Chapter 24: Flares

The Zootopia patrol was passing peacefully and there were no major incidents that Nick and Judy had to intervene to. Within a couple of hours they received a call on the radio to drive up to a particular location to see what was going on there. Several times people had been spotted being overly active in one place, so it was a good idea to check what was going on there. Luckily for everyone it was nothing important to take police intervention, so the fox and the rabbit had time to themselves, which they used to chat. The whole time they were staying together Judy had a strange suspicion that Nick was somehow absent-minded, that he was circling somewhere in his thoughts, she just wasn't sure what he was thinking about. Her suspicions were mainly directed towards Caroline, who her boyfriend was staring at in an unusually passionate way for him, she didn't like it very much, but she didn't want to start an unnecessary counter discussion that wouldn't have any effect. She didn't hide the fact that she suspected something, though, because every now and then she would let out a look for Nick indicating that she suspected something, which the fox pointed out when it started to irritate him a little.

"Judy, I know that look. I know that look, I just don't know why you're looking at me like that..."

"I'm thinking to myself..."

"About what?" Nick asked curiously. The rabbit quickly blushed at those words as she realized she couldn't think of anything to say other than the truth that was carrying on her tongue for her. Fortunately the fox did not expect any response from her he laughed ironically starting a topic different to the conversation.

As it got darker and soon the sky was already covered in grey and instead of a bright porpure there were stars scattered on a dark guaranteed background, Nick and Judy as instructed put themselves at the station punctually at 6 p.m. On the drive to the place Judy was amazed at how beautiful the city looked with dozens of neon lights that illuminated the gloomy night weather that occurred in winter. If it wasn't for these neon lights illuminating the buildings with different colours and patterns, the city would have been a sight and place that was very bleak, off-colour and depressing. In summer everything seems to be more vibrant and colourful, which is why the days in Zootopia and the nights can be beautiful and unforgettable. Winter was quite a special season. On the one hand, there was the Christmas atmosphere, which put everyone in a great mood without exception, and on the other hand, the week off for most people gave reason to be happy. Then everyone had time to share their joy and there was an opportunity to take a break from work, which could be stressful. On the other hand, winter was often considered a sad and depressing season due to the cold and often unpleasant weather it offered (hardly anyone in Zootopia liked sub-zero temperatures and heavy snow). Moreover, the short day meant that people went home after 4 p.m. straight from work and did not go out into the city, precisely because of the unpleasant weather conditions.

After these considerations that Judy had in her mind, they both got out of the car and immediately felt the chill that prevailed in the cold.

"Ah! It must be below zero..."

Said Nick shivering slightly. Their police uniforms weren't very warm and their thicker uniforms were in the cloakroom where things other than uniforms were put away right there. Uniforms and badges were the only thing they could take out of the police station. When they went inside, their immediate attention was drawn to a new officer who was sitting at a computer and staring blankly at the computer monitor. He looked like he had been up all night, and had been working since early morning without a single coffee break. Nick and Judy quickly realised that this must be Deputy Clawhauser, who had started his week off just as he had announced.

"Hi, you're the new one aren't you?" Nick asked. He walked up to him and greeted him, Judy did the same.

"Yes it's me, I'm James, nice to meet you. You guys are probably Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps?"

"Yes, how did you know?" Nick asked proudly. When he heard someone recognise them he felt an uncontrollable pressure to ask how he knew them, his ego seemed to grow at such moments. Judy being modest wasn't too interested in where they were from, but she didn't want to spoil the fun for the fox.

"Ekh, the new boss told me about you guys...I mean Commander Bogo, it's the first day and I already know I'm not going to like him" replied James.

"Well, he doesn't have the best opinion here, but don't worry, he's not that bad. Why do you think that in the first place?"

"He's already managed to yell at me because I brought him the documents five minutes after the time" complained James. He turned towards the Commandant's office and waved his head from side to side sighing.

"Ah, that's normal for him, don't worry...we have to go, for now" replied Judy giving the police officer advice for him, then they said their goodbyes. His face became instantly livelier, it was possible that he smiled a little under his breath, but he didn't want to show it. In any case, it was clear that his mood had improved no matter what state he was in.

Meanwhile Nick and Judy went to the briefing room where Caroline was waiting for them with two catalogues in her hands. Fox and Rabbit took their seats and listened to the words that flew from the officer's mouth.

"It doesn't look good...in less than 24 hours another resident has gone missing, the situation is only getting worse and because of the movements on the street there is nothing we as police can do. Tonight another resident has gone missing, we are trying to calm the crowds of people on the street, but so far things are going in the wrong direction...your job is to meet the families of the victims, question them and get as much information as possible from their mouths. Maybe this way we can find something, there is no other way..."

