Pick a Role
"I'm just saying, that Chief Buffalo Butt could've had a little more faith in us," chuffed Nick to Clawhauser as the fox slipped through the open door of the single-seated parking enforcement vehicle.
"Ah brighten up, Nick. You know that nature doesn't usually gift someone at the top straight away," replied his cheetah friend.
"Not even someone as competent as you? I mean seriously, you're a dang cheetah. You don't even need that vehicle!" remarked Nick in bemusement.
"Parking Enforcement is a task that does not rely on stamina or speed, my friend. Even though I have plenty of it," Clawhauser tutted back. And it was true. Ever since that eventful day at the Junior Ranger Scouts Camp, Benjamin had trained his body hard. And also his brain, just like he promised Officer Oates.
"Eh, let's just dig straight down into this," Nick resolved, "The sooner we get to work, the sooner the day passes. The sooner the days pass, the sooner the week passes. The sooner the weeks pass, the sooner the month passes. And I can't wait until then to get promoted. I hope."
"Race ya to a hundred tickets," quipped Clawhauser.
"You're on, Benny," replied Nick.
"Hah! 101 tickets before noon! Come on now, bud, tell me truthfully what you got," Clawhauser grinned as he barked out his achievement joyfully through his radio.
"27," replied Nick, inwardly wincing with embarrassment. He let out a shy chuckle, "Well, it looks like lunch is on me then."
"Where do you suggest?" crackled the voice of Clawhauser. Nick looked at his GPS. "Bug Burga looks appealing. There's a joint in Downtown."
"See you there in an hour!" his cheetah friend replied in an enthused manner. Nick sighed in happiness for his friend. One of Clawhauser's best perks was that even if you just gave him an inch, he would treat it like a golden move on your part and act as if he was permanently in your debt for it. Now, Nick was idealistic, but Benjamin just took that aspect up to eleven.
The hour passed soon enough, and Nick quickly found himself parking his automobile at the lot outside the fast food restaurant. As he dismounted his vehicle, his eye caught onto a young bunny girl, no older than 15, and her arctic shrew friend, who was perched on her shoulder. The bunny looked gorgeous. And a bit addled.
"OOF!" wheezed Nick as the bunny, who's head barely reached his upper abdomen, unintentionally slammed into him.
"Careful there, missus," he warned kindly, seeing that the bunny girl looked terribly sheepish and penitent.
"So sorry, sir. I was just talking to my friend here too much without watching where I was going. We're close friends at high school, you see. Practically sisters," the bunny replied. She raised a finger at the shrew sitting on her shoulder, "This here is Fru Fru. She may be 3 years above me, but we're totally inseparable."
"Hi," the arctic shrew squeaked, "Pleased to meet you, Mister–"
"Wilde. Nick Wilde," the adult fox replied to the two juveniles. "Now darling, all that's left is to introduce your name to me," he said keenly to the bunny.
"Judy. Judy Little," the bunny answered, imitating Nick's own formal greeting.
"That has a nice ring to it," Nick grinned as he gave a little salute. He excused himself as he stepped past them to get to the restaurant. "It was nice meeting you two! But an officer's duty calls! Especially if said duty is to his stomach!"
He waved farewell as the girls returned the gesture with a few giggles.
"O-M-Goodness! Look who's finally arrived!" a well-known voice that Nick knew well purred out enthusiastically. But the fox was surprised to see two more of his best friends also joining them at the joint for lunch.
"Here's Nicky!" hooted Harry with a smile. He clapped a hoof on Nick's back.
"What were you assigned to do?" asked Bradley with bright anticipation. Nick's eyes flitted skyward in slight disappointment. "Parking Duty along with Benny here," he replied. "Don't look so glum!" piped up Harry, "We'll all pitch in to try to make your promotion pass by more quickly!"
"Thanks," mumbled Nick gratefully before turning to Benjamin, "So buddy, what will your order be?"
"Two large orders of cheese fries with a bowl of beetle salad!" the cheetah grinned hungrily, his mouth slavering away.
"Coming right up," Nick said as he began to make his way towards the counter. However, the lack of something crucial in his front pocket made him stop in his tracks.
"What the fudge? Where is my wallet?" Nick oinked in alarm, slapping his paws around his uniform in a futile attempt to find something that wasn't there anymore. He swiftly slid back to his friends' table. "You guys seen my wallet anywhere?"
"You've been pickpocketed?" Benjamin gasped in horror, putting his paws to his chin.
"And on your first day too. Man, that must suck," continued Harry, his gaze registering sympathy for his friend.
"Don't worry there, I'll pay for us," Benjamin answered immediately, relieving his buddy of the most forefront issue at the moment. That left room for the next problem to come up. "Where could my wallet have gone to?" Nick grumbled to himself, scanning the floor of the restaurant.
"Where do ye think ye might have dropped it?" asked Harry, putting a hoof to his furry chin.
"I might have – oh no," groaned Nick, slapping a paw to his forehead as he recalled the last interesting event that had happened to him. The rabbit girl bumping into him. She must've been the one who had stolen his wallet! But she looked so innocent, so cute!
