Hello everyone! :) :) :)
And we're back with our update, finally!
What an important update it is too! Not only did it take forever to go over because.. well, things are starting to happen in our crazy story ladies and gents ;) But also and very importantly, we had all of our contest entries to go over!
We have been so impressed by the many incredible contest entries we've received! Bravo to one and all! It really was so hard to choose! So, we'll see you in the author's note at the end of the chapter to announce the results :) Off to the chapter now! Chop, chop :)
Hook: 'No, you're afraid. Afraid to talk – to reveal yourself. Trust me –'
-Once Upon a Time, episode 6, season 2, Tallahassee.
'Fear always wins,'
- Bellwether, Disney's Zootropolis
A strange revolution seemed to have had taken place in our heroes' world. Or at least, that's what it felt like to Officer Judy Hopps of the ZPD.
You might argue that 'revolution' is a slightly strong term for describing the turn of events. But we must ask our dear reader to first take all of the circumstances into careful consideration, and then pronounce whether or not they deem this accusation to be too abrupt.
Then, you might say, it is the author's fault, for plunging right in with this 'revolution' talk, before actually situating one as to where we currently stand. This may well be true; our apologies for charging ahead full steam; but it is very hard to pace oneself when one of the main personages of our narrative is a self-willed, determined and definitely not slow-paced rabbit. We'll do our best to dial it down long enough to situate our audience though. Once again then, from the top!
The revolutionary change that Judy Hopps seemed to have detected had no external manifestations. Indeed, if you were to take Wednesday afternoon for example, two weeks after the last conversation we had witnessed between our two friends, you would not, upon first look, find that anything was amiss. The morning had been filled with a whole ton of routine work; quite a bit of reports and filing to go through for Judy and a quick round of patrol for Nick. The bunny cop would have gladly helped her partner out and scouted the streets; her seniority meant (unfortunately) that she was faced with a growing amount of paperwork to personally go over and approve or disapprove of though.
So all in all, it had not been the most exciting matinée of the young officer's career; but it had had its perks. Miss Frost the reporter, for one, had been absent from the ZPD HQ for once, as opposed to the beginning of the week when she'd rather much gotten on Judy's nerves. (It was, apparently, very necessary for the white-furred long-tailed journalist to turn the Espresso machine on full blast at the exact same moment Judy'd be receiving an important phone call.)
Wednesday morning the duo were free of Margaret's presence, however, her much more agreeable and non-snobbish trainee Tabitha taking her place. Tabitha fell in sync with Judy perfectly, choosing the right moments to ask all of her questions regarding ZPD procedures and tactfully backing down or leaving the office to work on her transcripts as soon as she could see that Judy was much too solicited by work to have any immediate time for her.
Tabitha had happily accepted Nick and Judy's offer to join them on their lunch break (which they were grateful to have, since emergencies on both Monday and Tuesday had rendered any real midday meal impossible, unless a quickly grabbed sandwich and take-out vegan pizza counted as a meal). No, Wednesday had turned out quite well for our two friends and for Tabitha so far, the three shared a spicy vegetable couscous at a nearby deli Nick and Judy sometimes dropped by and a few hearty laughs, before returning to the HQ and to work in buoyant spirits, the warm July sunshine making cheery leaf patterns on the sidewalk under their paws.
Well, it was maybe only Tabitha who actually was in buoyant spirits in fact. Nick and Judy had both joked a great deal and pulled many puns at the lunch table, making the young reporter in training chuckle a lot. I'm not so sure they were a whole lot amused deep down inside though; it's hard to really feel light-hearted when your mind is elsewhere you see.
The two officers' minds were elsewhere.
Perhaps someone more intimately acquainted with the state of their financial affairs could have hypothesized that the pair were preoccupied with their debt situation and the measures they would have to go to in order to ensure that they would manage to pay back their loan in the time and fashion agreed on with Mister Big. It is true that, as they were making their way home, to Zootopia, on foot (or paw) that evening, each of the two animals had their cellphone glued to their ear.
"I don't think you should go for renting out all of the flats on the tenth floor at once Finn," Nick was saying, his cellphone cradled in his paw as he held it against his pointy ear. The fox had his other paw in his trouser pocket, his walk as usual leisurely, suggesting that the conversation held no real importance for him. The slightly ruffled bow and the attention with which he listened to Finnick's answer belied this first impression though. "I understand that the momentary financial return would be much more hefty," the fox said patiently down the line once his friend was done talking. "I can still recognize an immediate profit when it comes strolling by and bites me on the—"
"It's great that you're so enthusiastic about the idea, FruFru," Judy was saying at that exact second, nodding her head in affirmation as she held her own phone. "I just don't want you to go ahead and invest too much in this before we actually know if anything will work out, that's all. There are enough of us in debt here as it is with this building and everything that has to do with it," the rabbit kicked a stray coke can heartily as she finished her last phrase.
