Hi everyone.
Again, my apologies for the long break.
I had a major change at work and been showered with new responsibilities. Still getting adjusted.
As for the writing, this chapter was originally a part of a bigger construct. However, the scope I imagined at first turned out to be much bigger than I anticipated. So many things to flesh out for them to make sense... I didn't want to put out a flimsy product and I didn't want to wait a couple more months before releasing another chapter. Which is why I present you with a part of it (the original document is currently almost 50 pages long, and still not done...). I hope it will be to your liking.
I am also considering cutting the stories into smaller pieces, so that I could post more often, even if the chapters are shorter. So that we avoid such long breaks.
As always, I thank you for all your support, reviews, and criticisms. It is really invigorating to hear your thoughts on my work. Thank you!
To adress your reviews:
LexSavage - The Scriptwriter? It wouldn't be inaccurate to assume that I couldn't exactly not say that it is or isn't almost partially incorrect.
Wolfx1120 - Well... Some things take time. Like the time I should be spending writing faster. :D
Blkdragon7 - Yes. Yes, I am.
Bloodfox64 - Oh, there is a lot in store. Fun, drama, blood, fluff...
Without anything more to add, here's the next piece of the story.
Chapter 55
Nick had to admit that he was growing fond of Judy's cooking. Not only did it save him time on organizing meals, but, more importantly, it also tasted really good. Since she was a bunny, meat was not part of the meals she prepared, but it wasn't a problem for the omnivore fox. Also, it provided a good distraction from what just occurred. Nick was doing his best to not show his anxiety, but it was still there. And he couldn't read Judy, at all. Her behavior was perfectly normal, as if nothing happened between them.
Still, he tried to focus on the present. Right now, he was sitting with his roommate by the kitchen table, and in the process of devouring a hefty portion of a vegetable salad of Judy's invention.
When asked about it, she just shrugged with a smile. "As the oldest sibling, I helped out a lot in the kitchen." She rested her cheek on a paw. "You'd be surprised how quickly various ingredients vanish in a house with dozens of hungry kids. So I had to improvise quite often."
"Hah, just admit that you're some famous cook's reincarnation." Nick grinned at the doe.
"Right, and that's why my dream has always been to fight crime." She sent him a wink.
The fox swallowed another portion of the dish. "Or maybe, you're a police officer by day and a kitchen vigilante by night." He pointed the fork at her with a dramatic gesture. "Super Chef! No hungry mammal will escape her, for she fights for the food!"
Judy had her chin on folded paws and laughed heartily.
On the other side of the table, Nick's soul was singing. To see the female he loved so happy, so full of joy… With his enhanced vision, he watched how her shoulders trembled slightly, how her mouth moved with the laughter, how her little nose wiggled from the joyful outburst. She was simply perfect in every possible way.
They finished up eating and they collected the plates together, so that Nick could wash them.
A phone vibrated in his pocket.
Judy's ears flinched. "Huh? The phone?" She turned her head towards the table. "I swear I left it unmuted."
Nick's heart race accelerated. Because it was not the phone they got from the ZPD.
The doe left the plates on the kitchen top and hopped back onto her seat. Upon checking the device on the table, she discovered no calls or messages. She frowned seeing this, but then she was struck by a thought and turned her unamused stare to a certain fox in the room. "Niiiick…"
He closed his eyes and sighed. "Sorry, that was mine." He took out the device from his pants' pocket to show it to her.
Judy looked as if she had a number of things to say. Unpleasant things. She began with a simple one. "Why?"
Given the recent events between them, Nick didn't even consider halfassing this. "Because my phone is vital to me, it's safer than any one the ZPD owns, and it might be crucial should the one we got gets compromised. So I gave them a different one."
He waited nervously for any reaction from her. For now she only stared at him with narrowed eyes. After a bit of such treatment, Judy took a deep breath, before closing her eyes and breathing out. "I take it… You don't trust the witsec agent?"
Nick felt a bit of relief. "I don't know who to trust. With few exceptions."
Judy raised a curious brow. "Like who?"
He leaned back on the chair. "Well, you. Obviously."
She motioned with her paw for him to continue.
