Three Weeks Later…
"Two more hours, Judy. Two more hours. Then I can bid final farewell to their kind of… incompetence."
Nick Wilde unrolled the sheet of pastry dough on the roughed counter of his apartment. Two years ago, the counter was pristine laminated fake oak wood, pristine only on account of him never feeling the need to learn to cook. Now it was a mess of cuts and burns, embarrassing scars of failed attempts, misplaced hot pans, and near misses with the kitchen knife.
"Yes, sir." He muttered, mimicking the voice of Colonel Cutter, the ant from that movie that Benji had lent him a year prior. Nick had watched it again. And again. And again. Now it was officially stuck in his head.
"A fresh start. Imagine it." He breathed in the harsher tones of General Mandible, the dickhead currently plotting the death of the soldier ants loyal to the queen.
"A strong colony, sir." He cut the pastry into squares, feeling the heat of the preheated oven to his right. "A colony we can be proud of."
"Yes, but we're not there yet." He spooned the carrot, apple, thyme, and cheese puree he'd prepared a few minutes ago, applying it to the pastry squares before folding them into triangles. "Cutter, we just received word that the termite army has mobilised again us."
"Against us?" Nick actually paused in the middle of spooning.
"We'll have to send troops. Deep into hostile territory. To attack their colony."
"Attack a termite colony? Sir, that's suicide."
"Exactly. Do you have the list I asked for?"
"Yes, sir. These are the units loyal to the queen."
"Hmmm. Then they're the ones we'll be sending. It's a shame, there are some fine officers here."
"Don't we need the queen's approval? To declare war?"
"Our very next stop, Cutter."
In near- perfect sync with his isolation-induced recital, Nick had finished turning over the turnovers at that very moment. He slipped them into the oven and set the alarm to go off in sixteen minutes. Or until golden brown, whichever.
Carrot and Ricotta. Nick had no idea if she would like it. She'd never mentioned turnovers during her visits. He'd never seen her eating them. A surprise had seemed like good idea at the time.
Nick stepped into the bedroom, really the other side of the kitchen counter, his tail lashing behind him. He looked out the single window in the room, down at the empty street below, glowing a dismal orange under the street lamps, and remembered the other reason his chest was tightening.
The officers would be coming soon. He should be excited. In less than two hours he would be a free mammal. He could see Judy outside of his apartment or a grocery store. He could visit Finnick in prison. He could see Benji and Honey again. But in this single room apartment- tiny bathroom aside- at the twilight of his house arrest, he was at his most afraid. He couldn't stop thinking about all the ways this could go wrong. What bad news the officers would drop on him. President Holloway had rescinded his presidential pardon. Some ancient history had been dredged up that would add a few more months to his sentence. Or maybe the officers disliked him enough to conjure some trumped-up charge and ruin his day. It didn't matter how realistic those possibilities were. They all scared him.
His shock collar beeped, warning him to take his anxiety down a notch. Nick took the hint and dropped down on his rickety bed, staring up at the ceiling. He knew his collar was still yellow, and would stay yellow until his fears were alleviated, but so long as he lay physically relaxed, he should be in no danger of reaching the red zone.
His situation could be worse. He could be wearing one of the Red Queen's special collars. The ones that turned blue for Savage City.
His phone vibrated on the bedside table where he'd left it prior to baking. He picked it up. His mental mantra of please don't be the court, please don't be the court cut itself off when he saw the screen. It was a text from 'Carrots.'
Going to be a little late. See you at Bar Neely's.
Nick sent a pleasant reply and put down the phone, more relieved than disappointed. First thing after the ankle monitor came off, he'd have to get some Tupperware from the local store.
He had to get off the bed momentarily, to take out the turnovers and leave them to cool, and after that he returned to the bed and stayed there, watching something that wasn't Antz, and stayed there until he heard a knock at the door.
Nick got up and exhaled heavily and audible as he went to the door.
"Hhhhhere we go."
He opened the door and had to strain his neck to look up at the two rhinos in blue that were to be his liberators. He felt slightly better that neither of them looked unhappy at the prospect. Eager to get it over with, maybe, but at least they didn't seem to care that the infamous Wilde was going to be their prisoner no longer.