"What I don't want, Finn," Nick was explaining with would-be patience. "Is for a bunch of mammals to come waltzing in, settling down and then for half or more of them to change their minds three weeks later and waltz right back out. I'd rather you spent more time searching yet found animals that were really counting to stay long-term, and hang the losses the wait would generate—"
"Well, that's nice of you," Judy replied, after listening to FruFru's last remark, whatever it was, a faint smile on her lips. The young officers were within sight of their building by that time, and had simultaneously stopped in their tracks to finish their conversations before heading up. Judy perched down on a bench, twirling a thin branch she'd picked up from under a handsome maple tree, as she chatted away with her shrew friend. Nick seemed incapable of staying put though, and paced up and down the sidewalk, as Finnick talked away in his ear.
"That is nice of you," Judy repeated again, following Nick's movements with her gaze absently. "And I really hope that the hair salon idea does work out.. Not that there's any doubt where you're concerned FruFru. You're an ace stylist."
The rabbit listened to her friend's chattering for a couple more minutes, still grinning a bit, before hanging up with a final 'You take care, OK? And kiss JuJu for me!'
Nick seemed to have arrived at the end of his own phone call.
"We'll just wait and see how it goes then Big Guy," he said, addressing Finnick who was still, it seemed, on the other end of the line. "Anyways, thanks for all your help. Way to hustle! I owe ya! Yeah, take care."
"Good news?" Judy asked, as soon as Nick had hung up.
The fox let his breath out in a long 'whoosh' and loosened his tie before nodding slowly.
"Yes. Yup, more or less one could say; my ole hustling partner has several potential clients lined up, willing to visit the flats we've got and to rent them soon enough, provided they like what they see."
"And the mammals interested in renting," Judy paused delicately. "Do you think – what I mean is, how exactly does Finnick know—"
"They don't have rap sheets," Nick said, relieving his partner the necessity of continuing to search for a tactful way of asking whether Finnick had found these would-be clients via some of his shadier contacts. "So keep your fur on. "
"Reliable and trustworthy animals only?" Judy asked, relieved.
"All of whom brush their teeth two times a day at least and have no criminal record," Nick confirmed solemnly, dropping his pacing as he faced Judy, paws in his pockets, a poker-faced expression firmly planted on his features.
"Wonderful," was Judy's fervent reply.
Nick's expression was as deadpan as before.
"No official criminal record, in any case," he added, as if this were a tiny insignificant detail.
Judy fixed her friend with a suspicious stare; Nick's face never changed though, if one did not count the tiniest gleam in his eye.
"I'm running all of your so-called tenants through the database at work soon as I have their names. All of them, you hear me?"
"Ever suspicious, you rabbits," Nick shrugged in a supposedly careless manner.
"How does dumb go together with suspicious in your book then?" Judy grumbled.
"Easily enough," Nick replied, a bit absently.
Looking up at him from her perch on the bench, Judy noticed that her friend seemed not really to have his heart in the discussion, his mind appeared to be elsewhere as he gazed up at the silhouette of their building, Zootopia, looming ahead, picturesquely set against the slowly gathering shadows of the summer evening.
The rabbit opened her mouth, thought better of it, and clamped her jaws together again with an audible clink. Nick had, after all, taken over finding their potential tenants, 'hiring' Finnick to help him. Officer Wilde had assured his partner that filling up the empty flats available in Zootopia would be 'a breeze' of a job; Judy wondered at present, seeing his pensive expression, how 'breezy' the job actually was.
It was kind of him, Judy thought, very kind, to shoulder that part of their burden. It left her free to lend FruFru a paw in setting up the hair salon business, which seemed (so far at least) to be a doable task, given the shrew's enthusiasm and the amount of zeal she was putting into the project.
"Let's go and eat out tonight Nick!" Judy exclaimed impulsively, hopping up. "No reheated leftovers this time!"
Startled out of his thoughts, the fox smiled down at her.
'How extravagant, Officer Carrots," he said, shaking his head. "And on a week night too! What about your revision timetable then?"
For Judy was, unsurprisingly, also the one of the pair who had drawn up their revision schedule, the one that supposed they studied at least four evenings a week (with longer sessions over the week-ends) in their best effort to prepare the qualification tests for the State Exams.
"We'll put in two extra hours this Saturday," Judy countered, thumping her foot decisively. "It'll do us good to get a breather."
"Yea-ah," Nick looked from her back at Zootopia and then again at Judy. "Well, you're the boss rabbit; I can't really try and talk you out of taking some downtime and into studying now, can I? That's too much of a turn of tables for me to take in all at once."
"Let's go then?" Judy asked, beaming.
