Chapter 39: Home that was

Trigger remained frozen in the chair, wide eyes glued on James' own, not reacting even in the slightest to Judy's presence, even as she lightly tugged on him in an attempt to get him to move. The tension hang thick in the air, neither pilot nor officers willing to break the silence.

It was the Lynxamore chief of police who brought the silence to an end. "It does appear that he is the one you came here for, officers. May I ask who he is, and more importantly, is he a fugitive on the run?"

James felt his jaw clench, searching for the right words while also forcing down the rage he was starting to feel rising up from deep within him. He couldn't even explain why he was getting so angry at seeing Trigger again, but he wasn't going to lie and pretend that this was any other feeling building up but rage.

It was Nick who beat him to the punch in answering the questions, spotting out of the corner of his eye the agitation in the wolf officer. "He's under protective custody," the fox answered smoothly. "Or should be, until he gave us the slip. And now it's time for him to go back with us."

"Protective custody?" The chief reached over for a discarded sheet of paper on his desk. "That explains the 'John Doe'." He frowned at the page, sliding it over at Nick's direction. "So… He is in fact a criminal then?" He shot a glare at Trigger's direction. "Ratting out his gang? Why would he be in custody?"

"Afraid we're not at liberty to say," James answered swiftly, shooting a glare at Trigger's direction. While grateful for Nick thinking on his feet as always, it will also appear odd for the most senior officer to not be able to answer even simple questions. But with Nick having set up the cover story, he can take it from here. "But no, he's not a criminal. Has been helping us out with an investigation back in the city." Deciding that he wasn't going to get anything useful out of the pilot right now, he shuffled over to the chief's desk. "Anything we need to do on our end? Or do we just grab him and go?"

The chief squinted at the name plate on James' uniform, reading the last name off it. "Your Chief Bogo let me know that you'll show up, Officer Wolford," he said, not noticing the agitated response the comment generated out of the officer. Of course Bogo would plan that much ahead of time. Or did he make another call after they left? "...And no need to check those two. I can recognize Officers Hopps and Wilde from the news. Plus, the Hopps farms are a major supplier for our produce out here, so we're well familiar with the family out here. But I wouldn't mind seeing your badge, so I can copy it down for my own paper trail." He waited for James to fish out his badge, holding it over and copying the information down from it. "Guess that's it for my end," he admitted with a shrug, leaning back against his seat. "Your John Doe wasn't arrested or brought in by us, so he's as free to go as any other guest. Although…" He cast a frown in Trigger's direction. "… He really doesn't look to be in a good state of mind. Why… Why did he come here of all places?"

James hesitated, not sure how much he can reveal here. But really, what was the risk? "He used to live here. He, uh… Something bad happened to him very recently. Guess he wanted to go somewhere familiar. Was supposed to stay in Zootopia where we can keep an eye out for him, but he's here now." As he spoke, he glanced over at the pilot in question, who was in turn shooting him a hateful glare for revealing something so personal. Judy next to him was trying to silently calm him down, with Nick standing close by to provide assistance as needed.

"...Used to-?" The Chief nodded in understanding. "That explains why he looks and smells rather a lot like err, like a homeless person. And why he isn't talking much. Was shaking in his fur when I called Chief Bogo, which I found strange as he was the one who walked in here demanding that I make the call in the first place… Well, I won't make any comment about him apart from that I will highly appreciate it if you three take him back. After all, even if he's not a criminal, this is my office, and I can't have just anyone stay here."

James held up a paw to stop the chief. "About that, just real quick… As far as you can tell, he didn't do anything, right? We don't know what he's been up to since he went missing, but it would help a lot to know that he didn't break any laws while he was gone. What's with the eye?"

The chief shrugged. "Can't say anything about the eye – he walked into the building like that. As for breaking laws? If we had a reason to keep him in the holding cell, that's where he would be. As it were, he was rather silent the entire morning after walking in here. Occupied that seat he's still in now, and barely moved the entire time." He read over Trigger's missing mammal page again. "You want to know what he's been doing for the past week? You'll have to ask him, I'm afraid. Good luck with that." He held up James' badge. "Believe this is yours, officer."

"Err, thanks." James took his badge back from the elk chief, putting back in its pocket. "So that's it then?"

