As the pair approached the heart of the illegal trade market, the layered conglomeration of chattering and persistent auctioning became more and more audible. They had passed by one or two isolated mammals which had stationed themselves a fair distance away from the crowds of unlawful clients and buyers, which were populating the entire centre of the parade square. Townhouses surrounded the circumference of the market, providing no evident gaps for the outside world to peek into. It was encased strictly like a high-security prison, designed specifically so that nobody who knew of this place would ever find it out of plain coincidence.
"You know, you could let go of my paw already, Carrots," Nick muttered out as they stepped foot into the busy crowd. He looked down at his paw awkwardly. "It's no longer dark, and besides... my... paws are kind of, you know..."
Judy cocked an eyebrow in confusion. "Kind of what...?"
Nick glared at her in surprise. Apparently the lengthy story telling had made Judy forget about the incident that took place mere minutes ago. He tried again, this time throwing in an obvious hint. "Like... remember the banana peel?"
"Banana peel? What do you mean- oh... Oh!" Judy exclaimed loudly, retracting her paw off of Nick's in realization. She scrutinized her paw like an alienated object. Being unhygienic was one of her biggest pet peeves. Handling agriculture back in bunny burrows surely got her covered in dirt from the farmlands and stinking plant fertilizer but paws which have been in a dumpster filled with all kinds of rotten junk was the exact opposite of sterile. She frowned at the fox. "Nick! Why did you not tell me that earlier? Gross!"
"Well, we had to as you cannot see in the dark and you did not complain when I offered my dirtied paw either, so I assumed that you knew what you were doing," Nick answered innocently.
"If you knew that, you could have told me to... to grab onto your sleeve or something!" Judy cried out, instinctively searching her pockets for her napkin. The devastated rabbit groaned immediately after she realized that she was not dressed in her usual ZPD attire. She let out an irritated sigh. "The mouldy doughnut was already too disgusting to tolerate, and now this!"
Nick smirked. "Well, you are in luck, Whiskers, as I do know where the washrooms are located," he replied diligently as he cupped both of his paws together.
"Where is it then?" Judy inquired impatiently, itching badly to get her paw cleaned.
"As usual, follow my lead," Nick answered casually, signalling a paw as he made his way towards one of the townhouses. Judy tagged closely behind him, still wary that eyes of unseen strangers were aimed at them like a dangerous gun to the face in a game of Russian roulette. She felt like an outsider entering a bustling saloon in the Wild West; a single rookie outnumbered by the masses. Judy studied her fox partner sauntering in front of her - He appeared to be unfazed and seemingly placid despite the obviously uncanny mood which was heavy in the bone-chilling air. Somehow, seeing Nick in his usual lazy demeanour calmed her nerves. It made her feel that she was safe from danger when he's with her. She shuddered as a bitingly cold breeze brushed past her. Tundra town was certainly a place not suitable for bunnies.
Approaching the stairs of the townhouse, Nick climbed up the first step before turning back to Judy. "Over here, health inspector, your saviour is right inside this building ready for you," he pointed towards a series of sinks which were lined up against the outer walls of the washrooms. "Complimentary toilets included as well if you are experiencing high tides."
Judy quickly ran up the steps and made a break for the sinks. Nick chuckled as he walked up the steps after her, closing the door gingerly with his feet before joining Judy at the marbled counter. She was hurriedly dispensing a good amount of paw soap as he halted beside her. He examined both of his paws. "Hey, Carrots."
"What?" Judy was busy rubbing the sweet scented gel all over her right paw.
"Mind if you could help me to get some soap onto my paws? I do not want to dirty the soap dispenser; you know what I mean," Nick exclaimed.
"Oh, thought you liked it dirty," Judy said condescendingly, shaking the water off of her paws before assisting Nick in dispensing the soap. She eyed him with a half-lidded smile, impersonating the fox's favourite expression. "Did not know that you had a spot for staying clean, Slick Nick."
"I could choose not to wash them, but you would have to pay for my medical fees if I fall sick after this due to months old bacteria incubating on my paws," Nick answered back as he began to scrub his paws with strawberry scented soap, encasing them in a pinkish, off-white foam. Nick made sure that every part of his paws were rubbed twice over, ridding of any unwanted germs that were seeking refuge underneath his soft auburn fur; Which took Judy by surprise as she honestly thought that he would simply do a quick rinse rather than a full paw-wash. Nick tore a piece of toilet paper from the nearby tissue roll and proceeded to dab his paws dry. He returned his glance towards Judy and smirked slyly. "What? Did you honestly think that I never practice hygiene before we first met?"