He sighed and rubbed the side of his neck. "My mother, Finnick would count too, I guess… and…" he wasn't too sure how this could go down, "Pink Plushie?"
Judy sat quietly as he listed the names, but her eyes widened when he dropped the last one. "Are you kidding me?! You'd trust a murderer?!"
"Look, it's not-" he raised his paws before letting out a sigh. "I know him better than you, okay? Yes, he's dangerous. Yes, he's killed mammals. But if he makes a deal or gives his word, he will uphold it even if he'd have to die. In that sense, I would trust him. All right? You asked me to be honest, so I am."
The doe's wiggling nose, along with a frown, suggested that it was not. Still, she replied with a rather calm voice, "Fine… If that's the definition you want to go with." Judy eyed the phone in his paw. "So? What's the emergency?"
Nick switched the grip on the device, so that he could unlock it by typing in a password.
Judy took a mental note that it was just four symbols.
The fox unlocked the screen and pulled up the text message he got. He quickly read th-
In one moment, his eyes shot wide open, ears fell down, and he went pale under his fur.
This also made Judy anxious. It was only the second time she had seen such horror on the fox's face. "Nick? What's wrong?"
He didn't respond, only kept staring at the screen.
"Nick? Nick!"
The raised voice seemed to break the spell. He jumped in his seat. "W-what?"
She observed him carefully. "What's wrong?"
Nick swallowed, not sure how to answer that. "It's…" He moved his arm forward to lean on the table, but his elbow knocked over his mug and the remaining liquid spilled onto the tablecloth. "Crap." He jerked his arm back, but by doing so he lost the grip on the phone and the device flew out of his paw. It landed within Judy's arm's reach.
Before he could say anything, she picked it up and read the message out loud. "Where fire dies. Friday. Dusk." The doe looked up at her friend. "Nick, what is this?"
The fox quickly leaned over the table, snatching the device from her paw. He read the message again. "That's…" He paused with his mouth open. *Bloody hell…* was the only thought he could pull together.
The dread on his face was so obvious that even Judy began feeling a creeping sensation in the back of her spine. "Nicholas Wilde… What is going on?"
"I…" He swallowed again. "I think I might die on Friday…"
Judy stared at Nick, mouth agape. "WHAT?!" Judy slammed her paws on the table. "What on earth are you talking about?!"
Nick had no answer he could give her. He was overwhelmed by the massive implications of this text. *Where did he get this number? Why now? Is he still furious? What does he look like right now? Does he know my mother's whereabouts? Is he going to-*
"NICK!"
The fox jumped in his seat, close to dropping the phone again. "H-huh?!"
Judy was right next to him. She circled around the table and was standing beside his chair. "I called you several times." The doe stared at his panicked face, at the same time hearing his accelerated breathing. "Nick…" she said in a softer tone. "What is going on? You're freaking me out."
"It's… I…" he stammered, completely clueless what to say. *If I don't come, will he…* The fox blinked and refocused his gaze. Judy was staring at him, with one paw on her chest, slightly squeezing the material of her blouse. Her nose would not stop twitching.
Nick took several deep breaths to calm himself a little. He was going to dive, head first, into another migraine. "This… Was sent by someone I know. Someone I was rather… close with, many years ago." The first pangs of pain appeared, but not just in his skull. An echo of old agony resurfaced in his torso. The fox involuntarily let out a brief wheeze, as if he got robbed of breath, while his paw rested on his stomach. A memory flashed in his mind, reminding him of the events of that day. Nick could almost taste the metallic odor of blood. He looked down, half expecting for his fingers to be coated in red liquid.
As he did that, a small paw appeared in his field of vision and rested on his knee.
"Are you okay?" Judy almost whispered her question. Her face was practically radiating worry.
"Yes and no…" he muttered, closing his fingers. "Just… remembered something."
Judy inched closer. "Can you tell me about it? Come on, let's sit on the couch."
She reached out and gently took his paw in hers. The bunny pulled a bit, making him get off the chair. He followed her without a word of protest, and they both sat on the couch in the living room. Judy made sure they stayed close to each other while still holding paws.
"What did you remember? I would like to understand," she said softly.
