“Zootopia, its city streets veiled in darkness, criminals skulking in the shadows awaiting their next hapless victim. An armed robbery, a shakedown, or even a murder could wait around every bend. Only two heroes can stand together, defiantly against the night. Rising up as beacons of hope to the fearful masses as-“
“Carrots do you have to do this every night shift?” Nick cut in, playing a game on his phone. The two were driving their usual route downtown, working an overnight shift for the department.
“Come on, it’s fun. Admit it, you like the night shift.” Judy insisted, tapping the phone in his hands.
“Not without its charm, it gives me a break from my landlord.” Nick stated, returning his attention to the phone. “Stubborn mule won’t even give us a decent hot water tank.”
“What time is it?” Judy asked with a not so subtle yawn escaping.
“3. And would ya cut that out.” Nick yawned. “It’s contagious.”
“But it’s so boring tonight! Jeez ya think we’d at least get something going on, like a- like a street race or, maybe catch a bank robbery!”
“Yaaaah.” Nick half-heartedly cheered.
“Admit it; you want something fun to happen too.”
“I think our ideas of fun differ.” Nick smiled, throwing up a brow at Judy. She took a moment to ponder the meaning before scoffing.
“Nick!”
“I meant sleep!” He laughed, looking out toward the window. “Switching day to night all the time is gonna be the end of me.”
“Yeah well, you’re not the only one.” She agreed. Turning onto a commercial street, Nick watched as banners and signs flashed. Some running ads and banners while others showing hours or simply just closed.
“Get the time off you requested?”
“Chief says it’s a go.” Judy nodded, keeping her focus on the road.
“Figured it’d be alright. Course meeting your parents not exactly the greatest idea for a weekend getaway.”
“Be nice Nick, they just started working with a fox as well you know.” Judy threw in.
“Wonderful.” He calmly replied. “Although I will say, looking forward to the food. Those blueberries you brought back last time really hit the spot.”
“Plenty of those.”
“Yeah.” Nick stretched out, throwing his feet up on the dash. “Won’t be so bad.”
“All units, we have a 10-37, rainforest district.”
“Dispatch this is Fangmeyer responding, will investigate.”
“10-4.”
“Aww!” Judy slammed her head on the wheel.
“It’s just a suspicious vehicle, for all we know it’s a rhino stumbling home from the bar.” Nick threw in.
“Ha-ha.” Judy mockingly laughed. The two let a fair amount of time pass before either would speak up. Nick putting his phone away gave a good long sigh.
“Well, before we die of boredom. Are we gonna talk about Friday?” Judy cringed, fearing this conversation and flopped her ears back.
“Nick, I said I was sorry.”
“We booked a table, at Frais Chateau Vert and instead of a lovely night out, you decide this is a great time to pick up another night shift.” He retold her in his usual calm demeanor.
“I know.”
“Carrots, look. I know the whole different species thing isn’t normal. So if you wanna back out-“
“No! No, it’s not that at all.”
“Public place, you’re something of a celebrity in town now. Don’t want to be seen dating a fox.” He carried on, even letting a nervous laugh escape.
“Nick I wouldn’t be taking you home to meet my parents if I didn’t like you.” She corrected. “But maybe yeah, a bit shy about the whole dating thing.”
“What, you mean in general?”
“Yeah. Go figure, rabbits who want to grow up and be police officers aren’t exactly common in Bunnyburrow. So, boys not keen on lining up to date me.” She explained.
“Well, and feel free to correct me here. Have ya thought about just relaxing and being yourself?” Nick suggested.
“Officer Hopps and Wilde, this is dispatch, please respond-over.”
Nick slapped his face before reaching for the radio.
“This is Officer Wilde with Hopps, over.”
“Wilde and Hopps, you’re being offered relief. You were first to check in and we have a slow night; things are getting trim on our budget, over.”
“Oh peachy.” Nick whispered. “Want the night off, Carrots?”
“Sure, we had the extra shift on Friday, I could use some sleep.” She agreed.
“Dispatch, Hopps and I are circling back to station; we’ll take the relief, over.”
“10-4”
“Want me to take you home first? I can sign you out when we get back.” Judy offered.
“No it’s good. Let’s head back, left a few things in my locker anyway.” Nick replied, resting his head on his hand. Judy swung back and headed toward the station. Turning onto Peak Street with the station in sight, Judy paused at a red light, tapping nervously on the steering wheel.
