Integrity and Anarchy

by captainKelrin

It all started so simply, With a carton of Zooport menthol 100s Nick bought on a bad day to deal with his stressful job as a Cop. Then old enemy's come along with their scheme, good guys go bad, Ferals roam the streets, government conspiracies and he might just be falling for his best friend. Could that same pack of cigarettes be the key to saving the day, or is Officer Judy Hopps.

2. New Guys and Old Foes

Integrity and Anarchy

Chapter 2: New Guys and Old Foes

0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0 0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0

Nicholas Wilde walked through Precinct One's main entrance with a confident smile, hiding how completely freaked he was. The fox had spent most of the night talking to himself, or more precisely, his new imaginary 'friends'. They were still with him now, too. To Nick's right was a sleazier version of himself, in a loose red and green Hawaiian shirt and tight blue jeans. A cigarette burned in his grinning jaws, smoking in the building wasn't permitted but he didn't actually exist so it didn't matter.

"Do you guys have to follow me around all day?" Nick grumbled in his mind.

"Well, yes," Slick replied. Nick had given the three apparitions names since he'd woken up last night and realized they were not a dream, but some sort of psychotic break. "Besides, you're following the little guy."

Slick was right. In front of Nick was the youngest and, strangely, most stable of his new personalities. The little red fox ranger scout, whom Nick had named Robin, after the hero of Sherwood Forest, walked right up to the front desk where Benjamin Clawhauser was starting his day with a bowl of Lucky Chomps, a cup of coffee, and a box of doughnuts. The young fox snapped to attention and saluted the cheetah officer. Nick just sighed and shook his head.

"Morning... Nick," Ben said slowly, eyeing Nick with a confused grin, "Why are you saluting me?"

Nick's eyes focused and he realized that he was standing at full attention with his paw to his brow.

"Oh, I just thought there weren't enough mammals who salute the best dispatch officer... and gossiper, in the world," he chuckled, that was some fast thinking.

"Oh, stop," Ben said, pawing the air and blushing.

"So, what's the word today?" Nick asked. He wanted to talk to the Chief about what was going on, but Slick kept whispering in his ear to play it cool and that there was no need to worry Ben. Nick slid to his favorite spot on the side of the desk and leaned his shoulder on it.

"Oh. Well, we got a new officer starting today, a bobcat I believe."

"A bobcat?" Nick repeated. The savage fox that had been wrapped around Nick's legs since he walked in finally took notice of the conversation.

"Yeah," Ben replied with a smile. "You know. Small cats related to lynx's, all of them have a cute little bob-tail hence the name. Judy's showing him around the station right now."

"Oh, she is, is she," Nick looked around. With a few sniffs, he found the wonderful scent trail of farm raised rabbit, along with a new smell. A strong, virile male feline, baby powder and gunpowder, oddly enough a hint of a familiar flower. Must be the bobcat. "I'll see you around, Clawhauser."

Nick slipped away. The cheetah waved and told the fox goodbye.

"Rival..." the savage fox growled, as he turned to follow Nick on all fours. "Kill."

Nick glanced back at Ben to see if that was heard, the cheetah just happily eating his cereal again. Nick gave an internal sigh and continued on his way, following his nose.

He found Judy in the locker room next to her locker, stretching her arms over her head as she waited. Her ears shot up as the fox entered.

"Morning, Carrots," He greeted. His three annoying friends huddled around him, as if they were frightened of Judy. Strange. Before he'd left his apartment, they'd all seemed so excited to see her. Even the savage fox, who Nick called Todd, seemed happy in his own primitive, psychotic way. But now he hid behind Nick and the others with his tail between his legs.

"Good morning, Nick," she replied, turning around to see him with that beautiful buck-toothed smile of hers. He was glad the showers smelled especially dingy today, and that he had a 'rival' to worry about. Otherwise, he would have been lost in the bunny's grassy scent and that smile.

"What's up?" was all the normally silver-tongued fox could think to say.

"Oh, nothing much. Just showing the new guy around," she nodded behind her, to the center row of lockers. "He's just setting up his locker."

The sound of a locker closing drew the bunny's attention.

"Nick, this is Anthony Catson," she motioned to the bobcat that rounded the corner of the center row, then introduced her partner to the cat.

Officer Anthony Catson was a head taller than Judy, but still shorter than Nick. His fur was pale orange with tan and brown spots. Like Judy, he wore a two-tone blue neoprene all-weather uniform with a kevlar chest plate and full-length Kevlar arm and shin guards, complete with a set of fingerless gloves. He was a built little mammal that looked like he was carved from marble, with how well his muscles were defined. He was also probably topping the scale for his kind at around fifty pounds.

"Howdy," he spoke, with a voice straight out of a western movie, then held out his paw to shake Nick's.

"Hi," the fox politely took the bobcat's surprisingly strong paw in his own crushing grip. The pairs' eyes met and both mammals' fur stood on end.

'Kill...' echoed in Nick's mind.

'Rival!' Todd howled, coming around to stare up at the cat's pale orange eyes, but the real fox ignored the beast. The pair stared at each other for far too long.

"Didn't think we were allowed jewelry on shift," Nick finally said, to try and cover up the awkward moment.

"What?" Judy asked, confused. She could feel a strange tension in the air.

"Oh," the bobcat hooked his thumb under his collar and pulled up a pair of steel tags on a simple chain, "Never considered these jewelry. Ah've just worn 'em forever."

"Anthony was in the army," Judy explained.

"Oh, cool," Nick said. That explained the bobcat's physique. With the broken eye contact the male's fur laid back down.

Anthony tucked his tags back under his collar. "Yea. How'd ya even spot 'em?"

"Old hustler instincts," Nick replied, as he walked over to his locker and tossed his half pack of cigarettes in and retrieved his replacement sidearm. The carrot pen was missing, however. Judy shook the bright orange pen between two fingers and gave the fox a smug smile.

"Anyway guys, we should get to roll call."

Nick and Anthony agreed, the tension subsiding for the time being.

The bullpen was as rowdy as ever, the ZPD worked hard and played hard after all. McHorn the white rhino and Grizzoli the polar bear were arm wrestling while their partners cheered them on. Dominick Wolford was telling Peter Fangmeyer about his date last night. Judging by the black and gray wolf's smile, it must have gone well. Emmanuel Delgato the tiger was on the phone next to them. Paper airplanes and pawballs flew around the room. Some mammal had even decided to make a rubber band shooter today, that Judy had to dodge. The bunny laughed, but Nick felt a spike of anger about it. The new bobcat just felt at home.

Nick and Judy climbed into their shared seat. Anthony was about to look for an open chair when the Sergeant at Arms called out 'ten-hut' and the rowdy officers dropped what they were doing to chant a primal greeting to their Chief. Judy whooped with her fist in the air while Nick just half-heartedly tapped the table with his knuckles like always. Anthony looked around with a smile, since they did this in the military too. Like many of the felines in the room he growled and beat his chest. Although he was the only one let out a full roar, one that somehow drowned out the other sounds in the room. That got quite a few looks, but the chanting continued.

"Alright," the cape buffalo said, as he made his way to the podium. He repeated himself to quiet his officers. He paused as he noticed Catson standing in the middle of the aisle at rigid attention giving him a sharp salute.

"At ease," Bogo tested, and the bobcat relaxed, folding his arms behind his back and spreading his legs some. Bogo shrugged as he put on his reading glasses. "We don't have much on the docket today. First is our new recruit, Anthony Catson."

He motioned to the bobcat, and Judy and Nick's jaws just about hit the floor. In almost ten months of her working for Chief Bogo, and four for Nick, he had never once introduced a new recruit by name. More jaws joined theirs on the floor when Bogo added, "Officers Wilde and Hopps, you two show him the ropes. His partner won't be back from vacation 'til tomorrow."

The room was so silent they could hear a whisker drop. Bogo continued with the morning announcements. Catson's arrival seemed to be the only interesting one of the day, the rest just reminders of upcoming parades and other special events that would be happening in the next few weeks. However, today was going to be slow. No mammal got any special assignment, just patrols and the like.

Officers Wilde, Catson, and Hopps were assigned Old Central Patrol. A good way to break in the new guy. Knowing where they were heading, Judy and Nick led Anthony out to their patrol car. On the way the fox had to ask, "Okay, so do you got dirt on the Chief or something?"

"Nah," Anthony replied with a dismissive laugh as they all took their seats - Judy driving, Nick shotgun, and Anthony in the back. "Ah'm sure y'all know the Chief's son is in the army, right?"

"Yeah," Judy said, as she started the car. "Drives a tank, right?"

Nick chuckled. "Hard to believe someone bigger than Bogo fits in a tank."

"Well, he's an artillery crew-mammal," Anthony corrected. "Anyway, his unit was attacked en route to ah forward base by some of the insurgents. He and some of his crew were injured and cut off."

