Chapter 25: The Icemin Cometh
"We ask that Mr. Big bring along Officers Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde," Icemin spoke, his voice even and low.
Those were the words that Nick and I just heard with our own ears. As soon as Icemin said them out loud, I stared at our polar bear friend in total shock and disbelief; immediately, I could feel my knees buckling down to the floor and my whole body trembling with fear. I never imagine something like this happening to us before and that was what made it so scary.
'They found us…' my head started to play out all the possible repercussions of us being found out here. 'We could be lose our jobs, get thrown in jail with the same criminals we put away, or we could be shot and killed at that meeting… I could lose Nick…' As I thought about these events, images of them happening played through my head.
"Carrots, you gotta to calm down," Nick firmly put his hand on shoulder, getting my attention and ripping me from my own horrible thoughts.. "Whatever is about to happen at the meeting, we'll get through it together. Just relax, take a deep breath and calm down."
"S-Sure, Nick. I'll try," I got up on my feet, took a deep breath and let it all out; I wasn't completely calmed, but I was calmed enough. "I'm good to go now. We should talk with Mr. Big about this."
"Now that's more like it," Nick agreed.
"Come with me. It's best if we discuss with Mr. Big," Icemin urged us.
We followed him out of the guest room and headed downstairs, before we made our way to Mr. Big's office, just in time to be greeted by Mr. Big himself, still sitting in his small chair. He seemed off somehow.
"Greetings, Judy and Nick. So glad you two drop by here." His voice seemed a little weaker than yesterday, almost like he's gotten sick or something.
"Hey, Mr. Big, but there's something we want to know: Why are we being invited to a meeting that's being set up by someone we barely knew?" Nick inquired, suspicious of the meeting.
"Is it because we caught Lorenzo and now he's trying to set up a trap or an exchange?" I added on.
"I was was thinking the same thing, Judy, until Niccolo explained what he wants the meeting for: He wants to get the bosses of all five gangs arrested all at once, to ensure the war stops before it could even begins and they can all go about making money in a more civilized way," Mr. Big explained, while I wondered about Niccolo's intentions.
'But is Niccolo's intention as good as it sounds? On one hand, their gangs will remain in operation, like nothing ever happened. But on the other hand, this meeting could potentially avert a gang war that could end up being quite bloody and we can put the ones who started it behind bars.' I rubbed my temples as my head started to hurt. Thinking about it was getting me nowhere fast. 'But no matter what happens, there's no right answer here. UGH! Why does this have to be so-'
"Judy, are you sure you're feeling alright?" as soon as Nick asked me, I snapped back to reality and faced him immediately. "You haven't been your usual self."
"I'm fine, Nick. Really, I am," I insisted, trying to hide how worried I was. Nick just raised an eyebrow at me and I knew I was caught.
"Yeah, I'm not buying. I know you're lying since it's not like you to have a staredown with the floor," Nick called me out, crossing his arms and looked at me disapprovingly.
"Dammit," I quietly cursed at myself, before I leaned closed to him and whispered. "I'm worried how our meeting with Niccolo will turn out for all of us."
"I'm also worried what's about to happen, but we'll just have to go with the flow for the moment and see where it goes from there," Nick whispered back.
"I guess I can go along with that for now," I accepted Nick's reasons, before I heard what sounded like an argument between Icemin and Mr. Big.
"Sir, you're in no condition to attending this meeting. Let me take your place instead." Icemin pleaded with his boss, who looked less than enthused to do such a thing as miss this meeting.
"I maybe old, but I'm not helpless, Icemin!" The shrew barked back, angry that Icemin would try to make him stay back.
"I meant no disrespect, but you really should reconsider this."
"I am not going to let something minor as-"
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but is everything alright?" I loudly asked, interrupting Mr. Big and Icemin's argument, as they turned their attention towards me.
"Everything's fine, Judy. There's nothing to worry about," Mr. Big assured me.
"That's not what I saw in the contents of your breakfast when it was in the toilet," Icemin countered. "Something about it didn't seem right."
"That means nothing," Mr. Big brushed off Icemin's concern. "I'm going to attend this meeting, whether you like it or-" suddenly, he fell down onto his knees and began to violently cough.