“You know, if you still want to try that restaurant.”
“No rush.” Nick casually dismissed.
“I don’t mind, it could be fun I guess.” Judy insisted as the light turned green. “Bet you’d make some interesting faces, trying carrot cake.”
“Ha-ha, it is to..” Nick trailed off seeing a pair of headlights coming in incredibly fast. “Judy! Hold on!!” He shouted. She didn’t even have time to react as the car was T-boned right on Nick’s side. Rolling over and over, the frame of the car revealed a roll cage as it capsized and stood smoldering on the road. Judy started coughing as Nick shook his head, trying to flush out the ringing in his ears. “Carrots? Carrots! Are you ok!?”
“Oh, my head.” She moaned. Nick managed to get himself unbuckled and clawed for her hand and held it tight.
“Sit tight; let me get you out of here.” In a frantic rush he snapped apart the seatbelt and took her arm her over his shoulder, crawling from the car. Screeching, the car that hit them spun around and stood just few dozen feet before them. It was mired in thick steel plating that had showed minimal signs of damage from the collision. The window rolled down, revealing a predator cat veiled in a mask and hooded jacket, pointing a gun seemingly aimed at the two. “Not good, very not good.” Nick tried to reach for his only to discover it had torn from the belt in the crash along with his cuffs and radio. A rush of fear hit as the ring of a bullet sounded, but not from the gun aimed at him. The bullet hit the cat’s hand, disarming him of the weapon as he spun out in an attempt to escape. Officers Grizzoli the lion had responded along with Fangmeyer the white wolf, firing off rounds at the car as it fled the scene.
“Dispatch, right outside we have two officers down.” Grizzoli radioed in. “Need paramedics on scene right away.”
“10-4 Grizzoli, paramedics are on their way.”
Fangmeyer helped Nick and Judy to their feet and gave them a quick look over.
“You two ok? Are you hit?” He questioned, patting down Judy’s arms and head.
“My head, I think I hit the wheel.” Judy groaned.
“We got paramedics inbound, you just sit tight. Nick, you alright?”
“Nothing a few ice packs won’t fix.” He quipped. “What the heck was that?”
“That suspicious vehicle that was phoned in did not like us trying to stop him.” Fangmeyer began to explain.
“No kidding, he bolted straight through the Rainforest District before heading right for downtown. We thought we’d lost him till we heard that engine again. That’s when we found you two.” Grizzoli finished.
“Hopps! Wilde!” Delgato the tiger called out, running to the street from the station. “Hey, you two ok?”
“We’ll be ok.” Nick waved off.
“Sheesh, and here I thought covering the nights for the Chief would be easy.”
“Delgato! Over here!” Fangmeyer called out.
“You two sit tight.”
The gazelle paramedics took Judy into the back of the ambulance and had her sit down inside. Nick kept close, keeping her under his arm when he could and always holding her hand. They flashed a light over her eyes a few times and thoroughly checked her head.
“Well I don’t think she’s concussed, but that’s gonna be a hell of a headache. Do you have any room-mates Judy? Anyone who can keep an eye on you just in case?”
“No, just noisy neighbors.” Judy smiled shyly.
“I can stay with her.” Nick offered right away. “Her place isn’t far from here, I can walk her.”
“Ok good. Here Ms. Hopps, these should help with the headache. Take two per dose, but no more than eight in a day.” The gazelle offered, handing her a bottle of medicine.
“Thank you.” Judy smiled.
“No problem, ok foxy, your turn.”
“I’m alright, don’t sweat it.” Nick tried to brush off. Judy rolled her eyes a little and sighed.
“Standard procedure Nick, everyone involved in an accident has to be checked out by paramedic or doctor before returning to duty.”
“Right, so raise those arms for me.” Nick shook his head and lightly laughed it off, complying with the request. “Speak up if you feel any pain.” Giving him a pat down from his arms down his body and over his legs, Nick kept to his usual calm demeanor throughout. “All good?”
“Dandy.”
“Alright good to hear.” He smiled. Delgato peeked inside, smiling at the two.
“Clean bill of health?”
“Yep, so about that relief?” Nick smiled.
“Consider yourselves good for the night.” Delgato laughed. “Go ahead and grab my cruiser.” Tossing a set of keys to Nick. “Something tells me I’ll be investigating this with Fangmeyer and Grizzoli for a while till Bogo arrives.”
