A/N: A little intermission before we get to Part 2 of TOOLS!

I've had this idea running amok in my head for a while now and am finally dishing it out! Cold!

On a side note I hit a bit of a writer's block which is always fun to have as we all know, and so it took a long while to work on this, as well, high school is becoming an even bigger bitch than usual so there's that...however, I feel in a good enough mood and my writer's block is marginally gone so here's a little something for the wait!

This is an AU that I don't think is usually explored a lot in which Nick is a cop and Judy is a P.I. Or at least...I've never actually seen or heard of a story like this before

Anyways, enjoy!

A Little Wager, Please?

Beware of the Mad Rabbit, for she always gets her dues...

"This has to be the place…"

A red fox stood out upon the empty streets of the Canal District, staring up into the vast expansion of an old, monolithic, gothic-like building. Compared to the other buildings; the little markets and shops he'd seen littered about the sidewalks and alleyways had all been predominantly cheerful and colorful, or at the very least, a modern sepia color was applied to give it a fancier look, but this building in particular stood out like a white flag on a bloody battlefield. If he looked closely, he could make out the statuettes of a bunch of gargoyles sitting along the edges of the roof of the building.

The fox shuddered and fluffed up his fur a bit to rid off a cold, one that hadn't existed at first, before sauntering his way toward the front of the building.

The first thing he found himself noticing, and finding unappealing, was that the doors were mismatched. One door was massive in width made out of a block of red oak wood with thick brass knockers and faint markings of faded print decorated it whereas the door on the left was the kind of plain glass doors with a handlebar to push it open that you would come across at your standard, typical, office.

Either this guy's got poor taste, or a poor budget…Nick thought. Green eyes peeled through the glass pane of the door on the left to look onwards into a dimly lit room with a front desk littered in nothing but files and paper. Some of it was blank while others had numbers and letters that most likely formed names and phone numbers scattered along the white of the paper. A few feet to his right, and the fox could see a hallway lined in standard uncomfortable-for-your-feet carpet. At the the entrance to the hall, just off to the side was a little mini fridge with colorful sticky notes slapped on it at weird angles; oddly enough the notes were arranged by color to look almost like a rainbow, although as creative as that was, it was still incredibly weird.

"I suppose this is where they are…located…"

Stranded on a street corner, desolate and broken with chunks of concrete eroded away and weeds slithering from the cracks in the ground brushing up against the frameworks and bricks of the building. Small spires stuck up from the ground from what Nick could see, that had at one point, he assumed, had been the foundations for a gate to complete the gothic architecture. Most of the metal now was crumbled an rusted beyond belief to where it looked more like blood than old iron. Or at least..he hoped it wasn't blood…

Enough of that, he gave himself a small shake before pulling one of the doors open and letting himself inside.

"Hello?"

…

In the dim lighting, mostly coming from outside, he was able to see a bit more of what there was in the room.

Well...the bare minimum of what was left in the room…

A coat rack, with a small black raincoat hanging upon like a limp, charred, carcass. There was a small top hat with slots in them for ears to have room to move and wiggle around. As for the papers he'd seen through the glass, they contained nothing but little bits doodles and odd notes that seemed related personally to whomever lived here - if they lived here.

Of course, there was the hallway as well, and whatever was contained behind those doors…

But there was also the mini fridge with its colorful sticky notes adorning it.

It was just a silly thought, really, to check out whether there were any clues to littered amongst the cool container.

Well...there was one.

And it looked exactly like

"Hey!"

Shit.

There was the sound of rustling fabric, the metallic cocking of a gun (illegal), and the soft sounds of padless paws lightly brushing against the carpet. The cop fox spin around, his hands twitching, wanting to reach for his standard issued tranq gun, but fought against the action. There was no need for a gunfight to break out. Yet. And besides, if this was the mammal he was looking for…

"Put your hands, where I can see them." The mammal, with a gruff, feminine voice seethed through clenched teeth.

Nick's ear twitched as he could hear the sounds of the trigger having pressure applied upon it. I'm not gonna die, he thought a pang shooting through his heart as he kept his breathing relaxed, and posture even more so, not like this at least.

He looked closer at the female in question even though he had a pretty good guess as to who it was. And of course, him being the dating moron he was, had to test this theory out for himself.

