Authors note: I need to explain about the panther bat hybrid. I figured evolved bats would be much bigger than regular ones otherwise the nocturnal district would be too similar to little rodentia. I pictured them as big as a fox by example.
Thank you all for your reviews they mean a lot to me
Chapter five
Judy entered the main hall of the Lapin manor without paying attention to the curious glares she received from all the other mammals in the room. Scanning the whole place she found no signs of Julien but she grew concerned when she noticed several scattered grizzly bears wearing black suits around the manor, they were obviously professional bodyguards, she hoped her fox could infiltrate the DA's office without being noticed.
-"I'm in"- She heard Nick's voice through her Bluetooth device. He had mingled between the other waiters without a problem.
-"His office in on the first floor, in the right wing, it seems locked. There are too many guards Nick, do you want me to create a distraction?"- She muttered to her partner using a full champagne glass to cover her muzzle.
-"I see them carrots, they are very focused on you if you do something even remotely suspicious they'll know something's up. Don't worry I'll think of something."-
-"There you are! I have been waiting for you for a while now!"- The cheery smooth voice that spoke behind her froze Judy in her tracks, cold fear gripped her chest and she had to force her lungs into taking air.
She turned to see Julien and had to force her mouth shut not to throw up. The handsome bunny was wearing an expensive teal colored suit, his fur was as silky and immaculate as the last time she had seen him. How could someone so handsome and with so much going for him could be so monstrous on the inside?
"Don't let them see that they get to you" Her partner's voice rang, not from the device on her ear but from her memory, she focused on the fox's image and all the support he had given her "It shouldn't get to you"She drew strength from her mental picture of Nick, and then gave her tormentor a sardonic smile.
-"Hello Julien"- Judy said in mock cheer as she offered her paw for him to shake. The white rabbit took it but instead bowed his head and kissed her knuckles; suppressing another wave of nausea she used all her willpower not to roll her eyes at his fake chivalry. But the rabbit wasn't done, he lounged himself at her and gave her a big yet casual hug. Any bystander that crossed their way could easily confuse his actions for an innocent demonstration of friendly affection, after all bunnies were very expressive and emotional creatures prone to regular physical contact with their peers. But his paws were soon sneaking to the back of her dress near her tail, bringing all her self control crashing down as the dark memories from the previous night invaded her mind once more.
Looking up past Julien's shoulder she saw Nick heading swiftly to the first floor, for a second her despaired eyes met his. What she saw in the emerald green of the fox's glare was terrifying; the savagery that affected random predators during the night howler spree had nothing on the raging hatred in his eyes. She knew that if she didn't hold herself together fast Nick would maul the sick bastard that was groping her in front of hundreds of witnesses, at the thought of seeing the poor fox in jail just to defend her she thought "You are just not worth it Julien" and feigned to drop her champagne glass on the floor. The glass and its golden liquid splattered all over the marble floor and she made a sharp yelp of surprise, as an instinctive response Lapin let go of her and more importantly, the bodyguards focused on her when hearing the commotion.
Out of the corner of her eye she spotted the end of a red bushy tail entering their target's office and closing behind him the door barely made a low thud.
-"I guess someone has been drinking too much champagne"- Julien said placing his paw on the small of her waist.
She faked a vapid giggle and the flirty smile she gave him was worthy of the Academy Awards –"Maybe I did"-
Pushing down her disgust, she resolved to keep the white rabbit's attention (and the bodyguard's) on herself so Nick could work freely, even if that meant she had to play the part of the dumb slutty bunny everyone assumed she was. Judy activated the "cloner" hidden on her tiny purse. Staying close enough to her target and his phone for the tiny devise to work its magic shouldn't be too hard, seeing how the rabbit was adamant to keep his paws on her all the time.
The plan was going smoothly.
…..
Nick entered the office suppressing a growl, that fucking rabbit was still trying to get in Judy's… Ahrg! He couldn't even finish the sentence in his own head. "Focus! Keep your eyes on the prize" the sly fox reminded himself of his goal, as he found the expensive computer right in the middle of a large mahogany desk. He retrieved a small screwdriver from his pocket and his nimble paws easily removed one of the parts of the case and connected the "leach" into the motherboard, then he scattered microscopic wires inside the computer and the landline phone. All this time through the Bluetooth device he could hear Judy's conversation with their target and the rest of the guests at the party, he hated the way Lapin was parading her through the entire place.
-"Carrots I'm done with the office but I need to make a few more stops"- He loathed himself for saying this –"Can you make a few more distractions?"-
The only response she gave him was a loud giggle and a scattering noise, he guessed she had broken her pearl bracelet and now the pearl shaped listening devices would be scattered through the whole ground floor, he used the distraction to get out of the office and headed to the main bedroom.
