Chapter 7: Wrongfully Accused
Rushing into the precinct, Judy didn't pay any attention to Clawhauser calling out to her as she ran up the stairs like a grey little lightning bolt and busted open the door to Bogo's office.
The chief looked up in surprise from behind his desk, while in front of it on a chair sat a fat-looking raccoon with a dark green suit. The two stared at Judy in silence while the bunny was breathing heavily and fixing them with furious, searing eyes.
"Hopps…" Bogo began but was immediately interrupted by Judy.
"Why was Nick arrested?!" She yelled the question while approaching the desk. "Is this your idea of a joke or something?!"
"HOPPS!" Bogo said with a strict tone and slammed his fist in the desk. "Calm down and I will tell you what's going on."
Judy exhaled and did as she was told… Or as best as she could anyway. Standing with her arms crossed and tapping her foot, she impatiently waited for Bogo's explanation. The buffalo sighed, as he pulled up his iPad and showed a recorded camera footage of what seemed to be the evidence locker-room.
A fox that looked an awful lot like Nick was looting the evidence lockers, taking out various files and bags of confiscated drugs and putting them into a duffel-bag.
The longer Judy looked at the video, the less sense she could make of it.
"T-There's no way that could be Nick!" She protested and slammed her paws on the table. "Sir, you know that can't be him!"
"We checked out his apartment Hopps. The stuff was there and the fingerprints match." Bogo said as he rubbed his hands together. "Judy, don't hold this against me. But all the evidence points to Nick being guilty."
"Sir, I can testify that this wasn't Nick. We're together nearly every day, he must have an alibi!" Judy said, and then heard a cough from the raccoon. She looked at him, having almost forgotten that he was there. "And you are?"
"Detective Richter. I'm the responsible for handling this investigation." He said, while picking his teeth with one of his claws. "And from what I know you have… Mm… "Friendly" relations with a certain crime boss, correct?"
"I happen to be godmother of his granddaughter, but what does that have to do with anything?" Judy asked while raising her eyebrow. There was something about the suggestive tone in this fat raccoons voice that made her dislike him almost immediately.
"Well, considering your affiliation, and officer Wilde's criminal record, " he said and approached Judy while flashing a superior grin. "… It's quite hard to accept your words as legit, officer Hopps."
Now Judy was getting really angry; angry to the point of feeling like smacking the smug look off the raccoon's stupid face with a well-placed kick.
But, she managed to control herself and looked at Bogo.
"I'm sorry Hopps, but as of this moment, Nick will be under investigation." He said, sounding genuinely disdainful about this fact.
Judy left the office, slamming the door behind her and letting out an angry growl. After getting some distance, she stopped and punched a nearby wall several times until her knuckles hurt.
How could this happen? Why did this happen? Why to Nick of all people? As she angrily kept asking these questions in her head, she suddenly felt a paw rest on her shoulder. Judy looked back and saw that it was Honey, looking at her worriedly.
Not saying a word, she then hugged Judy, not in her usual, life-squeezing way of greeting people, but in a comforting, gentle embrace. At first Judy was stunned, but then she hugged back, seeking the comfort like a sad child can do with an older sibling. She eventually exhaled and pulled away.
"Sorry Honey… I… I…" She began, but was then was shushed by the badger.
"I understand Jude, so don't apologize." She murmured. "Listen, I can tell you think this is a bunch of hooey, and I completely agree with you."
"Well… You got any idea on what we should do?" Judy asked, as Honey flashed her a grin. Judy's eyes widened. "You have something don't you?"
"Weeeeelll… I might get my paws on the footage~" She said, winking to Judy, which made the bunny brighten up quickly. "And then we can see who is messing with us."
Judy nodded, and she and Honey walked off to get right to it.
What they didn't know was how a certain figure had overheard their conversation, and now was cursing under his breath because of it.
Stepping out of the station, he pulled out a phone and quickly dialed a number.
