This chapter uses the song "Saturday Sun" by Nick Drake.
Chapter 14: Fracture
"Same thing as Tuesday, sweetie?"
The officer Finnick had come accustomed to calling 'mom' over the past few weeks lowered her menu to make eye contact with him. His small body sat in a booster seat, allowing him to be just below eye level with her. After scanning over the colorful images of the children's menu and ignoring them for the most part, he placed a finger on one of the items. Officer Strode leaned over the table and did her best to look at his selection upside down.
"Really? You want pasta? That sounds awfully adventurous. Are you sure you don't want the tofu nuggets again," Officer Strode asked in humorous tone.
After glancing around to find the surrounding customers distracted by conversation, he pulled the pacifier from his mouth and gave her a scowl. This caused her to let out a laugh as she did her best to control herself. After finally regaining her self control, Officer Strode wiped a tear from under her eye.
"I guess my little boy is growing up. Are you sure you're ready for the big kit meal?"
Finnick cocked an eyebrow. He had grown tired of eating children's food over the course of the investigation. He felt a little slack on the leash was well deserved.
"Fine; I know when I'm not going to win an argument. Bogo had wanted you to stay in character as much as possible, but I guess I can let this one slide. Just make sure to get a little sauce on your fur and the tablecloth for good measure."
Having reached an agreement he found acceptable, Finnick placed the pacifier back in his mouth. Soon afterwards, the waiter returned to their table to take orders. Officer Strode ordered for both of them, making silly little jokes at Finnick's expense when she could. He knew that she was trying to keep up the mommy image as best as possible, but that did not mean he had to be fully accepting of it.
"And what will this little guy have to drink," the waiter asked while reaching over and tussling the fur on Finnick's head. Finnick played along, doing his best not to accidentally give himself away.
You're so lucky I can't reach out and slap you
"Wadah," Finnick exclaimed in his best attempt at butchering the word 'water'.
"You sure you don't want any juice? Most toddlers love the apple juice here!"
Finnick ignored the waiter's comment and instead pulled the sippy cup from his backpack that had been slung over the back of his chair. Sticking the nozzle into his mouth, he happily started sucking down the container's contents.
"I apologize, but he's extremely picky. I have to buy him this one particular brand, or else he just refuses to drink it," Officer Strode explained while handing the waiter their menus.
"No worries, ma'am, I was the exact same way when I was his age. I'll get those orders in right away and be back with your drinks!"
With that, the waiter flipped the cover back over his tiny notepad and disappeared behind the doors to the kitchen. While Officer Strode read through any messages she had missed that morning, Finnick basked in the glory of his small victory. The previous night, he had poured red wine into his sippy cup to bring along today. He knew that there was no chance she would have snuck him any at the restaurant, and felt he deserved a small treat today. It was far from enough to get him drunk, but just enough to give him a decent buzz. What she did not know would not hurt her.
Once their food came, Finnick quickly devoured the plate before him. As part of the illusion he had to keep up, Finnick had been forced to eating smaller portions in public. He assumed that the waiter must have told the chef to make his dish a smaller size. Even after consuming every speck of food and licking his plate clean, Finnick was still left hungry. Like every other night following a stakeout like this, he was going to eat over half the food in his fridge to compensate for the 'toddler diet'. It did not leave him feeling too well to have scarfed down a ton of junk food, but it was better than starving.
"I've been meaning to ask, so hear it goes. What made you decide to help us?"
Office Strode's comment caught Finnick by surprise. He stopped sipping from his cup and cast her a puzzled look. This was the first time she showed any real personal interest in his life. He did not know whether to feel honored by this or confused.
"We got here late, so the lunch rush is already gone. The only other animals eating in here are the elderly couple on the far side of the dining room having dinner at 4 P.M. Let's not forget that our waiter is outside on a smoke break. You don't have to worry about anyone overhearing us."
Finnick looked around to find she was right. The elderly couple were too preoccupied with cutting their meal into small pieces to pay them any attention. Their waiter could be seen outside a nearby window, smoking with who he assumed were members of the kitchen staff.
"If I get caught, I'm not taking the fall for this one."
Officer Strode chuckled and extended her paw out to shake Finnick's. The smaller fennec reluctantly reached out and shook it, having to stretch out over the table to do so.
