Sapperjoe85 : You win ! :)
GhostWolf88 : You lose ! :(
Guest : I personnaly like the GreyHopps pairing, that's why I included it in the story.
I tried to convey how wrong it had been for (and of) Judy to settle for Ethan, especially since she should have known settling wasn't a good idea. It was selfish of her to use him like she did (which she did do, even though subconsciously), and I tried to convey it without condemning it.
Good reading !
Chapter 3 - Meeting Her Heroes
"Wow, I see you've cleaned da place up real good." A fennec said in a voice too deep for his size.
A red fox, with grey streaks of white fur and a dented ear pulled his head from the drawer he was trudging in and gave a glance to the office he was in. Papers were scattered everywhere, files and the papers inside had been sent flying, most of the metal cabinets were opened, their content almost falling off of their shelves.
"I think, it's actually an improvement from old Ramowitz's classification system. Meaning, a step above 'nothing'. He screwed us over real good." Said the red fox with a sarcastic smirk as his gaze fell on the smaller vulpine. He too was greying, and though he technically was the same age than his taller counterpart, it seemed like age wasn't affecting him as much. "So what was it about the new recruit ?"
"She's gon' be late."
Nick pinched his lips. "I guess this is good news in a sense. Did you ask her name ?"
"Ya don't even know 'dat ?"
The red fox leaned his head backward and rested it against the back of his seat. He then emitted an annoyed sigh. "I didn't even know her species or gender. Need I remind you that I learnt we were getting a new recruit the day he left ?"
He settled himself at the computer and tried a new password, just for the hell of it. Once again, it didn't work. "Alright, they want to screw with me, I'm going to screw with them." He declared, flipping the keyboard angrily. "I'm calling Honey."
"Ya shure about that ?"
Nick grinned. "Absolutely not, but we need a tech nut. I need to access the superintendant account."
"That old fart set us up to fail." Seethed Finnick between his teeth before popping a toothpick from a box in his pocket. He started gnawing at it, a habit he had taken since he had stopped smoking, a tip that Weaselton had given him a few years back.
Nick took a bunch of paper and started to classify them, putting aside the ones that he would have to correct, meaning at least half of them. "What makes you say that ? The fact that I was named his successor by city hall despite his opposition to it, the fact that he purposely left every single problem hanging in the last year just so that they would fall onto my lap, the fact that he changed his computer credentials just before leaving so that I would remain locked out until City Hall deigned send a computer mammal over to unlock it, or the fact that he hired a total stranger in an important position without letting me even glance over the details ?"
Finnick grinned. "Da first one, definitely da first one."
"Well, that'll teach me to throw my weight around to get you a job." Nick muttered, knowing full well the fennec fox was only joking. "Do you even know what this gal's species is ?"
"Nope. She 'ad a nice voice, though. I picture her motherly, with a smilin' face, and just the right amount of plump." Finnick answered with an overplayed dreamy gaze while he helped his "boss" file the paper scattered around the room.
"I'd settle for moderately competent. But knowing Crapowitz, she'll either be a clueless moron, or a friend of his he'll have hired to screw us over. Or both." Nick sighed, before a file landed on his face.
"You gotta lighten'up a little, Nick." smirked the fennec. "Maybe you'll find that ya ain't doomed to be an eternal bachelor."
"I really don't see the connection." Muttered the red fox. "Shouldn't you be fixing the pickup ?"
The fennec groaned. "It's busted real bad and I don't have the parts anyway. Stuff should be delivered around noon an' the old beast'd be ready for this evening if I rush mahself. If not, I'll use mah own van."
Nick shrugged, maybe Finnick's van wasn't right for department image, but given how neck deep in crap they were, it was the least of their worries.
He was actually glad the fennec had to stay for the moment. The hell that he had expected this tedious workday to be got demoted to mild purgatory.
When noon came, they heard the noise of newcomers downstairs. "Think it's your car parts ?"
Finnick had moved to the door to hear better. "The delivery service said they'd call me. Most likely 'tis our hardworkers, back for the teambuildin' session."
