13th of August 2006 5:57 a.m.
Vulcano Customs, Bristleville, Boarderlands County
Bent over, wheezing and coughing under his breath - and swearing to himself to smoke less, if not to give it up completely - Charles stood on the asphalted driveway of the repair garage.
Given yesterday's events, his injury to the shoulder, the rollercoaster of emotions of meeting a club of bikers and the late-night visit from the law enforcement, the bunnyfox almost overslept and missed his appointment with Vulc.
The walk from the Pinecone Motels to the garage took twenty minutes yesterday. Today, however, he managed to get out of bed, put on his still-not-completely-dry clothes and dash the whole way in less than fifteen minutes.
"Alright, boy, catch your breath," Vulc said, as he hopped off the oil drum he was sitting on.
"Sorry… " Charles replied before wheezing again. "I really didn't want to be late, that's all."
"Are the beds of that Trufflesniffer that bad?"
"Nope, not really, but I had a strange encounter with a fox yesterday."
"With who exactly?" Vulc asked, even though he had a good hunch who that blasted red fox might be.
"He said that his name was Clawson. Said he was the Deputy. Strangely enough, he asked me if I had seen anything while I was in the clubhouse, about the damage of my bike and what not."
"How in the name of Brother Death would he know you were inside?" the wolf asked rhetorically, anger getting the better of him.
"No idea," Charles said after taking another big breath and feeling his heart stop racing. "The only thing I can think about is a stake-out."
"A stake-out?"
Now, Charles had to think of a lie again, and a quick one at that. He couldn't tell him that his parents talked about such procedures when off work. "Yeah, I have seen that in movies. They would camp out in an abandoned building, or an abandoned part of it, or a rented room of a hotel, whatever. Anyway, it needs to be a place where you have a good view, so that you know exactly who's arriving and leaving at whatever place you're watching."
"I know what a stake-out is; I'm not an idiot," Vulc said as his gaze went to the two-story building across the street, with a grocery store in the first, and some apartments on the second floor. His eyes narrowed as he fixated on one particular window. As Charles followed his gaze, he saw faint movement behind one of the glass panels. "But thanks for telling me. I think we got that much closer to getting you situated."
"What do you mean with 'situated'?"
Without averting his stern look from the building, Vulc took a thick cigar out of his jacket and lit it with a zippo. Charles loved the metallic click sound as the expensive lighter snapped open and shut, and out of seemingly nowhere, the wish of owning one himself crossed his mind.
Vulc exhaled a thick puff of smoke audibly before he continued, a bit louder than necessary. "Well, I offered you a job as a mechanic and you don't have any connections here, so it would just be natural to provide you with a place to stay. For a fair price, of course."
Charles figured that the increase in volume was not aimed at him or his hearing - quite frankly, he never had any problems with that - but that it was meant to be picked up by any recording device in close proximity as to be a part of a normal job interview.
"Are you working in real estate or can you just give me that offer?"
"How about we take a walk? It's such a nice Sunday, and I could show you around a bit?"
That was Charles' cue to start walking. When they were a good distance away from the shop, Vulc ordered Charles to lift his shirt. A countermeasure, just to check if he was wired.
The bunnyfox obliged and showed that he was in fact free from any hidden microphones.
"Alright, first off, fold your paws and shut your jaws! ESPECIALLY when you suspect that you're being recorded," the old wolf almost shouted, his index claw pointed at Charles menacingly. After seeing that this open display of anger startled the tall bunny in front of him enough, he continued in the same calm manner that he showed yesterday. "No, I don't work in real estate, but another member does: Slate. Don't worry; you will get to know him eventually. He hangs around the bar most evenings. Don't know much about this whole property business thing anyway. What I do know though, is that the apartment in which our friends and helpers were playing hide and seek, has been up for sale for years now."
"And why would this 'Slate' buy it now then?"
"You aren't the smartest of bunnies, huh? You did realise we can be easily spied on from that building? If it's our property, we can decide who can walk in and out."
Swallowing his pride, Charles chose not to react to the insult and continued like nothing happened. "So, it's a deal then? Me, working for you, starting on Monday?"
"If you're not bouncing, sure. You'll have twelve-hundred by the end of the month, maybe more if you show your skill. But I can't offer you more since I'm sure you don't have any references or certificates to your name."
"You're right; I don't. I still don't understand why you're offering me this."
"I told you yesterday, I saw your handiwork. Besides, I don't give a shit about certificates. Those are just sheets of paper and I judge mammals by their actions."
"In that case, I gladly accept," Charles said, somewhat reassured and held out his paw towards the wolf in anticipation of the greeting, which he received.
"And while we are on the topic of bouncing, that's exactly what I'll do. The yard needs some swiping. I guess someone forgot some electronics around the place," Vulc said grinning, while winking at the bunnyfox with his white eye, blinded by the cataract. "It's a shame though; I wanted to show you around. Guess you'll have to go exploring by yourself. I should have some intel about the apartment tomorrow."
With that, and before Charles could ask any further questions - not that he had any significant ones at the moment - Vulc turned around, walked off, and pulled out his phone to gather some club members for cleaning the yard.
Still a bit unsure on what to do next, Charles let a few moments pass, before turning around and putting on his shades, as he made his way through town. Once he had finished bending the frame back gently, the shades were in a far better condition than he would've expected them to be after an accident like his.
He did take note that some shop signs, like the ones from the pawnshop and the gun store, had the same symbol next to them. The same symbol that he'd seen on Vulc's, J.J.'s and M.J.'s cut: A feral wolf with piercing red eyes and flames spitting out of its gaping maw. Just from that, he could gather that the owners of said shops were members as well.
