Chapter Thirty-Five

Registry House

The heavy heat of the sun beat down upon the shining glass and reflective metal of Zootopia's streets. Not a breath of wind stirred in that muggy, breathless air, for the breeze which usually blew up from the south brought the cool, crisp lake essence. It was, on this day, blowing down from the north, and was lost to the high mountain peaks above.

As morning turned to day, the glaring light of the sun intensified, reflecting off the high-polished metals and glass of the city, all the while baking it like an iridescent bulb between mirrors. The concrete pavement of the metropolis grew hot, the air was thick, yet not a lick of proper breath was present to relieve the mammals, who walked there, from the stifling, stuffy air.

The mammals, who roamed the streets, either jogged to more shaded parts of the city, where the air was cooler and the pavements not so hot, or they returned indoors, either to take a cold bath or to dress themselves in foot-pads which could help protect them from the hot earth. But there was no such luck for Nick or Judy, as they stepped from the cool confines of their ZPD cruiser and onto the burning tarmac of the Registry House car park.

"Heck," Nick yelped, drawing his foot quickly away from the flaming road and sharply returning to his seat in the car, "remind me, Hopps," he added, looking over to her with a painful smirk as she leaped back into the car likewise, "are we in Precinct One, or Sahara Square?"

Judy's laugh was as dry as the air, and slightly pained, and she examined the underside of her mildly scorched foot. "Not funny, Nick. There's no shade here and it's a hundred yards to the entrance! I nearly burnt my foot just now, and I barely touched the ground! What are we gonna do, fly?"

"We could to that, but my flying skills are a little rusty, so…" Nick leaned forwards and opened up the car glovebox. He took out a fifty milliliter bottle of water and started to undo the lid.

"So what? Hopps may be my name, but even I can't jump that distance."

"Yeah, well," Nick muttered absentmindedly, pouring a little water into the palm of his padded paw, "there's still a few tricks to the city I still haven't told ya. Give me your feet." Judy didn't quite understand why Nick was doing what he was, but she was interested to find out, so she turned herself in the chair until her back was against the car doorway and her bare feet were resting on Nick's lap.

Pouring a little more into his paw, Nick started rubbing water into the base of the rabbit's feet, gently soaking the fur with his paw. He continued doing this for a generous amount of time, and then a small, satisfied smile grew on Nick's face. He smoothed his paw across her feet, his eyes tracing up the line of her legs, looking to make sure he had rubbed all the water in... and just considering with his wandering paw as it traced higher.

"Okay, Hopps," he huffed, giving her a playful slap on the thigh, "you're done."

"Arugh," she complained with a grin and the retraction of her feet, "just when it was getting enjoyable, too."

"The time for that can come later, my dear," he soothed as he turned himself to face out, raising his feet above the ground, and soaking his palms with more water that slapped against his pads.

Hopps hopped out of the car and hurried around to Nick's side, her feet blessedly cooled. She suddenly recalled a decision she had earlier made, but had, as of yet, forgotten to mention. Later it would be brought up. But later couldn't wait, apparently. "Actually, Nicky," she piped-up, excitedly, "I've been thinking about what we're gonna do over the weekend. I mean, sex is sex, and that's kinda not allowed. But when you break it down into its component parts, a lot of it isn't the sex itself. There's still a whole lot of physical closeness and familiarity the two of us could explore without contravening what my parents teach. I think, if we—"

"Okay... that's not good."

Judy was struck into silence by the fox's comment. A cold shiver ran down her. Was he refusing her? Had she pushed too far? "What?" she asked, "What is it?"

Nick pointed down with a claw, and Judy followed towards her own feet. They were hissing and steaming, thus, she glimpsed at Nick's; they were steaming too. "Oh..." she murmured, "do you think we oughta—"

"Run!"

Slamming the car door and locking it, the officers bolted for the entrance. They sprinted across the boiling car park, heaved open the heavy glass door and slipped into the air-conditioned paradise that was the Registry House. "On fire! My feet are on fire!" Nick yelped as he hopped from foot to foot.

