Chapter 18: Plans for Tomorrow
"So Judy, are you really sure you want to do this?" Fangmeyer asked as the two of them left Bogo's office. "I mean, you didn't even ask him yet, but you already went ahead and asked Bogo for permission. Kinda jumping the gun on it, aren't you?"
Judy grinned back. Once more with a mission to pursue, her spirits had lifted quite considerably. "No, I don't think so," she answered calmly.
"Just that it's not just Trigger whom you didn't ask yet," Fangmeyer explained further, "you didn't ask either Nick or James, which is also quite important, considering your idea kind of hinges on both of them agreeing to it."
The grin on Judy's face only grew bigger. "Okay, so we'll find them first and ask them," she said, only slightly deviating the course of corridors they were walking through with the simple change of plan. "But do you really think either one of them will say no? After all, if even Chief Bogo agreed, then you might think that I have a thing going here."
Dahlia frowned. "It's not that I think your idea is bad, Judy," she said carefully, "all I'm saying is: that's a lot of other mammals you're relying on to make your plan work. James, for one, will almost certainly have some doubts about it. Not-" she added quickly, "-that I am saying straight away that he will say 'no', just that you will need to prepare for that possibility. And I don't know about Nick either. What if they will not agree with your idea? I can see how excited you're getting over this, Hopps. Will hate to see your disappointment if it will come down to that."
"And you won't get to find out," Judy confidently boasted, "because I know they will agree to it. I will make them. Call if a hustle if you must, but I don't think I will need to resort to trickery for either one of them. And I definitely know that Trigger won't need to be convinced either, so there you have it."
Fangmeyer grunted, amused. "You hang out with Wilde too much," she commented. "And I'm not talking about work either." Judy simply smiled back innocently, pretending not to realize what he was implying. A few more corridors and doors down, and the two of them reached the final door before the medical bay of the precinct. From the chatter and laughter coming in from inside, both James and Nick were there, enjoying what sounded like a rather excited conversation and just generally joking around. "Sounds like someone's enjoying their time off," she commented, then smirked gleefully. "But since they didn't join us at Bogo's office, how about we go and ruin it for them?"
Judy returned the smirk and nodded. "Oh, absolutely!" She let Fangmeyer open the door for the two of them, following the larger officer inside. "We're back, boys!" she greeted cheerfully, stopping in front of the two canidaes.
Nick waved at her with a grin, relaxing on a comfortable looking cloth armchair. Next to him, James was also relaxing on a similar chair, laptop propped up on his knees, and fur still slightly damp from a shower which he had taken recently. Overall though, both of them looked in a much better mood than when they had driven back.
"Long time no see, Hopps. Fangmeyer. Might have even been an entire hour." Next to the two of them, sitting on a spare stool, was Count, casually sewing together a part of his flight uniform. Judy remembered Fangmeyer telling her how he had acted quite embarrassed over being discovered performing his hobby, but now he looked like he couldn't care any less about it. He held up the uniform to show off his work. "What do you think? Like new again, right?"
"Eh, close enough," Dahlia answered, not actually looking to closely. "Nick, James, has Bogo messaged you about tomorrow?"
James shrugged, closing the lid on the laptop. "Not us, but yes to doc Honey. We already know about the medical leave."
"Could have used it today," Nick added. "But I can let it slide as one of those 'better late than never' type of deals." He let out a long exaggerated yawn. "I for one am very much looking forward to sleeping in for once."
Judy huffed and placed her pawn on her hips. "Nick..." she warned. There was no way that Doctor Honey didn't tell them that what Nick was planning on wasn't on the table.
Nick pretended not to hear her, continued instead with listing off what he wished he could do. "Wake up when I am getting sick of lying in bed, make breakfast at two in the afternoon-"
"A break-lunch," Wolford corrected. "Pancakes or waffles, didn't decide which yet."
"Yes yes, a very late break-lunch," Nick nodded. "Blueberry pancakes, only the best! Then perhaps watch some TV for the rest of the day." He winked at Judy. "And you can stop staring at me like that, Carrots. A guy can dream, can't he?" To further emphasize his point, he lifted one of his arms to reveal an IV line going into it. "Safer and more tested than the new pills we were taking earlier. It's the same stuff that was developed after we caught Bellweather, so it's known what it does. But until doc comes back, we're both stuck here," he explained, motioning to Jame's own line.
