-High and Dry- by Toga

He had known it was going to be an awful day when he had woken up. By then the sky had already been overcast, and the humidity had rolled in well ahead of the actual rain, giving his morning routine an uncomfortable stickiness. Whether some genius had screwed with the humidifier settings in the Rainforest District again or it was simply Mother Nature doing her thing, it had just been a bad start.

So things only became even drearier once the rain began to fall in dense sheets, giving the normally vibrant city a depressingly faded look. The cruiser's window tint made it worse. Wearing his aviators in the car probably didn't help, either.

The radio crackled to life, easily drowning out the heavy rain battering the vehicle. "Closest available unit, 507 on 200 North Flock Street, Gnuli's Deli."

Nick slapped Judy's paw away from the GPS and took a peek out the window, searching for a street sign through the waterstreaks. He found one. "That's us, Carrots. Take the next left."

Judy snatched the radio from its holster and thumbed the transmitter. "Ten-Four dispatch. Car nineteen, Officers Hopps and Wilde responding. Code two."

"Ten-Four, car nineteen."

She killed the connection and replaced the radio on the dash.

"You sound so funny when you talk like that," Nick said.

Judy cocked an eyebrow towards him but didn't take her eyes from the road. She spun the wheel left and began scanning the street for the deli. "Funny how?"

"Not actually funny, I just use funny as a substitute for the other word that I am forbidden to use." He pointed up ahead to a red and white awning, the words 'Gnuli's Deli' emblazoned on it in golden yellow.

"Then you're forbidden to say funny."

"I'll just keep goin' down the list, Fluff," he said, peeking over the rim of his mirrored aviators. She rolled her eyes but didn't turn her head in time to hide the smile that followed.

Underneath the awning was a large gnu towering over a fox, holding him by the collar of his dirty shirt. He looked remarkably like a young version of Nick, though his eyes were brown and his whiskers were straggly long. He stood no taller than Judy and his fur needed a good wash. The rain could actually do him some good.

Judy pulled the cruiser into a parallel spot and jumped out, quickly flanked by Nick, his aviators now tucked into his breast pocket. They hustled to get underneath the shop's awning before becoming soaked by the rain. "Car nineteen, code eleven," she said into her shoulder walkie, then turned to the fox and his captor. "Is there a problem here, mister..."

"Gregor Gnuli," the big mammal said, sputtering it out in a thick accent. "And yes, there's problem. Kid here loiters all day, scares away customers. I tell him to leave, deli is private property. He doesn't, so I call cops."

Nick scanned the street. There was barely a soul outside. The rain kept everyone indoors; the only mammals out at the moment were a couple of hippos further down the street. What customers, he thought.

Judy opened her mouth to say something, but Nick quickly stepped in. "Thank you, Mr. Gnuli. If you would, please go ahead back inside. We'll take it from here."

Gnuli released his grip on the fox's collar and turned to go back inside. While the owner's back was turned, Nick caught sight of two tiny, black half-spheres, one on the inside corner of the awning and another inside of the store in the far back-left corner. He filed the information away for later use and turned his attention to the kid, whom Judy was already questioning.

"What are you doing here? Do you have any ID on you?" She got nothing in response. "How long were you here? Did he ask you to leave at all?"

Still nothing.

But louder than the words he refused to speak were his actions, his demeanor, the way he stood. As if entirely unconcerned with the world around him, he avoided eye contact and just stared into the distance over Judy's shoulder. His clothes had not been washed in several days at least, and up close Nick could clearly see the accumulated grime in his fur.

Judy's shoulders sagged with a heavy sigh as she went for her cuffs. Nick panicked. She had justification: failure to identify being the clincher, she could detain him for up to two days before he could settle a fine. With the loitering thrown in he'd probably get that ticket at the least and he sure as rain didn't have the money to pay anything, let alone a ticket. And unable to pay that, he'd have a warrant out on him in no time and then he'd be just another kid in the system. Another fox with no one to tell him he could be better.

He chuckled inwardly. Another fox without a Judy.

"Hang on," he said, placing a paw on Judy's shoulder. She stopped, looking rather glad that Nick had done what he had.

