Nighttime seemed to arrive sooner than usual that evening. Clouds covered the sky in darkness long before the sun set; the meteorologists at ZNN predicted an eighty percent chance of rain later that evening. And even though it was not raining yet, the dark sky and rolling thunder in the distance set a dreary picture in downtown Zootopia.
Nick didn't mind the darkness. It made it easier to hide away from a world that did not want him. It made their unmarked car all the more inconspicuous. And it made it simple to spy on the main entrance to the Trunk Hotel.
Judy had found an empty parking spot across the street from the hotel that gave them a perfect view of the main entrance. She had then pointed the dashcam at the front doors and recorded everyone coming in and out of the hotel, in case someone of interest might pass by. Otherwise, the two of them had nothing else to do except come up with a plan.
Over the next few hours, they did just that. Judy shared the blueprints she had obtained from City Hall, which detailed every single inch of the Trunk Hotel, including its recent renovations. They spent some time familiarizing themselves with the layout of the building, before finally settling on five total plans. Three of them involved one or both of them sneaking around on the top floor, while the last two—and the least desirable of the bunch—were only to be used if they got caught.
Getting caught was the last thing either of them wanted. There was no telling how many animals they would be encountering, or what their motives were. It could be just one or two mammals who would surrender immediately, or it could be a hundred mammals who would not hesitate to kill the two of them—and any number of possibilities in-between.
Even so, Judy insisted on wearing her police uniform. There was always the chance, if they were caught, that whoever caught them would comply with an officer of the law. Nick didn't feel that it was a good chance, but Judy then pointed out that, if she got caught on the top floor anyway, they'd already be in a heap of trouble. He couldn't argue with that, so she stayed in uniform, while he stayed in his usual street clothes.
Once their plans were set, they still had an hour or so left until it was time to go inside. They spent the time watching the main entrance, trying to make mental notes on anyone going in. The Trunk Hotel was still an active hotel, despite being so old. Its main clientele were elephants, so it was no surprise to see elephants walking in and out of the main revolving door, though a few other mammals occasionally made an appearance. Nick and Judy didn't recognize any of them, however, but they expected that; there were two back doors and a service tunnel into the building that they were both sure would be used by anyone trying to avoid attention.
Aside from discussing their plans, things were quiet between the two of them. Nick was used to friendly banter with Judy during stakeouts. He was used to teasing her and joking with her and reminiscing in past successful cases with her.
None of that was happening this time.
Nick found himself lost in his thoughts, trying to make sense of all the events that had led up to this night. The riot at City Hall. The Gazelle concert. The night he had taken Judy home. Their date at the diner. The moment he put on his shock collar. Judy's dream…
To say that his emotions were mixed would be an understatement. In such a short amount of time, he had experienced both the greatest joy and the worst pain of his entire life. Joy at being able to finally admit to himself that he was in love with Judy—on the verge of actually admitting it to her as well, if only the concert had gone well. And pain, upon having his heart crushed by the same Judy he loved.
His heart still hurt. He wasn't sure what it would take to heal. When Judy approached him earlier in the day, it helped, but it wasn't enough. Instead, on top of the hurt, he felt all kinds of other emotions. Understanding, but also confusion. Optimism, but also apprehension. Hope, but also fear…
I am scared. But what am I scared of?
He had to think about that. The obvious answer was that he was scared of what might happen tonight at the meeting. Any number of things could go wrong—in fact, he realized that a lot of things needed to go right in order for this to work. If he was honest with himself, he would even consider getting out of the Trunk Hotel unscathed to be a success, with or without the information they were hoping to gather.
But he realized he was scared of something else. If he couldn't feel close to Judy anymore—if he couldn't overcome the distrust that he had suddenly felt towards her—if his love for her was all for nothing…
That. That was what he was scared of. If the two of them couldn't repair this rift in their relationship, then he'd just as soon not get out of the Trunk Hotel alive. They could catch him and torture him, and it could never feel more painful than that.
He was scared of losing Judy.