Next to him, James chuckled. "About that, don't worry, doc already went over the course of action for tomorrow with us. As she insists: Tomorrow, move around even more, yadda yadda, nothing new here." Shifting to a more comfortable position on the chair, he stared at Dahlia. "I know that look. Okay, which one of you already has some elaborate plan? Or perhaps Bogo already made up his mind for us..."
Fangmeyer smirked and gently pushed Judy closer. "Hopps, since it's your idea, care to share?"
Judy grumbled at being forced into the spotlight, but it was far more in jest than actual sincere negativity towards the other officer.
"Hopps has an idea?" Count's voice interrupted from somewhere else in the medical bay. "Let's hear it!" The pilot walked over from somewhere else in the medical bay, fighting to put on his flight suit. While the upper half was struggling to contain his torso, the bottom portion was left dangling around his legs.
Unable to stop herself from looking lower, Judy was relieved to see that he was still wearing a set of loaned pants in the meantime. Immediate crisis averted, she still couldn't help but ask, "wait, what's with your uniform?"
Count smirked, patting his stomach. "Well, this is my second flight suit, after the first one got all torn up. But this one was fitted to me when I was well with four-four-four. And while I don't want to say that the ZPD is making me fat, the fact that the suit doesn't fit right is perhaps a point of concern." He then frowned, pulling the suit off to reveal that he was also still wearing a light ZPD t-shirt underneath. "Come to think of it, I know for a fact that I improved my performance down at your gymn since being stuck here. So its definitely not fat." He then started to chuckle, shaking his head. "Hope there aren't a lot of pictures of me back at that base. Don't want to see how much weight I lost over there."
He flipped the suit over, and after a moment's pause, shoved an arm back through one of the sleeves. Leaning into the turn, he grinned as he showed off the new badge attached in its correct place. "Looks good, doesn't it?" he asked, an odd sense of pride in his voice.
James grinned and nodded, flashing a thumbs up. "Sure does."
Nick used both paws to also show his approval. "Truth be told, didn't think you'll get so excited over wearing that patch. What's it all with Strike's head on it and all."
Count grunted, pulling his arm out to examine the patch again. "Yeah, good point. But... It's our patch. Trigger's head or not, this new design is because of something we did as a unit, compared to the plain old one that was simply given to us. So the new design, especially if it's Tabloid's, well, it's all of us, together. As a squad." His voice faded as he rolled up the flight suit. "And with McDicksey in charge, you really have to take anything you can to claim as your own." Grunting again, he set the suit down and sat down on a spare chair. "Yes, it's the same argument we had in the car driving here. And yes, our squad is that bad. And no, I don't want to get into it again." Unexpectedly, he broke into a grin as he leaned back against the chair. "So with that, Hopps, you said you had an idea?"
Judy blinked, having fully expecting Count to go into arguing again. "Oh, right, um, the idea, well..." She cleared her throat in an attempt to hide how much she stumbled over her own words. Rather silly, she agreed, especially since she had no issues telling of her idea to Bogo and Fangmeyer. "So I was thinking, since what the two of you could really use is a nice long hike-" She stopped as Nick grunted in annoyance.
Pointing a finger at him, she continued in a bored tone. "Don't dismiss it just yet, Nick. Besides, it's for your own good." As Nick grumbled with disdain in reply, but letting her continue, Judy still had to wait as James giggled at the fox's reaction to his complaining. "And Dahlia's and my task for tomorrow is in fact to make sure that the two of you don't lazy about on your tails tomorrow, I was thinking that uh, well, the best way to explain it is that it was Trigger who gave me the idea."
"Trigger?" Count interrupted. "What's he got to do with this?"
"I was getting to that, Count, if you please," Judy answered quickly with a hint of impatience. "So as I was saying about Trigger-" she stopped again when Count broke into a grin. Next to him, both Nick and James were also trying hard to suppress their own laughter. Dropping her arms to her sides in annoyance, Judy tilted her head at the three of them. "What?"
While the two officers continued to giggle, it was the pilot who was able to answer, even if his voice was strained with amusement. "Well, you're talking about Trigger like he's not here," Count explained slowly. "I mean, might has well bring him into the conversation if you're going to talk about him."
Judy blinked again. "Uh, yeah, but he isn't here." She felt something was off when James had to press on his own nose to suppress a snort of laughter. She stole a glance towards the remaining officer in the room, but Fangmeyer only shook her head with a confused shrug. Dahlia also didn't have a clue as to what was so funny. But Judy was certain she could figure it out. "He's here, isn't he?" she asked accusingly, glaring at Count.
