Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"BEEP, BEEP, BEEP..."

Judy shot one arm out from underneath her blankets, waving her paw around desperately in an attempt to turn off that damned alarm clock that interrupted her slumber almost every morning. The side of her paw swiped against something hard, sending whatever it was barreling onto the floor. The resulting crash echoed throughout her tiny apartment, for sure waking up her neighbors and probably everybody else on her floor. She rose out of bed, picked up the still beeping alarm clock and shut it off. She placed it back on the nightstand next to her bed.

"Another day, another dollar.." she grumbed as she groggily threw on her ZPD uniform, making extra sure her badge was aligned right on her kevlar. In her mind, she couldn't be a true cop with a crooked badge. She glanced over at the clock, the digital display reading 6:03. "I still have about 30 minutes before I have to be at HQ," she thought to herself. The hare opened the pantry and dug out a bag of coffee grounds, which she quickly dumped into a filter and put it in the machine to brew. Her stomach growled, and she realized she hadn't eaten since last night's dinner. On quiet feet, she padded over to the fridge and opened it. What stared back at her was saddening to say the least. In the fridge, only a lone bottle of carrot juice and a tubberware halfway full of last night's leftovers stood. She groaned and hastily grabbed the half-eaten veggie burger and fries in the tubberware. After plating it and setting it in the microwave, she went over to the coffee machine to check the progress of her coffee. It was already fully brewed and piping hot. She cracked open a little packet of half and half milk and carefully spooned sugar into the Styrofoam cup, being wary to not get the white granules everywhere. She topped it off with a black lid and stuck a straw in the small mouth hole. The microwave beeped once and before it could let out another one, she was already swinging open the door and grabbing her food from within it. She made another glance at the clock. "6:15, time to leave." She grabbed her food and coffee and headed for the door.

"Let's make today worth waking up for." She told herself that everyday as a sort of motivation. She made one last mental check to make sure she had everything she needed than exited her apartment, making sure to lock the door behind her.

Her cruiser rumbled to life as she twisted the keys in the ignition. She'd already made it to the precinct on time and was already ready to start a day of patrols and call-responding with her partner. Speaking of, where was Nick?? He was supposed to be at work at 7 sharp, it was 7:15. She decided it would be best if she gave him a call. She pulled out her iCarrot phone and dialed up the number she had memorized by heart.
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Nick was awoken by a loud buzzing. Nick half-opened his eyes, the brightness of his now lighting up phone being the only source of light in the room. He knew this situation, he'd been in it countless times. "How bad is it.." he thought to himself while bringing the phone close to his face.

"7:20!?!" A look of fear sprang across his face. Chief Bogo was surely going to have his tail for this. He had 6 missed calls from his partner. "Oh god, she probably thinks I'm dead or something." He unlocked his phone and called her back. She picked up within the first ring.

"You better have a good explanation for this one, fox"

"Carrots, you've heard my explanation a thousand times. You know the ghosts in my house love holding me down and prohibiting me to go to work."

Judy scoffed on the other end of the phone, obviously annoyed that Nick used that "explanation" again. "Yeah, yeah. Those ghosts sure do have their way of prohibiting our patrols, don't they? Look Slick, i'll lay it out for you real blunt. You've got 10 minutes to get yourself over here or I'm sending Chief to take you by force, sound good?"

Nick was already out the door before she could finish her rant. "I'll be there in 5" he replied, a wry smirk looming on his maw.

"See you in a minute, partner."
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"Jet to Able, are you in position." a voice cracked on the walkie talkie.

"Roger, setting up the GM6 as we speak" a slender timberwolf replied over the short wave radio. He slid the long barrel of the high caliber rifle into place, screwing a suppressor over the end of it after he was done fastening it into place. "What's the ETA of the target, Trojan." A different voice responded over the radio. "According to the tracker, he's about 5 minutes out. Be ready we only have a slight window to work with."

He scoffed. "Understood, GM6 is almost up and live." He slid a 12x scope onto the top rail of the rifle. He looked back at the Zebra couple he had to tranq in order to gain uninterrupted access to the 10th floor apartment he sat in. They looked so peaceful, their artificial sleep accented by the brightly colored darts protruding out of their backs. He grinned and loaded a few armour-piercing rounds into the magazine that was in his hand. The black tips of the dubiously large cartridges gleamed as the sunlight hit them through the window. The target would be on his way soon. He aligned the threading of the mag into the magwell and rammed it home. He chambered a round, the heavy metal sound of the bolt being pulled was enough to send a rush of adrenaline throughout his whole body. The canine checked to see if the zeroing on his scope was correct, this was going to be a long shot. The target would be rounding a corner around 700 meters out, so any small miscalculations would result in a miss. He settled that he was dead on. A thump resonated throughout the abode as he set the bipod on the windowsill and brought the scope to his eye level. As if on cue, a particularly rushed fox turned onto the lonely street.

"Target in sight, shot is about to go out," the wolf spoke into the radio. He squeezed the trigger. Dust and gas flooded his vision as the rifle bucked backwards with incredible force. Through the scope, he watched the round sail through the air and embed itself into the engine bay of the bright red sedan. Sparks and smoke started throwing themselves from the engine block. The car swerved off the road onto the shoulder of the road.

"Go, go, go!" the wolf called out on the walkie talkie. He watched as a black van pulled up behind the sedan and 2 large mammals rushed out of the bushes, guns pointed into the cockpit of the vehicle. Several other mammals flooded out of the back of the van and opened the driver door of the now destroyed car. They ripped the dog out of the vehicle and one burly panda drove the butt of his rifle into the skull of the bewildered fox, knocking him out cold. They picked him up effortlessly and loaded him into the back of the van. A tiger now sat over the hood of the red sedan, strapping a shaped explosive charge to the front of it. The tires of the van silently began to smoke as they peeled off as fast as they can. The car burst into flames and a few seconds later, the sound of the explosion reached the apartment.

He stood up, content with his work, and began disassembling the rifle. He fitted each part of the rifle carefully into the suitcase and walked over to the still sleeping zebras. He grabbed the spent casing of the AP round and pulled the bright darts out of the backs of the mammals by the wolf to hide the evidence of his presence there. He reached onto his pocket and pulled out a small box. Reaching inside of the box, he produced a fine Zuban cigar, the end precut. Able stuck the end of the cigar into is mouth and lit it. He took a long drag from it and exhaled, the smoke lingering in the room. The wolf smiled. Everything was going to plan.
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"'Bout time you decided to show up" Judy grinned as her partner hopped into the cruiser. "What's up lazy pants?"

"Pleasure to see you too, Officer Fluff" Nick shot a condescending glare his partner's way. "I thought you would be overjoyed to see your handsome partner again. Aren't you happy I convinced those ghosts to release me??" Nick winced as Judy slugged him in the arm. The steady hum of the engine turned into a moan as Judy pulled out of the precinct's parking lot.

"That was funny the first time you said it, now you're dragging it on" she retorted, still semi-annoyed by her partners dumb excuses... well, excuse. He'd used it countless times to explain his lateness, he even used it with Bogo once. That landed him in a meter maid jacket and the 3 wheeled, one seated joke machine for 2 weeks. He'd been the only officer she knew that could make that fluorescent jacket look good.

"Looks like i'm going to have to find another excuse, huh carrots?" Judy slammed on the gas pedal, the torque of the sudden movement throwing the fox into the backseat of the patrol car.

"Or you could just admit that you're awful at being on time," Judy said playfully as her partner struggled to get to his feet. "Dumb fox." Nick pretended to not hear the bunny's dig at him and climbed his way back into the front seat. "Put your seatbelt on, you're lucky the force was backwards and not forwards. I'd be having to scrape you off the sidewalk if we got into a wreck."

"What are you gonna do Judes, give me a ticket?" He looked over at the rabbit, who laughed

Their usual banter was interrupted as a familiar voice came over the speaker of the radio.

"Cruiser 116, this is dispatch, do you copy, over"

"Dispatch, this is 116, we read you clearly, what's up Claws?"

"There's been multiple reports of a 10-80, an explosion on Ridgewater Parkway. You two are the closest to it, can you respond?"

"Roger Doger, we're on it." Nick hung the mic back onto the radio unit as Judy flipped the switch for the lightbar and the siren. The lights on the cruiser lit up the buildings and alleyways surrounding them. They ripped through the streets of Zootopia like a bat out of hell, hitting speeds that if they were civilians, they would have easily been given a super speeder ticket. They pulled up to the scene, the blue and red lights mixing with the variety of colors from the ZFD truck and the ambulance that arrived as soon as they did. The mammals of the ZFD were dousing the blaze with water. Judy and Nick jumped out of their cruiser and numbly walked over to the scorched remains of the car.

Detective Wolford was already at the scene, jotting down notes in a memopad.

"What's the rundown, Detective," Judy asked.

"Come around to the front of the car." the duo obeyed and made their way to the front of the vehicle. Wolford pointed to a huge hole in the grille where the engine was. "It seems as if someone put a VERY large round into the engine of this car. As of right now, we're unsure if this caused the explosion or not. The vehicle is registered to a fox named 'Drew Foxman', but he's nowhere to be found. It's too early to suggest foul play, but that is probably what its going to come to." He pointed behind him to some tire marks embedded into the pavement. "Also there's large skid marks in the road over there. The width is too wide to be any old civilian car. It kind of looks like van tires don't you think?"

Nick examined the marks closely. They were very dark and extended quite a good bit before fading away. As Wolford had mentioned, the tires were very wide. "Yeah I don't know.. there's something fishy going on here." Nick mused as his partner was proding around in the car. She noticed his glare, and motioned with a finger for him to come over by her. "One sec Wolford, duty calls," Nick walked away from the detective who went back to photographing the tire marks. He leaned up against the now blackened door.

Judy looked disappointed. "There's nothing here. No hair. No prints. Nothing. Everything in the car has been burnt to a crisp. Even these books have been torched" She pointed to the pile of ash and soot laying on the floor. "who knows, anything could have happened to him. The jam cams don't even reach in this part of town so we can't even check those. We have absolutely no evidence besides this burnt hooptie and a few tire marks." She looked up from the floor to see a wide eyed Nick sniffing frantically with his muzzle in the air. His ears flattened to his head. "Nick?" she asked.

Nick didn't even hear her. He slowly walked away from the car and over to the shoulder of the road. The fox turned to Judy, his eyes wide with horror. Judy knew Nick had just found something, she was kind of afraid to know what. Against her judgement, she sluggishly made her way to the now kneeling fox.

"I thought I smelled something, metallic. I thought maybe it was something from the car, but I was very wrong.. take a look at this, Carrots."

Judy peeked over Nick's shoulder at a relatively small crimson stain in the dirt.

"Is that...blood??"

"Yeah," Nick turned to Judy, whose face bore the same look of horror that his did. "Wolford, you need to come look at this."

Chapter Text

HOPPS AND WILDE, IN MY OFFICE, RIGHT NOW!" A thunderous voice bellowed across the entire precinct. All heads turned to the Fox and Bunny duo, who had just now strolled into the headquarters.

"Great, what can it be this time," Nick stated sarcastically. Out of all the things being an officer of the ZPD came with, the water buffalo's unrelenting shouts were probably his least favorite. They made their way across the building to the elevator that would bring them to Bogo's office. They looked to each other, then back to the frosted door. Nick cautiously swung it open. Bogo sat behind a mound of paperwork, his face hiding behind one of the hundreds of documents strewn across his desk.

"Sit," Bogo demanded. They did exactly what he told them to do. "Wolford informed me about the exploded car you two responded to. You mean to tell me that a car was struck by a random bullet, the driver got out and ran away and the car exploded out of nowhere? This whole case makes no sense at all."

"Well Chief, did Wolford not tell you about the bloodstains Me and Car.. er, Judy found at the site of the crime." Bogo's eyes lit up at that comment. His usually gruff demeanor disappearing behind a look of newfound interest in the case. "Blood you say? Wolford failed to mention that one to me." He said, much calmer than before.

Judy chimed in. "Oh yeah, there was quite a significant amount of blood on the scene." She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. After a few quick swipes across the screen she turned the phone to face the Chief, who's eyes widened at the sight of the bloodstain. He ran his hoofs down his face, dragging his eyelids and all the other facial features along with it. "This case just keeps getting better and better. What do you two plan on doing about this?" He brought his head up, glaring at the fox and bunny. Judy and Nick looked at each other, then back to Bogo. The fox opened his mouth but closed it shortly after, and he looked back at his bunny partner who was anxiously tapping her footpaw on the ground. A bellowing voice broke the silence. "Well, are you two just going to sit there in shock or are you going to explain how you go about cracking this case. This is obviously more than just a simple exploding car and I need to know if you two are capable of figuring this mess out."

"Well to be completely honest Chief, we don't really know. The lack of evidence and leads on this one is messed up. Whoever masterminded this one made sure that there were no loose strings that we could pick up on. The only way we could even make any ties to any mammal is through the blood that we found. The fact that Wolford didn't mention it to you is surprising to say the least." The rabbit ended her rant with an upset look at Nick, who nodded his head in approval. He opened his mouth to say something, words actually forming this time. "I'm almost 100% sure that that blood belonged to Mr. Foxman, who as of late decided to leave his car up in flames. No calls to the fire department, no calls to the ZPD. He just kind of.. disappeared without a trace. Whether it was his decision to leave or someone else's is to be determined with further investigation. I'm not sure how this all happened but I'll make damn sure that whoever did this is brought to justice." Judy's eyes shot to Nick. A look of astonishment plagued her face. A myriad of thoughts ran across her mind, "Did Nick just say that? Where was the sarcasm, or the joking attitude? That was the most serious I have EVER seen him in his life. Some other fox had to have switched spots with him while I wasn't looking or something.." Nick turned to face his partner and was surprised to see her staring back at him with her ears flattened against her head. She looked like she'd just seen a ghost. Nick raised one eyebrow in question of her bewildered look, before letting out a brief chuckle and turning back to Bogo.

Even Bogo was taken aback by Nick's professionalism, his eyes rested over the fox. A smile plastered across his face. "Now that's the Nick I like to see." He grimly said. "I'll get a CSI team to check out the wreckage, I'll also have to talk to Wolford about that little detail that he failed to mention." His smile quickly turned back into that scowl he wore routinely. He eyed over his 2 best officers. "As for you two, good job out there. I want you two to take the rest of the day off. Report here in 2 days and I will brief you both on the findings of the CSI team. Dismissed."

Nick and Judy hopped from their seats and made their way to the big frosted door and stepped through it. Bogo was hot on their tail, eager to find the Wolf detective that kept a very important piece of evidence from him. They boarded the elevator and waited patiently for the doors to close. When they slid shut, Judy looked over at her partner, who was fiddling on his phone. She threw a soft jab into his ribs, exciting a surprised yip from him. He dropped his phone onto the elevator floor; the back of it split open and his battery shot out of the phone, effectively shutting off his device. He shot an annoyed glance at Judy before bending over to collect his phone. "and what was that for exactly?"

"I'm proud of you."

Nick jolted his head back, taken by shock at the rabbit's sudden words of praise. He silently thanked his red fur for hiding the blush that over came his ears and cheeks. His annoyance dissipated as he coolly collected the innards of his phone. He looked Judy in the eyes, the deep purple hues of her irises transfixed on him. If looks could kill, he'd be dead already. Nick was at a loss for words, Judy's soft amethyst eyes melting his heart and sending his brain into a fog. "W-what for?" He said nervously.

"You handled Bogo really well that time. For once in your time as an officer, you didn't make Chief Buffalo Butt want to squash you like a bug. That was really professional of you." She watched as a smirk enveloped the mouth of her partner.

Shortly after though, the smirk wiped itself from his face. A more serious undertone was hinted in his voice, "Well, when the victim of a crime is in your own species, it kind of makes things a lot more serious. Hits close to home, ya know?" Nick stared blankly at the elevator doors as they slid open, revealing the lobby and a cheetah scarfing down donuts. They exited the elevator and made their way towards the front door of the precinct. As they swung open the heavy doors, a tall slender wolf strode in and hung his aviators on the collar of his shirt. The door closed behind the pair and they could faintly make out the thundering voice of a furious Bogo.

"WOLFORD, MY OFFICE, NOW!"

Judy chuckled and turned to Nick, who was already looking at her.
"Hey Carrots, I was wondering. Since is still kind of early and we have the rest of the day off, how's about we catch a movie back at my place??" Nick's stomach growled. "I can make us some food as well if you fancy it." He watched as her cheeks flushed, a bashful smile crept slowly across her muzzle.

"Let me check my schedule" she replied, jokingly taking out her phone and pretending to 'check her schedule'. She would never in 1000 years turn down Nick's invitations, she was just playing hard to get. "Looks like I'm free for tonight." She winked at him.

"I'm so happy you could squeeze in some time for me in your quote 'busy schedule'" He responded slyly, making air quotation marks with his paws as he said busy schedule. "I'll meet you back at my place, Fluff."

