Chapter 11: Old ways.
The drive back to headquarters was uneventful for the most part. While Nick drove leisurely through the early evening traffic Judy sat in the passenger seat engrossed in her notes. Judy flipped through a few pages of her notepad and scrunched her face, deep in thought. She then looked over at the sheet of paper they had gotten from the DMV, read a few lines of information, and then went back to her notepad occasionally mumbling to herself. " So this Melman guy…how exactly do you know him again?" Judy finally broke the silence that had been lingering in the car.
"Lets just say he is an old friend from my entrepreneur days and leave it at that carrots." Nick said with a smirk, keeping his eyes on the rode as he attempted to merge into the other lane.
"He in the pawpcicles biz too?" Judy asked with a teasing smirk as she looked over at her partner.
Nick chuckled as he stopped at a red light and then looked over at Judy. 'Even at night he wears those dorky sunglasses' Judy thought as she looked to the top of Nicks head and then back down into his eyes.
"First off, organic pawpcicles " Nick shot at her, feigning a disappointing tone, "second off no, he wouldn't be into that. He is actually a bit of a health nut as I recall. One of the reasons he got into the whole back alley medical supply game was so he could get a hold of the good stuff for himself "Nick said as he looked back into the sea of lights that filled the streets.
"Wait, was he a user?" Judy asked nervously. She knew that Nick had had a dark past but didn't think it would bring him into the circles of drug users. She felt a slight pang of worry as she realized the two hadn't exactly talked in depth about the fox's past. He could have rubbed elbows with all sorts of dark characters. Judy had only scrapped the surface of the dark world that lurked in Zootopia. Nick could know all sorts of shady mammals; drug pushers, arms dealers, maybe even the occasional hitman. Judy felt her heart sink at the thought of Nick doing dealings with such a bad crowd. She was brought back into reality however when she heard Nick laughing. "What?"
"If you knew Mel you would understand why questions like that are so amusing. Like I said the guy was a health nut. To the point of pure paranoia! He knows every ingredient of aspirin and had a stop watch just so he wouldn't take more than the recommended amount in a certain time," Nick explained, making Judy feel slightly better about the situation. "Seriously the guy had a different made up disease every other day..one time he thought he caught a rare strain of rabies from a wolf that sneezed near him. The last thing he would do is mess up his health by using some kind of drug. Got to admit though he sure was handy if you had a cold, knew every cure in the book."
Judy gave off a weak laugh. She felt at ease knowing this particular friend of Nicks wasn't some drug kingpin, but that still didn't absolve all the other mammals he had dealt with. She made a mental note to try and get more information on the subject a little later. "So what makes him selling medical equipment a 'back alley' kind of deal?" Judy pried as she closed her notebook, far more interested in the conversation than her notes.
"Well as I understand it he was selling equipment you normally needed licensing for. You know, the real big kind of machines with magnets, he had them. You didn't necessarily have certified techs to run it? Not a problem to Mel. I wouldn't say it was the most dangerous line of work, but it wasn't necessarily legal. Plus you need licenses and the likes to sell this kind of stuff, Mel may have neglected to renew said licenses." Nick explained as they approached the ZPD headquarters in the city center.
"So what your saying is in the world of organized crime…Mel sold band aids without its original packaging?" Judy said, putting the lamest example she could think of on the fly.
"Oh no, they were still in their original packaging, that would be unsanitary if they weren't he just sold them without the proper commerce license is all" Nick said with an amused look on his face as he pulled into the ZPD garage. He cruised down one of the isles and parked in a spot marked for vehicle drop off.
"Unsanitary? Kind of like selling pawpcicles that someone may have melted on a roof and then poured into a dirty paw print in Tundra town?" Judy asked slyly. Nick looked at her from the corner of his eyes, a serious look on his face.
"Ma'am I haven't the slightest idea what you are talking about." He muttered, showing his teeth in a playfully forced grin. At this point both Judy and Nick exited the vehicle and strolled towards a small office in the garage to drop off the keys and fill out a mileage report.
"Well since we have his number and you two are such good pals why don't you give him a call?" Judy suggested as she handed Nick the sheet of paper from the DMV.