Nick glanced at her before closing his eyes and leaning back on the couch. "When… when I was a member of the organization… there was a certain mammal. He was… just a kid back then. Pink Plushie brought him somewhere from around the Ural mountains. He became… very attached to two mammals."
"One of them was you," Judy said.
Nick nodded before continuing. "The other one was Pink Plushie. He was like a father to the kid…"
"Was…", Judy began with an uncertain voice, "was it like that for you, too?"
The fox opened his eyes and looked at the bunny with surprise.
The doe was looking straight at him and she gave his paw a gentle squeeze. "Sorry, it's just…" She gave him a little, apologetic smile.
Nick sighed before rubbing his forehead with the palm of his paw. "It's fine…" He ignored a spark of pain and went on. "I know my mom would probably tell you one way or another. Anyway, yeah, Plushie became sort of a… father figure for me. Crazy, right?"
Judy recalled whatever interactions she had with the mammal in question. At first, she had to agree that it sounded crazy. However, she then recalled her own mistakes due to prejudice and shallow thinking. Apart from being a killer, what else did she know about Alexander Volkov? This time she tried to think of him not from the perspective of his 'job', but who he was as a mammal. In this way, she saw a well spoken gentlemammal, someone who kept his word, and was a respected leader. From this perspective, she could somewhat understand how such a figure could become influential in the eyes of a young mammal.
"Well… maybe a bit." She tried to sound lighthearted.
Hearing this, he cracked half a smile. *She met him already, so she's trying to be understanding, huh?* This managed to help him relax a bit. His migraine lessened by a small margin, as well. "Anyway, to get back to the mammal who contacted me, we have spent quite a lot of time together back then. Pink Plushie kinda made me look after him."
"Um, Nick," she muttered while raising a paw. "I know it's off topic, but it keeps bugging me and… Why is he called "Pink Plushie"?
"Ah, that's…" The fox was a little surprised by the question. "Not sure if I should tell you…"
This answer made her narrow her eyes a bit. "Why is that?"
Nick let out a sigh. "You're not letting this go, aren't you?" Seeing her shake her head, he gave up, though reluctantly. "I heard from another member about how he got this nickname. It happened before I joined the organization. There was a shipment of… delicate cargo that needed guarding. And the mammals involved hired Pink Plushie for the job. But things went south…"
"How so?"
Nick bit his lip and gave her a side eye glance. "There was a massacre." He didn't like recalling this story, as he heard the full, uncensored version. Which is why he wanted to filter it down to the most important facts, sparing Judy the shock. "Someone in the dock district reported gunshots coming from one of the warehouses there. Once the ZPD arrived, they discovered a horrifying sight. Around a dozen mammals were slaughtered in that warehouse. In a very… brutal way."
Judy clenched her free paw on her knee. "You mean…"
"I heard he did it all by himself. The cargo was gone, and the ZPD found an unusual item in one of the pools of blood." He turned his head to look at her. "A pink colored, plush toy."
Judy was silent for a second, before she spoke in a quiet voice. "That's why you told us not to laugh at this name back then."
He nodded slowly. "Yeah."
The doe squeezed his fingers a bit. "Thank you for telling me."
Nick felt somewhat strange, hearing gratitude for speaking about a gruesome event. Still, he did find it comforting to receive thanks from her. "You asked, I answered." The fox shrugged.
"But you didn't have to."
He tapped the back of her paw with one finger. "Given how liberal these fists are, you think I had a choice?"
This injection of humor made her roll her eyes, but she did not lose sight of the main topic. "So… about that other mammal."
Only now Nick realized that his migraine was held back so far, as it surged right back. He withheld a twitch of his eye that signaled the influx of pain. Apparently, not enough.
"I'm sorry," Judy's face contorted from worry, "are you okay?"
He waved it off. "It's fine, it's fine."
She shook her head with a small, humorless smile. "I can see it's not. Didn't you promise not to lie to me?"
The fox's eyes widened by half an inch. "Ah… That's just a phras- Okay, I get it. It's manageable. How about now?"
"Better."