After a good hour of walking around, he remembered the considerable wad of cash in his pocket and decided to treat himself with a visit to the nearest mixed species restaurant and weird out their patrons by eating some chicken wings and drinking a beer. He really deserved a hot meal and a cold drink. Or two. Or three.
4th of December 2006 06:27 a.m.
Precinct one, Zootopia
"But Chief, our efforts brought down the Razorhat gang. You can't put us back on simple patrols!" Nick said, more than furious. He and his wife were facing the biggest challenge yet.
"Wilde, I do the assignments in MY precinct. So, if you don't shut up THIS INSTANCE...," Bogo bellowed. If he continued his reprimanding, Judy was sure that the glass doors of the numerous showcases in the Chief's office would've shattered by the sheer anger in his voice alone.
This was not the first time that she and her husband were in this office for similar reasons. Quite the opposite; over the course of the past three months, they'd sat in this office, trying as they might to prolong their own crusade to find their boy. From their first visit all the way up until now, the room felt more and more claustrophobic - in contrast to its giant size - as their arguments ran thinner.
On one paw, their efforts had lead to investigations which had brought two syndicates to their respective dooms. One of these was the infamous Razorhat gang, who mainly stayed in Happy Town, but the cop duo's methods had become more and more crooked, mostly through using Nick's former life. Information that he shouldn't've had, questionable withdrawals from ATMs, and multiple outgoing calls from Judy's phone to a certain 'Fru-Fru Big' were just a few things on an ever growing list. Not only was the cop duo a serious thorn in Bogo's tail on their own; their actions also caused Internal Affairs to file multiple complaints, which the Chief could not ignore any longer.
"Chief, all we ask are just a few more days. We will do our job as good as we've always done," she interrupted in an attempt to defuse the situation before either of the other two mammals exploded. Either her boss as the thirteen-hundred pound brick of C4, or her husband, the forty pounds worth of fuse.
She had managed to calm them down, but it had done nothing towards convincing her boss.
With a big sigh, the chief relaxed back into his chair, which creaked heavily under the numerous years of constant use. "I can't, Hopps. You know what's at stake. You know, more than anyone, including your insubordinate husband, that Internal Affairs is looking into you two, and they're in their right to do so."
That was strange. Bogo always shielded his officers from any harm; he even took the blame for bad press conferences, which was the reason he did most of them by himself after the Nighthowler fiasco. But now, he sided with the department which had been actively working against the bravado-duo lately.
"Sir, I don't…" Nick started in a conciliatory tone, but was cut off by the buffalo.
"You don't understand?! How come that only two days after we arrested Thomas Shelbay and his brothers, his property was… let's say 'taken over'… by Tundratown Limo Services, an organisation that still has ongoing investigations?"
Nick could just swallow the lump that formed in his throat.
"The fact that there were multiple calls to a member of the Big family ties my hoofs. I.A. can't directly connect you two to the mammals in the morgue, caused by this hostile takeover, but I need you to know: We have a protocol for a good, damn reason! Not following it can have dire consequences," Bogo continued and suddenly, the air in the room felt as thick and unbreathable as exhaust fumes to the bunny and fox. "I'm a father myself, so this is the sole reason why you two still wear your shields. I understand your reasoning, and with Wilde's intel, I would have done the same. But this is the exact reason why I WILL NOT cut you loose in the upcoming future. Did I make myself clear!?"
Truly broken, both looked at their feet which dangled from the oversized chair that they were sitting in. A weak "Yessir" was their unisoned answer.
Both slid down from the chair, Judy's natural spring was all but gone.
11th of December 2006 7:42 p.m.
Wilde-Hopps Residence, Zootopia
The family was enjoying a nice home-cooked dinner. Aside from the unnerving blanket of silence that had been over the family members for the last week, everything seemed fine for once. This peace - so fragile as it may have become as the tension between the parents rose - was a nice change for once.
"The eggs are a bit burned…" Nick stated absently with a piece of scrambled egg in his mouth.
There it is. Here we go again, Tiberius thought as he reclined back into his chair with a groan and looked at the ceiling in disbelief.
Lilith looked at her father in shock, then with fear towards her mother who was already grinding her teeth and clenched her fist around the cutlery she was holding with a painful amount of force.
Both kits knew what would happen next. For a week now, both Nick and Judy started to explode on each other over the pettiest things. The TV being left on, the toilet seat being left up, or a scrambled egg meal which was ever so slightly burned. And no one was dumb enough to think that these were the real reasons they were fighting. It was clearly their inability to continue the search for Charles and the desperation over not finding any significant leads for the past three months.
"Then stop eating it!" Judy hissed through her teeth.
"And then what? Starve? I guess you'd like that huh?"
"You could make your OWN meal for once, if I'm such a bad cook! In fact, you could do SOMETHING around the house in general. I'm working as well, you know?!"
"Oh and me doing laundry is nothing or WHAT?!"
"You mean RUINING MY WHITE SHIRTS, MY FAVORITE SHIRTS, by washing them together with your ugly, colored pawaiians or BURNING THEM WITH THE IRON!?"
"That only happened ONE TIME! God, it's true, you women always dig up the past when it suits you!"
Lilith had enough. It was hard enough with her big brother still missing, but the constant fighting finally wore her down. She started tearing up and ran to her room, locking herself in.
"Sweety…" Nick said, one paw extended in the direction his daughter left, a shocked and devastated expression plastered his face.