The realization left him short of breath. He had had such thoughts many times in the past; as partners on the police force, it was always something on the back of his mind. But as he sat here now, minutes away from one of the most dangerous missions they had ever undertaken, he recognized just how much he dreaded the thought. He didn't want for her to leave his life. She was the best thing that had ever happened to him, and the thought of losing her now…
Nick gritted his teeth and forced his breathing to remain steady. The last thing he wanted was for his shock collar to flash yellow, and alert Judy to his inner thoughts.
It was hard to ignore the collar on his neck. Or the slashes on his cheek. Or the pain in his heart. Each of them were a constant, agonizing reminder that Judy had hurt him. Even if he were to heal from it all, the scars would still be there. And even if he could feel the same love toward Judy that he had a few nights ago, would she even love him in return?
Nick looked over to the driver's seat, where Judy stared transfixed at the main entrance. Looking at her, even now, made his heart skip a beat. Even though she was a different species from him—and even though she had caused him a great deal of grief these past few days—he still felt the undeniable feelings, deep in his heart, that he knew he couldn't ignore. And in that moment, he felt a sense of peace fall over him.
He wasn't sure what would happen that night. He wasn't sure what the future held for the two of them. And he wasn't even sure she felt the same way. But he was sure that he loved her, and no matter what awaited them at the top of the Trunk Hotel, she was his bunny, and he would protect her. No matter what.
My bunny…
The alarm on Judy's phone sounded. It was now 8:45, fifteen minutes until the scheduled meeting time on the top floor. Judy turned off the alarm, but Nick raised an eyebrow when she stayed on her phone for another few seconds.
"What are you up to?" he asked.
She tapped a few more times on her screen, then pocketed the phone. "Sending Bogo a text," she replied. "We may be off the record, but he is still the chief."
"Fair enough." Nick took a deep breath. "Show time," he quietly announced.
The two of them exited the car and waited for a break in traffic. Nick took the opportunity to look up at the skyscraper in front of them.
The Trunk Hotel. At one point in time, it had been the tallest building in the city, but now, it was overshadowed by many taller, more modern buildings on all sides. Still, as they stood at its base, Nick couldn't help but gape in awe at the size of it. The Neo-Goatic architecture contrasted starkly against the buildings surrounding it, making it stick out like a sore thumb—but it still drew his attention, and he couldn't take his eyes off of it.
A gap in traffic caught his attention, and he and Judy quickly jogged across the street to the front doors. The twin elephant-sized revolving doors automatically swiveled for them, and before they knew it, they had walked through them and into the main lobby.
The hotel itself may have been old, but the lobby was modern. Inside of the five-story-tall reception area, Nick couldn't help but be amazed at what he saw. The floor and most of the walls were all extremely reflective, almost like glass. There were two lounges, on opposite sides of the lobby, one filled with elephants in business suits and the other filled with elephants in casual clothing. In the middle of the lobby stood an open-air restaurant, where Nick saw a staff of mice hard at work not only serving elephant diners, but entertaining them with live music as well. And finally, on the wall to his immediate left, was the front desk, beside which were the elevators—each of them, except one, made of glass, hugging the walls as they skyrocketed up and down to the various floors.
Judy split off and made her way to the elevators. Since she was still wearing her police uniform, she had decided that it would be best for her to attract as little attention as possible, and hanging out by the elevators seemed like the best idea right now. Very few patrons in the lobby noticed her come in, and even fewer bothered staring after her as she walked away.
Nick walked up to the front desk. Once again, he felt dwarfed in comparison to the size of the desk, and the elephant sitting behind it had to lean over in order to see him. "Can I help you, sir?" she asked politely.
Nick forced a small smile. "Yeah, I'm here for the meeting." He feigned nerves, making it seem as if he was unsure whether he was in the right place or not.
The receptionist bought it. She gave him a warm, welcoming smile. "Oh, yes." She used her trunk to point to one of the elevators lining the wall—the only one that wasn't glass. "Use that elevator, Floor 58."
"Thank you, ma'am." Nick turned on his heel and walked straight ahead, not daring to look around and raise suspicion. He reached the elevator and pushed the button. Immediately, the massive, elephant-sized doors opened, and he walked inside.