"Right in one, Carrots!" Nick answered.
"Okay. Where?" Spreading her arms wide, Judy motioned across the room. Apart from the three males relaxing in the chairs, it was just her and Fangmeyer in the room. Even Doctor Honey wasn't in at the moment. Next to her, Dahlia grumbled in agreement to her question.
Count jerked his head to the side towards an armchair that was facing a work computer. "Uh, right here. Where else?" Still not seeing any sign of anyone else, Judy walked over for a better look, Dahlia close behind her.
Fangmeyer found him first. Snorting from trying to hold back laughter, she asked, "Really? Here?"
With her sight no longer blocked by the back of the chair, Judy saw what Count and Dahlia were referring to. She covered her mouth with a paw, softly cooing at the sight of the remaining pilot.
Aww, too cute!
She absolutely had the right to use that word, if only to herself, even when referring to others. Or Trigger, in this case - she was the rabbit in the room after all.
There was Trigger, fast asleep. He was curled up completely to fit on the chair, tail curled around his body protectively. Only his his head wasn't on the seat cushion, instead resting on one of the armrests and using it as a sort of hard pillow. Looking over the sleeping coyote, a large part of Judy was relieved at seeing how relaxed he looked, a far cry to his appearance when he had woken her up in the middle of the night. Though a second glance at his head rather diminished the cute feeling as she spotted his slightly open mouth, allowing a small line of drool to slowly leak out and down onto his shirt. Another part of her wondered how he had managed to remain completely oblivious to all the noise around him – she and Dahlia had heard Nick and James talking through a closed door. And yet here he was, silently and obliviously dozing away. She remembered being told by Fangmeyer about his sometimes 'strange sleeping habits', and this must have been what she was referring to. Judy let out another little coo as one of his ears twitched in his sleep.
Nick, upon hearing the noise coming from her, smirked in her direction, reaching out from his chair to poke her in the side. "You bunnies!"
Judy shot him a playful glare back, but didn't bother to deny the accusation. "You know though, about my idea? I can wait on letting Trigger know and just tell you guys now. He looks so peaceful, and I don't want to wake him." She again ignored Nick's smirk. Instead, she pulled her phone out, knowing that she had the perfect opportunity to take a picture to share with Clawhauser. But before she was able to do so, her phone decided to beat her to the punch as it woke up with a notification on a new message. She frowned as she read that it was from Bogo. Ugh, of all times to be needed. Deciding that a picture can wait, she opened up the message.
Where can I find you and Fangmeyer? And do you know where our pilots are?
Quickly typing in a reply, Judy sent away so that she can get back to trying to get a picture. We're all at the medical wing.
Again, the reply arrived before she was able to take a picture. Stay there, I'll be there soon.
With a sigh, she showed the short exchange to the other officers. "Guess we do need to wake him then," she added.
Fangmeyer nodded in agreement. "Better than after Bogo arrives," she confirmed, "don't worry, I got a picture." Sure enough, she showed her own phone, and the picture of the sleeping pilot on it. "Want to do the honors then?"
"I'll do it!" Count volunteered, clearly eager to mess around with his fellow pilot some more.
Judy stopped him before he could do so. "No you're not, Count!" she shot back. "Whatever it is that you're planning, don't even think of doing it!" Pushing him back away from the armchair, she turned back towards the still sleeping Trigger. Dahlia helped her with making sure that Count would stay away as Judy turned back around. Reaching out, she gently started to rub the top of his head between his ears. It really did help that the level of the chair meant that his head was right at her arm's level and not above like normally.
From behind her, Nick snorted. "Hey, Fluff, question: How come when you want to wake me up, it's always with a sharp jab in the ribs or something else that's painful, but when it come to him, you decide to give him a head massage?"
Judy didn't even look back as she answered back without even thinking. "That's because he's not my fox," she said simply, scratching some more as both of Trigger's ears started to stir in response to her motions. Despite her retort being nothing more than the first thing that came to her mind, and since she wasn't looking at Nick, she didn't get to see the unexpressed smile and genuine beam of approval coming from him at her simple comment. What she did notice was his tone when he answered back.
"Well, when you phrase it that way… I guess I can let it slide, Carrots." Though with Nick being whom he was, he couldn't let his statement end just like that. "Would still appreciate it if you could poke me around a little less, though."
"I'll keep that in mind," Judy answered back, grinning as her scratching slowly but surely started to have its effect on the sleeping pilot.
