WingedKatt here. Just to let you know, we'll be going through more of Nick's tragic past, so if you get emotional easily, you might want to grab a box of Kleenex. Now enjoy the chapter (it's not all sad).
As Nick maneuvered through traffic, he and Judy discussed their plans for the day. She finally remembered to check her phone for messages and was pleasantly surprised to see a couple of her favorite sisters coming with her box at noon. After assuring Nick they wouldn't treat him bad for being a fox, he asked if she wanted to show them the house. Judy readily agreed and couldn't wait to show her sisters around the place—with Nick's help getting around, of course.
Reading through the rest of her texts, she saw the one from Fru-Fru about their meeting place and turned to Nick, "Oh, right, I forgot to tell you last night, but I'm having lunch with Fru-Fru at 11:00, so I hope our meeting with Bogo doesn't drag on."
Nick's ears splayed out to the side as he glanced sideways at her. "You're having lunch with Fru-Fru?"
Judy's ears drooped as she saw Nick's unsettled expression. "Is there a problem with us meeting Fru-Fru?"
Nick grunted and turned his emerald eyes back to the road. "It's not Fru-Fru I'm worried about," he muttered as he tugged on an ear. "It's the bear she'll be with."
Judy's eyes turned down and she fiddled with her paws a minute then looked up to ask, "You still think Mr. Big wants you dead? He treated you well enough when we took Weaselton to him."
Nick snorted. "Carrots, the only reason I walked away from my last two encounters with the tiny shrew and his polar bear henchmammals was because you were with me." Sitting at a stop light, he glanced out his driver's side window just as a Tasmanian devil pulled up next to him on a shiny, bright-red bullet bike with black trim. Absently staring at the blazing fireball stitched into the back of the devil's black leather jacket, he whispered, "Big isn't a very forgiving mammal, nor are his bears."
Judy glanced down at her paws again as the light changed and the vehicle started moving again. Fiddling with her paws, she asked quietly, "Can I ask . . . why you sold him that rug?" After spending so much time with Nick and hearing a lot about his life—he graduated high school and law school at such a young age!—Judy really couldn't see her sly fox making such an asinine move. He was her dumb fox, but he wasn't that dumb.
Nick scoffed, then glanced over briefly. "Carrots, do you honestly think I'm stupid enough to knowingly sell Big a rug made from the fur of a skunk's butt? Especially one for grandmamma?" Focusing on the traffic again, he muttered, "I liked that old shrew. She was one of the sweetest old ladies I ever met."
Judy thought about what he said for a minute, then her eyes widened. Staring at Nick, she exclaimed, "Someone switched the rug on you!"
Nick snorted as the hated memories surfaced. "A lot more was involved besides simply switching the rug. If that's all it was, I would've picked up on the fact the rug wasn't what I ordered."
Judy watched him scowl at the traffic ahead (a white minivan up ahead was swerving slightly two lanes over) as his paws gripped the steering wheel tightly, with his claws digging into its plastic covering. Chewing on her lip, she wondered if she should press him for details. She finally decided that asking wouldn't hurt, and if he didn't want to answer, she wouldn't press him. Taking a deep breath, she softly asked, "So what . . . happened?"
A bitter chuckle escaped Nick's muzzle as his ears flattened against his head, then he muttered darkly, "A scorned vixen is what happened."
Judy's eyes grew big as saucers as she remembered her conversation yesterday afternoon with the little arctic shrew. "Oh, Fru-Fru said there was a bad rivalry between two of the vixens you worked with and they had to be fired because they kept disrupting your work."
Nick scoffed again, thinking of their disruptions. "That's putting it mildly." At Judy's questioning gaze, he explained, "Crystal was an arctic vixen with these stunning, pale-blue eyes that could just suck you in. All she had to do is bat her eyes and wag her bushy tail and males of all species would fall over themselves trying to please her. It didn't matter what she asked of them, they'd do it without question—lie, cheat, steal—anything. And Nakita, well, she was a silver fox with this stunning black and silver coat and a mesmerizing body that males literally killed for. No one ignored her advances and no one refused her requests."
