"Who sent you, also…. who are you?" Calvin Hornspear asked, somewhat incredulous.
The four criminals stood in a loose semi-circle around the chair that Julius Tugs had tied Judy to. She strained her legs, testing the ropes, but Julius was no idiot and the jackal had securely fastened the bunny's legs to the chair and bound her paws together behind her. The few minutes since her capture had created a great deal of excitement amongst the four and it had taken Calvin a few minutes to remember that he was supposed to be in charge of things. So now Judy found herself tied to an old metal chair positioned in front of the stolen construction truck.
"You with that shrew? He don't own the entire city you know," Calvin snapped.
Judy thanked her luck that Russano had insisted she change into civilian clothes and out of uniform that morning. Things would likely be much worse if they knew she was Z.P.D.
Judy's eyes went wide in innocent confusion as she stared around her. "I just wanted a better look at you-all's truck is all," she said, putting on all the sweet who me? I'm just a lost bunny attitude she could muster. "Is that the Centipede forty-three hundred?!" she exclaimed, looking up towards the giant truck.
"What?" Calvin said in confusion.
"It's the forty-six fifty turbo, biggest engine and larger front loader capacity," Greso chimed in, a note of pride creeping into the ferret mechanic's voice. He quickly shut it with a shrug when he saw the glare that Calvin was shooting him.
"We've just got an old millipede two fifty at our farm. Pop's saving up and said I could come into the city and see what I could find second hand… but don't seem like you boys are selling so if you'll untie me I'll be on my way." She looked up at them bashfully. She didn't expect it would work but it was the best line she could come up with, and Calvin Hornspear didn't strike her as the reddest carrot in the bunch. It was Clyde, the large boar, who broke their stunned silence with a half snarl, half sneering laugh.
"What's a cute little bunny like you doing creeping around an old warehouse like this? Truck shopping? Never know what sort of mammal you're going to run into." He crouched down so that he was eye to eye with the bound bunny, the end of his sharpened tusks threating close. "Not a nice neighborhood, folks go missing here all the time. Tell us who you're with or maybe they won't be finding you…ever."
"If she's with Mr. Bigs then we're in trouble, Cal," Greso interrupted in a low voice. "We sure as hell don't want him coming after us."
"That snow rat doesn't frighten me," Calvin spat, though Judy noticed the hesitation hidden behind his bravado.
"Well, he sure as hell should. He finds out we hurt one of his, gods only knows what he'll do to us," Greso responded. "This just supposed to be a simple vehicle job. I don't want to have the whole underworld coming after us!"
"All the better reason for us to 'Take care of her,'" Clyde chimed in ominously. Turning away from Judy and walking back to the assembled crew, "She vanishes, we get out of here and by the time anyone puts the two together or finds what's left, well, we're gone and she's added to the long list of missing or killed in the Haunch."
Judy followed the conversation with obvious interest, as one does when a group is deciding if it's best to kill you. While Calvin, Clyde, and Greso debated the finer points of gangland justice, Julius stood a little away from the rest. Only now did Judy have a chance to study the jackal up close. The first thing that struck her was how young he was, she guessed only seventeen or eighteen. His light tan front fur was offset by the dark black streak that ran from his neck down his back ending in his black bushy tail.
He stood nervously fiddling with the large switchblade knife, awkwardly twirling it between his paw pads while his eyes darted back and forth between Judy and the arguing gang. The floodlights illuminating the warehouse glinted off its silver handle, engraved with some emblem that Judy couldn't make out. Judy noticed his uncomfortable wince when Clyde once again pointed out that killing the unknown intruder was the gang's simplest, easiest solution. He likes his knives but maybe not a killer... yet. That thought gave her some hope as her attention turned back to those arguing her fate. Whatever their decision, Judy figured it might be best to not be around to find out.
Wiggling and pushing her feet she could just get enough force to inch the chair backwards towards the truck. After a few pushes she felt the cool steel and the sharp edge of the truck's front loader. If she could just push back a few inches she could...