"Well done, you dumb fox!" Judy snapped at him before they heard a clattering on the table. It was Tiberius' fork which was thrown onto the table with quite an amount of force.
"Well done to the both of you!" Tiberius' face was grim, his ears pushed themselves against the back of his skull and his dark glower fixated first on his mother, then his dad.
His features relaxed, as he sighed and got up. "I will look after her; my appetite is gone anyway. You two did enough damage for one week. Pull yourselves together, will ya?"
With his paws in his pockets, he slowly made his way towards Lilith's room.
A few moments passed while Nick and Judy were staring at their half finished meal in shame. Both knew that Tiberius was right.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. I mean, the eggs are good, just a little on the dark side."
"Me too. You apologized for the laundry incident and you just wanted to help. I shouldn't have brought up the past in my anger."
"What is happening to us, honey? We can't go on like this or we will rip out each other's throats over spilled milk."
"You're right, Nick, but I have no idea what to do…"
"Let me take care of these first," Nick said while he picked up their plates to start the process of washing up. "Maybe we should see a counselor?"
Lost in thoughts, Judy looked at her wedding band before nodding. "Anything to save this family. Wait up, I'll help." Judy got up and brought the remaining dishes over to her fox, who was already scraping the remaining food into the trash can.
Meanwhile, Tiberius knocked on Lilith's door.
"Go away!" Lilith shouted between sobs.
"Not gonna happen, Silly-Lilly."
Tiberius tried to open the door, but it wouldn't budge, so he fished a credit card out of the breast pocket of his button down shirt and he slid it into the crack between door and its frame. With experience - which also stemmed from Baron's teachings - he used the card to push the latch back and the door swung open.
There, sitting on her bed, he saw his sister, hugging and burying her face in her pillow. He expected a fight from her, as he entered without her permission. Maybe an outraged uproar, but nothing of that sort happened. As if she hadn't noticed or had simply stopped caring altogether.
She didn't even twitch as he took a seat beside her. Only as he gingerly put a paw on her head and stroked down, she leaned into him without letting go of her pillow as if it would shield her from all of the outside world.
"There, there, lil' Lilly, everything is alright; I'm here," Tiberius tried to sooth her. "I know, everything looks like shit, but that will change again, I promise."
"It won't," came her muffled reply.
"It will. You remember what you told me at the HiFi-Forge a few months back? That you don't want to lose both of your brothers."
She just nodded ever so slightly, not enough to be visible, but the male bunnyfox felt his sister's head move against him.
"Well, now it's my time to give you a much needed pep-talk. I don't want to lose my sister either. I needed you as much then, as I do still, just like you need me now. I won't go away, please don't fall in the same pit I was in."
"But mom and dad… I can't stand when they keep fighting constantly..."
"They need both of us. We need to look out for them. Maybe now it's time for us to educate our parents. We must try to be their beacon of light."
"You know, as much of an ass as you can be sometimes, you can be just as sweet as well." With this, she cast away her pillow and hugged her brother with a quick peck on his cheek. "Thanks, Tib. You are the best brother I could wish for."
"There is my little sissy again. Compliment accepted and given back to you."
18th of December 2006 10:33 a.m.
Tundratown, Zootopia, ZPD Police Cruiser
"Turn up the heat again."
"Are you kidding me? It's hot as an oven in here!"
"For you, maybe. We rabbits don't get a winter pelt like you canids do!"
"Alright, you know what? Here!" Nick turned up the heat of the car to full blast. "There you go: no more reason for you to keep complaining! I'm going to take a walk."
Nick knew he had to get out of the car before someone's emotions boiled over once again. Over the past week, both of them did a good job of bottling up their emotions and not fight over every tiny bit. It worked wonders for them to simply not talk whatsoever. It did nothing for the harmony of the family and only served to increase the tension, but ever since they started losing hope after Chief Bogo almost forcefully stopped their investigations, their desperation turned into unchecked anger.
Nick got out of the car, slammed the door shut with more force than necessary and went into the next alleyway, away from the eyes of his wife. As he arrived there, he pulled out a small bottle from his pockets and read the label: Clomicalm, 80 mg, prescription calmative.
With a dull look on his face, he opened the bottle, popped two pills in his mouth and chewed on them. He knew he took too much of this stuff already, and he knew he should only swallow them with water, but he needed to calm down fast. The act of chewing them was a bitter tasting affair, but the medicine worked far quicker than the usual way of swallowing the pills whole.
A few minutes passed and he felt the effects finally kicking in. His nerves started to calm, his surroundings started to feel pleasantly fuzzy and the edge was taken off at last. He felt ready to continue this day of patrol, another day laid to waste when he is not searching for his boy.
"Ok, one more; just to be sure," Nick mumbled to himself as he popped a third Clomicalm.
"How many?" Judy asked after Nick returned to the cruiser and shut the door behind him.
"Hm?"
"How many did you take now?"
"Three," Nick answered truthfully but reluctantly.
"THREE?! The prescription says you should only take one in the morning and one in the evening. You've got to be kidding me!"
"Thanks, mom. I can take care of myself."
Judy was furious again. First, this insufferable fox barked at her for simply feeling cold. Secondly, he walked out on her without giving her a chance to reply and lastly, he took the time to get dangerously close to being high on duty. The fact that he got a prescription drug without telling her about any doctor's appointments raised all kinds of red flags, but she reasoned with herself that it was due to the fact that they hadn't been talking much lately. That would at least be a more comfortable explanation than her worries of him sneaking off into the arms of a vixen. She believed that he was fateful, the same way she was, but she had to admit: Their bedroom activities have come to a screeching halt alongside the decline of their conversations.