The chief grunted in an odd manner that was uncomfortably similar to Chief Bogo. "You know what to do with your John Doe. I'm just the one who held him in this room until you showed up to pick him up." He slid over Trigger's missing mammal page. "Don't think I'll need this anymore. Keep it if you want, there's a recycle bin on the left side of the desk if not. And… Actually, did you sign in at the front desk when you came over?"

"No, we just introduced ourselves and were sent over," James answered.

The chief nodded. "If you don't mind, sign in as guests on your way out. Just for the paperwork formality. You know how it goes."

James took the piece of paper with Trigger's information on it, frowning at just how little was shared. Just his mugshot and date of disappearance from a few days ago. "...That shouldn't be an issue," he absentmindedly said, lowering the paper. "Right. Well, I guess… In case Chief Bogo didn't mention it before, but I think we can thank you on the behalf of the ZPD for keeping an eye on him. I don't actually know if any official statement will be made, but I wouldn't be surprised if you at least get an email about it. So with that, day will be ending soon, and we still need to drive back. So, thank you." He held out a paw to shake, which the Chief accepted with the slightest of smiles.

Returning his attention to the others, he was glad to see that Nick and Judy somehow managed to get Trigger to stand up. "Ready?"

"Nick already has the keys," Judy said, pointing for emphasis. Her partner just rolled his eyes.

James eyed the pilot wearily, earlier agitation returning quickly. "And you?"

Avoiding his gaze, Trigger nodded numbly.

"Then let's go. We don't have a lot of daylight left." James ushered the others out of the door, giving the Lynxamore chief a final nod before closing the door behind them. In the corridor, with the officers flanking the pilot on either side, he needed to get one thing cleared up first. "Before we get outside where you can make a break for it again," he warned Trigger, "do I need to cuff you? Or you're going to behave?"

"James!" Judy hissed, shooting him an angry glare right past Trigger's head.

Trigger kept his head low, ears pinned flat against his skull, not bothering to answer. But if the tail tucked tightly between his legs was any indication, then he wasn't in any condition to try and run.

With an annoyed huff, James pushed him by the shoulders. "Then let's go. Car's parked just outside." With the entry door buzzing them through, he stopped by the reception desk, grabbing a pen and pulling the guest sign-in clipboard over to himself. His eyes fell on the secretary again, looking at her. "Sorry, but I can't help but feel like I might have met you before," he admitted. "Which I know without a doubt that we haven't."

Jodie blushed at his comment. "Thanks, but you're not the only one," she replied, jerking her head in Trigger's direction. "Your John Doe has the same reaction, but far more intensely." Looking behind him, James saw that sure enough, Trigger was also staring at her, completely motionless even as Judy tried to nudge him towards the exit.

Recognition hit James fast. "That's where I recognized you," he said, voice dropping to barely above a whisper. "He has a picture with his girlfriend. Looks almost just like you."

"She's dead," she said softly, sympathetic gaze still lingering on the pilot.

James' eyes widened in shock. "How did you-"

"He told me," Jodie broke eye contact off Trigger to look back at James. "When he arrived this morning. Needed to talk to the chief, but I think that seeing me sent him into a shock. Completely lost his ability to speak. Is he talking now at least?"

"No, not really," James admitted. "but he… he was always rather quiet and shy. Can really be rather different, once he warms up." The sound of a door opening from behind him let him know that Nick and Judy were finally able to get the pilot moving again.

Jodie grabbed a business card from a holder and slid it over. "Not that I think you'll need this, or that he'll want it, but if he ever wants to talk, you know where to find me," she said.

"I? Err… Thanks." James really didn't know what to think of this. So instead, he traded the card for the guest clipboard, and turned away from the desk, hurrying outside and over to the car where Judy was helping Trigger get into the backseat.

"I want to sit next to him," she said as he came over. "Nick's driving. Where will you be?"

Another frown formed on his muzzle. "Place him in the middle," he finally said. "I'll take the third seat." It was going to be crowded, but the idea of leaving Trigger alone with Judy in the back struck him as very off-putting. Before he can even elaborate on his decision, Judy already bounded around the back of the car, leaving him to climb in through the open door and buckling in next to the pilot. "Nick? Take us home."

Judy climbed in from the other side just as the engine started up. Moments later, the automated voice of the map on Nick's phone piped up to tell him where to go.

