23 Yet Another Confrontation
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Okay, for some unknown reason some updates and reviews, comments, whatever, managed to end up in my spam folder. HOPEFULLY I I've got that taken care of.
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As he exits the tree line, Nick sees to his dismay that there's actually more damage to the property than the Zoogle maps showed.
A quick visual estimate revealed that at least 50 feet had been intruded into his property judging by his glances to where the corner posts that once held the border fence indicated where the boundaries used to be.
As a beat-up pickup neared him, Nick got an uneasy feeling and popped the snap on the retaining strap on his lethal pistol.
When a vastly overweight buck rabbit climbed out of the truck, Nick noticed that he also had a double-barreled shotgun in one paw.
"Whadda want pelt?" was the greeting he got.
…
Having drawn his pistol while his right side was out of the buck's view, Nick now turned to face the rabbit front on with the pistol pointed off to one side, in a less-threatening position.
Seeing the lethal caused the bunny to freeze momentarily, eyes open as wide as dinner plates.
"Mister Harellson, it would behoove you to carefully unload the shotgun and replace it into your truck!" cautions Nick, his voice as cold as ice and his eye narrowed.
"I – I ain't gonna, not fer some pelt playin' dress-up in a sheriff depities uniform!" comes the unsteady reply.
"I can assure you that I'm a Bonafide member of the Tri-Burrow Sheriff's Department!" Nick tells him.
"As if!" responds Harellson heatedly.
"Easy enough to verify," Nick calmly tells him "I'm sure that you already know the number to the sheriff's office - call and find out for yourself if you'd like." suggests Nick.
Pondering the suggestion for a few moments, Harellson finally decides to do just that.
Fishing his phone out of a pocket of his coveralls while making sure to NOT accidentally point the shotgun in the todd's direction regardless of his actually being a deputy or not, Woody figured rightly that a mistake like that could be fatal.
After dialing the sheriff's office, the buck's call is put on speaker when answered and– Tri-Burrow sheriff's office, this is-"
"I know who you is Junior, put yer dad on the phone!"
"… Daddy, you got a phone call!"
"Damn it Junior, what do I keep tellin' you, use the damned intercom!"
"Sorry daddy!"
"Just transfer the damned call, monkey nuts!" which makes it extremely difficult for Nick to not smile, while Harellson has to roll his eyes.
"This is sheriff Justice."
"Sheriff, this is Woody Harellson. I got a fox here who says he's a depity of yers."
"Wilde, you there and okay?"
"Yes sir. Upright and in one piece … so far."
"I take it there's a of issue bit of some sort or 'nother?"
"Yes sir." replies Nick "Mister Harellson currently has a shotgun in paw. Yes I have my lethal drawn but am at this time holding it in an at-rest position."
"Good job Wilde. Now, listen to me very carefully Harellson … deputy Wilde is a new hire to the Tri-Burrow sheriff's department. He is a military combat vet and a former member of the ZPD. Do not, I repeat, do not under any circumstances antagonize him. You will treat him with the same respect that you treat any of my other deputies. You will carefully unload your shotgun and toss the shells into your truck. You will then disassemble the shotgun and place those parts on the seat of your truck, are you with me so far?"
"But-"
"No buts Woody. I have no doubt that Stuart Hopps has put some sort of a bug in your ear about deputy Wilde, and I would highly suggest that you give Wilde a few minutes of your time to explain a few things before you try to go off half-cocked and somebunny gets hurt. Do you understand?"
"… Yes sir!"
"Good!" With that the connection is broken.
Carefully eyeing the todd, the buck first unloads the shotgun as suggested by Justice, then carefully takes the weapon apart into three pieces and stores everything in his truck.
Turning back around to face the fox, Harellson notices to his relief that Nick has already reholstered his pistol and is carefully eyeing him.
"Okay fox start talking!" says Harellson, with a bit of attitude still showing.
"To begin with, it's deputy Wilde," Nick comments icily "and I think you'd do a lot better if you lose the attitude, or this little peace thing we've got going on right now isn't going to last very long!"
Contemplating the todd's statement and considering the sheriff's information about the fox, Harellson relents.
"Okay depity Wilde," he begins with considerably less attitude "let's hear it!"
As Nick relates a greatly condensed version of the latest happenings, Woody suddenly calls a halt to his narrative.
