Chapter Thirtieth
Of an Empty Valley
It was Paw in Paw that Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps wondered the still-empty corridors of the ZPD, Nick leading Judy through the paths less trailed as he always did. They made the way, from around the back of the building, to the front — heading towards the reception — where they would then sign in.
Judy noticed Nick had a particularly strong swagger today, and she thought she knew the reason. "Well, someone's cheerful this morning," she prompted, playfully, squeezing Nick's paw lovingly in her own.
He glanced over to her, smiling. "How couldn't I be cheerful with you by my side?"
"I really mean that much to you?" Judy asked, aware of the answer, yet wanting to hear it from the fox.
He didn't disappoint. "Oh yes indeed, my carrot-farming friend. This is already the best day of the year and it's only five minutes to six!"
Judy took Nick's arm with her free paw and tugged him to a stop, pulling his head low to whisper into an ear, "In that case, Wilde, we have five minutes before roll call. Yes?"
Nick nodded, mutely. Judy pulled his ear closer and whispered quieter still. "Then what would you say if we found ourselves a nice, quiet little storage cupboard to creep into, and spend a few minutes just 'enjoying' one another."
"Tishk, Hopps, whatever would our chief say?"
"Stop mucking, Nick: time's 'a ticking." Instantly Nick Wilde switched from playful to serious — he always did when the situation required it.
"We'll do it. Tell Clawhauser we have to get some paperwork for the Chief. That'll give us an excuse not to talk, then, we'll head over to a storage room. If we're quick, we should get two minutes uninterrupted, at least." And then Judy was gone, marching swiftly away with the speed and inexorability of a Sergeant Major.
A small warning signal grew in the back of Nick's mind, while he watched his lover fondly as she sped away, and he started to wonder what it was. But it wasn't until a second later — when he was being dragged along by his arm, stumbling clumsily as he tried to regain his balance, with a small cry of surprise escaping his lips — that he realized: Judy was still holding his paw.
"J— Judy! Wait!"
...
With a thirty second walk accomplished in what felt like just three, Judy gave Nick the much-needed opportunity to regain his composure.
"Thank you," he said tersely, adjusting his shirt, tie and other parts that were attached to his body. He turned away from Judy with an awkward smile and faced the large-gray door, which led from the service-corridor they had entered, and into the ZPD's main reception hall. "Okay, remember what I said: We need to get some paperwork to the Chief."
"Got it," Judy acknowledged, releasing Nick's paw as he pushed the oversized door open before the two of them walked — quite calmly, quite leisurely — into the main hall, in the center of which the almost unnaturally wide figure of Clawhauser could be seen, digging into a box of cereal like an excavator on defenseless earth. Hopps and Wilde approached, listening to the odd sounds of delight the overweight creature made, as he ate his snacks of unhealthiness — forgoing the use of a bowl or cutlery — with his head simply shoved deep into the cardboard box. Both watched with silent fascination before Judy broke the silence.
"Claw... Clawhauser?" Leaning forwards meekly, Judy tapped on the table as though not wanting to disturb him.
The fox chuckled at the rabbit slightly-pityingly. "Hopps," he said with a condescending little pat on the head that made her scowl, venomously. "You've adapted wonderfully to city life. But my darlin', you still don't seem to realize… Sometimes, a little extra volume is needed to get your voice heard."
With a smug gin on his face as he gloated at the fuming rabbit, Nick leaned forwards onto the desk. He opened his mouth to call out to the feasting cheetah, when a small, but impossibly strong, gray-blue paw clamped over it.
"Officer Clawhauser!" Judy bellowed, Nick starting back. The rabbit stood squarely in the center of Clawhauser's desk. "Atten-hut!"
The subconscious part of Clawhauser's mind instantly recognized the voice and tone of a commander giving orders, and that had his body up and snapping to attention instantly — eyes straight, shoulders back, salute in place. Pieces of Lucky Chops Cereal were stuck to his face. A few fell and landed onto his uniform as he stood at attention, waiting for the next orders of whoever the commander was — his eyes fixed to the front where no one could be seen.
