Don't Stick Your Nose Where It Doesn't Belong
The motor fired up but whirred for only a moment before it clunked to a halt. A frustrated tan tail twitched from underneath the platform. Nick had only been at it for a few hours and was already tired of dealing with it. Hexter, on the other hand, had been at it for so much longer. A gloved hand swept out from under the machine patting the ground until it found what it was looking for and then it disappeared underneath again. Nick waited another moment before he got on all fours to look under the platform. Hexter was on his back smeared from head to toe in axle grease. His goggles pulled down over his eyes to keep debris from falling in. The halogen lamp cast everything in a creepy ethereal light.
“Any luck, buddy?”
“No, This fucking thing. For some reason, it keeps shorting out the fuses. It's like there's some kind of disconnect between the power converter and the fuse box.”
“Maybe it's one of the cords,” Nick added, mechanics wasn't his specialty.
“Yeah, but which one? There's only a hundred of them.”
“Do you have something you can use to check it?”
“I do but it's back at my workshop. I thought the problem was going to be the motor, if I'd known it was an electric thing, I'd come prepared.”
Nick opened his mouth to say something but a ding from his phone distracted him. He flicked the screen, smiling at the picture of Honey looking back at him. When he swept away the start screen he was greeted by texts in a green bubble. It was from Bartrand informing him that the prescriptions forms were finally ready to be picked up from the mysterious contact. Nick's thumbs flew across the word pad with a simple 'On It!' before he tucked the phone back into his pocket.
“Hey, Hex. I gotta run and errand for the Doc. I'll be back in a couple hours.”
“Oh sure, bro. If you see Finnick could you ask him to bring me my red bag from my workshop.”
“Sure thing, good luck with...” Nick gestured to the entire Octopus ride. “...all of this.”
“You should just pray to Shambala while you're at it, this thing's toast.”
Nick knocked on the fox prosthetic thigh before getting up. Finnick was nowhere to be found but Nick managed to tell Pearl about the red bag on his way out of the amusement park. The hospital was only a few blocks away and from there it was a straight shot to the pharmacy. Nick looked up at the beautiful blue sky, the midday sun was warm but there was a hint of a breeze. A nice day for a walk, Nick thought as he lit a cigarette and darted across the street.
***
Much to Nick's surprise the contact had been none other than Doug's father. The jolly pig was all to happy to hand over the prescriptions as well as a few signed blank prescription sheets just in case the old badger needed anything else before he got his own prescription pads back. The pig seemed a bit nervous as he shifted his hoofs on the tiled floor. The light blue scrubs worked to compliment his pink face. His wavy blond hair was finely groomed and wasn't as severely curly as his son's. There was a constellation of freckles on his cheeks and nose. Intelligent hazel eyes hid behind thin framed glasses. When Nick saw the collar around the pigs neck, it made him grossly aware of his own.
“Gosh, you guys are really great for taking care of my son. I wish I could do more but because of his...condition. We're still working on paying the doctor's bills.”
“Hey Don, don't worry about it. This is going to be a huge help.” Nick fluttered the papers before shoving them in his pocket. “How are you and Ellen holding up.”
“Well, it's been kinda rough not seeing Doug every day, we really miss him. But it's been a load off our minds knowing that he's being well taken care of. The baby will be here any day now, so Ellen is really focused on that. I've been working as many double shifts as I can, so when she does have the baby. I can take some time off to help her.”
“I'm very happy for you and Ellen. Next time you come to see Doug, I want a full report on the baby.”
“Will do, Mr. Wilde.”
“I gotta go now, I'll give Doug your love.”
“Thank you so much, Mr. Wilde.”
“Please, call me Nick. We're family.”
“You risk so much to keep our hopes alive, Nick. Bless you.”
Nick coughed and adjusted his green Hawaiian shirt. The sight of tears welling up in the pig's eyes made him feel uneasy. Nick rested a hand on Don's shoulder and gave it a squeeze before heading out of the room.
The warm sun was eager to greet him when he stepped out of the lobby. A quick glance to either side and Nick darted across the street. Just ahead of him was some sort of commotion. Several prey animals gathered around and the sounds of raised voices shouting. Nick was determined to keep a calm demeanor, even though a voice in the back of his head was yelling at him to turn around and go another way.