For some reason, the sound of the application struck James in all the wrong ways. "Wilde? Turn it off please." His low tone made it clear that he wasn't actually asking.

Nick looked back. "Might be a good idea to leave it on to get home," he pointed out. "I'm not familiar with this town, after all."

"I don't care." James hissed back. "Turn it off!" To his immense relief, Nick chose to do as told rather than to argue some more.

"James!" Judy, though, was on him again. "You promised!"

He glanced over at her, feeling shame get to him. But it was overridden by a much stronger feeling of anger as well. "You know what? Before we even start moving? You-" he jabbed a finger into Trigger's shoulder, causing the pilot to wince in pain, a quiet if pathetic whimper escaping him.

"James! Enough!"

"What the hell was that?" James demanded, ignoring Judy. "You run away on us? And for what? To come crawling right back? And why here of all places?" A strange feeling of satisfaction came to him as he watched Trigger struggle with his own emotions, closing his eyes, teeth tightly clenched and paws tightening into fists. "Now would be a good time to start talking, pup!"

Judy was already unbuckling herself. "I think it might be better for you to stay in the front," she told- no, warned, her superior officer. "Please. Before you do something you'll regret."

"Not until he starts talking," James hissed in her direction, gaze still held firm on the pilot. "But in case you're worried, Hopps, I'm not going to hurt him. Just need him to give answers. So what is it going to be, pup? Want to start talking or not?" He let out a growl of warning. "Why did we have to drive out here?"

"Because I wanted to go home!" Trigger's bloodshot eyes snapped open at the same time as the outburst shout out of his mouth. "I-Isn't that a good enough reason for you?"

A smirk formed on James' muzzle at the progress. Finally the guy was at least talking. "You don't even live here," he reminded Trigger.

"I used to!"

"You haven't lived here for over a decade!" James pointed out. "How can any of this be home?"

"It used to be!" Despite his yelling, Trigger shrank in his seat, arms rising as he tugged at his ears in agitation, choked sobs escaping his mouth. "D- do you know how that feels? Twelve years! Twelve years was the last time I've been here! And yet? Everything's in this town's the same! This is all just like- Nothing changed! B-but when I finally get home? Wrong car! W-wrong lawn! Everything just… wrong!"

"Trigger?" Judy held up a paw to stop James from interrupting her. He really needed to calm down, and if it meant her being the one to do the interrogation, then it's something she was willing to do. Ignoring the wolf officer's glare at her talking, she faced the pilot head on. "It's not about why you ended up going here. I- Please stop clawing yourself first, okay?" She waited for him to do as asked before resuming. "I for one, know perfectly well about wanting to run away to where I grew up. I also ran home when I thought I lost everything. When I gave up my badge because I was convinced that I destroyed the city instead of helping fix it." her eyes glanced over in Nick's direction. The fox was leaning an arm against the backrest of his seat, letting the car idle as he observed everything going on in the back through the protective screen and plexiglass separating them. Whatever comments he had about her story, which he would normally be more than willing to share his opinion on whenever the subject came up, he kept to himself.

"You had a home to run back to!" Trigger complained with a grumble, mumbling into his own knees. "You still have one! I don't even have that anymore!"

"We need to know how you got here." Judy said plainly. "You didn't walk all the way here in four days. It might be doable, if you never stopped, even at night. But not when you're on the run from the police. And definitely not in the state you're in."

Trigger opened one of his eyes to look at her. "I took the train." He said it as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

James hissed in warning that the answer wasn't good enough.

"Wolf," Nick was ready to jump to Judy's aid. "Temper. As for you, Strikes?" He pointed at Trigger. "We've been dealing with a lot of people doing very stupid things lately. Fighting, brawling, rioting. If you think Wolf here is being a real pain in the ass because of something you did? Think again." He deliberately made a show of ignoring the look of rage James shot him for the admission. "As I was saying, really stupid. I mean, frankly, with what you did, I'm more than willing to lump you with them. But if all you did was be a dumbass and run away, that's fine, we can deal with that and will be more than happy to. What we're worried is that there's more to what you did. Your eye, for one. Got into a fight with someone?" When Trigger opened his mouth to defend himself, Nick stopped him. "I think it'll be best if you start from the beginning. When you escaped the precinct. How did you get here? As in, this city. Then how and why did you end up in the police station. And what's with your eye?" He jerked his head between the two officers flanking the pilot. "Anything you want to add, either one of you?" He settled his muzzle to rest on his elbows where he cam observe the back seats more comfortably.