But before she could say a word, the radio crackled to life. "Precinct One to patrol sixteen, Wilde-Hopps, do you copy?"
"Here is patrol sixteen, what's up, Benji?" Nick asked the microphone in a deeply tired, almost devastated tone.
"Officer Fanghanel has some news regarding the possible whereabouts of a certain tall bunnyfox. It's not much, he says, but it's a lead. Oh and I should tell you and I quote 'the ol buffalo-butt has already been taken care of; you are back on the case'."
Judy squealed and bounced around in her seat, while Nick had a genuine grin on his muzzle.
"Thanks, Benji. We'll head right back to the precinct," Nick said and clicked the microphone back in its holster.
He then yelped in surprise as a gray ball of joy and fluff tackled him from the side and hugged his neck, almost to the point of strangulation.
After recomposing herself, Judy put the car back into gear and they made their way straight back to the precinct. The only detour they took was the bakery, collecting a box of doughnuts for Clawhauser and a pumpkin pie for Elliot.
18th of December 2006 11:07 a.m.
Precinct One, Zootopia
They had just dropped off the sweets on Clawhauser's desk before they were ushered outside again by Elliot. "Come on, no time; I will explain on the way," he said.
Three car doors opened and were slammed shut, three seat belts snapped into their locks, one engine rumbled to life and the car started its journey eastwards.
"Now, stop torturing us. Where are we heading?" Nick asked impatiently after the first few yards.
"You guys remember…" Elliot started, but then took a second to sniff the air in the car. "Alright, Nick, give me the bottle," he grumbled and extended his paw towards Nick.
"Wha...? What bottle, I-I don't have any…" Nick stammered and he felt the deathglare Judy was giving him.
"Oh, is that so? Why do I smell clomipramine on your breath then?"
Nick exhaled in defeat. "Is it that obvious?"
"Nah, it's faint, but during my extra courses in narcotics detection, I learned to pick up the faintest traces of substances," Elliot explained before - somewhat frantically - opening and closing his outstretched paw. "So, bottle, now."
Nick complied and dropped the medicine into the still outstretched paw. Elliot then proceeded to stow it away in his jacket. He wanted to throw these pills out of the window right here and there for his friend's sake, as this brand was notorious for being extremely effective but also highly addictive and easy to overdose on, hence the prescription requirement.
"Bogo won't hear a word from me, I promise. But buddy, think twice whether you really need them or not. You know how dangerous these can be. Maybe you settle for something a bit lighter? Green tea is a stress reliever as well."
"I know, I know. But please, can we concentrate on what's coming up? Where are we heading?"
"Alright, so, after we learned that the chief pulled you from all investigations?"
Nick and Judy nodded.
"A few of us, namely Wolford, Higgins, Clawhauser and myself sprang into action. Mostly contacting other counties to extend our search radius. So we hung up flyers in the southern, eastern and northern parts of our county borders."
"Please tell me you found him!" Judy shouted from the back, all giddy and worked up. Elliot hated to apply brakes to the happiness he hasn't seen in his good friend for a long time.
"Sadly, no. I told Benji to tell you that we have a lead. If we would've found him, I would already be on my way back with Charlie."
Judy went quiet again and her ears dropped down like lead weights.
"What did you guys find then? And where are we heading?" Nick asked as he sensed that his wife's disappointment had made her speechless yet again.
"We are going to Clearwater. My buddy over there, a cougar named Hector Bitinberger, the sheriff, gave me a call before I contacted you. In the first week, many of the missing-posters were ripped down, no matter how often they hung them up again. First, Hector thought those were just some vandals, rascals who had nothing better to do with their free time.
But ol' Hector had a hunch. He realised that nothing else was vandalized, only the flyers of Charles. And just an hour ago, they caught someone redpawed as he was ripping off one of the posters. A rather aggressive and highly intoxicated lynx by the name of Harald Gaupa."
"Harald Gaupa? Never heard of that guy. Any idea what his connection to our boy is?"
"Not a single clue. Hector put him in a dry-out cell for the time being and gave me a call. Said that he will have an interrogation room ready as soon as we arrive. Maybe it's nothing, but we need to check it anyway. For your sake."
"Thank you, buddy. Next round at the Blue Ribbon is on me!" Nick exclaimed. Elliot was right; it wasn't much, but more than they had the past three months.
"Yeah, thank you, Elliot," came Judy's whisper from the back seat.
"Don't mention it, you guys. We are friends and that's what friends do. But if you really want to express your gratitude, don't forget about Clawhauser, Higgins and Wolford. It was Benji's idea, and the other two did the same as I did, contacting the other city chiefs and county sheriffs and all that jazz."
"Don't worry, when I said that the 'next round's on me', that was meant for all who helped. So, how long until Clearwater?"
Elliot took a look at the clock on the dashboard. "Three more hours. Enough time for this Gaupa to sober up enough for you to put him into a vice," he ended his statement with a wink.
"If he did anything to our boy…" Judy started to grumble.
"... he will regret it for a long time," Nick ended Judy's sentence with a determined growl.
It could've warmed the white wolf's heart, to see his best friends and favourite couple working together as a team again, even with finishing each other's sentences, but the dire implications and their determination sent a shiver down his spine.
18th of December 2006 2:27 p.m.
Interrogation room four, Sheriff station, Clearwater
There he was. That one mammal that has last seen Charles. The one mammal that might know about Charles' whereabouts, sitting there clearly fighting a headache. All that separated the fox and bunny from the answers they hoped to get was the two-way mirror, through which they observed the lynx.