Nick lifted himself from his chair, and grabbed the cane he hated to need. With a discreet limp, he reached the fennec and they descended side by side to find three mammals slumped on the couches. A grizzly which was scratching his eyes while a weasel had collapsed on his belly, and an elephant, a large water bottle in her trunk.
"Hey guys." Greeted Nick. "How was morning ?"
The tree mammals shot him a disgruntled glance.
"It was shit." Stated the weasel. "Literally."
Nick lifted a brow.
"One of the refuge had clogged toilets." Explained the grizzly. "Someone had to crawl through some piping to unblock it."
"By paw." Added the weasel. "I want a raise, Wilde. I didn't sign up for 'dis."
Nick tried not to laugh. The small and tubular frame of the weasel made him the perfect fit for this kind of job, but it didn't make it more pleasant. At least he had been able to take a shower, or a dozen, given he didn't smell like shit at all. "Sorry to hear that."
"Nah, you're not."
"Alright, Q-tip, I'm not." He grinned. Things between them had always remained rocky. They were friends as far as Nick would say, but years of being being competitors in the hustling department were hard to erase. And the fox knew he was partly to blame for that.
"Anyway, Herbert had to pull me back out by the rope, cause I got stuck." He said, pointing at the grizzly. "Otherwise, I'd have become part of the clogging."
Nick scratched the back of his neck. The park was slowly going to shit, quite literally. He knew that Ramowitz had never been incompetent, but as he had thought, the sheep had set him up to fail. And even worse, most of his original employees had always regarded Nick with contempt, seeing his nomination at his post as nepotism (which it completely was) from City Hall. Aside from Herbert Growlsky who had never adhered to their views on Nick, and Joan Pennington that had a pretty straight moral compass thanks to her parents' education, all of them had found their way out one after the other following Nick's recruitment.
Each time, more nepotism had ensued. Not that any of the mammals Nick had recruited himself had proved to be the wrong ones so far.
"What about you Trunks ?" He asked turning to face the elephant. Finnick was on her shoulder whispering something, while she visibly blushed and tried to playfully swat his snout away.
"Sorry boss, I didn't quite get that." She apologized.
"Over the sound of all that flirting, I'm not surprised." Nick jabbed, kicking her blush up a notch.
"I uh-" She fumbled on her word while every gaze and grin turned toward her. Nick saw a discreet tremble appear in her hooves, and her trunk started twitching.
An awkward silence followed, as Nick realised maybe it wasn't the best idea to make fun of a mammal suffering from social anxiety in public. After all these years he should have remembered that.
"Alright, Duke, Herb, you're on barbecue duty, chop chop."
The two predators got up for their seats and directed themselves toward the exit. "Sure boss." Said the grizzly with a calm smile. Barbecue duty was Nick's idea of team-building, which was nothing more than a grate held over a fire. Given that there was now a majority of predators working in the department, everyone was okay with it. And the elephant was a big fan of roasted fruits and marshmallows, so she had nothing to complain about.
"Sorry about that Joan." apologized the fox, after the two other had left. "So, how went your work ?"
The elephant exhaled slowly while Fin soothingly scratched her ear. She took a deep breath to stop the shaking in her hooves.
"It went okay, but it's far from over. The storm debris are still all over the place. The nets have caught most of the dead trees, so they shouldn't get to the city, but I'm pretty sure it's going to take me a week or two before being done cleaning this mess. As long as we don't get wrecked by the weather."
Nick sighed. Given their mammal power, she was doing as good as he had hoped. "I could hire a beaver team." He proposed.
It would put a big dent in their budget and they all knew it. And spending such a large sum so early after his investiture would reflect poorly on him.
"No boss. Don't worry, I'll manage."
Nick clapped his paws. "Good, perfect. Go give a hand to the lame preds outside, I have a couple of things to talk over with Fin."
The elephant lifted up her large mass as the small vulpine hopped down from her shoulder and lumbered outside.
"Fin, should I remind you about the fraternization rules ?" He asked as soon as she was out of earshot. Well, he hoped she was, because you never knew with those large ears.
Finnick's face instantly fell. "You might have ta' refresh mah memory." He grunted.
