Chapter 32: Kilometres

As Nick left the café to head for his car, the fox remembered Judy, who had stayed at the flat. He hadn't anticipated that it would be at this hour that the command would approach them with a new assignment, although it wasn't something Nick could feel surprised about. His police work had already taught him that as a policeman, he had to be ready at a moment's notice because he could be called when he least expected it. When the fox took out his phone he saw a message from his girlfriend, he curiously read it unlocking his phone.

"Go to the station, I'm taking the bus" Nick read quietly then put the phone away. He felt stupid for leaving his girlfriend in this situation, but he had no choice. Thinking no more about it, he got into his car and drove away from the meeting point.

Half an hour later

After half an hour on the road, Nick Stopped in front of the large building of the police station where the police officers were operating. Fox got out of the car and hurriedly made his way to the main entrance of the architecture. As he stepped inside the building he noticed Judy at the front desk talking to James, the new recpec boyfriend.

"Judy!" Cried Nick drawing the rabbit's attention. Her sound sensitive ears picked up a familiar voice and she turned towards the sound and noticed a familiar face. A smile of pity and understanding appeared on her face.

"I'm so sorry...sorry."

"That's okay, you didn't know we would be called just now. And in the meantime I had a little chat with James" Judy explained. Nick glanced at the boy behind the desk. He looked much better than last night. There was finally a smile on his face that was light, but genuine and warm.

"I hope you're used to the commander by now," Nick said.

"Sure, believe me I'm not the only one you've told about him...at least I know he's like that to everyone. Speaking of him, he's waiting for you and Caroline in the courtroom, you were supposed to go there as soon as possible" the boy communicated pointing with his hand towards the east corridor.

"Thanks, see you later" replied Nick with Judy, they headed towards the corridor where the door to the courtroom was located.

Entering the room, Caroline stood at the desk as she had the day before, together with the Commandant, who held a file in their hands. Already at the entrance Caroline greeted Nick with a modest smile, which the boy noticed along with Judy, who despite the bad emotions rising again tried not to pay attention to it.

"Good morning, please sit down, we have a new assignment for you" Commander Bogo communicated. Nick and Judy took their seats next to each other curiously looking at the files that were in the commanders hands.

"You have probably seen what the situation is in the fox district. Has anything improved?" Commander Bogo asked himself.

"Disregarding the angry people and the flying flares it's really normal, you don't see any paranormal action" replied Nick ironically. The commandant laughed at his commandant, opened the file and put on his glasses while giving out a grunt to get his attention.

"Now seriously. After analyzing your data that you brought, we noticed that people are disappearing in the Riverstreet area. We don't know what's going on there, or what might be going on, but we do know one thing. This place needs to be checked, that is our priority at this time. We don't want to introduce any brute force at this time. Today we want you to look around the area, to penetrate even the darkest corners. You are to survey the entire area. The military is currently trying to divert people to another part of the city so that you have free access to the street, and so that you are safe." The commander communicated. He handed the file to Judy, who looked through the documents after receiving the folder. She noticed several photos of the street, from nearby surveillance, and the names of shops and restaurants that were registered on the street.

"Under the fox grove," Judy thought. The name brought to mind Angel, who had mentioned this restaurant last night. She had mentioned something about her husband supposedly staying there.

She wasn't entirely sure if that could be a clue, but she decided to remember the name just in case.

"So the usual patrol around the neighborhood today?" Nick asked.

"Yes, the usual patrol," nodded the commander.

"That's all. Come back when you've got the information, we'll be waiting for you" Caroline communicated. After a short deliberation, Judy and Nick left the courtrooms leaving the two commanders alone.

Once Nick and Judy were in the car, the fox took a folder from the rabbit so that he could review the photographs they had received from the commanders himself. The photographs enclosed in the documents showed the whole street from different angles, some of the photographs also showed darker streets with little to see, which caught the fox's attention.

"I think we should look at the smaller streets that are not visible in the photos. Maybe there is something there. In the pictures I see...three...four, four streets. We'll split up, it'll be quicker that way, if we don't find something interesting there...we'll keep looking" the fox said thoughtfully. After looking through the files he handed them over to his girlfriend and then set off in his car.

