"You know Nick, it just hit me." Judy said aloud, looking out the cruiser's window, paying no attention to the fox sitting next to her. "What we are actually doing out here. On our own. The deepest into the canals I've ever been. With little to no actual information on the situation. All to meet some crazy raccoon who had us locked in a bathroom yesterday." The rabbit chuckled a bit at just how absurd in all sounded, but an undertone of genuine concern softly drifted off the words as they left her mouth. The two ZPD officers were in way over their heads, not like that stopped them before though.
"I'd say we're in our element." Nick looked over to see the back of his partner's head, through the reflection in the window he could barely discern the outline of a smile on her face.
Judy kept her watch over the abandoned docks, she had plenty of time to think about the mess they were in while waiting for Mr. Cooper to arrive. 'Brenford Shipyards – 7:00 pm' This was the place. Last night the two partners were informed of the meeting in a rather disconcerting fashion. Nick was the first to find his card, he called Judy right away. That raccoon had somehow managed to slip a calling card into their pockets during their precious encounter without either of the two officers noticing. As her partner explained the discovery of a card labeled with the time in his back pocket, she slowly checked her own gear. Unsettling thoughts and paranoia flew through the rabbit's mind as she felt the imprint of the card press against her paw. That night she couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching her. Now, sitting at the docks, the soft rain of the canals district rhythmically tapping on the roof of their cruiser, Judy felt a strange calmness. The knowledge that Nick was sitting only an arm's length away comforted her. It was 8:05, their host was late, but they both knew that Sly had to be testing them, waiting to make sure they were really alone, really dedicated to the deal.
The docks were usually bustling with activity, cargo being transported in and out, huge ships slowly moving into port, the constant flow of goods both large and small, all around them this was the case. The docks never really closed, there was always some work to be done. Even at night, the lights in the distance proved at least someone was out there, just doing their job. The Brenford Shipyards would have been no exception, ten years ago. Today they sit abandoned, an island of stillness amongst the busy docks. Most of the buildings had since been taken down, but a few of the larger ones remained. A warehouse stood proud at the far end of the compound, along the water remained three of the iconic cranes, like giant guardians towering over the remnants of what once was. Judy studied all of it from where they were parked, just inside the entrance gate, at the demolished foundation of the original office. Nick's view out the passenger window was far less impressive, a few old shipping containers and a dilapidated fence were the only items sitting against the emptiness of the docks' right side. He saw all he needed to within the first five seconds of their arrival.
"That's it." Judy quickly grabbed her gear and opened the cruiser door, "I'm sick of waiting, I'm going to look for him."
The door closed with a thud as the rain gently rolled off her fur. Judy took a few steps in front of their unmarked cruiser, the lone vehicle inside the compound. The headlights projected her shadow a hundred feet long on the pavement before disappearing into the gray dullness of the nighttime docks. She looked on for a moment before a second shadow crept up alongside her own.
"Not by yourself you're not." Nick came up next to his partner, both of them dripping from the constant precipitation. It was light, but the steady flow of rain worked quickly. "Come on."
Nick flipped on his flashlight and the two headed out. There wasn't a lot of ground to cover, considering most of it was empty, but the ominous warehouse challenged them as the two drew ever closer to its entrance. About halfway to the building, Judy's ear twitched as she heard a faint noise in the ruble behind her. She spun around swiftly, turning on her own flashlight at the same time. Nick instinctually jumped at his partner's sudden action, putting both of them even more on edge. The cruiser, lights still shinning off into the blackness, was the only thing visible.
"Beautiful weather we're having."
Nick and Judy turned around faster than ever before upon hearing the smooth voice directly behind them. Standing a few feet away, between them and the warehouse, was the smug raccoon. He had on the exact same outfit as before, this time with the additions of a brown backpack and small brown bag on his left thigh. The wooden handle of his cane stuck up from behind his back where it was currently stowed.
"Mr. Cooper." Judy stated after recovering from the mini heart attack she just had.
"Done your homework have you?" Sly said with a grin.
"Impressive file you have, wanted in five counties, over 61 counts of petty theft, and 12 separate occasions of grand larceny."
"Really? I thought it'd be more than that. And please, call me Sly."
"Look, you should consider yourself lucky, if Nick hadn't convinced me otherwise I would arrest you on the spot."