"Ok, let's," Nick smiled for real this time, his face relaxing somewhat. "I'm fried myself, poring over books would be counter-productive now more than anything. What does Carrots feel like eating then?"
"We-ell, I'm actually torn between that noodle place we wanted to try, you know the new one at the West End of Sahara, or just going to Tony's again."
"The tried and trusted deli or the noodle bar adventure," Nick spread his arms dramatically. "What exciting lives we lead!"
Judy's laugh echoed down the street as the two young officers headed downtown, their backs turned on Zootopia.
They ended up opting for the 'tried trusted deli'. Placing their tried and trusted order each (vegan wholegrain pasta and vegetable stir fry with a carrot/beetroot juice for one, and an extra-large house lasagna with two rolls of garlic bread and a coke for the other.. our reader, intimately acquainted with the duo by now, would hardly need me to specify which order was for which animal). And they ended up sitting in a corner table, overlooking the busy street below (the restaurant being on the first floor of a shabby chic granite building) the chatter of animals floating up to them from below. The street view was partly obscured by some handsome potted leafy plans lining the windowsill, their cheerful terracotta pots painted in red and blue and orange. Several other late-evening diners were enjoying their meals, chattering and laughing over the hustle and bustle of the waiters and the melodious rustic music pouring out of the old music box in the corner of the rectangular room.
The same old deli on a Wednesday night, their usual favorite dishes, the chatter of the diners around them, the potted plants and even the waiter (a portly warthog with a bushy moustache and a checkered red and white spotless apron) bustling around and taking the different mammals' orders – everything was so peaceful, so ordinary at first (and even at second!) glance that our reader must still be raising his or her eyebrows over that untimely term of 'revolution'.
It was there, however. There was this huge shift in the atmosphere and the current of our friends' lives that, though invisible, was really tangible.
Neither of the pair had mentioned Jack Savage in weeks.
Judy had insisted (if our reader recalls) that the two friends speak to Savage, therefore taking the first step (and thus keeping the upper paw), cornering him before he cornered them, trying to figure out what game he was playing and what cards he was carrying up his sleeve. Nick had hardly refused Judy's suggestion, however the subject seemed to have been suspended in midair since the last time we'd witnessed our heroes mention it.
No, neither of the pair had mentioned Savage in weeks, and it was this burden of silence that seemed to grow heavier day in and day out and that was at the origin of the revolutionary change we'd mentioned earlier.
It is hardly strange, you might say, or revolutionary, to abandon a subject for some time and then come back to it.
Yes, dear reader, you are correct, there is nothing strange about abandoning, or forgetting a subject for some time, however long, and then coming back to it eventually. It can be queer though, and eerie even, to abandon a subject purposefully, to avoid talking to your best friend about it, to carefully skirt the matter every time it seems susceptible to resurface because… well, because one is afraid perhaps? Afraid of opening a topic so very close to a notion that is very much taboo in one's entire society.
Savage had been, in Nick and Judy's perception, a dangerous chap, a shady character, a crook or a double agent – or both. This was not something that could make our friends feel queasy in itself, the young ZPD officers having seen all sorts of animals in the course of their relatively short lives and careers.
But ever since the discovery, what with the story FruFru and Finnick had related, the discovery that Savage's name was apparently linked with, well, with an inter-species story of romance… it is hard, perhaps, to describe just to what extent this subject was shocking in the world of Zootropolis and its habitants.
Perhaps there were reasons that rendered the subject even more off-limits for our two friends than it did for your average Zootropolis mammal.
And yet, the topic would undoubtedly resurface one way or another if the two did plunge ahead with contacting Savage and trying to have it out with him. They would somehow be inviting him back into their lives – inviting him back in along with the tainted atmosphere of that restricted theme that went paw-in-paw with his name.
It seemed that he would find his way back into their world eventually though. This was Judy's conviction in any case.
Which was how she found the courage to break the silence that had been drifting in the air between her and her friend since their orders had arrived.
"So," Judy said, after pushing the salad leaves that had been served as a side on her big platter around for a bit. She took a deep breath and plunged straight in (because what was the point of beating about the bush?) "About Savage," she lifted her gaze and gave Nick a pointed look.
The fox exhibited no surprise at this sudden choice of subject, as if it had been a topic they'd already started discussing.
In a way, it is true that they had, for the silence of the past weeks had surrounded the subject more eloquently than words could have.
Nick took his time, breaking his garlic bread up carefully into pieces, as if this task was extremely important and urgent, before replying with a small nod,
"Yes, Savage. Old rabbit-whiskers-double-agent."
