Chapter Text
*DEET DEET DEET DEET DEET*
*CLICK*
Judy wakes up with a stretch, feeling groggy, tired, and worse of all with a headache. She would usually be up before her alarm due to her internal clock but today was different. It was different because she was hungover. The day before she and Nick had gone to get some drinks and Judy usually doesn't drink. Though yesterday was a hard day for her, it wasn’t just hard for her but for everyone on the force including Nick. Days like yesterday are becoming more and more common filled with dead ends, frustrations, and more bad news thanks to the new but familiar case she and Nick were assigned to.
“Ugh my head, I should have some type of pills in the kitchen”. Judy thought to herself as she pushed up off her bed and began to limp her way to her kitchen. “Well, these are not for headaches,” Judy thought while tossing the pack of heartburn medicine to the counter. She just decided to get ready for another day at work hoping that her headache would disappear. She quickly got ready for work making herself presentable despite the effects of a hangover still hanging over her.
“Why isn't he answering my calls” Judy mumbled to herself as she was locking her apartment door with one hand and holding her phone in the other while attempting to reach her partner.
“He better not be still asleep”. Judy thought, letting anger seep into her as she started to walk through the hallway making her way out of her apartment complex.
She began to make her way towards Nick's apartment after leaving her apartment complex wishing she could go back to bed. While on her way there she was thinking of ways she could torment Nick for getting her to drink so much last night and how to get payback for him sleeping in.
ZZZZZzzzzZZZzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZZzzz
*boom*boom*boom*
ZZZZZZZZZZzzzzz
*BOOM*BOOM*BOOM
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZz
“CHEESE and crackers he not answering the door,ugh,” Judy said after banging on Nick’s door in an attempt to wake him up. “So this is how he treats me after walking 15 minutes to get here knowing that I suffered from those drinks. I swear I'm gonna make him buy me lunch all this week and maybe next week”
“Hey bunny rabbit,” a deep and familiar voice said to causing Judy to jump and tense up breaking her train of thought
“Ahh hey, fin… I don’t suppose you have a key to this door, do ya?” Judy replied after getting spoked by Fin's deep voice trying to sound hopeful that he had a key.
“I don't know, what's in it for me if I do have a key”
“Ugh, I don’t have time for this fin, please,” Judy said back to Fin holding her paws in a fist next to her head trying to put on a pretty please face. But after seeing Fin's deadpan expression she knew she had to offer something.
“Umm..oh.. how does 5 bucks sound”? Judy said remembering she had some leftover money from last night and still trying to make a pretty please face at Fin.
“Make it a’hundo and we’ll have a deal,” Fin said back to Judy with his shades covering his eyes giving him a better poker face, and didn't bother to look at Judy
“Come on Fin, I only have 5 bucks…. Mmmmm…. okay what if I decide to look the other way depending on what law you break and.. and you get to hit an officer specifically Nickolas Wilde with no charges? Judy said puffing her chest out and holding her arms out on her waist walking while smiling at Fin hoping this was the deal sealer.
“Step aside rabbit,” Fin said to Judy after standing still almost as if he had fallen asleep but he was just thinking about Judy's offer.
“Great, okay thank you, Fin, and it’s Judy or Hopps or”
“I get it.. so move……."
"Hopps” Fin replied to Judy while she was mid-sentence being a tangent about being called a rabbit by someone who knew her name and even if he had forgotten her name he could have just taken a look at her badge on her chest. However, Fin decided to end his fun with her after it looked like she wasn’t going to move with just a simple command. Fin decided to be the adult and said her name hoping it would be enough to satisfy her and thankfully that it was enough for her to move.
Judy moved to the side to let Fin open the door and while he was opening the door she decided to check her phone for the first time today and look at any messages she might have gotten since last night. She hasn’t checked her phone after waking up and only used her phone for a call but didn’t have the time to go through it. She saw she had a few messages from her parents and a few missed calls from them too and she sent a quick reply to her parents assuring them that she was okay so they don't panic and rush to Zooptopia in search of her. Then she heard a CLICK and Clack. She turned to see Nick's apartment door open and she couldn’t help but notice Fin pulling some pins out of the door’s lock. Fin then walked into the apartment ignoring the stare Judy was trying to give him.