The fox sighed. "Anyway, this mammal and I spent so much time together that we became… something like brothers." He eyed the doe to check if she wanted to cut in again, but she simply sat there. "However, one day a coup happened. Pink Plushie and his followers revolted against the former leader of the organization. And I… I did not take sides. You could even say that I actively avoided supporting anyone. My brother saw this as an act of betrayal against our father."
Judy blinked, as she recalled what Uma told them back in prison. Nicky is a traitor. Now it made sense, once she was given the right context.
"Well, he didn't like it. Not one bit," Nick said the last sentence with something Judy gambled to be remorse. He leaned his head back and stared at the ceiling, though his eyes were focused on the past. So much so that he temporarily forgot about the migraine. "I tried to escape amidst the chaos and all the fighting. But… He tracked me down." The corner of his mouth twitched. "Boy, was he furious…"
Judy listened intently, not missing how her friend's voice seemed to trail off. She was waiting for the next part, but Nick seemed frozen. Possibly stuck in his memories.
Swallowing, the doe spoke up. "And? What happened next?"
Nick blinked slowly, as if struggling with overwhelming apathy. "I almost died."
The doe's eyes widened. "What?" She couldn't stop the word from coming out of her mouth.
His free paw moved to his chest. "He stabbed me right in the gut, piercing through my torso."
Judy felt a shiver run down her spine. The fact that he confessed to something so heavy, the distant voice in which he conveyed it… "But, you didn't die."
Nick felt her paw squeezing his fingers. "Barely survived. Long story short, as I was bleeding to death, a certain lady found me. Turned out she was a 'madame' of the local brothel. Which tells you how I got acquainted with girls like Rose and Silver." He touched a certain spot on his stomach. "And I still have a scar to commemorate that time."
"That's…" Judy looked at him and opened her mouth. However, it took her a while to speak. "I don't even know what to say…" At that point another memory came back to her. The "Bride" also said something about scars.
The fox shrugged, although with a solemn expression. "That's already in the past. Although," he sighed, "it looks like it came back to bite me."
"Will you tell me what exactly that message means?"
"That's… I actually don't know in detail." Nick straightened up. "But the most probable case is that my brother wants to finish what he started."
Judy raised her eyebrows. "Wait… You're saying that he would kill you over what happened more than, what, a decade ago?!"
"Well, he's one of the most stubborn bastards I've ever met. And he really is one to hold a grudge."
"Okay…" Judy bit her lip. "And what if you don't go?"
Nick swallowed. "That won't work. He'll just track me down. Worst case scenario, he'll try to reach me through my family. Although…" He tapped his chin in thought. *Father wouldn't let that happen, right?* This idea brought him a small degree of peace. "Okay, scratch that. He can't use my mom for that. Which means he'll just gun for me."
Judy raised a brow. "Then why don't we ambush him? Set it up with Bogo?"
"We can't." Nick rubbed his aching temples. "If we do that, then my… father will not stay still. Do you think we can afford a conflict between the organization and the ZPD? Plus, let's say they arrest him. My father immediately gets him out and we're back to square one. No…" He hung his head. "I need to do it myself."
Judy's ears shot up. "Absolutely not! Are you crazy?!"
"Carrots, there is no oth-"
"Do you seriously think I'll just let you go and kill yourself?!"
"Liste-"
"No! You listen!" She practically growled at him. "How would you feel if I'd told you that I'm going out to die?"
Nick blinked. "That's…" He couldn't find any other word to say.
"There you have it. I won't allow any suicidal plans."
"But… I need to go. There is no other way."
"It's not Friday, yet. We can think of something till then."
Nick slowly shook his head. "Carrots… It's not- I can't leave this hanging. And… " He paused, looking for the proper words or reasons he could give. The fox looked at the determined flare in her eyes, the unyielding expression, and couldn't-
Wait… Would it…* His brain acted as if discovering a brand new function. Nick took a deep breath and focused his gaze on his bunny.
"I must go." Before she could protest again, Nick went on. "It's not a problem that requires some elaborate plan or scheming. I just have to meet him."
Judy stared at him, puzzled. "But you just said he could ki-"
"I failed him." He cut in with a solemn expression. "He saw me as an older brother, someone to look up to. And I failed him. The old me probably would try to sweep it under the rug or go with your ambush suggestion, but…" He placed fingers on top of her paw. "I guess it's not an option now." Nick tried giving her a bleak, apologetic smile. "I need to set this straight."