"Wait! … just … wait a second … do you mean to tell me that Stu simply put his daughter out just like that? Why on the creator's green earth would he do that? I mean, Judy's not the first doe in his family to get pregnant out of wedlock!"
"Maybe – maybe you need to ask Bonnie. I could say, but that part really isn't my story to tell."
As the buck scrolled through the contacts list on his phone, Nick figured that he absolutely has Stu's number (cousins after all) but probably not Bonnies.
"Here," interrupts Nick as he pulls out his phone "I'll dial, I know that she'll answer if I call."
After several rings, Bonnie picks up and Nick places the phone on speaker. "Hello? Nicholas? is everything all right?"
"Yes ma'am, so far. Ummm, I know that this is more than a little fursonal, but … I'm presently … ummm holding a conversation with a mister Woody Harellson. And he can't quite understand why Stu banished Judy from the warren. I was wondering if you'd be up to enlightening him?"
"With most of the Tri-Burrows in a state of uproar no thanks to Stu, it's hardly much of a secret anymore, so sure. Woody, are you listening?" she asks.
"Yeah, I'm here, go ahead!" replies the more than slightly astonished buck.
As Bonnie reveals the fact that she did indeed have an affair that resulted in the 'J' litter, Harellson begins fidgeting uncomfortably. When she tells him that Stu actually banished Judy from the warren, not so much because she was pregnant, but because she had the nerve to stand up for Nick, the buck began to get irritated.
When he learned that Judy had been left in the cold (quite literally) by Stu with no money, no car and no job and with kits on the way, he became downright angry.
After learning that Nick was the only reason that Judy was again able to attend the academy, albeit a shortened course, and she had married Nick, who had not only already taken care of the (to the majority of bunnies) unknown assailant but had pledged to adopt the as yet unborn kits as his own, he could only look at the todd in amazement and a new found admiration.
As Bonnie finishes her narrative, Woody thanks her and both bunnies hang up at the same time.
"Depity Wilde," begins a now demur Harellson "I want to 'pologize! What you an' Bonnie has told me ain't what Stu's been sayin'. While it's wrong for Bonnie ta have cheated on him, there ain't no way he otta be takin' it out on the kits, on any of the kits. So, whut can I do fer you today?"
Taking a few moments to choose his words carefully so as to not antagonize the buck, Nick begins "The mammal who is purchasing both the homestead and these woods has noticed a discrepancy between the survey that was just completed yesterday and the Zoogle maps depiction of the property lines. Can you explain how that can be?"
"Wull … ummm … sev'ral years ago, not long after the former owners moved out, my cousin, Stu Hopps, wanted to have one of his kits learn how to plow. Since all of his farmland was already turned, I offered ta let the kit practice on this here field." as the buck swung and arm to indicate the field behind him.
"Little kit got too close to the fence and tore out like a hunert or so feet of it before we could get him stopped, so we just figured 'what the heck' and finished tearin' the entire fence line down. At the time it seemed like a kind of a waste ta not finish plowing that entire extra row, so we did. The next year Stu told me we might as well keep plowing right up to the tree line since everything else was mostly thorns and weeds anyways."
"You do realize that if the new owner wants to, he or she can press charges, right? Destruction of personal property and theft of property for starters …" Nick tells him.
Seeing the shocked look on the older buck's face Nick continues "Luckily for you, I happen to know the mammal that purchased not only the homestead, but the woods as well."
"You do?"
"Yup … it's me!"
"Ummmm …"
"Relax Harellson, if you're of a mind to I'm sure we can work something out."
"That – that'd be good."
"For starters, I'd be inclined to dismiss a lawsuit that's being written as we speak if you'd consider planting some trees and whatever you think might thrive in this portion of the woods and replace the fence line."
"You-you started a lawsuit?"
"I wasn't sure who was trespassing or how they'd react to my trying to get my entire property back, so … yes."
"But … you'll drop the lawsuit if I simply do as you propose?"
"I will. Now, if you don't mind, walk with me for a bit, I have a couple of questions for you." Nick tells the buck.
"Okay, I don't see what it'll hurt." agrees the buck.
As the two make their way through the woods and exit on the homestead side, Nick stops and surveys the edge of the woods and the supposed bluegrass field that is currently under a good deal of snow.
Taking a few moments to gather his thoughts and formulate a plan, Nick then begins with his tentative plan "If this was yours, what would you do with the bluegrass field?" he asks.