Judy was walking along the same line of elevators. Their gazes met as he disappeared into the elevator, and in that instant, she made a quick movement with her fingers. "Twenty-two," she mouthed, making sure he got the message. He nodded in acknowledgment, and pressed the 22 button inside the elevator. A second later, the doors closed, and he was on his way up.
He felt the acceleration underneath his feet as he rose to the twenty-second floor, but otherwise he had no way of knowing he was moving. The elevator didn't even have an indicator to show him what floor he was currently on—which he was pretty sure was a clear violation of the Mammals with Disabilities Act, and he made a mental note to file an official report about that once he got back to the ZPD.
He took a second to scan the inside of the elevator. Like everything else in the hotel, it was built with elephants in mind, though thankfully the buttons were low enough that he could press all of them without difficulty. To his relief, there were no cameras, and even the emergency call button was an older push-to-talk model, so there would be no issue sneaking Judy inside.
Looks like the plan just got a little simpler, he sighed with relief.
About a minute later, he felt the elevator begin to slow down, and finally come to a stop. The doors opened up to the twenty-second floor which, just as Judy had discovered during her planning earlier in the day, was set aside for the hotel's laundry service. At this time of night, laundry was scarcely needed, so there were no employees around to see anything. Judy herself popped out of another elevator a few seconds later, and walked into Nick's elevator just as the doors started closing again.
Nick pressed the 58 button and smiled. "You are a clever bunny," he praised.
Judy beamed in pride, but only for a second, before returning to business. "We all clear in here?"
"Yeah."
"All right." Judy looked straight up as the elevator began moving again. "How much time do we have?"
Nick looked up as well. Just above the massive elevator doors, there was a little wooden perch, barely an inch thick. It stuck out like a sore thumb against the brass doors and aluminum interior; most likely, it had been installed as some kind of temporary structural support, then never got swapped out. The plan was for Judy to hang on to that when the doors opened, and sneak inside past the guards.
"About ninety seconds," he replied.
"I've got time, then." Judy stretched her arms in preparation. "I don't want to do that for any longer than I have to."
Nick could understand that. Even though Judy was a small mammal, and probably one of the strongest bunnies he had ever seen, it would still be exhausting to grip on to such a small perch for any more than a few seconds. The last thing he wanted was for her to lose her grip and announce herself in the worst way possible to the entirety of the Trunk Hotel.
Even so, getting in was going to be the easy part. Nick felt his pulse grow stronger as he thought about the many ways that this plan could go wrong. He quickly closed his eyes and took a deep breath, forcing the images out of his mind. Judy's plan would work, he assured himself. It had to. The alternative was too horrific to think about.
He sighed. "I really hope this works," he whispered.
Judy heard him and offered a friendly smile. "It will," she assured him.
"And what if it doesn't?" Nick turned to her. "What if worst comes to worst?"
It was a serious question, and she knew it, but she didn't have time to say anything reassuring. Her smile turned mischievous. "Well, if worst comes to worst, bunnies can play dead."
That didn't exactly make him feel better. Not only would it only work for Judy for a few minutes at most, but he could not play dead, so it wouldn't help him at all. "Good for you," he murmured.
The elevator began slowing down. It was time to stop with the friendly jabs and get to work. Without needing to say anything, Nick dropped to one knee and clamped his paws together into a scoop. Judy stepped into it and curled her body into a ball. "One, two, three," she whispered. On three, both of them straightened their bodies as fast as they could, and Nick threw Judy high into the air. She cleared the elevator doors, spun around, and grabbed onto the wooden perch with her fingers. As the elevator came to a complete stop, she managed to swing her legs up onto the perch, and even though she couldn't completely rest on it, she was secure enough to look down at Nick and give a reassuring nod.
Nick stood at ease and stared at the doors just as they opened up. Standing there, waiting for him, was an elephant—one of the largest elephants Nick had ever seen. He towered over the fox and glared at him, causing Nick to shrink in submission.
