Hey all. It took me a while, but here is another chapter.

19. Bringer Of Bad News

==Nick==

*Rrrrrring*

I was startled from my sleep by the ringing of my cell phone. The sudden disruption of the silent room almost had me tumble from the couch I had been dozing on. Confused, I searched for the clock on the wall: half past seven. I vaguely recalled having lain down immediately after coming home. A dreaded headache had pained me, which had originated from all my pondering about the argument between Judy and me. That, together with the gnawing guilt of hurting the animal I held most dear, had left me dead tired. I rubbed my forehead just above my eyes. The sockets ached perhaps even more than before my nap.

*Rrrrrring*

Again my phone rang.

It was the most basic of phone jingles, picked by me during the times that I still hustled. I had chosen it to avoid offending anyone around me whenever I was undercover for another scheme. It might sound insignificant, although it could be an unforeseen mood-changer. Imagine pushing someone in the direction you want, then your ringtone happens to be a song he or she dislikes and the conversation turns cold as a result. It might never have happened, but I'd like to think that was because I had this dull tone instead of-

*Rrrrrring*

"Alright, alright." I uttered agitated.

I noticed the phone was not in my pocket.

*Rrrrrring*

"Damn it. Where is that thing."

I found it on the floor under the table. I swiped free the phone's lock and looked at the caller. I didn't recognize the numbers, yet it wasn't shielded.

"Yes? … Nick Wilde here." I added almost forgetting to give my identity.

"Mister Wilde, this is doctor Howard."

"Howard…?" I closed my eyes and massaged my forehead again, trying to recollect the face behind the name.

"Yes, I'm calling you about Miss Hopps' appointment today?"

"Oh yes. Of course. You're Judy's doctor. Right. Sorry, it took me so long to remember."

"That's quite alright, we've only met briefly. I meant to call you earlier, but I had other patients to attend."

"I understand. So how is she? Better than last time I hope?"

"Well it is about the appointment, rather than Miss Hopps herself, that I am calling."

I opened my eyes.

"What does that mean?"

"Blandly spoken, she didn't show up."

"Didn't show up?"

"No. My assistant has called her twice, apparently she didn't answer."

"That doesn't sound like her at all. Punctuality is a second nature of her."

"If you say so. Well if you manage to get a hold of her, tell her to contact my assistant for another appointment. And press her to remember it the next time!"

Judy forgetting her doctor's appointment? That was improbable. Besides, she had vividly reminded me that I was not welcome at said appointment in the precinct's reception hall this afternoon. How could she have forgotten it?

"Mister Wilde?"

"Oh, yes. Yes I will. Thank you."

"Then I bid you a goodnight."

"Yes, goodnight to you too."

Absent-minded I watched the display darken a few seconds after the call ended. Had something bad happened to her? Had she fainted and was she laying somewhere unconsciously? No. No, there had to be a reasonable explanation for this. I touched the screen to brighten it up again and picked Judy's number from my history. As it rang, I paced up and down the room. It was probably nothing, yet the longer my calling was unanswered, the more I began to doubt that statement.

"Come on, Carrots. Pick up."

I couldn't wrap my mind around Judy losing track of her agenda. She had never ever filed a single report later than was demanded, nor had she ever been late for any appointment. Something was off, and the fact that she didn't answer her phone strengthened that feeling.

I resettled myself on the bench and went through my list of contacts. Remarkably, the headache had vanished entirely. A fortunate eventuality since I had some thinking ahead of me. Who would be the friend that she had gone to? Clawhauser? No, then she would've said so in the hallway. Probably Fru Fru then. Those two were like bread and butter ever since they went shopping together.

I scrolled down my contact list to Koslov's personal number. I slight fear crept up on me. What if Judy wasn't there and I had interrupted something important? I cast the thought away. Judy was more important and the ominous feeling was driving me to look into her absence further. As the phone rang, I realized that Judy for as yet didn't have many friends here in Zootopia. Of course, almost everybody knew her from the papers. And she was a likeable person, so everyone she met was nice to her. But really good friends were scarce. Recollecting my own list of best friends, the corners of my mouth ascended. In that respect, we were a perfect match.

It wasn't long until the polar bear's surly reply rumbled over the line. When I asked for his boss, I somehow expected him to hang up. He didn't. And after a brief interval, the deep voice of Mr Big answered me.

"This better be important Nicky."

There it was. That unnerving calm that haunted me still. Even after all the peaceful meetings that had proven his forgiveness over my fraudulent act, I never ceased being terrified of one-on-one conversations with him.

"Yes, sir. I-err…" I mustered my courage. "I-I am urgently looking for Judy. She doesn't happen to be at your villa?"

"Yes, I believe she is. A moment."

A load fell off my shoulders. See. There was nothing to worry about. Her iCarrot was probably on silence and with Fru Fru she had simply lost track of time. I was such a doomsayer sometimes. However every minute it took for Big to return supported the recurrence of the sinister sensation in my chest. What took so long? His villa might be large, it wouldn't take this long to get to the other end, would it?

"Okay." Big replied to someone.

My heart, just like the rest of me, stopped to await what he was going to say.

"I'm sorry Nicky, you just missed her. She and my daughter left together."

"What?" I replied, full of concern again. "When?"

"About an hour ago."

"Where?" I realized I almost yelled at him, but my decency had lost its priority.

"The hospital. Why? What's with all these questions?"

"Are you sure?"

"You're acting crazy, Nicky. What's the problem?"

"I gotta go."

I hung up, called Judy again and resumed my pacing. They had left for the hospital. This is evidence that she didn't forget; she never arrived! Oh God. Where is she? With every beep of the outgoing call, the question echoed louder and louder in my head.

