"...and that is what brings me to Zootopia." The two stared at him as though they expected more, but he had to maintain his cover. Especially with cops. He'd told them of how he had came as a specialist of sorts. That he was here to clean up the streets and such.

"So, you're a garbage collector?" Nick smiled at him. He silently thanked the fox for giving him that. He didn't know an exact word for what he 'is'.

"Pretty much." He shrugged. "It's a steady minimum wage job I can rely on." He pointed at their badges. "Where you guys can only work when there's criminals out there. I've always got work to do. Trash is a constant in the experiment of life.

Judy's eyes widened. "Oh carrots! Our job!" She hastily pulled out a few dollars before grabbing Nick's paw. "Our lunch break ended almost five minutes ago."

Nick offered his foxy grin and a wave as she pulled him away from the table. David chuckled as the smaller mammal pulled him along with no apparent effort.

The meal had been nice. They'd talked about the city while their discussion went on. Breaking away from his 'story' multiple times before Nick put them back on track.

There was something about that fox that made him feel strange. The way Nick seemed to be reading him like he was an open book. Something most cops weren't good at. Thankfully, he'd managed to piece together that Nick used to be in crime. Clacking his claws together under the table to simulate a hammer being pulled when they first made eye contact was the initial test. It had the expected result.

The way the bunny clinged to his side was something else too. Cross species relationships were something he was used to, yeah, but the fact they weren't crime lords, or druggies was the surprising part.

From the way she listened to him. Her ears snapping to attention whenever he said something. The same going for him along with the subtle scent of arousal whenever they touched. The two were actually in love.

He chuckled softly as the cruiser roared to life and left. Fred, the owner, came up to him. "Everything settling okay then?"

"Yeah. It was good." He began to take out his wallet. "Say, you wouldn't happen to know any of the rumors around here would ya?"

The bear raised a brow. "What do you mean?"

"I heard some talk about a 'crime-lord' or something that goes by 'Mr. Mane'." He paused when he saw the look cross the bear's face. "You've heard of it too then."

"He isn't a rumor." Fred leaned close as he began to whisper. "He's a very powerful mammal in this part of the city."

"What do you mean, 'this part'?"

"Every section of the city has a different, well, overboss so to say. Mr. Mane is one of six. There's also Mr. T, Mr. Big, Mama Tusk, and the Jade Brothers. Nearly all of Zootopia is run by them."

David made a confused face. "What about the mayor? The police? Don't they handle these guys?"

"They can't. They have too much control of the city to be touched." Fred looked over his shoulder. "Speaking of which, they have enough control that it isn't wise to talk about them either."

He waved his paw. "That's alright. I was done with hearing gossip anyways."

He could see Fred physically tense. "They aren't gossip."

"Sure. Bye bud." As he turned and left, he couldn't help but let out a soft laugh as he realized what he now knew. They worked in territories, which meant that if he took out one, the others would probably just figure each other more to try and take that new piece of land. He'd felt with groups like this before, he knew how they worked.

As small as it seemed to Fred, this information could just be the starting place for his search for these mammals. The 'overbosses' were six of the seven targets. That information alone was definitely worth the fifty dollar tip he left under his plate.

30 min later

The walk to the 'Pandorium Quality Housing' took a bit longer then expected. The place didn't exactly match the name. 'Quality Housing' must of been to trick people because the place was a dump. The only identification it had was a glitchy neon sign that hung from a clothesline the next floor up.

The air was sour as he neared the front door. Or, what he suspected to be the door anyways. The handle looked to just be sticking out of the wall. As he pulled it, a blast of musk and alcohol hit him. The inside was a mess. Even worse than out in the alleyway.

The mammal behind the 'front desk' was dressed in clean, sharp clothes. Though, he didn't have that aura of superiority simply because the front desk was just a cardboard box.

"How can I help you today sir?" He was a lean zebra with a faint scar running across his face.

David pulled out the ticket he had been given the previous night. The zebra read a t for a second before stepping out from behind the box to show his bare legs, shaven and bandaged, peeking out from nothing but boxer shorts.

"Follow me sir." He had a pristeamed aura about him. As though he should be in a mansion of some kind, acting so modest and serving. He'd probably be a butler, if he was wearing pants.

He led David to a staircase that was in as bad, if not worse condition than the rest of the 'hotel' so far. The concrete had been covered with mud and bodily fluids. There were places where the concrete had actually corpses enough to where they had place wooden beams to get across. About three floors up, David stopped him.

"Where are we going?" Of course, he stopped almost immediately to answer the question.

"To the quality rooms for mammals of your stature."

"My stature?" He frowned. He didn't have a stature. He was just scum that took care of scum.

"For mammals in your line of work, we have specialty rooms that are cleaned daily like every other hotel. Though these have more perks as you will see."

Upon hearing this, David motioned for him to pick up the pace. The next floor was their stop though. As the zebra butler opened the door to the floor, an overwhelming aroma of chemical cleaners and fresheners overtook him. The entire hall was spotless. The doors identical and numbered. The thing about the doors though, was that the numbers started at one instead of the floor number.

"Here we are. Room number three." After opening the door and handing him him the keys, the zebra began to walk off. "If you require anything. Food, ammunition, entertainment. Do not hesitate to dial zero in the phone to contact me. Have a nice night sir."

"You too…" He was amazed. The room was larger than the width of the hall. With multiple doors going to what he realized was a bathroom, a bedroom, and a laundry room. The kitchen in the main area had a fully stocked fridge with anything from cheese sticks to beer. While the cuberards had salt to hot chocolate.

He sat down in one of the stools and sighed before he noticed a note. After picking it up, he began to read.

Dear David,

It has come to my attention that you have come for work in the most diverse city in the known territories. I would like to hire you for some assistance. Below, you will find multiple names of certain establishments across the city. These places are known for their high rate of mammal and drug trafficking. I ask you to put a stop to it. Once you do, don't worry about spreading the word, I'll know about it. You'll be well compensated for every place you clear out.

Signed,

S.

Who the hell was 'S'. A friend? Obviously and employer, but what kind would hire a merc, inside a private safe house. His kinda thing wasn't normal, but it drew his attention. He'd check out a few places. Maybe turn them into the police. Nick would be the one. The fox used to be in crime. He'd be more accepting if it ever happened.

He groaned as he made his way to the bedroom. The fatigue of the day coming down on him at last. He fell into the silken covers and found sleep almost immediately. Still clothed but wrapped in blankets, the wolf rested for the work ahead of him.