Earlier that day…
Nick's paws were scraped halfway to shit as he clambered further up the rocky green slope, his fur pelted by the relentless torrent of a nearby faux-rain sprinkler.
Stupid…
He heard an especially hideous curse beneath him and sharply turned his head. Finnick's smaller claws were struggling to get a purchase on the soaking, mossy rocks.
Stupid…
Nick grabbed a protruding root to keeping from falling back the way he'd come, reached down, and hauled Finnick up a nanosecond before a massive white paw came crashing down.
Stupid!
Several hours ago, back when they'd been a pair of anxious, angry foxes half mad from Cabin Fever, leaving the safety of Honey's bunker had seemed like a good idea at the time. Sneak into the Nocturnal District, find Benji's new safehouse, make amends with their buddy and head back to the bunker before anyone even knew they'd been there. The hell with Honey and her psycho knife-nut pal. If they'd been more honest with them they might have trusted them enough to stay put.
Their half-assed plan had gone swimmingly at first. The Tundratown entrance was a no-go, so they'd decided to take the one in Savanna Central; only to discover that security had been beefed up that there was no probably way for two wanted foxes to sneak through undetected. They'd sat huddled in a dank alley in between two crates for a good while after that, the effects of Cabin Fever wearing off and allowing fear to set in. Then a bunch of Koslov's goons spotted them while on their way to an arms deal and fear became panic.
Holding the furious fennec fox like a fancy gift basket, Nick looked up to see how far they had to go. Not that much higher, thank God. "Will you let go of my ears?!" Finnick raged and tugged at the bigger fox's fingers as the polar bear that nearly nabbed him drew closer.
"Fin, brace yourself!" Nick yelled.
Finnick looked up at the wooden rail at the top of the slope. "Don't you dare!"
"Don't bite my face off for this!" Nick threw the little fox with all his mine. Finnick hollered all the way over the rail and onto the safety of the balcony floor.
Nick swished his tail out the reach of the bear when he lunged at it and resumed climbing. There were four more further down the slope, but not the same ones that had spotted them in Savanna Central. These bears had likely already been in the area when they'd been tipped off that Koslov's fugitives were coming their way. In any case they persisted in pursuing the fox up the slope that led up to one of the highest levels of the Rainforest District, the Viracocha Arcade; a mountainside plaza of electronics shops, bars, amusement arcades and restaurants sheltered from the constant rain by an arched glass roof decorated with small plants and flowers. Nick's paw grasped the rail and he hauled himself over just as he heard a shout and an earthy crumbling sound. He looked through the bars and saw that some rocks had given way beneath the bear closest to the top. The big scruffy bastard was already tumbling back down in the direction of his fellow pursuers.
Finnick pulled Nick's head back through the bars. "That won't slow 'em for long, move your ass!"
Nick scrambled to his feet. "We never should have left the damn bunker."
"I concur, now move it!"
The two foxes fled inside the building, which turned out to be the currently closed . Dodging paint cans and discarded tools they made for the front door. Nick had visited the Viracocha Arcade enough times to plan their escape from here. Behind Elder Electronics four doors down was an underused and overgrown side path that would lead them straight to a sky tram station. He knew of another station located less than a quarter of a mile from Honey's bunker. It was their best shot, and they had to get there before those bears got inside the plaza.
The front door was locked when they reached it, but Finnick was able to procure a card from his wallet and open the door in seconds. The plaza outside was busy. Of course it was. Nick's nerves were screaming at him to keep running, but he and Finnick forced themselves to walk as calmly as possible. Their faces were all over the city by now, but so long as they didn't draw attention they might just be able to get to the Elder store without being recognized.
As they walked, Nick looked left and right for any sign of polar bears. Nothing to the north or the east. The south on the other paw…
"Shit!" Nick hissed and pointed. Finnick saw the bears approaching, gritted his teeth and started walking faster. They passed Apu Amusements, then Donut Den. On the other side of Elder Electronics would be a narrow alley leading to the side path. Nick hoped the bears would lose them in the crowd before then.
Finnick suddenly held an arm in front of Nick, stopping him. "Hold up. I've got an idea."
"Does this idea involve causing a huge scene and getting us arrested?" Nick asked harshly.
