The next day, Nick and Judy were preparing Franklin for the sting, getting ready to release him so he could give the illusion that everything was okay to the gang members beforehand.
"So will I have to wear a wire or something?" Asked the Hyena.
"No. We have a surveillance van and we have already hidden some bugs in the area that you said the deal would go down in," explained Judy as she walked him out of the station. "So no wire for you, better that way, last thing we need is you getting caught wearing one."
"Right. Thanks," he sighed. "I'm scared."
"That's normal, this is a scary situation. But after it's over, you'll be free."
"Right. Right." Franklin took a deep breath. "Thanks for this. I mean it. Maybe I really can turn my life around, right?" he asked.
Nick spoke up. "I'll be hard. The odds will be stacked against you, like they were me. But you can do it if you just never stop."
Franklin nodded, listening to him.
"Okay, what's going to happen is that we are going to release you and you will head back to your gang like nothing happened, and get them ready for the deal later tonight. Then, you are going to take this," Judy handed him a small black device, "and use it to cue us when the deal starts going down, we will be hidden in various areas close to the junkyard beforehand. You take the button and hold it down for five seconds or more and we will be signaled to start moving in, understand?" She asked.
He nodded.
"You'll be arrested, but like we said, you'll be quietly let go."
"Right. Can I trust you?" She asked, still wary of the cops.
"It was in the contract you signed when we agreed to this, if we don't you would be able to sue the absolute shit out of the ZPD," answered Nick. "Like, millions of dollars. So we have a vested financial interest in making sure you don't get charged with anything. And again, if anyone asks, we lost your paperwork."
"Right. Or I just skip town and never see any of these guys again."
"Works for me, just stay safe, alright. You're my favorite gangbanger I ever met," said Nick. "Not that the bar for that is particularly high, but still."
"In the meantime, go home, and make sure everything is all good to go for the deal. With any luck, we can get some good info out of this guy and shut down the operation soon."
"Right. Thanks." Franklin stood up, shaky from nerves, and left the station.
"Think he'll pull through?" She asked.
"If he doesn't, we can arrest the living hell out of him."
"Fair enough," she smirked. "You ready?"
"For tonight? Yeah. Sting huh? Probably followed by a raid once he tells us where he keeps the product."
"You think he will?"
"If we negotiate the right way, yeah," he replied. "Guys like this are usually motivated by pure profit. He'll cut a deal to get a lighter sentence probably tell us who else is involved as well."
"… I don't like deals with guys like that. Franklin was a small-timer, but if this guy is a big gun runner, I want him away."
"Don't worry, he won't be able to get out of prison a few decades, but we may not be able to put him away for life if we want to get something out of this."
She huffed. "Yeah, yeah, I get it. I still don't like it."
Nick smirked. "Come on, that's not my Judy. Judy is all nice and happy and hoppy," he teased good-naturedly, sliding close to her. "Come on, we're about to go arrest some arms dealers! It'll be full of all that stuff you inexplicably love, immense danger, way too much running, lots of shouting, huge guns and flashbang grenades. You know, the stuff I assume you dream about when you go to sleep."
Judy gave a laugh at that. "Come on, can't you let me be a little gloomy for five minutes?" She asked him.
"What?!" He asked, mock-shocked. "I, Nicholas Pibereus Wilde allow my emotional bunny to be unhappy?! Never! The very thought offends me to my core."
She kept laughing. "Okay, okay, I'm better. Thanks for that, slick." She gave him a warm smile.
He felt his heart skip a beat. 'Fuck! I am so screwed! How the hell is any living thing that cute?! Keep it together Nick, just breathe.'
"Nick, you okay?" She asked.
"Yeah!" He replied, too quickly. "Just thinking…"
"About what?" She asked, curious.
'About how much I hate the fact that I'm hardcore in love with my best friend.' "Just the bust later, I'm nervous, Fluff," he admitted, not telling her the cause if the nerves.
"We'll be okay," she reassured him. "We won't even be taking point, with Francine, Rhinowitz and McHorn in front of us we should be fine." It was standard procedure, larger officers in front, they had more mass and could wear way heavier armor than smaller officers.
"Yeah, I guess you're right," he replied.
Judy smiled again. She got to thinking. She wanted to try something. "Hey, after the bust, want to do something together?" She asked, "You know, celebrate our first major bust as detectives?" She offered.
"What, like a date?" Nick joked, secretly praying to all possible deities that there was even a one-in-a-million shot he would be so lucky.
Judy felt her ears heat up at the idea, but she knew Nick was just teasing her. "Sure, Slick, whatever makes you happy."
Nick deflated slightly at her flippant attitude about it but kept smiling. A date with Judy Hopps, well, sort of. "Okay, see you tomorrow night for our 'not-date?'" He asked.