"There is none." Nick grinned. "HOWEVER !" He lifted a finger, cutting short the smile that was reappearing on the small vulpine's face. "Jo' is a delicate thing and she's been here longer than you. If you scr- if you mess with her or her feelings, I'll fire you so hard your fur will smoke for weeks. After having shown her pictures of you in your toot-toot costume."
Finnick was surprised, and impressed, by how protective of the elephant his friend was. "Hey Nicky, I'm just bein' friendly, Ya know me..."
"Yes, I do. That's why I'm warning you." Nick frowned. "She's not Honey, she's not Wight, she's not Nangi..." He enumerated. "In fact, she's almost half their and your age, and she doesn't have their thick skin. I have no problem with you two chatting, flirting, being friendly or whatever it is you call it. I simply must make it clear, you're my best friend and I love you like a brother, but if you hurt her, or anyone in the team for that matter-"
"Alright, alright." The fennec raised his paws. "You've made your point. Sheesh you are a real party pooper. For once in my life, I can put my paws on a real fine lady..."
"And like every lady, she deserves better than to be treated like a piece of tissue."
Finnick bristled. "Hey, now, tha's unfair !"
Nick squinted his eyes. He hadn't planned this discussion to turn into a wake up call, but in his opinion it had been a long time coming. "Isn't it, though ?"
The fennec raised a finger, bit his lips and reluctantly put it back down. In his opinion, he didn't treat the ladies wrong, but he wasn't the type go for the long term commitment. He didn't ghost them, he didn't treat them wrong. He was even upfront about how he worked. But for whatever reason, it was never enough. Maybe it was the bad boy attitude, maybe it was that he liked to make them feel special... They ended getting attached, and he didn't want to commit, hence break up, hence tears. "I liked you better when you weren't so responsible." He huffed.
"Power corrupts, Finnick." Nick smirked. "Besides, if you're feeling that lonely, Honey should come by in a day or two."
The fennec fox snickered. "Oh, hell no ! I ain't stickin' it back in that crazy."
They made their way outside, and were welcomed by the appetizing smell of roasting meat. The team shared their meal chattering and bantering, before Nick had to remind them that they had, in fact, some work to do.
Unfortunately for him, Finnick's vehicle part weren't delivered, and he spent the remainder of the afternoon helping his boss in his office. He almost lept with joy when 5PM approached, as he it meant he got to leave to go and bring back their new unknown coworker.
"See ya later, Slick, have fun with all the paperwork." He grinned, making his way toward the door.
"Deserter." Nick joked back, no even lifting his gaze from his work.
"It's called tactical retreat." The small fennec shouted from the stairs, before exiting the building and hopping inside his van.
Fortunately, he knew all the backroads, and was able to dodge the growing commute traffic. He hoped that the recruit would be there on time to not be caught in the evening jams, internally fustigating himself for not having called her before leaving. It didn't matter, he was going to be a little early, so he would speed her up by calling her at his time of arrival.
Judy looked at her phone. 4:51PM. She decided it was time to call and check on her ride. She started dialling the number and was cut by loud music, emitted by a large van with a very creative paint job.
She lifted a brow and looked for the driver, seeing what looked like a baby fox, before realising that it was in fact a fennec fox.
With a smile, she told herself how ridiculous it would be if it happened to be her ride. She didn't have the time to ask herself further, however, as her phone rang.
"Hey, Lady ? I'm at the parking lot." Came a really deep voice, which probably belonged to a bear, or maybe a rhino. She looked around and hoped that she hadn't mistook the rendez-vous point.
"I'm here too." She answered. "How can I recognize you ?"
"The van with the awesome paint job."
Her jaw fell, as she turned her gaze toward said van. Judy could see the fennec was on his phone. She slowly raised a hesitant paw.
...
The fennec had arrived to the parking lot and was looking around for a female with a suitcase. The only one that fitted that description was the appetizing matronly bunny wearing a pink shirt and blue jeans. He dismissed her instantly. Sure, a bunny mom as a park attendant and ranger. Ramowitz might have been a massive asshole, but he couldn't be as devious as that.
