Chapter 2 - Time for a Change
Nick woke, body forced into the fetal position. Fabric restrained his movement. He still managed to push himself across the uncomfortable floor he was on. He only moved a few feet when he collapsed, and his tongue hung outside his mouth and the foul stench of the bag entered his nostrils. He restrained a tingle in his chest—it was a cough trying to inch its way up his throat.
The floor lurched suddenly. The first thought was an earthquake. But as soon as it came, it went. What replaced it for another fifteen seconds was a subtle hum of the floor until another bump jarred practically everything and made Nick hit his elbow on the uneven floor. He steadied himself. A car, he thought. I'm in a car.
Think, Nick.
There were sounds around—one to his far left, then to his far right, then behind him. Then nothing. Then far left again. Behind. Right. Behind. Nothing.
It wasn't a simple trunk. Wherever he was, it was massive. Boxlike type of massive.
Nick let his breathing slow again, and then he inched to the side. His elbow bumped something. But it wasn't metallic, nor did it feel immovable. It was living. It was alive. Life, Nick thought.
"Q?"
No answer. He tried again. "Q?"
"Is that you, Wilde? We need to find a way out of here." A quiet tearing sound pierced the inside of the room. Careful, I am going to stab a knife into your bag, so don't move unless you want to be stabbed." Nick closed his eyes. Suddenly Q took his paw and pulled him up. "All done."
Nick examined the room. It was still dark, but a small light on the ceiling allowed for some light. "Where'd you get a knife?"
"I keep it in my sock. You never know when it'll come in handy." Q pointed to the anterior side of the car. "That's where the driver is located. We want to somehow compromise him." He picked a pistol off the floor. "One thing that all criminal masterminds do is that they never commit crimes themselves. The one driving is one of Marco's henchmen. You good with a pistol?"
Nick shrugged. "Good enough."
Q pointed the weapon downward and passed it to Nick. "All right. After I open the window to the cabin, get him to pull this thing over. If he doesn't comply, compromise him, but only shoot if you must. Then get control of this thing."
Nick nodded and bit his lip, extending his arms with both hands gripping the back of the gun, index fingers slightly above the trigger. Q put one paw on the window handle and held up three fingers. He put down one, then another until only a fist was raised. He pulled the window open, and Nick rushed inside, gun leveled at the driver. "Pull over! This is the police!"
The driver glanced back and veered the car slightly to the right. "Okay, okay." He slowed the car and put it in park. He slowly turned around and held up two paws. "You got me. Just don't shoot."
"Get in the back."
The driver inched toward the separatory window. "Okay." Suddenly Q's paws reached out and took the driver into the back. Seconds later, Q entered, shutting the window. "Tied and compromised."
Nick touched the wheel. "I haven't really driven in a while..."
Q pushed past Nick and sat down. He scanned the dashboard and pulled a paper map off. "Wow, they still have these?" He looked it over. There was a building circled in red. "That's the spot. We're off." He put it into drive and pulled onto the road.
"I guess some criminal masterminds really seem like they want this to happen—"
He paused and glanced back at Nick. "I have an idea. There should be an outfit in the back. Go put it on."
"Why?"
"Just trust me. I'm not trained to do field work, but you are. Five minutes."
Nick shuffled to the back room, scanning over what was inside. He searched for a minute with no success, then shuffled over to a shelf with a square silhouette on it. He produced a shirt, then dug around in the pool of fabric and pulled out a pair of pants. He quickly slipped them on, cheeks burning at the thought of the criminal staring at him. Thankfully, it was dark. He shuffled back to the cabin just as Q pulled onto the freeway. Q merged, then took a quick glance. The black, sleek outfit fit Nick's waist and chest about as well as a glove fit a hand; if it had been only a smidge smaller, it never would've fit. The waist of the shirt barely covered his waist, but overall fit well. On the waistband was nothing except a holder for a pistol. He picked up the pistol and stuck it into the holder. "What now?"
"Sit." He gestured to the passenger's seat. "It'll be a while."
Though they were driving toward what could have been certain death, Nick found himself smiling when a song he liked came on. Fifteen minutes passed, and Q pulled off the freeway, turned right at a light, and stopped when a dead-end sign came up after driving onto a dirt road.
"When you get to Marco, chain him to the nearest—"
"Stable structure and wait for backup. I know, we've been over this too many times to count."
"Go get 'em. If you don't come back, it was nice knowing you."
Nick chuckled nervously. "See you soon." He turned to Q to say something, but he stopped. Tell Judy that I love her if I don't come back. He turned and walked off.
