The rain beat down on the police cruiser, inside sat Judy, pale with horror and her eyes set in an all too large and blank expression. She was worried, and needed to reach her destination soon. She looked at the time displayed on her dashboard and it read 12:39. She then once more turned her focus to the dark and rain beaten road of the forest district of Zootopia she was currently driving through. And for the hundredth time since she got in her car and started driving; she recited the phone call she had had a little over an hour ago.
"Hello?" Stated Judy, sounding as chipper as ever. "What's up?"
"Judy Hopps is it? Yes… Nick here has told us all about you. Well, as much as he is willing to say." The voice Judy heard was menacing and course; there was a foreign tinge to it as well. This animal was male and a large mammal too from the sounds of things. There was an awkward silence for a moment before Judy had her head wrapped around what she was hearing. "Where is Ni-?" Her question went unanswered and she raised a shaky hand to her mouth in disbelief and utter horror to what she heard next. She could barely make out Nick in the distance shouting. "You leave her out of this! She's done nothing to you animals!" He had started saying something else but was cut out by the sounds of flesh being met with fists; a sound she knew all too well from her police training, and Nick screaming and lurching between empty breaths. "Yes thank you Nick, as always we appreciate another steaming pile that comes out of your trap!" The menacing male's sentence was finished with more of a growl than actual words, his irritation was evident.
At first Judy thought Nick was playing a trick on her, but she'd never known Nick to fool around like this, and he never involved others in his teasing little pranks that he would pull on her. He preferred to do that sort of thing solo. She wanted to scream, curse and tear this cocky figure limb from limb through the phone, but fortunately her instincts and training kicked in and she realized that the wrong response from her could mean serious harm to Nick. "Wh… What do you want from us?"
"From the two of you?" The menace asked rhetorically, sounding as though the question was ridiculous. "Oh I already have what I needed from Nick. Which wasn't all that much, no surprise there really… No. I need something from you my dear, that is, if you ever intend to see Nick in anything other than a body bag again." Her tail and ears flinched at that last part and she slowly walked over to her pager; which sat on her bedside table, while still talking on the phone, keeping the voice occupied, her eyes now narrow with certainty at what she had to do, all fear had left her body and she was determined that she was about to save Nick's life. "And what would that be?" She asked as she slowly picked up her pager, about to click through an emergency broadcast when she saw a red dot aimed at her chest from through her window and she froze where she stood. "Well firstly…" The voice went on. "I want you to put that pager down, put some pants on, and get in your car. Drive through highway number four; Forest District, and upon entering the third tunnel you are to locate and drive through the maintenance gate number two-six-seven. When you reach the end of the road you'll see a white warehouse. You'll find Nick in lot number fourteen. You have two hours. We will be watching you the whole way through. If you try to contact anyone or arrive late? Well… That will determine how much of Nick you'll get to see, or how little." She then heard Nick shouting again in the background before they started another round of beating him and then the call abruptly ended.
The methodical squeaking of the windscreen-wipers made time feel as though it were moving at a glacial pace. Judy now tapped her index finger impatiently on the steering wheel as she alternated constantly between looking at the road ahead, and the dashboard clock. "Not long now." She whispered to herself reassuringly as she entered the third tunnel down highway four. The red glow of the clock's digits was even more daunting in this pitch black tunnel. As the now illuminated numbers rolled with the minutes; she started to feel her nerves building again.
The black painted number fourteen was suddenly lit up by the cruiser's two headlights as Judy came to a stop; parking just outside the specified lot. She looked down at herself and sighed, she would rather be in uniform right now with her tranquilizer gun at hand. But she would have to make do in her jeans and t-shirt. Unless… Judy then glanced over to the glove compartment as subtle as she could. If Nick's captor spoke the truth and he could truly see her the whole way, then she was probably being watched now. In the glove compartment wasn't another gun, but rather an emergency clip of 5 tranquilizers she liked to keep on hand in the vehicle, in case a situation turned violent and she needed to subdue more animals than she could in a single round of shots. Drumming her fingers on the steering wheel while she thought; 'I need a way into that compartment without looking suspicious.' and that's when then idea came to her. She picked up her phone and dialed Nick's number, and as predicted; no one answered. This served two purposes: One; she now knew that these animals she was dealing with were the 'no nonsense' sort, you follow instructions or you fail. Two; She now had an excuse to open the glove compartment. Opening the glove compartment; she used one fluid motion to place the phone inside and carefully remove the tranquilizer clip. Resting her hands upon her hips and slipping the clip into one of her pockets sneakily, she faked looking as though she were gathering her thoughts. "Here we go…" She stated to herself. "Time to go save Nick."