"If all goes well, Slick."
"Alright then, try to not get killed, okay Fluff?" He asked her.
"Back at you."
Franklin went back home, he made the arrangements to leave the apartment and threw all his stuff into a few bags before he paid the rent to the landlord and explained that he was leaving later tonight, and that he would be back for his stuff. He didn't know where he was going to go exactly, but he figured Zoo York City would be a good place to get lost, and one that didn't have the same racial problems as Zootopia. Maybe he could make something of himself there.
He took a drink and then called up some of his gang to make sure things were still good to go for the night, upon receiving confirmation, he called the ZPD to inform them that things were still all good. Then he took another drink. Meeting with international arms dealers was nerve-wracking enough, but also helping the ZPD with a sting operation was another level entirely.
He tried to not puke from nerves as he stayed in his apartment before leaving to go and meet with the dealer a few hours later.
Judy and Nick were sitting in a cramped, black van while they watched the larger officers get ready. The larger officers strapped on absurdly thick and heavy armor that probably could kill Nick and Judy if it fell on them.
Francine, McHorn and Rhinowitz were all wearing the heaviest stuff, a Kevlar bi-weave layer, on top of a layer of half-inch thick steel plates, followed by another layer of the Kevlar, and then a layer of half-inch thick ceramic plates, followed by a third and final layer of Kevlar. It would stop small-arms fire and shrapnel with no problem, rifles and higher-caliber weapons would go through some of it, but it would be fine, and then behind them would be the somewhat smaller officers such as Delgato, Snarloff and Fangmeyer would be wearing scaled-down versions with thinner plates, the smaller still officers such as Wolford would have a version of the vest with just the ceramic plates, while Nick and Judy…
They were the smallest officers on the force, so they had gotten different vests, since they were much smaller, they could afford much more expensive gear. Their vests were double-layer Kevlar with graphene inserts that were substantially more expensive than the steel or ceramic, but at the small sizes needed for Nick and Judy it was still within the ZPD budget. Quality of armor over quantity.
"Ready? Carrots?" He asked as he zipped up.
"Yep! I'm so excited!"
"Let's save the excitement for after, okay? When we see whether or not we survive the night."
"Why you gotta be such a downer?" She asked, punching his shoulder. "Can't you be optimistic for once?"
"I prefer to be realistic." He replied. "If those bullets start flying promise me you'll get out, okay?"
"Only if you promise the same thing," she replied.
"Do you even have to ask?" He asked. "Shots get fired I'm out of there."
"Cowardly Fox."
"Suicidal Bunny."
"Are you two gonna fuck or what?" Asked Wolford from behind them. "If you are just get it over with and stop stinking up the van!"
Nick and Judy blushed and turned away from each other to look at Wolford with incredulous expressions on their faces.
Nick could smell her just fine, but she didn't smell any different than usual, the same tortuous, earthy, slightly sweet scent that tortured him for two years of partnership. Judy on the other hand, couldn't really smell much of Nick past his Musk Mask. She would be able to if she got close enough to him, but her nose wasn't as sensitive as his, so his scent was lost to her from the distance they were at.
"Shut up Wolford," she retorted weakly.
Franklin paced in his room while watching the clock. He felt the device in his pocket and contemplated leaving it behind. He could just call the whole thing quits and maybe escape the ZPD, if he told the rest of the gang about what had happened they would help him get out of the city no problem. Why the fuck should he help out these cops anyway? He took it out of his pocket and went to throw it out of his window, but then the Fox cop's words rang in his mind. Was he really going to do this? Throw away his best shot at a new life? All his life he had been treated like a thug, and so he had become one. If he did this, threw it away, would he be proving them right? What if he wanted to prove them wrong? Go somewhere else and start over.
He sighed and pocketed the device. He would cross that bridge when he came to it.
Hours later, Franklin found himself in the junkyard nervously glancing at his phone while the rest of his gang waited around for the dealers. He met up with his gang, who came by and picked him up in an SUV, before driving him to the site of the meeting. He kept his hand in his pocket with the device, fingering it and wondering what he would do when the time came. His crew would protect him, right?
They parked the van and got out and began waiting around for Hooveson to show.
The ZPD patiently laid in wait in their vans, silent and solemn as they waited for the signal.
"I don't like this," muttered Francine. "This feels wrong. Like he won't signal us."
"Come on, we can't do anything about that. All we can really do is wait," said McHorn. "No sense in making it agonizing."
Nick and Judy just sat quiet.
Hooveson was right on time, and began unloading the ammo and more weapons. He as dressed in a crisp suit, ready to go and make some cash. He didn't have any love for his boss, or his plan, but damn if this wasn't one of the most profitable things ever, especially when he skimmed a little bit off the top.
