Place Set for Two
Officers Hopps and Wilde both shared a nervous glance, the hushed tones the badger had used setting an instant chill to the air of the custom luxury armored car. Not knowing what to expect, they wore hesitant expressions, odd looks to compliment their fine clothing. They had been so intrigued by the car and focused on the conversation, they hadn't paid attention to where they exactly were. Nick stole a peek at his phone, frustrated to find it searching for signal, though his expression betrayed nothing, his tail giving a nervous involuntary twitch behind Hopps. That itch of impending doom was working overtime, enough to set the butterflies to flight in his belly. Justin's gaze hadn't left the rear compartment of the car, waiting for George's directive.
Placing his phone in his inner jacket pocket, George turned to the pair of officers in his care. "Justin, please take them to their quarters. Afterward, please show them around the compound, and introduce them to Alpha squad. And did you, by chance, grab my briefcase?" With a smart nod from the badger, who opened the door to exit the car, George spoke quietly to the pair. "We have an apartment set up for you already, with everything you might need, since we didn't stop at your homes for your effects. If you still find it necessary, we can arrange a trip to your dwellings tomorrow. While here, you'll be working closely with Alpha squad, the ones that trained all the others. They are good mammals, one and all. A little quirky, perhaps, but good nonetheless. I have a meeting to hurry to, but I will request you both come to my table for dinner. I promise it will be incredible, and more relaxing after all the stress of the day is washed away." The sound of the trunk being opened interrupted George, drawing a quick glance out the darkened rear window. Still looking to the rear of the car, he continued. "Besides, Heather wants to meet you both. I'd say she is even excited." With his usual smile returning, he turned back to the pair, the warmth of his countenance reassuring and encouraging to the nervous pair. "You are both in good paws. Justin will take good care of you both." George finished when the car trunk was shut, and his door opened from the outside by Justin.
"Your Dad's hat, I left in his car." he stated quietly as he held the briefcase to the short gray wolf. George exited the car and straightened his suit and tie to be the absolute appearance of perfection the officers had come to know of him. With nothing but a polite nod he shared with Justin, he left the mammals as Judy was starting to leave the car. She looked around and accepted the offered paw of Justin to assist her exit in her unfamiliar dress, her hearing drawing her attention to the last movement of the black clad wolf rounding a corner, back straight and full of confidence. Her sight to the left was eaten by the massive SUV train, all in slate gray with the same black fang emblem on the door handle. Her observation was cut short when Nick cleared his throat, holding her bag containing her street clothes.
"Sorry Slick, hope you weren't waiting long." Her smile powered through her obvious nervousness at being somewhere strange. Strange and ominous. The walls were all bare concrete with few markings, all in black paint. Taking her bag from the paw of her partner, she stepped aside and held her bag before her, the oppressive parking garage taking the temporary smile from her tiny muzzle. As Nick disembarked, he straightened his clothing in much the same fashion George had used. Turning back to the still open car door, he retrieved his own bag, and turned to face their guide.
Justin smiled, and removed his sunglasses, revealing his engaging brown eyes. "I guess the best way to start off is a bit of a rolling tour, on our way to your apartment."
Judy gave him a quizzical look, her ears up and pointed toward Justin. "Apartment? As in one place? For both Nick and I? I was hoping I misheard George." Her muzzle registered a slight discomfort, or was it fear?
The quizzical look seemed to rub off on the badger, since he was now wearing it. Before he could respond, Nick cut in. "Ah what's the matter Carrots? Afraid I might snore or something and keep you up all night?" Nick picked up his glasses to clear his green eyes, and gave a suggestive wink to his small partner. That earned him a quick jab to his arm, and a bit of a blush from Judy, who looked away with indignation, crossing her paws, eyes smoldering with embarassed anger.
"Okay, if you two are done flirting, perhaps we can get you settled in and changed. Yes, Judy, it will be one apartment with two bedrooms. Mr. Card felt you might feel more comfortable and secure if you were both close. He understands camaraderie to be a soother for uncertainty." The smile returning to his short muzzle, Justin motioned for the officers to follow, going a different direction than the wolf had gone. Gathering their bags, Nick and Judy glanced at each other, and started after the badger. Judy's ears sunk a little more, the oppressive mood dragging her a little lower with each step. After watching this for a few steps, Nick's tail brushed her backside, startling her, forcing a quick look at Nick as her ears shot straight up. He winked and smiled, giving her some assurance and confidence. She smiled back, and he nodded. Dropping the smile to give him a serious expression, he began to walk in front of her with an exaggerated flair, moving to a beat only he could hear. His perfect suit adding to his air of confidence as he casually tossed his bag over his shoulder. His tail swished behind him, making Judy laugh as this perfectly dressed fox swayed his hips back and forth, beginning to hum a song to himself. After a few seconds, she realized he was humming The Bee Gees "Stayin' Alive", and strutting to it like it was his personal life soundtrack. Toward the end, he even managed a good Travolta. This was too much for the bunny, as she doubled over in her dress, laughing hard enough to bring a breathy snort. After her laughing fit subsided, and with a nod of self satisfaction, Nick reached out with his free paw to upright his tiny partner. After clearing the tear ducts, she accepted the offered paw, with a few stray giggles. Together, paw in paw, the well dressed partners closed the gap to the now waiting badger, who was wise enough not to inquire about what in the world he'd just witnessed. Justin was standing at an elevator base, and had already called the car to their location. After the pair made it to him, Nick wearing a grin of nonchalance and Judy still smiling at the memory of Nick's hip sways, Justin simply closed his eyes and gave his head a little shake, more of incredulousness than unhappiness. 'This will be an interesting month.' was all he could think.
