Well damn, its been a year or so, and the world has changed a lot since the last update(Damn china virus!). The next few chapters are not going to be PC at all really since I'm continuing with the knights (I'll probably do something with them in another story), so I hope you enjoy!
A breeze blew through the night air as several pairs of eyes kept an eye on the field in front of them. The buzz of a drone above could be heard, and they kept their eyes focused on the field in front of them as it flew around above them. Looking through his night vision goggles, an older white furred bunny kept his eye tentative and open for anything that moved.
"Play the tone again Jackson," he whispered to his companion.
"Tone going out," a younger white bunny whispered back.
The bunnies kept their ears forward, tentative for the pitter patter of paws on leaves or the loud crack of a stick. The drone above continued to play the tone for another minute before Jack stopped it. It was tuned to decibel range that only a fox would hear, and it wasn't a pleasant sound at all. A few other bunnies, looking through IR scopes, were waiting for anything.
"What was his name again Wilson?" the younger bunny asked as he piloted the drone about.
Wilson sighed, growing a little restless after searching for most of the night. He was starting to wonder if the camera on the drone Jackson brought along was working right, or maybe they just got the tone wrong due to some faulty research, but he's patient. Very patient.
"Nicholas. To think an urbanite would be able to avoid us for so long out here."
"He sure is crafty," Jackson said with a huff
"Crafty as he may be, he ain't avoiding us forever."
They continued to listen to the crickets for another minute or so, the sound of an owl raising a few furs on the neck of a few bunnies.
"...Think that kid could be convinced to join us?" Jackson asked hesitantly.
Wilson raised a brow at the proposition, an idea he's thought of himself, but kept his eyes forward.
"Andrew? I haven't got a read on him yet. I know he and his friends went out to look for Alison, but with what they teach kids in school nowadays... I couldn't say for sure… " Wilson paused.
"Do you want a friend or something Jackson?" Wilson asked curiously, not really surprised.
"Jimmy is the second youngest guy in the Order, and he's 42. I need someone I can talk tech with in the Order because you guys are struggling with the basics all the time," Jackson said with a little frustration.
Wilson let out a chuckle "We're not learning to code Jackson, our pride will not stand for it."
"That's why we need some new young blood, and he probably doesn't even know what pride is yet."
Wilson let out a chuckle "Stu wouldn't let us near his son, or anyone in his family," Wilson said with an amused smirk of his own, "he may tolerate us, but not that much."
"Well we don't need to get near him to talk to him anymore, just a few texts is all it will take to get the ball rolling," Jackson reasoned.
"Well get me his social media and anything else you can dig up and I'll make a decision," Wilson relented, the thought of a new member being attracted to the group sounding attractive despite how... unlikely, it was.
"Sweet!" Jackson said in a hushed but ecstatic tone, a smirk as he pumped his fist in the air.
"Now back to work Jackson," Wilson said sternly, "See anything?"
"I saw a glimpse of him earlier but-" Jackson paused, his head getting closer to the screen.
Wilson glanced back at Jackson and saw the smile on his face before looking back across the field, his own smile forming as his heart beated faster.
"Where is he?"
"I see him," he said quickly before grabbing his radio "256 meters northwest of my position, it looks like he's in a gully by Bakers stream."
"What's he doing?" Daren asked, a white bunny 50 meters up and to the right of them.
"He's kneeling at the bank of the stream, it… looks like he's getting a drink." Jackson said as he tapped the screen
"Anything else?" Jimmy asked, a brown bunny 75 meters up and to the left.
"It looks like he has a backpack but that seems to be it," Jackson answered.
"Want us to move it?" Charlie asked, he was right by Daren.
"Wait," Wilson said sharply through the radio, "Don, how's the police scanner?"
"Officer Deerbrook is miles away and heading east at the moment. No one should be interrupting us out here… and yes, the scrambler is on Jackson." Don whispered back, he was right by Jimmy.
"Good. Now remember boys, be quiet and take him alive, otherwise a child will die," Wilson warned one last time, hoping they'd be able to hold themselves back.
Though honestly, Wilson couldn't help but remember the old days. Oh how he wanted some release.
"No more radio's," he said quietly into his radio , "Sigma position."