"See you in a minute, partner." They parted ways and headed toward's Nick's.
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Nick pulled up to his house and parked in his driveway. A second car rolled by the mailbox and turned it's lights off. Meeting halfway, the fox and bunny met in the middle of the yard. The dog turned and made his way towards the front door. He brought out his keys from pocket and twisted it into the top and bottom lock, a heavy thump came from inside the door as the locks were driven away allowing access to the house. He swung the door open and began to walk in. Nick turned on the lights, revealing the openness of his bungalow. Sure it wasn't the largest and nicest house on the block, but Nick had his own special way of making his home, home. A multicolored rug lay in the middle of the living room, on top of it stood a large glass table. Its length almost matched the length of the cloth couch behind it to the centimeter. Posters of old bands hung on the walls, as well as a painting of a field with a bright red barn looming in the background. They walked past the living room and strolled into the kitchen. Judy never took into account with how nicely furnished his kitchen was. The light reflected off of the stainless steel refrigerator and oven, which were connected together by beautiful marble counter tops. The sink (which had too many dishes in it for Judy's liking) was accented by a beautiful backsplash that was made of an intricate pattern of tiles. Nick opened the fridge. He turned to Judy, who was holding her stomach. "You hungry? I have a nice Caesar in here with your name on it" he said softly. Judy nodded and watched as Nick produced a large black bag from the fridge. He scurried over to one of the cabinets and grabbed a bowl from it. He opened the black bag and tilted it into the bowl. Romaine lettuce, croutons, and multiple other things fell into the bowl. He put the bag back into the fridge, pulled out a block of cheese, and politely asked his partner if she would like any on her salad. "Please and thank you," she responded

Nick grated a generous amount of cheese on top of the salad, topped it off with dressing and slid the bowl over to the expecting rabbit. He grinned as she grabbed the bowl. She looked up at him before saying, "I'm going to find something on Petflix while you make your food". She was astonished Nick open his pantry and pull out a handful of spice bottles before running over to the fridge and freezer, pulling out a few more ingredients. She expected Nick to pull out some sort of microwaveable dinner, but with him now putting a pan on the stove and melting butter into it she realized he was actually COOKING.

Judy laughed and turned away from the fox, "so you can cook now, huh? What else do I not know about you, Slick Nick?"

"Not a lot, to be completely honest." He watched as Judy took the first bite of the salad he had made her. A smile crept across her face and she closed her eyes. "But you can't survive on your own for 20 plus years without learning how whip up some grub." He split open a clear plastic bag with a knife and tipped it, allowing a few little pink morsels to fall into the pan.

Judy on the other hand made herself at home, plopping herself in the middle of his couch. She placed her salad on the glass table in front of her and with the other hand, she grabbed the remote and turned on the T.V. Nick's dinner was sizzling on the stovetop; it sent a buttery, savory smell wafting around the bungalow. She looked back at him. He was just finishing up the garnish on his dish. She turned back to the T.V and navigated her way to Petflix. Nick sat next to her, and took a hefty bite of the flour wrapped entree.

"What'd you cook yourself, Gordon Ramsey?" She gave him a sarcastic smirk in which he responded with a smile, even though he wasn't done chewing. A sliver of lettuce hung out of the side of his mouth. Judy laughed heartily for a minute before looking back up to Nick, the lettuce still peeking out from his cheek. The smile he wore had turned to a curious scowl. He sat there with one eyebrow raised, looking utterly confused. She swiped a paw across the side of his mouth. The lettuce that had been resting in his mouth tumbled down onto the couch. Nick's ears flattened against his head and he chuckled.

"Sorry about that." He chuckled and swept the lettuce onto the floor. "These are shrimp tacos, made directly from my father's recipe. Oh, and calling me by that name is an insult on my part. Anything I could make would put that old goat to shame!" Nick took another bite of his tacos while Judy put on the newest episode of Zootopian Horror Story, their usual show.

After they both had finished their food, Nick went to his room to change into something more comfortable. Judy wasn't even paying attention to the show in front of her. Instead, she was lost in her own thoughts. She rested her head against the back cushion. After a stressful week on the force, nothing would relieve her more than her and Nick's weekly "dates". A year of crime-fighting side by side had brought them closer than she had ever been to anyone, spare her mom, dad, and siblings. Nick wasn't just her partner, he was her friend. Her best friend. Without him, she'd be lost. She probably would be back at the Hopps' carrot farm again, selling carrots by the dozen from a wooden stand on the side of the road. There was no way she would have been able to crack the Bellwether case by herself. Bogo would have kicked her off of the force if it wasn't for him.

Nick's bedroom door swung open. He coolly strode out of the room, dressed in a white, tight tanktop and a pair of black sweats. Judy's eyes widened as she made eye contact with the fox. She'd never seen him so.. bare before. She'd also never taken into account of how well the ZPD's rigorous training and workouts were treating him. Judy eyed over his whole body. His limber frame underneath his ZPD uniform must have never given his body the justice it deserved. She admired all his features: the tightly wound muscles that resided in his chest and his arms, the sharp edges of his muzzle and jawline, and everything else.

"Damn, boy.." She thought to herself. She hadn't even noticed that she was biting her lip.

Nick took attention to his partner staring at him. "I'm going to have to charge you for staring at me now Ms. Hopps, considering how many times I've caught you." He smirked and sat next to her again. They sat, not turning away from the T.V. for a while. The awkward silence seemed not so awkward all of the sudden. Judy was the one to break the silence.

"There's nothing wrong with a little looking. I've hardly ever seen you in anything other than your ZPD uniform and those tacky tourist shirts you wear. You look good."

For the second time today, he silently thanked god for red fur. He turned his attention to his partner. His eyes darted from her eyes down to her hips, before meeting her eyes again. "Thanks Carrots, you're not looking too bad yourself." He adjusted himself on the couch before stretching and yawning. When he lowered his arms back down, his paw accidentally landed itself on her thigh. He debated whether or not to keep it there or not, finally deciding to leave it where it was.

She didn't mind it either. Judy grabbed a blanket from the backdrop of the couch and draped it over the both of them. The combined warmth of both the blanket and their collective body heats would have made Nick sweat if he hadn't have chosen to wear his white tank. His attention was transfixed on the show, and his paw remained where he had placed it. He felt a slight, furry pressure against his shoulder. He turned over to see the bunny fast asleep, her head rested on his shoulder while the rest of her body was sprawled across the couch.

"Dumb bunny," the fox thought to himself. Although he was tired, he allowed himself to finish the rest of the episode. Judy had began snoring softly. Thankfully he didn't have to set an alarm for next morning, for tomorrow was their day off. He made himself comfortable, closed his eyes, and let the soft breaths of his partner lull him to sleep.
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Judy was awoken by the subtle scent of cologne. Her body was on top of something, something fuzzy. She opened up one eye and found that she was sprawled across Nick's entire body, essentially on top of him. Her arm was wrapped around his waist and her leg was draped over his. His tail was wrapped around the small of her back. Her heart stopped. How'd they end up like this? She ran her paw through the white fur on Nick's chest. She didn't dare move in fear of waking the still dozing fox. How would he react if he woke up to this? She was practically cuddling with him. Not practically, that was EXACTLY what she was doing. Her mind raced a mile a minute, too many thoughts made their way across her subconscious. Panic started to envelop her as her breaths became more rapid and her heart felt like it was about to beat out of her chest. A familiar voice struck down all her nervousness.

"You comfortable there, Carrots?" Judy looked up to see a grinning fox, his emerald eyes gleaming in the sunlight. He wasn't mad, he actually looked happy. He laid his head back down onto the pillow, "Honestly, I have no clue how we got like this." He laughed a little bit and then sighed.

"Yeah, me either." Judy returned the laugh and brushed through Nick's tail with her paw. "You're really comfortable though. That's a plus."

Nick tensed up as her paw brushed through his tail, she must not know how sensitive a fox's tail is. "You're going to have to get up soon, there's a moody fox that hasn't had his daily cup of joe yet." He used his thumb to point at himself, getting a small chuckle from his partner who was still laying on his chest.

"I'm not ready to move yet, can it wait 5 minutes?" She instantly got a response, that being Nick hoisting her over his shoulder and plopping the squirming rabbit down on the counter next to his coffee pot. He loaded up a filter with coffee grounds and started brewing his coffee.

Judy's phone dinged and vibrated on the glass table adjacent to the couch. She jumped down from the counter top and made her way to her phone. Unlocking it, she looked at her notifications.
"Nick, come here really quick."

Nick obliged, walking over to her and peering over her shoulder at her iCarrot. She had her Zmail account open. At the top was a new email. Judy turned to look at him, "Look at the name of who sent me this."

Nick leaned in closer to the phone screen and read the username out loud.
"[email protected]. I don't like the sound of that Judy, I think you should just delete it and forget about it." A look of worry spread across the fox's face as she didn't listen to him. He rolled his eyes and continued examining her phone. Attached to the email was a video file. The name of the file was red-river.mp4. "Okay, now I REALLY don't like this. Some random username sends you a random video out of nowhere and the file name is red river? That's just creepy." He hadn't even noticed Judy frantically trying to click and open it. She grunted after error messages plagued her screen for a second.

"I don't think it's going to work on my phone, Nick go get your laptop." Nick reluctantly walked into his room and fetched his laptop. "Carrots, I really don't think you should be doing this. Think about it: viruses, advertisements, creepy old mammals, it could be any of the 3. Or even worse, a mix of all 3." He shuddered at the thought of that.

Nick didn't even get a reaction out of her. She reached for the laptop as soon as Nick had brought it to her. Judy clicked the shortcut for Zoogle Chrome and furiously typed in her Zmail login. She reopened the email in the browser, the mouse hovering over the video attachment. She hesitantly clicked the file. It opened in a new window. First it was all black, then a light turned on in the foreground and a tall, nimble figure wearing a mask walked into frame.

"Good morning my friends. I would like to take this time to thank you for joining us on this ordeal. I have chosen to keep my identity withheld, and for good reason. You do not know my name and you do not know who I am, but you can call me Jet. For years now, I have watched the ladder of Zootopia crumble at it's foundations. I have witnessed countless crimes and have done business with the most corrupt government officials. But no longer. Zootopia is plagued with hatred, growing like a cancer. I plan to bring it forth in a whole new fashion."

He turned on his heel and began to slowly walk towards the background of the scene. He reached up to a flood light and turned it on. The light that now resonated through the building Jet was in revealed a midsized mammal tied up to a chair. His arms and legs were strapped to the chair and a potato sack of some sort was draped over his head.

"Discrimination runs rampant inside of every mammal, whether it be predator or prey, large or small. Prey will always fear the predator, and deep within every predator there resides a fiery passion for the hunt and for the kill. It is hardwired into every mammal by instinct. My team of hackers, hitmen, gunmen, demolition guys, you name it, aim to ignite the fire that will burn this armpit of a city to the ground."

He reached down by his side and drew a revolver. Making his way over to the camera, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a single bullet. The masked mammal opened the cylinder and loaded the bullet into one of the chambers, before closing it and giving it a spin.

"Enough of me for a moment. I'm going to let my buddy over here tell you guys a little something"

He grasped the top of the sack and yanked it off of the head of the tied up mammal. The fox gasped and looked around for a second before turning his head towards the camera. Blood and tears matted the fur around his face. "Go on" said the masked figure, waving the gun towards the camera. The fox looked at the floor for a second, then raised his head and started to speak.

"Michael, Janice, if you ever find this just know that your daddy loves you very much. And Ally, I love you more than words can describe. I'm so sor-" He was silenced by sickening crack as the attacker brought the handle of the pistol across the fox's face. The tied up fox spat blood onto the floor, earning a laugh from the masked animal.

"Hurry up, will you? I have places to be," the attacker said nonchalantly. The fox looked back to the camera and spoke.

"Whiskey, Echo, Romeo, Echo, Charlie, Oscar, Mike, India, November, Golf. -01011010 01000100 01000011"

"Thank you, Mr. Foxman" The masked assailant turned to the fox and rested the revolver on the dog's temple. He pulled the trigger.

*Click*

Foxman jumped at the sound of the hammer hitting the dull metal.

Nick turned to Judy. Her mouth was agape and her paws were clenched together. He grabbed her by the paw and tightly squeezed it, trying to calm the emotional bunny down to no avail. Her eyes were saucers as she couldn't take her eyes away from the screen. The mystery animal turned away from the fox and back to the camera.

"You see, here in my world everything is not as it seems. Everything has a meaning and nothing has no meaning. Everything is nothing and nothing is everything. We like to play mind games, and we heard you two love solving puzzles. So we devised one just for you"

He made his way back to the fox and pointed the gun at his head again.

*Click*

Without moving, he turned his head to face the camera.

"We will stop at nothing to make sure everything will go according to plan and no one will be able to stop us. Not even you two."

He pulled the trigger again. This time a deafening bang came from the speakers as a tuft of pink mist shot from the opposite side of the fox's head. He slumped over and blood began to pool on his clothes and around the chair.

Judy screamed and covered her eyes with her paws. Nick on the other hand had his eyes glued to the screen, his pupils narrowed down to slits and a low snarl rose up from his core.

"We advise you not to take up this case, Officers. We have eyes everywhere. We can and will find you if the need becomes apparent. Drop this case, or this very well could happen to the both of you. Have a splendid rest of your day."

The figure raised his mask a few inches and shot a toothy grin towards the camera, before reaching up and shutting it off. The screen went black and Nick raised the laptop off of Judy's lap. She was openly crying, tears streamed down her face onto the cushions of the couch. Nick set the laptop on the glass table and brought Judy into his arms and embraced her. She returned the embrace, squeezing the fox tightly. Her breaths came rapidly and Nick could feel his tanktop getting wet from the bunny's tears. She cried into Nick's chest for a minute before looking up at him.

"They killed him, Nick. They murdered him on camera in cold blood. Why would anyone do that. Why would they send it to us?" Judy asked. She drove her head back into Nick's chest and began sobbing again. Nick stroked the back of her head and ran his paws down the length of her ears, something he knew she loved and calmed her down. The sobs began to die down. Nick had finally formulated an answer to Judy's questions.

"They sent it to us to send a message, to instill fear in us. Whoever did this knew that we were the ones investigating this case. They want us to write off this entire ordeal and close the case because they believe that this video will frighten us so badly that we won't want to investigate this case further." Nick released the bunny, who was not crying anymore. He strode into his room, and came back out wielding his wallet in one paw and his keys in the other. "They're sadly mistaken."

"Nick, does this not scare you at all? Not even in the slightest? He said he has eyes everywhere, we're in danger now Nick. Someone could be watching us right now for all we know. Think about it."

Nick's ears flattened to the back of his head as he pondered what his partner was implying. She had a point after all. He decided he didn't care and made his way towards the front door. An angry scowl crept across his face, a deep rage burned within him. "Good, I hope they're watching. I want them to see me take down their organization and bring these goons to justice one by one. Am I scared, oh yes absolutely. Am I going to let that get in the way?" He glanced over at his partner who was now collecting her stuff and walking towards him. "No. You know my slogan, Carrots."

"Never let them see that they get to you." She repeated.

"Good." Nick smirked as he saw they bunny's eyes light up with determination. He opened the door and motioned for Judy to exit first. "Now let's catch us a murderer."

Chapter Text

Nick glanced over at the small bunny sitting in his passenger seat. She stared straight ahead with wide eyes and her ears drooped so close to the back of her head that they seemed to disappear along the fur of her neck. She wasn't okay, and he noticed. For Nick, hustling on the streets had taught him a great deal on how cruel the city of Zootopia could be. For Judy being from the plains of Bunnyburrow on the other paw, the only crime she'd witnessed was the trampling of carrots by her overzealous siblings. Nick decided he was going to try and brighten her mood.

"Hey Carrots, what do lawyers wear in the courtroom?"

Judy groaned and slowly turned to face Nick. She crossed her arms and tilted her head in a sort of "what could be it possibly be this time" attitude. She sighed and eventually gave into the fox, who now had a stupid grin plastered across his face. "What Nick," she mumbled, "what do lawyers wear in the courtroom."

He waited for a few seconds to add a dramatic pause to the punchline.

"Lawsuits!" He blurted out, before sending himself into a fit of chuckles.

After his laughter subsided, his eyes turned to his partner. She still sat, arms crossed for a few seconds before a soft chuckle escaped her and the sides of her muzzle curved upwards in a small smile. She shook her head and turned away from Nick, trying desperately to contain her laughs.

"Small steps," Nick thought to himself.

He cruised through the streets of Zootopia. The sun gleamed through the busy city, sending light reflecting off of the buildings and the cars in front of them. The precinct was approaching now, and he watched as Judy edged herself up in her seat to see the incoming building. Nick turned sharply into the ZPD's public parking lot and quickly pulled into a parking space close to the building. Judy was already fiddling with the door's lock before Nick got the chance to unlock it, and before he knew it, the rabbit had thrown herself out of the car and headed into a full sprint towards the ZPD headquarters. Nick scoffed and unlocked his door. He calmly stepped out of the car and threw on his aviators before stepping around to the back of the car. He opened the back door and threw a Pawaiian print backpack over his shoulders. Judy was already well inside, so he took his time on his stroll into his workplace. It was his off day after all, and he had no desire to stay in that building for longer than he absolutely had to. From afar, he watched as a small grey figure peek its head out of the main door and wave him on. He broke into a steady jog until he reached the door.