Darkness surrounded him then. It was cool, too; the earth was cooling off from the hot weather that day. Thoughts raged in his mind. What if I did tell Q that?
What if I do die? What then?
He kept silent, sneaking through grass and stepping over dirt mounds and around a fire hydrant sitting on a cement slab. The dirt abruptly stopped at a cement foundation, which was probably one hundred feet across, though it could have been several tens more or less. Nick stepped onto the foundation. Toward the center of the foundation was a windowless, ramshackle building that had several lights flickering on the outside, staining the pavement a dull yellow. A blue, faded door sat on one side of the building that read "Family." Nick approached the door and pinched his lips, then gripped the handle. It had been at least six hours since he had seen a bathroom.
He shook his head and let go of the knob. To the left of the blue door was a dull, metallic one with no handle or knob. Nick glanced at the blue door again, then put his paw on the smooth, metal surface of the other door and pushed inside. A dark stairway was underneath him, leading down to a platform barely illuminated by a sliver of light underneath another door in front of it. He pattered down the stairs, stopping just before he touched the door. Three… two…
He touched the handle. Suddenly reality disappeared, and a picture of Judy flashed in his mind. It was her at his inauguration. She was looking at him.
"When I was a kid, I thought Zootopia was this perfect place where everyone got along and anyone could be anything..."
Nick let go of the handle, then closed his eyes.
"We all have limitations. We all make mistakes," Judy said.
He gripped the handle again. One last phrase came in. "But we have to try."
He pushed open the door, his fingers over the top of the pistol placed in the holster. It was a large concrete room with a small computer in the corner along with a dorm fridge. There was a table in the center of the room with two figures disproportionately illuminated by a naked light bulb hanging from the ceiling. The first was Marco; the other was Tie Honga, the fugitive Nick had interviewed earlier that day. The noise made Marco stand and pull a pistol from his coat pocket. "I was expecting you." It was a sleek pistol with a visibly round barrel.
"Me?"
"Don't forget the gun." He gestured to it. "I have your life in my hands." The tone was harsh, like a drill sergeant and a robber.
"Put the gun down," Nick said softly.
"Ain't gonna happen." He clicked the safety off. "Don't make me use this."
"Marcus Hoppaway, put the gun down," Nick said evenly. "Now."
"You think I'm going to listen to a fox, pretty boy? You think you're so smart." He squeezed the handle of the firearm. "How deplorable of you to fall in love with my sister. She deserves better."
An edgy, twitchy feeling exploded in his chest, and Nick had to force his paw from lifting the gun. "Don't…ever say"—he looked at the floor, teeth and jaw clenched—"anything about Judy. Ever again."
"There's plenty to say. I mean, she fell in love with a fox. There's too much wrong with that."
Nick was seething. Nothing could accurately show what was happening inside him except his tightly clenched stomach muscles, albeit a billionth of his actual emotion. "What is wrong with you?"
"The real question is what's wrong with you. Falling in love with a bunny is analogous to putting a piece of metal into a fire. It just doesn't make sense."
Nick lifted his gun. "Oh, boy, you made a mistake." He lifted and shot the gun so quickly that Marco could barely react. Marco screamed and fell, paws surrendered to his ear. His gun slid across the cement and bumped into a nearby wall. Nick put his gun back and kicked Marco in the shin. "People like you deserve a bar to the head." He kicked him again. "Don't ever speak to me again." Nick picked up Marco's gun, wedged it against the wall, and pushed until it bent just enough to prevent it from firing. He then tossed it aside and took Marco's paws. He unbuckled Marco's belt and chained his paws to the large pole that sat in the middle of the room.
Forgetting about Tie, Nick walked over to the small dorm fridge and opened the door.
What he saw was a shock.
At least twenty bottles of the laced poison—strychnine—stood upon the shelves of the fridge. Tie. Nick spun around, pistol aimed right at Tie. "What exactly is this?"
Tie sneered. "I won't tell you."
Nick took a bottle and raised it above his head. "I swear, there is no 'no.'" He shut the fridge with one paw. "Tell me."
Tie's arms tensed. "Okay, okay! Please, just don't hurt me!"
"Good—"
"There have been some big mistakes, but yours…" There was a laugh. "Yours was catastrophic." Marco was beside him, a gun pressed to Nick's temple. "You don't deserve any last words." He looked at Nick with so much anger and resentment that if he had had any more, his face would have melted right off his skull.
In a last-ditch effort, Nick punched Marco in the stomach so hard that he fell back and gagged. The gun fired, missing Nick completely. Tie screamed and held his foot with both paws, tears staining his eyes. Nick held up the poison and looked at Marco. Now, he thought.