It was bad enough that this guard was so big. What made it even worse, however, was that it was someone that Nick knew, all too well.
"Wilde," the elephant snorted.
This was unexpected, and Nick didn't know whether it was a good thing or a bad thing. The elephant's name was Tufani, and like many of the individuals in Zootopia that Nick was acquainted with, he had hustled him years ago. He had sold Tufani a dozen Pawaiian shirts, and he had failed to mention that the shirts were sized for Indian elephants, not African elephants. He had never heard from Tufani again, but based on the way the elephant glared at him now, Nick knew he hadn't forgotten.
Well, of course he hasn't forgotten. Elephants never forget. He forced a smile and waved weakly. "Tufani, great to see you!" he squeaked.
Above Tufani's head, Judy remained hidden. Nick didn't dare glance up at her, for fear of giving away her position, but he could feel her staring daggers into him right now. He could almost hear her in his head, berating him on yet another part of his past catching up to him at the worst possible time.
Tufani leaned his head into the elevator and stopped mere inches away from Nick's face. "And what are you doing here, you swindler?" he grumbled. His booming voice rattled the elevator, and Nick reflexively backed up to grab onto a handrail.
"I'm—" Nick started, but couldn't continue when Tufani leaned his head into the elevator to glare at him a bit more closely. He gulped, put on his fake smile again, and tried again, "I'm here for the meeting."
Tufani narrowed his eyes. "I think you're on the wrong floor." He took a step inside, and the resulting earthquake made Nick genuinely nervous that the elevator would fail under the weight. "The only meeting here is for decent people. Who sent you, anyway?"
Nick felt his heart skip a beat. "Who…" He swallowed again. "Who sent me?" A yellow flash out of the corner of his eye, combined with a single beep, informed him that his shock collar had issued him a warning.
Tufani glanced at the collar, and a moment later, to Nick's bewilderment, calmly took a step back and stood straight. "My apologies," he said softly—a complete reversal of his tone before. He rotated his body so that Nick could step off the elevator. "The meeting is in Room 5814."
For a second, Nick was surprised at the sudden change of heart that the elephant seemed to show. But he couldn't ponder on it for long; the doors began to close. He quickly sprinted through them and entered the floor.
He could only wonder if his collar had anything to do with Tufani suddenly letting him pass. Perhaps the elephant saw it as some kind of a signal that he was allowed in. Maybe there was even a bit of empathy at seeing him about to be hurt. Whatever the case, Nick turned to him and gave a simple, but genuine, "Thank you."
Tufani snorted, but turned back around to face the elevator. "Make sure you come back when you're all done." It was impossible to tell whether it was advice, or a threat.
In any case, Nick wasn't interested in finding out. He glanced at the ceiling above Tufani's head just in time to see one of the tiles slide back into place. He breathed a sigh of relief; Judy had slipped past Tufani, probably while he was confronting Nick inside the elevator, and had gotten into the ceiling without anyone noticing.
So far, so good.
Nick turned back to the hallway and started walking. The tall ceiling and strange elephant-style wall fixtures made him feel like he was not in a hotel, but a kind of a castle, like something he would have seen in an old horror film. The distance between doors was enormous, and even though there were only a few rooms on this floor, it felt like it could have been a grand palace. Room 5814 wasn't even at the end of the hall; up ahead, the farthest room was 5808, before the hallway took a sharp turn to the right.
Nick glanced up at the ceiling again. Judy's job right now was to make her way into the ducts inside the ceiling, while Nick went to the meeting pretending to be a predator hired by Logan Puer, the skunk who seemed to be in on the conspiracy against Zootopia. All Nick had to do was walk straight up to Room 5814, knock on the door, and go along with whatever would happen next. Judy would sneak around inside the ceiling and check out the other rooms on the floor for anything suspicious.
Nick rounded the corner. Room 5814 was directly ahead, the door at the end of the hall. He took a deep breath. Okay, Wilde, let's do this. Just pretend you're in police academy all over again. He started walking. No matter how boring it is, no matter how much you want to roll your eyes, just remember, it's all for the greater—
A rope suddenly appeared in front of Nick's eyes. Startled, he jumped back and looked up.
