Ch. 21: Plan Beta
After our discussion of our situation with Chief Bogo came to a conclusion, Nick and I followed Swift and Harris out of the station and making our way towards the cruiser, so we could pick up our stuff up from our respective apartments, before we have to leave Zootopia...at least, that was what I wanted Chief Bogo to believe.
'Looks like Bogo actually took the bait I gave him,' I grinned to myself, as we got into the back of the cruiser. 'I can't believe he actually fell for it.'
"Alright Judy, why are you grinning like that?" the moment Nick asked me, I knew it was the right time to answer his question.
"We're not actually heading to Bunnyburrow, Nick. We're going to continue the investigation by ourselves!"
"No way!" Nick was shocked I pulled a wool over Chief Bogo's eyes, before he smiled back at me. "Look like you got a 'little bit of Nick' in you after all."
"What can I say? I have to do something," I smirked,
Unfortunately for us, we spoke so loud that Swift and Harris faced us and were very incredulous by my claim. Thank goodness they didn't start the cruiser when I let slipped my outburst or Swift would surely have crashed.
"Are you serious, Judy?!" Swift was the first to speak up.
"What were you thinking?!" Harris demanded not a second after. They both looked like they were confused as to how to respond to this or even what emotion they were supposed to feel as I saw Harris shift from shock to confusion to slight anger before going back to shock to repeat the cycle again.
"I was thinking about finishing up the investigation. Once I get involved in an investigation, I won't back down, no matter what," I want to justify my action. Even though I'm at least self-aware enough to know that this is me just refusing to give up on something important.
"You got one working arm and your partner has a bum leg," Harris pointed out our injuries. "How are you two going to investigate with your conditions like that?"
"We'll find a way around it, Harris," I assured him, with Nick shrugging back, seemingly in agreement with me, before Swift let out a chuckle.
"I guess we can't change your minds then. Even if we wanted to, it might have been a pretty big 'maybe' on our part."
"Yeah, it wouldn't have worked anyway," I chimed in. "I take my job very seriously and I'm not going to let a cracked arm slow me down."
"Meet the real Judy and Nick, Swift," Nick agreed. "Just because my leg is busted up, doesn't mean I'll let it slow me down," he then looked at Swift and Harris very seriously. "Will you two help us out on this?"
"It would be nice to find out more information with someone working at ZPD," I added.
For a moment, Swift and Harris looked at us with uncertainty, unsure of how to respond to our request. Finally, Harris cleared his throat up, ready to respond back.
"Let me get this straight: you want us to give you two information on the case you two got involved that put you on medical leave and you'll be spending your medical leave attempting to complete the same case that put you there in the first place while staying in the city that you were told by our boss to NOT be in but stayed in anyway because you both are so stubborn that it's a miracle you've survived this long?" he asked fearfully. "Not only that, but you also want us to work behind the scenes for this case as well, giving classified information to officers that are supposed to be on medical leave?" Harris finished his long-winded speech with a look of "you've gotta be shitting me" on his face.
"Yup," Nick nonchalantly replied.
"...I wonder if there are some jobs Swift and I could take after we get fired," Harris pondered out loud, looking a bit stressed out.
"Harris, they're asking us for our help and this case is going to get out of my control in the pace it's currently in," Swift argued.
"But Swift-" was all Harris could say, before we spoke up.
"You just have to trust us on this, Harris," I insisted.
"As long as Chief Bogo doesn't know what's going, we're in the clear," Nick calmly added.
"...I hope the case gets closed soon," Harris let out a big sigh.
"Let's worried about that later, Harris. Right now, we need to figure out our next move is."
"Which is why we need to head to Mr. Big right away," my suggestion nearly caused Harris to faint from stress and Swift almost dropped her jaw in disbelief.
"Do you think it's really a good idea to meet with one of Zootopia's most prominent mobsters?" Swift questioned me.
"Don't worry, Swift. We met Mr. Big a few times and we once saved Fru Fru from danger," Nick explained.