Judy watched him with a mix of surprise and confusion. And… maybe a hint of pride? "You… you're not giving up on this, are you?"
The fox shrugged. "I guess not."
Silence followed his words, as Judy only stared at him. After a lengthy silence, the doe's ears drooped behind her head, and she hesitantly opened her mouth. "Nick… I…" She choked up a bit. "I don't want you to die."
The look she gave him…
The voice that delivered those words…
The way her lip quivered…
The way she squeezed his paw…
Warmth and longing filled his entire body. His very soul hammered at the invisible wall between them which he set up himself. He'd go to hell and back just to be able to hug this beautiful female. However, for now he could only gaze at her, keeping her at a distance.
The fox gave her a humorless smile. "Neither do I. It's not like I want to do it without a plan. If I can't convince him with words, I will be prepared."
She eyed him for a while longer, before hanging her head. They stayed like that in silence for a bit longer, before Judy looked up at him. "Just…" She dropped her head forward, resting her forehead on his shoulder. Her fist tapped him on the side of his chest. "Promise me that… no matter what happens, you will come back."
His eyes widened slightly, while his heart trembled at the physical contact. Also, not just the words, the very tone of her voice… It wasn't a simple request or demand. It was more of a plea.
Would the old him promise that? Would he be able to give guarantees on a life and death situation? Or would he simply shrug it off, bury it under jovial tone and jokes?
He gently squeezed her fingers. "I promise."
.
.
.
.
Nick held up the device. "Ready?"
"Yup," Judy replied, nodding slightly.
Nick tapped the only contact icon on the screen and placed down the phone. The fox had things in mind to prepare for Friday, but it still needed to be done after dark. That left them with other things to do. They decided on making the call. It took three seconds for a mammal to answer.
"This is HQ, what's your emergency?"
Nick leaned towards the phone on the table. "Hey, this is officer Wilde, with officer Hopps next to me, we need to speak to Chief Bogo about an ongoing case."
"Officer, this line is only for emergencies."
Judy opened her mouth, but Nick was faster. "Excellent, which is why you should connect us with the chief. He is aware of the situation and we need to urgently speak with him."
There was a moment of silence from the other end of the line, before the mammal spoke again. "Hold the line, please."
At that point Judy reached out to mute the microphone. "Whatever you want to say if they're adamant about not letting us talk to Bogo… Don't."
"I thought you need to talk to him," he said with a shrug.
"I just want to know what's going on," she folded her arms while shooting him a sharp look, "whether it's from Bogo or someone else is not relevant."
"And how will you know if the information we get is credible?" He nodded towards the phone. "I'd rather hear from the Big Grump himself."
Judy rested her elbow on the table, supporting her cheek with a paw. "Fine… But we are going to be tactful."
He adorned an expression of theatrical hurt. "I always am."
"Officers, thank you for your patience."
Nick immediately tapped the unmute.
"No problem," Judy replied, leaning forward a bit. "Can we speak with our chief?"
"Chief Bogo is currently unavailable, but we have arranged for him to call this phone in an hour."
Nick didn't say anything, only gave Judy a thumbs up.
The doe didn't look entirely happy about this turn of events, but didn't press further. "Okay. That's… great to hear. Then… we'll wait for his call."
"Noted," the voice on the phone replied. "Is there anything else?"
"Well…" Judy began before her face suddenly lit up. "Oh! Yes! Could you please take a message for my family? If I won't leave something for them they will worry themselves sick."
"I understand. We can record it and pass it on to them. Please let me know once you're ready."
"Oh, okay. Um…" The doe tapped her finger on the table in an accelerating manner. "Okay, I'm ready," she said eventually.
"Please begin after you hear the signal."
Beep!
"Hi mom, hi dad!" Judy said in her cheerful voice. "Look… I know you must be worried, but I'm doing fine. The ZPD has made sure that I'm safe and they are already working on returning things to normal. Also," she moved her eyes from the phone to give her partner a warm gaze, "Nick is here with me. We'll keep an eye on each other."