Then, something peculiar happened. The commander... giggled? Well that didn't sound like a commander. That voice sounded far more... Judyish? He looked down. "At ease, Ben," the small rabbit chuckled.
"Hopps?" The cheetah realized he was still stood in a salute and quickly sat back down with a loud scrunch that the chair groaned out. "God, you nearly gave me a heart attack, Hopps... you—" Neither knew why, but he trailed off then and his nose started twitching with interest.
"Clawhauser," Judy said eagerly, getting down as his sniffing continued, "sorry we can't talk, but we have to fetch some things for Bogo before roll call." Clawhauser didn't seem to be listening, while Nick moved his paw, leaning forwards on the desk.
"What Hopps here is saying, Ben, is that..." The cheetah's predatorial nose swung around and started twitching in Nick's direction. "We..." Suddenly, Nick realized what it was Clawhauser was sniffing at. His scent! He drew himself back hastily, wincing, knowing he had figured out what the cheetah was digging at too late.
"Well... you two smell like you had a pretty good time with each other last night!" Clawhauser grinned, "things get a little out of paw in the bedroom, did they?"
Both Nick and Judy got encased in frost. "W-what," Judy stuttered in a moment of shock, but quickly frowned in the retrieval of confidence, "what are you implying... exactly?"
"Oh come on, Hopps," he gesticulated in reply, moving closer, his paws tucked under his chin, "there's only so many reasons why two mammals come to work standing that close together and each smelling exactly like the other."
Judy stared up at Nick. Nick stared down at Judy. She spoke, "No! No, you've got it all wrong, we—"
"Give it up, Hopps. This has been going on for months and everyone knows it."
"Months? But this has only been going on for—"
"A-hem," Nick tried to interrupt.
"— there is nothing going on! There is nothing, going on, between Nick, and myself." Clawhauser scoffed. "We're just friends."
"Ooh, stop it," Clawhauser puffed.
"Believe me!"
"No! Why else would you come to work smelling the same?"
"Be— because..." Judy fumbled for an answer for all but a second before the reassuring calm of Nick's voice cut in.
"We were sparring," Nick simply added, speaking for the first time since this line of questioning had started. "Hopps and I, sparring, round my place," he shrugged, "just a few simple moves to get us warmed up and ready." After a moment's thought, Judy grinned up at her fox. Yep, that lie worked a treat. Clever fox. While not exactly a reputable skill — and definitely not one to put on a CV — the ability to lie quickly and believably could be a seriously powerful skill in the paws of one who'd know how to use it. By the simple and honest way in which Nick had told his lie — not stuttered, not blabbed — even the most stubborn of listener wouldn't be able to remain unconvinced.
Clawhauser, on the other paw, didn't want to be convinced. "Yeah, right. I know the kind of sparring you really mean," he retorted with a wink. "From what I know of Officer Hopps here, I'd guess she's quite demanding when it comes to those matters. You've all but admitted it now, and there's no taking it back. I know what the two of you have been up to and there's nothing you can do to change my—"
Nick slid his glasses off and gazed flatly at Clawhauser — one eye open, the other, half squinted closed with a black swelling around it. Clawhauser froze in place. Slowly, he started to turn red. Then, he raised a paw to cover his mouth in shock before he blurted, "Oh my god I am so sorry! It— it's just when I saw you coming in, staying so close like that and smelling the same— and knowing how well you two get along anyway, I mean, you spend like literally every day with each other— I just assumed the two of you might have been dating or something and now I find out you're not, and—"
"Clawhauser, it's fine," Judy reassured, far calmer now after Nick's reassertion on the matter, "it's perfectly understandable for you to think what you did. Me and Officer Wilde here do spend a lot of time together. We are very close—"
"Getting closer," Nick muttered, quietly, so that only Judy, who silenced him with an elbow, could hear.
"— but," she continued through the subtle interruption, "our relationship is purely platonic."
"Thanks to her parents'," Nick muttered again, "stupid marriage before se-ouch" He rubbed his forearm and sneered down at the rabbit beside him, wondering — not for the first time — if Judy secretly knew just how hard she'd hit him.