One of the ceiling tiles was pushed aside, and Judy was waving at him, a desperate look on her face. When he didn't immediately respond, she gave the rope a quick tug and pointed at it.
Nick got the message. He grabbed the rope and hung onto it while Judy pulled him up. She was strong enough to make it a quick trip, and within seconds, he had crawled up into the ceiling to join her. He waited for her to put the tile back in place, before asking her, "What's wrong?"
Judy set the rope aside. There were actually a few ropes, some tools, and some electrical wires strewn all over the place; apparently, whoever had last worked on the ducts had left a lot of their stuff behind. The duct itself had a small door in the side of it, perfectly sized for smaller mammals such as themselves, which Judy had left open when she exited a few seconds prior. Nick guessed that it was designed in such a way that smaller mammals could work on it and easily reach places that elephants simply couldn't.
She locked eyes with him. "Nick," she whispered, "Rolfe is here."
She talked in such a low voice, Nick wasn't sure he had heard her correctly. "Assistant Mayor Rolfe?" he repeated, making sure he understood correctly.
She nodded. She motioned for him to follow her as she climbed back through the door. It was a tighter squeeze for him, but he managed, and the two of them crawled through the ducts back in the direction of the elevator. Within a minute or two, Judy stopped at one of the other rooms on the floor. She and Nick found an air vent, lay down next to it, and peered down to the room below.
It was a conference room of some kind, with a long table in the middle. Seated at the end of the table, just as Judy had said, was Rolfe. The wolf was calmly leaning forward, addressing the others at the table. Due to the angle of the vent, it was difficult to see who else was seated in the room with him.
Judy whipped out her cell phone, double-checked to make sure it was set on silent, and pointed it through the vent to start recording whatever conversation took place.
Someone was talking right now, in the middle of a conversation that had clearly been going on for some time before now. "Yes, they are quite compliant," they were saying. "Their monetary compensation is adequate, and their guarantee of extravagant social standing is an astonishing incentive."
Someone else at the table sighed. "Oh, please stop with the lawyer speak, Fields," they retorted. Nick felt his muscles tense up as he realized that they were referring to Timothy Fields, the mouse lawyer who was keeping the incarcerated predators at the ZPD from talking. "Is it really too much to just say 'money'?"
"I certainly could say that," Fields replied, "but it is not entirely accurate. Money alone cannot account for all of the intricacies of a strategy this grand in scale."
Rolfe spoke up for the first time since the two of them started listening. "Mr. Fields is absolutely correct," he said. His booming voice filled the room, and everyone automatically gave him their full attention. "You cannot simply buy your plans into existence these days. That is why I've tried my best to do everything as legitimately as possible."
This was met with scoffs around the room, as many of those in attendance held back their chuckles. "Yeah, real legitimate," someone mocked. "Then why are we here, Rolfe?"
Rolfe remained composed. If their laughter affected him, he did not show it. "I am the legitimate Assistant Mayor, after all," he continued. "I didn't need any of you gentlemammals for that. Lionheart chose me, fair and square, and I intend to keep it that way."
"Yeah, of course, boss," one of the previous voices agreed. "Nobody doubts you. When the mayor announced you to be his new assistant, we were all just as shocked as the guys at ZNN. Isn't that right, fellas?" A few murmurs confirmed his words.
"Charmed," Rolfe murmured, before continuing in his normal speaking voice. "And so, here I sit. The Assistant Mayor of Zootopia. With all of you." He paused to look around the room. "We have had these meetings every week for almost two months now. You'll have to forgive me if I'm feeling a bit…" He growled. "Shall we say, a bit disappointed that things have not progressed as quickly as I had been promised."
"You can only do so much with money," someone said. "When money isn't enough, we have to make promises. And when promises are not enough, we have to set up…" He chuckled. "Well, we have to set up 'accidents'. And when accidents aren't enough, Mr. Puer is more than capable of other methods of persuasion. Isn't that right, Mr. Puer?"
