Chapter 1: A Bad Patrol

Initial A/N- Greetings! VVizrrd here, and welcome to my new story! If you've read some of my other stuff, you may have an idea for how I usually do things. Mostly cheery, lots of fluff, some decent comedy thrown in… This isn't gonna be like that. I plan for this to be roller-coaster ride of insanity pretty much the whole way through. Those of you familiar with Kevin Smith's foray into Batman comics may recognize the title 'Cacophony'. It was dark, gritty, hilarious and borderline psychotic, and that's how I hope this comes across. (That said, this is still a fanfic based off a Disney film, so there will be some fun stuff, too.) I'll be drinking straight whiskey and listening to punk-rock for the duration of this story.

(If you're following 'The Case of Robert Jacks', please know that updates for that will be on the way, but all the plans for this are kinda making my plans for that pretty convoluted at the moment. I typically work on two or three things at a time, and if an idea gets stuck in my head it gets tricky to work on the others until I get that idea down.)

(Also, you may recognize a few characters from my other work in this. I plan for Nick's siblings James and Samantha to make appearances, as well as ZPD Tactical Officer Arianna King.)

Disclaimer- I don't own Zootopia. I don't own Batman. I also don't own Kevin Smith; so far as I know, he is a free man.

"Cutting it close, Slick," Judy observed as Nick half-jogged from the door to their usual chair in the bullpen. She took the cup he held up and set it on the desk, scooting over so he could scramble up onto the chair they always shared.

"New guy at the Bean," Nick answered when he finally managed to get up onto the seat. He could never figure out how it took him almost as long to climb into that chair every morning as it had to mount the ice wall by the end of his Academy training. "My guess, they just got him trained up when the morning rush hit. Twenty minutes just to get a cup of coffee."

"Didn't I get you a coffee maker, Nick?" Judy asked, rolling her eyes. She knew she had; A couple months ago, he'd made her coffee with the machine she'd given him as a housewarming gift for his new apartment. One big night of celebration for his new place. The two of them, Finnick, Ari King and Danny Wolfard. She'd woken up on Nick's bed; Nick, apparently, had slept on the couch.

"Coffee maker's still there, Carrots, but it gets kinda tricky to refill after I leave home. Cup's empty by the time I get off the train, if I didn't get another one after I get off the bus I'd be comatose right now. We don't want that, right?" He grinned when Judy rolled her eyes a second time. One thing he planned to never tell the bunny was that he loved the way she rolled her eyes. Hell, ever since that night he'd tucked her under the covers in his bed and took the couch, he'd been finding all kinds of strange feelings he was pretty sure he'd have to take to the grave.

Before their conversation could continue from there, heavy hoofsteps could be heard approaching the door. Perfectly on cue, a pattern of rhythmic grunts and pounding on tables and the floor filled the room. When the door opened and the massive cape buffalo walked in, the grunts and the pounding got louder, hitting its crescendo when the chief stepped up to the podium at the front. "Alright, shut it… Alright… SHUT IT!" Bogo shouted when his initial command was drowned out in the uproar. When he raised his voice though, nothing rang louder, and immediately they all quieted down. The entire force shared the same grin, though.

"Alright… Assignments..." the Chief murmured into the fresh-fallen silence. "Mayor Cuga is attending the reopening of the Natural History Museum… Repairs from a certain train car incident have been completed-" Nick and Judy felt quite a few eyes fall on them. Judy felt a deep blush spread, and Nick couldn't help his grin. "Pennington, McHorn, Grizzoli and Fangmeyer, you're on security. Wolfard, you're going to Tactical. They need you undercover on a Howler distribution ring. You'll be reporting to Captain Duke. The rest of you, standard patrols. Get your routes from Clawhauser. Dismissed."

Bogo was the first one out of the bullpen, headed straight back to his office. After him, the officers in the room started to file out one-by-one. There was no particular rush that morning. They already knew the museum's reopening was scheduled for 11 AM, and any undercover operation meant several hours preparation, at least. They usually didn't even start the day they were assigned. The only ones with somewhere to actually get with any sense of urgency- and then still not much- were those on patrol, Nick and Judy included. Looking over his shoulder as he slipped out of the chair, Nick called back to the timber wolf, "Say hi to Ari for me, Dan!" Wolfard grinned and waved him off before the fox and bunny left the room.

"Wolfard's been going over to Tactical a lot lately," Judy remarked as they made their way to Clawhauser's desk to receive their patrol route. "This is what, his… Third time undercover this month?"