"We don't want to judge you," Judy said. "But if we feel like you're hiding from us… Remember that we're cops. James?"

James closed his eyes, running his claws through the top fur of his head as he let out a frustrated groan. "I just… Nick is right, Trigger. I'm not angry at you. Well, I am, but that's only part of it. And I just… If you did do something bad, we need to know about it now. I don't want to have to find out that you lied to us. You- You called Chief Bogo for a reason. If you have any respect for any of us at all, you'll tell us everything we want to hear, and don't leave anything out. Understood?" However, what he did notice instead, was Judy nodding approvingly at him.

Despite looking completely terrified, Trigger nodded shakily. "When I ran away, it must have been, I don't know? Middle of the night somewhere…" He looked at Nick. "You talked to me, try to help me, and… It wasn't good enough! I always tried to do the right thing! To listen to others and do as I was told! What did I get for it? Everyone I care about getting killed all around me! First Kate... Then I get that mission to rescue our ex-president. Not only does it go completely wrong, I get placed all of the blame for it! Not just… Not even just blamed for it! Now everyone thinks I did it!" His voice hitched. "I did not! But… Damn it, you heard Savage. There's no way I'll ever convince him I'm innocent, let alone anyone in the OADF... But they told me that if I kept my head down and flew for that penal unit of theirs, that I'll get to see my family again. Just do what I'm told… And at least I'll have a home to go to… Eventually..." He buried his head between his knees again, arms clawing at his head again as he found himself unable to continue.

"Trigger," James warned, his previous anger returning quickly with an equally diminishing patience. "You can't stop now. You just explained why. We need to know how. When and what."

"Why? What's the point?" Trigger snapped violently, startling the officers. "What's the fucking point anymore? Why should I listen to you, or to anyone?"

"Please stop! Calm down!" Judy pleaded. "You're scaring me! And Nick! And especially James!"

Trigger let out a scoff of disbelief. "What's he got to be scared of?"

The loud growl of warning emanated from the wolf officer. "I'm scared of you getting to the point where I'll need to put a bullet through your head!" James shot back, his own eyes watering up fast. "Just like I had to already do to a kid just like you!"

At least Trigger had the dignity to look startled. "...What?"

James looked down at his own tightly clenched fists, breathing hard and fast. "Dahlia and I got a call over someone holding up a store hostage. Description matched yours perfectly. Canine, fur color... It was a kid. Just… a kid. Like you, lost his family in Bana. But because of it, he then decided to find the closest Urusian store and blow it up with everyone inside. Only reason he didn't succeed was because we got to him before he was able to pull it off. But he wasn't going to surrender. Like you... he didn't want to... Listen anymore. And now he's in the morgue. And I... was the one who put him there. Had to shoot him before he was able to light a store on fire..." He shot a glare of pure hatred at Trigger. "So that's what we're worried about! We're tired of seeing people lose their minds and attack innocents! Of making everything worse! So when you go and run off-.. Enough already!" He crossed his arms over his chest, huffing in anger. "It was you who told me that I don't know what it's like to kill someone. Well? Now I know. So congratulations, I guess? You got what you wanted. All because some kid lost his mind and decided to be completely stupid. Now he's dead."

"I'm not like him," Trigger mumbled pathetically.

James rolled his eyes. "No, you're only convicted murderer, and of an ex-president at that. You succeeded in surviving doing the crime. He didn't."

"I didn't do it!" Trigger's yell was matched by him readying to swing a fist at James, stopped only by the timely and firm grip from Judy. He squirmed, trying to free his arm, only earning himself a whimper of pain as she tightened her grip instead.

"Both of you, stop!" She warned. "James? If you can't stop antagonizing Trigger, then move to the front!" To his credit, James did look rather ashamed and visible squirmed at the nasty look she shot at him. Cautiously, she then let Trigger's arm free, watching him carefully as he lowered it, massaging the area where her firm grip pressed. "And you! Seriously! Control yourself! Or it's going to be a tranq dart where it will hurt the most!"