"That's why I'm here," a new voice spoke in response, one that Nick had never heard before. It was a raspy, quiet voice that made Nick's ears hurt like nails on a chalkboard. "And as I've said, I expect to be fully reimbursed for my services, Rolfe."
"And as I've said," Rolfe replied firmly, "you will get every penny that is owed to you." His thumb rubbed uneasily over his folded paws. "Once I have proof that that fox cop has been dealt with."
Nick's heart froze. There was only one fox in the entire ZPD, and it was him—or at least, he was until a few days ago. He knew he had clashed with Rolfe since the beginning but he never would have thought the wolf wanted him dead.
Have I been interfering with Rolfe's plans? Does he just want me dead because he doesn't like me? He gulped. Or is there something else he had means by having me "dealt with"?
Puer's voice interrupted his thoughts. "Oh, didn't you hear? He quit." There were murmurs among the others in the room for a moment, then he continued, "It seems he couldn't take the pressure, especially after all his bunny partner put him through. To be honest, I'm surprised I even had to give her any encouragement."
"Why's that?" someone else asked.
"Because she's scared of the guy. Scared to the core."
Nick's eyes darted to Judy. She was looking at him already, her eyes wide in shock. Her mouth opened slightly, and she tried mouthing something to him, but he couldn't understand her. He wasn't sure he cared anyway; this new information dropped on him like a bomb, and almost instantly, the goodwill she had been building up throughout the day had all but disappeared.
She really is scared of me, then?
Dr. Wood had told Nick that Judy had some "concerns" about him, after he had received his shock collar. And even Judy herself had told him about the dream she'd had, where he had killed her after going savage. She had insisted at the time that she wasn't afraid of him, and he had believed her, but now…
Judy grabbed his attention with a wave of her paw. "Nick," she mouthed. She quickly pointed to the vent. "Focus," she mouthed again.
As much as Nick wanted to confront her about this, he knew she was right. He would have to talk to her later about this—and he fully intended to—but now was the time to get the information they came for. He held back an irritated sigh, nodded his head, and looked back through the vent.
"So long as neither of them further interferes with our plans, I don't care what they think of each other." Rolfe shifted in his seat. His calm, collected expression remained unwavering, but it was clear that he had grown a tiny bit nervous during this conversation. "I want this to be the last night we do this." He pointed at the collar on his neck. "Every passing day that predators have to wear these, the city grows worse. I am not interested in running a city in chaos. Am I understood?"
There were some murmurs from the others at the table. Nick took the quick pause to glance at Judy. She nodded toward her phone, affirming that she had recorded everything. This evidence would be more than enough to charge Rolfe with conspiracy, along with possible charges of racketeering, domestic terrorism, and more. It would also be enough evidence to bring up charges against Fields, Puer, and everyone else in the room.
The only problem was, it was impossible to know who else was in the room from their angle. If they wanted to be as effective as possible, they had to know every single person in that room…
Nick's eyes widened as he realized what Judy was about to do. He waved his paws and silently mouthed, "Carrots, wait! Wait, wait, wait!"
It was no use. Judy reached for the ceiling tile beside the vent. She gently slid two fingers underneath the tile and, as carefully and slowly as she could, started to pry it up.
Rolfe started talking again. "Let me be clear, gentlemammals." He stood up, and the sound that followed indicated everyone else at the table had done the same. "This has not been a painless experiment. I do not approve of all of your methods. And I most certainly will not call you heroes when this is all said and done."
Judy wiggled the tile free and stuck her phone through, just enough for the lens to capture video of the room. As she panned around, Nick could see, for the first time, everyone in the room. Most of them he didn't know; only Rolfe he knew for sure, and he had to guess that the lone rat was Fields and the lone skunk was Puer. Otherwise, there were two elephants, a tiger, a giraffe, an otter, a brown bear, and, to his horror, even a red fox. It was a group evenly split between predators and prey, with seemingly no commonalties between them, except that they all wore business suits, and clearly all had a common purpose for being in the same room together.