Judy nodded knowingly. "Yep, you were clad in never ironed, weeks unwashed clothing and reeked of an old apartment that needed serious dusting the first time I approached you; Totally staying sanitized," She noted as a matter of fact, prodding at Nick's smart tuxedo accusingly as though he was wearing his usual green Hawaiian tee instead. Nick's ears perked forward, mildly taken aback from her claim. The fox quickly regained his calm composure.
"You sure have quite a good sense of smell, I am amused Detective Hopps," Nick chuckled as they made their way to the exit. "Signing the contract as your partner in crime fighting was certainly worth it; maybe you could try hustling other animals in the streets, Carrots."
Judy gave him a playful scowl. "Never in my life, dumb fox; would no police officer commit such shameful act."
"Aw, come on Whiskers, you should practice a little for my sake... and besides, you are going to be the next Godmother," Nick joked along, bending his knees and leaning forward to level himself with her height. "You do make a cute Godmother, you know. Maybe you would gain some bushy eyebrows, develop a strong accent and start to ice animals into jumbo pops, who knows."
"Hey, that is rude to use Mr. Big as a stereotype!" Judy shot back at the fox, who heedlessly dismissed her complaint with his signature con artist smirk. She stared into Nick's eyes, annoyed that he was enjoying her little fit of anger. Sometimes she could barely tolerate his cheekiness and immatureness; in addition to his usual fare of impeccable sarcasm. But that was also something she adored in him at the same time. A few times he had made her throw frustrated punches and jabs into his stomach whilst most of the times she would appreciate his unique sense of humour and share a laugh or two. Judy's frown slowly disappeared into a slight smile. "Sometimes I really do not know how to properly deal with you, Nick," She said, hopping off the steps, shifting her gaze to the ground as a precaution to not trip and fall. "So, now that we are all clear from bacteria, how do we find this Nat hyena? ...Nick?"
"Shh, sh... look," The fox pointed a thumb at a figure which was under the dim limelight of a street lamp. With it accompanied another figure, way taller than the previous one which it was conversing with. The light from the lamp was bright enough for them to distinguish the features of the two silhouettes. One was a leanly built hyena - presumably Nat; whilst the other appeared to be a lanky giraffe. "That is our culprit right there and looks like he has found a buyer," he muttered, ears folding back as he kept watch on the hyena.
"Are you able to hear what they are saying from here?" Nick added, looking at Judy like as if she was a beacon of hope of a passenger ship lost in a swirling storm out at sea. If the bunny cop's fantastic hearing was capable of picking up what the pair were saying, they would be able to save a lot of unwanted trouble.
Judy shook her head disappointedly. "The crowd between us and them is way too loud for me to catch whatever they are planning. We have to get closer."
"Boy, and I thought I was in for a treat, eh?" Nick mumbled solemnly. He searched the surroundings for an ideal place to eavesdrop. His gaze shifted towards the rows of chairs which many were taken by avid black market bidders. "How about the very back seats of the auction hall? Will you be able to hear them there?" Nick asked.
"Hm, that should be close enough," Judy said as she brought her attention to the last row of unoccupied seats.
Pulling their masks on, the pair stealthily made their way towards the chairs whilst maintaining inconspicuous in the eyes of the animals they passed by. Judy made sure to keep herself closely to Nick as he cleared a path forward; the last problem they needed on their list was them to get separated by the viciously jostling crowd. It took a moment of navigating through the maze of animals before they arrived at their designated seats. Judy took the seat which was closer to their target whilst Nick sat on the chair beside her. She could have sworn that Nick whispered something about the chairs thankfully not being elephant sized as he sat down. Judy snapped back into focus, ears pointed upwards and facing towards the hyena and giraffe duo like elongated satellite dishes.
"... Four grand, that enough for you?" A low pitched voice asked, supposedly the giraffe buyer.
"Five grand. I could not stress this enough that it is the last ticket that has yet to be redeemed! It would be pricier than that," A high pitched Nat demanded. The giraffe grunted in irritation before she was met with a long moment of silence, probably considering the deal.
"Fine. I will pay five grand." The giraffe offered, earning a chuckle from Nat. "Where shall we meet up?"
"55 Moosevelt Street, inside Snarl bucks cafe tomorrow at noon sharp. If I see anyone else tagging with you, the deals over, got it?" Nat whispered secretively. Judy had to lean out from her seat in order to hear what Nat said as the he was barely audible. Affirmative that she had the right information, Judy turned back to Nick, who was patiently waiting by browsing through his phone screen.
"I have got their rendezvous location, time to nab our criminal!" Judy whispered softly into Nick's ear. Nick grinned from the valuable Intel as he slipped his phone back into his jacket's pocket.
"You sure have a superb sense of hearing, you know that," Nick praised.