"Bogo mentioned something about that," Nick said, nodding.

"Anyway that's where ah come in," the bobcat continued, "Ah was in Chopper rescue. Mah squad dropped in ta cover the medics and the E-vac."

The cat's voice fell as he admitted, "It was pretty hot and ah got hit hard but we got 'em out."

"So you saved the Chief's son?" Nick and Judy asked together.

The bobcat laughed, "Yeah, but he returned the favor. Carried me up to the chopper with his shot up arm."

"Wow!" Judy exclaimed.

"Yeah, Bogo even came an' saw me in the hospital, said ah got a job waitin' for me here."

"So the army kicked you out for getting shot?" Nick asked, as he looked back at the bobcat, impressed and confused.

"Yeah." Anthony looked out the window. "Ah don't like ta talk about that part."

The fox didn't need twenty years of experience reading and manipulating mammals to know Anthony was hiding something. However nowadays, the fox found he shouldn't use those skills on his fellow officers.

"So that's enough about me, what about the two of you? Those stories ah hear true?"

"Yep," Nick said, with a smile to his partner, "Every word."

Judy giggled, too occupied with the heavy traffic on the road to talk.

"Nice," the bobcat said with a big smile. He wanted to hear everything the pair was willing to share. Which Nick was all too happy to do. Judy always said she was 'just doing her job'. Nick smirked as the thought 'he loved watching her doing her job' crossed his mind. He doubted the bobcat could properly appreciate that.

0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0

Zootopia was peaceful today, and Judy, Nick, and Anthony only saw one traffic violation. A squirrel ran a stop sign. After letting Anthony get some experience at dealing with an annoyed citizen they went on with little more to do. It was just a boring day until about an hour before lunch, when a voice crackled over the radio.

"Any cars in the vicinity of 30th street and Alvin boulevard," it was officer Peter Fangmeyer. "We are in need of assistance at Kaliedo's Looking Glass, audio and video store. Assault and battery, attempted robbery. Suspect may be feral. I repeat, possible feral."

"That's not good," Judy commented. She looked around getting her bearings.

"Or far," Nick said, looking around.

"Then respond," Anthony said from the back.

Nick glared at the excited bobcat in the backseat, then the fox's eyes drifted up to Todd, crouched on the trunk of the car staring daggers at the cat. Nick shook his head and picked up the radio mic and pressed the button to say, "This is car fifty-two, Hopps and Wilde responding. Fangmeyer, our ETA is two minutes."

"And Catson," came from the back seat.

The fox felt a shiver of rage run through him. He looked up and his eyes locked with the younger, slicker version of himself lounging on the hood of the car. He shrugged and brushed his shoulder. Nick nodded to himself and flicked out his mirror shades and said, "We got this."

Slick gave him a thumbs up.

Judy pushed the gas pedal down. She knew just where to go and sped off. Her partner clicked the siren and lights on. Nick was reminded by the kit in a scout uniform only he could see sitting on the center console to do so. Cars parted as the cruiser's eight cylinders thundered, driving the large vehicle forward. The patrol car was designed to be operated by mammals larger than any of its three occupants. Thankfully someone had thought of that even before Nick started and acquired some booster seats and pedal extenders. With them even Judy had complete control over the machine.

Kaliedo's Looking Glass was just a couple of turns away. The door to the Audio Video equipment store was wide open and bent at an odd angle, it's automatic closer hanging limply from the frame. Car thirty-six was parked out front with its lights flashing, next to an ambulance. A small crowd watched as a deer paramedic was shining a light in a skinny wombat's eye, his other covered with some bloody gauze.

Manny was taking statements from the crowd, as was his partner Peter. The tiger looked up at the approaching car, then hurried over to Judy, Nick, and Anthony before they even got all the way out of the car. Judy pulled her chin over the edge of the door as she stood on the armrest, while Nick stood on the seat and balanced himself with his elbow on the roof of the car. His imaginary friends joined him. Anthony listened from the pavement by his open door.

Officer Delgato yelled, "Suspect went that way." He pointed to the corner in front of car fifty-two.

"Wolverine, brown with white markings. Three foot two... they say he was muscular, maybe seventy pounds, if not more, wearing a light gray t-shirt and dark camo pants."

"Got it," Judy said, as she plopped herself back into the driver's seat. The bunny gave the others a moment to climb back inside. The tires of the squad car squeaked as fire jumped from the tail pipes. The vehicle rumbled around the corner and down the street, again cars scurried out of it's way. Its lights were on but the siren was not.

Anthony was like an excited kitten in the back of the car. He bounced from window to window looking for their perp. Judy was sure the guy was running so she was driving fairly fast. Nick had switched off the siren in a hope to sneak up on their target. Suddenly the bobcat in the back seat yelled, "There he is!"

Before the question "Where?" got out of the other officers' mouths, Anthony had opened the door and launched himself out of the car. The bunny slammed on the brakes as Nick cursed about crazy cats.

Anthony rolled over the hood of a parked car as he drew his tranq-gun. His large hind claws cut into the concrete sidewalk as he landed and trained his sidearm on a wolverine that matched the description to a tee, from the gray T-shirt speckled with fresh blood to his baggy cargo pants with a damp spot on his thigh where the Wolverine wiped off his claws.

"Put'chur paws on your head and get on the ground," the bobcat ordered the powerful and confused looking wolverine.

"Did you just jump out of a car?" the suspected feral asked, pointing to the police car skidding to a halt down the street.

"Yeah," Anthony replied matter-of-factly, "I useta jump out'ah helicopters. That was nothing." He smirked slightly, "Now put'chur paws on your head and get on the ground."

"No," the muscled mammal almost whined. "I don't want to."

Judy and Nick hurried around some parked cars, their own weapons in their paws. Anthony could hear them coming but didn't really care as he growled, "Ah'm not gonna ask you again, Paws, head, ground, now!" He stepped closer so that he couldn't miss, even with the relatively inaccurate small mammal model of tranquilizer pistol he had.

The wolverine's response was to snarl and flex his muscles. They almost tore through his shirt. The bobcat cop pulled the trigger on his weapon, air hissed, and the dart slid partially out of the snub-nosed weapon before stopping. Anthony glared at his side arm with his pale orange eyes. The tranq-gun's white plastic casing was just a small rounded rectangular block, almost as wide as the cat's paw and the blue plastic slide that worked the action and covered the loading slot all looked to be intact. It was just a broken "toy", as he called the so-called weapon.

Even before officers Wilde and Hopps could aim their weapons, the wolverine struck. Its large claws could have easily removed the bobcat's head from his shoulders, but Anthony wasn't there. The quick little cat had stepped around his opponent's reach and caught the wolverine's paw by his little finger. The bobcat used his shoulder and the feral's own strength to slam him into the car beside them. The wolverine's muzzle met the window so hard his fangs chipped the glass. Anthony snarled as he dropped his weapon and grabbed his suspect's other paw, bringing it behind his back. The smaller cop cuffed his suspect and threw him to the ground with a victorious, angry roar.

"Um, you're supposed to read him his rights now," Nick quipped, as he and Judy approached the seething cat.

"He was also supposed to let me stop the car before he jumped out," Judy said, so dumbfounded by the situation she couldn't help but smile.

"Shit, um..." Anthony replied, taking a few breaths to calm himself. "Sorry. Equipment failed and..."

He had to think about how to explain that bout of rage.

"Fell back on mah old training. Got a little carried away. You don't really do many arrests in the army," The bobcat lowered his head and ears submissively.

"It's okay," Judy replied. "Just don't let it happen again."

Anthony moved to help the wolverine up and the rabbit started to read him his rights. The wolverine snarled and snapped his large jaws at the bobcat. The suspect's arms flexed, pulling at the metal cuffs around his wrist. To Nick's horror, and that of the other three foxes in his head, one link in the chain snapped at its weld. The fox's paw snatched his side arm out of its hostler. The weapon wheezed out a single cough.

Unlike the weapons carried by the two smaller officers, his plastic weapon had a barrel and a magazine that held more than four darts. Best of all, it didn't need to be cocked manually after each shot. Thankfully so, because when the wolverine continued to stand, even with the dart in his back, Nick was easily able to fire another shot before Judy or Anthony could move. With two darts of the powerful sedatives in his back, the black and white beast's head slumped to the sidewalk and his arms relaxed.

"Yeah, I think we have a confirmed Feral here," Nick said, pointing to their perp and the broken pawcuffs.

"Yep," Judy said, as she helped Anthony pick up the Wolverine. "Feels like he weighs a ton." The rabbit would never admit it but she was more or less just there for balance, Anthony was doing all the work.

"Taking down a feral on my first day. I'm starting my police career off with a bang," Anthony commented with a chuckle.

"Yeah, it took Carrots four days to build up to her big catch."

Judy closed the door to the cruiser and said, "Nick, I caught Duke on my second day."

