Chapter 22
Author's Note:
Cameo time! This is where Nick begins having to take the drug lord out. Not related to the story, but I just got back from working with my dad at Integris Canadian Valley Regional Hospital in Yukon, Oklahoma, cleaning floors. That is what I envision the hospital Nick went to as, but bigger. Not really related to the story much, is it?
Bogo walked into the bullpen at roll call the next day and stood at the podium. "Today, we have an officer who has just been transferred here from precinct 14. Officer Brittney Isom." Bogo gestured to a rare red wolf sitting in the second row, behind Delgato. She stood up and waved a little. "She is one of the best in the SWAT team. She will be assigned to Officers Wilde and Hopps for the time being, for her to learn about regular cop duties. Officers Delgato, Wolfard, Snarlof; you are going to investigate some drug deals around the Rainforest District." Bogo handed the case file to Delgato as the three walked out of the room. "That will be all for today. Dismissed." Everyone got up and left. Brittney walked over to Nick and Judy. "Hi! I'm Brittney," she said, shaking Nick's paw. "Nice to meet you. I'm Nick," Nick said. "I'm Judy," Judy said, shaking Brittney's paw. "I know. I've seen you two on tv during press conferences all the time," Brittney said. "Bet you didn't know we were married," Nick said, pulling Judy beside him. Brittney looked a little shocked. "So you two are a pred-prey couple?" "Yeah. So?" Judy said. "Nothing," Brittney said. "Let's get to work," Nick said. The three of them walked down to the garage and got in the cruiser. Nick drove the car around Savannah Central for several hours, talking to Brittney and telling her about his career as a cop. He tried to leave out any reference to his prosthetic, but Brittney noticed. "Why are there those cords that look like they come out of your left paw?" Brittney asked. Nick sighed. He was headed to a restaurant for lunch, so he parked the car in the parking lot. "I'll tell you during lunch," Nick said. Nick ordered his and Judy's lunch, and Brittney ordered hers. Nick sat at a booth with Judy, and Brittney sat across from them. Nick took the cover off and revealed the paw. Brittney's jaw dropped. "OMG! What happened?" "I lost my paw to a gang boss who had me as a prisoner because I put his gang out of operation. He thought I needed to be punished for putting his gang out of operation," Nick explained. Brittney started touching the prosthetic, and looking it all over. "How much did it cost to get this?" Brittney asked. "I got it free because of a new program for amputee police officers," Nick said. Brittney let Nick put the cover back on so he could eat. After they finished their lunch, they all finished their patrols for the day. Nick and Judy went to their apartment, while Brittney went to her home.
Over the next month, Nick and Judy showed Brittney how to get used to patrol work. Today, Nick and Judy had the day off. Nick was sitting on the couch, while Judy was out getting some groceries. While Nick was sitting, there was a knock at the door. Nick looked through the peephole and saw Brittney. Nick opened the door. "Hey, Brittney. How'd you know where I lived?" Nick asked. "I looked it up in the police database. Duh!" Brittney replied. "Oh, yeah. Won't you come in and sit down?" Nick offered. "Sorry, but I have to get back to work really soon, but Bogo wanted me to bring you and Judy back to HQ with me." "What! Why?" Nick was surprised. Normally Bogo would call, not have someone pick him up without telling him beforehand. "I'll get ready in five minutes," Nick said, running into the bedroom. Nick got into his police uniform and ran out. "Judy's down the street at the supermarket," Nick said as they ran down the hallway to the elevator. "I never told you it was an emergency," Brittney said, noticing Nick was running. "Did Bogo tell you what the reason for bringing me back to work on my day off was?" Nick asked as they went down the elevator. "No. Why?" Brittney asked. "If Bogo has someone come to work on their day off, it's because of an emergency," Nick said as the elevator doors opened and they both ran to Brittney's cruiser outside. They got in, and drove to the supermarket down the street. Nick ran inside and looked for Judy. The store was too big, so he had an idea. He ran to a checkout. "Can you page Judy Wilde?" Nick asked the hippo at the checkout. "Shure," she said as she picked the pager up. "Can a Mrs. Judy Wilde please come to checkout four?" The