He took his phone and started dialing the new recruit's number. Coincidentally, as it started ringing, the bunny looked at her own phone and tapped the screen, before bringing it to her long ear.
"Hey, Lady ? I'm at the parking lot."
"I'm here too. How can I recognize you ?"
The way her lips had moved, he could their movement matched with the voice he was hearing.
"The van with the awesome paint job." He answered.
The bunny slowly raised a hesitant paw and started waving. "Is it you I'm waving to ?"
Finnick felt like his jaw was dislocating itself, and he had to shake his head to be able to talk again. "Yeah. The bunny dressed in pink and blue ? I see ya. I'm getting out of the van." He declared, doing so at the same time, before hanging up.
He stared at her as she approached, detailing her from head to toe. He had called it, motherly, plumpy, cute even. Fucking Crapowitz, Nick was going to lose his shit.
...
Judy was approaching the van hesitantly, under the small Fennec's gaze. She could feel him gauging her and she guessed she shouldn't be surprised. They were going to work together, he had to check if he would be able to rely on her. She detailed him too, but there wasn't much to see. Tank top, cargo pants, no park uniform, and a toothpick between his teeth.
She gave him her paw and he firmly shook it. "My name is Judith Hopps, but you probably already knew that. You can call me Judy."
The fennec smiled, as he felt the strength in her grip. Maybe she wasn't going to be that bad. "As a matter of fact, nah. I didn't. The name's Finnick."
The bunny did a double take. "Finnick, like, The Finnick ?" She asked.
"Huh, yeah, the one and only, I guess ?" He answered, unsure.
"The Finnick that assisted Nick Wilde, along with Duke Weaselton ? The trio that saved the city twenty years ago ?" She was trying to not go into full fangirl mode, but it was really hard.
Finnick, for his part, felt his eyes go wide. Few people recognized Nick anymore, and even less him. "Well, yeah, tha's me."
It was really strange to see this matronly bunny go from business-like to squealing mess in so little time.
"Oh. My. God. I'm your biggest fan !" She almost shouted, jumping up and down before stopping, closing her eyes and drawing a slow breath. "Sorry. Sorry. You must be so used to this by now, it must be really annoying to you."
Finnick chuckled. If this was her reaction upon meeting him, he couldn't wait to see her faint when she'd realise she was going to work with the whole gang. "Don't worry lady, it's always nice to meet someone that remembers that old story. Please get in, I'd like to avoid the rest of the evening traffic." He said warmly, putting on his most seductive attitude. Joan was off-limit, but the chubby sexy bunny wasn't. And the fact that she was a fangirl, would probably make it go smoother.
"Oh. Of course. Sorry." She apologized again, before putting her heaving suitcase in the back of the van, and hopping up next to him at the front. "You must tell me everything. I mean, can you ? Is that okay for me to ask ?"
The fennec smiled. "Well, there ain't much else to tell than what was said in da' newspapers."
"Oh." She said, her ears falling a bit.
Seeing her disappointed expression, the fennec hawked. "Well… Maybe there were a couple of details that might have been glossed over."
Finnick was still groggy from the fall. Nick had shielded him when the ram had charged them, but he had still been knocked with his friend into the museum pit. He had a hard time remembering the crazy chase on the train tracks that had led them into this situation, but it wasn't their main problem at the moment.
Sounds were muddled and he had a hard time making out what was being said.
Shaking his head, he started to find his bearings again, and saw Duke trying to splint Nick's leg with his belt and bits of fake wood found in the museum's installation.
"So, what are you gonna do Smellwether ? Kill us ?" The snark in Nick's voice sounded off, there was real fear in his voice. Finnick could see him with a paw behind his back, clenching the phone that was recording the conversation.
"Oh, of course not." She said, aiming the Nighthowler gun at the weasel. "He is."
"No ! Duke !" Nick tried to reach for the weasel, but he rolled away, cluching his chest and gasping for air.
"Guys… I feel strange."
"Fight it Duke !"
