A/N: It's back from the dead! I know I haven't posted in months, but I've been very busy, mostly because of build season. Those two words — 'build season' — may not mean much to you, but to me it's weeks on end of sleep, eat, robotics, repeat. If you're interested in robotics and are in high school, PM me for info about the competition I've been in. So here, finally, is the new chapter.


It wasn't long before I heard shouting echoing from the other side of the warehouse. Evidently, one of the other workers had noticed something was amiss. I pricked my ears, hoping to hear whether I was in danger of being discovered any time soon, and instead caught the edge of another, more relieving sound; a police siren.

'Hear that, Nick? Backup's on the way. Come on, now, we'll be safe.' Even though he was unconscious, it still felt more natural to talk to him rather than sitting in silence.

The siren grew louder as the seconds passed, and it wasn't long before the chaos downstairs had quieted, the workers probably starting to fear the implied approaching police car.

I tried to judge how long it would take for it to arrive. Would any of the mammals downstairs think to clear these upstairs rooms? I doubted it, provided they had as little time as I thought. Just as I was certain the car was only a street away, the siren cut out.

What?! I stood up and strained my ears, silencing my own breathing to hear more clearly. Nothing, except the faint whistle of wind through the snowy streets outside.

Crackers! Where did they think they were going? Did they get called off?

I sighed, resigned to the fact that today was really, really not my lucky day, and sat down next to Nick. Neither of our lucky days.

My ears shot up on instinct. I stood up again and quickly padded over to the open door, trying to get a better angle on the sound I was sure I'd just heard. Yes, it was definitely there. The sound of heavy tyres crunching through the snow.

Within seconds, the grinding roar of the security doors opening flooded the air, drowning out even the scratchy footfalls of the panicked mammals sprinting across the warehouse floor to shelter.

The deafening scraping halted with a click, and soon a new set of voices emerged.

'Police! Stand dow— ack!'

Curious, I ran out onto the catwalk in time to see one of the moles sprinting away from a ZPD officer, who was picking a collar casing up off the ground in front of him.

In total there were three officers — A polar bear, who looked gigantic in the medium-mammal warehouse; an old black-and-grey wolf; and a young Arctic Fox, who was wincing as he rubbed a spot on his head.

'Wow, someone's mad!' said the fox, examining the empty metal case then tossing it aside. It bounced across the floor noisily. 'Looks like we're in the right place, anyway. Steel security door, but not even a rolling code. Typical.'

The polar bear grunted his assent.

'You two, listen up.' The wolf was speaking now. His voice had an authoritative tone, one that made me certain he was the most experienced of the three. 'No more screwing around with the guys in here, you know our orders. Snowdin, stay and keep guard. Canimere, with me. We need to turn the place over til we find 'em.'

'Hey!' I called, causing all three to start and look up. 'That won't be necessary, we're up here.'

'Hopps!' called the wolf, looking relieved. 'Is the fox with you?'

'Yes, but you'd better hurry! He's injured pretty badly,' I explained.

'We're rescuing a fox? A red fox?' Asked the Arctic, sounding amused.

The polar bear, Snowdin, stared at him disbelievingly. 'Do you ever pay attention to the outside world? Do you even know who we're here for?' he rumbled in exasperation. 'Besides, you are a fox.'

'I know, but I'm an arctic fox. I didn't know—'

'SHUT IT!' the wolf yelled, then grabbed the Arctic's shoulder and dragged him forward. They both clanked up the metal staircase and quickly made their way along the remaining short stretch of catwalk.

'Hopps, go downstairs and get in the back of the closest patrol car,' said the wolf, pausing outside the door. 'We'll bring Wilde down and take him to Downtown Hospital.'

'I just need to get something, hang on.' I ducked back into the room and stowed the metal collar remote in my pocket. I was about to exit again, but stopped, unable to bear just leaving Nick here. I bent down and quickly kissed the top of his head. 'Good luck,' I whispered.

My ears twitched at the sound of another siren nearby, and I suddenly straightened up and stepped back, remembering the ambulance that Clawhauser had sent.

'Sir?' The wolf, who had just crouched to hoist Nick up, flicked his ears in my direction and grunted. 'Sir, there's an ambulance coming for him anyway. We just need to get him downstairs.'