"Harald Gaupa, local farmer, best known for his homebrew beer in town. Lives with his daughter, wife deceased. Quite rough 'round the edges, but nothing outta the ordinary. No criminal record; just some squabbles in his youth, but that's common. Boys will be boys afterall. Neighb'rs say he lives quite secluded since his wife died, only meets the folks for busin'ss, not participating directly with any shindig. He does contribute, however, by brewing some extra beer for these festivals. Y'all should try it sometimes if ya get the chance," Hector concluded as he read the sparse details from a thin binder.
"I'll pass," Nick said bluntly while keeping a stern glare at the mammal beyond the glass. Something did not sit well for Nick. He couldn't put a claw on it, but he knew something was up with this lynx.
"Ah, I see who is doin' the bad cop in yar routine. Good ol' interrogation one-oh-one," the old cougar stated, almost too joyfully. "Anything else y'all need or should I leave ya guys to it?"
"Nah, thanks Hector, that'll be all," Elliot said and patted his friend on the shoulder, and the sheriff made his way out of the darkened room.
As the three were alone again, the white wolf sighed deeply. "What d'you guys think?"
"Something's up with that guy," Judy said as she read through the file. "Clean vest, but he seems to have grief with our son. Why else would he just rip off the posters?"
"I'm with Judy on this one. This guy knows something, I can feel it and we will find out exactly what," Nick said, his paws clenched into fists.
"Alright, you two go in, it's your deal anyway. If anything goes sideways, I'll be right here."
"What should go sideways, White Fang?"
"You two could," Elliot stated in a worried tone. "Please, keep it professional. This is an investigation, and not a witch-hunt."
With this, Nicks paws relaxed and after a quick look, he grabbed two handkerchiefs from his pocket. His claws had pierced his pads without him realising and the puncture wounds were now bleeding. He really needed to get a grip on his emotions again. He really wished for just one or two more pills; that's exactly what he needed right now.
'Exactly… what… I… would… need…'
"Come on, let's do this," Judy chimed grimmly, effectively ripping Nick out of his short stupor and they made their way into the interrogation room itself.
"Mr. Gaupa?" Judy started as they took a seat across from the lynx.
"Yep," came the short reply.
"I'm officer Judith Wilde-Hopps and this is my husband Nicolas."
"More of those interspecies city folks," Harald mumbled under his breath.
"What was that?" Judy asked with a raised eyebrow. "You know that this meeting is being recorded and insulting officers is a criminal offense."
"Sorry," he apologized halfheartedly. "It's just unusual 'ere in the Commonwealth. But wha' am I 'ere for? Being drunk in public has been legal for nearly two decades 'round 'ere."
"Sir, you vandalized a poster of a mammal we are searching for."
"A fugitive huh? I knew som'thin' wasn't right with that pelt. Should've pulled the trigger after all, would've saved ya folks alotta of trouble."
"You should have done WHAT?" the fox shouted, his anger boiling over once more. A quick brush of Judy's foot against his calf reminded him he needed to stay calm at any cost. How she could stay with her mind in check was a mystery to him nowadays.
"Woah there officer, didn' know that gettin' rid of a stray was such a touchy subject," Harald defended himself with his paws open and raised to the height of his shoulders.
"Mr. Gaupa, please tell me everything from the start. Don't miss out on any detail as it could be crucial," the bunny interjected.
"A'ight, it all start'd that one mornin', I think it was early August or som'thin', when that vagabond knocked on mah door. He looked like he worshed himself in a puddle of mud like one of those naturalist pigs. As the good mammal tha' I am, I invited 'im in of course, gave 'im a bite to eat... he looked like he hadn't had a proper meal for days... and listen'd to his story," the lynx lied with as much as a hesitational blink. "Som'thin' about bein' travelin' and tha' his money got stol'n or som'thin'. Anyway, I offered 'im a shower and a job as my second farmhand for the time bein'. Help gettin' 'im back on his feet 'n all. I even got 'im one of those tobacco pouches since I learned he is a smoker. Speaking of which, ya mind?"
He held up his own pouch.
"It's not our office. We don't know if the sheriff is ok with that," Judy stated. "But given the lack of 'No Smoking'-signs and the ashtray in front of you, it's safe to assume that he doesn't care. Just do me the favour and don't blow it into any of our muzzles."
Harald had already started rolling when Judy began to reply, so his cigarette was rolled and lit before she finished her sentence. "Whatev'r ya wish."
"What happened then, Mr. Gaupa?"
"Well, we work'd alongside each other for a week. And then, in the night of the eleventh, this bastard went ahead and defiled my daughter, probably against her will... My most precious thing in the world and he comes in and hurts her like that! That putrid good-for-nothin' punk turned her against me as well, her own father! Can you believe tha'?!" Harald openly snarled at this point and Elliot was already ready to intervene if the lynx snapped.
But no one aside from the furious lynx believed that any hurting or force was involved. If anything, Charles might have found someone who liked him back. He got into fights, yes, but he was not the type of mammal who would force himself onto someone else like that. Aside that, how could his daughter be turned against him if Charles raped her first? Nothing about this made sense. This Gaupa was clearly delusional.
"And then?"
"Well, I found 'em in her bed. I was angry beyond hell as ya can imagine! I told 'im to get dressed and leave my property. Gave 'im the ol' scare-off with the shotgun."
"Scare-off?" Nick's paws under the table were trembling, ready to pounce that feline in front of him.
