A/N: Slightly shorter chapter tonight, readers. Have to break it up cause the one chapter was getting a bit too long. Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: "What are we going to do tonight, Fox?"

"Same thing we do every night, Blue. Try and steal the Rights to Zootopia!"

(Pffft. That makes Blue Pinky! Bahahaha!)

Chapter 10 - Not so surprising

The next morning found the bunny and her partner back in the CSI lab for the third time in two days. Normally the police did interact with the crime scene department but at the frequency they were getting to know each other, Nick joked to Bogo that they might as well have an office back there as well. Maybe something with a long couch for taking naps.

While she had given her mate a quick scolding glance, five minutes into the lab technician's debriefing on the chemical components of the bomb was making her reconsider. She certainly felt her mind needed a rest even though she had woken up only a couple of hours earlier.

"Despite the controlled detonation, the bomb lacked the sophistication that is normally necessary when dealing with Semtex." Judy cocked her head, confused by the details as she had not dealt with explosives enough to understand the complexities. Bogo, however, swore under his breath which caught everyone off guard. The Chief was known to be gruff but the severity of the curse words he uttered was not like him.

"I see. Very interesting," Nick commented while stroking his chin thoughtfully. "And that means…something important I'm guessing based on Buffalo B-" Nick cut his words off at the sudden growl sent his way by the massive mammal next to him. "As I was saying our wonderful and kind Chief. Yes indeed. One so generous and thoughtful he wouldn't dream of crushing an officer under his command?"

Bogo snorted. "We'll see. Now Marty, the breakdown for the newer officers if you please."

Nick gave a small start at the name causing him to lean in just close enough to see the lab technician's tag. 'M. Pine' he mouthed to himself. Eyes widening, the tod clasped both paws over his muzzle and spun around quickly.

"Nick?" Concern in her voice, Judy reached up and put a paw on her partner's shoulder. "Are you okay?" Since this was their first case working explosives, they had not yet become acquainted with the white mammal in front of them but based on his reaction she wondered if he had known the CSI in a different capacity. He did know everyone after all. She did not expect for her fox to suddenly turn into a tea kettle.

"He's…a pine marten!" Nick clamped his jaw shut to try and prevent his laughter from coming through. "A pine marten…named Martin Pine!" The hold he had around his muzzle failed and he fell to his knees laughing.

Judy was mortified. Here she was trying to act as professional as she could, dealing with a case about a murderer, and her partner was currently in a fit of hysterics. "Nick!"

"No, no. It's quite alright, Officer Hopps." The bored drawl from the marten seemed a bit out of place for Judy, but she had to remind herself that he had lived with the name for forty or so years. Nick was most certainly not going to be the only one who noticed the oddness of it. "So, to get the major question out of the way, Mr. Wilde, my parents possessed a lot of creativity. The nurse just decided the moment to ask about my name was when my father got back from the pub after celebrating his first son being born. You can imagine my mother's reaction."

Judy still was very embarrassed but glad that the mammal did not hold Nick in any disregard over it. A quick jab of her elbow to his side though was warranted she felt. Thankfully it seemed to help Nick get his chuckles under control.

Bogo had been the one staring daggers at the vulpine and felt his hoof clench in a desire to throttle him. To prevent him from doing so, he forced himself to clear his throat and fix his gaze on the lab mammal.

"Of course," the pine marten said while sending another bored look towards the fox. Shuffling a few papers on his table, he pulled up a document. "The skill in developing the explosive is rather surprising for a homemade device leading me to believe this perpetrator has received at least some basic training. We're not dealing with an internet blueprint situation, so to speak. And while the expertise would be enough to use on a more common explosive compound, with the added power of the Semtex the lower quality of the components makes for a very unpredictable detonation."

Judy pondered for a moment. "So he has the capability but not the materials?"

"Quite so. Given a bit more time I'm sure this 'Savage' character could gather the right materials but it seems they are more interested in dealing damage than precision."

"Maybe it was the timing," Judy added. "Well known lawyer with assumed ties to Pack members and a member important enough to bring said lawyer down here unplanned? He could have been improvising."

"That is another possibility, yes," Marty nodded. "It would not make a lot of sense to show this amount of knowledge yet not utilize his potential."

"At least he was diligent enough to avoid blowing up civilians along with his targets," Nick mentioned. "No one else was killed and even the driver is recovering fairly well."

"I wish I could refute that," Judy grumbled while frowning at her mate. Nick made sure to avoid the look as best as he could. He knew his bunny disapproved of vigilantism, and while Nick would normally agree with her, the fact that this 'Jack Savage' was going after The Pack and their gun suppliers made him feel grateful to the hare.

"If that's all then?" Bogo's powerful voice rang out over Judy's head making her flinch slightly. His volume at that range sometimes caused a bit of a reverberation in her ears making them twitch uncomfortably.

"That's all I have," Marty admitted. "I think Hedges mentioned he had some potential biological samples from the two victims-"

"And I'm sure Delgato will be overjoyed to come and see it," Bogo said with a pointed look at his smallest officer, the bunny looking like she was going to interject. "Hopps. Wilde. Back on patrol."