"Yeah it's Wooly. We may have a problem; the bunny isn't buying the footage, and I get the feeling that she and their forensic scientist is gonna find something in it that's gonna derail this whole thing. I need you to sneak inside the station…" He said, and then growled as he got a not so satisfying response. "I can't do it, I still have a part to play here, so I can't risk getting discovered… I don't care what you say! You just get over here you stupid ruskie!"
The holding cells of the ZPD were in long rows on both sides of a wide corridor, each of them separated by thick concrete walls and made secure by hefty steel bars and doors that needed specific ID-cards to be opened.
Nick was pacing back and forth in one of these, impatiently waiting. He had been arrested, he had been read his rights, he had been booked by a shocked Clawhauser and then thrown in here. He had of course protested. Once they had told him what he was accused of, he had told Manning and Bouvier that it was some kind of mistake, but had then simply been told that they had their orders and thus had no other choice but to put him in there.
This was unbelievable, not to mention painfully ironic. Back when he had been a hustler he had been proud over the fact that he had always managed avoid arrest, and now that he was a cop of all things, he hadn't!
"Nick?" A voice came from up the corridor. Nick stopped pacing and looked around. To his great joy he saw his partner Judy running up to his cell and stopped on the other side of bars, throwing him a concerned look.
"Judy!" He said and rushed over, holding the bars with his paws.
"Nick, are you ok?"
"Oh, just swell, the food is great here. Water and bread and everything!" Nick replied with a bit of a sarcastic tone before giving her a serious look. "Now what the hell is going on here?! They say I've been stealing stuff from the evidence-locker and selling it!"
Judy told him everything, explaining that a duffel bag full of drugs and important documents had been found in his apartment, and that there was video-footage of him taking it in the evidence-locker. "B-but that's impossible!" He stuttered. "I haven't even been in there for like a month… Somebody's set me up!"
"I believe you Nick. Nothing of this makes sense at all. I mean, it's too obvious! If you really had done something like this, you wouldn't be dumb enough to be caught by the camera like that."
"Exactly! So why do they insist on keeping me here?"
"Whoever did this must've gotten ahold of your fingerprints somehow. They were all over the evidence that they found in your apartment."
Nick groaned and ran his fingers over his ears.
"Dead gang bangers, targeted by an unknown assailant and now getting framed for a crime I didn't commit… This is starting to sound like a bad Hitchcock-film."
"Do you think it's connected to the case?"
"I wouldn't be surprised." Nick replied, waving a finger. "I've been thinking about what Finnick said, about the strong statement-thing… What if it wasn't a warning or an offer? What if it was… A teaser?"
Judy gave the fox and odd look.
"… A teaser?"
"You know, one of those really short clips of upcoming films you sometimes see at the cinema? That, except with this!" Nick's eyes met Judy's. Noticing the way she stared at him, he suddenly felt very self-conscious and rubbed the back of his head. "Jeez, I'm starting to sound like Honey… Why don't you just bring me a tin-foil hat and be done with it?"
"I'll ask she has a spare." Judy laughed and gave him a reassuring smile. "We're actually gonna look over the footage together. If there's something in it that's out of place, we'll find it."
Nick nodded.
"Besides me being there, right?"
Judy smiled softly.
"Exactly."
Nick smiled, then gave off a little frown.
"I hope I didn't scare your parents too much."
"They'll be fine, and so will you." Judy assured him, and held his paw between the bars.
"… I'm sorry for getting angry at you at the restaurant." Nick suddenly said, which earned him a surprised look from Judy.
"Don't worry about it." She mumbled and playfully put her fist under his chin. "Just keep that chin up, tough guy."
The two smiled and stared at each other for a few seconds, not saying a word. Eventually, Nick cleared his throat a little, making Judy snap back to reality and letting go of his hand.
"Ehum, w-well, I guess I should get to that phone-call." Nick said and looked away. "If I'm gonna be put on trial for this, I better get myself a lawyer."
"R-Right… Do you know one?" Judy said, also looking away.
"I know someone with a law degree who has been dying to put it to use. He'll be perfect for this."
