Chapter 18. The Queen Was in the Parlor.
This is chapter 18, all four parts together! If you've followed the story so far, there's nothing here but all four parts squashed together for convenience, but more is coming up in a heartbeat!
First bit of chapter 18.
Thanks so much for all yoru reviews and private messages and also for reassuring me that you liked the tone and pace of the story! I am so lucky to have such nice readers :) Great Monday all around!
The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.
- Mark Twain.
It was a beautiful evening. The sun had just set and the sky was still tainted rose and auburn hues closer to the horizon, while high in the heavens the first stars were winking through. The brightest ones that could compete with the many lights of the city, that was, Judy noted as she looked up through the oval window in the penthouse ceiling, sipping her evening primrose infusion and lolling on the sofa in her comfiest cotton blue T-shirt and slacks. She remembered how numerous the stars were back home at Bunnyburrow, where the country nights afforded unobscured views of nocturnal celestial beauty.
She would have to stay longer the next time she went for a visit, Judy mused. Granted, it would probably be for her sister Pansy's wedding, so she wouldn't have much choice. She had run off, more or less, that last time. But circumstances being what they were...
The young rabbit officer sighed, taking a deep swig of warm drink. She felt as if she were unwinding to some degree for the first time since many days. It had been quite the rollercoaster, emotionally as well as every other way.
She frowned a bit as she thought yet again of the preceding day and what she rather supposed had been the conclusion of her dealings with Jack Savage (little did she know...) After securing the data about the whereabouts of young Sylvester Snow, Skye's surviving son, she had paid a surprise visit to Savage's undercover chocolate shop. The double agent had raised his eyebrows quizzically upon seeing Officer Hopps strolling into his boutique. But his initial surprise was succeeded by sheer astonishment as Judy had pressed an unlabeled folder into his paws, with a hurried mumbled explanation of, 'This is about the kit you're maybe trying to find - found his whereabouts through the system - shouldn't be doing this, but I'll give you forty eight hours' head start - you can get a lot done in forty eight hours, trust me - just hope I'm not wrong about you on this -'
"Now just a moment Officer -" Savage had started off in a somewhat shaken voice. He was speaking to Judy's receding back by that time though. All in all the rabbit police officer had spent a maximum of two minutes on the shop premises altogether.
Well, she had given him forty eight hours, Judy told herself, or nearly. They'd be up the following morning, and then she'd follow through and find out whether Savage had paid a visit at the orphanage out in Rainforest or not and how that had gone. Judy was still somewhat stunned at herself for handing the file over so blithely to Jack Savage. Suppose she had been utterly wrong and he had not been operating out of a wish to be reunited with his long lost stepson? Suppose she had somehow inadvertently placed the young kit in danger? Judy fought down the urge to jump up and head out to the ZPD headquarters then and there, trying to calm her frazzled nerves by reassuring herself that tomorrow morning would afford time and opportunity enough to take care of things.
Especially since Miss Margaret Frost was bound to be absent from the premises by the time. Judy's frown deepened as a mental image of the vixen floated in front her mind's eye. Judy hadn't seen the vixen these past several days. The reporter had been sticking around the police station for quite a while after Nick and the other selected officers had left for training. She had gotten on Judy's nerves quite a bit... but had mercifully been replaced a few days back by Tabitha, her young tigress assistant, who informed a delighted Judy that she had been posted there to wrap up the few remaining things the ZNN network had to do before they could pull their ZPD special through to post-production.
Judy was more than exuberant at having Tabitha around rather than the annoying Miss Frost, yet somehow at the back of her mind she felt a mite uneasy about the vixen's sudden retreat. One minute she had been all over the ZPD building, arriving bright and early everyday and seeming anxious to get whatever it was she had to get done, though what it was Judy quite failed to see because all the filming for the show had already been wrapped up. And the last day Miss Frost had put in an appearance at the police station, Judy had caught an expression on her face that had seemed... triumphantly mocking for want of a better turn of phrase.
What was that all about?
I am unable, Judy told herself, half-amused and half-exasperated, to maintain 'a neutral, unbiased standard' as far as that fox is concerned. She chuckled inwardly at her little joke and real-time application of a word-for-word definition straight from 'The Modern ZPD Officer's Handbook'. Her smile was short-lived though as her thoughts trickled back to her textbooks. She could hardly have helped herself from going over some of them again once the initial shock of her failure had subsided. The terms and factual questions that had been part of her exam paper were as she remembered them, word for word. Which was really anything but astonishing, she had spent so much time poring over the books in the weeks leading up to the prequalification test that she remembered entire pages by heart and by sight.
Where exactly had she failed? That was what the tiny but sure nagging voice at the outskirts of her mind kept asking. It had to be the essay because it just couldn't be anything else. But she had chosen traffic flow and road accident issues, and she knew so much about that... she had written an entire page more than what had been requested... could she ask Bogo for an inquiry? If she made it clear that she wanted to know where she'd gone wrong, not make him view her as a bitter and resentful little mammal?
Her phone pinged at that precise moment and startled Judy out of her thoughts; glancing hastily at the screen she saw it was Finnick. Finnick had spent nearly the whole day at the building, showing customer after customer around the flats that were still available for rent. Quite a number of the lodgings had already been rented out, and long term at that, and the fox had told Judy with suppressed glee that he anticipated she'd not have an empty apartment left in the whole building by sundown.
Judy smiled a bit as she took the call, wondering whether he were calling to share some good news. It was extraordinary good news so far as she was concerned, for the rent pouring in had altogether miraculously made her feel like she could breathe again in terms of the hefty loan she and Nick still owed Mister Big.
"How is it going Finnick?" she asked, pressing the phone to her ear.
"Not bad," came the grunt of a reply down the line. "There's three more that are ready to rent and two others that said they'll get back to ya, but they're more likely to say yes than not."
"That's awesome?..." Judy trailed, wondering why he sounded guarded.