….
Time dragged on as Lapin introduced her to every influential mammal in Zootopia. Some were actually very nice and polite, some either drooled at the expanse of fur shone in her revealing dress or judged her for it, and some merely showed contempt for her humble farming origins.
At some point an elegant rabbit couple headed their way, both of them had pristine white fur and red eyes, they introduced themselves to Judy as Josephine and Jean Lapin, Julien's parents.
-"Mother, Father, I think I found the one"- Julien said proudly to them while holding Judy close to him.
The doe was puzzled, what was wrong with this guy? What kind of psycho tortures and blackmails a female only to present her to his parents like it was a long serious relationship?
Josephine raised a smug eyebrow at the uncomfortable police officer, her lopsided grin reminded Judy too much of her twisted son. -"Well in that case I am very happy for you Julien, I wish you both the best of luck"- for some reason her saccharine tone brought dread into the younger doe's heart.
-"Indeed my dear, I am proud to welcome such an illustrious officer of the law to our family"- Jean Lapin, senator of Zootopia, looked at Judy with an ominous presence so daunting she understood that the evil coursing through Julien's veins ran in the family.
With terror she noticed she was surrounded by the three rabbits, all three pairs of red eyes focused on her.
-"No tell me son, are you going to make a decent doe out of this lovely lady? Or are you going to keep her waiting for you to make the right choice?"- Jean said humorously not hiding the fact that he was fixated on her exposed fur.
-"My baby is a proper gentlemammal, I am sure that he would not shy away from his duty and his heart"- Josephine said indignantly
-"As a matter of fact I am willing to make my intentions clear next week, perhaps in the country club by the lake"- Julien told them in his most charming voice
-"Splendid! We will have a lovely soiree to celebrate the occasion"- Josephine said with glee, even when her eyes were as cold as ever. With that both elder rabbits gave the younger couple a court nod and left so they could socialize with the other guests.
As soon as the parents were out of earshot Judy dropped the dumb bunny pretence and confronted Julien -"What the fudge are you all talking about?"-
-"Our upcoming marriage of course"- He said casually
-"You ARE insane! I would rather clean every dumpster in Zootopia with my tongue than getting married to a monster like you!" She spat
-"And would you rather say goodbye to your foxy partner than being my wife, huh? Tsk tsk tsk you know quite well how illegal it is for members of different species to mate."- He pouted
-"Not all males have sex with the first females they see, he is only my friend and a much better mammal than you will ever be!"- She poked a finger into his chest, disgust coloring her voice.
-"You know, my original plan was to marry you, in spite of your poor origins. Because you my vixen have a very high media profile and connections with both the police and the mafia! We could have been unstoppable! But then you chose to act like a frigid pedantic hussy and caused a big mess. Besides, I can't let you go around Zootopia slandering my good name, so I think it is best if I keep you on a ball and chain."- He snarled at her with seething rage.
-"There is no way I would ever agree to marry you, there is nothing you can do to me that would make me even consider that"- She said holding her ground.
- "To you? Oh my coquette I would never dare… but if you refuse your partner will be thrown in jail for the rest of his pathetic miserable life, assuming he gets to live much longer next to the most dangerous criminals that crowd Saint Prowltin. I control this city, one word from me and he will rot in jail for every unsolved crime in Zootopia. The way I see it you have only two choices, be an obedient little wife and keep that cute little muzzle shut or let Mr. Wilde at the mercy of the court, my court"-
Judy made a huge effort not to howl in glee, she had a full confession from Lapin with his intention to frame Nick. Even if they didn't find anything on his computer she could make certain her partner's freedom was no longer at stake.
It was important now that their target didn't suspect anything, so she bowed her head and pretended to be defeated.-"You win Julien, Nick never did anything to you just let him out of all this"-
-"I knew you were smart, don't worry your little fox will be fine. As long as you do exactly as I tell you, starting now."- The malice in his eyes filled Judy with fear.
-"What do you want?"- She was afraid to ask.
-"I want what you owe me, follow me to my room and give me what is rightfully mine. And you better make up for all the trouble you have caused me"- He dragged her to the first floor and into his room, she hadn't put more than one paw inside when the white rabbit grabbed the sides of her dress in an attempt to take it off.
-"If you touch her I kill you"- Nick said turning the lights on, he was looking for evidence in his bedroom when he heard the conversation between his partner and his target so he waited for them there.
-"Mr. Wilde, nice to finally meet you. Now I must kindly ask you to leave so I can have a moment with my fiancé. If you do it fast I might consider not pressing charges against you for trespassing into my property and giving a death threat to a public official"- The rabbit said with a sly grin, he suspected that fox would meddle in his path sooner or later.