"Icemin, what happened to Mr. Big?" Nick asked him. "He was fine yesterday."
"He doesn't look so well," Even through his fur, I could tell he was looking pale.
"Whatever it is, it can't be good," Nick concluded, before facing Mr. Big. "I think you need to go to the hospital. It might be serious."
"For once, sir, just listen to reason," Icemin urged his boss.
"I'll decide if I'm going to the hospital or not!" Mr. Big snapped back. "I'm going to the meeting and that's final! Nothing is going to stop me! Not even-"
"Daddy, that's enough!" we all turned around and saw Fru Fru being helped by another polar bear into Mr. Big's office, giving her father a stern look. "You have to take this seriously, daddy! If they say you have to go to the hospital, then go to the hospital. You can't run business if you're sick!"
"Fru Fru, I…I...I…" Mr. Big tried to counter his daughter's words, but he was unable to come up with something. After about a few seconds, he sighed in defeat. "Alright, I'll do it for you, sweetie."
"Thank you, daddy," Fru Fru felt relieved that Mr. Big was finally taking his health seriously.
"Fru Fru, has your dad always been this ill?" I expressed my concern to Fru Fru.
"No, he's always in good health, despite his age," Nick added, as Fru Fru sighed and faced us with a worried look.
"Daddy has health issues with his heart for quite some time, but ever since the five gangs were going after him, his health didn't improve. In fact, they were making it worst for him for the last few days. I don't know how much more his heart could take at this rate."
"Looks like I can't deny something this crucial anymore. I'll...check myself to the nearest hospital," Mr. Big conceded, before he faced us. "You two must accompany Icemin to the meeting, but promise me that it will work out smoothly."
"It will be done, sir," Icemin bowed his head as he spoke.
"We'll make sure of it, Mr. Big," I assured him.
"We'll try to be on our best behavior too," Nick added.
"That's all I need to hear," our answers were enough to give Mr. Big some moment of peace. "Until then, I'll leave everything to you."
"Be safe, Mr. Big," I bid him my farewell.
"Hope you get well soon," Nick also bid Mr. Big his farewell.
"Be careful out there, boss," Icemin showed his concern.
With that, Mr. Big was accompanied by a few polar bear bodyguards, as they made their way out of the mansion, while Nick and I followed Icemin after we retrieved the pistols we were given, along with two other polar bear bodyguards, into the garage, leading us to the one of the nearest available cars.
"Are you sure this meeting legit, Icemin?" Nick asked, as we got into the back seats.
"We'll be meeting on neutral ground, an area that isn't considered turf for any gang, so we should be safe," Icemin assured us, as he got into the driver's side and turned the car on, with his fellow polar bear bodyguards getting into the back seat as Nick and I shared the passenger seat, before we all drove off to the meeting.
"So…what can you tell us about the meeting?" I nervously asked Icemin.
"I don't know too much about it, but I'll tell you what we'll be meeting for. The underbosses are very displeased with their bosses' decisions of making money by taking on the biggest mobster in town. They feared that if the bosses took over Mr. Big's empire by themselves, it would prove to be too disastrous for all involved as they would no doubt fight over how to divide it up amongst themselves, so they're hoping to remove them in order to use more peaceful methods to make money," he explained.
"And what exactly do they mean by 'peaceful methods'?" I was skeptical on what the underbosses would they would considered peaceful.
"Mutual distribution and fair trade in all five territories," Icemin answered.
"What a load of bullshit," Nick rolled his eyes, clearly unimpressed.
"Exactly," Icemin looked like he felt inclined to agree with Nick.
"What do you mean by that?" I questioned Nick.
"The gangs in Zootopia have never gotten along without a common goal and even if the goal was about money, they sooner stab each other in the back to make more. It's happened before and it will happen again. It's just a question of who will stab who first. Whoever makes the first move, they'll become marked for life, before the whole cycle repeats itself again," Nick explained.
"Well, settling the dispute would be the smartest thing to do now, at least, when it comes to money. Mr. Big, however, wouldn't allow that, as long as he lives," Icemin remarked.
'Speaking of health, what caused him to get ill all of a sudden?' I wondered, before I turned to Icemin to voice my concern. "Icemin, is it possible that Mr. Big got poisoned?"