"You're so slow!" Judy shouted as Nick approached her, going at a more acceptable pace now that she intervened.

"It's not my fault you practically launched yourself from my car, Hopps. At the pace you were going, it looked you had little rockets strapped to your feet."

"They don't call me Hopps for nothing," she quipped with a smirk before disappearing into the precinct. Nick was close behind her. The pair strode into the ZPD.

At the front desk, Clawhauser was talking to some newly arrested oryx. He was waving his phone in the poor oryx's face, Gazelle's new single blasted through the ZPD and the large cheetah was dancing in his seat.
Officer McHorn shoved the purp to keep walking. The oryx walked forward, moving out of Clawhauser's view and allowing him to see Nick and Judy. He waved and gave them a toothy grin, in which Nick replied with a two-fingered salute. The pair made their way to the front desk. Nick was the first to speak.

"Hey there Spots, how's it hanging?"

"You know, same old same old. What are you guys doing here, I thought it was your day off?"

"Yeah, it was." Judy interrupted, she looked at Nick, who's mouth hung wide open as he was about to say something but was cut off by her. She mouthed sorry and let him continue.

"As she was saying, yes, yes it was our day off. But something happened, something about our case and we need to see Chief Bogo right now so if you could let him know we've arrived that would be splendid." Nick sent him the most convincing hustle smile he could muster at the moment, keeping the mood lighthearted but also conveying the urgency of the situation before them. Clawhauser took notice to this and paged the chief.

"Chief, Wilde and Hopps are here. They say they need to see you."

A voice crackled through the headset Clawhauser now held to his ear and he motioned them to head up to Bogo's office. They obliged and made their way to the elevator. The rest of the journey to Bogo's office was in silence. When Nick and Judy finally had arrived, Chief sat at his desk, arms folded. He wore the same uninterested expression on his face as he always did. His ear flicked impatiently.

"You both can't stay out of my fur for more than one day," He quipped. Nick shrugged off the water buffalo's comment and unzipped his backpack. He pulled his laptop from it and set it on the table before giving it a quick spin so that the screen faced the buffalo. Chief raised his eyebrow in curiosity as Wilde walked around to his side of the desk. He logged into Judy's Zmail and reopened the email. The email lingered open for a second before Bogo added some more sass. "This is what you wanted to show me?? An email??" He started to laugh, up until Nick opened the video attachment. Nick let the graphic video play out for the Chief. The masked figure delivered his soliloquy, once again promising Zootopia's demise. Bogo's eyes widened with shock as the mammal drew his revolver and loaded a single bullet. It was a few seconds later when the gunshot resonated through the speakers and Bogo's jaw dropped to the floor. Nick closed the laptop and stuffed it back into his backpack. The room was bathed in silence and awe. Bogo's attention shifted to the two smaller mammals before him as his eyes darted between the two. "What the HELL did you two get yourselves into this time." The big buffalo shook his head and his ear flicked in resentment. "We need to get you both off of this case as soon as possible." Bogo's usual uncaring demeanor lifted, revealing a much more softer and more caring bull. "I can get another team on this and that bastard would have no clue anyone else was even tracking him."

Nick raised his paw in protest. "Chief," Wilde took in a deep breath and continued. "As much as I'm sure you believe that would be the better option, Officer Hopps and I want to take this case." He looked over to his partner. Judy nodded her head signaling Nick to continue. "Hopps and I haven't been assigned a case this big in months now Chief, and we've had such great success in the other ones we've cracked. The missing mammal case, that drug cartel we shut down, even some of the smaller arrests count as something. Plus, if you get another team to work on this one, you'll have to debrief them on everything that has happened so far. You know that that would just be a waste of your time and energy." Nick threw on a smug grin as he concluded speaking. Bogo's hoof scratched at the wiry hairs on his chin.

"Well, considering Hopps is your superior officer, I don't think it's in your jurisdiction to decide on that." He grinned and looked at the smaller mammal before him. "Hopps, any imput?" The big bull rested his head on his hooves and awaited a reply.

"Ummmmmm.." Judy's heart raced as Chief stared her down. "As much as I hate to admit it, Nick's right. We haven't had a big case in months. You know how good we are together, Bogo."

"Against my better judgement," Chief sighed, "I will let you two continue this case." Both Judy and Nick's hearts jumped as he said this. Nick was about to say something before Bogo raised his hoof. "Only on one condition," the water buffalo grumbled as he grabbed his coffee and proceeded to take a sip.

"Lay it on me, big guy," Nick rose from his seat and walked up to the large desk.

"Don't get yourself killed out there, I don't need the death of you two to be on my part because I trusted you with this case."

Judy began to rise from her seat as well. "You have our word, Chief," the rabbit said, hoping that she'd be able to keep her word.

"Good." Bogo's eyes flashed back to the computer that sat on his desk. "I'll go ahead and get you two started." He opened a drawer in his desk, pulled a flash drive from its metal depths, and firmly stuck it into the device. "I'm going to download this video and send it to Tech downstairs. I will have whoever is working today track down where this email was sent from. Once we have the location, I will work to get a warrant for you two so you can search the place. Other than that, you both are to report back here tomorrow and I will have you both briefed, dismissed."

Nick and Judy turned and made their way for the door. Before opening the door, Judy stopped and looked at Bogo from over her shoulder. She mouthed "Thanks Chief", and was rewarded by a slow nod from the bull. As they entered the elevator, Nick playfully shoved the smiling bunny. The action took Judy by surprise as she stumbled over herself, almost falling over in a feeble attempt to regain her balance.

"Nick!" Judy yelped as she finally regained her posture. She threw a punch at him, but Nick was already a step ahead of her and blocked the incoming hit with his forearm. She tried again, only for Nick to weave out of the way and she spun around due to the force of the missed blow.

"You can't touch me, Carrots. I'm just way too quick. They didn't call me 'Red Lightning' in High School for nothing. If I was any faster they'd have to call me a superher.. Oof!" Nick was interrupted by a swift punch to the gut.

"I grew up with almost 300 siblings, mister. So don't think I can't take on a measly fox like you." The grin on Judy's face grew, and she waited for a sarcastic reply from Nick. It came quickly.

"Measly? Your words wound me, little bunny. If only you understood the raw power of the Red Lighting." He silently started flexing, moving into positions that the bodybuilders would use to show off their muscles. Nick's scrawny figure didn't fit the part, so Judy only laughed.

"Oh you think it's funny huh? Laugh it up all you want, but I'll have you know I almost graduated at the top of my class in the academy.."

"Okay, DON'T start that up again." Judy interrupted coyly. "I've seen pups more intimidating than you."

"Jeez," Nick started, "You're really laying it on heavy today aren't you?" He turned his head to his partner and made a mock pouty face. The elevator door opened and revealed the lower level of the ZPD. The pair casually walked out of the precinct, their presence there on their off day earning them a few confused glances from their colleagues. They made the trek across the parking lot and hopped into Nick's car. Nick took the keys from his pocket and started up the car, and it jumbled to life. "You know we still have the rest of the day to burn." He checked the clock on his dashboard. The time was 2:03; the sun was shining and the wind was warm as it flowed over the top of Nick's convertible. "Anything you want to do?"

"I've got an idea." Judy's face perked up a bit as she pointed to a building down the road. "Head to Bernard's. It's been a while since I've gotten my drink on, and boy do I need a drink or 6 right now."

"Now that's what I'm talking about," Nick said as he signaled and made the turn into the small parking lot of Bernard's Tavern. On the side of the building sat a very familiar red van. A mural was painted into the side of it. It was shrouded in light as the side door of Bernard's was opened, and a small mammal with large ears dragged a garbage bag out of the establishment and tossed it into the trash can.

Judy instantly recognized the mammal. "Is that... Finnick?" She questioned out loud. The answer came when Nick hurried out of the car and began waving. He started to jog towards the small figure.

"Finn!" Nick called out. The smaller fox turned around rapidly and the sides of his muzzle curved upwards in a grin.

"Nicky! Good to see you again, pal." Nick's jog slowed to a stop as he approached the his old partner. "Let me get back inside, I'll save you guys a seat by the bar." He opened the side door and slinked through.

"Let's go, bunny," Nick waved his paw at the bunny, who was still sat in Nick's car. She opened the door and hopped out. Judy made her way to Nick and he opened the door for her. "After you, m'lady."

"Wow, such a gentlefox," Judy quipped sarcastically as she ducked under Nick's arm.

Nick straightened his tie and followed Judy inside. "Just like momma Wilde raised," he agreed to himself. The interior of Bernard's was much larger than you would expect from the exterior. Several mammals huddled around a pool table. Other animals sat on the sidelines, throwing in money to bet on the winner. A band was positioned on the stage in the corner, and they started playing some Def Leopard. They spotted Finnick eagerly waiting for them from across the bar. Nick grabbed Judy by the paw and escorted her into her barstool. Nick took the seat to the left of her.

"What can I get for you guys?" Finnick said lightly.

"Let me get a fox poison, and whatever she would like." Nick fished his wallet from his khakis and pulled his card out. He shoved it into his shirt pocket. "I'll get the bill this time Carrots," he offered, giving her a warm smile.

"Aw, thanks" Judy replied. She turned her gaze to meet Finnick's. "I'll take a Fuzzy Navel, please," She asked politely.

"One fox poison and one Fuzzy Navel, comin' right up." The fennec fox dutifully jumped from his seat and began fetching the ingredients for their drinks. As he was doing this, Nick decided to converse with his partner about their case.

"Where should we start?" Nick questioned gently.

"Well," Judy replied hastily. "I think we should start with Foxman's workplace. Maybe if we question some of his colleagues, we can uncover some kind of motive or clue as to why Foxman was targeted." Judy tapped her claws on the bar anxiously. "As of right now, we know close to nothing though."

Nick softly patted the bunny on the head. "Don't worry, fluff. Tomorrow is another day. We'll hit Foxman's work in the morning and wait for the warrant to clear." He leaned back a tad in his barstool. "But now, we're just going to have to wait."

"Well nothing burns away the time better than having some drinks with your best friend, am I right?" Judy playfully nudged Nick, and he nudged her back.

Finnick returned with their cocktails. He set the neon blue mixture on a coaster by Nick, and put the bright orange drink by Judy. His eyes wandered between the two, and a smug grin began to creep across his face. "So, are you two officially dating now?" His grin widened as he watched as surprise shot across both Judy and Nicks faces.

Nick desperately attempted to form a sentence, but all that came out were disgruntled sounds.

"I-I.. uh... N-No Finn, we're not dating." Nick smiled unenthusiastically at the smaller fox.

"Yep!" Judy added in. "Just two police officers just doing normal old police work, heh heh.." She laughed awkwardly. She knew she was lying. Nick and Judy's usual banter as of late had been a lot more flirtatious. Nick's sideways glances towards her in their cruiser had become more frequent as well. From the warmth in which he addressed her, to his suave and charming demeanor, Judy knew that there had to be more to his feelings. "Nah," she thought to herself, "that's crazy talk."

"...but I couldn't ask for a better partner," Judy was swallowed up whole by a fox arm wrapping around her shoulder, pulling her in for a side hug. Finnick and Nick had continued the conversation without her even knowing because she was too caught up in her own thoughts. She shook the thoughts away and diverted her attention to the two as she sipped from her drink.

"Well I'm glad to hear you're in good paws, bro. You can be a little hard to handle." Finn took Nick's already emptied glass and carefully placed it into a bus bin beside him. "I'll be right back, you two don't go anywhere" he gave the two a mischievous grin before disappearing into the back.

It took a minute before Finnick came back with a huge fishbowl like glass filled with a blue slushy mixture, with red gummy fish swimming around the edges.

"Wow, this looks awesome!" Judy piped up, looking amazed at how well put together the drink was.

"It's on the house tonight, guys. Just don't tell my boss." He pointed at the scruffy grizzly chatting it up with a few customers.

"Only if you fetch me another fox poison," Nick quipped back. Finnick turned around to a vixen to his side, mixing a drink.

"Hey Kitty, whip me up a fox poison would ya?"

"Sure thing, darlin.'" The young vixen replied with a heavy southern drawl.

"So how did you wind up here, buddy?" Nick questioned towards Finnick.

Long story short, I had a tough time keeping my hustling game up to standards since you left me for the fuzz. Selling pawpsicles had become a task that I alone couldn't handle. You and I, we had something good goin', but doing it alone was hell for me. I came here to drink and an idea popped in my head. Why not get a job here? Good pay, lots of girls, and free liquor! I had looked to Bernard for financial support, and he gave me a job as a bartender. 6 months later, and now I'm assistant manager." He pointed to his nametag, which proved he was indeed the assistant manager.

"Here ya are, sweetheart." Kitty set the drink down on the bar and flirtatiously winked at Nick.

Instantly, Judy felt her ears heat up like they were on fire.

Nick seemed unphased by the vixen's advances as he continued his conversation with his former partner. Judy was so caught up in Nick and Finn's reminiscing to realize that she had already drank her drink. A wet slurping sound came from her glass as she sucked at nothing.

"Well, I'm glad you found a stable job Finn! I'll have to drop by more often now."

The rest of the night was filled with laughs, conversations of the past, present, and the future, and of course a few more rounds of alcohol. Nick and Judy both left a rather large tip for Finnick before exiting the building.

"I'll see you 'round Finn," Nick called out behind him as he held the door open for his bunny partner. The heavy glass door shut behind them.

"Man, I haven't seen Finnick in ages! Good to see he's off the streets." Judy said matter of factly.

"Me too. Little man would have gotten eaten alive if he were... to.." Nick's words began to trail off as he fumbled around in his pockets. "Oh, crud."

"What's the matter?"

"We have to drive." Nick stared at his car in a way that looked like it intimidated him.

Judy walked to the passenger side. "That's all you, big guy." She said as she crawled into the seat.

"But, Carrots."

"Oh shush," Judy said lightheartedly. "We're young and irresponible. Have some fun would you, old man?" Judy winked at Nick and he shook his head. "Besides, your place is only a few miles down the road."

Nick's ears instantly peeked up and his mood brightened ten fold. "Oh, so we're going back to my place huh? I don't remember anybunny asking politely." Nick folded his arms and leaned up against the car.

Judy sighed a long sigh. She hung her bottom lip out and pushed her ears back, making herself look like a pitiful little kit.
"Can we pweeeease go back to your house, Mr. Foxy?"

Nick's answer was him taking his phone out and snapping a sneaky picture of the whining bunny.

"Nick!" Judy drew out his name in a whiny fashion.

Whaaaaaat?" Nick opened his door and took his seat. "It's cute," He said softly, looking at the picture he took and chuckling slightly.

"Nick.. for the thousandth time"

"Okay okay, it's attractive . How about that?"

Judy felt her face flush. Nick thought she was attractive? He must have been joking, but the alcohol had taken over and she went along with it. "Be careful who you flirt with tonight Casanova, I'm a very drunk and impressionable bunny."

"And you expect me, being me, not to flirt with you?" Nick started up his car and laughed to himself. "In your dreams, fluffbutt."

The car ride home was rather short and was mostly just them blasting music all the way to Nick's house.

Nick pulled into the driveway and shut the car off. He stumbled out of the drivers seat and made his way to the front door with Judy hot on his tracks. A thud resonated from the the lock as it was turned open, and Nick slowly opened the door.

"Home sweet home," Nick mumbled to himself as he entered his home. "Where are you sleeping, Carrots?"

"Your bed." Judy replied sternly.

Surprise swept across Nick's face quickly. "Um, that's where I'm sleeping," he noted.

"You say that like it affects anything," Judy put her paws on her hips and gave Nick a smug grin.

"Pft, If you say so" Nick scoffed and shook his head. "You tell me not to flirt with you."

"What? Your tempurrpedic mattress is comfy."

"I'll agree with you there." Nick opened the door to his room and jumped into his bed.

Judy followed suit, easily bounding onto the bed. Nick turned on the T.V. for background noise and the theme song Paw and Order blasted through the speakers.

"It's getting late and we need to be at HQ first thing in the morn," Nick yawned and stretched, his arms flailing as he loosened his tense muscles. "I think I'm going to hit the hay, you want me to leave the T.V. on?"

"Yeah I'll probably just finish this episode, then go to sleep."

"Sounds good," Nick handed the remote over to Judy over his shoulder and tucked himself in his blanket. "Goodnight, fluff."