The ewe had already take out her phone, but even then, the fennec fox could already make out the distant police sirens. "Yes, police ?! There's a savage weasel in the Natural History Museum ! Two civilians are already hurt ! Please hurry !"
Finnick had rushed to the weasel's side, and had put his paws to his shoulder and chest. "Duke, for fuck's sake ! Yer stronger dan dis ! You've injected worse chemicals than this in yer body ! Fight it !"
The ewe snickered wickedly. "Oh, but he can't help it, can he ? Since preds are just "biologically predisposed" to be savages. Gosh, think of the headlines ! Three savage predators tear eachother apart in a fit of feral madness !"
"So that's your plan, shitstain ?" Shouted Finnick. "Make prey fear us, use that to stay on top ?"
"Yeah, pretty much."
"I so fucking hate politicians." He spat.
"And you really think that will work ? Mammals aren't that stupid." Stated Nick. Finnick almost barked a laugh, he knew for a fact that their line of work was based on them being actually that stupid.
"Fear always works! And I'll dart every predator in Zootopia to keep it that way. "
Duke started snarling and shaking, Finnick took a step back, getting ready for what was about to come.
"Bye bye, little fox." The ewe grinned. From were he stood, the fennec was pretty sure she hadn't really said the word fox.
The weasel turned his head toward the fennec fox, some drool dripping from his fangs. If a week sooner, someone had told him he would feel fear while facing Duke, he'd have laughed in their face. Now, every instinct screamed at him to run away. Still, he was the only thing between a savage mammal and his best friend, and hell if he was going to let Nick get hurt.
"Come on." He muttered, putting himself in a fighting position.
Duke went prone, ready to pounce. When he launched himself, Finnick was almost surprised by his speed.
Almost.
He had fought plenty of mammals in his life, most of them bigger and stronger than him. Maybe he had lost as much fight as he had won, but that didn't matter. A savage mammal didn't fight with their brain, which gave him a hell of an advantage. Sidestepping, he rammed his fist in the weasels belly. He knew it wasn't going to be enough to take him down, so he rounded him, placing himself behind him and jumped. He managed to put an arm around Duke's throat and use the other to lock it.
"Easy, Duke. Don't fight, yer only gon' hurt yourself."
The weasel didn't listen and threw his body around, trying to make his assailant let go. Finnick's head and back took a few hit, but his opponent strength were diminishing, until he stopped moving. The fennec fox checked his breath and heartbeat. "He's fine !" He shouted to Nick.
The red fox chuckled and turned his head toward the ewe. "Heh, you just had to dart the least dangerous mammal in the room."
"What ?" The ewe was staring at the fennec fox in disbelief. How could such a small mammal subdue a savage predator so easily.
"Not my first rodeo, lady." Finnick grinned. "So, whatchu gonna do now ? Shoot me ? I'm a small target, yer sniper is out of commission, and I'm pretty sure I can dodge your shots."
"Whatever, It's your word against mine !"
The tod took out the phone he had been hiding in his back. "Yeah… Not so sure about that." He smiled, starting to replay the recording just as the cops reached them.
"After that, I guess ya know the rest. There is some stuff that didn't make it to the public eye, like how Duke 'been the one providin' the Nighthowlers to Doug Ramses in the first place. Or tha' he tried to go to the cops and they didn't believe 'im. That's why he went to us by the way. Me an' him were always friendly, but Nick was always a bit of a dick to him. I had to get very convincin' to get him on board."
Judy was stunned. How could the police just refuse to listen to a concerned citizen ?
"Oh, we also discovered Lionheart had hidden away the first 25 savage mammals."
"He what !?"
"He said was tryin' to find a cure for them, but we're pretty sure he was also coverin' his own ass, bein' a predator an all. Keepin' the secret got us some favours from him, which… Well, it helped us a lot afterwards."
"Why is it that Nick was the one the media focused on ? It doesn't seem like he did more work than you did."
The fennec snickered. "Well, he ended up being the self-appointed leader. We'd never have been able to find the real culprits without his connection to Mr B- Without him. Every decisions taken after Duke went to us were his. Besides, if ya know anytin' about our line of work back then, ya should realised bein' famous would not be a good thing."