The moment I asked this, Icemin nearly swerved to his left, nearly hitting a passing car, before quickly regaining his composure and glanced back at me.
"That's not possible," Icemin was shocked by such a suggestion. "Mr. Big always does a thorough examination whenever he hires someone to work for him and he made sure that they're paid well when they do their jobs correctly. There's no way anyone would be foolish enough to betray his trust...unless…"
"Unless what?" Nick asked, arching an eyebrow.
But Icemin didn't answered Nick's question; instead, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed some numbers, before waiting for a response. A few seconds, Icemin was chatting with someone from the other line. I wish I knew who he was talking to, but I did at least hear part of their conversation.
"Monitor the chef and get a list of names of all the people that were near the kitchen since breakfast was made. Make sure they to have them monitored too. Check for any evidence of poison anywhere," Icemin then put his cell phone away, before facing us. "You two need to keep your guards up. Whoever has it out for Mr. Big, isn't willing to play by the rules."
"Got it, Icemin," I replied.
"We'll keep our eyes peeled out," Nick added.
Once we assured Icemin that we understood his instruction, we continued to drive to our destination once more.
"Huh, didn't think I'd be back here," Nick spoke with a chuckle, admiring the view outside.
"What do you mean, Nick?" I arched an eyebrow in curiosity.
"Just look outside and you'll find out, Carrots."
"Alright then," I shrugged and looked outside, just as Nick wanted me to, before I noticed that we were now in the Meadowlands. Not only that, but I noticed the warehouse in full view...as well as a bridge that Nick was staring at and for some reason, it looked quite familiar to me too...wait a second...I think I knew what he was talking about!
"That's the same bridge we met up again under during the Night Howler incident!" I exclaimed.
"Very good. I guess rabbits do have a decent memory," Nick casually remarked.
"Is this where the meeting is being held?" I turned to Icemin who nodded as he pointed to the nearby warehouse.
"It'd be a great time to reminisce about good memories but we've got other things to think about."
"...Now that you mention it, Nick, the Meadowlands isn't an ideal place to be in."
"Technically, the Meadowlands is part of Zootopia, but it isn't quite busy around here, even during the day, Carrots. It's pretty much as secluded as you can get in this city."
"Of course, it's the perfect place to conduct a meeting" I concluded. "The Meadowlands is rarely visited by anyone outside of Zootopia, even from the police and any criminal can conduct business without fear of getting caught."
"Now you know how we conduct our business which means we'll need to change things up later," Icemin remarked, just before he pulled up to the warehouse to see another long car sitting nearby. "They'll be expecting us, so try to keep calm, don't draw too much attention and let me do the talking."
"Sure, Icemin," I agreed with him.
"Aw but I love to talk," Nick whined but Icemin just ignored him..
Now in agreement, we exited out of the car and accompanied by our two polar bear bodyguards, we made our way to the entrance of the warehouse, where an ocelot dressed in a red tailored suit was standing outside, with four rough looking jaguars right besides him, all menacingly staring us down.
'So much for a friendly greeting,' I thought, cautiously eyeing on the jaguar bodyguards.
"Greetings, my friends, so glad you manage to drop by. I'm Niccolo Duval, the underboss for the Flood, but you probably knew that by now," Niccolo introduced himself with a slight mocking tone in his voice, before he stopped and looked around. "Where is Mr. Big?"
"Mr. Big has fallen ill and he's unable to make it here on time. As acting boss, I will be filling in for him," Icemin informed Niccolo, his voice cold and calculated.
"Oh, I'm sorry he couldn't make it here. I sure hope he gets better," Niccolo expressed his sympathy. At least, it looked like he was.
'If you're sorry that Mr. Big is sick, then why do you sound like you were happy he isn't here?' I eyed on Niccolo for a moment, trying to make out anything unusual from him, before shaking my head. 'I'll let this slide for now. Mr. Big wouldn't want this meeting to sour up. He wanted to make sure it'll be better for everyone.'
