"What did I end up getting myself into" muttered Nick darkly as he left the building and giving his goodbyes to the mouse.
Honestly he shouldn't be very surprised it was Bellweather. After a few years of confinement she managed to sneak out of the prison which Judy and he had suspected she was smuggled out by guards, whether they were placed or paid off he could never really prove. When nothing came out of the investigation on her whereabouts it was expected either she was gone or dead and Bogo had said it wouldn't be worth the resources to continue looking for her so it was dropped.
It was exactly one month later that the day happened and he was without a partner.
'Guess she didn't die' he thought but it just left the questions of how no one realized she was sitting in Tundra Town and why hadn't she just left Zootopia entirely?
The reports listed that she was near the Polar bear district but his issue was that the house the report said she was staying at was the location of an old hideout Mr. Bigs had - so either he knew about this and he's going to have to figure out his involvement or someone was working underneath him without him knowing.
It was mid-day and knowing from experience at working Tundra Town it would be best to wait until the dead of night to investigate this interesting case.
Honestly it was quaint, Tundra Town had the most tourists and the most family oriented events. Combine mammals and snow and people just break out into giggles and ice cream. You'd also wouldn't think that people would be willing to do anything nefarious there, it's just too cold.
But he knew, KNEW, that that section of town was the most vile at night. It was with good reason that crooks hid out there and some of the most dangerous mob bosses post their operations in Tundra Town. The combination of heavy snow silencing movement, how incredibly dark it would get at night and the very convenient natural freezer available to dump bodies anywhere and not have it be uncovered until it's basically stumbled over made it particularly ideal for criminal activity.
Maybe it was that or maybe he just didn't like the cold but he'd always get on edge whenever visiting that place. Usually he would send some of the mammals better adapted to climate to Tundra Town from his Officer Roster but he couldn't exactly do it now.
"Hey guys, remember Bellweather? Turns out she wasn't dead but she's hiding out in Tundra Town! How did I find out? Oh well I've been working as a criminal for a few years, you know trying to get new information and establish myself in the underworld sort of thing! That's normal for police officers to do right?" he quietly joked to himself. "Oh man I'm talking to myself now, Judy would call me crazy if she saw me" and the thought of her sobered him up.
Well if I can't do anything until later guess I might as well try to enjoy the rest of the day. Stick my head into the ZPD, not to do any work of course otherwise they'd yell at me but just to say hi. Then later tonight I can see if I can find her and figure out what is going on here.
Tracing his steps back but mixing it up with additional steps and removing his disguise in a new location he arrived back at his apartment. Carefully looking around he didn't see anything shifted or out of place indicating that no one had entered after he had left.
'Still looks like a piece of shit though, really need to clean up one of these days' he thought as he hid his disguise again and went to change into some casual clothing. A pair of slacks with his favorite green shirt.
It honestly felt good to be back in his old gear, he almost forgot how the soft material felt across his bare fur or how he wasn't Chief Wilde when he wore this but rather Nick Wilde.
Feeling strangely uplifted by the thought he proceeded out of his apartment but was interrupted by his stomach growling.
'Food' he thought, realizing he hadn't eaten anything since that morning and decided to swing by a local burger joint which he used to come by all the time but decided to cut down on his calorie intake as he felt he was starting to pudge up.
'Whatever, I think I've earned this one' and then proceeded to order his old favorite of a triple decker bug burger filled with extra cheese and secret sauce - with a large drink of course.
He chose to sit outside and look around while he ate. The city itself seemed to be the same but the population had changed since he had started. People of different species were more freely talking to and conversing with each other rather than keeping to their own kind. He even saw some displays of affection among the crowds. As much as this life stressed him out and how much he has left to go this makes it worthwhile, that although the world was the same it was indeed ready to change.
Finishing his meal he trashed the paper wrapping and cardboard cup and started the short walk to the ZPD, he tried to slink in through the front door but he was almost immediately accosted by a large Boar.
"Sir" stated the man he knew as Huffer "I thought you said you were going to take the day off today". He knew he meant well but he wasn't a kid and could make his own decisions for gods sake!
"I'm not working I promise, just strolling in to see how everyone is doing" he stated while holding his paws up in placating fashion. Receiving a noncommittal grunt the boar paid his respects and left the fox to return to his scheduled lunch period.
Huffer was a good cop and came to the ZPD primarily as a way to develop his own sense of self and professionalism. When he first came to the precinct he was cocky and thought he was invincible, thought that he was too good for a place like this which was dangerous thinking in their profession. He was really getting on everyones nerves and Bogo threatened to kick him out. But Nick saw how his rough edge was only a facade, he never had a strong role model growing up and so he was acting out and expected the ZPD to serve that role that he lacked.