Judy nodded, the media had not been too kind in their portrayal of the fox, despite the fact that they treated him as a hero. She knew for a fact that he and the two other predators had always stood on the edge of legality. Not that she blamed them, foxes and weasels weren't the most trusted mammals, and even in the tri-burrows, people remained wary of them, leaving them struggling to find steady jobs.
"They needed a face to show, he and his ego accepted to be it. Made his life way harder though. Can't run a con if everyone knows who ya are."
As he finished his sentence, they finally reached the MPRD's parking lot. Judy looked around to see only two parked vehicles. A pickup truck with its hood open, a large blue car. There also was a megafauna-sized caravan. Near one of the building was a large grizzly holding a weasel up under a gutter, while said mustelid was fixing it.
"Is that a secure procedure ?"
The fennec shrugged. "It's a 'whatever works' procedure. We use a lot of those around there."
Judy squinted to see the weasel better as Finnick parked the van. "Wait, is that Duke Weaselton ?"
"You know lady, just 'cause I'm Finnick doesn't mean 'dis is the Duke. I hope all preds don't look the same to you."
The bunny's ears instantly fell down. "Sorry… Since you were here, I just assumed… I'm sorry, I didn't mean-."
Finnick gave her a shit eating grin. "I'm pullin' ya leg. This is the Duke."
Judy gave him an annoyed smirk and punched his shoulder. "Jerk."
"Heh. Go say hello, I'll take care of yer suitcase." He said.
"That's very gallant of you, Finnick, I might forgive you for making fun of me." She coyly smiled before exiting the vehicle.
As she walked away, the fennec rubbed his shoulder. "Woah, this one's a pawful. I like her already."
Judy was making her way toward the two predators without an ounce of hesitation, which pulled sceptical looks from the weasel and grizzly. Even twenty years after the biggest predator scare, it was rare for prey to approach predators without this little hesitation.
"Hello." She greeted. "My name is Judith Hopps, I'm your new coworker. Nice to meet you."
The bear leaned down and gave her two of his finger of his paw to shake. "Nice to meet you too Judith." He greeted with a deep voice. "Herbert Growlsky. You can call me Herbert or Herb."
"Please call me Judy." She smiled.
"Will do, Judy."
It was the weasel's turn to approach her. "Hey, the name's-"
"Duke Weaselton. One of the three heroes of Zootopia. I'm a big fan !" She said without drawing a breath. "It's such an honor to meet you in person !" She added. "Oh sorry. I'm trying not to fawn too much."
If the weasel had tried to raise his eyebrows even more, he was sure he would have fractured them. Wait, could eyebrows get fractured ? They were muscles, so no, probably not.
"Thanks. Shure's good to feel appreciated." He smiled. "But we're not such a big deal. I'm just happy to be workin' here. Even if some people are a pain to work with." He shot a side glance toward the grizzly.
"This isn't a nice thing to say about Fin when he's not here to defend himself." Answered Herbert in a tone so deadpan she wasn't sure it was a joke.
She still couldn't hold in a discreet giggle though. If she was to work in that kind of company, there was no way she wasn't going to enjoy herself. Her father had once told her that it didn't matter what kind of work you were doing. As long as you did it with friends, it never really felt like work, and it had always proven true.
"Ya met the boss yet ?" The weasel asked.
"I met Mr Ramowitz. Well, we only muzzletimed, but I was told he recently retired."
The grizzly and weasel exchanged a second sceptical glance. Not only had Ramowitz recruited a new mammal without consulting his successor, but he had never met her in person. That didn't smell good in their book. Then again, both of them appreciated her upbeat attitude, so she couldn't be so bad.
"Ya should come wid' me 'den." Came the deep fennec voice behind her, as he approached with her suitcase.
"Want me to bring that to her room in the meantime, Fin ?" Asked the grizzly.
"Oh, you really don't need to." Protested the bunny. "I don't want to be a bother."
"Nonsense." The grizzly grabbed the suitcase, it easily fitted in one of his paw. "It would be my pleasure, a sort of thank you for being the feminine presence we sorely lacked until now."
