Chapter 3
Nick took the bouquet from Judy's paws and threw it in a trashcan bin. He was about to do the same with the dress and necklace but she stopped him.
-"We might need it"- she said calmly, noticing how Nick's fur was raising at the back of his neck.
-"You are not actually considering going aren't you?"- His scowl displayed the bright white canines at the front of his muzzle
-"Nick if I don't go he will frame you, he is a beloved DA with influence in the court and you are…"-
-"A fox"- He said with venom. –"I am not leaving you alone with that rabbit Judy, I don't care how powerful he is"-
She could see the dangerous rage bubbling inside of him, his pupils were shrinking and his claws were extended. Only then she realized he might do something he could regret afterwards. She needed to think a solution and it had to be fast.
A plan, well the beginning of one, formed in her mind. Judy remembered her partner had made a habit of pulling her strings form the first moment they met, but if she put her mind to it she could do the same.
-"Say slick"- The bunny said with a smug expression and a coy smile, her ears finally perking up –"What is that we do best when we want to bring someone to justice?"-
-"Chase them down and I put the pawcuffs while you tackle them?"- He said lifting an eyebrow.
-"No my dumb fox, we hustle them"- her grin turned malicious.
-"Very well my sly bunny, what do you have in mind?"- His stance was more relaxed and his lopsided smile was casual as ever, but the rage never left his eyes.
-"I was thinking we could find the evidence to convict him if we manage to access his personal files, probably his computer as well. And what could be a better opportunity to do so than being invited to his home?"-
-"Uh huh and how exactly do you plan on doing that?"- He cocked his head
Her ears drooped once more as she shook her head –"I don't know yet"- then her chin rose again and she had her usual stubborn expression while her chest seemed to swell with pride –"But I'll figure it out"-
No matter how cute she looked like whenever she did it, the fox knew the worst you could do when she was in hero cop mode was stand in her way. He couldn't help a soft chuckle when his paw rested on her shoulder again, his arm wrapped around her tiny shoulders, relieved she wasn't pushing him back anymore.
-"Let's work the details over lunch shall we?"- He said with a mischievous grin, her plan wasn't bad but did not fit his idea of a proper retaliation. Still it was a beginning; he could work the rest of his own plan afterwards.
…
An hour later they were walking towards Finn's van. Nick banged the back door and was greeted by the tiny fox holding a large bat and a pawpsicle dangling from his muzzle, recognizing his friend the fennec fox dropped the weapon and removed his glasses.
-"Sup coppers, am I under arrest or something?"- His baritone voice hadn't lost its defensive edge.
-"Nah buddy, I just wanna ask you about some friends of yours"-
The smaller fox dragged Nick by the collar forcing him to be at the same eye level
-"Look Nick if you wanna play cops and robbers with your little fluff ball over there"- He said nodding towards Judy –"That's your problem, but you better get the fuck outta here if you think I'm gonna be snitching over my contacts"-
Before Nick could explain, Finn noticed a strange smell coming from his former partner, he sniffed the air around him and when he recognized the scent the tiny fox' eyes widened in shock.
Finn lost his grip on Nick's tie, allowing him to stand up straight, and the larger fox gulped nervously when he understood what had happened. Back in the precinct he had marked Judy, and for any other canide that was a gigantic neon sign advertizing he had found a mate… in a bunny.
Judy was about to ask what was happening between those two foxes when Finnik burst into loud laughter while Nick merely looked mortified.
-"You… HA HA HA sick… HA HA son of a vixen… Ha Ha"- Finn chocked out between laughs gasping for air. –"I knew… HAHAHA you were HA HA a freak but this…" he said pointing at a dumbstruck Judy. –"Is priceless"-
Embarrassed beyond words Nick begged Judy to wait for him in a coffee shop crossing the street; she agreed on the condition that he would explain to her what the hell was happening. Nick regretted the pact of complete honesty he made with the bunny, but he understood it was only fair that she knew what he had done to her.
Once Judy was out of hearing range the fox officer snapped at the tiny conmammal
-"Knock it off Finn! It's not what it looks like"- He hissed
Finally able to breath normally Finn responded
-"Yeah right, keep telling yourself that"- He said wiping a tear from his eyes, his belly sore from all the laughing
-"Look I didn't even mean to do it, one moment we're talking and the next I'm… you know…"- Nick shrugged and placed his hands on his pockets, too embarrassed to finish the sentence.
-"Oh so you telling me you're not planning on marring your little luuuuv fuzz, moving to a cute tiny little house and breed hundreds of malformed freaks of nature?"- Only the pain in his midsection stopped Finn from another laughing fit.
