... seven weeks later. 11:30am

ZPD Officer Wilde, Sahara Square.

Nicholas P. Wilde adjusted the mirrored sunglasses further on his muzzle. The sun was blindingly obtrusive and he wanted to groan, like a happy little go-getter that couldn't get the hint that you just wanted to sleep. Yes, here's looking at you Carrots. But he didn't complain because his partner would have another go at him for being a wuss. Even in the obsessive heat of summer, she was disgustingly cheerful and energetic, unfazed by the warmth. And she was covered in just as much fur as him, so how come she could cope? Maybe it was that whole 'I grew up on a farm and got the proper daily dose of vitamin D' thing. Acclimatization, that was the word for it.

"I still can't believe that worked." She snorted as she took a tentative sip of her coffee. They'd just finished their breakfast, and they'd be damned if they didn't get their daily caffeine intake regardless of the thermostat. It was incidentally also what had brought up this conversation.

"I don't see why not, I wouldn't need it if I wasn't doing the work." He said before he continued panting. It was a habit entirely outside of his control, belonging to the canine family had its own agenda. Who cares if dogs and foxes had evolved since their non-anthropomorphic states to have the ability to sweat, they still couldn't help panting when the heat of Central Zootopia rivalled that of Sahara Square.

Judy gave him a look that could only be described as indignation, her jaw quivering up and down before she spoke. "But you don't see the rest of us insisting that the department pay for our coffees."

"You simply don't get it Carrots." He waved her off with a paw, "you aren't nocturnal."

She gave a chuckle and crossed her arms. "Of course, now you want to play the species card."

Ooh, that was a low blow. He wanted to snap at her that everyone else did when it came to him, but he bit his tongue and schooled his expression. Judy didn't mean it like that. Heck, she didn't even remember the night he got roughed over by those two goons outside the bar. But then again, he'd made a point of not telling her. He hadn't even told anyone else in the ZPD for fear that word would get back to her oversized grey ears. Instead, he'd bitched to Finnick about it and politely refused when the little fennec fox's offered to bash the heads in of the chumps with his baseball bat.

He took a sip of his own coffee and instantly regretted it. His body filled with too much heat too quickly and his panting doubled in intensity. How did Carrots cope with it again? Acclimatization? No there had to be some bunny superpower involved. He could ask her. Instead, he asked a less potentially touchy question.

"Are you saying I shouldn't get compensation for my added hardships?"

She actually sputtered at that. Jesus, she was just too cute. Her paws came up as if she could physically grab an argument logical enough to finish this conversation, before moving to her ears and pulling them down in front of her eyes. "It's- That's not the point. You're just doing this for yourself, Nicholas Wilde. It's-it's immoral."

She used Nicholas, she was definitely grasping at straws. It just made her all the more adorable, but he'd never say that to her face because she'd kick his ass before he could even finish the word. Instead, he controlled himself long enough to smile toothily before delivering that one line bound to drive her crazy without literally killing him in the backfire.

"It's called a hustle sweetheart." Bingo, he didn't bother dodging the jab to his shoulder. He'd rather use the energy to rub his sore arm and offer an excuse. "Besides, Fangmeyer backed me up."

If anything it looked like that annoyed her even more, because she let go of her ears and just rested her head back against the seat and closed her eyes. He'd say the headrest, but her diminutive height only set her head at chest height, even with the booster seat.

He could tell she was still just playing along because there was a faint smile on her bunny lips. "He knows better. I've told everyone a bazillion times not to encourage you."

Nick smiled. It was an exaggeration but it wasn't far off. It had almost become a part of the weekly memo; 'everyone is hereby warned to not encourage Officer Wilde for the sake of Judy's sanity'. He knew Chief Bogo would probably still do it too, just to side against Nick in something.

He was just about to make a remark about 'not getting the memo' when there was a burst of radio static, signalling an incoming transmission. A second later Clawhauser's giddy voice chimed in.

"Hopps, Wilde come in."

Nick reached over and grabbed the microphone first before clicking the button. "This is Officer Nick Wilde and his sidekick Hopps reading you loud and clear, what have you got big guy?"

Ignoring Judy's expression of outrage he depressed the push to talk bar in order to hear the reply.

"I just had a call in. Are you still romping around Sahara Square?"

"We sure are."

"A computer shop down on Onyx Avenue just called in a 211. Over."

Nick shot a look at Judy and a moment of understanding passed between them as they recalled their academy training. 211 was code for robbery.

"In progress?" He asked. They didn't have the gear to launch a siege. Hell, Nick wasn't even wearing a vest. In his defence, it was way too hot for the Kevlar clothing today.

"Negative Nick. The owner, a Mr. Thumper, found the place broken into an hour ago."

Judy gave him a nod before turning the engine over. The squad car gave a deep purr as she started it up. That was enough confirmation for Nick to answer the large cheetah on the other end of the line, Judy's long ears twitching to listen. "Roger that Ben, Onyx Avenue, we're on our way. We'll report in later. Officer Wilde signing out."