"Double agent or.. whatever," Judy rubbed her temples in distraction, watching a family of hippos at a table at the other end of the room absently. The baby (who was as big as Judy herself if not bigger) was making big eyes at her mother in an attempt to get the latter to share her chocolate pudding. "I stand by what I said before," Judy said firmly, snapping her gaze back at her partner. "We have to take the first step, we have to call Savage out, talk to him... try to figure out what he knows and what he doesn't. There's something incredibly sneaky going on around here, if you ask me. And Savage seems to be a central figure in it all."
Nick nodded slowly.
"Shows up out of the blue, tries to corner you," the fox said, ticking the various points off on his fingers. "Wants information about the Night Howlers' case and the serum, not to mention his somehow magically finding his way to the same TV interview you were invited to - and not long after who should start hanging around the ZPD but the very same Miss Ice Queen Reporter who was on TV that same day with you and old Chocolate Chef."
"Yes, there's her," Judy clenched her fists impulsively at the thought of Margaret Frost. "That mammal has a tail in all this too, you mark my words Nick."
"I'm marking them, now just relax a bit, will you Carrots?" Nick said in amusement.
Judy tried to oblige his request, taking a deep breath; the fox reporter had indeed the greatest tendency to irritate our heroine, even when just appearing in her thoughts. There was more to be said on that point though, and after composing herself somewhat, Judy said it.
"Besides," the rabbit stated somewhat delicately. "Miss Frost is an arctic fox," she paused for effect.
Judy was very certain that Nick understood where she was going with this. He did not seem at all prepared to render her task easy though, as he busied himself in pushing the remains of his lasagna around in his plate. Judy pressed on, somewhat peeved at having to be the one to launch every tricky discussion the pair ever had (or so she thought at least).
"From what FruFru and Finnick said," the rabbit continued doggedly. "The lady that Savage had... met all those years back was an arctic fox too."
"Mmm-hum," was Nick's eloquent reply, his entire demeanor suggesting that Judy was developing some unnecessary and irrelevant point.
Judy counted to ten in her mind patiently, before trying again.
"There could maybe be some link between Miss Frost and the other.. Skye, or whatever her name had been," Judy pressed. "I mean there are just.. way too many coincidences !"
"Maybe," Nick shrugged noncommittally.
"Thanks for your insights," Judy said, a bit sourly.
"My pleasure Carrots," Nick replied, with a small smile that acknowledged the fact that he was completely running away from the issue.
A small silence ensued, as each animal seemed uncertain of how to continue. It was clear that they had not addressed the underlying conflict. And that they hardly wanted to. And that it needed to be addressed at least to some extent before they came nose-to-nose with Savage.
Judy was just working up her courage to start talking again when Nick surprised her by speaking first.
"The good thing to do," he said, spinning the salt shaker between his fingers with a frown of concentration and speaking seemingly more to himself than to Judy. "Would be to let Savage do the talking but.. also to control the scope of the discussion. To avoid going into all sorts of.. unnecessary historic facts and the like."
"Like what the name of the first rabbit who grew blueberries was?" Judy asked, deadpan.
Nick grinned at the feeble joke.
"Like what the species of the first mammal to call a rabbit 'cute' was Carrots," he returned.
Judy aimed a pretend kick at her partner for the 'C-word' mention, before scratching her head thoughtfully. So, Nick basically meant that he agreed to the 'talking to Savage' prospect, and suggested that they steer the conversation clear of any potential mention of past suspected arctic fox lovers. That was one way of handling the situation, Judy decided. In so far as over-sensitive topics and problematic issues were concerned, pretending they did not exist was one strategy. And hell, it was one often enough employed by other animals.
It was not a method that was very effective, in her own personal opinion. She had had too much experience with mammals attempting to close their eyes at the bigger issue. And yet, it seemed like it was the likeliest way to get Nick on board with her plan of calling Savage out.
Which is why, after quickly going over this line of thought, Judy's immediate response was: "Sounds like a plan."
"Then here's to the plan," Nick was quick to reply, holding his huge cola up in mock-toast.
Judy wondered absently why Nick should feel so over-squeamish with the subject of Savage's supposed past amorous life – her friend was not the kind of animal to be way prudish even over subjects most animals found shocking (his bringing her to the nudist yoga class during the course of their first investigation sprang to memory easily) - yet here they were, skirting around the issue of something that had or had not happened years ago.
The important point, the point to focus on at this time, however, as Judy told herself, was that Nick had agreed with her plan. Even if he did place a condition.
"Here's to the plan," she repeated firmly after Nick. One way or another, they'd advance that much in their search for information.
The thing the two young animals did not take into account at the time? Plans change.
It was none too early to agree on a plan of action, so far as Savage were concerned. The two friends were no sooner back at their home after the impromptu dinner outing, that they discovered an envelope that had been addressed to Judy in neat sharp handwriting, one they pulled out from their newly established post box, along with the eternal pizza parlor leaflets.