"Awesome's the word," Finnick replied testily. "I was pleased myself. Was just heading off but I run into this mammal just outside the building. White sort of vixen, wanted to see you. Anyone you know?"
Judy stiffened, her mug still clasped firmly in her paw.
"Want I should send her packing?" Finnick asked her on the other end.
"No," Judy sighed heavily, pulling herself to her feet. "I'll see her; if she wants something from me she won't rest till we've spoken."
"You sure rabbit?" Finnick sounded hesitant. "What with Wilde gone," he added quietly and Judy wondered whether he were speaking so as the vixen wouldn't overhear him.
"I'm a police officer Finn," Judy replied with dignity, "I can look after myself. Would you tell her to come up please?"
"Your funeral, rabbit," came the somewhat less than reassuring reply.
"Yes, yes it is," Judy agreed, putting her phone down with a sharp decisive little gesture.
Chapter 18. The Queen Was in the Parlor - part 2.
Judy stood erect and proud in the fading light, just outside the door of the penthouse, as she waited for her uninvited guest to emerge on the roof. Her heart rate was somewhat quickened (a typical rabbit response to stress), but her mind was unusually clear and collected. She felt no fear, and, she reflected with satisfaction, she would not let herself be goaded into the role of prey, not with this predator or any, if she could help it.
What Margaret Frost had to say to her that had prompted her to seek the rabbit officer at her own home Judy could not imagine. She felt there was a rather reasonable chance that the visit was unfriendly, for such practice could very hardly have been approved of by Miss Frost's employers at the ZNN network.
Throwing caution to the winds and deciding to be truthful, Judy was trying to come up with a biting greeting to knock the wind out of Margaret's sails as soon as the latter appeared. The bunny had just decided that it would be rather fitting to open with a cocked eyebrow and a 'Fancy seeing you here!', when, with a jolt, she saw the vixen's silhouette mounting the last flight of stairs that led out onto the roof of the Zootopia building.
"Well," Judy said hastily, taking a step forward and attempting to look sternly amused (the way Bogo might have if he had been dealing with a particularly shady crook). "Fancy seeing..." she trailed off as the vixen arrived on the rooftop and advanced till she was two or three paces in front of her unwilling host. "You. Here," the bunny stammered somewhat clumsily, just for the sake of finishing her sentence.
It wasn't Margaret Frost.
Judy's felt like she would have liked to sit down on the ground then and there, massage her temples firmly and attempt to wrap her mind about this new development. If only she could have ten minutes to herself while the world around her just paused. Life isn't played out that way though, for better or for worse;
The vixen in front of Judy could never have been mistaken for Margaret Frost. She was shorter than the reporter, and slimmer into the bargain, her fur seemed fluffier. Her eyes were grey as were Miss Frost's, but while Margaret had cold hard eyes of pale steel, the new arrival had eyes that were like liquid silver with warm specks all over the irises. While her outfit seemed to have been thrown together in haste, her understated diamond studs and tiny pendant, as well as her navy blue straight satin dress somehow achieved altogether an effect of classe that, Judy was prepared to bet, Margaret could not have reproduced with all her smart suits and loud patent jewellery.
"I know her," Judy thought dumbly, as she stared at the lady.
"You are Officer Judy Hopps?" the vixen asked her, her tone one of anxious yet eager inquiry.
"It's Skye," Judy suddenly realized, as her memory helpfully produced the mental image of the black and white photograph she had seen in the ZPD archives. And, on the heals of that, the weary officer had time to think, "this is going to be one long night."
"Yes, yes that's me," she said out loud. "And you are?..." she added unnecessarily.
The vixen straightened.
"My name is Skye, Officer. Mrs Skye Savage. Née Frost," she inclined her head respectfully.
Savage, Judy thought dully, her mind no longer able to register surprise. She said Savage.
"Like Jack Savage," Judy pointed out, for the sake of saying something.
Skye grimaced a bit at that.
"Yes indeed," she inclined her head again. "My husband. You have met him?"
"Yes," Judy passed a paw over her eyes briefly. She felt vaguely sure of two things. The first one was that she was out of any immediate danger at the paws of the miraculously resurrected Skye. The second one was that her mind was about to be tied into even more knots than it had been recently.
"If there is something you would like to talk to me about," Judy told the newcomer finally. "Why don't you come into the penthouse and we can discuss it there."
Skye looked equally eager and hesitant. She fished a phone out of her purse and looked at it hastily, before telling Judy earnestly,
"There is nothing I would like to do more Officer, but you see, what I have to discuss with you might take a while and my children.. I left the three of them in the car downstairs and they might get somewhat restless.." she folded her paws in a pleading gesture. "Would you mind terribly if I had them come up and wait in your garden where I can keep an eye on them Officer Hopps? Teenagers you know," she flashed a sudden disarming grin that made her look very young. "The mischief when they are left unattended is endless."
Judy was really past caring, though she did feel that at a normal time she would have pointed out that they were likely to get up to as much mischief in her prim neat little garden as they were in the car. In the circumstances though she just waved a paw at her invader.
"Sure, bring them up," the rabbit sighed.
Skye was already typing a hasty message up on her phone as she advanced towards the penthouse following Judy.
"Thank you so much for your understanding Officer," she was chattering, apparently in high spirits. "You are so considerate! And it has been such a long day for them as it is, we have driven for quite a while," she flashed her quick smile at Judy again and Judy found herself responding.
Skye (Frost by her maiden name, Miss Hopps noted grimly) was very different from Margaret Frost indeed. Where Margaret laughed and chuckled all the time, one always ended up feeling like it was at one's expense, that she were trying to make you the butt of her joke. With Skye it was as if she wanted to include you in the fun and share a laugh.
Which was all very well, Judy thought, as she took the kettle to fill it up again. But what was the vixen doing here when she was supposed to have been drowned years ago, and with her kits no less?
Officer Hopps reflected stoically that she would need something stronger than primrose infusion for this interview.