"Sounds about right. He's been on the force what, a year and half now? Rumor's been going around… Delgato says Danny's getting transferred to Tac for good next month." Judy stopped walking, looking up at him with curious interest. He grinned down at her and added, "As a Lieutenant."

Violet eyes went wide for a moment, and a bright smile covered Judy's face. Nick could kill to see that smile. "Well, congratulations to him!" the bunny remarked cheerfully, then turned forward again and finished the walk to Clawhauser's desk.

"Oh, m, goodness!" Nick and Clawhauser exclaimed at exactly the same time, the fox mimicking the cheetah's perpetually excited voice. Judy couldn't help but laugh at her partner's perfect imitation, but Ben simply carried on as if nothing had been said. Nothing could derail the heavy cheetah. "Judy, did you see David and that new lion from Tactical? They were in the parking lot together; I think they came in together. They are so adorable!"

Chuckling softly, Judy hopped up onto the desk. From there, she could see Delgato lingering by the door to the bullpen, looking like he was waiting for someone. "You should've seen them at the Blue Line last week. Ari was practically in his lap."

With a sharp gasp, Clawhauser brought a paw up to cover his muzzle, casting a quick glance toward the lion across the lobby. "I had no idea… They were that close already..."

"They've been together half a year, Benny," Nick stated. "King was in my academy class; they hooked up first night out. Lions move fast. Anyway, we're on patrol today. Got a route for us?"

"Oh, yeah! Looks like..." Clawhauser flipped through a small stack of files on his desk. "You're in the canyons today. Have fun out there!"

"Thanks, Ben," Judy replied as she took the folder. It contained their cruiser dispatch and blank event logs for anything that happened during the day. The bunny hopped down, and they left the lobby toward the garage.

Patrol was pretty much guaranteed to be boring no matter what district it was in. Some were better than others, but nine times out of ten it was eight hours in a patrol car, driving back and forth along the same streets. And Nick knew better than most that nothing criminal was likely to happen in sight of the cruiser. He'd spent the better part of two decades learning the standard routes between the districts. This time last year his day-to-day had consisted of setting up shop the moment the cops were out of sight, and being gone before they came back. He'd gotten pretty good at it.

The cruiser itself was one redeeming factor. Regardless of the climate outside, it was perfectly equipped to keep whatever occupants it held comfortable. The canyons being an offshoot from Sahara Square- a deep labyrinth of cliff walls and plateaus- it was naturally hot and dry, far more than either officer cared for. The climate of Savannah Central was favorable to the red fox, and any bunny would feel right at home in the Meadowlands. Nick knew Finnick had always been most comfortable in the desert, but of course the gruff little fox would always insist he could live anywhere.

It was now near the end of the day, and it seemed this patrol would close at as another of the norm. It was even more uneventful than normal, in fact. Most days they'd get at least a couple speeders, maybe a pickpocket or a purse snatcher, and every once in a while they'd have to break up a fight. Today there seemed to be none of that. Most would just assume that meant nothing was happening, but this kind of silence made Nick more suspicious than anything. This kind of silence, in his experience, meant something big was happening, something organized, and anyone in the loop with the underground would be taking extra steps to stay under the police radar. If something was going down, the last thing they needed was a couple extra squad cars in the district.

When the cruiser's clock showed 5:45, Judy picked up the radio and keyed in. "Dispatch, this is Z-112, are we clear to head home?"

"Dispatch to Z-112," Clawhauser's voice returned after a short delay, "you're clear to-… One moment Z-112." When the radio went quiet, Nick and Judy paused and exchanged skeptical looks. They waited… And waited… About two minutes passed, then Clawhauser keyed back in. "Z-112, we have a report of shots fired at Sixteenth and Wallace Street, can you respond?"

Blinking in surprise, Judy keyed back in and answered, "Z-112 en-route, we'll be on-site in five minutes." With a frustrated sigh, Nick turned on the lights and sirens and turned the cruiser north.

"Z-103 to dispatch, en-route to provide backup at Sixteenth and Wallace, ETA ten minutes," another car keyed in as Nick sped the cruiser through moderate traffic. "103… That's Rhinowitz and Jackson, right?" Nick asked, cutting a sharp left onto Sixteenth Street.

"Yeah, that's them. They had south Sahara today." Judy had her tranq gun out, making sure it was ready to use. She pulled back the slide to confirm one in the chamber, and dropped the magazine to make sure it was full before sliding it back into the well. They had to hope the shooters weren't too big; the only tranq guns the ZPD had small enough for their smallest team held five shots each, and it'd take all five of those to drop anything much bigger than a wolf. They'd been told a full magazine should be enough for a moose with a bit of a delay, but fortunately they hadn't yet had to test that.