Both friends had a sense of foreboding when they first laid eyes on the letter.
In silence Judy slit the envelope open, and both animals knelt over the small note and read under the light of the streetlamp (for the late summer night had finally fallen by this time) the following lines:
Officer Hopps,
At the risk of growing wearisome, I would however ask whether you have had time to consider (or re-consider) the proposition of our joint business venture such as I mentioned it to you the other day, what with the link between the first case you had worked on in the 'big city'.
I would trouble you for a reply at your earliest convenience and expect a response, one way or the other, by next Monday at the latest.
Very much obliged, I remain your humble servant,
Mr Harry HENDERSON,
Chocolatier par excellence
(Harry Henderson the hare was, after all, the alias Jack Savage had donned, if our reader will remember).
The two ZPD officers made their way up to their penthouse home in silence, the speedy elevator's tiny whirring noise the only sound during the interval they mulled over this letter.
Once back in their penthouse, after a quick consultation, deciding that they were still abiding by the plan they had just agreed on at the deli, Judy seated herself down firmly at the kitchen counter to pen a reply back to Savage (or 'Harry', as she accordingly addressed him) with Nick watching over her shoulder to read her reply. She posted her note the following morning on the way to work, so it was on the eve of Thursday, not two full days after sending off his ultimatum that Jack Savage was reading, with some surprise, the reply that had been so speedily dispatched and was not, at first glance, negative:
Mr Henderson, (ran Judy's response),
I agree to talk over your business proposition, as you put it, again.
Please, would you join Officer Wilde and me at our new home (the penthouse of the building Zootopia, where you sent your letter to) this Saturday afternoon, around 4pm say, so that we can discuss the matter?
Sincerely,
Judy Hopps
Your average animal would have been rather pleased at receiving such a quick and non-contradictory sort of reply. Savage was an experienced, tough sort of fellow though. He disliked it when things seemed to go easy, as his hindsight suggested that it was more often a bad sign than not.
The would be chocolatier frowned and gazed out of his shop window, his brow knit in agitation.
"Another trap?" he asked himself darkly.
Nick and Judy were, mercifully, alone in their office on Friday afternoon. They had endured Margaret Frost's presence on Thursday (the reporter now seemed very interested in the two animals' plans of passing the State Examinations, as they had officially filed their entry forms at work and word had gone public). They had then had an agreeable Friday morning with Tabitha, who took notes and joked with them. And now it was Friday afternoon, and most ZPD officers were starting to look forward to the week-end, discussing their plans.
Our friends' week-end plans were not so breezy though that they could laugh over them. Holed up in their tiny office, they were going over the motions for Saturday with as much zeal as if they were discussing an actual priority work case.
"Savage is dangerous," Nick was saying. "He's sly as a pack of – well-"
"Foxes?" Judy suggested, cracking a smile.
"Yes, exactly," Nick replied, with a brief grin of his own. "He's sharp too. He knew where we lived already – either he'd had us followed, or hacked out accounts, or—"
"Yes yes, the method hardly matters here," Judy agreed. "What matters is he's out to get us, old innocent Mister Hare."
"Mister Would-be Hare Oh-So-Kind and Confectioning Chocolate Stuffed with Diamonds," Nick added. "There's the diamonds Carrots, remember the ones we found in that chocolate bar! And the walrus back in Aquatica, and Big asking us to investigate him in exchange for the money loan. This whole thing is interconnected somehow."
"But what does it have to do with the Night Howlers' case?" Judy asked in frustration. "For he did ask me specifically about the serum Nick! He wants his paws on it. What's the connection?"
"Diamonds could be there to pay for the serum," Nick suggested with a shrug.
Judy looked at him over the brink of her tea mug, somewhat surprised.
"Seriously?" she exclaimed.
"Why not?" Nick parried. "If I were demanding payment for delivering something so rare as the Night Howlers' serum to my customer – kind of thing I've never done, mind you – I would probably ask for something a little more valuable than cash Carrots."
"One of Zootropolis' jewelers could be behind the financing," Judy nodded slowly.
"Or someone stole the diamonds off a jeweler to finance their little venture," Nick suggested.
"Or someone is working paw-in-paw with a jeweler," Judy mused. "But we keep trying to advance on the premise that Savage is just a pawn, working for some big-shot. What if he's acting of his own accord Nick? I wonder…" she trailed off.
Nick shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
Judy sighed in slight irritation. She was sure that the answer to part of their questions, if not all, lay in Savage's past. But in digging deeper into this supposition, they would be violating their very agreement to avoid the subject of Savage and Skye. So they had to try to move forward with their paws tied behind their back.
"From the top then," Judy said, gathering her scattered papers in a neat stack matter-of-factly. "What do we know then, precisely? Savage is pretending to be a chocolate chef and a hare…"
"I have never felt less prepared for a good-cop, bad-cop sort of interview," Judy grumbled, as she pulled the cushions on their small sofa straight on Saturday afternoon.
