Here you are, folks! I hope you think your patience has been worth it. I know this chapter took a little longer to finish but I am glad to deliver it to you all now. I hope that it proves to be interesting to you all. I am still happy to receive any feedback so feel free to leave me a review! If you should wish, I will do my best to respond to any DMs as well, but I am sometimes inattentive to them. In other words, I may not answer immediately, but I will get back to you as soon as possible. Until next time, folks.
I remain your obedient servant,
Thrash Evaine Lovelocke
It was 5:30 AM. Any self-respecting citizen of the rural town Bunnyburrow was likely already awake. Judy, being a native of the town herself, had made this early hour her usual time for awaking as well. Equipping her uniform and packing a bag of clothes to change into afterwards, Judy stole another look at her alarm clock before she left. It was 5:45 AM.
The thoughts on Judy's mind were all centered on the late morning, when she and Nick would be taking an early lunch. She thought carefully about all the contingencies that she and her partner would have to take so that they did not reveal anything about their plans for the day. The ever-present threat of Nala. Devilishly clever and quick on her tongue, Nala was not necessarily nosy but always concerned. If she could sense that something was wrong with either of them, she would press it until she got the truth out, and her motherly instincts would be able to root out lies. Most days she would have been happy to wait in the lobby of the Grand Pangolin Arms for Nick to come out, but today was going to be important. She wanted to show up and get to the bullpen before some of the more conversational personnel arrived and began chatting up a storm. More specifically, she wanted to avoid Ben Clawhauser.
To do exactly that, she departed from the Pangolin Arms and boarded the subway as quickly as she could. The ten-minute ride felt more like five today as the same thoughts of Goga and the building made of ancient constructing material flooded her brain. She pressed herself to think of anything else but there was not a single subject she could focus on. It reminded her, in a way, of her time at the Zootopia Police Academy where every waking thought was of her physical tests the next day and her end-of-course examination at the semester's conclusion. Ironically, thinking about those things made her calm down a bit. She went back to those days of bouncing off the heads of her fellow trainees to scale a wall of ice in a frozen simulation.
One may have made the comment that she was opportunistic and unafraid to bring others down if it meant she could go higher. Well, in that case, she was. At that time, she and the other trainees were not teammates. They were opponents competing for the honor of serving Zootopia. In the given context, Major Rebecca Friedkin was impressed and was more than happy to give the spunky rabbit her due rewards in the final accounting.
The ride flew by quickly as Judy relived her academy days and she was almost remiss to leave the train until she remembered what it was that made her depart so early that morning. She dashed up the stairs of the subway and whipped past the front desk of Precinct One. By the time any other officer entered the building, save Chief Bogo of course, she had already loaded her locker with the stuff she would need after work and made her way straight to the bullpen. She had done the hard part and stayed away from everybody. All there was to do now, was wait.
The next officer to arrive for the all-day shift was Castor Fangmeyer. He entered the bullpen about twenty minutes after Judy and greeted her with a warm smile. "Hey, Kicker. How are you?"
"Ready to make the world a better place, Cassy," Judy responded with a confident expression. "How's this morning been treating you?"
Castor sighed as he sat at a table towards the back of the room. "Man, if I could take a whole month off, I'd do it. My back's been killing me. I think I moved it bad when I was trying to chase down a bear at the border of Finewater Port."
Having paid little attention to what Castor was saying at first, Judy nearly missed the flaw in the tiger's statement. It took her a moment, but she finally caught on. "Wait, Castor. What bear? I didn't see anything in the news."
Chuckling abashedly, Castor looked out the window of the bullpen. "Well, maybe it wasn't a bear," he admitted sheepishly.
"But it was still a hard-run chase?" Judy asked suspiciously.
"Well," Castor sighed, "maybe it wasn't a big action-packed chase."
"Really?" the rabbit went on with fake surprise in her voice. She wondered how long it would take her to squeeze the truth out of Castor's muzzle. "Well, then uh…" she stopped to laugh a bit, "what exactly was it, Fangmeyer?"
An expression of embarrassment came onto Fangmeyer's face. He chuckled unsurely. "You see, Kicker, I… well, I did hurt myself at Finewater Port."
"How, exactly?" Judy followed up with a humored smirk.
For a brief moment, the tiger did not respond. He only did after Judy's stare became too much for him to handle. "I… I fell on the pier. Slipped on a well-placed puddle of water," he groaned as he relented the truth of the matter.