"Anyway, come right in and we'll have our little discussion of our deal," Niccolo and his jaguar bodyguards lead us into the warehouse, which was filled with crates of shapes and sizes, stacked on top of one another, with the occasional machineries laying around. Not only that, but there was a long square table in the center of the warehouse, with each side having five chairs sticking out. We all took our seats on the table, but I could tell that everyone in the room was anxious, like they were fully expecting something to go wrong here.
'Looks like I'm not the only one who's on edge right now,' I thought, looking around, 'I bet that they'll get jumpy as hell if they heard the shattering of a single bottle right now.'
"Judy, you have to stay calm," Nick spoke up, noticing how tense I was acting. "Nothing bad happened yet, but if it'll help, we'll stay on guard regardless."
"Do you want me to be on guard or do you want me relax?" I sarcastically asked.
"I wish I would say both, but beggars can't be choosers," Nick jokingly replied back.
"I appreciate your sense of humor, but I'll be calm once this meeting is over," I informed him..
"For your sake, I hope so. You look like a giant ball of nerves out here," Nick remarked. "Anyway, we should just focus on the meeting right now." I nodded in agreement and we turned our attention towards Niccolo, just as the meeting was about to began.
"You and your friends are probably wondering why you have come here," Niccolo calmly informed us.
"We already know the details about the meeting, Niccolo," Icemin informed him.
"Are you sure about that? Do you know the real reason why I wanted Nick and Judy out here to begin with?" Niccolo gave Icemin a smug grin on his face.
"And are you prepared for what will happen will happen to you if that's the case?" Icemin sternly warned him.
"You should be more concerned with your own life instead of mine," Niccolo brushed off Icemin's threat.
"Are you here to make idle threats or did you have any actual business for us?" Icemin questioned him.
"What I consider business is different from Mr. Big," Niccolo calmly but arrogantly replied. "The aging mobster wouldn't understand my kind of business to begin with."
"Just skip to the speech and get straight to the point," Icemin demanded, with one hand gripping the table very hard..
"Fair enough," Niccolo cleared his throat, before offering his proposal to us. "I need Judy and Nick's help to get rid of the bosses from the five gangs. That way, me and my fellow underbosses will take full leadership of our own gangs and we will create money for ourselves in a more… mutually beneficial way. No gang war where everyone is fighting amongst themselves for profits."
"Why should we agree to get onboard with your plan already?" Nick questioned Niccolo's intention.
"Our goal is to make money and hope to make our own fortune in a less… overt way. However, such negotiations can't take place until the bosses are "removed" by hook or by crook. I have more than enough evidence in a file that could be used to indict them, should you and your partner choose to go through with my plan," Niccolo calmly explained. "They will also not have any support from us when they are arrested so their convictions would be guaranteed.
We looked at each other for a moment, before we looked back at Niccolo himself and each other again. We nodded our heads and understood that, despite his less than pleasant behavior, his plan was too good to pass over. However, there was one thing I wanted to ask Niccolo about.
"What exactly will we, as well as Mr. Big, be getting out of this 'deal'?"
"Why, you two will be in the clear as we will no longer try to take you out and Mr. Big will have peace of mind, knowing that the gang war will come to end and his poor little heart will no longer stressed him out either to the point of vomiting," Niccolo assured us...until I heard three words that stuck.
"Poor little heart?" I murmured, before I eyed intently on Niccolo once again.
'How does he know about Mr. Big's ailing heart and stress attack? He shouldn't have known something like that...unless if he had someone working on the inside of Mr. Big's circle. Not only that, but had to report back to Niccolo and would have to carry out some kind of order...like poisoning Mr. Big.'
The pieces of the puzzle were all coming together and the big picture was becoming more clear now! But I still need more proof and there was one person in this room that knows more than he lets on.
"How did you know that Mr. Big wasn't in good health to begin with?" Niccolo looked surprise that I would asked him such a question.
"Why would you ask something like that, Hopps? I was told earlier that he was ill."
"The answer is quite simple, Niccolo: we've only talked about Mr. Big being ill, but we've never once mentioned the state of his heart, let alone his vomit-inducing state either," I explained.
"I merely assumed that given the nature of his age and what something like this could do to him," Niccolo defensively insisted. "Hell, I would vomit if I was stressed out that my enemies would be going after me and I would threw a fit if things aren't going my way either."
As soon as he made that recent statement, however, both Nick and Icemin were becoming suspicious of him as I was.