He grunted again, and I took that as an agreement. It seemed that Chief Bogo wasn't the only veteran policemammal who'd replaced large portions of his vocabulary with throat noises. I took a deep breath in, then out, and ran downstairs to signal the ambulance driver.

Outside, the sky had started to darken. The wind had picked up a little, and the snow was thicker on the ground than when we were here last. As I walked out to the end of the drive, the ambulance's headlight beams swung out into the street, lighting up the snow. I beckoned to the driver, and they turned the siren off before slowing down as they approached the narrow driveway. I ran back down the drive to the warehouse, the ambulance cautiously following. The wolf and Arctic fox had managed to lift Nick down the stairs and were carrying him towards it.

I knew I should be going to the police car and waiting, as per my orders. But I was off-duty, and I had to check something first. With all the time that the mammals in the warehouse had had to escape, surely they would think to… yes. Of course they had. As I walked closer to the forklift that had been the scene of Sharpe's getting tased, it was clear I'd been correct; no porcupine was slumped in the driver's seat. He'd been taken, probably hidden away somewhere he could be sure to wake up without pawcuffs. But maybe, just maybe, there was a chance he and the others were hiding somewhere here, within the maze of passages bounded by the warehouse walls. I hadn't seen any other exits from the outside, so it was an almost certainty.

I ran back outside in time to see the ambulance start its sirens again and drive off.

I watched it round the corner, now struggling to stop myself sprinting after and demanding to ride alongside Nick. As soon as it had disappeared, I mentally shook myself, knowing I had to concentrate on things closer at hand. Specifically, searching the warehouse for the porcupine and his cronies.

'Hopps, in the car, please,' called the wolf, sounding weary.

'Sir, I'm not sure we should leave yet.' He raised an eyebrow at me, and I continued, 'We need to search the building. This is a major crime scene, and it's possible the perpetrators are still here.'

'I'm afraid I can't allow that, Hopps,' he replied, 'our orders are to bring you back to P1. You know the rules.'

'But sir, if the perps are still in the warehouse, we—'

'Hopps!' he interrupted sternly, 'Orders are orders. Besides, may I remind you who is the on-duty cop here? And,' he sighed, then gestured toward me, 'who is not?'

I broke off and stared at him, my mouth still open as the words that had been on the tip of my tongue shrivelled and faded. I swallowed. He was probably right. Half of me wanted to argue, say that this was too important to worry about being off-duty. But the other half knew, as much as I hated it, that disobeying would get me nowhere. Nowhere except maybe the other end of a vigilantism charge.

'Can you get Chief Bogo on the radio? Please?' I asked. Hopefully he'd be able to back me up.

'Sorry Hopps, I know what you're thinking. He specifically ordered us to not let you get involved with this lot again, at least until you're back on duty.'

I stood for a few seconds, silently fuming. I wanted to be angry. I was just so close, and if we could take Sharpe in now, well… that would be the end of it. No more evil organisation manipulating the lives of predators. But I also knew why Bogo had made that decision. He was too sensible. He'd decided to pull us out until more information was available, knowing that we weren't equipped for an operation of this scale. A quintessentially ZPD strategic move, but one that could cost much more than its worth.

I sighed, giving in, and opened the back door of the police cruiser. I jumped up to the wolf-sized seat and pulled out the small-mammal seatbelt, then fastened it. I patted my pockets to make sure I had the remote, the large bulge being hard to miss. The wolf climbed into the driver's seat and the Arctic fox, Canimere, into the passenger's. The engine turned over and, tyres crunching against snow, we followed the larger cruiser being driven by the polar bear.

'Hey, um, Officer…' I began.

'Greyfang,' he grunted.

'Officer Greyfang. I just wanted to say, well… thanks, I guess,' I mumbled, feeling mildly embarrassed at having to be rescued from my own mistakes.

He didn't reply, steadfastly concentrating on the snowy bitumen ahead as we continued down the road.


The journey to Precinct One felt alarmingly short. Maybe it was because I'd been to Tundratown and back many times in the course of the day. Maybe it was that the day's extreme stress had left me drained, my mind reduced to a half-sleep. It didn't help that the fox, Officer Canimere, talked the whole way. It didn't matter that neither Greyfang nor I responded, he kept at it, monologuing his recent transfer to the ZPD from another city's force where, it transpired, Arctic Foxes were held in much higher esteem than Reds.