"We don't want that heat if she is connected and someone comes looking for her, let alone Mr. Big. We tie her up and drop her a few miles outside the city, we're long gone by the time she alerts anyone," Greso said, apparently concluding his argument to Calvin.
"Screw that three-piece-suited rat. Him and his polar bears have their heads too far stuck up their own asses up in Tundra Town to worry about us in the Haunch. Me and the kid," Clyde Tusker gestured over his shoulder towards Julius, "take the cute little carrot muncher and plant her a few feet underground. No need to worry about her alerting anyone ever," he said with a grin that Judy resolved to wipe from his face at the soonest opportunity.
"Don't include me in your dirty work. You want to clean up, do it yourself, tusk breath," Julius said, breaking his silence and turning towards the three mammals arguing Judy's fate.
"Figured I was doing you a favor, killing some prying prey mammal gets you in good with your F&C friends, don't it?" Clyde said with a sneer. "Forward the cause."
Judy didn't understand, but Clyde's words seemed to strike a nerve in the young jackal. Julius scowled back at the large boar. "It doesn't serve any cause to be stupid and reckless."
"Who cares about some stupid bunny no one's going to miss," Clyde spat, turning his back and picking up one of the oversized wrenches from Greso's toolbox. "If that pretty knife of yours is just for show, guess I'll have to give Ms. Thumper a thump and we can be done."
The boar was surprised to find Julius blocking his path when he turned back towards their captive. The jackal held his engraved knife in only slightly shaking paws but he spoke in a calm measured voice.
"No. I didn't sign up with you lot to see anyone killed even if she is prey."
"Figured. Most of you F&C wannabes are all talk and no claw."
It was around then that Calvin Hornspear remembered he was the supposed leader of this band of thieves and it was probably time he acted like it.
"Shut up both if you," Calvin said, attempting to mustering his best voice of authority. "Put down the wrench, Clyde, before the kid slices his own paws off." Julius and Clyde kept their eyes locked for a moment longer before Clyde grunted and let the wrench fall, raising his arms in mock surrender.
"Alright, kid, you proved your point." Calvin pointed to Clyde and Greso. "You two finish here while Julius and I take our little friend out for a ride. We clear out of this place by midnight." The others shrugged in agreement.
"Shit.. ahh guys? Big problem with that," Greso said, pointing towards the chair where they had tied Judy. It lay on its side, empty.
One of the keys to keeping a tied-up captive, especially one with strong arms, legs, and a keen desire to escape, is to keep a close eye on them. The four thieves had forgotten this rather important point while they argued. It had only taken Judy a short minute of rubbing her tied paws against the sharp truck edge before the rope began to fray and finally gave way. A few moments more to free and stretch her footpads and Judy slipped around the backside of the truck. A quick jump up its steps and a grab onto the open window and Judy found herself in the truck cab. The best lies contain some element of truth, and looking down at the control pad Judy decided that it didn't look that different from the old tractors and trucks back on the farm…. Well, not all that different. Furrowing her brow and biting her lip, she took a deep breath and stabbed her paw down on what she thought was the ignition button.
Meanwhile Calvin searched his memory for some impressive inspirational thing to say to rally his befuddled troops.
"Find her!" was the best he could do. Yet just as the others began to move, a rumbling noise filled the warehouse and the front loader truck roared to life and lurched forward. Julius dove to the side out of its path, but Greso wasn't so fortunate. With a squeak of surprise the mechanic found himself scooped in and experiencing first-hand the Centipede forty-six fifty turbo expanded front loader capacity. A moment later Calvin likewise was scooped into the loader as the truck picked up speed, knocking boxes and crates out of its way as well as smashing the two criminals together.