Nick tried not to think about the treatment he would have received had the judge not been talked out of putting him in prison.
"Nicholas Wilde?" The shorter rhino asked.
"The same." Nick said. He'd told himself over and over to tone down the cheek before their arrival. He stepped all the way to the side to let them through. Together they filled half the apartment, making Nick glad that he didn't have many possessions that could get knocked or trodden on.
There was a Zootopian procedure for legally removing an ankle monitor. Just as he'd expected and hoped, the rhinos got started the moment the door was closed. No bad news. No last minute screwing over by the system. So far so good.
"… was initially issued a twenty-year sentence under house arrest, of which he has served two years before being issued a presidential pardon, to which no violations were committed. In accordance with the terms of the pardon, you will be relieved of your monitor effective immediately." The rhino paused to take a break as he read from his hoof-held monitor, while his partner stood waiting with the scanner in hoof.
"Why do I feel a 'but' coming on?" Nick asked. He immediately bit the inside of his cheek, but the rhinos seemed only mildly irritated. He was right about their feelings toward him. The sooner they got that tag off, the sooner they could get back to the part of their job they liked doing.
"However, you will still be monitored through your TAME collar for the next six months to ensure you are abiding by the terms of your release. If by then you have committed no violations, we will schedule a second visit to relieve you of your collar. If you do commit any violations within the next six months, you will be taken back into custody and given a sentence depending on the nature of the violation." The rhino looked down from his monitor, eyeing the fox with small grey eyes. "Do you understand these conditions?"
"Yes." After his previous slip-up, Nick didn't dare say anything else."
"Good. Danvers, go ahead."
Nick sat on his couch and stuck his leg out, the one still bearing the two scars where Mayor Swinton's bullet had punched through him. The taller rhino knelt down, his scanner bigger than Nick's head. He held the scanner to Nick's tiny anklet for five seconds. There was one beep, two beeps, then a plastic click as the ankle monitor detached itself.
The fox let out the breath he'd being holding throughout the whole process. Just like that, he thought.
The visit didn't last much longer after that. The rhinos bid their gruff good days and left, taking the ankle monitor with them. "Good riddance." Nick spoke at the door. He wasn't talking to the rhinos. He tugged at his collar. If all goes well in the next six months, this would be the next to go.
Not for the first time, Nick applauded himself that he and Judy had saved Commissioner, now Mayor Morgan Elba, from the Red Queen's twisted game of chess. One year had passed since Elba and Honey succeeded in gathering the evidence needed to convince the government to repeal the worst of the Tame Collar laws. In the weeks that followed, countless families had cancelled their Taming Parties in favour of a far happier celebration. A few months later, Nick, Ben and Judy had sat at this very couch as they watched the announcement that it was no longer mandatory for all predators to wear TAME Collars; just convicted felons like Nick.
If Elba and President Holloway continued to have their way, there would soon be no collars at all.
Nick tilted his head to the simple round clock on the wall. It was slightly too slow, but he knew it was almost time to meet up with Judy. He grabbed his brown jacket, fished his keys from the pocket and walked out the apartment.
The hallway was empty. One of the ceiling lights audibly flickered over and over. Nick couldn't wait to get outside and taste true freedom again. After the Wilde Times Scandal he'd never work in medicine again, but Benji had promised to help him get a job. He'd have to see how soon he could visit Finnick in prison. The dumb fox had added another month to his sentence for insubordination. What would he get at the bar? His usual, or maybe something a bit fancier to commemorate the occasion? Should he cover Judy's tab, or be funny and 'forget' his wallet for old time's sake?
How easy would it be to send a thank you note to the President?
Nick strolled down the hallway, continuing to mull over all of the things he could do now that he was free of that ankle monitor. He'd have to start saving up for a new place. This apartment block was almost a derelict. All of the apartments on his floor were empty, and squatter or dealer who tried to set up shop was extricated within a week.
So it came as a shock when the door ahead of him suddenly opened by a crack.
"Wilde. Over here." The white vixen hissed, her teeth slightly bared.
Nick blinked, frozen in place. Alyssa?