"Night, Nick."
_____________________________________________

Judy couldn't sleep, no matter how long she held her eyes shut. Her head turned to the digital clock on an end table, the time was 3:20. She let out a quiet, annoyed grunt and carefully rose from the bed. She made sure not to wake Nick. She trotted out of the room and made her way to the fridge. The door opened, and the rabbit grabbed a bottle of orange juice from within. With a cup in hand, she poured herself a glass. Nick's colorful backpack lingered in the corner. It still contained the laptop with the video file on it. At first she took no notice to it, but the more she looked at it, the more it beckoned to her. She gave into temptation and sneakily fetched his laptop. The bunny made herself at home on the living room sofa and opened up the video file. Her mind went to one part of the video in particular, so she skipped there.

"Hurry up, will you? I have places to be," the masked figure urged to Foxman.

"Whiskey, Echo, Alpha, Romeo, Echo, Charlie, Oscar, Mike, India, November, Golf. -01011010 01000100 01000011"

She paused the video before it could go any further. Why would Foxman speak random letters out of the military alphabet? Judy scratched the top of her head in confusion. She reworded the video to listen to the string of code once again. The realization hit her like a sack of bricks.

Code...

She quickly whipped out her iCarrot and navigated to her notepad app. This time when she listened to the sequences, she jotted them into her notes, as well as the numbers that followed. She looked around the words for any clues of a pattern, but there seemed to be none. Her frustration was starting to take over. Something in her head clicked suddenly. She looked closely at the string of words in front of her, paying close attention to the first letter in each sequence. Judy's face flushed as a chilling sentence was revealed to her.

"We are coming"

Chills rocked her entire frame. She rushed into Nick's room and began shaking him frantically.

"Nick! Nick, wake up." Her voice was shaky and she was on the verge of panicking.

The groggy fox was jolted awake by the harsh shakedown he had just been given. He slowly turned to her, a very displeased look hung on his face. He said nothing but Judy could tell he was waiting for her to explain why she had awoken him. "One sec," she rushed out of the room to fetch the laptop. Nick wiped the sleep from his eyes and grunted as the artificial light from his laptop pained his eyes.

She pressed play and let Foxman speak to Nick.

The fox looked annoyed. "Yeah? I've already seen this, what about it."

"Listen closely. Pay attention to the first letter of each thing that he says."

Nick did as he was told. It took him a second to pick up what she was putting down, but when he did his eyes widened and his mouth hung agape.

"Ooooookay," Nick seemed to be at attention since he figured it out. "Now I'm awake."

"Do you think we'll be able to figure out those numbers at the end too?" Judy questioned.

"Oh I'm sure someone down in tech could decipher it. It sounded like binary, the language computers talk in."

"Looks like you're not as technologically inept as I thought you were." She glanced over at Nick's phone. "Considering you carry around that dinosaur."

"Wisdom comes with age, my dear Carrots." He started to yawn again and when his yawn concluded, his usual smug expression returned to his face. "Example A is sitting right in front of you," he used a finger to point at himself.

"Okay it's too early for your smugness, foxy. I need to sleep, I'm exhausted."

Nick looked over at her, her fur was ruffled and her eyes drooped like they were held down by weights.

"You haven't even gone to sleep yet, have you?" Nick's smug grin vanished as he spoke in a more concerned tone.

"Yeah it's okay though," she tried her best to give Nick a reassuring grin because she heard the concern in his voice. "I'll just need an extra cup of coffee in the morning."

Without warning,Nick impulsively hugged Judy. The sudden show of affection made her heart jump from her chest. She returned his warm embrace, throwing her arms around his waist. She sighed a long sigh and allowed herself to decompress in Nick's arms. They stayed there for a minute before Nick broke the silence.

"I'll buy you a coffee tomorrow."

Judy smiled at her partner's kind offer. "Thanks, Nick." He assured her it was his pleasure. Judy sighed once more. "Nick," she started.

"Yes?" Nick grew groggier and groggier by the moment.

"Why are you so nice to me?" She questioned.

The reaction Nick gave to her question was the exact opposite of what she'd expected. Her expectations had been a smirk and some sort of witty retort, but when she had asked that question Nick flinched like he had been hit by something from inside. His grin turned into a slight frown. Something was getting to him, and his mask of indifference was temporarily removed as he finally became readable. He looked like he needed to spill a secret he'd been holding back for years. Nick quickly snapped out of it.

"That's for another day, Carrots." He petted in between her ears and smiled down at her. "Get some rest, we have a big day ahead of us."

"You're right. Night Nick."

"Goodnight fluff." He turned off the still running television and the pair let the silence and the darkness bring them to sleep.

Chapter Text

The alarm clock blared. Nick and Judy both groaned in unison as they both began to rise from bed. The early morning sunlight shone in through the windows and cast a glow around the room. The time was 6am, which granted them an hour to get ready. Nick was the first to stand, leaving Judy on the bed to stretch.

"I'm going to hit the shower", he said as he grabbed a large towel from one of his drawers. "Promise me you won't break anything while I'm gone."

Judy shook her head in amusement. She concluded her stretch and bounded off the bed. "I'll try my best", she quipped back at Nick. Nick chuckled softly and made his way into the bathroom and shut the door. Judy's stomach growled. She walked over to the shut door and gave a few quick knocks.

"Yes?" The fox called over the now running water.

"Do you have any cereal or something?"

"First cabinet on the left in the kitchen, milks in the fridge."

And with that Judy was gone. She made her way to the kitchen. From the cabinet that Nick had mentioned, she pulled a generic brand cereal. She fetched the milk as well and began to pour the brightly colored o's into the bowl. She finished it off with milk and sat on Nick's couch. The shower water turned off and after a minute, a half naked and drenched fox stumbled from the bathroom with a towel around his waist. The sight made Judy giggle a bit as his fur matted to his face in clumps.

Nick strode into his room and shut the door, leaving Judy to her mind. A few thoughts danced delicately around her subconscious. "He takes such quick showers." Man, this cereals good. I wonder if I'll ever get to see him without that towel." With that thought, she took another bite of cereal.

Nick proudly marched out of his room, fully clad in his ZPD uniform. The reflection off of his badge threw light beams all around the walls. Judy had finished her breakfast and put her bowl in the sink before Nick spoke up.

"Your turn, Carrots," he said as he straightened his badge on his chest. Judy, who was still in her pajamas, hurriedly went into Nick's room and closed the door. After a short period of time, she too emerged fully in uniform. She put the finishing touches on her uniform. They were ready early today, but that didn't stop them from leaving early too. Both Nick and Judy were anxious the learn more about this case. They exited Nick's house and made their way to his car.

Nick turned his keys in the ignition and the car roared to life. "Which coffee are you feeling today?" He questioned lightly.

"Let's go to Caribou Coffee today. I haven't tried their new carrot latte."

Nick's eyebrow raised in confusion. "A carrot latte, huh?" Nick couldn't help but laugh at the implication. "Wonder what they'll think of next." The next thing from Judy's mouth would be the best thing he hears all day.

"I'm pretty sure they have a blueberry latte as well."

Nick's ears perked up instantly and he subconsciously stepped on the gas a little harder. Caribou coffee was approaching, so he readied his payment. He turned into the parking lot of the hole in the wall type establishment and parked his car. The pair gracefully made their way from the car to the large glass door. A young doe waved a hoof at the pair and brightly smiled.

"Welcome to Caribou Coffee!" The whitetail spoke cheerfully. "What can I get for you both."

"Let me get 2 small lattes, one blueberry and one carrot. For Nick, please." Nick smiled back at the peppy doe as she said "coming right up!" And went to make the drinks.

Nick and Judy sat at a round table as they waited for their lattes. The duo watched for any suspicious activity as several other mammals came and went on their way.

"Two lattes for Nick!" Called a cheery voice by the stand. Nick rose from his seat and grabbed the coffees off of the counter. He thanked the doe and waved as they exited the coffee shop.

"Thanks again," Judy said lightly. Nick assured her it was his pleasure as they both took their seats in Nick's car. The car rumbled to life and within a few seconds they were headed to the precinct. The early morning sunlight radiated in beams and reflected off of the zootopian architecture around them. The precinct was approaching, and the pair readied themselves for the long day ahead of them. Once the car was adequately parked, they walked side by side into the large facility. A familiar sight awaited them in the heart of the ZPD. That sight being a large cheetah chewing down on some fresh donuts. The partners were rather early, so they chatted up some with Clawhauser.

"How's that case coming along, guys?" The burly cheetah questioned through mouthfuls of donut.

"We don't really have a lot of info at the moment," Nick admitted in a shallow tone. His expression perked up when he thought about the day ahead of him. "But, we are going to the victims workplace today. We'll see if we uncover anything there."

"Well good luck you two," Clawhauser's muzzle was forged into a worried frown. "And stay safe, the whole precinct is worried about you both." He shuddered at the thought of losing his two favorite colleagues.

"We'll try our hardest, Claws." Nick drew a nervous smile. He looked down at his phone and the time read 6:55. Time to get to work. The pair waved their goodbyes to Clawhauser and made their way to the bullpen for briefing. As they entered the bullpen, they were greeted by their fellow officers. Many offered a nod, but some smiled and waved. They took their usual seat and patiently waited for Bogo's arrival.

"Ten-hut!" Officer Higgins stood at attention as Bogo proudly took the podium. He had brought multiple Manila folders with him.

"Alright," the grim buffalo mumbled. "I'm going to make this short and sweet. Let's get right on to assignments." He peered over the officers in front of him, before raising a folder. "Officers Grizzoli, Delgato, Mundi, and Snarlof. You will be patrolling through Tundratown and the Rainforest District." The mentioned officers rose from their chairs and fought their way up to the podium to grab the raised folder. "Fangmeyer, Holtzclaw, Trunkaby, Francine, you have Savannah Central and Sahara Square." The same happened with this group, as they fumbled through the tight walkways in an effort to get to Bogo first. Bogo now held up a different color folder. "Wilde and Hopps," the buffalo blared, catching both of their attention. "Stay here and I'll brief you two privately, the rest of you will be on highway patrol. Dismissed." The remaining few officers filed through the door, while Judy and Nick stood their ground. Bogo slapped the folder on the table in front of them. He opened it and revealed the case file to them. Inside were a general sheet of information about Foxman, complete with a picture of him, and several other documents that had general info on the case. He fished a document from the folder and handed it to Judy.

The document he had given her had a picture of a very large building with the words, "Acer BioEngineering" spanning across it. "I'm guessing this is where Foxman worked?" The bunny guessed. Bogo nodded his head in affirmation.

"Foxman used to work at Acer BioEngineering." He pointed to Judy. "Your job is to go there and figure out anything you can about Foxman's work. Find out what he was doing before this tragedy happened, and be wary of his colleagues. Any of them are prime suspects. Your warrant is pending approval but I am sure that it will be granted before you both finish at Acer." He stood tall and at attention. "Dismissed," he bellowed down to them. Before they got up, Bogo slid the folder towards them. "You can take this or not, your choice."

Nick decided it was best to have the information at hand, so he snuggled the folder underneath the crest of his arm and headed out of the bullpen with Judy. They made haste to get to their cruiser. Judy opened up her phone and navigated to her GPS app, where she looked up the address to Acer BioEngineering. The route was windy and according to GPS, it would take around 45 minutes to get there. Nick inwardly groaned as he pulled out from the precinct and onto the open road. Acer was located on the very far side of Tundratown, and stood proudly on top of an icy cliff. The large building looked incredibly similar to the abandoned warehouse former Mayor Lionheart kept the savage animals during Nick and Judy's first case. Judy mentioned this to Nick and showed him a picture of the looming building. The fond memories came flooding back to him, and he smiled.

It was then he came to a realization. While they had been trapped in a cell with a hilariously oversized toilet, Judy came up with a plan. That plan sent them over the edge of a gigantic waterfall, falling hundreds of feet before splashing down into the warm waters below. When his head breached the surface and saw that she hadn't yet, he panicked. He desperately called out for Judy; he feared he lost her. It was at the exact moment when Judy's head rose above the water, that a wave of intense relief flooded over him, and he knew he'd fallen for her. He'd never feared for anyone's life except for Finnick's before then, but this bunny changed everything. This bunny, who at the time had only known him for around 36 hours, had shown him more kindness and compassion than most of the people he had known for years. This bunny had turned his whole entire life around; she took him off the street and turned him into something honorable.

And he would be forever thankful to her.

He threw a sideways glance at her, only to find that her eyes were already fixated on him. She instantly turned the other way and her ears turned a shade pinker after being noticed. Even though she was found out, she tried to diffuse the tension.

"I'm surprised we're not hungover at all, I'm pretty sure I drank more than you last night" she said as she scratched behind her ears; she recalled slurping down the fishbowl cocktail in a matter of minutes. "We were giving Finn a workout with the amount of drinks he had to fetch."

Nick chuckled as he remembered the small fennec running like a madman. "You know," he laughed a little bit, "I am too, honestly. We sure made him work for that tip. Say, now that we're on the topic, where did you learn to put down drinks like that?" Nick's brow furrowed as he tried to imagine where all that alcohol went and how she didn't get alcohol poisoning. "I know for sure they didn't teach you that in Bunnyburrow."

"I rarely ever drink," Judy replied matter-of-factly.

"Is that so?"

"To be honest, I've only ever been drunk with you," Judy admitted shyly. "You're really the only mammal I'm comfortable enough with to drink with. I can get kind of rowdy, but I know you'd never judge me."

"You're 100% right about that, although if you do do something silly I WILL laugh at you." Nick quipped, throwing a little shade Judy's way.

"Just like that one time when you mistook a giraffe's leg for a pole and started 'dancing' on it?" She accented 'dancing' with quotation marks, for as she remembered Nick gave that poor giraffe lady's leg a good time.

Nick's ears slicked back and he hid his face in embarrassment. "Carrots, I thought we weren't going to talk about that again," he shook his head, "besides, I'm sure that lady enjoyed every second of it."

"Totally," Judy harked back, "Because I'm sure that when someone enjoys something they scream and run away." The next thing she said came without her consent.

"I'm sure any vixen would love it though."

This only added to Nick's smugness as the grin on his maw grew. "I'm sure they would love to have this handsome hunk of a fox Fluff, but I'm not interested in a vixen at the moment," Nick scratched behind his ears and let out a nervous chuckle. "Let's just say I'm sorta focused on the uh... little things in life."

"Oh you foxes, so sentimental." Judy droned, not realizing what Nick meant by 'little things'. Nick just rolled his eyes and focused on driving. "Looks like we're still about 15 minutes out."

"Let's see what's on the radio." Nick did as he said, and Welcome to the Jungle by Guns n Rodents played through the cruiser's stereo. He turned onto the Tundratown freeway and from there it was a straight shot to Acer. Nick and Judy both were getting anxious. The 45 minute drive gave them ample time to quarry what they could possibly find.

"Look there it is!" Said an over-exuberant bunny. The giant building edged itself over the horizon. It's sheer size was enough to shock even the largest animals. There weren't any other buildings in sight, just a long and windy road that lead them too their destination. They made their way to a toll booth, manned by a gruff looking pig.

"I'm gonna need to see some I.D from youse two," the swine spoke up in a heavy Zoo York accent.

"Officer Nicolas Wilde," Nick retorted, flashing his badge to the pig. "And this is Officer Judy Hopps. We're here to do a little investigation on a Drew Foxman."

"Oh," the swine's threatening expression softened, and he turned to press a large red button. In turn, the large metal gate in front of the compound began to swing open. "Good luck," the pig said melodramatically.

"Preciate it," Nick slowly pressed on the gas pedal. He moved forward only very slightly before a voice made him stop again.

"Hey!" The voice came from behind the cruiser. Nick peered his head out of the window and checked behind him. The pig at the booth was doing the same, peering out the toll booth window. A single tear rolled down his cheek. "Find who killed my buddy, please."

Nick nodded and saluted the emotional swine before proceeding forward. He found himself a parking space and occupied it. "You ready, Fluff?" He asked. No answer came. "Fluff?" He turned to his partner, only to see that she too had tears streaming down her face. "What's wrong?" Nick asked while putting his paw on her shoulder.

Judy wiped the waterworks from her eyes and shivered a bit. "I'm sorry Nick. It's just that Foxman.. before that monster killed him he had friends, and colleagues. Nick, he had a family. A wife and two kids that will never see their father again." She shook off her emotions for a second and gave Nick a sad gaze. "It just screws with me, you know?"

I know what you mean, Carrots," Nick drew out a long sigh and withdrew his paw from Judy's shoulder. "There's nothing we can do about that though, only thing we can do is find the mammals responsible and hold them accountable."

"You know what, you're right," Judy opened the cruiser door and jumped out. "What're you waiting for? We got a murderer to catch!"

Chapter Text

Nick hopped out of his cruiser and opened the trunk, revealing 2 black hoodies with the ZPD badge printed on them. He threw the smaller one to his partner before putting his own on. She followed suit, putting on the black hoodie. Snow was falling plentifully around them, and the wind nipped at their ears and noses.

"Alright Carrots, time to go undercover." He threw his hood over his head and got into a crouching position. This made Judy laugh heartily.

"Oh Nick," she said in between chuckles, "how do you do it?"

Hooded Nick raised his eyebrow in confusion. "Do what?" He questioned.