Judy's protective instinct kicked in. She spotted a vase of flowers on a desk, grabbed them without thinking and threw the watery contents over Nick's uniform with a cold splosh.

Nick slowly, delicately put his foot back down on the cool floor. His expression stony and impassive, he looked down at the large patch of wetness on his dripping uniform. Taking up his tie, he twisted it in both paws and wrung out a few droplets of moisture, while Judy stared silently, holding the vase sheepishly in both paws, a little water still sloshing around in the bottom, as the fox's expression rose to meet hers.

"And you did that... why?"

The calmness of his voice made her flinch. "It was, erm... it seemed like a good idea at the time!"

Nick blinked. He breathed in, slowly, and spoke, his voice still as calm as ever, "Thank you." Without another word, the fox stepped forwards and kissed the, rather confused, rabbit on the lips. Stepping near, he wrapped his arms gently around her in a soft hug and pulled her close to his dripping body.

"Oh, okay," she grumbled, "you're just trying to dry yourself on me now, aren't you…"

"Ooh, Judy," the fox pouted, deftly plucking the vase from Judy's paw, "as if I would ever do that." Quick as a flash, the fox pulled the collar away from the back of Judy's neck with his claw and tipped the remaining trickle of water down her back.

"Eeek!" she squealed, pulling herself away hurriedly, giggling and grinning as she squirmed, throwing her shoulders up and her neck back in the reflexive reaction to the cold. "Nick," she complained, "no fair!"

"But I thought all was fair in Love and War."

"Give me that vase," she demanded, grabbing for it.

"It won't do you no good now, darlin'" the fox teased, holding high above Judy's head, "it's dry as a bone."

Judy jumped as she grabbed for it. "It's not to soak you with, it's to put the flowers back. Now gimme!" Judy leapt and batted at the fox's arm, snatching at the vase, yet missing and sending it careering off halfway the length of the room, before it smashed to pieces against the wall.

"What in hell's going on in here?" Both mammals froze to the shout, turning in unison as the large frame of a porcupine, with a shirt bearing the word 'security', lumbered into the hall from a room marked 'office'.

The large porcupine inched forwards on the receptionist's desk that stood between him and the two officers and started examining the startled, smaller mammals suspiciously. "Ruffians?" he growled. "You two young ruffians come breaking in here, with your laughter, wreck the place, spill the water, break the vase! Why, I've got a good mind to call the police!"

"No! No, no, no," Judy said, hurriedly unpinning her police badge and waving it towards the glaring security guard. "Sir, we—"

"I mean look at what you've done," the porcupine interrupted, his far louder voice cutting into Judy's easily, "trespassing, disturbing the peace, willful damage of public—"

"We're not ruffians! We're officers," the rabbit shouted, slapping her badge down on the desk, "and we didn't break in, we need information on a business!" The porcupine stared at Judy's badge for a few seconds, then... his shoulders sagged, he slumped down in his chair and seemed to shrink and shrivel into a pitifully depressed state.

"Sorry," he mumbled, "didn't see the uniform; eyesight's not what it was. I don't know, the first bit of excitement I've had in months, and it turns out to be two police officers. I'm meant to be a security guard, you know. 'Come be a security guard, Marvin' that's what they said to me, 'fend off crooks and villains.' God it's depressing, the most fending I've ever done was dealing with a jammed printer three months ago. Even that was just a basic model. The rest of the time I'm sitting here from nine-to-bloody-five day in, day out, staring at security camera footage. Call that job satisfaction? Cause I don't."

The rabbit opened her mouth without knowing how to properly respond. "Erm...?"

"Anyway, mustn't stand around here grumbling all day. You've probably got some really important work to be doing: ruffians and scum of the earth to arrest. That's what I thought I was signing up to, you know, before they gave me a security job in one of the most boring buildings in the city. 'Make sure all the doors are locked, Marvin' that's what they say to me. 'Open up this filing cabinet, Marvin', 'Marvin, can you pick up that piece of paper?' Here I am, brain the size of a planet, and they ask me to pick up a piece of paper... I mean, who would bother to steal publicly available business information anyway? It's depressing. All the same, what was it you wanted?"