Whatever the cause, it was disconcerting when, with a small jerk, the cruiser came to a stop in a parking bay, shaking me out of my trance. I unclipped my seatbelt and stood up, looking around through the windows. The sky had darkened significantly. The automatic lights in the car park had turned on, the ageing fluorescent tubes flickering in a vain attempt to increase visibility.

Tugging at the interior door handle, I discovered it was locked.

'Hah, sorry about that,' said Canimere, 'Just a precaution. I'll get it.' He clicked open his door and walked around, then opened mine. I jumped down to the ground.

'Thanks,' I said, wondering what had justified their "precaution". Was I a flight risk?

I padded off around to the front doors of the building, both officers from the small car trailing me. Pushing my way through the revolving door, I found that the sweeping central area was close to deserted. Clawhauser had fallen asleep at his desk. The bright interior of Precinct One was almost blinding after the gloomy car park, and I wondered if formerly nocturnal species found the lighting uncomfortable. Over the millennia, species had rapidly evolved to become more like one another, but many useful traits stayed strongly within certain groups. And the ability to see at night still proved useful for many.

Chief Bogo was leaning on the edge of the walkway outside his office. As soon as he saw me looking at him, he jerked his head back and walked through the door.

I jogged up the staircase, noticing the many empty offices on the way up. Apparently, not many mammals were willing to work this shift. I reached Bogo's office and slowed down as I went through the door.

Bogo was seated behind his desk, reading a paper in a blue binder. He took his glasses off and set them down on the paper.

'Take a seat, Hopps,' he said, and I obliged, jumping up to the large office chair. He sighed heavily, then fell silent. I nervously waited for the reprimand that I knew was coming. There was no rushing the chief. He said what he wanted to say, when he wanted to say it, and pity those who spoke out of line. I scratched the back of my paw, concentrating without purpose at a spot on his desk. Finally, he spoke again.

'Hopps.' I made eye contact. 'Now, there's a lot to say here, so I'll do this in the order I'll have to deal with it.'

He cleared his throat. 'Firstly, what exactly made you think it was in any way acceptable to start an investigation into TAME? Especially,' he spoke over me, seeing that I was about to interrupt, 'as, if I remember correctly, you were off-duty at the time?'

'Sir, I didn't really mean to start a new investigation.' I paused, trying to phrase what we'd done in a way that implied minimum law-breaking. 'We were, um, gathering evidence for the explosion case, and it lead us to… to this. We, ah, felt compelled to go ahead, since there was only one opp—'

'Hopps! That's enough, I understand what's happened here.' He took a deep breath in, then let it out. 'You and Officer Wilde were discussing your joint suspension. You wondered why, as the two officers who'd witnessed the explosion in Tundratown, you hadn't been thoroughly questioned in order for other officers to take up the case. So, you decided to take your own action.' He leaned in closer. 'Am I correct?'

I blinked in surprise. 'Yes, sir. Yes you are.' Most of what he'd described sounded exactly like when I was justifying my own actions in my head.

He snorted, then rocked back against his chair. 'You two aren't the first, and I'd be kidding myself if I thought you were the last. Suspensions always seem unfair, and yours especially so. Secondly… I guess I owe you an apology.'

'An apology? Why?' I asked.

'For being dismissive when you contacted me about Officer Wilde's abduction. I assumed you were overreacting, and… I'm sorry to admit I was a bit short with you.'

I nodded. It wasn't something I'd thought about, having been preoccupied at the time, but his initial disbelief must have been something that had weighed on him more than I'd thought.

'Apology accepted, Chief. There're more important things to worry about.'

He snorted. 'Correct, Hopps. Which is why I hope you'll forgive me for taking some more of your time. Now, from your initial report, I know you've been under a lot of stress today, but I'd like you to describe what has been happening, and who the perpetrators are.' I nodded, ready to launch into the narrative, when he spoke again. 'And, Hopps… don't leave out any details. When this case opens, it could be more important than anything I've dealt with.'