"I could be crying my eyes out and you just drop one joke on me and I completely forget everything." Judy explained

"I'm just naturally enthralling," the smug fox responded.

"Sure you are, Prince Charming."

"You have such a way with words, Officer Hippity-Hop," Nick chided as they approached the sliding doors. The doors slid open and allowed Nick and Judy to enter. Judy's mouth hung agape in awe of the sheer size of the lobby. It was beautifully decorated as well. Several couches sprawled across the large lobby and a few TVs hung on the walls, some playing sports and some playing news channels. They made their way to the front desk, where they were greeted by 2 mammals in lab coats.

"Welcome to Acer BioEngineering, do you have an appointment with us?" The aardvark behind the desk asked while entering in some information to a computer.

Nick hastily whipped out his badge and showed it to the aardvark. Her expression went blank as she realized why they were here.

"Right. Right this way, please," she stood from her chair and disappeared behind a wall. A door opened and she stepped out and walked towards the duo. "Excuse me, I never formally introduced myself." She straightened up her posture a bit. "Dr. Mildred Aveno," she offered a hand, in which Nick shook first then Judy second. "But you can call me Milly." She smiled brightly as she guided them down a long hallway.

It was Judy who next spoke. "Pleasure, I'm Officer Judy Hopps and this is my partner, Officer Nick Wilde." Nick nodded his head down at the aardvark.

"No need for an introduction, I'm pretty sure every mammal and their mother knows who you two are. You both just recently took out El Chapo Fuzman's cartel. "She chuckled a little and continued speaking. "If it wasn't for you two, I am 100% sure that this city would be royally screwed."

"Aw, thank you." Judy beamed a newfound confidence after this unexpected praise. They made an abrupt right, which brought them down another long hallway. After a short walk, they approached door number 139. The frosted glass had writing on it in large lettering. Nick read it.

"Drew Foxman, PhD"
"Head of Genetic Engineering"

Milly drew a keycard from her lab coat pocket and held it over the lock on the door. The red light on the handle turned green, and a mechanical whirring sound came from inside as the door was unlocked. She twisted the handle and swung the door open. What was revealed truly shocked the officers. The office looked like it had been ransacked. Papers were haphazardly strewn across the floor and desks. A pair of glasses still sat by a computer on the far side of the room. A small flock of birds flew around the screen as a screensaver. The group entered the room. Milly sat in a chair in the corner while Nick and Judy searched around the room.

"So Milly," Nick turned to the aardvark, "while we're snooping around could you give us some general information on Drew." Nick continued flipping through Foxman's papers.

Milly shot Nick a confused glance. "Sure I guess, what do you want to know?"

"Like how his work relationships were, what he was working on, any personal problems that you know about maybe."

Milly pondered for a second before speaking. "Well, Drew was well liked around here. Even though he was very busy practically all the time, he still made time to socialize and help any mammal who needed it. It's a shame he had to go, he was such a standup guy, AND he was almost on the verge of a scientific breakthrough."

This caught Nick's attention. He stopped what he was rummaging through and turned to face Milly. "Do you mind explaining that last part, please."

"Yeah sure no biggie," Milly chirped. "The dude was doing pretty extensive research on the mindicampum holicithius plant. You guys might know them as Nighthowlers. He was working on a way to neutralize the chemical component in the plant that made the animals go crazy. Recently though, he was acting kind of strange. He didn't leave his office for weeks. The last person who made contact with him at work said that he was SO close to finally deconstructing that protein, but the poor guy will never finish now."

"Anything else?" Nick questioned as he rummaged through a bookshelf towards the back of the room

"Drew did have one friend in particular he hung out with, even outside of work. His name is Dennis Swinesboro. He works the toll booth outside, so I'm sure you two saw him on the way in here. Anyway, Dennis and I are rather close too. We take our lunch breaks together sometimes. So when he came into the food court for about a week straight looking depressed, I naturally asked what was wrong. He said Drew was purposefully isolating himself. Poor fox drowned in his work."

Judy finished rummaging through the multiple drawers in the computer desk. She managed to grab a few documents that could at least be of some use. She grabbed a molecular composition of the Nighthowler's protein, a progress log, and a spreadsheet of some sort.

"But get this," Milly continued, "Dennis said Drew told him that he was being followed."

Both Judy and Nick's heads whipped to face Milly at breakneck speeds.

"Excuse me?" They said in unison.

"As crazy as it sounds, that's just what Dennis told me. He told me that Drew was chased by some cheetah just 2 days before he disappeared. Hell, I think the reason why Drew started cutting ties with his friends was because he didn't want to inadvertently take anyone down with him. Also, I'm sure that the reason why he was working so diligently on his 'Nighthowler cure' as he called it was because he knew they were after him and he wanted to finish before they got him. Whoever 'they' are."

Judy looked utterly shocked at this. "And he didn't call the police?"

"Drew isn't like that. He was the type who liked to handle his personal affairs by himself. I'm sure he didn't expect anything really serious to come of it, so Dennis was the only person he directly told about any of this. I only heard it from Dennis."

Nick sighed lightly. "Thanks so much, Milly. You helped us a lot today." He walked over to the grinning aardvark and handed her a card. "If you remember anything important or need anything, give this number a call."

"You're welcome, Officers." She turned on her heel and began to exit the room. "Need anything else before I go?"

"No we should be A okay, thank you though." Judy replied.

Milly turned around and was gone.

Nick turned his attention to Judy. "You know, the mammal in the video did kind of look like a cheetah. Slim face, Long and skinny tail, a very toothy grin. Looks pretty cheetah-esque to me. Oh, and his codename is jet. Cheetahs are fast, like jets." He shrugged and went back to searching.

Judy wondered if he was overthinking too much, but after a minute of pondering she realized what Nick had said did make sense. Although there was no way to know for sure.

Something Orange caught Nick's eye. He strode over to a pile of papers on the floor and shuffled through them. From underneath he pulled out a bag of.. carrots, which was labeled "tests". The carrots in the baggie all seemed to have some sort of rotting on them. Some were almost completely rotten, while some barely had a speck of the rotting on them. Nick showed the bag of carrots to Judy, who looked equally as befuddled by his find. "Looks like every fox needs his Carrots," Nick joked.

"Har-har, very funny." Judy chided sarcastically.

"As long as my Carrots doesn't go savage or rot away, everything is alright."

"You're ridiculous," she surmised.

A voice crackled over the walkie-talkie strapped to Nick's vest. "Officer Wilde, do you copy?"

"10-4 Clawhauser, go ahead."

"Chief just called me, he told me your warrant cleared. He wants you to get on it as fast as you can,"Clawhauser urged.

"Gotcha, we'll be back soon." The radio static stopped and Nick took one last look around the room before making his way towards Judy. He still held the bag of carrots in his paw.

Judy on the other hand was not done searching. She flipped through multiple binders, searching for any possible info on Foxman or his work. "Just take this notebook," she said as she threw him a spiral notebook. She got up from her kneeling position and stood upright at Nick's side. Together, they traversed through the long halls of Acer. They made a stop at the front desk to say their goodbyes to Milly, but she was nowhere to be found. She was probably busy doing sciency stuff, so the duo made their way back to their cruiser. The Tundratown snow had picked up so when they exited the building, Nick and Judy both were nipped by the icy wind. Judy, being smaller and more susceptible to the cold, started a brisk jog to get to the patrol car. Nick took his time, coolly strolling over to the large vehicle. He had his hood over his head and snow started to cling to the fabric. He took in the scenery around him. All of the buildings were basically covered in ice and snow, and the neon signs cast their glows into the intense white of the arctic landscape. Suddenly, Nick was socked in the head by something cold and sopping wet, and from the outside of his hood he saw an explosion of white. He slowly turned towards Judy, who was dying of laughter.

"Get in the car, you child," he joked.

They both entered the cruiser, Judy still chuckling at the now shivering fox. He spoke again. "Okay, you deserve this one." He leaned his head over and wiped the fresh snow all over the now squealing bunny. Her squeals were soon suppressed by Nick's near maniacal laughter. Nick withdrew himself from her, and once both their laughter subsided, Nick started the cruiser. He pulled off, his tires making fresh skids in the snow as he drifted around the parking lot. They exited through the gates in which they entered. They looked for Dennis but he too was nowhere to be found. Instead of him, the booth was manned by a scrawny weasel. Nick pulled onto the free way, and they began the first leg of the long journey back to precinct 1.
__________________________________

"We should stop and get food," a hungry bunny complained as her stomach growled. "How about Bug-Burga?"

Nick's muzzle wrinkled up in distaste. "Meh," he fretted, "I prefer something that doesn't taste like a well used mattress."

"Good point," she agreed. "How about Wrap Shack?" She pointed abruptly at the rapidly incoming building.

Nick nodded his head and stepped hard on the brakes before turning into Wrap Shack. Outside on a park bench sat a lone otter. His tattered sweatshirt and ripped jeans exposed his skinny appendages. He sat close to the sidewalk, holding out a tin can and a sign that read "Need money for food." Mammals of all kinds passed him by, paying no attention to him. Nick stared at him longer than he needed to as he pulled to the drive-thru order booth.

"Thanks for choosing Wrap Shack, how can I help you?" An electronic voice crackled through the grate.

"One sec, please," Nick pleaded. He turned Judy and asked what she wanted. She took it upon herself to order.

"We're going to have two separate orders. The first one is one One Number Nine meal, water to drink."

"And the other one?" The voice questioned.

"Two Veggie Bacon wrap meals for me please, two waters as well" Nick responded

The voice read them back their orders, and Nick confirmed. He advanced up to the second window, where he was greeted by a teenage baboon.

"First total is gonna be $3.25, second one will be $4.82," the baboon announced. They handed him their respective cards and he swiped. He asked if they wanted their receipts, but Nick said no so he threw them away in a trash can behind him. "Have a great rest of the week and enjoy," he smiled at them and Nick, despite his mood, smiled back. If only he knew the week they'd been having. They waited at the second window before a zebra handed them their food and drinks. Nick pulled away from the window but instead of pulling back onto the main road, Nick made a detour and parked behind the bench with the Otter. Nick rolled down his window.

"Hey buddy," he called out, "why don't you come over here for a second."

The young otter turned around. He took notice to the police insignias labeling their car and he sighed. He slowly made his way towards the cruiser.

"Look Officers, I don't have any drugs or anything. I've already been harassed by two other cops this morning and I'm not trying to be picked on by you two as well." The otter shot them both a pained glare and his ears went flat against his head. "So can I please go back to my bench before someone vandalizes my stuff again?"

"You look like you've seen better days, pal." Nick opened his bag and fished through the contents of it. He grabbed a white box from inside and held it out to the small predator. "Here, I'm sure as hell not going to eat two meals," He quipped and softly laughed to himself. The otters eyes shot open, and he looked like a deer in headlights. His frail paws rose up to grip the box, and he slowly took it from Nick's outstretched reach. He looked down at the box, and then back at Nick. His pained expression instantly melted away, being replaced by a look of silent admiration. The otter's eyes went glassy as he opened the box. For a second he smiled, before thanking Nick a million times. Nick offered his paw to shake, and the otter shook it jubilantly. "Have a good one champ," Nick added before pulling away.

"Thank you so much!" The otter shouted from down the road.

Judy sat with her arms crossed and a stupidly large grin across her muzzle. Nick glanced over at his partner and saw this look she was giving him, but he paid no mind to it and focused on driving. About 30 seconds later he glanced again and noticed she was still glaring at him.

"Can I help you?"

"Nick you're so cute"

"Oh so it's okay when you call me cute, but when I call you cute, you beat me up." He rolled his eyes and the corners of his mouth raised upward in a slight smirk.

"Stop, I'm being serious. That was so sweet." The look she was giving Nick warmed him to his core. Her eyes stayed half-lidded as she looked her partner up and down and her smile beamed a natural happiness that only someone as caring has her could muster. His ears and face heated up as Judy laid her paw on top of the back of his. The subtle touch of her soft paw on his made his heart race. Nick practically melted when she carefully intertwined her digits in with his. Nick couldn't even find words to reply with because Judy had clouded up his brain. He didn't dare move his hand at all. After a second, he snapped out of his trance and quickly came up with a reply.

"That was me about 15 years ago. I know that otters pain. Being out on the street, poor, and hungry. Any money I made would be made off of scamming unsuspecting souls using this one bogus card trick. I didn't feel bad at all for scamming then either, I just thought they deserved it because they were stupid enough to even involve themselves with me," He admitted, letting go a small laugh, "I'd get cursed at every single day by at least 3 animals everyday."

"Well that's not you anymore," Judy assured him, tightening her grip on his paw, "now you're the best partner and friend I could ever ask for."

"Friend?" He lifted his paw, showing her holding paw holding his, "then what's this huh?"

"Nick, just shut up and let me enjoy myself."

"Whatever floats your boat, Carrot Cake"
He lowkey wanted to enjoy himself too, so he flipped his paw over to the correct side and offered it to Judy. She took it without hesitation.

The precinct was coming up rather soon. Nick took it upon himself to radio Clawhauser to inform him that that would be there in around 30 minutes. The burly cheetah acknowledged and promised to tell Bogo of their arrival.

For now, they sat paw in paw as they made the journey back to headquarters.
________________________________

The dome roof of precinct one shone on the horizon as Nick sped down the freeway. He took the next exit, and the familiarity of downtown flooded over them. They would be arriving at headquarters within minutes. Nick looked down at the dashboard to check the time, and he was surprised at how early it still was. It felt like they had spent the ladder of the day investigating at Acer, but in reality they had only spent a few hours at the facility. Judy and Nick still sat holding paws until the dome ceiling of precinct one shone over the horizon.

"You ready, Carrots?" Nick asked.

"As ready as I can be," Judy said with a shudder. In all honesty, she was nervous. She knew the risks her and Nick were taking by choosing to pursue these criminals. Dealing with criminals this dangerous could make even the toughest of the ZPD freeze up under pressure.

Nick pulled into the parking lot of the ZPD HQ and parked close the front door. They were about to get out, but to their surprise, Bogo was making his way towards them. Nick roll down the window and the water buffalo leaned in to talk to them. Through the window, he slipped then a sheet of paper. Judy unfolded it and looked it over. It was the warrant, signed by Judge Billy Goat.

"I had a talk with Judge Goat and he agrees with me that this should be a covert op." He pointed to a section on the warrant. "You do not have to announce yourself. Get in, see what you can find, and get out."

Nick liked the sound of this, "so what you're saying is you want us to go all 'Mission Impawsible' on these guys," he joked.

"Without all the gunplay yes," Bogo replied, "I would still recommend bringing a gun, just in case brute force is needed."

Judy nodded in agreement with the much larger mammal. "Don't worry Chief, we're both packing," she said as she pointed to her utility belt, which held her standard issue pistol. Nick's belt held a pistol that packed a larger round, since he could handle the recoil.

"The warrant isn't active until 7pm, you both are free to as you please until then, but for now I want you both to come with me. I have something to give you both." He began walking away from the patrol car, so Nick and Judy both withdrew from the car and followed suit. Bogo walked through the front entrance and took a sharp right towards the armory. He swung open the heavy door and held it open for Judy and Nick. They descended down the stairs and came to yet another door. Bogo slid his keycard in the lock and a robotic beep came from the locking system. A light turned green and the door was unlocked. The gun lock up was down the long corridor ahead of them now. They made their way to it; Bogo acknowledged the tiger behind the bulletproof glass with a nod.

"Whatcha need, boss?" The large feline questioned.

"Just give me an EZ Tranq, if you will."

The tiger turned quickly and rummaged along the shelves of guns, equipment, and other things before grabbing a pistol with a long barrel and a bag. The design of the pistol was very weird, something that the duo had never seen before. The tiger turned around again and slid the pistol through the slit in the glass.

Bogo grabbed the weapon from the desk and motioned for Nick and Judy to follow him. He took them down a long hallway before swinging open another pair of doors. The loud cracks and bangs of gunshots were now audible, reverberating off the walls as they drew closer. Bogo picked a kiosk and set up a target downrange.

"This is an EZ Tranq, we just got a shipment of them in today," he explained. "You reload it by twisting the knob on the back and pulling out the chamber." He did as he explained and twisted the knob. He jerked out the back of the weapon and revealed a hollow tube. He drew a dart from the bag he was given, slid the projectile into the tube, and closed it. What he did next took both Judy and Nick by surprise. He snapped open the handle of pistol, revealing a CO2 cartridge. "This is good for 6-7 shots, then you need to change it." He replaced the handle and gave the pistol to Nick; he also moved the target downrange.

Nick raised the pistol to eye level and took a shot. There was virtually no recoil and the shot was pretty much silent. The dart sailed downrange at an incredible speed and embedded itself within the chest region of the target. Nick's eyebrows raised in astonishment. "Okay, I refuse to believe that this thing is that quiet. That's no louder than a loud whisper." the bewildered fox mused. He handed off the pistol to Judy, who it turn loaded another round into the chamber. She took aim at the target and fired. The small poof of the pocket tranquilizer sent a dart soaring once again into the chest region of the target.