"Yeah and nah."
With the bears closing in behind them, Nick nervously followed Finnick across the plaza and towards Inti's Bar. Finnick motioned for him to be silent as they strode in.
The sight of the amber-colored disco ball illuminating the bar reminded Nick of the tiny article he'd read concerning the bar's opening several years ago; the article had mentioned something about an Incan or Aztec god of the sun, whose name he couldn't remember if his life depended on it. This irrelevant and unhelpful bit of info passed through his head before Finnick subtly gestured to a table full of predators of bears, wolves and other stereotypically dangerous predators. Then he pushed Nick to a table that would be out of sight for anyone walking into the establishment. The two foxes slid under the table and waited. Seconds later, the bears barged inside, soaking wet, covered in mud and sporting superficial wounds from their accident. They stopped and froze when the predators at the other table spotted them and rose from their seats.
Nick noticed their casual but sophisticated dark clothing, just like what Gabe's acquaintances had worn at Paradise Poolhouse, and realized what Finnick had done.
The few other mammals in the bar sensed the charged atmosphere between the rival factions and started to make themselves scarce. Nick and Finnick did the same, creeping towards the exit as the gangsters started to exchange words. Nick heard unsubtle threats and guns being drawn and cocked. He and Finnick hid behind the legs of a lion as they left the bar in the nick of time.
Bullets flew and shattered the windows above their heads, sending mammals screaming and fleeing in all directions. Nick's heart thundered in terror and he doubled over to Finnick's height, slapping his paws over his ears.
"The cops will be here soon!" Finnick shouted over the gunfire. "Where do we go from here?!"
They passed Elder Electronics, turned ninety degrees and entered the narrow alley. Nick looked behind him but didn't see anyone follow them, just mammals running for their lives as the gunfire died down into nothing. The silence that followed chilled his blood worse than the bullets. He opened the fire exit at the end, glad that it wasn't alarmed, to meet a wall of viridian green vegetation. He looked to the ground, spotting the beginning of the path beneath the leaves. "Come on." Nick had to fight his eyes into the path, pushing aside heavy leaves and branches. He could feel Finnick sticking close behind him as they went, almost feeling like the path was endless before he parted a particularly wide leave and slipped on wet wooden boards. He managed to regain his balance and look up to see the thick black cable stretching as far as the eye could see. Almost there…
Nick kept looking back at the thick bush as he and Finnick rushed to the edge of the station, expecting a horde of angry bears to emerge any second. Wouldn't you know it? There wasn't a cable car in sight.
With summer beginning its gradual transition to fall, the rain had gotten cooler. Nick shivered both from cold and nerves as he waited for the tram. Finnick kept glancing at his watch and the nearby signboard signaling the sky tram timetable.
"Come on… come on…"
Nick's ears pricked when he heard a crashing sound coming from the bush, then fell flat when he realized what it was. Where was the damn sky tram?
"Kinda makes ya wish for the good old days when it was just a bunny cop chasing ya, doesn't it?" Finnick muttered.
Nick nodded. "Tell me about it." Then he reached down and slugged Finnick in the jaw. The fennec staggered back, staring up at him as he rubbed the spot where he'd been hit. "What the fuck, Nick?"
"There'll be more where that came from if I see the news later and find out that someone other than those assholes got hurt! Smart plan, Finnick! Really smart plan!"
There was a sound both harsh and soft, like a pile of dry leaves kicked to the wind. Nick and Finnick both turned to see the first of the bears emerge from the foliage, sporting two bullet wounds in his arm. He growled under his breath. "There you are."
Nick and Finnick backed closer to the edge as two more bears appeared. The cold rain washed the blood from their fur as they advanced with guns drawn. "You're not going anywhere." The first bear snarled in both range and pain. "Not after what you just fucking pulled."
Nick looked behind him at the empty space beyond the station. Two hundred feet straight down to the bottom. No vines or trees to break their fall. Still no cable car.
"Okay." He breathed and raised his paws, trying not to let his face give way how close he was to shitting bricks right now. Finnick did the same after a moment, while doing a far better job at hiding his fear with anger. "Okay. We give up."