Taking in the field and the tree line, Woody tells the todd "First, come spring I'd take out this here fence line (indicating the fence that separates the field from the tree line) and I'd plow right to within five or six feet of the trees. Then I'd disc the entire field including the fresh plowed part. Plant you some trees that'll serve a purpose as well as be useful like maybe some sugar maples or oaks and maybe a few blackberry bushes fer the kits ta raid when they git older.
"Sugar maples … oaks?" asks Nick.
"Yup. They's where ya get maple syrup from. Plus they leaves turn lots 'a purty colors in the fall, the kits 'll love it! And the acorns thet the oaks drop when they gets older 'll be great fer the kits ta nibble on."
"Okay, anything else?"
"Now thet ya mention it, yeah I got a suggestion or two. You'll prolly need ta plant sumpin else in thet field fer a year er two."
"Like … what? I'll confess, I'm no farmer and with Judy not available right now, I'm at a total loss."
Giving the todd a look that partially admires him for his honesty (Stu told him several times how dishonest foxes are) Woody continues.
"If'n it wus me, I'd plant sorghum or sunflowers there fer a year er two. They'd put back nutrients thet the bluegrass used up after several seasons. Ya got's ta rotate yer crops in order ta keep the minerals in the soil in balance."
"That's … actually quite useful!" admits Nick. "In fact, I think I have a proposition for you!"
"An' thet'd be … whut?" asks the now slightly confused buck.
"If you'd be willing to come in here, take up the fence and plow and disc all of this like you suggested," as Nick indicates the weed and bramble choked edge of the wood line and the field "I'd be willing to give you whatever crops you'd put in there, just for working the land. When the time comes, if you'll take care of the bluegrass, I'll split the profits of that with you 60 - 40, with you getting the 60 percent since you'll be using your equipment and fuel."
"You'd do thet?"
"Sure, why not? I've already looked in the garage and the shop, and there is really nothing much in them except a mower and a few paw (hand) tools. It doesn't make good financial sense for me to buy a bunch of expensive equipment that I'll only use occasionally, when I can find someone like yourself that might consider doing it for me. So, what do you think?"
"Sounds good ta me. Any preferences as ta what ya might want in there?"
"I think your suggestions are all solid, and unless Judy has any different ideas, I guess the sorghum and sunflowers will work. I plan on bringing Judy, Bonnie and few other folks out here next Saturday to look at the place. If you don't mind and can find the time, you can stop by and discuss it with them then …"
"I … I think I can do that."
Sticking out a paw, Harellson tells Nick "While we started out kinda rough, I'm really glad ta have made yer acquaintance, depity."
After shaking the buck's paw, Nick tells him "Likewise Harellson. And just to keep things low-key, Nick will do fine as long as the sheriff isn't around and I'm not in uniform, especially since we're basically neighbors."
"Only if'n ya call me Woody." shoots the buck right back at the todd.
"I can do that. Now, I guess I'll let you get back to whatever you were doing before I interrupted you."
As the buck makes his way back through the woods to his truck, Nick makes a few calls. The first is to sheriff Justice, informing him that everything went well and that he'd file his report on Monday when he gets to the office to start his tour officially. The next was to his lawyers in Zootopia, telling them to go ahead and finish the lawsuit but to keep it active and not file it unless he calls them again and asks them to file, not knowing for sure if Harellson will keep his word or not. The last is to Bonnie, letting her know that everything turned out fine, and that Woody would possibly be joining the rest of them at the homestead next Saturday.
Heading back to the motel, Nick rolled over the recent events in his mind and thought about the e-mail he was going to send Judy later.
After returning to his room, Nick first pulls the microSD card from his body cam and downloads the footage onto his laptop, then does the same with the pictures on his phone.
Satisfied with that, Nick returns the unaltered microSD card back into the body cam and sets it aside along with the rest of his uniform and gear.
Finishing the narrative, Nick sends the photos to Judy's laptop and settles down to wait for her to call.
…
Having dozed off for a bit, Nick is woken up when he hears his phone ring.
As expected, it's a Muzzletime call from Judy, and Nick smiles at the time - exactly 1702. (5:02 pm for all of you non-military types)
Answering the call, he sees the smiling face of his beloved doe, but there's something that doesn't look quite right …
"Hey Fluff, what's shakin'?"
"Is it a bad time? I-I just wanted to call as soon as I could!"
"No, there's never a bad time to talk to my favorite wife!" he snarks.
"Nick, since when am I your 'favorite' wife?" she asks, a bit unsure why he greeted he like that.
