Chapter 5

"Come try some delicious blueberries today! Remember the name: Dawn's Blues! Now available in cupcake favors!"

Judy and Nick entered their apartment room. Everyone was in the living room, in front of the cheap television set. Tommy was nestled in Charlotte's lap, while Dan was munching on some cricket chips.

Trying to ignore Dan, who gave them nothing but dirty looks, the young couple kissed their son and asked Charlotte how their day was, what Tommy was fed, etc. Charlotte replied happily, though also nervously. She was always fidgety around Dan.

Dan never liked to be ignored. "So where have you two been? Partying?"

Nick fought the temptation to roll his eyes. "Yeah. Partying is a new way of saying being interviewed for jobs."

Dan abaonded his chips and stood over Nick. "Don't talk back to me, Mamma's boy!" He was close to slapping Nick, but Judy swiftly hopped up and grabbed his arm. Before Charlotte was even close to being an alcoholic, both Judy and Nick were committed gymnasts. Some would even say they were the best little gymnasts in Zootopia. So, some things helped when they were around Dan.

"Calm down, Dan! We just got a bite to eat and went to our interviews." Judy sniffed and fought the urge to gag. Dan reeked of alcohol. "Are you drunk, Dan?"

He abruptly slammed her into the wall. Charlotte screamed as Tommy whined and cried.

"DANIEL, STOP!"

"That's not of yer business, rabbit!" His breath was revolting. Judy had to hold her breath.

"Get off of her!" Nick wrung his arm around Dan in a quick choke hold to distract him, yanked him away from Judy, grabbed Judy, and ran for the door.

Charlotte weakly protested for them not to go, but they had to let Dan cool down. When he was this rattled, anyone could have been hit, even Tommy. Nick and Judy learned over time that once they were away, Dan settled down. That is, if Nick and Judy were the ones that provoked him.

xxx

They could not afford a car, so they stayed at the abandoned house near their apartment. Everyone believed the house was haunted because lights flickered off and on by themselves and animals got hurt in there. Nick and Judy found the place when they were still in grade school, but they had tried to make friends with the ghosts. So far, their attempts worked. The only time they got hurt in the house was when Judy tripped on some rotting wood, and she was always a clumsy rabbit.

Judy grabbed their blanket that they hid under the bed of the master bedroom. Nick drew back the dusty curtains of the empty dining room's window so they could see the stars from where they slept. (Well, they assumed it had been a dining room or perhaps the living room. It was beside the kitchen.) The room had a huge window, so they could always see the stars from that window.

Nick held Judy close in their blanket, staring at the stars. Both were lost in thought until Judy decided to speak up.

"Nick -"

"Shush. I'm trying to think." He frowned at the stars.

Judy laid her head on his chest and followed his eyes, staring off into space. "Should we take the offer?"

Nick glanced anxiously at her. "Yes!...No! Uh... Ugh! It's just... Tommy..."

"You know Charlotte can watch him. She's doing better. It's just Dan." Judy sighed, her nose twitching. She was not too fond of the idea of leaving her family alone with that abusive fox. "Why won't he just leave us alone? He could hurt them both, Nick." Nick started laughing, making Judy scowl. "And what's so funny?"

His bright green eyes shined with mirth. "Remember when you told me you wanted five kids?"

"That was before I knew I'd marry a tenacious, overdramatic fox."

Nick just chuckled and shoved her lightly. "Come on. You know you love me."

Judy looked thoughtful. "Do I know that?" She gave Nick an Eskimo kiss, smiling knowingly. "Yes, yes I do." But then, she was frowning pensively again. "But I love Tommy, too. And your mom. Heck, she's practically my mom!"

"Okay, don't make this weird for me, Carrots."

"Nick, I'm serious! If Dan lays another hand on any of them while we're gone -"

"Wait a minute." Nick stopped her by laying a finger on her lips. "We can still take Bogo's offer. I have an idea!" Without a warning, her pulled her close and kissed her passionately.

Blushing, Judy pulled away. "Is that your idea?"

"Maybe a sidenote. But here's the main idea..." Nick excitedly began to explain.

xxx

"This here is abuse, you rascals!"

Nick's plan was simple and painless; ask Mrs. Otterton to help Charlotte out with Tommy, and ask Charlotte to get a restraining order to keep Dan away. Surprisingly, Charlotte agreed quickly, and Judy wondered why they had not thought of it before.

We're young, naive, and busy. That's why.

"Abuse?" Nick smirked at Dan. He was getting angrier and stupider everyday, it seemed. "Oh, Dan. Poor, ignorant Dan. It's just a precautionary. Mom will soon present her case to court. She's afraid you'll hurt Tommy. So, she'll see him alone twice a week while we're gone. You, on the other hand, will soon have to avoid her and this establishment... unless you like to wear stripes..."

Nick was fuming and beet red. "Well who's gonna watch him until you come crawling back? Huh?"

"Mrs. Otterton." Nick and Judy once saved her from some violent robbers once, all sheep and goats. Also, they have helped watch her children and water her plants. When they asked her for help, she even offered to watch Tommy for free. Of course, they refused to do that to her. Besides, they did not know how long this visit to Kingzoo's headquarters would last. They agreed to pay her handsomely everyday.

"I'll take good care of him," the kind otter promised, holding Judy's paws. "And thank you for baking those delicious cookies for my Emmitt."

"How is he?" Judy asked politely. Mr. Otterton was ill and bedridden.

"Oh, better. Much better."

"Thank you for your help." Judy kissed Tommy's head. "Bye, sweetie! Be good for Mrs. Otterton!"

"See you around, son." Nick ruffled the tuff of fur on his son's head, and the duo grabbed their suitcases.

Charlotte stopped them before they could reach the door. She stared at them for a moment. Then, she grabbed them and held them close.