Inside the cabin Judy swore under her breath. "Jumping hippos," she muttered. Reaching down and yanking a lever she watched as the loader raised several feet higher in the air. Nope, that's not the brake. She had at least managed to find the lever that raised the control pedals to be within reach. Crashing into another stack of boxes Judy clung to the wheel trying to gain control of the truck. Looking over the wheel and out the cab window Judy could see flailing arms and hooves poking out from the truck's raised bucket.
Suddenly, with the crack of shattering glass, Clyde Tusker thrust his tusks into the cabin. The rest of his upper body followed as the boar attempted to climb into the cabin, reaching for Judy. He grabbed at her legs. "I'll tear you to bits!" he yelled, fury in his eyes. Judy let out a yelp as her right leg was yanked towards the window. Twisting her body to face him she lashed out with her other leg. Once, twice, three times her footpad connected between his eyes. With a pained grunt, Clyde made the mistake of letting go of her leg and clutching at his snout. He just had time to notice the first trickle of blood coming out of his nose before he saw the combined force of both of Judy's footpads coming directly at his eyes.
Judy kicked out with all her might and got the satisfaction of watching Clyde's bloody face vanish as the boar fell off the side of the truck and landed with a thud in a stack of boxes and crates that collapsed, burying him.
Turning back to the controls, Judy let out a squeak and jerked hard on the wheel and slammed what she hoped was the brake. With a squeal of rubber and metal the truck violently veered to the side and nearly toppled over before skidding and crashing into large rows of shelving against the warehouse's far wall. Boxes and shelving rained down onto the truck roof, encasing the truck. Judy coughed as the cabin filled with the dust of the long-abandoned facility, and she climbed out the window. Brushing herself off and double checking that her limbs were all still attached, she jumped through a gap in the boxes down to the floor and took in the situation. The banging and moaning coming from the inside the loader proved that she still had half of the gang contained. Not exactly standard arrest protocol, but it will do, she thought as she looked around. The grinding squeak of a door being pried open brought her attention round just in time to see Julius's black bushy tail disappear out a door set into a back corner of the building.
"Oh no you don't," Judy muttered breaking into a run. Her eyes and mind focused on capturing the knife wielding jackal as she dashed across the building. She was so focused in her pursuit that she nearly missed the movement to her right until it was too late. With a boom that shook the windows above, the bloody enraged form of Clyde Tusker exploded out of the shadowy stacks of boxes, sending splintered wood across the floor. His sides heaved in rage. The blood flowing down from where Judy's feet had connected with his face gave him the look of a nightmare from the depths of hell. Judy skidded to a stop and turned as the boar bore down on her. Even with her fast speed there was nowhere to hide. She dove behind a metal rack of shelving, her heart thumping into her throat.
"Not going to be cute once I've skewered you," Clyde yelled, rubbing one of his tusks as he rammed his shoulder into the shelving, pushing it over. Judy backpedaled, metal and debris crashing down around her. Finding her feet, she dashed towards the front door. Even before she was halfway there she knew she was in deep trouble. The reverberating sounds of heavy hoof falls behind her grew closer and closer. She imagined, gods let it be my imagination, the feel of his hot breath right on her neck. The door and her escape grew ever closer yet the sharp tusks of death on her heels was closer still. There was nowhere to hid or run and Judy had just resolved to turn and face the charging boar when suddenly the door burst open, the late afternoon light momentarily blinding her.
"Hopps down!" Russano's voice boomed into the warehouse as he raised a dark silhouette to his shoulder. Judy flung herself forward into a not particularly graceful roll. At the same moment a loud crack filled the air as she felt something pass just over her head. Twisting, she watched as Clyde gave a startled grunt as he was engulfed in an expanding net. Its large weighted ends twisting around his legs. His grunt gave way to curses of rage as he collapsed into a tangled heap.
