Chapter 2 - Hopefully Not Too Harmful
December 24, 7:24 AM
The sun peeks over the horizon and its rays illuminate the room where Judy stays, creeping over the furniture and enters various crevices and corners. The warmth seems to speed the city life from outside, cars becoming livelier and citizens quickly and enthusiastically walking the streets. No life form is available in the main room of the apartment, having remnants of a life form there, but whatever evidence left behind was well compromised. A sound of thousands of droplets hitting a floor becomes audible with a good ear.
Eventually, this sound dissipates. In seconds, a door leading into the main room swings open. Judy stands in the doorway, dressed in attire dotted with various Christmas items. She wears a red, long-sleeved sweater that covers a white shirt, whose collar is barely visible on her neck. She wears neat blue jeans with Christmas trees decorating the back pockets.
Judy gathers her things and exits. In a minute she arrives in the lobby, admiring the scarce, modern Christmas decorations within it. She exits, entering the warm atmosphere that is Savannah Central. She enters her car, fires up her engine, and departs.
She arrives at Nick's address within ten minutes, a feat considering his residence being a lengthy eight miles from hers. She pulls her car to a stop in the guest parking lot, exits her vehicle, and scampers to the facade of the apartment complex. Her eyes widen at the sight of the Christmas decorations beside the facade, including a tall Christmas tree and various wreaths hanging beside the doors. "Wow," Judy says to herself. There are two sets of double doors on the facade, along with a simple wall surrounding the doors that hugs the tall and wide building.
A bell jingles when she enters - the Christmassy type of bell - and a cheery room greets her. The room is painted a tan color, with chairs and couches lining the walls and a couple vending machines sitting in various parts of the small room. The floor is a blue carpet, and a counter, housing an administrator, sits on the opposite wall from the entry doors. There are few people there, most of them gone for the holidays. The room smells of a mix of pine and cinnamon.
Judy approaches the kind-looking mammal at the desk. She immediately looks up. "Hello, how may I help you?"
"Nick Wilde?" Judy asks.
"Yes, just a moment," the administrator types for a second before looking back at Judy. "Room three-o-nine. I'll ring him if you'd like."
"Sure."
She presses a button on her desk. "Nick, this is Susan. A Judy Hopps is here to see you."
"That's Carrots. Send her right up."
"Go right on up, sweetie," Susan says kindly. "Have a wonderful Christmas."
Judy departs for Nick's room. She takes the elevator to the third floor and looks into the hall as the elevator doors open. The walls are also tan with a red and green carpet lining the floors, coincidentally adapting the holiday theme. The hall still has Christmas decorations hanging on the walls and by the elevator despite this coincidence.
Judy takes a short walk through the hallway, tracing her fingers on the right wall while reading the nameplates next to the doors lining the left wall. "Three-o-seven, three-o-eight," Judy reads, arriving and Nick's room. "Ah, three-o-nine." She hesitates for a moment before knocking lightly.
The door opens, revealing Nick wearing a Christmas sweater with a large candy cane in the center, covering a white undershirt, whose collar is visible around his neck. He wears his undecorated, tan khakis. "Carrots! Glad you made it." They embrace, and Judy closes her eyes as she embraces him. She recognizes that same bodily warmth she had felt from him the night before.
Nick moves to the side and invites her in. "I tried decorating it with what I had, but it's not a lot," he says as humbly as he can.
"That's okay," Judy says, studying the inside of the apartment with her back still to the entry door. The walls are a light tan. To the right of where she stands is a small kitchen with various tools, a stand mixer, and a coffee pot placed accordingly. To the left of the kitchen is a small table with four chairs pulled into it. To the left of this dining room is a three-cushion couch with a medium television standing on a black end table against the far-left wall, forming the living room. As Judy enters farther into the apartment and turns left, there is a hall to the left of the television. Inside the hall are three doors, one closest to the entrance of the hall on the left wall, the second on the right wall, and the third on the farthest wall, the wall one would collide with if she would continue straight through the hallway.
A small Christmas tree stands on the counter. There are three black, cushioned stools pulled up to this counter. Light Christmas music plays through a speaker somewhere in the room. The room smells of a mix of Nick's cologne and light cinnamon.
As Judy turns to look at the closed entry door, she locates a wreath hanging from the door. "It's an okay place, isn't it?" Nick says, glancing around just as Judy is.
"It's cozy, Nick. I wish I had a place like this," she says, walking over to the nearly-bare Christmas tree and touching its fake leaves. "I think I know what we can do, Nick. First, we go shopping."
"Carrots, slow down. It's still early," Nick yawns and falls onto the couch. "It feels like five AM."
"C'mon, Nick. Don't you feel like spending your Christmas eve being productive? There's so much we can do today, and you just blow it off? C'mon. You want to make memories or not?"