Judy saluted but did not leave quietly, a smattering of grumblings being uttered just out of Bogo's ability to hear. Nick caught a few words which did not seem very flattering. Martin, whose ears were slightly better tuned for her vocal range had to conceal a smile from the buffalo.

After the three had left, Marty turned to his desk to drop off the file and paused. Where his nameplate normally sat was a pinecone. A pair of google eyes adorned it while a white piece of yarn trailed out from behind like a tail. Leaning closer he could see a small scrap of white paper adhered to one of the jutted sides like a name. 'Marty,' he mouthed. "How does she keep getting in here?!"

While Chief Bogo headed upstairs to his office to debrief Delgato on the next step as well as Wolford and Fangmeyer who would be providing backup, the precinct's two smallest officers headed through the Atrium towards the reception desk where Clawhauser kept watch over the vehicle keys.

"Do you have any idea where to start?" Judy was never one to back down from a challenge but she was starting to think they may be over their head. They were not detectives and they had been issued a monumental task. Not only was their target a murderer with enough skill to rack up a couple dozen kills in such a short time, he was also a ghost. White-furred hares were not uncommon, especially in Tundratown, and with no DNA or paw print records, trying to find one amongst possibly tens of thousands would be next to impossible. The only identifying marks were the black stripes on his face and ears but those may not even be real.

"Well, if I were trying to get info on a shady character, there are only two places I would think to go. We may have trouble convincing Duke to give up anything on the hare though. From what Finn has been telling me, the weasel has been very vocal in support of the vigilante 'wiping out the gutter trash' in the city." Nick stopped and leaned up against the desk while waiting for Judy to get the keys.

"So where's the other place?" Judy was busy scrambling up on the counter in order to reach the hooks underneath. With no Clawauser in sight, they couldn't stand by and casually chit-chat until he got back.

"Mr. Big's."

There was an audible thump and an echoing cry from the other side of the desk as Judy let go of her hold on the countertop. Clambering onto Clawhauser's chair, she leapt back to the top of the counter and stared down at her partner incredulously. "Are you insane?!"

"What? He likes you, he promised not to ice me anymore. He's got tons of info on everything happening in the city. It sounds like a good idea to me."

"Except he's still a crime boss, Nick! We can't build a case based on a tip from the mob." Still rubbing her head, her ears now laying along her back, Judy dropped down in front of the tod with the keys now hanging from her belt. "Everything could get thrown out in court and then where would we be?"

"Probably on administrative leave again. Hey, wanna go to the Baaahamas? Or Pawaii! I could get some new shirts!" Judy was about to thump her mate in the arm to get him back on track when her phone went off.

Pulling the device from her back pocket, she gave the fox a glare and pointed at her eyes before pointing at him. 'I'm watching you,' she mouthed. His smug expression never faded and he simply nodded at the phone.

Looking down at the screen, Judy let out a groan. The image of her mother and father was lighting up the display. It was a nice picture of the two of them, something which she imagined would not be mirrored when she answered the phone. Forcing her ears to stand straight and tall, she plastered a fake smile and swiped the icon to answer.

"Hey, it's my-…dad." Expecting to see both of her parents, the sight of only her father tripped her up momentarily.

"Hey, Jude! Jude the Dude."

Nick had to cover his muzzle to prevent a snicker getting out. "Jude the Dude," he whispered dramatically. "Priceless."

Judy gave her father a sweet smile. "Dad, can you hold on a second?" Not bothering to get a reply, Judy covered the camera and the microphone. Grabbing Nick's tie, she hauled him down to her eye level. "If you ever want to sleep in our bed again you WILL. BE. QUIET."

Nick's smirk still firmly in place, he mimed a zipper motion across his muzzle. With one final glare sent his way, Judy turned back to the phone. Surprisingly, Stu's expression had not changed even with her having blocked out the screen and sound. On a closer look, she noticed that his smile was more nervous than genuine as if he knew he would be in trouble for something though she didn't know what.

"So," her father said while rocking on his heels, "that whole thing yesterday. That must have been pretty scary, huh?" His words were not something Judy was not prepared for. She expected screaming, or panic, or bawling his eyes out in concern. But to seem fairly nonchalant about it made her suspicious.

"I guess it was. So," she approached the topic casually. "Where's mom?"

A frightened look flashed over Stu's face, his eyes wide in panic. "Jude, I want you to know I had nothing to do with it. I tried calling you as soon as it happened but Annabelle, you remember little Annie, right? She took the phone and I just now found it-"

"Dad!" she shouted over his ramblings, trying to gain control of the situation. "Where is mom?"

"JUDITH LAVERNE HOPPS!"

Noting Nick's own wide eyes and laid back ears, Judy whipped around to the front doors of the precinct. The entire atrium, both officers and criminals alike, froze in terror at the noise coming from the small and unassuming matronly bunny. Ears tall and slightly vibrating in anger with eyes burning from deep within, she caused many mammals to shrink away from her as if she was a savage mammal on the warpath which, many would say later, is exactly what a pissed off mother would be like.

A muffled "Bye!" came from Judy's phone before the chime from the ended call sounded out.