"We need some info," Nick said quickly before the Marvin could start talking again, "we need all the data we can get on an electronics manufacturing company. Could you show us which way to go?"

"Is that all? Oh, alright then," he mumbled, shuffling off towards a corridor with Nick and Judy in tow. "Manufactures of Electronic Components Department is down that way. But it's not a very interesting department to read up on. Far more interesting is the one on retail sale in non-specialized stores with food, beverages or tobacco predominating. They can be reaally interesting," he drew, with the implication that 'interesting' meant unbelievably boring, but still better than shooting yourself.

"Okay," the fox said, pushing the door open to a long and dimly lit gray corridor with a domed roof and low ceiling, illuminated by a number of beam-lights which were supported from the roof by a number of rafters. There was a gap between the rafters and the roof, which acted like a low walkway where the janitors could crawl along the spiderwebs and change the old lightbulbs.

"Thanks," Judy chirped at the security guard.

"Don't thank me, please. It's so depressing to be thanked for something you had no choice but to do."

"Oh... sorry," she apologized as he walked off, "but, you know... that's life!"

"Life? Don't talk to me about life. I don't know. Here I am, brain the size of a planet, and today it was my job to point two officers towards the filing room. And then of course I've got this terrible pain in all the quills down my left side. I mean, I've asked for them to be looked at, but no-one ever listens to me. But mustn't grumble, can't stand around here all day, must get back to staring at black and white CCTV footage. I don't know, call that job satisfaction 'cause I don't. Oh god, I'm so depressed…" The porcupine's complaints continued, but faded into silence as the door swung shut behind Nick and Judy, while they entered the corridor they had been pointed to.

"Well..." Nick muttered, "he was cheerful."

"Yeah, we should invite him to your birthday party or something."

"Or a funeral procession, maybe?"

"Nah, he might bring down the mood."

"Hah! You know, Jules," Nick chuckled, looping an arm around the rabbit who stepped into the hug as they moved along, "it's at times like this, with a soaking uniform and a black eye that I think just how lucky I am to be working so closely to someone as energetic and upbeat as you."

"Energetic, huh? You might come to regret those words once we're married and the mating season hits. Actually, it might be an idea if you were to start training for it as early as you can."

A wicked and toothy grin split across Nick's muzzle. "You mean I should spend more time—"

"No, Nick, I meant you need to spend more time taking cardiac and stamina training up at the gym. Go jogging, weightlifting, whatever it takes. Just be sure you're fit enough to make it past at least the first eight hours before passing out."

"Oh, don't worry about me, Hopps. I'm young, I'm fit, I'm able. In fact," he added, his paw slipping lower, just lightly pinching Judy's posterior, "I'm really quite looking forwards to it."

"Well, honestly, Nick," she mumbled with a blush, "I just hope you're up to it. Oh, and you might wanna get some kind of lubricant too… otherwise…" she trailed off and looked down at his groin with a sort of worry that Nick managed to catch when he glimpsed at her apprehensive expression and the place it had been aimed at in the conveyed words of lube.

"I... I'll bear that in mind." He couldn't keep away his snort, rabbits and their multiplying, unbelievable.

Nick was on the verge of making a reply when the subtle click of something he recognized screamed at his attention. If his sense of trepidation had not been spiked by spying that same-striped rabbit, who he had suspected of having followed them to the ZPD from home for a second time on the drive over, Nick would never have even heard the soft click of a pick in a lock. But he did. His legs stopped moving and he turned instantly, his ears flicking straight up as he gazed harshly down the length of the dimly lit corridor. "Hopps," he whispered, "you hear that?"

"I didn't hear anything. It's just your mind playing tricks with you."

"Oh no, Carrots. I heard it alright."

"Nick, I'm a bunny, and I didn't hear it. You sure you didn't imagine it?"

"Perhaps... perhaps you weren't listening for it."

"For what, Nick, I—"

The fox pressed his finger silently against his lips. "Judy, it's okay, I've prepared for this." His face not diverting from gazing down the length of the corridor, he gently took Judy's arm and turned her back to the goal ahead.