But he didn't throw it.
And again, the gun was back on his head. Marco's face was twisted, and he hit Nick in the skull with the barrel. "Full of mistakes, aren't you? Wait till Judy hears about this. You know why? Because you won't be able to tell her." He pressed the trigger.
Nothing.
"What the?" He clicked again. Nothing. Nick craned his body and threw the poison at Marco's foot. He moved his foot away, and the broken bottle slid toward the other side of the room. Green liquid ran in all directions across the floor, and Nick slid out of the way, as did Marco. He looked over at Nick. "Look what you did, you selfish retard."
Nick formed a fist and threw it with all his strength. Marco raised the gun and blocked the punch, but Nick's fist missed, and his arm hit the barrel. A snap echoed the building, and Nick screamed, paw grasping his wrist.
Suddenly backup burst in.
"Paws over your head!" an elephant officer said. Marco dashed toward another door, but Wolfard intercepted the rabbit with a clean tackle and chained him at the wrists. Another officer took the agonized Tie and chained him, pulling him from the room with Marco.
One officer, the medic of the group, approached and softly touched Nick's arm. "It's broken." He helped Nick up and led him up the staircase, then out the door. The place was filled with red and blue lights.
There was a blue medical tent set up by an ambulance. The officer led Nick inside.
The suspicion was true: Nick had experienced an incomplete fracture of his right radial bone. The doctor put it in a white cast, slung it around Nick's shoulder, leaving Nick's paw exposed. The doctor told him that it would take four months to heal, and in that time, he should refrain from using his right paw.
After about half an hour of questioning and investigation, Nick sat on the end of the ambulance, staring at the ground. He had to restrain himself from moving his broken arm. "I can't believe it."
Officer Wolfard glanced away from the questioning of a bystander and approached the ambulance. "You mind if I sit?"
Nick over. Wolfard rubbed his lips, glancing over at Nick a couple times, then he sat. "That was some move you made in there."
"Kinda broke my arm, though." He looked down at it. He paused and looked over at one of the police cars. Its lights illuminated the cement wall of the building. "Marco was a jerk."
"All criminals are. Not to mention, he was a national criminal."
"This just doesn't match up. There must have been some reason I didn't recognize Marco when he came over."
"He went dormant for about three years. It started a year before Judy came in."
"And nobody told her?"
"It wasn't as big then as it was a year before. I mean, she was just a rookie. She knew the name Marcus Hoppaway, but she didn't connect him to be her brother." He looked over to the pitch-black horizon. "He just… disappeared when he stopped doing things." He stood up and looked at Nick again. "Bogo said he'll call you. Get well." He touched Nick on the back, smiled, and rejoined the officers by the police car.
Soon the group split, and Wolfard reappeared. "Well, I guess I'm taking you home." He gestured forward to the dark silhouette of his police cruiser dimly lit by surrounding vehicles' lights. Nick ambled over, and Wolfard helped him into the passenger's seat before rounding the car and getting in. He turned the ignition and instinctively turned down the radio. He expertly guided the cruiser from the site and pulled away. Nick glanced into the side mirror. The blue-red, serious scene shrunk before it turned from his view when Wolfard turned onto a paved road.
"What music do you listen to?" Wolfard asked after a few minutes of silence.
Nick shrugged. "Country, I guess."
Wolfard fingered the dials on the control panel and stopped at a channel that played soft country music. "This all right?"
Nick listened for a moment. "This works." He looked out the window.
Wolfard let the music play while he looked back at the road and drove again in silence, this time for about ten minutes. "I wanted to get Judy down here, but it's way too late." He glanced at the clock. "Merry Christmas," he added.
"Saint Nick's comin' to town," Nick said, managing a smile. "Merry Christmas."
The corner of his mouth upturned, Wolfard clicked on a Christmas station. Appropriately, it was amidst playing "Jolly Old Saint Nick."
Nick turned the handle to his front door. It was unlocked. Not surprised, Nick thought, considering Judy had probably been up worrying since he had disappeared. His eyebrows lowered when the living room was dark. Not a single light was on.
Nick turned into the hall and looked at the bottom of Judy's door. There weren't any lights on, so Nick silently resolved to go to bed and surprise her in the morning. He quietly walked into the nearby bathroom and relieved himself, then he promptly went to his room and flicked on the light. Everything felt different—more inaccessible—now that one of his limbs was immovable. He sighed, then pulled off the black suit and slipped on some shorts and a white T-shirt. He then pulled back the covers and got in, careful not to move his right arm too much. He was about to lie down when a light appeared under the door. As quickly as it came, it disappeared, and the squeak of his door echoed the hallway.