"That's something that Mr. Big had done in the last few days and the only ones would have been aware of that are us, his family and Icemin," Nick stated.
"What I meant to say is that I merely thought that was what was going on with Mr. Big at the time," Niccolo still insisted.
"And how could you possibly know how Mr. Big's going through?" Icemin glared at Niccolo. "Either you were in Mr. Big's mansion-"
"Or you had someone spy on Mr. Big's mansion to know what was happening with him!" I proclaimed, finishing Icemin's sentence.
"How dare you!" Niccolo yelled, no longer the calm and composed ocelot he was. "None of you don't have any proof of this accusation!"
"We may not have some now, but we'll have some in a few minutes," Icemin calmly responded. "Now, answer this question: Did you manage to pay off the head chef to do your goddamn dirty work?"
"Now you see here-" Niccolo tried to protest, but I cut him off instead.
"You had your chance to explain yourself, Niccolo, so you better cut the crap. You already made it know that you're aware of Mr. Big's heart problem, his stress and that we've never mentioned any of that to you. Not only that, but Mr. Big would never invite you in his mansion either, so you either snuck in or you bribed someone in the mansion to act like a spy for him and carry out your order. Now, which one is true?"
"ENOUGH!" Niccolo got up and pulled his gun from his holster, prompting Icemin, as well as the polar bear and jaguar bodyguards, to pull their guns out and aimed at one another in the process.
"Well, congratulations on showing your true self," I called Niccolo out.
"Shut the hell up!" Niccole angrily exclaimed. "I have everything under control, but you had to fuck everything up!"
"Stand down, Niccolo. Don't make this any tougher than it is already," Icemin tried to keep what little peace there was around here.
Suddenly, Niccolo aimed his gun at Icemin and shoot him in the shoulder, much to our shock, as Icemin clutched his shoulder from the pain.
"This meeting is officially over!" Niccolo declared, before facing his jaguar bodyguards. "Kill these motherfuckers!"
Niccolo and his jaguar bodyguards began to fire back at us, intending to fill our bodies up with lead. Despite his shoulder being injured, Icemin and his fellow polar bear bodyguards managed to fire back at the four jaguar bodyguards, hitting them in vital points like the heart, lungs, head or neck, as they slumped down to the floor, dead. Unfortunately for us, Icemin was hit squarely in the chest and was bleeding out from the floor; likewise, his fellow polar bear bodyguards were hit in their heads as their brains splattered onto the ground like chunks.
"Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!" I was horrified by what was just happening, as Nick grabbed my arm and took me behind a huge crate for cover. He seemed in pain as he ran with his cast on.
"Judy, get a hold of yourself!" Nick shouted, pulling out his gun from his holster and poked his head out. "We need to focus on our survival right now and make sure Niccolo doesn't try to off us first!"
"...A-Alright, Nick," I hesitantly agreed, pulling out my gun from my holster and poked my head out, before we stepped out of our cover and began looking for Niccolo. It might have been only just a few minutes, before I heard a shot right behind me;I turned around and saw Nick shooting and taking cover, as Niccolo was doing the same thing, shooting back at Nick in retaliation.
"Hang on, NIck!"
I went straight towards to him, before I heard shots coming towards my direction, no doubt coming from Niccolo himself. Whether it was a miracle or dumb luck, I managed to make my way towards Nick unharmed, barely taking cover as well.
"That was a close one," I muttered, right before I heard Niccolo's manic laughter.
"You fucking rabbit! You and your partner just threw your lives away when you came to this meeting and fucked up everything!" he taunted us, clearly angered that he didn't get what he wanted.
"You must be a fool to think that we're down and out!" Nick taunted back, before shooting back at Niccolo.
I pulled my gun out again and aimed it towards Niccolo, but I felt my hands, as well as my body, trembling. I've never had shot real bullets at anyone in my life, even if they were criminals. Sure, Nick might be willing to overlook this if it means to survive, but I couldn't bring myself to shoot another living being.
"Carrots, I could use some help!" Nick called out to me, glancing his head a bit to my direction.
"Is that the best you got?!" Niccolo taunted us again, before firing a few shots back, with one of the bullet hitting Nick's hand
"AUGH!" Nick screeched in pain, as he was forced to drop his gun down on the floor, clutching his injured hand.