-"No it's not like that between us, we were kinda having a difficult moment and that must have triggered mi instincts that's all."- Nick sighed sadly placing a paw over his face –"Now I don't know how to take it back"-
-"Fool! If you don't like that bunny take a cold shower and walk it off. You don't think we are in the Stone Age aren't cha? Spewing your nasty pheromones on a female doesn't count like marriage in the eyes of the law"-
Nick was relieved at that notion, yes marking a female was still considered a huge sign of love and commitment in his race but civilization turned those practices into outdated rituals. What mattered is that he hadn't kissed her or anything like that; it was still possible to leave their friendship unscathed. Composing himself he addressed the matter at hand.
-"Look Finn I came here to ask you about those guys you worked with in that hustle with the raccoons back in Tundratown. Now before you ask I am not after them, all I want is to buy some surveillance equipment."-
-"Why don't ya ask that big ass chief of yours to give you some fancy wires and stuff?"- Finn said crossing his arms.
-"Because this is not an official investigation, carrots and I are doing this in the down low. Besides we need equipment much more powerful and sophisticated than what the ZPD can offer"- A dangerous spark ignited in his green eyes.
-"Whatever mammal, it's in the Nocturnal District. Look for The Marble Pit in the middle of "Las Cuevas" and ask for Goliath, he owes me big time he'll help ya"-
-"You're the best Finn"- Nick winked at his friend and was about to leave when Finnik told him.
-"You know Nick? You should tap that cotton tail; after all you know what they say about bunnies! She could pound you until your dick falls off!"- Finn winked back.
Nick couldn't help himself from erupting into full primal mode again, he lost control and before he knew it he was growling right into his friends face –"Don't you dare to say that about her!"- His voice sounded raspy and grave even to his own ears, his fangs were displayed on their full piercing glory, the fur on his back rose making him look twice as big as he was. Finn's response at his friend's outburst was another fit of laughing; too late Nick realized the smaller fox was simply messing with him.
-"You know what mammal? Just go ahead and marry that bunny already. First she drags you into solving one of her cases that almost gets you killed several times and you still came back for more, then she convinced YOU to become a COPPER. And now she did the impossible, he made you grow some balls! I can't believe it took a cotton tail for you to turn Alpha! Good for you sicko, good for you"- Fin faked a blow towards Nick's groin as if to emphasize there were some gonads in there for the first time.
The taller fox shook his head in bewilderment. He didn't know what was worse, than Finn thought he had romantic feelings for his partner or that he had, in a very typically rude way, gave them his blessing.
…
Nick went to the café and found Judy sitting in a small table by the window; a black coffee awaited him in the other side of her table. He gratefully downed the strong beverage hoping it might help clearing his head.
-"So what was that all about?"- Judy asked with her arms crossed, breaking the tense silence between them.
-"He told me where to find the surveillance equipment"- He said dryly
-"Nick…"- She warned, reminding him they made a pact of complete honesty, for better or worse.
He sighed and wrecked his brain trying to explain what had happened without lying or ruining their friendship –"Back at the precinct this morning when we… hugged, I did something called "mingling" or marking. It's was as I told you a sign of affection, but it also sends a powerful chemical signal that other canides can smell, Finn noticed it and thought we were"- He cleared his throat in a vain attempt to hide his discomfort –"mating"-
-"But we are just friends! Couldn't you explain him that?"- She asked puzzled
-"I did, but he didn't believe me"- he loosened the black tie of his uniform, feeling a little short of breath –"It's a cultural thing carrots, I'm not sure you could understand. I think what ticked him off was that I did a very canide thing to a bunny"-
-"I don't wanna be offensive to your culture Nick, but I don't think is fair to forbid harmless sings of affection just because we are of a different species. I did the same to you when we twitched our noses and yes, most bunnies would be angry at that, but it's not their opinion that I care about only yours. Do you think what we did is wrong?"- Her big purple eyes were filled with concern.
-"No it wasn't"- he said with slumped shoulders –"But if other mammals think we are more than friends we might end up in prison or worse"- The fox shuddered at the idea of ending up in Bedlamb, pumped full or drugs and locked in a padded room wearing a straight jacket.
-"It's not fair"- She said sadly.
-"Anyway I was thinking we might want to head up to my place and change clothes, we really don't wanna meet those guys in our uniforms."- Nick was eager to change the subject.
-"My condo is not that far I'll go get my clothes, just give me the address and I'll meet you there"-
The fox remembered the last time he saw his partner out of uniform, her clothes looked clean but too well worn, on the verge of broken.
