Beginning Summary: After disasters strikes them after one another, Nick and Judy had to improvise to get out safely.
My mouth gaped wide for a solid few minutes before Nick decided to sarcastically closed it like they did in those cartoons. He waved his paw around my eyes but I still stood like a statue, thinking what where we went wrong and still in disbelief that half an hour near a waterfall can lead to my car being entirely stolen, as well as our reputation at stake.
''Uh…Hello? Carrots you there?'' Nick asked anxiously as he bent over and tilted his head to stare at me while still waving his paw. I blinked and snapped out of it. Still having that small part of me thinking that this was all just a dream. I sighed deeply while closing my eyes, thinking what we should do next. Think Judy! Your car is stolen, your reputation is at risk and you're trapped on top of a mountain with your fox fiancée; Think! What would a cop do. I thought about contacting the HQ with my hand-held radio but then I remembered that it was on the bottom of the river, no use retrieving it now; the government didn't bother water-proofing our equipment saying that it was 'Unnecessary' in the words of Mayor Lionheart. I re-think my options and ended coming up blank, sighing again as I sat down on the leaf-covered grassy surface, folding my arms and legs, going into a deep thinking process. Nick noticed this and sat down next to me in the same position, observing me closely as his head was resting on his arm which was on his right leg, tilting his head slightly as he stared at me with his piercing emerald eyes. I noticed this by the corner of my eyes. I tried to avoid it by trying to not look back, it was distracting me from focusing but he just stretched his head further to see me back. I turned my head my head from him, directly opposite of Nick. Nick shrugged and returned back to his original position.
''You know, we're supposed to work together Carrots, we're partners.'' Nick reminded me, looking a bit left out. This broke my concentration, feeling guilt. Nick was right; I shouldn't try to be so self-minded. Even though Nick can be distracting ever since we woke up together…actually, more like the day I met him, he was correct, I need to stop thinking him as a nuisance and more of a partner. I turned around reluctantly and looked at him directly.
''Y-You're right, I'm sorry.'' I apologized quietly, feeling somewhat ashamed. Nick smiled as a response and gently pulled my head to his, pecking a kiss on my forehead.
''It's okay Carrots, let's just focus on me now okay?'' He told me but I turned around a bit, breaking away from his hands, blushing. Nick seemed confused and came closer to me.
''What's wrong Carrots?'' Nick asked curiously.
''Its just…you're so distracting.'' I replied frustrated, crossing my arms and pouting slightly. Nick just snickered and cocked an arrogant eyebrow.
''Really? Which part?'' He joked, crossing his arms in a playful manner. He was proudly smiling.
''Well, for the most part, you're naked.'' I pointed out, looking back at him in an instant and pointing at his bare chest, making him looked down to his entire naked body. He embarrassedly giggled while rubbing the back of his neck before trying to look around for something to cover his privates, only to realize much later that he had left his uniform and phone in the car, halting his playfulness.
''You know, I think it's a real issue now since there's nothing to cover you with.'' I realized slowly while Nick began to crack under pressure. I can tell he's used to being naked in his own home but not at public. After all, his public appearance is what keeps his con-business up and running, second to his skills of course. I just laughed quietly to myself, muffling it with my paws as he panicked while scouting the shrubs and trees for some kind of clothes. It was those rare moments where Nick's cool was broken off by his nervousness that always make me augh, especially the way he reacts to it.
''Haha Carrots. You're not helping.'' Nick chirped like a tune in a concerned tone as he went from shrub to shrub to find any clothes in the woods. He was unknowingly desperate to find any piece of fabric that can at least cover his lower body. I just crossed my arms and stood up, only to relax my body on the bark of an old pine tree, leaning my body against it and folding my arms as I grinned at Nick arrogantly, trying to keep myself from laughing at a nude fox frantically searching for cloth as if it was his baby.
''It wasn't my fault. You're the one who insisted going nude.'' I pointed out for Nick which just frustrates him more. Nick kept on searching busily, although he seems to be listening to me at the same time. Ah, I remember the first day he was in the office, where he hid my documents while I thrashed my cubicle over and over to find them, only to find him giggling in the corner with the said papers. Ha…good times, but I guess Karma got its own ways.
''Hey, I didn't know the stalker was still around or planning to hijack your little Mini Hoofer.'' He argued, searching over a small berry bush twice. I watched a few minutes of him searching over and over before I thought he got what he deserved. I tried calming him down but his energy seems to never end.