_Judy_
I swear I've only gotten 5 hours of sleep, and now I'm restless. I don't know what woke me up but it was something. It's surprisingly quiet in my small apartment despite only being three in the morning, but I still couldn't fall back to sleep. I've barely gotten any sleep recently, so maybe that's it.
I leaned up from my bed with a tired sigh, the restless feeling still refusing to go away.
"Man my sleep schedule is stupid. Couldn't that Raccoon have waited a few weeks before starting all this?" I asked the air sluggishly as I leaned my head down and rubbed the back of my neck.
My ears were drooped over the back of my head, and my body was really relaxed, but this restless feeling just wouldn't go away. Is something wrong? No. That's just my imagination. Suddenly, my work phone started to ring on the table by the door, its annoying tone shocking my system.
"And there we go," I groaned out before flinging my blanket aside and getting off my bed.
Walking to the phone I picked it up without bothering to check the caller ID. Only Jack or Bogo would be calling me this late at night, and I already talked with my siblings about Alsion before going to bed. Apparently she got lost overnight and scratched her face on some branches, or something like that. Flinging the answer button upwards, I sucked in some air and tried to sound professional.
"This is Hopps," I said flatly into the receiver.
There was no answer at first.
"Officer Judy Hopps?" a gruff old voice asked.
"Yes. Who is this?"
"My name is Antonio Big, I hope I didn't wake you officer Hopps?"
The name didn't ring a bell, and why are they calling at 3 am? Groaning internally, I started to walk back towards my bed.
"Well Mr. Big, you're gonna have to call back at 7. I'm off duty at the moment and sleep has been sparse for me lately," I said evenly, trying not to sound too irritated.
"My apologies Ms. Hopps, but this won't take long."
"Sir-"
"I have someone who knows where Nicholas Wilde went," he said sternly, my eyes widening as I stopped cold in my tracks.
Those words reverberated through my head and it woke me up completely in an instant, but I couldn't even think of something to say.
"There's a Fennec fox in the trunk of a silver Honda Civic in an alleyway next to the Hemmingway building on 87th Street, his name is Finnick."
"Wait wha-"
"It's all a mess Hopps, clean it up." he said sternly, almost like he was ordering me to do it..
"Mr. Big I-" the line went dead, he hung up.
Quickly pulling the phone back from my ear I looked through my recent contacts and looked at the last number, it wasn't one I recognized. They have someone named Finnick in a trunk? Who? What? When? A million questions ran through my mind and I tapped the number, but it didn't even dial it up before it said the number wasn't in use.
"Cheese and crackers," I said with hurried frustration before searching through my contacts as I ran to my dresser.
Quickly tapping Jack's phone number, I waited for Jack to pick up as I pinned my phone between my head and shoulder while I pulled out my dresser drawer and grabbed my uniform. I still need to bring it to the laundromat downstairs since I've worn it for two days in a row, along with my other ones, but it will have to do for now.
"Hello? Judy?" a tired voice asked through the line.
"Hey Jack, I just got a lead," I said quickly.
"A lead… " he let out a long yawn, "When?"
_Andrew_
The air filtered in through the boards in the small barn, my thin pants and t-shirt not doing much against the breeze. It wasn't too cold though, but I think that's the only positive at the moment. Glaring at the raccoon at the center of the barn, all I could really do was clench my fists. I wanted to rip the raccoon's head off, but I'm handcuffed to a support beam and forced to sit on the dirt floor.
Rocket had a lantern on the table he was working at, he was messing with one of his drones with a pistol off to the side, his back turned to me. I couldn't tell what he was doing, but given we're only a few miles away from Bunny Burrow, it means I'm probably going to be handed off to my family soon. The only reason I know this is because I used to hang out in this barn with my old friends, my first girlfriend, and it's where I read my Animalia State acceptance letter.
The small barn and property has been on sale by the county for years, but no one wanted it, so it was the perfect secluded place to go.
"So… how's the leg?" Rocket suddenly asked.
I wanted to growl at him.
"What do you think?"
"Well I have to make sure your in a decent condition when I hand you off,"
"You hit me with a pipe and you expect me to be fine?" I said flatly, barely able to keep in my anger.
"After you tried to bash my own head in with said pipe," Rocket said dismissively.