Begin "Saturday Sun"
"When Nick first offered this idea to me, I didn't really know what to say. It wasn't because my mind jumped to all the risks and consequences that would come with this. I couldn't believe that he was trusting me with an assignment of this magnitude."
Officer Strode slightly tilted her head to the side and cocked and eyebrow, silently asking Finnick to elaborate.
"I know it seems like such a silly notion, but I was more worried about Nick's trust than putting my own life on the line with this. I'm not exactly sure how much Nick told you about me before this whole ordeal, but I can imagine he left out some of the more… colorful details, and that's putting it in a very, very polite way."
"Officer Wilde didn't mention much. All I was told was that you were a friend of his and the perfect… um… size for the job," Officer Strode said hesitantly as she did her best to not insult him.
Finnick responded with a light laugh and another sip from his cup of 'grape juice'. He had expected nothing else from Nick. Trying to paint his old pal Finnick as a much better mammal than he actually was may have been the best decision for the time being. Nick knew a time for elaborations would come, and the first day Finnick met Officer Strode surely was not the best time.
"I guess he kept some of the other details out of the spotlight. Well, now is a better time than any to tell you what Nick didn't. For starters, my record with you guys is far from clean. Over the past few years, I've had my fair share of mistakes and slipups. Some have been small things, while others… well, let's just say I would be behind bars for a very long time. I could try to justify them by saying I had to do it so I could have at least some kind of living, but that would be a lie. After a while, I started doing some of them just because I wanted a new watch or a new phone. Quite a few of them ended up putting me in the hot seat. Looking back on all of it, I'm lucky I escaped some of those incidents with nothing more than a few scratches and bruises."
Officer Strode continued to sit in respectful silence. Finnick had not expected her to digest all of this with ease, and it all showed on her face.
"When Nick meet Judy, I was left alone. I resorted to pulling off jobs on my own and adapting to the best of my abilities. It didn't take me long to figure out that things couldn't continue how I was doing them."
"You needed another partner, didn't you?"
"Believe it or not, that wasn't what made me change my ways. I had adapted to living without Nick, but decided that what I needed wasn't another partner. What I needed was a new outlook on life. Scamming innocent mammals was no respectable way to live my life. One day, I said 'to hell with all this' and applied for a job at a body shop. Whether or not it would pay better than my old way of life was completely out of the question. If I had to resort to living in a cheap apartment on the bad side of town, then so be it. I came to the conclusion that I would rather live a bad life built on honesty than a good one built on deception."
Officer Strode took a few moments to gather and absorb everything she had just been told. Being told the truth about the fox she had been partnered with the past few months was not the most comforting news to be told, but she managed to swallow it down.
"After thinking Nick's proposition over for a little while, I came to the conclusion that I needed to do this not just for others, but for myself as well. This was my chance to right all the wrongs I had done over the course of my life."
Finnick paused and starred out the front window of the restaurant. Animals passed by, oblivious to the conversation going on behind the weathered glass.
"You know, I used to believe what my dad said when I was growing up."
Finnick looked up as Office Strode broke her silence. As she continued to talk, her head remained pointed down towards the table.
"He drilled this idea into my head that foxes would never amount to anything more than criminals. Of course, I didn't want to believe any of this. I would always do my best in school, even though some of my teachers would obviously hold my species against me. There was one day when I came home with a black eye and bruises hidden under my fur. I was expecting sympathy from my father, but was instead met with nothing but, 'I told you so. The world will never view you as anything more than a shady fox.' As much as I wanted to admit he was right, I couldn't bring myself to do that. Instead, I spent all my time trying to prove my father wrong."
She lifted her head, revealing a sheepish smile to Finnick. Pulling her wallet from her purse, she removed her badge and placed it on the table facing Finnick.
"I don't know about you, but I think I proved him wrong. Just remember this, Finnick."
Officer Strode stood up from her chair and brushed any remaining crumbs off her clothes. She leaned over and placed her paw over Finnick's.
"I defied the stereotype, and I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one. I don't see you as a fox. I see you as a truly selfless mammal willing to put his friends first. Zootopia could use a lot more mammals like you."