“Thanks, send the chief my regards.” Nick quipped. The two disembarked from the ambulance and began heading toward the station. Judy took a quick glance over to see Fangmeyer and Grizzoli photographing the tire tracks and bagging the weapon they shot free.
“Wonder who that guy was.” Judy pondered.
“Didn’t get a good look at him, but maybe leopard? Cheetah? Cat type pred for sure.” Nick thought aloud.
“We should help with the investigation tomorrow.”
“We.” Nick swirled Judy around with both hands, stopping her in front of him. “Are off tomorrow. Much needed time to adjust to dayside again before the weekend.”
“But Nick, we should try to find out what’s going on!”
“And we will. When we’re called in for it.” Nick assured her, leading her on toward Delgato’s cruiser. Taking a quick glance as he unlocked it, it suddenly dawned on him there was a rather serious issue. “Also after I grow about six feet and put on a couple hundred pounds.” Nick sighed slamming his head on the bottom of the door. “Shoulda seen that coming.”
“Hmm, yes, you should have.” Judy snickered.
“Dumb fox.”
“Clever bunny says we walk.”
“That works.” Nick agreed.
“Well unless you want me to work the pedals while you steer.”
“How many accidents do you wanna cause tonight?” He quipped. Judy bumped his rear and scoffed.
“Shush you.”
“Easy Carrots.” Nick coaxed, his hand guiding her up the last few stairs.
“Nick your really sweet but I’m fine. The medicine the paramedic gave me is working wonders.” She insisted. Judy was about to pull out her keys when the land lady opened her door from the inside. Judy stood angrily tapping her foot as the old woman was about to walk right by. “Uh, excuse me! Why were you in my room?”
“Delousing time, this floor was today, sign is up on the mail box.” She dismissed carrying on by. Judy bounded in front and emphatically asked.
“What!? But my stuff! My clothes, where am I supposed to go!?”
“Here.” She produced two rather ratty looking vouchers from her pocket. “You go to motel down the street. Takes a day or two.”
“I thought you said the delousing was complimentary. As in, you have to ask me before you go in and do it?”
“You ignore last two months. Tenant agreement says I must do four times a year minimum. Go to motel, it will be fine.”
“Can I at least get my clothes?” Judy insisted.
“Sure.” She waved off going on ahead. “Hold breath, don’t open eyes much.” Nick threw up his hands and shook his head.
“Real thick hide on her.”
“Come on, let’s go check out this motel.” Judy submitted. Within a few minutes they turned in their voucher and headed toward the room. Peering inside with the sun starting to rise behind them revealed a rather musty and ratty looking room. The bed was made, but the carpet seemed frayed and torn from the floor in several spots. The walls were bare white save for a few strips of wallpaper dangling in a few spotty areas. The smell seemed a mix of pine air freshener and wet fur. “Oh sweet cheese and crackers.”
“Yeah, not gonna find those here.” Nick counted, hauling some of Judy’s clothes in his arms.
“Well, I guess it’ll have to do.” She sighed about to step inside.
“No.” Nick cut in. “Carrots this is stupid. Come on, you can stay at my place.”
“I don’t want to intrude.” Judy tried to argue.
“You’re not an intrusion. Sides I’d rather you sleep under a bridge than in this dump.” Nick asserted firmly. No sooner he spoke, a rather prominent thud came from the other room on the left.
“I told you not to take anything from the mini-bar!”
“So what, you’re gonna pay for it!”
“I am not!”
“Yes you are!”
“You’re an idiot!”
“No, you are!”
“Huh.” Judy paused a moment. “Was wondering if they were out too.”
“Who?” Nick questioned, leading the way back out to the street.
“Crazy neighbors.”
Nick and Judy rode up the elevator leading to Nick’s room on the third floor. His apartment wasn’t too much further away, a few blocks from the ice cream shop they had first met at. Standing before the door, Nick struggled to reach for his keys before finally giving in to ask.
“Hey, think you can grab my keys in my pocket? It’s the larger triangular gold one.”
“Sure.” Judy smiled, shuffling around in his pocket. Suddenly realising where her hands were getting close to and all the more reinforced by Nicks smile she swished the keys from his pocket and took hold of the one he described. “This one?”
“Close enough.”
“You are awful, Nick.” She giggled opening the door.
