Chapter 5 Hopp to It

Nick Wilde yawned and stretched his back as he sat in the passenger seat of the police car. He leaned back, letting the soothing wind from the air conditioner wash over his fur. He set his shades over his eyes just as he closed them and put his feet and tail on the dashboard. Yep, this was the life.

HONK!

Nick lowered his sunglasses and gave a sideways glance toward his coworker and friend, Officer Judy Hopps. She tapped her foot at an intense speed while a grouchy glare was on her face. Her ears dropped down and hung over her back, and her nose twitched furiously. In her hands was a tray for her and Nick's coffee.

Nick perked up once he spotted the tray. "Oh, nice." He reached out, just about to take his cup, but Judy slapped his hand away.

"Clawhauser told you. Chief Bogo told you. I've told you. No sleeping on the job!"

"Yeah yeah yeah, I know," Nick said. He slapped on a cheeky grin as Judy got in the car and closed the door. "But you know, considering your sour attitude, I think you could benefit from a little extra sleep."

Judy glared at him as she strapped her seatbelt in place. "You need to watch that tongue, Mister."

Nick shrugged and took his cup. "At least I'm not calling you Carrots," he said as he took a sip.

Judy shook her head and brushed some dust off of her uniform. "This is going well," she muttered to herself. "This is going extremely well." With that, she brought the car out of park, put her foot on the gas, and started to drive through the streets of Zootopia. She kept her eyes and ears open, not wanting anything to get past her while she was on duty.

"Why, of course it's going well," said Nick as he took another sip of his coffee. "Everything goes well under your careful watch."

"Oh, you think so?" Judy said as she glanced out the window.

"Of course. That's why you're my partner." Nick shrugged. "Well, that and my criminal record won't allow me to work with anyone else on the force." He chuckled.

Judy chuckled right along with him. "Well, I guess I'm just lucky."

Nick sucked air through his teeth. "Yeah, you are." He smiled. "You didn't become Zootopia's first rabbit officer just because of skill alone."

Judy smiled. "I didn't do it just because of luck either." She chuckled. "You, on the other hand, had a boatload of fortune drop on your head."

"Oh, I know. And I thank my lucky stars everyday for that. They have really been working overtime."

Judy laughed just as she heard the sound of rubber meeting road. Her heart nearly jumped out of her chest as someone zipped past her and Nick's car.

"Woah!" she exclaimed. She put her hand to her chest and took a breath.

Nick raised an eyebrow and looked out Judy's window. "Looks like a hero was just born."

"You don't say," Judy replied. She looked out at the driver, who was speeding down the track. "Looks like we've got a speeder on our hands. Better go after them."

With that, Judy turned the sirens on the police car on. She put her foot on the gas, allowing her and Nick to blaze down the road. Nick himself looked confused.

"This is odd. Flash is usually working at this time."

Judy snickered. "Not every speeding incident in Zootopia is because of Flash."

"I know. But still, it's odd."

The two continued to zip after the speeder. Judy pulled her mirror down to keep the solar glare out of her eyes. She squinted ahead and stuck her tongue out a little bit. She was going to catch this speeder. It was her duty as a cop and her responsibility as a Zootopia citizen to do everything to the absolute best of her ability. She saw the speeder, for they were getting closer and closer. The speeder turned the corner. Judy did the same thing.

Nick just leaned back in his chair and sipped his coffee. "This guy is not relenting at all."

"Well, neither am I," Judy said. She pressed her foot down even harder on the gas. She bit her lip, her fuzzy nose not even bothering to twitch anymore.

Unfortunately, the speeder really wasn't relenting. They just kept turning corners, not even bothering to stop.

Nick shook his head and gawked. "Does this putz even know we're chasing them?"

Judy huffed. "Let's find out, shall we." She reached under the seat, pulled out a megaphone, and gave it to Nick. Nick didn't even need to be told what he needed to do. He just rolled down his window.

"PULL OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, QUICKY!" he shouted.

Judy gave him a quizzical glance. "Quicky?"

"It's one of the nicknames we were thinking about giving to Flash," Nick said nonchalantly. He shouted into the megaphone again. "POLICE! PULL OVER, YOU ARE OVER THE SPEED LIMIT!"

Finally, the speeder seemed to get the message. They slowed down their vehicle and pulled over to the side of the road. Judy let out a breath as she too pulled her car to a stop.

Nick smiled. "Yeah, that's what we want." He squinted at the speeder and adjusted his sunglasses. "Is that...a giant turtle? In a...go kart? What?"

Judy looked at the driver, noticing their pink and spiky shell. She smirked. "Well, whatever or whoever they are, they're about to get a ticket." With that, she hopped out of the car.