"I'm just a kid! I don't want to be held hostage by you!"
"A kid? Oh please, you know all about Big's dealings and you're still working for him." he leaned forward over his drone "and besides, you're only a few months away from military age, so don't act like you're some innocent child."
"I'm only his secretary… " I said, looking away as I said the last word.
"A secretary for a crime lord?" he said, "Is that supposed to make it better? Or take that seriously?"
I let out an irritated huff "It's true... and how are you any better? I read what Big had on you, and you're not exactly a shining member of society," I said bluntly.
His shoulders slumped down as he let out a sigh "I'm not better. I've made my decisions and I just have somewhere to be. But you? You got a life," he said before resuming his work.
He sounded like a lecturing parent when he was saying that, but… he wasn't exactly wrong.
"A life?" I wish, "The only reason I work for Mr. Big is because nothing else will pay my expenses."
"Really? Even with all your family connections and that Scholarship?" he asked..
"Try and get any help when there's 300 other siblings vying for attention and support back home, I was already forgotten about, and that scholarship only covers tuition for two years and nothing else. Not to mention rent and sixty grand intuition that starts next year for me."
A few sparks flew from the table "But how did you end up with Big? I mean, going from a smart country boy to the secretary of Mr. Big isn't a little step."
Should I tell him? Why not.
"Would you believe me if I told you it was by complete chance?"
Rocket let out a laugh as more sparks spewed from his drone, "I call bullshit on that."
"He put an ad for a job in a third rate newspaper that I found laying in a gutter, said he needed a secretary, no experience required, and that they pay well" I explained with a shrug.
"In the newspaper? No wonder the feds didn't notice."
"Well when all they really do is monitor the internet it's not like they notice the old way of doing things anymore. He used a fake name and put it in a newspaper that barely anyone reads in Zootopia, and an add in a newspaper is hardly anything criminal."
"But a newspaper?"
"It's a dying medium that's strapped for cash, and Mr. Big is adamant on keeping some of the old ways alive. It's helped as the police and FBI grow more reliant on the digital sphere to track criminal movement," I explained.
"Well ain't that it… but still, after being led through the hiring process, you still decided to join?"
I looked away from him as the memory came back "They hid who they really were, and by the time I noticed I had no choice… "
I let out a sigh and shifted uncomfortably in my spot "He… he had his bears put a gun to my head and threatened to kill me, so I said yes."
"So you got the short end of the stick huh?"
"...Yeah, pretty much."
He didn't respond for a few minutes after that, and I returned to watching him work on his drone. It was the only thing I could really do cuffed to this support beam.
"Would you still work for him if you had a choice?" he suddenly asked.
"I… I don't know," I said hesitantly, unsure, not really knowing the answer because I've never been able to seriously think it over, to many of Mr. Bigs people around for that.
"You think you'll be let go once I hand you off? I mean, you and me are all everyone is talking about these days,"
"Huh… " really?
"Even if it's out of pity, this whole town would hire a poor sap like you now,"
"Why do you care?"
He let out a laugh "Thing is, I don't, kid, but you should really find another avenue of work and this entire situation is the perfect time to do it."
He set his stuff down and turned around towards me, leaning back against the table with his arms crossed.
He smirked a little "However, I do have a creeping suspicion that Big is gonna double cross me due to all the heat I've attracted, and unless I get the fox, you're still my biggest bargaining chip."
"What do you want?"
"What do you do for the Shrew? Do you get his coffee or what?"
"I manage some of his crime free appointments, coffee, things like that," I explained
"So any dirty work?" he pressed.
"As I said before, I'm a kid, Big doesn't use kids for that kind of work," I answered.
Narrowing my eyes, I looked at the damn coon for a clue on what he wanted, if his body language showed anything useful, but he was just sitting there with his arms crossed as calm as ever with that smirk on his face.
"I see that look kid, and no, I don't want anything from you, never did. But I need you to cooperate."
"Cooperate? The only reason I'm here in the first place, trash panda, is because Big ordered me to," I said angrily, my fur bristling a bit.
