Hornton's was just as busy as it had been the first time Nick went with the two wolves—perhaps even a little busier. As before, the cops confined themselves to just a couple of tables, leaving the majority of the bar to the public. If he'd hoped that his second appearance would draw less attention than the first, he was sorely mistaken. If anything, Judy's presence ensured that their arrival raised even more eyebrows. At least with her there the attention was split between them, although he felt a touch of envy that she seemed more comfortable with it than him.
Clawhauser noticed their small group almost the moment they stepped inside and waved eagerly. "You managed to get Nick back? And Judy too!" he said brightly, the tip of his tail flicking pleasantly behind him. "Was starting to worry I'd be by myself. Fangmeyer and Snarlof just called to say they'll be a little late."
"Sorry about that," Lowell said as he pulled up a chair. "These two had buried their noses in work and we needed to dig them out first."
"Well, explosions tend to cause a lot of questions so I'm sure they had a lot to keep them busy," Clawhauser said, then took a moment to flag down a server.
"Actually, the Lieutenant was taking it easy on us today," Judy informed the cheetah.
"We were really just trying to distract ourselves," Nick added as he took a place next to Judy. "This is probably a better place for that."
Like before, he ended up ordering a simple beer and a small unsalted pretzel. Nothing fancy, and more than enough to tide him over until he could get something more substantial to eat at home. Both of the wolves ordered beer as well, while Clawhauser got himself several pretzels along with dipping sauce and a cocktail. Judy ordered last, after going over the entire menu, before she decided on a margarita to the surprise of everyone present.
"Sure you wouldn't rather a nice carrot juice?" Wolford asked when the server had left.
Judy's ears tilted forward several notches. "And what is that supposed to mean?"
"You were trying to get out of coming by saying that you don't drink," Nick reminded her. "Tequila is a strange choice for a teetotaler."
Lowell barked out laughing. "Says the fox that tried to turn down his first invitation by saying he's a coffee drinker."
His ears dipped down and he shot Lowell a look which only made the white wolf laugh harder. "Yes, well…just not what anyone was expecting you to get, Carrots."
"I'll be fine for one drink," she said, smiling, then gestured to the room. "We're at a bar, after all. Just because I don't enjoy drinking doesn't mean I never do it."
That was fair, he supposed.
While they waited on their orders conversation drifted to what everyone had been up to. Unfortunately both he and Judy needed to keep things light on details since their operation was still technically undercover even if the bomb had put it in the spotlight. Thankfully the others understood, and once again Nick found it nice to hear what was going on elsewhere in the precinct.
For the most part the rest of the force was still knocking out smuggling operations, a fact that Nick found surprised him for some reason. True, that was the plan from the start, but with everything that had happened so far he'd become so focused on his own little part.
Both Snarlof and Fangmeyer arrived after roughly fifteen minutes, and both looked even more rundown than they had earlier that morning. Their moods didn't seem to perk up even after they'd settled in and given their orders. Nick debated if he should ask them if something was wrong, but Clawhauser was the first to speak up.
"So what was keeping you two? Usually you give me more warning when you need to work late."
"That blasted IA investigation," Snarlof growled. Nick felt his ears perk up. "Apparently yesterday's mess has them all twisted in knots and they couldn't wait to shove their noses in our business again."
Fangmeyer exhaled sharply and slumped over the table. "They came to chat with us this afternoon. Honestly, I was surprised they even let me call to say we were running late."
A sideways glance told him that Judy's attention had been captured as well. "What did IA want to know?"
"Oh, you know how it is with these investigations—" Fangmeyer began.
"We aren't supposed to talk about it," Snarlof said quickly, cutting the tiger off. "Agent Forester was very insistent about that."
Judy bit her lip and looked down at her drink. "That doesn't sound good."
"But you can talk about things they didn't want to know, right?" Nick reasoned. "I mean, this has to be about yesterday. They didn't want to know about Mr. Big calling me, did they?"
Snarlof waved his hand. "No, nothing like that."
"So this was all about yesterday then?"
"I told you, we can't talk about it," Snarlof said, then rubbed his face.
"They honestly weren't interested in things they'd already talked to us about," Fangmeyer offered, smiling a little.
Nick drummed his fingers on the table a little bit. "Bet they're asking about what I was doing then. Branches seemed really gung-ho about the prospect of charging me with having mob connections."
"Wilde, they couldn't give a mouse's fart about you," Snarlof said, then sighed heavily as he traced the rim of his drink.
"That's…good?" Nick said, unable to hide his surprise as his mind raced. He'd really expected that after everything he'd done to humiliate Agent Forester that he'd have become the center of IA's attention. Had he played his role too hard? Not hard enough? "Honestly, I'm sort of offended they think I'm harmless."
"What about me?" Judy asked anxiously.
The table got quiet for a moment as Snarlof and Fangmeyer looked at each other. After a tense second Fangmeyer cleared his throat.
"We're not really supposed to talk about that," he said quietly, staring down at his hands.
Judy settled back in her seat, wide eyed and trying to find her voice. Nick could almost read the progress of her thoughts and had to stop himself from reaching out to give her hand a comforting squeeze. Instead he let his tail bump against her leg under the table to draw her attention, then gave a smile.
"Don't worry about that too much, Carrots. If IA was really asking about you then all they're going to hear is that you were the one who realized there was a bomb, and that you were the first out the door to help the injured despite the fact that you were mostly deaf at the time. I'd hardly call that a black mark."
"Thanks," she said, managing a halfhearted smile. "Just the same, I'd much rather they weren't interested in me at all."