"Yup, made 'im face away and kneel in front of me and placed the tip of the gun against his back… he even begged to not hurt 'im," he chuckled at the last part. "He'll know to keep it in his pants from now on. The hammers just went down with a click. Lucky the rifle wasn't loaded, didn't need to explain the body to the authorities. I mean I wouldn't even have lied, he did invade my home but my day started shitty enough. So before that scum understood what had happened, I gave 'im the boot and he scurried off, yessir!"
'Is this fucker proud of himself? IS HE FUCKING PROUD?!'
"Sorry, I'll be right back," the fox excused himself. He had to leave the room and find Elliot.
"GIVE ME MY PILLS, WHITE FANG!" he shouted as he boomed into the room.
"Nick, keep it down! These rooms are well isolated but not sound proof."
"Give... me... my... pills," Nick snarled, his volume is reduced but still hostile.
Fanghanel fished out the bottle from his utility belt. "You know I don't like to do this, but I understand."
Nick snatched the medicine as soon as he saw it and popped two pills in his mouth. He pressed his back against the cold concrete wall and slid down on the cold floor to cower in on himself.
"Charles must have thought he would die in that moment. How can someone do that to a teenager? I feel so sorry for him," Nick whispered through ragged breaths.
It took a few minutes before his paws stopped shaking and he could recompose himself again.
Elliot watched this display with pity. He didn't know if he would react the same or maybe even worse if he would have been thrown in this situation. Hell, he was ready to rip that lynx apart right then and there and he wasn't worn down on months of such a crushing burden.
Eventually, Nick made his way back into the interrogation room and found that they had took a pause. Apparently, Judy didn't fare much better than him and needed him as support to push on further. He took a seat next to his wife and wrapped his bushy tail around her leg, outside of the lynx' vision.
"You mentioned your daughter," Nick began, letting Judy have at least a little rest. "What do you mean he turned her against you?"
"Well, whaddaya think!? Once I was done with that trash of a mammal, my poor girl began to have fights with me. Telling me what a horrible mammal I am and whatnot."
"But wouldn't that suggest that she took a liking in Charles? To me, it doesn't sound that there was any force or manipulation involved."
"I'm sure there was. Kits don't know what's good for 'em, even if they are eighteen or over. One day she'll come back and understand."
"Come back?"
"Yep, in one fight, she told me that she'll go back to university early and that she never wants to come back. My other farmhand, Michael, went with her. Broke my heart, I'll tell ya."
"Ok, next question. Which university does your daughter attend?"
"The Z-U-M, Zootopia University for Medicine. Ey, I saw ya two wearin' ZPD Shields. If ya find her, could you talk to her? Maybe convince her to come back after her semester? Her name is Lydia, and my farmhand is Michael Vulpez."
With this, they had everything they need to continue: Two names, a city - which was ironically the city they came here from - and the name of the school. Finally they had a new lead to attend to.
"Mr. Gaupa, let me tell you this: We will NOT do that! You showed us today, that you are delusional and that your daughter is way better off without you," Nick explained as if reading him his rights.
"DELUSIONAL AND A MONSTER!" Judy couldn't hold it any longer now, she had to shout into this mammals face at least once.
"We don't have jurisdiction here, but as we mentioned, this interview is recorded, both in video and audio, and you confessed to assaulting a mammal with a deadly weapon."
"Deadly weapon? I said I gave 'im the boot. That was nothing more than a firm shove."
"Did you check if the rifle was unloaded before you pulled the trigger? It sounded like it was a surprise to yourself as well."
Harald's eyes went wide and his ears fell down in a matter of milliseconds.
"We will simply hand you over to sheriff Bitinberger. He will decide what to do with someone as disgusting as you," Nick said after turning and smiling down to Judy. "Come on, let's go."
And with this, the team of the white wolf, gray bunny and red fox gave Hector the order to take Mr. Gaupa into custody and they made their way back to Zootopia.
The revelations they got weighed heavy, but there was a glimmer of hope that he might have gone back to his hometown with this Lydia. If not, she might know where he is. If neither are the case, they at least brought justice to this scumbag lynx. On their way back, Judy - now driving shotgun next to Elliot - contacted dispatch of precinct one, ordering them to find either Lydia Gaupa or Michael Vulpez and bring them in for questioning, before giving them the information that dispatch needed.
"Suspects or witnesses?" Benji asked as he wrote the info onto a notepad.
"Witness. Tell our officers to be gentle."
"Will do. And you guys? Good job. Dispatch over."
Nick looked at the clock. Exactly three o'clock.
"Say, White Fang, mind if I have some shuteye? I'm kinda spent."
"Sure, go ahead. You earned it... both of you. I wouldn't have kept my composure in your steps. Judy, you should rest up as well."
"I… I guess you're right. Thanks, Elliot, for everything." Judy unbuckled her seatbelt and crawled back next to her fox who was already sprawled out on the back bench.
Within seconds, embraced by her husband, she slept deeply. The wolf did the best he could to keep the cruiser stable and avoid any unnecessary shaking. He could not help himself and took a picture of his favourite couple - aside from his own marriage - through the rearview mirror as he saw them smiling contently.
A few moments later, he heard Judy's sleeping sounds for the first time. She made a faint 'mew'ing sound every time she exhaled. He almost woke them up as he couldn't stifle an 'Awww' at the sound.
18th of December 2006 5:39 p.m.
Precinct one, Zootopia
The bunny and the fox stirred and softly woke up as the soothing rumble of the engine was shut off.
"Hey there, more good news. Lydia Gaupa came in fifteen minutes ago. Clawhauser found her current phone number online and asked her to come in."
