8. A Source

== Nick ==

"So, what's the fuzz all about, Carrots."

I peeked at her to see if she was sitting comfortably in the passenger seat. At the parking lot, she had acknowledged that operating the car had indeed been a heavy load for her ribs and she had given me the keys instead. I did my best to drive fluently, avoiding abrupt accelerations or decelerations as much as possible.

"Well. It's no certainty yet, but Bogo wants us on the car bomb case."

"The car bomb case? Why?"

"Well, according to this classified file…" She patted on a brown envelope on her lap, "... there are several incidents like it and Bogo suspects a connection between them."

"So, there have been more attacks like these?"

"Not really, these previous crimes were much less severe. Turn left here." She said as we neared her apartment.

It wasn't necessary for her to point that out. I had imprinted the route almost immediately after my first visit. Checking the rear-view mirror, I parked in front of the Grand Pangolin Arms. Before I could ask another question, she had unbuckled and had dashed to the front door. I reclined, knowing that it would take her some time to find the right habiliments, being a girl and all. It had me wonder why she even needed to get another set of regular clothes. Sure, the others were slightly blackened, yet if we were going out on official ZPD business, why not wear our uniforms?

'We wouldn't be needing them' she had said. Why not?

My eye fell on the dossier that was left lying on the dashboard. Perhaps it held the answer to this question. I leaned forward and placed my paw on the paper cover. Whilst doing so, I couldn't help glancing at the door through which Judy had just vanished. It felt wrong to read this file behind her back. Ridiculous since, as her partner, I was not doing anything illegal by reading it. After a moment, I decided not to and made myself comfortable in my chair again. She'd be back soon enough to explain it all. My mind however kept musing over all the possibilities. Another undercover operation? No, why would it. A visit to one of the witnesses? No, they had all been interviewed at the site. Speak to driver? Then why casual clothing? It didn't make any sense.

I checked my watch. Fifteen fifty. She was indoors for just a few minutes. She would likely take her time to pick the proper combination. A little excessive maybe, I mean, she even managed to appear pretty in that meter maid outfit. The orange vest, the small blue hat with her ears jutting out above… I shook my head to stop drifting away in the details. I looked from the apartment building to my watch. Fifteen fifty-one. Why was time passing so slow? The case record lay there, unguarded and within my reach, taunting me with its presence. A quick peek wouldn't hurt, right? I let the envelope slide onto my lap.

"Whoops. How did that happen." I added jokingly.

I pulled out the contents and placed them on top. There were a lot of photos and letters reporting vandalism to vehicles and shops. As I skimmed over them, they had a familiar touch about them, I couldn't quite put my finger on it. Actually, it was not so surprising. I had roamed the streets of Zootopia for years. I had seen just about all there was to see here. There was also a beige plastic map among the items. It was a dossier, light of weight. Was it empty? I opened it and startled back into my seat as I was gazed at by a tiny pink nose, a slicked back haircut, and a pair of thick, black eyebrows. This was Mister Big's file, or for as far as it was an actual file. There was very little in it that was directly relatable to him or his life. I read some things that weren't even remotely true and had undoubtedly been based solely on rumors.

"Couldn't wait for me to get back?" I heard a female voice.

Already spooked by Big's picture in the map, the premature entrance of Judy's voice send me off my chair a second time. I hadn't expected her back for quite some time. Evidently, not all girls were slow dressers.

"Easy Nick, I don't mind." She said, closing the door and buckling her seatbelt.

I watched her as she settled herself and observed her new clothes. She had put on Carolina-blue jeans and a grey hooded pullover, my birthday gift to her. On the front, it had the text 'I Love Carrots', the letters themselves all made up of small carrots. On her back was a big heart, made of carrots in the same fashion. Despite not having known her size at the time, I hadn't been able to resist buying this for her. It was totally up her alley. Now it appeared that I had guessed it just about right. Only the sleeves were a tad on the long side, an issue she had resolved by folding the lowest parts backwards. Her pullover however made me instantly realize where we were headed.

"Not that, this!" I said ultimately, showing her the picture of the mob boss.

"Yeah, what of it?"

"What of it? Carrots, you know why I don't want to go there. It's obvious that he still holds a grudge."

"Nonsense, if he did, he would never have invited to Fru Fru's wedding."