Groaning despite the slowly forming smile on his muzzle, Trigger tried to shrug her paw off by barely moving his head. "...Go... away... Tabloid..." he mumbled sleepily, "...I'm… tired..." Ignoring his complaining, Judy only scratched harder, finding it funny that he was mistaking her for someone else.
Count found it funny, too. "How sweet, he thinks we're back at four-four-four," he said. "The pilot with the three strikes. How fearsome."
Trigger fidgeted a bit more, ears swiveling in the deer's direction. "...You too Count..." he mumbled again, "...go away..."
"Fine, I will. But McDicksey's heading over, just so you know," Count said loudly, making sure that his voice would get through the waking fog that was still clearly effecting Trigger.
The effect was instantaneous. With a surprised snort, Trigger shot up from the armchair, tossing Judy's paw away from his head as he struggled to untangle his own limbs.
And from his own momentum, promptly rolling right off the chair, hitting the hard tiled floor with a low thud.
Judy was upon him to help him up in a flash, pulling him gently up by an arm. "Sweet cheese and crackers, Trigger, you okay?" From behind her, the other officers, Fangmeyer included, had a different opinion on what just happened if their sudden and loud laughter was anything to go by.
"I'm fine!" Trigger answered back, shrugging Judy's paw off himself as he clambered back up to his feet. As he sat back down on the chair, he stared back at the laughing officers, an embarrassed grin of his own slowly forming on his muzzle. "Count, you're a real jerk, you know that?" he asked, wincing as he rubbed his side.
Count shrugged in reply, still laughing. "-Don't blame me! Unlike Bogo, I didn't blast an air-horn-" he had to stop to chuckle again. "-That was all you!" With a few deep breaths, he was able to calm himself down enough to talk more normally. "You know, you can try sleeping around less. Or perhaps if you really, really want to take naps, you can, you know, do it normally. As in, like normal mammals. But as to being a jerk? Hey, if Wilde here can by Hopp's fox, then I'm you jerk. You're welcome." He gave a slight nod of his head, lifting an arm up to to imitate the act of tipping the tip of a top hat. "Besides, it's you fault for being completely out of it. You were so out, in fact, that you thought we were still back at base!"
Despite still being clearly embarrassed over the whole thing, Trigger was able to also find the humor in that and also joined in the chuckles caused by Count's comment, even if his reaction was more subdued compared to everyone else. "I was out of it, wasn't I? And what's that just now about Wilde being… Hopp's fox?" Trigger looked at Nick and Judy for an explanation, they both shrugged in innocence at him, though Nick was sporting such a wide grin that it was impossible not to know that he knew what Count was talking about. Letting out a frustrated groan as he rubbed his side again. "Okay, fine, but you're still a jerk," he relented. "Though why the hell did you have to wake me up anyways? It's not like McKinsey's actually heading over."
"No, but Bogo is," Count explained in a surprisingly calm and neutral tone.
Trigger snorted. "So?" He looked over at Judy again. "He's your boss, not mine. Although-" His voice stopped as he tilted his head, as though trying to spot something in her. "It was you. You were the one scratching me to get me to wake up..."
"Guilty as charged," Judy answered, "but we did want to wake you up before Bogo arrives, even though..." she grinned, "I have to say you look quite cute when you sleep." She ignored Nick's protest at the usage of the word, wanting to conclude her statement to the pilot. "Even if you do drool." From behind her, more chuckling and snickering was heard.
"I don't-!" Trigger started to argue, only to stop when his right paw, almost as though on its own, found the wet patch of evidence on his shirt and started to rub it off fruitlessly. "Okay, then maybe I do," he relented, ears lowering slightly in shame. "But only a little!" He gave up trying to wipe the smudge and lowered his arm back down. "Still? I was asleep and you woke me up." As if to emphasize his point, he let out a loud, drawn-out yawn. "...I was rather enjoying it." He then snorted amusement. "And I thought you were Tabloid. To mistake a bunny for a timber wolf? I mean seriously..."
Before Count could again interrupt with some snarky remark, Dahlia took the initiative and beat him to it. "Hopps..." she warned, "mind actually getting around to explaining why you felt like you needed to wake him up?" She smirked down at her fellow officer as Judy shot her an angry look. "Don't look at me, I already know about your plan."
"What plan?" Trigger asked.
Judy sighed. "Yes, I was just getting to that," she answered. "Well, getting straight to it, since Nick and James both got put on medical leave for tomorrow-"
"Medical leave my furry tail," James grumbled. "That implies I get to choose what to do tomorrow." Nick nodded next to him in agreement.