Nick's heart beat harder in that moment.
"So," Judy went on, "please don't worry and we'll be in touch. Bye."
After she finished, a couple more seconds passed before the voice from before came back. "We got that and we will pass it on to your parents."
"Thank you."
"Officer Wilde. Do you also wish to record something for your family?"
This actually surprised the fox. Carrots was one thing, but he was not used to strangers being thoughtful about him. "That's…" Noticing motion, he looked up from the device.
Judy was giving him an encouraging smile and motioned for him to speak.
Nick felt a bit trapped, as his habit of not speaking about his feelings kicked in. He took a breath before turning his gaze to the phone again. "Well, yeah… if you could contact my mother and… I think it'll be enough if you just tell her I'm fine and will speak with her soon."
"Noted. Is there anything else?"
The two mammals exchanged glances.
"No, that's all," Judy said in response. "Thank you. We'll be waiting for a call from the chief."
They ended the call.
Nick eased back on his chair. "All right, that went fine."
"I guess so." Judy nodded. "Now we just need to wait."
The fox grinned before letting out a dramatic gasp. "Oh no! Wait?! Pray tell how our bunny officer will survive this?!"
She rolled her eyes with a small smile. "Har, har. How original, Slick."
"I'm serious here." Nick sent her a wink. "You couldn't wait for an agent to call us, you just HAD to know as fast as possible."
"Touchè," she said while leaning back.
"Anyway, any ideas on how we can bore ourselves to death for the next hour?"
.
.
.
.
"I give up…" Nick sighed, dropping the cards on the table.
"Oh, come on. Where's that confident conmammal I scooped up from the streets?" Judy commented with a smug grin from her seat.
"Still here," he grumbled, "though it seems lady luck decided to ditch me."
"Oh nooo," Judy cooed, "the poor sly fox is losing at poker. Call the press, ring for a therapist."
He snorted at her words. "Since when you're so sarcastic?"
"Since I got a certain fox as a partner." She shrugged, putting down her cards with an innocent smile. "But, seriously, are you telling me you're this bad at card games, Mr Conmammal?"
"Told you, bad luck." He picked up all the cards to shuffle them again. "Or do you suggest I should cheat?"
This made her lean forward to rest her folded arms on the table. "Okay, let's try that. We'll see if you can fool me."
It was time for him to show a smug grin, and also leaned forward. He placed one paw on the table, while the pack holding one pointed at her. "You sure about that? What if you become a sore loser, Ms Fool?" He leaned back, and his fingers shuffled the cards the last couple of times before he flicked his wrist. A single card slid across the table to stop before the doe.
Judy narrowed her eyes and picked it up. She turned it around to see the joker. Her gaze immediately went back to the fox.
He chuckled. "Careful! Don't blink or you'll miss it." His fingers moved in a blur to deal the cards.
Judy stared at the situation on the table before looking up at him.
They both got two cards face down, and the remaining five were lined up between them, face up. Two nines on the left, two aces on the right, and another joker card between them.
He nonchalantly picked up his cards. "How about it? Pass?"
Judy kept looking at him, as she picked up her own. She cast only a brief glance at them, and she placed them down, face up, right next to the nines. "Let me guess…"
Nick was smiling as he placed his cards in the same manner.
She got four nines, he got four aces.
"Guess I win this time." He chuckled.
Judy shook her head. "You sure can cheat, I'll give you that. I'm guessing you picked up the jokers when you leaned towards me a minute ago."
Nick raised a brow. "Very perceptive. You got an eye for detail."
"Isn't it like this with all card tricks? A distraction to hide some sleight of hand."
The fox clapped, smiling at her. "Nice take, but not entirely correct." He reached out to gather back all the cards. "You don't need to fool anyone with theatrics to pull off the magic." Nick put all cards back into one deck and shuffled them again. "For instance."
Judy watched as he picked one card and showed it to her. A ten of spades. Then, he placed it on top of the deck, face down. In the next step he shuffled them several more times, and only after that began dealing cards to her. One, two, three, four…
"Now guess which one is yours." He asked her, resting his muzzle on a free paw.
Judy looked at the cards, then back at him. "Let me guess… You'll pull it from behind my ear?"