"Judith Laverne Hopps-"

There was a sharp inhale, but unfortunately it was not for the reaction he expected as the lapine suddenly lunged at him, the gun having been discarded entirely. The tod barely had time to move or duck before her flat feet had slammed into his kevlar vest, knocking the window out of him. Struggling for air mostly, he only managed a strangled yelp as he felt the collar of his uniform being pulled along with the weight of his head. He looked up into brightly lit, enraged amethyst orbs.

She leaned in, eyes ablazed. "Who the hell sent you hear, fox?"

"No one, look I-"

"How do you know my name?"

"I...everyone knows your name, Hopps," he grunted. He pushed his back legs into her stomach and pushed up with all his might, and effectively sent the small mammal flying. She crashed into the cluttered desk, rolling off it and almost face planting into the floor.

"It's kind of hard to forget the rabbit who attacks innocent civilians - namely predators." he stated matter-of-factly as he stood up, straightening his striped tie in the process.

"That was an accident!" the rabbit snapped. She pulled herself off the floor, though she made no moves to actually attack him again. Judy instead glared at him with an aura of caution surrounding her as she felt the rage slowly simmer to a dull throb. Just what exactly was he doing here an what did he want? Apparently she was about to find out.

Digging around in one of his pockets till he found what he was looking for, the fox pulled out a piece a paper.

Technically speaking, it was more than that. It was a small note, that tried to envision itself as a business card, but failed. Scraggly handwriting of what appeared to be a name in quotation marks and a phone number were scrawled haphazardly along the blank space. It didn't take long for the rabbit to realize what it was.

'Mad Rabbit'

come and see me!

==== number: 501- 768- 6860

"Oh…"

"Yeah...oh, " Nick stated, shoving the note back into his pocket.

"How...where…?" Judy stuttered.

"I found it inside of Mrs. Otterton's purse."

The only reaction he got was that of a breathy exhale. Nick looked over towards the lapine to see a look of melancholy etched in her facial features, her small, pink mouth stretching downwards into a hard frown. His tail twitched as awaited some form of an explanation, something!, to at least have a lead (though small) to go off of, and maybe find one of them...he could find one of the two...maybe…

"She came to me...about...this…" the rabbit uttered as she made her way back over towards the chaotic desk and shifted through the papers before producing a small manilla folder. Inside it she looked down upon a picture, one that sent her empathetic heart fluttering; it was a simple picture, taken somewhere outside with grassy emerald fields flourishing in the cool wind. The sun was a bright yellow beam in the sky shining gloriously on the family of four. A doting mother, a hard-working father, and two sons, who looked like twins, with not a care in the world - all of them huddled on a checkered blanket - the kind you take to picnics - smiling at the camera with everanscent joy.

" I-...she wanted my help to find her husband...she came to me…" she choked fr just the briefest second, feeling a lump building within her throat. Her vision became blurry and she quickly took an arm and rubbed at her eyes viciously, if only to stem the dam trying to burst. Not now, not while there was someone else in the room.

There was a moment of pregnant silence that crept steadily and forebodingly into the room leaving nothing but the soft sounds of the two breathing being the only noise to be made.

And then:

"I suppose now would be a bad time to tell you that she went missing, too."

"What?!"

Nick scratched the back of his head, cringing, "Like I said - I found that note in her purse, but it was in such an odd location, and nowhere near Savannah Central, so…"

Judy looked back down at the photograph, studiously staring at her, preferably at Mrs. Otterton, so happy and at peace, nothing like the frantic otter that had come to her at night seeking help, looking lost, scared, helpless…

"She was - I think - afraid...of someone…"

"But who?"

"I don't know. I never had the chance to ask, " Judy shook her head as if dispelling a thought from her conscious, "And we won't know unless we find her."

A look of startlement appeared on Nick's face and he raised an eyebrow in question. "Wait - we?"

"Well...you came here for more than answers I assume."

"I-I...honestly I thought I would have to bribe you into this…"

"And now you don't have to, because I'm willing to help. Soooo-"

The rabbit took her hand, spat into it, and then offered it to the fox with a cheeky grin, "Do we have a deal?"

A/N: FINALLY I HAVE FINISHED IT! WHOOOOO!

So this was fun to write and it helped me clear my thoughts oddly enough. In the meantime, it will be a while before Part 2 of TOOLS is posted for the simple fact that I will be working on some other stories of mine before getting back to this, doesn't mean I won't work on this on the side, just means not as much attention will be upon it.

Anyways, let me know how this was, and what I should improve upon if any!

Kachow my dudes!

(gonna be on break for three weeks and a half so I have plenty of time to get shit done, whoop!)