Peter and Judy arrived in front of a building, or at least what looked like one. Directly inserted into a desert cliff's wall, it was more like a combination of traditional desert houses all linked together by stairs made of bamboos, it all looked like some kind of termite habitat.
As the day was ending in Sahara square, they looked for Peter's friend's apartment.
They got up to the third stage and walked for some minutes for Peter to find the right door to knock on, which he eventually did.
A surprised suricate opened the door.
"Oh! Hey Peter ! you changed your mind ?"
"Hey, old friend! Nope, sorry. I'm not alone"
He stepped aside to let Judy gently wave at the suricate
Surprised by his friend's company, Jim raised an eyebrow for a second before regaining his seriousness
"Hello, Miss" Jim politely started
He approached Peter's ear and whispered to him
"Don't tell me you guys are…"
Instantly choked, the fox gave him a nudge
"Noooo !" He whispered back
"What did he say ?" Judy asked
"Nothing…" Peter rolled his eyes
"Anyyyway, Need your help"
"About what ?"
"We should get in...for safety" the fox resumed as he looked around
The suricate invited them inside, the apartment was a single room, dark and smaller than Peter's one.
They sat on a couch for Peter to resume
"I need to know some things about…..Grittenhouse"
Jim seemed surprised as if that name triggered a special emotion
"Oh…" he pondered "you know it's not that easy to have Infos….."
The fox smiled
"I knew I could count on you !"
"Hold on a sec! I didn't say yes !" Jim protested
However, Peter's mocking smile made him realize he had no power here.
"Ok…" he sighed "let's see"
He grabbed his laptop and started searching. They all stayed quiet during these long critical minutes, the atmosphere was heavy and awkward, neither Judy nor Peter had anything to say.
The suricate eventually ended this uncomfortable situation.
"According to these slightly hacked Infos, the group was created in the '50s to promote species equality by some…..questionable ways. Especially during the great disruption . More precisely, it recruits mammals who have been excluded from society because of their differences. They find a family and a job. The organization is apparently still active today, even though it has been relatively peaceful these last decades''
He paused
"Apparently, their last boss was Mr. Grittenhouse, third of that name. He left some years before his death in the late 90'. However, their current boss is still unknown, just like loads of their members. They almost got their new boss 5 years ago during a bank heist but he wasn't with his minions during the arrest"
"Then why do you think they killed Nick ?" Judy asked Peter
"They what ?" Jim asked in confusion
"You remember the Rainforest district attack 2 months ago? She was in and they killed her partner, Nick Wilde" Peter explained
"Oh…" Jim hesitated about what to say but he eventually changed the subject
"They have the means to organize such an attack but they never aimed at police officers, that's troubling."
"He….used to be a con artist so maybe he worked with them ?"
"Possibly….maybe he triggered them in some ways and they tried to have their revenge, but that feels weird considering them….." Peter resumed
"How do you know that ?" Judy questioned
"I..I mean…..considering what Jim just told us. They look welcoming towards their members so why would they do that ?" The fox awkwardly answered
As another uncomfortable atmosphere was rising, the suricate resumed
"I can try to seek some more Infos about that, dunno if I'll find anything but I'll let you know"
"Ok, thank you bud, you're saving my life." Peter smiled "Next time, we'll play all night I promise"
The suricate smiled back and escorted them to the exit.
The night had already fallen for quite some time, however, the full moon was so bright that it illuminated the desert in such a way that it made them feel like it was day.
They started to walk towards Peter's van
"So what now? Think I'll have to get back home and keep going on my own" Judy started
"Come on ! we're a team, we'll stay together until we figure out what happened, also coming back to your miserable apartment is dangerous. My home is yours! "
"Oh really? I don't want to bother..."
"No prob" he smiled
They got in the vehicle and started driving towards Peter's home.
"So if summarize the whole thing, the theory is that Nick was at one time more or less involved in Grittenhouse's business. He did something wrong which justified his assassination." Judy started
"yep"
"But why with such methods? And why did he try to kill me too ?"