*Bwak* *fa-thud* “AHH- wa..wait -huh FIN?” *smack* These were the sounds of the Zootopian Police Officer Nicholas Piberius Wilde getting punched and smacked awake by someone less than half his size
*UMPH* Thud* “hey carrots.” Nick said to Judy after being shoved through his bedroom doors and onto the entrance hallway. Lying on his back with his head turned towards the open door, shirtless and thankful that his bottom half wasn't visible to anyone but Fin. Judy just stood there looking at Nick on the floor begining to feel bad that she let Fin do this to him. However, she remembered that he got a few more minutes of sleep than she did making whatever sympathy she had fade.
“Hehehehe” Fin chuckled walking out of Nick’s bedroom, “looks like someone was excited to see me, or did you bring your tranquilizer gun to bed with you last night.” Fin said to Nick while looking down at him. Hearing those words made Judy blush causing her to turn away from Nick and begin moving away from the front entrance.
“I got something to tell ya when a pair of ears ain’t here, wanted to tell you this morning but you ain’t the only one who overslept or got fucked up”. Fin said to Nick crouching down next to Nick trying to whisper those words to him without having some sensitive ears listening. Fin then got up and walked towards the entrance of Nick's apartment. After seeing Judy next to the front door, he held his left paw out to Judy.
“Huh? oh you still wanted the 5 bucks,” Judy said crossing her left hand to hold her right arm up
“No duh.” Fin said after Judy stated the obvious to him
“Here you are 5 buckaroos, Don't spend it all in one place,” Judy said handing it to Fin after fishing it out from the back of her phone case. After he received the money he held it up to the light bulb in the hallway to make sure it was real and left without a word down the hall and to the exit.
“I’ve, I've been betrayed, How dare you. I can't go on like this any longer” Nick said while putting his forearm over his eyes making it seem as if he was crying while still on the floor.
“Har har and I was the one betrayed! You gave me those tasty drinks and gave me no warning of their addictiveness. Then you made me come and get you from your apartment when you should have been up and meeting me somewhere like a pawbucks” Judy said to Nick while standing in his doorway with one hand on her waist and another hand pointing a finger at him while tapping her right foot rapidly.
“Anyway get up and get ready we have an early meeting today. I’ll be waiting out here for you” Judy said to Nick after crossing her arms across her chest and started to turn away from Nick.
“You can wait in the living room, you don't have to wait outside,” Nick said to Judy after getting onto his feet with a grunt.
“No it’s fine I rather wait out here and hurry up” Judy responded to Nick who thought that if he was a rabbit he wouldn’t want to go into a fox’s den especially when it smelt like one. A fox who was supposed to be her natural enemy. He was hurt just a tiny bit because he thought they were past that if that had been what went through her head. At least she didn’t run away Nick thought to himself after seeing the door close. Judy didn’t enter because she had eyes that often wondered didn’t want to accidentally ogle him shirtless or her eyes might slip up and look past his stomach by accident or she see or touches something she wasn't supposed to.
“Yes ma’am,” Nick said responding to Judy’s call for haste while saluting and running off into his room.
“Mm-hmm” Judy responded with Nick's apartment door already shut. She decided to lean on the wall next to Nick’s door and she slowly started to fall asleep in that position.
/ 15 minutes pass\
*click*
Judy’s ears pick up the clicking of a door handle and she jolts awake to find Nick's door opening with an orange fox in blue standing in the doorway.
“About time,” Judy said pushing herself off the wall to Nick who stepped out and closed his door starting to lock it.|
“Here you go carrots,” Nick said to Judy passing her a little bottle with yellow liquid inside it.