Nick looked down at his watch and then looked at the sheet in his paw which had Melman's information. "I might be able to get a hold of him, from what I remember he is an early to bed kind of mammal…always got his 8 hours, anything under that and he may contract the plague or something"
Judy looked down at her own watch and raised an eyebrow, it was still very early in the evening. Sure Nick and Judy were on overtime but that didn't mean it was very late. "Very early to bed.."She muttered and then looked back at Nick. "Well how about you try anyways real quick and then we can go report to Bogo on what we have found so far"
Nick didn't exactly look excited about this new plan, "Or how about I fill in the vehicle check in report and then call Mel, while you go brief Buffalo butt? I promise you have just as much information as I do…probably more because I zoned out during the chemistry lesson today"
"Nick…what am I gonna do with you…?" Judy said as she shook her head slightly in disbelief. Even after graduating the top of his class and working with Judy for so long he still acted like his old self, always trying to work the angles.
"I don't know" Nick said as he leaned down to Judy's level and smirked, his smile mere inches from her face, "Maybe rock my world?"
"ah hahah…well will you look at the time!" Judy said as she laughed nervously and turned a shade of red, her wide purple eyes darting around the garage, making sure no other mammals had heard the last bit. "Guess I better get going! Gotta go talk to Bogo, I'll..um..I'll see ya back at our desk? Ok sounds good!" With that Judy turned away from Nick and quickly walked away, she didn't have to look back to know that Nick was staring at her with that smug grin that seemed to have been on his face almost all day.
As Judy quickly walked out of the garage and through a set of large doors leading inside to the ZPD she couldn't help but notice that the halls seemed a little more crowded than usual. Normally the night shift, sometimes referred to as swing shift, would have already been briefed and out on the streets performing their duties. However tonight the halls were bustling with extra officers and support staff. The ZPD was just as busy now as it had been earlier that morning which surprised Judy as she made her way into the large atrium. She received a few friendly nods and greetings as she made her way through the large bustling room towards the reception desk.
Before Judy reached reception however she stopped in her tracks when she remembered what had transpired earlier that morning when she arrived. The thought of facing Clawhauser after pouring hot chocolate all over herself made her feel a little apprehensive. Not only was it one of the dumbest things she had ever done as a cop, it was also somewhat rude of her to ruin Clawhauser's early morning drink like that, not that the large cheetah needed anymore sweets, everyone new about the not so secret stash of sweets he kept under the reception desk.
Judy decided that a peace offering was in order and quickly headed back deeper into the ZPD building, away from reception. She navigated the halls and finally found what she was looking for, the break room. She headed inside and noticed this room was especially packed with mammals. Officers, dispatchers, and other various support mammals were all milling about the tables eating their lunches. Judy's path kept her strolling down the perimeter of the room towards a bank of brightly colored vending machines.
IT took the bunny a minute or two to decide on what exactly to get Clawhauser, knowing full well that he would love just about anything she got him from the vending machine, so there was really no pressure. Judy finally settled on a bag of small chocolates shaped like paw prints and a can of Clawhauser's favorite soda. Once Judy retrieved the peace offerings from the machines she strolled towards the exit of the break room. She paused however when she heard her name come up in an officers conversation.
"Then she apparently just dumped a cup of hot chocolate over her…no idea why though!" Judy overheard, feeling slightly embarrassed knowing that even officers who weren't even here in the morning were gossiping about the earlier events. 'Don't they have something better to talk about?' She wondered. She could have just left and let the officers continue their conversation, but curiosity got the better of her and she continued to listen.
"I know she has been here a while, but I still cant get over her…I mean a bunny cop?" One of the other officers at the table chimed in. Much to Judy's dismay the others didn't necessarily correct him.
"Hey, what ever works I guess. She did solve the last night howler case and I hear Bogo has her on lead for this new one…just gotta wait and see if she is a one hit wonder." Came the first officer.
Judy carefully peaked around another group of officers eating their lunches and talking to get a better look at the officers deep in conversation about her. She noticed it was a group of two wolves, a lion, and a rhino. She didn't recognize them right away, they were most likely part of a different shift team. The ZPD precinct #1 was one of the largest in the world with so many officers it was impossible to know everyone.
