“I just don’t get it!” Caden fumed, scratching his head. He and Kayla were sat at the kitchen table in Matt’s house. He and Lani were out on a date, while Caden was technically babysitting. The two cubs however required little attention, as they were fast asleep in their bedroom.
“Ok look, it’s not that hard. The law of inertia is: A force in motion will stay in motion unless an outside force acts on it.” Kayla lectured while redirecting Caden to the homework web page. “So what are some examples?”
“Friction.” Caden suggested.
“Right, but you gotta elaborate.”
“Like, a ball rolling down a ramp will slow down because of it.”
“Right.” Kayla acknowledged. “Another?”
“Um..” Caden thought for a good moment. “Oh! That table cloth one right?”
“Uh huh.”
“So like, if you pull a table cloth really fast from a bunch of plates, the plates will stay still if the force of friction isn’t strong enough.”
“Mmhmm.”
“Here check it out, I bet I can do it.” Caden cackled, seemingly ready to jump up but Kayla snatched him by his sleeve and pulled him back.
“Maybe not at your uncle Matt’s house. He’s a lion after all and could kick your tail.” She giggled.
“Yeah, I guess.”
“Come on, one more.”
“I don’t know. I can’t remember any of the other examples we talked about in class.” Caden protested.
“Well it was over a month ago. But I sent you the links to the lectures, did you watch em?”
“Um..” Caden nervously pawed at his chin.
“Caden! Come on, you gotta take this seriously. Don’t you wanna be in the same grade as me? Gonna get left behind.” Kayla chastised him.
“Want me in the same grade as you, huh?” He winked, giving a coy little smile.
“You’re cute, but no changing the subject. I’m not gonna go out with an idiot.”
“I’m not an idiot!”
“Exactly.” She insisted clasping his paw. “Why I want you to work hard on this. I know you can ace these make up tests coming up.”
“I know.” He conceded. “Thanks Kayla.”
“You know.” Kayla began by taking a brief pause. “I really did wonder. What happened to you near the end of school?”
“It’s a long story.” Caden sighed.
“Oh, you don’t wanna talk about it.”
“It’s weird.”
“Why?”
“Cause her name was Kayla too.” He confessed.
“The other girl? I know.”
“You do?” Caden perked up.
“Well. I talked with Nick and Judy Wilde in Mr. Ripplehoofs office. They said you were taken by someone named Kayla, they thought it was your girlfriend but that’s all they knew.”
“I wasn’t taken. I ran away.”
“Why?”
“Cause my mom.” Caden fumed. “She was being such a jerk, and I had to keep covering Derek’s dumb ass. We got into a huge fight one night, and she smacked me. Pissed me off bad, so I ran.”
“Oh, Caden.” She cooed.
“I didn’t want to hurt anyone. I just wanted to get away from everything. Everything started to suck after dad got killed.”
“You and your dad were close?”
“He was like my best friend.” Caden stammered, feeling the tears well up. “I just wanted to forget everything. Why I started smoking that stuff. When I did, it just felt good and like, I wasn’t worried about anything for a while.”
“That’s why you started, huh?”
“It was just another thing for my mom to bitch at me about. Kayla, the other Kayla. She was really nice to me you know? She always made sure I knew how to use it safely and, she kept telling me she cared about me, wanted me to be happy.”
“I see.”
“Then she got taken away too. By those jerks in that stupid lab that burned down. Now I just wanna see Auntie Judy and Matt bust those jerks. Why I told them everything I knew, and helped a few of the runners I met get home before they got hurt like me.”
“Caden?”
“Yeah?” He whispered.
“I think your dad would be super proud of you. You did some bad stuff, but you ended up doing the right thing in the end. Even saved some other mammals.” Kayla leaned in, clasping his paw a little tighter. “Don’t give up on yourself. You had it real rough, but I’m gonna stick by you, ok?”
“Promise?” He asked, raising his brow. Kayla leaned in and gave him a soft kiss on the lips.
“Promise.” She giggled, pressing her head against his. She quickly snapped and recomposed herself and released his paw. “Let’s take a quick break. Didn’t you say there were some cub cola’s in the fridge?”
“Oh yeah, want one?”
“Yeah, I could use something cool right now.”
The week that followed was slow, and this was very off-putting to both the ZPD and ZIA. Judy felt the frustration welling up. The ZIA reports were of no help, and rather than finding recruiters or potential leads on Shelly Yorik, the trails were cold. Judy fumed, flopping her head on her desk, fed up with paper work.
“Not one darn clue, ugh!”
“Oh god, oh god, oh god.” Judy heard a familiar voice whisper. Before she could peer over her cubical, Kate rushed and eased Judy up against the wall.