"Duke Weaselton is hardly as tough as this guy." Nick replied as the three got settled into the car. Officer Catson quickly became annoyed with how the wolverine would slump over on him and drool.

"True, true." The bunny smiled. "But I didn't have any kind of experience."

"Ah do have an edge there," Anthony laughed as he leaned the wolverine back on the side window, only to be crushed by the drooling suspect seconds later. That made Nick snicker and he didn't even try to hide it. Todd the savage fox agreed with a cackle more befitting of a hyena. The cat growled as he rolled the Wolverine off his back. "If'n ah break his nose, will ah get in trouble?"

"Yes," the partners answered as one.

0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0

After bringing the wolverine back to the store so the wombat could identify him, Nick, Judy and Anthony brought him to the precinct for processing. Judy then introduced Anthony to the wonderful world of ZPD paperwork. All arrest reports had to be done by paw in triplicate that got old quick, and the former soldier had only done it once.

"Good lord!" the bobcat yelled from his cubicle. "Ah didn't have to sign this much crap when ah joined both the army and the police. Combined!"

"Just wait 'til you actually fire your weapon," Judy laughed. Remembering his weapon malfunction the rookie bobcat officer walked off to have a chat with the requisition offices. Judy shook her head and looked over at her partner. Nick had at least three times the paperwork she and Anthony had. Although the fox was distracted from his stack of paper, like he was talking to someone. Judy rolled over to her partner and asked, "Hey, you doing okay?"

"Huh? Oh," Nick said, suddenly remembering she was in the room. "Yeah, just a little worn out." His eyes darted around her, like he was looking at something. The fox smirked and yawned, "Didn't sleep well last night."

"Oh," Judy said, with a knowing smile. "Well, we got the day off tomorrow, so you can sleep in."

"You can," Nick replied, leaning back in his chair. "I picked up a night shift tomorrow." The fox whined primally as he stretched out his back, "Oh, well. That's the life of a cop, huh?"

"Yeah," Judy said with a sigh.

Paperwork, paperwork and more paperwork. After filling out the three sets of twelve page arrest reports, nearly thirty pages each for Nick, it was time for the normal patrol reports. Thankfully, those could be done on the computer. Judy's eyes felt dry from staring at the monitor for so long, she could only guess what Nick's eyes felt like. He seemed fine, if distracted. What was getting to him?

The rabbit clocked out with her partner and a few other officers. They talked about nothing in particular before saying their goodbyes and heading off home; Judy's train ride was uneventful. After a nice shower, the bunny settled into her bed again, only wearing her comfy blue-gray cotton shirt. She munched on a week-old carrot salad as she used her phone to surf the web, looking up funny lizard or bird videos, and of course text Nick. She thought about asking the fox what was up with him, but decided to let him tell her in his own time. Besides, all of his texts seemed normal. He probably caught a bug or something.

Due to Nick having a late shift tomorrow, and Judy having the day off, the pair stayed up half the night texting. When they did finally say good night, Judy found herself wondering what it would be like to be a fox. Nick found himself wondering something similar, and why he was no longer alone in his apartment or his head. His new roommates sucked. One was crazy, one was scum, and one was a cheerful stick in the mud - if that even made sense.

The sun woke Judy shortly after it rose. Being from a farm, the bunny couldn't sleep in on her days off even if she tried. The little gray bunny sat up in her bed with a yawn and smile. She loved being a cop, but it was a stressful life of waiting, with a sprinkling of danger and helping make mammals' lives better, whether they liked it or not. Every cop, even her, needed time to relax and unwind doing next to nothing all day.

She hopped out of bed, bright eyed and bushy tailed like always. As she was thinking about what to eat for breakfast she noticed her phone had a message. It was a picture from Nick. A selfie, in fact, of him and Finnick covered in grease - with Nick's car's open hood behind them. At the bottom it read, "Look what your lazy fox did this morning."

Judy giggled and was about to send a reply when she noticed the time the picture was sent - almost three hours ago. She looked at the picture again, and indeed it was dark when it was taken. All the light came from two lamps that hung from the open hood. Nick was probably asleep by now, and it would be a good long while before he woke up. So the bunny just continued with her morning without bugging him. Judy did give a brief thought to maybe making him breakfast or something, but cooking wasn't her forte - especially for a predator. She herself ate some toast and a veggie omelet. She then lounged around for a few hours surfing the internet for nothing in particular.

Around lunch time Judy got dressed for real, she had a few errands to run. Mostly buying food, but she also wanted a TV. Something cheap like one of those smaller flat screens that hang on the wall. She could get a bigger one. It wasn't like she didn't get a huge bonus for the Bellwether and the Missing Mammal cases that she never spent, Judy could just be frugal sometimes.

The bunny tossed off her comfy night shirt and threw on some undergarments and tight short shorts, which for a bunny Judy's size were little more than a couple square inches of denim. She slipped on a white tank top that hugged her curves and finished with a red and white button up T-shirt that she left open. She thought about dressing up a little more with some jewelry, what little she had, but errands weren't a time for that. She didn't like be called cute, but she always seemed to get better service when she did look it. There was something she didn't like about that, but some things you just can't change. Guys like to show off to pretty girls, of any species.

The bunny grabbed her little purse and stuck her wallet and phone in it before she locked up and headed out. Judy walked the block and a half to her local Ram's Club. There she could probably get her TV and also pick up her groceries. Although she hardly ever bought in bulk, since her little fridge and apartment didn't have the space for it.

Even with her earphones in, Judy made the trip safely in about half an hour. She had been living in the city long enough that traveling with the half-distracted larger mammals was second nature. She didn't even notice how she would shift to one side of the sidewalk or the other as a rhino on his phone walked directly at her, or a elephant too busy talking to her friend walked out of a store toward the bunny. The Ram's Club itself was almost as crowded as the sidewalk outside. A normal crowd for this day of the week, and best of all they were in a good mood.

The grey bunny walked into the electronics section of the store. Judy was intelligent. She graduated at the top of her class, after all. And with enough information she could hustle a hustler, but she knew about as much about electronics as her mother did. The off duty bunny cop could work a touch pad and a keyboard just fine, and use a remote like pro. She even played video games with her younger siblings. She could hook up electronics and such too, but when the mouse that was helping her pick a TV started telling her about them, he might as well be speaking another language.

1080P, A113, 720d, P51, high-definition, flat screen, HD DVD, concave screen, pixel count, blue-ray, bluetooth compatibility, voice activated - all these terms bounced around in her head aimlessly. This one had something or another for so much, and this one had this and that with so much ram or whatever for so much. The hero bunny of the ZPD couldn't make heads or tails of any of it. This one was on sale, and this one had a warranty deal right now. When did finding a decent deal on a TV get so hard?

Judy sighed in defeat as she pulled out her phone. She thanked the helpful mouse employee and he walked away as the bunny's thumbs danced over her phone. She was doing something she didn't want to do by sending a simple message to Nick, "Are you up?"

To pass the time Judy looked at more TV's and even a few tablets, the mouse had suggested a couple as an alternative. Her phone finally beeped signaling a text. She knew it was Nick from the selfie of him and her together after their first shift as partners. His reply was dripping with sarcasm even through the phone, "I am now...what you need, Carrots?" He finished with a smiley face to show that he wasn't mad.

Judy bit the claw on her thumb as she thought about how to say it, 'til she finally broke down and admitted in text she needed help buying a TV and asked if she could call him. His reply came a moment later, 'Where are you, I'm on the way.' Judy told him and was left wondering why he would just jump up and head out to help her. He needed to sleep.

It took Nick about half an hour to drive to the store. He tossed a dead cigarette butt in the trash outside before walking in. He wore khaki pants and a not-so-loose in the arms anymore blue floral print button-up. His mirror shade aviators were in place, as was that perfectly charming hide-anything smile. His walls were up, his heart and mind were locked away - hidden in the fortress protected by thousands of soldiers ready to defend it to their last breath, as their fox king sat on his throne listening to the bickering of his three other selves.

Judy was none the wiser that anything was bothering her best friend as he greeted her. His hidden problems didn't throw off the fox's game. After talking circles around the electronics mouse that had helped Judy earlier, the hustler turned cop found Judy just what she needed - a twenty-seven inch HD flat screen with a wall mount, bluetooth compatible with her phone, and had internet. Best of all, it was on sale with a free three-year warranty.

"Thank you so much, Nick," Judy said, as the fox pushed the cart along. The bunny was strong, but he didn't want her to have to push around something that weighed as much, if not more than her.

"It's not a problem, Carrots," he replied. His ears twitched like he heard something that annoyed him. His new 'friend' Slick wanted to scam just about everybody he saw. Especially if they had money in their paws. It was better than what Todd wanted to do at least. Robin was quiet, though. He just seemed to stare dreamily at Judy as the bunny paid for her TV.