The whole story took the better part of half an hour to tell, during which Bogo only interrupted to ask for further detail a few times. I found that, even though I'd thought my energy had been spent when I'd started, telling the story served to keep me awake. It felt as if by repeating the events I was not only getting them off my chest, but re-living the moments of panic, horror, and hurt, causing my heart to race more than a few times. Now that I wasn't focussed on escape, however, my mind was free to ponder the full ramifications of what Nick and I had seen. It seemed even more imperative than before that the mammals behind this operation were found and jailed, before they caused even more havoc with the collars. And with an operation that big? Well, I couldn't help thinking that we'd been lucky to get out alive, with backup or without.

I finished my story with being driven away by the Precinct Three officers, having been restrained from searching the warehouse. Chief Bogo sat, apparently absorbed by his own thoughts.

'I take it you still have the device you mentioned?' He finally asked.

'Yes, sir. I've got it here.' I pulled the hefty metal thing out of my pocket and stood up, handing it over along with the phone. Bogo carefully took them, both now looking comically undersized in his large hoof.

'Hmm,' was his only response. He reached for the phone on his desk, put it to his ear, then tapped a button. I heard it ring for a few seconds before the click indicated it had been picked up. A voice was audible on the other end of the line. 'Yes, I know it's late,' Bogo replied, 'this is urgent stuff. I need you to come to my office now, I've got some items I need you to analyse.'

He listened for a few seconds while the voice on the other end raised in volume. His ever-present scowl deepened in irritation. 'Yes, of course now!' He put the receiver down with an air of restraint, as though he'd just stopped himself from slamming it.

We waited for about half a minute before the office door burst open, admitting a scowling middle-aged badger in a white coat. Her collar, seemingly confused, was blinking between green and yellow. I had a vague feeling that I knew her from somewhere, but after a few seconds of thought I dismissed the notion.

'Ah, good. You did decide to show, after all,' said Bogo.

'Chief, I was this close to knocking it off for the day,' she complained, pinching two claws together.

He peered at her over his desk. 'Then what a shame it is that something vital to peace in Zootopia has turned up.'

Her eyebrows rose. 'In my department?'

He snorted in frustration. 'Yes, in your department! Why else would you be in my office?'

She turned her head, looking at him now with poorly suppressed curiosity. 'Chief, this had better be worth my overtime. I mean, it's not often I get something actually important to analyse these days.'

His expression hardened briefly. 'Oh, I'm sure you'll find these very… illuminating to play with.' He stood up and walked around his desk, reaching down to hand over the phone and controller. The badger took them without comment and scrutinised them, first looking over the phone. She quickly shifted her attention to the more interesting device, turning it over in her paw, running her claws over the buttons.

'Very homebrew… It controls the collars?' she asked, directing the question at me. As she turned her head, I again had the impression I'd seen her face before.

'Yep,' I said, nodding. She focussed her attention solely on it again, still looking carefully at the buttons and number pad.

'Ah,' she exhaled. She tapped in a few numbers on the pad, and they flickered into place on the screen, replacing the previous sequence.

'What are you doing?' I asked, peering curiously over her shoulder. She didn't answer, instead taking a deep breath before plunging a claw into the button that corresponded with the lowest shock setting. Her collar flashed red. 'Wo— careful!' I warned, but it was too late. She flinched, clearly having felt it burn, and dropped the controller at her feet.

A moment passed. She slowly let her breath out, allowing the air to whistle through her teeth. 'That was quite something.' She leaned down and picked up the phone and controller. 'The screen shows the collar's serial number, by the way,' she said conversationally, gesturing to the ten-digit code. 'Clumsy system, but it works well enough.' I stared at her in wonder, then looked at the screen. Her code. She'd just zapped herself, on purpose, to test a theory. I couldn't help but feel impressed at her resolution.

'Interesting,' said Bogo, sounding as though it were anything but. 'I'd expect you could find something of more substance down in the labs, though. I suggest you go there now, as I have more to discuss with Officer Hopps. Dismissed.'

'That can be done,' she murmured to herself, turning her back and walking from the room.

Chief Bogo noticed my look of pained curiosity. 'Surely, you remember Doctor Madge? She's with our forensic tech department now.'

And then I remembered. A gloomy asylum. Cages. Clipboard and lab coat.

I gasped. 'She was the one who tried to warn Lionheart! Wasn't she?' Bogo nodded in confirmation. 'But then how—'

'How did she get here? She testified against Lionheart in court. That, plus her relatively minor role in holding the mammals against their will, was enough for the conspiracy charges against her to be thrown out,' he said. 'After that, well… we needed someone who was good with technology, and she fit the bill. It seems she had experience beyond neuroscience.'