He blinked, saw the purple accents in her black clothing, and realised that it was the other superspy. Starlight Foxtrot. Freelancer. Mother of two. Her husband once threatened to skin him for being such a smartass.
Nick took a hesitant step forward. He never thought he'd see her again.
"Wilde!" Starlight jerked her paw, urging him into the apartment.
Nick swallowed, feeling all the good feelings slipping away. Starlight backed into the room as he slipped inside, hoping that this would turn out to be a casual visit. Her husband, Gabriel Mossberg, was there with her.
"Recognise me?" She asked. She was acting cool, but there was a hint of urgency in her smooth voice, and she kept glancing at the door and the window behind them. The constant turning of her head caused Nick to notice that her unique ponytail was shorter than when he last saw her. What was more, there was a big square bandage on her cheekbone.
"Who can forget your pretty face?"
"Not now, Wilde. Where's Hopps?"
Nick frowned. "Why?"
"Hopps. Where is she?"
"… I'm meeting her at a bar."
"A bar? Where?" Starlight strode past him to lock the door and slid the chain lock in place.
"Bar Neelys. What's going on?"
Starlight held up a paw and spoke into her headset. "She's at Bar Neely's. You know where that is? Good, now go!"
Nick's hackles raised. "I won't ask you again." He wished he had some sort of weapon so he could get his point across.
Starlight strode to the window, opened it, and stuck her head out. "Long story short, there's a group of about twenty mammals waiting to capture you."
"That was quick. What did I do this time?"
"Just get on the fire escape. The rooftops are our best chance."
They ascended the rickety fire escape, which creaked from the exertion of holding itself to the brick wall of the apartment block. Starlight went first, pulling out a firearm as they neared the top. She signalled for Nick to stop, and once she was sure that the roof was clear, gestured again for him to join her. The rooftop tiles felt like cold gravel beneath his feet.
"Hold on. If the fuzz isn't after me, then who is?"
"Swinton's after you."
"Har-de-har har. Swinton's dead."
"Then you've been left out of the loop." Starlight pulled out a collar scanner. "Here. I stopped by Precinct Three while I was making my way to you."
Nick jerked back, covering the collar with his paw. "Hell no! If this comes off, I go back to the slammer."
Starlight closed the gap between them. "They've got an inside mammal on the monitoring system. The collar has to go."
"But-"
"Nick, we planned for this. Trust me."
Nick stared into her eyes. Gabe had saved his neck when they'd first met. He let the vixen force his paw down and hold the scanner to his collar. It beeped twice, the sound jabbing at his ear each time, and unlocked, just like the ankle monitor. She slipped the collar into her pocket and pointed to the next building. A plank had been set down between the two.
"One more thing." She reached out and stuck something small and hard into his ear. "Honey wants to talk to you." The feeling of her paw against his face made his groin heat up. He became aware of how long it had been since he'd come in physical contact with a female of his species. Starlight smirked and shook her head. She must have seen his reaction in his eyes. Knock it off, she's married, you idiot!
Before Nick could apologise for getting aroused, he heard a bang coming from beneath them, then another and another. Someone was kicking at the apartment door. Fear squeezed at his chest. If it was the police, they would have announced themselves.
"And now they know the jig is up. I'll lead them away and meet you up ahead. Now go!"
After two decades of running from hustles gone bad, Nick didn't need telling twice. The plank rattled beneath him as he ran, crossing over the alley six floors below. Straight ahead of him, on the taller building across the roof, a thick drainpipe rose all the way up. There was no plank to get him across this time. He ran all the way across the roof and jumped, barely catching the pipe. He slid down three feet before stopping. His paws had caught on the pipe clip, the pain almost making him let go. Adrenaline pumped strength into his limbs, and he held on. He considered sliding the rest of the way down and taking his chances on the streets.
When he looked down, he saw two shadows in the alley between the two structures. It was too dark to see if they were pedestrians or worse. He decided against taking that chance and started to climb. Thankfully his time in captivity hadn't made him too rusty.
When he heard Starlight speak, it was right inside his ear, within the com-link she'd given him. The voice was louder than it should have been.