"Damn, we should have brought more dessert for you two," Nick snickered.
"Dessert?"
"Oh right, we bought donuts for Benji and a pumpkin pie for your help this morning," Judy replied and Elliot's tail started to wag immediately with his tongue falling out of his maw. "That is, if Benji didn't eat it all, over the course of the day."
"Nah, he probably put it in the fridge. Now, you should head upstairs; Ms. Gaupa is waiting at your desk. Wolford is keeping her company. In the meantime, I will request the footage from Hector to cement our justification for the trip."
"Don't work too long. I guess your wife's already missing you."
"Ah, she already knows what's up," Elliot said with a wink as he waved his phone in his paw. "I should tell you from her, that she is rooting for you and wishes you the best of luck."
"Extend our gratitude when you come home," Nick concluded as he made his way out of the cruiser after Judy.
They went into the lobby and wanted to greet Clawhauser, but he ushered them towards the stairs and to their office cubicles immediately.
"Hello. You must be Ms. Gaupa?"
"Y-yes, that's me, but please call me Lydia. You must be the famous cop duo Nick and Judy Wilde-Hopps?"
"Yep, we are," Nick answered with a smirk. "You've heard of us?"
"Who hasn't?" Lydia giggled, but stopped a few moments later, looking a bit ashamed at her hind paws. "Oh, sorry, I should take this more seriously. What's going on? A… am I in trouble?"
"No, of course not. We wanted to talk about this mammal," Judy said as she pulled out one of Charles' missing-posers, alongside her notepad and carrot pen. It was not the original one from her first big case as its ink had run out years ago. The original pen was well hidden in Nick's secret stash of memorabilia.
Her eyes started to become a tad bit glossy as she took a look at the picture. "Yes, this is Charles. You know what happened to him?"
"That's what we want to find out. You are one of the last mammal who has seen him alive."
"What?! Y-you m-mean he… he is… " Lydia stammered and now broke down in tears, and Judy held her paws against her mouth.
"No! No-no-no-no, just a misunderstanding," Nick interjected in a soothing tone. "A case of bad phrasing from my wife. He's simply missing and our lead ends at the farm of your father. After talking to him, we hoped Charles would have come back here with you."
Lydia's voice was just an ensemble of sobs and hiccups at first, but she quickly regained her composure. "I-I wish he would've, but… but I couldn't find him before I left for the city. I searched the town and waited e-every evening at the river clearing where we first met, hoping he would return there. After a week, I couldn't stand it at home, so Michael helped me come here. And all because of my damn father!" The last word was just a hiss. "…oh sorry, I shouldn't curse here. I'm so sorry."
"Oh, don't worry, dear, we met your father. I was so close to ripping him apart myself." Nick's expression was soft and reassuring as he touched Lydia's shoulder.
"You should have. He deserved it. He treated Charles like a piece of shit since day one," Lydia said with slumped shoulders and sad expression.
"Sorry, I have to ask you. Would you be ok with being a witness if we bring your father to court?"
"Absolutely! He's got it coming to him."
"Alright, ok. Then we need your version of the story. Please don't leave out anything as we want to paint a bigger picture of the mammals involved. Are you ok if we have it recorded as well?"
"Anything!"
Charles would have been proud. His Lydia switched from shy into determined on a flick of a switch in the same way she did when she tended his wounds.
Nick collected a tape recorder, inserted a fresh tape and hit the record button. Judy stated her full name, as did Nick, and they asked Lydia to do the same, as well as her date of birth and current residence.
"Let's start with how and when you met our… I mean Charles."
"That was… early August. I was back at my father's farm during the summer months. On the day I met him, maybe it was the 4th or 5th, I was going to a river clearing across town with a friend. Her name is Kathy O'Coonor. We planned to go swimming, have a picnic, basically what you do in summer in a rural area. And there we saw him… " Lydia stated and a faint smile brightened her facial features and she giggled at the memory. "Hilariously enough, he was naked at that moment. Apparently, he wasn't expecting company. I was so embarrassed, you wouldn't believe it. He spotted us since Kathy tried to push me towards him, while I only wanted to hide in the bushes. My ears must have looked like a tomato."
"At least I wasn't alone with my embarrassment. Charles also jumped behind cover as he realised he was not alone anymore. He came back out with his undies on, he must have grabbed them when he made that mad dash out of sight, and Kathy tried her best to break the ice between us. And it totally worked. I didn't realise it at first, but she must have seen the moment that it sparked between Charles and me."
"So much so, that I didn't even care that he was a wanderer, where he came from, what he did before or where he planned on going after he told us about himself. All I knew was that I wanted him around as long as possible and with the way he told us his story, I saw a chance. You see, he told it with such sadness, I felt like he was sick of traveling. So I told him that he could work for my father as a farmhand. It's not much, but it's honest work and he could stick around for a while. And guess what? He really did show up the next morning. I was so happy, you couldn't imagine. But this was also the first time I saw my father treat him badly…"
Her mood went from giddy to sour in the blink of an eye.
"It was raining that morning and Charles must've fallen into a puddle, because his fur and clothes were dirty and my father wanted to send him away simply because of that. He called him names like bum and stray and I saw that it hurt Charles…" she ended with a sigh and paused. As she wanted to continue, her lower lip started to quiver and she teared up again while hiding her face behind her paws. "What came after was all my fault."
Nick pushed the pause button on the recorder and knelt next to Lydia. "Take all the time you need. If you need a break, just tell us, ok? How about a soda?"
"Yes, I would like that. Thank you."
