Return

502 7 0
                                    

In a heavyset police car, a rabbit and fox are driving down the endless, maze-like streets, searching for a street racer who has been tearing up Sahara Square.
    The fox turns towards the rabbit, and asks, "Are all bunnies bad drivers, or is it just you?"
    The rabbit gets a mischievous smile on her face and slams on the brakes in front of a red light. The fox is pitched forward out of sight and comes up with the pawpsicle, which he had been licking throughout the ride, stuck to his fur and covering his right eye.
    "Oops. Sorry" she says, that same smile on her face.
    The fox pulls the pawpsicle off of his fur, and smiles. "Sly bunny"
    "Dumb fox"
    "You know you love me" The fox says to her.
    "Do I know that?" At this, the fox frowns. "Yes. Yes, I do" The rabbit shows a genuine smile, which the fox returns.
    The light turns green, and the rabbit begins to drive forward. Suddenly, a red car speeds past, missing them by mere inches.
    The pair look at each other and smile confidently. The fox whips on a pair of sunglasses and cranks up the radio as the rabbit gives chase.
    Once the red car has come to a complete stop, the rabbit and fox move to confront the driver.
    "Sir, you were going 115 miles per hour. I hope you have a good explanation" The rabbit says as the driver's side window begins to roll down. Inside is a brown sloth that the fox knows all too well.
    "Flash, Flash, Hundred Yard Dash," The fox says with a smile as he pulls off his sunglasses.
    The sloth replies, slowly. "Nick"
    Static comes from the rabbit's waist as a voice emanates from the radio on her belt.
    "Hopps and Wilde, drop what you're doing and get to the Natural History Museum immediately"
    "What is it, Chief?" The rabbit asks as the fox's expression becomes rock hard.
    "Don't ask questions. Just get over here" the voice answers.
    "Yes sir," The rabbit says. Turning back to the sloth, she points her carrot pen at his face. "We're letting you off easy this time, Flash. If this continues, we won't be so lenient" At that the rabbit turns on her heel and walks back to the jeep.
    "Hey, Judy. You okay?" Nick asks as he jogs to catch up, a worried look on his face.
    "What? Oh, yeah. I'm fine" Judy answers with a forced smile, though her ears droop.
    "You are most definitely not okay. Your ears are drooping. What's wrong?" Nick asks, his concern very obvious.
    Judy takes a deep breath and begins.
    "I've just been having a bad feeling about today. I keep worrying about you, me, my parents,  just-"
    Nick puts a paw on hers, and says sincerely,  "Listen Carrots. Everything is going to be fine. Your parents are safe in Bunnyburrow, and I'm not going anywhere. Alright?"
    Judy lets out a sigh. "Alright"
    They arrive at the Museum and are met by a white wolf who was currently stopping reporters from entering the building. "Wolfard, what's going on?" Judy asks as they exit their vehicle.
    "It's not my place to say. Just find the chief. He'll tell you" The wolf answers.
    They quickly enter the building and are met by an elephant and a bull. "Took you long enough," the bull says. "Come on"
    He leads them to a room in which there are four bodies littered across the ground. Judy starts to run towards the nearest one, but the buffalo stops her. "It's alright. They're just unconscious"
    They stop in front of a large black bag, which the buffalo opens. Inside, the body of a lion lays with its neck twisted at an odd angle.
    "What happened to him, sir?" Judy asks as she examines the corpse.
    "It'd be easier to show you. This way" He waves them over to a nearby doorway.
    Inside are cameras everywhere, each showing a different part of the museum. The chief presses a button on the console, and the center screen comes to life.
    At first, the museum goes about its business normally. Then, the lion and his four bodyguards enter the room. Soon, a snow leopard in a black suit appears and begins to close the distance between them. He walks up behind the guards and tosses a small, round object into the group. A bright flash and a loud bang are heard, along with mammals screaming and the sound of glass breaking. Eventually, the cameras focus up again, but the only ones in the room are the four unconscious bodyguards and the dead lion. The leopard is nowhere to be seen.
    "Where'd he go?" Judy asks, not noticing Nick typing away at the keyboard.
    "We don't know. All sight was lost after the-" The chief starts.
    "Found him" Nick steps away from his screen, showing the leopard walking at a brisk pace up the stairs to the roof. When he turns, it's a small glance, only a glimpse of his head, but everyone viewing can see a barcode tattoo on the back of his skull.
The chief is mortified, but manages to hide it from the officers, save one. Nick, being a former hustler, reads the Chief's expression with little effort at all.
Bogo shakes his head slightly and turns to the elephant. "Find any witnesses who are willing to talk and get the body to the morgue. I'm going to go call the victim's family" He quickly walks from the room to make the call.
Judy looks at Nick and shrugs,  and the pair walk out to continue their patrol.