"I don't know if Jimmy finds stuff that may help." he pondered a bit "Maybe they knew you could be an obstacle for them, that's why they also tried to kidnap
you the other night"
"Troubling but realistic, Do we have anything that would link the aggressors and them"
"Their van also had that sign…saw it when I came in"
"Oh…."
"For the method, it may be meant something else but I don't have a clue."
"Like what ?"
"I dunno, I really don't. Even though I have a bad presentiment"
Silence filled the passenger compartment, Judy took this opportunity to ask a question she really wanted to.
"How did you know for yesterday's night ?"
"Hmm ?"
"How did you figure out where I was and why did you come up there ?"
"I wanted to talk to you so…..I followed you"
"But why did you have all that material ?"
"I…..I had it all in the car…. When I saw their van...I equipped"
The fox's answers obviously made him uncomfortable, it just didn't seem natural for him.
Judy preferred not to continue the conversation and the rest of the drive remained silent.
Once back in Peter's apartment again, He broke the silence
"Ok so…..you can have a shower, a snack and go to bed in the bedroom, I'll sleep on the couch"
"you know you can do what you want, it's your home"
"You're the guest" Peter gently smiled
Judy woke up again, once again…..She thought the morning she'd been waiting for had finally arrived, however, when she opened one of the shutters she found nothing but the darkest obscurity of night. Disappointed, she looked at the alarm clock : 3 am
It wasn't her first time walking up this night, she couldn't sleep, all these knew Infos overwhelmed her. She couldn't stop thinking about all that, what would Nick do? Was all that linked with his past? Did she really know who he was? All these unanswerable questions that her mind tried to answer, still unsuccessfully.
She decided to leave the bed and do something more productive. Anything could make her less bored than sleeping. As she approached the door, she heard some piano music coming from the living room.
Surprised by this nocturnal tune, she quietly opened the door and bent in to see Peter playing in front of the window.
The tune was calm and classic, Probably a way for Peter to relax. She seemed to enjoy it as well.
Judy slowly approached, making sure not to interrupt him but one of her ankles snapped as she tried not to make noise. The fox jumped in surprise at the very end of his morceau.
"Oh ! sorry !" Judy exclaimed, embarrassed
"Did I wake you up ?" He replied, probably as embarrassed as she was
"No no, just can't sleep. You ok ?"
"yeah…..sure"
The fox sounded different, a mix of sadness and tiredness.
Judy wanted to question him about his state but she eventually started with a simpler one.
"What's that song ?"
"Some Russian piece, they played it during the last war. I like to play it when I don't feel good, I feel like the soldiers back then"
She approached, ears lowered and continued with a gentle tone
"What's going on ?"
"That's not interesting" Peter turned back to the piano, obviously avoiding eye contact.
Judy, who now knew for sure something was wrong, gently sit next to him on the same chair
"You listened to me so I can listen to you as well" She softly told him "Are you alone?"
That unusual question triggered Peter who turned back to her in surprise
" What do you mean? I'm a fox, we live alone, why such a question?"
"I mean, you have friends right ?" She corrected
The fox hesitated as if he was thinking about his answer.
"Yeah…..some…...like Jim or Greg"
He suddenly sighed with something that sounded like an early sob
"I…used to know someone else, a childhood and probably best friend" He paused "She died ten years ago….."
Judy didn't answer but her lowered ears and comforting paw on Peter's shoulder showed her comprehension.
Peter held back his emotions and continued
"She wanted to be an archeologist… So when I can't sleep, I come here and look at the desert… Hoping she's there somewhere"
As Judy still didn't answer, the fox suddenly changed behavior and became more energetic
"You know what ? just forgot what I told you, I'm sorry"
He suddenly got up and moved a bit throughout the apartment.
"There's no problem…." Judy smiled
The fox seemed now frozen by shame, unable to justify his sudden action, he tried everything he could to hide his embarrassment.