“Uh, hi Kate.”
“Shh!” She scolded, swiftly mounting Judy’s desk to check for eavesdroppers. Thankfully the area was clear, save for a few officers walking the hall well out of earshot.
“Kate, what is it?” Judy chuckled, lending an attentive ear to her friend.
“Oh god farm girl, I fucked up. I fucked up real good!” She exclaimed in a hushed tone.
“Ok calm down, talk to me, what’s going on?” Judy insisted clasping Kate’s shoulders and easing her into Judy’s chair.
“You have to swear you won’t tell anyone Rosey-rulebook. Got it?”
“Ok, I promise.” Judy folded her ears back.
“Ok. So.” Kate started to explain, nervously tenting her paws. “So, I should have gone into heat by now and um. This morning I got a little nervous cause I’m a good week overdue. So before I started today I popped off at the pharmacy and picked up a you-know-what.”
“Oh jeez, Kate.”
“It was positive.” She eeked out, flopping her ears back.
“Kate, listen to me, It’s gonna be ok, trust me.” Judy insisted clasping her paws.
“How the frick is it going to be ok!?” Kate exclaimed again in her hushed tone. “I’m pregnant with my god damn superiors pups! How is that ok!?”
“First off, hey, look at me.” Judy clasped her muzzle and pulled in line with hers. “Not a guarantee, those tests aren’t 100%. You gotta get to a doctor first, ok?”
“Ok.”
“You know how many times I came up positive on a test when I was with Nick and it turned out to be a big fat fake? Try to pull it together. I know a great doctor, we can see her next week and get a for sure yes or no for you, ok?”
“One that keeps this discrete I hope.”
“Lani Grizzoli.”
“Oh hell no! I’m not seeing Matt’s wife, I’ll get ratted out in a heartbeat!” Kate refuted tossing down Judy’s paws.
“She kept Nick and my relationship secret; I think you’ll be ok. Besides, if you and Ryan aren’t ready, there’s always the alternative, you know?” Judy reminded her.
“Oh I know. I just, I never thought I’d have to.”
“It’s ok. I got your back. I’ll send a text to Lani tonight while Matt’s on duty. We’ll get this taken care of.”
“Thanks Judy!” Kate leapt up and hugged her tight. “Oh is there any way I could repay you?”
“Actually yeah, you could cover for me on this stuff.” Judy gestured to the computer at her desk. “This paperwork is driving me crazy and honestly, I kind of want to take advantage of a slow night and be with the cubs.”
“No sweat there bunny butt, I got you.” Kate agreed. “Nothing in those ZIA reports huh?”
“No. Roger kept his mouth shut tight.”
“Yikes.” Kate perked up, reading the file. “He died?”
“Mmm, while he was in hospital he managed to get free of his straps somehow, tried to attack a nurse.”
“Agents had to put him down before he could be interrogated. Anything out of Yorik’s end? The good one, not the evil one.”
“Melissa?” Judy leaned on the door of the cubicle. “She’s got an experimental counteragent ready. She seems pretty confidant it’ll do the job.”
“But as far as Shelly’s concerned, it’s all quiet.”
“Mmm, no new runners, at least none we can find.”
“You think.” Kate spun around in the chair. “Maybe whatever they’re making is... Ready?”
“That’s what makes me nervous.” Judy stated, before both of their attention was diverted to the ringing phone at her desk. Judy reached over Kate and grabbed it.
“This is Hopps.”
“Judy, could you come to my office please?” Delgato requested.
“Yeah, I’ll be right there.” Judy agreed before hanging up.
“looks like no break for you fluff-butt.”
“Har-har.” Judy made her way out to the hall and down toward Delgato’s office. Pushing the door, she stepped inside and was surprised to see both Ryan and Matt there with Diego. “Hey, starting early Matt?”
“Yeah, got pulled in for this one.” He chuckled.
“Judy, fella’s have a seat.” Diego gestured to the chairs in the room, one clearly brought in for Judy’s height. He hit the button on a small remote and the screen in his office turned on, showcasing a large map of Tundratown. “We might finally have a lead.”
“Yes!” Judy quietly fist pumped.
“Stamper and Rhyhorn have been spotted at least a half dozen times in this area of Tundratown. We inspected the warehouses in the area, but found nothing on our preliminary investigations. That is until we ran an infrared scan on the buildings. Beneath the floor here at Ice-cap Industrial we have a very distinct and prominent heat signature. On top of that, Stamper was caught at least once by the jam cams travelling to this warehouse with what appeared to be empty shipping crates. We believe whatever their next step is, it’s on the move outside of Zootopia.”
“Damn.” Matt huffed.
