Judy and Howie were sitting in the quiet HQ lobby watching Nick through the clear double doors that served as the main entrance. He was standing just far enough to the side that he wouldn't be in the way if someone walked in or out. He had his cell tucked between his shoulder and head while his paws were occupied with writing in his notepad. After a few minutes of this he finally flipped the little book closed. He grabbed the phone off his shoulder and talked into it a few moments longer. He hung up, pocketed the phone and turned to go inside. He spotted the waiting rabbit and aardvark immediately and walked to them.

"Well, good news. My friends at the projects say that Ms. Volpe has been skulking around lately. They gave me her most likely hideout and say she is likely there. If we leave right now we might catch her. Let's go!" Judy jumped out of her chair and made to follow Nick as he turned to go.

"Excuse me, officers!" Nick and Judy stopped and turned to stare at Howie. He had stood from his chair, brown folders under his arm, but had not made to follow them. "This is a joint military/police investigation. I must consult my superiors before we can proceed." He looked very serious as he said this.

"Sergeant, if we don't move now we might lose our only lead on finding whoever is behind these attacks." Nick argued. Howie remained unmoved.

"My orders are clear. I must report to my superiors." Nick looked irritated by this unexpected resistance from someone who so far had been nothing but helpful.

"Fine. You report to your superiors. We'll report to ours."

Howie had left to find somewhere private to make his call while Judy and Nick made a beeline for Bogo's office. They explained what they found and what the sergeant was up to. Bogo called his military liaison immediately. For twenty minutes they watched as Bogo argued with whoever was on the other side, barely keeping himself from yelling. Now, two things were clear. The conversation was winding down and Bogo was furious.

"Yes, I understand." Bogo ground out between clenched teeth. "Thank you." It sounded like a curse. "Goodbye." He just barely kept himself from smashing his office phone as he ended the call. He placed his hooves on his desk and balled them into fists.

"Bad news I take it." Nick spoke up. It took some of his considerable self-control to not quail in his seat when Bogo's glare jumped from his desk to zero in on the fox.

"Yes. Bad news. They are going to storm the building in two hours." Irritation flashed across Nick's face.

"Sir. If a military vehicle gets within a mile of that place our suspect is going to disappear." Bogo snorted angrily.

"I know that, Wilde. I tried to explain to the brass that it was in the best interests of the city to have ZPD handle this, but they insisted that since this was an attack on a militarized zone that it was up to the military to handle this. Makes me wonder why they decided to ask for our help at all." Bogo stood from his chair and paced behind his desk.

"Is there nothing we can do?" Judy asked from her chair. She wanted to stop these attacks maybe more than anybody. Seeing all of the citizens too afraid to leave their homes was heartbreaking.

"No. Nothing. Not unless some anonymous citizens dropped the suspect at our doorstep." Bogo suddenly stopped his pacing. He turned to look Nick in the eye and something passed between them. Judy watched with some confusion as Nick nodded, face completely serious. Bogo suddenly returned to his seat.

"You two have done enough for the department today. Take some time off, go home, get some rest. I'll see you tomorrow. Dismissed." Judy was still confused, but she let Nick usher her out the door. Once they were outside the office Nick put his paw on Judy's back and quickly guided her to an out of the way corner near the back of the lobby. Once he was sure there were no eyes on them Nick leaned toward Judy until they were face to face. Nick started talking before Judy could freak.

"Carrots, do you have any civilian clothes?" Judy was completely unprepared for this question.

"What…?" Nick took her shoulders in his paws.

"This is important, Cottontail. Do you. Have. Civilian. Clothes." Judy sputtered angrily in response to Nick talking to her like she was a moron.

"Yes! Alright, yes. I do. I have some gym clothes in the locker room. Why? What happened between Bogo and you?" She had noticed the look they shared, but didn't know what it meant.