Nick stepped around a pair of porcupines rubber necking. The fox slowed his pace so he could see who was at the center of the commotion. A zebra in a suit and tie was yelling at a rather large lion. The lion wore a pair of jeans and a maroon hoody. He didn't look like much at first, but his mane was oddly well-groomed and he carried a very expensive looking briefcase. Perhaps he was in disguise, which seemed strange. Either way, Nick kept walking at his leisurely pace acting disinterested in the whole thing.
“How dare you put your hands on me.” The Zebra yelled adjusting his suit.
The lion was focusing on keeping his voice as calm as possible, obviously not wanting to set off his collar. “I told you it was an accident. I was in a hurry to deliver these documents to the magazine publisher. It's just right there.”
“You're in a hurry? So, that gives you the right to shove me over.”
“I didn't mean to. I even tried to help you up, Sir. It was an honest mistake.”
“More like a brutal attack. What else do you expect from a pred?”
At this, Nick stopped and turned to look, his blood was already starting to boil. This problem was at the heart of Zootopia. This was the darkness the illustrious city hid under chrome and glass. The voice in the back of Nick's head told him to keep moving.
Suddenly, the outside ring parted and low and behold a cop stepped through. Not just any cop, though. Nick recognized her from somewhere but couldn't quite place it. The bunny cop had gray fur and the most beautiful purple eyes Nick had ever seen, such a rare color. She looked spiffy in her pressed blue outfit. The silver and gold badge on her chest gleaming in the sunlight. Nick watched long enough to see this unfold. She was so tiny next to the lion, even smaller next to the zebra.
“Watch out, Carrots. You're outgunned.” Nick cooed playfully.
“Officer Judith Hopps, what seems to be the problem here?”
Surprisingly, the lion was the first of the two to speak, he kept his deep voice calm. “I was out running errands-”
“And he decided to attack me!” The Zebra cut him off.
“I didn't attack you, sir. I ran into you trying to cross-”
“Sir, I'm gonna have to ask you to calm down.” The bunny officer held her hand out to the lion. “You're causing a scene.”
“What?!” This time, the lion's voice got louder. “I'm just trying to tell you what-”
“See, I told you. His aggressive nature is coming out. Run, save your kid!”
“This is asinine! I should have known this kinda thing was going to happen. This is why I write the articles I do. There should be a pred cop here to help mediate this situation. Forget it, I've got better things to do than this.” The lion turned and started off towards the sidewalk.
“Sir!” The bunny lowered her voice, which was adorable, to think she had any more control over the situation now that her voice was deeper. “You cannot leave the scene of a crime.”
The lion wheeled around, his face was stern but he was in control of his emotions. “The only crime here is your negligence of the judicial system and your inability to look past your own prejudices to give me a fair shake. What is the ZPD code? I know it doesn't involve taking the side of a prey mammal just because you too are prey mammal.”
“How dare you!” The bunny was the one to get angry first, raising her voice as she pulled a small device from her belt.
Her thumb hovering over a bright red button. Nick had never seen this type of device before. It looked like something out of a spy movie. An urgent feeling moved to the fox's groin making him feel like he was going to pee himself. The voice in the back of his head was now screaming for him to run.
“This is your last warning, sir!”
“Threatening me for exercising my god given right to free speech, laughable. You think you have the right to take that away from me just because you have a badge. Serve and protect, Officer Hopps, not brutalize because you c- ugh!”
The lion gritted his teeth so hard Nick thought they were going to shatter. The lions hands reached up to grip the collar under his groomed mane. Another grunt and a flinch then fell to his knees. Nick could see the glowing red light on the collar that was once green. Officer Judith Hopps was pushing the red button. It worked to activate the collars it was pointed at. She was electrocuting him. His suitcase slipped from his hand and fell to the ground as he fought to stay up. The pain wracked the hulking creature. The mere sight caused the crowd of prey mammals to scatter leaving just the bunny, the fox, and the lion alone in the middle of the street.
Mind your own business, the voice came through more clearly than Nick had ever heard it before. Keep your head down, again the voice pleaded but out of nowhere the fox darted forward slapping the device out of the bunny's hand sending it skidding away. Nick looked at the bunny as shocked as she was looking back at him. His mouth hung slacked as his brain finally caught up with him. Shit, the voice said and then remained silent.