Judy did not seem surprised at all. In fact, she gave him a look like what happened was the most predictable thing ever. "Clumsy cat. I guess those tiger-like reflexes so many mammals hear so much about are dramatized after all." Castor refused to dignify that with a response. This was probably the best course of action as Judy's humorous supplement walked in next. "Good morning, Officer Wilde," Judy said in a haughty accent.
"Officer Hopps. It is a pleasure to see you this morning," the tod answered her. After he sat down, several other officers began to make their ways into the bullpen. Finn, Francine and the hippo officer Larry Higgins arrived almost simultaneously. The polar bear Gerhardt Snarlov did not even allow the elephant to sit down before becoming the first fool to challenge her to an arm wrestle. Nick and Judy's early arrival went unnoticed by any of these officers. Despite how well they worked, they were usually some of the last to arrive in the morning. Judy gave a glance to Nick. She was so thankful that the fox arrived when she wanted.
While most of the officers did not care one way or another why Judy and Nick had shown up before their usual time, which they did by skipping their breakfast at McHowler's, the inevitable arrival of Shenzi-Marie made them both hold their breath. Nala always came in shortly after her and, as both Judy and Nick were aware, her motherly behavior made her notoriously observant. The look on the lioness's face as she came in made them nervous. It was not that she looked ferocious or threatening. It was that she looked like she knew. Even when she very much should not have, she seemed to know. Judy stole a glance to Nick that she hoped went unnoticed. Logic said that there was no way they caught him on the way in. However, Nala defied logic on more than one occasion it seemed. "You didn't say anything to her, did you?" Judy asked urgently while trying not to look suspicious.
"Of course, I didn't!" Nick whispered back sharply. "They weren't even here when I arrived. I'm surprised Castor didn't bring up the strange fact we arrived early."
"He got too busy telling me of his trip to Finewater Port to visit a puddle of water. She turned out to be rude. Made him slip up and hurt his back," the rabbit girl snorted. Nick found the tale to be amusing and smiled as well. A loud noise came from the table next to them as Francine slammed Sonny Delgato's arm against it. She was still largely unbeatable, it appeared.
"Atten-hut!" Larry Higgins bellowed shortly from the front of the bullpen. The call commanded all of the officers to take to their feet in front of their desks or, in the case of Judy and Nick, on their chairs.
Enter Chief of Police Mason Bogo of Precinct One, known by many unflattering names. The imposing bison took his place at the podium and Higgins took his at his seat. "Good morning, once again, welcome to Hell. I am at least minorly pleased to say that, as of the moment, there are no new items to report on the dockets." It may have been his usual level of indifference, but something about Chief Bogo seemed even more bored about saying that than he did when he was able to report new problems to focus on. He was a workaholic. Everybody knew that. He was never quite himself without something to focus on that was related to work. "As such, we will be continuing our patrol schedules as normal for the most part. Officers Grizzoli and Snarlov, you will be reporting to the Rainforest District today alongside myself. I will explain further in my office. All dismissed."
Judy and Nick both sighed and stretched. Shenzi-Marie gave an impish giggle as she walked past them but said nothing else. Nala followed her quickly. "Shenzi, don't move so fast!" She called. "Patrol isn't going anywhere."
"Give me the keys, Nals. I'm drivin' today," the hyena responded as she held out her hand. Nala gave her the key to their patrol car and walked outside behind her with a nervous sigh. Another commonly known fact by the Precinct One employees was that Shenzi-Marie was not always the easiest person to ride with when she was behind the steering wheel. Shenzi-Marie, herself, never seemed to take notice of this fact. She was always glad to ferry her friends wherever they needed to go. At the least, she was happy to shout Swahili obscenities at anyone stupid enough to get in her way.
With the two of their biggest threats out of the room, Judy and Nick breathed what they hoped would be their last sigh of relief. Now, the fun would begin. Trying to keep casual looks on their muzzles, they walked out the back door of the precinct building and approached their car. Their short walk was interrupted by an amused laugh from Shenzi-Marie. "Nals, look! The Precinct Power Couple is coming."
For some reason, Nala seemed a lot less amused by Shenzi-Marie's antics than usual. She did still smile at her friend's sly wit, but it was not of the same energy as their well-renowned boisterousness. Judy gave a worried look, but Nala perked up before she could ask anything. "Yeah, Shenzi. I see them. Moving together, just like always."