"Relax Fluff," he tells her "you're the only one for me, past, present and future. Now … what's the problem?"
"What problem?" she asks a bit nervously.
"Judy, there's something bothering you, please tell me what it is! Are more mammals getting pawsey or something like that?"
"No … just … just the opposite actually." she finally admits.
"Ummm, ya wanna explain a little, I seem to be missing the point here!" he admits.
"Well … ever since I had to pound some sense into Lopes and you beat the snot out of Frizzard, everyone here has been giving me a very wide berth, I can't get into a decent conversation with anyone, and even when I'm going through the chow line mammals are standoffish."
"I think I understand. I think we both know that talking to the Major would only make things worse, so just give it a few more days or at least until the end of next week and I think things will gradually go back to a reasonable semblance of the way it was before. Mammals are bit skittish because of everything that went down a few days ago, so it'll take a bit for them to settle down."
"Well, I hope so …"
"Me too. So … have you looked at the pictures I sent of the place we're looking to buy yet?"
"Ummm, no? I haven't opened my laptop yet, I'm still walking back to the barracks."
"You do know that your phone is synched to your laptop right? All you need to do is check your apps for the e-mail app and click on it, it'll pull up all of your e-mails."
"I – I never had to do that before, so … thanks?"
"You're welcome. I'll give you a minute to look them over and then you can tell me what you think."
After several minutes, Judy tells her todd "Nick, it's absolutely perfect! Big house, plenty of bedrooms, a huge fenced in back yard … the kits will have a ball when they're big enough to go out and play!"
"The field at the back of the property and the entire tree line are also part of the deal as well."
"Really? That's great I … just hold on a sec, mom's calling …."
"It's okay, just answer her call and it'll conference call the three of us."
"Wow … okay just gimme a sec ….. okay, mom, are you there?"
"Yes Judy, I'm here … and Nicholas, are you here too?" asks the elder doe.
"Actually no, I'm not there, I'm here!" he snarks.
"NICK!" begins Judy.
"Yes?"
Judy's attempted scolding of Nick was interrupted by a giggling Bonnie.
"Judy honey, it's okay!" Bonnie tells her still a bit uptight daughter.
"Mooooom!"
"Look Fluff," begins Nick "I'm sure things 'll settle down by next weekend."
"Why, what on earth happened?" asks Bonnie.
After taking a deep breath, Judy recounts the happenings of the last few days to her mother.
"I agree with Nick, Bun-Bun," she says Bonnie "things will calm down in a few days."
"Mom, do you have to keep calling me that?"
"It's a mother's prerogative Judy. Embarrassing our kits is a mother's right."
"Okay," interrupts Nick "now that that's more or less settled, what's up Bonnie?"
"Well, I was just going to ask if it would be alright to bring a few extra mammals along to see your new place next Saturday." She tells both Nick and Judy.
"Like … who?" asks Judy.
"Well, besides me, Darci, Debra and Danni and their kits, there's the entire rest of the 'J' litter along with their significant others and their kits. Everyone wants to meet the male who finally caught your attention." Bonnie begins.
"Really? Just kill me now … please!" asks a now dumbstruck Judy again.
"Yes, really. Then there's that skunk girl from your wedding, Megan I think her name is? And one of her friends, a mink girl I believe. I don't remember her name. And of course Cotton."
"Cotton wants to come along?"
"Of course! She's been wearing me out wanting to see her big sister and her new boyfriend. Yes I told her that you were married like me and your fa … I mean Stu, but she doesn't seem to be able to grasp the difference just yet."
"Well, she is only seven, so …"
"I know, I know, but it's still cute."
"Sooooooo …" interrupts Nick "I take it there's gonna be quite a crowd at our new place next Saturday?"
"Sounds like." admits Bonnie.
"Well, we can add one more name to the list." Nick tells the does, mainly Judy since he's already informed Bonnie that the buck might show up "A Woody Harellson, who owns the land on the other side of the woods will be stopping by to chat with you two about planting different stuff in the bluegrass field."
"Crop rotation." comments Bonnie "Smart."
"Okay, let's wrap this up for now, we'll all get together next Saturday, and Judy …"
"Yes?"
Let me know tomorrow what you thoughts are on the two videos that I sent you, as well as copies of the Lopes incident and my little tussle with Frizzard."
"I … I can do that. and Nick …"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks and … I love you SO much …"
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