Ignoring them, Judy continued with her explanation. "But they also need to follow the doctor's orders tomorrow as well, primarily the need to be active and move around even more compared to today-"
"-And hopefully not experience a repeat of today's… side effects," James grumbled again, glaring at the floor in front of him.
Even as Dahlia placed a comforting paw on his shoulder, Judy also cast him a look of sympathy before resuming with her explanation of the plan. "Well, the plan is simple, really." Eyes locked with Trigger's so that he was fully aware that she was talking to him, she then simply asked: "How would you like to go to Point Hind tomorrow?"
Her suspicions about his attitude towards the idea were confirmed when he instantly broke into a look of surprised gratefulness and hopefulness, however only to be quickly hidden by a suspicious glare.
"Judy-" Trigger eyed her warily.
"It's not a trick," Judy reassured him gently. "It's relatively close. Nick and James both need to be out and about tomorrow. It's the woods, so can be rather pretty but also isolated… and we are all aware that you spend far too much time staring at maps of the place," she ignored the sound of Count sniggering again. "Sorry, I didn't want it to come out as condescending. What I mean is… we know that place means a lot to you. So now that we have a great opportunity to go there, why are you hesitating?"
Trigger ignored her as his glare settled on Nick of all mammals. "Wilde, is this some sort of hustle?" he asked warily.
"Nope," Nick answered, completely relaxed. "Just like you, until now, I didn't know what her idea was. Only some vague sort of guessing what it might be related to." He raised the arm with the IV on it. "Just in case you forgot."
With a heavy sigh, Trigger's gaze softened as it settle back to Judy. "Hopps… I want to say that I would love to go… God only knows how much I can take a break from all those drones and the news and… just get a hint of remembering what life used to be for me. But-" his gaze snapped to Dahlia. "Fangmeyer, you- we've already talked about it. Bogo would never approve."
Dahlia grinned back. "What if I told you that he did? Hopps already asked."
Judy nodded as well, reinforcing the answer with the simple gesture.
Trigger again glanced between the two repeatedly, even looking at Nick and James several times in the process. "But… why would he do that?"
Judy hesitated. She had opened her mouth to answer Trigger's question when her mind caught up with her mouth and she realized something: "I- You know, I don't actually don't know why. But he did say yes when I asked." Truth be told, the pilot was correct: Just letting Count and Trigger wander about the city of Zootopia was rather risky for Bogo already, but to let them go somewhere far more isolated? Her sensitive ears pivoted at the sound of talking coming from outside the room. "I guess if you really want to know, you can ask him yourself now," she concluded.
He looked at her with a confused expression for a brief moment until the sound of someone opening the door to their room alerted everyone to what Judy had heard. Sure enough, Chief Bogo, with Doctor Honey close behind him, walked in. Tucked underneath his arms were a pair of brown paper-wrapped packages.
Doctor Honey immediately rushed into the room towards Nick and James, only briefly glancing at Count and Trigger. "So you're the two pilots I've been told about? Don't mind me, I'm here for the officers, and don't worry, I signed the NDA."
"Good, you're all here," Bogo grunted as he glanced over everyone in the room, letting the doctor get about her business of checking up on her two patients. "Wolford, feeling better?"
"Better as can be, all things considered," James replied honestly. "Would love to be able to home, sir, if you don't mind."
Bogo grunted as he started to rummage through the packages he carried over. "That will be up to the doctor to decide. But otherwise, nothing is going to prevent that from my end. What about you, Wilde?"
Nick grinned, answering back in a rather delightful mood. "Just waiting to regain my freedom, sir!"
The chief grunted, but otherwise ignored the remark. "Count, Trigger, homework for you," he instead said, handing over the two packages. As they each took one, he continued to explain. "Word concerning the two of you is that things are about to get moving again. Perhaps it was because you two managed to impress enough mammals with your assistance on the drones in this city, but I just got off the phone with the following news: At the start of the next normal work week," he quickly glanced down at his phone to check the calendar, "so in three days, you will both be going through a series of tests, both theoretical and practical, to test that you haven't lost your piloting skills while here in the ZPD. I haven't been given any specifics yet, but that is also going to take about a week, give or take a couple of days. They'll be checking everything from fitness to whatever knowledge you pilots need to have, that much I do know." He glared at the two pilots, interrupting their process of removing the paper wrapping of the packages. "Personally, your presence here in this precinct, while I realize is not completely unwelcome by some of the officers, is still a strain on time and our mammal resources, not to mention being a legal minefield. I am not going to say that I will kick you out, but I would highly appreciate if you could leave back to your real work on your own accord."