"Nick?"
Nick pushed himself back with his left paw, staying silent. "Are you there?" the voice said.
Nick closed his eyes, his mouth dry and tears welling up inside his eyelids. "Yes." He switched on the bedside lamp. Judy stood by the open door, both paws over her gaping mouth. Her lip quivered, and she sat on the bed next to his legs, then crawled up to him and filled him in her arms. "Nick, you're safe."
"Careful, you'll—" He stopped for a moment and glanced down at his arm.
Judy looked down and stared at his cast, her head jittering from left to right with more disbelief than disagreement. "Why?"
He embraced her. "Marco."
She suddenly sobbed, putting her face in his neck and staying there. Her whole body trembled, and she tried forming a few words, but her lips were trembling so much that she couldn't. She slowly lowered herself into his chest and wrapped her arms around his upper trunk. She focused on his heartbeat, which was fast at first but slowly reduced in rate.
Nick placed his left paw on her head and cradled it into his chest. A tear sneaked from under his eyelid and streamed down his cheek. Judy squeezed him harder. "Why would he do such a thing?" Her voice rose. "I don't know! Why in the world would someone—"
Nick bit his lip and snuggled his head into hers. "P-please," he sobbed. "Blame me. I deserve it."
"What do you mean?"
"I was stupid enough to go after Marco than escape."
"What happened?"
He shrugged. "I don't know."
They separated and sat crisscross on the bed, face-to-face. Judy took his paws in hers. "Answer me."
"I tried to punch him, but…" He let go of her paws and looked down. "…he used the gun to block the punch, and I broke my wrist on it."
"Wait! What gun?" She suddenly stiffened. "He tried to kill you?"
He swallowed, then said shakily, "Yes." He clasped both of his paws in one another, but they still trembled. "He put…" He closed his eyes and let out a sharp breath. His next breath hitched, and he whined until he broke into sobs. "He put a gun to my head."
Her eyes went cold, staring straight ahead with intense focus. Her lips flattened. "No."
He looked at her. "Yes, he—"
She hit the bedside table, the thump exploding through the room. "I can't." She broke sobbing again. "I… just can't."
Nick this time took her in his arm until her sobs softened into whimpers. "It's Christmas, Judy. Just be thankful I'm alive. Marco's arrested, and the scene's secure. You don't know how lucky I was."
"Lucky," she said. "You really think you're lucky." The lines were so flat that it was difficult to determine whether they were questions or statements.
"Yes, Judy, I'm lucky!" Nick said. Judy pulled back at his outburst. Nick looked at her, eyes wet and arms trembling. "I'm here to hug you. I'm here to talk to you. I'm—here to love you." He slowly looked up, and their eyes met. "Please, for all you're worth—and that's a lot—don't be angry."
She looked down, then nodded. "Okay." She managed a smile. "Okay, I will." She embraced him. "I'm so glad you're home."
"That's more like it." He was grinning now. He looked at for a second, then yawned. "We'll talk in the morning, all right?"
Judy got down from the bed and helped Nick lay down, then she pulled the covers up to his chin. She smiled, then kissed him on the head. "Good night, Nick. Love you."
He had a smile across his face. It's going to be much better tomorrow, he thought. Yes, it is. "Night, Fluff."
She opened the door and looked back at him. "Merry Christmas."
Just before she closed the door, he muttered, just loud enough for her to hear, "Love you too, Carrots."
Nick rolled over and yawned, blinking at the sunray entering through the crack in the blinds. He craned his neck to the bedside table. Two two-digit numbers glared on the digital clock that faced him, both separated by a colon: 10:12. "Gee, I really outdid myself last night." He turned to lie back down.
"Yes, you did," a voice said. Nick jerked back up and looked down. Judy sat crisscross about a foot from the bed. "Merry Christmas. You slept well?"
"Prefer my arm unbroken, but yes."
She nodded, a bit of the sadness from the early morning returning to her face. It soon disappeared. "I need to show you something."
"My new car? Fluff, you shouldn't have."
"Ha! I'm not rolling in dough, you know." She looked up, then reached behind her. She held up glass ornament. "What is this?"
Nick inspected it—a wrapped present was inside, tied with a bow. "A present."
Judy nodded. "What do you do with it?"
"Give it—" He cocked his head. "This is dumb. What are you doing?"
She scoffed. "Trying to teach a lesson here, Nick P."