“You know you love me.” Judy took a quick look around inside while Nick set her clothes down on the couch. It wasn’t the biggest place; to her left the kitchen and living room weren’t separated. A small table near the window and single couch with a coffee table across from the TV ahead of it. The faded grey carpet seemed in fair condition along with light green painted walls. Up ahead she could see a white door frame that fed into his room.
“Wow, this is actually pretty nice.” Judy complimented.
“Well it’s no free motel down the road. Hot water only works for about ten minutes and you have to kick the air conditioner to start it but, it does the job.” Nick explained. “If you need the bathroom it’s just over in my room.”
“Thanks.” Judy smiled. “I really appreciate you putting me up here.” Nick strolled over, his usual calm grim and slit eyes and took hold of her hand.
“Don’t mention it.” Judy hummed with pleasure and wrapped her arms around him for a moment, pressing her ear against his chest. “You bunnies, so emotional.”
“Mmm, happy emotional at least.” Judy corrected. Darting up she gave him a peck on the cheek, catching Nick a little off guard.
“Oh! Up to kisses are we.” He chuckled softly. Stroking her ears, he parted them and gently kissed the top of her head. “Why don’t you slip into something more comfortable.”
“Nick!”
“Something not your uniform.” He reminded her.
“Ah, right.” Judy giggled, scooping up a few clothes from the couch she headed off toward the bathroom. “Promise you won’t peek?”
“Scouts honor.” Nick swore off. Judy took a few of her clothes to her hip and swung around to the washroom to change. Nick slightly scolded himself for saying scouts honor, it reminded him of the junior rangers incident from when he was young. Shaking out his head, he brushed it off and opened up a closet nearby. Taking out the one blanket inside, he moved Judy’s clothes to the edge of the couch and draped the blanket over top. He even took the time to fluff the pillows for her. Nick started unbuttoning his shirt, tired of wearing the uniform and eager to get changed himself. He slid his arms out and dropped the uniform on the floor. “Hey Carrots, you thirsty or anything? I got some soda, purple stuff.”
“Have any orange juice?” She called out. Nick spotted a carton and gave it a quick shake. There was a little left and it was still a couple days before expiry.
“Yeah, got a bit left.” He poured a glass and left it on the small table near the couch. Coming out from his room with a long pink shirt on, Judy stretched and let loose a good long yawn before realizing Nick was topless.
“Oh! Sorry!” She exclaimed. “Didn’t know you were changing in here.”
“Just ditched the shirt.” He chuckled closing in on here. “When did you get so bashful miss delve into a naturalist club?” Judy threw up her brow and playfully tickled Nick’s belly as he passed into his room. “There ya go.” He laughed.
Judy sprawled out on the couch, flipping through a few channels with the volume down so Nick could sleep. It was pushing on eight in the morning, and a hint of her headache was coming back. She scooped two more of the pills the paramedic gave her and downed it with the last of the room temperature orange juice. Groaning she fell to the pillow and carried on browsing channels. Nick walked out from his room, wiping his eyes and dressed only in boxer shorts and spoke up softly.
“Having trouble sleeping, Carrots?”
“Yeah.” She moaned, dropping the remote on the ground. “Too bright outside and I can’t help feeling like I should be awake.”
“Yeah, I get that.” Nick agreed. Walking over he sat at Judy’s feet and pulled the blanket over them. “I usually just close the curtains and throw that blanket over the window in my room. Keeps it nice and dark.”
“That’s. Actually pretty smart.”
“Don’t sleep well on couches?” He smiled, taking the opportunity to rub her legs.
“No, not really. Never have actually.” Judy took a moment to think about before flipping on her back. “Well, we had one sleep over one time. I took the couch while they were wrapped up in sleeping bags on the floor. I don’t think I slept that night either. Kept getting too warm and felt like I was sinking into the cushions.”
“Well that settles it.” Nick affirmed. Tapping the remote with his feet, he shut off the TV and stood. Much to her surprise, Nick scooped her up blankets and all and started carrying her toward his room.
“Nick! What are you doing?” She lightly protested. With no loss of style, he kicked his door closed and unfurled the bunny onto his bed. Tossing the blanket over his window, he tucked it around and sure enough the room was nice and dark. “Huh, cozy.”