“We, cannot, allow this to happen. Whatever they’re making cannot exit this city.” Diego reinforced. “I have officers checking the docks and monitoring the airport for any movement, but I want you three to lead teams into this facility, secure the hazardous goods and bring down Yorik with as much intact evidence as possible. No freight train incidents, Judy.” Diego winked.
“Oh come on, the Nighthowler case, really?” She chuckled. Ryan and Matt took a quick laugh at her expense as well before returning their attention to Diego.
“Ryan, I want you overseeing the operation. You have the most S.W.A.T experience. Judy, you’ll take charge of our featherweight team and perform a little reconnaissance, when you give us the ok, that’s when Ryan will take over. Matt, you’ll be on point with me. We’ll breach with some of our heaviest hitters to subdue Stamper and Rhyhorn. Judy, if you can get a clear shot on Shelly with a tranq, take it.”
“Got it!”
“You and Kate should be able to breach with relative ease. Ryan, your team will keep the perimeter secured, put the not-so-newbies to good use and keep it tight, no one gets out.”
“Got it.” Ryan agreed.
“Our sources indicate that Stamper or Rhyhorn will be making at least one more trip out in two days. I’ll have mission dossiers out to you before sundown. Look them over carefully.”
“Sir!”
As Judy arrived at home, placing her keys on the small table near the door, she was caught a bit off guard by a familiar voice in the living room. Nathan was there, playing with Jason, Liam and Hannah on the couch while Stu seemed preoccupied with the T.V.
“What’s going on?” Judy questioned, strolling into the living room.
“Hey Judy!” Nathan happily greeted.
“Hey Jude- OW!” Stu greeted his daughter, however bumping his head on the T.V stand in the process. “Son of a, that’s gonna smart.”
“I offered to swap with you Stu, remember? I did get the sound system working again.”
“I know, but gosh darn it I’m usually really good with the T.V but this thing is so newfangled and stupid.”
“Dad, what’s wrong?” Judy giggled, leaning over the T.V.
“Oh the darn thing keeps dropping off and saying no signal. Been mucking about with the connections back here but no luck.”
“And you’re on babysitting duty because?” Judy glanced back to Nathan.
“He called me over. I was working on it originally but since I have an easier time keeping up with the little ones, we swapped.” Nathan explained, bouncing Jason on his lap. “Gotta say, it’s an entertaining show he’s putting on.”
“Har har.”
“Where’s Ian?”
“Last day of temp work.” Stu answered quickly, dusting off his paws. “Turns out they aren’t keeping him on after all.”
“Aww, poor guy.”
“Well, you know how he was with this job.” Stu shrugged off.
“A lot of travel. First that mall in Tundratown, then the hospital and now the north end of Rainforest from here. Long commutes.” She agreed.
“So.” Nathan sat up, placing Jason down on the couch. “We training today?”
“Not today, I gotta stay good and limber for Friday.”
“What’s happening Friday?” Nathan perked up.
“Sorry. As much as I’d love to tell you, I can’t. Security reasons.”
“Jude, is it serious?” Stu seemingly interrogated.
“It is, but that’s all I can say. The dossier I had to look though was very specific about this. I can’t tell anyone without putting them in danger, so please dad, don’t press me on this.” Judy begged of her father.
“Well, alright. But you better come home in one piece.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t be in the most significant danger.” Judy shrugged.
“Well if that’s the case, I’ll head out then.” Nathan gave a good long stretch before turning toward the door.
“Nathan! Nathan! Come on, stay and play with us!” Jason pleaded.
“Sorry kidos, but ol Uncle Nathan’s gotta get back to work. It’s Wednesday, so you know what that means.”
“Free-run night, huh?” Judy smiled.
“Mmhmm.”
“Sorry one of your former clients um... passed away.” Judy casually explained.
“Oh, Roger?” Nathan raised up his brow.
“Yeah.” Judy nervously swept her foot on the carpet.
“Screw him. After you told me he might be running for those cub killing monsters I banned him for life. I honestly couldn’t care how short it was at that point.” Nathan snickered.
“Wow, stone cold Nate huh? When did this rabbit show up?” Judy playfully punched his arm.
“What can I say, I’m working like a real boss now.” He chuckled rubbing his arm. “Also, please stop doing that. Between all the taps I took from you as a cub, I’m surprised this things still attached.” Nathan joked, shrugging his shoulder.
“Oh please, I could line you up with a haymaker and you’d shrug it off.”
“When I was a teenager, maybe.” He carried on laughing as the two approached the door. “Seriously though, don’t hesitate to call me if you need anything. I know with you-know-who gone it’s rough around here and I’m always happy to help.”
“I know you are.” Judy smiled opening the door for him. However rapidly approaching the front door was an absolutely livid Tania, stomping as she made her way to the steps.