"Fine, Carrots," he stands and lumbers over to the closet, producing a blue and black jacket. He slips it onto himself. He pulls the zipper up, but it sticks halfway up. He pulls the hood back behind his neck. "You ready?"
"You're not," she says, tugging at the stubborn zipper on his jacket and wiggling it. "Try it now."
The zipper ascends the jacket as if nothing was wrong. "Sly bunny. Any other tricks you can teach me?"
"I've got hundreds more. We've got the day, so, who knows? I might be able to check off at least twenty or more of the basics."
"I can see the headlines now: 'Fox Transformed by Bunny's Wisdom.' "
"I'm sure that'd make the news. Now," she claps her hands together with a smile on her face. "Let's get going, shall we?" Judy stops for a moment before a loud knock echoes the main room of the apartment.
"Must be the mailman," Nick pulls open the door. Just outside the door is a short, well-built, light-furred fox sporting no holiday attire. He wears a leather-like jacket atop a black undershirt and a pair of blue jeans. A pair of sports sunglasses is perched on his snout. "Finnick, why are you here at this so inconvenient time?" Nick says, vexed. He strains the second to last word.
"Nick," Finnick says in his deep, menacing voice, "and Judith. The cop duo. The fuzz."
Now inside Nick's apartment, Finnick whips around to face Nick. Nick remains unfazed. "You know what I want, NP."
"Do I?" Nick says, looking at him. "No, I don't. But I do know that you're not wanted. So, leave us alone."
"See, Nick," Finnick pauses to make a full circle, making a light step-by-step patter as he ambles along. "You've gotten better, I respect that. But you still can't match the intellect, the wit, or the logic that I have."
"Are you challenging me?"
"Nick, that got old years ago. You know I'm not fooled. I'm the one who taught you all that stuff. Does Nicky-wicky want to stawt wit the basics again?"
"You'll be startin' with the basics if you don't leave when I say. It's my property, and you know that both Judy and I have the authority."
"To what, arrest me? I ain't doin' nothing illegal."
"I'd think there's enough that you've done where I could put you behind bars right now."
"Isn't that so? Name one thing that I've done that's illegal."
"Tax evasion, trickery, deceit, lying to authority, trespassing... do you want me to go on?"
"For one, the money's yours. You earned it all. Two, trickery ain't illegal. And I was stretching the truth then. And the trespassing... well, I don't remember doin' any of that. You don't have no proof either."
"Fin, remember when you taught me about finding the weak spot?"
"How can I forget?"
"Keep that in mind for a second. Carrots, stay here and arrest him if needs be," Nick scampers off and returns with a sizable file. "Ah, Finnick Kozlov. Let's see here," Nick opens the file and thumbs through it. "Warning, warning, fine, warning, fine, accusation... the list goes on," he looks up with a smug smirk.
"Where'd you get that?" Finnick says, reaching for the folder. Nick pulls it away as if expecting it.
"What do you mean? I thought you knew I'm an officer. I have all your records, including what you've sold illegally, what you've bought that's against the law, and - lookie here," Nick pulls out a small piece of paper. "'Finnick Kozlov was charged on September 30, 2017, for illegally possessing a handgun owned by a young deer."
Finnick's countenance is, oddly, surprised. He looks afraid, and he holds up his paws. "Okay, okay. I'm sorry."
"Knew it," Nick raises his paws in the air. "All along - you know you aren't as innocent as you think you are. Now, considering your most recent offense, you should probably be in jail right now."
"Wait a minute," Finnick snags the paper from Nick. "Hah! I knew it! I knew I didn't recognize that - lookie there. Exempted."
Nick takes the paper, trying to locate the stamp Finnick had pointed out.
"Nick!" Judy yells.
In seconds, only he and Judy remain in the apartment without the folder. Only the single offense stays in Nick's paw. "He slipped out with the folder while you and I were looking at the offense. We should have been looking out more carefully."
"Well, this is great, just great. If he gets away with that folder, he'll burn it, get it anywhere he can find it to keep it from us," he starts down the hallway, Judy following close behind. "Isn't it digitally backed up?"
"We got his full file only recently," she follows Nick down the stairs. "Our digital scanner was broken, remember? They asked you to take special care of Finnick's file while they tried to fix the scanner."
Nick feels like cursing. "That's not good. And on Christmas Eve, too. Um, what should we do?"
"Let's see how fast we can track him down. Do you have your radio?" The two race outside the doors.
"No, I left it at the station. Yours?"
"In my car," Judy opens her vehicle and they enter. Judy exits the parking lot. "We're gonna have to race over to the station, get in our uniforms, and get the heck out there. Wait - does Finnick have a car?"
"I believe so. Hard to tell if he brought one or not. If you see two light-tan ears and two paws driving an orange van, that's him."