“You ok, Carrots? Is this too fast, cause if it’s too fast I can go on the couch-“
“No, it’s ok.” She insisted. Nick breathed a sigh of relief and climbed into bed, draping the sheets over both of them. Summoning up some courage, he scooted himself close with Judy and wrapped his arm over her belly, cradling her close to him. Judy felt a little nervous at first, but feeling his warm body wrap around her put her mind at east. Even putting her hand over top of his, nestling herself in nice and close. “Mmm, this is nice.”
“You comfy?”
“Mmhmm.” Nick moaned and kissed her neck.
“Night cute bunny.”
“Good night, clever fox.”
Over in the Rainforest District, the same car that struck Judy and Nick drove up to a small alcove off the road. Flashing the lights, the doors slid open, revealing a narrow passage. Driving down, the engine booming through the halls, the driver pulled into an underground shelter. The area was lit with cone shaped lights and seemingly reinforced steel walls. It appeared to be an old fallout shelter of some kind, very old but still intact. Four other cars were already parked inside, each with their drivers sitting on the hood or leaning on the side. A wolf, racoon, panther and impala, watching as he pulled in. The car that struck Judy and Nick parked inside and the driver stepped out, slamming the door he snared the attention of the other drivers and pulled off his hood and mask to reveal the cheetah face hidden behind.
“Where is he?”
“Psych?” The young wolf spoke up in a muscle shirt. “Down in his den.” The cheetah brushed passed the others and into a small room down a six step steel staircase.
“Psych, where’s my intel!?” He demanded, slamming his hand on the doorframe. Inside the room was a chair and several monitors rigged up to a rather large computer beneath the desk.
“Just because you ask louder, Oshu doesn’t make it happen any faster.” Psych replied, spinning around in his chair. Psych looked to be a rather calm and reserved looking fox, blue eyes with glasses dangling near the tip of his nose. Wearing a grey hooded sweater and khaki pants, he was clearly older, prominent brown ticks on his nose along with a solid brown stripe down his head nestled within the red fur of his body.
“Well what’s the hold up?” Oshu questioned stepping into the room.
“Zootopia’s garbage network, I’ve seen sloths run faster than this. Even with remote access here in the Rainforest District, the only thing I’ve been able to crack is the jam cams.”
“Can’t get into the cities secure lines?” Oshu wondered, looking through the monitors.
“No, they’re on a different network it seems. I thought I could reroute through the bunkers emergency network here but it’s no use. The police stations, city hall, hospitals, banks, they’re all on a newer connection than this trash heep.” Psych explained.
“We need to get on those networks so we can crack the codes on the bank vaults, that’s the only reason I brought you along for the ride.”
“Equal, partners.” Psych reminded him firmly, slipping the barrel of a gun to Oshu’s neck. “Don’t go thinking your king of the castle just because of those claws.” Oshu growled a moment before getting cut off by Psychs finger. “Listen, to get on those networks we have to secure a way to tap those lines. I can do this if I can gain access to city hall.”
“Got a plan for getting in there?”
“I do. I need you to pull the ZPD away from Savannah Central. There are a couple entrances I could exploit to get into the building. Once inside I can patch their network into the emergency lines and that’ll let me access it from here. If it goes as planned they shouldn’t be able to notice.” Psych explained.
“Gonna need a more effective distraction than just buzzing the stations. Going after their pop star cop should get them nice and riled up.” Oshu chuckled, resting his hand on Psychs chair.
“Why are you so obsessed with the rabbit?”
“Cut out the heart and you kill the hope in the city. It’ll make it easier to take over later on.”
“About that, here’s the proper threat to drool over.” Psych advised, producing a stapled printout of a few pages. “Mr. Big, arctic shrew from Tundratown. Multiple polar bear associates, he will not go down easy. This is the city’s biggest player at the moment and primary obstacle in establishing our authority here.” Oshu snatched up the papers and gave them a quick once over.
“That’s why you and me are going for a little drive later tonight. Make sure you bring a party favor or two.” Oshu smiled. Psych laughed and opened a nearby drawer to reveal a crude looking tube of explosives.
“Lighting something up?”
“Let’s give them a reason to be afraid of us.”
Judy moaned softly, blissfully unaware of the change in position she had taken in her sleep. Her head was nestled into Nicks shoulder and cuddled in close to his body. Judy began sliding her fingers through the fur on Nick’s back, enticing him awake with a soft moan of his own.
“You up Carrots?” He whispered.
“Mmm. I haven’t slept that good in a long time.” She cooed, kissing his shoulder.