“Attacking and officer is-”
“Save it, Carrots. Brutalizing a citizen of Zootopia because you're a racist piece of shit is misconduct and against the oath you took, it makes your status as a police officer revoked. That's right, Ears, I know the laws. I've read your stupid law books.”
“You're under arrest.”
Nick moved to grab the large arm of the Lion pulling him to his feet. “Wilde times, at the docks...you'll be safe there.” He whispered into the lion's ear.
The lion nodded and grabbed his suitcase before taking a few stumbling steps away. It didn't take long for the lion to get up to full speed as he disappeared around the corner. The officer's voice following behind him as she ran over to pick up the device. Her words demanding that the lion stop but it was too late. The lion was already too far away to hear her. Which only left Nick, who was already starting to back away.
“You're under arrest, Fox.” The cop aimed the device at him.
“You have to catch me first, Carrots.”
She pressed the button and nothing happened. Nick just stared at her like a deer in the headlights. “Your...your collar, you tampered with your collar. You're going down!”
“We'll see about that. Catch me if you can.”
The voice in Nick's head protested his reaction but was lost against the sound of him pumping his arms and legs as fast as he could. The balls of his feet pounding the pavement, his heart rapping against his sternum. His lungs begging for him to stop, or to at least to give up smoking. None of it mattered because the fox was too focused on getting away. He was fast but the bunny was younger and in better shape than he was.
“What have I done?”
Nick panted, his mind finding an image of Honey to guilt him with. She didn't deserve his stupid decision to get involved. Nick darted through an alleyway and over a few knocked over trashcans. The landing was a little rough, which cost him a few seconds. Officer Hop-Along on the other hand, cleared them with no problem. He pounded around the corner and making his body as small as he could so he could weave through the crowd. What he really needed was some cover, some extra bodies for him to hide in. The subway! He darted down the stairs, jumping up on the railing to slide down. What few seconds he bought himself were lost when he sprawled out on the tile floor at the bottom. A familiar looking mammal pulled him to his feet giving him a hard shove in the right direction.
“Stop that Fox!” The cop hollered.
There were only twenty foxes trying to get through the turnstile. They all halt and raised their hands as if they were all under arrest. Nick could hear and exaggerated groan as the bunny pushed her way through the group. Nick was running out of time, he stepped around a small group of raccoons and slid a token into the slot before he stepped through the rotating arms, He headed down the stairs to the train platform.
Down there, the familiar mammal made himself known, it was Weaselton. He gave Nick another shove before turning to keep an eye out for the officer, who wasn't far behind. Nick caught a glimpse of the weasel shoving the rabbit hard enough to send her off the platform to the tracks below. The fox slowed and ran to the edge looking down that bunny. She lay crumpled amidst the rails and the gravel. She wasn't moving. He could see a smear of blood dripped from a wound on the side of her head.
A voice from overhead called. “Train Seven from Sahara Square arriving on track A.”
Nick's heart pounded in his chest as he looked up at the blue placard on the pillar near him. A large white 'A' glared back. Duke Weaselton gripped his forearm bringing his gaze around to look at the weasel.
“Nick, you gotta go!” The weasel yelled at him.
Nick took a few steps, stopping when he heard the rhythmic dinging alerting people on the platform that a train was coming. Nick looked back at the bunny who still wasn't moving. The urging in his groin returned. Several security guards came stomping down the stairs. They were looking at him, pointing. Things just went from bad to worse, he thought. Then the voice came through again, it was a calm voice, feminine in tone. He whispered along with the words feeling his heart grow heavy.
“I'm a good boy.”
Nick jumped down on the tracks, he could see the light from the front of the train coming towards him and it was coming fast. Quickly he scooped the bunny up in his arms and headed off down the tunnel towards the train but hugging the furthest wall. Nick looked back to see the security guards looking down the track at him but they disappeared once the train pulled into the station. Nick threw the bunny over his shoulder and trudged down the tracks. His ear was pressed tight to her side so he could hear her breathing, which was a blessing. Thankfully, she didn't weigh much at all, even with all the gadgets on her belt. If he remembered correctly, there was a doorway leading down to the sewers. From there he could navigate back to the amusement park. It would be the best way to remain unseen. Once he was in the sewers, he'd be able to make sure the bunny was alright before ditching her to make a getaway. The voice in his head had one final comment, that he should have minded his own business.