The quotes I put at the beginning of chapters are meant as hints -_- There was a good one at the beginning of cchapter 18... :)
Chapter 18. The Queen was in the Parlor part 3.
Thanks so much for all your feedback and kind words!
FullTimeFangirl931 - I'm glad someone guessed about Skye, I was really wondering iff anyone would!
WingedKatt - glad someone made the connection regarding the quote :)
imjustlikehumphery - that's actually pretty neat that you've basically summarized the preceding chapters in your comments in case someone wants to refresh their memory on what happened before the hiatus but doesn't feel like going over the whole thing again; thanks!
Unnamed guest - I don't speak Spanish, I don't understand your comments, lo siento :/
AeonFeral - thanks for the continued support :)
Judy poured boiling water into the jolly little pot, watching the dark tea leaves begin to unfurl lazily within. She never took black tea at such a late time of day as a rule, but this, the bunny reflected grimly, was turning out to be quite the night in. She'd need some fortification.
Mrs Skye Savage entered the living room via the back door, coming back in from the garden where she'd popped out to chide her three teenagers.
"They seem intent on eating the entire bag of marshmallows you offered them," she told Judy apologetically. "They've taken possession of that neat barbecue stand you have in the back and they're making s'mores."
"Whatever makes them happy," Judy returned wearily, as a tinkling girlish laugh carried through from outside. Judy could see the faint light of the lighted barbecue and of course the electronic glow of the smartphone each of the three young animals hanging out outside had in their paws. Apart from that it was quite dark out;
Skye's children were polite, Judy gave them that. Once ushered up onto the rooftop by their mother, the kits had come forward to greet their would-be host readily.
"Say hello nicely," Skye had instructed them. "Officer Hopps, my children - U - Sabrina - Scott. Say your hellos children."
All of Skye's 'children' stood taller than their mom. The two girls were older than their brother and could be guessed to be twins. They were very much alike in appearance, both having the warm eyes and slim build of their mother. At this the resemblance ended however, for while Sage was every bit as elegant as her parent, her jeans and top very neat and an understated but elegant bracelet completing her ensemble, her sister Sabrina was obviously the tomboy of the family. Sabrina's fur was purposefully messy with daring black streaks painted in, she had several studs in one ear, and her shirt and jeans were rather on the baggy and torn side. The boy, Scott, was taller than either of his sisters still, but in the gangly way a young boy who's shot up half a foot over a few months can be. He smiled shyly at Judy and greeted her just as the girls did.
Once the introductions were dispensed with however, a somewhat tense moment followed during which the kits all looked from their mother to Judy expectantly and Skye cleared her throat unnecessarily several times in a way that finally enlightened a bemused Miss Hopps to the fact that, whatever urgent matter her guest wanted to discuss, she would rather not do so in front of her children.
"Would you all like a snack?" Judy had volunteered stoically, addressing the kits. Some rummaging in the cupboards produced the aforementioned bag of marshmallows. "You can go out to the garden if you like," she'd added. "The sitting area isn't very big I'm afraid, but the garden is nice and it's very warm out still."
And thus Judy found herself nose to nose with Skye, the two ladies seated comfortably on the couch, both cradling their mugs (Skye had gratefully accepted the offer of tea).
"So... can I do something for you?" Judy ventured. "Don't mind my being shaky," she added as an afterthought. "I've heard stuff about you, it's just that... well I'd heard that..."
"That I'd drowned?" Skye asked, blowing the steam away from her mug in a business-like manner. "Yes, that was the general idea. I was quite in a spot of trouble with my relatives, you see. They strongly opposed my second marriage," she grimaced.
"Yes," Judy wondered whether she'd manage to get used to Skye referencing her 'marriage' to Savage so lightly before their conversation was done with. She didn't think it very likely. "So I'd heard."
"Well, you heard correctly, whoever might have told you the story," Skye confirmed, a touch of bitterness in her voice. "And a fair sum I paid to have that boat accident staged; everything I'd put aside for five years, no less. Not to mention paying for the silence of all the mammals involved"
Judy decided it was best to refrain from asking what sources of income had permitted Mrs Savage to set aside an amount of cash sufficient to stage something as elaborate as what she had apparently pulled off.
"It worked rather well, didn't it," Judy pointed out instead. "Even Jack Savage thinks you're gone."
"No he doesn't, Officer," Skye smiled wryly at her host; "Don't let that rabbit fool you, whatever you do. Jack knows perfectly well that I am alive and well."
The bunny cop was starting to feel altogether very uneasy.
"Can you just... summarize things for me?" she pleaded Skye. "I am really not following at all I'm afraid."
"Certainly," the vixen nodded briskly and straightened somewhat in her seat. "Me, my husband (that would be Jack Savage whom you apparently know of Officer) and my children had decided to make a clean break of it and run away from the big city. Ever since my first husband had passed and I had developed a connection with Jack, my relatives had been... far from understanding."
"Yeah, I get that," Judy wrinkled her nose. "And your kits?.." she trailed off delicately.
Skye faced her stonily.
"They are my children from my first marriage Ma'am. The twins, and Scott and Sylvester. My first husband (the late Mister Snow) wasn't much of a father to them I might add. Or much of a husband to me," she rubbed her nose in irritation. "He was a heavy gambler and a drinker," she added dispassionately. "Drunk driving, motorbike accident, very young. Good riddance."
"And you met Jack?" Judy suggested.
"Yes," Skye sighed. "And all was well, or as much so as possible. He was great with the kits. They all adored him, all four of them. My extended family was the problem, which is why we had decided to head off, at least until my father lost some of his all encompassing influence in town."
"Was that likely to happen?" Judy asked, raising her eyebrows.
"Perhaps," Skye took a swig of tea. "There was a Mister Big on the scene, rising rapidly. I always felt he'd take over as big shot in the business. I think my father anticipated that as well. He would rage at such a small mammal hefting such huge deals."