The first thing the bears did was, because they were short on bags at the moment, put empty bear-sized crisp packets over their heads. Then they roughly patted Nick down and completely emptied his pockets. The fox felt his right sleeve being tugged down. "What the hell is this? Some kinda schizo-arm brace?"
Nick shrugged. "I'm a fugitive from the law and the mob. Figured I'd get into a fight sooner or later."
He felt the bear start to tug at the item, and started to feel his arm get yanked off with it, but another bear spoke up before that could happen. "We don't have time for that, Serge! The cops will be here any second!"
Nick felt himself being lifted off the wet floor, and needle-like claws threatening to pierce his skin. His body jerked up and down as his captor walked, then he felt a light swaying sensation as they stepped onto a cable car. There was a jolt as the cable car got moving, and sirens in the distance as the ZPD arrived at the scene of the firefight. The bears spoke quietly through their journey while keeping a tight hold on the fox and his buddy. They were royally pissed off at losing one of their own, but considered the fight as a whole a significant victory against their rivals. It turned out that most of the predators they'd killed, and they'd killed every last one of them, were among the gang's top enforcers. It was a blow Mr. Big would definitely be feeling tomorrow once the news got out, if he wasn't feeling it now.
They got off the cable car, then Nick heard a door opening and felt rough fabric beneath his paws as he was placed on a car seat. He felt Finnick being planted next to him, then felt the bears sandwich both foxes between them, pinning them in the middle as the third bear took the wheel.
They drove for a good hour or so before Nick felt the air grow colder, chilling the rainwater in his fur. Then the car came to a stop, and the car tilted as the bear beside him climbed out. Claws pinched the back of his collar, lifting him into the cold air.
When he was set down on dry floor, he fully expected to find himself face to face with Koslov when the 'bag' came off. Instead he found himself in a drab, windowless room that might have once stored cleaning equipment.
For the sake of it, he looked up at the bear looming over him and asked; "Where are we?"
The bear grunted. "Ask the boss when you see him." He stepped aside to let his buddy drop Finnick on the floor and take off his packet. Then they walked out, closed the door and locked it without another word. Nick looked around the room, but the only thing other than the door was a ceiling vent even Finnick wouldn't fit into.
Finnick was the first to comment. "Well, shit."
"Shit on a stick." Nick added.
Finnick dropped down by the wall and crossed his arms. "So, while we're stuck here waiting for death by evisceration by a ruthless psycho-lar bear…"
"Will you stop bringing up the stupid evisceration story?!"
"Sorry. While we're stuck here waiting for a horrible, painful death, what is that thing you put on?" Finnick's large ear twitched and he glanced at the wall behind him.
"This?" Nick pulled his sleeve back down to reveal the plastic gauntlet-like thing he'd found while they'd scrounged through Honey's bunker looking for something other than pop tarts to take with them. "I think Honey built this to help Skyefall on her mission. She called it the 'Mag-Ryder.' I figured it would help us get across town, but I forgot all about it."
"How did you think it would help us?" Finnick asked dryly.
Nick shrugged and turned his arm over. On the side was something that looked like a sci-fi turret. Up top was a metallic thin tube. What the heck was this thing?
He thought of the things he'd heard Honey mention while working on this Mag-Ryder. Much of it had been technical jibber jabber, but there had been something about some top-secret military tech she'd bought off a fellow conspiracy theorist; customizable targeting software so advanced that whatever device it attached to would never miss. It had been just what she needed to perfect the Mag-Ryder.
"Some sort of gun, maybe?" Nick felt around the device for a trigger. Finding nothing, he bent his arm straight up at the elbow- breeep!
Nick blinked in surprise at the hoarse beep; on one end of the metal tube was a red light that went out as soon as he lowered his arm.
"Nick, the way you had your arm just now- do it again!" Finnick said.
Nick bent his arm straight up- breeep! The red light returned.
"Hey, look up!" FInnick pointed up. Nick saw then that he was standing right beneath the ceiling vent. The fox aimed his arm away from the direction of the vent. The light went off. Nick aimed back the vent and- breeep!
Finnick scratched his head. "Whaddya think that means?"
Nick tried it one more time, just to be sure it was the vent the Mag-Ryder was reacting to. Breeep! "Quit it, those assholes might hear tha- there it is again!" Finnick spun round to the wall behind him.