They heard shots before they saw the store. When they got close, they could see it was a Z-Pawn. Two panthers dressed in all black with handguns stood near the counter, one of them watching the customers while the other shouted orders at a terrified-looking deer behind the register. As soon as Nick pulled up the cruiser, the sound of squealing tires signaled another car pulling away. As it passed, Nick saw another similarly dressed panther behind the wheel. He grabbed the radio and keyed in, "Z-112 on-site at pawn shop robbery, getaway driver panicked, green station wagon, license plate 698-FT7." He got the report out just before the car rounded the corner, then he and Judy quickly got out of the cruiser.

Nick looked up just in time to realize one of the robbers had caught sight of them. Their eyes locked. Time slowed as the robber raised his gun… Not toward the fox, who had the car between him and the storefront, but at the bunny out in the open. Adrenaline mixed with panic kicked in, and in a rush Nick leaped over the cruiser's hood, pivoted and tackled Judy to the ground, just before three shots rang out and the bullets impacted into the cruiser door just behind where Judy had been standing.

Wide-eyed and gasping for breath, both officers lay sprawled among broken glass. Green and purple eyes met for a moment, each set full of surprise, before Nick blinked and rolled over. Just in time to see the shooter do one of the stupidest things possible and stick his head out where the window had been. Half his body extended outside the shop, with the paw holding his gun against the wall for support. As one, both officers raised their weapons and fired, three shots each. The pops from the tranqs were far less intimidating than the live rounds in the robbers' guns, but far more effective in trained hands. Four darts impacted in the panther's chest, one in the side of his neck and one just above his brow. The big cat staggered back in surprise and tried to bring his gun to bear before the sedatives took over and he fell forward over the low brick wall.

"Fucking idiot!" they heard a deep voice sound out from inside the shop. "Got lucky, blue boys! J's a fuckin' moron! I ain't goin' out like that!"

Nick and Judy crawled up against the wall below the broken window, staying out of sight. The bunny tried to get as much info as she could just by sound. "Sounds like he moved to the back of the store. He thinks he's safer there, probably." She dropped the magazine from her gun and pulled out the remaining dart, leaving just the one in the chamber. Nick took it and loaded it into his. Three and one… Might be enough to drop him if their aim was good. "I'm the lure," Judy said. "Get as close as you can. Twenty seconds."

Starting the count in his head, Nick gave a nod and hurried toward the splintered door. Peeking past the opening, he caught sight of the panther's shoulder at the back of the shop. Eight, nine… Quick but careful, he slipped past the doorway and along an outside shelf, flanking the panther while avoiding line of sight. Thirteen, fourteen… In the continued silence, the robber looked to be getting nervous, gun raised and quickly switching between the window and open doorway. He must have not seen them before his partner started firing, and probably figured them to be larger mammals crawling below the bricks.

Eighteen, nineteen, twenty. Right on cue, Nick heard a 'pop', signaling Judy taking her shot. The panther growled and fired a few rounds into the brick wall where Judy had fired from. This made a perfect opening for Nick to slip out and fire his last three rounds. Two hit him in the side and one in the shoulder.

"Fucki-… Mother… Fu...er..." the panther stammered, stumbled back against the wall and shook his head. The darts were slowing him down, but they'd take some time to drop him. He was clearly fighting to stay conscious. He dropped the gun and started fumbling around in his pockets… Nick held place behind the shelf, carefully peeking around. He saw the panther pull something out of his sweater pocket… A short, thick, three-needle syringe filled with a clear blue substance.

"Shit… Howler!" Nick called out, loud enough for Judy to hear. A few seconds later he heard her frantically calling it in over the radio. Shots fired was one thing; Howlers was another matter entirely.

Grinning, the panther jabbed the syringe into his arm and pushed the short plunger. "Fu...F-f-f-fuck yeah..." the robber growled as the syringe emptied into his veins. His eyes went wide, then narrowed into slits. His heart rate tripled, his fur stood on end, his claws extended. Since the Nighthowler incident, a new drug derived from the midnicampum holicithias flower had hit the streets. These were just called Howlers, derived from a diluted extract of the nectar. Users retained some control, a sense of themselves, but experienced a massive adrenaline rush along with a steep hike in aggression. It took a special counteractive sedative to take them down from that high.

Or a shotgun. Nick saw the doe behind the counter moving, but before he registered what she was doing, she brought the weapon up to bear on the panther. A deafening blast rang out through the shop. The panther's body jerked and twisted, caught by the force of the shot to his shoulder. Nick figured he didn't even have time to realize what had happened. He was just gone.