"Good." Judy added, wishing to end the awkwardness of this moment immediately. She gave hime serious look. "I know you're not supposed to make promises in this line of work, but I promise you Nick, I'll get you out of this, whatever it takes."
Their eyes met again. Seeing the unshakeable resolve in his partner at that moment, Nick felt something strange fluttering within in him. He was touched. Touched over the fact that his partner, no, his friend, believed in him to such a degreed.
"Thank you…" He said with a grateful voice. Judy nodded with a smile, gave of a bittersweet little wave and then started to walk away. Nick followed her with his eyes for as long as he could through his cell, adding with whisper: "… Judy."
Getting into a police station wasn't something Alexis had planned on. Usually she preferred escaping from the law rather than sneaking into their ranks. Still, if her "helper" wasn't bullshitting her, then the entire plan could go south fast and that wasn't gonna cut it.
It was good thing that her inner contact had managed to get her a janitor-outfit that fit her size, which would ensure that she wouldn't be drawing too much attention among these flatfoots. Another thing that looked promising was how a majority of them was leaving for their homes and slowly and surely getting replaced by the ones working the nightshift. The few who remained was the fat cheetah behind the counter and the bunny who was now in her office, meaning that Alexis had a perfect opportunity to get into forensics and destroy the footage. Course, she couldn't bring her phone or gun, since she didn't wanna raise suspicion around herself.
As she entered the precinct, holding a mop and a bucket, she carefully passed by the main desk with her cap pulled down to obscure her face as Clawhauser was busy watching a video on his phone.
Maneuvering as fast as she could and concealing her face when passing the security cams, she soon found the forensics office and, of course, the place locked was locked tight. Grumbling, she then began picking the lock with her claw until she heard a soft click could be heard.
Peeking inside she saw that the place was deserted. She then saw the glow of a working computer; seems lady luck was smiling on her today. So, not wasting any time, the ocelot made her way over to the computer. Putting the mop and bucket down on her side, she pulled up an usb-stick from her pocket and pushed it in. Using a decryption program, she easily got past the password and gained access to the computer.
She was in for a surprise, cause while the room was very organized, the contents of the computer was a cluttered mess of videos, photos, music, games and other junk. How anyone could find anything in this chaos was beyond her, fortunately enough, that wasn't what she was here for. She began to upload a file from the USB-stick containing a virus. As this computer had access to the online ZPD-files, the virus would create just enough disruption to cripple the investigation and give her colleagues plenty of opportunity to manipulate it to their liking.
About 48 percent of the file had been uploaded she heard an all too familiar voice coming from behind her.
"Hey Honey, I've talked to Nick. Now lets see that fo-" Judy said, but then stopped in mid-sentence once she noticed the stranger at the computer. "Hey, who are you? How did you get in here?"
Alexis didn't respond, as she looked at Judy from the corner of her eye, the bunny slowly approaching her while reaching for her paw-printer.
"I'm asking you again, who are you?" Judy said, her muscles tensing up on the pistol-handle. "Turn around and raise your hands right now."
Deciding to play along, Alexis slowly raised her paws and waited for Judy to come closer. Once the bun was within reach, the ocelot made her move. Quickly raising her foot and stepping on the mop, it flew up and struck Judy. It wasn't a hard blow, but was enough to distract the bunny and it gave the ocelot an opportunity to grab the her arm and make her drop the pistol. Alexis then kneed her in the stomach and pushed her backward before kicking away the weapon.
But Judy wasn't gonna go down so easily, as she got up and rushed at the ocelot and returned the favor with an elbow in her opponent's ribs, which forced Alexis to stumble back and cough a little. The pain the ocelot felt was magnified on account of some not-quite-healed wounds from her recent run in with the frat-brats. Who would've guessed that it would come back to bite her so soon?
Judy didn't waste any time, and she came at the ocelot, jumping and unleashing a roundhouse kick that smacked the feline in the face. Judy then went for another one, but this time Alexis managed to catch the bunny's foot and threw her into a nearby glass closet that shattered.