"It's because you've never worked freelance," Nick commented easily. The fox was lounging on a high stool at the kitchenette counter, stirring his humongous cup of coffee with audible clinking sounds.
"Freelance or none," Judy replied, turning to face him and wiping the sweat off her brow. "I just don't feel like I've done anything useful to prep this one."
"I disagree," Nick replied seriously. "What about this ginormous tea selection?" the fox nodded at the (indeed impressive) array of tea boxes that were lined up on the counter. Judy scowled at him.
"Nothing wrong with welcoming an animal properly in one's home, even if the animal is a two-faced crook," she said with dignity.
"You bunnies," Nick laughed lightly. "You're so homey! Savage was the same, even, when I'd gone to see him at his shop. He gave me hot cocoa and the lot before kicking me out."
Judy was opening her mouth to retort angrily (probably to the fact that Nick had just described all rabbits as 'homey') when the front doorbell sounded with a cheery chirp. A hasty glance at the clock on their sitting room wall confirmed that it was precisely four pm.
The two friends exchanged looks in silence, and Judy turned on her heel to go to the door and usher their guest in. At the very least, Jack Savage was a punctual animal.
The atmosphere in the sitting room was so tense, one could have sliced it with a paring knife.
Jack Savage sat on the couch, his back very straight and his paws clasped lightly in his lap, his cold blue eyes fixed on the two friends, who faced him, having taken seats at the counter opposite. The cup of Earl Grey Judy had fixed the other rabbit was resting untouched on the coffee table in front of Savage, alongside the cheerful potted plant in its smart little brick-colored pot.
"Thanks for the begonia," Judy said finally, breaking the silence and indicating the pot.
"It is customary not to arrive empty-pawed when invited for the first time at a mammal's residence," Savage replied swiftly. "I would have brought you some of my cream of chocolate truffles, but I imagined that, given the circumstances, you would have found it difficult to trust me so far as to consume any edible goods I would have brought."
"Yes," Judy said uneasily. "You don't take sugar then, do you?" she asked, indicating the tea cup in front of him.
"I don't take any beverages, Officer," Jack Savage replied. "Not when I am outnumbered in a hostile environment. It comes of experience, and negative experience at that."
Judy glanced at Nick who shrugged imperceptibly. Quite a start this interview was off to, she thought cynically. Just dandy.
"So, you wanted to see us," she tried again.
"On the contrary Officer," Savage replied, as quick as last time. "It is you who extended me an invitation. I sit at your attention."
Nick and Judy were both in civilian clothing, Nick in his green shirt and yellow trousers and Judy in a purplish T-shirt and dark blue slacks. She wondered why Savage had to address them as 'Officers' each time. Then she wondered what else he could have addressed them as – given the context of the meeting, they were hardly likely to get on first-name terms anytime soon.
"You wanted us to help you out on something involving the Night Howlers," she said, trying a new approach.
"I wanted you to procure me a sample of the Night Howlers' serum Officer," Savage corrected her. "In exchange for generous payment or for a job proposition."
"Right, 'job proposition'," Judy parried coldly. "Whatever. "
"Or handsome payment," Savage reiterated patiently, as if he were speaking to a cub.
"What I want to know Savage," Judy said firmly, "Is what you want that serum for, or who your customer is. Before I decide whether we're helping you or not."
"You're joking around Officer," Savage remarked, his expression that of mild surprise. "You can not imagine I'd give you that information so readily upon simple request."
""Oh, you have no idea how naïve and pure these bunny cops can be," Nick put in cheerfully. "You'll soon learn."
"You must be joking," Judy was saying at the same time, immediately fired up. "If you think that I'll help you without any further information as to who you are or who you're helping or anything."
Jack Savage looked at her attentively for a moment before replying.
"You have no guarantee that what I tell you is the truth Officer," he said finally. "What good would it do you for me to give you my reasons?"
"I could check them out if you'd only give me them," Judy said testily. "I'm a cop. Investigating is my job."
"Fair enough," Savage replied. His gaze wandered over the oblong room, with the summer sunshine pouring in through the oval window in the roof and the bright boxes of tea and bits of crockery stacked on the counter and the couple of bright paintings framed on the walls, depicting scenes of country life (a housewarming gift courtesy of Judy's parents).
Something in the atmosphere of the little dwelling seemed to decide Savage on his course of action. In any case, he straightened his tie with a swift movement (for he was smartly dressed in a grey suit) and said quietly.
"I am not so much working for somebody as working because of somebody Officers."
"What in the name of sweet cheese and crackers, as Carrots here would say," Nick said wearily, "are you one about Savage?"