"Still, gotta give her some credit though, after all not many officers would be okay with a fox as a partner." The rhino muttered as he took a sip from his coffee cup.
"Well I heard that Wilde guy was involved with the last case too, helped Judy solve the thing..bet that's why they got partnered up!" One of the wolves said quickly.
"Or maybe its because Bogo knew she wouldn't have a problem with it like a lot of us would.." The lion said, the sentence caused something deep down in Judy to want to jump up on the table and shout.
'So what if hes a fox? He is my fox!' She thought, wishing she had shouted it. Judy remained quiet however as she wanted to see where the conversation would go. She knew this wasn't a good idea, this kind of thing only led to trouble.
"Heard they may be more than partners too…" The lion muttered in a low voice, looking over his large shoulder to make sure no one was listening. "Rumor has it they may be a little more involved with each other" The lion said, leaving the rest up to the imagination of the group.
"Wait….they are dating?" One of the wolves asked, a sudden look of surprise mixed with amusement on his face.
"So what if they are? Aint none of our business…besides who here hasn't looked at another species and thought what it would be like..especially a cute number like Judy!" The other wolf, a young timber, interjected.
'Finally! Someone on our side! Wait…did he just call me cute?' Judy thought, she was happy to hear what the younger wolf at the table had to say, she waited and listened to the rest of the conversation.
Every mammal at the table was silent for a few moments, the silence finally broken by the rhino who started to laugh. "don't let Wilde hear you say that!" he said in his deep voice. This seemed to soften the mood as the other mammals began to join in with their own laugher.
"more importantly don't let Hopps hear that, we all know who would wear the pants in your relationship!" the lion said as he gave the younger wolf at the table a playful punch on the arm.
Judy couldn't help but smile after hearing the conversation. She had been worried about what her fellow officers might think. Her smile however changed as the conversation she was eavesdropping on went into a different direction.
"listen, I may be a little old," the rhino started to say as he shifted his large frame, "but back in the day preds and prey didn't exactly interact in that way, I ain't gonna stop someone from dating the mammal they want to date, but to me… Well it should stay within species."
Judy could hear some mumbling coming from the group. "like I said before, so what, it's none of our business." The young timber wolf said and continued to munch on a sandwich. "besides Old man, your like what 100? Didn't you guys not have fire back then?"
This caused another round of laughter to emanate from the table. "OK ok, I get it, I'm old and my ways aren't exactly modern.. It's just the world I grew up in and it's kind of stuck. The way I see it is you should only date someone that it makes sense to date is all." The Rhino explained. At this point the conversation moved on to a new topic, the mammals had finished gossiping about their fellow officers for now.
Judy sighed and shook her head as she quietly walked out of the break room. She could see where the rhino was coming from, in fairness she would have probably said the same things a few years back. A few images flashed in her mind. A young Gideon Gray was standing over her, his teeth bared and claws raised in an attack. The can of Fox repellent she used to carry on her duty belt. Nick hunched over and walking on all fours in a savage manner towards her. She felt a pang of guilt as she realized it wasn't until very recently that her opinions of foxes had changed. Not only had her opinion on foxes changed but her opinion of a possible relationship with someone who wasn't a bunny.
Had someone come and asked if she would date a fox a year ago she would have probably requested they go get their head examined. Now though it was all she could think about.
She wondered if Nick felt the same. After all they really hadn't had a chance to discuss what had been going on with her since this case had fallen in their laps. She felt slightly guilty as she realized that she had suddenly been more concerned about what the case was doing to her instead of what it was doing to innocent citizens.
She had to put a pin in these thoughts though as she approached the reception desk, Clawhausers snacks in her paws. She slowly snuck around the desk until she was directly in front of Clawhausers, hiding out of the cheetahs view.
Slowly she raised the cola and bag of chocolates and gave them both a little shake in front of the surprised cheetah. Judy couldn't see Clawhausers expression from her crouched position but she heard a happy gasp.