"I see," Judy said, somewhat marvelling inwardly at how easily Skye could toss around any reference to her family's shady 'business' in the presence of a ZPD officer. "So.. did something go wrong with the staged accident?"
"Everything went right," Skye said bitterly. "Well, almost; Sylvester was very ill just before we had to embark. He was still very young and he hated water and being in any form of ship. I left him behind with some friends of mine I could trust.. thought I could trust. I figured I'd get the others to safety then make a dash back for baby, or Jack could get him on his way over." she was turning her mug over and over in her paws in agitation. "It was all very quick, there was no time to think."
Watching her, Judy saw the vixen's bottom lip tremble suddenly. The grey eyes gazed into her own, shining.
"Placed my bet on the wrong set of 'friends', Officer," she stated flatly. "Couldn't get a hold of them anymore after that. Didn't have anymore money to inquire; I figured my family had caught up with Sylvester and taken him back in. I only had two contacts left in the city, two lawyers I'd been friends with... for real I guess, for they're the only ones that didn't turn their backs on me when I had nothing left to pay," she added heavily. "But they couldn't find anything out! The boy had vanished into thin air! It didn't seem he was being kept at any of my relatives' homes. I just asked them to keep looking, to keep asking, but nothing, nothing came up!"
"Why didn't you ask Jack for help?" Judy asked in some surprise. "Didn't you say he'd stayed in Zootropolis at first?"
"He had," Skye replied. A rather stone-like expression came over her face and it took Judy a moment to realize that the vixen had assumed it to hide her feelings in an attempt to stay calm. "We'd separated before I went to the seaside with the kits. We'd agreed on the plan, meeting up later on. Then Sylvester got sick and I figured out how to stage the accident, and a million other things happened as they always used to with the little ones. And one thing and another, it turned out... Well, it turned out by the time I was out of town safely and in a frazzle cause I couldn't lay my paws on Sylvester, that my husband didn't want me anymore," she finished, with a defiant glance at Judy.
Judy put a paw over her mouth, aghast.
"Are you kidding?" she gasped. "What Jack just abandoned you? After all that?"
"Yes," Skye shrugged as if trying to shake off her memories. "Don't be so amazed Officer. It happens all the time. Mammals care for you one day, don't care the next. I seem to have the devil's own luck with men besides," she laughed humourlessly.
"How could he do such a thing?" Judy exclaimed indignantly. "Did you demand he explain things to you?"
"Many times," Skye's shoulders drooped somewhat and Judy noticed that the vixen had bags under her eyes. "Oh, we had quite the exchanges Officer. Between that, trying to settle the kits in the country, searching for Sylvester, and being broke... well, it wasn't quite the happily ever after I'd run away for, I can tell you that much."
Chatter carried through from the garden and uncontainable giggles followed. Skye looked out the window of the backdoor fondly.
"Well, there's them," she conceded. "And my father's and grandfather's groups are quite out of business it seems, their power reduced to nil. Jack did have something to do with that I'm sure... there were some fires in my father's warehouses, the lawyer told me that. But never mind," she pulled herself together with some effort. "Never mind all that. I was just doing my best to situate you Officer, that you may be familiar with my story. Because not one full day ago, I was contacted by my connection in town and they told me, 'Skye, hang on to your fur coat, there's a ZPD Officer who's just pulled a file up on Sylvester!'"
Skye faced Judy in agitation over the couch.
"Miss Hopps, my friend, the lawyer, had placed some feelers out around all the main districts in case Sylvester's name ever popped up in any administrative work. If he were found.. deceased, then we would at least know. And here he telephoned me to inform me that it seemed he had been kept under alias in an orphan home, and that he had just been pulled out. I demanded him to find out any details he could, but all he could come up with was that he had been given up by the orphanage to someone who produced a file put together by an Officer Judy Hopps," Mrs Skye Savage faced Judy, her eyes wide and her paws together in a pleading gesture. "Officer, I checked your address in the city register. It only indicated the address of this building, but I chanced my luck and came right over. We've been on the road all day, the children and myself. I met a fennec fox coming out and I rather pounced on him I'm afraid, but I was in luck, he knew you. Miss Hopps - do you have my son?"
"Um," Judy said unintelligently. She looked down at the dregs of tea in her mug unable to meet Skye's intent look and fighting to still a feeling of terror that somehow she'd messed up entirely. "So... You and Jack Savage are quits?" she asked carefully.
"Jack?" Skye asked, distracted. "Jack? Yes of course we are! What does Jack have to do with this?"
"And... you're sure about this?" Judy clarified. "You and him are on the same page on this?"
Skye snorted.
"We have had many, many occasions to exchange on the subject, I can promise you that Officer," she said vehemently. "That he wanted to wash his paws of me and my entire family was very clear. What language he employed precisely I will spare your handsome long ears the necessity to listen to. But what does Jack have to do with Sylvester?"
"Well," Judy pulled her right ear down in agitation. "Quite a bit as it turns out."
Skye looked at her a moment, uncomprehending, before her whole voice jolted in shock.
"Did you hand my son over to Jack, Officer?" she gasped.
"Technically no," Judy pointed out morosely. "Technically I handed him the file."
"Good heavens!" Skye exclaimed, running both paws through her fur in agitation. "But I don't understand - why would you? Did he threaten you?"
"Well no," Judy sighed. "Not that time I mean. It's complicated. Look, why don't you just calm down and we can try and figure out-"
"Calm down!" Skye was pacing the floor , clasping her hands together convulsively. Judy thought wearily that she was rather a diva. "How can you ask a mother to calm down in these circumstances Officer! I almost had my baby again. What can we do now?"
"Ugh," Judy muttered, entirely not knowing how she would expand on that particular opening.
She was spared the necessity of thinking something up as at that precise moment there was the scraping sound of a key turning in the front door lock.
Skye turned over her shoulder, surprised at the disturbance, and Judy hopped to her feet frowning, as she muttered at Skye, "There's only Nick who has the key besides me."
Confession - I have been looking forward to writing out the part that happens next since forever XD Drama ahoy!