“Neither have I.” Giving her one more good squeeze. Lowering her head down, he brushed his hand over her ears and kissed her forehead. “Wonder what time it is?” A rather sudden and abrupt gurgle from both of their stomachs seemed fit to answer it for them.
“Oh boy.” Judy giggled nervously. Nick rolled over to check his alarm clock.
“It’s 5:30! Sheesh we slept like nine hours! What time do we start again tomorrow?”
“Tuesday? Uh, we have mid-shift, eleven to eight.” Judy replied, bouncing out of bed.
“Oh phew. So being up a bit later tonight is no biggy. Want to grab a bite?”
“Please! I’m starving.” Judy smiled, scurrying to find her clothes. “Now where did I put my blue jeans.”
“Well, least your clothes look good on my floor.” Nick teased.
“Oh gosh, Nick. Clothes now, jokes later.” Nick just let a soft chuckle escape before being drawn to his phone, vibrating on the nightstand nearby.
“Oh boy.” Nick braced himself as he picked up the phone with Chief Bogo’s picture and the name “Buffalo Butt” on the front. “This is Wilde.”
“Nick, where have you been? Where’s Hopps!?”
“Judy’s over here while they fumigate her apartment. What’s up?”
“We ran the gun that Grizzoli shot from the driver. The serial number’s been destroyed, but there are only a few places that sell a weapon like it.”
“That sounds riveting, seems like something we’ll be very interested to investigate tomorrow when we come in.” Nick tried to slide in.
“I know you’re off duty today, I just need you to check out one of the potential suppliers since he isn’t keen on meeting with us.”
“Who’s that?”
“An old friend of yours if I recall, Finnick; and ask if he has sold any such weapons in the last few months... Leave the popsicles.”
“Oh.” Nick suddenly took the situation more seriously. “Strange, didn’t think of Finnick to be into that. I’ll go check it out.”
“Good, see you tomorrow.”
“What’s going on?” Judy questioned, now fully dressed in jeans and pink button up shirt.
“Gotta check in with Finnick, but not an empty stomach. Let’s get a bite.”
Nick took the last few bites of a sandwich while Judy scooped up a spoonful of fruit from a fruit cup. The two were heading south down Acacia street, looking for Finnicks iconic van. Nick brushed off his hands on his pants and swallowed the last bite before speaking up.
“Sheesh, where is he stashing himself these days?”
“You know him better than anyone. Why would he be selling guns?” Judy questioned, taking another bite.
“Never known him too. It’s weird to say the least. Being stuck on foot isn’t helping either.”
“Looking on the right side of the road might.” Judy pointed out, noting the van parked in an ally.
“You’re getting a little too good at this.” Nick joked, ruffling Judy’s head. Knocking on the van, Finnick jumped out with a baseball bat and shouted.
“Who is it!?”
“Easy big fella.”
“Oh, it’s you. The heck you want, I don’t talk to the fuzz, even if it is you.”
“Right, like anything you tell me is getting to Bogo that wouldn’t sink us both.” Nick countered calmly.
“Finnick it’s urgent, please.” Judy interjected. “We need to know if you’ve been selling any firearms lately.”
“Selling!? Nah, why would I do that!?” He argued.
“Looking for one in particular, your name came up when Bogo searched the weapon type.” Nick explained, opening up his phone. He scrolled through to an email the chief sent with a picture of the gun.
“Oh.” Finnick said, turning back into the van he gestured for the two to follow. “I ain’t selling, I was buying. I needed something that couldn’t be traced.” He explained, pulling the gun from under the seat. “Things getting rough out here.”
“Finnick, possession of a firearm without a serial number is a-“ Judy tried to interject, but was halted by Nick’s finger.
“Ah da da da shhh, Carrots he’s my friend, let me handle this. Never known you to need a gun, all we ever did was hustle popsicles and ...” Nick trailed off, looking to Judy momentarily before glancing back to Finnick. “and donated money to charity.”
“Ha.” Judy scoffed.
“Word got out someone new was coming to town. Couple week’s back he started making himself known in the street races. Problem is, he thinks himself a new player, a boss. Wants to make a name for himself.”
“Oh perfect.” Nick rolled his eyes.
“All I know is he’s got a team put together. Seriously bad news. If he starts feuding with Mr. Big, things gonna get messy. I picked this up to cover mine but, you two better watch your tails.”