"Be careful you two." When she released them, Nick felt a lump in his throat. His mom hardly cried. He then realized they had not left Charlotte on her own like this since high school.

"We won't let you down," Judy swore, smiling gently at Charlotte. "Mom, we love you." Charlotte sniffed and nodded glumly. She loved her babies, but she did not have it in her to say any more goodbyes.

Nick turned to Dan. "Take care of her, Dan. Try to." Dan just snarled at him and spat on the floor. Mrs. Otterton shook her head at him, but there was nothing she could do. She had tried to catch Dan at his worst and report him, but he was smarter than he seemed. He had managed to evade trouble with the law and point at Judy and Nick's crimes, covering his worse ones.

Mrs. Otterton knew the young parents, no, the children were not all bad. They were kind souls, only misled and tired and just trying to get by in Zootopia. The middle-aged otter knew what it felt like to be fed up, to lower oneself to what society expected.

"This isn't over! I'll find my way back to Lottie! Hope you die out there, freeloaders!"

Nick just smirked. "We'd rather die out there then live here any longer." He then turned back to his mother. "Mom?" He quickly handed her some fox repellent, making sure that Dan did not see it.

"Be careful," he whispered. Charlotte nodded. Then, the duo left their apartment with high hopes and hands joined.

"So..." Judy turned to Nick. "Do we call him or..." A honk caught their attention. Bogo was beside his limousine.

"Need a lift?" He shouted.

They turned to each other, asking themselves the same question. Nick beat Judy to it.

"Are you stalking us, er... sir?"

"Smooth, slick."

Bogo walked up to them, wearing a gray suit. "I figured I'd stop by. And of course I'm stalking you in a sense. I'm looking out for you, as a friend of your families. Your body language expressed that you were opened to my proposition. So, I gambled. What do you say today?"

xxx

They rode in the limo until Bogo told the driver to stop in front of an ice cream parlor. Judy turned to Nick skeptically, her paw on the hilt of her knife.

"Trust me. You'll want to see this."

The trio got out of the car. He opened the door for the couple, and they all walked inside. A grumpy elephant was behind the counter.

"Hey, Chief! What are you doing with these kids?"

Bogo checked the time on his watch. "Nothing much. I would like the double cookie dough batter supreme."

Steve narrowed his gray eyes. "Sides?"

"Sprinkles and gummy worms."

"Size?"

"Small. Diminutive." His responses sounded automatic. "Oh, and Steve?" The elephant looked up. Bogo scanned the room. Luckily, no one else was around. He did not have to whisper. "Where's the bull pen?"

"Crap." Steve stepped aside as Bogo headed to the back of the parlor. Judy and Nick hesitantly followed him. "You have five minutes."

All of a sudden, Nick grabbed Judy's arm and pulled her aside. "Carrots? You sure about this?"

"No, but we'll be okay."

"How do you know?"

"I just... I just know, Nick. Besides, we can defend ourselves. Please." She laid her paws on his face. "Trust me." Nick stared into her eyes. Then, he nodded slowly, and they ran after Bogo.

They walked farther and farther into the part of the store reserved for employees. Then, they stopped in front of a door painted lime green. Bogo told them to stand on the red rug beneath their feet. Bogo knocked on the door oddly, in a pattern that reminded the couple of morse code only for ears, and the floor beneath their feet, beneath their rug, lowered.

"You are about to enter one of the twenty most secretive hideouts in Kingzoo's history," Bogo told them. "Nothing leaves this hideout. Understand?" Both nodded quickly.

They finally stopped moving. The hideout had five rooms: a kitchen, a pantry, a large bedroom with twin-sized beds, a bathroom, and a room full of weapons.

The weapon room was stashed full of weapons from around the world, even weapons Judy and Nick had never seen before. Then, there were other things, like fake flowers and fruits disguising some more lethal items.

Nick whistled in admiration as Bogo showed them around. "I'll give you the briefest tour because we're almost late."

"Late for what?" Nick wondered aloud.

Bogo ignored him and showed them shelves of shoes ranging from various sizes. Sandals. Boots. Sneakers. Wedges. Dress shoes. Any and every kind of shoe. "Every agent needs a pair of shoes. Depending on the situation..." He picked up a pair of shiny black shoes. "Certain additions are necessary." He put them on, clicked his heels, and a small blade stuck out near one of the toes.

Nick glowered at the shoes. "I don't wear shoes."

"Maybe for special occasions you would. These shoes can inject a rare, lethal poisoning with one scratch from this knife."

"Cool." Nick reached for a pair for himself, but Bogo smacked his paw away.

"But that's one example. Moving on. I assume you two know how to use a knife and gun. However..." He gestured to a briefcase lying beside the knives and guns, picked it up, and opened it. Inside was an assortment of unique pencils, pens, markers, and crayons. "These are recording devices and dart blowers. They have other uses. But, as you can see, there are thousands of these. I have no time to explain them all."

One carrot pen caught Judy's eye. She picked it up before she could think twice. "What's this one do?"

"That's just a recording device. You may keep it." Bogo shrugged. "We have hundreds."

Nick picked up and tossed around what appeared to be a fake onion. "And what's this?" Bogo released a bit of a shriek and snatched the pseudo onion from Nick.

"Don't touch that!" Bogo carefully placed it back in its shelf. "That's an explosive disguised as an onion."

"Hate to disagree with you sir," Judy piped up, "but those aren't onions. Those are a crocus variety called mendicampum holicifius." Nick snickered as Judy blabbered. Bogo looked ready to snap. "They're a Class E botanical, sir. I grew up in a family where plant husbandry was kind of a thing -"

"SHUT YOUR TINY MOUTH!" She did. She kept it shut until the tour was over and they left.