"Nick, are you alright?!" I immediately rushed over to his side.
"Don't worry, Judy, the shot grazed me, that's all," Nick assured me, before reached out for his gun. However, another shot hit the floor near Nick's gun, preventing him from picking it up. Not only that, but his hand was slightly bleeding out, so he couldn't carry his gun even if he wanted to.
'I guess it's up to me now,' I took a deep breath, before I got out of my cover and aimed my gun at Niccolo. I tried not to show I wasn't afraid, by my shaky posture didn't do a good job concealing my fear, something that Niccolo noticed almost immediately.
"I see you've never shot a real bullet in your life, haven't you?" he mocked me. "Not so high and mighty now, aren't you, little rabbit?" Niccolo smirked, as he calmly came out of his cover and walked towards me and Nick. "You don't have what it takes to do it and to think you're a member of Zootopia's finest and…"
As Niccolo continued to mock me, my hands were starting to shake less and less, the fear within me started to died down and anger taking it's place as I could feel my adrenaline kicking, giving me just what I needed to end this.
"...So why don't you and your partner just do me a favor and-"
I didn't give him a chance to finish his sentence nor did I give him the time to attack us. I pulled the trigger repeatedly, shooting his chest at point-blank range multiple times. Niccolo stumbled back from the shot, in total disbelief, as his white sweatshirt was being covered by his own blood, before he stared at me.
"To die...at the hands...of a...rabbit!" Niccolo continued to stare at me, coughing up a few more bloods, before he collapsed to the floor...dead. I dropped my gun and stared at his corpse in horror.
"No…oh no, no, no, no no!" I couldn't believe what I had done!
"Judy, it's alright. It's all over now," Nick spoke up.
"You did...what you have...to do," likewise, Icemin spoke as loud as he could, despite his injuries, as we both turned to face him. He was somehow still alive. "You two...you have to...go back...to the mansion!"
"What about you, Icemin?!" I could hear Nick expressed his concern for him.
"Just leave me here," Icemin then coughed up blood over the floor. "I'm already… one foot in the grave... You two...need to inform..Mr. Big...about the meeting...and the...inevitable gang war!"
"But we don't even know where the meeting took place!" Nick argued, before Icemin pointed to Niccolo's parked car nearby.
"There's should be...evidence...in there...that could be...of some...use. I'm leaving...everything to you two...now."
"Icemin, NO!" Nick was practically pleading for him to live.
"Please tell...Mr. Big...I'm sorry...for not...living...up to his...expectations," Icemin then drew his last breath before limping away, having succumbed to his injuries. His death, the deaths of the bodyguards and even Niccolo...it was just too much for me!
"What have I done?!" I hysterically cried as I have never cried before! My actions cost everyone's lives, including Icemin's. Even worst, I killed someone for the first time in my whole life!
"There, there, Judy. It's alright," Nick looked at me sympathetically, wrapping his arms around me and hugging me as tight as he had ever hugged.
"Nick, I took someone's life! Not only that, I got Icemin killed!
"I'll admit, this must be agonizing to you right now and I can't imagine what you're going through right now," Nick then put his hands on my shoulders, as I looked up at him, vision blurry from the tears still streaming from my face. His voice was soothing and gentle as he tried to calm me down. "But we need to stay focus with the investigation. If we don't do anything, things will get far worse for everyone in Zootopia! Do you understand?"
"...You're right, Nick. We need to finish what we started," despite my hesitation, I agreed on what to do next. I'll do anything to get away from this scene!
After Nick rummaged through Niccolo's pocket and pulled his key from his pocket, we went over to his car, started it and drove off from the warehouse as fast as we could and back to Mr. Big's mansion. It was nothing but silence on the way back and honestly...I needed silence after that.
A/N: Small update regarding my work schedule. I can't guarantee that chapters will be on Thursdays anymore as my job at Wally World is switching from a consistent schedule to one where I'm given the days that I'm needed so my schedule is going to get very random. I will still update once a week but it's based on what my days are. Just a heads up.
Thank you all for the support and I hope you like the chapter :).
Till next time, Sal out.