The handle to the entrance door turned with ease and it swung open, as expected it held zero protests to requiring a key, Judy was expected to let herself in. Quietly closing the door behind her; she walked further into the warehouse and carefully loosened a tranquilizer from the clip in her pocket; she could almost predict this whole event going down the violent path in any case and she was ready to fight for her own life as well as her partners. She patted her pocket to reassure herself of her little 'in case of emergency plan' and upon looking up; was frozen where she stood for only a moment, before running forward to Nick. A single spotlight shone down upon him brightly, whereas the rest of the warehouse was mostly too dark for her to see into. As she reached Nick she could see he was seated on a wooden chair; his ankles bound to the front two legs of the chair and his wrists tied together around the back of the chair. "Oh my God, Nick…" She whispered as she came to stand in front of him, reaching out to touch him but pulling her hand back immediately after noticing the countless welts, scratches and early discoloration around his body that would later darken into severe bruises. His head hung limp; his chin touching his chest and his breathing was little more than sharp wheezing. "Oh Nick…" She began again, this time moving behind him and starting to work at unbinding his wrist restraints. "We need to get you to a hospital." Not a moment later did she feel his body tense back into life and he took a deep, broken breath followed by a cough, she stopped working at untying his wrists momentarily as he held one of her hands as best as he could in his current state, and in little more than a course whisper that sounded like sanding paper going over a rock; he managed to murmur to her "Please… Leave."
"What?-" She began to query before being cut off by the same menacing voice from over the phone.
"Well, well, well… Judy Hopps! What an absolute honor." Judy's head snapped around to the front of Nick where from the shadows emerged a figure. A massive leopard with perfect posture walked forward, his fists clenching and relaxing and his whole demeanor emitted strength and power. Not wanting to feel any more under-powered in her current situation; Judy stood up and lightly placed a hand on Nicks shoulder, she could feel he was cold and trembling; probably from perspiration and adrenaline, but the last thing Nick needed right now was to get feverish on top of his current discomfort. Although she maintained eye contact with this villainous being in front of her; she was worried for Nick but couldn't afford to show weakness or concern at this moment. "Judy Hopps, ZPD" she stated, almost shouting. She had to fight the urge to reach for a badge she knew wasn't pinned to her chest at the moment. "And I demand to know who you are, why you have brought us here, and why you have hurt my partner." She lightly squeezed Nick's shoulder as she stated that they were partners, hoping to give some hope and life back to his withered body; knowing that she was now here to protect him.
"Oh but of course." The leopard replied in a theatrical manner, and folded himself slowly into a bow. "The name is Laurence, Laurence Climberton. A name you should know from Nick, but knowing Nick's nature then I am not surprised that you don't." He then came back up to his full height and took a few more steps forward; his black formal shoes that were shined to reflection could now be heard clicking with each step as he got closer. Upon hearing Laurence's statement Judy's eyes shifted to Nick for only a second, she would be sure to ask Nick what this animal meant when they were out of harm's way. The threatening leopard began to pace side to side as he elaborated further on Judy's questions. "I brought Nick here because he owed me a debt. I have now brought you here because I need you to help Nick pay that debt." Judy's slight grip on Nick's shoulder loosened so her hand now just rested on his shoulder, she turned her head only for a moment to look at Nick as she thought to herself 'Debt?. Turning her attention back to the pacing figure she made more mental notes on her taunting opponent. His posture became clear to her; he was military, although probably ex-military as he did not strike her as the 'order-taking' type. He then stopped his pacing and placed his hands into his formal black trousers' pockets which seemed to only enhance his muscular torso through the tight black t-shirt her wore as well. "And to answer your question as to why we have harmed your poor little Nick Wilde?" He then lowered his head and looked directly at Judy, the spotlight from above now adding menacing shadows to his features and for the first time she felt a flicker of fear while looking at this villain.