This drew a small laugh from him. "Not quite." Nick flicked his thumb and the top card from the remaining deck landed on the table, face up. The ten of spades.
"Well, okay. That's quite the impressive trick." She nodded with a smile.
"Is it?" Nick used his thumb again and another card landed on top of the previous one. Jack of spades. Another move. Queen of spades. Again. King of spades. Ace of spades. "This, Fluff, is a ton of practice and patience. But if you'd like, this fox can show you an actual trick."
Her smile broadened, as she folded her arms on the table. "Absolutely."
Nick gathered the cards again for another shuffle. "All right, let's do some magic!" He waved his fingers at her at the last word. "Have you ever heard of the Whispering Queen?"
"Can't say I have." She shrugged.
"Splendid! Then today you will meet a very helpful and magical lady. She will be our witness and help us solve a mystery."
Judy kept watching him with an amused expression.
Nick held up the deck between them. "First, to guarantee the magic and prove it has nothing to do with any setup, you will be the one shuffling the cards."
The doe let out a little chuckle. "Me? What if I mess up, Mr Magician?"
"No worries, our queen will save the day." He put his fingers together. "Please shuffle the cards in any way you see fit. You can also check if they aren't marked in any way and so on."
Judy did as he asked and randomly shuffled them as much as she could. "Okay, what now?"
"Now we must find our queen. May I?" He reached out towards her and she passed him the deck. "Which queen would you like to use?"
"Which one? Hmm, how about the queen of hearts?"
"Fine choice. Can you help me find her?" Nick flipped the deck face up and spread the cards in a fan-like shape.
Judy craned her neck to see the cards better. After a second she pointed at one of them with a finger.
"Excellent." The fox pulled the queen out of the deck and placed it aside, face down. "We'll let her wait here, so that she doesn't peek. Now," he closed the fan slowly and placed the deck, face down, right in front of Judy, "you will be the one moving the cards. Please take around one-third of the deck from the top, and place it next to the deck."
Judy did as she was instructed.
"Now, please take another third of the deck and place that packet next to the one you moved first."
Judy did that, in essence cutting the deck into three separate packets on the table.
"Splendid. We can now move to the next step. Please point to one of the packets."
She raised a brow and used a finger to point at the one on her left.
"All right, we will discard that one." He moved his paw and put it away. "Now please point to one more."
Judy decided on the one on the right.
"Good. It shall leave us, as well." Nick took it, leaving just one option on the table. "So, since you have guided us to this one packet of cards, we'll now ask our precious queen of hearts what card hides on its very top." The fox reached for the queen's card. He raised it to the front of his muzzle and whispered. "Oh benevolent and wise queen, we seek your advice." He sent Judy a wink as he was saying that.
The doe stifled a chuckle at his performance.
A second later, the fox moved the queen next to his ear. "Yes? Wha-" He frowned, moving his gaze to Judy for a moment, before leaning towards the card. "I know, I know, but, your majesty, she hates being called the C word..."
Judy rolled her eyes. However, a smile was not leaving her face.
"Of course, I'll tell her. In the meantime, can I ask about the card? Hm? Strawberries? What's that got to- Ohhh! I get it, you mean it's a red one!" He nodded with a smile before continuing. "Yes? Jewelry? Like with gems, diamonds, yes? All right! Now, what about the value? What? Your sister? Wait… you mean that it's also a queen? I see, thank you so much for your wisdom."
Judy watched how Nick respectfully placed the card back on the table. Afterwards, he looked up at her, still smiling.
"Fluff, the queen has spoken and she's never wrong. Will you do the honors?"
She didn't need any further encouragement and she swiftly picked up the card from the remaining packet.
The queen of diamonds.
Judy's eyebrows went up. "Okay… That's interesting." Her gaze moved to the fox.
Nick was wearing an expression of amused smugness. "Don't look at me, you're the one who shuffled and moved the cards. It's simply the queen's magic."
She was tricked, but in an entertaining way, so she was still smiling. "All right, all right! I admit that I have no idea what you did."
The fox gathered back the cards. "Want me to teach you?"
Her ears went up. "Seriously? What about the magician never spilling their secrets?"