Judy smiled up at the fox as her receipt printed. "Well I still appreciate it, so I'm buyin' ya lunch."

"You don't have to do that," he replied with a smile. Technically he should go back to bed, but he just couldn't turn down spending time with Judy. That made it easier to ignore the racket in his head.

The pair loaded up Nick's newly fixed car with Judy's TV. She had decided to buy her groceries from the corner store near her home. The car smelled like cigarettes inside, and the outside was covered with spots where two day old eggs had been hosed off. Nick hated his little beater four-door sedan. He wanted to get a sports car, but life got in the way. It was the same thing that left the fox living in that run-down apartment on the wrong side of town.

They talked, but Judy did most of the talking. Nick's mood slowly deflated, and Judy couldn't figure out why. 'Probably tired,' she thought. They ate at Judy's favorite cafe, just down the street form the bunny's apartment. Like many restaurants, it catered to both predator and prey. She had a nice herb salad, while Nick went for a bugburger and cheese fried crickets. Judy ate her salad quickly, as she was hungrier than she thought. Nick ate, but Judy could tell it wasn't satisfying him.

"Something wrong with it?" she asked. The fox snapped up looking at the bunny, his eyes locked on her neck for a moment before moving to her face. "If you don't like it, you don't have to eat it just 'cause I'm paying."

"No, no, it's not that," Nick replied. His walls were crumbling, and Judy could almost see them do so. He was about to tell her what had been bugging him. "It's not the food."

His eyes behind his sunglasses darted around unseen by the bunny. He was looking at the arguing apparitions around her. He sighed and said, "There's a vixen in season." He lied well. What would he actually tell her anyway?

"Oh," Judy said, her eyes wide. That was a subject most mammals just didn't talk about. It was natural, so there was nothing that could be done. Judy was actually going to take a vacation in a few months when hers started. It didn't have an effect on her like some females, but it just seemed fitting. The bunny looked around, yet she couldn't see or smell anything out of the ordinary. But that didn't mean Nick couldn't. "Do you want to go?"

"Nah," the fox shook his head. It was a known fact that most males liked the smell, so Judy dropped the subject. Another one of those things mammals just avoided. Just because they were evolved didn't mean they weren't susceptible to nature. She didn't know that her scent was the smell having such an effect on him. Since the store, with his mind forced completely on the bunny and her wonderful smell, at first it let him focus but now the arguing from his other selves was getting bad.

It was a good lunch, despite the weird mood Nick had taken. He helped Judy get the TV up to her apartment, and she assured him that she could handle installing it and that he should get back to his place for a power nap. Nick finally gave in and agreed, with assurances he was going to check in on her.

In the hall, Nick was chased down by Slick, "Dude, get in there and lay her down. She so wants you."

The real Nick tried to not give an external response to the figment of his imagination. Seeing he was being ignored the sleazeball fox then asked, "Did you at least get some of that dough?"

"Shut up!" the fox growled under his breath.

"We should have stayed and helped the pretty lady," Robin, the youngest version of Nick said, though his voice seemed weak and distant despite being right behind the real fox. Almost like Nick's normal thoughts.

The real Nick looked back at the bunny's door almost longingly. His expression changed when he saw Todd, the final and scariest apparition in his head scratching at the door. Its face was somewhere between desperate and excited. Nick hurried out of the building, as he didn't want to know what that side of himself wanted to do to his best friend. He was a predator after all, and she was prey.

Nick lit a cigarette in his car, his paws trembling as he tried to find the ignition. "I should call out today, I should tell the Chief."

"Nah," Slick said in the passenger seat. He was lighting his own cigarette, and for some reason Nick rolled down the window for the fox that wasn't real. "You're fine, dude. Just relax, take a drag, and call Finn to get back in the game while you're at work."

"HUNT!" Todd howled from the back seat, he was panting. That savage fox was always hungry it seems.

"NO! We cant! We have to get ready for work!" Robin yelled, sounding like he was across the street, even from the seat behind Nick. The three figments started to argue as Nick drove home.

0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0

The sun was setting as officer Nicholas Wilde walked into precinct one. He was dressed for his shift, his blue cotton uniform fit nicely and was snug in all the right places. He carried a steaming, covered coffee cup from his favorite corner store.

Manny and Peter waved as they passed, "What's up, guys?" Nick greeted. Robin was telling him that everything was okay; despite sounding so far away, it was encouraging.

"Nothing much, just ending an uneventful day," Manny Delgato called.

"Good luck on drunk watch!" Peter added as the door closed between them.

The fox continued on his way. He pointed and winked at Kate, the female snow leopard who ran the front desk and dispatch at night. The newlywed cat waved, her shiny gold ring around her ring finger. She was almost as sweet as Clawhauser, and not nearly as round... yet. Nick could smell she had a litter on the way.

"You should con that ring off her," Slick whispered in the officer's ear. It took all of Nick's willpower to not show anything as he made his way to the time clock.

Nick made a stop at his locker before making his way to the bullpen. He plopped down in the very same seat that he and Judy normally occupied in the morning, but unlike his normal shift, there was only about a fourth of the seats filled. Sergeant Hopkins was the task master this night. The hippo looked out at the officers present and said, "So, officer Wilde, you ready to fly solo on the night watch?" Hopkins knew that this was Nick's first time on a night shift alone.

"Yep," Nick replied, holding up his coffee and giving it a shake. "Got my partner right here."

A light chuckle flowed around the room, and the sergeant gave out their assignments soon after. Nick, like most of the officers, was on traffic duty. Nine hours alone in the car, hoping for a fun story about some drunk he pulled over.

If only he was truly alone. If Slick and Todd weren't arguing, they were telling Nick to do things. Things he shouldn't do. Horrible, despicable things. Robin, the diligent ranger scout, tried to help by playing mediator, but the only thing the sleazeball con artist and savage talking animal could agree on was that they didn't like the little kit. During a bathroom break, Nick swore he saw Slick and Todd open the trunk of the cruiser and toss Robin in. Nick would have let him out but, well, Robin didn't actually exist and the kit would just appear somewhere else. Right?

But the kit didn't reappear, though, and the other two only got worse as his shift dragged on.

It was near midnight when a common scene started to play out: a driver sees the flashing red and blue lights in their rear view mirror, curses to themselves and pulls over.

This night, Sara the deer did just that. She had been half-expecting to get pulled over for speeding anyway. What she was not expecting was to see a fox in a police uniform approach her door. He had the normal stoic expression all cops had as he asked for her license and registration as well proof of insurance. She, of course, gave all of that over to him.

Nick took everything he needed from the deer and turned to walk back to his car.

"Dude, did you see that fat wallet? You should totally relieve her of that excess weight," Slick said with a smirk, while the blue jeans wearing fox leaned on the deer's car smoking like a chimney.

"Go away," Nick growled, his ears low.

"Excuse me?" Sara asked, confused, as she leaned out of her window a little to hear the officer better.

Nick swatted at the air around his head, saying, "Just a bug," and returned to his cruiser. As he filled out everything for the speeding ticket, Todd slinked into the passenger seat next to the cop and his PDA. The real fox tried not to look up at the fake savage beast, but he couldn't help it. Nick looked at Todd who growled like his stomach did, "Kill...eat." He almost snarled, only for Nick to realize that he had actually said that himself, out loud. "No, she's ...preeeeey." Nick slapped himself hard as he hissed the word.

The officer shook his head and the savage fox was gone. Keeping himself under control, Nick finished up the ticket. The printer screeched as the ticket printed. The fox cop looked up and saw Todd standing on top of the deer's car, then he jumped down onto the hood and then the road. Nick pulled the ticket free and gathered everything he needed to give the deer, returning to her window.

"Well, Sara," Nick said, as he stood by her door, "You were goin-,"

The fox froze when he looked into the car again. Todd was sitting in the deer's passenger seat, staring at her with drool dripping from his razor sharp teeth.

"Yes, officer?" The deer asked, looking up at Nick. "Is something wrong?" She was confused by the horrified look on the fox cop's face as he looked past her into the car.

Nick felt his mouth watering, and he jumped as the image of a savage fox that looked just like him snapped his jaws around the deer's delicate neck. The fox's powerful jaws and razor sharp fangs would have easily killed the larger mammal. Nick felt his jaws snap around nothing. He blinked and Todd was gone, while Sara the deer was looking up at him waiting for him to respond.

The officer pretended to sneeze.

"Oh, excuse me," he rubbed his nose on his sleeve. "Dumb bug flew up my nose."

The deer smiled and nodded, "Oh yeah, I hate that." She giggled, but her mirth didn't last when Nick informed her that the ticket was over two hundred dollars. Her ears were low as she thanked the officer and wished him a good night.

The deer drove away under Nicholas Wilde's watchful eyes, and Slick stepped in front of him to lean in close - looking at the real fox's face. He pulled the burning cigarette out of his mouth and asked, "Dude, you doing okay?"

