How Close a Rabbit Should Get to a Crocodile Judy turned onto her back, breathing heavily.
Her fingertips were completely numb, and she couldn’t feel them.
Raising her paws upward, she looked closely at her fingers.
It seemed to her that all the fur had come off them.
But it was just an illusion.
Her limbs were fine.
Her fingertips began to regain their former sensitivity little by little, causing blood to pulse in them; it was quite unpleasant, but bearable.
Judy caught her breath and, turning on her side to get up, saw the mouse standing very close to her.
His muzzle was full of sympathy and surprise.
“How are you doing yourself?” Judy asked, remembering how Gren had bumped against her head.
“My side hurts a little, but I’m okay,” Gren replied, rubbing his shoulder.
“You really are a good climber.” “Like a squirrel?” Judy said, rubbing her neck as she got up.
Gren smiled and, nodding slightly, replied: “Like a squirrel.” Judy, shaking the dust off her uniform, smiled back.
Gren looked at her with admiration.
Having fully recovered and tidied themselves up, our heroes looked around.
They were in the same painfully familiar square air duct.
But it differed from what they had seen before.
First, it was cleaner; second, and most importantly, on one side, the slits of a ventilation grille were visible.
They were located at the top, right at the level of Judy’s head, who was sitting on her haunches.
Light streamed through them.
Judy approached, turning off the flashlight on her phone.
When her eyes adjusted to the bright light, Judy could make out what was behind the grilles.
The grilles themselves were at floor level.
Judy saw a carpet and a wall; it was some kind of corridor.
She didn’t notice any animals.
“Right,” she whispered, “we’re close.
I hope you’re ready, Gren.” Judy lowered her palm to Gren, and he jumped onto it.
Bringing the mouse to the grille, Judy asked: “Where are we, Gren?” Gren looked around, thought for a moment, and replied: “This is the right corridor.
I recognize it by the portrait on the wall.
That’s Mr.
Erhardona, the founder of the Lemur Bank.
This is the staff area.” “We need the lobby,” Judy clarified, “that’s where the hostages are being held.
Do you know which way to go?” Gren turned his muzzle to her and nodded confidently, saying: “We need to go right along the air duct; it should lead us to the main lobby.” “Good, well done.
Are you with me?” “I’m with you, Miss Hopps.” Judy put him back on the top of her head and, ducking, moved to the right.
Jumping over the shaft with the fan they had barely escaped from, they moved forward through the ventilation.
The ventilation pipe our heroes were crawling through was well lit thanks to the same grilles through which Judy and Gren observed the rooms.
They were located a short distance from each other.
After going just a little way, Judy and Gren began to distinguish some animal voices.
They were getting closer to their goal.
Judy was sure that behind the next rectangular ventilation grille, she would be able to see the lobby and everyone in it.
But, not reaching it a couple of meters, Judy noticed a branch on the right side.
It was a small ventilation corridor with a closed little square door at the end.
The branch was well lit.
“Hey, Gren, what’s that over there?” Judy asked, stopping near a turn.
“Technical room with equipment, ventilation system, air conditioners, lights, and the rest,” Gren replied.
Judy continued moving and a couple of seconds later finally reached her cherished goal.
Through the rectangular ventilation grille, located near the floor, Judy and Gren could see the entire hall.
Thanks to the size of the grille and the difference in lighting, they could safely observe the whole hall without fear of being seen.
And there was plenty to observe.
Judy, holding Gren in one paw at grille level, was filming everything with her phone in the other.
The decently sized hall was dimly lit.
Since external light sources were blocked by sturdy shutters on the doors and windows, the room was illuminated artificially.
That meant five or six red light bulbs on the ceiling.
About the same number hung on the walls, casting dim red rays.
The marble floor and gray columns amplified the semi-darkness.
Various things were scattered on the floor: papers, newspapers, clothes from the coat rack, and bags — everything had been dropped in panic by the bank’s employees and clients.
Three columns stood near one wall of the hall, as if supporting the ceiling.
Three more columns were visible on the opposite side.
Red reflections from the chandelier’s glass flickered on the ceiling.
Two pairs of cameras that should have been watching the hall were smashed.
Their contacts were shorting, and sparks occasionally flew out.
If columns were to the right and left, then on the other sides of the rectangular hall was the work area with windows for submitting documents.
It was also dimly lit.
All the windows there were blocked by heavy grilles.
On the opposite side, a door was visible, firmly blocked by a huge armored metal sheet.
In the far part of the hall, Judy noticed some movement.
Squinting, she could barely make out the silhouettes of animals.
They were sitting on the floor in silence.
Because of the darkness, Judy couldn’t count how many there were, but most importantly — she didn’t see the crocodile.