Rockets smirk immediately went away and his calm demeanor and stance quickly turned aggressive. His arms fell to his sides and a growl started emanating from his throat, my eyes widening slightly as he started to walk towards me, his fists balled up. A sense of fear suddenly started growing in me, and my legs instinctively tried pushing me back to try to escape him, but I was still handcuffed to the support beam.
"Trash panda?" he asked through his growl as he stopped in front of me.
"I-i-i-"
Rocket quickly reached forward with both of his hands and grabbed me by the neck, lifting me up as I gagged, his grip unmoving. My broken and bandaged leg flaring up in pain as I felt his thumbs on my jugular and his claws on my skin beneath my fur, all starting to squeeze
"If you call me that again your head and leg will be the least of your worries," he said dangerously through clenched teeth.
"I- Ahh!" he pulled me down in an instant and kneed me stomach.
As he let go of my neck I instantly fell back onto the dirt floor on my knees, weezing painfully as I leaned forward, the cuffs holding me up. I tried moving my leg to a less painful position but my broken leg was currently ablaze with pain.
"Just do as I say Andrew and you'll be out of my hands by the end of the week! Got that?" he said angrily from above me.
Coughing roughly, I couldn't respond.
"Got that Andrew?" he yelled, pushed me back onto my ass and against the support column.
Letting out a few more rough coughs, I nodded quickly. Not wanting to get choked again by the maniac in front of me. He growled and got down on one knee in front of me, his eyes glaring into mine, furious. I started to shake a little, and my eyes quickly noticed that his hand was on the handle of what looked to be a knife.
"Now. What do you do for Big, Andrew?" he asked firmly, his fingers circling the handle.
"I-i-i manage his appointments, his c-coffee-"
My breath caught in my throat as he slowly pulled out the blade, the sound of metal sliding across leather sending shivers down my spine and waves of fear through me.
"I ask again Andrew," he reached forward and grabbed the fur on the top of my head, "what do you do for Big?"
No. I can't tell him that… can I? Big will kill me, ice me. If that is ever leaked… I don't know what I'll do. Rocket suddenly raised his blade up and I tried to pull away, a whine escaping my lips as he kept my head in place. The tip of his blade poking my chin, my body freezing as a result.
"I…," my heart seized in fear, in shame, "he has me work in his trafficking deals."
Rocket froze at that, his pupils dilating somewhat as his grip on my fur got firmer, but I simply closed my eyes, unable to look at him, not wanting to see the knife go in.
"The damn shrew," Rocket said in a furious whisper.
"I can't escape him… he'll kill me," I said painfully and weakly, unable to stop a few tears from coming out.
The tip of the blade went away, but his hand slowly moved to my shoulder, my head slumping forward in guilt. I heard the sound of metal sliding across leather, but I didn't look up or try anything. What was the point?
"This life isn't a good one Andrew, and it will only get worse as the days go on. I may be horrible now, but Big will do much worse to you over time," Rocket whispered flatly into my ear.
Those words were as truthful as could be, even before now I could see it on the wall.
"That life is something you need a way out of kid, and I'll give it to you," Rocket said softly this time.
"How?" I asked as I held back a sob, desperately wanting out.
_Nick_
My whole body hurts. Oh God it hurts. Every kick jab, and punch from last night left me feeling broken, but thankful, nothing was. They descend on me like a swat team for fucks sake, and after a semi-long beating followed by a tranquilizer shot, I find myself alone in a room, or more like a basement. The grey concrete walls and floor, along with a large mattress and lone table with two chairs in the center of the room left much to be desired in terms of decoration. However, it left an eerie feeling surrounding me in the air. Why the mattress? Why the table and chairs? It pointed to one thing, and with the thick ropes tied around my hands and feet, there was no escaping it.
"Where did it all go wrong?" I mumbled to myself aloud from my spot on the old large mattress.
To think Big would cause this much ruckus over me would be unthinkable. Despite his anger for me, he knows not to draw attention. Especially the FBI. Though if I would've died in Tundra town to that Raccoon's shot, or captured by one of Big's mammals none of this would have happened. No ruckas at all. But here I am, trapped in some murderers' basement in the countryside.
"I should've just turned myself in," I said in a breathless tone, tired.
Well, I hope this new chapter is satisfactory. It has been a while, but who doesn't like some fiction to pass the time? I know I do! Leave a review and have a good one!