"No," Nick said, dropping all attempts to hide his fear. He was terrified. He needed help, and he knew just who to get it from. Car Fifty-two's engine roared as he floored it down the highway. He took the off ramp a little faster than he should have, but everything felt slow to him - even though he was close to triple digit speeds. His heart was racing, and his claws were digging into the steering wheel. It took Nick all of ten minutes to drive to the Grand Pangolin Apartments.

The fox jumped out of the car, followed by two of the three apparitions in his head. The fox's paws slid on the pavement as he stopped and ran back to the car and tore open the trunk. He let Robin hop out before he slammed it shut again.

Judy awoke to the sound of someone hammering on her intercom. The bunny rolled out of bed and rubbed her eyes. She scratched her bare rump under her comfy cotton nightshirt as she stumbled over to the source of the sound.

"Hel-hello," the sleepy bunny stuttered into the device.

"Judy, it's me. I, uh, it's an emergency. Can I come up, please?" Nick's terrified voice broke through the static, and sleep was forced from the bunny's mind as she replied.

"Yeah, come on up."

It had to be bad for Nick to be this scared. Judy pressed the open-door button, and before she could even put on some clothes she heard a frantic knocking on the door.

"Wow, that was fast," she commented, as she pulled her nightshirt down over her tail and opened the door. Nick burst into the room, almost knocking the bunny off her paws.

"Judy, there's something wrong with me! I'm seein-" He froze as he looked back at the bunny. Judy looked up at him confused, oblivious to Todd the savage fox sniffing at her legs.

Nick could smell her freshly washed fur, her subtle grassy scent mixed with her honeydew shampoo in a most becoming way. The savage figment of Nick's imagination turned and walked over to the corner of the room to groom himself, though Todd never took his eyes off Judy as he licked himself.

"Nick, what's going on?" Judy asked sternly.

The real Nick couldn't reply, as he watched the sleazier version of himself circle the bunny before stopping behind her. He bent down to look up the bunny's nightshirt, and the real Nick could only imagine what she was wearing under it. The smoking fox smirked and nodded as he walked over to the fridge.

"Are you going to kiss her?"

Nick turned to the young kit that only he could see, sitting on Judy's bed with his little paws swinging cutely in the air.

"No, I'm not going to kiss her," Nick replied out loud, much to the disappoint of the three imaginary foxes.

"What?" Judy questioned with a start. Her ears and cheeks suddenly hot.

"Damn it all," Nick said, turning around and leaning on Judy's window AC unit. "I think I'm losing it, Carrots. I'm seeing things, thinking things. God, I don't even know what this is."

Judy looked over at her tactical belt, which held her fox repellent. It was just a brand of pepper spray that she used to playfully antagonize Nick with, but she got as much teasing back from him for it. It was usually fair play, but right now she was actually thinking she may need it.

"Nick, slow down. You're talking too fast," she was worried, but not afraid of him yet. The fox sighed as he leaned down on the window unit.

"I'm seeing three other foxes," he didn't know what to say, really, so he just let everything come out. "One of them I call Todd."

Nick closed his eyes and sighed, "Yes, I named them. That made it easier."

"But why Todd?"

"Don't know. Just came up with it," the fox replied. "Anyway, Todd is... I guess what I would be if I went savage."

He paused for a moment.

"He's sitting in the corner, licking himself. Then there's the kit sitting on the bed. He's okay, I guess. Kind of a stick in the mud, but loveable."

A chuckle escaped the fox.

"Kind of like you."

Nick let his head hang closer to the window unit. Why did Judy complain about it being broken? It was blowing cold air all over him.

"The last one's as bad as Todd. I just call him Slick. 'Cause he's the kind of scum I used to be when I was younger," the fox smirked. Did he really hate his old life that much now? "He's raiding your fridge, by the way."

"No, Nick," Judy said slowly, her voice full of concern. She had taken a few small steps closer to her fox repellent, just in case. "You're raiding my fridge."

Nick came to the sudden realization that he indeed was bent over with his head in Judy's fridge. It was newly stocked, with all kinds of veggies, milk, juice, half a dozen eggs and bunny sized light beer. Three of which were in his paw. He almost jumped out of his skin before he set them down.

"Oh God! Judy, what did I do when I walked in!" He looked at her, his eyes wide and paws shaking.

"Nothing unusual," his best friend replied. She patted at the air in a calm-down paw sign. "Other than almost trample me."

Nick looked relieved. "Okay, good."

That did it.

"Nick, we're getting you to the hospital," she walked over to her clothes, then blushed. "Oh, um, could you turn around?"

Nick nodded and put his nose in the corner by her new TV, mounted on the wall. He was too freaked out and worried to be his normal sarcastic self.

Judy pulled off her nightshirt, as movement caught her eye. She looked over at her bed and jumped back, "NICK!" she growled, covering herself as best she could with her shirt and paws. The fox was laying on her bed with his hind paws kicked out to the side, his chest on the bed, and his forearms crossed in front of him. He was watching her, with his head tilted to the side. There was something odd about his eyes.

"Nick, what are you doing?" Judy asked, glaring at him. Her trained eyes scanned his face, and she could see the fox's mouth moving slightly like he was saying something. Nick looked over to the corner, where he had been standing a moment ago. The bunny's ears shot up as a light turned on in her mind.

"Todd?" she questioned the fox.

Nick jumped a little and looked back at her with his ears down.

"I-I, Judy, please, I-" he was about to have a break down. That was it. Judy tossed her shirt away, modesty be damned. The bunny quickly threw on some blue jeans and the first t-shirt she found. A Gazelle concert tee she bought a few months back.

"Come on," Judy ran over to the fox, grabbed his paws, and pulled him out her apartment. She paused just long enough to grab her keys and her purse, which thankfully still had everything she would need.

They ran out the to the cruiser, Judy took the driver's seat. Nick tried to get in the back. The bunny would have none of that, and locked the back doors. He sighed and climbed into the passenger seat. Nick looked at her, worried.

"I trust you," she said, with a comforting smile.

"You might, but I don't," Nick said, with all the seriousness in the world, as he flicked his wrist and snapped his metal pawcuffs on himself and the door handle.

0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0

Nick sat in the sterile exam room, wearing only a pair of black and white boxers, trying not to smell anything. Most mammals hated the smell of the hospital, with all those chemicals, cleaners and mammalian fluids. However, Nick's powerful nose just kept honing in on his partner's scent, as she sat in one of the chairs with her legs crossed. She smelled so good, and every time he inhaled, his invisible friends wouldn't shut up about what to do to her. Even Robin would scream to be heard, but the fox couldn't hear any of them clearly.

Nick couldn't even look at Judy. He didn't want to see what his other selves would do to her, no matter how enticing they were. He didn't want to accidentally be doing whatever they were doing. Although he had to admit the image of Robin sitting in her lap her arms wrapped around the kit as she read, was adorable.

Finally, the veterinarian returned; the boar had taken some samples to test, mainly blood. With so many disorders and diseases possible in so many different species, it was a lot to learn, track, and diagnose. Thankfully medicine was always at the forefront of technical advancement, so it was no surprise it had taken less than forty-five minutes to get the results. Computers did a lot of the work nowadays. The pig sat down on his stool and rolled it closer to the mostly naked fox. Judy stood and joined them, trying not to stare at her partner's chiseled muscles.

"Well, Mister Wilde," Doctor Cox said, lowering his notes, "You are perfectly healthy..."

Both Nick and Judy looked worried that this would mean more tests, or something even worse than they feared.

"...for a nineteen-year-old, bodybuilding gymnast."

"I'm thirty-three," Nick dead-panned. The gears in both the cops' heads were turning now.

"Exactly," Doctor Cox replied, stunning them. "You need to get off that stuff, son! It's going to make your teeth fall out before too long, and it'll just make you go even worse in the head."

"You're talking about Howler," Judy stated, looking at the fox almost disgusted. "Nick!"

"I would never do crap like that," Nick growled. He heard Todd howl about showing strength. The cop ignored the imaginary savage, glaring at the boar. "I lost a friend to poisons like that years ago, and swore I would never get caught up in it."

"Wait, poison," Judy said, a light in her head turning on. "Yeah, could someone have poisoned him? Maybe slipped it in a drink or some food or something?"

The possibility of it being a random act shook both Judy and Nick to the core.

Doctor Cox thought for a moment and nodded, "That's a possibility."

Judy was about to say something when Nick cut her off, "Just a sec, Carrots," somehow the fox was able to focus. His head mates had decided to join him on the table. They were still trying to tell him what to do. "Doc, can you fix me, like tonight?"

The veterinarian looked up at the fox, "Well..." he looked at the charts on his clipboard and did some calculations in his head, "I do have a fast acting antipsychotic that should work, and some pills to flush your system. Although, if you get any more of the toxin in you, it will take the full Nighthowler therapy."

