Judy awoke with a yawn and a stretch at 0529 on the dot. Nick awoke with a grunt and a groan at 0530 on the dot due to Judy's alarm clock.
Thumping the clock, Judy leapt down from her bed and shook Nick (who'd slept on her sofa) to full wakefulness.
"Ngh. Come on Carrots. Is it seven already?" droned Nick.
"Seven?! Are you kidding, Slick? That's when the oldies get up. Come on, get your coat on, grab your tranq, it's time to take back our home.
"Alright, alright. I'm getting up." Said Nick.
"Excellent." She said.
Nick couldn't help a slight smile from forming as he watched the little bunny mill about for a moment.
Dressed in matching black trench coats, Judy and Nick waited silently in a Savanna Central alleyway.
A brush of static was followed by the words, "Communications check."
"We hear you loud and clear, Chief," said Judy, tapping her earpiece.
"Excellent. Koslov and his teams are in position," explained Bogo, adding "move in."
"You got it, Chief. Deliverer One out."
Judy nodded to Nick and started toward the street.
Nick said "Let's kick it," and followed close.
It was a straight shot to the station from their position. With his keen eyes, Nick spotted a few of Bisonhower's goons lazily patrolling the front doors.
The two were about to leave their cover when Bogo appeared from behind a nearby pillar, silently approaching.
"I've got bad news. Koslov's teams are pulling out." Said the Chief.
"You're kidding," said Judy.
"Mr Big left us out to dry?" asked Nick.
"Not likely, there's more to it than that," said Bogo, "but this ain't over yet."
"How is it not over? Koslov's guys were covering our flanks - going out there now would be like running through a minefield," said Nick, derisively.
"Well, thank you Captain Pessimist. Just stay low, when I give the signal, run as fast as you possibly can and keep your fingers on your triggers," said Bogo, a heartbeat before turning away and getting back to his position.
All of a sudden, Nick felt like he was in a Medal of Honor game.
"What is the signal?" asked Nick.
Judy just shrugged.
A loud and sudden noise caught their attention, it was Chief Bogo, tearing across the plaza bellowing at the top of his lungs.
"Charge!" he roared.
"That must be it, come on Nick!" yelled Judy as she stood and bolted for the station entrance.
"I'm right behind you!" cried Nick, sprinting as fast as his legs would take him.
Nick fired off darts in the direction of the station. Nick was a terrible shot and the darts impacted seemingly vainly around his targets. As if in response to his volley, more shots were fired from behind; they came from the other officers who had been lying in wait for the 'signal'.
Bogo, Judy and Nick held position at the foot of the steps leading into ZPD headquarters while the other officers pushed their way inside, already having made short work of the guards stationed outside.
"We shouldn't stay out here!" yelled Bogo as tranquilizer darts started coming in from all around the plaza.
As the three backed toward the entrance to the ZPD, Judy cried out in pain.
"Carrots!" Nick yelled, "Are you all right?"
"I-I'm hit but I'll be okay!" she yelled, pulling a dart out of her thigh, trying to hobble to the door before the chemicals kicked in.
"Hang on!" yelled Nick, "I'm on my way!"
Because of all the commotion, Nick was completely unaware of an unmarked van that had mounted the nearby kerb and headed straight for him.
The vehicle screeched to a stop but still hit Nick with enough force to send him tumbling backward head over heels.
Even with stars clouding his vision, Nick clambered desperately over to Judy. Through his dazed eyes he could just make out her outline, losing balance and falling, only to be scooped up by thugs that arrived in the van.
Nick cried out as he felt a pair of strong arms lifting and carrying him away.
"No! Carrots, Hopps! Judy…!"
Nick blinked to wakefulness. His eyes told him he was in Chief Bogo's office at the ZPD - or what was left of it after goons had trashed the place.
"Good. I was just about to head back downstairs," said Bogo, acknowledging Nick's consciousness.
Nick's head pounded as he braced against the wall and pulled himself to a standing position. Every part of his body ached when he stepped toward the Chief.
The fox awkwardly lent on Bogo's desk and asked quietly, "Where is she? Where is Judy? Is she safe?"
Bogo visibly grimaced, "she's gone, Wilde."
"No…" whimpered Nick, "No!" he yelled.
Nick hobbled closer to Chief Bogo and clutched his shirt, saying, "You listen to me! Judy is out there… Somewhere."
"You don't know that!"
"Yes. Yes I do. Back at the hospital, I think they tried the same thing," explained Nick, "They said something about needing her alive."
"For what?"
"Whatever it is, it's reason enough to get everyone together and go find her!" cried Nick.
"I know you care about Hopps. I'm not going to get caught up with exactly how much but you need to understand - we won the battle but the war is still raging."
Nick just stared through him.
"Think, Wilde! Think! What would Hopps do in our position?" asked Bogo, trying to appeal to the fox's sense of reason.
"Sh-she would… She would do her duty - ensure that the citizens are safe," Nick said defeatedly.
Chief Bogo bowed his head. Sensing the thoughts that clouded Nick's mind prompted him to ask, "What will you do now?"