hippo's voice came from the speakers around the building. Nick waited. When Nick saw Judy walking up, he ran to meet her. He took the basket and ran to the checkout. "Can you keep these for us until we come back to pay for them? There's an emergency at work," Nick said to the hippo. "Whatever," she said as she took the basket and put it under the checkout. "Come on!" Nick said to Judy as he took her hand and ran out to Brittney's car. Nick and Judy got in, and Brittney sped off, siren wailing. "So what's going on?" Judy asked. "We don't know, but if Bogo sent someone to pick us up, it has to be important," Nick said. Brittney pulled up to the front door of HQ and parked the car. They all got out and went inside. "Ben! Where is Bogo?" Nick asked as he run up to Clawhauser's desk. Ben pointed towards Bogo's office, he didn't even look up from his laptop he was typing at. Nick ran off towards Chief's office, with the girls following. Nick burst into the office to find Bogo hugging a sobbing female wolf. "Officer Wilde. Just in time. There has been an emergency in the Rainforest District. Officer Snarlof has been shot. He's at the hospital in surgery right now," Bogo said, still hugging the wolf, still sobbing. The girls came in, and Bogo gave them a briefing too. "This is Snarlof's wife, Audrey," Bogo said. Audrey wiped her eyes and calmed down a little. Nick stuck his paw out. "How do you do?" Nick said as he shook her paw. "How do you think I'm doing!?" Audrey yelled and sat in Bogo's chair, sobbing even harder now. Nick walked over and placed his left paw on her shoulder. "I'm sorry. I should have used a better greeting," Nick said softly. Audrey looked at Nick. "It's ok. I should control my emotions better," Audrey said, giving a weak smile. Brittney and Judy walked over and put paws on Audrey's shoulders too. "Let's try again," Nick said. "Hi. I'm Officer Nick Wilde," Nick said, sticking his paw out for her to shake. "Nice to meet you, Officer Wilde. I'm Missus Audrey Snarlof," Audrey said, smiling. "I'm Officer Judy Wilde," Judy said, shaking Audrey's paw. Audrey looked a little confused. Nick and Judy held their paws with their wedding rings on them and held them side by side. "Oh. Predator-prey couple. I get it," Audrey said. "Hi. I'm Officer Brittney Isom," Brittney said, shaking Audrey's paw. "Nice to meet all of you," Audrey said. Audrey stood up and walked to Bogo and whispered something to him. Bogo nodded and she left. "Missus Snarlof need some time alone, but we'll go to the conference room to get you up to speed," Bogo said, leading them out. They got in the conference room and sat down. There were already several officers in the conference room. "Alright. Now we have everybody here, we can begin the conference. As you all know, Officer Snarlof has been in an accident while investigating a drug deal. Two years ago, Officer Nick Wilde discovered a drug dealer who operates in the Rainforest District, and that his supply was running low. We now have reason to believe that his supply is now much larger, and he is getting aggressive. Wilde, you had mentioned something about believing he was captured two years ago, but we have no record of an arrest of an ocelot since four years ago. He is still at large, and we believe he is the one who shot Snarlof." Bogo looked at his notes and let everyone think about what he had said. Higgins walked in and whispered to Bogo. Bogo frowned and cleared his throat. "I have just been informed that Officer Snarlof didn't make it. The injuries were too severe, and there was nothing the doctors could do," Bogo said. Everyone in the room looked shocked and sad. Nick was mad. "These drug dealers and gangs are hurting innocent people! They must be stopped!" Nick stood up and yelled. Bogo looked at him. "I like your enthusiasm, Wilde. That's why you are going to stop him," Bogo said. Nick looked stunned. "Uh, Sir? I don't like going undercover. Why don't you have Officers Jag and Frost do it? They're the undercover guys. Plus, they live in the Rainforest District!" Nick protested. Bogo sighed. Judy stood up, and so did Brittney. "We agree with the chief, Nick. You are the best one to do this," Judy said. Nick stared wide eyed. The rest of the officers stood up too. "All of you agree?" Nick asked. Everyone nodded. Nick sighed. "When do I start?" Nick asked. Bogo smiled. "You'll start tomorrow," Bogo said. "Be seated," Bogo said to everybody. Everybody sat back down. "Wilde. You, Hopps, and Isom will go undercover together this time as drug