"However, I truly do believe that this will make Zootopia a better place," Rolfe continued. "Far be it for me, of all mammals, to be the one to say that the end justifies the means…" He leered at Puer, as if addressing him specifically. "Especially when lives are put in jeopardy."
Puer shrugged. "You can't argue with results," he replied.
"Yes…" Rolfe's voice dropped to a low growl. He straightened his suit jacket and walked towards the door. "I will be mayor soon enough, gentlemammals. I have you to thank for that."
"Our pleasure, sir," the giraffe responded.
The bear smirked. "Yeah, it's been great getting rid of that dufus Lionheart," he added.
Rolfe reached the door and paused. "Lionheart has played his part," he responded. "As have all of you." He finally exited, and Nick and Judy could hear him walk briskly to the elevator.
Judy pulled her phone back into the ceiling and stopped recording. She silently grinned at Nick and gave a thumbs-up. Despite the fact that they were not out of this yet, Nick couldn't help but smile and return the gesture. Rolfe had practically spilled the beans in their meeting, and combined with everything else that was said, this would be enough to finally put an end to the savage predator attacks. Maybe the shock collars could come off soon. Maybe things could go back to normal…
Judy set her phone down on the vent in order to better grip the ceiling tile with both paws. Just as she let go of her phone, though, Nick saw it continue to slide. Horrified, he reached for it in an attempt to catch it before it fell through the vent.
He missed.
Time seemed to slow down as Nick and Judy helplessly watched the phone drop into the room below. It hung in the air for several painful seconds, before finally landing loudly on the table. The room instantly fell silent, as all eyes turned to look at the phone.
After a few seconds, one of the elephants grabbed the phone with his trunk, taking it out of Nick and Judy's view. "Looks like someone's been spying on us," he grumbled loudly. Immediately after, the sound of glass being smashed filled the air; Nick quickly realized that the elephant had crushed the phone between his two front feet, destroying it instantly.
"It came from up there!" someone yelled. Nick instinctively crawled a few inches away from the vent, hoping that nobody could see him. "They're up in the vents!"
"Lockdown the floor!" Puer yelled at someone else. "I don't want anyone walking the halls unless they're with your team!" Immediately, the loud thunk of bolts falling into place alerted Nick to the fact that the room below had been locked up. Similar sounds echoed down the hall a few seconds later.
Judy moved away from the vent and, to Nick's surprise, jumped back into the duct. "Come on," she whispered frantically, "we're going with Plan D!"
Nick stared at her. "Plan D?" he repeated. "Are you sure?"
"Well, Plan A sure isn't going to work anymore." Judy opened her paws and showed them to him. "No phone, no proof—no choice."
"Calm down." Nick threw up his paws, hoping to quickly reason with Judy. "We can stay here and figure out a new plan. We're not in any rush."
A loud bang erupted below them, and immediately after, a hole appeared in the tile directly to Nick's right. He jerked away instinctively, just in time to conveniently dodge another bullet that would have hit him if he had stayed put.
"Time to go!" Nick followed Judy into the ducts.
Judy led Nick back the way they came. She pounded her fist against the side of the duct as they crawled, over and over again, to create as much noise as possible. Nick, on the other hand, kept his distance behind her and proceeded as silently as possible. Judy widened the gap between them, and within a few seconds, she disappeared behind one of the corners up ahead.
Nick made his way back to the service door from which he had entered earlier. He knew the plan: Judy would distract the security guards below by making it seem like she was trying to make it to the laundry chute to escape. The laundry chute was on the other side of the floor from the elevator, which was the actual way they planned to escape.
It was a good plan. By the time the security guards realized the elevator had been accessed, the two of them would be on their way down to the ground floor. Then they would go straight to the ZPD to report their findings. Even without Judy's phone as evidence, their witness reports would be enough to mobilize the police force and storm the Trunk Hotel, hopefully in time to catch some of these mammals before they could escape.