"No one but you," Judy whispered with a confident smile. She had stolen Nick's first kiss, after all. And even though last night felt like a dream, while (shamelessly) looking at the handsome todd beside her—her boyfriend—Judy couldn't forget how wonderful it felt to kiss him senseless while running her paws through his thick, fluffy chest fur—and feeling his paws on her in return (even if he was careful on where he placed his criminally wonderful paws).
Nick glanced over and met her smile with a warm one of his own. With a nod, he turned back to the road. "Knowing what she did, there's no way I'd fall for her venomous snake charms." With a cock of his head while watching the green cargo van ahead of him, he added, "She reminded me of the tar pits over at the Zootopia Prehistoric Museum." With a quick glance over, he said, "Remind me to take you there for one of our dates. The Natural History Museum has the dioramas and models, but the Prehistoric Museum has the actual bones and fossils of prehistoric mammals." Turning his gaze back to the road, he continued, "Anyway, the museum was built around 5 tar pits they found where a lot of the bones and fossils were pulled from."
"And Nikita reminds you of them?" Tar pits didn't sound like a good comparison for a beautiful vixen, no matter how toxic her personality.
Nick nodded. "The tar pits are covered with a thick layer of water, hiding their toxic, sticky heart. Around the edges of the pit grow lush grass, bushes, and trees adding to the peaceful setting. Their picturesque view invites mammals to come in for a cool refreshing dip during a hot summer day. And once they're in, they start thrashing about having found their paws being sucked in by the thick, suffocating black tar hiding beneath the surface."
Shaking his head, he continued, "Nakita reminds me of the tar pit because she has this stunning beauty on the outside, but inwardly she's a stinking, noxious tar pit waiting to suck mammals in, then laugh as they thrashed about in a futile attempt to escape her toxic clutches."
With a glance over at his beautiful, sexy bunny, he added, "You have no idea how many marriages she's ruined. She made it a game of slinking into the beds of males and then blackmailing them with videos of their infidelity. Most of her targets had something she wanted—money, connections, corporate information—stuff that would feed her criminal activities." Nick shook his head in disgust as he continued, "But she found a sick pleasure in finding males that were faithful and devoted to their wives and then worming her way into their beds for no other reason than to ruin their marriage when she sent the videos to their wives."
Judy shivered as she thought about this hateful vixen chasing Nick, what she must have done to try and get under his fur, and her sick advances he ran and hid from. Raising her fingers, she lightly ran them across her lips as she remembered their heated kisses. Nick never once ran from her (other than their first day when he did his disappearing act, and then after the press conference). He always ran to her and followed along with whatever thought was running through her head. And although she was the boss, as he said, once he knew what she wanted, he was more than happy to take charge—and she was more than happy to let him.
With a smile, she considered their relationship then glanced over to study Nick's hot foxy features. He was her boyfriend. With an internal squeal of delight, she thought, Sweet cheese and crackers, I'm never going to get tired of hearing that word. She still couldn't believe she was actually in a romantic relationship with someone, and for it to be such a handsome, strong, loving todd—she could feel a heat simmering in her belly just looking at him. With his fur combed back and his form-fitting shirt and black slacks he looked drop-dead gorgeous. If she ever took him home with her when he was wearing such an outfit, she'd have to beat her boy-crazy sisters off him with a stick—regardless of the fact that he was a fox. Just the rumor that she was interested in a fox would have put him on her sisters' radar.
Pushing thoughts of her sisters from her mind, and while trying to get her hormones under control (she was on her way to the Precinct and every wolf officer they crossed would be able to smell her interest in Nick if she didn't put a lid on them), her mind went back to the vixens who'd been harassing Nick. "So what did they do to you?" she asked with morbid curiosity.
Nick glanced at her and raised an eyebrow. "You're my girlfriend. Are you sure you want to hear about the vixens from my past? I don't want to burn those innocent little bunny ears of yours."