Judy hissed and felt her body ache, and when she looked up she could see the ocelot remove her cap (which revealed youthful face with a fierce expression) and stand in a battle-ready stance.
Standing up, Judy took her own fighting stance. The two eyed each other in silence for a few seconds, then in the blink of an eye the two ran up to each other and started to trade one blow after the other.
Judy skillfully countered attacks with her arms and displayed kicks that were much faster, owing an effective fighting-style of her own on account of her strict police training and a brown belt in kickboxing.
Alexis on the other hand favored powerful strikes that aimed at the bunny's weak spots, which showcased her military training and aptitude in jujutsu, karate and a bit of krav maga.
The two eventually pulled back from each other, with Judy wiping blood from a busted lower lip, while Alexis left eye had started to swell up.
"This isn't a coincidence…!" Judy said. "Are you the one who set Nick up?"
"Sorry, I don't like to chat when I fight." The ocelot replied. Judy's ears twitched as she noticed her accent.
"Oh yeah? Then I'll kick your ass first, then we can have some serious girl-talk!"
Huffing, Judy went in for another strike. But it was then that Alexis turned her body and dodged, wrapping her tail around the bunny's waist and spinning her around so that she lost her footing and landed with her back against the floor.
Pinning her with a vice-like grip over Judy's throat, she used her free hand and began to repeatedly pummel Judy in the gut, making her grunt in pain and struggle for breath. She then flipped the rabbit over and struck her in the back of her shoulder, dislocating her arm.
Screaming in pain, Judy then gasped as she the ocelot grabbed her ears and pulled her head back.
"I am sorry, it would seem like I kicked your ass first. Can we still have that girl-talk?" Alexis whispered to her in a cold, ruthless voice. "You're lucky you know… Кроличья охота (the rabbit hunt) has only just begun."
But just then, Alexis felt a sudden sharp pain hit the side of her head, making her lose her grip over Judy and flying into the computer-desk. Hissing, the ocelot looked up at who attacked her.
It was a badger dressed in a lab coat, who looked at her in uncensored, full-blown rage. Her eyes were thin and dangerous slits and her sharp white teeth were bared.
"You dare to break into my office and hurt my friend?!" She snarled, exhaling heavily as she tore off her lab-coat, revealing a pair of big biceps."I'm gonna break you in half and use you as a doorstop!"
Honey raised her arms and tried to pounce on Alexis. The ocelot managed to dodge her in the last second, the badger's clenched fists hitting the floor instead. The sheer force cracking the tiles in it.
Alexis got up and aimed a roundhouse kick at the badgers head. Her foot hit the forensic scientist in the neck, and to her surprise, she took it with nothing but a small shudder.
"Вы блять шутите что-ли?! (Are you fucking kidding?!)" Alexis exclaimed and jumped back, nearly tripping over the empty bucket she had brought with her, and staring at Honey in disbelief. It had been like kicking a rubber-tire!
Then, a bing could be heard from the computer. Alexis glanced at it and saw that the file with the virus had been completely uploaded.
Her task was now accomplished, and not a minute too soon, for it was clear that she could not defeat this crazy badger in her current condition.
Her instincts told her to run, and run fast, as Honey had now taken hold of her own desk and was lifting it up in front of her (with the computer still on it and everything) with the intention of flattening the ocelot into a feline pancake.
So before the desk went down, Alexis made a grab at the bucket and threw it onto Honey's head, making the badger snarl as she threw the desk blindly and made it smash against the wall of the office.
Alexis ran to the exit, just as Judy came to her senses and saw the suspect running out the door. Ignoring the pain in her body and dislocated arm, she got up and took off after the ocelot with Honey joining her, who by then had managed to tear off the bucket. Looking back, Alexis cursed in Russian as she ran through the station, startling Clawhauser as she got past his counter and busting out of the main entrance.
Once outside, the ocelot took a left turn and hoped to lose them around the corner, but before she could do that, a black van suddenly pulled over on the street in front of her. The backdoors flung open and a a pair of large paws came out and grabbed her, dragging her inside.