"Get it," Nick ordered. The boar vet almost jumped to the command. "So Carrots, what are you thinking?" The fox turned back to his partner hoping he hadn't derailed her train of thought.

"She's thinking she likes you with your shirt off," Slick said with a laugh. The real fox shushed him.

"I'm thinking I kind of like you with your shirt off," Judy joked, attempting to lighten the mood, but Nick laughed harder than she expected.

"It wasn't that funny, Nick?" she eyed the crazy fox.

"Slick said that too, right before you," the fox chuckled before flexing his impressive physique. Judy laughed and tossed his uniform at him, "Okay, whatever," it was time to get down to business. "When did the symptoms first start?"

Nick paused to think about it as he slipped his pants on, "Umm, it was on my birthday, after we went out for drinks." he paused and zipped up his pants, then buttoned them. "That night I felt weird after I smoked that cigarette that made me cough real bad." The fox was showing off another advantage of Howler - it had made his already good memory nearly photographic, "The next day was when I really started to notice physical changes."

"We showed up that night, can't forget that." Robin reminded Nick, who then relayed it to Judy. The little kit beamed when Nick stated that he was the one who mentioned it. Judy was far less impressed.

"Okay, so it started with the cigarettes," Judy said with a smirk, "Told you they would kill you, but who knew they could get me killed too?" She gave her morbid joke a short laugh.

The fox was about to put his uniform shirt on over his white tank top when the veterinarian came back, "Okay," he said, holding out a pill bottle with maybe half a dozen pills in it. "Here you go. Take one of these per day, either in the morning or the evening, and drink lots of water."

The fox set down his shirt and took the bottle with a nod. Judy assured the vet she would make certain of it. Doctor Cox nodded again before holding up a needle and saying, "This is the anti-psychotic. Give it about an hour to be fully absorbed. Go ahead and sit down again."

Nick did not look happy about the shot, and Judy looked away. She hated needles as much as the next bunny. The fox flinched a little as the veterinarian stuck the needle in the scruff of his neck. Within a few seconds, the fox felt a cool calmness flood through him as his mind steadied. He looked around and all he saw was Doctor Cox and Judy. Perfectly beautiful little Judy, maybe he was still a little crazy.

"Thanks doc, that worked great," Nick said, with a smile of genuine gratitude.

"You're very welcome."

As Nick finished dressing, Judy asked, "Did you say his teeth were going to fall out?" She hadn't heard about that symptom before.

"Well, with a bunny, such as yourself, it wouldn't," the boar answered, "With your incisors, at least. They continue to grow all the time anyway." The bunny nodded while Nick listened.

"But the rest...well, it seems Howler makes you grow brand new teeth that are stronger than your original. The old ones fall out and the new ones grow in, like when you're young. Only faster."

"That'ssss..." Nick slapped a paw over his mouth, attempting to hide the whistling. He sighed and shook his head before checking his teeth. The ones in front, between his fangs, were both loose. Judy snorted as she swallowed her giggles.

0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0

It was getting close to sunrise as Car Fifty-Two pulled into the precinct parking lot. Nick and Judy hopped out and hurried inside. Chief Bogo was reading last night's report, as he walked to the break room from his office. His days normally started before most of the day shift. By choice, usually. It let him get home early to see his family.

The cape buffalo noticed Nick and Judy entered in a hurry, and his years of police work told him something was up. It was easy to see that Judy was out of uniform and Wilde hadn't put in his report yet.

"Hopps. Wilde," he called out. "What's going on?"

"Someone tried to poison Nick with Howler," Judy replied. "We got him pills for it from the hospital, and now we're following leads to get to the bottom of it."

"Okay," Bogo nodded, "Get to it."

It was against regulations to investigate your own, or your partner's assault, which a poisoning was. However, he knew better than to try and stop those two from doing it, "Your overtime will be approved within the hour. You need anyone, they're yours."

"Thanks, Chief," Nick and Judy replied, as they continued on their way.

"You're the bessst, Bogo!" Judy added, as she walked backwards. She winked at Nick, then told him to go take his first pill, while she got changed.

Nick found himself alone in the males bathroom, staring at his face in the mirror. He was truly alone now, his head mates were gone but the effects of the Howler were still apparent on his body. He looked at his arm and flexed his bicep. He marveled at how the navy blue fabric of his uniform shirt strained to hold him in. Then he did the same with his chest muscles, the buttons stretched to their limit long before the fox did.

He was stronger, faster, and just all around better. That couldn't be all bad, right? The veterinarian said he would be fine, as long as he didn't get any more Howler toxin in his system, right? The fox looked at the pill bottle, then slid it into his pocket without opening it. He sighed and left the locker room.

Judy joined Nick in the hall, she shook her hips a little and pulled the neoprene suit down at her thighs, "You know, the all-weather gear isn't exactly comfortable without underwear."

"You know, sometimes you tell me way too much."

"Ugh, okay mister crazy," Judy replied with a smile.

"Too soon," Nick replied, pretending to be hurt.

"So, you got those death sticks?"

"Yes," Nick answered, pulling his open pack of Zooports out of his pocket. The pair hurried off to the crime lab. The specialists took no time to get the results, and they sent shivers down Nick and Judy's spines.

The cigarettes weren't somehow contaminated with Howler. They were poisoned with lethal amounts of pure Nighthowler serum. There was no way this was a random act of mischief. If Nick had taken that amount of the toxin directly it would probably have killed him, after sending him into a psychotic rage.

"Wow. Somebody has it out for me."

"Maybe both of us," Judy said, looking up at her fox. The two squirrel chemical specialists looked at each other, wondering how the pair could be so nonchalant.

"So now to find who did it?" Nick said, clapping his paws together. The pair of squirrel lab techs put the pack of cigarettes into the evidence bag with the rest of the carton. It was safe to assume they may be poisoned as well. Best eighty bucks the fox ever spent.

"Yes, let's start with the precinct security," Judy said, slapping her fist into her other paw. If he had been poisoned at the precinct, it would the best place to start. If it happened somewhere else, that would make things harder.

The partners hurried out to the hall, heading for the computer where they could access the camera archive. Judy hopped into the chair at her desk and spun it around, stopping herself when she faced the monitor. Her little white fingers danced over the keyboard and touchpad. Nick rolled his seat up close behind her and watched over her shoulder.

Her scent tickled his nose. It was having an effect on him, but it wasn't nearly as intense as before. No drool and no tent, just a little heart flutter. Judy quickly brought up the security camera archive and typed in the date. The bunny scrolled the timer over to when Nick first showed up that day. That was the hard part, but following the fox as he walked from the front door to the locker room was simple.

"Was my butt really that big?" Nick commented.

"It still is that big," Judy giggled as she flipped between the camera's following Nick to the locker room. "If you mention my tail, I swear I'll-"

The bunny stopped and pointed at the screen. "Okay, there we are leaving the locker room."

"Yep," the fox said, as he glanced down at Judy's third best feature. Fourth best, if he included her personality. The pair stared at the computer screen that showed the empty hallway outside the locker room. The shadows wiggled as the minutes ticked by on fast forward. At the first sign of movement, Nick paused it. He was quicker than the bunny.

"Oh, it's just the janitor," he muttered.

"Still someone we need to talk to," Judy said, as the orange carrot pen scratched out a note in her pad. "What's his name?"

"Don't know," Nick stated. They both found that strange. Nick made it his business to know everyone. "That was Tuesday, so it was supposed to be old Ed." If only they had cameras in the locker and break rooms, then they would know if this was the guy who poisoned him. And who ate his sandwich last week.

"Well, we'll have to look into him," Judy said, making a note on the pad. They continued to watch the security video for another thirty-five minutes, pausing it and writing down whoever they saw enter the locker room. By the time they got to when Nick and Judy got off shift, they had seen several dozen mammals come and go. The only one they didn't know personally was that ram janitor, and the answer to the ram's identity was just a phone call away. Turned out the ram was a replacement for old Ed, the horse, who was on vacation.

"So, do you think the janitor is the guy?" Nick asked, as Judy hung up the phone with the traffic office.

"Yeah," the bunny replied, as she spun around in her chair, rubbing her chin. "At least I hope he is, 'cause otherwise it would be a cop, or we'll be back to square one."

She grabbed the page that the printer spat out: the current location and physical information on the ram they were looking for.

"I don't like the sound of any of that," Nick said, as they walked out into the main entrance hall of the building. Their cubicle was on the opposite side of the station from the break room, and the coffee pot which is what they needed now. He looked around, seeing the other officers, some heading out, others were making plans for their day. "Hey, Carrots, I got an idea."

The bunny knew the look on his face. "What's gotten into that head of yours?"