Paramedics had arrived on-scene ten minutes after Judy called in the all-clear. They declared the Howler user dead on arrival, and loaded him up in a body bag. The unconscious shooter had been cuffed and placed in the back of Nick and Judy's cruiser. They figured he'd wake up around the time they got back to Precinct One. The traumatized doe was sitting in the back of an ambulance, holding her knees against her chest and shivering softly.

They'd received words that Rhinowitz and Jackson had intercepted and caught the getaway driver. When he'd seen the cruiser behind him, he'd tried to cut across traffic at a red light and been clipped by a pick-up truck. Rhinowitz had dragged him out of the car and cuffed him, and Jackson had found two shotguns and a rifle in the trunk. They'd had more planned after their first hit, apparently. ID showed the shooters at the pawn shop to have been brothers. The driver was their cousin.

The drive back to the precinct was made mostly in silence. Nick focused on the road, while Judy stared out the window at the passing buildings. As they were passing through the tunnel to Savannah Central, a groan sounded from the back seat. "What the… Where the fuck- oh. Shit."

"Jeremy Black," Judy called out without turning her gaze from the window, "you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you."

Silence followed for a little while, then the panther asked, "Kent and Wesley?"

"Wesley is also in police custody," Judy answered, her voice completely flat.

"…And Kent?"

Judy looked away from the window, toward Nick. He met her gaze, reached over and put a paw on her shoulder, and shook his head. "I'm sorry, Jeremy," the fox said, turning his gaze back to the road.

Another couple moments silence, then, "Did you take the shot?"

"I… No. The cashier."

"Don't apologize to me, then," Jeremy murmured. They could hear him shuffling around in the back seat to get to where he could look out the window. "Miracle he lasted this long anyway. Fucking junkie..."

From there, it was another ten minutes driving in silence, and they pulled into the Precinct One parking garage. Judy's door opened as soon as Nick put the cruiser in park, and she hopped out. Nick stopped the engine then went out and hurried around the front of the car to intercept her. "Hey," he called as she headed toward the door.

"Come on, Nick," Judy said simply, not looking back.

"No, come on, Carrots. Hold up."

"We've gotta report." A slight tone of irritation rose in her voice.

"Judy," Nick called at last, and that drew her to a halt. For a moment she stood there, halfway between their cruiser and the door to the lobby. He saw her shaking slightly, an occasional tremble. She was putting in every effort to hold back tears, he could tell, and he hurried his pace to close the distance between them. She turned toward the sound of footsteps just before he reached her and wrapped his arms around her.

The bunny let out a gasp of surprise at the sudden embrace, but after a moment she raised her paws up and gripped his shirt, burying her face against his side as she let the tears come. "I… That was… I've never..."

"Never saw someone die before? It… Doesn't get any easier, sorry to say. But you learn to handle it better… With time." He held her against him and let her weep, drawing a comforting paw up and down her back.

"I've seen… Dead people before. My grandma… And great-uncle Paul. But that was open casket at funerals… I've never… Seen someone actually die before." She tightened her grip on his shirt and sniffed, then looked up at him. "You've… You've seen it before?"

"Ah… Yeah. A couple times. First time was Finnick's dad, when I was fourteen… Cancer. Finn didn't wanna be there alone when he passed." He took a deep breath and shook his head. "And… Two more, when I worked for Big. I didn't do it, but I was there when it happened." He looked down at her with a slightly bitter smirked. "Same way we almost went out, remember?"

Judy looked up at him, then looked down and wiped her tears away with a paw, before looking up again. "They were… Iced?"

"Yeah, it was… Pretty terrifying. They screamed when they dropped, screamed more in the water, until their lungs froze… Gives you a whole new perspective when you're hanging over the hole."

"I'll bet," Judy chuckled dryly. With a deep breath, she let her forehead fall against his chest. "Thanks for this, Nick. I… Didn't realize how much I needed to talk about that."

"Hey, hey, come on, Carrots, that's what I'm here for," Nick soothed softly. "After all… I know how emotional you bunnies can get."

"Oh, shut up," Judy murmured, reaching up to give him a light punch on his shoulder. "Dumb fox..."

"Sappy bunny," he countered, then stepped back. "Now, let's go tell Benny we've got a panther for processing, put in our reports, then… Blue Line?"

Judy's smile spread slightly, and she nodded. "Blue Line."

