A really happy fox walks into the ZPD, confusing his colleagues. Usually on Monday morning, he walks in with ringed and grumpy eyes, letting everyone know not to talk to him until he gets his coffee, but not now. He has a huge grin while he walks to his colleague, Officer Clawhauser.

"Hey Ben! Is everything okay?"

"Uh.. yeah, Nick." answers the cheetah "The question is everything okay with YOU?"

"Hah, never better. Anything interesting happened yesterday?"

"You don't know about it? It was in the news all day. They're call it the second biggest crime after the Nighthowler case. Well. A professional group of…" But he couldn't finish his sentence, because a bunny interrupts him.

"Well, well. It's Officer fox. It looks like he got out of bed on the right side this morning," she said with a smile. "You aren't that moody. Tell me, what happened on your day off?"

"Okay, Judy will tell you about everything. I have some work to do anyway." Says Clawhauser.

"Yes, of course, start that Gazelle app." Nick winks at the cheetah, who only gives an eyeroll.

They just started to go to their office, when Judy suddenly turns to Nick. "So, who is the girl?"

"What? How do you know that? I just got in."

"Come on Nick, you only come into the ZPD with that huge smile because of two things. First, Chief Bogo isn't at work, or two, you are in love. So?"

"Hehe. Clever Bunny. Okay. Her name is Amy, and the dinner went well. That's it. So, what is that thing, what Clawhauser had mentioned? Something about a second biggest case after the Nighthowler thing," asked Nick when they got to the stairs. "Sorry, I agreed with Amy not to use any electronic device while on the date. And when I got home, all I wanted was to sleep. So I don't know about anything that's happened."

"Well, while you two fell in love, the biggest bank in Zootopia got robbed."

"Now seriously. That's it?" laughs Nick. "A few ski masked criminals robbed a little? We've had many cases like this, haven't we?"

"Let me finish! So. They robbed the PPBC (Predator and Prey Banking Corporation) from the electronic bank accounts, to the last printed bill. Everything! And no one has seen anything. It was a silent robbery."

"Huh… They aren't starter criminals, are they? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the PPBC has camera system in the safe room too. Maybe this camera recorded…"

"The criminals?" finishes Judy. "That was the first thing we went to take a look at. A worker brought in the new printed bills, then he left. On the recording, we can see the money 10 more minutes, and then, it just disappears. The criminals set the recording on a loop during the robbery, so they had a professional hacker too."

"The electronic bank accounts had been emptied too?" asks Nick in amazement.

"Yep, the money gone, in a second."

"Wow… They have done great work," admits Nick. "Are there any suspects, or witnesses?"

"Yes, there are a lot! So our job is to interrogate them," says Judy when they got to their office. "There were a lot of mammals in the bank during the robbery. Here." Judy puts a case file into Nick's paw.

"Let's see them. Andrew Riggs, Age, 22, species, fox. In the days before the robbery, he was in the bank for a half hour each day without doing any transaction. The recordings of CCTV Camera are confirming it. He was in the bank during the robbery… blah blah blah…. Probably he is an observer for the criminals. Okay, when we will interrogate him?"

"Any time," answers Judy "Interrogation room 1. He is already in there. Would you like the honor to interrogate the first witness, Lover Fox?"

Nick sighs, "You'll call me that forever now, won't you?"
"I told you. You will regret calling me Carrots," laughs Judy "Let's go. I'll be right behind the one-way mirror."

"Hi Andrew!" starts Nick, after he got into the Interrogation room. "Sorry, before we start, I need to do the formalities," he starts the voice recorder. "Suspect: Andrew Riggs, interrogator: Nickolas Wilde. Interrogation subject: The PPBC robbery. So Andrew. What were you doing in the bank?"

"I withdrew some money," answers Andrew phlegmatically. "Why? What do animals usually do in a bank?"

"Okay… I think you don't get the importance of telling the truth, and right now? You were definitely lying. The cameras recorded you, and you didn't even look at the cash machines, or the bank assistants to withdraw some money. I'll ask you again. What were you doing in the bank?"

"Officer, look. Is this necessary? You know I don't want to be here… I was in the bank to warm up a bit. Okay? It was really cold outside."

"Andrew, I'll be straight. You are a suspect in a bank robbery. Do you know how many years would you get for complicity? No? At least 2, and if they hire a good lawyer against you, it can go up to 4. Not to mention all of the mammals who were banking in the PPBC. I'll ask you once more or the court will decide what to do with you. What were you doing in the bank?"

"I…I…" starts Andrew now without phlegmaticy. "Sir, I have nothing to do with the robbery." Andrew sighs."You wouldn't understand," it was barely audible as he looks at the recorder.

So this is his problem. The voice recorder. He is hiding something for sure, but if I turn off it, maybe he would trust me, thinks Nick, so he turns off the recorder, and deletes the previous conversation.

