The Fox, the Bunny, and the Zootopia
File #08: Bunny In Search
Nick just had entered the workroom when an officer came past him, bumped in the process, as Nick was standing in the way. Somehow, today seemed different for some reasons. He didn't know what, but something felt missing. He continued to his desk where he could only see a pile of paperwork, a rectangular pencil case in grey, a monitor, a dashboard with a keyboard on it, and a photo in a frame of him, Rey, and Judy. The former two being pulled suddenly in front of Judy's phone camera.
Nick chuckled a little when he see that photo. While he himself was just standing there doing nothing when Judy suddenly pulled him close, Rey was drinking a nice cup of warm coffee when Judy pulled him by his shoulder into the camera view, his choked as the camera clicked, taking the perfect moment where the remaining coffee flew off the mug and a look of surprise and horror plastered on Rey's face.
Then, he realized what was missing: Judy. He took a quick glance to his left, only to find her desk empty. He was about to panic when Rey came into view right in front of him, a look of annoyance on his face.
Nick's worry immediately disappeared when he see Rey's smug face. "Morning, Rey. What's up?" he asked, but Rey just walked past him and went to his desk on the left of Nick's.
The lynx' ears spun upwards before answering. "I was wondering why you guys didn't show up in Sunset." Nick's eyes widened in realization. He didn't go to the Sunset today. "I waited for an hour while fiddling with my juices until I realize that I have a report to file."
"Oh, that? Sorry," Nick said, putting a guilty smile. "I forgot. Usually Judy-" he stopped immediately after saying the name, earning Rey's attention and curiosity.
"What's up? What's with Judy?"
"She usually the one that reminds me to got to the Sunset. And she didn't," he explained, putting a palm onto his chin as a voice crossed his mind.
"I have an important assignment to do tomorrow and it'll begin early morning so I won't be joining you to the Sunset. Don't worry about me, I'll be alright. It's just a light assignment."
"Well, where is she?" Rey asked, with a serious tone, his eyes narrowed at once. "Nick? Ya hear me?"
To Rey, and he just realized, it's kind of weird seeing the two not together. Well, they were partners, what else could he expect? Other than popularity issues, the chief wouldn't assign these two in separate assignments. Together, the three were ZPD's small cops of all, but when people look with more focus, it was Nick and Judy that were the ones that stick out. They solved the Night Howler case, for good time's sake! That's quite the fame, eh? The three couldn't be underestimated, though.
Rey's smug face returned when Nick stays silent. He slapped the back of his head, snapping Nick back to reality. "Nick, where's Judy?"
Nick shook his head. "I just remembered that she got an assignment to do."
Rey sighed heavily in relief. "By blades and bullets, Nick, you nearly gave me a heart attack." He turned his chair to face his monitor and started making his report.
"No, you don't get it," Nick said suddenly. Rey stopped typing and peered at his friend. "She said it's a light assignment." He took a glance to the clock at his monitor. "But why hasn't she back yet?" He looked at his paws.
All of the sudden, the atmosphere was silenced as the two realized that Judy hadn't bck from her assignment. "Maybe . . . Maybe it takes longer to complete," Rey said, trying to tell both himself and Nick that Judy's okay.
"Still," Nick stood, not shifting his sight even a bit from the digital clock. "She should has come back by now. You know how eager she is when it comes to working." Rey could only nod as Nick let his thought out. "It wouldn't hurt to ask Benjamin her whereabouts."
Nick turned to the left as Rey left chair but they found Clawhauser standing before them, a look of worry was set on his face. He was considerably a little thinner than two weeks ago since Nick and Judy AND some days after, Rey, kept him doing workouts.
"Judy has gone missing!" Nick's eyes widened along with Rey dropping a ballpoint he was holding.
Clawhauser didn't say that too loud, at least for Nick and Rey, but suddenly the entire room of officers shifted their attention to the cheetah, waiting for additional details regarding the news. There weren't many officers in the room hence it was work time. Some was working with their computers, but soon stopped as well as officers that were taking a break.
"What do you mean?" Nick said, shattering the silence that take hold of the room. "Ben!"
Clawhauser took a few breaths before continuing. "We lost contact from her since an hour ago. We've been trying to locate her but it seems that her phone is turned off," he explained.