“What’s this” Judy said taking it from Nick as they stood in front of Nick's apartment
“It's some sort of an energy drink but it helps with hangovers and don’t just open it and take it in sips it's something that you have to just down in one gulp. Nick said to Judy as they started to walk towards the entrance of his apartment complex
“Ughhhhhh blegh this.. this is just unbelievably horrible, is it even safe for mammal consumption,” Judy said after taking a sip of the little yellow bottle, ignoring Nick's previous advice.
“Okay I know it's disgusting and yes it's safe it was mammal-approved like “last week” and have you ever heard of good medicine tasting bitter,” Nick said joking about the stranges liquid approval from the MDA after downing two of the bottled yellow liquids himself.
“I rather have actual bitter-tasting medicine than whatever this is,” Judy said pinching her nose and downing the bottle. “ UMMMMP I'm gonna hurl,” Judy said while placing a fist over her mouth.
“You're fine, you're fine,” Nick said patting her back
Nick and Judy soon exited the apartment complex with Nick putting his sunglasses on as soon as he felt the sun burn his retinas. Judy wished she had glasses since the sun was making her headache worse. They started to walk towards HQ but not before Judy disposed of the vile empty bottles of mysterious liquid in a passing trash can.
“Did you have a good time yesterday and is the stress at least a bit levitated officer?” Nick said to Judy as they stopped at a crosswalk on their way towards HQ with hundreds of other mammals all around them.
“It was something but I guess it wasn’t bad but I definitely don’t want to feel like this again,” Judy said squinting her eyes since the sun started to blind her and making her feel like it was hammering her head. “Though I blame you for the after-effects, you shouldn’t have kept making me drink.”
“Well, I didn’t force you to drink or keep drinking at that. I just pointed out some good and fruity cocktails for you since you didn’t like the taste of beer and you didn’t want to be the only one left out.” Nick said to Judy while they began to walk again after the crosswalk gave the go-ahead to cross.
“Well, I just wanted 1 or 2 drinks and not 10. Plus beer tasted nasty like straight-up watered-down wheat.” Judy said starting to feel embarrassed like she was a kid who didn’t like orange juice because it was bitter and sour.
“First off it was 7 drinks, second beer is made from hops, barley, and all that, and third did you at least feel a bit of relief or get some type of sleep because of the alcohol?” Nick said to Judy as they were still walking towards HQ now within their sight.
“Yeah I did get some more sleep last night than what I’ve been getting and I do feel a bit better. But it doesn't matter since that stress is just gonna come back today, feels like a waste of yesterday night.” Judy said mentally rolling her eyes at the stress she was going to receive today.
Judy and Nick continue their walk towards ZPD headquarters being able to see it across another crosswalk. Just a brief 10 minutes from Nick's apartment. Which was ironically a bit closer to HQ than Judy’s but his apartment was opposite of hers.
“They started to make this place their home, making it feel more family-friendly,” Nick said pointing out some ominous black tents and antenna towers and trucks lining the parking lots and whatever extra space around HQ.
“Let's get ready for another busy day,” Judy said taking the first step across the last crosswalk towards HQ.
Judy and Nick entered the Zootpia Police Department Headquarters for precinct 1. As they entered they couldn’t help but notice a wave of black and blue. There were far too many officers in the lobby, more than they had ever seen before. The black waves of mammals that the duo was spotting had been coming from people dressed up in suits and some in tactical gear with the words ZBI written on the body armor of their gear. Nick was walking in front of Judy since he was a bit more noticeable than Judy trying to make a path through a sea of black and blue to the reception desk so that they could greet their favorite feline.
“Hey, spots,” Nick said reaching the reception desk with Judy close behind who also greeted Clawhauser. “ Hey, Clawhauser,”.
“Hey, hey it's our favorite and lovable duo,” Clawhauser said putting down a Cinnabon that he was eating with frosting all over his whiskers and mouth.
“ I heard you had it hard last night since Chief Bogo went down on everyone right? For not being able to find or come up with anything for the case,” Clawhauser said wiping the frosting from his face with a finger gathering as much frosting as he could before popping it into his mouth.
“Yea but it's a new day and new slate,” Judy said trying to smile while puffing out her chest.