"Never heard of a rule that magicians cannot take in disciples. So, how about it? Something to amuse your siblings at home."
"Sure!" She beamed at him, excitement radiating from her little body.
A sight like this warmed his soul with joyful energy. "Okay, let's do it." He placed the deck back in front of Judy, face down. "The key part to this trick is picking the queen card. Because you need to identify one specific card." Nick picked up the deck to spread it, face up, in front of Judy again. "You must discreetly check what is the card on the very top of the deck," he used his thumb to tap the left side of the fan he was holding, "as this will be the card you reveal later. As you can see, it's the seven of hearts. Let's leave it face up for training. And let's say we choose the queen of spades."
Judy watched as Nick removed the queen from the deck before closing the fan, leaving the seven of hearts on top of the deck.
"Now, you need to instruct the person in front of you to slice the deck into three packets, just like before. This helps to strengthen the image that the magician is not the one controlling the cards." His paw moved to copy what Judy did a moment ago. The packet with seven of hearts landed in the middle. "With this set up you must now force a specific choice from the person doing this trick with you."
"Like," Judy pointed a finger at the cards, "what I did earlier wasn't my choice?"
"Exactly. Notice that I asked you to 'point' to a packet, not 'choose' one. Words are important."
"Soo, what if I would point to this one at the start?" She indicated the middle packet.
"You simply act as if the person picked the right one from the start and use it for the reveal. Similarly, if someone points to one of the other packets, you say that we discard that one." He used a paw to shuffle said packet slightly away." If they follow up with picking the one we need, you can say that to switch things up we'll keep this one." His paw pushed the packet with the seven of hearts towards her. "That's how simple it is. You can also decorate it however you want. Ask someone else to cover your eyes as the other mammal shuffles the cards or splits the cards, tell someone to take the queen's card out of the room so that she can't 'peek', possibilities are endless."
Judy chuckled and she rested her chin on a paw as she looked at him.
This made him frown a little. "What?"
"Oh, nothing. I just thought how much this resembles you. Spectacle and wordplay to cover up what you actually mean or are doing."
Nick leaned back a bit hearing those words. "Well… That's…"
"Come on, I mean it in a positive way." She kept smiling as she kept her gaze on the fox. "It takes a while to notice that your outer layer is just smoke and mirrors. After that, one sees the kind, caring fox underneath."
Once again, Nick could feel how his beloved bunny made his heart all warm and cosy. At the same time he folded his arms. "Naah, just the same slimy bastard."
Judy mirrored his move, leaning back on her chair. "See? Exactly what I'm talking about."
This has drawn a brief laugh from the fox. "Instead of talking, how about you do some practice with this trick?"
"Sure, Mr Kind."
Nick rolled his eyes.
.
.
.
.
Time went by much faster than they had noticed and the official phone soon buzzed with an incoming call.
Nick couldn't help but see how Judy practically catapulted forward to pick it up.
"Hello," she said, anticipation all over her voice.
"Hopps," A familiar, grumpy voice came from the speaker.
"Heya, chief," Nick greeted their boss, resting his folded arms on the table.
"Wilde," Bogo acknowledged the fox's presence. "I heard you two want information about the case's progress."
Judy opened her mouth, but Nick was faster. "Yup, our bunny officer cannot sit still if she's not hooked directly to a stream of news about it. You know her, boss. Waiting is not her forte."
They could hear a grumpy huff on the other end of the call. "Hopps, do I need to remind you that you're both off the case? Stop thinking about it and focus on laying low and recuperation."
Judy's ears dropped. "But, chief, I-"
"That's an order, officer."
The bunny closed her mouth, dejection painted all over her face.
Nick leaned in. "Heya, chief. Trouble is, we tried that. But she just keeps going back to work mode. Doc said that she needs a distraction to get her mind off the recent events, and there's a limit to jokes I know to keep her busy. Cut her some slack."
The phone went silent for a longer while. In the meantime, Judy looked at her friend with gratitude. A shadow of a smile danced on her lips.
"Fine…" A grumpy voice broke the silence. "A formal reminder that it's all confidential, and you're not to reveal it to anyone."
"Yes, sir." Both mammals said in unison.