"Man," the bunny said in amazement, "these things are pretty cool!"

"Be very careful not to prick yourself with these darts," the water buffalo warned, " they're coated with a very fast acting tranquilizer that can take down a horse with one shot. Very, very powerful stuff." He looked down at the bunny before him. "Now that's yours to keep, take the CO2 cartridges and the darts and be on your way now. Dismissed."

The duo saluted their superior and followed the path they came to exit the armory. The heavy doors were a little bit of a challenge for Nick to open, but he managed to pry them open. Judy of course, laughed at his struggle as his face turned redder than it already was due to strain. Now, it was back to the bullpen, where they would mentally and physically prepare themselves for the raid.

The bullpen was completely empty, due to the fact that all officers were out on their assignments. After a few minutes of silent preparation, they readied themselves for the task ahead of them. Judy's nose began to twitch, an automatic reflex to compliment her nervousness. Nick picked up on this and rested his hand on the bunny's shoulder.

"It's gonna be okay, Carrots. We just have to be quiet." Nick tried to assure her.

For some reason, she felt like it wasn't going to be. Her brain was running at a mile a minute; she processed everything that could go right and wrong. Thoughts, both good and bad, ricocheted around her mind like bullets. "What if they catch us? What will they do if they catch us? How are we even going to get in?". Her thoughts were cut short as Nick pushed open the front doors, exposing their cruiser. They rushed to it, and hopped in. Judy fished the warrant out of her pocket and examined the address on the slip of paper.

"1026 Oaklove Dr, Savannah Central."

She entered in the address in her GPS and the route was unveiled to her. She went into street view and scoped the place out. The house stood in a rather patch of woods, and beside it stood a barn. The road leading into the house was heavily shrouded by trees, so it wouldn't be hard to get in rather close in the cruiser then continue on foot. She scouted around the area while Nick began taking directions from the GPS system. The drive wouldn't be too long, and the sun was now beginning to set over the horizon. It would be close to nighttime by the time they got there. Nick has no intentions of rushing there, because he knew that this operation would be 10 times easier in the darkness.

"You got everything you need?" Nick broke the silence.

Judy began to name their checklist.
"Warrant, check. EZ Tranq, check. Actual guns and mags," she drew her service pistol from her belt, slid a mag into it, and chambered it. "Check," she concluded.

Nick was all suited up too. He sported a light bulletproof vest. Some of the pockets were filled with magazines for his pistol, but one larger bag hung on it. That was the bag for the darts and also an extra CO2 cartridge.

After a short drive, the duo came within a minute of the bungalow. The windy dirt roads and trails lead them to a break in the road they decided to disembark their vehicle here. As they pulled up, Nick made sure to shut the headlights to the cruiser off.

"Here Nick, pull it off to the side of the road. Near those bushes there," Judy pointed to a patch of bushes on the left side of the road. He pulled off and they left the car behind. They began approaching the break in the road.

"You look like a cowboy with both of those holsters," Judy joked. Nick looked down as his waist and examined his pistol in one holster and the EZ Tranq in another.

Nick in turn widened his stance, made his paw into a gun shape, and pretended to draw his 'hand'gun at Judy.

Judy smiled at Nick's stupid gestures. "Okay okay dumb fox, we gotta get serious."

He smiled as well, and a look of determination spread across his features. "You're right, Carrots. Let's do this."

The windy dirt trail weaved its way through the grasslands. On each side of the trail stood tall grass and a few bushes and trees. The atmosphere around them was getting darker and darker as the sun set.

Thanks to the darkness, Judy's eyesight was severely hindered. Nick's though, was still as sharp as a knife. He kept a lookout while he guided his partner through the dark woods.

Judy could suddenly see when a light peered through the woods, and was coming towards them fast. Nick grabbed Judy by the vest and gently tugged her into the nearby foliage. The deep growl of the incoming vehicle echoed all around them. The car turned around a bend in the trail. Light from the headlights shone directly on them, but the thickness of the brush and tall grass provided them with enough cover to hide their presence. The car came nearer and Nick could clearly make out that the car was a black van. It zoomed passed them and proceeded down the road. Nick looked for a license plate number, but there wasn't even a license plate on the rear bumper.

"Oh no.." Nick droned.

"What?"

"I hope they don't see our cruiser."

"Oh my cheesy oatcakes."

They both watched in horror as the van passed the spot where they parked on the side of the road. Thankfully, the van passed right by it and continued to turn down the windy roads. With that problem out of the way, they both rose and stepped out of the grasses.

The walking lasted a few more minutes, but they finally made it to the house. The house was two stories tall, but despite its height it was still shrouded by the trees around it. They stayed near the bushline, sweeping around the house and looking for a way in that wouldn't get them caught. They panned out all the possible entry points into the home, but they decided to go with Nick's idea of going through the air duct. They hastily made their way to the side of the bungalow, staying low and moving quickly to aviod detection. The pair slithered up to the grate blocking their entrance.

"I got this," Nick said as he drew his claws. He carefully inserted one claw into the one of the screws, and with a few twists of his wrist the screw fell to the ground. He did this to all of the corners, and before they knew it, Nick had successfully opened the passage. "Ladies first," he chided with Judy, motioning towards the open vent.

"I guess that means it's your turn then," she retorted back.

Nick accepted defeat and carefully entered. Judy followed right behind him. They knew that they were underneath the floorboards, and being there wouldn't do them any good. It was getting so dark in the cramped vent that even Nick could barely make out where he was going. He resorted to using his flashlight. With one paw he cupped over half of the lens, allowing just enough light through to aid his sight. There was only one way to go, and that was up. At the end of a straightaway, the vent turned upward. They crawled their way to the end of the tunnel. The fox shined his light upwards. The upward tunnel conveniently had ladder like ridges on it.

"Psh, they're making this way to easy."

Judy took the lead this time because if she fell, Nick would be able to catch her. If it were the other way around, she would be squashed. They climbed up to the second story. Since the dirt didn't anchor the duct to the ground, each movement they made now created a much larger noise. They carefully slid across the floor of the duct, trying to be as quiet as possible. They came to an overhead opening. The duo peered down into the room below them. It was some sort of bedroom, but whatever the room was, the coast was clear. Nick used his claw as a screwdriver once more and freed the grate of its holdings. Judy silently dropped in, barely making a sound. Nick was just about to drop in behind her, but she shot her head upwards and waved her arms around at Nick.

Nick was puzzled at first, but when she pointed towards the door he saw a raccoon playing on his phone, facing the other way. Judy put both her paws together and pretended to lay her head on them. Nick took the hint and unholstered the EZ Tranq. He dropped it to her along with the bag, and she caught the items. She took her time loading the weapon up, and pointed it at the raccoons back

"Pffft," the gun whistled.

The raccoon winced at the force of the dart hitting him square in the shoulder blade. He lazily reached to feel what it was that had just stuck him. From his back, he pulled the dart from his skin. As soon as he laid his eyes on the dark green dart, he doubled over and was still. A Clawk-18 fell from his waistband and softly clapped to the floor along with him. Nick took the sound of the slumped raccoon taking a nap as a sign that it was safe for him to descend. He jumped from the duct and landed beside Judy. He grabbed the gun from the floor and hid it, and after he dragged the snoozing raccoon into the room and deposited him under the bed. Judy went to the other side of the room and closed the door.

"Alright, let's search around in this room first," she demanded. Nick did as she said and began looking for something, anything of use. He peeked under the bed but nothing really caught his interest, except for a black leather suitcase. He brought the suitcase out and laid it on an end table in front of them.

"Watch the door, Carrots. Not with the Tranq, these guys are armed. Anyone walks through that door and makes even the slightest move to grab a weapon from somewhere on him, blast 'em."

Judy nodded in affirmation and raised her service pistol at the door, watching with a careful eye. Nick clicked open the 2 side locks on the suitcase.

"Blank papers?" He whispered. He couldn't believe what he pulled from the case. The only things inside were blank pieces of printer paper. There must have been dozens of them. He shone his flashlight on the documents, but they still held their blankness.

Judy was just as befuddled. She scratched the back of her head in confusion. Nick left the suitcase open on the end table and continued searching around the room. He used his flashlight to peer around the room and illuminate anything that looked to be of use.

"Here, silly. There's a lamp right next to that suitcase. A lamp's light would look a heck of a lot more natural from the outside of the door than a flashlight darting around the room." Judy edged her way to the lamp, keeping her gun aimed at the door. She fumbled around for the switch and when she found it, she flicked it on. All of the sudden the room was shrouded in purple light.

Nick chuckled to himself quietly. "Purple lights, huh? You think for being hardcore criminals they'd choose something more manly." He turned around, and as soon as he did he had to raise his paws to his muzzle to contain his gasp.

Judy got frightened by Nick's sudden outburst. "What?" She mouthed to him.

"Turn around"

In the briefcase sat the previously blank pages, but now in the purple light they glowed with text. The ultraviolet light exposing what seemed to be printed with invisible ink.

"Carrots, you're a genius."

Nick padded back over to the briefcase and peeked again and the papers. Some held profiles of animals. Another page had a very complex molecular mapping of some compound, along with a description of a bacteria.

"Brevinema? Never heard of that before." Nick pondered.

The weirdest document he managed to find was a mapping of Zootopia's subway transit system.

They decided to compile all the important documents together on the floor and quickly snap a picture. After they were done, they packed the suitcase back up and tucked it under the bed with the sleeping raccoon.
Judy slowly opened the door and peeked her head out. The hallway was clear, so they both snuck into the hallway. The room they were in was surprisingly the one of the only rooms on the second floor. The others were a bathroom and just a storage room filled with boxes. They did get a look into a few of the boxes, but most of the stuff was just jumbled up junk.

The next part of the house to search was the downstairs. They snuck by the stairs, and Nick laid down and peered his head down to check if all was clear. Multiple voices emanated from all around the house, but nobody was to be seen. Nick decided it would be best to quickly run into a room downstairs, so that's what they did. They ended up in a computer room. The computer looked incredibly expensive, and of a much higher tier than the computers they used at the ZPD. Right after Judy closed the door, they were interrupted by a voice and footsteps coming towards them. Nick and Judy ducked behind the computer desk to conceal themselves. Whoever it was outside their room was on the phone with someone.

"You do understand the shipment was supposed to be here last night, right?" the angry voice scolded.

A staticky response came from the other end but Nick and Judy couldn't make out what it was saying.

"Listen, I don't give a damn why you're late. Only thing I care about is that you're the last 2 words of that last sentence. You're late, pal."

Once again the staticky voice came through but was inaudible to the pair.

The door suddenly burst open. It slammed against the wall from the amount of force the mammal put into it. The mammal stomped into the room and sat in the chair in front of the desk they were hiding behind. Judy could only get a look at the animal's footpaws, but judging by that she determined it was a wolf that was doing the yelling.

"If you don't have that shipment of Deep Blue in by tomorrow, I swear to god I will personally put a cap in your ass."

The voice was now audible to them. "Man, quit playing. I-I.."

"I-I-I don't care," the wolf mocked. "I'm NOT trying to get reamed out by Jet here."

The mention of Jet's name sent shivers down both of their spines. They now knew for sure that whoever and whatever is in this house, is tied to their case. Lights flashed in through the window of the room.

He sighed and his tone lightened a bit. "Look, we've been friends for a while now right, Dog? You're the one who wanted to be in on this. I never dragged you into this, you know your responsibilities. Jet will wax you if he believes you aren't fit for this job, he's not screwing around." All three of them heard the front door open. "I'll call you back, Brute, Trojan, and Gaddis just picked up pizza. Just make it here okay, bro. And whatever you do, DON'T get caught with that shipment." He hung up the phone.

"Boss!" A second, female voice yelled from across the house.

"Yeah?" The wolf yelled back.

"There's a cop car with no cops in it chilling in the bushes about 2 minutes down the road."

The wolf instantly got up to his feet. "What?!?" he said worriedly.

"I'm not kidding, they could be scoping the place out."

He ran out of the room. "Get your guns, boys. It's time to go cop hunting." He opened a draw in the desk and pulled out what Judy imagined to be a gun. The slide locking on a pistol was incredibly distinct. He rushed out of the room and closed the door behind him.

"Sweet cheese and crackers, Nick. We gotta go now!"

"I'm way ahead of you, sweet cheeks." Nick had run around the desk and pushed the rolling chair up to the window. He climbed up top of it and starting to try and pry the window open. "It's locked," he drew his pistol, "stand back Carrots."

He reared back with all his strength and drove the handle of his handgun into the window, shattering it instantly. He cleared off a few shards of glass before Judy hopped up on the chair with him. They both made it out the window and landed on the dirt a few feet below them.

"Go go go!" Urged the fox. They sprinted for the bushes. Somehow, they managed to get to the treeline before any of the thugs realized that they had escaped. They kept up this sprint until they reached their cruiser. Nick was not trying to be discreet with their exit, and as soon as he started up the car, he floored it down the road. The duo panted along with each other.

"We gotta tell Bogo," they both said in unison.

Chapter Text

Nick had turned his sirens and lights on to part the evening traffic on Zootopia's freeways. He weaved in and out of traffic, urgently racing to get to the precinct.

"Nick, hurry," the bunny urged, "we have to lose them!"

"I'm trying my best here. I know a shortcut."

After turning off his lights and siren, He took the next exit and turned his way down an empty back street. He was moving a lot faster now, and he continued down this road for a while. The road twisted a few times, before coming to a straight away. A few lone houses rose up in the distance. From one of them came a bright flash.

The reality of the moment hit Nick like a brick.

"Judy get down!"

As soon as he finished, the windshield of the cruiser shattered into thousands of pieces and showered them with shards. Nick felt the bullet hit right next to head, and cotton and cloth from inside the headrest sprayed from the impact. Judy screamed and threw herself to the floor of the vehicle. A second flash came from the same building, and Nick braced himself for anything that could happen. There was a loud metal sound, and the cruiser instantly spun out of control. Sparks came up from the road as the bare rim of the now exploded tire grounded against the pavement. Nick stopped the car just in time to avoid crashing into a row of trees and bushes. He slung open his door.

"Go, go! Run into the trees we need to go now!"

"But what about the cruiser??"

"Who gives about the cruiser, just go!"

Judy hesitated no longer and launched herself from the car. Nick followed her and ran a few feet back from his partner. From the corner of his eye, he watched as one more flash appeared in the distance.

"Oh god," the fox thought. He quickened his pace and hoped that the next shot didn't find it's mark.

It didn't. Instead, it met with the ground in front of him and spewed dirt and rocks upwards. The dust got into Nick's eyes, temporarily blinding him. "Agh!" He yelped as he tripped over himself. He fell to the ground; thankfully he was close enough to roll into the bushes and out of sight.

_________________________________________
"God damn it!" the slim timber wolf snarled and banged a fist on the table he was resting his rifle on. He took a drag from his cigar and drew his walkie-talkie from his jacket pocket.

"Able to Boss, bad news," he sighed into the mic.

A crackling voice responded, "Oh what now."

"I may have missed," the wolf angrily admitted.

"Pft," the other voice laughed on the other end, "you mean to tell me you messed up your perfect record? You were the only other wolf in the group besides me to have a perfect record for over 6 months."

"Yeah? Well that was before Jet made you the co-leader instead of me," he puffed again on his cigar and watched as the smoke trailed up towards the ceiling, "anyways how're things at the house? How can you be sure it was those two that who broke in?"

"Everyone here is 100% sure it was them. We found Rocket under the upstairs bed with a tranquilizer dart in his back, and Brute swept the outside of the house, found something interesting."

"And what would that be?" The timber wolf responded. He put out his cigar on the table and threw the scoped rifle over his shoulder.

There was just a bit of static coming from the other end. Able waited for a response from the other wolf, but none came. "Hello?" He called into the walkie.

"Sorry, just boarding up this window. They broke the window in my computer room, can you believe the nerve of some mammals. We all heard the glass shatter and ran to see what happened, but by the time we got there, they were gone. Weird how I didn't smell them though. They had to have been hiding in the same room as I was in and I didn't even notice."

Able shook his head. He couldn't believe how indifferent his Boss was being about their current situation, trying to hide the mess that everything had become with his humor. The voice on the other end continued.

"Brute found the air conditioning vents broken into. Someone took off the grate outside and snuck in. Now what other police officers can fit into an air duct, huh?"

"Don't be cocky, you literal son-of-a-bitch," Able quipped.
_________________________________

"Nick, I can't see," Judy whispered quietly as she fumbled around in the dark woods.

"Here grab my paw," Nick replied as he reached out his paw. Judy blindly swung her arms around, trying to find Nick's paw. He couldn't help but laugh at the poor bunny. "Over here, Carrots," he chided. She followed his voice and grabbed his paw. They trudged through the semi-dense foliage for what seemed like forever.

"Where are we?" Judy asked softly.

"In the woods." Nick turned around to see Judy shake her head and facepaw with her free one.

