."
Her story made Jack winch, "Is that so? Remind me not to visit your hometown then."
"Trust me. You're better off not going, Judy having a fox as a friend drew way too much attention to us. I can still hear the mass hoard of bunnies rushing towards me." He said, shaking a little in fear.
"My family's not that bad! They just aren't used to strangers like you Nick..." Judy meekly retorted taking a bite of her cake.
"Err..."
"Hey, Judy's here! And she's brought herself a fox!"
"Nick, we should run."
"Way ahead of ya."
"Yeah, keep saying that Carrots." he said taking a big gulp of coffee, before gasping from the still hot liquid burning his tongue.
Jack swiftly moved to Nick's mouth, "Nick! Calm yourself man, its just coffee. Let me get ice."
The fox huffed trying to cool down his mouth, "Crap! Crap! It's so fucking hot!" he said airily.
Judy held his shoulders, "Nick! You're okay! Just breathe slowly, there. Like that!"
Jack returned with a cup of ice, "Here."
Nick took a few cubes into his mouth and instantly the pain began to die down, making him sigh in relief, "Thanks, Stripes."
The agent was confused, "What? Why did you call me that?"
"Your face, it looks like stripes. Are they real?" Nick asked still cooling down.
Jack nodded and smiled, "Yup, came from my mum, she had the same pattern on her face."
"Wow really? I have to say it does look cool." She said poking at them, causing Jack to be annoyed.
"I would rather you didn't touch them, thank you."
Judy shrunk back to her seat, "O-Oh, sorry...heh." She chuckled.
"You two just do each other already! Like seriously Carrots, this wishy washy act is killing me!" Nick spoke out annoyed.
The buck knew right there and now that Nick had an affinity for the doe, confirming his previous suspicions.
"I have no interest in courting Ms. Hopps Nick, don't get so hopped up on it." Jack dismissed eating his toast.
The fox seemed to instantly relax, "Oh. Cool then." He said before returning to his coffee.
Judy was taken aback by her partner's instant attitude change, "Nick. You all right?"
"Just peachy." Nick replied with a cheeky smile.
"Nick. I'm not going after Judy alright? I told you earlier I'm not into other rabbits okay? And yes Officer Hopps, that includes you. Its not an insult, but you should realize what I mean." Jack said looking towards Judy.
The doe seemed a little disappointed, but she still regardless smiled slightly, "Yeah, I guess I should've known by now that not every mammals is going to like their own kind necessarily. Sorry for being a little overbearing."
Jack was just about done with his meal, "No harm was done. Well if you two are done, I say its time to return to my dear son."
The ride back to Jack's house was fairly long, if only because they had to take a taxi back with Jack leaving his car at home for the night.
The three pulled up at his house, and the fox was the first to express his opinion, "Wow, I can certainly see the wage difference between a police officer and a ZBI agent." he said.
Jack shrugged, "Its just a house, nothing much to fret about."
Judy was exasperated by his dismissal, "You're kidding me right? My little box I called an apartment is nothing compared to your own home!"
The buck sighed, "I realize that we are in a more...well-tended part of the city, but it doesn't mean that it makes me special in any way. You should see the senior agents' own houses first. They certainly are well compensated by the agency."
Nick smirked, "Maybe should've tried out for the ZBI all along, this is no joke of an occupation to have."
Jack walked up to the front door which he saw was unlocked, "Hmm, interesting that William left the door unlocked."
As soon as he opened the door, William was sitting down on the couch. The cat clearly looking happy seeing his father, "Dad! You're home!" he called out as he went to hug his father, who gladly accepted it.
Jack chuckled, "I was only gone for a night William. Anyways, please welcome our guests."
"Nice to see a teenager appreciate their dad for once." Nick commented seeing them both happy.
William noticed the duo and politely smiled, "What's up? Fun night?"
Nick grinned, "Jack and I had a riot, so much Judy had to clean up after us."
Judy scoffed, "Don't remind me..." she said tapping her foot.
The cat switched his attention to his father, "Dad, we need to talk. Privately." he mentioned, which Jack understood with a nod.
"Please excuse us. Sit down on this couch, help yourselves to the TV." The buck gestured to the living room.
Jack and William walked to the kitchen, in which William held his paws together, "Skye called me."
The buck breathed out through his nostrils, "I see, what did she say?"
"She asked how I was doing, and her situation at the moment." William recalled.
Jack held out his paw, "May I see your phone?"
William nodded, "Yeah, just let me unlock it. Here."
His father went to his contacts, "Is this it?" he said pointing towards the unknown phone number.