Nick nearly asked what Finnick was talking about before he froze. "I hear it too."
It was faint, so faint it didn't quite sound like scurrying, but it was definitely coming from inside the wall. The sound moved upwards, quieting for a moment when it reached the top of the wall, then continued across the ceiling before coming to a stop at the ceiling vent. Nick stepped back slightly so he could tilt his head back less painfully, while Finnick pointlessly stood up. The vent cover was too high up for Nick to properly see what was going on there, but he did hear a hissing sound, far more audible than the previous sound but not loud enough to draw their captors' attention. Nick's eyes narrowed when he saw one of the gaps in the vent cover widen, focusing his vision enough to see that one of the flat bars in the grille had been removed.
Something slowly inched its way through the wider gap, something, flat and rectangular. It fell through the air between Nick and Finnick and hit the floor with a light thud. Nick stared at the vent, but saw nothing of whoever had made the abnormal delivery. When he looked down, Finnick was bending down to pick up the object, which he now saw was a playing card.
"Queen of Spades." Nick muttered, bending down before Finnick. "Hey, what's that on the back?"
He pointed at the little black object stuck to the card with sticky tack, but Finnick seemed more interested in the other side. "Carrots knows the truth. Trust her. Red Queen."
Nick stared at Finnick. "What?"
Finnick turned the card so Nick could see the message written in bright red. He couldn't believe what he was reading. Carrots knows the truth? What truth? Did she know more than she let on? What the everlasting fuck was going on here?
Nick heard Finnick pull the item off the other side of the card and turned his attention to that, now desperate for answers. It was a tiny headset, almost similar to those worn by the jackass bankers who had rejected his Wild Times proposal one after the other. It was the kind that consisted of a little plastic box and a microphone, intended to fit inside the ear like an earplug. Finnick turned the little headset around in his paws. "Nick, didn't the news say that someone made your convoy crash the night you escaped?" Nick nodded. Finnick made a small sound of curiosity as he held out the headset. "I think you're meant to have this, Nick. Someone really doesn't want you locked up."
Nick had no idea how this thing worked, but nevertheless he fitted it into his ear. When nothing happened, he pressed the button.
"That's only for answering phone calls, moron." Finnick said.
Nick held up a finger. "Shut up a sec. I'm hearing a funny crackling sound…"
"Crackling sound? Who is this?" Came a voice through the headset.
Nick's jaw dropped. "Carrots?"
Judy's response sounded just as astonished. "Wilde?! Is that you?! How did you get this number?!"
"Hell if I know! I just got given this headset, I pressed a button and next thing I know you're shouting in my ear!" Nick paced the room, ignoring the questions of a bewildered Finnick.
"Headset? Who gave you a headset?"
"Long story!" Nick said.
"Keep your damn voice down!" Finnick pointed furiously at the locked door.
Nick nodded, apologized quickly and lowered his voice. "It's the bunny cop. I think this headset's connected to her phone."
"How did you get this number? What's going on?" Judy fired her questions like a handgun on burst mode. "Wilde, are you alright? Where are you?"
Am I alright? That's a weird question to ask. "Uh, I'm fine. Sort of."
"Sort of? I got an…" Judy paused. "… an anonymous tip claiming that Koslov is holding you prisoner. Is it true?"
"Y-yeah." Nick said. "No idea where, though."
"The tip said you're being held in a derelict apartment block called Glacier Heights. Can you describe the place you're being held in? Are Koslov's men nearby?"
"I'm in a windowless room. Probably used to be storage." Nick wasn't sure why he was so ready to answer her questions, and apparently neither was Finnick.
"What're ya doing, ya idiot?" Finnick growled. "She's ZPD, remember? We can't trust her!"
"You're not gonna call TUSK in, are you?"
"Heck, no!" Judy snapped. "Uh, I mean, TUSK's got their hooves full with the turf war going on." There was a pause. "Sergeant Higgins, you saw how they acted at the Arctic House! You know what Cunninghorn did! You know we can't trust them to take Wilde alive!"
Nick raised his eyebrows. "Wait, what did Cunninghorn do?"
Judy didn't answer at first. "Never mind that now. Just sit tight, we'll get you out of there soon."