"Nick, I was the one who saved Fru Fru from danger," I corrected him. "You weren't even around when it happened."
"Details, details," Nick shrugged.
"A...A...Are you sure it's still a good idea to seek out Mr. Big?" Harris was still trying to recovering from his fainting spell.
"Despite the reputation he has in Zootopia, Mr. Big is a man of his word," I replied. "He would never break a promise he makes."
"Unless you offend him, just like I did when I accidentally gave him a skunk rug," Swift and Harris were surprised by Nick's claim.
"Why the hell did you get a-" before Swift could say more, Harris interrupted her.
"I don't want to know."
"It's for the best anyway. I rather not remember that incident...at all," Nick shuddered of the incident that nearly got him 'iced'.
"You're the one that brought it up," I replied before turning to Swift. "Anyway, we need to head over to Mr. Big's mansion at Tundratown right away," I instructed Swift and Harris.
"Once we get our stuff first, of course," Nick pointed out.
"You got it," Swift understood.
Swift turned the engine on and we drove off to our respective apartments to gather our stuff. After packing as much as we could in our bags (long for me, but much longer for Nick since stairs proved difficult for a guy in crutches), we put them in the back of the cruiser and headed down towards Tundratown, arriving at Mr. Big's mansion several minutes later, before Swift parked the cruisers, took our bags out and headed towards the mansion.
"Oh man, oh man, oh man, I don't like this one bit!" Harris looked like he was starting to lose his mind.
"Chill out, Harris. Just stay calm and don't worry too much," Nick attempted to calm him down, as we arrived at the main entrance. "Also you'll probably not want to talk too much."
"We'll tell Mr. Big what's been going on and everything will be alright," I assured Harris, as I knocked on the door and waited. A few seconds later, it opened and we were greeted by one of Mr. Big's polar bear bodyguard.
"You here to see Mr. Big?" he asked in a rough tone.
"That's right and we have something important we want to share with him too," Nick replied, as the bodyguard continued to sternly stare at us.
"...Follow me," he instructed us, following his lead down the hallway and remaining silence along the way. Eventually, we arrived at Mr. Big's office, as our polar bear acquaintance opened the door, just in time to be greeted by the don himself.
"Good afternoon, Nicky and Judy and I see you brought company as well," Mr. Big greeted us. "To what I owe you this visit?"
"It's a long story, Mr. Big…" I began as I held up my cast.
Nick and I explained our current situation to Mr. Big, how we were attacked by four robbers in broad daylight at Wine's Trinkets and how we were suddenly ambushed by a large hummer that appeared out of nowhere, chasing us all the way throughout Downtown.
"...Before long, they had four other guys sticking their guns out on us, trying to turn us into swiss. We tried to outrun them, but they kept close to our tails, until I made a sharp turn into the alley," Nick explained.
"We were just fortunate enough to get away from them in one piece, but they also injured my arm and Nick's leg in the process," once we finished our explanation, Mr. Big looked quite displeased.
"I can't believe these punks would do something so cowardly and dishonorable towards two cops," he expressed his disapproval, nearly leaving claw marks on his own chair. "Of course, how do I factor into your plans?"
"We just need a place to hide out and continue our investigation outside of the police department," Nick explained. "Consider this as a temporary base of operations."
"We also want to know if you have updates on the three unidentified leaders as well," I added.
"You and Nick came in at the right time then," Mr. Big said with a smile. "I have information on the identity of the third leader and the location of Tyrone River's hideout."
We got excited upon hearing this, as we listened to what Mr. Big had to say
"The third leader is Victor Stripes and his gang, the Quick Bandits, are based out in Meadowlands and Canal District, while their rivals, the Sandmen and Deadman's Hands, are located in Sahara Square and Downtown, respectively. They've divided up the city as usual but do not seem to function as one unit. As for Tyrone River's hideout, he's laying low at the Nocturnal District, an appropriate place for a coward like him."
"Wait a sec..." Nick acted as if he figured out something. "Deadman's Hands must have been the one involved in today's ambush."