"We already know you have serious issues controlling your emotions," James added coldly. "I've seen your psych eval, in case you forgot. As did Nick. So to repeat what he just said: tell us everything. From the moment you escaped the precinct, to now. We know you went through the ventilation system. What's next?"

Completely dejected, Trigger shrank back in his seat, avoiding looking at any of the officers. "I… didn't even really know why I ran away," he admitted quietly. "But I knew I couldn't just stay there! I- I was suffocating in there! So… I got out using the ventilation system. Didn't really think the plumbing pipes were an actual way out…" He glanced quickly at Judy's direction before looking back at the floor beneath his feet. "That was… middle of the night somewhere. Spent the rest of the night hiding in dark corners and avoiding any police I saw. I want to say I knew where I was going, but I just kinda picked a direction and didn't stop moving. Found myself in a street with a large number of homeless... hid out in the middle of them." He let out a bitter scoff. "After all, where better to be a coyote than in the middle of a bunch of hobos? No one so much as looks twice!"

"Go on," Nick urged. "That's what? One night down? Still got four days left where we don't know what happened. Enlighten us. Okay, let me put it this way… If you didn't get into a fight with anyone, or did anything other than hide from cops, let's get to the part where you were able to take a train here. Where did you get the ticket? Those things hardly grow on trees."

"It was bought for me," Trigger admitted. "I was in one of those… I don't know what to call it. A soup kitchen? They don't give food there... And I don't need unopened drug needles, but it seems like that's all they had there. But one of the people working there asked me what I needed, probably because I was walking in circles by that point… Said I needed to get out of the city. Wouldn't have minded just getting some cash to get my own ticket, but she insisted on getting me the ticket herself…"

Judy nodded in understanding. "Giving money to the homeless is just asking for them to spend it on drugs. City employees and volunteers are taught to avoid handing out money for that exact reason. But she got you a train ticket?"

"Yeah, wonder how pathetic I must have looked," Trigger grumbled bitterly.

"If anything similar to now? Quite pathetic I'm afraid," Nick commented. Despite the comment easily passing as a jest, his tone conveyed that he was entirely sincere with the observation. "How long ago was that?"

Trigger frowned in concentration. "I don't know… Two days ago? It was late in the day, so the next train available was yesterday morning."

"What about rail security?" James asked. "I know they have access to up-to-date missing mammal lists. Did no one try to stop you from leaving Zootopia?"

"Didn't even see any," Trigger admitted. "Well… Maybe there was one walking up and down the station. Didn't talk to them, and they didn't try to talk to me."

Judy held up a paw. "Wait, before you skip ahead, where was that? The station where you boarded the train, which one was it?"

Trigger shrugged. "How should I know? Didn't pay attention to its name. The one close to the dock industrial area, since that's where I hid out at first."

Judy exchanged a look with Nick. "Okay, I know where that is. That's… quite far from the precinct. Especially on foot."

"I had an entire day to get there," Trigger bitterly reminded her. "Okay, I wasn't walking fast… And I did hide out in dead end alleys if I thought someone was following me, but still. Zootopia's not that big."

"Okay, so you boarded the train," Nick cut in. "Then what? You only brought us to early yesterday. We only know what you were up to since this morning. Still leaves us with an entire day and night."

A growl of warning from Trigger alerted the fox that he was treading somewhere dangerous, with even Nick appearing surprised at the hostile reaction to the questioning. Judy grabbed his arm again, just in case. "I went home!" He spat out. But his anger vanished just as quickly as it arrived, fading right back into the depression they had found him in. "Or… What used to be home. If it didn't look completely different. I mean- the house itself is the same. But everything else!.. Not even the neighbors' houses look all that different…" There was no questioning how he was feeling as his words faded into silent crying.

Fearing another outburst from him, but needing to keep him talking, Judy tried urging him on rather than relying on Nick or James. "After you went back to your old house, then what?"

Trigger wiped his eyes with his arm, sniffing as he struggled to regain his composure. "I ran," he admitted. "There's a creek nearby that I've been past a lot of times. Went there… Hid in a drainage pipe for, I dunno… Must have been late afternoon when I got back out. Fled up those hills over there," he pointed past Nick's head where, through the windshield, the hills surrounding the town were just visible above building roofs. "Don't even know why I went there… Guess I needed to get away from… everyone." Lowering his arm, he started to rub at it again absentmindedly. "'Been up there plenty of times… Didn't get lost or anything, but I don't know…" Despite clenching his jaws shut, he was still unable to stop the whimper that escaped his throat. "...Wanted to disappear!"