The entrance to the fox district remained the same. At the entrance gates to the fox district stood soldiers who, in these cold, rather harsh winter weather conditions, had to stand on duty for several hours to prevent trespassers from entering the area, or worse, leaving the city without permission. It was probably not a pleasant occupation, standing for several hours undisturbed by snowfall or low temperatures, holding cold rifles in their bare hands that weighed several kilograms each, ready to fire, but that was the job of the military. The safety of others was what mattered here. When the policemen stopped at the gates a soldier approached them, this time a different one, asking them for their papers.

"Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps. We've been informed that you will be searching River Street. You'll have to wait a while while the army redirects the crowd to the other part of town" The soldier communicated.

"How long can that take?" Asked the fox.

"In theory, no. You can go to Golden Street, the street is already cleared there. Then straight on and you will find yourself on River Street " The man communicated. Nick nodded, took the papers from the soldier, then they drove deep into the city.

The outskirts of the city were practically empty. Most of the people as you might have guessed were engaged in battles with the army and police, the rest were probably hiding in their houses afraid to go outside. Nick took the road around the city to avoid going into the very centre where the protesting people are. The army was still picking fights with them to push them to another part of the city. It was not an easy task. The army and the police were fewer than the protesters, moreover the officers were often attacked and beaten, what they could not do would be against their rights. They were supposed to be the defenders of the population, not their oppressors.

"She was looking at you again," Judy said as she and Nick waited safely in the car until the army had managed to divert the population to the northern part of the city. It was not an easy task, but they had obtained a permit to use gentle force which made the task easier. This permission made pushing the population through easier as well as quicker so that Nick and Judy wasted less time waiting.

"I already told you I have nothing in common with her anymore" replied the fox calmly.

"I know, I know...it just makes me wonder...ah never mind..."

"Relax, I couldn't go back to her anyway...luckily I already know her true character" replied Nick. He didn't seem happy that Judy was bringing up the subject again, but at the same time he wasn't going to dismiss it, he answered Judy's questions with patience and calmness.

"Have you had any others? I mean a girl..."

"Heh...increasingly surprising questions you ask Carrots. No, I haven't had any other girlfriends, have you had a boyfriend?" Nick asked. He was surprised more and more by the question about relationships, it made him laugh a little because Judy at first seemed like a modest, quiet girl who didn't need to know much, but with each passing day and with each question she turned out to be an interesting person. Nick didn't mind the questions, he was happy to answer them because he had nothing to hide or be ashamed of.

"I certainly wasn't with a fox" replied Judy ironically sending a sly smile.

"That doesn't particularly surprise me" replied Nick laughing.

"If you weren't with another fox, why aren't you with your ex-boyfriend anymore?"

"He wasn't bad...not as good as you of course, but we were together long enough. We didn't just break up. He had to move from the village where I lived to the city. At first nothing changed between us, we still loved each other...but as time went on it came to light that it just didn't make sense..." Judy explained.

"What didn't make sense?"

"A long distance relationship? Can you imagine you and I separated by a few hundred miles? We'd have to travel a long way to meet. It's not a long distance relationship, just a simple adventure..." Judy replied. Nick initially nodded with a movement of his head as he watched the girl. He could see that remembering her ex-boyfriend wasn't the best thing for her, she sat with her ears drooping staring at the floor of the car trying to avoid the fox's sharp gaze.

"Do you miss him?" Nick asked. Judy didn't answer the question right away. She herself didn't know exactly what she felt. Longing, anger that he had left her or sadness?

"Let's just say I'd like to see him, but not as a boyfriend just as a friend. He was fun to talk to, you may not believe it, but among us rabbits, there are a lot of jerks that it's better not to talk to" Judy replied.

"Huh, it's a bit like us foxes. But once you meet an equal, it's hard to part with him...like I did with Finnick" explained Nick.

"Yeah, it's a shame he's still doing that illegal business"

"That's not entirely true. When I moved over to the police he quit that as well and became a pizza delivery man...well not much, but at least a legal job"

"Tell him I'm proud of him" replied Judy. Fox laughed nodding his head in agreement. They both fell silent for a moment, the fox using this to take a moment to focus on their surroundings. The voices of the people, their echoes and shouts were quieter now, and were coming from another side of the city. For the military had most likely already succeeded in clearing the streets of Riverstreet of the rampaging crowd, and it was now safe to begin searching the area for any clue that would lead them to the heart of the matter.

"Shouts are coming from another part of the city. The army has already dealt with the crowd of people. We'll talk later, let's start the search" Nick communicated as he started the car.