Clawhauser opened his mouth to apologize once again — now firmly believing what he had been told — but then, out of nowhere, his two-way-radio receiver barked into life with the sound of Bogo's voice. "Clawhauser!" He flinched back but pressed the 'respond' button swiftly.
"Yes, Chief?"
"Send Officers Hopps and Wilde up. Now!"
"Yes, Sir." He looked back... but Hopps and Wilde were already jogging towards Bogo's office. "Hey, be careful," he called out after them, "it sounds like he got out of the wrong side of bed this morning."
"Clawhauser," Nick reminded back, "I don't think Bogo's bed even has a right side." The cheetah chuckled, while Nick and Judy disappeared around the corner of the stairwell.
"Well," Nick muttered to Judy, replacing his smoked glasses, "so much for our time enjoying one another."
"Never mind about that now, Nick," she chortled, slipping her paw into his as they climbed, "after all, you know what tomorrow is, don't you."
"The weekend?"
"The weekend. Just imagine all the fun we can get up to with two whole days to do whatever we want."
The fox's only reply was to grin as the door to Bogo's office came into view.
...
Back at the reception, Clawhauser pressed the 'call' button for Bogo's radio signal. "Sir?"
"What is it, Ben?"
"How," he began, flummoxed, "how did you know they were here?"
"I'm the chief, Clawhauser. I know everything." The radio crackled, then, the line dropped dead.
Clawhauser squinted down at his radio receiver as he thought. When Bogo said 'I'm the chief, I know everything', ninety-five percent of the time what he really meant was 'Clawhauser just told me'. Obviously he would never say this, and the cheetah knew his chief had to give the impression of being just that little bit of omnipotent, but — seriously — how had he known?
He pondered for few seconds more, shrugged, and returned to furiously eating... quite unaware that his answer was stepping into the reception through the same doorway Nick and Judy had entered through not long ago.
Jack Savage paced silently towards Clawhauser's desk, running through his reasons for being there one last time.
He was a computer technician working for Direct Data Ltd. He had been recently called by Bogo to fix server systems in the eastern wing of the ZPD, which had developed minor faults that he was required to fix. The company had been established for seven years. He had been working for them for three. His name was Ronald Rule, he was thirty-two years old with a house and wife in Perthshire. It was all worked out. The ZPD's security receptionist could ask him any question about anything related to who he was and why he was there, and he could answer him instantly. He had it all down pat. No question — no matter how complex — could ever catch him off guard. He was ready.
The black-striped rabbit came to a stop, stood just in front of the desk, where a sack of heart-attack-on-legs was sat with its head reinserted in a cardboard box of cornflakes, apparently completely unaware that anyone was even there. Savage opened his mouth to call to him, "Mist—"
"Ooh, there's the toy! I found it!" the cheetah squealed. The rabbit blinked. He blinked again. He raised his eyebrows, shrugged his shoulders slightly, and paced silently away again, heading — completely unhindered — towards his goal, deciding that sometimes, fate just dealt in your favor.
...
Resisting the urge no longer, Bogo rose from his desk and walked across to the window, throwing it open and allowing the thick stench of Shuck Black's continually smoked pipe to escape, hence breathing deeply of the fresher, cleaner air which rushed in to take its place. Behind him, Shuck cleared his throat.
"So, these officers," he began, "they any good?" Bogo hid his annoyance to the dog's implication that he would hire officers who were not any good at their job, though a friendly smile replaced his dark thoughts.
"Certainly. Both Officer Hopps and Wilde are outstanding. They were in the news just under a year ago for saving the city, didn't you see it?"
"I never have much time for stuff like that," Shuck answered vaguely, "but just so long as they can take care of 'themselves, I don't have a problem." Bogo's head turned to the door as he heard a soft knocking emanate from without.
"Come in, Officer Hopps," he called. The door opened. Judy's head poked in first, followed by the rest of her with Nick. Bogo's expression hindered when he saw the red fox.
