"So carrots, what are we case are we on today" the red fox officer asked his bunny officer partner.
She rolled her eyes at the nickname, one that he had used since the first day she met him "well Nick, today, or should I say tonight, we've got a domestic dispute to settle".
"Why tonight, are they nocturnal"?
"No, the wife thinks that the husband is cheating, so we need to figure out the true story_".
"So that she doesn't take it into her own hands, got it, so where do we start"?
She pulled out the case file "they're a family of cats, and their address is here, she said that he usually leaves around 8 or 9 o'clock".
"Great, so we have the rest of the day to our selves".
"Actually" she interjected "since we have a night job, Chief Bogo decided to give us_" she pulled out an orange vest with yellow lines, and a ticket dispenser "ticket duty".
Nick gave a sigh "its slow weeks like this that make me miss murder cases".
The bunny gave a light smile "Funny, l remember you saying last week you said its murder cases that_".
"Okay, I get it, I'll handle the tickets_".
He reached out to grab the dispenser, but she didn't have it, throwing the vest onto his face "nice try".
After a long day of ticket writing, the two police officers had gotten take out dinner and now wait in a non police vehicle with normal clothes for their target to start his walk towards whatever he's doing. That just sat there, eating their respective meals, when Nick broke the silence "so, what do you think he's doing"?
She finished chewing "it's too early to say" she then took out another carrot and bit into it.
"Not even a guess, no knowledge of them that might give a clue"?
She seemed to get a bit mad "could you stop treating this like a game".
He at first seemed surprised, but he realized his mistake soon after "sorry Judy, I didn't mean to come off like that".
She looked back to him and gave a sigh "I at the very least don't think he's cheating, he really loves her, but I do know some people who love their spouse but would still like some mere excitement if you get what I mean". He was about to say something else but across the street a door opened to reveal the brown furred cat that they knew as the husband, named Max, came out in a brown coat, looking like he didn't want to be seen "looks like he's on the move, let's follow on foot".
"Right" Nick and Judy left their car into the cold dark night, following behind the cat beyond his hearing and sight.
Through many blocks and turns he eventually arrived at what looked like a club, as they closed in they heard the cat say something to the man behind the door, though they did not hear what he said exactly. Judy turned to Nick "should we head in".
Nick looked on "I'm not sure it's the best idea to barge in with our badges raised, let's just wait till he leaves, then we can question him".
A couple hours later he came out, and was waved off by what looked like a male wolf. After he walked a couple of buildings away the two of them approached him "excuse me, Mr. Clause, I'm Officer Hopps, this is Officer Wilde, we would just like to ask you a couple of questions about what you're doing at night".
"U-um, I-I'm not hurting anyone with what I'm doing" they found it odd that he responded with an answer like that.
"May we ask, What, you're doing at night" Nick asked the first question.
He started to shake and back away, when a figure came behind him "come on Max, stop acting like it's a big deal". They looked up and it was the wolf who had waved him off "hello, my name is Lance Hound, and I own the building you obviously saw one of my patrons leave. Please allow me to explain what we actually do at my establishment".
"Only if we can see the inside your establishment" Judy interjected.
"Of course, whatever the police need to see, I'm sure that I'm good, but if I'm not, that's my problem. Why don't we walk and talk" he said pointing behind him.
"Alright, just don't try anything" Nick said, making sure that he knew that they were on guard.
Max, who had been standing off to the side decided to speak up "c-can I go now"?
"Max, you shouldn't be afraid, I'm sure you're in this situation because you didn't take my advice and tell your wife about this" he looked to the officers "am I right. Anyways" he continued walking along, expecting the others to follow "like all stories behind owners it started with an idea" they rounded the corner to the shop "I got mine, embarrassingly, on a porn sight" the two cops looked skeptical "you see, thanks to the internet people can explore so many different kinds of fetishes, it was when I realized this I had an idea" he stopped talking as he knocked on the door and told the man inside to let them all in "what if people could experience these things for themselves, in a safe environment, so that's when this place was born" they entered the establishment "welcome to Play Hunt".
Judy looked extremely surprised "Hunting, who fetishises hunting"?
He shrugged "me, Max, my other patrons, even some of my employees" he walked to the desk a few feet away from the door and gestured for the employee behind the counter to grab something "of course we have a system, first, both patrons and employees must sign a contract" he then handed over a contract to Judy, as she read it over he continued "it basically states that you will abide by the attached rule, or you will be forbidden to work or be a patron here, and that you should only be expected to get bruises, and if you get hurt any further it's our fault. the rule to abide by being that to be a part of a play hunt, both predators and prey must wear this protective gear, designed by yours truly" he pulled out what appeared to be mouth guards and gloves "there made to make sure no one can get hurt beyond bruises" he then turned the gear around "and they can only be removed by a few of us, me being one of them. We also allow our patrons other deals, like you can get a free hunt if you allow yourself to be viewed by others, which is another one of our services".
Nick looked at him skeptically "this can't be legal".
"Actually" Judy interjected "as far as this contract goes it's perfectly legal, and he is getting money for a service".
"And I pay the taxes required" Lance interjected "I have the paper work in the back if you need to see it".
"Why don't you just get those while we discuss this" Judy answered. He nodded and left for the back room, Judy walked over to Max "did you sign this contract".
He looked over it and concluded "yes, I signed this contract".
A few minutes later Lance returned with some paper work, which Judy checked thoroughly, and nodded to lance that it was all in good order "is there anything else you need to see".
"Just one more thing, we'll need to see one of these play hunts, to make sure it's safe".
The wolf checked the time "we won't have to wait long, right this way".
About thirty minutes later the 'show' started, the four of them being the only ones in the room. They looked through the one way glass at the light forest setting, seeing a bunny nibbling around in the small clearing, the moon like light gleaming over her brown fur as she moved about, looking like she didn't even know she was being hunted. After a few minutes of suspense, they started to see the stripes of a tiger flow through the small openings in the leaves. They appeared closer and closer, until the tiger sprang from the bushes and grabbed the rabbit in his jaws, the rabbit struggled a bit then went limp. A few seconds passed and the tiger let the bunny go on her feet and they both bowed as the curtain closed. Nick and Judy didn't really enjoy the show, but it was safe "ok, your place checks out" Judy affirmed to Lance, then she turned to max "and as for you, you really need to discuss this with your wife, she thinks you're cheating on her".
"Oh my, I didn't realize she thought that…, I'll talk to her about this".
"Good to hear" Nick said, then turning to Lance "and hopefully we won't have to come by again".
"Yes I do hope that you won't have to come back as officers, but if you ever want to come for a visit, then be my guest" Lance spoke, waving them off.
The walk back to the car felt very long, even though it was a few blocks away. When they finally got back into their car, they sat in silence "this certainly wasn't what I thought he was doing" Nick broke the silence "but I guess some animals just like some weird things".
"Yea, let's just go home" Judy said as she stepped on the gas pedal.