"Vicious predators, step right up and get your firepower!" He announced.
Franklin hung back and stuck a hand in his pocket, and pressed the button. One second. He began to have second thoughts. Two seconds. Was he really about to do this? Three seconds. Why? They were cops! But did he want to be the predator gangster? Four seconds. He was almost at the point of no return! He grit his teeth and made his decision.
Hooveson finished unpacking the trucks and gestured for the others to show him the money. Franklin walked forward and opened up two cases full of cash. Hooveson looked them over carefully and inspected a few random stacks to make sure there wasn't any funny business, and then smiled.
"Another satisfied customer." He reached to take the money.
Then he heard it.
"ZPD! We have you surrounded! Get on the ground now!"
Everyone perked up when they heard the alarm go off, signaling that Franklin had used the device to inform them that Hooveson had shown up.
"Alright everyone!" Announced Francine. "We have a gun runner to take down, everyone is assumed to be hostile! So don't be afraid to tranq them all now and sort them out later."
They all hustled to get into position, staying mindful of the noise they were making. When they were all in position, the teams all cued their radios to signal.
Francine moved first. "ZPD! We have you surrounded! Get on the ground now!"
Several of the criminals dived for weapons. Francine used a heavy tranq rifle to pump some of the slower to react ones full of darts before they could do anything, then went for cover. The smaller officers rushed in and tackled a few others, and Nick and Judy tackled Franklin, yelling at him to keep on the ground while slapping some zip cuffs on him and leaving him behind a piece of cover to keep him out of any potential lines of fire.
"SHOTGUN!" Warned Francine as several of the gang members and dealers got to cover with the weapons they had. "Everyone get to cover!"
Nick and Judy stayed low, not wanting to risk anything.
Several more gang members were tranquilized by the officers, who had them surrounded so it was hard for any of the criminals to find good cover. The gun runners were a bit smarter, taking cover inside the vans they had shipped the weapons in.
Judy peeked out, keeping her ears down and saw one of them making a move to flank the officers and sprang into action. She jumped back and pushed off the wall hard before flying towards their head and delivering a devastating flying kick, knocking them out and sending her flying back towards cover.
"JUDY!" Shouted Nick as he saw one of them take aim. He reached out towards her just as the trigger was pulled and a shotgun discharged towards her flying body. The shot clipped her in the side and sent her body spinning. Nick managed to grab her and pull her back to cover.
"JUDY?!" He asked, looking at her.
"I'm okay!" She grunted, clearly in pain. "Body armor took most of it, and it was at an angle so I'll be fine."
He checked her side briefly to make sure she wasn't bleeding, she didn't seem to be. "Just stay down. Okay Carrots?" He asked, panic subsiding.
"Probably a nasty bruise, I'll be okay."
"Dumb bunny," he laughed, unspeakably relieved, and kept down as the fight wrapped up.
A few flashbangs and well placed tranquilizer rounds and everyone was being loaded up in the vans and being taken back to the ZPD for processing, including Franklin. They needed to bring him in for the sake of authenticity.
Judy was looked over by examiners, who concluded that she was fine, albeit with a pretty significant bruise on her side from the blast, but her body armor would need to be sent out for repair.
They were both just happy to be alive and well.
Franklin rubbed his wrists as the handcuffs were taken off in front of ZPD Precinct One.
"You're free to go, just stay out of trouble. The ZPD thanks you for your service," said Judy as he took the cuffs back from him.
"Yeah, you're welcome. I've gotta go, get my ticket."
"Actually, here." Nick stepped forward and handed him a ticket. "On the ZPD, as a token of gratitude."
Franklin took it. It was one-way train ticket out to the meadowlands, home of the Zootopia Airport and a several hour ride away. "Plane ticket is on you, but this way you have a good ride out of town."
"Thanks…" He said, looking at the ticket in his paw. "I don't really know what I'm doing or where I'll go. But I hear Zoo York is a nice place…"
"I'm sure you'll do great there," smiled Nick. Don't let us keep you, train leaves in a few hours."
Franklin nodded and left to go to his apartment to grab his belongings. He planned to take the monorail to the train station and the station to the Zootopia Meadowlands Airport.
Nick and Judy watched him go. "We do good work, Fluff," he told her.
"That we do, Slick. That we do."
Since their shifts were over and Judy had been injured, the duo went home for the night, looking forward to the next day.
"Listen Hooveson, we have you on camera attempting to sell weapons. And do you really think that one of those gangbangers won't roll on you for a lighter sentence?!" Asked Snarloff, pounding the desk in front of him. "We have you dead to rights and you will start giving us something if you don't want to spend the rest of your miserable life rotting in a cell!"