"Go on, Hopps," he said, his voice soft as he took an orange device from his pocket, "I'll catch up later." And with that, Nick flicked the 'play' button on the carrot pen-recorder, slid it into Judy's pocket and then, gently, pushed the rabbit until she was walking away on her own.

"So, Hopps," came Nick's voice from the recorder, while Judy walked in bewildered silence up the corridor, "what exactly is the secret to growing such wonderful blueberries?" Nick's gaze flicked up and down both ways, observing Judy's progress in one direction, and checking for any movement of shadow in the other.

"Well..." came Judy's voice, "it's really more to do with being attentive to everything a plant needs, rather than just one magical secret for perfect berries—"

Upon Judy's side of the corridor, Nick heard the door to the next room swing open and shut again. The fox's scrutiny fell to the obvious issue. Still, no signs of movement as of yet. Satisfied he was alone, Nick glanced up at the roof to the thin rafters that were suspended like low walkways from the ceiling on which the six-foot beam lights were attached to the underside of.

"Really? Sounds fascinating. Do go on!"

...

With a soft click, the fire door to the car park at the end of the corridor opened. Jack Savage's head inched around the slightly open door, and his eyes swept across the room as he surveyed his surroundings: scanning for guards, security cameras and, of course, a certain fox and rabbit.

Fulfilled that no immediate threat was present, the rabbit slipped his set of lock picks back into his pocket and shut the door behind him. His ears pricking up, he followed the sound of Judy's voice, pacing down the corridor on noiseless feet. He crouched low, his eyes darting this way and that as he'd track Nick and Judy's conversation some way up ahead.

"It's simple when you break it down and look at the process as a set of steps," Jack heard, "first of all, you've gotta plant the seed in the right location." Judging that Nick and Judy must be quite some distance away from him, Jack hurried to catch up. He was aware he was sacrificing caution for speed, but he was also aware that losing someone in a large government complex such as this was an easy thing to do.

The scent of fox hung heavy in the air, a scent too familiar to home.

"You have to consider how much light it's going to get," Jack increased his efforts, "moisture absorption, minerals in the soil, what was planted there the year before, all before—"

A shadow fell, next, Jack froze and turned. A large weight was thrown upon him, while a heavy, clawed paw tightly gripped the scruff of his neck. In a moment of breath, Jack felt himself hurdled in the air and onto the floor with a hefty thunk that rippled pain around his body and blurry head. The rabbit rolled and sprang to his feet to meet the infuriated eyes of the red fox, who was onto all fours in the predatory stance used by foxes generations ago.

Jack grimaced, while a low growl came from the back of Nick's throat as he pounced. Jack's reaction was sharp as he dodged, his foot sailing through the air in a kick which smashed across the side of Nick's face. It did damage and blood splattered the wall... but the fox's momentum could not be so easily stopped, because he just kept coming to the nasty surprise of Jack's mind. White, predatory teeth pushed between Jack's fists and anchored themselves onto his jugular like a set trap upon unsuspecting prey.

All had happened in a mere second.

No amount of training or skill in any martial arts of any kind could ever hope to protect Jack from the predatory teeth pinning him to the wall. He was in the mercy of his species' nemesis, and he, Jack, knew it like the aftereffects of a resonating slap.

The rabbit took in a drawn-out breath. It shook a little, but he managed to hide most signs of fear as he spoke — his voice a little strained and just a slight pitch higher than normal, "Okay, Mister Wilde... you have my attention. What is it you wish to discuss?"

"Wow," Nick exclaimed, though it didn't appear to come from his own deadly mouth. It appeared, instead, to echo from some way up the corridor, "Judy, that was so interesting, but I think that's about as I can take at the moment. Thanks."

There was a muffled click and then silence murked in the scents of indignation and controlled melancholy.

…

Author's notes:

Hesitance jumps around your mind,

Grooms decision thus chosen blind.

Your thoughts most succulent of snack,

All delivered by luscious feedback.

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