"That would explain why they got to our cruiser so quickly. They must have been alerted after we stopped the robbery attempt at Wine's Trinkets," I concluded.
"Deadman's Hands have always been a wild bunch, but they had enough restraint with their activities, but gunning down cops out in the open and using a vehicle to attack another one with their own men inside is insane!" Mr. Big spoke exasperatedly. "An attack like that can only tell us that you two are at the top of their hit list."
"Gee, that's going to make us feel special," Nick sarcastically remarked.
"If feeling special is what you want, when they're holding you and your partner at gunpoint, you can ask them to sign your cast first," Mr. Big joked and soon, he and Nick were laughing, while I laughed nervously with them, trying to ignore how dark that joke was, before Mr. Big grew serious once again.
"You two can stay here for as long as you need to. I have a guest room that is currently unoccupied. I hope you and Nick don't mind sharing the same room together."
"Actually-" before Nick could finished his sentence, I quickly spoke up.
"We won't have a problem with it, Mr. Big," I assured him.
"Judy, how are we going to help you out?" Swift spoke up for the first time and we turned to face her and Harris. Both of them have remained silent since they arrived at Mr. Big's mansion; being surrounded by a group of polar bear bodyguards didn't seemed to calm them down either.
"You and Harris just have to do is give me and Nick information that you got from ZPD, but make sure Chief Bogo doesn't know about it," I explained to Swift. "With a case this big, it won't be hard to join in on the team for it."
"Good things cellphones were invented for these kind of situations," Nick interjected.
"Nick's right," Swift agreed. "Harris and I could exchange any information we can find inside the cruiser. That way, no one would overhear our conversation and report it back to Chief Bogo."
"Works for me," Nick simply shrugged.
"All that matters is that we keep our involvements from getting out. If we get caught, there will be hell to pay," I cautioned everyone, as Harris shuddered upon hearing this.
"I...I...I don't want to face Bogo's wrath if he finds out that you guys didn't leave Zootopia!" Harris was starting to panic. Poor guy is no doubt having a pretty stressful day.
"Then consider that fear of yours as your motivation," Nick suggested.
"Besides, if our friends could it, then so can we," Swift started to feel confident.
"Um...I'll try," Harris accepted the ask, calming down a bit.
"That's more like it!" I was happy that they were willing to take the risk on our behalf. "Anyway, you two should head back to the station. Chief Bogo might be wondering where you two are right now."
"Will do, Judy," Swift simply said. "See you later guys."
"And be careful out there, too," Harris added, before they turned around and left Mr. Big's office, ready to drive back to ZPD immediately.
"Oh crap, I just left my car back at the station!" Nick face palmed in response. "I left my only ride back there!"
"You could inform Swift and Harris about it," I pointed this out to him.
"Yeah, yeah," Nick simply muttered.
"You two should get some rest now," Mr. Big turned to the polar bodyguard to his right. "Take them to their room."
"Understood, Mr. Big," he complied, motioning his head to us and we followed him down in the hallway, passing a few rooms along the way, before he stopped and opened the door to his right. As soon as we got a good look of the guest room, Nick and I were left speechless; not only was this guest room quite spacious, it had its own bathroom, a walk-in closet and a 60 inch HD flatscreen with surround sound. I could hear Nick squealing with excitement, like a boy being given the chance to ride a dinosaur for the very first time.
'Typical Nick,' I thought to myself, before we looked at the expensive furniture, such as the couches and beds, decorated within the guest room.
"Mr. Big sure knows how to spend...big," Nick remarked.
"He probably have some pretty fancy guests to bring over here or just want to impress them," I commented.
"Looks like we must be the lucky few to ever step foot into this room, Carrots."
"I'll be taking my leave now," our polar bear friend informed us. "You two get comfortable around here."
"Thank you so much," I thanked him.
"We appreciate the help," Nick thanked him as well, before the polar bear bodyguard nodded his head respectfully and left us alone in the guest room.