She slowly raised her head, her ears clearing the counter first and then her purple eyes came up so she could look up at her friend. She kept her mouth covered though, trying to use her best wide eye stare on the cheetah. "sorry about this morning" Judy mumbled apologetically.
Clawhausers had the largest grin spread across his flabby face as he put his hands under his cheeks and gave off a squeal of excitement. "oh M goodness!" he said happily. Before Judy could react she felt the cheetahs massive paws around her as he picked her up and pulled her into a warm hug. "you are the best rabbit every!"
Judy let out a gasping sound but still enjoyed the attention, holding herself against the cheetah she was reminded of a giant been bag pillow only this one purred and smelled of candy.
Clawhauser eventually set Judy down on the reception desk where she casually sat as she watched the cheetah tear open the bag of candy and pop a few paw shipped chocolates into his salivating mouth. He held the bag towards Judy who politely accepted a hand full and nibbled at the chocolate. "I will try not to pour this all over your desk." Judy said playfully, knowing it was best to get the chocolate jokes out of the way now rather than later.
Clawhauser giggled, "yeah so you wanna explain that?" the cheetah asked as he popped open the soda and took a swig.
"it's kinda a long story. One that hasn't exactly concluded. " Judy said as she rubbed her neck nervously.
"is it about your upcoming date with Nick?" Clawhauser asked without skipping a beat.
Judy began to choke on a piece of chocolate she had just put in her mouth. It took two good slaps on the back from the large cheetah to unlogged the candy from Judy's throat. "who…?" Judy began to ask.
"Tams texted me earlier, heard you announced your intentions in front of Bogo too!" the cheetah said as he placed his elbows on the counter and then rested his massive chin in his hands. He then playfully batted his eyes at the bunny, "so are you gonna give me the scoop or do I have to beg?"
Judy just signed and decided it would be better to just surrender now and tell Benny what was going on. She was actually somewhat excited to talk to him about this, he had always been a good friend and offered her so much help while asking very little in return. Besides, Bogo was probably so bogged down with all the reports from the days events that he probably wasn't available to see her right away.
Judy took a deep breath and started to explain what had happened. From the dream she had had just that morning all the way to the kiss on the nose at the dmv. The more she talked about the subject the more she felt a swelling of excitement deep down. She realized just how much fun she was having, the thrill of the hunt was sometimes better than the prize after all. This prize however would be well worth all the embarrassment she told herself.
When she was done explaining the events of the day she let out a sigh of relief and then looked at Clawhauser for some kind of response. The cheetah was silent for a few seconds, only letting out little happy noises through his grin.
"OMG.. That is so cu…." He stopped himself as he looked for another word to use, but Judy got the point. "So after all that how does Nick feel?"
Judy's smile faltered for a moment and she scanned the large hall nervously. She then looked back at her friend and shrugged, "guess that's a question I will have to ask on our date."
"or right now!" Benny said as he looked around and suddenly spotted the fox who was running towards reception.
Judy looked over as well, a sudden look of concern formed on her face though as she noticed the look of panic on her partner. In one quick motion she hopped off the reception desk and walked quickly to Nick. The fox had his phone in his hand, his eyes wide with worry. He didn't have to say anything, she could tell just from his expression what had caused him to act like this.
Suddenly all the radios in the large hall gave of a series of beeps as a mass message was toned out across the frequency.
"attention all units this frequency, attention all units this frequency. Any units in the vicinity of tundra town mall please be 10-51 rush status to the mall. Reports of a possible Night Howler attack. EMS en route for multiple injuries! Control clear at 1845"
So just wanted to give you all a little update.
The next chapter may be a little while for a two reasons. I plan to go through all previous chapters and re edit for Grammer and spelling errors my phone seems to have missed. This may take a while but I believe it is important and it will ensure the story is coming across more smoothly.
Also some of you may be following the current storm that is scheduled to hit the east coast in the next few days. I am in Florida so we may be getting hit hard soon which means I may be in the dark for a little bit. Don't you all worry though we are taking all necessary precautions and I expect to be back up and running not long after the storm. Of course don't hesitate to send Florida and all affected by Hurricane Matthew some good vibes.
I'll update you all soon!
-Blue