"Now we can talk freely. I'm not allowed to do this, so I hope I didn't do this for nothing."

"Nice trick. I'm sure behind that mirror there are some other cops, and they are watching me." He points at the mirror.

"Yes, you are right. Judy, are you there?"

"Yes Nick, I'm here." Judy's voice can be heard saying.

"You are alone there, right?"

"Nick, you shouldn't-" starts Judy, but Nick interrupts her.

"Please, Carrots," says Nick. "May I ask you to go out please? Thanks. Really."

"Okay, but don't blame me if you get a warning because of this. You owe me one!" The door can be heard shutting.

"So. I need to tell you, you are the first suspect who I've done anything like this for, so live with it, or I'll give you plus half year jail time because of investigation obstruction."

"Okay, well, how to start…I'm a…."Andrew sighs" I'm a pickpocketer. But I've never stolen a lot from anybody, and I would never rob a bank, for sure! You know… not everybody has a good job like you do."

"And you were doing this in a bank, with security cameras?" asks Nick. "Beginners mistake."

"What? No. Sir. Think of it. You didn't bring me in here because of stealing. I know exactly where the cameras blind spots are. Anyway, where else I could steal money, if not in the bank, where everybody has some with them?" Andrew suddenly fell silent, like he had just admitted something, or said too much.

"Call me Nick, kid. You know before, I wasn't a cop either. I was a con artist"
Andrew listens, as if he expects Nick to say more.

"Well, you said something. I said something too. Your turn." explains Nick.

Now a smaller smile appears on the younger Fox's face.

"Okay... How to start... I'm from a really poor family. I haven't got a father, and my mother is sick too. We needed money for medicine, that's why I have to steal."

He's lying. Maybe Judy would believe him, since he is acting really great, but he can't hustle an ex-hustler, thinks Nick, 2 years ago it was my main rule too. Make the other animals to feel sorry for you, and they will believe whatever you say.

"Hmm... really interesting, kid. What is the medicine's name, that your mother takes?"

"Umm... the name of the medicine? Well... I don't know."

"No one has ever asked that before, have they? If you're lying about something, be prepared for any questions. If you can't answer something, just start it somehow, and let them finish it. Now let's be serious. Why you don't want me to help you? The only conclusion I have is that you are guilty for the bank robbery."

"But I'm not!"

"Then prove me wrong! So? What is the truth? I'll know immediately if you are lying!"

"Okay," Andrew sighs, "Both of my parents are alive, but we aren't in keep the contact with each other. The reason why I steal money is because nobody has hired me in a year of searching for a job. I have graduated university, and have a degree in marketing, but as I mentioned, all of the companies have denied my application, because, as they said, 'we need somebody who we can trust in.' Whatever. I guess it doesn't really help in my situation. My life is a complete mess. Not even my parents want to talk to me."

Now, he suddenly learned how to lie, or told the actual truth, thinks Nick.

"Wow...thanks for telling me that. It's my turn, I guess." Starts Nick, and tells the whole story, how he conned people out of money until he met Judy, and the details about the happenings of the nighthowler case.

"It was you two?" asks Andrew in amazement. "Nick…. do you think I can be a cop too?"

"Look. If you have a dream, don't throw it away. You can't become a cop just because you don't have a better idea! Tell me, where is your next interview at? I'll write you a reccomendation."

"So I'm not going to jail?" Asks Andrew hopefully.

"Of course not! We haven't got anything on you anyway," Nick said as he points at the turned off voice recorder. "But now, I'll have to switch it on, and you'll have to answer the questions. Now, when I ask what you were doing in the bank, tell me that… oh, I don't know... you were waiting for a broker, to give you some advice, but he never came. I have a friend in the broker business who owes me one. His name is Jason Williams. You got it?" Andrew gives a nod, "So. suspect: Andrew Riggs, Interrogator: Nickolas Wilde. Interrogation subject: The PPBC robbery. Andrew, what were you doing in the bank?"

"I was waiting for a broker, to give me some advice."

"What is the broker's name?"

"Jason Williams."

"Anything that grabbed your attention?"

"No, nothing."

"Thank you, that's enough. We appreciate your cooperation."

After Nick turned off the voice recorder, Andrew turns to him.

"Nick… thanks for everything. Were you serious about that recommendation thing?"

"Dead serious. You can find me here any time to ask for help."

A few minutes later Judy finds Nick.

"So Nick. You just let a criminal escape?"

"Nope, It's more like… I showed a young mammal the good path."

"Okay…. But we still have a case to crack. You know that, right?"

"I know Carrots. It's your turn to interrogate."

"Only if it's okay for you too, Lover Fox."

"I see. You just can't stop it."

"Yep, and I won't stop it."


This is it for now. Leave your reviews. Special thanks to "The Glitch" for beta reading this story.