Judy's family was having a lot of trouble holding the farm together; a haze storm came out of nowhere last summer and tore away half their fields. So she begun to work an unhealthy amount of extra hours and sent her parents most of her already meager income to help support her siblings, leaving almost nothing for her own needs.
Nick had taken the same hours as her, if only to make sure her exhaustion didn't get her killed on the street, and used the extra money he made to supply for whatever she might need. It was the least he could do, after all the times she lent him money whenever his old acquaintances showed up to collect of his gambling debts.
-"It will be much faster if I buy you some new clothes on the way to my apartment"- He said paying the check and dragging Judy out before she had time to feel bad about herself for the dire situation she was in.
It hadn't been easy for the proud bunny to let Nick provide for her, even when she had been very eager in the past to help him out whenever his old habits and messy accounting left him on the red, loaning him her hard earned cash and not really expecting him to pay her back. He would never admit it, but he did like being the responsible knight in shiny armor for once.
-"Slick, are you my sugar daddy now?"- She said batting her eyelashes hoping to cheer both of them up.
-"Dang right carrots, only the best for my fluff"- He said in his usual charming smile touching her tiny nose with his paw.
…
Judy had never been in Nick's place before, it was one of the zillion ways he protected his privacy, for the bunny it was a clear sign he was opening up to her.
The sly fox actually lived in the epicenter of downtown Zootopia. On the third floor in a loft style apartment building fifteen times larger than hers without ever paying rent. The ten story building was actually abandoned in spite of its wonderful location, with only a fast food restaurant working at ground level.
-"Why is this place abandoned?"- She said bewildered.
-"Look at the windows"- He responded with a half smile
Judy scanned the whole apartment, only the light of a few bare light bulbs illuminated the place –"There are none"- she was intrigued.
-"Exactly, this building is iconic for the huge led signs that hang of it on the outside, so much that companies pay millions to advertise on them. In order to squeeze the most of that sweet advertising money the led signs spread through the entire building blocking the windows, making it unsafe and uncomfortable to live in. In the end they make much more cash renting the advertising space than renting the actual apartments underneath."- He said helping himself into a bowl of blueberries from his large, decade's old fridge.
Judy sat in an old huge couch on the corner of the loft and took with a smile the carrot and chocolate muffins he offered her.
-"Doesn't it bother you? I mean, doesn't it make you feel a little claustrophobic?"- She couldn't help noticing how dark and poorly lit his place was.
-"Nah I have good nocturnal vision I don't mind the darkness, and it's not like I spend more than a few hours a day here"-
The bunny saw the scarcely furnished loft; it had a private working bathroom with a large shower and a pretty big flat screen TV, the quintessential bachelor pad. It was a rundown abandoned building with no actual access to sunlight and it was still a thousand times better than her place. Plus he paid no rent and judging for the haphazard cables sprouting everywhere she guessed he didn't pay the electrical bills either, he probably mooched the power from the restaurant downstairs.
With a pang of shame she contemplated the idea of doing the same, after all he only took one story, and there were at least nine more available.
-"Earth to carrots"- His voice interrupted her musings; she had grown accustomed at the worry displayed in his eyes. –"What are you thinking about?"-
-"I'm thinking that next month the contract with my landlord expires and she is talking about raising the price"- Her eyes grew somber –"I can't afford the renewal, at least not right now"-
Nick sighed sitting next to her on the couch –"Yeah I was about to talk to you about that, my place is not the finest accommodation but its more than big enough for both of us, you are more than welcome to stay here"-
-"Thanks Nick, I owe you. Besides I was thinking about taking the floor upstairs as soon as I can make it livable, I could do a few arrangements and have my own floor, we could still live in the same building but not necessarily in the same room. I know how much you like your privacy and personal space"- She said giving him a large hug.
-"No rush carrots, as I said I don't spend much time here anyway. And since when do you respect my personal space? Ever since I met you, you have done nothing but invade it with your pushing around and your fluffy little hugs"- He said hugging her back.
-"You know you love me"- She said snuggling even closer to him.
-"Do I know that? Yes, yes I do."- His muzzle found his way at the top of her head between her ears. He breathed her scent, sweet, earthy and with a hint of musk. His arms snaked around her even tighter while his bushy tail curled around her.
Judy noticed the mild tension in his muscles and guessed what her friend wanted long before he did.
-"It's all right Nick, you can do it. I know you want to and to be honest, I kinda like it too"- She said placing her twitching nose over his, spreading that warm feeling over his body.
It took him only a second to understand what she meant and even less to comply. Once more the side of his face rubbed against hers, his muzzle paying extra attention to the sensitive areas next to her ears, he relished at the way he made them twitch.
"What am I doing?" His civilized mind scolded him.