They were already pulling into the street as he returned the handset to its hook. After a moment, he flashed Judy a grin. "Aren't you glad I got us a free coffee now, Carrots?"

She let out a short laugh, her grey paws tightening around the wheel as she took a turn. "You are unbelievable Nick."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"You would. Still," Nick raised an eyebrow, this would be good. What insult had she come up with this time, it was almost exciting to find out what her little bunny brain could cook up. "of all the things you had to complain about, you chose coffee?"

"How is coffee not important?" He said indignantly.

She gave him a 'you're such an imbecile' look and sighed. "If you're going to whine to the brass (for the record Nick Wilde doesn't whine), why don't you choose an actual hardship. Like the furniture, I'm sick of having to stand up in a chair designed for a rhinoceros." She said before trailing off.

Nick allowed a grin to light up his face, showing off his canines and feeling his triangular ears perk up. Persecution of smaller species by furniture. That actually wasn't a bad idea for a complaint. Hell, they might get a couch their size in the break room. One small enough that only they can use, it would be perfect. As if reading his mind Judy tore her purple eyes from the road long enough to narrow them suspiciously in his direction. Her tone is chastising as she points a threatening finger at his snout. "Don't even think about it, Slick."

"Don't even think about it, Slick."

When they pulled up a crowd of pedestrians had gathered. The curious mammals of the surrounding neighbourhood had seemingly flocked to the burgled computer shop like flies to a body, eager for their latest taste of drama. The oppressive humidity only strengthened the imagery of a rotting corpse being feasted upon. Gods he hated them. And the heat, he definitely hated the heat. But he could already anticipate the multitude of helpful statements exploring how many different ways you could say, 'I didn't see anything, but I knew deep down in my gut that something was off' or 'that (insert victim's name here) is a good person, I don't know why anyone would target such a kind mammal'. He knew that besides the owner, the rest of them wouldn't have anything of importance to tell. But they'd have to interview them anyway, and waste precious time. Out in the heat.

"Don't go Nick Tracy on me this time, Wilde, or I will use the taser." Judy warned him from her seat as she drank the last of the coffee she'd never had the chance to finish. He was beginning to suspect she really could read his mind. That or they were spending way too much time with each other.

In Nick's defence (Man, he was really saying in his defence a lot, Judy would tell him he wouldn't need to if he wasn't always guilty of something), he had a reason for the hardboiled narration. It was practice for when he wrote his auto-biography about an ex-crook turned gritty boy in blue, constantly at odds with a system that beat him down and enamoured with a partner that expects something more than just a hustler. It would be a best seller, he was sure. And make a lot of dough. It was even legal.

Instead of reacting to Carrots' jibe, he looked around where they'd parked. The block of five or so buildings shared a large joint car park, with the shops on one side or the grey bitumen and a line of palm trees that separated on the other. The foliage formed a barrier in between them and the bustling highway. He was willing to bet the owners had paid extra for the privilege of having, supposedly, clear access to the highway, the large shops signs intended as free advertisement to those trapped in their daily commute.

The chumps, they didn't realise that when the drivers and passengers looked to this side of the road they saw nothing but the palm trees; they certainly didn't see the buildings beyond. The block itself was as an oasis of isolation, no one used their services unless they lived close by. Even then, it was only when they had no other choice.

He looked around to read the names of the five shops. The one they wanted was smack bang in the middle. Large tacky white letters above the doorway read 'Thumper's Tech and Repairs' as if it would actually compel anyone to walk in.

A thought struck him. "Thumper. Is that a-." He began to ask his partner.

"A rabbit name?" she finished, as she took her seatbelt off. "I think so." Nick barely resisted the urge to groan. Even so, Judy caught on, her ears pinning back as she narrowed her gaze. "This isn't going to be a problem is it Nick?"

Well it wasn't going to be easy. But the fox couldn't say that out loud without sounding like a bigot. Or worse, a hypocrite; especially in light of the press conference during the Bellwether case where he'd fallen out with Judy because she made a generalization about predators. He couldn't tell her stereotypes existed for a reason, or that, other bunnies put a lot more stock into that whole 'foxes are our natural predators' junk. She wouldn't buy it.

No, Judy Hopps was a professional. She expected the same of him in return.

So he swallowed his misgivings and gruffly answered before stepping out of the car, "Not at all."

The bitumen was blistering beneath his feet and he tried not to dance across it as a result. He fell in beside Judy, she was technically his superior and fought against the urge to hang his tongue out and pant. He pulled a ZPD issue baseball cap onto his vulpine skull. Not because he was worried about sunburn, it wouldn't show up under his red fur, but because he wanted to reinforce that he was in fact, a cop.

It wasn't enough he realised as he forced his way through the crowd, working as a pedestrian-plough for Judy who walked in his wake. When they finally got to the front of the mob Judy knocked sharply on the locked door. Not that the locked door could do a lot; the front window was smashed in. But it probably wasn't worth bringing it up. Not when Judy would just elbow him in the ribs for it, which she didn't know were still healing; he'd cracked a few that night at the bar. Instead, he calmly leaned against the door frame and cast a wary look back over the crowd.