"Morning, Chief," Judy said quietly, still not quite sure why he had asked them there." The Chief didn't respond, his gaze still locked on Nick, his expression turning slowly darker as the fox gazed right back. Nick's expression was somewhat startled as he tried to figure out what he'd done this time.
"Ermm," Nick trailed, "hey, Chief."
"You've got some nerve, haven't you, fox."
"Have... have I?" A thought struck Nick, he means my glasses, and he instantly slipped them off his face. Bogo's expression didn't change at noticing the black eye — apart from his scowl, which grew in size, and his glower which became like a beacon of retribution — glaring deep into Nick's hiding soul.
Nick was good at obscuring when he was in an uncomfortable situation, but no amount of training or experience would ever have been enough for him not to visibly shrink back from the sheer fury in the gigantic buffalo's glare, as it hounded down upon him. Chief Bogo hadn't meant to act any differently towards Wilde after what he had... heard, during Savage's report on what they were doing. And yet, when that red creature sauntered into the room like he owned the place, stinking of Judy as Judy stunk of him, he couldn't help himself.
For Bogo, caring for his officers was second nature — instinct — and he couldn't ignore or resist the building anger and tension he felt at seeing him. He knew what he and Hopps had been doing and it made him sick to the core. He didn't care whether it was consensual, he didn't care if Officer Hopps thought that Nick cared for her — or if Officer Hopps was under the impression she cared for Nick — the fact was that Nick Wilde — the shifty, low time conmammal, who once came under heavy suspicion for the murder of his own girlfriend — had taken Officer Hopps — one of his officers — and had brutally, and heartlessly, defiled her.
Bogo didn't care what trickery or manipulation Wilde had used to make Hopps believe she was in love with him: She wasn't. And he could not just stand by like nothing was happening. He was going to take that fox. He was going to take him and throw him in a cell to stay until he rotted. He would have him neutered for what he'd done. He—
Bogo quickly drew himself back from his thoughts. He still didn't have any hard evidence, after all. To be perfectly honest with himself, all he knew for certain was what Savage had reported, and everything else was simple speculation. The fox's awkwardness was judged by the shift of feet. Sure he could use that as evidence for himself that the fox was guilty, but then again, he knew that he might be appearing intimidating through his sneer, due to the room feeling very silent, and yet noisy-full of the gloom skulking.
At length, Bogo broke the darkness. "Officers Hopps, Wilde," he said, turning, "this is Mister Black." The two officers turned to the large, shaggy black dog who was eyeing them carefully.
"Good morning," Judy hummed politely to the raggedy creature.
Black nodded. "An' same to you, Missie."
"Last night," continued the Chief, "he played active witness to what appeared to be the importation of an illegal shipment of drugs at our docks. I have considered the matter thoughtfully, and have decided to give the duty of investigating these claims to the both of you."
"Thank you, Sir!" Judy piped up, grateful, but maintaining her professional stature.
"And," Bogo added, "after you have questioned him sufficiently here, the two of you will make a comprehensive report of your findings to everybody at roll call."
And it was that order which made her ears fall loudly. "But... Sir, isn't that your job?" It wasn't that she minded being given extra duties, like questioning Shuck, investigating the fire at Ladders and so forth, because every time she did that, it looked good on Nick and her report. Such may, just may, speed them on towards her primary goal of becoming a detective. This, however, was different. This, was public speaking. And she hated it, ever since that awful interview of separation and broken hearts.
"There's no time for that kind of luxury, Hopps. If there really has been an entire shipment of illegal substance entering this city, we have to appoint all possible resources we have to finding it, containing it, and ensuring it doesn't happen again. I have already got in touch with the officials of the harbor and advised them to place more security staff, but we must focus on amending the damage done."
"I understand that, Sir, but—"
"Unless you have documented your findings," Bogo bellowed in reply, "then we have no choice but for you and Officer Wilde to make the report. There is no discussion about this. This matter is not open for—"
"But we have documented our findings!" Nick cut in. Bogo fell silent. "Judy wrote up some notes to give you this morning. I checked it, and it's mostly comprehensive. Most of everything else we found is recorded in—"
"Nick," Judy whispered, "no, don't."