Wolford sighed. "What my partner is trying to say, is that we can help you a little bit, if you give us something."
Hooveson was quiet. He was weighing his options. Clearly the mole in the ZPD would have had to have known about this, and since a lawyer hadn't busted down the doors, it was likely he had been given up by Claw. Fine. Claw screwed him, he would screw Claw.
"Alright. I'll talk, but I need some guarantees first."
"You don't dictate the terms here! You get nothing until you give us something!"
Hooveson considered the offer he was being given. "Fine, I'll give you the location of the weapons stash, but you have to give me protective custody in return," he bargained.
"Why?" Asked Wolford.
"There's something bigger apaw, something huge the weapons are only the tip of the iceberg. You want information more than that, I need protection," explained Hooveson.
They all listened to what he had just said. "Maybe we believe you, maybe we don't. Tell us where you're keeping the product, and we'll give you protection if you're telling the truth," offered Wolford, extremely skeptical of what he had just been told.
Hooveson sighed, figuring that this was the best he was going to get. "Fine, I'll tell you where to find the weapons…"
They used Hooveson's information and coordinated with Precinct Two downtown to organize a raid on the warehouse containing the weapons. Since the ZPD didn't want to risk transporting him, he was left at Precinct One in a holding cell and under guard while the officers working the case went down to Precinct Two to plan it out.
Hooveson's information proved to be correct and the raid was a success, hundreds of weapons and millions of rounds of ammunition were secured. The Precinct One crew travelled back to Precinct One to celebrate the raid and get information from Hooveson.
The horse was in his cell, lying on the bunk with is back to the wall. Not moving. "Hey Hooveson!" Called Grizolli. "Come on! Wake up and tell us what you know!"
Hooveson didn't move, just laid there.
"Come on, we have him here and he's not going anywhere. We'll let Hopps and Wilde get him in the morning, sound good?" Asked Wolford.
"Yeah, good idea, I'm beat." Agreed Grizolli, yawning. "Night Hooveson! Can't wait to hear all about this big conspiracy of yours!" He taunted.
Franklin relaxed into his seat on the Train, The compartment was empty and he was exhausted. He started to nod off when he heard the door open. "Look, man. I'm really tired, and the train is fucking empty. So can you find somewhere else to-"
BANG
Franklin never even saw the gun coming. The suppressed firearm drove a round into Franklin's skull and out the back of his head, leaving him dead on the seat. The hitman closed the door and went elsewhere on the train. He had snuck aboard anyway, so they would never know he was even there…
The next morning, Nick and Judy went to go and wake up Hooveson to get his story, but he was still sleeping.
"Come on Hooveson, you got eight hours. Probably more than I did," quipped Nick. "I can appreciate the concept of beauty sleep but we need to-"
He shook Hooveson and his body fell out of bed, eyes wide and lifeless. Nick jumped back with a yell. "Fuck! Get someone in here!" He shouted.
Judy just stared. This was bad. Really really bad. If he was telling the truth, then they had just lost the information on a major conspiracy in Zootopia.
The medical examiner looked him over and concluded that the cause of death was a stroke. Probably happened while they were doing the raid. And he was left alone. Bogo demanded to see the guards who were on duty that night, and needed a story from both of them. He was furious at what had happened, and he planned on making heads roll for it.
Nick and Judy sat demoralized as they received news of what had happened to Franklin, who had been found dead on the train to the Meadowlands last night. Their only lead in a case they had no idea they were even working was dead, and so was the predator they had just helped. This was not good.
A heavily modulated voice came over the line, blaring into Swinton's ear. "Are you, and I am being serious here, COMPLETELY INSANE?!" Shouted Claw.
"What are you talking about? I can't defend my decision if you don't tell me what I'm defending against," she rolled her eyes and took a sip of her drink.
"I'm talking about that gang member you had assassinated! What were you thinking?! You might have just compromised this entire operation by giving them an avenue of investigation!"
"He was a lose end," she scoffed.
"He. Knew. NOTHING! You stupid fucking woman! You and your idiocy may have just compromised this entire operation!"
"Relax, will you, I know Matthew, he's a professional. Never been caught by the ZPD, never even came close." She shrugged him off.
"You had better not fuck this up, or I swear to god I will END you!" He yelled before hanging up the phone.
"Asshole," she scoffed and took another drink. She didn't need him anymore. The Tundratown deal was coming up and then she had a meeting with the City Council. If all went well, she would have what she wanted soon enough.
Author's Notes:
Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out. I just didn't feel like writing it. Please leave a review with your thoughts and criticisms. I really value your opinions and feedback.