"That's the one. You going to call her?" the cat asked.
Jack shook his head, "No. I'll track her instead." He wrote down the phone number and handed back his son's phone.
"If she calls again. Let me know immediately." His father ordered.
"Yeah, I got it."
Meanwhile Judy and Nick gawked at the oversized TV, "Carrots...we need this TV, right now."
"Its rhino sized, no elephant sized!" She said, she could feel her budget already straining at the sight of the TV.
"The picture, its like I'm looking at a window. No, its better than real life!" The fox looked into every detail his eyes could process.
"Jack doesn't deserve this, he's too small to appreciate this marvelous object. I must take it home with me!" Nick said.
"Take what with you?" Jack questioned as he walked into the room.
Nick gasped, "What? Nothing! I was just you know, heh..." he smiled awkwardly.
"Since you don't have work today, you're more than welcome to stay here if you like." Jack suggested.
Nick took his invitation happily, "Whelp, can't be rude." He reclined into the comfortable couch and grabbed the remote, "Take me to paradise Mr. TV."
Judy smiled, "Nick, don't hog the TV all to yourself!" she playfully scolded as she tried to reach for the remote.
William joined his father, "Are they going to binge watch all day long?"
Jack shrugged, "I believe so. We'll leave them to it then. In the meantime, I'm going to do a little reconnaissance on Skye." He said as they watched the officers tussle over the remote.
The cat's tail swished excitedly, "Ooh! Let me help!"
His father smiled, "Alright, you'll get a crash course into how to find a target's location."
The fox stretched out comfortably, "You know, that kid's got it made."
Judy also was laying down, "What do you mean?"
"He's living in an admittedly upper class kind of neighborhood. He's got a father who very protectively of him, and seems to already have a high paying job lined up. I highly doubt this kid's had any kind of real hardship in his entire life."
"You think so? William is definitely not struggling, but he's still dealt with negative events before." Judy pointed out.
"You're right. I guess I was overwhelmed by how well off this family is. I expected the kid to be a stuck up pompous square like his dad. But he seems pretty normal for a kid like him. But considering what he's gone through since he was little, I'll give him some slack."
The fox thought back to his own childhood; it stung a little, contrasting back to when his own mother struggled at times to provide him with any decent living. He didn't want to admit it to anyone at the time, but the jealousy of William's living situation had caught him by surprise.
He peeked through the large windows pointing to the backyard, "Even the backyard's big, son of a bitch."
"I highly doubt our salary's together would be enough to afford a shack here." Judy said a little somberly.
Nick grinned, "I say we get the police force together and strike for better pay."
The doe chuckled and tossed around the couch, "Zootopia is always going to need the police forces. I wouldn't strike unless major things need to be changed."
"Its been almost a year already Carrots. We should get some kind of seniority." Nick moaned.
Judy knew what he meant, she too had her own concerns about the job's benefits despite being more than happy to be helping the city's inhabitants live better lives.
They heard Jack and William descending from the stairs, "Well now, I believe I found our next location." Jack stated with a smirk.
"Yep, the docks near Zootopia port." William explained.
Judy tapped her chin trying to figure out why Skye would be there, "The only activity that brings to my attention at the docks is there are several car trafficking groups that sometimes go there."
"Sounds fun fluff. So, why would Skye be there then?" Nick asked Jack.
"No idea. But with the phone number she used, this was the last location that it was received from." The buck said as he grabbed his bag from the closet.
Judy looked at his bag, "What's in there?"
"Just some equipment necessary for these kind of scouting missions. Oh, and you'll need these."
The buck handed the officers tranquilizer guns, "We'll keep causalities to a minimum shall we?"
Nick inspected the piece, "Hmm, they look a little different than the standard issue that the ZPD provides? A little heavier?"
Judy could feel the weight difference as well, "They seem more like a pistol than just a tranquilizer gun."
William smiled, "I got this. Its a ZBI issue tranquilizer, a little more effective against targets than the police version. Non-fatal of course, but is quicker to bring down other mammals. I use this for target practice at the shooting range with my dad." Demonstrating by quickly loading and unloading the gun.
Nick smirked, "Well, at least the kid can carry a weapon. Should be fun to see him in action, see what being the son of a agent gets you."
"Hopefully not much, causing to much of a commotion would endanger the entire operation and possible our lives. We can go together in my car there." Jack said as he grabbed his now charged phone.
Nick pouted, "Aw, but I was just settling in." He took a quick final look around the well appointed home.
William looked at Nick confused, "Um, you okay there Mr. Wilde?"
"Hmm? Oh yeah, let's head out."
