The Good Life

I actually had a lot of fun with this chapter. I'd say this is my favorite one so far, so I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own the Bad Guys or Zootopia.

Chapter Nine:

Wolf stood on the sidewalk outside the massive ZPD building, staring up at the main doors nervously. His hands were stuffed into his pockets to prevent them from fidgeting so much. Over the past few days, he'd tried to figure out a way to go about this task. He couldn't bribe or blackmail Nick since he was a police officer. He'd be breaking the law, which meant Nick would have every right to arrest or fine him. That really limited his options, so he decided on the simplest course of action possible.

Apologize.

Not just for what happened a few days ago at Viktor's garage. For everything. Wolf had never seen what happened sixteen years ago to be his fault—at least not entirely—but Nick clearly did. Perhaps, now was the time to swallow his pride and apologize for that unfortunate incident and try to move on. Knowing Nick, the fox might be a bit more willing to talk after an apology...and maybe a few drinks.

Admittedly, the thought of repairing his old friendship with Nick was a welcome yet terrifying prospect. They were close once, like he and Snake were now—not just partners, but best friends, too. To have that friendship rekindled would give him hope that maybe some of his other broken ties could be fixed, too. Failure, however, would carry with it a steep price. Not only would it prove his fears right, that no one from his old life would welcome him back, but his friends in LA might end up homeless or worse, especially if things did escalate into lawsuit territory.

He couldn't afford to fail here, even if he was afraid that failure was an inevitability in this situation. What reason did Nick have to help? None. He was basically relying on Nick deciding to help for old times' sake, but expecting him to still have any attachment or feelings of camaraderie was stupid.

Yet here he was...standing outside the ZPD hoping beyond hope that, deep down, Nick still wanted to be his friend. Heck, he'd take 'friendly acquaintance' at this point.

There was nothing for it, though. Wolf sighed, fingering the folded-up piece of paper in his pocket. It was just a short note asking Nick to join him at a nearby bar tonight. Better, more personal explanations could wait until they were face-to-face.

Steeling himself, Wolf began walking up the stairs to the building, moving past a few other citizens and officers entering or exiting the building. As he entered the glass doors, a cool blast of AC hit him full force, a stark difference from the warm spring day outside. There weren't many officers walking around inside. It was just before noon, so all the beat cops would already be out and about. There were probably a few detectives still in the building working on cases or paperwork. Other than them, the only officers still in the building were the office staff, such as the records keeper, the forensics team, and, of course, the fat cheetah receptionist who was munching on a donut. There was an open box of them next to him, though it seemed half empty already.

Wolf really hoped the cheetah hadn't eaten all of those himself. That was just a heart attack waiting to happen.

"Hi," he greeted upon approach. The cheetah, Clawhauser from the nameplate on the desk, started and looked up from his phone. Wolf glanced down and saw it was a Gazelle app. Upon seeing Wolf looking at his phone with a raised brow, Clawhauser threw the phone under a stack of papers and grinned sheepishly.

"Uh, hi! Welcome to the ZPD! My name is Clawhauser. How can I help you?" That was a rather...rushed delivery. Maybe he was just embarrassed.

Wolf just let out an amused snort, putting on his signature grin and pulling out the folded note. "I'm an old friend of Officer Wilde's," he began, the cheetah's eyes lighting up in glee.

"O...M...Goodness! You have the exact same grin that Nick does!" Wolf blinked at that, suddenly confused. "You two could be twins! Except for, you know...species difference..."

Well...Nick had taught him a few things way back when, and they were both canines. It was very possible that they had similar expressions at times. "Riiiight... Anyway, could you give this to him when he gets back on Monday?"

"Gets back? Nick and Judy are here." Anxiety hit him like a ton of bricks, though he didn't let it show. He'd really rather hoped to get this done without them being here. "You can give it to him yourself if you want."

"No, thanks. I've got to get going. Got things to do, you know? I just wanted to drop this off." He placed the note down on the counter with a small, slightly forced smile. If Clawhauser noticed the suspicious behavior, he didn't give any indication "I'll go ahead and be on my way. Ciao."