"Ah yes, the young Judy, ZPD's star and very first rabbit officer. I'm sure bringing me in would look great to the chief. Unfortunately, Nick here knows the meaning of a deal, being an ex-con artist and all." Nick was surprised at the remark, Sly seemed to respect the fact that he ran a hustle in the past.
"Great!" Nick addressed everyone present, before singling out Sly, "Now that we all know each other, it's time for you to hold up your end of that deal."
"Of course." Sly pulled two black blindfolds out of his bag. "I'll need you two to put these on."
"Woah woah woah, hold on." Judy took a step back, "Are you crazy? I am not going to put on a blindfold and just hand myself over to an international criminal!"
"Listen," Sly said apologetically, understanding the situation, "I'm not going to get into everything out here in the rain, but I can't let you know where our current hideout is, seeing how you compromised our last one." He paused for a second, "The place around the corner had the best pizza too…"
"You're welcome to have a seat in the cruiser." The rabbit suggested, pointing to the headlights behind them. Sly glanced past them briefly before letting out a sigh.
"I can give you the short version here, but if you want details you'll have to come with me."
Nick looked over to his partner proudly before looking back to the raccoon. The two awaited his explanation.
"I'm the one who robbed Mr. Big," he continued, trying to find a way to explain everything quickly, "but I only took back what was already mine."
"Go on." Nick said. This interested the two officers, they figured he was lying but the story sounded like it could be good.
"I'm a thief, thieving is kind of a Cooper tradition. For generations, my ancestors practiced the art of theft. Throughout most of recorded history every one of them would write down their techniques, stories, inventions, all of their thieving knowledge in one book, the Thievius Raccoonus. Now, Mr. Big managed to acquire a single page from that book through means of an equally long and complicated story. I simply got it back."
"That's all you took?" Judy questioned him as she felt herself start to shiver from standing out in the cold rain for so long.
"Okay, so I may have taken some art as well, but that's not important."
"You're telling me that you stole Mr. Big's entire collection of priceless art, by yourself." Nick was impressed, if it was true that is.
"Well me, Bentley, and Murray. We make a pretty good team."
"I don't know about you, but I've heard all I need to. I think we're done here." Judy pulled her carrot pen out of her pocket, removing a piece of tape from the record button. Sly's face momentarily flashed a look of worry before returning to his calm self.
"Now what, are you going to arrest me?" He said jokingly, even if the two officers recorded the conversation it didn't concern him much.
"No," Nick responded with a devilish grin, "but I can't say the same for them."
Right on queue a second pair of headlights entered the compound followed by a third. The two white sedans sped over to where the three were standing, screeching to a halt on either side of the meeting. Every door opened in unison as eight polar bears joined the confrontation. Sly, surprisingly, laughed at the sight.
"You sold me out, I expected better of you Nick."
"We're just giving Mr. Big what we promised." The fox responded smugly.
"Hey Murray," Sly said aloud, "I'll take that help now."
Almost instantly an engine could be heard roaring to life somewhere behind the warehouse. The sound of squealing tires was followed by a blinding light rounding the corner of the rundown building. The van drifted to a stop sideways, right behind Sly. Murray, jumped out of the driver's seat looking ready for war. The pink hippo's entrance caused a few of the polar bears to chuckle, seeing how the two were still greatly outnumbered.
"You ready big guy?" Sly said, maintaining his cool tone while drawing his cane.
"THE MURRAY IS ALWAYS READY!" He responded, sounding like he was about to take one of the bears and hurl them into the next district.
The squad of Mr. Big's enforcers slowly advanced on the two. The lead bear went straight for Sly, reaching out to grab him by the neck in an attempt to bring them in easy. In a flash of motion, Sly hooked his cane around the bear's arm and dashed to the right. The arm went straight to the ground as Sly whipped around his cane and kicked the bear in the back of the head. Just like that, the first polar bear was down and out.
The one that went for Murray had it far worse. The hippo delivered a sucker punch directly to his gut, grabbed him as he doubled over, lifted the bear clear over his head, and threw him directly into one of the bears behind him. At that, the remaining polar bears hesitated, before all moving in, determined to take the two down. Nick and Judy were impressed at how good of a fighter the relatively small raccoon was, however as he and Murray took out a fourth then a fifth one of Mr. Big's thugs they started to worry. The two had spoken to the shrew earlier that morning, promising him they had the right guy, and that they could bring him in with a little help. This wasn't a part of the plan, but it looked as though they had to get in there and help.