"But you didn't…" Judy bit her tongue before she said something she would regret. "You came back down though. And called Bogo. When did you decide to come back?"

"Last night…" Trigger's rubbing of his arm turned into an agitated scratching with his claws. "I- I was- so... alone! ...I mean… I was hiding underneath a rotting log! And..." He rubbed at the cut over his eye, wincing at the pain. "...Hit a branch with my head when I-" lowering his arm, he stared numbly at the floor instead. "Never mind… But that's how I got this. Wasn't a fight with anyone if that's what you're worried about." He resumed rubbing his arm, staring at the floor to avoid looking at any of the officers.

"So you came down this morning then?" Nick urged on.

"I… Yeah," Trigger answered. "Thought getting to the police station was the best way of getting to Chief Bogo. Went to the library first, because I know where that is. From there… here."

James tried to map everything together. "Wait, if you were walking the entire time, when did you even start? And where's the library anyways?"

Trigger grunted in faint amusement as he pointed out the windshield at the neighboring building. "Here. That's the library. Been to it many times, never knew it was right next to the police station."

"But when was that?" James asked again, forcing himself to not give in to his lack of patience. "When we ask you a question, you still need to answer it!"

"I don't know!" Trigger complained, his own lack of patience also showing in his tone. "It was dark! Sun was rising when I got out of the hills. So early, okay? You're the ones with watches!"

Judy raised her paws to stop the two from getting into a fight. "I think we've heard enough," she said sternly, eyeing James wearily. "After all, we still need to get home. Trigger's not- he's not like Brian, James. He's better than that! So drop your attitude, will you? He wasn't caught by the ZPD causing a fight in Zootopia, and the only reason we found him here is because he walked in himself!" James glared back at her, but the slight nod of his head let her know that he was accepting her opinion. Turning her attention to the pilot, she wasn't done just yet. "And you… You just said that you felt alone. Do you- still feel... alone?"

"Judy-" The warning that she was on very thin ice came from Nick. On a normal day, she would have noticed him using her name right away. But not this time.

Not that he needed to warn her, for Trigger's immediate reaction, of almost crumpling in on himself, let her know immediately that she should have kept her mouth shut. Instantly reaching out to him, she squeezed hard on his shoulder, whatever it will take him to know that she was here. "Trigger! We're still here! Don't be like this! Please!"

"Judy?" Nick watched his partner patiently, not raising his voice above barely audible. "Let him be. You won't fix this in the next five minutes. Or hours."

Judy jerked her head towards him. "So I'm supposed to just ignore him!"

While Nick nodded silently, it was also James who stepped in. "Hopps, he's a canine like us. Not a rabbit like you. When we're hurt… We like to be al- by ourselves. You barging in won't help, and can easily make things worse. So instead, Nick if you may, how about we actually start heading back?"

With another nod, Nick turned back to the steering column. "If there are no other objections, I can make that happen. Just uhh-"

"You go left!" Trigger snapped, looking startled by his own outburst. Looking ashamed at himself, he shrank away from Nick's curious glance back. "I mean… take a left. Follow the road until it ends just before the hills. Then… right." He hugged his knees as much as he could in the confined space in the back of the car, shrugging off Judy's renewed attempt to calm him down.

Without replying, Nick followed the directions, taking the car out of the police station's parking lot and onto the adjacent road, merging into the traffic and following the road.

Trigger watched the scenery around them in silence, eyes glued to the front of the windshield, not blinking despite the thin coat of moisture covering them.

Frowning at a large overpass they were coming up to, James felt like he needed to point out the obvious. "That's an interstate entrance. Shouldn't we get on that?"

Nick saw that the wolf officer was correct. "Strikes? That's our way back."

Trigger's gaze didn't shift at all. But he at least heard them well enough to answer. "F-Forward," he whispered with a hoarse voice. But his tone was firm with commitment. "Past that bridge."

"You sure?"

"Yes!" A poorly suppressed whimper escaped the pilot. "Damn it, just… Listen, okay! I know where to go! I-It's just like…" His voice faltered and failed him, but Nick had already decided to follow the directions rather than his intuition, driving underneath the interstate overpass rather than turning to merge into it.