I almost ran to the kitchen, snatched my car keys from their hook and headed for the door. With the knob in my hand, I realized it was already getting dark and in addition my stomach growled, reminding me I hadn't eaten yet. I ignored both. With Judy's well-being at stake, all else was obsolete. I pulled on the new navy-blue jacket Judy had chosen for me at the mall and left for the parking lot. I was on my way to the hospital a few minutes later.

From there on, I programmed my navigation to take the shortest possible route to Big's mansion. It led through multiple unmonitored areas of Zootopia. If something had happened to her, it must've been there. In complete silence, I drove the designated route ten miles an hour slower than I was allowed, taking in every detail, every clue that might give me insight on where the limo of Fru Fru and Judy might have gone. It led to some irritated overtaking manoeuvres by the other road users. One passed me by at, what I was sure to be, twice the maximum velocity. I didn't engage. I had a more important task.

After a while, my navigation instructed me to follow a long and deserted road for a few miles. It was allegedly ten minutes shorter, although the shabby state of the single carriageway made its use questionable to say the least. More than half of the streetlights were broken combined with the the dense wall of trees either side of the road, driving here was like a horror movie. Also, the asphalt wasn't in that good a shape either; those occasional bumps contributed to my neck hairs constantly standing upright. It was going to be another section of unmonitored Zootopia and my senses sharpened in order to detect any hint or clue. Ever since the construction of the inter-district highways, these roads had lost their value and were therefore often neglected. I wasn't even sure what the tolerated speed was here. At least you didn't get stuck in traffic here.

After what couldn't have been more than five minutes, the feminine voice advised me to leave the road. Just then I noticed a small, red light on the side road. I pulled over immediately. Once I was out of the car, I recognized it as the backlight of a car. I had seen it only as a quick flash that contrasted with the pitch black, however, now it was clearly visible in the darkness. I clicked on my flashlight and crossed the road silently. It was a limo that lay in a ditch about a metre below the road itself. The right rear end was smashed in like a milk carton, hence only one of the backlights was functional. The front of the car had been split in half by the trunk of an African acacia. The engine hummed slightly and a slim stream of smoke curled from underneath the deformed hood. One of the back doors was open.

Looking back at the road, I didn't believe it to be a coincidence that none of the lampposts here were working. They had been waiting for them to get onto the road here. I turned back to the limo and shone my torch on the scene. I didn't see any movement.

"Carrots?" I asked softly.

I didn't know why I whispered. Maybe it was the quiet of the environment, or just a primordial fear of the unknown. I slid down the slope, careful not lose my footing. Approaching the wreckage, my gut cramped in fear of what I might find inside. Judy injured. Maybe worse… Suddenly I detected something in the grass. It was a white, relatively large foot. Whoever it belonged to was hid behind the door. Was it another ambush? I reached for my gun only to find that I wasn't in uniform and no duty meant no equipment. Even my phone was still in the car since I used it for my navigation. I gulped. I had only my flashlight.

"Hello? Are you okay?"

I got no reply. I walked around the car door at a distance, aiming my light for the door at all times. It took me about a minute to get the animal in sight. It was a polar bear in a black suit, indefinitely one of Big's men. He didn't move, not even when I shone the light right into his eyes. I walked over to have a better look. The two huge, wet stains on his chest confirmed my suspicion: he was dead. It was Mike, Fru Fru's personal body guard. This was their car. A shiver shot over my spine and hurried myself to the backdoor.

Please. Oh God, please. Not Judy. Please, not Judy.

With a combined feeling of hesitation by not wanting to know and the urge to determine what had happened to my partner, I illuminated the inside of the vehicle. I heaved a deep sigh. It was empty. She wasn't here. That probably meant she wasn't dead either, else she would've been here with Mike. I noticed something metallic on the floor. I leaned over and picked it up. It was a gas grenade, halothane by the smell of it. They had been abducted.

I clambered back up to the road and headed for my car. I took my phone from the holder and dialled the ZPD emergency number. Following the conversation, I called in an ambulance. My experience was that their response times would be about a quarter of an hour. Better look for some clues until then and I jumped back down into the ditch.

Despite never having seen a corpse before, I suffered no aversion for Mike's dead body. I closed his eyes and began looking him over. I discovered powder on his coat. I leaned forward and sniffed it. Gun powder residue. I turned over Mike's body. Two exit wounds. He was probably shot from close range. That meant there had to be bullets and casings around here. Those would be hard to find. Maybe tomorrow we…

My ears perked upright. Was that music I heard? Yes, there it was again. It came from the car. The music became clearer when I re-entered the limo. A faint light from underneath one of the chairs brightened the interior. I reached under the chair. It was Judy's iCarrot.

"Oh no…"

The incoming call was from her parents. I stared at their photograph for a few seconds, hoping they would hang up. They didn't seem inclined to do so. And who was I to deny them the knowledge of their daughter? Moreover, even if we did manage to keep this abduction hidden from the press, what would they think of her if she didn't reply for a week or so? I inhaled deeply and pressed the green button.

"Hey honey! What took you so long?"

"G-good evening Miss Hopps."

"Nick? Is that you?"

"Yes, Miss Hopps. It's me."

"Hey. How are you doing? Are you fitting in at the precinct?"

"Well, you know…" I replied, postponing the bad news I had to bring.

"Judy said you make a great cop and a fantastic partner."

Tears sprang in my eyes.

"D-Did she?" I stammered.

"U-huh. Speaking of her, is she around? I'd like her opinion on something."

I dried my eyes and took another deep breath to relax my tremoring vocal cords.

"She-errr… Miss Hopps, could you… could you sit down for a moment please?"

"Why? What's wrong?"

"There-errr… There's something I need to tell you…"