A valid point, Big didn't deliberately bring unreliable animals close to him or his family. Still, the idea that my presence had only been tolerated because of Judy seemed equally logical. An anxious feeling crawled up from gut as I thought of that arctic death hole in the floor.

"Besides…" Judy waited for me to be on the road to continue, "…if you didn't want him as your enemy, you shouldn't have conned him."

I dropped my shoulders and ears, feigning deception.

"Yeah, you're right. Nothing good ever comes from scamming others. I mean, look at you. You hustled me and now you have a fox as a partner. You poor rabbit."

She laughed loudly, the tears springing into her eyes. Her honest laughter was very contagious, pushing my face into a smile despite trying to look neutral. When she had recovered, she resumed narrating the case's details. I nodded as she elaborated on all of Bogo's theories. By the sounds of it, the mobster had clearly gotten on somebody's bad side. I agreed that it had to be someone of importance; who else than me would be stupid enough to go against him without the necessary means to protect himself from reprisals. Putting Judy on the job was also a well-played move by the chief. Big hated cops, although he venerated family. The true question would be which of the two the shrew would see in Judy when she would address the matter of the attacks. Dressing casually had been a good choice on her side to tip these odds in her favor. If we were to walk in as officers of the ZPD, chances were that he'd not be so forthcoming.

The one thing I didn't approve, was that she had brought me along.

"Sounds nice an' all, but the thing you left out is why I am here. You know I don't like going there."

"Well, you're my partner, are you not?" She smirked.

I sighed. Partners or not, I did not like visiting that crime boss. He didn't owe me nothing. Judy had saved Fru Fru, not me. Sometime in the future, he'd get back at me for selling him that skunk rug. The most positive thing that could be was a kick under the butt from one of his henchmen.

"Aw, Nick. You're not gonna let me do this all alone, are you?" She asked pitiably.

I shot her a glance from the corner of my eyes. She sat there, pouting, gazing at me with big, sad eyes, ears drooped down. I knew she faked it all, however I noted my throat becoming unusually dry. I gulped and tried to focus on the road. She was now playing dirty, abusing her cuteness like that.

"But I thought you would look after me?" She continued, striking a soft and disappointed tone.

I felt her staring at me and my stomach began to protest. My conscious was gnawing like hunger. Why did her performance work so well? I knew it wasn't real. She was only coaxing me. There was no true need for me to help her out. Yet another look at those radiant amethysts affected my inners so much that I had to give in to her request.

"Okay, okay. I'll come with you. Just stop looking at me like that."

"Yes." She cheered.

Instantly, her disappointment was gone and she punched my shoulder in a friendly manner. I grinned fiendishly on the inside. She might have won this round, that didn't mean she had won the war. Soon, I'll be the one drawing the longer straw… and I already knew when and how.

== Judy ==

"No, Nick. Come on!"

"What?"

"You can't seriously be wearing that again!"

Nick had hurried himself up and down the stairs to his apartment. Now that he was back, he was dressed in his usual slobby, brown pants, green, Hawaiian shirt, and the red and Oxford-blue striped tie. How could he keep wearing the same stuff over and over? It was unbelievable.

"It's not the that again." He said, looking himself over "It's another set, which happens to be composed of the same elements."

"Honestly, Nick. Upcoming weekend, you and I are gonna go shopping to get you something different."

"Whatever you say, Carrots." And he crawled behind the wheel.

I asked him whether he had at least brought a sweater or something for the cold. This led to another careless jump of his shoulders. I shook my head perplexed. He was so irresponsible sometimes. The residents, like Mister Big, were used to those temperatures, we were not. Big even had multiple extra coolers installed throughout his villa. I remember the Goosebumps I had during my last visit to Tundra Town. That wouldn't happen to me a second time. Going there without something warm, was asking for a flu.

After our stop at Cypress Grove Lane, it was a mere half an hour drive to get to Big's frozen mansion. At the entrance, we were stopped by an intimidating polar bear in a black suit. He asked us to look into the camera behind him and I leaned over to Nick's side to be visible as well. The speed with which we were recognized told me that whoever was on the other end of the camera cable, he had to have an incredible memory or an illegal facial recognition program. The latter was more likely. I heard a voice over the bear's earpiece and with the stern look still on his muzzle, he gave us a small nod. He walked past the car and unclicked the chain that had prevented our entry. Having slowly returned to his post, he then pointed out where we could park our vehicle. Nick thanked him to which he received no reply. I noticed Nick tightening his grip on the wheel as he drove on. He really didn't like being here. I placed my paw on his lower arm.

