Chapter 10- The Reunion
Saturday, 4:02pm
"Please tell me you've come to say that Judy has finally snapped." Mr Croc said, not looking up from his computer, but knowing Rocco had entered his office almost silently.
The black mamba cowered a little, "Not at all. Boss? D'ya think that maybe Nick would know something about the passwords?"
Croc stopped staring at his screen and shifted his glance to the snake, "The passwords are only a way to entice her. This is personal. I want to break her." He could feel the heat rising in his face, "I want to bring her to the lowest level possible, and then…"
Rocco waited patiently for his boss to unveil his plan. "And then, boss?"
The crocodile seemed to be spaced out in his own personal amusement, a smile on his lips, "All in good time, Rocco, all in good time. I think I'll take a trip down to visit our friend, see if I can get anything out of her."
(Scene Break)
"This way?" Nick asked, pointing to his left.
Tanya nodded as the took the left which led down another seemingly endless corridor. The pair had been searching for Croc for the best part of an hour, and Tanya had sworn she knew where he would be.
Nick was growing increasingly anxious and tired. All he wanted to do was hold Judy in his arms again and get her out of this insane situation.
"Perhaps we should take a break, Nicholas?" Tanya suggested as they reached a dead end.
Nick frowned, feeling like he was on a wild goose chase, and leaned against the wall. "I can't take a break. We need to find Judy, that's my priority."
Tanya's eyes flickered, "Well, let's go then." She said leading the way back down the corridor that she had sworn was the right way earlier.
Tanya was just about to go up a staircase that Nick hadn't had the chance to explore yet when he heard it. Or rather her. The very faint sound of Judy shouting. It echoed from behind a door two feet from Nick.
He ran to it as fast as his feet would take him, flinging the door open. There was nothing but darkness, but her cry came again. Squinting, he realised it was a staircase. His face lit up.
"C'mon" Nick said in a quieter voice.
Tanya grabbed Nick by the shoulder, pulling him back. "Maybe this is not the best idea, Nicholas. We should speak to Mr Croc first. You could get hurt-"
"Judy has already been through enough. Tanya I need to find her, I thought you knew that. Do you want to help me or not?" Nick snapped.
Tanya looked stunned, "I think this is something you need to do on your own. Come find me when you have her, it is clear you do not need me holding you back, Nicholas." She said, her accent thickening with clear frustration. She let go of the fox, mumbling something in Spanish as she turned away from Nick.
Nick didn't even look back, and ran lightly down the stairs, wishing his night vision was as good as his ancestors.
He didn't have the chance to curse the fact that evolution had left him almost blind in the darkness, or the fact that rabbits had retained her incredible hearing through the generations for some unknown reason.
He finally reached the bottom of the stairs, and followed the sounds of gradually building voices, down the dark corridor.
(Scene Break)
Every bone in Judy's body begged her to give up, to make the pain stop. It would take less than five breaths to tell them the passwords they so badly wanted. But what would that make her? Weak? A shameful cop?
That wasn't her.
She had been interrogated and starved as much as her body could take, but she couldn't give in.
It's not what Nick would have done.
Although she was physically in pain, nothing hurt more than the loss of Nick. It still hurt to think about him, his face, his humour, his charm. Her heart ached. All she wanted to do was to reach out, touch him, just one more time.
The door opened and Judy was surprised to see the crocodile himself enter the room, with Rocco on his tail.
"Well, Miss Hopps, how are we feeling today?" Croc asked with little care for her answer as he stopped in front of her.
Just glared at the Nick's murderer, saying nothing.
"I see. Still upset about your boyfriend's death?" He laughed, reaching into a bag the Judy had noticed he was carrying. "I understand that this is a traumatic time for you, but you have to understand that I am on a tight schedule, and your co-operation is vital. My good friend Rocco here tells me you haven't been co-operative in the slightest. Is that true?"
If Judy was less civilised she would have spat at the crime boss.
From the bag, Croc pulled out a metal chain.
"I think it's about time, Miss Hopps, that I try a different interrogation method." He said, taking in Judy's look of horror. "Rocco, if you would please help me."
Judy summoned whatever energy she could, but she couldn't even will herself to stand up. All she could do was pathetically try and push the snake off of her, but he was too strong.
He bit into her neck, and Judy blacked out, the sound of chains clinking loud in her ears but she was unable to do anything as the dark swallowed her up.
(Scene Break)
When Judy came to, she was surprised she was still alive. She had assumed that the chains were a way to weigh down her body when the dumped it in the ocean. She didn't feel like she had been poisoned, not that she had been poisoned before, but she had read case file after case file about animals who had been poisoned and kidnapped, and their accounts had always mentioned a searingly painful head, or extreme nausea. But Judy had been sure that Rocco had bit her…. Unless that's all he had done. She must've just passed out from the shock.
When she tried to move she realised she was bound by the chains Mr Croc had brought in the bag. He had secured the restraints on a hook in the ceiling- the hook was probably fitted for this very intention- and Judy was dangling a few feet from the ground.
She couldn't move.