"Hey !" Protested Finnick. "What about Joan ?"
The grizzly bit his lips. "Er… Well… She's not very feminine." He defended himself.
Finnick shot him a dubious look. "Or maybe you feel emasculated 'cause she's bigger 'dan ya."
"I'll bring this to her room." The grizzly said surly, before walking away.
"You did it now, Fin." Sighed Weaselton.
The fennec fox facepalmed. "Shit… Wait, Herb, I didn't mean it like that !" He shouted, before running after the ursid.
"Guess I'm gonna be the one to take you to the boss." Said the weasel.
"Take me to your leader !" She ordered jokingly, trying to defuse the awkwardness the two other mammals had created by leaving, and pulling a chuckle from the mustelid in the process.
The building they entered hadn't been build for megafauna. In fact, it looked like a four-story building from the outside with an added large door to it. From the inside, it was obvious that the three first floors had been turned into one by removing them. It felt like stepping in scaled up version of her childhood home. Old wooden furniture gave a homely mood to it, underlined by slightly worn wallpaper. The oversized furniture that looked like it belong to the seventies was a nice touch.
They took the stares and reached a large office, with paper scattered everywhere. Behind the desk was a grey red fox wearing a tired and annoyed expression.
"Hey Nick." The weasel greeted.
"Hey Duke." The fox said in turn without lifting his eyes from his work. "Heading home ? Give a kiss to you Duchess and little Counts for me, will you ?"
"Nah, I brought ya the new recruit."
The fox lifted his gaze from his desk and looked at the bunny. Why the hell would Fuckowitz have hired a bunny ? To mess with him ? Of course. Best way to screw things over, put a bunny and a fox in the same room. But why did she look like she was vibrating ?
"OH MY GOD !" She squealed. "NICHOLAS PIBERIUS WILDE IS MY BOSS ?"
Yep, that was an eyebrow fracture. Nick would recognize the sensation anywhere. He left his seat and grabbed his cane, limping toward the starstruck bunny fangirl.
Bunny fangirl.
He barely contained a sigh of annoyed disbelief. Something was up.
"You have me at a disadvantage, Mrs. You know my name, and I don't know yours."
"Judith Hopps but you can call me Judy." She extended her paw and he shook it, surprised by the firmness in it. "You're a hero ! A real hero ! I mean what were the chances I would meet Finnick, Duke Weaselton, and then the legendary Nicholas Wilde in the same day ?" The bunny fell mute, realising she was embarrassing herself. "I'm sorry Mr Wilde. It's just… You're kind of an inspiration."
The fox gave a glance to the weasel and nodded toward the door, informing him that he could leave. The mustelid didn't wait for a confirmation and nodded in turn. "Nice ta have met you Judy. See ya tomorrow." And he disappeared, eager to get home.
Nick gauged the bunny, his eyes roaming over her from head to toe. Small, a bit chubby, wearing a pink shirt with crumpled collar and a pair of blue jeans. No make up, and eyes slightly red. She had cried recently. Ring on her left paw, so married. Expected at her age. And she probably also had children. Not many he supposed, otherwise she wouldn't have taken a job so far from… Well, anywhere, really.
"Alright, I need to ask. What did my predecessor say to you ?"
"I admit, he didn't tell me much Mr W-"
He raised his paws and stopped her. She was starting to get a bit annoying. "If we're going to work together, you're going to have to call me Nick. Non negotiable."
"Alright. Nick." A grin split her face. "Oh my god, I called you Nick."
Now that didn't make sense to him. He knew he had a few fans, but all of them were predators, and absolutely none of them were as frantic. That raised even more red flags.
"Okay, bunny really funny, we've all had a good laugh but you can drop the act now. What did Fuckowitz put you up to ?"
The bunny's smile faltered. "What ?"
"This must be really funny to you, the fact that this whole operation is going down the crapper, but I don't have time for games. What's the shtick ?"
"I'm- I'm afraid I don't understand Mr- Nick."
