Ch. 14: Ice Cream at Jerry Jumbeaux's
Finnick realized that he was becoming soft.
Why else would he be pulling a stroller down the street, looking for an appropriate ice cream shop? Said stroller and a slightly larger tiger cub.
He was babysitting two babies that weren't related to him and he wasn't even getting paid! Nick had just asked if Finnick would babysit while he and Judy worked on a very serious case. And Finnick had said okay!
The cub, Judy told him he was Caleb, apparently came with Violet as a package deal.
"Ah!" a sudden voice cried out. A lady pig suddenly grabbed the front of the stroller, forcing it to a halt and the fennec let out a sigh.
"Don't think I've ever seen a run away stroller before," she smiled at the chatty kits.
"And you still haven't," Finnick spoke up and the pig nearly jumped out of her skin.
"O-oh," she blinked when she spotted Finnick. "Sorry, I didn't see you there."
Obviously, Finnick thought but only nodded and continued on his way.
Finnick finally gave up and just picked the next ice cream shop he came across. That shop was Jerry Jumbeaux's Jr. and Finnick had to bite his tongue to keep from cursing. Figures the random shop he choose was one of his latest cons. But he was already inside and it wasn't like anyone here would recognize him unless he pretended to be a baby. Besides the sight of elephants and hippos had Violet and Caleb shrieking in excitement.
Picking a booth in the back of the shop and ignoring stares, he somehow managed to un-strap the two and put them in the booth.
Finnick let out a sigh, standing between the two and studying the length from the table edge down to the booth. There was no way he could get those two up there, not without help.
A sudden trunk in the side of his vision had Finnick snapped his head around to see a young elephant standing next to his booth.
She was maybe a year or two older than Violet and Caleb and was wearing a bright red polka-dot dress. Her glittery brown eyes were on Violet and Caleb. The two kits crawled closer to the elephant with noses twitching in curiosity.
Caleb was quick to smile and purr at the stranger while Violet cocked her head to the side with curiosity.
"Hello," the elephant greeted in a loud, almost booming voice that startled the kits and made Finnick's ears fold.
"Hi," Violet and Caleb greeted in unison, their voices much softer.
The elephant waved her trunk to and fro, instantly piquing Violet's interested who started to bat at it. Caleb, despite being a feline, didn't join in. Instead he simply smiled and purred at the two girls.
Finnick was left blinking at the three before a new voice broke in: "Tilly!"
An elephant that had to be the young one's mother appeared. She was smiling kindly and wore a dress that matched her daughter's.
She blinked politely at Finnick and the kits, but the small fox was still wary. He picked up Violet and Caleb obediently stayed by his side.
"Sorry, is my daughter bothering you?" she asked Finnick. The two elephants lovingly interlocked trunks.
"Nah," Finnick shook his head (Caleb mimicked him).
"We're mostly around other elephants and hippos," she explained, "Tilly isn't used to such small mammals."
"They're not used to her," Finnick replied, then added, "The name's Finnick."
She smiled, "My name is Mina. And you've already met Tilly."
The small elephant let out a toot toot that made Finnick smirk. "This is Violet and Caleb."
"Are they yours?" Mina asked and the fennec was surprised by how non-judgmental she sounded. Considering his last visit had the owner refusing to sell to him and Nick because they were foxes.
Speaking of which: "Mina? Who are you talking to?" And then suddenly Jerry Jumbeaux Jr., the owner and fox-hater himself, loomed over Finnick.
His eyes narrowed on the small fox, "Haven't I seen you before?"
"Nah," Finnick shook his head again. Caleb moved closer to the fennec while Violet was glaring at the new elephant.
"I'm talking to some of your customers, Jerry," Mina said brightly. "They're very sweet. And now that you're here they can go ahead and order."
Finnick bared his teeth in a fake smile, "I think we're in the mood for a junior sundae."
Jerry glared, "You really think you'd be able to finish that?"
Mina quickly cut in, "Tilly and I will help."
She turned to Finnick, "If that's alright."
"Course," Finnick replied, deciding he liked this elephant.
"Now be a good brother and do your job," she ushered him away while Tilly climbed onto the booth.
"And be sure to wear a trunk glove," she and Finnick called out in unison.
.
Nate had been one of the drug dealing masters of Zootopia, having dozens of minions at his disposal and always escaping the cops.
Until now.
He, like so many others, had underestimated Judy and the rabbit had used that to her advantage. She and Nick had cornered him in the old warehouse that had been Nate's temporary lair. The wolf hadn't put up much of a fight once they had caught him, Nick suspected eh had simply become resigned to a life behind bars.
They had gone outside to where Fangmeyer, McHorn, and other officers waited, when Judy heard it: a wailing.
She left Nate to McHorn and quickly followed the sound to the back of the warehouse. The sound, definitely wailing, was coming from a dumpster.
With Nick standing behind her Judy threw the lid open and dove into the foul-smelling plastic bags and rotting food.
And then she saw it, or rather him.
In a soiled blue one-piece, shaking and covered in filth as he cried for a mother that wasn't there.
A baby raccoon.