5
Chapter 14
The face disappeared, and that was before Nick turned the T.V. off, still holding the remote tightly in his hand. Judy stared at him, not knowing what to say, too busy fearing the loss of her job as well as the ZPD's possible destruction of reputation.
"Bogo should have never helped me," Nick said. "What's he going to do?"
"Well," Judy said. "Do you really think anyone is going to believe what they just saw? I mean, a mysterious group basically just threatened the ZPD, which has been helping people for years. And Doug was a sheep who escaped arrest, so we can put an end to whatever scheme this group is planning because of that."
"Yeah," Nick said. "But they've already planted doubt in everyone's mind. Everyone in Zootopia will have this broadcast in mind whenever the ZPD does something that would be deemed strange or out of place. This group is definitely going to be a thorn in the ZPD's side, proof or no proof of what they're spouting."
"You have a point," Judy said. "We'll have to talk to Bogo about it tomorrow. For now, we should go ahead and get some sleep. I have a feeling it's going to be a long day tomorrow."
"Agreed."
Judy got up with a stretch, realizing suddenly how tired she was, and put away the remaining food before heading to her bedroom to get some much-needed sleep. Before climbing into her own bed, though, she gathered up a pillow and blanket and gave them to Nick so that he would at least get a decent night's sleep.
"If you have a nightmare, you can come in my room with me."
"I'll be fine, Mom. Honestly, Carrots, you're spoiling me now." Nick smiled up at her as he laid his head back on the pillow. Judy rolled her eyes and shoved him lightly on the shoulder. Tired, she returned to her bedroom and fell asleep faster than she thought she would, trying to ignore the feeling of fear that rose in her chest from Prey. Whoever this group was, they would have to put a stop to it. But how could they? All this group was doing was spouting nonsense. Freedom of speech, and all that. Still, this seemed more like an anarchist group than anything, so it wouldn't be long before they did something illegal. Then the ZPD would be there.
And they'd be ready.
~Prey~
It was three in the morning, and Nick had still not fallen asleep. The moment he had been left in complete silence and darkness, his mind started racing. This was his fault. If he had just stayed away from Zootopia, none of this would have happened. Was it too late? What if he just left again? This group, Prey, seemed to know when he came to Zootopia if they had given Doug that video and a mission. He knew he shouldn't be afraid. Zootopia would have a hard time trusting a group that employed a criminal.
Still, it was a good plan. Judy probably wouldn't let him go, though, not again.
Why had he come back to Zootopia, anyway? If he was being one hundred percent honest with himself, what reason had Nick had for coming back? Was it because he was raised here? Was it because he hated life outside of the sparkling buildings of Savannah Central?
Or was it because of a certain little bunny that haunted his dreams when he was away from her for too long? Nick turned on his side, staring through the darkness at the coffee table with. He had absolutely no idea why he thought of Judy so much, or why he wrote her a note expressing his feelings for her.
He didn't lie in that note.
But he did lie when he told her he didn't mean what was in it.
Nick had absolutely no idea what he felt for Judy, sometimes. There were times when he looked at her, and he knew she was his friend. Then, there were times when he looked at her and was transported to a world where they were something more.
Nick had never actually been in a real relationship before. He'd closed himself off too much, played his cards too close to his chest. He'd never even been interested in being in a relationship. He had his job—that job being a con artist, but a job nonetheless.
Maybe he liked the bunny as more than a friend, or maybe he'd just reached a higher level of friendship with her than he did other mammals.
Nick fell asleep, having stopped thinking about Prey long enough to do so.
The next few days would certainly be eventful, but hopefully he and Judy would both be ready for when it happened.
~Prey~
The next morning, Judy and Nick went to the precinct. While Judy seemed to not notice it—or maybe she was just ignoring it—Nick listened carefully to each conversation when they passed by mammals on the street. He was pleased to not hear much about Prey at all. And the only conversations he did hear were mainly people saying that they weren't sure if it was some sort of publicity stunt or not.