"What I mean is that I am operating under a threat, under blackmail," Jack said, his tone quite expressionless. "That my 'customer', so to speak, can exercise over me because they have power over someone I… cared for."
Judy all but choked on her tea. She felt Nick start by her side as well. This was surely it – they had walked smack into the very subject they had been trying to avoid,
Well, the rabbit police officer thought wryly, at least her instinct had been right and this whole affair seemed to date back to Savage's past.
The latter seemed to remark, again with mild surprise, the reaction his words had had on the two friends. Jack watched our duo, his eyebrows raised, as they ostentatiously tried to fight down any obvious show of shock on their side, Nick spluttering on his coffee somewhat. As the two young officers calmed down, Jack's expression changed from one of someone startled to that of cold disdain.
"I see you have had some echo of my history Officers," he said quietly.
"What makes you say that?" Judy croaked hastily.
"You are extremely poor at bluffing, Officer," Savage told her coolly. "You should better have left the task to your friend – who seems unequal to it at present as well though."
This much was certainly true, for Nick showed no sign of wishing to embark on the subject any further.
"And which one of the numerous existing versions have you heard, I wonder, Officers," Jack was saying, leaning back on the couch, his arms crossed defiantly now that the ever-present and ever-restricted subject had been somewhat breached. "Pray tell."
"Is this at all relevant?" Judy muttered, as Nick seemed unprepared to offer any assistance, his expression suggesting that he wished himself many miles away.
"You are the one who started the discussion, Officer," Savage countered. "Do not then show displeasure if my answers to your questions do not satisfy you."
"Who is threatening you?" Judy tried, edging her way further from the mention of the one Savage may have 'cared for'.
"Do you understand the concept of blackmail Officer?" Savage asked pleasantly. "My giving up the identity of the very mammal who is behind the deed would put the animal I am trying to protect in the gravest of dangers."
"You can trust us," Judy said hotly. "And if we knew who was behind the whole thing, we could help!"
"Lovely Officer," Savage said, his tone full of heavy sarcasm. "Thank you for telling me I could trust you. I now feel infinitely better."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Judy asked indignantly.
"I would have been six feet underground under a nice granite slab Officer," Savage replied testily, "If I went around trusting mammals as soon as they told me I could."
"Great," Judy folded her arms on her chest. "Well, this discussion is going nowhere. And you should trust us, one way or another, on this case. We're in the same boat."
"Same boat?" Jack echoed, looking at Judy incredulously. He threw his arms up in annoyance. "Same boat Officer? What do you know about being in the same boat? Have you any idea what it is like to be a pariah, an outcast forever more? Oh, spare me Madam," he added, raising a paw to stop Judy from speaking. "Spare me your assurance that you have seen animal hypocrisy at its worst what with your brilliant and unique career at the Force. I grant you, you must have stumbled on a couple of blocking points. However, let me assure you Officer that that is nothing – nothing, believe you me – to being shunned by your family, your connections, your friends, your entire entourage, personal and professional, your species and every other and every single bloody mammal in this cursed city to such a point that you begin to question whether everyone else is right in thus pushing you out, to such a point that you are unsure of your own sanity, your very right to live, that you believe you no longer know up from down or wrong from right, and all of this because of something that is not only not your fault, but is beyond your control, that you would have happily given up except that it ends up becoming a part of you, a very part of your constitution, with you in your thoughts and even your dreams when you are asleep—"
This impassioned speech was interrupted somewhat none too elegantly by the sound of Nick gagging on his coffee. Both rabbits whipped around to throw him a look, Judy's mouth somewhat open because of Jack's short monologue and the unmistakable feeling and sincerity behind it. It had obviously impressed Nick too, for the latter was coughing up his coffee with the look of one who has scalded his tongue, having taken a swig of their drink to calm down, forgetting that their drink was much too hot.
"That's quite the.. story," Judy said, turning back to Savage, leaving Nick to fend for himself. "I mean I'm really.. sorry you had to go through that. And still do. Really."
"Are you?" Jack replied, his words seemingly addressed at Judy, although his gaze never left Nick.
A heartbeat or two went by thus, where Judy gazed in sympathy at Jack, Jack watched Nick without blinking and Nick squirmed over his coffee on his bar stool.
"It is a very hard fate," Jack said finally, seemingly in continuation of his small speech. "Very hard indeed. One you would not wish onto your worst enemy." His tone was no longer passionate but more musing.
"Yes," Judy agreed in some surprise and
"So we've heard," Nick muttered, wincing.
"Quite the fate," Savage repeated again, his gaze coming to rest on Judy in speculation. "Well then," he came suddenly to himself, altogether looking much more cheerful than a moment ago. "I must be going. No need to impose anymore on your time, particularly on a day off Officers."