"Okay, plan B," Judy pulls over to the side of the road. "The station's ten miles up - we'll never make it in time. Pull on your spare uniform on the back - I put two extra of our sizes in the back just in case. I'll stay up by the front and make a few radio transmissions."
"Are you crazy?" Nick says, still in the passenger's seat. "I can't do that - there's no room there!"
"Got any better ideas, genius? Go change in the bushes if you feel so inclined. All I know is that I got some calls to make. Just get it done."
Nick sighs, and they both exit the vehicle. Judy positions herself in front of the vehicle, and Nick grabs the spare uniform and jumps into the back seat of the car.
"Dispatch, this is Officers Wilde and Hopps, over," Judy speaks into the radio.
"Dispatch to Wilde-Hopps. State your issue." Clawhauser asks.
"Nick's former con-buddy Finnick stole the file from Nick just a minute ago. That's one of the few files not backed up in the system."
"Okay. We'll see who we can call over. Is he driving or on foot?"
"We still don't know. Nick thinks he's driving."
"What's the car look like?"
"An orange truck with some crazy symbols on them. We'll send you the plate number as soon as we can. We're still solving our dilemma with uniforms and vehicles."
"Location?"
"We're about a quarter-mile west of Nick's apartment complex, the Dranger and Compon intersection. We don't know where Finnick could have gone."
"10-4," Clawhauser says. Nick returns from the car, fully dressed in the snug uniform. Judy's feelings for Nick almost overcome her, but she pushes them away.
"Nick, I got to get my uniform on. You call your apartment complex and ask their security to search for Finnick - and..."
"Don't worry, Carrots. I know what to say." He pulls out his phone and dials the number for the complex. After a short chat, Nick puts his phone away and waits for Judy. She is already in the front seat, knocking on the windshield to call for him. Nick walks to her window, and she starts the engine, pulling down the window to see him.
"Nick, grab the spare light from the back and stick it on the top if you will."
Nick easily complies with her request and then gets back into the car. "That's more like it," she says, revving the engine and switching the car into drive. She slams on the gas pedal as if a ten-ton weight holds her foot down. She flips a switch and the deafening screech of the police siren penetrates the air, signaling nearby cars to pull to the side of the road. With the road clear, she scans the road. "Look for him."
"Got it, Carrots," he says, unfazed.
Judy continues for a minute longer before gripping both paws on the steering wheel. "Hold onto your tail," she says firmly, performing a quick U-turn onto the opposing road, the wheels of the car screeching unnaturally. With this fact the last concern on her mind, she increases her speed yet again down the road.
"There's his car!" Judy says, looking toward the side of the road about a quarter mile ahead. She slams on the brakes, turning onto the shoulder. "Nick, lock the doors. You have the tools?" she says as the two exit the vehicle.
"Besides my better wit, my intelligence, and my strength? Yes."
"Not the time, Nick," she says, not looking at him. "Take a turn into the trees that way," she points right, the side of the shoulder. "I will curve around that way," she points left in a circular pattern, "and I will approach him. If he tries to get away, shoot."
"Shoot him? That's a terrible idea!"
"Not him, Nick! His tires!"
The two mammals approach the vehicle at their own pace. About ten feet before reaching it, she looks right but does not see him. She looks back to the car.
Nick now stands ten feet from the right of the vehicle. He approaches the vehicle slowly, then abandons his carefulness and darts to the vehicle. He searches desperately around the vehicle, then puts his back to the door while rubbing his eyes. "That's his car, all right," Nick says, sighing. "He's not in there. That's a problem."
Judy approaches the driver's side door and carefully opens it. It squeaks slightly as it opens, and a nimbus of warmth, body odor, and light cigarette smoke overcomes her. She enters the vehicle, unfazed, and begins to examine it. She looks under cushions, atop the dashboard, and in other crevices and corners. Nick grips the corner of the glove box and pulls it open. "Carrots."
Judy glances over to him. In his paw is a tan file folder labeled "KOSLOV". Nick opens the folder and paws through it. "There's some in here, but I definitely disagree that everything's there. Hey, at least he left the file here, that's the good part."
"But where would he go? He left the file and probably took the most intimidating of the accusations. Who knows what he's done with them now."
"We're not done yet, Fluff," he says, searching in the compartments separating the two front seats. He picks up some spare change and a permanent marker. "The change I can reason with. I'm begging that he didn't do anything too harmful to those documents with this pen."
Don't worry - the story's not over yet, and there will be more Christmas and New Years in the next chapter, which is to be released January 6, 2018, at 11 PM (UTC). There may be more chapters after that. For now I will work on A Time of Crime, as I am not satisfied with it yet. Enjoy your Christmas and New Year.
This is my last chapter of 2017. I have done much over the year, including writing a new story (which was deleted Friday the 15th). Thank you for all who helped me this year.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
- CrazyWriter