"Let's try this again, Miss Hopps, what are the passwords to break into the main frame of the ZBI's security network?" Mr Croc said as he pulled Judy by her bounds up to his face as Rocco watched in amusement.
"I'll never tell you!" Judy said loudly, almost shouting. The survivor in her wanting to alert anyone to her possible fatal situation.
Croc asked the question again, but Judy zoned out as her ears twitched, there was a sound coming from somewhere outside of the cell. It sounded like footsteps travelling down stairs.
Mr Croc was looking intently at Judy, waiting on her to answer the question she failed to hear.
"No." She said, not caring if he knew that she had ignored him or not.
Croc grabbed her chin and squeezed it hard. "This is just the start of everything, Judy. You may feel close to death right now, but you have no idea what's coming, and telling me those passwords will make your whole life a hell of a lot easier. So why don't you do yourself a favour and help me out, and I will return the favour."
"I will never break my vow as an officer of the law!" Judy declared, although her body disagreed and was begging for her to surrender.
Croc raised his hand, pissed at her attitude and ready to punish her for being so damn noble, when suddenly the door swung open.
Judy let out a cry. A cry of pure sadness and pure disbelief.
Was that Nick?!
It couldn't be. She watched him get shot. She seen the blood. She had been grieving. The fox stood for a moment, taking in his surroundings, his eyes searching for one person.
Judy's heart hammered as she stared at him, he looked exactly like Nick, the same type of shirt, the angle of his ears, the slant of his nose. Their eyes met. His eyes were big, wide and green but still had the layer of cool over them.
It was Nick.
"Carrots!" Nick cried in relief, charging towards Croc.
"Nick?" Judy said quietly, then louder and louder, "Nick! Nick!" Her eyes welled up with all kinds of emotions.
Rocco stopped the fox in his path, as Croc watched the scene unfold with curiosity, but he still had his claws on Judy's face.
"Where do you think you're going?" Rocco asked, flashing his black mouth as a warning.
"Stand down Rocco. I think Nick and I need to have a chat." Croc said, letting go of Judy much to her own relief.
Nick shook his head, "There's nothing to talk about. The deal is off, and I'm taking Judy back home to where she belongs. You can keep me but I shouldn't have brought her into this."
Mr Croc's eyes widened in understanding, "Oh, I see how it is." He grinned looking from Nick to Judy, resting his eyes on the bunny as he spoke, "I offered you everything Nick, a chance at redemption, and yet you choose love over opportunity."
He watched Judy's reaction, frowning in embarrassment.
Nick ignored it as best he could, "Listen, Croc, let's not involve her. This was never about her." He said worriedly.
Croc considered his words, "That's true. She was not a part of this, not until she shut down Bellwhether's plans and therefore cost me millions. And I could've dealt with that if it was just one 'do-gooder' who was only doing their job, but who else was she working with? None other that Nicholas P Wilde, the fox whose stupid mistakes landed my brother in prison for life. So yes Nick, it wasn't about her, until you came into her life. Just think, if you had stayed away from her, she wouldn't be in this mess right now. And I hope you feel very bad about it, especially about what's about to happen." The crocodile nodded to Rocco who recognised the signal and grinned with delight.
Nick didn't have a chance to even move before Rocco had wrapped himself around Judy's neck and started tightening.
She gasped, her air supply suddenly scarce. Her arms tried hard to reach up and pull the snake off of her.
She could hear Nick shouting, but Croc was holding him back, yelling at him about the fact that it's all his fault, and all she had to do to stop it was tell him the passwords.
Judy, not wanting to die there and then without having another conversation with Nick. All she wanted to do was hug him, and there was no way she was going to leave the world without holding him once more.
"Z…T…P" Judy wheezed.
"Boss!" Rocco called, "I think she's saying the password!"
Croc, who now had a hold of Nick, smiled, "loosen your grip on her then."
Rocco did so, and Judy spluttered, gulping down fresh oxygen.
Nick snarled, hating that he could do nothing to help her.
"ZTPAMP29" Judy said in her broken voice, "KRP11RF99. That's it, that's them."
Her voice was obviously damaged from the pressure, and swallowed felt almost impossible and extremely painful.
Mr Croc grinned, wiggling his eyebrows at Nick. "Now, how hard was that?" He laughed, and yanked the chains down from the ceiling, making Judy fall to the ground with a thump in a clammer of chains.
"I'll give you some time alone" Croc said, gesturing for Rocco to leave before he let Nick go to assure his second hand man safety, and then he himself left, pleased with his progress.
As soon as Croc let go of Nick, he scurried to the chains covering Judy. He yanked them away, to find her lying curled up unconscious.
He stroked her forehead, unable to comprehend how much danger he had put her in, he mentally kicked himself.
Judy's eyes flickered open for a second, "Nick?" She whispered, her voice hoarse.
"I'm here Carrots. And I'm so sorry, they're gonna' pay for what they've done to you." He promised.
She managed a slight smile, "Never let them see that they get to you." She said and then drifted out of consciousness once again.
Nick was left, staring at her unconscious body, still stroking her delicate fur, "Don't worry, Carrots, I won't."