Count grinned back. "You mean get back to flying? You don't even have to ask!" Next to him, even Trigger looked rather excited at the prospect of getting back in the air again.
"Good," Bogo grunted again, then motioned at the packages. "Then study those. Everything going well, we can expect to see you two leave within the end of the month." He then even managed to give them a small smile. "I might normally say congratulations, but I am going to wait until your transfer out is actually finalized."
He was about to speak again, but Count cut him off with a loud ripping noise as he removed the wrapping, revealing a dull blue if rather thick book. A half-second's look at the cover was all it took for his eyes to widen in surprise. "No way- Trigger, look!"
Trigger tore his own book open, immediately also breaking into the surprised, dazed look that Count wore. "Eagles," he muttered to no one in particular, voice filled with awe. "They want to transfer us to eagles." He lifted his book up, showing it off to the other officers in the room.
F-15C Pilot Operating Pawbook
Taped onto the cover was also a note that the officers weren't to be allowed to look inside.
Bogo grunted yet again at reading the note. "When you're not using them, I have a locker available to store those," he commented. "Speaking of which, did Hopps here tell you all what she was planning for tomorrow?"
"She just got around to it," James answered with a nod of his head, trying to ignore Doctor Honey as she got ready to pull the line out of his arm. Despite knowing it was coming, he still winced at the slight bite of pain as the needle was removed, then replaced and covered by a soft bandage. Though as soon as it was all done and over with, he let out a soft sigh of relief, rubbing his arm gently. "So, a hike at Point Hind, right?"
"That was what she asked about," Bogo confirmed. "Doctor, does a hike in that location sound suitable to you?"
"Anywhere is fine as long as the two of you move around more than today," Honey answered as she tossed the IV into a bio-hazard bin, only to return to Nick to start removing his. "But there are worse places to go to, I have no doubt about it. For you two though, I'm serious: Get your blood flowing. Time duration is key, too, the longer the better. The results aren't pretty if you don't."
James grimaced. "You mean like what happened to me today?" he asked in a pained voice.
Honey glanced over at him. "Unfortunately no, that was just a side effect of the new pill form of the Nighthowler medication. But if you hike for the entire day tomorrow, there won't be anything to worry about. So unless any of you have a better idea of how to spend your time, I am all for that idea."
Bogo nodded again. "Hopps, Fangmeyer, I want the two of you to make sure that they carry out the doctor's orders in that case. Consider it your assignment for the day." He then turned to the pilots. "Which leads me to you two. Count, what's your idea?"
Count blinked for a moment. "Wait… you're saying I have an option in this?" When Bogo gave a nod of confirmation to his question, Count pondered his prospects for a moment. "Well, in that case… nope." He gave a small grin as the others looked at him with confused expressions. "Don't get me wrong, I'm all for not being inside this building any longer than I have to," he went on explaining, "but I'm not the biggest fan of forests. They make good eating, but otherwise are boring to look at. That, and the idea of spending an entire day watching Trigger frolic about on the beach? No thanks!" Nick and James both snorted in laughter, struggling to contain their amusement as Bogo shot them an angry glare at the noise.
"And either way, even if it's purely for selfish reasons," Count continued, "I won't mind letting him be on his own away from me for a day. It's not like I was the one completely failing at crying myself to sleep last night."
"Count, that's mean!" Trigger complained in a low whine.
Count glanced over at him and gave a slight shrug of his shoulders. "Mean or not, still the truth. Also, I can't help but notice that you didn't even bother to deny it, so make of that what you will. Look, everyone can see that you could really use the day off. And I more than aware enough about how much whatever that place means to you, but guess what? I've never been there and don't care much to find out what all the fuss is about. So seriously. Go on and have your fun, I'll be fine waiting out here." He turned back to Bogo. "I can help out some of your officers, or I can bide my time in here, but I'll skip out on the trip."
Bogo stared back at the pilot for a few moments. "If that's what you want, then I won't force you to," he concluded. That left one final mammal in the room. "Trigger, what about you?"