The fox gave her a look of disbelief mixed with scepticism. "Alright, let me lay it all out for you. Ramowitz left us a whole year of mess to deal with, and I'm not even counting things that had been piling up before that. On top of the heap of crap, he hired a total stranger that just happens to be a "fan"." The fox made air quotes before joining in his hands. "In a key position. Forgive my incredulity, but either you're working with him to help dig our grave, or you're as clueless as me on why he chose to hire someone like you. Unless, and here's the fun part, hiring an underqualified clueless bunny is supposed to be the last kick in my fangs."
"I-" She began, blood slowly draining from her face and a weight settling itself in her stomach.
The fox raised a finger to shut her up and pointed it at her. "So, let me make this painfully clear. The three reasons I haven't sent you packing up yet are; One : You're a city employee and I would need to make a report to fire you, in which I wouldn't have anything to put yet, and also because, Two : I don't have access to the superintendant account on the computer at the moment. And three : There is a possibility that you're actually not in on the joke, in which case it wouldn't be fair of me to fire you. Yet." He approached his snout a mere inch from her face. "Screw with me as much as much as you want, I can take it, but give shit to any of my employees and I will rain down hellfire on your fluffy tail."
Her nose twitched, and her tears dangerously rose. They said one should never meet their heroes, but at least two of them were actually decent mammals. She swallowed back the tears as a hostile expression painted itself on her face.
"You have no idea who I am, what I can do, or what I had to do to get here today. But if you think for a second I'm the kind of mammal that would mess with others just for money, or anything else for that matter, you're sorely mistaken. As for my qualifications, I've been a bun-scout for twenty years, and on firewatch for more than ten. And I'm not even counting the years I studied law, or my experience in administration when I worked on my family's farm. I don't know if you think I'm incompetent because I'm a bunny, a female, or a fan of yours, but frankly whichever it is, it says a lot about you. And if you think for even a second I'm the kind of bunny that would give up because of your idle threats, you are, again, sorely mistaken."
She put a threatening finger on his chest.
"So, let me make it painfully clear : I couldn't care less about your paranoia. The only three reasons I haven't put my fist across your face are; One : I need this job, two : I won't give you a reason to fire me, and three : I'm above hitting a cripple."
From one inch, the distance between them decreased to half of one.
"You, me : not friends." She seethed.
The fox had to struggle to keep a straight face at how astonished he had been of her reaction. And angry. That bunny had teeth. His brow furrowed again, anger curling his lips. She wasn't in cahoot with Ramowitz ? Great. Did it mean he had time to babysit a clueless bunny ? No. The department was still sinking and he'd rather have mammals he had chosen, and who he trusted, rather than a total stranger.
Besides, the "cripple" line had hit closer to him than he liked. And he couldn't have that.
"I don't want nor need you friendship. What I need is useful and qualified employees that I can trust." A mean grin curled the corner of his lips. "So tell me if this story sound familiar. A naive stupid hick gets hit hard by her mid-life crisis decides, "Hey, look at me, I'm gonna move to Zootopia, where life is never boring and might at last do something with my miserable life." Only to find, whoopsie, finding a new life isn't that easy, and that dream of finding a purpose ? Double whoopsie, an asshole manipulated her into screwing other mammals over instead. And whoopsie number threesie, no one cares about her dreams."
Judy choked her tears back. Having all her fears thrown back in her faces in three sentences was gut-wrenching.
"And soon enough, those dreams die, and our bunny sinks into emotional squalor, living in a box under a bridge. Till finally, she has no choice but to go back to her little boring life with her ex-ex-husband, her 2.4 litters, her little garden and her housework."
Finnick had finally been able to square things with Herb, not that it had been hard. The grizzly knew the fennec's jab had been involuntary, but the small vulpine had still promised him a case of bear sized beer to make it up to him.
He was now making his way back to the main building, and could hear Nick's muffled voice while he climbed the stairs. As he reached the first floor Judy barged out from the office.
"Hey missy, your room is-" He started, before noticing that she was in the verge of crying.
"I'll find my way." She cut him, her voice near the breaking point.
He watched her rush down the stairs before turning his gaze back to his best friend's office and stepping in.
"Nick, what the fuck !?"