''Look Nick, no matter how hard you search there is just no denying it, you'll just have to go nude.'' I bluntly point out to Nick but he was still in disbelief. He turned around at last to me, sighing with disappointment. He knew I was right and there's no way that I wasn't right, he'd been searching for almost half an hour in the area and came up empty. I tried to lighten his mood by joking about how he think that there was a pile of clothes in the middle of a mountain top.
''Well, looks like we'll just have to wait and pray that a box of clothes will magically fall out of the sky.'' Nick sadly hoped as he reclined his back on the same tree, just a few inches next to me. Then I heard the leaves above me rustling as I reclined on to it more, I looked up curiously hoping for a pine cone or a quail's egg perhaps…What the he-CRACK
I fell onto the ground, smashing my delicate face onto the hard soil. I growled in pain, being muffled by the dirt and dry leaves as something heavy was piled onto my back mercilessly I growled again, trying to lift myself but can't because of the mysterious heavy object on me. Nick turned around at the sound of the loud thud and opened his eyes wide, making his green pupils seem like oval jewels; I can see a large squarish brown object on top of me that Nick was staring.
''Hahah! Called it Carrots! Looks like god does exist!'' Nick shouted in glee as he grabbed the large brownish think over me, dragging it onto the ground and letting me get up. God, what was that? It felt like an elephant just sat on me. I looked to the object Nick had been so excited about, stretching my back and worryingly looked up for any more mysterious objects falling from trees, pacing around just in case anything else hit me. It was a box, a cardboard box; filed with…clothes? Now how on earth does a cardboard box fall from a pine tree? I've heard tales of Bigfeet, Werewolf men, Serial Predators, but not a tree which produces piles of laundry. I shook my head in disbelief only to be stared at nick with an arrogant look. Even when I'm being sarcastic, I can't win over an argument.
''What on the world is that?'' I asked to Nick surprised. Nick shrugged his shoulders and began to inspect the box's content, a messy pile of clothes. He went right into the pile, searching for something he can wear. He tossed tank tops, underwears and other clothes I lost count as he stuff his head deeper into the box. I disgustingly picked up a red boxer off my face as Nick was still searching. I looked around the area, now littered with undergarments and torn clothes.
''These looks decent enough.'' Nick commented on a striped white-collar shirt and long black pants. I still can't believe he would be so picky for a fox who's afraid of public indecency. He wore it quickly, turning around at showing it at me, looking for my opinion. I nodded, surprisingly, he looks quite handsome in an office outfit. Now that I mention it, he kinda looks like…a husband. The ones that work from 9 to 5, coming home tired as he relaxes on the couch, then our children came in, jumping and running all over the living room, excited about their day and telling their father stories of their school day while I cook up a dinner. Ah…I can just imagine the future.
''Hello? Carrots you're zoning out again.'' Nick said, waving his paw in front of my face. I flinched, and broke out of my imagination. Oh, who am I kidding? Nick is barely the hard worker, that's my role in our relationship and I'll be damned if he can even boil an egg.
''Huh? Oh, yeah, Im okay.'' I assured him.
''Great, now we need to find a bus or something to get us outta here.'' Nick explained to me our next step as he turned around to the fenced Cliffside, holding the short fence and pushing his body further from the edge to try and spot any sign of coming civilization. As he walked to the fence, I noticed something yellow on his back. As I stared closer, I noticed what it is, a note. I ran over to him and tore the note off, distracting him with the sound. I read the note.
I found your clothes in the back. Sorry for hijacking your car but you were to ahead of schedule. Anyways, I could've left you to rot at the top but I thought what fun it is if I can't even play with my prey, so I left some clothes and hid a phone in Nicky's pants. After all, I'll be waiting~
I instantly knew it was the same stalker who blackmailed us. I was frustrated. Not only does the crook have the guts to steal our car, he is sparing us because he feels pity. I'll show him, I'll show him who we're really are, and he'll be sorry. I handed the note to Nick at his request after I finished reading and took the phone from his phone, surprising him since he didn't know it was even there because of its sheer size. It was tiny, a flip-phone, probably made 10 years ago but it was barely working.
''Nicky?" Nick whispered under his breath while thinking closely, he had heard that nick name somewhere but can't exactly point when. Nick scratched his chin intensely, thinking and analysing all the time he had been called by it, then it struck him.
''Nicky…that was my nickname when I was in high school.'' Nick reminded himself. This caught my attention since I was listening closely to him. I turned around giving a confused suggestive look.