"Snap out of it, Nick! She's a sneaky little thief!" the fox mentally chided himself. Benji returned with their meals. "You got a lead there?" the cheetah asked.
"Oh yes. Yes I do," hummed Nick in a low and hurt whisper.
Nick decided that his best course of action would be to finish his parking duties for the day, return the vehicle to the ZPD grounds, and then conduct his personal investigation on foot. It was twilight at 5:00 pm now, for it was Autumn in Zootopia. To most other animals, this would have been an upsetting botheration. To naturally nocturnal mammals such as Nick, the swift approach of Night would level the hunting field, so it was welcoming to him.
To make matters easier, Nick had found that several bits of the bunny's fur had stuck to his uniform. So all he had to do to find his prey was to follow the scent.
He tracked her down soon enough. She – what was her name again? – and her arctic shrew friend were busy strolling down a trafficated street. The bunny was carrying what looked to be like a bucket full of soapy water, with a squeegee dunked within it. She would then stop at a random car and wipe the front and back windscreen clean. The driver would then pay her for her impromptu services.
Every so often, one car inhabitant would need to go to find a bathroom. The congestion took ages to move an inch anyway, so most of the time, the animals in other vehicles waited patiently while said driver did his or her business in a portable loo at the side of the road.
Nick noticed that Judy – so he did remember her name! – took this allocated time to rest for a bit on the car she was cleaning by leaning her tired body on the driver's door. As he squinted and made his way over to get a closer look, Nick found that the shrew – Fru Fru, he remembered – would peek into the window to make sure that no one else was in the vehicle. Then the shrew would climb into the car if the driver was naïve enough to leave their window open, and she would flip open drawers to get spare change left inside. If lucky enough, Fru Fru would find that the driver had foolishly left their wallet in the car, and so she could make off with a lot more cash in paw. Being the small mammal she was, no other inhabitants in other vehicles would take any notice when she climbed her way out of the cab, back through the open window, to make her way back to her perch on her friend's shoulder.
This business went on for the next quarter of an hour, before the bunny and shrew finally retreated off to the sidelines. From his stealthy position in the encompassing shadows of the night, Nick's forest green orbs blazed with tranquil fury.
He silently gave pursuit as he saw them turn a corner.
"Didn't your mother ever teach you that it was wrong to steal?" Nick snarled as he finally found and cornered the pair in a dark side alley as they were counting their fortunes.
"For your information, I don't have a mother," the bunny mentioned offhandedly, not taking her eyes off the cash that she was busy counting in her paws.
"Yeah, so why don't you piss off and leave the poor girl alone, officer?" huffed Fru Fru.
Nick took a few steps forward, his body language threatening to wreak justice among the juvenile delinquents.
"I can place you two under custody, you know," he snarled lowly, his patience wearing thin.
"Ha! You think they're gonna believe a fox? Even if you're one of their own, they will never see it that way, rookie. You're effing screwed," jeered the shrew. But she wasn't done yet.
"Go back home to your mama. She'll teach you all about the big bad world. You'll need that lesson in reality."
That was it.
Nick roared and charged, a paw outstretched ready to slap and knock out that irritable rodent.
"You little brats! OW!"
Things didn't go according to his plan however, when Judy hopped up and delivered an aerial roundhouse kick to his face.
"You know Fru Fru, I think that's why the crime level is increasing. The cops really are getting stupider," remarked the bunny.
Nick grunted angrily as he picked himself up off the concrete. He rushed forward again, swinging a punch to the annoying bunny, who unfortunately was able to block that strike and counter with a jab of her own, straight to his gut.
"OOF!" Nick groaned, barely managing to shove the teenaged rabbit off of him.
"I pity you, Officer Wilde. I really do," said Judy with a slight shake of her head. Then she raced forward, leapt high and delivered the finishing kick to his face.
Nick collapsed backwards, too weary and stunned to try to get up again.
"So…" he muttered as he spat out some blood, "Finish it."
"No," replied Judy.
"No?" Nick gasped in surprised, clutching at his head and his stomach painfully.
"You may view us as merely criminals, officer, but we are not criminals without honour," said Fru Fru, as Judy lifted her up to her shoulder. The two girls both collected their cash and stolen goods.
"The appearance… is deceptive…" noted Nick dryly, still prone on the floor.
"You want proof?" retorted Judy, before throwing something in front of the fox, "Here it is. Come, Fru Fru. Father is waiting for us."
The two teenage delinquents left, not really thinking that Nick was conscious enough to latch onto the last sentence. But he was.
"Wait… Father?" he murmured quietly to himself, before resolving to pick up the item that Judy had thrown to him.
The item. It was his wallet!
When he had recovered enough and regained his bearings, Officer Nicholas Wilde decided not to pursue the two teens anymore. He was certain that he would cross their paths again soon. Real soon. But that was a matter to be dealt with for another time.
For now, he decided to head back to his rented apartment.
He needed rest.
The day had been long, confusing, and tiring – to say the least.
Yes, rest sounded good.