Chapter 18. The Queen Was in the Parlor - part 4
Thanks everyone for hanging in there; this part is rather crucial and I had to go over my notes and make sure I wasn't leaving anything out!
As it were,
Gallowaychi - smoke bombs is exactly the term I would have used :)
Brutus - oh, you'll see this in a long time as you've only started reading I guess, but let me address your comment. You are right and I have already had it pointed out that Nick's sparring with the other officers was unnecessary. In my defense that first chapter was written when I'd only watched Zootropolis once in the cinema and had nothing but my memory to rely on, so it must have been a mix of the scene's of Nick being tomented as a child and Judy being impressed by all the larger mammals when she first arrived at the ZPD that prompted it. After getting more familiar with their world, I do feel like at a later editing I will exclude that. My goal at this time is to finish writing the sroty up thoug, editing will come later! Thanks so much for the thoughtful feedback :)
10 Dark - thanks :)
FullTimeFanGirl931 - well I guess you'll have your answer now :)
WingedKatt - Oh I love drama and cliffhangers in my fics ^^
AeonFeral - I am particularly pleased that as a veteran follower you feel that wer are still up to speed with the story! That is very important to know, thanks :)
Ok everyone, drama time (!)
Nicholas Wilde was feeling more than a little bit rattled.
The drive over to Zootropolis had not been a pleasant one. His heart was already pounding and his mind racing unpleasantly because of the many discoveries of the preceding hours. Between finding out that Carrots had passed the prequalification test after all, receiving confirmation that Margaret Frost was a dangerous and back-stabbing character and having light shed on the fact that some humongous malevolent plan was being prepared to be carried out very soon by the vixen's mysterious evil boss, whomever they were... it had all been a bit much, to be completely frank. Coupled with these many concerns was Nick's best effort to avoid at all costs thinking about what would happen if he did not make it back to the training centre in time. The reaction of old Grizzlyguts - not to mention Chief Buffalo, when he got wind of what had happened - did not bear contemplation. Nick had to make it to the penthouse and back to his room at Rocky Hills before the bell sounded for class the next morning and that was that.
Three am would be the latest he could afford to drive back, he mentally calculated. Three thirty tops. The fact that he'd be spending an entirely sleepless night bothered him very little; he felt as far away from sleepy as possible at the moment and, once at the penthouse, he could fortify himself with some real and proper Nespresso before setting out again.
That he was doing the right thing, the fox officer didn't even question. Jack's story had been quite the shocker but it sounded plausible. Nick felt he had to speak face to face to Carrots though, have the thing out and make sure Savage delivered the same coherent tale over in her presence. Plus, Officer Wilde would have been lying if he didn't admit that, apart from missing Miss Hopps sorely and just being glad to see her, he just had an ever growing gut instinct that something was up her end. What it was he couldn't tell, but he had been reading between the lines (and emoticons) of her messages and somehow she didn't quite sound like herself.
All of these musings combined produced an effect of mounting agitation in our young hero's mind, together with a fair dose of irritation as Jack Savage dosed peacefully in the passenger seat at his side, having relinquished the steering wheel of his car to the fox with a shrug and a 'I suppose they teach you how to handle a vehicle decently on the force these days? Try not to scratch her too badly, she's worth your annual wage Officer.'
"Double crossing piece of work," Nick thought resentfully, throwing the slumbering rabbit a dark look as he manoeuvred the (admittedly very up-to-speed and easy to navigate) car towards the highway exit, Zootropolis' many night lights coming into plain sight ahead. "Napping away like he doesn't have a care in the world."
Which he probably didn't, the red-furred police officer reflected, zigzagging through the metropolis' criss-crossing streets. He'd rid himself of the pretext he was being blackmailed under and was free to walk. Leaving the rest of us behind in this neat mess, the fox added grimly, honking rather loudly and unnecessarily at a loitering group of clubbers who were walking on the road ahead. Jack Savage awoke with a jerk at the sound, stretched in his seat and peered out the window.
"Well well, back in the city already," he remarked. "Here's hoping you don't intend to hold me too long tonight and I can go back to my apartment and sleep in a proper bed sooner than later."
"You'll stay as long as you're needed Savage," Nick cut off, parking the car carefully at the foot of the Zootopia building, his heart beating rather happily at the sight of home (home!), but his voice stern as he addressed the rabbit. "And just hope we let you walk home instead of sending you off to prison."
"Your threats are so flat and unoriginal," Savage returned pleasantly, allowing himself to be shepherded out of the car and into the building. "I only hope we will not be jerking your kind partner out of her bed at this late hour."
"We won't," Nick cut off shortly. He'd glanced at Zootopia when they'd still been a couple of blocks away; the penthouse lights had still been on. Judy was undoubtedly lingering over her evening infusion and an absorbing book or some paperwork that was due at the office. Nick hoped she wouldn't be too startled at their sudden arrival, but it could hardly be helped. He'd grabbed his cell phone once or twice when the road had permitted it, but reception had been as flaky as ever on the highway. He'd tried to shoot a warning text off but it didn't seem it had gotten through; in any case there'd been no reply.
Still keeping an eye on Savage as they emerged onto the rooftop, Nick fished his keys out of his pocket and inserted them into the lock, noting with faint surprise the low lull of conversation within. Judy hadn't said she was seeing FruFru or anyone else that evening, though she often dropped one liners telling Nick if she was off to something special of an evening.
Walking into his living room, the first mammal Nick laid eyes on was Judy. His partner was in the centre of the room and seemed to have been heading towards the door, no doubt having heard their approach thanks to her excellent ears.
"Nick!" Judy exclaimed, her expression one of mingled astonishment and delight.
Nick's immediate reaction was one of relief. Judy was undoubtedly well, standing there in her T-shirt and homewear slacks, for all the world as if he'd only left her the previous evening.
