"... and every day she would cheer me up like that. She's the only important thing in my life at this point…."

Carol continued to write her notes, mumbling questions to herself in the process. "I honestly feel more comfortable knowing you have strength in something, Mr. Savage. We will be coming back to that before we leave. Now, in your past examinations the word 'attack' often comes up. I'm assuming I just witnessed a mild one considering it didn't debilitate you. Do you mind explaining these occurrences to me?"

She observed his eyes return to the floor as he processed the question.

"Avoids eye contact when questioned. Out of shame? Trauma? Question later. Also seems to engage in breathing techniques when stressed. Slow. Deliberate. Calming? Question later."

His sigh preluded the pain he was about to describe. "Sinking and hopeless. I guess my blood pressure drops pretty bad because I literally feel a sinking feeling before it happens. I get light headed too… Then the pain in my chest…." Jack gripped his shirt, feeling another wave approaching fast. "It's so warm for some reason when it envelops me. I try to just breathe to blanket the pain, but it's like alcohol to my open wounds…. It hurts so much. And after it I feel so sore-"

"Okay," the fox interrupted; she didn't bother to record his response into her notes. "You're just giving me the physical aspects of these attacks, Mr. Savage. Tell me about what's going on inside your mind when this happens."

"In my mind?" Jack paused another brief moment to form his answer. The vixen noticed the hare's face grow blank as he stared deeper into the floor. Finally, he spoke:

"I'm fighting, doc. I'm fighting him and I'm losing…. He talks me down. Reminds me of how much of a failure I am. How I ruin everything around me…. Always telling me to kill myself. Mocking me day and night until I break down. I tell him to stop but…. he keeps going…. I feel so hopeless. He's too strong..."

"Patient describes another person when questioned about incidents. He also seems withdrawn. Schizophrenia? Access and research symptoms later. Suicidal thoughts, no actions to report on. Monitor for change."

Carol looked back up from her page for him to resume. She recognized that probably won't happen anytime soon.

Jack was already leaned over with his elbows on his knees, hyperventilating with weak, useless pants. He lightly convulsed, surrendering to the pain that now shadowed his body and soul from the bright world around him. She simply leaned back into her recliner, patiently waiting for the rabbit to come out of his episode .

"Patient has been in acute physiological shock for about five minutes. Trigger: asking about attacks. Possible serotonin imbalances. Put in request for SSRI's. Avoid trigger."

Carol sat her pen down and made an attempt to distract his troubled mind. "Ok, Mr. Savage, let's have a change of pace. What kind of music do you like? I love Gazelle…."


"What do you think he's doing in there?"

"I don't even wanna know."

Jack and Skye hesitated to the sounds of Gazelle and giggles inside the Chief of Police's door. 'You're a great dancer, 'Chief Bogo,' repetitively came from the app he was on. The thought of their arid superior dancing to pop music at 10:40 in the morning was absolutely comical to Skye. By the mischievous look on Jack's face, she could tell he had something different in mind. That handsome mug was far too familiar.

"What are you gonna do, Jack?"

Without hesitation, the strong hare smacked the oak door with an open palm. The resonant bang was complimented by the plunging of a large body to the floor. She didn't notice the profane mumbling that resulted from under the door. Skye was mesmerized by how wicked her partner was.

"Now that wasn't very nice, Agent."

"Never claimed to be."

"...Jack I love you."

"Uhhh, what?!"

"I said 'Let's go.'"


The flustered buffalo managed to return to his chair before a more pleasant knock followed. He responded in his low, unmistakable voice. "Who is it?"

The door cracked open to reveal a fluffy white tail, "Your favorite fox, of course!"

Irritation quickly grew in his voice when he saw the gorgeous vixen enter, "You're early, agents." He was already sick of the habitual insidious tone all foxes seem to share.

"Aww, Chief! We missed you, t-"

Skye was abruptly cut off by a charismatic voice. "Hey Chief, I got these urgent reports for you!"

A red fox scurried to the buffalo's desk, folder in hand. The officer had a slim build, making his captivating grin appear larger than it was. His graceless entry almost eclipsed how charming he was…. Almost. The vulpine froze when he realized who he rushed by during his entrance. The vixen he admired earlier was, somehow, more stunning up close. He put on the best confounded look he could muster. "Well, well, what do we have here? Chief, you replacing us already!?"

"Dammit Wilde," was Bogo's only response, seeing right through his innocent grin. He only slid deeper into his chair when the silver bunny also appeared in the door. "Can you two follow ONE order!?... I guess now's as good a time as any…. Come in." The regret on the Chief's face was hard to miss. "Officers, this Agent Skye Winters and…. Jack. ZIA."

The red fox made no hesitation in introducing himself. "Well hel-lo Agent Winters! I'm always glad to meet fellow law enforcement, especially when they're as beautiful as yourself." The vulpine broke his suave smirk to kiss her paw. With a seductive growl, he introduced, "Officer Nick Wilde. ZPD."

"Oh! A friendly one I see…," Skye bit her lip at the handsome smirk Nick kept. She glanced out of the corner of her eye, hoping to draw a possessive reaction from Jack. Nothing. " Call me Skye…"

Nick noticed how detached she was from her words. He followed her concerning stare to the rabbit next to her. He was somewhat taller than his partner and more well-built than Nick would like to admit. However, not wanting to be out done for the vixen's attention, he leaned towards the striped hare. "And this adorable guy must be Jack. How are you doing buddy?"