"Hey!" She exclaimed while planting one paw on the console between them and leaning over to jab his bicep with the other. "After last night, you can hardly call me innocent. And as you said, I'm your girlfriend which means I have every right to know what those creeps did to you so I know how badly I can beat them up should we ever cross paths with them."
Nick turned his head to stare at her for a moment, then the biggest grin spread across his face and he gave a rich chuckle. "You know, both Crystal and Nakita are excellent fighters, but if you ever went up against them, I'd place all my money on you." Judy giggled happily beside him, and he added, "Though you won't have to pick a fight with them. Once they find out you're with me, they'll pick a fight themselves." With a wicked chuckle, he said, "Then after you beat the snot out of them, you can arrest them for assaulting an officer. I'd love to see that, but you'll have to wait another five and half decades before fighting Nakita."
"Huh? Why?" Judy's nose twitched in confusion and she cocked her head while waiting for his answer.
"Because she's rotting in prison and her earliest chance at parole won't be for another 55 years—and that's if she's able to hide her venomous fangs for that long." A twisted grin found its way onto Nick's face as the memories washed over him.
"She's in prison!? How? Why?" Judy couldn't believe such a skilled and treacherous vixen, who'd evaded the ZPD's eyes for so long, would easily be caught.
Nick's grin widened. "Because I put her there." At Judy's wide amethyst gaze and open mouth, he explained, "After Big hauled me in and accused me of selling him that skunk-butt rug, I knew I'd be iced, so you can imagine my surprise when he released me with the promise of a quick icing should he ever see me again." Glancing out the side window, he murmured, "The only thing that saved me was the fact I'd served Big faithfully all the years I'd worked for him."
With a shake of his head, he glanced over briefly, then returned his gaze to the road. The green van had switched lanes and a silver sedan had taken its place. "Big made a big show of his bears hauling me in, and with the rumors going around of my transgression, no one expected me to walk out of Big's mansion alive, least of all the culprits. So when I scrambled away from his mansion in the dead of night—it was freezing, by the way, with a howling snow storm dumping tons of snow on me—I went underground. No one saw me leave and I made sure to keep it that way. Finnick was the only one I contacted, and with his help I was able to track down the back-stabbing snakes."
Scratching the thick fur of his neck in thought, Nick then tugged on his ear as he continued his sad tale. "The friend I entrusted the transaction with was our first lead. He was out of town, which should have been my first clue that something was up. I mean, who goes on vacation for 6 months!" Nick threw his free paw up in the air and glanced quickly at his honeybun, then back at traffic. "Anyway, Finn and I broke into his office and checked out his call log. Talk about hitting the jackpot."
"You found Nakita's number, didn't you?" Judy whispered. To see how the vixen's revenge played out, and to know that she might never have met Nick made her blood run cold. And to think, the vixen would choose cold, blooded murder simply because Nick refused her advances. It made her sick to her stomach.
Nick nodded darkly. "Multiple calls were made to her." With a humorless snort, he explained, "He used his work phone to make the calls and didn't even erase them when he was done." Nick shook his head and chuckled darkly as he slowed to a stop at a red light and watched a family of possums cross the road behind a hippo lady pushing a very large baby carriage. "Stan is such an idiot." Glancing over, he said, "He's a beaver and a strait-laced guy if ever I met one, never indulged in any kind of criminal activity in his life." With a smirk at Judy, he added, "Even paid all his taxes."
Judy gave him a weak smile at his attempt at lightening the mood, but the tale was anything but light or funny. It squeezed her heart painfully and made her want to pull him into her lap and pet the pain and bad memories away. She would definitely be giving him an ear and throat rub when they returned home this afternoon.
Shaking his head again, Nick returned his gaze to the road as an older coyote couple finished crossing the street and the light turned green again. As the jeep began to accelerate, he gripped the steering wheel tightly and dug his claws into the underside. After gritting his teeth for several heartbeats, Nick then added in a low, strained whisper, "Which made his betrayal all that much worse." With a bitter, bark of a laugh, he continued, "All I asked was that he get me a tiny, black and white cashmere rug—that's it. Nothing difficult. And what do I get instead?" Nick shook his head again, then flattened his ears and ground his teeth together. "If my head hadn't been in such a mess at the time, I would've clued into the fact he was taking way longer than was necessary to acquire such a tiny rug."