"We should make themselves at home then, Nick," I commented, before we started to unpack our belongings and get them ready to set them up.
"I'll take the right side of the room and you can keep the left side of the room," Nick suggested. "How does that sound?"
"That's fine and all, Nick, but does it matter which side is better than the other?"
"I'm just saying that we should make some boundaries, that's all," Nick shrugged in response. "Even though this isn't the first time we've lived in the same place, it's the first time we've shared a room together."
"I don't see what the big deal is all a…" I trailed off the moment recalled the time we were making out a few days ago. "Oh, I could see why you would find it awkward, but I doubt that history will repeat itself, especially in Mr. Big's guest room."
"I know something like that will not happen twice, Carrots, but it never hurts to at least some rules between us, just in case."
"You're right, Nick. We need to put some boundaries if we were going to be at Mr. Big's mansion for a while and continue our investigation at the same time," I agreed. " We should also pick up after ourselves and keep the room tidy. We don't want to make a mess around here."
"We might as well, Judy. We don't want to offend our host while we're here," Nick cautiously said.
"Good thing we have two beds from each side to sleep in this room," since Nick will be sleeping on the left side of the guest room, I have the right side of the guest room all to myself.
"Well, duh," Nick sarcastically responded. "That's one obstacle taken care of."
"We should also talk about shower arrangements, Nick. I prefer to take my shower during the morning."
"And I prefer night showers," Nick accepted the arrangement. "Well, that was easier than I thought it would be."
"That's nothing compare to changing our clothes and considering the casts we have on, it'll be difficult putting them on," I reminded him. "I'm lucky to have one good arm with me, but your situation is different. You'll still need help walking around."
"I wouldn't be too worry about it, Carrots. I got one good leg and a pair of crutches with me," Nick insisted. "I'm more glad I didn't lose my leg to a wolf."
"Speaking of which, how's that shoulder of yours?" Nick responded by moving his shoulder around for a moment, before facing me.
"Feels good as new to me, Carrots."
"That's good to know, but it's amazing that it healed up so quickly," I was surprised how quick Nick's recovery was.
"It doesn't hurt anymore than it use to, but I'm sure if I bumped into something with it, it'll hurt," he explained.
"Just like my feet from last week," I quipped. "Anything else we should talk regarding the ground rules we're setting up for ourselves?"
"None at the moment, but no doubt I'll think of something later" Nick spoke with a nonchalant wave.
Just then, we heard a knock on the door, as I got up and opened the door, before I saw it the same polar bear bodyguard who lead us to the guest room standing in front of me.
"Mr. Big has invited you and your partner for tonight's dinner and he suggested that you two look your finest."
"Ah gee, I didn't bring something like that with me," in response to Nick's claim, our polar bear friend pulled out two formal attires: a tuxedo that matched Nick's size and a black dress that matched my size, along with a pair of black stilettos.
"How did they manage to have something like that so quickly?" I inquired.
"I don't remember having my measurements taken," Nick quipped as he looked at the tux.
"It was Fru Fru who requested these outfits," he informed me. "She actually planned to invite you two for dinner for a future event, but since you and your partner will be staying here, she figured it would be the best time for such an occasion," he then handed me the outfits, before leaving us alone again.
'That was so nice of Fru Fru to do something like that,' I happily thought, putting the formal attires on the table.
"Looks like we'll have to clean ourselves up tonight, Carrots. We probably don't smell the best after the day we've had."
"Do you want to go first, Nick?"
"Not really. I want to see what's been going on in the news right now."
"Alright then," I picked up my black dress and stilettoes from the table and headed to the bathroom, before I heard Nick turning the TV on, as well as the news program being played.
"This is Peter Mooseridge of ZNN and just this afternoon, four brazen robbers attempted to pull off a heist at Wine's Trinkets, possibly endangering those inside the store."
"Possibly, huh? Yeah and in a rainstorm, you could possibly get a little wet," Nick muttered, as I closed the door and continued to hear the news.