Trigger stared back, still in a slightly dazed look. "W-well, I do want to go," he stammered out, "but… I mean, I didn't think you'll ever allow me to-"
Bogo nodded. "Under normal circumstances, I am inclined to agree. But I have been receiving regular praise on both yours and Count's cooperation and work, especially over the past few days. So when Hopps asked me about letting you join tomorrow, perhaps against my better judgment, I agreed. Call it a well earned day of vacation if you want, but this, as you just pointed out, is a huge risk that I am taking on your behalf. So don't you make me regret it," he added in a low tone of warning. Then, his glare softened. "And while in the call to confirm that you won't be needed tomorrow, I did ask those with the ability to make the call, but unfortunately, the only way you will be able to go is still by wearing the TAME collar. You won't be able to avoid it, I'm afraid."
The coyote's paw instinctively went up to his neck to rub at the spot where the normally collar rested. "I-I understand, sir," he mumbled quietly, slowly lowering his arm back down. "I would still like to go."
Bogo grunted. "Your choice." Glancing at his watch, he shook his head at seeing the time. "I have a lot of other matters I need to attend to. Doctor, anything you need out of me?" he asked, turning his attention to Doctor Honey.
The doctor scanned Nick and James. "No, I got it here," she reassured him. "But while you're still in the room, yes, Officer Wolford. To answer your question, you will be able to go home tonight. Same with you, Wilde. Just remember to call my direct number if you feel anything coming up, and even with whatever you will be planning for tomorrow, I can also no stress enough how much I will recommend that you will get another quick walk in today, both of you. Even if it's just around the block, but if you can get your blood flowing for several minutes more today, that would be even better. And actually, also, one last thing-" She walked over to Trigger and shone a light into his eyes, examining them as well as inspecting the wet smudge on his shirt. "Were you sleeping recently? Drooling perhaps? She asked seriously.
The pilot squirmed in embarrassment as more giggling came from next to him. Leave it for some doctors to get straight to the point. "I- yes, yes I was," Trigger admitted, trying to look away in embarrassment at being in the spotlight like that both figuratively as well as quite literally. As the light again shone in his eyes, he tried to avoid that too due to the discomfort. "I'm fine! Do you mind-?"
"Drooling is a common early indicator of Nighthowler savagery," Honey explained flatly. "And sleeping at two in the afternoon isn't the most common of habits. But if it was just you catching a nap, and drooling in your sleep, then it's nothing. Good to know that gas masks are a preventive solution." Clicking the light off, she grunted in satisfaction before tilting his head to inspect his neck, muttering in disapproval at the matter fur despite Trigger's faint protesting to be left alone. Finally, deciding that she saw enough, she let him be as she stepped away. "So, chief? Anything else you will need out of any of them?"
Shaking his head, Bogo turned to leave. "No, they can return to their own business as soon as you're done with them. I'll also leave you lot to sort out everything you will need for tomorrow. And don't worry about a vehicle, I will have one of the unmarked ones available, so just check by tomorrow before you head out." He got as far as opening the door and almost completely passing through it before he stopped, turning back to Trigger's direction. "There will be four officers watching over you tomorrow, so that is also a reason why I am allowing you to go," he added in another low tone of warning, "but I am serious about it: any complaints I get from them about anything, you will regret it." Trigger shrank back even further into his seat to try and avoid his glare. With a final snort, Bogo finally turned and left for good.
Letting out a sigh of relief, Trigger relaxed back in his chair, watching as Doctor Honey also started to gather her things in preparation to leave. Flipping his new book about, he glanced at the cover, even if there wasn't much to see on it. "Well, that's… something." He turned his head, staring at Judy as she grinned back at him. "So no joke? We're really going?" His eyes, if earlier full of suspicion at a con, were starting to expose that hopeful excitement that had so briefly flashed through them when she had asked him about her idea the first time.
"No joke," Judy repeated. "Nick? James? Any objections?"
"Better than anything I could come up with," James reasoned, "so I guess I'm up for it."
"Nick?" Judy frowned slightly as her partner didn't look particularly thrilled with the idea.
Sure enough, Nick glanced back at her with a slight shake of his head. "I have to admit, I am very much a city fox, Carrots," he explained his composure. "I've been in the woods once with Finn for a job, and how can I describe it other than that I found them to be completely boring?" He then broke into a sly grin as she looked disappointed at the possibility of him declining on joining them. "Aw come on now, why the long muzzle? Did I not just say that I was with Finn? He makes everything gloomy! Despite the fact that I am certain I will regret it, you can count me in as well." With a wave of a paw to brush Judy off, he moved it to point accusingly at Trigger. "So make sure that I won't regret it too much, Strikes. I'm being serious here."