Judy watched him glance out his driver's side window for a couple of minutes as he struggled with the memory. As they came to another stop light (you hit one, you hit them all), she opened her mouth to ask why his head was a mess, but he turned back to her and spoke first.
"Do you know what he sold me out for? What my life was worth to him?" Nick's ears were splayed back and the pain and betrayal shimmering in his brilliant emeralds couldn't be hidden.
Judy closed her mouth and shook her head, all the while dreading the answer. Why did her fox have to have such tragedy in his life? It wasn't fair.
"5 thousand dollars and half an hour in that stinking vixen's arms," he spat out. And then in a strained whimper, he whispered, "That's all I was worth."
Judy immediately reached across the seat and touched his arm. As his troubled emeralds darted over to meet her determined amethysts, she said, "Nick, I told you already—you are worth so much more than that. You're worth the world to me." Nick stared at her a moment, glanced at the road to check the traffic, then met her gaze again. "You're a hero, Nick." At her fox's skepticism, she added, "You're my hero." Rubbing her paw up his arm, she explained, "I'm alive because of you. I have my job because of you."
Nick glanced at the road again, then seeing they were coming up to another red light, he slowed to a stop behind a black mustang that was larger than the jeep, then turned his focus back to his amazing girlfriend.
Seeing as they were stopped, Judy reached up and brushed her fingers across his furry muzzle. With a tender smile, she said, "And because of you, I have the bestest best friend ever and I have the best boyfriend in the whole world. And," her voice turned soft and sultry, "I'm waiting with bated breath for him to put a ring on my finger and cart me off to his cabin in the mountains, where I can explore every inch of his furry hide and then completely submerge myself in the smell, taste, and feel of him."
Nick's breath hitched at her words and he felt something getting excited down below his belly. Judy always knew what to say to make him feel like a million bucks. More than a million bucks. She squeezed his heart and made him wonder how he ever survived without her. Without even thinking, his muzzle shot forward to press against hers. The kiss was all too short, and yet conveyed so much. Pulling back slightly, he pressed his forehead to hers and whispered, "Thank you."
Judy smiled back, but then a horn honking behind them broke up their special little moment. The light had turned green and the other drivers weren't happy that the jeep remained stationary. As they both straightened up and sat properly in their seat, Judy watched Nick move his foot to the gas pedal and accelerate. As they continued down the road, Judy raised her fingers to her lips, then considered Nakita's murderous revenge. The vicious vixen was willing to kill Nick because he refused to give her his kisses, and yet for Judy, he gladly gave them all to her without a second thought.
Looking over to her handsome todd boyfriend, she couldn't believe how lucky she was to have met him. To have earned his trust and respect, for it was obvious to her that Nick rarely bestowed his trust or respect on others. He'd been hurt and burned too many times to trust easily. And yet he trusted her completely. It warmed her heart to no ends to think about it.
Nick drove in silence for several minutes, then shook the thoughts from his head. Judy had put quite a few risqué ideas in his head when mentioning their wedding retreat, and he found them hard to ignore now that they were there. Taking a deep breath (and inhaling a deep lungful of his honeybun's mouthwatering scent) he tried to remember what they were originally discussing. "So, where were we in my tale of scorn and betrayal?"
Judy's nose twitched as she thought of the betrayal, but she tried to make light of it as he did earlier. "You were sold out for a bag of peanuts. Moldy peanuts."
Nick's eyes widened, then he started laughing, a deep, hardy laugh. After his laughter died down, he said, "Yeah, that about sums it up, doesn't it?" Taking another deep breath and thoroughly enjoying her delectable scent, he continued his tale of woe. "So after discovering Nakita's bloody paws in the whole affair, I might have helped the cops . . ."—Nick paused and looked up through the top part of the windshield at the tall buildings surrounding as he thought of the best word to use—"stumble upon Nikita's criminal activities." Glancing quickly at Judy before focusing on the cars ahead, he added, "And let me tell you, there was a lot to stumble upon." With a wide grin, he said, "I believe she was responsible for quite a few cold case files which have now been closed."