"I think I'll go away for a while."
"Where?" asked Bogo.
"I'll be around, but there's something I need you to look after while I'm gone."
Nick reached into his pocket and placed a shiny metal object in Chief Bogo's hand, closing the buffalo's fingers over it.
"But-" Bogo started. He huffed and continued, "alright, I'll keep it warm."
Stepping outside, a faint glint caught Nick's eye. Not ten feet from where he stood, a fallen ZPD badge lay upon the pavement. Stepping closer, Nick bent down and picked it up. Small and impeccably polished, it could only be Judy's badge.
Were she in Nick's situation, Judy wouldn't give up, after all, it was she who took on a cold missing mammal case with zero leads, zero evidence and no witnesses, no resources to boot.
Nick had played the lone wolf a long time before joining the ZPD, yet he always had some kind of helper. So he'd do what he always did, use what he did have: Resources.
Nick sneakily returned inside, logging onto a computer in the quiet office section of ZPD HQ. After a brief loading time, the city database was at his disposal. Out of other ideas, Nick figured he'd con that 'Kenny' cat into helping him out.
Search after search yielded no helpful results, Nick didn't even think the name 'Kenneth' belonged to a thousand mammals across the globe and yet the Kenneths of Zootopia alone were more than that.
In the traffic cam monitoring system, Nick navigated to the camera that overlooked the driveway for Mr Big's property and scrubbed back through to the time of last night's function. With a bit of patience and a touch of meticulous effort, Nick finally spotted the target - small feline, broad build and possibly late teens to early twenties.
The cat entered some sort of 80's model coupe and drove off. Nick followed the vehicle through the camera network until he got a clear view of the license plate number.
"Bingo," said Nick as he ran the plate through the system.
Interestingly enough, the vehicle was registered to an "Isaac Katzendale Jr." with a string of speeding tickets, charges of reckless driving and suspected street racing. On top of that, it seemed he still lived at home.
With a sly grin, Nick rose from his seat and set a quick pace out the back of the ZPD, making a bee line for the bar. It was time to pay "Isaac" a visit.
With the bar just a few hundred meters South of the main plaza, Nick got there in nothing flat. Sure enough, the same coupe from the camera footage sat empty, parked behind the building.
Probably due to the day's earlier commotion, the bar had a pretty low population. In the corner, a wet floor sign propped the door to the bathroom ajar and a sign reading "cleaning in progress" hung askew on the handle.
"With any luck," thought Nick, pulling the door open entering a cloud of chemical scents.
Nick's hunch being right, the cat known as "Kenny" idly mopped the floor, lightly bobbing his head to whatever played through his earbuds. Nick's sudden entry startled him slightly.
"Hey, can't you read? It says..."
Kenny stopped when he saw Nick.
"Oh," he said, "you again. You know, I can't help but feel like you're following me around."
"Well, as it happens I am. This time," said Nick, deliberately blocking the door.
The cat stopped mopping. He huffed and rolled his eyes.
"I already apologized. What else do you want from me?!" he demanded.
"You are going to help me out."
"Excuse me?" asked Kenny, his expression one of quizzical disbelief.
Nick stayed silent.
"Your cop buddies can't help you? I mean, what, they too busy getting their asses kicked?"
"No… You are going to help me or face justice for your transgressions," explained Nick, confidently standing his ground.
Kenny laughed, "Oh jeez, you are such a tool. Now, if you don't mind, I have toilets to bleach."
"Comes with the territory," said Nick, slowly stepping closer, "so, you won't mind if I pay Mom a visit?"
Kenny froze for a second, "So I live with my Mom, big deal! It's more economically viable."
"So she knows about the tickets? What about the racing?"
"What racing?" dared Kenny.
"Your little need for speed outings. I have you on camera hooning in that little clunker you have out back."
"Th-that's not, no, y-you see I… I-It's a common misconception," said Kenny, tripping over every syllable.
Nick grinned victoriously.
"This is extortion, you sh-should be a-ashamed!" stammered Kenny.
"It's called a hustle. Get over it. So, I'll see you tomorrow, 9 AM, your mother's house?"
Kenny frowned like an unhappy toddler. "Fine," he spat.
With that sorted, Nick sauntered out the front door and onto the streets. The dark of night had set in, the area was lit by pale moonlight and street lamps.
As he walked, rain began to fall from the clouded sky, growing more intense with each pawstep. Soon enough, Nick stopped directing his steps, instead opting to follow wherever his paws took him.
Lost in thought, Nick unconsciously walked block after block in the rain, eventually coming to a stop before the Grand Pangolin Arms. He entered the dimly lit foyer and kept walking until he reached Judy's apartment.
The door still unlocked from that morning, Nick needed only to turn the handle to gain entry. It did feel somewhat wrong to be here without Judy, yet, had he been somewhere else it wouldn't have felt 'right' either.
The sound of heavy rain lulled the fox to sleep.
End Notes
There's going to be less time spent on these notes going forward.
If you like an FPS with atmosphere, give Halo 3 ODST a try. It's got some of Marty O'Donnell's best work, like "Deference for Darkness".