As he got to the door, he noticed a certain fox in the reflection. Nick was coming out of one of the rooms in the back of the lobby, but he didn't seem to notice Wolf since the lobby was so massive. Taking his cue, Wolf split, opening the door and rushing down the stairs without looking too suspicious. He fast-walked down the stairs and to the sidewalk, unlocking his car. He spared a glance at the meter, seeing that he still had a few minutes to spare. Then, he got in, started it up, put on his sunglasses, and pulled out.

As he drove by the front of the ZPD building and stopped at the light there, he risked a glance over at it. Nick was standing at the top of the stairs, his expression impossible to make out at this distance. But Wolf didn't need to see his expression to know the fox was looking right at him.

Wolf watched the fox for a moment before the car behind him honked, the light having turned green. He hit the gas, leaving both the other car and the ZPD behind, though he made sure to stay within the speed limit...maybe five over.

He spent the next few hours up at the garage trying to figure out the electrical problems on his Ferrari. It was a Saturday, so this was purely to keep busy until tonight. He still had the spare key Viktor gave him, and the bear still let him come up here whenever he wanted. Sometimes, he even came up for whatever reason and checked on Wolf's progress while he was up there. Today was not one of those days.

At five, Wolf left and went back to the apartment. Snake wasn't there. After telling the serpent what happened over in LA and his idea to make some quick cash—which Snake had agreed with—he'd decided to go out and try and connect with the city's underground in the hopes of finding someone else who could point them in the right direction. So far, Snake had had no luck, and Wolf was tired of waiting for another avenue. If Nick helped, great. If not, Snake was looking for a backup plan.

After a quick shower, Wolf dressed in a light grey casual suit with a white shirt beneath the unbuttoned jacket. Then, he listened to the news for about thirty minutes while he looked up some local stories about street racing on his phone. There were a few witness testimonies about crashes and other accidents detailing who was involved, when and where it happened, but nothing about who ran the street scene or how to find them. That was no surprise, though. The police had a rather large presence in Zootopia. There were car meets, sure, but no one there had any information—or were willing to share any information, at least—about the actual racing scene. He'd gone to a few and asked around. Discreetly, of course.

Wolf had scheduled the meeting with Nick to be at seven at a small bar a few blocks away from his current apartment. Actually, he'd expected it to be on Monday night, but he didn't leave a date in the note, just a request to meet him at the bar at seven. The change in plans didn't bother him, though, so left at half past six, walking the short distance to his destination. With it being a Saturday night, the streets were a bit more crowded than normal. Some people, like him, were probably going out to bars or clubs. Others might have been going on dates to restaurants or the movies. Whatever the case, tonight was the one night a week where people could go out and do something fun without having to worry about waking up—or getting up—early, and a lot of them were taking advantage of it.

The bar was a small place in an old brick building. The shutters were faded and chipped, the once vibrant forest green paint now almost lime-colored. The neon sign flickered, the 'a' in 'Bar' having gone out. Still, the outline of a frothy mug was proudly lit by orange neon tubes.

The inside wasn't much better. The green, leather seats were cracked, some torn by claws or through use. The wooden tables were stained with grease and chipped. Some even had words, initials, or rather immature pictures carved into them. An old radio quietly played a local classic rock station, the old jukebox beside the bar out of order according to the sign on it.

The barkeep, an older lioness that had been here since he was a teenager, was friendly enough, waving to him and telling him to have a seat wherever as she served a pair of tigers at the bar. A she-wolf was sitting closer to the door, her ears pierced with three golden rings each on the outer edges. She was dressed in goth-style clothes, and if he had to guess, she wasn't actually twenty-one.

He didn't bother saying anything. This place was sort of known for letting in underage people. To a point, obviously. Anyone over eighteen had a pretty good chance of getting in since the barkeep didn't card anyone. Anyone who looked too young wouldn't be served alcohol, but the old lioness would still serve them food.

There's no telling how many times she'd been fined for that. It was a wonder she was still in charge of this place. Scratch that, it was a wonder this place was still running with the condition it was in.

It was a pred-only bar, too. No prey mammals were allowed in, so most everyone who came here didn't like socializing with prey for one reason or another. It was a rather unpopular place, and Wolf had a sneaking suspicion that the old lioness was actually laundering money. It would explain why this place was still open despite the meager clientele.