With a few pats on his paw, she walked off in the direction of their waiter to ask for the check. As Finnick watched her open a door and vanish outside, he felt something deep inside begin to emerge. Few mammals in his life gave Finnick a true sense of protection and understanding. Besides Nick, Judy and his own mother, Finnick had mainly been ignored his whole life. For the first time in a while, he felt that someone understood him. He smiled to himself and jumped down from his chair to go to the bathroom. Making sure to fake a waddle on the way there to keep up his character, he pushed open the heavy door. The smell of cheap air freshener and soap wafted out through the crack and invaded his nostrils. He found a little trouble in reaching the tall toilet, but managed. As he went about his business, he could not help but think of Judy's story about falling into a toilet at the academy. Even now, the story made the corners of his lips pull into a smile.
Finnick had to hop up a considerable distance to reach the sink. The soap was much too large to hold, so he scraped some off with a claw. Starring back at himself in the mirror, he still had not gotten used to his new fur color. No matter how many times he saw it, a slight sense of unease would crawl up his spine. He hoped that this would all be over soon so he could finally see his true self in the mirror once more. As he pushed open the door to the bathroom, he saw Officer Strode back at the table with the waiter handing over the check. Finnick hoped the waiter did not take another smoke break after receiving the check. He desperately wanted to finish up work for the day and go home.
Finnick felt something tug on the back of his shirt. Before he could react to the sudden and unseen force, the small fox was yanked backwards. As his head spun around, he was greeted with the site of a large cloaked figure. Any details as to what species this mysterious figure was were shrouded by a thick trench coat and tall collar. Not knowing what else to do, Finnick swung his tiny fists in a pitiful show of retaliation. His abductor ignored this as he ran in the direction of the kitchen. Vanishing behind the saloon-style doors, Finnick let out a high-pitched squeal of desperation. This caused the abductor to place a large paw over Finnick's muzzle. The large fingers wrapped all the way around his snout. Finnick tried to mumble something, but was ignored as they bolted through the empty kitchen.
The harsh brightness of daylight made Finnick squeeze his eyes tight as they burst through the back door. After taking a few seconds to adjust, he found that they were now in an alley adjacent to the restaurant. Before he could give too much attention to his surroundings, Finnick was thrown into the back of a van. The heavy metal doors creaked on their hinges as they slammed shut. Finnick stood up and waddled over to the door, but was quickly pulled back by another mammal. He squirmed in the animal's grasp, doing everything in his power to try and break free. For the first time in many years, Finnick let out real tears and sobbed sporatically.
"Settle down you piece of shit," a deep voice yelled from behind him as a cloth was placed over his muzzle.
The last words of the sentence echoed in Finnick's ears. The corners of his vision blurred, and he felt his muscles beginning to weaken. As he collapsed on the floor and stared at the ceiling of the vehicle, Finnick watched his vision become darker and darker. With one final thrust of his fist into the empty air, Finnick felt his mind fully slip away from reality.
"Come on, Carrots. There's no way I'm going to believe something like that."
Nick popped another piece of candy into his mouth as he stared out the windshield of their cruiser. To his side, Judy reached over and pulled a couple of pieces from the bag. Although she had originally criticized Nick for bringing junk food, Judy soon found herself taking part in the consumption.
"I know it seems outlandish, but why would I ever lie to you?"
Nick cocked an eyebrow and gave her a smirk that read 'You really want to go down that road?'
"You really expect me to believe Bogo has prosthetic horns? I'm willing to admit that I don't have the best sense of judgement, but I'm not that stupid, Carrots."
Judy shrugged in silent admittance of losing the battle. Her attention went back to the park across the street. Any second now, Finnick and Officer Strode would return from lunch. The survellaince she and Nick had been conducting over the past few weeks had grown to bore her a little bit, but she didn't mind. Having Nick in the car as entertainment kept her sanity, even if he went a little too far sometimes. As she glanced over at her partner, she noticed him lost in his own thoughts as he stared at the windshield. Whatever was on his mind, it had one hundred percent of his concentration.
"Hey, Nick, is everything alright?"
Nick continued to stare straight ahead, his eyes completely unblinking.
"Nick… can you hear me?"
Her fox remained silent, causing Judy to reach out and softly place a paw on his arm. As soon as she lay a finger on him, Nick snapped to attention. He let out a startled yelp and turned to Judy with wide eyes. As his muscles untensed, he kept a paw clenched around the fabric of his uniform.
"My God… you scared me, Carrots…"
"Scared you," she asked with a slight hint of confusion and humor in her voice. "What on Earth were you thinking about? It was like you were in a trance or something."