He chuckled. "Sorry? I mean, I'm just asking what this is about."
"Here, I'll tell you something—remember... last year. When you gave me that necklace?"
He nodded. "Yes."
She held it up. "Did you make it?"
"I got it custom made to say 'Judy' on it, so yes."
"How much did it cost?"
"Eight hundred. At least."
She smirked. "How'd you feel when you gave it to me?"
He started to speak and then stopped. "Can we stop now? This is getting really dumb."
"Just roll with it."
He shrugged. "All right."
"Let me ask again. How did you feel?"
"Happy, excited, and compassionate."
"You think it would be better to receive a new phone or to give someone a new phone?"
"Probably receive it? I mean, with all the new models…"
She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Let me rephrase that—would you want to give me a valuable gift, or receive a valuable gift?"
"If I say the right answer, will you be quiet?"
She let out a sharp breath. "Fine."
"It would probably be politer to give to you."
She nodded. "Have I taught you a lesson? Do you know the true meaning of Christmas?"
"Give, rather than receive?"
She nodded. "Perfect."
Nick smiled at her. "Can we just get on with it?"
"Patience," she said. "Okay. I'll get my—"
He sat up on the bed. "I'll go first." He stood up and left the room, then returned with a small box wrapped in cartoon carrots with a blue background. A purple bow on top finished the touch. "To Fluff."
"Look at you, Mr. Gift Wrapper." She inspected the box. "I should just keep the box."
"Trust me, the inside's the beautiful part."
"Okay." She peeled back the paper, revealing a black silk-covered case. "Nick."
"I think I should do the honors. For old times' sake." He took the box from her paws.
"Nick, what are you doing?"
"This will all make sense in a minute." He stood up. "Trust me, this is definitely what it's cracked up to be."
"Nick…" She looked down at the ground.
"There's something I have to say." She didn't answer. "We've been together for two years, live in the same house—I think it's time for a change."
"What?"
"Oh, Carrots." He bent down and rubbed her head. When she looked up, he was on one knee. "Judy."
Her voice halted, and she jerked her head back. "You're not…"
He smirked. "Oh, yes, I am." He opened the box. There was a diamond ring inside. "Judith Laverne Hopps, partner in fighting crime and the love of my life…" He smiled. "Will you—"
"Yes!" She bounded up and squeezed him. "Yes, yes, yes!" She took the ring from the box and put it on her finger. "So much yes!"
"So much for the 'marry me.' Nice going, Fluff." He was grinning.
"Oh, don't ruin this for me." She squeezed him. "I love you, I love you, Nicholas Wilde!"
"Good thing. Your parents are here." He looked to the door, and it emitted a knock.
Judy kissed Nick's cheek and walked to the door. On the porch were the visitors from the Christmas Eve party—minus Marco—and a few others. Judy, giddy, smiled at the group. "You won't guess what Nick just did."
"What?" Bonnie said, smiling a little bit.
"New earrings?" Stu said.
"Better." She looked to Nick and held up her hand. "He asked for my hand in marriage."
Silence fell over the group. For several seconds, there was nothing, then chatter came up, then whooping and clapping. Bonnie embraced Judy, then hugged Nick politely. Stu gave them all big hugs. The rest of the group flowed in, embracing and congratulating the new couple. When it was settled, Judy stood erect. "I've got a present for Nick. Well, it's kind of two presents—here's the first one." She took Nick by the shoulder and kissed him. Gasps echoed through the living room. When she and Nick separated, Judy walked into her room and came back with a box wrapped in gold paper with a green bow. "Here's the second."
Nick took and slowly tore back the paper. A paw logo on a plain white lid was visible through the tear. Nick quickly removed the rest of the paper. "Carrots, this can't be."
She smiled. "Trust me, it's definitely what it's cracked up to be."
Nick lifted the lid, eyes widened. "Wow, Carrots, that's some commitment."
Tucked inside a silk case was the newest iPaw smartphone, screen black with a shiny cover on the outside. "How did you get this?"
She thought about the night before. "I guess you disappearing for a few hours wasn't the worst thing to happen after all." She leaned in and kissed him. "You're welcome."
Suddenly the door opened again, and Bonnie appeared with a large pan. "Brought some rolls and salad."
He looked at Judy. "Let's get full before this becomes a Merry hungry Christmas." He stood up and peeled back the cover to the phone. "Right after I get this set up."
"Oh, Nick." She stood up, smiled at him, and joined her relatives in the kitchen. She glanced at the ring at her finger. It's definitely what it's cracked up to be.