''So our suspect is someone you knew in high school?'' I asked after collecting the info. I was about to jot it down on my notebook but I realise that it was lost when I dipped into the river. I tried looking for anything else that hadn't fallen: my badge, my ammunition and…aha! My carrot pen! But I doubt it will work after in the water. Cross my fingers and better try it then. Click. It was static at first but then its recording was working, barely but the quality is still good enough to recognize the voice. I told Nick that I was recording everything to submit for evidence. He nodded and repeated his statement.
''Now…is there anyone from your high school that wants to take revenge on you?'' I questioned Nick. His ears were down with a serious look on his face, scratching his chin even more and trying to remember his high school days or as Nick liked to call it 'Best Time of his Youth.'
''Well…there was Richard Lionheart, I accidentally cut off a part of his mane when we were 15, then there was Leo Leonardo, I dyed his fur pink for an entire month, lastly there was Cathy Snowpaws, my high school sweetheart for a year before I broke up with her and I knew for a fact, she didn't take that well.'' Nick responded while looking upwards, thinking of any more others as I was recording it on my carrot pen. I re-playing what it recorded (I did this so I can verify that I caught every word of his testimony).
''Anyone else?'' I asked him again, holding the carrot pen.
''Well, there was Patricia Star, Prof. Wolfington, Jerry Gouda, Tom McClaw…pretty much everyone in the campus. I was quite the troublemaker back then.'' Nick added, which wasn't very specific suspects, considering an entire campus worth of suspects.
''Wow, you must've had quite the reputation.'' I suavely commented as I rolled my eyes, recording everything on the carrot pen.
''Give me a break, I never paid attention in those Calculator class, what's the use of math if you're never going to use it anyways.'' Nick argued as he was crossing his arms and reclining on the fence casually.
''Its Calculus and math is used to improve your logic.'' I argued back, correcting him. He may know about street info and tricks but I'm pretty sure he can't even pass a 6th grade math class. I realized that this was going nowhere so I got on with the next point.
''Ok, who do you think is sadistic enough to play around with their victim?'' I asked, reminding myself the note from before. Nick jumped out a small bit, being surprised at the unexpected question.
''What? No one, they thought I was annoying but they wouldn't go as far as trying to torture me.'' He defensively reacted at the question. Hmm…I tried to switch around the question, maybe trying to see it in a different way or perspective can help get more clues like in those Sherlock Howles Movies.
''Ok Nick, let's take a different approach. Do you know anyone that was close to you in high school?'' I asked at Nick, raising a eyebrow and pointing the carrot pen to him.
''The only people I was close in high school was my ex, Cathy Snowpaws, at least until our breakup or the only other fox in the campus, Damian Redd or Kit as he preferred.'' Nick suggested a list of more names as I tried to memorize most of them, Jerry Gouda, Patricia Star, Leo Leonardo…gah! So many names!
''Well, judging by your statements, the one that has a grudge on you is probably either Cathy Snowpaws, Leo Leonardo or Richard Lionheart, since both of them probably experience some sort of trauma.'' I re-stated all my points as Nick was silently listening at my statement before he backed a bit waving his hands at me at the last word, looking a bit offended.
''Woah, woah, woah there Carrots, I was just having fun with them, nothing 'traumatic' happened.'' Nick defended, holding up his fingers at the word 'traumatic'.
''Well, a lion's mane doesn't grow back for another 5 years, Leopard spots can be erased from extensive dyeing and your ex might not be over you.'' I said confidently, recalling all the facts from biology class long ago. Nick lazily rolled his eyes, crossed his feet as he relaxed on the fence.
''Whatever. What do we do now Carrots?'' Nick asked curiously, we'd spent around an hour collecting info from Nick's past. I was thinking what should we do first, there was many options. We can go to the HQ first to get new equipment and more background about these suspects, plus we can probably locate my car, but we will be suspiciously questioned by Bogo since we're already late for patrol report. On the other hand, we can go to question the suspects first but it will probably take all day since we have no idea of their whereabouts. Lastly, we can go to Finnick first and probably get some clues to who are we searching for but it would take hours too just to find him since the last time Nick saw him was 3 days ago. Decisions, Decisions. I decided that I'll discuss that with Nick later; in the meantime we'll focus on how to get out of here. I looked down at the flip-phone in my pocket. Damn, no signal. Nick knew I was trying to call somebody and suggested we get closer to the city, which was seen clearly with jutting skyscrapers across Beaver's Creek.
''We'll cross the creek and follow the buildings, we can probably get at least one bar if we go there.'' Nick suggested pointing to the city of Zootopia, lying on the horizon. He went off, looking back once only to ask me to follow him down to the creek. I sighed, and nodded. What a great way to start the day.