"Thankfully, no one was injured during the shootout, thanks to the quick thinking and training of two officers, whose names are being withheld for the time."
"Now that's more like it," Nick sounded quite pleased, until he heard what Fabienne Growley had to say.
"Shortly afterwards, they were ambushed by five unidentified occupants after their cruiser was slammed by their vehicle, with several eyewitness filming the chaos."
"Really?! Why are you even withholding names, asshat?!" Nick exasperatingly exclaimed, while I was stripping my outfit down, before I took a good look around the bathroom; it was bigger than my own apartment, with both a shower AND a huge Jacuzzi bathtub. This is something that only a celebrity would only own!
'Mr. Big really does know how to spend big!' I headed to the shower and turned on the water, as I started to bathe myself, pouring some fur wash onto my paw and lathered myself from head to toe with, while being careful not to put some on my ears.
'It's nice that we have a break for once,' I thought, continuing to clean myself up from head to toe. 'Still, we're not on a vacation right now. We have a job to do and we need to see it through.'
After a few more minutes, I was done with my shower, grabbing the nearest towel to dry myself up, before putting on the black dress and stilettos and exiting out the bathroom like a new person.
"So Nick, how do I look?" once he heard my voice, he looked into my direction and looked flustered the moment he saw my appearance. I can tell that he liked what he saw.
"Well, I, um, that dress looks, um…" Nick looked as if was trying to compliment me, but he was fumbling with his words.
"I'll take that as a compliment," I giggled. "Anyway, it's your turn now."
"Sure," Nick quickly got his tuxedo from the table and headed into the bathroom as fast as his crutches could carry him, before closing the door behind him. I then turned my attention to the news to see that they were still talking about the heist that took place this afternoon.
"I can't believe they pulled something like that off today, though I was hoping they could have talked more about who was behind the wheel-" I proceeded to turn the TV off, as I already experienced the situation up close and in person. "If the police don't know anything about it, then the news doesn't know either."
After waiting for a few more minutes, before I heard the bathroom door opened and saw Nick exiting out, looking quite sharp in that tuxedo and I couldn't help but slyly grin back at him.
"Judy, why are you grinning to me like that?" Nick was confused by the way I was behaving.
" I never thought I would see you look so sharp, Nick," I casually commented. "I've never seen you in anything nice other than your police uniform."
"If you see something you like, you don't need to be shy about it, Carrots."
"Who says that I was shy?" I begged to differ. "I'm quite pleased how classy you look for tonight."
"...Alright then," Nick was weirded out by my answer, but tried to regain his composure once more. "What time are we supposed to be there for dinner, Carrots?"
"I'm not-" I stopped myself when I saw a little note that was on the stand next to the door. I picked it up and saw it was the time dinner was going to be served.
"6:30 p.m. is when they're serving dinner but the note specifies that we arrive about ten minutes early," I explained to Nick.
"Oh so… right now?" Nick remarked as he pointed to the clock that said 6:14 on it. "You'd think they'd at least give us enough time to get ready."
"Let's just get down there before Mr. Big gets angry with us. I don't want to be thrown out and have to come up with another plan," I opened the door with Nick following behind. We've been to the dining hall before for Fru Fru's wedding so it wouldn't be too hard to find our way back. Tonight should be a good night but why do I have the feeling it won't?
A/N Want to hear something stupid? So I post the chapter once (this is the second time btw) and Fanfiction did something weird when I did. It posted the chapter but did not tell ANYONE that it happened. Not even me. I didn't get an email like I was supposed to and I didn't check because I could see that it was posted through legacy story stats which gives me a preview of the chapter. Because the site was convinced that I didn't update, it didn't move the story to the top of the list. Which meant it's spent 8 hours sitting around where it was last week even though I just posted a chapter. Da Faq, Fanfiction?!
So yeah, that's dumb and I'm mad. If you're one of my followers or have this as one of your favorites, can you please let me know that you received any notification (email or alerts) that the chapter has gone up. It's kind of concerning.
Till next time, Sal out.