Judy was glad for Nick and his sometimes wild antics. He could always tell when she was down, like it was a scent only he could smell, and he did what he could to lighten the mood. It was probably her favorite thing about him, his sense of humor.
Nick was just happy Carrots wasn't sad, she tended to hit harder and more often when she was unhappy, a fact that his ribs did well to remind him of. A little clowning to make the doe smile was worth it. 'And her smile was absolutely gorgeous...Wait, what the hell Nick? Where in the insane world did THAT thought come from? Maybe it's nerves. Yeah, nerves.' Nick lamely reassured himself. Giving a little shake to clear his head of that line of thinking, he realized he hadn't dropped Judy's paw from his own. With a slight start, he let go of her paw, just as the called elevator car arrived and the doors opened, revealing an empty stainless car large enough to contain a dozen medium mammals, or a hand full of the large variety.
Judy stole a quick look at Nick, questions in her purple eyes and furled brow holding levels of curiosity and the hint of hurt. All three mammals entered the car in silence, the officers going around the badger, who had stationed himself with a quick pivot at the control panel. The elevator panel contained buttons for eight floors above, and three subfloors, the third subfloor lit, indicating their current location. Justin pressed the third floor button as the doors were closing. His back to the pair, he stood silent as the car climbed, though they could all see each other in the metal walls reflection, albeit with a great deal of distortion. After the car reached ground floor, he spoke, though in a hushed voice. "You both probably have many questions. Feel free to ask whatever you want. I will answer what I'm allowed to, and remain charmingly silent if not." His grin returned as he looked at the wavy and indistinct reflections of the duo. "I'm not the old man, so I don't dwell on propriety near as much. He's taught me much, but he never could get that polish to stick. Think it drives him nuts, sometimes." His muted grin broke into a full smile with a light chuckle as the car climbed. Before he could speak again, the car's light on the third floor lit up, and the doors opened to a light sand colored well lit hallway. Justin made for the opening, and the officers followed in his wake. He immediately turned left and started walking, passing several doors to either side, each painted their own color, from eye catching pink to the muted tones of gray striped with black. The rooms had numbers in brushed nickel, similar to an apartment building. Moving steadily down the hall, they finally came to a door painted sea green. The door had a screen beside it similar to the one in the luxury car that opened the secret stash to reveal a plethora of weapons. Justin reached out and placed his paw against it, a faint light running across it. A quiet voice greeted him personally as he opened the door to the apartment.
Walking inside, Justin flicked a switch and bright lights came on. The entrance they walked across was tile with dark colors splashed across muted beige leading to an open concept apartment. To the right, the sitting room they encountered had several lounge chairs and a full sofa in black microfiber, all set facing a large flat screen TV on a corner wall. A large painting of modern style was hung on the wall sharing a corner with the TV wall. The room was set in a reduced tenor of light tan, with forest green accents given by a stand light and a hand full of sculpted art pieces splashed across the wall in the same color. The tile work continued into the sitting room, but a large carpet covered most the area, set in alternating colors of base brown, off white and tan, swirling together to make an interesting design. The main entry lead to a small kitchen with granite countertops set over off white cabinets with silver hardware. The appliances were stainless steel, and spotless. Several copper bottom pans of ascending sizes were hung against the wall over the stove top.
The open area was completed with an office space, punctuated by a desk, and walls in a relaxing sunset orangish red. This was the only area not tiled, but instead had hardwood of darkened old hickory. The large roll top wooden desk in oak had a matching chair that was presided over by an ornately carved wooden clock designed to look like a smiling faced sun, nearly two feet around. The office area was shared by a small octagon table, the same hue as the desk, flanked by four simple ladder back chairs. The living area could have been in a posh magazine for an upscale apartment, complete with decoration and painting tips. Judy sucked a breathe at the sight of their temporary home, any apprehension lost at the sheer size and leisurely invitation of the place. She still hadn't moved from her pitifully small place at The Grand Pangolin Arms, and this was like a palace to her. Nick's expression was similar, his place wasn't much better than Judy's. All the years of hustling made him want to keep a low profile, places that didn't ask a lot of questions or get a raised eyebrow at the tax bureau, wondering how he could afford a nice place with no taxable income.