Despite all that, however, there was a reason Wolf chose this bar. Back when he was sixteen and Nick was seventeen, they'd come in here with fake IDs just to see if they'd work. They didn't. The barkeep had seen right through their ruse, but she'd let them have a single bottle of hard lemonade each. Neither of them had gotten even the least bit buzzed from such a weak drink, but it was still a fun time, especially when the tater tots and fried pickles came out. He remembered them being delicious, so much so, in fact, that they'd gotten so full on those that they couldn't even finish the burgers they ordered.

That was the first time he ever had a drink, and one of the last good nights he had with Nick. It wasn't long after that night that things went wrong.

"What can I get ya, hun?" the lioness asked, pen and pad ready to take his order, not that she really needed it since there were only three other patrons here.

Wolf didn't even need to glance at the menu. "I've got a friend joining me soon..." Hopefully, he mentally added. "...so how about a pair of hard lemonades for me and him. And maybe an order of fried pickles and tater tots to munch on."

"You got it, hun!" With that chipper response, she was off to gather the drinks and cook the food. It was less than a minute before she was back, two open bottles in her hands. She dropped them off with a, "Here ya go!" to which he thanked her.

He glanced at the label and smiled. "Same brand, too..." he muttered, taking a swig. This was about the only kind of alcohol he drank. Being drunk was not something he enjoyed. He leaned back against the booth's back, left hand resting on the table and right resting around the cold bottle.

He was near the back wall and facing the door. That way, he could see the moment that Nick arrived...if he arrived at all. Honestly, he sincerely doubted Nick would. Again, what reason did he have, especially after what happened a few days ago?

He thanked the barkeep for the food when it eventually arrived, checking his phone for the time.

7:03

Wolf sighed and put it away. Sure, there was a chance he was just late, but that small hope was probably nothing more than naïve optimism. At least the food was as good as he remembered. The tater tots had enough salt on them to put the ocean to shame, and the fried pickles were simultaneously greasy and crispy. Paired with the southwest sauce, he was of the opinion that this was the pinnacle of good food.

He sighed again, this time, though it was more wistful rather than sad. This whole trip down memory lane wasn't so bad. The sights, the sounds, the tastes...it was all the same as sixteen years ago.

All except for a certain fox, that is.

Occasionally, he'd check the time on his phone between a swig of his drink or a bite of food. By 7:15, his drink was gone, so he ordered another. By 7:30, the food was gone. By 7:45, the drink he'd ordered for Nick was gone. And by 8, the hope was gone.

Wolf just sat there, staring at the empty bottles and baskets. By this point, the barkeep actually seemed worried for him, though he didn't say or do anything. The tiger couple had already left by then, and a grizzly bear had taken a seat at the bar in their place. The she-wolf was still there, though. She'd been watching him with a flirtatious grin for the past ten minutes now.

Speaking of which...

"I guess whoever you were waitin' for left you high and dry, huh?" she said, taking the seat across from him. He glanced at her, barely stifling an annoyed groan and replacing it with a small smile. "Mind if I take their spot?"

She was quite pretty beneath the goth getup. Her fur was a similar shade to his, and her eyes were a deep blue. Based on what he could see, she was also quite fit. He couldn't help but steal a small glance at the bit of her chest that she had exposed before moving his gaze up to her eyes. "Can I help you?" he asked politely.

"I think I should be the one asking that to you," she grinned, resting her elbows on the table and her head in her hands. Coincidentally, the posture made her chest puff out even further. "You look lonely, and I'm a little lonely. Maybe we could be alone together for a while?"

He shook his head. "Tempting, but no. I have a girlfriend."

"Not much of a girlfriend if she leaves you hanging like this," she shot back, undeterred.

"Well, it'd be kind of hard for her to join me since she lives in California," he replied, hoping she would take the hint.

"Long distance, huh?" She smirked and disappeared under the table. He tensed, not knowing what she was about to do but ready to bolt if this took a weird turn—or weirder turn. Thankfully, there was nothing...untoward that happened. She merely popped up next to him in the booth, absolutely no space between them, and rested her cheek on his shoulder. "She wouldn't have to know."