Just past eleven, the cab pulled up outside Nick's apartment building. The driver cast one more rather skeptical glance in the rear view mirror, watching as the small mammals scrambled out onto the sidewalk and meandered to the door. They'd claimed to just be partners on the force out for a drink after a rough day, and their ZPD blue t-shirts seemed to support that claim, but for being 'just partners' those two seemed awfully close.

It had been Nick's idea that they stay at his place that night. It certainly wouldn't be the first time one of them had stayed a night at the other's apartment. They had a movie night every other week. Of course, Nick was always far more comfortable when he hosted. Judy's apartment was simply too small for him; he always woke up with cramps. And he felt that tonight of all nights, comfort was best for both of them.

The old ibex who served as the night manager watched them with curious interest as they made their way from the front door to the elevator. He'd gotten used to seeing them come in together, but they usually came in sober. And they seemed a lot more clingy when they had some alcohol in them.

In the elevator, Nick stared up at the lights above the door, watching them steadily change, one-by-one, going up to his room on the eighth floor. With his gaze locked on the digital numbers, he didn't notice that Judy's gaze was locked on him. He thought he'd noticed her glancing his way every once in a while throughout the night. What he didn't realize was that her eyes rarely left him. In ways she hadn't been before, Judy was finding she was captivated by the color of his fur, his eyes, the way his shirt shifted with his breath, the mostly-hidden glint of sharp teeth behind his muzzle whenever he opened his mouth… Judy caught herself, certainly not for the first time that night, but probably the most vivid. Holy shit, what are you thinking… And about Nick no less?

The elevator door opened and the two walked out into the hallway. Nick's room was all the way down at the end, on the left. He'd been very specific about choosing a corner room; he liked having at least two different views at any given time. Maybe it was a metaphor for still having options… Maybe he got way too philosophical when he drank.

Judy waited patiently while Nick fumbled the key, got a little frustrated before he took a deep breath, focused on the lock and slid the key in. When he finally got the door open, he held it for Judy with a triumphant grin. Giggling softly, the bunny made her way past him and into the room, to the couch, where she dropped down with a satisfied sigh.

After watching his partner cross the room, Nick closed the door and went to the kitchen, pulled down two glasses and ran the tap. He moved to the living room with her and set one glass down on the coffee table. "Water?"

With a faint sigh, Judy pushed up into a sitting position, eyeing the glass for a little while before she reached over and took it. She tipped it back to take a long drink, before setting it half-empty back down on the table. "Shower," she answered. "And don't think you can sneak a peek; I'm always watching."

"Please, Carrots," Nick laughed, "if I wanted to take a peek, there's no way you'd turn me down. You know you love me."

Judy paused, cocked her head to the side, her ears flopping over. She raised a paw to her chin and took on a mock-pensive look, pretending to put some serious thought into it. Then, she stood up on the cushion and leaned over to give him a quick peck on the cheek. "Do I know that, Nick?" she asked, and gave him a wink before she hopped down from the couch and walked into the bathroom.

Nick could only sit and stare at the closed bathroom door, one thought running on repeat through his head. Holy shit.

Some time in the darkest hours of the night, Nick stirred, rolled over, and slowly sat up. The blanket he'd taken from the closet slipped down; the couch cushions shifted beneath him. Something had woken him… What? Creaking… A very faint creaking of the floorboards. One specific floorboard; he'd noticed it his first night. That last in the hall between the living room and bedroom. The slightest pressure would make it groan.

As his vision quickly adjusted to the darkness, he saw something approaching, a small form moving along the floor toward the couch. As his night vision set in, he picked out a set of long ears and outstretched paws. When it got close, he got a clear image of wide, violet eyes searching through the dark. One paw made contact with the edge of the couch, felt around, and as soon as she was past the sofa's arm, Judy crawled up onto the couch and over his legs. Nick started to speak, but a finger pressed against his lips. "Shush. Don't get any ideas, Slick. I just… Didn't like being alone in there. Let me stay with you… Just tonight… Please?"

His eyes locked with hers in the dark. He knew her night vision wasn't very good, but she knew his was, and she knew when she made the look she was making right that moment, there was no way he could deny her. "Not fair," he murmured quietly, and dropped back onto the couch. His maw spread into a grin, though, when he felt her crawl under the blanket with him. "Sly bunny..."

"Warm fox..." Judy sighed, nuzzling into the warm fur on his chest and quickly drifting back off to sleep.

Post A/N; Enjoy the fluff while it lasts. This sets the tone for what Nick'll go through when the shit hits the fan. And shit most certainly will hit the fan, and soon. Enjoy the ride.

-VV