"Well, if this guy was trying to turn me into a savage, then maybe he should think I am. So why don't we send someone else out to pick him up and I put my acting skills to use," the fox cop smiled that mischievous smile of his, the same one the bunny saw in her dreams from time to time.

"Oh, I like that," the gears in Judy's head were turning as well.

"Of course you do," Nick said, pointing to his chest with his thumb. "Yours truly came up with it."

He noticed Peter and Manny heading out and called, "HEY! Fangmeyer, Delgato, what are you guys doing today?"

"Traffic. Why?" the white wolf replied, as he and his partner made a beeline to join the fox and bunny.

"Want to make a collar?"

The wolf looked at his partner, and both were skeptical. Why would Nick and Judy give up a collar?

"What's the catch?"

"We're still the lead," the fox replied, smiling wide.

"He tried to poison Nick," Judy explained, holding up the ram's information. "We're going to hustle a confession out of him."

Nick didn't like that she just blurted that out, but there wasn't anything he could do about it now. Besides, the best way to motivate a cop was to tell them another cop was in danger.

"Give us the file," Peter ordered. "We'll get him."

The wolf and Delgato turned to leave as Judy told them, "We contacted traffic control, they already got eyes on him."

Peter and Delgato thanked her and were on their way. The bunny noticed Anthony and his partner, Leo Adams the lion.

"Hey Nick, you really want to drive the idea home that you went savage?"

0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0

Car Thirty-Six returned to the precinct parking lot about two hours before lunch. Peter and Manny had their mammal, a ram named Kevin with short cut black fleece. He wore a black death metal band shirt and some jean shorts. His hooves were cuffed behind his back like every perp brought back to the station house. As soon as Officer Delgato opened the back passenger door the ram started to complain.

"Come on, you two uptight asses, what the hell is up with this?"

"Shouldn't have run," Manny said, as he walked the ram up the ramp to the entrance.

"Or been carrying so much nip on you," Peter added.

As the three got to the top of the ramp, the door opened. Officer Anthony Catson smiled as he pushed a wheelchair out with Judy sitting in it. A bandage covered half her face and left eye and some were even wrapped around her neck. One ear was wrapped tight while the other stood straight up. She had on a loose hospital gown and a large gauze cast on her right arm, while her left arm seemed to be missing, and both legs were in splints.

"OH, good," Anthony said, seeing Peter and Manny. "Judy was worried that she'd miss seeing ya."

He slowly pushed the injured bunny down the ramp as Anthony's partner, Officer Adams followed behind him. The large lion was lost in thought.

"Oh," Peter said, a little confused and very surprised.

The bunny opened her mouth to say something, but the bobcat cut her off.

"Yeah, Ah'm sure she would tell you, but you know she can't." Anthony mouthed 'the fangs' as he touched his throat with two fingers and his thumb. Judy didn't make a sound and closed her mouth. That wasn't part of the plan, but it seemed to have the desired effect of the ram. Too bad she wouldn't get to use the hurting voice she had practiced.

"Yeah," Manny said, now playing along. "Yeah, it's-it's real good to see you Judy."

Anthony's mouth widened into a smile for a brief second.

"Yea," his voice creaked as he pushed Judy past them. Kevin the ram's eyes hadn't left the bunny the whole time. At the bottom of the ramp the bobcat elbowed Leo's leg.

"Oh, yeah," Leo jumped. "He's in interrogation room two."

The lion winked at the wolf and tiger.

"So they're keeping him?" Peter asked, thinking on his paws.

"Yeah," Leo felt strange about lying, but this was what happened when one worked with Judy and Nick. "Mister W has a way of getting mammals to talk."

"Yeah," Peter said with a smirk. "I bet he would love to talk to you." He pat the trembling ram on the shoulder.

Both Anthony and Judy's lips were quivering as the bobcat said, "Well, let's get this little bunny back to the hospital." He hurried around the corner with the lion in tow.

Kevin was pushed to the front desk. Where Officer Clawhauser could hardly hold himself together, Benjamin never got in on the real police work. Manny held the suspect still while Peter begrudgingly signed a few papers. Paperwork, the white wolf hated paperwork.

"So, he going to talk with W?" Clawhauser's voice cracked a few times as he spoke.

"Yep," Peter spoke so dismissively that it made the suspect more nervous. All according to plan.

The officers walked the rattled ram down the hall. The back halls of the station were appropriately intimidating already, so nothing had changed there. Bleak walls and downer faces everywhere. Instinct was screaming at Kevin. Not his criminal instincts honed from years on the street, but his primal survival instincts. He was surrounded by predators and trapped. He had no herd to protect him, flight was no option and fight also out of question with his hooves cuffed. Kevin was panicking, just the state of mind the police wanted him in.

Manny less than gently plopped the sheep in a chair, one of its legs a little shorter than the rest. Again, meant to put him ill at ease, as was everything else in the dark of the integration rooms.

"Our friend will be with you shortly," Manny said, as he removed the cuffs from the sheep's wrists. Kevin slowly pulled them to his chest to rub them as he nervously looked around.

"Yeah, so, good luck," Peter said with a laugh and nod to the door. Manny seemed to understand what was being implied. The tiger turned off the lights as he left and Peter closed the door.

It wasn't uncommon for the police to leave a suspect alone in the dark, especially prey mammals that relied on their sight. Kevin started to tremble; he looked around, but couldn't see much of anything. The ram's ears perked as he heard the quiet sounds of claws on concrete. The sheep was shaking so badly the chair was squeaking under him. Something sat in the seat across the table; the ram could smell a predator, a fox in fact. He had a guess of who it was. A lighter sparked and the flame touched a cigarette. It revealed a fanged grin in a orange muzzle.

The cherry of the cigarette reflected in the fox's green eyes, as Nick said, "Hi."

Kevin screamed.

0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0

Nick tossed the half smoked cigarette he had in the trash with a look of disgust on his face, "I hate non-menthol."

"So, you get the name?" Judy asked, back in her uniform.

"Yeah," Nick smirked as he flicked out his sunglasses. "Bellwether." He slipped them on.

"Are you expecting music to play or something?" Judy said, shaking her head. Anthony, Leo, Manny, and Peter joined her and Nick. All six were on the case now and all six would see it to the end.

The Bellwether estate lay just outside the city limits, but still within the jurisdiction of the ZPD. The family were fabric moguls, owning several cotton plantations across the country. But, of course, they were best known for their wool.

Dawn was the oldest daughter of the current head of the company, Daniel Bellwether. It was rumored that the apple hadn't fallen far from the tree, so to speak. Her father's money and influence were probably why Dawn was released on probation with relatively minimal limits, even with the overwhelming evidence against her.

The three police cars pulled up the driveway that circled a large fountain with stone sheep in toga style robes, armed with spears. Fangmeyer took slight offense to the fact that the statues of sheep warriors were standing on the bodies of fallen wolf soldiers. He shrugged it off, stuff like that had happened in the past, after all. A few sheep gardeners stopped their work to watch the newcomers, all of them looked freshly sheared. One pulled out his phone and made a quick call.

Judy lead the group of officers to the door of the large plantation-style mansion, built of pink, tan, and white bricks, with white pillars holding up the two-story porch. The bunny had her stoic and professional expression on her face. Peter was normally a goofball and more than a little clumsy at times, but right now was time for work and his face showed it. Even his walk was different. Most of the time he loped along with a smile on his muzzle, but now he strutted with his head high and his grin was nonexistent.

Nick wore his smug smile and mirror shades like he was born with them. The cats wore similar masks of superiority, but where foxes were full of themselves, felines made it quite apparent that they weren't better than anyone, they just had utter contempt for everyone and everything around them. Nothing was worthy to be in their presence.

The bunny knocked on the door. A snooty looking shaved ram in a pair of dress pants and a polo shirt opened it a moment later. He looked down at the bunny, then up at the other cops. "Can I help you, officers?"

"We need to speak with Dawn Bellwether," Judy answered.

"Just a moment," the sheep replied, before closing the door without inviting them in. Judy found that rude. Anthony's ears perked as he noticed more sheep seemed to be coming around to watch them. His soldier instincts were kicking in, and the bobcat let the other cops know. Nick agreed, and his Nighthowler enhanced ears could hear the sound of hooves moving around within and outside of the building. They were about to kick over an ant hill looking for its queen.

After a short wait, Dawn came to the door. The small ewe was freshly sheared, revealing her petite body under her fine wool clothing. It must have been that time of year. The Bellwethers didn't excuse themselves from the shears, but they did sell their own wool as premium quality. Most critics thought it was average at best, but marketing was marketing.

"Hi Judy," Dawn greeted, appearing confused. She never even acknowledged the predators behind the bunny.

"Hello, Miss Bellwether, we need to speak with you," Judy said calmly.