Judy and Honey rounded the corner just as this was happening, and the bunny saw the doors close and the van starting to speed of with a stunned expression.
She had seen that van before.
"The hell was that all about?!" Honey asked while catching her breath.
"I am not sure." Judy replied and gritted her teeth. "But I think a certain shrew owes me an explanation…!"
A cold splash of water made Alexis gasp. Her entire body ached and she opened her eyes. She found herself in a medium-sized, darkly lit room, and she was handcuffed to a chair in the middle of it.
Three polar bears in dark suits and shades stood in front of her, one of them holding an empty bucket. With them was also a Kodiak bear wearing a light, purple suit with a black-shirt under it. He had a scar going across his left eye and another two crisscrossed on his right cheek. Said bear flashed a wide smile which showed some gold teeth.
But, her gaze traveled back to the shades-wearing polar bear in the middle. He was the biggest of them, and she certainly didn't need to guess who this guy was. In fact, it was thanks to him she was in Zootopia from the start.
"Привет дядя Козлов, давненько не виделись (Hello Uncle Kozlov, long time no see)." She said, trying to sound sweet, though that wasn't easy when you were pouring wet and sporting several bruises.
Sighing, Kozlov removed his shades and looked down at the handcuffed ocelot. A mix of anger and disappointment could be seen in his gaze.
"Было бы лучше если-бы эта встреча прошла под другими обстоятельствами (It would have been better, if this meeting was under different circumstances)." He muttered, polishing his glasses "Александра, ты хоть знаешь во что-ты вляпалась? (Aleksandra, do you know what mess you've gotten into?)"
The ocelot gritted her teeth, she hated being called her by her full name, as it usually spelled trouble for her. Trying to give an innocent smile, she meanwhile used her claw to fumble with the handcuffs lock.
"Ну, знаешь просто делаю свою работу Козлов (Well, you know just doing my work Kozlov)." She replied, flashing a coy smile.
"Stop giving me that fake smile." Kozlov growled. "You went after the wrong people. Didn't you know that the rabbit is the godmother of Mr Big's grandchild?"
The ocelot's smile dropped at this.
"I did not."
"Just tell me, who hired you?" Kozlov asked and grabbed the ocelot by her shirt. "Отвечай, Я пытаюсь спасти твою шкуру! (Answer me, I'm trying to save your skin!)"
Alexis just glared at him, which earned her a smack across the face. Hissing, the Ocelot exhaled as she looked at Kozlov who put his shades back on.
"I gave you a chance, Aleksandra. But, you've made your choice." He said, then nodded at the Kodiak bear who took out a large meat clever from behind her back. "Это Борис бритва и он будет работать над тобой (This is Boris the blade and he'll be working on you.)"
The Kodiak flashed his gold teeth again, while just sneered at him. Sighing, the polar bear then turned around and began heading for the door with Boris. Then, he heard Alexis call him out as he looked back raising his eyebrow.
"Дядя Козлов, знай что я тебя не убью потому-что я перед тобой в долгу (Uncle Kozlov, know that I won't kill you because I'm in your debt)." Alexis said, looking at Kozlov. "А вот за других я не в ответе (But, I'm not responsible for the others)."
Kozlov didn't say anything as he knocked on the door. The sound a of a few locks could be heard, as it then opened with Kozlov and Boris leaving the room, the door closing after them.
Exhaling, Alexis looked at the two guards, one of which who was leaning next to the door and looking at his phone. The other one stood next to her, eyeing her with a steely gaze.
"Soooo…That big guy is gonna cut me to pieces, eh? And I guess nobody will be here to hear my screams, right?" She asked, getting a nod from the polar bear. "And then probably dump my remains somewhere, huh?"
"That's the general idea." The polar bear replied. "We may even serve you in some restaurant for the locals to enjoy."
"Yeah, that sounds like a good time. But, there's kind of a problem with this plan. Want to know what it is?" The polar bear gave a faint nod as he leaned closer. "Well, remember those handcuffs of mine? Seems like they got broken~"
"You lied to me!" Judy said with an edge as she entered Mr Big's study and pointed at him accusingly.