Judy's eyes widened as she considered what he was saying. "You lead the cops to Nakita's hideout!?" When hearing about Nick's past, and the fact he was working for a mob boss (which she still needed to ask more about. Why would he even consider working for such notorious criminal leader?), she never once considered his past connections might have a positive outcome. It made her wonder who else Nick might have helped put behind bars. And what other positive affects his past life might have brought about.
"Hideouts with an s. And yeah. What else was I supposed to do? I'm not killer, Fluff. That's one thing I made sure Big understood about me when we were discussing my possible employment. I wasn't a killer and I never wanted to be put in a position where I would need to kill." With a shrug, he added, "That and drugs. I absolutely refused to deal with drugs in any way, shape, or form." With a grin, he said, "That part was never an issue with Big. He absolutely loathed drugs since they took his beloved wife away from him."
"Mr. Big's wife OD'd on drugs!?" Judy exclaimed, unable to believe what she was hearing.
Nick shook his head. "Not her. Big's wife was mugged for drug money and died before the paramedics could get to her. A lot of the information gathering Big had me do was on drug cartels trying to move into his territory." With a quick glance over, he added, "It's also why he and Fru-Fru never go anywhere without at least one polar bear bodyguard."
Judy sat stunned. She'd worried about Nick's past a bit once Fru-Fru told her he'd worked for the mob boss. She didn't believe Nick was a killer, but she'd still worried about what was required of him while working for the mob. But this put her mind at ease. He wasn't a killer and he wasn't a drug runner, and anything else was just fluff in the wind.
In the silence, a wide grin spread across Nick's face and he barked a laugh and said, "You can imagine Nakita's dismay when I walked into the court room as the prosecuting attorney." With a smug grin, he glanced over and said, "She was sure Big had iced me and no one had seen or heard from me after his bears hauled me into his mansion, so I looked like a ghost come back from the dead to haunt her."
Judy's mouth dropped open and her eyes grew big as saucers. "You prosecuted Nakita!" Not only had Nick lead the cops to her, but he had also stood in court as her prosecutor!?
Nick's grin grew bigger, revealing all his sharp, pearly whites (which had Judy's nose twitching while remembering how good they felt against her skin). "Of course. No one else could get her the maximum sentence. I told you, she always got what she wanted, and she does that because of her glib tongue and phenomenal acting skills." At Judy's confusion, he explained, "I knew Nakita would try to confuse the other prosecuting attorney with her wit, along with a tear-filled sob story she'd try and feed the jury, so I paid the attorney who should have prosecuted her 5,000 dollars to call in sick and put me through as his backup."
"You paid out 5,000 dollars just so you could prosecute Nakita yourself?" Judy was floored and if there had been any flies in the jeep, she probably would have swallowed them. Who pays out that kind of money just to prosecute someone? Shouldn't he have been paid that money instead? And if he'd made money in court (paid by the city) wouldn't there have been a record of it on his tax forms?
"Oh, yeah," Nick replied with the biggest, wickedest grin ever. "And it was worth every penny just to see the look on her face when I walked in that room." With a dark chuckle, he added, "It was priceless."
Judy shook her head after processing the information. She had so many questions, so she grabbed the first one and asked, "Wait. Where did you come up with that kind of money? 5,000 dollars is a lot of cash to have on hand."
Nick glanced over and his ear flicked before he replied, "It wasn't Big's money, I assure you of that." As her brows scrunched down in confusion, a wide, mischievous smile spread across his face. "That, my cute, inquiring bunny, will be answered at a later date."
"What!? Why?" It was times like these that Judy found Nick really irritating . . . she hated not knowing. And she hated waiting even more.
"Because then it would ruin the surprise." Nick couldn't keep the grin off his face at seeing her face because she was wearing the cutest expression ever. All her expressions were cute, but this one, which showed her confusion mingled with impatience and irritation, was just too cute. Ahh! Where was his camera when he needed it?