Nick's mind soon filled with vivid images from his nightmare the previous night. As he stared at the soft gray fur of Judy's face, he could see the wide, bleeding gashes on her cheek. Nick blinked wildly, doing his best to erase the horrible scene from his sight.
"It's nothing to worry about, Carrots. I'm just running over some of the details of the case in my head."
Nick paused as he looked down the street in the direction of the restaurant. He was hoping to find Finnick and Officer Strode walking their way so he could avoid the conversation, but to his luck, he found no one. He turned back to Judy and found her staring at him with a questioning look on her face. In response to her suspicions, Nick leaned over the center console and placed a kiss on her forehead. This caused her ears to flatten against the back of her head and the insides to turn red.
"Believe me, Carrots. If something was really bothering me, I would tell you about it. Now, can we drop this and just get back to just staring out the window like we've been doing the past few weeks?"
Judy seemed satisfied with Nick's answer. In turn, she leaned over and gave him a kiss. Nick's eyes fluttered shut and his mind diverted from the thoughts of his nightmare. As soon as it had started, Judy pulled away, leaving Nick's pursed lips hanging in midair.
"As boring as that sounds, sure."
Nick smiled and caressed Judy's cheek with the back of his paw.
"It's only boring if you let it be boring."
They both turned suddenly as the radio mounted to the dashboard crackled to life in a burst of static.
"Judy, Nick, are you there?!"
Clawhauser's voice sounded panicked as it crackled through the speaker and filled the car. Nick fumbled with the receiver for a second before pulling it from the clip. Holding in the palm of his hand, he pressed the side button down with a finger.
"Clawhauser, is something wrong?"
In between the neutral static on the radio and Clawhauser's next words, Nick felt his stomach drop. The cheetah's trembling voice came over the radio once more, and Nick felt a numbing sensation begin to spread through the entirety of his body.
"It's Finnick…"
Nick dropped the radio, letting it swing by its cord. Within a matter of seconds, he had flung open the door to their cruiser and begun sprinting in the direction of the restaurant. He did not even look to see if Judy was following behind him. If she was calling to him, he was unable to hear a word of it. The only sound he could hear in his ears was a constant ringing.
Nick sprinted at full pace down the sidewalk, pushing aside anyone who got in front of him. Some stared at him while others yelled in aggravation. Nick ignored them as the restaurant came within his sight. A cruiser was already parked on the curb directly in front with three officers standing on the sidewalk. He recognized two of them as being undercover in the park across the street. As Nick approached and came within their site, one of them pointed in his direction. A different officer turned and walked forward. The wolf stretched out his arms and did his best to stop Nick. The fox's small frame slammed into the wolf's large paws, causing him to come to a jolting stop.
"Just hold on, Wilde. Bogo instructed us to not let you in just yet. I need you stay calm and wiat out here with us."
With hot tears streaming down his cheeks, Nick continued to try and run. His effort was fruitless as his feet simply slid out from underneath him.
"Please, Wilde. I don't want to restrain you, but I will if I need to."
Ignoring his fellow officer's words, Nick backed off from his grip, and ducked under the wolf's paws before he could make any effort to stop him. Nick threw open the front door to the restaurant with the officer screaming his name from behind. Standing in the middle of the main dining room, Nick found Officer Strode talking to the manager of the restaurant. Her eyes looked up and locked with his. An overwhelming feeling of dread filled her body at the thought of breaking the news to Finnick's best friend.
"Where is he…"
Officer Strode calmly stepped forward. She made sure to keep her distance from Nick.
"Just calm down, Wilde…"
Nick ignored her pleas and continued to step forward, his face contorted in a mixture of fear and anger. Judy had finally caught up with him and ran through the front door with the officers from outside following close behind. One of them had pulled out a pair of handcuffs in case the need to restrain Nick arose.
"I said… where… IS HE?!"
For a few moments, everything went silent. All mammals present stood completely still as Nick shed a few more tears. Finally mustering the courage to do so, Officer Strode locked eyes with Nick. As much as she wanted to explain everything they knew so far, she knew Nick just wanted a straight answer. Officer Strode shook her head from side to side and pointed behind her. Nick's eyes darted in the direction of her finger. Lying on the ground was Finnick's backpack with part of the elephant suit hanging out of an unzipped portion.
Nick felt the world around him begin to spin. Judy yelled from behind, but Nick could not make out a single word. Before Judy could reach her fox, Nick collapsed to the ground and his vision went black.
Edited by Jack_NWH