What started as concern for Nala quickly turned to nervousness as Judy realized why Nala was not being as enthusiastic as usual. She and Nick would have to hurry now. She walked briskly the rest of the way to the patrol car and opened the door quickly. She closed it behind her and beckoned quickly for Nick to join her. Nick seemed to catch the hint and he entered the car with her, waving to Nala and Shenzi-Marie, the latter of whom chortled suspiciously as she made her way to her own vehicle. Nick looked over at Judy and asked her quietly, "What was wrong? Did I do something?"
"Shut up. Look outside," Judy hissed, gesturing to their left. Nick did so and shrugged. Nala was still outside and she looked back for a second to the two of them, but other than that there was nothing strange. "She knew something was wrong. She was acting too indifferent to Shenzi's jokes. Unless you want her to start asking questions, we need to get a move on." Judy did not wait for Nick to respond. She turned the ignition and began to pull out. Hopefully, Nala would forget about this.
On their way to the lower region of Savanna Central, Nick relaxed and checked his phone. "I'm still upset about missing Siobhan O'Terrapin's new release," he huffed.
Judy chuckled as she drove and gave him a response dripping with sarcasm. "Aww, poor kit. Do you need a hug?"
"Uh, not while you're driving, sweetheart!" Nick refused quickly. He laughed at their banter nonetheless and continued to scroll through his apps.
"You do know that you're supposed to be on the lookout for miscreants, right?" Judy scolded lightly, not totally caring whether or not his eyes were actually up. She knew he was watching. Nick Wilde had the observation skills of an omniscient god. Judy drove at what she thought was a steady pace with her eyes fixed solely on the road. Her mind, however, was deep on the subject of Goga. The little guy. It was always the little guy. She knew nothing different than to be in constant support of the little guy. Granted, it ended up backfiring on her once, but that should never change anything. The Bellweather Scandal was one unfortunate happenstance that involved someone who seemed like "the little guy" at the time. That was no reason for her to be discouraged, was it? There again, what if she was wrong again? What if this course of action was going to get her caught up in something that she did not want to be involved in again?
Nick looked wide-eyed at the speedometer. "Carrots, the speed limit here is thirty, you know!" He exclaimed as the rabbit looked down and gasped, immediately pressing lightly on the breaks. Nick was surprised by her lack of awareness but laughed and made light of it. "I didn't know you were a speed demon, shorty."
With a sigh, Judy turned to Nick and gave him an unamused expression. "You know very well that I am not usually like that. Sorry. I was just lost in thought, I guess. Something keeps bothering me."
"Goga?" Nick guessed.
"Well, yeah, but something else keeps bugging me too. I can't figure out exactly what, though," Judy responded.
If that was the case it was likely none of Nick's business, so he opted to leave it at that and let Judy alone. Nick reached into his pocket and pulled out a cherry-flavored sucker he brought from his apartment. Judy shook her head humorously. He would do that. "Hey, Carrots," Nick said suddenly but calmly.
Judy hummed her response, giving Nick a short, "Hmm?"
"I was thinking last night…"
He was interrupted. "Oh, thank God. I thought the apartment had caught fire. Glad to know it was you."
Licking his sucker, Nick frowned disapprovingly. "Gee, Carrots. You're a bucket of laughs. Now, as I was saying, something struck me as… off about that Goga kid."
Half raising an ear in curiosity, Judy took the bait for the new subject of conversation. "Nick, I'm not going to do anything crazy. I just want to see if he's okay. After all, what if it turns out he's just out there with nobody? We'd have to at least consider bringing him to an orphanage," the rabbit insisted, already trying to shoot down the things she thought Nick would say.
Her companion shook his head and popped the sucker out of his mouth. It had shrunk slightly. "No, that's not what I mean. My point is… well, I… uh," he seemed to be struggling with what to say. A moment passed with Judy adjusting their vehicle into a parallel position next to the sidewalk as Nick tried to formulate his question. "Well, have you ever heard of Sunningmesa?" He asked her.
Assuming this was a rhetorical question, Judy snorted, "Okay, Nicky, I get it. You wanna be really funny? Try making a dumb joke first next time," she scoffed and rested her hands behind her head, looking to the street outside as it bathed in the mid-morning sunlight. Judy gave a sigh. "Yes, I do. It's the city to the west where most of the reptiles stay because of its generous exposure to the sun. I guess next you'll ask me about Aecor Oceana?"
Nick shook his head. "No, Carrots, no. I was just thinking about something last night: little Goga. Don't you think he should be living in Sunningmesa? I mean, he is a reptile, after all," the fox said seriously. He licked his sucker again as he gave her a glance to the side.