Judy was touched by this display. Over the course of the last few months, she forgot how gentle her husband could be.
"And a mocca carrotchino for you?" Nick asked Judy who replied with a smile and a nod.
'Gentle and caring. And I always give him a hard time… I know! I will surprise him tonight. It has been too long anyway,' she thought to herself.
A few minutes passed while everyone sipped on their beverages.
"I-I think we can carry on."
Nick unpaused the recording.
"So, what did you mean by 'this is all your fault'?" Judy asked.
"I convinced my father to take him in, give him a chance and he stayed. Everything that happened, happened because of that. The next few days ran like this: I made breakfast for all of us, they went to work and I did housework until it was lunchtime. I sometimes… actually daily… admired Charles from afar. I didn't know how to speak to him when it was just the two of us. On the second day, I had an idea. It wouldn't help me talk, but it would give me an excuse to be close to him. It was mid afternoon, and he was chopping wood in the blistering heat, so I prepared a jug of ice tea for him. And you know what he did? He took the jug, filled a glass and handed it to me. He himself just drank directly from the jug. His first thought was not just to drink it, his first thought was to share. You couldn't believe how sweet that was. And from then on out, this became our daily ritual."
"That's my boy," Nick mumbled, almost inaudibly.
"What was that, Sir?"
"Uh… nothing, please go on."
"Ok, now, where was I? Ah, right, the ritual! So one day, I believe it was the eleventh, I asked him out. My friend Kathy organised a small fest, we call it 'barneque', and this was my chance and he agreed eagerly. I was the happiest lynx on this planet. Michael, Charles and I made our way to Kathy. Arriving there, Mikey and Kathy scurried off together rather quickly, giving Charles and me some alone time. We danced to the music, drank a few sips and then we had a bite from the spit-roast. As we sat closely together, I collected all the courage I could find in me, and aimed for a peck on his cheek. In that moment, he turned his head towards me and we accidentally kissed on the lips. I didn't know if I should run away or hide under the table, or what I would've done if he had gotten angry or something. But he just looked confused, maybe a bit dumbfounded, so I said 'screw it' and kissed him again. And that's when he kissed back. The night couldn't have gone any better… so far…"
Lydia took a pause again, long enough for Nick to ask if everything was alright.
"Yes, thank you. So, everything went great. Until we were approached by Cletus and his friends. Rancid bastards."
"Who is that?"
"Cletus Sabron and the Tuskanelli-brothers, Trevor and Billy-Bob. Cletus is a serval and the Tuskanellis are warthogs, I can give you their addresses."
"Afterwards. This is more like a statement."
"Ah, alright. Ok, so these three approached us, well, me alone at first as Charles was at the kegs and refilled our cups. Cletus hated the fact that I rejected him a few years prior and hated it even more that I was with Charles then. He spewed his specism and anger practically into my face, until Charles stepped between us. From that point on, others saw the standoff as well. That scared Cletus and his gang away for the time being. Until we, together with Michael who came back to us, decided to head home. The three ambushed us there, gave Charles a laceration and a cut on his arm, but we made it out. Charles was so courageous as he saved me twice that night, that's when I knew I loved him. I may still be young, but I know what love feels like now."
Judy was torn again. On one paw, she was scared for her son who was attacked viciously enough to leave him wounded, but on the other, she was touched at how he treated that young lynx and how she viewed him.
"Anyway, we made it inside and only then did I see his cuts. I immediately ordered him to wash off his blood and get into my room. By the time he did, I already had thread and needle ready. I gave him stitches, and thanked him for his heroism." Another smile danced over Lydia's face and her ears were red as beets. "A-and then, one thing lead to another… and we shared a bed for the night and it was wonderful. I wished at that point, that the night would never end, and now, I wish even more so that it would never had… Because here, my father comes into play again."
And just like that, her happiness was gone. Replaced by bitterness, anger and a broken heart.
"He… he found us the next day. He dragged Charles out of bed and onto the floor, ordered him to get dressed and leave. He shouted at me as I tried to defend my boyfriend and then he locked me into my room. I cried until I heard the front door open and slam shut. I-I watched my father escorting Charles to the border of the farm… with a shotgun trained on him. It took painfully long, but eventually, I saw Charles flinch and then my father kicked him in the back and my buff bunny scurried away."
Lydia sobbed again. Nick wanted to pause the recording once more but she interrupted him.
"No, please, I want to have this done."
"No problem," Nick said in an understanding, almost fatherly tone.
"I shut the blinds and didn't leave my room for the rest of the day, even after the door was unlocked again. I could do nothing more than cry. Father tried to talk to me, but I never wanted to see him again, so all I did was shout at him, God knows he deserved it! After a few days, Michael took me with him back to Zootopia to be his roommate and now I'm here. Thank you both so much for listening to me. I… um… ah screw it."
Lydia got up and embraced the first bunny officer in front of her and then the fox. "I don't care if it's inappropriate. Oh and please, if you find Charlie, tell me as soon as you can."
"Promised, Lydia. We will even keep you updated with any non-classified information about him. But please, stay for a little longer, so we can note down the details of Michael, Kathy and the guys you had a fight with."
"Everything that helps you finding him."
Sadly, even with the new leads, the search came up with nothing. Nick and Judy interviewed Mr. Vulpez the next day - which simply backed up the story from Lydia - while in Clearwater, the officers under the command of Hector, interviewed Kathy and found the three mammals who attacked Charles after the barneque. They would face assault charges soon after. With the weapon still in the possession of Cletus and the two testimonies, it was an open-and-shut case.