Chapter 6: The Second-In-Command
It was calm outside, there was a light warm breeze blowing. It was silent as Robert and Loren were on the edge of a hill with the side facing the river having been eaten from the yearly floods. They observed the factory up ahead, old and forgotten having small holes opening on the walls. But as Loren had described it was still in use as there were guards patrolling the area; there were wolves, panthers, black bears and cheetahs. Their only opening was to go around a bear through a large rusted pipe big enough for Robert and Loren to crawl through and go into a vent duct on the side of the factory. They crouched their way next to the beginning of the pipe quietly and peeked to see where the bear was. Robert looked down and picked a stone and gestured to Loren he was going to throw it to distract the guard, which would be their opportunity to crawl into the pipe.
Loren understood them and prepared herself. Robert lunged the stone towards a patch of grass far behind the left side of the bear making a wet crunch and a small bang having hit another stone. The bear immediately turned to see what it was meanwhile Loren and Robert crawled through pipe. Right before Loren got to the end the same bear stepped in front of her. She and Robert stopped to look at his feet. The bear looked around lighting his flashlight to see if there could be any one, but returned back to where he had been standing. Loren lightly breathed out and got out of the pipe.
Once at the wall they began to carefully remove the vent cover as the rusty screws could no longer hold it in place. Right when they put the vent aside a cheetah appears from the corner of the building.
"Go, go." Robert whispered to Loren and they begin to hastily crawl into the vent. The cheetah hears a bit of the noises they made and right when he turns the vent was back in place. He approaches it taking a few steps and the vent then tilts off.
"Boy this place is going to come apart before you know it." He told himself and walked off.
The two managed to get into the building as they exit the vents into an old office.
"Aw man that was close." Robert sighed in relief.
"You're telling me. We make quite the infiltration team."
"Haha, well we should look for Nick and Judy. I'd imagine we'll find them in the boss's lair on the other side of the building."
He opens the office door slowly and peeks from the small opening down the old decaying hallway. Then sticks his head out to see the other end of the hallway and finally leaves the room standing in front of it with Loren.
"Well I may not know where exactly they are, but they obviously have to be in that direction." She pointed to the right from the office they just left. They both headed down walking quickly, but in a silent manner.
A door opens into an office with a working lamp on a desk. It was far better maintained as there was also a functioning computer on the desk and filing cabinets at the back. Everything was the perfect size for animals of Judy and Nick's stature. The two henchmen place Nick and Judy onto two chairs in front of a desk as the character behind it was turned away putting a file back in a file cabinet.
"Leave us." The red panda spun his chair around to face the two officers and with a smirk as he greets them, "Well, long time no see Nicholas. How have you been all these years? And who's your cute little friend?" He winked at Judy.
"Don't call me cute." Judy crossed her arms as she frowned with disgust.
Robert and Loren manage to find where the organization's headquarters as Loren had stated it would be within the factory. They see the two henchmen that had carried off Judy and Nick guarding in front of a door in a big corridor ahead of them.
"That must be where they're keeping them."
"Right, but how are we going to distract those two meat heads to leave the door?"
As Robert thought of how they were going to he hears someone talking through a vent near them. He gets closer to it and listens to the conversation.
"Jeremy, how has it been? I see you been promoted to a higher position, congrats buddy." Nick then puts on a nervous smile showing his teeth.
"Well let's get straight to the point shall we? As you know, you took out a big personal loan before you left. Now, correct me if I'm wrong here, but I assume you made it in the big city and are back to repay it?" Jeremy leaned forward with his hands together on the desk.
"Aw geez, had I known somebody was going to be here I would've brought my wallet, but I forgot it." He chuckled nervously knowing it would not please Jeremy.
He starred at Nick for a second with the same face he had listening to Nick and laughed, "Oh Nicholas, always the kidder. I see you haven't lost your sense of humor." He leaned back on his chair. Then he opened a drawer and searched for something inside it.
"What'd you got there?" Nick said in a shaky voice curious to know.
Jeremy found what he was looking for and faced Nick slowly straightening up building suspense in Nick. Judy's ears drooped down as she too was in suspense.