"Well, I see you've got things handled here," Russano said, stepping into the warehouse and looking around, keeping his large net rifle at the ready. Clyde, trapped in the net, continued to hopelessly struggle while the sound of feeble groans emanated from the nearly overturned truck buried in boxes in the far corner. The recently disturbed dust still swirled about. Russano raised a curious eyebrow as another crate crashed to the ground. "Just a simple recon, Hopps? Get a photo and get out before they notice you?" he said gruffly.
Judy stood up and dusted herself off. She had a few bruises that she would feel later but overall she was none the worse for wear. She glowered up at the badger, grateful for the save and embarrassed for the need of it. She knew she had been reckless and it didn't help for him to point out what a mess she'd made. Still, in for a carrot, in for a bushel, she thought, spying the items clipped to Russano's side.
"Well, it looks like you've got your gang at least." Russano gestured towards the crumpled Clyde and towards the truck with the two mammals still trapped inside. Judy let out an angry snort and stomped towards Russano. She reached out and unclipped the small black and yellow weapon from his side before turning around and heading for the back entrance.
"Hopps? What do you think you're doing now?" Russano called after her.
"Working on my counting!" she called back over her shoulder before she vanished out the back.
"Stupid bunny's going to get herself killed... or worse, get me killed," Russano said to no one while reluctantly starting a slow jog.
Julius paused briefly when he had heard the smashing of crates and yelps of pain behind him as he left the warehouse. Sure, he was a criminal and all but it's not like he wanted to see the stupid bunny actually hurt, even if she was prey. Also, and maybe more importantly, the more he had looked at her the more the alarm bells in his mind rang that he had seen that face before and in a shiny blue Z.P.D uniform at that. Helping scout targets for auto thieves was one thing, but kidnapping or killing a city officer… Not exactly the crew I'd go down for, he thought as he slipped out the back door and into the alley behind the building. Julius had been with Calvin and his so-called crew for only a few weeks and already knew it was about time to get out. Calvin couldn't lead someone out of a wet bag and Clyde Tusker…Well, that guy could benefit from some anger management classes, he thought with a smile as he moved through the alleyways behind the building, dodging between dumpsters and old trash. The sound of sirens approaching only reinforced the young jackal's gut that he had overstayed his time at this particular party.
Still... He had needed the money and no competent crews would take a chance with someone so young. He was so close and had been counting on this score tonight to get him the money to finally pay his dues. His thoughts were interrupted by a rustling behind him. He spun around to find nothing but overturned trash bin and some old boxes.
Only two ways to get in, pay the green or spill the red, his uncle's words sticking in his mind as he anxiously fingered the handle of the knife in his pocket, his uncle's old knife. His claws traced the well-worn groves of the engraved emblem on its handle. Still there were other jobs, other marks, and other ways to find the money. The alternative…well… I'm just not there yet. He rounded another bend in the alley, the sounds of traffic beckoning him to the safe anonymity of crowded Zootopian streets. He stopped short, his jaw clenching and unclenching in shock and surprise.
"Now I really have found you," Judy said. She was leaning against the alley wall blocking his exit, with arms folded and a small smirk. With one paw, she casually fished the gold Z.P.D badge from her waist. "So keep the flashy knife in your pocket. I'll give you a free ride downtown," she said, trying to look cool, calm, and collected and not like someone who had recently survived a fight with a boar and spent the last five minutes franticly running down alleyways. Nick would be proud, she thought as she stared down Julius.
"Looks like you're a girl who can handle herself. Glad to see this city reaching out to underserved species like you," Julius said, keeping his voice positive and his hand out of his pocket.
"Not sure your friends agree. You can ask them down in holding." Judy said with a shrug.
"My friends!?" Julius said, adding a note of surprise and hurt in his voice. "Oh, I barely know those guys, rough sort but I figured you could handle them," he said, inching his way towards the exit and past the small bunny.
"Well, then I'm sure it would be no problem to come to the station and tell my partner and me all about them. Clear this whole thing up." Judy moved to block his path, twirling her badge. "Also talk about that whole knife to my throat thing," she added. Her voice was cheery, but Julius didn't miss the threatening look in her eyes.