So with that he had a heated discussion with the boar after hours and after one or two misplaced comments about dead bunnies and failures the Boar was lucky to be alive and instead had a blackened eye and split lip courtesy of thousands of hours of practiced brawling with a hyperactive rabbit.
After that though Huffer had opened up to Nick slowly but surely. He still held up his facade with the rest of the officers but to him he talked about his past and how his family had a history of criminal activity but his mother did her best to instill her son with a sense of personal pride and satisfaction from doing the right thing. How his brothers had either gotten killed or sent to jail and how he had never met his father. He joined because he wanted to do something better and to prove that he could be more than a thug.
Nick opened up too to the boy although he still left out details and through their conversation Huffer gained a deep appreciation and admiration of Nicks hardships and apologized profusely when he realized how horrible the things he said about Judy would be to someone like Nick.
Huffer started opening up to the rest of the precinct and eventually was accepted into the fold and now he was one of his best officers. Working hard and being someone he could trust with most things. But unfortunately the war he was trying to fight was accomplished with less rather than more.
He remembered reading something about how the NAVY SEALs would operate best in small groups, how the aquatic mammals would operate best in groups designed to increase trust and make each member value the survival of the group above their own. So does that mean working in a group of 1 was the best choice? Maybe he could talk to Finnick about this one next time he saw the fox.
Reaching his office he opened the door to see the same office he's grown familiar with. Unlike his messy apartment the office was well kept and organized, both to appear as professional to the rest of the staff and also because he got his ass ridden one too many times in the past for having a messy desk, damn it he had a system!
Taking a seat at his desk he went ahead and pulled the provided ZPD laptop closer to him and logged in. As Chief he had access to the criminal database and as incredibly tempting it was to go ahead and re-read the file they had on Bellweather and her past crimes he knew that he was being carefully watched and his every search was logged. Plus at this point he had memorized the page anyway.
Instead he decided to look into some of the big shots of the Simian gang which wouldn't seem too suspicious as the ZPD had been chasing them for the last couple months and he had written up some of the files himself. He wasn't sure exactly what he was hoping to find, maybe some sort of connection they had to Bellweather or some reason to why they have a sudden interest in his past rival.
'Georgio, Julius and Caesar' he thought as he looked over the file listing the known tri-bosses, known as the Great Apes, of the gang. Georgio and Julius were gorillas while Caesar was a chimpanzee, not much were really known about the trio other than the fact they've given him headaches.
Deciding to finish up since he didn't seem to find anything that he didn't already know he stumbled upon a page in the electronic file. It had to do with the finding of a new batch of nighthowler serum found in the labs of one of the great apes. The ZPD wasn't able to figure out what was in the stuff and why the chemical composition was different at all from the original serum, however.
'Maybe Bellweather knew about this and they wanted her gone to stop knowledge of it spreading?' he mused idly. But was pulled from his thoughts by the radio crackling to life. As Chief he had his radio to accept all transmissions just to keep an ear out for what his agents were doing, sometimes it could be a bit overwhelming but he's been able to filter and process out multiple speakers without much issue.
"ZPD, this is Officer Hopps on ground pursuit in Savanna Central - I am currently chasing a large Timber Wolf with short white fur wearing a black checkered shirt. He stole a purse and requesting backup."
Attention sharply focused on the radio he closed the laptop and turned towards it.
A few exchanges between the dispatcher and July caused his heart to sink as he realized she was pursuing this person on her own. When she stopped responding, even when he sent her a transmission himself, he feared the worst.
It felt like an eternity to him, this shit couldn't be happening to him again - he did his best to make sure it would never happen and here it was unfolding right before him. He was about to sprint out of the room to go hunt her down himself before he heard her voice come through the radio "This is Officer Hopps, I'm located on the corner of 5th and Louis in Savannah Central and have apprehended the suspect. Calling for pickup."
He should have been relieved, glad almost from hearing that she was safe and the suspect was apprehended. Instead he could feel his pulse pounding even harder, the blood surging through his veins. His fur stuck out as he felt prickling on his skin, involuntary growls slipped from his muzzle as he swore he could feel his canines and claws extending. He knew what this feeling was and with all his willpower rooted through his desk for a orange sized steel block he used as a paperweight and squeezed it with all his strength. Pouring everything he had, focusing every iota of strength he had into the steel caused his rage to slowly slip away.
When his fur had settled and he didn't feel like he was about to slaughter the entire building he transmitted a simple message over to his newest officer.
"Hopps, I want you in my office. Immediately."
He then remembered the steel block and looked down to see the steel warped and squashed clearly showing that some paw had done so.
'Well I guess I could say it's modern art' he joked.