Nick glanced at Finnick. "Out of the frying pan and into the jail cell, huh, Carrots?"
"Don't call me-" Judy stopped and took a deep breath. "Look, if you're going to get out of this alive you're going to have to trust me."
Nick looked down at the card Finnick was still holding and its crimson message. He looked at the locked door, through which Koslov could come storming through at any moment to rip the foxes' guts out. Finally he looked at Finnick, who was just as much a victim of Nick's mistakes as Benjamin was. "Fine. I trust you."
"No, you do not!" Finnick protested.
"Shut up, Fin! This may be our last chance!" Nick snarled down at him.
Why was he trusting Judy Hopps all of a sudden? Was it desperation at his current predicament? Or maybe he was just happy to hear the voice of someone who didn't want him dead, even if she was the carrot-choked Inspector Javert of Bunnyburrow. In any case she sounded almost relieved when she spoke again."Wilde, Higgins has just called in backup, but with Zootopia in the state it's in, it might be a while before they arrive."
"Why am I not surprised?" Nick spoke snidely at first. "Wait, what's going on with Zootopia?"
There was another short pause. "Long story."
"Well, you just said backup might be a while. We've got time." Nick and Finnick sat down before the wall, eyes on the ceiling vent. Whoever had sent the headset seemed to be long gong. "Tell me everything, and then I'll tell the fascinating tale of how I got your number, even though chances are you won't believe me."
"Try me." Judy said.
Nick felt a sting of bitter anger. "You sure as hell won't believe me about the big bad wolf."
"Wilde, you-"
"Ah Jesus, here we go." Nick crossed his arms. "Ever since you booked me for Wild Times you've done nothing but give me grief for being a lying, no good fox. 'It's your fault you're so untrustworthy.' 'None of this would have happened if you hadn't been pretending to make an honest living.' 'You've been running an enterprise built on fibs, so why would we believe another word you say?' I don't need another lecture on why it's impossible to believe a word I say, Carrots."
"But I do believe you, Wilde."
"Yeah, whatever- what?"
Judy's response sounded nearly lachrymose. "You don't know, do you? Don't you read the news?"
"Where I was hiding the last three weeks, news is considered sheep propaganda." Nick was unsure where this was going.
"Your friend Clawhauser was attacked in his safe house by an unidentified assailant."
"No." Nick couldn't help the little whimper in his voice.
"He wasn't hurt, thank goodness, but Captain Bogo had been called to the scene by Commander Cunninghorn. It turned out to be a trap. Cunninghorn tried to kill him and make it look the assassin did it."
"But it didn't work." Nick said, recalling Gabe mentioning Bogo's stay at the Tundratown General Hospital being extended a fortnight ago.
"No, it didn't. And it… it turned out that the assassin was a wolf matching your wolf's description."
Nick had mixed feelings after that; first, smug gratification at being proven right, and then horrified guilt at hearing yet another consequence of his actions.
"That wolf and Cunninghorn might never have gotten as close as they did if I'd just believed you." Judy's remorse seemed genuine. Nick could hear it in the way she fought back tears. That genuine remorse had him at a loss for words. "We should have believed you. I should have believed you. If we had, Captain Bogo might never have been attacked. I wish I were standing in front of you right now so I can tell you how sorry I am. I'm sorry, Wilde. I'm so sorry."
Nick scratched his ear in discomfort. "Sounds like you should be giving those apologies to your Captain. You really like the guy, dontcha?"
"He gave me a chance, Nick. The day we first met, that was exactly one week after he told me he'd spoken to the chief about getting me out the clown vest. So yes, I like him."
Nick couldn't help himself. "He's a Cape buffalo, right? Wouldn't he be a little big for…"
"Zip your lip, Wilde!"
Nick snorted.
Judy huffed through the headset. "Now back to you. How did you get this number?" Nick didn't answer. "Wilde?"
"Sorry, Carrots. Should I tell you before or after I zip my lip?"
Nick heard a guttural growl, evaporating his amusement like water on magma. He and Finnick spun their heads to the door, only to see it was still shut and silent. Nick blinked and realized the growl had come from the headset.
"Stop being sassy and answer my questions." Judy snarled.
Nick gulped and started talking, fully understanding for the first time that Judy Hopps was anything but a token bunny.