Jack unwavered from his apathetic mug. He removed his shades, backing down the fox with his vacuous stare. The pale blue eyes that stared at Nick somehow projected weariness and hostility. The uncomfortable bore of the hare was all Nick needed to casually retreat behind his own rabbit. He played off his cowardliness:

"Uhh, does he bite?"

"Oh yeah! Watch your tail." Skye joked-not joked as he gave him a wink. Nick didn't notice he gesture; he refused to let the first antisocial rabbit he's ever seen out of his sight. "What the fluff is his problem?" He watched him as he turned towards the Chief's desk. The lower, grating voice the hare spoke with didn't ease Nick suspicions.

"Hello, Bill. I'm assuming Officer Swinson finally earned his pilot license?"

A chill grew over the room from the audacity Jack exhibited. Nick didn't know what to make of the statement. i"Did he just call the Chief by his first name? What the hell's going on!?"/i Bewildered, he searched the faces around him for answers. Everybody in the room exhibited disappointment instead of shock. Even the Chief's conscience-stricken face availed nothing.

"It's AGENT Jack, Chief." Jack continued, "I don't care if you respect it or not, but you will acknowledge my hard-earned title.

"Jack…. Not now." Skye placed a hand on his tense shoulder to hale him. With a resisting moan, he returned to his partner's side, but he didn't hold his tongue.

"Why is this 'as good a time as any' to have these two here? What's going on?"

The Chief grinned, not showing a bit of anger towards the buck. "Hmm, nothing still gets past you, does it Savage? Good, you'll need it. I got off the phone with the mayor about an hour ago. He admired the immediate closing of the case he issued you all-"

"Just doing our job, sir!" The silver doe in the back finally spoke up. The enthusiastic officer had her right arm to her temple in a proud salute. Jack snickered at how proud the adorable rabbit was. Although petite, she still had a attractive figure to go with that cute smile. He caught himself looking at her fitted uniform when Nick interjected.

"Judy Hopps, everybody! Give her a round of applau- Ow! Stop hitting me!"

"Yes well," the Chief continued, "He liked your work so much he decided to pull the trigger on a proposal he drew up years ago. 'Drugs are a major problem in our communities. I will do all everything within my power to help cleanse the streets of this plague.' Hmm, If I had a nickel…" He reached into his desk and pulled out a thick folder. "The mayor signed for the formation of an elite Drug Task Force within the city."

"And you want us to work with the division.." Jack huffed distastefully. He was sick of being assigned to 'assist the locals'. The ZIA, just like any other agency he's worked with, didn't believe in the abilities of him and his fox partner. They were commonly thrown around from biome to biome just for intelligence gathering and assistance.

"Not exactly…." Bogo tossed him the heavy file. The front had a seal he's never seen before. The border read: Drug Enforcement of Zootopia (DEZ). Senior Official: Jack Savage.

"You four ARE the division."

The group looked at each other quizzically, barely believing what they just heard. Foxes and rabbits, both unheard of and disrespected in the departments they were already in, now populate the only Drug-Specific Division in the city. They returned their startled faces back towards the Chief, who was equally as annoyed by the sudden reassignment.

"I recommend that you get acquainted with your new partners. Everything you'll need, including your first case, is in the folder Agent Savage holds. The ZPD will be here to assist you with any mammal-power and assistance you require. Good luck, officers. We appreciate your services."

Shock kept the smaller mammals quiet as they stared at the thick folder. In there held the future for the unlikely group. Uncertainty stained the faces of the two inexperienced officers, not quite sure if they're ready for such responsibility. The silence in the room didn't help the news sink in any faster.

"Okay, so we're our own agency now!" Skye finally spoke up, "We have to make some serious decisions here…..Are we gonna have Bad Joke Saturday?"

"Heck yeah we're having that, beautiful!" Nick ecstatically confirmed before the two rabbits could reject.

"Great!" She giggled in excitement. "How much do doctor's charge for circumcisions?

Nothing! They just keep the tips!"

"...Get the hell out of my office."

Both of the foxes exploded in hysterical laughter at the lewd joke. Judy looked at her new rabbit counterpart for some backup with the troublesome duo. He had his face buried in his paw at the very thought of dealing with them. They began to migrate towards the door when Bogo made one last statement:

"Agent Savage…. This is not a private agency. You are under the same Wellness Regulations as the ZPD. That being said, you will still resign as the Senior Officer over the division. On one condition..."

Jack turned to the buffalo, cringing at the thought of what the requirement could be. He wouldn't say it in front of his guys…. would he? His worse fear were once again realized….

"You will be required to either take a Psychological Evaluation or agree to report to a psychiatrist of your choice on a regular basis. I know it's not ideal, but-"

"WHY THE FUCK WOULD YOU SAY THAT IN FRONT OF-"

Skye hastily pulled Jack towards her body and covered Jack's muzzle before he could dig himself a deeper hole. "We'll be in touch. Nice seeing ya, Chief." Setting the hostile hare down, the group retreated to the door before Bogo could respond.