The only downside to this plan was that, if even one person saw them before they got to the elevator, their lives would be in serious jeopardy. Even if someone caught a glimpse of them, it would be enough to mark them and hunt them down. Even if everything worked perfectly, and everyone in the whole building got arrested, and Nick and Judy were put into Witness Protection, they would have to live the whole rest of their lives looking over their shoulder, just in case…
Nick shoved the thought out of his mind. That won't happen, he assured himself. We'll get out of this. We have to.
The echoes from Judy's distraction grew faint, and then stopped. Nick guessed that she had reached the laundry chute, and that was his cue. As quietly as he could, he opened the service door and stepped onto the ceiling tiles outside. He then slowly and carefully lifted one of the tiles and moved it to the side just enough to poke his head through the hole and take a quick look around.
The coast was clear. He removed the tile completely, then quickly tied one of the nearby ropes to the service door, before rappelling himself down to the ground below. He dropped as fast as he could, trying to ignore the rope burning on his paw pads, and landed gently on the ground below.
He looked back up, and to his relief, Judy was just about to lower herself down to join him, right on cue. She did not bother moving the tile back into place; at this point, it would just waste precious time, and wouldn't help mask their presence on the floor anyway. Instead, she grabbed the rope and jumped down to join Nick, falling even faster than he had. In fact, she fell so fast, Nick instinctively stretched out his arms to catch her.
He didn't need to. At the last second, Judy's grip on the rope tightened, and she slowed herself down to gently land on the floor with no issues. She raised her paws and proudly displayed them. "No pads," she explained. Nick understood: her paws were completely covered in fur, which meant she was able to grip the rope as tightly as she wanted without injuring herself.
He smiled at the comment, but then his expression grew grim as he took a look up and down the hallway. The security guards were nowhere to be seen, but neither was anyone else. All the mammals were locked inside the various rooms, which themselves were soundproofed. It was unnerving how quiet it was, and how vulnerable the two of them must have looked right at that moment.
They were out in the open.
Nick glanced at Judy. He could see fear in her eyes. They had been in dangerous situations before, but this probably was the worst of all. And so far, a lot had already gone wrong: Judy had lost her phone, they had been shot at, and now Nick knew that she feared him. It was a lot to take in, in such a short amount of time.
But mixed in with that fear, Nick could see hope. After all, they were a mere few feet away from the elevator, and one short ride away from freedom. They would be able to think about everything they had gone through after this was all over. Right now, there was only one thing on both their minds.
He pointed over his shoulder with his thumb. "Ready to get out of here?" he whispered.
Judy nodded in reply. The two of them tiptoed down the hall, going back the way they came. When they approached the final corner, Judy peeked around it, pulled out her taser, and held it close to her chest. Nick stood close to her and also took a peek around the corner. Nobody was in sight, not even Tufani. The elevator was in front of them, and nothing stood between them and it.
Almost there, Nick thought, trying to keep himself calm. Almost there…
Nick's shock collar flashed yellow.
The beep sounded especially loud this time, compared to the dead silence of the hallway. Judy whirled around, first looking at Nick, then looking behind him. Her eyes widened. "Run!" she yelled. She took off for the elevator and Nick ran close behind, not needing to turn around to know that she had seen the security guards that had been called.
They made it to the elevator in mere seconds, and while Judy turned around and pointed her taser in preparation to shoot, Nick leapt for the button on the wall. He had never felt more happy in his life when he felt the button press in.
The happiness left him when an electronic voice sounded in place of the usual ding. "Elevator locked," it announced. Desperate, Nick leapt back up and pressed the button again. The voice once again announced, "Elevator locked."
Nick turned around to face the security guards. He counted at least six elephants, all as big and as intimidating as Tufani, but there may have been more on the way. They were dressed in wool clothes, bulletproof vests, and shielded helmets, so even if Judy shot one of them with her taser it would not do any good. They were running down the hall at full speed, and the look on their faces told Nick that they only had one thing on their mind: stomping the two of them into the ground.
He glanced over at Judy, hoping that she had a plan to get them out of this. He was terrified by what he saw. Judy's eyes were wide with fright. Her nose twitched uncontrollably. The bunny who always kept her cool, who always had a way out of any situation, was all out of ideas. There was nothing they could do.
They were trapped.