He continued, "In my line of work. You either pay your debts in currency, or in flesh. And as much as it pains me to admit it to you my dear; the time for currency with Nick has long passed." Closing the gap between them, this Laurence now walked briskly up to the both of them and shouted with fangs visible in his raw rage. "Now I want the flesh he owes!"
Judy had heard enough. With this menace mere inches away from them both she lunged forward; fast and low. Before he could even remove his hands from his pockets she had already punched him as hard as she could in his right knee and landing from her attack behind him. Her hand numb from the blow as she knew she hadn't truly harmed this tough animal but had at least started a formidable attack; causing him to grunt and collapse into a kneeling position to check his battered knee. Judy then reached into her pocket and pulled free the top tranquilizer she had loosened from the clip, holding it like a dagger she then dashed at her downed opponent. He may have held strength and size over her, but it was all about to become nothing. Aiming straight for his left shoulder she brought the tranquilizer in hard, aimed at its mark, but for the first time in a long time; Judy wasn't fast enough. In less than the blink of an eye Laurence had turned around grabbed her by the wrist, stopping her dead in the air. He then used his free hand to grab her by the ears and dangle her entire weight from them. The pain running down her body set her fur on edge and she instinctively released the tranquilizer and began to claw at the hand holding her ears as best as she could. She had to bite her lip to keep herself from screaming and started kicking out wildly with her legs, hoping to hit something of his. Nick seeing what was going on sudden found new energy to thrash about and scream curses at the leopard, which only caused Laurence to laugh hysterically. Judy was then thrown by her ears into the dark beyond the spotlight and felt her arms pulled out and held firmly as large hands immobilized her and upon being dragged back into the light, she could now see she was being held by two more leopards, these were a more natural size and just emphasized the excess that Laurence was as in his own size.
Picking up the tranquilizer and using it as a pointer; Laurence limped towards Judy who was now being held firmly in a kneeling position on the ground. "You know what Judy? I respect you. At first I wondered why Nick chose you as his 'key' to our little ploy. However now I see why. You're smart, loyal, a good and fast fighter." He then crouched in front of her and tried to run a finger down her cheek, but Judy pulled away immediately and looked him dead in the eyes with disgust. "Beautiful too." Laurence added before standing up and beginning to pace in front of her once more, except now with a slight limp. "Now I know you're a good cop, much like I am good at reading people. And stop me if I am wrong but your next question would be something along the lines of…" He pondered for a second before pointing the tranquilizer at her again and continuing "What was my business with Nick and how can you help free him of his debt?" She glared up at him but kept quiet, she really did want to know, and in any case he was going to tell her at this point in any case. "It's simple really; Nick was going to rob a bank for me." He pointed the tranquilizer over to the battered fox that was looking at Judy pleadingly while his whole body moved with each breath he took, each one looking clearly being hard to circulate around the settling bruises and injuries over his body. "You were his key in and out, or at least that was the plan." Laurence went on; now pointing the tranquilizer at Judy before grinning at her and throwing the tranquilizer into the dark; the spotlight once more making him look extra menacing.
"Now it's a little different Judy. You see, you're going to rob that bank for me."
A SPECIAL THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO FAVORITED OR FOLLOWED CHAPTER ONE.
AND BIG UPS TO:
JAREL KORTAN
CRAZYFANGIRL246
DBZGTFAN2004
FRIO4686
KTRK5
RANDOMPERSON
AND LEO.
YOUR FEEDBACK WAS AWESOME TO READ. ITS BEEN SO FUN WRITING THIS AND ITS REALLY AWESOME TO HAVE SUCH COOL FEEDBACK ON MY FIRST FANFIC EVER! IF YOU FEEL LIKE THERE IS SOMETHING I CAN DO TO IMPROVE THE STORY IN MY WRITING STYLE OR IF YOU FEEL I AM DOING ANYTHING WRONG THEN PLEASE DO LET ME KNOW. SO I CAN IMPROVE UPON IT :)
THANKS FOR READING! AND I HOPE YOU LIKE THE COVER ART (IF ITS ACTUALLY UP THERE... I CAN'T REALLY TELL)
Un4gottenSOUL