“Gotta love that optimistic attitude of yours Judy, really brightens my day. Speaking of brightening, this photo of you is just so”
“HEY, WATCH IT DAMMIT” someone yelled loud enough for everyone in the lobby to hear and cut off Clawhauser's dialogue.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t see your”
“DAM RIGHT YOU BETTER BE SORRY” A sharply dressed lion yelled to Francine a fellow ZPD officer and elephant. Cutting her off from her apology.
“Maybe you shouldn't be so loud ever”
“YOU DONT GET TO TELL ME WHAT TO DO, you almost stepped on my tail, I should have your badge for attacking a federal agent. The lion stated yelling once again cutting Francine off once again.
“Yes sir and I did”
“WHATEVER I DON’T HAVE TIME FOR THIS,” the sharply dressed lion said patting down his suit after noticing that every mammal was staring at them “DAM ZPD, they shouldn’t even be involved in something like this” The lion finished saying while walking off to join two other sharply dress mammals.
“EVERYONE KNOWS WHERE THEY’RE SUPPOSED TO BE AND WHAT THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO BE DOING, ALL OFFICERS WHO ARE NEEDED IN THE BULLPEN GET THERE NOW” A booming voice took over the entire lobby after the interaction between Francine and what seemed like a ZBI agent. And that voice was none other than Chief Bogo who was overlooking the lobby from the mezzanine balcony in front of his office. He was wearing some glasses and holding some papers in his left hoove puffing his chest out looking as every bit menacing as any other day but with an exhausted expression beginning to leak through his macho mask.
“That means us spots, catch ya later,” Nick said looking back to Clawhauser after watching the altercation between Francine and the agent and then to Bogo.
“Bye Clawhauser” Judy also responded after watching the same scenes unfold like Nick and beginning to head towards the bullpen with Nick leading the way once again.
“That guy was an a-hole,” Judy said to Nick obviously talking about the ZBI agent while trailing Nick.
“Yea I know, Chief buffalo butt is what I like to call him because of that,” Nick said full well knowing that she had meant the ZBI agent but wanted to lighten the mood a bit.
“No that's not who I meant and you know that and show some respect, Nick. You shouldn’t be calling him that 'cause if he hears that from you then he’ll have your tail.” Judy said being now being able to walk side by side with Nick after many officers and agents were starting to clear the lobby after Bogo's war cry.
“Yea, yea it's a good thing that Bogo doesn't have those radar ears of yours,” Nick said staring at Judy’s ears while feeling the urge to touch them.
“And I know, you were talking about that ZBI asshole. They all seem like they’re above us and seem to forget that we all are working towards the same goal” Nick said to Judy to dispel any suspicion that Judy might have had about Nick not knowing who she was referring to.
“Hey Francine don’t take it to heart, that guy was an asshole. Probably woke up on the wrong side of the bed” Nick said to Francine who was trailing along with other officers towards the bullpen. She just gave Nick a nod and smiled to let him know that she got the message.
Nick and Judy enter the bullpen with people trickling in right behind them and some already sitting in their assigned unassigned seats. Nick and Judy make their way to the front of the room where two seats that were made for Judy and Nick had been. They sit in their seats next to Officer McHorn and Nick decides to make some conversation with others around him while including Judy as much as possible. After a few minutes pass Judy's ears flutter and she starts to motion to Officer Higgens who usually announces Bogos's entrance and helps out with passing any necessary information around the room and with assignments. She gave a thumbs up which made Higgins silence the room for Bogo’s entrance, there would usually be chanting and howling while Bogo enters the bullpen but today there was just silence. It was so quiet that Judy could have sworn she heard the heartbeats of her comrades.
“Atten-Hut” Higgins announced as he saw the door open which made everyone stand up.
“Everyone at ease,” Bogo said while walking towards the podium with a few lackeys around him helping him carry some documents and some files and whatnot to present to the room.
“ Pass these around,” Bogo said to two other officers while pointing at a box that one of them was carrying.