"Can't you just use force to calm them down?" Nick asked.

" Wilde, the situation is very bad to say the least. Using force will only make the situation worse. Here you have the details of where you will find the people you are looking for, go there, gather information and come back. We will think about what to do next," answered Caroline seriously. She handed a folder with the documents to Nick and Judy each and then they could leave the room.

When Nick and Judy got into the car, Nick decided to drive. But before they drove off, they let the documents they had been given check to discover how many people they were looking for.

"Angel Cad, Bratt Gun, Sopfia Williams...Coldroad 53, longstreet 22, greenbelt 88...we're looking for 6 people who are in different locations...it's going to be a long night" Judy sighed closing her catalogue and putting it down on the cockpit of the car. Nick didn't reply. He stared steadily at one line of text on the document, looking as if the printed text had consumed him.

"Nick?"

"What, ah yes, it's going to be a long night...let's go now, the sooner we get there the sooner we'll be done" replied Nick shaking his head vigorously from side to side. He closed his folder and placed it on Judy's folder then started the car.

"You look a bit stressed..." Judy remarked. Nick didn't hide his displeasure at having to go to the foxy neighborhood, but at the same time he didn't want Judy to see that this trip was causing him stress.

"You think " replied Nick coolly.

"Nicky, I know that look, I can see it after all..." Judy replied. Nick couldn't hide it any longer, it was just a fact. No one knew his look like Judy, she was the only one who could read so much information from his eyes that he didn't have to say anything for her to know how the boy felt.

"Ekh...I told you Judy what situation I had, it's just that when I hear what's going on over there I'm afraid I'll remember what happened to me..."

"Relax Nick, remember I'll be there for you. And together nothing bad can happen to us, right?" Judy asked. She noticed a kind of relaxation and relief on the fox's face, his muscles on his face relaxed and his steely cold gaze changed to a warm one, he even smiled slightly and giggled. Her psychological game had worked, not for the first time.

"Yes, Carrots, as always you are right," Nick admitted to her.

The Fox District was located on the western side of the Zootopia border, on the warmest side of the metropolis. When Judy and Nick arrived at the border dividing Zootopia and the Fox District, they could see several military vehicles at the entrance gate, and the military themselves covered in soldier's clothes. Their faces were covered with soulless black masks that allowed them to protect themselves from the angry crowd of people. Two soldiers stood at the entrance with rifles ready to fire to make sure that no one entered or left the town without permission. The town was now surrounded by the army at every entrance and exit to make sure no one could enter or escape.

"Badge please" The soldier communicated as Nick stopped by a pair of soldiers. He unfastened his badge from his chest and handed it into the soldiers hands. After taking a closer look at it, he calmly returned the item to the fox's paws.

"Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps probably, yes?"

"Yes that's right".

"We have received information that you are to come into town. Go straight and at the first intersection turn left. We only managed to unblock this road for you, the others may be difficult" the soldier communicated. Nick thanked him for the information and then drove through the town boundary. Immediately as they drove a dozen metres or so, they could hear screams coming from the city centre. Although the screams were jumbled together, and not much detail could be heard they managed to hear for Judy a few words, which thanks to her sensitive ears she tried to hear as much as possible.

As she glanced over at Nick, she could see him eyeing the passing buildings that surrounded them with a nervous glance. The foundations weren't in the best condition, there were a lot of old, unkempt buildings that looked bleak and sad. It might have seemed that this gloomy and sad night was a harbinger of the place, in the city it was hard to find any light from the Christmas lights that would paint the grey-brown streets with a cheerful colour. Here everything was dark, grey and gloomy. The only thing that gave light to parts of the centre were the single lights in the blocks of flats where the residents lived. Everything changed when an intersection appeared in front of them, where several rows of soldiers and policemen with shields, armour and weapons were making a barricade in front of a crowd of people who, firing red flares towards the sky, lit up the sky in a blood red colour. Some of the crowd were holding all sorts of placards with different inscriptions, such as:

"we want to know the truth!", "what is going on?" "who is behind this?".

Judy, when she saw the crowds and the soldiers blocking them and even sometimes using violence against them to push them away was surprised and moved by such behaviour. She had never seen such a large protest, the sight of the public arguing with each other moved Judy deeply, if it was up to her she would try to bring the situation to calm but she knew that was not possible. Nick, on the other hand, watched what was happening in the street with hard eyes. He didn't look like he was particularly surprised by what he saw. In his head he admitted to himself that there had never been such a big demonstration in this city, but there had been similar protests in the past, only on a smaller scale.

"Can we go on?" Nick asked as Judy gazed further into the raging crowd.

"Yes... let's go..." Replied Judy uncertainly.