"Uhh..." He really had no idea what to do here. This whole situation was as creepifying as it was arousing. It wasn't every day a girl this pretty came onto him like this. He normally tried to avoid these situations since relationships, especially physical ones, were outside his comfort zone. Yes, he was a shameless flirt, but the moment it was turned around on him, he was usually out of there. "H-How old are you?"

She huffed. "Don't you know it's rude to ask a girl that? But to answer, I'm twenty-four. Everyone says I look a lot younger than I am." To prove it, she pulled out her ID. Wolf could spot a fake from a mile away, but this one looked genuine no matter how hard he tried to find any discrepancies. "Let me guess, though..." She pulled away and studied him intently. "Thirty...one?"

"Thirty-two," he corrected. She shrugged, leaning into him again. Just when he was about to tell her to leave—or perhaps leave himself, maybe go take a cold shower—something unexpected happened.

"Am I interrupting something?" Wolf's gaze shot to the speaker and breathed a sigh of relief. Nick was watching the scene with a carefully neutral expression.

"No—"

"Yes!" the she-Wolf, Grace by her ID, cut him off, glaring at the fox. "You are! Go away, fox, and mind your own business!" Nick didn't move from his spot. Instead, he just pulled out his wallet as Grace continued to glare at him. "Why are you still here, perv!? I think—" She shut up when she noticed the badge. She was off of Wolf in an instant, so he got out of the booth and gestured for her to go. "I think I'll just go...Sorry, Officer..." she finished quietly, dropping a bill onto the bar with a quiet, "Keep the change," and leaving the building, altogether. The barkeep snorted in amusement at the retreating she-wolf as she grabbed the money.

"Thanks for the save," Wolf grinned, though it was forced. Faced with his old friend, he was actually even more nervous than before. "I was beginning to think you weren't coming."

"I almost didn't," Nick replied, hopping up into the opposite booth. He glanced at Wolf's forced smile before reaching for one of the empty bottles, turning it to read the label. "Hard lemonade...and I'm guessing those were fried pickles and tater tots." Wolf nodded when Nick gestured at the two empty baskets. The fox still looked angry, but his curiosity was beginning to come through. "Alright, spill. What's with the sudden trip down memory lane?"

"What? A guy can't invite an old friend out to have a good time?" Wolf joked.

Nick just frowned, not amused in the slightest. "After what happened earlier this week? What do you want, Wolf?" Wolf sighed, letting his false grin fall. They knew each other too well to hide their real feelings under a mask.

For a while, Wolf just sat there and fiddled with one of the bottles, not able to look Nick in the eyes. Eventually, however, just when Nick appeared to be getting impatient, he finally spoke. "To apologize."

Nick blinked, only mildly surprised. His expression quickly turned suspicious, though. "Fifteen years you've been gone, and not once did you even try to contact me. You've been in the city for months now, and you clearly still didn't want anything to do with me when we finally crossed paths earlier this week. I ask again: what do you want?"

Wolf huffed, frustrated. "Maybe it's not the whole reason I asked you to come, but it's part of it, okay? I really am trying to apologize here. You blame me. I get it. For a long time, I blamed you for what happened."

"You're the one who went off-plan!" Nick snapped.

"And you hesitated!" Wolf shot back. "If you hadn't tried to argue with me and just gone along with it, we would have been out, scot-free!" They glared at each other for a few seconds before Wolf huffed and looked away. "I'm not trying to bring up old wounds, okay? What's done is done. Both of us deserve part of the blame, whether we'd like to admit it or not."

He and Nick's partnership started to become a lot more strained in their last few months together. Wolf wanted to go big, start planning out larger and riskier heists that would earn them international infamy. Nick didn't. He was perfectly content with staying here in Zootopia with his popsicle hustle, but he went along with a few of Wolf's grander schemes just to keep him happy.

Their last heist was robbing a small bank, something that was so easy for Wolf now, but back then, he was new to the whole thing. It was supposed to be his first big success. Get in, get the money, get out. That was the plan. They'd knocked the security guard out in the restroom before starting the stick-up, but one of the clients inside had tried to play hero and make a play for Wolf's gun. It was a fake, but no one else in the bank knew that. Wolf ended up breaking the horse's arm and knocking him unconscious.