As soon as they arrived at the precinct, Bogo didn't hesitate to tell them to join everyone else in the briefing room. Unlike the usual noise of the officers yelling and talking, the room was silent. A few of the officers in the room noticed Nick's presence, and they either smiled or treated his presence like he hadn't been gone for a year. Nick couldn't believe that, after everything these men probably knew about him, they still seemed to have no qualms with him being there. They knew what he'd done. One way or another, there was no keeping it a secret from the other officers that Nick Wilde had gone crazy. Except for Stacy. None of the officers had even mentioned what happened to the white wolf, even when Nick had returned. That was a kind of loyalty that Nick still couldn't comprehend.
Maybe they knew he'd been infected with another strand of the nighthowler serum. Had Judy told them about it? She had to have told them, otherwise they wouldn't have so readily trusted him when he returned. Or, sort of readily, at least.
Nick sat in the seat next to Judy and Stacy, and Bogo looked out at the room full of officers, as if waiting for them to be rowdy again.
"I am sure you are all aware of the message that appeared on the televisions of every resident of Zootopia last night, given that you are all more quiet than usual. This group, Prey, they call themselves, has claimed responsibility over supposedly protecting Zootopia, by threatening to reveal secrets of the ZPD."
"They showed that Doug guy on that video of Hopps over there arresting him," Fangmeyer said. "Didn't he escape arrest over a year ago?"
"Yes. I assumed he'd simply left Zootopia. But that isn't what I want to talk about with all of you. Most of you know the incident that took place a year ago with our fox officer, Nick Wilde. He was infected with a new strain of the nighthowler serum that forced him into a predatory mindset—although a much more sophisticated one, in which he kidnapped several mammals, and put a lot of others in danger.
"For a year now, you've all known this already, and yet you kept it a secret. Doug, this sheep that escaped arrest, was trying to expose Wilde's predicament mere days after he arrived in Zootopia. We arrested Doug for escaping arrest, thereby eliminating the risk of Wilde's exposure. Now, it seems that this group does not have any actual proof of what they claim, but we need to be prepared and careful that this group doesn't manage to get their hands on anything they can use against us."
At this point, Officer Jackson stood up. "Chief Bogo, I have to ask. Why did we help him in the first place? Look, no offense, Wilde, okay? I know you weren't here long, but you were one of my favorite's here. But couldn't you just leave Zootopia again? I mean, I know I'm not the only one thinking it. Why should we drag the entirety of the ZPD down in order to protect one ex-officer that was gone for a year? His presence is all this group seems to be interested in if they only revealed themselves days after Nick's arrival."
"I thought the same thing myself," Nick said to himself, and Judy stared at him. Stacy just looked up, wishing now that she had transferred here at some other time. She wouldn't look at the fox.
"What?" Jackson said.
"I thought the same thing myself, Jackson." It was Nick's turn to stand up now. "I've thought several times now about leaving Zootopia again, but this group won't just stop now. They're priority is taking down the ZPD. They're just using me to get to you. Once I'm gone—and they'll probably know when—they'll just find something else to use against you. Heck, they may even use the fact that you didn't tell anyone about the kidnappings."
"Then why did we keep it a secret in the first place?" Anderson said. "I mean, we knew that Nick was responsible for all of those kidnappings."
"Bellwether was responsible," Judy chimed in, standing in her chair. "She gave Nick that serum."
"Then why didn't we just announce that? We could've just said that one of our officers was infected with a serum, and that we were working on some sort of cure."
"Mayor Lionheart wanted to keep it under wraps," Bogo said.
"Because I asked him for help," Nick whispered, realizing with more and more clarity that he should never have asked Lionheart for anything.
"How do these people not know who you are, Nick?" Wolford said. "Didn't they know when you came here?"
"Maybe they're trying to make sure they have everyone's attention first. Keep making messages until they know people will believe them when they reveal it to be Nick," Judy said.