"Oh, that? I'll remind you I also tried to save you in there. Clyde was ready to smash you to pulp. Let's say we call it even, a draw! We both live to fight another day in this mean old city." He moved to step around Judy, his back against the wall. Surprisingly the bunny cop stepped to one side clearing his way to freedom.
"I did appreciate that," she said.
"Hey, no problem," he said with a casual dismissive wave as he walked by her. "See you around." The late afternoon air was cool on his fur and the sweet tingle of a narrow escape filled his blood. I may not have the money but at least I'm not spending...
His thoughts were cut off as the taser dart hit him squarely between his shoulders. He let out an undignified squeak of shock as the electricity jolted his body and brought him crashing to the hard sidewalk.
"And I'll be sure to note in my report just how grateful I am for your cooperation," Judy said, placing one foot on his back while leaning down and pulling his arms behind him. "Oh, and its carrots."
"What?" Julius moaned, his face flat against the pavement, body aching from the dart and the fall and his arms securely cuffed behind him.
"My family, we grow carrots, Not turnips!"
Half an hour later Judy and Russano watched as the large Z.P.D van pulled away, the four criminals cuffed and locked in its back. The scene had been taped off and other officers now searched the warehouse for evidence and material. Everything from wrenches to the discarded Bugburga wrappers were tagged and placed in evidence bags for processing.
"Funny how backup always show up once all the real works been done," Russano remarked, watching the scene before glowering down at Judy. "Also funny how you jumped your way in there with no plan and nearly got yourself killed." Judy gave a small flinch and but met the badger's accusing eyes.
"I got the evidence we needed … and sure, maybe I should have waited."
"Should have?" Russano interrupted.
"We got them red-pawed, didn't we? They would have gotten away if I hadn't… jumped my way in there."
Russano was opening his mouth to snap something back when they were interrupted by a potbellied lion officer informing them that the scene had been processed and that the stolen truck had been cleared to be returned to the construction site.
"Have one of your desk sloths take care of it, we're done," he said gesturing behind him to Judy. The only problem was that Judy had already taken off back into the warehouse and towards the truck. "This running in without telling me thing is getting old," Russano muttered.
"I've got the hang of it now" Judy said settling herself into the cabin and adjusting the seat.
"You've already taken down the gang. And now you want us to deliver construction equipment?" Russano grunted up at her from the ground, his tone a shifting mix of exasperation and slight amusement. "Do you even know how to drive that thing?"
"Dad always says the harvest's not done just because you picked the crop. Jobs not finished till barn's full," Judy said.
"Well my dad always said, don't listen to stupid farm sayings, especially if they keep you from dinner." Russano grumbled.
"Leftovers from lunch are in the car, come on!" she said excitedly "I haven't gotten to drive a truck like this in years. What site are we driving it to?"
Russano sighed but pointed at the painted side of the truck. "Lionheart Construction, only the one site in the city for that. I'll follow with the car." His natural frown deepened when he saw the questioning look on Judy's face. "Caribou Tower?"
"Umm, should I know where that is?" Judy asked hesitantly.
"Kangaroo on a fucking pogo stick," he swore. "Might help if you actually knew the city you want to save." He stomped off towards his green station wagon. "Guess I'm leading."
The engine rumbling to life, Judy eagerly reached for the wheel while pressing down hard on the pedal beneath her footpad. Which a squeal the truck lurched backwards back into the warehouse. Officers and technicians jumped out of the way and Judy was nearly thrown from her seat before she slammed on the brake.
"Sorry! Sorry!" she called out the window towards her fellow officers as they picked themselves off the ground, several glowering at her as they dusted themselves off. Worse yet was the snorted laugh as Russano pulled up in his car.
"Guess we know why you didn't get to drive the truck back home."
The inside of her ears turning from pink to a burning red, Judy shifted the truck into drive and pulled out following Russano's beat up car onto the street.