“Got it, thanks bud.”
“You never saw me Nick.” Finnick reinforced.
“Relax.” Nick insisted, extending his fist. “Never rat on a friend.” Finnick nodded, returning the fist pound.
Exiting the van and heading up street back towards his place, Nick started to really wonder about who could scare Finnick like that. Judy called in to the chief all the while being stared down by Nick.
“Chief, we met with Finnick.”
“And.” Judy glanced to Nick once more and sighed.
“He was in the market, wouldn’t tell us who he was buying from but he isn’t selling. We checked out his van, was empty.”
“We haven’t had much luck on our end either.” Bogo stated, sifting through a few files on his desk. “I’ll wait for the others to check in, but I’m thinking I’ll call in a few favors from some of the surrounding cities.”
“He did mention something about a street racer.”
“A street racer.” Bogo exclaimed. “That’s interesting. I’ll get in touch with the chief in Predaton, it’s a popular city for both legal and illegal street races.”
“Sounds good.” Judy agreed.
“Good work, Hopps. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“So what did Bogo say?”
“Gonna wait and see from the others he’s contacting. Including the chief in Predaton.”
“Huh, well then.” Nick smiled; darting in front of Judy he took hold of her hands and smiled walking backward. “I guess that means a certain girl is free tonight.”
“I guess so.” Judy playfully smiled, dropping her ears back. “What does the clever fox have in mind?” Nick just smiled, pulling her in close to his side as the two strolled back to Nick’s apartment.
With the night just arriving, Psych and Oshu were riding through Sahara Square on the way to the Tundra Gate. Oshu slid the car alongside the rails, the screech of the tires subsiding as a train raced overhead.
“You got 10 minutes.” Oshu warned as Psych grabbed a duffle bag and opened the door. “Be at the drop zone ready to go.”
“Don’t worry kitten, I’ll be there. You just enjoy the show.” Psych quipped. Oshu shook his head with a soft laugh.
“Smart ass.” Without any hesitation, Psych climbed into the train tunnel and found the service door inside. Producing a small electric screwdriver, he removed the plating covering the doors key pad and cautiously separated the connection within. Taking a pin pad from his pocket, he rigged the connection and waited for the door to decrypt. Within seconds the device cracked the code and the door unlocked.
Inside he could hear the overwhelming noise coming from the fans aimed at Tundratown and Sahara Square. Encroaching on a mesh stairwell he looked down and identified the cooling systems and electrical networking to run them. At the top of the stairs and across the narrow bridge was his target though. Leaping over the rail and scaling a service ladder, he cranked the handle on a service shaft and dove inside. Crawling through was a struggle, the bag he was hefting was swaying to and fro, dinging on the walls until he found what he was looking for. A single access point for the coolant system annotated with an “Explosive” symbol. Struggling with the zipper a bit, he rustled the explosive with a smile. It was three steel shafts with a simple radio on the front and numeric keypad. Psych typed in the code 11292 and the lights lit up. Carefully he removed the detonator from the bag and tossed the empty sack over the bomb.
Scurrying back, he climbed down the ladder, leapt the rail and punched the same code from the front door on the exit. A green light flashed with a few soft beeps and flung open. Psych made a break across yet another mesh steel bridge, this one particularly cold and punched in the code on the next door. Passing through, he ventured left toward a grey steel door and stepped outside into Tundratown. Shivering he surveyed the area for his ride. Sure enough as prompt as ever, Oshu was just pulling up, the snow flashing over the lights from his car. Psych leapt in through the window and pulled the seatbelt over his chest.
“So, care to do the honors?” He smiled, offering the remote to Oshu.
“Haha, with pleasure.” Oshu agreed. With a devious grin, Oshu licked his chops and hit the switch. Instantly a huge boom rocked the building followed immediately by several others. The fan blades blew out and were sent spiraling through the air in a haze of smoke and flames. Slamming on the gas Oshu couldn’t stop laughing, so proud of the mess they had made. “That was perfect!”
“I do love my work.” Psych joined him, tapping Oshu’s shoulder.
“Tundratowns little meltdown will keep the cops busy while shaking up that bite sized boss, Mr. Big.”
“With any luck, it’ll be enough to keep them distracted for when we hit city hall later.” Psych threw in.
“Perfect. Once you crack the codes we can move in on the cities banks and treasury. Then we’ll see who really runs this town.”