"WHAT?" Judy's jaw literally dropped open. "What are you on about? We haven't arrived at any sort of decision."
"True," Jack was straitening his tie an his blazer again. "But there is no need for us to thrash the topic around anymore. Not when I sincerely believe that the time will come sooner than later that you'll help of your own accord Officers," he did something surprising here and actually winked at the two. "In the same boat, aren't we, just like you said Officer."
"So.. you're just leaving?" Judy asked, to be clear.
"You'll be the ones coming back to see me Officer. Trust me," Jack smiled at her, not unkindly.
Judy did not see how this could be true but at the same time, there was no way she'd be holding Savage back when he seemed to be willingly leaving them alone.
"Thank you for the warm welcome," the rabbit was saying, heading towards the door.
"You're...welcome I guess?" Judy replied, still taken aback.
Jack had reached the front door and thrown it open to show himself out. Silhouetted in the doorway, he turned to face the other two and Judy could see that his eyes and face were shining and that he looked more cheerful than she had ever seen him.
Inexplicably, Jack pointed a finger at Nick and exclaimed in a voice that sounded more humorous and, well, youthful than Judy could ever have imagined,
"Dead fox walking!"
"The exit is behind you, Chocolate Whiskers," the fox muttered at this, in what somehow sounded as a very feeble comeback.
"Do you think," Judy asked Nick, turning to face him once the door had shut behind Jack Savage, "that he's a little crazy Nick?"
"Aren't all rabbits?" Nick asked, draining the last dregs of his coffee, and Judy saw, upon closer scrutiny, that her friend appeared incredibly tired out by this short interview, though she hardly knew why.
"Are you OK?" she asked in concern.
"Never better," Nick replied, not quite meeting her eye. He was jumping up now, heading towards the door himself with some words of 'getting some air, needing a breather' and 'dropping in on Finn'.
With the door closing a second time, Judy was left quite alone in the penthouse and rather stunned at the sudden strange turn of events.
"Well," she said to herself finally. "Savage said he'd leave us alone for the time being, whatever he meant. And I don't see any reason why we'd have to come see him, like he implied. And he did get us a rather nice potted plant."
And with that, she picked the plant up in some satisfaction and placed it on a windowsill, deciding that finally, the visit of their mysterious enemy (or was he one?) had gone off quite well.
Of the two landlords of Zootopia she was the only one to hold this opinion. A fact she was completely unaware of at this time.
Ooof. Well, that's that for the chapter :) Another one'll be up before the New Year, so everyone stay tuned - stuff is starting to happen :)
But enough of this, we were supposed to talk about the contest and the winners!
For winners they are, in the plural! I know we had announced that there'd only be one winner all in all, but when the time came, we had so many great entries that we had to name a few runners up!
So it goes like this: we have three runners up, all sharing the honorary pedestal, equal:
- TheRealFanboy, with his story 'Looking for Nick'. A great take on a classic subject - Nick and Judy's separation during their would-be fight in the film - but this time from Finnick's POV.
- Alex Boehm , with his story '4th of July; A Patriotic Zootopia Drabble', a very one-of-a-kind take on what happens when Nick and Judy cross the author at the 4th of July festivities.
- Ma Adelaida Pablo with her great fanart that is a cross between Zootropolis and the Thief and the Cobbler, sending us back to the 'the balls are gonnne!' scene (lol!)
And finally, our ultimate winner:
- George James Valtom with his fanfiction 'Silenced by the Lamb'. Also an original (we scored the web checking that no one else had had the idea!) take on how things go in the Night Howlers' case. A many-chaptered fic that is still coming out, our hearty congrats to George and good luck for the upcoming chapters!
That being said, everyone really did a GREAT job and if I could I would have gotten gifts for everyone (but then I would have had no more money left to buy stupid stuff like food and gas, so, bummer! ;)) We had announced the main criteria as originality, so we did our best to stick to it and to make our choices accordingly.
Some of the winners have sent us photos with their prizes, so the lot will be going up on irina-bourry DOT tumblr DOT com and irina-bourry DOT deviantart DOT com, as well as the stories and fanart pieces themselves, not only the winners' ones but some others that we really liked (with primary agreement with the authors/artists) as there is really a wealth of good Zootopia fandom material in this contest. Really, great, great, superb job everyone. We are really lucky to have so many talented people working on this fandom. Bravo.
I'll be going around the main Zootopia fanfiction and fanart sites and groups too so that they can share the outstanding entries we have received. I'll keep you all posted on my tumblr and deviantart and here of course :)
And finally.. this will not be the last contest we hold, as promised :) Everyone stay tuned!
And have a good one :)
Ta,
-ChezIBY
PS Someone who knows Ma Adelaida Pablo, pinch her please! She is not replying to our emails and she has a prize to claim :)