"Honey, he's on the move. I've got the collar and I'll meet him up ahead."
"How many of them fell for it?" Nick paused in the middle of climbing. He hadn't heard her voice since he'd been issued the ankle monitor.
"About half. The rest are spreading out to search the block."
"Damn. This'd be easier if they were the dumb kind of goon. I should have known he'd spare no expense."
"Honey!" Nick breathed, panting slightly from the constant climbing. He was two windows away from the top of the roof. Good. His paws were starting to sweat.
"Hiya, Nick! I'd love to chat, but we need to keep you moving. Once you reach Precinct One, you should be home free."
"Honey, what the hell is going on? Is Carrots okay?"
"They were going to grab you once you left the building, Nick. We had to get you now. And don't worry about the bunny, okay? Gabe's on it."
Nick reached the top and shook his arms as he turned to look down at the roof behind him. His guts lurched when he saw three herbivores glaring up at him, wielding guns as black as their clothes. He back away and rushed to the edge on the other side. He couldn't see the precinct, but he could see City Hall, a beacon of white wall and blue glass. Precinct One was straight across from it. It looked like it was ten, maybe eleven city blocks, plus the river that flowed through the district before making a hard right toward Central Station. A lot of ground to cover.
An unmarked black van skidded to a stop at the base of the building he stood on. Four mammals with guns- big guns- scrambled out through the side door and approached.
"Unbelievable! Two minutes out of house arrest and I'm back on the run!" Nick paced in a tight circle, fighting off panic.
"I sent the chief an anonymous tip giving him the gist of what's going on. A couple of squad cars should be there soon."
"So why am I running?"
"'Cause a few cops aren't gonna stop them. They're hellbent on getting you and Hopps."
Nick felt a chill and thought of Koslov Polarvov. "Why?"
"I'll explain later. Take the stairs to the sixth floor. Starlight propped the door open on her way to you."
The mammals were now busting into the building through a fire exit. "Are you sure about this, Hon?"
"Yes, now get a move on!"
Nick found the door held open by a cement block and raced down the narrow stairwell. The speed at which he descended, practically spinning around the spiralling stairway, almost made him dizzy. He reached the sixth floor and found himself in an empty open office. There were three doors to choose from.
"Okay, I'm there. Now what?" Nick had stopped, taking the opportunity to catch his breath. Had he lost his pursuers? He was sure he had. Unless they were brave enough to try climbing that drainpipe after him.
"Take the fire exit. It'll put you out on the lower roof. Find a fire escape and make your way down."
"Any word on Carrots?" Nick asked, spying the glowing green sign above the left door and running toward it.
"Gabe's still making his way to her. Hang on a sec… damn it. Looks like they figured you'd take to the roofs and send two snipers to scope it out."
Nick slowed his pace. He felt sick. One bullet from a sniper rifle and there'd be no guts left to shit himself with. "So, the outdoors is a no go. What's Plan B?"
"Plan B is stick to Plan A."
"You must be joking."
"They're not gonna shoot. Not with bullets, anyway. Their boss doesn't want you dead yet."
"Is that supposed to make me feel better?!"
"Stop griping and take the fire escape."
"Ugh, why me? Why?" Nick threw his weight into the fire escape and pushed it open.
He ran across the pale grey rooftop, eyes trembling in their sockets as they scanned the surrounding rooftops for a shadow or a glint of a sniper scope. He saw nothing but brick. He found the fire escape, a sturdier structure the colour of silver, and found it only went down to the third floor. The door at the bottom was locked. Now what?
Then he heard it. Footsteps clanging on the steps above. He looked up and saw the shadow of a large mammal coming down the fire escape after him. Shit.
"See the other fire escape? Jump to it!"
Nick turned and spied the fire escape she was talking about. Could he make that jump? His pursuer was one floor above him. Only one way to find out.
He climbed on the rail. He saw black movement out of the corner of his eye a second before he jumped. The thin edge of the rail bit into his palms as he caught it. His legs and tail dangled in the damp air. His arms screamed at him as he pulled himself up and squeezed between the bars.
"Stop right there!" The goon, a gazelle in dark combat gear, was aiming a tranquiliser rifle across the gap at him.