"Coward," she muttered towards the now silent phone. Straightening her expression into one that seemed welcoming, she made her way across the atrium. "Mom! Hi! What brings you to the city?" Her attempt to feign ignorance didn't seem to sway the older doe.

Reaching over to a rhino that was sitting near the doorway, Bonnie leapt up and took the newspaper from him. The mammal started to protest but after seeing the bunny stare him down decided to keep his mouth shut and his eyes somewhere else. Bonnie held up the front page of the paper which proved very difficult since it was for a mammal many times bigger than herself. The large mammal-sized issue was easily twice the size of Bonnie herself.

Judy winced at the image on the front page. It was of the bombing the day before, taken when the flames had just started. It also was when Judy was still on the ground from the concussive wave from the bomb. She knew that she had gotten to her feet less than ten seconds later, but in the photo it looked as if she would not be rising to her feet anytime soon. It was understandable that her parents would be worried, but for her mom to travel all the way to Zootopia was a new one.

"Oh that. That was nothing big, mom. I scraped my ear and that's about it," she said trying to reassure her mother she was okay and that she was overreacting.

"Oh, you scraped your ear. Okay, that's nothing to worry about. I must have misread that you were next to a FREAKING BOMB!" Bonnie's voice was now ringing through the foyer and up into several of the offices. It reached even Bogo's office, however, after taking a quick look out of his door to see who on earth was making such a racket in his precinct, the sight of a gray bunny yelling at Judy seemed to make him rethink that decision and quietly close the door.

Realizing the two of them were starting to cause a bit of a scene, Judy crossed the room and took her mother gently by the arm and led her back over to Nick. Bonnie appeared disgruntled at being moved but after seeing a few mammals with small children making reports she understood at least part of Judy's reasoning.

Upon reaching the vulpine, Bonnie's expression softened. "Nicholas, dear. It's so good to see you."

"Likewise, Mrs. Hopps." Nick bent down to accept the customary bunny hug in greeting.

"Nicholas, if you won't call me mom then at least call me Bonnie." Nick rubbed the back of his head a bit sheepishly. Though in rabbit culture it was normal to address a mate's parents as if they were their parents, for Nick it became far too uncomfortable. He was ultimately spared answering by the doe suddenly turning her full attention back to her daughter.

"A bomb?! We thought your job was dangerous enough now we find out you're running around with gangs and drugs and guns and now bombs?," she screamed, her voice becoming stiller with each word.

"Technically," Judy started while Nick stood behind her mother waving frantically and mouthing 'No!' repeatedly, "we had only been investigating the gangs and the drugs. The weapons are Snarlov's department and we only got assigned to the bomber yesterday."

If it was not his mate's mother, Nick thought he would be doubled over in laughter at the way Bonnie's face blanched and her eye started twitching. It seemed a battle was raging inside the bunny whether to scream or faint. Somehow, with the patience one can only get from raising hundreds of children, she managed to do neither.

"Judith, we need to talk about this. Now."

"Mom…I-I can't. I- we have to head out on patrol."

Those words were not something the older doe wanted to hear. Straightening up, Bonnie collected herself and gained a calm look. To Judy that was even more frightening. It was the look she assumed whenever she was off to talk to the principle when Judy was a kit.

"Mom-," she started only to have a gray paw raised in her face.

"Well, I'm sure this is all some sort of mix-up. Yes, that must be it. I'll just go have a word with this chief of yours about reassigning you. I'm sure I can clear this all up." Judy stared in horror as her mother turned towards the stairwell leading upwards. She would have no way of knowing where Bogo's office was but the higher-ups almost always called 'higher-ups' for a reason.

Judy's body seemed to have frozen. It had only been seconds but it felt as if an eternity had passed while watching her mother make it even five feet away. Like a light switch suddenly turned on, Judy leapt forward and grabbed her mother's arm trying to keep it as gentle as possible.

"Oh, I don't think we need to bother him with all that. Umm-" Judy desperately looked around her to try and find a way to get her mother out of the precinct and away from her boss. Her eyes landed on the keys in her paw and before she could stop herself she blurted out, "Hey, I have an idea. We do have to go on patrol but why don't you come with us and we can keep talking in the car."

Bonnie wasn't quite sure what to make of that offer as going for a ride in a police vehicle didn't seem the wisest choice she could make, however she was not willing to let her daughter dodge her questions any longer. "Yes. Let's do that."

As Bonnie headed towards the garage with Nick and Judy in tow, the fox turned to his partner. "What the hell, Carrots?!" he hissed. "Why would you have her come with us? Impromptu ride-alongs aren't exactly a thing!"

"I don't know," she admitted. "But I don't want her talking to Bogo and I'm pretty sure neither do you. Besides, it won't be that bad."

"Carrots. I love you. Really I do. But I am a thousand times more scared of your mother than I am Buffalo Butt." Nick continued forward a little faster to catch up with Bonnie so that she did not walk into the garage unsupervised. Looking back on what he had said, Judy couldn't fault him.

I am too.

Post A/N: Small little nod to my second favorite bunny in the fandom. She won't appear in this story but I couldn't help it. A pine marten without a pinecone? Preposterous.