"Hey partner," Nick said easily, holding back a sigh of relief. He became aware that someone else was present and his gaze drifted to the vixen who stood a couple of paces behind Judy. "Um," Nick added a bit dubiously, looking the newcomer over in surprise. "Having a slumber party Carrots? Hello," he added as an afterthought, nodding at Skye. Finding someone else present was hardly something Nick had counted on tonight.
"Is this your work colleague?" Skye was asking Judy, gesturing at Nick. "This is someone you trust?" she'd obviously clocked Nick's uniform and seemed equal shares relieved and cheerful to see that no one she needed to be concerned about had appeared so suddenly on the scene.
Judy opened her mouth to reply to Skye, but she never quite got any words out.
"For the love of all that is holy -!" Those were the words that were, for want of a better expression, wrenched from Jack Savage as he idly followed Nick inside and clapped his eyes on the occupants of the penthouse.
Skye, noticing him in turn, let out a faint sound somewhere between a gasp and a moan and covered her mouth with both paws.
In silence the two spouses surveyed each other, the vixen looking entirely dismayed, but the rabbit appearing as shell-shocked as one could possibly get.
Judy looked from one animal to the other, attempted to clear her throat and start speaking, but, seeming to think better of it, edged instead out of the way and closer towards Nick. Nick edged towards her as well and murmured,
"What's going on Carrots?" in her ear as soon as they were a pace apart.
"You tell me what's going on!" Judy countered in an urgent whisper. "What are you doing walking in here with Savage when you're supposed to be off on training?"
"Long story," Nick returned. "Savage came to see me and he had quite the tale.. who's the vixen?"
"Oh, it's Skye," Judy told him conversationally.
Nick gave her a look.
"The long lost and drowned?" he clarified.
"Yes," Judy grimaced.
"Carrots," Nick massaged his forehead wearily. "It's been a long night... I just have one question for you."
"Yes?" Judy looked up at him quizzically.
"Do you have anything to snack on?" Nick asked her wistfully. "This is too much for me on an empty stomach and I took off before having dinner."
"Snack?" Judy seemed scandalized at the thought of food at such a dire time.
"There was a bag of marshmallows under the counter," the fox offered.
"Nick," Judy whispered sternly. "The marshmallows are gone? Skye's kits ate them. And this seems like a very serious time, hardly one for munching down on something, does it?"
Nick looked at her morosely, his ears hanging down.
"They give us garbage to eat at the training hall," he offered inconsequently.
Judy threw her paws up, half in exasperation and half to hide how jubilant she felt to actually have Nick by her again.
"Here's a bag of crisps," she hissed finally, grabbing one from under the coffee table and thrusting it at him. "Now hush."
"Thanks Carrots, you're the best," Nick said happily, ripping it open. "Want a pawful?"
"Nick," Judy rolled her eyes.
"They're with cream cheese," the fox added, his mouth full.
"Well... ok," Judy agreed finally, with a sideways glance at their two guests.
Neither Jack Savage nor Mrs Skye Savage seemed like they would care if the other animals ate a whole crate in their vicinity though, for they had eyes only for each other. After nearly two minutes during which neither animal spoke or indeed moved much, Jack strolled over towards the kitchen counter, apparently feeling the need to lean on something, and, surprisingly, placing his paw in the inner breast pocket of his suit, produced a small flask. This he proceeded to unscrew methodically.
"Do you just hop around with gin in your pocket?" Nick asked him in amusement.
"Hardly," Savage replied, his voice a mite unsteady. He took a gulp from the bottle, winced, but continued in firmer tones. "I noted they had a good brand on offer at that forsaken pub we were at earlier, Officer, and helped myself though. One never knows at what time one might need fortification.. clearly in this case it was more than providential." He replaced the bottle, his demeanour rather unruffled at having just openly confessed his theft in front of two representatives of the ZPD. To be fair to the rabbit, the current goings on were enough to render such smaller matters irrelevant.
Skye seemed to have gotten over her initial shock herself and had lowered her paws, squaring up and looking at her husband with a mixture of challenge and defiance.
"Madam," Jack addressed her. "Would you care to... explain yourself?"
"I don't see as how I need to explain anything to you," Skye shot off, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "And you should know, that I have just told Officer Hopps everything besides, so don't try and spin her some tale you good-for-nothing-"
"That is all very well," Jack's tone was mild. One thing he seemed used to were his wife's flights of passion. "But you will find, Madam that perhaps you also need to explain 'everything' to me? I am quite in the dark, entirely."
"What are you going on about?" Skye had clenched her fists and was breathing heavily, as she faced the rabbit.
"You will believe me completely foolish," Jack told her patiently. "But up to not ten minutes ago I considered you to be deceased. It would have been kind of you to have enlightened me that the opposite was true Madam. You would have spared me much grey fur."
"Oh, what are you lying for, Jack!" Skye stomped her paw on the floor in frustration; "What, we talked so many times and all that time you believed you were -? I don't know? Communing with my spirit perhaps?" she snorted derisively, but her eyelashes were wet and she seemed to be very vexed.
Nick crunched on some chips rather loudly at that point. A sharp jab and a 'shhh' from Judy was his reward.
"We must have spoken in my sleep then," Jack said rather flatly. "I have no recollection of our having spoken, I am afraid."
"You're always playing with words," Skye exclaimed, clearly frustrated. "Spoke, wrote, what's the difference? I have kept all of your letters you might as well know, don't think I can't produce them as proof," she sniffed expressively.
"Letters?" Jack's demeanour seemed to change all at once. Where prior he had been dazed to the point of appearing almost mild, his ears suddenly perked up and he became rather still, his pale blue eyes focused intently on the vixen as if he were the predator of the pair. "Letters?" he repeated, his carefully neutral tone belying the attention with which he was hanging onto every word.
"Of course," Skye had pulled a neat lace handkerchief out of her purse and was dabbing at her eyes. "Stop being such a brute. "
"I see," Jack inclined his head. "It would seem you are mistaken. I never wrote you a single letter since we parted last. I firmly believed you had drowned, what could have been the point?"