The shrew simply watched her with pair of unreadable, black eyes and his hands folded.
"I did not lie child." He responded with a calm tone. "I didn't know. I had my suspicions, but I did not actually know anything. Rather than raising hell based on assumptions, I simply dealt with it my way."
"And look what it's led to." Judy countered with some venom. "Nick is standing falsely accused of something that could ruin his entire career, all the while you're holding a main suspect in detainment somewhere, doing god knows what to her!"
"We will put her in your custody as soon as we can. But first, there's a lesson to be learned."
"A lesson of what?!" The bunny asked while throwing her arms out.
"The lesson that teaches the ignorant, that one does not harass with those whom the Big-family owes a favor." He got up from his chair and walked over the desk, his hands behind his back. "You saved my daughter's life officer, if it wasn't for you, I may not have been a grandfather by now. That is a lot to owe up for… But in the nature of what I do, I also owe it to myself and my men to not show weakness, which sometimes means making use of some discipline. This woman that you're after… She needs to understand what a mistake she has committed."
Judy leaned on the desk and stared straight into the shrews eyes, her own being completely fearless.
"I don't care about any of that. All that matters here now is how and why she would do something like this. Like, what does she have against me and Nick?"
"I doubt that this is any personal affair to her." Mr Big replied while scratching his chin. "She is a mercenary, mercenaries are only motivated by money. If there's someone who has anything against you, I'd say it's the one who payed her."
Judy pursed her lips and gave off an annoyed look. Considering her and Nick's long list of cracked cases, that was pretty long list.
"Well that's a firecracker that I'll deal with once it comes to that." She said and looked down at the shrew again. "The important thing now is that she might be the key to Nick's release. I need her questioned at the station, not pistol-whipped in some dark room somewhere." She knelt down so that she was on the same eye-level as the crime boss, speaking with a pleading voice. "I beg of you, for Nick's sake."
The shrew lifted his eyebrows and beheld the officer which he had grown to respect to such degreed. Sighing, the shrew then nodded.
"Very well child." He snapped his fingers, and one of the polar bears pulled up a phone and started to dial a number. "Though I can't promise that the boys haven't roughened her up a little by now."
"Where's the exit?" Alexis asked polar bear while holding his tie. His face was covered was now covered in his own blood, and he stared up at her with unfocused, groggy eyes. Getting knocked on the forehead with a chair usually has that effect on people. The ocelot groaned and let go of the bear, who fell back against the wall with a thud. "Never mind, I'll find it myself."
Approaching the other polar bear (who had lost consciousness after a lengthy strangulation by Alexis tail), she then dug trough his pockets and soon found a pair of car keys, which she triumphantly jingled with.
Unlocking the door and limping down a corridor, she then made her way up a couple of stairs and soon found out that she actually in an old fish packing factory. The place looked like it had gone out of business years ago, which would make it a perfect location for getting rid of people like her.
Eventually finding a door with the word "exit" over it, Alexis carefully approached it and peeked outside.
There was a parking outside, with only three cars parked. Looking around, she then stepped out and pulled out the car keys and pressed the alarm button. Her ears twitched as a beeping sound came from a dark blue Mercedes that stood next to a stack of old containers.
Smirking, the ocelot went over to the vehicle and entered it. It wasn't exactly her size, obviously been built for a bigger animal. However, this was more or less fixed as she adjust the driver's seat.
Then to her surprise she heard a phone ringing. Looking at her side, she saw an oversized cell that vibrated on the passenger seat. Taking it up, her eyes widened as she saw that the caller ID was "Boss". She pressed reply and placed the phone near her ear.
"Boris, talk to me. Is it done?" The voice of the old shrew came from the other end.
"If you want for your boys to hear you, тогда говори погромче (then talk louder)." "And if you go after me again, you better bring a good supply of body bags." After this she hung up, lowered the car door windows and tossed out the phone.
Then she drove off into the night.
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