“I knew I’d find you here with her!” She angrily touted.
“Tania, what’s going on?” Nathan pleaded.
“Don’t act stupid! I knew you were cheating on me with that, that, fox fucker!” She shouted.
“Hey!” Judy fired right back. “My cubs are inside, you watch your mouth!”
“Tania this is insane! Judy’s just a friend, she only just got home! Stu called me over earlier, not her! Here.” He took out his phone and showed the contacts. “See? I even texted you about it before I left!”
“I don’t care! I’m not buying it!” Tania refuted, turning away from him. Nathan however was undeterred, rushing around to meet her face to face he grasped her hands.
“Why are you doing this? We’ve been together for a while now.”
“Humph, well apparently not long enough compared to your side chick here.”
“I am not anyone’s “Side chick” Tania! My husband might be gone, but I am not in the market for a replacement!” Judy firmly scolded.
“This is the third time you’ve flipped out at me over Judy. I don’t make a big fuss when you hang out with your guy friends, why are you doing this to me?” Nathan asked, reaffirming his grip on her paws.
“Hmm, well. Maybe I’ll forgive you, if you get me something nice.” She quietly touted.
“Again? What is it this time?”
“I don’t know, maybe if you got me that bun-gotti bag we saw the other day. I could look past your little, transgression here.” She answered with a toss up of her brow.
“That thing? It’s like 7000 bucks! I told you that’s too much.”
“Well maybe I should find a guy then who knows how to treat a lady.”
“Wait.” Judy interjected, stepping between the two and separating them. “What was it she made you get last time?”
“Huh? Oh, what was it, that 4000 buck diamond necklace. I still never really seen you wear it.” Nathan commented.
“Psh.” Tania scoffed.
“And before that?” Judy asked once more.
“Her car. 8000 bucks, and I have to pay her insurance. She totaled her last car.”
“The street said one way! I was going one way!” Tania protested.
“Ugh.” Nathan sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
“Huh.” Judy folded her paws. “Tania, these guys that you hang out with. Old friends of yours too?”
“Yeah, good friends.” She answered.
“Good. Then you won’t mind showing me or Nathan the texts between you and your good friends.” Judy proposed. Tania seemed caught a bit off guard by the question and immediately went on the defensive.
“I don’t have to prove anything, I’m the one who found you two here. And what I keep on my phone is my business!” She fumed, showcasing the phone with its rather expensive looking gemmed case. Judy swiftly snatched it and turned it on. “Hey!”
“You said it yourself, you don’t have to prove anything.” Judy insisted, tapping 1111 on the passcode screen. Sure enough it opened up to the home screen. “Jeez, Ian was right, mammals can be really stupid with their passwords.
“Give that back! You can’t illegally search my phone!”
“It’s not being seized as some part of a criminal investigation, no one’s going to charge you with anything, however I promise to give you back your phone in about 10 seconds.” Judy explained. Folding her ears back however, she sighed and handed it off to Nathan. “Though I guess I only needed 5.”
“What.” Nathan gasped, reading over the texts. “Hey babe, yesterday was fantastic. Can you swing by again today when your boyfriend leaves for work?” Tania! You’re cheating on me!?”
“I’m not, well. You’re doing it too!” She stammered through.
“After everything I’ve done for you!?” He angrily stomped. “What was I? Some sugar daddy for you?”
“I believe the correct term for her is: gold digger.” Judy tossed in.
“Hey, I can’t help it if bunnies wanna splurge on me.”
“You lying sack of-“ Nathan growled.
“Whatever. I’m out of here.”
“Damn right you are!” Cutting her off before she got to the car, he snatched the keys out of her pocket and shoved her away.
“Hey!”
“Cars under my name! Same with the insurance! You can walk your lying ass home. We’re through!” He angrily pointed up the street.
“Ugh, seriously?”
“Beat it, skank!” He barked once again. Nathan and Judy watched as Tania walked the length of the street to the end of the road, flipping the two off as she disappeared down the next street. Judy placed a paw on Nathan’s shoulder, but he shrugged it off.
“I’m sorry, Nate.”
“Don’t be.”
“You deserve so much better.” She pleaded to him.
“Just.” Nathan sighed, heading over to his car and sitting down inside. “Judy. Thanks. But I need a little time alone.”
“I understand. There’s a bucket of ice cream and some cheesy movies here if you want to come by again.”
“Heh.” He gave a quick laugh, wiping his nose. “It’s a nice offer. I’ll get the bitches car towed away tonight.”
“Take care of yourself Nathan.” Judy farewelled, patting the top of his car as he backed out of the driveway. While she wanted to comfort him, she took solace in the notion he would be better off without that toxic rabbit.