"Wow, didn't notice. Thanks for the info, slick."

"Relax, I can see some street lights about half a mile from here. We're almost back to the city," Nick tightened his grip on Judy's paw, "let's pick up the pace, woods have always sort of freaked me out."

Judy scoffed. "Yeah? Well imagine not being able to see."

"Alright, alright. Point taken," Nick stopped in his tracks for a moment, "I think doing this would be quicker." He squatted down. "Hop aboard the S.S. Wilde."

Judy took the hint and hopped up on his back. Now that she was no longer walking, Nick could easily make his way through the woods without having to help her past every obstacle. She also appreciated the fact that she could just leisurely hang on to Nick's neck. She rested her head on his shoulder as he continued onward to the lights. It took another minute to reach the other end of the woods, but when they did, They emerged just outside the city limits. Judy jumped from Nick's back, and the two briskly jogged back to civilization.

Judy looked around confused, "where are we?" She questioned.

"I'm not too sure, let's find a sign." Nick walked alongside Judy until they came to a stop sign. They looked at the street names above the red octagon. "Oh! We're on Pantherville Lane, that's not even a 5 minute drive to the precinct! Finally a stroke of luck."

"Let's see if we could hitch a ride." the bunny suggested.

And so they stood on the side of the road, waving their arms in the air desperately trying to get someone to help them. Dozens of cars had past them, but none had stopped to help them. Discouraged, they decided to just walk to precinct one. Headlights began to creep up behind them, but it wasn't until the orange glow of the hazard lights blinking did the duo turn around. A snow leopard opened the door and stood up.

"Man, you two sure are a sight for sore eyes." He eyed the both of them up and down with a look of pity. Nick and Judy took this time to look at themselves. They both were covered in dirt and had rips in their uniforms from the thorns in the woods. "Do you guys, like, need some help?"

Finally a mammal with some kind of heart. Judy was the first to speak. "Yes, yes we do. Can you drive us to the downtown police station? It's like 5 minutes down the road."

"For sure, hop on in fellas."

The duo didn't hesitate a single second in taking the leopards offer. They entered the small coupe that the feline was driving. There were no back seats, so Judy made herself comfy in Nick's lap.

The ride was mostly silent, until the big cat spoke up.
"So are you two, like, dating or something?"

Nick turned to Judy and then back to the feline. He was about to deny his claim, but Judy beat him to it.

"Yes we are," she proudly spoke. Nick furrowed his brow. That was definitely not what he expected her to say.

The snow leopard just smiled. "Hell yeah," he happily stated, "I say screw the norm, just let love be love."

"Yeah.." both Nick and Judy sighed, looking at each other.

"I have a cute caribou waiting for me back home," the feline said proudly, "You two are adorable, by the way."

The car came to a halt on the side of the road outside the police station.

Nick offered a paw to the helpful mammal, "thank you so much, you're really a lifesaver."

"Hardly, you're welcome though," the cat humbly stated while shaking Nick's paw.

Nick and Judy stepped out of the vehicle and waved goodbye to the helpful stranger. He pulled off into the downtown traffic and disappeared. Judy walked a few feet in front of Nick.

"So Carrots, why did you tell him we were dating?" Nick asked.

Her ears peeked up and she turned around to face him. "I just wanted to see how he would react. Didn't expect him to be into Pred-Prey stuff too."

"Too?" Nick's smug grin grew on his maw.

Judy blushed a little, once again her quick mouth gave her away. "Let's not worry about that just yet," she said dreamily, "are you mad that I said that?"

"No of course not," he responded.

"Well then stop complaining," her smug grin began to match Nick's.

They neared the double-doored entrance. The only thing on his mind was the sly bunny now bounding in front of him. Besides the near misses with death, life was good.

Chapter Text

Judy was the first to hit the entrance. Like she was playing football, she drove her shoulder into the door and it swung open. Nick was close behind her and managed to slink in while it was closing. Being that it was almost midnight, Clawhauser wasn't manning the front desk. Instead, a Boar named Riley sat in his place. He was calling into his dispatch radio, calling out multiple codes to some of their fellow officers. Judy and Nick hastily made their way to the large desk.

"... and make it quick!" Riley looked up from his station and saw them running towards him, "oh hey you two! Why do you both look like you've been mauled?!" He asked worriedly.

"Long story," Judy quickly responded, "Look Riley we really need to see Bogo right now our case is at stake we can't waste any time because if we do we might lose the only leads we have right now and I can't let that happen so can you please page Bogo and tell him that I'm running up to his office right now thank you!" Instantly after she finished, she took off, running full speed up the stairs towards chief's office. Riley sat wide eyed, still trying to process the 100 words the quick talking bunny had just said in a span of a second.

Nick laughed at Riley's dismay. "Could you tell she's in a hurry?" He chided with a smirk. Riley silently shook his head and radiod Bogo to warn him of Hopps' arrival.
Nick took his time going up to Bogo's office; he was sure that his over exuberant bunny had already finished telling him the story already judging by the machine gun burst of words she assaulted Riley with. As he crested the top staircase, he could already hear his partner down the hall. It was still a marvel to him how such a loud voice could come from such a small bunny. He quickened his pace to catch up to his partner, and when he entered the room, both pairs of eyes snapped to him.

"Nice of you to finally join us Wilde," the gruff buffalo bellowed, "now I you weren't lazily dragging your tail through my precinct, you wouldn't have missed me telling your partner that I have a Z.W.A.T team gearing up as we speak to raid this house."

"Aw, would you look at that. You care about us so much that you called in the calvary for us. How considerate," Nick said with a smirk.

The glares he received from both Bogo and his partner clearly conveyed that they were not amused.

Bogo facehoofed, "Listen, Fox. I'm going to ask you nicely, can you PLEASE focus on the case and your job instead of insisting on giving me a pounding migraine? I have been working on your case specifically for days now," his expression grew even more serious, "and I am NOT going to have a major terrorist attack happen on my watch. Do you understand me?"

Nick's ears dropped and he looked down to be floor. "Yes sir, I understand." He looked up at Bogo and apologized. He decided that Bogo was right, and that now was not the time to screw around. They did have a huge responsibility ahead of them. Nick put on his game face and, for once, dropped the act and took a seat next to Judy. His sitting was short lived, as Bogo only told them to suit up with the Z.W.A.T team. He dismissed them afterwards. Nick and Judy both took the walk of shame out of the large office. Judy and Nick waited awkwardly outside of the elevator. When it came to their floor, the door opened and Detective Wolford exited. He nodded down to the pair and proudly strode into Bogo's office, holding his hands behind his back. Judy and Nick replaced his spot in the elevator.

"Nick," Judy said in a small voice.

"Yeah, carrots?"

"You only open your mouth to change feet, huh?"

Despite his encounter with angry Bogo, he managed to laugh it off. "Oh can it," he chided, "I was just trying to lighten the mood a little. To be honest, I didn't expect Bogo to put so much effort into this case."

"Well, when you're dealing with a group of terrorists that may or may not put all of Zootopia at risk, you kind of have to."

Nick just nodded to acknowledge her. She did have a point after all. The door slid open, and they hastily moved to the armory, where they would meet up with the Z.W.A.T team. Nick groaned when he realized he didn't have the keycard to open the door. "Hey, Riles!" Nick called out to the boar at the front desk. He peeked his head out from behind the desk and saw Nick waving his hand to him. "Keys!" He shouted. Riley fished his keys off of his utility belt and launched them Nick's way, and Nick easily caught the well aimed throw. He tapped the card to the lock and with a beep, it unlocked. Due to the angle, Nick didn't want to miss his throw, so he settled for just sliding the keys across the ground. They stopped at Riley's feet, and with that the duo disappeared into the armory. For the second time, they defended the flights of stairs down into the lobby. Several heavily armored mammals sat ready, already armed to the teeth. Among them was their commander, Officer McHorn. His expression brightened as he saw his old colleagues enter the room. He shot a reassuring smile their way while they were getting suited up, which was greatly appreciated by both

After they were fully suited up, they joined the single file line of much larger mammals. Weapon wise, they were very much so under armed compared to the rest of the Z.W.A.T team, who brandished decked out rifles and shotguns. Judy and Nick only had their sidearms. They stood shoulder to shoulder, until McHorn took his place in front of a whiteboard.

"Alright boys, plain and simple. We're going in through the front door and sweeping room to room, we need to find everything and anything useful. Don't leave a single stone unturned, understand?"

"Sir, yes sir!" was the unanimous reply of the team.

"Well then lets mount up."

The line turned and made its way towards the double doors in the back of the room. The first mammal swung the door open, revealing an underground garage, which held a riot control tank, and a few armored cars. The car they were loading into was called a bearcat, and it held ample space for the multitude of bodies on the team. Most of the room was for the larger mammals, Nick and Judy could survive on only a little wiggle room.

And that's just what they got. The cramped interior of the bearcat was jam packed with armor, gear, and fur. The ride was rather bumpy and that made for a lot of unwarranted contact between bodies. It was hot, and Nick was slightly annoyed due to the fact that the mammal sitting next to him was accidentally poking him with the barrel of his rifle. Nick raised his paw and gently pushed the dangerous barrel away from his body. The panther realized his fault and sucked at his teeth, he mouthed "my bad" and turned away.

The bumps in the road became heavier, and Nick guessed that it was the transition from the paved roads of the city to the rural dirt roads of the countryside. It seemed like they were riding in the bearcat for hours, and the anticipation of the proceeding raid sent adrenaline coursing through the bodies of all attending. The multitude of twists and turns gave the impression that they were nearing their target.

"ETA, One minute!" The driver called over the PA onboard.

McHorn stood and held on to a strap on the ceiling. "Ready up," he commanded.

Everyone complied. The bearcat was filled with the sounds of guns cocking, vests zipping, and mags being drawn into their weapons.

"Wilde and Hopps, you're the last ones out." McHorn bellowed. The duo nodded and awaited for the doors to be swung open. The bearcat came to a stop, and the door was bursts open. "Go, go, go!"

The army of mammals stormed out of the vehicle, guns raised, yelling callouts and instructions to each other.

"I'm watching the 2nd floor."
"Stay quiet."
"Get to the door."

Nick and Judy in fell behind them. The driver had positioned the bearcat in a place where the house could not see it, but the Z.W.A.T team members still were in close proximity. The group traversed the short road and began to stack up around the dark building. McHorn spearheaded the assault, bringing himself to the front door. He waited for the rest of his team to ready up. "Oskar, ready a flashbang," he commanded to the hippo standing next to him. He drew the flashbang from his belt and got ready to pull the pin. McHorn banged on the front door forcefully a few times.

"Zootopia Police Department, open the door!"

The only thing that responded was silence. He knocked again.

"This is the ZPD, we have a search warrant!"

Silence again. McHorn decided it was time for action. He reared back on one hoof and drove the other one square into the frame of the door. It instantly shattered, sending shards of wood everywhere. Immediately after doing this he moved out of the way, and Oskar lobbed the flashbang into the now opened doorway

*POP*

A loud bang and a sharp burst of white light came from the doorway just a second before the sea of blue stormed inside the room. 8 officers, including Judy and Nick sweeped inside of the dark room. The only light guiding them was the light coming from each officers flashlight. As the lights danced across the walls, Judy and Nick realized one very crucial thing.

Everything was gone.

The couches, TVs, tables, everything was removed.

Judy stood dumbfounded in the center of the room. "I.. I just don't understand."

"Spread out, sweep every room!" McHorn ordered.

Nick walked over to the shocked bunny and rubbed her on the shoulder. "Come on, Carrots. Let's check upstairs." She listened and they spread apart from the rest of the group.

As they neared the stairs, they too turned their flashlights on. They pointed them up the flight of stairs, checking for any dangers that might have been awaiting them. Nick took point, carefully ascending up the stairs with Judy close behind him. They both crested the stairs at the same time, both with guns pointed ahead of them. They approached the first door.

"You go left, I'll go right." Judy implored. Nick nodded in agreement and they both stacked up, backs against the wall. "Go," she whispered, and they both swung around the corner with lightning speed. As they entered the room, once again they were met by nothing.

"Well," Nick started, "I think we can both agree on one thing."

"What's that?" She responded.

"This place has been completely cleared out, and whoever cleared it made sure they're would be absolutely nothing for us to find."

Judy shuddered. "Judging by how fast these guys managed to clear this out, there's either a lot of them, or they're just really, really strong."

"Either one is equally as scary." After checking the closet, they proceeded into the next room. If Nick remembered right, this was the room that they had initially gained access to from the air vents.

"Same plan," Judy whispered. They both entered the room, checking their respective directions. Nick's flashlight panned over to the bed and on top of it sat a raccoon, just staring at the wall.

"Put your hands up!" Nick spoke sternly to the sitting raccoon. The coon didn't even flinch, making no movements as it stared blankly into the wall. Nick inched closer, keeping his weapon tracked on the strange mammal. "Are you deaf? I said put your hands up!" The coon didn't budge. Nick took another step, and he now found himself dangerously close to the foot of the bed. "Okay buddy, you asked for it." The raccoon growled as he approached closer and closer. A second passed, and in what seemed like an instant the raccoon whipped around. It launched itself at Nick, knocking both of them to the ground. The raccoon landed on top of Nick, snarling and slashing its claws at Nick's neck.

"Nick!" Judy yelped in surprise. Without thinking she lunged at the attacking raccoon. She drove both her feet into the chest of the coon with a diving kick that sent the aggressive mammal rocketing towards the wall. There was a massive thud as the raccoon's body slammed into the wall and tumbled to the floor. Nick got up as quickly as he can as the stunned raccoon slowly got up onto all fours. His pupils were narrowed into black slits and his muzzle was drawn back in a snarl, exposing his pointed teeth.

"Carrots, run."

The duo took off at the same time, narrowly avoiding another pounce from the savage animal. The raccoon missed, slid across the hardwood floor and bumped into the other side of the hallway.

"Help!" Judy yelled as they ran quickly down the stairs. "We need a tranquilizer! Savage mammal coming through!"

A pair of Z.W.A.T members ran out from a room across the house to see Nick and Judy scurrying away from the savage mammal chasing them. The raccoon decided to change targets, and instead for the other pair instead of Nick and Judy.

"Kowalski, shoot it!" The polar bear drew his EZ Tranq and fired. The raccoon weaved out of the way to avoid the quick dart and lunged directly into the chest of the officer. He stumbled due to the force of the blow, tripped over himself and to the ground with the coon still attached to his chest.

"Oh, shit!" He yelled as the savage raccoon clawed at his face mask. The raccoon sunk his teeth into the arm of the officer, inciting a a howl of pain as the raccoon lashed around with his teeth still embedded in his arm. His partner came to his aid as fast as he could. He picked up the dropped tranquilizer gun, loaded another dart and fired at the raccoon. This one hit its mark, and there was a soft thud as the dart found skin. After another second of flaring claws and teeth, the raccoon went limp. The downed officer moved the now asleep raccoon off his chest and sat up. His armor and face mask were scratched to hell, but thankfully he had not sustained any serious injuries. He was holding onto his arm though, and his supporting paw and the white fur covering his arm were covered in blood. He winced in pain when he removed it to check out his wound.

His partner came to his aid when the wounded officer tried to get up to his feet.

"Kowalski, just grab my arm, don't strain yourself you'll just hurt yourself more."

Kowalski obliged and took his partner's arm for support. They went back to the bearcat to treat his wound.

"Carrots you wanna know what I just realized."

"What's up?" She responded.

"We never did check out the barn in the back."

"Well let's get to it, Slick."

The duo exited the house and began walking towards the looming barn. It sat about 50 meters from the house, and was about half the size of it. They neared the entrance of the beat up building. Nick grasped the door handle and swung it open. Dust and dirt clouded the entrance for a second. Judy's flashlight turned on and she swept the area with the beam of light before they carefully edged inside. Nothing out of the ordinary struck them. They searched all around the abandoned building and found nothing of importance. They exited the barn to the sight of everyone lining up by the bearcat. Exhausted and disappointed, they joined the ranks of the other officers. All the others were equally as disappointed. The group loaded back into the bearcat, making enough room for Kowalski's partner to dress his wound.

The bearcat started up, its Diesel engine humming bass notes throughout the cabin. The noise of the engine was almost completely drowned out by the complaints of the Z.W.A.T team.

"Can't believe we didn't find a single thing."
"I need some coffee and a shot of vodka"
"What the hell, Wilde. I thought this was your going to be your big break"

Nick responded to the latter.

"Guys, guys. Calm down. I know you're all disappointed, I am too. I really have no idea how they managed to clear out an entire house in less than an hour."

"Guess they hired Zootopia's finest moving crew, huh?" One of the officers joked. A small chorus of laughter filled the heavily armored vehicle. Even Nick and Judy, despite their awful luck so far, managed to get a good laugh out of the jokester's comment.

"Sure looks like it," Judy quipped back.

"So how the hell did you guys end up in all of this, WildeHopps?" Asked another one of the team's members.