"Dispatch, car nineteen," he said into his radio.

"Dispatch," it hissed back. "Go ahead."

"Any missing mammal reports outstanding? Fox minor, specifically."

A long pause. "One in Tundra Town, three hours ago. Kid lost at a mall, twelve years old, blue eyes, approximately two feet tall--"

"I'm not a kid," said the young fox.

"Cancel that last, dispatch." Nick bent his knees and put himself on the youngster's level. "So you say. Let us help you."

"Don't need help."

"Kid, my partner here has every right to arrest you. You've got no ID and you're not contesting the charge or communicating with us in any way. Neither of us want to arrest you. Just help us help you. I know you've probably heard that plenty of times, but I'm being honest here." The youngster blinked hard. He was cracking.

"If it's any consolation, I don't believe Gnuli's story at all," Nick added.

At this, the young fox turned his head, though his face did not soften. He slowly reached into his breast pocket and produced a driver's license. Rudolph Vulpernicus, eighteen years old. Legally an adult; they couldn't run him in to find his parents. He showed the ID to Judy, who took it back to the car to run the name.

"Okay, Rudolph--"

"Rudy."

"Rudy, then. Why'd we get called out here?"

"It started raining, so I sat myself in front of this guy's store to keep dry. I went in at first but he kicked me out."

"Why?"

"Don't know."

Nick had a sense of why, but kept it to himself. "That's it?"

"That's it," said Rudy. Judy trotted back to them and handed the ID back to the youngster. She had heard the kid on her way back over, and though she kept quiet, Nick saw in her eyes what she meant to say: I believe him, too.

"Sit tight with Officer Hopps, please," Nick said. "I want to get Gnuli's story."

He pushed the door open, hearing a bell ring. Gnuli looked up with one of the most forced smiles Nick had ever seen. The gnu was behind the counter, preparing something or other. Before him was a display case full of sandwiches fit for predators and prey. Across from the display, on the other side of the small shop, were three tables with two chairs each.

"Come, come," Gnuli said jovially, waving the fox in. "How can I be of help?"

Nick let the silence that followed hang in the air like a warning. He took his sweet time browsing the entire display, slowly walking further and further up the line until he got to the register where Gnuli waited--still wearing that fake smile.

"You know it's hard to arrest based on 'he said, he said' right? I want to put this kid away; hooligans like him ruin the city's image. A few nights in jail should teach him not to stand idly in front of random shops, right?"

"Yes! Exactly, officer. I think same thing."

"But I can't, not on your testimony alone. Especially since the kid says he wasn't loitering. Heck, he had the gall to say he was just trying to get out of the rain!"

"He lies. Is what all fo--"

Nick's ears flattened. Just say it, please, this will go by so much faster if you do, he thought. Instead, Gnuli stopped himself, and for half a second looked like he was chewing the inside of his cheek.

"Is what all feisty kids do. Lie. Think he stole sandwich, too. Missing one from display case."

Nick put on a smile just as insincere as Gnuli's, but far more convincing, perfected over years of hustling and dealing. "Theft! Just perfect, he'd be behind bars in a flash--if you can prove it. DO you have any security cameras?" he said, subtly eyeing the black half-sphere in the corner that overlooked the store's interior.

Gnuli's smile withered but otherwise he didn't skip a beat. "No, no, officer, no cameras. But have memory like elephant's. I assure you, I tell truth."

"You know," Nick said, eyeballing a salmon and cheese melt, "not all elephants have great memories."

The air thickened. But any good hustler knows how to dispel tension. "Tell you what," Nick said. "I can't arrest him, but I can tell him to take a hike. Does that settle things for you?"

"Yes, officer. Just get him to go away. Fine by me."

"That's just great. By the way," he said, pointing at the salmon sandwich. "How much for this beauty here?"

Gnuli plodded over, grabbed the sandwich from the case, and handed it to Nick, who held it in his palms and revered it like it was a gift from the heavens. "On house, officer. Anything for Zootopia's finest."

"Well, you are just too kind, Mister Gnuli. My partner and I will make our rounds throughout the week, make sure you're not bothered again." Nick made his way outside and with a friendly wave, added, "Thank you for your time, and I'm sorry we couldn't get the punk on anything substantial."