Instinctively, Nick froze. He saw the trigger being squeezed. He cried out and crossed his arms in front of his face.
He heard the rifle fire, and felt the dart hit him. It sank into the thick fabric of his sleeve and stuck there, the blue tuft titled downward by gravity. By some miracle the needle had missed his flesh.
Nick realised his luck, smirked at the gazelle and took off up the metal steps. The gazelle realised the dart hadn't worked and cursed foxes in general. By the time he reloaded, Nick had reached the top of the fire escape and was making his way across yet another rooftop. Up ahead at the edge of the city block was a three-star hotel containing over fifty floors. Nick knew that place. It was right next to the river.
Honey whistled in his ear. "That was too close. You should see a ladder up ahead."
Nick saw it. "The one with the safety cage around it, yeah?"
"Jump to it."
Nick jumped, trying not to think of how far he would fall. His body bounced painfully against the cage as he grabbed it- a paw came loose, swinging his body until he was facing the ground below.
It was a long way down.
Nick felt the breath leave his body, but his remaining paw maintained its grip. He swung back, grabbed the cage and slipped through the bars to grab the ladder inside. He climbed to the top. That was the third time he'd risked a deadly plunge. He couldn't stop himself from shaking.
There's a door in front of you. The code is 3656."
Nick was too high on adrenaline to ask how Honey knew that. He reached the door and stretched his body to the limit to reach the keypad. He barely reached the number 3 button… 6… 5… 6. He heard the door unlock and shoved it open. The route ahead consisted of a hallway lit only by the vague reflections of the shiny walls.
Nick was grabbed from behind and lifted off his feet.
The gazelle's arm tightened around his neck in a chokehold. No, no!
Panic overwhelmed him and he flailed, clawing and kicking at his attacker. Not even five seconds passed before he felt the strength being drained out of him.
Through the distortion in his ears he thought he heard police sirens.
Little late, assholes…
A wet sound, like a watermelon being sliced in half, hit his right ear. The gazelle was thrown abruptly to the side, like he'd been sucker punched by a bodybuilder, taking Nick to the ground with him. His grip loosened, and Nick shook his head and rubbed his neck as he came to his senses. Starlight was splayed out along the side of the gazelle, her paw tight around the knife she'd sunk into his neck. Her eyes were hard and focused on the gazelle's face. Nick thought he seemed dead enough.
Then he realised what he was seeing and retched.
When Starlight pulled out the knife, he felt the merc's blood splatter his face and tongue.
"FUCKSTROT!" He roared and sprayed the offending substance across the rooftop. He got up and staggered away from the vixen and the corpse. If he didn't get back to running he was definitely going to throw up.
"Would you like some fries with that sauce?" Starlight stood up and wiped the blood from her knife.
"You-"
"If you're wondering what took me so long, I was taking out the other sniper."
"With what? Another impromptu tracheotomy?"
Starlight sheathed her knife. "I'll have you know that tracheotomies are my specialty."
Honey spoke into the com-link. "Cut it out, both of you. The police response should buy us some time, but they know where you are. The streets are off limits until you cross the river. Find an elevator and get to the very top of that building. You know what I'm getting at, Starlight?"
Nick did not like the wide smile on the vixen's face. "Absolutely."
"What is she getting at? Starlight?!"
Starlight looked over his shoulder. Without a response she grabbed his shirt and shoved him toward the door he'd opened. She slammed the door behind him, and it locked. Nick leapt back as a spatter of bullets struck the thick metal from the other side, inflicting dozens of small round dents. With two mammals dead, maybe more, they'd switched to lethal weapons.
"Fuck!" Nick gripped his head in his paws, but Starlight didn't give him time to freak. She urged him onward, around the corner toward the nearest elevator. Nick heard the door being blasted open. They raced inside the elevator and punched the button for the rooftop. The doors closed just as the goons rounded the corner and spotted them.
For a while all was silent, save for the hum of the elevator as it rose, higher and higher, until it slid to a stop and opened. There was a wind up here. It dried his eyes and made them sting. Starlight strode to the side overlooking the river. Instead of a sheer drop, a sheet of metal patterned with zebra stripes stretched over three hundred feet down, obscuring Nick's view of the river.