dealers, and Jag and Frost are going to go undercover as your bodyguards. We don't want any more accidents," Bogo said, pointing to Nick's paw, but Nick knew he meant like what happened to Snarlof. "We will need someone to volunteer for their monitors," Bogo said. "Anyone?" Bogo looked over the officers in the room, as did Nick, Judy, and Brittney. "I will, Sir!" came Will's voice as his paw shot up in the air. "Officer Wolfard has graciously volunteered. We need one more. Anyone else?" Bogo asked, looking around some more. "I'll do it!" said Lilly. "Officer Delgato. We now have our team prepared for the mission. You'll be briefed tomorrow. For now, Wilde, Hopps, and Isom. Follow me," Bogo said, getting up. "Dismissed," Bogo said as he left. Bogo led them into his office and sat down. "You three are headed to Cliffside for the bug implants in thirty minutes. But you are going to give me your badges." Bogo held out his hoof to Nick as he handed him his badge. Judy and Brittney gave him their badges too. "Are you firing us?" Brittney asked. "You're not getting fired. You're being given temporary undercover badges." Bogo handed them new badges with the same number and name, but they had the detective team designs on them. "You are being reassigned the detective team until further notice. Dismissed." Nick, Judy, and Brittney went to the break room. Nick sat on the couch, he couldn't get thoughts out of his head. Judy sat next to him, her arm around him. Nick just had his head in his paws. Brittney grabbed a king sized Snickers from the fridge and started eating it. "What's wrong with him?" asked Brittney. "He has a fear of gangs. Drug dealers are associated with gangs, so his PTSD gets triggered by that," Judy explained. "Oh my gosh! Why don't you tell Bogo?" Brittney said. "We've told Bogo. He doesn't care about PTSD. He says facing your fears helps destroy them," Nick said, still not looking up. Nick started softly crying. Judy hugged him a little and kissed his cheek. Clawhauser came in the room. "You guys ready to go?" Ben asked. "Yup!" Judy said. Nick wiped his eyes and stood up. "Let's go," Nick said.
"This is oddly familiar," Nick said, as he lay in a bed at Cliffside. The doctor laughed. "I know. You get yourself in some of the strangest predicaments," the doctor said. Nick passed out soon after. Nick woke up felling sore like last time. Nick looked around and got off the bed. He walked out the door into the hallway. Everyone else was already there. "Am I the last to wake up?" Nick asked. "Yup," Judy said. Nick smiled. "I love you, Carrots," Nick said, walking over to Judy. "I love you too, Nick," Judy replied. Bogo came into the room. "Alright! We have everything set up and ready to go. You all need to pack up and get in the truck outside. It will take you to your base. Once there, there should be instructions for what to do. Jag and Frost will tell you all the rest. Delgato and Wolfard. You two are going to use the UC Van. You'll drive it up to the park and you will monitor all that happens." "Got it!" Will said. Nick stood up and went to the door and went outside. There was a truck waiting like Bogo said. Nick got in and Judy, Brittney, Jack, and Walter got in behind him. "You ready for this?" Judy asked Nick. "Ready as I'll ever be," Nick said. The truck drove to a small mansion in the Rainforest District. They all got off. "Thanks!" Nick yelled to the driver. The driver gave a wave and drove off. The team walked into the mansion and looked around. Nick picked up a piece of paper and saw it was the instructions. Nick read through them and handed it to Judy, who handed it to Brittney when she was done. Nick walked into the bedroom that he was supposed to stay in and looked around. It looked well-kept and orderly, but it gave Nick shivers. Nick looked at the closet and opened it. There was some clothes he was supposed to wear. Nick sighed and put them on. They made him look like a rich fox from South America. Nick kind of chuckled when he remembered that he was a North American Red Fox. They don't live in South America. Nick went to the living room. Jag and Frost were there. "How do I look?" Nick asked, turning around so they could see. "You look like a Latin Drug Dealer, but you need the accent," Frost said. "Amigos! So good to see you compadres!" Nick said in a Latin-Spanish accent. "Hm. Not bad," Jag said. Judy came out of her bedroom wearing a maid uniform. "So I'm supposed to be the maid?" Judy asked in an annoyed tone. "We need to keep you hidden, since they all know