Rey clicked. "We have to find her."
"Yes," he said, nodding. "The chief summoned you two to his office right now."
Nick and Rey exchanged look before rushing off past Clawhauser to Bogo's office. It didn't take a lot of time to get to the chief's office. It's right across.
"Sit down," the chief said as the two officers came in and closed the door. Nick and Rey didn't bother to take another chair because that one chair in front of the chief is large enough for the two of them. The large buffalo stood there towering above them and sat to his chair along with the two officers on theirs. "Hopps was assigned to report for criminal activities in Tundratown. She was given until midday to file her founding but it's 13.00 now and all our attempts of communication are unable to get her status."
Rey's ears perked up. "She disappeared?" Nick narrowed his eyes when he heard that question.
"Precisely, Nightclaw," the chief confirmed. "We lost contact of her after 11.47 when she was checking the alleys. After that update, we contacted her again at 12.00, reminding her to go back, but we've received no answer. We suspect that her phone and radio have been turned off for some reasons."
"Why haven't you sent a search yet?" Nick said with a little spice of anger.
"Calm down, Wilde!" Chief Bogo said, louder and stoic. "You two are the search party. Considering how she solved the Night Howler Case without much contact, I thought she just took a little turn of her own before coming back. Now that I've realized that Hopps are disobeying orders, -which although she have some issues with that, shouldn't be a problem now that she's all content with her assignment nowadays- she wouldn't do that except of utmost purpose. Or worse," the atmosphere suddenly became dark as the chief finished his sentence with the word 'worse.'
Rey took some seconds to speak. "She was captured or killed or knocked out cold." He peered slowly at Nick, who, seen in close distance, was NOT happy at all.
"Let's just hope the first one's the case." Chief Bogo sighed a little. "Clawhauser should have the details file by now. Go get it and bring Hopps back in one piece!" he said to both of the officers in front of him.
Rey and Nick stood up. "Sir!" Then they jumped to the floor and rushed to Clawhauser's station.
The chief could just stand there, looking his two freshmen went out to Clawhauser's. "Good luck."
There were a couple of elephants, sitting on a chair leaning on the table under the shadow of an umbrella. Staring into each other eyes romantically. They couldn't take eyes off the other and the busy streets didn't seem to bother them nor ruin their moment. It was possible that they would kiss, if it wasn't for a speeding motorcycle that moved so fast that it created a wind current that brought a small glass full of ice cream onto the couple, frowning as the cold ice cream melted on top of their heads.
The motorcycle sported metallic red paint. A lynx with a black helm on his head. Behind him was a red furred fox that keep telling the lynx what path to take.
"Take a left," Nick said as they passed a restaurant, going into a tunnel on the separation wall that leads to Tundratown.
Rey immediately sped up, realizing that the tunnel was going straight. They passed many vehicles, tall ones for giraffes, medium ones for sheep, and so on. The tunnel wasn't too long, but both could hear air ventilation roaring softly above them and Rey just remembered that there was a vent system that regulates air that travels between districts to keep the climate stable.
After a while, the two came upon the magnificent white atmosphere of Tundratown, greeted by cold air that slipped around their clothes.
Rey could feel Nick shivered a bit when the wind hit them. Rey could imagine Nick's usual play-cool face deteriorated when the cold wave hit him. "Feeling cool, Nick?" he teased, not moving his sight from the road. Nick just gave Rey a smack on his helm before they stopped before entering the residential area.
From there, they could see almost the entire Tundratown along with the railway that the train passes every time it carries passenger in and out of Zootopia. The falling snow cooled off the two from their explosive spirit to find their friend, Judy. They didn't get off, they just stopped there to gather their concentration a while.
"So, this is Tundratown," Rey remarked. "I feel the cold."
Nick scoffed. "Even with that fur of yours? Fantastic. You are feelynx cold," Nick said teasingly, returning a pun to Rey, who just let go a halfhearted laugh.
Rey took some seconds inhaling all the air he could before letting it go. "Let's got find Judy."
He twisted his paw, making the motor's engine roar back and started speeding toward the center of the district, all set to find the missing Judy Hopps.
Yes, another multi-part story! This time Judy's the one in trouble. Can our fox and lynx find our bunny in the freezing air of Tundratown District?