Justin looked back, and gave an understanding smile. "I know, these places are almost too much. I know Heather loves to decorate and paint, but, dammit, sometimes I just want to mess up the perfection. Let's get you both settled in and changed before we go meet the guys." He was extremely polite, contradicting his earlier assertion that George had missed his mark on him. The pair was grateful he hadn't made an issue of their reaction. Gesturing politely, he went to the slight hallway, flanked on either side by a door. There was one directly in front, opened and dark, but revealing a shadowy bathroom. He gestured to the left room, "Judy, you'll want the left room. It was made up for the unknown female, having few details of what to expect, you should find everything you might need in there. Nick, obviously you'll want the other one. There are clothes in there, so get more comfortable, and please, whatever you do, don't wrinkle your clothes. Those are for your dinner tonight with the Boss and Heather." With that, he turned and made himself comfortable in the sitting area, turning on the TV for an update on the professional fights he'd missed earlier.
Judy went into her room and closed the door, placing her bag on a bed at least twelve times too large for her tiny body. Her room was painted soothing tones of light purple, a few shades lighter than her own eyes. The ceiling was painted pewter, matching the hardware of the doors and furniture, which were all in white, from a nightstand to a chest of drawers. The one that stood out to her the most was the three mirrored vanity, complete with brighter lights and feminine paraphernalia of makeupery. 'Oh yes, a woman's touch was definitely in here. No man could have been that thoughtful.' She smiled to herself, as she began removing her dress, looking in the drawers for clothes that would fit.
Nick entered his room, and similarly closed his door. He tossed his bag on the floor, and wasn't surprised but happy none the less to see nothing but solid male colors greet his eye. The bed spread was obsidian, the nightstand and chest of drawers in grayish white. And a desk was set against the pewter walls. He pulled out his phone, and still found it searching for signal. He pulled in a frustrated breath, and closed his eyes, his tail twitching dangerously. 'Nick, if they wanted you dead, you would be. Don't let your guard down, but relax a little. Calm. Calm.' Nick ran his mantra over and over, until he felt his knot of tension release. He would have answers, but not right now. Finding his center, and breathing to slow his thoughts, relief ran through his body, and the room's temper of colors creating a calming effect that worked over him. With a tension draining sigh, he began to carefully remove his expensive clothes, and find something to wear.
Justin waited for twenty minutes before he heard a door open. He'd gotten in the fridge, and helped himself to a cold beer, which he had nursed while noting all the stats and upcoming fights he would love to catch tonight. He turned off the TV, and stood to see who had finally emerged. Judy poked her head out of the miniature hallway, ears first. She looked more curious and less frightened than before, both good signs to Justin. She'd come out wearing slate colored sweats with a fang emblazoned in black on the left chest and right pant leg. The difference from evening dress to workout clothes helped relax her as she shrugged her shoulders to set the shirt to a more comfortable position. Before she could exit the hallway, Nick's door opened, revealing him in similar attire. The pair looked each other over, Judy's clothing drowning her fur's lighter hue, Nick's emphasizing his color. Nick smiled at her, and she smiled back.
"Nice sweats, Carrots. Slate is your color, you know. It's almost like you're standing here naked. Or was that your intent, my sly bunny." Nick's bare eye's regarding her suggestively, while Judy's paws covered her intimate areas reflexively. The blush tinting her ears a deep pink while it spread across her muzzle. Nick's smug look was short lived, since embarrassment fuels Judy anger, not that that fire needs much coaxing.
"Nick!" was all she could shout, before giving his sweat clad midsection a pair of quick jabs. The sound of wind rushing from Nick's lungs was almost pathetic. "You better pray they don't have a sparring mat here, or you're in trouble, mister!" The acid in her tone was near enough to melt lesser material. Nick's gulp was audible, after Judy crossed her paws and mumbled, "Stupid Fox."
Justin cleared his throat, to get their attention. When the purple and green orbs regarded him, he began explaining. "We will need to see Heather or her mammals shortly, to get you completely in the system. Then we can explore the compound together." As a twinkle formed in his brown eyes, "And meet the crew." The engaging smile that followed lit the room on fire. Nick and Judy again shared a glance, and quick shrug. Nick rubbed his injuries, and Judy's ears perked at the thought of seeing this almost magical place. As the pair approached Justin, he focused on Judy, and stated matter of factly, "And yes, Judy. We do in fact have a sparring mat." The returning grin she gave was the face of purest evil he'd ever encountered while Nick's groan was loud and pathetic.