Sure enough, just a few second's drive past the overpass, the road they were one went through a pale gray railroad style truss bridge, not unlike many scattered about all over Bunny Burrows and its extensive rail network. And like he had said, past the bridge, the road kept going only for a short ways until it ended at a T-intersection at the base of the hills.

Trigger's eyes followed the contour of the ground up ahead of them, no longer watching the roads.

Taking his own peek with the better view offered by the driver's seat, Nick grunted in minor amusement. "So you hid out up there? No wonder no one was able to find you. Dang, that would be just like that escape exercise you and Count did with us, remember?" When no reply came from the back seat, he shrugged and dropped the subject. "Okay then, right turn coming up."

Since they had driven right past an interstate, which really should have been their way out of town, Judy pulled her phone out and started typing a message to James. This wasn't something she wanted Trigger to overhear.

I don't think he's guiding us back to Zootopia. Lets go where he wants to for now, but it isn't where we need to go.

Moments later, James shuffled uneasily as his phone let him know that he received a message. Glancing at it, he gave Judy a confused look beforereading it. With a sigh, he typed back a reply.

Fine we leave at the end of the hour no ifs or buts

Judy looked at the time. That gave them a little under thirty minutes. Giving James a nod to let her know that she was agreeing with his conditions, she looked up to see where they were driving now. Having abandoned the road running parallel to the base of the hills, they were now slowly driving through a completely regular residential street, flanked on both sides by the single story houses that were popular in this side of Zootopia.

One side of the houses gave way to a residential park, at which point Trigger seemed to wake from a stupor. "S-Stop!" he yelled out urgently at Nick, sounding on the verge of panicking. "Pull over!"

Smoothly, Nick brought the car to park next to the curb. Watching the road ahead, it ended rather abruptly where the park wrapped around the houses, with nowhere else to go. Tapping the steering wheel slowly, he didn't look behind him to the pilot. "So? Which one was yours? You know… We can drive closer."

But Trigger didn't answer the question. "Let me out," he complained, breathing heavily. "Please. Let me out."

James frowned. "No. You already ran off on us once before, pup. You're staying in the car until we get back to the precinct."

But Judy had a different opinion. "James? Look at him! If you really think he'll be able to escape now… We're right here! We can stop him if we even so much as start to think that he'll do something! But before that? Give him a chance!" Having already made up her own mind, she was already unbuckling her seatbelt. "Nick? Unlock the door."

A moment later, the door clicked as her partner allowed her to open her door, sliding out and standing on the sidewalk as soon a gap large enough for her was formed. Immediately behind her, Trigger staggered out after her, blinking in agitation at the late day sun as he scanned the area around them.

He stopped next to her, tail and ears both hanging limply. "J-Judy? I uh-" Deciding against continuing with whatever he wanted to say, he waved her off, and turned away, staggering off into the park. As he was really shuffling his feet and not running away, it wasn't any effort for Judy to follow close behind. They didn't even go very far, as he practically collapsed into the nearest picnic table, occupying the middle of the bench and dropping his muzzle on the table, burying it beneath his arms.

Judy followed him and scrambled up next to him, sitting down on the table itself, her legs dangling next to Trigger's body. Uneasily, she reached over and lay a paw on an exposed area of his head, letting out a breath of relief when he didn't shrug her off violently. While she wanted to say something, and spent several moments trying to think of exactly what, she ultimately decided against it. If he wants to talk, she's right here.

Nick and James also emerged from the car, coming over to them, and with a quick analysis of Judy and Trigger, also silently occupied spots on the table around the pilot. James took his phone out, scanning through his contacts before he started typing away something to Chief Bogo, and for the most part, ignoring the others next to him.

It was Nick who broke the silence.

"You know, when I ran away from home," Nick started saying cautiously, "going right back to it was the last thing that I felt like doing. But there was a part of me that thought… that always wanted to go back. But I never did get the courage to do so, and it took Carrots here to drag me back to my home. It's not quite the same with you. But does it help? Finally being home again?"

"No!" Trigger groaned from beneath his arms.

"And which one was it anyways?" Nick asked, eyeing the roofs of the houses they can see from the park. "Which was your home?"