"Don't lie so outrageously," Skye glared at him through her tears. "I wrote you very well about the plan I came up with, didn't I? I used the code we always had before, so I knew you'd decipher my message alright. And I got your reply!" she nodded triumphantly as if to emphasize her point;
"My reply," Jack repeated, his gaze never leaving his wife. "Fascinating. Written in my paw and using the same code as it were, I am sure?"
"Well of course," Skye exclaimed. "I know your paw-writing Jack! And your style. We'd exchanged letters enough before that, hadn't we?"
"We had," he acknowledged. "Many of which you kept under the loose floorboards in your bedroom at your father's house, if I recall. I also recall telling you how careless it was to leave them there and you laughing at me and telling me that no one knew the trick of those floorboards but yourself."
"What does that have to do with anything?" Skye asked, suspicious.
Jack waved an impatient paw.
"So these letters," he fixed his spouse with another hard stare. "They were so perfectly in keeping with the way I was used to write that you never thought for a moment they had not been penned by me?"
"Not by you?" Skye seemed rather floored at the notion. She rallied quickly. "Of course I knew they were yours!" she cried indignantly. "Your paw-writing! Your code! Everything that sounded like you - except that you wanted to wash your paws of us entirely now, that was the only change."
"Indeed," Jack said through clenched teeth.
It took Judy a moment to realise that his paws were shaking a bit and another to understand with a jolt that it was due to suppressed anger. Judy nibbled on her crisp as quietly as she could and nudged Nick just to make sure he'd be equally discreet in these rather unexpected circumstances.
"Well," Skye said after a moment, seemingly a bit at a loss at Jack's reaction. "The stationary was... kind of cheap? I did notice that. You had always used such fine silk paper before. But I thought... I was sort of angry and I thought that you couldn't have been bothered to use fine stationary given that you were writing to.. to send me packing. I thought you didn't care if the paper were lousy."
"I never use cheap stationary," Jack raised his eyes to the heavens. "I would never have broken things off with you via a series of letters, for the love of carrot stew, Madam! I would rather hope that, if that had been my intention, I would have faced you and told you things squarely to your face."
Skye seemed rather torn at this outburst.
"But I have the letters," she said finally. "Of course they were written by you. I mean.. who else?.."
"Who else indeed Madam?" Jack eyed her, leaning against the counter once again. "Apply your brilliant mind that always seems to have a blind spot where your family is concerned, I beg you. You can think of no one, no one who would have had access to your parental home since an early age and might have known the secret of the floorboards as well as yourself, and read our earlier exchanges and deciphered our code? No one in your family that has always had a particular sense of jealousy towards you and loathing towards me? No member of your clan who is especially gifted at one thing only, that thing being the falsification of any and every document both paw-written and printed?"
Skye had been following his speech with a frown of incomprehension but at the last mention her eyebrows shot up.
"You can't mean Meg!" she exclaimed.
"Of course I am talking about Margaret!" Jack burst out, running both paws through his fur in exasperation.
"Meg wouldn't," Skye said, but Nick saw that the vixen's eyes had become slightly hazy as if she were contemplating this possibility despite herself.
"Of course she would have," Jack replied tartly, somewhat regaining his self-control. He thrust his paws in his trouser pockets. "That would also explain the death certificates I was shown... she's had us properly hoodwinked that-" he said a particularly vile word at that, but Skye seemed beyond reproaching him.
"Meg was trying to help me," she said slowly, looking up at Jack - up, for she had sunk down to sit on the couch again, her legs apparently no longer supporting her. "I had wanted to speak to you face to face after you blew me off in those letters. I came to Zootropolis undercover once, all of seven years ago... I could only come for three days, with the kits left behind. I was trying to find you, and find out what i could about Sylvester... Meg let me stay at hers - she was helping me..."
"It must have been extraordinary help indeed," Jack noted sarcastically, "for I gather you left town having found neither myself nor your son."
Skye seemed to have little to say to this, she sat on the couch with a rather lost, forlorn sort of look that made Judy feel acutely sorry for her.
"She said it was impossible to get a hold of you," Skye said finally, addressing Jack. "That you'd left town as you'd been accused in some sort of arson charge - there's some warehouses of my father's that burned down."
"Oh yes, that was me," Jack agreed in a voice completely lacking emotion. "Blowing off steam one could say. It was only a nudge in the right direction though; your father's empire had already gone up in smoke in the face of Mister Big's work."
"Do you have your carrot pen on you by any chance partner?" Nick asked Judy in an undertone. "Because I feel like we could have sentenced this pair to a good ten years based on the contents of this discussion alone."
Judy grimaced back at him, but said nothing, her attention too absorbed by the scene in front of her.
"You ought to know that it is you dear cousin who is responsible for withholding your son from you entirely, and for having him spend his formative years at an orphanage in a climate completely at odds with his biology," Jack was telling his wife (in whose demeanour astonishment was being piled on astonishment paired with dismay). "She has rather the elaborate scheme going on in her daring shove for power and glamour, and she came waltzing to see me with many a dire threat of what would befall Sylvester if I didn't do her bidding."
"What?" Skye gasped, her paws at her heart.
"He is out of danger," Jack told her, raising a reassuring paw. "As of yesterday - wait, is that the day before now? Damnation, I've been around so much I don't know what time or day we are anymore. Be that as it may, he is in the country at my grandaunt's - you will remember aunt Sue?"
At these words he produced his phone and handed it to his wife, having pulled up the same photos he had shown Nick earlier.
An entire cascade of emotions leapt across Mrs Savage's vivacious face as she took the phone and studied the photo. Relief was clearly visible and a rush of joy as she contemplated her youngest son's photograph, bewilderment at the turn of events and then finally, as reality started to sink in, a rather harsh set to her lower jaw showed grim determination.
"Thank you," she said finally, handing Jack his phone again. "I believe you," she added quietly.