about you. Nick is not as widely known, but he will need to dye his fur a grey color," Frost said. When Nick heard about dying his fur, he looked at Frost. "No one told me that!" Nick yelled. "Jack just did," Jag said. Nick sighed. "So I'm going to be a South American Grey Fox?" Nick asked. "Yes. The things you'll need are in the closet of your room," Jag said. Nick sighed and went to his room. Nick looked at the stuff, but he couldn't figure out how to use it. Nick went back to the living room. Brittney was there, wearing a Columbian dress. "What's she supposed to be?" Nick asked as he walked in. "She is going to be your girlfriend," Frost said. Judy, Nick, and Brittney's jaws dropped. "I'm married! And my wife is right there!" Nick yelled, pointing at Judy. "My husband is going to play dress up with someone who is not me?" Judy yelled. "I'm going to be a married man's girlfriend?" Brittney yelled. Jag and Frost laughed a little. "Yes. You will. Nick and Brittney are both canines, so it would be a little more believable. And a fox having a rabbit for a maid makes complete sense," Jag said. Nick sighed and looked at Judy. Judy gave him a mean look. "If you do anything, I'll kill you!" Judy said. Nick looked at Judy with a determined look. "Foxes are hard wired for one mate for life. I can promise on my word that I wouldn't think of betraying you!" Nick said. Judy narrowed her eyes at Nick. "I hope so, Nick, for your sake," Judy said. "Nick, why haven't you dyed your fur yet?" Frost asked. "I don't know how to use it," Nick said. "I know how to use it!" Brittney said. Judy narrowed her eyes at Brittney. "If you get any funny ideas, I will personally rip your head off with my teeth!" Brittney looked shocked. "Ok then. I'll go help Nick now..." Brittney said, and walked off down the hall behind Nick. Nick sat on the end of the bed. Brittney looked at the dye kit. There was a piece of paper on it. Brittney read it for a while. "This says you need your entire body dyed with this," Brittney said. Nick looked up at her, surprised. "What!? Judy would kill you and me both if you saw me without my shirt at least!" Nick said. Brittney looked thoughtful for a moment. How about I show you how to do it, then you can do it," Brittany said. Nick nodded. "Ok. Let's get started," Nick said. Brittney started dying Nick's face and tail, showing him how to do it. Nick quickly got the hang of it. Brittney left the room and Nick took his shirt off and dyed his chest, but his back was a little difficult to do. Nick got his whole body completely done in a little over an hour. Nick came back out to the living room. Judy looked surprised. "What'd you do to my Nick?" Judy said, playfully. "Oh, he's fine, Princessa! He is just in front of your eyes!" Nick said in his Latin-Spanish accent. Judy laughed and hugged Nick. Nick kissed Judy. "This will be weird for a while," Nick said. Judy giggled. "Too weird," Judy said. Brittney was watching Nick hold Judy. Nick looked at her. "Don't worry. You'll get your turn," Nick said to Brittney. Judy frowned at Nick. "Nick!" Judy yelled. Nick looked at Judy. "Carrots, I have to do this. I will not do anything that would make you mad, ok?" Nick said. Judy relaxed a bit. "I guess so," Judy said, looking at Brittney. Nick kissed Judy on her cheek. Judy gave Nick a hug around his neck. Nick hugged back. "I love you, Nick. Don't ever leave me," Judy whispered to Nick, and started crying softly. "I love you too, Carrots. And I would never even consider leaving you for any reason," Nick whispered back. Nick stepped back and looked at Judy. Brittney coughed loudly. Nick turned to face her. "This is a bit awkward, isn't it?" Nick said. "Giving goodbyes when we're going to be in the same house and we'll be with each other the whole time." Brittney nodded a bit. "Yeah. Just a little bit awkward," Brittney said, sarcastically. "You need your accent," Nick said. Brittney smiled. "Olá meu amor," Brittney said in perfect Portuguese, including the accent. Everyone was surprised. "I took Portuguese in high school and college. I've been to South America for many more than one assignments, taking drug lords down." Nick looked pleased. "You've done this before?" Nick asked. "Many times. I think that's why Bogo had me transferred here," Brittney said. "The rising drug problem," Jack said, without any emotion on his face or voice. "Exactly," Brittney said. Nick breathed deeply. "This is gonna be nothing like before," Nick thought, and prepared for the extremely difficult journey ahead.