“Do you see the criminal?” she whispered to Gren.
“No,” Gren replied quietly.
“I see the hostages.” “I don’t see him either.
We need to get closer.” “But how?” Judy lowered the mouse onto the floor of the ventilation shaft and carefully examined the grille.
It was fastened to the wall with four screws.
Attaching the phone back to her chest, Judy reached into one of the pouches hanging on her belt.
Gren watched her closely.
Judy pulled out several bills from the pouch, along with coins of various denominations.
Choosing the right one, she put all the wealth back.
“What are you doing?” Gren asked, watching with curiosity.
“I’m going to try to unscrew the screws and remove the grille,” Judy explained.
She reached a coin through the grille and, holding it firmly with her fingers, inserted the coin’s edge into the slot of the screw head.
It was very awkward, and her fingers kept cramping up.
Turning the coin like a screwdriver, Judy slowly unscrewed the screw, constantly glancing around the hall.
She felt like the huge crocodile might jump out from around the corner at any moment.
No matter how hard she tried to unscrew the screws faster, it was going slowly.
“Is it working?” Gren whispered, looking up at Judy.
“Yep,” Judy replied, out of breath but pleased, “one’s done.” “Do you think this is a good idea?” “I don’t know,” Judy answered, starting on the second screw.
“Well, can you see him?” Gren asked again after a while.
“No.” “Maybe he ran away?” “I don’t think so.
More likely, he’s hiding.
Otherwise, the hostages wouldn’t be sitting quietly in the corner.” “Yeah, that’s true too.” Judy was unscrewing the second screw, and from her smile, Gren knew that one was done too.
“Listen, how are you going to stop him?
You don’t even have a weapon!” Gren persisted.
“I don’t know,” Judy shrugged, unscrewing the third screw.
“The main thing is to get the information to the chief.
We’ll figure it out from there.” “And if they see you?” “Don’t worry, rabbits are good at hiding,” Judy said, smiling.
Gren made a skeptical face.
By then, Judy had finished with the third and last screw.
Gently pushing on the grille, she separated it from the wall and carefully laid it on the floor.
“I’m coming with you, Miss Hopps,” Gren said bravely, approaching Judy.
“No, Gren,” she stopped him.
“I’m going in there alone.
You’ve already helped me a lot.
I don’t want to risk you any more.
Stay here, and no matter what happens, don’t come out.
Do you understand?” Gren looked a little sad but didn’t argue.
He just nodded obediently.
He always followed orders without question.
Satisfied that Gren understood, Judy decided to look around before climbing out.
Luckily, the size of the opening almost matched the size of her head.
She stuck her head through the opening where the grille had been and surveyed the hall, turning her head left and right.
Now that her head was out, her field of view had increased.
Complete silence surrounded her.
She saw the wall they had passed along from the ventilation shaft.
At the end of the wall was a corridor, its entrance blocked by another grille.
That was the same right service corridor Gren had mentioned.
But most importantly — there was no lurking crocodile anywhere.
Emboldened, trying to be quiet but act very quickly, she stuck one front paw through, then the other.
Leaning on them, she pulled herself up.
Getting halfway out was easy.
She had a bit of trouble with the second half of her body.
“Come on,” Judy whispered.
Her unfortunate belt with pouches wouldn’t let her squeeze through quickly.
First one, then another, from below, from above — they kept catching on the edges.
“Damn, I must look so ridiculous from Gren’s perspective right now”, she thought.
“Come on, the last thing I need is to get stuck here!” “Should I push you?” Gren whispered awkwardly, so quietly Judy could barely hear him.
“No, no, don’t,” Judy whispered back, smiling awkwardly.
“It’s fine.” A little more, and her ordeal was over.
Free from “captivity,” she quickly put the grille back in place, leaning it against the wall.
She instantly darted behind the nearest column.
All these actions took her less time than it had taken to climb out of the ventilation shaft.
Judy was very close to the crime scene now, and she had to act very carefully.
She had no room for error.
If the crocodile spotted Judy, it would be a failure and possibly even death for everyone around.
She pushed those thoughts away, focusing on the task.
Judy, crouching on one paw behind the column, clenched her fists; she was trembling slightly from the adrenaline.
But she gathered her courage.
First, she took out the headset for her phone and connected it.
She put one earbud in her ear and hung the other around her neck so it wouldn’t get in the way.
It was time to set up the connection.
Judy took the phone from her chest, which was still recording video, and after scrolling through a couple of tabs, found a photo of Nick.
She had taken it before he left for the academy.
Now they could not only talk, but Nick could also see everything the phone’s camera was recording.
Attaching the phone back to her chest, Judy waited for the signal.
A beep sounded in her earpiece…