"Marking her, she is mine" the primal voice soaring from his DNA responded
"No she is not! She's a bunny. This is wrong she doesn't even understand, I made it look innocent when I told her about it but it isn't. I'm gotta make it stop!" the logical mind argued meekly
The primal voice did not give a crap for pesky little things like arguments "She's mine, I like her, I mark her"
….
After taking a shower (extra cold in Nick's case) and changing their clothes the duo headed to the nocturnal district. The dark underground gigantic cave system was a land of contrast, on the periphery it was a pitch black labyrinth of eerily quiet suburbs but on the center it was another thing entirely.
"Las Cuevas" was a city bustling with an orchestra of led and neon lights, filled with casinos and pubs. It was a tantalizing explosion of light and sound, filled with mammals of every species. The locals were predominantly bats and moles along with other nocturnal species such as foxes. Tourists from any other part of Zootopia filled the crowded streets, which shined with strong lights and loud music.
Years ago, Nick had felt at home in this place. A very profitable business was carefully created by the city in leaching out money from foolish tourists, who ended up gambling and squandering their profits on the city's thousand attractions, that ranged from huge concerts to the almighty casinos.
In this city Nick had gained a lot of money, only to lose it when his cockiness made him think he could cheat at poker and get away with it.
If it wasn't for Judy's help he would still fear stepping a paw in this district without being chased down by loan sharks.
The impressionable doe beside him stared at the thousand lights in the main street with the same wonderment he had when he first got here, over a decade ago. He promised himself that as soon as this issue with Lapin was settled he would take her to know every single corner of "Las Cuevas". A beautiful city where craziness was encouraged and most transgressions were forgotten, after all what happens in Las Cuevas stays in Las Cuevas.
The Marble Pit was a high class club in the middle of the city, its walls completely covered in white blue marble that reflected light in a way that made it look magical and romantic.
-"All right carrots we have to look for a guy named Goliath; I'll go to the underground basement you go to the main hall. Meet me in the entrance in an hour"-
His partner nodded and headed her way.
It didn't take too much prodding for Nick to find Goliath, well not necessarily him but the fastest way to contact the guy. Apparently you had to pay for a VIP table that was secluded at the back of the club and order for a special drink that wasn't on the menu; he didn't know what that drink was so he looked for his partner hoping she might found out.
He headed to the main hall and saw a group of four cheetahs on a podium giving a large concert to what seemed at least three thousand mammals.
What if I say I'm not like the others?
What if I say I'm not just another one of your plays?
You're the pretender
What if I say I will never surrender?
It didn't take long for him to notice Judy's gray ears poking out from the crowd, the Fur Fighters were one of her favorite bands and this was a fantastic concert they were giving. She was dancing like crazy in her usual over energetic way, shaking her head at the intense beat.
"A head banger bunny" he chuckled "Now I've seen it all"
When he first got to know Judy he was shocked she wasn't only interested in pop songs, she had in fact a very eclectic taste that ranged from hard rock to corny pop going through alternative and even country songs.
Sadly she only made it to the final two songs of the concert and very soon she was meeting her partner at the main entrance.
Judy had found out the name of the drink, so they went to the VIP table that was placed in a separate room at the back of the club. The place was very quiet; the loud noises of the club were muffled by the thick walls of the room and the heavy mahogany doors that blocked the entrance. A beautiful table of rose colored wood adorned the middle of the room with equally intricate chairs surrounding it, on top of them there were cushions made of silk.
Once they sat there an ox waiter asked their order.
-"Two Eden green please"- Judy said actually thirsty from all the dancing she just did.
The ox came a few minutes later with two shot glasses filled with a cold green liquid, the fox sniffed his glass and turned his head, it was absinthe.
-"Look I just want to talk to Goliath"- Nick said frustrated –"Finn sent me"-
-"I know sir; he contacted Goliath in advance so he would know you were coming. In order to meet him it is imperative that you have your drinks, if you don't I am afraid he will refuse to meet you and will not think kindly of wasting his time."- The ox crossed his hoofs in front of him and looked at them expectantly.
-"Carrots I don't like this"- He learned by experience that if someone tried to push you into drinking anything then they had no good intentions.
-"Me neither Nick but we need the equipment"- Judy said drinking the content of the shot glass in one gulp.
-"Damn if you keep this up I gonna have to take you to an AA meeting"- He said downing his own drink.
Suddenly the room begun to spin, he felt hot and cold at the same time and his vision was blurred at the edges. He collapsed on the chair next to his partner, who had lost consciousness immediately, with his last glimmer of energy he glared at Judy.
-"I told you so, you dumb bunny"-