"What surprise!?" Judy exclaimed. Nick could be so irritating sometimes. If it was any other male teasing her like this, he'd be in a world of hurt by now. So why did seeing that handsome, irritatingly smug grin of his make her want to kiss him instead?
"If I told you, then it wouldn't be a surprise anymore, now would it?" His brilliant emeralds danced with mirth as he considered his cute, outraged girlfriend. As Judy opened her mouth to argue, Nick lifted his finger and said, "I will answer that question, but not today. Next question, please."
Judy nibbled on her thumbnail. She wanted to ask more about his taxes, but didn't want to get sidetracked from his tragic story. He still hadn't explained why he was such a mess. And learning more about his time in court and how he was able to put away such a cesspool of evil truly had her curiosity peaked. Deciding to stick with the questions that pertained to his story, she asked, "And you were able to get her the maximum sentence? The jury didn't reject your words because you were a fox?"
"You could see several questioned my presence, but I really didn't have to say much. Once I presented all the evidence, Nakita pulled out her, 'woe is me, I'm just an innocent victim here, boo-hoo-hoo' card, complete with crocodile tears, and I just had to say a few choice words and she dropped the act and flew into a rage, attacked me, and started spouting off what she'd done to her previous victims so I'd know what she'd be doing to me." With that wicked grin of his spreading across his face once more, he added, "Nakita incriminated herself and any sympathy she hoped to garner from the jury evaporated instantly. It was a unanimous vote—she was guilty on all counts and the judge slapped her with the maximum sentence. We were finished in time for a late lunch." With a smug grin, he glanced her way and said, "If you ever want to watch it, I have a copy of the proceedings back at the house. It's hilarious."
Judy nodded. She did want to watch it for several reasons, one of which was being able to watch Nick work his charm in court. Watching Nakita incriminate herself would be highly funny, but more than that, Judy wanted to see the threats leveled at her fox. After everything Nakita had already done to Nick, it burned her up inside to hear Nakita wanted to do even worse things to her boyfriend.
With a deep breath, she tried to rid herself from the dark thoughts of what she wanted to do to the vicious vixen should they ever meet on the street. Turning to Nick, she asked, "And Stan? Is he in jail, too?"
Nick shook his head. "No, I couldn't show his involvement with Nakita unless I revealed my association with the mob boss." With a wicked grin, he added, "But don't worry, he paid for his transgression."
Judy tilted her head and asked, "What did you do?"
"Finn and I spread rumors of his faulty merchandise and the bed fellows he was keeping. By the time Stan came back from his vacation, his business was failing, and by the end of the year we'd run it into the ground. He eventually packed up and left Zootopia."
Judy nodded, not at all sorry to hear of Stan's fate. He'd made his choice and it nearly killed Nick. Him leaving Zootopia was merely good riddance to bad rubbish.
While Judy sat in silence, Nick watched the road, and upon seeing the traffic start to back up as they neared Savannah Central, he flipped on his turn signal and turned onto a side street he remembered walking down with his family when his dad was still alive. There was an old bear living down here who owned an old-fashioned toy store that was still in business. As they drove past the large storefront window with its many old-fashioned plushies, doll houses, and trains, Nick considered bringing Judy here for one of their dates and sharing this part of his past with her. A happy part of his past.
As Judy thought over Nick's words, she realized she still didn't know why he didn't catch on to Stan's double-crossing. Watching as Nick drove down a side street that was lined with honeysuckle trees, she turned to him and asked, "So what had your head in such a mess you missed all the red flags?"
Nick glanced over briefly, then looked back at the road as his ears flattened against his head and all but disappeared. He was silent for a long time and Judy feared he wouldn't answer, but then in a low whisper, he said, "Honey was dying."