"Nick, do you trust me?"
"Tell me what you're up to first." Nick kept his distance from the rail between them and the slope.
He looked at the slanted sea of black and white. Then he gaped at Starlight. "No."
"We have to cross the river somehow."
Nick felt more afraid than he ever had that night. "Couldn't you have hired a helicopter? I thought you knew how to fly one?!"
"There was no time. Really, Nick, it's just like going on a slide, only far less boring."
She must have realised that he wasn't going to budge, so she grabbed the neck of his neck and hauled him over the rail.
Terror petrified his vocal cords as he hit the sheet and started his descent. In an instant Starlight was next to him, holding him tight as they slid down the glassy slope feet first. They sped faster and faster, the city skyline become a blur of lights and shadows. Adrenaline surged through Nick. He couldn't scream. The icy air seemed to force itself down his throat. The distance between them and the edge was halved with each second. He could see the river now, and the overhanging cable that held the security camera monitoring the water.
Despite everything, the terror, the sensations, the sight sheer drop fast approaching them, Nick didn't feel like he was going to die.
Starlight's arm shot out. The Mag-Ryder targeted the metal camera and fired the magnetic grapple. Nick didn't hear it hit its mark. They went over the edge. Time slowed as they fell through the air. Then the line went taught.
Nick finally found his voice and screamed as they swung in a wide arc, clearing the rail overlooking the river's edge. He thought he could feel his tail skim the cold water. Then they reached the other side, the momentum of the swing carrying them higher than a giraffe's horns. The grapple released the camera and retracted into the gauntlet. They could have stayed in the air forever, Nick thought.
Then gravity took hold and dropped them into the oval swimming pool that Starlight must have been aiming for.
There wasn't much chlorine in the pool. Nick opened his eyes and watched Starlight surface first and swim to the edge. He couldn't hear Honey's voice. The com-link had been lost when he hit the water. Nick kicked off the floor and surfaced, blinking the water from his eyes to see a grey-coloured cheetah in a blue hoodie pulling Starlight from the water. He kissed her full on the mouth before holding her face between his paws.
"Don't ever do that again." He whispered.
"Not from that building, I won't." She said.
Nick swam to the nearest ladder and started climbing out, and that was when he saw her. A grey bunny in a green flannel shirt and jeans, striding toward him. Her big purple eyes were wide with anger born of worry. With one little paw she hauled him out the pool and onto the wet tiles.
Nick expected a punch to the arm at any moment. Instead she threw her arms around his waist, not caring that her clothes were getting wet.
"Mammals with guns showed up just as he found me." She sniffled into his dripping shirt. "He had to kill some of them so we could escape. He said that they'd tried to get him and Foxtrot too, but they got away with the kids. Once they got the kids somewhere safe, they came straight here to warn us."
Nick held her tight, feeling a rush of gratitude toward the badass duo. If they hadn't come along when they had, he and Judy would be trussed up with bags over their heads by now. He didn't have a clue how he would make it up to them.
Judy lifted her head and turned it toward Gabe and Starlight. "Will you please tell us what is going on, now?"
Starlight squeezed the water from her tail. "The same thing that nearly happened to Savage and Skyefall three weeks ago. All we know is that Theodore Swinton has hired the best in the business to come after us. And you."
"Theodore? Mayor Swinton's dad?" Judy stared. Nick could hardly believe it either. "But his illness. He died."
"No. He hired Dr. Slothfeld to find a cure in secret. And he did. Honey found proof of this when she cracked the data disk."
"Aw crud." Nick breathed, still holding Judy, like she was the only thing in the world that was still warm and good.
All his hopes for the immediate future were gone.
Just like that.
When was this going to end?
"Why is he hiring jerks to kidnap and/or kill us?" Nick asked. His smarmy tone was the only way to convincingly hide his rage, otherwise he'd be screaming curses at the sky by now.
Gabe pulled out one of his deadly kukris, which still had blood on it, and began wiping it back and forth with a cloth. "It's just a theory… but I'd say he wants revenge."