With a fast swoop he bangs his fist on the desk scaring both officers. Nick, as well as Judy, had closed their eyes, turning their heads away at each other and waited for the end however they were going to be met with. Nick opened his left eye looking around then his right looking back at Jeremy who still had his fist on the desk.
Jeremy laughed at both Nick and Judy's reaction startling them, "Oh man, you should have seen your faces." He opened his fist and on the desk was a small blue sphere as he stood up off the chair walking to the side of the desk to sit on.
"Is that what I think it is?" Judy still scared of what happened knowing what it was.
"Yes officer it is. See before you all got a hold of Doug I had him make a few of these Night Howler pellets especially for me. Just in case there were any clients that needed to be taken care of. And right now, your friend here is just one of the animals I love taking care of."
"Wait you can't be serious buddy, we worked together." Nick reminded Jeremy.
"Aye, we did, but time changes those who are ambitious. And when you are patient doing the people who helped you right, it really pays off. But enough of reminiscing, do you or do you not have the money Nicholas? The boss isn't going to wait for it." He sat back down on his chair and rolled it forward to have his legs under the desk as he playfully studied the little blue ball.
Nick looked left and right hoping to find something, an item to use or a any kind of way out, "Look Jeremy I do. I just need to go to an ATM or the bank and I'll be able to repay ya every cent OK?" He put his hands together as to beg for the opportunity to leave.
"Is that so? Are you telling the truth?" He swiftly and aggressively reaches into the drawer again pulling the gun that shoots the Night Howler pellets and loads it with the one he had placed on the desk, "Or lying?! Either you give us the money." Jeremy then points the gun towards Judy who started squirming up the chair as if she was trying to flee raising her paws up, "Or your cute little friend gets it. It'll make things move a lot quicker, I have to be in the Palm Hotel to meet the boss."
"Nick..." Judy said in a scared low tone.
Nick really got mad seeing him point the gun at her, "Hey wouw, it's between us you leave her out of this!"
"No, I think I'll let Zootopia's hero go savage for a while, see how it turns out for her. After all, I'm not going to be the one to take care of you." Jeremy aims down the sights at Judy, "She is."
Loren knew they had to do something to stop from whatever was going to happen.
"Loren wait!" Robert tried to stop her as she dashed to the end of the corridor to be seen.
"Hey! Over here!"
"Hey you two stop right there!" Leonard called out from behind the door. Jeremy drops his shoulders and puts down the gun where neither Judy or Nick could easily reach. He reaches into another drawer and pulls out a walky-talky turning away from Nick and Judy, "OK you bone heads what's going on? Can't you see you interrupted me in a middle of a buddy-buddy session here?" He sassed.
"Sir, there's two intruders here!" Jim, the brown bear, replied as he was running.
Nick saw Jeremy was distracted, shifting his eyes on the gun and Jeremy. He slowly begins to lean towards the desk with his arms in front, reaching for the gun with his right hand as Jeremy continued to talk.
"Look just catch them and I'll deal with them later after I'm done with these two." He casually turns not having suspected Nick was moving onto the desk. He drops the walky-talky as they immediately darted for the gun. Nick manages to knock it off the desk and grab a hold of Jeremy before he turned around to pick it up from the floor beside it. As Nick fought Jeremy to keep him from getting free Judy darted for the gun rolling after she obtained it. Jeremy hits Nick freeing himself and starts fighting Judy for control of the gun. They knock over documents and the lamp fighting all around the office. Judy then accidentally fired the round up hitting the ceiling causing it to burst. Before the small drops could fall on Judy, Nick pulls her by her right arm getting her out of the way as the blue serum fell onto Jeremy. He began to flail on the ground wildly. Nick and Judy leave the office and get a breather outside.
"Are you OK?" Nick inspected Judy as she breathed heavily, "Are you alright? Did any of it get on you?"
She grabbed on to his paws to stop him, "I'm find Nick, thank you for saving me." She softly told her hero smiling with her ears behind her head as she looked at his eyes.
"Come on let's go. We have to go help Robert and Loren."
Judy nodded and off they ran down the corridor.