The pilot stared back, confused. "What's this got to do with me? I'm not the one in control here. I thought I was only tagging along like you are."
Nick tilted his head in Judy's direction. "I know her. She's totally planning on letting you lead us all tomorrow. Am I right, Carrots?"
Judy nodded sheepishly, surprised at how easily he was able to guess that part. Then again, that was what Nick was quite good at. "I, yeah, I was planning on letting you plan the route out," she admitted to Trigger. "Since you know the area and all."
"Well, okay, I guess." Trigger still didn't look entirely convinced, and one quick look from Judy was all it took for him to elaborate on why he was still hesitating. "it's just that… It's so sudden! There's things to pack and make sure we will have. Food, water, protective clothing. Uh-" he hesitated for a moment. "Well, maybe not so much this time of year, but that's exactly what I'm talking about. You can't just decide to go just like that. You have to prepare, first!" He lifted his arms up in frustration. "And I, for one, don't exactly have anything on me that I will need. Nor any cash to get it with. And, in case it hasn't crossed your minds, but gear for hiking in the woods rather overlaps quite a bit with things that are useful in escape attempts. Right Count?" He glanced over to the other pilot. "Count?"
"Huh? Oh, don't mind me, I'm working here." Count had gone back to working at his uniform, making a point to show that he wasn't participating in the conversation. Even as Trigger stared back with a disappointed expression, he went right back to concentrating on his stitching.
Fangmeyer took a step forwards. "You done yet?"
"I- yeah," Trigger nodded sheepishly, averting his gaze away from the much larger officer.
"Good." As she crossed her arms, Fangmeyer's serious expression changed into a soft smile. "I think you're overthinking it," she said, grabbing his attention back. "I'm not sure about you, Hopps, but I have some things I need to finish up with." She then motioned at Nick and James. "But you two are on leave now, so why don't you take Trigger to the store? It's not like we'll be paying for it anyways, it's going to be reimbursed. Not that it will be a good idea to splurge, but you don't have to squeeze out everything you can out of pennies. And," she turned to her partner. "James, with all of that old clothing and gear at your place, think you can find some backpack for him?"
Wolford nodded. "Sure, I'm certain there's at least one that don't look too glaringly obvious like a school pup's backpack. He can borrow one of those. We can stop by the compound first, it will also give me the opportunity to drop of my dirty uniform in the laundry while we're at it."
Dahlia nodded once more. "Okay then, largest problem solved. So yeah, go to the store, grab some lunch for tomorrow and… I think that will be it, really. It is only a day long trip after all." She looked around the room. "Any questions or objections?"
"I'm still on shift like you are," Judy answered. "I have some paperwork to catch up on." She afforded herself a small grin as Nick looked at her with a grateful surprise – being her, there was no paperwork she needed to finish. Which meant that she just volunteered to at least get started on some of his. "Nick?"
Instantly, his surprised expression vanished, replaced by his default almost bored tone. "Sure, I'm down for a bit of shopping, I guess." He grinned slyly at Fangmeyer. "But only if that will count as that walk I need to do for today."
The tiger groaned. "I'm not the doctor here, Wilde, but I suppose so," she relented. "just as long as you actually walk. And not for too little. Remember, you'll be the one regretting it if it won't be enough for however much movement your body needs."
Nick waved her off. "Bah, don't worry about it. Wolfy and I will make sure that Strikes here will be all suited up for tomorrow. Deal?" He tilted his head towards James.
"Works for me." Wolford stood up from his chair, taking advantage of the ability to stretch his muscles and limbs. "Will need to grab my uniform first though. Wilde, meet you and Trigger at the parking lot then?" He hesitated, looking over to the pilot. "Just remembered that I will also need to grab that collar remote. Sorry about that."
Trigger's paw returned to the side of his neck. "Don't worry about it, it's not your fault." As he was joined by Nick, they bid Judy and Dahlia a good day and left the room. He stopped when he noticed Nick was sporting a wide grin and looking at him with a twinkle in his eyes. "What?"
Nick's grin widened. "Frolic about on the beach?" he repeated Count's expression. "What's that all about?"
The pilot frowned, but it was again an expression of annoyance only barely covering the humor beneath it. "Don't you start on me too," he protested, giving Nick a slight shove. "Or I might just make you run the whole thing tomorrow."
"I'd like to see you try!" Nick answered back with a chuckle.
Wolford offered his own advice. "Don't worry, Wilde. I can help him with that! And yes, I would dare!"