I smiled. 'I'm glad she got the job. She seems like a fine mammal.'

Bogo hummed uncertainly. 'She's got her heart in the right place, for sure. Her attitude, however, is another matter.' He shook his head. 'Returning to the original reason I wanted you here. We haven't finished with the matter of your experiences today.'

I cringed internally, having suspected I wasn't about to be dismissed as quickly as Madge. 'Yes…sir?'

'This Sharpe person,' Bogo asked, pulling forward a sheet of paper and pencil, 'give me a description. We'll need more than a name to go off.'

'Well…' I thought back, recalling his exact appearance, '…he was a Crested Porcupine, by the look of him. A bit taller than me, so maybe about four foot. He was wearing a pinstriped suit jacket and trousers. He had a small scar just below his right eye,' I rattled off. I paused to think again, remembering that there was another detail, something possibly more important than his appearance.

Bogo's pencil kept scratching for a few moments while he finished noting, then stopped. 'Anything else?'

'Y…yes, sir. I think he let slip something about his parents being killed by a predator.'

Bogo tilted his head. 'That…' he drew out the word, 'that is very interesting. You're sure about that?'

I nodded. 'Hard to mis-hear someone who's threatening your… partner.' I quickly checked myself, surprised that I'd almost said something stronger. Thankfully, Bogo didn't seem to notice the slip-up.

What was going on with me? I couldn't just accidentally tell our boss that Nick and I were… well, what were we? I wasn't sure either of us really knew. More than just partners, definitely more than friends. I couldn't let Bogo know, accidentally or on purpose. That would be a total betrayal of Nick's trust.

Besides, that kind of fraternisation was in a very grey area of ZPD workplace policy. The best possible outcome would be if the Chief decided we worked together too well to split up. That didn't seem likely, however. We'd probably end up reassigned to different partners just to satisfy the paper pushers in the management department.

'Earth to Hopps.' I snapped back to reality, realising I must have been silent for too long.

'Y-yes sir?' I stuttered. His eyebrows raised.

'As I was saying, it's possible you could find a lead to Sharpe based on his parents' deaths. Even if it wasn't known to the City's BDM registry, mammals don't go missing without someone getting curious.'

I noticed his use of the word "you", realising the implications it had in the context of my suspension. 'Chief, I'm not sure I heard you correctly, but are you suggesting that Nick and I…'

He briefly let a genuine smile cross his face. 'Yes… the final thing that's been brought to my attention. Due to the confusion surrounding the order of your suspension, and probably because I kicked up a stink, it's likely Wilde and yourself will be reinstated to your roles soon.'

'Yes!' I exclaimed, pumping my fist and hopping in my joy. Bogo stared at me, a slight frown making his annoyance known. 'Sorry, sir. I mean, that's wonderful!'

He nodded. 'Of course, you'll be working the case alone, at least until Wilde gets a full medical. With all the chaos going on right now, I really can't get a temporary partner to help you out.'

'That's good. He shouldn't be straining himself, and I can manage on my own.' I paused, processing what Bogo had just said. 'Wait a bit, what chaos?'

Bogo grunted. 'Do you watch the news, Hopps?'

I nodded. 'Usually, I guess…'

'Ha. Well, while you and Wilde were in your own little bubble, playing cops…' Ouch. I mentally winced at the jab, '…the rest of the force has been flat-out trying to keep order. If you thought predators were just going to accept the council's position, then I pity your sense of judgement.'

He shuffled through the papers on his desk which, I noticed, seemed to have increased drastically in quantity from the usual number. 'Riots, vandalism of council buildings, property damage, resisting arrest, et cetera, et cetera.' He waved a hoof in front of his face, as if the public disturbance was a cloud of particularly annoying flies. 'That is what I mean by chaos,' he finished, looking grim.

'Oh,' was all I could manage.

'I know you're not technically back yet, but I'd suggest getting a head-start on the paperwork you've missed. I don't want this to turn into any more of a dung-storm for Officer Wilde and yourself than it already is.'

I nodded, realising with a sinking feeling that he was right. There was a lot of work to do.

'Dismissed, Officer Hopps.'