The fox glanced down at her, then continued, "Almost everything else we found is recorded in Judy's carrot pen."
"Nick," Judy whispered again, "that bit about your dad: It's still on there!" Only Nick heard what Judy said — Bogo, not a mammal designed for eavesdropping, and Shuck's ability to hear things having eroded with age. She received a quiet response, while Bogo watched suspiciously, but unable to whiff a word.
"Judy, I know. But I'm over my past now— thanks to you. It doesn't bother me. It doesn't affect me. So," he persisted, finally loud enough for the room to hear, "now that we've cleared the fact that the pen is in your pocket and not mine, would you mind pawing it over?" Judy's gaze raised to meet Nick's as she considered what she had just heard. It was true he was more comfortable about his past now than he used to be, but did he really want people like Bogo knowing about it?
Then again, it was only one small bit of Nick's past and it wasn't mentioned in any detail. Therefor, trusting Nick's judgment in the matter more than her own, Judy reached into her pocket, took out the novelty carrot pen which was — in a way — the only reason Nick and herself were lovers now, and pawed it over.
"Here, Chief," she mumbled, quietly, "this is everything." Judy took out her notebook from her pocket and made to give it to the Chief. When Bogo's hoof had reached to take it, however, it met resistance.
Bogo's scowling face resolved that, and Judy released the notepad without further comment. He wondered why the rabbit was suddenly blushing, but decided it wasn't worth his time finding out. Without another word to either three of them, Bogo turned and walked out of the room, leaving nothing but uncomfortable silence between Judy, Nick... and Shuck, not that apparently the black dog cared.
...
In the coolness of another office, Bogo examined the pen. He tried to press the play button but his finger was about a dozen times too big to fit. He tried to slide the tip of a single nail into the gap, but even that was too much to press the button, and so he set the device down with a grunt. Resolving just to focus on Judy's notes for the time being, Chief Bogo picked up the tiny notepad and lifted the front page. He gawped, expressionlessly, at what he saw scribbled in the margin of that first page.
In orange ink, it appeared, Judy had scribbled down a small, cartoon sketch of Nick. It was a cheerful, though not particularly accurate, depiction of the fox and, written next to it in that same orange scribe, was the single word 'Nick'... followed by several 'x's, which the buffalo, who was anything but a romantic, guessed were supposed to somehow represent kisses.
The Chief breathed in deeply — moving his mind away from that part of Officer Hopps and Wilde's relationship — and flicked through the various entries as he looked for Judy's most recent one. The reasons for Judy's blushing quickly became apparent, as the Chief leafed through page after page. It appeared the rabbit had turned half of her notepad into authentic notes for investigations and so forth... and the other half into a sketch pad.
He gave her credit — the quality of her drawings had definitely improved over time and had become much more lifelike — depicting scenes of her and Nick holding paws in a field, sharing dinner at a restaurant, kissing one another beneath a firework display... and one sketch of particular interest, which also apparently involved several cans of alcohol, pawcuffs, and the back of a ZPD cruiser... Bogo, for the first time in his life shuddered, and quickly turned over to the next page.
He cleared his mind of all thoughts of... 'that kind' as he reached the part titled, 'Investigation of Ladders and Drug Spree'. Bogo's eyes scanned the page's tiny writing. He spotted a problem. Taking out his reading glasses, he settled them over his nose. Still unable to read it, he took them off and held them between his eyes and the page so that the image was magnified even more. But the writing was still too small to make out.
Clearing his throat, Bogo softly shut the notes. He thought for a moment, pulled out his mobile phone and entered a number. It rang once, and then it was answered.
"Savage."
"Sir?"
"Get up here. There's a pen I need you to play to me..."
"Yes, Sir." Bogo raised the carrot replica again, holding it between thumb and forefinger, examining it carefully through the wonders of his mind.
"And, some notes I want you to read."
…
Author's notes:
Hesitance jumps around your mind,
Grooms decision thus chosen blind.
Your thoughts most succulent of snack,
All delivered by luscious feedback.
So don't hide like a tiny shrew,
Thus share that belovable review!
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