Judy was about to say something again but she was interrupted by Peter's phone ring: the liberation he was waiting for.
"It's Jim, mind if I go into the bedroom ?"
She shacked her head
He almost ran to the room and shut the door behind him.
"Hello ?" He picked up
"Hey there, still awake ?"
"I'm answering you so I'd say yes" He rolled his eyes
"you sound...different, anything wrong ?"
"No! nothing, I'm just tired"
The fox tone of voice obviously indicated that something wasn't right but Jim decided to move on.
"Anyway, I got into some classified intelligence files and got something interesting: two mammals were part of Grittenhouse for some years during their early twenties: nicknamed Nick and Finnick: a red fox and a fennec "
"Oh, that's nice! anything else ?"
"They took part in the group's activities, but not violent ones, they were authorized to leave by the boss. The proceedings were dismissed considering that they weren't dangerous and could be used as sleepers at some point"
"Ok, so why do you think they wanted to do that ?"
"I dunno, you may know that though" He ironically asked
"I don't! that's why I'm asking you !" Peter launched
"Peter, you should tell Hopps what happened. you trust her right? If she knew that'd help both of you"
"I can't Jim ! such things aren't just like saying why the floor's wet !" He launched with a bit annoyance in his voice
"Anyway, you do what you want. Have a good night Peter, I'll call again if I learn more, cya"
"cya"
"Shit…," he whispered as he hanged up.
He came back to the living room only to immediately see an impatient rabbit in front of the door, he jumped again.
"So ?"
"I think Nick hid something from us" The fox's irritation could still be heard in his voice and he looked serious
"He was part of it" She deducted
"yeah, with a certain Finnick "
"I know him too, we gotta see that fennec !"
"No, too dangerous, if they killed Nick, they would probably kill him too"
They cogitated again.
"So we're stuck ?" Judy asked
"Kinda yeah…."
The bunny pondered again but when her face suddenly turned happy
with a bright smile and straight-up ears, Peter knew she remembered something.
"I know someone who can help us !"
"Oh ?"
"A private detective! got her card !"
"Nice !" He smiled as his anger vanished
"Amy Miller...working at The Ramsey ...A hotel apparently in the city center"
"There's a reception there tomorrow, some kind of rich and fancy ball."
"that's our only chance to see her and been unnoticed" She proposed
"Wait….High ranked people will be there…." Peter pondered "Maybe some of their members will! we could learn things !" he exclaimed
"So we could see Mrs. Miller and at the same time try to spot their members, do you know how though ?"
"Jim told me that they usually wear some distinctive signs"
"Like ?"
"Clothes, jewels, and stuff…Don't worry I'll recognize them"
"So I go see Miller while you stay outside and look for them"
"Oki Doki lieutenant !"
"I'll call her, mind if I go in the bedroom ?" she winked
The fox nodded
Once in the room, she composed the number and didn't wait long before someone answered
"Hello ?" Miller started
"Hello, Miss…..I'm Judy Hopps, if you remember…." She shyly started
"Oh ! yeah ! you can call me Amy, do you need anything ?"
"Well...yes, the thing is...I launched myself and a friend on the investigation of Nick's disappearance and we're kinda stuck….."
"Oh…" She hesitated a bit "I see...what do you think about going tomorrow to the Ramsey so that we can discuss all that ?"
"That'd be really sweet of you, how much would it be ?"
"Don't worry about that! you'll have nothing to pay, see you tomorrow !"
"Hold on…" Judy hesitated a bit
"Anything else ?"
"Yeah...there's someone I need to know more about…..is it possible ?"
"Sure! give me the name and I'll look at it to see what I can have"
"Ok…."
Judy hesitated again, paw above the hang-up button, She didn't know if what she was about to ask was a good idea or if it would help her in any way, but she had to know. She looked around to make sure she couldn't be heard
"It's Mr. Peter Wolson"