Nick knew the best course of action was to let Lapin think he had won, he intended to get Judy away from him using only his wit, knowing too well that if he used violence their carefully crafted plan might fail. Once they were outside the manor they would carry the rest of their mission and only then the sleazy rabbit would know what he was in for.
But then he saw Judy standing next to him, she looked strong and determined but she smelled like Lapin. His logical mind was not surprised since the sleazebag had probably been groping her throughout the whole night; surreptitiously rubbing his scent on her but his primal mind saw this as an unforgivable affront. This rabbit, this prey, dared to rub his scent on HIS mate. He had marked Judy making clear she was his, if another male dared to question that statement it was the fox's duty to attack that creature until he was certain it was no longer a threat.
Nick lounged himself at the rabbit with almost supernatural speed, with one paw he grabbed his target's neck and slammed him into the nearby wall. The fox's claws around the rabbit's neck collided with the wall with such force the sturdy structure begun to crack and crumble around the area of the impact. It was a miracle Julien's neck hadn't break.
It wasn't the voice of Judy's partner what came out of the rabid fox, it was something raw grave and guttural –"The only way I am going to jail is after I have ripped you to pieces, chew you up and spit your pathetic little bones"- His fangs protruded from his snarling muzzle, shining white under the lamps of the stylish bedroom. His eyes were literally glowing as his pupils enlarged, filling his irises.
For Nick it was too late, his primal mind had taken over, his jaw opened wide aiming at his prey's neck.
Judy had seen in horror how her partner turned from a normal civilized mammal to a savage beast, his claws wrapped around Julien's neck squeezing the life out of him. At first the rabbit tried to fight him off but the fox's strength was unwavering and it wasn't long until he lost consciousness, she grabbed him by the shoulders and tried to calm him down –"Nick please get a hold of yourself, this is not worth it!"- But she knew he didn't register a single word she said. When his fangs aimed at the white rabbit's throat it took all her strength to grab his shoulders and with a Judo grip she managed to throw him on the ground.
As soon as her partner lay on his back in the wooden floor she jumped on top of him grabbing his face and placing her own muzzle a few inches away from him.
-"Nick wake up!"- She said worried, he really looked like he had lost all semblance of control.
His roars only grew louder and she was surprised at the notion that a wild fox was growling right next to her and it didn't scare her, two years ago she would had run away from such beast. But now she was certain his wild rage was not directed at her, she understood he would never cause her harm. Realizing rational arguments would get her nowhere she tried to appeal to his savage side, she rubbed her cheek next to the side of his face while her ears twitched, little by little the feral growls turned into almost a soft purr.
By the time Nick woke up from his trance Julien had regained consciousness and was looking at the couple on the floor with a mixture of fear and disgust.
The fox stood up and walked towards him with a more controlled but still dangerous expression.
-"You will leave Judy alone and never come even close to her again, or no matter how much power or money you have, no matter what prison you throw me in I will come back and kill you myself. Is that clear?"-
Julien really wanted to tell him that now it was too late for conciliation, that not only would he send that fox to prison but he would also murder Judy while he was locked up and unable to do anything about it. It was a shame, she could have given him access to the police (ran by an incorruptible and therefore immune to blackmail buffalo) and Mr. Big, someone so powerful not even his cunning machinations could ever grant him access without her help. But his pride had been scorned and both of them needed to pay the price, to make matters worse he wasn't stupid enough to confront the feral fox ready to kill him right there, so for the first time in his life the pedantic rabbit swallowed his pride.
-"I understand Mr. Wilde, you have my word I will not trouble Miss Hopps anymore"- Inwardly he swore bloody revenge on the duo.
Neither Nick nor Judy believed him, but at least it gave them the opportunity to get away from the manor and gave them some time to collect enough evidence to send him to jail. They knew nonetheless that time was running against them since Julien's retaliation would not take too long.
….
Three hours later they were in Nicks apartment searching through the evidence, the ride from the manor in a cab they called had been silent and tense. To make things even more awkward the fox had been in a somewhat semi feral mode with his fur raised and his pupils large, until they made it to his home and he had mingled with Judy for almost half an hour, only when he was satisfied that only his scent marked her skin and fur he was able to relax and be fully civilized.
Judy could no longer deny there was more to a sign of affection at the primal ritual they had engaged in several times in the last 24 hours, she also knew now was probably not the right time to address her partner's intense posseiveness and mood swings. Once this revenge was behind them they both needed to have a serious talk and perhaps some sort of therapy, assuming they could find a professional who had any idea of how to treat something like this.
Several files appeared on their computers belonging to the DA, some files where from official investigations but some of them where not supposed to be seen. When they managed to sort through them they were overwhelmed at the extent of Lapin's wrongdoings. They knew he was corrupt, and a rapist and a murderer.
But this was far worse that what they could have ever expected.