Nick wanted out after that. He didn't care about the money, which was already being loaded into the bag. After Wolf knocked that horse out, Nick even tried to get him to stop, arguing that it'd gone too far. Wolf argued that, yeah, they had, so now they had no choice but to see it through.

They fought.

In the end, Wolf overpowered the fox and left him behind. The cops were just too close to continue arguing, so he didn't have any other choice. Wolf got away in a stolen car, and Nick spent the next six months in prison. Witness testimonies saying how Nick had tried to stop Wolf were probably the only reason he hadn't stayed in there longer. People said that Wolf was the real criminal, that it seemed Nick had just been hanging with the wrong crowd. Both of them were still technically minors at the time, though Nick did turn eighteen while in prison.

Wolf hadn't bothered trying to convince Nick to rejoin him after he got out, and Nick never looked for him. He ended up leaving the city not long after Nick's release because of that and...other reasons.

"You were right," he continued. "I did go too far. But you let me reach that point. All those other robberies we did? Never once did you say anything. Never once did you try to convince me otherwise. You went along with it all, remember? You only said something when someone got hurt, but it was too late by then. We're both equally responsible for what happened."

"You knew I didn't want to do any of that!" Nick snapped. "And I did tell you that many times! I only went along with it because you assured me that no one would get hurt and because you swore the bank job would be the last one. I did all that for you, Wolf! Because I trusted you!" Nick scoffed. "And what did I get for my trouble? Six months in jail and nine months of therapy. My parents disowned me, Wolf! They hadn't spoken a word to me until a few months ago when I finally started turning my life around!"

Wolf growled and dug his claws into the table, creating fresh grooves in the scarred wood. "At least you still have parents."

Nick's expression softened, and he looked down with a sigh. "Sorry...I know your situation is worse than mine. I wasn't trying to compare them."

A few calming breaths later, and Wolf sat back again, his glare disappearing. "You have my apology. Whether you accept it or not is up to you."

Nick studied him for a moment before carefully beginning to talk. "Let's say I do... Why now? What do you want from me?"

Well...this was the moment of truth. "Later, on that same day we ran into each other, I got a call from back home. My friends' apartment burned down. It was an accident, but the source of the fire came from their room. Other residents are threatening lawsuits." He paused at that, not knowing how to ask this question without Nick freaking out.

Nick shrugged in confusion. "So...what? You want advice? Money? Because I have no advice, and I'm not giving you money."

"Gee, thanks..." Wolf huffed. But he shook his head. "But no...I don't need your money. I need directions. See, I came back to enter into the upcoming racing festival. It...didn't exactly work out. My job at the garage pays well enough, but I need a lot of cash fast if I'm going to help them."

Nick held up his hands just then, so Wolf paused, watching him curiously. "Okay...it sounds like you're going to ask me for help in something illegal, so I'm going to remind you that I'm an officer of the law."

Wolf frowned. "I know. So you know I wouldn't be asking unless it was extremely important to me. And you don't have to do anything accept give me a name and where to find them." Nick crossed his arms but gestured for him to continue. "Who runs the street-racing circuit?"

The fox was quiet for a long time. At first, Wolf thought he wasn't going to answer when he said, "You know I could arrest you for asking that, right?" And then, he asked, "Why should I tell you?"

"You can arrest me now, sure, but only under suspicion. You have no charges against me since I haven't done anything. Tell me where to go, and you'll have a chance to actually catch me in the act." Nick actually appeared intrigued by that. "That's what you want, right? A chance to throw me in jail? Payback for what happened sixteen years ago?"

The fox hummed in thought and nodded. "Alright, I'll play your game for now. I don't know who runs the street scene, but I know someone who does."

"Who?" Wolf immediately asked.

Nick chuckled. "Your boss."

AN: And...cue dramatic music!

In Zootopia, you can actually see where Nick marked 'yes' under the question 'Have you ever been arrested?" on the application before scratching it out. So, I came up with a little history as to how and why he would've been. Is it believable?

Questions? Comments? Thoughts? I do read all reviews.

Until Next Time

AdmiralCole22