Disclaimer: Zootopia stories, characters, settings, and properties belong to the Walt Disney Co. This story is written under Fair Use Copyright laws.
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The Fire Triangle-A Zootopia Fanfiction
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Part One:
Fuel
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Chapter 6-Nick's Story
(Conclusion)
"She found out didn't she, Nick? Robyn found out that you went back to hustling."
Judy wanted to bite off her tongue almost as soon as the words slipped past it. It had always bothered her whenever someone stated the obvious-and now she had just related something only a little less plain than the fact that water is wet. But if Nick Wilde found her query grating, he gave no sign, only nodded, slowly and sadly.
"How could she not have found out, Carrots? It couldn't have been more evident if I'd left a trail of breadcrumbs."
UN-surprised as she was by that reply, Judy could feel a lump the size of a croquet ball rising up in her throat. When she tried to swallow it down again, it refused to budge. She tried a second time and felt it descending her gullet with the blinding speed of an antique elevator on tranquilizers.
She wondered if Nick had any idea; what he'd just described to her had been classic, almost textbook addictive behavior.
It was all there, the lies, the self-delusions; the constant promises of 'just a little more and I'll stop.' She had never realized it before, but her partner was hooked on hustling-'was hooked', not 'had been hooked'-and that brought to mind another, even more frightening prospect. If there was one thing Judy understood as a police officer, it was that addictive behavior doesn't just go away. Was Nick Wilde about to admit to something truly terrible, the real issue that could get him expelled from the ZPD?
She forced herself to meet his gaze.
"Nick, I'm dreading having to ask you this, but after everything you just told me, I need to know. Have you finally walked away from hustling or are you still into that game?"
His answer came almost instantaneously. "Yes Carrots, I'm still into it."
It should have hit Judy like a punch to the solar plexus; instead it made her ears stand up and her nose begin to twitch. Nick had made that admission with...what the...with a wink and a smile?
"Yes Judy, I'm still hustling," he went on, still wearing that impish expression, "only now I hustle for the ZPD."
"Wait, what?" Judy's nose was twitching faster than ever, "What the heck are you talking about, fox?"
He leaned forward, still smiling, but now his expression was slightly peevish. "Oh, come on Carrots, what do you think I'm talking about? Scamming the Rafaj Brothers into selling us a blood diamond, conning the Guilfords into coming in over that fireworks display-and all the other times I fast-talked a suspect into giving up the goods, that's what I mean when I say that."
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The Fire Triangle, A Zootopia Fanfiction -- Part One
Mystery / ThrillerIt's been two years since Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps broke the Savage Predator conspiracy. Now a brilliant and effective team, they're only a few steps away from making the detective bureau and growing closer with every passing day. But even as thei...