“Yes sir” the leopard officer who was holding the box Bogo had pointed to responded
“I was going to get you these sooner but some things changed overnight. Higgins hit the lights” Bogo said in a commanding voice
The lights turned off and a projector started up showing some information ahead
“Unfortunately some more mammals have been considered missing since last night and not just any mammals but some of our fellow officers. Officers Timber Sims and Officer Samsung Sol from precinct 6 and James Wilson and Alexa Alexandra from precinct 9,” Bogo announced to the room. it seemed like they all saw a ghost with the air frozen around them hearing that four officers were missing. Missing like how someone would misplace their keys or wallet.
“Those booklets contain some more information about this matter and any new information that can be provided is also in there. I know you are all doing your best out there but I need more than your best, I need something beyond your best. We have 22 missing mammals including these officers that have been reported in less than 2 months and we have no clues, no lead, no nothing from anyone or anything.” Bogo started rubbing his temples looking as if he was on the verge of collapsing.
“We as you all know asked for the ZBI to help in this investigation and I expect you all to cooperate, remember we asked them for help, not the other way around. The only thing we have is that some of these mammals are connected yet distant from one another. Some of these mammals are ex-military who served in the same squads but some are well-known hit mammals, mercenaries, or some type of aggressive criminals.” Bogo said repeating this almost daily, the only things that were different had been the report of officers missing.
“The only thing we know for a fact is that these people were seen to be alone or leaving crowded areas as told by witnesses and camera footage. Another fact we can point out is they all have some type of combat experience but other than that there has been no type of other connections or any leads. Due to the fact, that some officers were reported missing, we are going to change how we operate” Bogo had said to the bullpen after showing some PowerPoint slides, photos, and 4-second camera footage. Bogo continued the spew of changes he was enacting and some other information that he has mentioned in every bullpen meeting.
This went on for another 50-ish minutes before he started to announce patrols and areas that needed to be investigated. Little by little the room full of officers, so full that some officers had to stand up, had begun to dwindle and dwindle until just Judy and Nick were left in the room.
“Officers Hopps and Wilde, you are all on desk duty until further notice. You are to file, fax, and compile information over the last fiscal year and review the reports of the officers on patrol. You also are to correct any errors in our filings or anything as such. You are dismissed” Bogo said in a booming voice and started to collect his things to go back to his office.
“Wut wait sir what do you mean we're on desk duty,” Judy said who was still sitting in her chair with the same expression she had when Bogo had told her and Nick that they had parking duty before saying “kidding”.
“Yeah well I don't mind as long as I can be lazy and get paid for it but we work just as hard if not harder than everyone else. We deserve to be working on this case just like everyone else” Nick added who had the same expression as Judy
*sigh* “You never just follow orders without having to add a bit of dialogue to everything, I and the director decided it would be the best course of action to sit you out on this one. The officers who were kidnapped were the aces of their precincts. You both are my aces and since we don't know if these mammals are being abducted or if they are just missing, we don't want to take our chances and have some of the best officers in precinct 1 go MIA.
“But chief we’ve been doing just fine on patrol and I feel that”
“ENOUGH,” Chief Bogo said raising his voice while shooting out as much testosterone as he could
“This is my decision and it is not up for discussion,” Bogo said after claiming his voice. He then left the bullpen to avoid any further prodding from Judy or Nick leaving them in the bullpen in silence.
“I had felt this was going to happen after he announced those cops missing,” Nick said breaking the silence in the bullpen and climbing down his chair.
“Let's just do our best Nick” Judy said looking a bit defeated, hopping down her chair before Nick finished climbing down. Their chairs were made for them but they had to accommodate the other officers at table length so the chairs were a little high up.
“Ug, yay filing, shorting, and correcting for hours and hours. Who wouldn’t want to do that for 29 dollars and 50 cents an hour” Nick said while finishing his climb down to floor level.
Judy and Nick made their way to their shared cubicles staying silent the whole way there. As their cubicle was starting to come into view, they saw a cart full of stacked boxes that were taller than Nick and Judy combined.
“hee, well”
“Not one word Nick, not one word”