"Is no problem! Come back any time!" Gnuli managed to shout before the door closed behind Nick. After being inside a dry, air-conditioned store even just a few minutes, The humidity hit him like truck. The fur of his tail grew clingy in an instant. It took a moment to adjust to again.

"So?" Judy said, expecting some revelation.

"The guy's a sleaze. Probably called us out just because he didn't want a fox around his store. You'll read about it in the report; I'm writing this one up."

Judy whistled. "Must be good if you're volunteering to do that."

Rudy looked up at Nick seeming rather hurt. "So this guy calls you out for some bogus reason? That's--that's a false police report! Why can't you haul him in?"

"I'd need the surveillance tapes to prove it, and that's a lot of time and red tape I don't want to deal with. Besides," Nick said, coldly regarding Gnuli watching them from inside, "getting arrested won't change him or his ways."

"So what happens with Mister Vulpernicus here?" Judy asked.

"Well, he--impressive name, by the way, really high class--he's gotta vacate the premises," Nick said. "Can you do that?"

Rudy looked past them into the grey wall of pouring rain and sighed.

"Yeah. I can do that."

"We can give you a lift somewhere nearby, if you like," said Nick, squinting his eyes to see through the rain. "That sign there, Garden Lane? Hang a left on Garden and there's a shelter about a mile down."

"I don't need a shelter."

Rudy fell back into his initial stance, from when they first met twenty minutes ago. Like he didn't care--or at least, didn't want anyone to know he cared. Nick saw through it in an instant. He returned to the cruiser and came back with a red umbrella he had brought from home.

"Here," said Nick flatly, shoving the umbrella and the salmon sandwich into Rudy's paws. "I can't make you get in that car, nor can I make you go to that shelter. But if you have even the slightest idea of what you need, you'll head there. Shoot, take this, too" Nick fished a fifty from his wallet and gave it to Rudy. "Go right after the shelter and you'll hit Pack Street eventually. There's a good thrift shop around there. Get yourself a few shirts and new pants, and you should still have left-overs for a grooming."

The young fox tentatively eyed the police cruiser, then looked down to the Garden Lane sign, then down at the umbrella, sandwich, and money in his paws. He stood silently for a moment longer, then stuffed the money into his breastpocket, popped the umbrella, and began eating the sandwich.

"Thanks, officers. I'll take care of myself from here," Rudy said, leaving the safety of the awning but still high and dry underneath his new umbrella. They watched him go for a while before Judy tugged on Nick's arm.

"Let's go," she said.

Back in the car, it was impossible not to notice Nick's mood. Judy tried to think of something to say while starting the car and pulling out into the street.

"We can't help everyone, Nick," she finally said, casting an reassuring glance his way once they hit a stop light. "But we try."

Nick sighed. "I know," he said, straightening himself up from a slouch. "I just wonder how much better off he'd be if he had an annoying bunny by his side pestering him every step of the way."

Judy scoffed. "Please. You know you love me."

"Yeah, yeah," said Nick, finally cracking a slight smile. It didn't last long, however. He tapped the rearview mirror dejectedly to catch a glimpse of the youngster one more time. It was hard to see him through the pouring rain, but the red umbrella was easy enough to pick out.

And he unconsciously held his breath when he saw the umbrella stop at the Garden Lane intersection.

"Carrots," he whispered. She peered into the rearview before spinning around to see for herself.

After too long a pause, the red umbrella went left down Garden Lane.

Nick gleefully thumbed the cruiser's radio. "Dispatch, car nineteen."

"Dispatch, go ahead."

"Ten-twenty-four on that 507."

"Ten-four, nineteen." The radio went silent.

Judy smiled. "I love how smug you are."

"Isn't that all the time, Carrots?"

She chuckled and hit the accelerator when the light turned green. "You're not finding typos in my reports. This is a different kind of smug. It's really cute."

He flipped his mirrored aviators out of his pocket and slid them onto his face in a smooth, singular motion. "I know," he said. He swore he could somehow hear her roll her eyes.