---The Next Day---

Judy and Nick walk into the station and take their places to be debriefed. They sit down and begin chatting about Nick visiting an old family member.
"Come on, Carrots. Do you really think that she'll want to see me after running away for literally twenty years?"
"Yes, Nick. She WILL want to. I can guarantee it. I'll go with you, alright? I've always wanted to meet your mom. Hold it, the Chief's here" They both fall silent, although the others are still being just as noisy as before.
When the chief gets to his spot, instead of yelling at the officers, he just stands there, pale and sweaty. The officers take notice of this, and one by one become silent.
The Chief takes a deep breath and begins to speak.
"Due to the recent events at the Natural History Museum, I have enlisted the help of the ZIA. Operator Jack Savage will brief you on your assignments. That is all" Bogo steps back, and a rabbit with grey fur and blackish stripes on his face takes his place at the podium.
"I personally believe that we should get to the point before unloading anything else. This. . ." He pulls out a stack of pictures and motions for them to be handed out, "is an Agent. They are stronger, faster, and smarter than possibly any mammal on the globe. They are, by barest definition, killing machines. They feel no fear, no pain, no remorse, no regret. Yesterday, we have reason to believe that one of these killers attacked and assassinated Professor James Longclaw. Until we find this killer, all police investigations are to be postponed. That is all I have to say"
"Can I say something?" A voice echoes from the back of the room, and many of the officers jolt around. The voice belongs to a leopard in blue jeans and a grey jacket, with a white shirt underneath and black leather gloves on both paws. He looks almost exactly like the leopard from yesterday's incident, but is much more . . .  relaxed. He walks casually to the front and turns to Agent Savage.
"I respect you, Jack, you know I do, but I don't approve of you keeping vital information from these officers," the leopard turns to the officers with a very stern look on his face.
"I say this with the most seriousness. If you find this Agent, DO NOT engage him under any circumstances. Memorize what area of the city he was in, and get out. Keep your guard up until you can report to me directly. I don't care where I am or what I'm doing, you report to me, and me alone"
"And why should we? You're not one of our superiors, and it's obvious you're one of these" says Officer Fangmeyer, as she holds up the photo on her desk.
"Three reasons: One, without my help, countless innocents are guaranteed to die. Two, I'm the best chance any of you have at stopping him. And three, there's nothing that you can do about it"
"Now," he plants a paw on the table Nick and Judy are sitting at, "I expect each and every one of you to be here at 0800 sharp for evaluation. When we find him, I'm going to need a team of officers to help me take him down. So rest up, because you're going to need it" the leopard turns around and walks outside, while the officers head out to go home.
Judy and Nick, though surprised at what had just taken place, decide to shrug it off and head to Nick's mother's home. They get in Nick's new car, which Judy had bought for him as a present for becoming an officer. He drives past a large assortment of run-down apartment buildings, following the directions he had gotten from his mother in a text. They eventually stop at a very large and shiny apartment, and they get out.
"Is this where you grew up? I thought money was tight when you were a kid" Judy says, admiring the large building. "It's really nice"
Nick looks at her. "No, I grew up in one of those places back there. I can't remember which one. I don't know how Mom got the money for this, though" The fox says, sweating slightly. Judy notices this and places a paw on his arm. Feeling her soft fur, he quickly calms down. They walk inside and stop at the front desk. "Um, we're here to see Amelia Wilde. Can you give us her room number?" Nick asks.
The deer behind the counter looks down her glasses at him. "And what business do you have with Mrs. Wilde?"
"It's alright. They're with me" a deep voice says from behind them. The two mammals spin around and see the leopard from the debriefing,  grey jacket and everything.
The deer recognizes him almost immediately. "Ah, Mr. 47! I've been waiting for you to arrive" the deer turns to Judy and Nick. "If you just follow him, he'll take you to Mrs. Wilde" 
The leopard waves a paw, signaling for them to follow. "Come on, it's not far" he walks down what seems like an endless hallway, and Judy and Nick follow. They don't have time to talk, however, as 47 stops at one of the doors with the number 022 on it. He reaches into a back pocket and pulls out a small card. He slides it into a slot on the door, and it unlocks.
The leopard walks inside, and Judy and Nick follow. They step inside, and are greeted by a single, quivering word.

        "N-N-Nicky?"

47 in ZootopiaWhere stories live. Discover now