"Relax Nick, there's nothing to worry about."

He didn't respond. I patted his arm a few times before pulling back my hand. I let my eyes glide over Big's garden. It was a vast, deserted landscape that stretched on for miles beyond the residency. It was covered in a white blanket, populated mainly by rocks and an occasional cliff. The deciduous and coniferous trees that could have brought some color into the view, were equally pale and dark as the rest of the environment. The only thing that wasn't completely sober, were millions of imperfect sparkles, generated by the reflecting sunrays on the millions of imperfect snow crystals, coating the garden with a shimmering layer. Accustomed to the colorful flower fields of my home, this scenery of black, white and brown appeared rather lifeless and sorrow to me.

The tires creaked softly in the snow as Nick made a rightward turn towards the parking garage. It was a small concrete structure coterminous to, yet not joint with the mansion itself. Another polar bear awaited us there, opening the door as we neared it. There was plenty of space inside to park anyway you wanted, albeit that Nick's sense of decency had him align our car with the others. He took a deep breath as if to inhale enough confidence to leave the safety of our vehicle. I felt a slight guilt for dragging him along.

The animal who had opened the garage door, had returned to guide us to the main entrance of the villa. We meekly followed the sizeable animal to the house, none of us speaking a single word as we strolled over the wintry grounds. Arriving into the enormous main hall, I realized that the last time we were here, we had been brought in through the side and I had never gotten to see this part. I had stayed in touch with Big and Fru Fru after the Night Howler case, but strangely I had never visited anymore. I whistled impressed as I observed the pompous display. The marble floor and pillars sheened like they had been polished seconds ago, which might be the case for all I knew. The roof had also been painted white to amplify a spacious feeling. The walls were vertically striped in black and maroon, lighted by silver chandeliers and decorated with various tapestries and paintings, most of them depicting members of the shrew's family. In front of us lay a massive, rectangular staircase that bent twice in both directions, leading to the floor above. The handrails meandered up and down like snakes, with a sculptured shrew head at each end, all of it too in flawless marble. The steps on the staircase themselves were each covered by small, maroon rugs to avoid the danger of slipperiness for animals who weren't adapted to it.

Nick restlessly fumbled with his paws as we ascended to the first level. I thought of taking hold of one of his paws to strengthen his confidence, however I found my guts insufficient to perform that kind of intimacy.

"Mister Big will be able to receive you in a moment. Please wait here." The bear informed us with a low voice.

We preceded the guard into the chamber he had brought us to, after which he noiselessly closed the door behind us. The inside was warmly designed, the temperature being the exact opposite. I rubbed my sleeves, praising my pullover for its isolative property. In the middle of the cold stone floor lay a woolen, dark red carpet. I heaved a pleased sigh as it offered my feet some additional warmth. On the carpet stood an elongated table with a linen tablecloth, embroidered all kinds of symbols. Nine chairs surrounded it; I assumed the head that had no chair was for our host. Above it hung two big, golden chandeliers that supplied the entire room with light as there were no windows. Along the sides were Oakwood closets, housing mostly family heritage such as delftware, bullion figurines and painted portraits. In one of the portraits, I recognized Mister Big himself. Or maybe his father, the frame looked a little too old to have been made in any recent years.

I sat down in one of chairs when I detected Nick was still pacing up and down the room.

"Will you just relax for a moment."

"Easy for you to say. He regards you as family."

"Then as long as I'm here, you have nothing to worry. Wouldn't you agree?"

He gave me a tentative look. At least he had stopped pacing. I tapped the chair next to me, inviting him over. He obeyed and placed himself next to me. I stared at him with the happiest smile I could muster, hoping to get him as far as to return me the favor. After a couple of minutes, he finally did, though I reckoned it was merely to make me stop staring. That thought shrunk my grin to an insignificant line. There had to be something I could do to make him feel better. The dreamy idea of taking his paw came to mind once more, but before I could choose whether to attempt it this time, the door swung open and Koslov's enormous posture emerged from the hallway.

Hey all. I'm sorry to say that my next update will take some more time. I got some important stuff that needs to be finished next week. Cheers!