"Mr. Thumper, this is the ZPD. Open up." She called and rapped her paw on the door again.

It was only a moment before a diminutive figure opened the door a crack, looking Judy up and down. A second later it swung the rest of the way to reveal a young brown rabbit in grey slacks and a red polo shirt with the shop's logo printed over his heart. He was perhaps an inch taller, even if her ears were a touch longer.

Judy tapped her badge twice as she introduced herself, oblivious to the young buck ogling her like she was the last doe on the planet. "Mr. Thumper? I'm Officer Hopps of the ZPD. May we come in."

The brown furred bunny of twenty-something years managed to find his tongue long enough to step back to make a path inside. "Of course." It was only once Judy had stepped passed him that he registered her exact phrasing. "Wait, who's we?"

"That would be me. I'm her partner, ZPD Officer Wilde." It was evident he hadn't noticed Nick, because when he did, he all but fainted. His eyes went wide and his jaw dropped, the two long brown ears springing up like parallel stripper poles. Not that Nick had personal experience with that imagery.

"Y-you're a-a..." the poor bunny was stuttering so fast it sounded like he was talking through a fan.

"A police officer? Why yes I am." Nick supplied helpfully, knowing full well that was not how the sentence was going to end. He took only a little satisfaction from intimidating the bunny.

Judy looked between them, a wary look on her face. "That isn't a problem is it Mr. Thumper?" Her tone of voice sounded hopeful like she really believed he might have frozen for some other reason entirely.

But he hesitated too long, that was admission in itself. Instead of taking the chance to roll his eyes at Judy in an 'I told you so' moment, Nick cleared his throat. It drew both bunnies attention but his green eyes met Judy's as he said, "It's not. Mr. Thumper has just had a stressful day. Hopps, why don't you get him a glass of water and see what he knows, I'm going to secure the scene and work the crowd." They'd gain nothing by arguing over this. Besides it was not like it was a new experience for the russet coloured fox.

Judy's eyebrows rose up in surprise and her grey ears drooped a little. He could tell she wanted to argue if only to make a point. But he held her gaze, giving her a look and shaking his head so slightly only she'd pick up on it. Drop it Carrots, is what it said. He left no room for debate.

So she nodded because she knew he would only brush her off in public anyway. "Let me know if you need any help, Nick."

He gave a nod of his own, raising two fingers to his brow in a casual salute before turning. There was a rule he'd followed since he was a kit that continued to come into play even now; 'never let them see they get to you'. It's what he repeated to himself as he answered with an informal "Yes ma'am."

So he closed the door and turned back to the ever curious crowd. Great, he'd be stuck out here in the blazing heat. But he couldn't comment on that in front of all these people, who were already badgering him to know what was going on (in one case there was even an actual badger).

When the voices got too much and he felt like he was going to snap at the overlapping words, he donned a professional facade and held his arms up for silence. Slowly, enunciating and projecting every word so he would not have to repeat himself, he informed them of his agenda.

"Alright, as of now, this is a crime scene. My name is Officer Wilde and the first thing I'm going to do is secure the perimeter. Afterwards, I would appreciate anyone with any information regarding the break-in to come forward so that I can question you individually, one at a time. If you have somewhere else to be I will take your name and contact number to call on you at a later time. Otherwise please find somewhere in the shade to wait until you're called. I would like to thank all of you in advance and ask that you do not go within ten meters of the shop front. That is all."

With the crowd pacified, Nick walked back to the patrol car and retrieved the yellow crime scene tape from the backseat. He finally allowed himself a groan of frustration before returning to the shop front. It was a mess, glass littering the inside of the computer store and leaving a jagged whole where the thief broke in. As he anchored the tape on the far side of the door he reflected on how lucky the intruder was that they didn't cut themselves climbing through. Nick made a tutting sound at the crude work, it was just sloppy.

Sure, he'd engaged in his share of theft back when he was younger, but he'd never done anything as outlandish as this. Unless he could sneak or talk his way through a job, he'd flat out refused any such schemes. He'd still had thefts go wrong, but he never actively sought out trouble. He was a fox sure, but he wasn't a dumb one.

He was torn from his musings by a flash of red in the corner of his eye. He paused halfway across the wide broken display window, a large vicious shard jutting from the frame in front of him. It was the perfect position for an intruder to cut himself climbing past it. But it wasn't blood caught on the very tip or the opaque material. It was a tuft of fur.

Of course, there were plenty of animals with red fur. Tigers for example. Red pandas, squirrels, and orang-utans were other possibilities. But Nick didn't need a forensic report to know that wasn't the case. He had enough evidence on the passenger seat of the car, or in his apartment and fuck, even his own body.

There was no doubt about it.

There, right in front of him like a big sign shouting 'I know who did it' was fox hair.

Author's Comment: Because I forgot/didn't know how, I'll place this here instead of the 1st chapter. I'm assuming if you've read this far that you are still interested.

This is all part of a larger series that I originally/am still publishing over on Archive of Our Own. If you want a more constantly updated/more active thread to this story, the link is /series/439879