Gripping the steering wheel tightly, he explained, "It was cancer. The warning signs were all there, but she studiously ignored them for years as she didn't want to be poked and prodded by the doctors. The day I found out about it was the same day Mr. Big asked me to get him the rug. The doctors said Honey only had a few weeks to live so I didn't want to leave her side. I went to Stan because he had a reputable business and I'd known him for years. I thought I could trust him, and the job was so simple, how could he go wrong?" He gave Judy a bitter smile, then turned back to the road as they passed a black and white striped building owned by a zebra who taught Zumba classes.
Continuing his sad tale as he took another side street, Nick said, "If I hadn't been so worried about Honey and trying to make sure she was as comfortable as possible, then I would have realized Stan was taking way too long to get back with me on such a tiny job. The rug should have been ready within 3 days, a week max. But Nakita had him wait till Honey died, then call me during the funeral to tell me I had till the next morning to pick up the rug because he was leaving on an extended vacation."
Judy's ears dropped against her back as she watched Nick struggle with the memories.
As Nick felt his eyes tear up, making it hard to see, he pulled over on the side of the road and took several deep breaths while digging his claws into the underside of the steering wheel. Judy unbuckled her seat belt and scooted over to Nick's seat where she slipped under his arm and crawled into his lap. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pulled him into a tight hug and rubbed the back of his head.
Nick immediately wrapped his arms around her and pressed his muzzle into her back. As tears ran down his cheeks, he whimpered. "I was such a mess, Judy. I didn't sleep a wink that night, and then to have to run out and get the rug and deliver it to Mr. Big first thing in the morning. I hardly gave it a second look. It was the right size, the right color, and the right pattern. It was a week later that Big sent his bears after me, accusing me of selling him a skunk-butt rug. I was so shocked I couldn't say a thing." Rubbing his cheek against the back of her head, he added, "Not that Big would have listened if I had said anything. I told you he wasn't a very forgiving mammal. I sold him a skunk-butt rug and he didn't want to hear any excuses." Nuzzling her again, he whispered hoarsely, "I still can't believe I walked away from that encounter."
Judy nodded against his neck as she rubbed her paw across the back of his head. She drew back after a moment and caressed his muzzle. "I'm very glad you did, because my life would be a very sad existence right now if you weren't in it." Caressing his cheek once again, she then pressed her soft lips to his.
Nick slipped a paw behind her head and the other one he spread across her back as he pressed her to him. Kissing her like he was a drowning fox, he tried to drink in her positivity, strength, and love. After a short while, he broke the kiss off and pressed his forehead against hers. Taking several deep breaths, he finally said, "The Precinct is just a few blocks away, so if we're going to eat that candy, we should do so now."
Judy nodded, but then gave Nick one last peck on the lips before moving back to her seat and picking up the box of red hots. Opening them up, she took a handful of the small, red candies out, but before she popped any into her mouth, she first licked the taste of Nick off her lips, then grinned.
After tossing a few into her mouth, she turned and handed a pawful over to Nick. They sucked on the candies for the rest of the drive as Nick maneuvered down various side streets as he avoided the heaviest traffic. As they neared the ZPD parking lot, they saw several news vans parked out front and a slew of reporters waylaying anyone who tried to enter or exit the building. Nick's ears flattened against his head. "Carrots, what do we do?"
Judy studied the situation a moment (her gut was twisting in knots at the thought of facing the media again) then pointed Nick to the side entrance and directed him to drive around to the back of the building where officers parked the cruisers. "If anyone has any problems, we'll tell them to take it up with the Chief."
Nick nodded and proceeded to drive around to the back and felt immensely grateful all his windows were darkly tinted. Pulling into an empty parking spot two spots over from a very large black and white cruiser, he cut the engine and took a deep breath. Glancing at Judy, he said, "It's showtime."
So another chapter down and we now know more of Nick's past and a bit more about his involvement with the mob. Next chapter will see what happens after our intrepid duo arrives at the ZPD. We'll meet some friendly faces and some not so friendly faces. Their meeting with Bogo is that much closer, but you'll have to wait one more chapter for it to happen.
Chapter 31: Arrival at the ZPD, will post on Wednesday.
Special thanks to BearlyThereUpstairs for proofreading this chapter. And as always, if you have any thoughts or comments, I'd love to hear them.