More silence ensued as Judy put some consideration into Nick's statement. "Well, I hadn't thought much of it, I guess," she admitted as she looked around the surrounding area. "Maybe his mother wanted to find cheaper living."
"Cheaper than Sunningmesa? The whole city is known for having good prices. In Zootopia, just about the only living you could get cheaper is a box under a bridge. I'm telling you, Judy, something is weird about that kid being here. I know you want to stick up for him, but I also don't want you to do anything that will get you into trouble," Nick continued with some worry in his voice.
Judy seemed like she was insulted and responded with a disapproving scowl. "He's a child, Nick. What damage can he do?"
Knowing he had been misunderstood, Nick shook his head. "I don't think he, specifically, is dangerous. What I think is that whoever is here with him is the real worry."
"He wasn't with anybody. He's an orphan, Nick! He was probably here by accident. He may have run away from home or been brought here by some criminal organization trying to cash in on rare reptiles. Give me some credit. I think I know what I'm doing." As was customary of her whenever she got mad, her nose had started twitching and she had a very angered scowl on her face. Nick was almost positive that continuing the conversation would not end very productively. He was sure that child was not an orphan, or at the very least, he was not alone.
Biting into the last bit of his sucker, Nick opened his phone again and sat pining for the single release of Siobhan O'Terrapin. Judy was far more preoccupied with looking to the outside. She watched as a giraffe walked down the road and past a corner. A pair of hippos in suits conversed about something that she could not hear. Their mumbled voices were too small for her to understand. She spent the most time, however, staring at the clock on the sidewalk. She found the instrument to be very fascinating. The passage of time at the current moment was slow and she had more than enough time to think. She did her best to avoid processing Nick's concerns. Usually, she was the one who served as their source of caution. The fact that this operation she wanted to go through was putting him off worried her more than the reasons he gave. Nothing ever put Nick off before. His shady deals with Mr. Bigg, his even shadier knowledge of the better parts of the Zootopian underground and his somewhat troubled past had combined to paint the picture of someone who was pretty much afraid of nothing in Judy's eyes. She gave a long sigh as she thought about the fact that nobody was really fearless. She had even proven that irrational fear could take hold of her when she nearly equipped her fox taser against him on the day of her first press conference.
"Carrots!" Nick said briskly, snapping his fingers.
Judy shook her head quickly. "Huh? Yeah! I mean, what? What's… up?"
"The price on this parking meter. We may want to move before long," the tod joked snappily as he pointed to the telltale meter next to them.
Igniting the engine again, Judy quickly applied small pressure to the gas pedal and their vehicle rumbled away gently. Their ride was cut short when Judy caught a glimpse of one of the clocks on the street corners. "What do you think, Face? Time to go see about meeting our fate in that little run-down building off the square?"
"To Scalehide's Shell," Nick chuckled. Judy gave him a sideways glance as she was not aware of his play nickname for the building but opted not to ask anything of it. Checking the street once again for traffic, she turned left onto the street. Nick put on a monotone voice and stared straight ahead as he said, "In seven-hundred feet, turn right onto Bellflower Street."
A small laugh came from Judy and she obeyed Nick's unnecessary directions. The place they were looking for was just a little farther down said road and Nick continued giving ridiculous instructions even though he clearly did not have to. He became entertained at Judy's exasperated sighs as he continued his best impression of the Trailblazer Pathfinding Voice. A short time later and they had already arrived. The parking spaces were few and there were no cars in any of them. It was only now that the thought crossed Judy's mind that if there were adults here then they were bound to be at work right now. There was likely no way the front desk worker would even allow her to go see the child. There again, if push came to shove, she could always improvise a pretend investigation. They could not refuse her then, and it would not be the first time she danced on the edge of the law of Zootopia for the greater good anyway.
"Hey, Carrots," Nick said as he tapped her shoulder. He gestured towards the rest of the lot. "Do you think employee parking is out back?"
"There is no out back," Judy responded, "it's up against the buildings in the next street." She knew what Nick meant, of course. It seemed stupid to have a parking lot if no employees used it. No other tenants had been seen by them either, so their curiosity began to grow. "Maybe you were right. This place does seem a bit too shady to be a normal cheap housing development."
Knowing this to be true since the previous night, Nick smirked. "So, shall we go take lunch and return to our normal schedule?"
Judy scoffed. "You must be joking. Nicky, get your gun. This whole situation screams bad news. We have to investigate."
Nick choked on and spat out another cherry flavored sucker he had started enjoying. "What?"