Sly's cane made contact with the side of polar bear number six's face as Judy quickly jumped into the mix, followed hesitantly by Nick. With a quick jab to the stomach and a whack on the back of the head, the raccoon brought the next bear in line down no problem. Judy went to work on Murray while Nick attempted to distract Sly, trying to buy his partner and the two still conscious bears time to take down the tank of a hippo. Nick wasn't much of a fighter, but he was quick on his feet, he could dodge almost anything. The fox and raccoon danced around each other for some time, while Sly gauged just what Nick's strategy was. In the meantime, Judy got some serious hits in on Murray. She jumped up, delivering a powerful kick to his side, which caused the towering creature to stumble, almost falling over. The two polar bears weren't faring quite as well, it wasn't long before the hippo recovered and was able to get a grip on both of their heads, slamming them into each other. The fighting froze as the final two bears collapsed to the ground.
Both sides looked at each other for a moment, wondering if they should continue, no one really wanted to fight.
"Not bad." Nick said casually to Sly, observing his efficiency in combat.
"Look, I'm willing to let this obvious and poorly planned betrayal go, if you two will do one thing for me." The raccoon said, straightening up and lowering his can to his side.
"Why would we do anything for you?" Judy snapped at him, clearly angry about not being able to bring him to Mr. Big.
"It's either that, or you can explain to Murray why the nice rabbit officer tried to kick him in the face." Sly motioned to the hippo standing in front of her, his stare bore deep into Judy's soul. "Such a shame, he was really starting to like you too."
"And what's stopping us from just telling the ZPD and Interpol you're here?" Nick addressed the flaw in the raccoon's plan.
While Sly debated with her partner, Judy noticed one of the polar bears behind Murray starting to stand up. He looked to her, getting a bearing on the situation, she motioned for him to get ready. The bear nodded, waiting for her signal to pounce. Judy indicated for him to take down Murray, as soon as the hippo fell she planned to move on Sly, who was focused on talking with Nick.
A nod of the rabbit's head was all it took. The polar bear went for Murray's feet, kicking them out from under him. The hippo fell flat on his back, crashing to the ground with a thud that could be heard for miles. The puddle he landed in turned into a tidal wave, splashing the already soaked polar bear with a surprising amount of force. Sly turned to see his friend on the ground, groaning in pain, he was about to leap for the bear when he caught a glimpse of Judy coming in from the side. By the time she realized he was ready for her, it was too late. Judy was already dropping into a slide, putting all her momentum into one powerful low kick, hoping to get underneath the reach of the raccoon's cane. At the last second Sly jumped, clearing the rabbit and landing softly behind her.
Judy planted her feet into the ground, popping herself out of the slide. She managed to not to fall over after coming to a stop, however she didn't get the chance to mount another attack. As soon as she was up, it felt as if everything went into slow motion for the poor rabbit. Judy felt a tough, metallic point press into her back momentarily before the pressure was relieved. Her belt abruptly jerked backwards, tugging tightly against her waist, pulling her center of gravity away from her feet. Judy braced herself for the inevitable fall, but instead of going down, she felt the sensation of lift. The sudden acceleration knocked the wind out of her, Judy gasped as her feet left the ground and everything returned to real time for her. In one fluid motion, right as the rabbit got up from her slide, Sly had caught the back of her duty belt with the hook on his cane and proceeded to swing her in an arc straight over his head. Judy was airborne for only a second before being abruptly reacquainted with the ground. She didn't remember the impact itself, she was already unconscious at that point, however Judy did remember hearing Nick's distraught voice calling to her as she was lifted off the ground.
"Judy!"
So this was an interesting one to write. I really put a lot of effort into this chapter, and I hope it shows in the final product. I know an action sequence might seem a little out of place here, but it surprisingly helped a lot to move the story to where I need it to be. We are really starting to get into the meat of it now. And now for the obligatory updates. To answer a question I've been getting, 'Where does this fall in the Sly storyline?' this is a kind of alternate to Sly 4, It'll be explained more later on, but think of a similar opening to Sly 4, but with a different story. Also, if any of you feel so inclined to discuss this story with myself or others, I can be found on reddit (both the Sly and Zootopia subs) as well as the forums under the same username. As always, I appreciate all of your reviews and any form of input you guys give to the story itself. I could not ask for a better audience, especially for my first ever story. Thank you.