It was barely daybreak in the city of Zootopia, and among the silence of the streets sat one rather tired bunny cop in her cruiser. She had been a protector of Zootopia for around a year now and she still couldn't bring herself to get used to the early hours that a job at the ZPD demanded.
Thank god for coffee. She thought, picking up the insulated cup and slurping down a liberal amount. Stopping for coffee had become a part of her morning ritual, always the same gas station on the way to Nick's place and always the carrot flavored kind.
Judy sat there for what felt like an eternity, talking sips of her coffee, with her eyes glued to the cruisers clock: 6:45. 6:50. 6:55. 7:00. Where the hell is he. Judy was growing impatient and worried. The fox was rather punctual, never so much as making her wait more than a few minutes on even a bad day.
She reached down for her phone, pulling it off the holder on her utility belt, and quickly swiping through her contacts until she found Nick's. His contact picture always made her smile. They took it on Halloween, she went as a rather vicious looking fox and he wore the cutest bunny outfit they could find. Irony at it's finest.
She clicked the green call button and rested the phone against her ear. Ring. Ring. Ring. Come on Nick, answer. Ring. Ring. Ring. Hey this is Nick Wilde, sorry you must have caught me during a robbery. Leave a message, and I'll call you back under the condition I don't get caught.
Can't you ever be serious? Judy sighed, slightly amused at his answering machine message. Judy unbuckled her seat belt, climbed from the cruiser, and walked towards the apartment. The building was a rather old one, the concrete steps ridden with cracks but none big enough to make them dangerous. The door was a dark gray metal and gave no illusions to elegance.
Judy reached up above her and turned the knob, revealing to her a dark room with 2 doors, to both her sides, and a set of stairs that branched around the walls to presumably lead to more rooms. Judy walked up the stone steps, although she had never been in Nick's apartment she did happen to know which one was his.
She finally came to stop in front of the door with a golden 6 on it. She gripped the doorknob and tried it, expecting it to be locked, but pleasantly surprised that it turned easily.
“Nick, are you ready?” Judy called into the unfamiliar room. She waited a few moments before taking it as a sign to enter. His living room contained a plain blue recliner, a table situated immediately beside it, and a decent sized TV mounted on the wall opposite. On the walls of the room were only 2 picture frames; one of an older looking female fox, presumably Nick's mother, and a photo of him and her that he'd taken at his graduation ceremony.
Immediately beyond the living room sat his kitchen, surprisingly enough it was practically spotless, aside from the odd plate or glass that inhabited the counter tops. Branching off from the kitchen, down a short hallway, was his bedroom.
His queen sized bed lay unmade, the thick blue comforter and similar colored sheets lay in disarray above the mattress. Without any hint of the red fox. His bedroom, like the rest of his apartment, was pretty empty. The room consisted only of his unmade bed, a night stand that held a small touch lamp and a digital alarm clock, and a small closet that probably held an army of green collared t-shirts.
The final element to his bedroom was a shut door that lead to the bathroom. Judy opened it slightly at first, merely peeking into the room, just in case Nick was just running late and still in the shower.
That'd be a pretty sight, she thought, a tad bit disappointed when she didn't get such a show. Seeing as he wasn't here, she took no care in opening the door the rest of the way and walking in.
It's still humid in here, Judy observed, It must have been used recently. She looked over the bathroom carefully. Soap. Shampoo. Towels. Comb. Toothbrush and Toothpaste. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, and nothing gave any allusions to where Nick could have went.
Judy was beyond worried now. Nick wouldn't have gone anywhere without telling her, especially not if it meant skipping out on his job. Had he been abducted? Judy, don't be crazy. Maybe he just went in early for something.
With that thought in mind she removed the walkie talkie from her police belt and radioed in, “Hey Clawhauser, It's Judy. Has Nick reported in?”
The box responded with a chewing noise, that could only be Clawhauser stuffing his face, before it finally became words, “No, haven't seen him. Why? Is there some problem.”
“I don't know yet. I'll report back if I find anything.”
If he's not here or at the ZPD where could he be? Now she was even more worried. She scoured the apartment, one room at a time, looking for any sign of where he might have gone. The bathroom gave her no leads; the only evidence it produced was a patch of fur from the shower drain, telling her nothing more than that he took showers.
Her scrutiny next fell upon the bedroom. Pulling the covers and sheets from the bed in search of anything that might tell her where he was. That he was alright. After coming up with nothing, she moved to his closet. Sliding it open to reveal a rather large variety of clothes. She riffled through them, carefully looking over each and everyone.
What kind of cons did you pull, Nick? Judy thought as her gaze rested on a Doctor's outfit. The image of Nick wearing it accompanied by a sign that read “$5 Lobotomies” brought a smile to her face.
Not helpful, Judy. She continued searching, but the closet seemed to hold nothing relevant. His bedroom seemed to hold nothing of importance, so she moved on. The various cabinets in the kitchen contained nothing but clean plates and glasses, and the only thing present on the table was salt & pepper, a napkin holder, and a few wooden coasters.
The living room didn't look anymore promising. The table's only content was the remote for the TV, and a glass with a few drops of an amber liquid that smelled alcoholic. Judy picked up the remote and pressed the power button. It was a long shot, but maybe what he was watching could give some indication as to where he went.
Oh Nick always the child. Judy smiled, a cartoon of a cat chasing around a mouse displayed prominently on the screen. Judy sighed deeply, turned off the TV and collapsed in the recliner feeling utterly defeated. Nothing to go on. Fucking nothing! She rocked back and forth in the chair, frustrated beyond belief.
Nick… where are you? She thought somberly. The frustration quickly becoming sadness. What if he was really gone? What if someone took him? Maybe someone from his past that he owed, or an old friend that got wind of his becoming a police officer.
What if he's dead. It was that thought that broke the floodgate. Tears poured from the rabbit's eyes and strolled down her face. If that were the case, she couldn't live. Life without Nick would be the worse life imaginable.
'You bunnies, so emotional.' I guess you were right Nick. She wiped the tears from her eyes and started towards the door. Nothing here seemed to give clue to where he might be, so going to the station and informing the chief seemed like the best option. Just as Judy was about to close the door, something caught her eyes, something on the carpet.
Sand. She observed, looking at the tiny particles that stood out against the navy blue carpet. She and Nick hadn't had a case in Sahara Square in at least 2 weeks so the presence of sand in his carpet was peculiar. There were probably a number of sound reasons for sand to be in his carpet, but it was the only lead she had and she'd pursue it to the fullest.