Lifting his head up from the table, Trigger counted the rooftops. "That one." Despite now actually pointing at it, his gaze was enough to narrow down where exactly he was looking at. "That's where we used to live…" He lowered his muzzle back down bitterly. "Yesterday I was on the other side… Shouldn't have even walked down the street in the first place! Not when I knew that I was-" He eyed the roof bitterly. "…We struggled to afford rent here. That's why when dad got that job offer in Bana City… I decided to move with my family. Was just old enough that I didn't need to go with them, but I didn't feel ready to leave them. And… Life was better there. There were a lot of things we never liked about living here. That I didn't like about here. But-" His ears folded over in shame. "A part of me never wanted to leave…"

"And so when the world crashed down on you, you ran away to be where you can at least feel safe, right?" Nick wasn't exactly asking though.

Trigger sniffed and nodded his head feebly.

Judy gave his shoulder a gentle shake. "That's nothing to be ashamed of," she told him. "You didn't hurt anyone."

"I'm supposed to set an example!" The pilot pointed out bitterly. "Remember the sin lines? What those three lines mean to anyone reading anything about the war on the news? Others look up to me, and all I can accomplish is to fail at everything!"

"You don't!" Judy countered in shock. "We all make mistakes! Everyone in this table have done something they will regret for the rest of their lives! You're just a mammal like the rest of us. Give yourself some slack."

Trigger's hands curled into tight fists. "None of you destroyed your lives with your mistakes," he snarled.

James let out a frustrated breath. "Without getting into that again, for what it's worth, we all feared that you would do something much worse than just run home."

"Glad I wasn't a disappointment there," Trigger snarled.

"Pup-" James warned.

"Boys!" Judy let out her own warning. "Trigger? Want to get going? We still need to drive back after all."

Trigger shook his head. "I don't want to leave," he admitted, arm rising up to tug at his ear. "But I also want to be anywhere but here! It's like… I don't know anymore! It hurts to even think now, damn it!"

James felt an uneasy feeling get to him when he followed Trigger's gaze to his own tranquilizer gun on his tool belt. "I wouldn't recommend that, pup," he said carefully. "All it'll do is make time move faster, but you'll feel the same when you'll wake up. And don't even think of even so much as looking at my gun."

"I just want it all to stop," the pilot admitted quietly.

Judy's eyes widened in fear. "Trig-"

"I don't want to die!" Trigger clarified quickly, fist slamming on the table. Judy' felt slightly relieved at this statement, but only to a certain extent. "Or- at least… I don't want to kill myself… Pretty sure that was my goal when I ran out into those woods last night." His own eyes met Judy's. "Don't even know how. Just that I didn't want to live anymore… But… middle of the night, underneath that tree? A part of me figured out that that's the last thing mom and dad would have wanted for me. That it would be the worst thing to do to them..." He brought his head back down on the table. "But it doesn't mean that it doesn't hurt! That I don't want a way out!" He eyed the house that used to be his home wistfully. "I guess… I want to actually be able to go home. Except that it's impossible now. If I'm lucky, they'll find a way to send me back to that penal unit. Perhaps some Urusian will get a lucky shot on me. If not? Don't have anything to look for outside of a life in jail..." Resting his muzzle on an elbow, he glared at the setting sun. "Might as well go back now. I'm not going to feel any less like shit in the next hour. Or day..."

"We're only going when you're ready to," Nick promised.

"I don't want to leave," the pilot said again as he stared at the roof again. But despite his words, he shakily stood up off the table bench, stumbling away from it as he started to lose his composure anew. "Can we go?" he whimpered, "Get me out of here! I can't-"

Grabbing his extended arm, Judy hurriedly pulled him back to the car as Nick and James took up positions around the pilot. While it was harder to guess as they walked, there was no mistaking his agitated shaking when they loaded him back into the back seat. Not to mention his hard, uneven breathing even as his eyes were glued out the front of the windscreen.

Cautiously, Nick set the car out of park. "There's a good chance you'll never be here again," he said. "Want me to drive to the end of the street and turn around there?"

Trigger didn't answer, wide eyes still glued out the front. So it was Judy who nodded in confirmation. "Please do that. Thanks, Nick!"

As the car started to move, she grabbed one of the pilot's paws, rubbing the top slowly. "Trigger? I don't know how, but thing are going to get better, you know that, right?"

James let out a grunt, answering for Trigger. "I sure do hope so, Hopps."