The table quieted down once more, the dull roar of the surrounding bar serving to emphasize the lack of conversation. Several times they tried to get something going, but both times it was such a painfully obvious attempt to avoid awkwardness that the discussion always trailed off and died. If things kept going as they were he could just tell it was only a matter of time before someone decided to head home, and when that happened others would surely follow suit.
"So why were you two so keen to get me back here anyway?" Nick asked, turning his attention to Wolford. "I'm not complaining, but it was a bit of a surprise."
Wolford turned his palms up slightly and shrugged. "Honestly I figured it would probably help you out if IA saw you were spending your free time around other cops."
"Really?"
"We were talking about it yesterday, actually. They had a lot of questions about you, but when all anyone can say is 'He mostly keeps to himself' it starts to seem a little suspicious," Lowell said, then took a sip of his drink. "Not that there's anything wrong with liking your privacy, but as far as anyone can tell you always head home at the first chance you get."
"He does not," Judy protested. "We get dinner after work often enough. He keeps in touch with his mother and—"
Wolford laughed. "No offense, Hopps, but the word of someone else that's under investigation isn't gonna carry too far. Same goes for mommy."
"Maybe, but on the other hand Wilde is right that after yesterday she's got to be looking good. There aren't many mammals willing to run into a building that looks ready to topple over," Snarlof commented.
"I wasn't the only one. Nick was right behind me," Judy said, even as she shrank down in her seat far enough that only her ears were visible above the edge of the table.
Nick grinned down at her. "Only because it would look bad if all us predators kept milling about outside while a lone bunny ran into danger."
"Besides, it had to be you two," Fangmeyer reasoned. "You're the lightest ones; Snarlof's big enough the building might have collapsed with him bumbling around inside, and I'm not much smaller."
"Maybe you're right," Judy said as she pulled her drink under the table with her and took a light sip, then cradled it close to her chest. "Though maybe I should start coming to these things too, just to be safe. I'm not much better than Nick when it comes to my time off-duty."
"What about all those dates you went on recently?" Clawhauser asked. "Dating seems normal to me."
Judy froze in place, staring at her cup, then pushed her head back over the table to stare at Clawhauser. "Why would they know about that?"
The cheetah seemed at a loss for a moment, then blushed and lowered his ears apologetically. "I…may have mentioned it when they were asking about you."
"Great, now every one of my ex's is going to know I'm being investigated," Judy sighed, then took another drink. "And then IA will find out that one of them is a raging bigot. That's going to look really good for me."
"Well, you did break up with him," Nick reminded her. "That has to count for something."
Though she was about a quarter of the way through her second margarita, Judy wasn't sure if she was having a good time or not. The atmosphere was friendly and energetic. The company was wonderful as well. It was nice to see everyone with their guards lowered. Stories and jokes and teasing being passed around in such a way that even she couldn't resist joining in.
But through it all her mind kept drifting back to IA's investigation. If they were really prying into her life that closely surely they'd turn up something. Nick's lack of concern over the affair annoyed her, and if she was being completely honest she was beginning to feel less and less comfortable about the way he'd convinced her to keep her mouth shut. Not that she could blame him, that was just the way he was and she'd allowed herself to be swayed against her better judgment. Still, it was a sore spot she didn't know how to address.
Because even if everything Nick had said made sense—even if he was right that this whole situation was unfair and wrong—she couldn't get past the fact that he'd wanted her to keep quiet because of what it might get her and not because it was the right thing to do. She didn't feel even a drop of remorse over getting Mr. Big to save Nick's life…but that she was hiding it for mere personal gain felt was somehow twisting what she'd done. Retroactively making it something to be ashamed of and hidden away for the rest of her life.
She took a deep breath, followed by another small sip of her drink, and wondered if Nick would understand the way she felt. He had her best interests in mind, she didn't doubt that for a second, but the more she considered the situation the more she wondered if what Nick thought was best was really what she needed.
The idea that she could be a chief was undeniably flattering, but she hadn't even paused to consider if she actually wanted to be one. It was a lot of responsibility to place on a single mammal's shoulders, and while she wasn't the type to shy away from such things the job would also make it so she couldn't serve the community directly any longer. Her childhood ideas of what being a police officer meant had been filled with silly notions like most childish dreams, but the key to them all was that she would be among other mammals, helping those who needed it. She could do that right where she was, but with enough promotions…
"Doing okay there, Carrots? You're starting to look a little tipsy," Nick commented, his voice breaking through her thoughts.
She smiled up at him, then waggled her hand vaguely in front of her. "Getting close I think, but I'm still fine. Just have a lot of thoughts running through my mind."
"How about we head out then? I'm at my limit too," he said, graciously offering her a hand.
"I'm not that far gone," she laughed, although the offer warmed her to her core. "Besides, I think I need the company. If I head back then I'll end up sitting in a hotel room by myself, wondering if Flip's about to make another pass at me."
"You're probably fine. There's an officer keeping an eye on your apartment and nothing has happened since you left," Clawhauser assured her.
"That could just mean the guy knows she isn't there," Lowell pointed out.
Judy shot the white wolf a dirty look. "Gee, thanks. Now I'll sleep real good."
"Jeez, do you even think before opening that mouth of yours?" Wolford asked, then lightly smacked the back of Lowell's head.
"Gah! Sorry," Lowell yelped, ducking dramatically. "Really, I am! The beers have just been going to my head is all."
Despite grumbling lightly to herself for a moment longer, she forgave him while accepting the assurances of the others that even if Flip knew she had left her apartment behind that it was unlikely he had been able to track her down. That thought did comfort her, especially since she knew the hotel staff had specific instructions to inform her if anyone matching Flip's description dropped by for a "visit."