"It all started a few days ago when we responded to a call about an explosion," Nick started, "we pulled up to the scene and.. wait a second, what did you just call us?"

"Oh, WildeHopps? It's no biggie, just a little nickname the precinct has for you two," The officer added. Some of the other officers on board began to snicker.

"Alrighty then," Nick looked over at his partner and her surprised expression showed him that she hadn't known about this nickname as well. "And we haven't heard of this, why?"

"Don't worry about it. I mean it's not like there's a huge betting pool centered around you two, don't be silly."

This comment incited more sneers from their colleagues. Nick just shook his head and let it go.

"As I was saying.."

Nick went on to tell the rather disturbing story. He told about the initial call, the email, the raid, and everything else. Shock and amazement littered the faces of all in attendance, and for good reason.

The bearcat had safely made its way back into the underground garage, and the doors swung open. Everyone leisurely exited, lazily hopping out of the large vehicle and back into the armory. Judy and Nick let the larger mammals exit first before they jumped out. When they reached the armory, they quickly stowed their gear away in the lock up and got out of the armory. Today had been the epitome of a long day. They had worked themselves to the bone all day, and had come out a lot more empty-handed than they would have liked. After this disappointment of a day, there would be nothing more needed than a fresh smoothie.

"Smoothie run?" The fox asked as they opened up the armory doors.

"I thought you'd never ask." Relief flooded Judy's face. Nick sure loved his usual blueberry smoothie, but carrots practically used them as a stress relieving drug. Not like Nick minded. Hell, anything that would loosen up the tightly wound bunny was okay in his book. At the front desk, they punched themselves out and exited the building. "You doing anything tonight?" Judy asked shyly.

"Nah, I was thinking my bed was calling my name tonight."

"Oh," Judy's ears dropped behind her head and her tone got noticeably more melancholy. "Alright then."

Nick, who was walking in front of Judy, didn't take notice to her now dulled state.

"Come on, you big dumb fox, take a hint."

The big, dumb fox didn't take the hint. He strode out coolly to his car and opened the passenger side for Judy to take her spot, in which she took without hesitation. Nick took the cockpit seat and started up his car. Before they knew it, they were at Smoothie Lion. The conveniently placed smoothie shack was only located a block down the road from the downtown ZPD headquarters, which made it a regular hangout spot for the two while they were on breaks. Plus, it was the only smoothie parlor open at this time of night. It was 12:30 after all, and the day had not been easy on them. Due to the late hour, only the drive thru was open. That didn't phase them though, as they were ordering to-go anyway. Nick whipped around the building and positioned himself in front of the ordering booth. A cheery female voice welcomed them and offered to take their order.

Nick ordered his usual while Judy ordered her second favorite, pineapple mango. They received their drinks, and while Nick was handing Judy hers, he noticed the droopy eared bun. Nick admitted in his head that she did look like she was intentionally trying to be sadder than she actually was, but that didn't stop him from asking.

"What's the matter, Carrots?"

"Oh, nothing," she lied, "I mean it will be fine."

Nick's head cocked sideways. He could easily see right through Judy's ruse, and the fact that she was hiding something from him annoyed him slightly. "Come on Fluff, I'm not blind. You can tell ole foxy what's going on in that emotional head of yours." He gave Judy a soft noogie, and she grinned a bit.

"Honestly, Nick. I'm okay. Thanks though."

"Alright, suit yourself." The fox replied smuggly, wearing his signature smirk.

"Stupid, cute fox." She thought to herself. "Okay, fine! I give up."

"Spit it out, young bun."

"Fine," Judy remarked, "ugh, call me sappy, but I kind of wanted to spend the night with you. Today has been god awful and I really just wanted to spend the night with my best friend, sipping smoothies and watching tacky horror movies."

Nick just chuckled, "First off, you're sappy." He glanced sideways, giving the bunny beside him a warm look. "Second off, I thought you'd never ask."

Judy's face instantly brightened up and her ears returned to their usual perky position while Nick took a detour to get to Judy's apartment.

"You have to get clothes don't you?" Judy asked.

"Check out the backseat."

Judy peered back into the back seat. On the floor there was a small blue suitcase. Judy was instantly curious. "What's in there?"

"Clothes, toiletries, a first aid kit, and a few other things. That's just my little care package, cause you never know what could happen around here."

"Good idea," Judy laughed, "all the times I've been in this car and I've never noticed."

"Well, we haven't had a reason to get into the backseat."

Nick and Judy both looked at each other, then away, then back again.

"Get your mind out of the gutter," they both said in unison. Judy's jaw dropped at the fact that they were both thinking the same thing.

"Jinx! You owe me a soda!" Nick quipped to release the tension.

They both laughed awkwardly at the shared inappropriate thought.

"Lucky for you, I have some at my flat."

"Thank Heavens," Nick jested, "I couldn't go one more day without my healthy serving of carbonated sugar water."

"You're joking right?" Judy playfully asked, "you're the one who has always told me how bad that stuff is for you."

"I am. And I think I just busted you having sodas in your fridge, bad carrots."

"Alright, dad." Judy scoffed.

"What would you be without me, sly bunny?"

"Sane," Judy chided back.

"Are you implying I drive you insane?"

Judy blushed a bit. Nick was really pushing her buttons today. One little slip up and Nick would have her right in the palm of his hands. He sat there with that usual smug grin plastered on his face, waiting for the slip up, waiting on his chance to toy with the bunny's emotions some more.

"If by 'insane' you mean wanting to kick you every time you make a smartass remark, then yes, yes you do."

Nick fake winced in pain, "got me there, Carrots."

Judy's apartment was growing nearer and nearer every second that passed, and they both were eager to hang up their work uniforms and finally chill out for the night. It was painfully late, but the partners were still wide awake from tonight's affairs. Nick turned into the parking garage of the Grand Pangolin Apartment complex and found himself a parking spot. He fished his suitcase from the backseat and shut his car off. The walk to the actual building was not a long walk at all and before they knew it, they were already on the elevator to get to Judy's floor. The old elevator doors opened up, revealing a long hallway, stretching out far until it suddenly came to an end with a door. As they walked past the myriad of other doors, Judy finally stopped, took out a set of rusty keys, and opened the door to her apartment.

Nick and Judy strode in. She turned the light on, and Nick realized something. He had forgotten that Judy had gotten a new apartment. She had stayed in the same building, but had made the upgrade when she decided that her old room was way too small to live a normal life in. This apartment came complete with a bedroom, bathroom, and a kitchen. Judy had also mentioned that her loud neighbors, Bucky and Pronk, had also moved up. Coincidentally, the landlord had put them in the room next to Judy's again.

"Goodness gracious," Nick looked around the room and admired the new apartment. Sure, it wasn't the penthouse suite, but it was definitely an upgrade from the closet that she had called a living space. The door shut behind them, and Nick raised his arms in a stretch that cracked most of his spine. He sighed in relief as the stress from the previous day blew away with every stretch.

Judy had already went to her room to change out of her work uniform and into her pajamas. She opened her bedroom door and came out wearing an oversized shirt and a pair of short shorts. From across the room, she shot Nick a wanting look. With half-lidded eyes, she pointed to Nick and motioned for him to come to her with a single digit. Nick took his sweet time in making his way over to her, admiring her gorgeous amethyst eyes and her curvy figure. She stood there with her hips cocked, waiting for Nick to get closer to her. With each passing step, Nick eyeballed his partner up and down, and Judy did the same.

Finally, Nick stood a foot's distance away from the bunny. Their eyes met, fire merged with fire and the intense heat coming from both of their gazes made Nick's face heat up. Judy closed they gap between the two. While delving deep into Nick's emerald green eyes, she raised a paw from her hip and placed it on his lower stomach, dangerously close to his belt.

The sudden touch made Nick shiver to his core. While still keeping eye contact, She tightened her grip on his shirt and began to slowly pull it out from his pants.

"Your turn, Slick." She urged in a sultry voice.

"Sheesh, you're coming in hot tonight."

"Hehe," Judy giggled, "you think so?"

Nick grabbed his suitcase and moved past the bunny and into the room. "I know so," he retorted. The fox shut the door and began changing. His heart was racing, pounding in his chest like a bass drum during a drum solo. After opening his suitcase, he fished out his plain black tshirt and a pair of grey sweats. He couldn't stand being away from Judy for longer than was absolutely necessary so he quickly opened her bedroom door and found that she was waiting for him, leaning on the door frame. She walked inside the room and guided Nick to the bed. Her new apartment came with a new bed too. This one was more than twice as big, so there was ample room for the both of them to sit and turn on a movie and relax.

"You down for a classic??" Nick asked.

"What do you have in mind?" She responded.

"Nightmare on Elk Street," Nick grabbed the remote from off of the end table next to him, "Freddy Cougar is without a doubt the best horror movie antagonist in recent years."

"I've never seen it." The bunny admitted.

"Whaaaaaaaaat?! Alright now we have to watch it. Now where can I find it?"

"Maybe on demand has it."

Sure enough, it did. He pressed play on the remote and the movie began playing.

"Sooooo, WildeHopps." Judy continued.

"I'm just as surprised as you. But hey," Nick shrugged, "I will admit it's kind of catchy."

Judy giggled, "it is, isn't it? It kind of flows pretty well."

"Yeah," Nick mumbled to himself, "but what're the odds?"

Nick must have forgotten how good Judy's hearing was. She hadn't been facing him, but upon hearing him say that, she turned to face him. She noticed that his usual smirky self wasn't there. He looked genuinely sad, and that was a first for Nick.

"Don't say that," Judy assured, she scooted closer to Nick and rested one of her paws on his arm. "You never know."

"Heh heh," he laughed awkwardly. "Forgot about those sonar dishes attached to your head."

"What's wrong, Nick? I'm not stupid."

He looked her in the eyes. His eyes were misty, but still held that fire from their encounter outside of her bedroom. "It's nothing, Carrots. Nothing bad at least." He took his paw and laid it on top of Judy's, that still rested on his arm. "I promise."

"If you say so, I guess. Let's just watch this movie." She said in a dim tone.

They watched the movie, sitting close enough to each other that their criss-crossed legs touched. There was a sudden flash and a loud noise, and it sent Judy skittering like a kit. She slid to the side and slammed headfirst into the crest of Nick's chest.

Nick wasn't sure if it was the movie or the sudden contact between them that made him jump out of his fur. She shrieked like a girl, and instantly threw his hands up in a reaction. Judy cracked up, openly laughing at the fox who's fur and tail were bristled. Judy hadn't moved, still clinging to his abdomen. He lowered his arm and unintentionally brought it down over his partner. He secured his paw around the bunny's hip, but after a few seconds his nerves got to him and he raised it again.

Judy grabbed it out of mid-air and brought it back down. She scooted closer to him and nuzzled herself into his chest.

Nick was sure his heart would burst out of his chest in any second. He looked down at the smaller bunny in front of him and couldn't believe what he saw. She withdrew her arm from around his waist and looked back up at him.

"Lay down," She begged in a sweet voice.

Nick slid his way down from his sitting position and laid in his back.

"You don't mind, do you?" She asked. Not sure what she was asking, Nick shrugged.

"Don't mind if you do what?" He asked back.

"This," she moved her way into Nick's arms, resting her head in the crease of his neck. She wrapped her arm back around Nick's waist and curled her leg up to keep it on his waist.

"This is pretty much exactly how we woke up that one day, expect now it's consensual." He joked.

"What can I say, you're comfy." She admitted. He was more than comfy, she found her paw drifting lower and lower down Nick's chest until it stopped at his shirt line. The fox let out a long breath as her paw crept up his shirt, her silky palms playing with the fur on his chest and abs. She used a single claw to gently draw circles in his fur. He let out a soft grunt as she traced her way back down to his hip.

"Oh. Em. Goodness." He droned. "Carrots, what are you doing to me?"

"Driving you insane," she whispered into his ear, "like you do me." She drew her hand from inside of the fox's tshirt and brought it up to his cup the inside of his sharp jawline, gently caressing behind his ear. Nick's paw rose up to meet it.

"Judy.." Nick practically moaned.

Hearing her first name come from her partner brought her heated moment to a crash landing. She raised her head to look at him. "Yes?"

Judy could almost hear the cogs turning in his head as he searched around for the right words. He laid back with his paw on his forehead, staring at the ceiling. "Carrots," he started propping himself up on his elbows allowing him to see eye to eye with his partner. "I.. I think I love you." With that, Judy's eyes shot open. I don't know how it happened. "But with you doing all this stuff right now, I can't really contain myself any longer. Ever since our first case, when I see you I just get happy. You saved me, Judy. Everyone says you can't love someone until you love yourself. Bullshit. I've never loved myself, but you, oh god. I love you so much, I forgot what hating myself felt like."

Judy's jaw practically hit the floor. She had no clue what to say. Her brain felt like it was malfunctioning as she stumbled around the idea of Nick loving her. She could see it in his eyes, how every time he looked at her in the recent months his eyes would light up.

"Nick.. I-"

"Shhhhh," he pressed a finger to her lips, "I'm not done yet." *sigh* "At first, I thought we were just joking around with each other. We'd say we loved each other, and play around, sleep over with each other, all that kind of stuff. And it just hit me one day. My life had felt empty until I met you. You gave my life a meaning again, and for that I'll never be able to thank you enough." He let out a long breath and hung his head over to the side. "I'm in love with you, Judy."

Judy was sure Nick could see her ears flushing. She thought their "flirting" was entirely platonic, but realization struck her like a semi-truck. She had taken notice to her lightheartedness when they flirted but never really took account as to what it actually meant. Nick had always been there for her when she needed it, always providing his support through his sarcastic jokes and side hugs. She'd grown fond of him to the point where even if he was sick for a day, she still missed his presence. Now tonight, her brain had been in autopilot. Untucking his shirt for him and rubbing her paw through the russet fur felt like something natural, something that she needed. Laying in the crest of his neck and breathing in that hearty, male musk made her heart flutter.

"Would it be, I don't know, kind of crazy if I said that I loved you too."

Nick's head whipped around at break-neck speed. He was shocked, and Judy could tell so by his wide eyes and by his muzzle being slightly open. He sat up and faced his partner. "Really?" He asked.

"Yes, Nick. I just now realized it, but I think I always have."

"That's funny coming from the bunny who's parents brought her up on the notion that foxes are Satan's pets," Nick jested, "and I'm a predator, you're prey, what about that?"

"My parents lived in a different era, Nick. I'm sure if they met you, their mentality would be flung straight out the window. And um, about the predator thing. I, um, well, when I see your claws and your teeth, a small part of me just wants to run away and hide."

"Oh," Nick's ears dropped and he turned away from her. He swung his legs out from under the covers and stood up. "Well, I need to get a glass of water." He began walking towards the door.

"No, no, Nick wait. You didn't let me finish. Sit down." Nick sighed and sat back down on the bed where he was before. "Yeah, a very small part of me does that still. I'm sorry. But," she awkwardly scratched the back of her neck, "then another part of me gets really excited when I see them. I, uh.. kind of find it sexy.. You don't have a problem with that, do you?"

Nick responded with a shake of his head and reached out to grab the bunny by her hips, pulling her closer.

"Well like Gazelle said," she shrugged her shoulders and put wrapped her arms around Nick's neck, "Try everything."

The connection between them was unbearable at this point. Their eyes were locked into each other's, savoring the heat of it all. Nick began to close his eyes and lean forward.

oh god, oh god, the bunny thought, her mind went numb and adrenaline coursed all around her body, sending chills down her spine. She gave in, closed her eyes, leaned forward and-

"WOULD YOU TWO SHUT UP AND KISS ALREADY!" A loud voice came from the wall, rattling the pictures mounted on it. "GET A ROOM!"

"Bucky!" A loud thud came from the other room, meaning Pronk was being slapped around by his roommate, "leave them alone man they were having a moment, you dick."

Judy rolled her eyes so far back into her skull, Nick swore that she could have seen her brain. "Okay first, we have a room! And second, do you guys know what venison is?"

There was a moment of silence. Nick slowly stroked the ears of the fuming mad bunny. He shook his head, annoyed at the unnecessary interruption.

"Point duley noted," the voice said from behind the wall, "sorry!"

Nick had laid back down with his arms sprawled open, inviting Judy to lay back in the position they were in. She obliged, tucking herself in under the blankets and scooting to drape her figure over Nick's.

"You okay, Fluff?"

"Absolutely." She mumbled into his fur, hugging him tighter. "I'm just tired and you're warm."

Nick chuckled a bit and smirked, "I try my best." He yawned and arched his back. "I'm tired too. We should probably try to get some sleep. Tomorrow we have a night shift, and you know how hard it is to stay awake through those."

"For you," Judy dug at Nick.

"Not my fault, Miss Energizer Bunny. Some of us mammals don't have unlimited renewable energy like you do."

"Well get some sleep for once, and maybe, just maybe you'll have enough energy to stick through the day."

"Whatever you say, Officer Fluff," he leaned down and kissed the top of the bunny's head between her ears. "Goodnight."

She squeezed him tighter. "Goodnight, Slick."