"You're thanking the wrong rabbit," her husband sighed, pocketing his phone again; "Thank Officer Hopps - she located the kit fully on her own and handed me his whereabouts. A rare case of a cop having good gut instinct."
"Yes, thank you Officer," a dazed Skye told Judy, who merely nodded at her. The vixen seemed as of yet trying to piece the puzzle together in its entirety. "What are you doing here Jack?" she tried finally. "And with this..." she trailed off with a glance at Nick in his uniform, unable to find a suitable term apparently.
"With this lowlife starving over-trained ZPD officer," Nick supplied helpfully, and the vixen gave him a small smile, still looking rather confused.
"This animal," Jack explained, making it clear in his tone which of the two ZPD officers present he personally found to be the better mammal. "Is Officer Hopp's work partner. He was out training at Rocky Hills. I drove out to see him once I'd whisked Sylvester away. As I believed myself to be free of any source of blackmail at the time, I decided to pay Miss Hopps back in her own currency and deliver what information I could to her partner about this dubious bit of business Margaret is involved in. I might have gone to see Miss Hopps at once, as I can now see, for all I got for my pains was Officer Wilde here stuffing me back into my own vehicle and catering me straight back to see whether my story held through with Officer Hopps."
"Really?" Skye seemed rather sincerely surprised at this explanation. "You went and decided to help them after you'd already gotten what you wanted? You did?"
Her knowledge of her spouse's character was so apparent in this question that it made Judy smile despite herself.
Jack heaved a sigh of exhaustion and loosened his tie in a gesture that suggested the events of the day (and night) were entirely too much for him.
"My wife once wrenched a promise out of me to pay back equally any animal that did me a sincere kindness," he shrugged.
"But you thought me gone!" Skye exclaimed, half-amazed and half-amused.
"Yes... but in that case it was still a promise I owed your memory," Jack shrugged.
"I... can't believe you remember that," Mrs Savage said softly. Judy saw that her eyes were glistening again and that she was blinking somewhat frequently.
"That just proves that you're still a stupid vixen," Jack suggested in a tone belying his rather unfeeling words.
The atmosphere had shifted strangely, Judy realized suddenly, as she looked from one of the would-be criminals to the other. At the start their communication had been full of outrage and could have been described as a mutual attack. And now it was... she couldn't quite describe it. Neither animal seemed angry with the other anymore in any case.
Judy glanced over at Nick to check whether he had noticed this as well and saw that the fox was contemplating the scene with a rather squeamish look.
"Carrots," he told her in an undertone. "Heads up; we should give these animals a breather."
"What, leave?" Judy asked in amazement. "This is our home!"
"Yes," her friend conceded. "This entire situation looks like it might quickly spiral out of control in a direction that I don't want to witness though, unless you want to see all those crisps I ate come back up, that is."
Judy was spared the necessity of answering as the back door opened with a bang and Skye's son Scott arrived on the scene, making every animal present jump.
"Mom," the teenager said unceremoniously. "Is there any more chow? The girls have eaten all the s'mores and I'm hun- HOLY!"
The youngster stood still as he noticed the latter arrivals of the penthouse, his amazed gaze stopping on Jack. He swayed where he stood for a moment before letting out a yelp and bellowing, "Girls! Girls! Get your tails over here, Jack's here!"
A sister appeared at either of his elbows and both young vixen twins shrieked in unison at the sight before their eyes.
"OhmygoshOhmygoshOhmygoshJACK!" was all Sage, the more elegant of the two, was able to cry out, before she pelted straight into the room and at her stepfather. Her brother followed close at her heels, and Sabrina, the tomboy, would have done likewise, but halfway there her feelings seemed to overpower her. She stopped stark in the middle of the room and burst into noisy tears that were rather at odds with her tough appearance.
"She brought all her kids to see you?" Nick asked Judy in an astonished whisper.
"And they ate the marshmallows," Judy confirmed, nodding.
Mr and Mrs Savage had both assumed carefully blank expressions at the arrival of the teenagers. Jack had stood up straight as Sage made a dash for him, and luckily so, because the kits jumping at him and hugging him were all taller than him and could have easily knocked him down.
"I knew you'd find us," Sage cried, her nose in Jack's shoulder as she howled rather noisily.
Scott seemed unable to articulate much, but he put his forehead against Jack's other shoulder and his shoulders quivered suspiciously, albeit silently, as well.
Making a brave attempt to pat both of them and still stay upright, Jack shifted a bit and smiled kindly at Sabrina, who was still a few paces off.
"Don't cry little one," he told her, stretching a reassuring paw out in her direction.
Sabrina gave an almighty sniff and in a leap joined her siblings, hugging Jack as well as she could considering that there was very little of him left to go around. Skye looked on at the scene, her expression one of complete exhaustion. Clearly, she had reached her limit.
"Carrots," Nick said, after another long look at the so suddenly reunited family. He turned towards Judy. "This is really too much of the feels for me; I'm starved and I've gotta get back to the training grounds before sunrise."
"I don't have much in the fridge," Judy replied, tearing her gaze away from the scene before them. "I don't do much grocery shopping when it's just me.."
"I figured as much," Nick was pulling his phone out. "But I'm happily back in the big city, if only for a few hours, and pizza is delivered 24/7 here."
Judy seemed to doubt that the current situation was one that was compatible with anything as flippant as pizza. However, she realized suddenly that her tummy was growling as well. The 'feels', as Nick had called them, of the night had clearly been enough to work anyone's appetite up.
"Ask for double cheddar and rocket salad for me," she told Nick finally, trying to inject a stern note into her voice.
Nick grinned at her as he placed the phone to his ear and Judy's heart gave a little happy bound in her chest.
This night was turning out crazy, but both officers were very glad to see each other again, whatever the circumstances.
There's more that will happen at the penthouse actually, and more revelations to come... but this was spinning out so long that I realized we've reached the end of the chapter here! Hope I didn't lose anyone back there, everyone following events ok? That was quite dramatic, *wipes brow*