Nick felt like his head was going to explode. He'd messed up everything, any chance the ZPD had of keeping the city's trust, by asking for help. He should have known that relying on someone else was a stupid idea. Depending on himself and himself only was how he'd managed in Zootopia. Now everything was just one big mess.
"Look, a lot of mistakes happened, and a lot of opportunities passed us by, but we can still change this. My whole life, all I've done is run away from situations. That's what I did. I was a coward. I didn't think of the complications that would arise once I arranged my disappearance from Zootopia." Nick paused for a second, as if he was trying to believe that he was actually spilling his real feelings out to a bunch of his old friends. "I'm tired of running. It took me a long time to figure out why I came back to Zootopia. It was because I was sick of spending my entire life running away from my problems instead of facing them. But in order to face all of this, I need the rest of you there with me. The ZPD has always been there to protect people. A secret or two isn't going to change a thing. This group isn't just after me, they're after the ZPD. They're going after predators, just like Bellwether did. Why do you think they named themselves Prey? Maybe this was Bellwether's plan all along, who knows? All I know is that I'm going to do what I can to stop this group. But I know I won't be able to succeed without all of you."
Every officer seemed to be holding their breath. None of them—except Judy—had ever heard Nick so passionate about anything. They'd always seen the sly fox that got on Bogo's nerves more than anyone else.
"Well," Officer Grizzoli said. "You're right about one thing, Wilde. A lot of mistakes have been made. I, for one, am not going to sit back and let this thing happen. I'll help you stop this group, not just for the ZPD's sake, but for yours as well. I never leave a fellow officer behind. And even though you don't wear the badge anymore, you're just as much ZPD as the rest of us. So I'm with you."
That was all they needed. As if a switch had been flipped, each officer stood up and said they would help Nick, some with intentions purely for the ZPD, others for Nick himself, and others because they didn't like the fact that there was a potentially dangerous group in Zootopia and they hadn't done anything about it already.
"Alright," Bogo said, everyone sitting back down, "now that we've got that out of the way, we need to address what we're going to do about Prey. While they haven't technically done anything illegal yet in the public's eyes, Mayor Lionheart has issued that there will be a press conference held here at the ZPD tomorrow. They should be setting it up by this afternoon so it'll be ready. This is just a hunch, but this will be our chance to expose Prey's employment of Doug. I doubt Prey are going to let this happen. We need to be ready for anything. We'll have a camera put on each of your uniforms. That includes you, Wilde. Make sure you wear something dark. I want extra protection for the officers guarding the door. Rhinowitz, McHorn, you two will be making sure no one suspicious gets too close. We're trying to reveal Prey's criminal involvement, but we are not putting any civilians at risk. Hopps, you're the one who arrested Doug, so you'll need to be up there on the stage. Any questions?"
With silence as his answer, Bogo went about the briefing as usual, assigning the usual officers their own districts. After the briefing, all of the officers were unnervingly quiet. Judy and Stacy went to their office with Nick so the two officers could catch up on some paperwork while talking about what had just happened.
Tomorrow would be a turning point in whatever Prey had started. Whether or not they tried something at the press conference, it would be up to Zootopia to decide who they wanted to trust. Judy felt the pressure of that. After what happened at the last press conference, the last thing she wanted to do was say something she would regret. And not just about Nick. The last time she made a mistake at a press conference, all of Zootopia had been thrown into a panic.
Judy would talk to Nick tonight. Maybe he could teach her how to think carefully about what she said before actually saying it. Reporters would grill her with a variety of questions, and that wasn't very ideal, given her history with getting overwhelmed by them. She looked over from her computer to Stacy, watching her finish up some work, then at Nick, who was playing on his phone and glancing out the window now and again. She wanted him to know how proud she was of him. He'd actually opened up to the entire briefing room of police officers. It was a big step for him.
Nick really was tired of running.
He was finally opening up.
Judy just hoped that all of this hassle would be worth it. It would be a shame to go through all of this only to fail to keep Nick's and the ZPD's secrets safe.