The ewe was not happy about talking to the mammal responsible for the ankle bracelet she wore, for destroying her political career, and for putting her in prison for three months. And worst of all, making her lose her father's respect. Dawn adjusted her glasses in a nervous habit. "Um, okay."

She finally looked at the large predators with Judy.

"Did you have to bring the goon squad to just talk?" the sheep sounded like she had no earthly idea what was going on. Then again, she was a good enough actress to nearly turn the entire city against all predators.

"Dawn, you can cut the act," Judy ordered, reaching for her cuffs.

The ewe looked around, more confused. "What act?"

"Dawn Bellwether, you're under arrest for assaulting an officer, and attempted murder," Judy said, as she reached out to bring the sheep into custody.

Dawn stepped back on the verge of tears. She couldn't believe she was being arrested in her own home for something she had nothing to do with. "But, I-I didn't do anything."

"Stop right there! Just what are you doing to my daughter!?" a deep voice bellowed from inside the mansion. Seeing that Judy had already clipped the cuffs around Dawn's wrist, Daniel Bellwether, a short, plump ram ordered, "Release her at once!"

Judy paused for a moment, noting that two large and familiar rams were flanking the patriarch. The bunny summoned up her commanding voice and ordered them to stay back.

The small ram sighed as he looked at his daughter, she pleaded that she couldn't have done anything. All her poise and composure lost at the thought of going back to prison, for not doing anything.

"I didn't want it all to go like this, but..." Daniel snapped his fingers.

It happened quickly, rams charging the officers from almost every direction. Judy jumped to the side, pulling Dawn with her. The two small females landed safely in the bushes, and Dawn was starting to hyperventilate scared out of her mind. Judy grabbed her shoulder mounted radio and pressed the button to call for backup, only to get static. The smaller units didn't have the range of the radios in the cars. She drew her tranquilizer pistol, ready to get back into the fray.

Nick had easily caught the horns of the nearly three hundred pound ram that came at him. His hard claws dug ruts into the polished wood of the entrance way, but Nick was driven back and bowled Manny Delgato over. As the tiger toppled over, the fox rolled and tossed the ram away like he was throwing a bag of potatoes. Nick landed on all fours and snarled viciously. He had lost his mirror shades in the tumble, revealing the pinpricks of rage that were his green eyes. The death stare of the fox was enough to stop a group of sheep in their tracks. The fox stalked toward them on all fours before his snarl became a smirk and he stood, drawing his sidearm.

Anthony had heard the ram charging him from behind. The little bobcat spun around and slammed his elbow into the ram's face, hard enough to stagger the gardener mid-stride. Officer Catson stumbled back a few steps before, with a loud savage roar, he pounced on the sheep, his hind claws digging into the prey's plump belly, paws grabbing hold of the ram's horns. The bobcat brought his forehead into the stunned ram's nose so hard, the gardener was slammed on his back, unconscious. The small predator rose with blood splattered across his face, smiling as he drew his dart pistol.

The ram that slammed into the white wolf had caught Peter completely off guard. He was put on his back and the ram was already trying to strangle him. However, Peter Fangmeyer was a tough wolf, and he slipped his hind paws up to his chest and kicked out, hard. The ram was too heavy to kick away, but with the wind forced from his lungs the ram was easily levered off the wolf. The canine pounced on the prone, wheezing sheep and cuffed him quickly. Peter stood up, his weapon in paw, and he helped his partner Delgato stand up to quickly draw his own weapon.

Leo, being the biggest of the officers, and a former all-state champion wrestler, caught the ram that attacked him and easily cuffed him, tossing the sheep aside. Now the towering lion had his sidearm in paw. The officers took aim at any aggressive sheep they saw, orders to stand down were given and any that did not comply got a tranq-dart for their trouble. It was all over in a couple minutes.

Judy stepped into the doorway, a new clip of four darts in her plastic weapon.

"Daniel's gone," she called out.

Nick slipped past her, "I got his trail. Watch my back, Carrots."

"On you like your tail," Judy replied, as the partners ran further into the mansion. Nick in the lead, following his powerful nose. A surprising change from the first time they had walked into the den of some villainous criminal, when Nick pushed Judy in front of him out of fear.

Fangmeyer turned to the other officers. He was about to say something, but his words were lost as he saw Anthony slap a clip of darts into his weapon and spin it on his finger before holstering it.

"What are you, some sort of old-west gunslinger?" the confused wolf asked.

"Yea," the bobcat replied, before the officers split up to secure the scene and call for backup. Dawn's little head popped up out of the bushes, and she looked around with a crooked, confused smile on her pink face. When did her life become some sort of movie?

0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0

Inside the massive mansion, Nick followed the scent of the sheep. It was easy, since Daniel used way too much conditioner on his fleece. Even though Nick and Judy were still technically rookies, they had extensive training. Every officer had to pass basic combat training, which covered room clearing. The fox paused at a door and motioned to it. Daniel was in there and the pair were ready. Nick went to the other side of the door and reached for the knob while Judy braced on the wall ready to rush in.

The world was in slow motion as the fox turned the handle and swung the door open. The muscles in the bunny's legs launched her into the room, and Nick quickly followed her. The room was some sort of study or office, with a desk to the right and a sitting area around a coffee table in the center. Bookshelves lined a wall behind the desk and the far wall. A wet bar dominated the wall to the left. Judy went to the far side of the two couches, cutting off the ram's escape. Nick approached straight in from the doorway.

The fox's howler-enhanced senses picked up so many things. From Judy's order for Daniel to stand down, and the ram defying her and lifting something from the desk, to the sound of hoof steps behind Nick. The fox spun around in his heightened state, and identified the weapon the ram butler held. A very familiar compressed air pellet gun. Nick moved like a blur as he ducked to the side of the little blue ball that impacted the couch's back.

"Nighthowler!" Nick bellowed as he snatched up a silver tea tray, knocking the expensive set to the floor.

A little blue ball splattered across surface of the tray as the fox took aim and returned fire. The dart embedded itself in the ram's shoulder, the powerful sedative would take a few seconds to take full effect. Thankfully, the impact of the dart caused the butler's final shot to go wide before he fell to the ground. Nick turned around to see Daniel Bellwether slumped back into the desk chair, looking at the dart in his chest. A metal thud echoed through the quiet room as he dropped a revolver on the wood floor. Nick looked at Judy and she just shrugged.

0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0

As it turned out, Daniel's plot had the most petty of motivations. Money. In the months since his daughter's arrest, his company had spent a lot of money doing damage control. Donations to charities, public works, and the like. It was working, but sales were still down from where they should be and profit was disappearing.

He blamed Nick and Judy for it, since they ruined Dawn's brilliant plan, after all. He was going to get revenge on them and remove the shame on his family in one fell swoop. Dawn herself seemed to have nothing to do with the plot to poison Nick, and with a lack of evidence tied to her, she was released that night. Besides, as she put it, someone had to run her father's company now.

Life seemed to be returning to normal. Which meant excitement around every corner after long periods of nothing. After Judy and Nick were congratulated on solving the case in record time, and Peter, Manny, Leo and Anthony were thanked for their help as well, they all soon learned that they would be part of the biggest Howler raid yet. It was just another day as an officer of the ZPD.

Later the same night of Daniel Bellwether's arrest, a knock came to the door of a half abandoned factory in the old part of Savannah Central. A lion slid a little window open and looked out into the dark, but he couldn't see anyone. Who could be dumb enough to ding dong ditch their operation? The lion closed the first window to check the little person height one, to find he was staring face to face with a bobcat.

"What you want?" the lion growled.

"Talk ta yah boss," the pale orange eyed cat said, like a gunslinger of the old west.

"Screw you," the lion tried to close the window, but the bobcat's paw shot up and caught it. The lion knew a feral when he saw one, especially when he was evenly matched by this bobcat in strength. You don't guard Howler without meeting a few ferals.

"Yer boss probably won't like it when the cops come knocking down yer door, and ya couldn't stop it," the bobcat growled.

"What's going on, Jason?" the voice of the lion's boss purred, the tigress walked down the stairs from her makeshift office.

"Just a feral thinking he can get in here."

"If ah wanted in, ah could git in," the bobcat growled, slamming the window open and breaking one of Jason's claws.

"Open the door," the tigress ordered, a few of her gang readying their firearms. A show of force and insurance, in case the feral tried something. The guard opened the door and shots were almost fired, because there stood officer Anthony Catson in full ZPD uniform. He smirked as he looked up at the larger cats without fear.

"What do you want?" the tigress purred, her eyes far less friendly than her voice.

"To make a deal," the bobcat's orange eyes fell on the rows and rows of blue flowers being grown or dried. There was a brief look of longing on his face. "Ya scratch mah back, ah'll scratch yours and nobody gits hurt."

The cat didn't want his fellow officers, his new friends, to get hurt, but he had a need...

0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0 0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0

BIG BIG thanks to KOakaKO and Orchidthechin for helping edit.