"I'm surprised at you, Carrots. I thought it was obvious. He told me I had to go get Volpe for the ZPD without letting the military know I was ever there." Judy stared at Nick with slack jawed surprised.

"Nick, you can't be serious. You could go to prison!" Judy objected fiercely. Nick leaned in until he was nearly nose to nose with Judy.

"Judy, you risk your life all of the time for this city. Your willingness to lay down your life for the sake of others is one of the traits I most admire." Judy was starting to feel hot, both from Nick's closeness and his sincere words. "Now, the city needs us to do something outside of the law to uphold the law. You've done it before. I am asking you now. Do it again." Judy's face became serious, embarrassment forgotten. She nodded.

"Alright Nick. I'm with you." Nick smiled. He leaned in and surprised Judy with a quick peck on the lips.

"That's my brave bunny. Go get changed into those gym clothes. Do you have a way to cover your ears?" Judy had been stunned by the kiss, but she jerked back to awareness at the question.

"Um, yeah. I have a hoodie." Nick nodded.

"Good. Put that on. Meet me in the parking lot in ten minutes. Don't let the sergeant see you."

Judy made it to the parking lot exactly nine minutes and fifty seconds later. She spotted Nick leaning against the cruiser in gym clothes of his own. Baggy white track pants with two black stripes down the sides and a burnt orange pullover hoodie. Judy was wearing black leggings and a long grey t-shirt that hugged her body and reached halfway down her thighs. She was wearing a light purple zip up hoodie. Both had their hoods down. Nick got in the cruiser when he saw her approach and started the engine. Judy jumped into the passenger seat soon after.

Judy took a big breath and let it out slowly as they pulled out of the parking lot. She turned to Nick.

"So, what's the plan?" Nick kept his eyes on the road as he answered.

"We're going to meet with Finnick. He's going to drive us. We'll go in, capture Volpe, throw her in the van and drop her off in the parking lot where Clawhauser can see." Judy nodded her head. It was a solid plan. Then something occurred to her.

"Finnick wouldn't risk his van without something in return. What did you promise him?" Nick shrugged.

"I implied there was reward money for her capture." Nick smirked. "I may even have implied it was a substantial reward." Judy frowned softly.

"Nick, you shouldn't hustle your friends." She chided. She was surprised when Nick frowned.

"I never told you this, but I met with Finnick after graduation. He made it clear he wasn't going to be friends with a cop. That was over a year ago." Judy felt a pang in her heart. She felt bad for Nick and she was a little upset with herself that she was so ignorant of his life outside of work. She reached over and touched his arm.

"I'm sorry, Nick." Nick waved it off.

"Don't worry about it. Our relationship was always about business anyway. Not much of a loss." Judy accepted his explanation, but she didn't feel better. She was sick of not knowing enough about Nick. It was time to change that.

"Nick, how did you meet Finnick?" That seemed like an innocent enough topic.

"Hm. Remember that fiasco with Mr. Big? Well, before we had our falling out he set me up as a manager of a store he owned in Little Rodentia called Chez Cheeze. Problem was the store already had a manager. Care to guess who it was, Carrots?" Judy gasped.

"You took his job? Really?" Nick smirked again.

"That's right. But he didn't mind as much as you might think. Oh, he threatened to break my legs, but he also said he could respect a fox getting ahead by cozying up to the boss. Well, since he respected a good hustle and I did sort of reduce his pay I cut him in on a few jobs I was doing for some extra cash. You should have seen his lost little boy bit. He could have had Bogo in tears." Nick was smiling now, recalling fond memories. Judy smiled as well.

"Then what happened?" Nick shrugged.

"The skunk butt rug happened. Mr. Big was so upset he actually closed the store. Finnick spotted me doing a scam afterwards and nearly blew the biggest payday I would have had all month. I promised him half if he helped. He agreed and we pulled it off beautifully. After, he asked if I was doing anything the next day. I was and from there we just sort of fell into a routine." Judy hummed, thinking.

"Do you… miss him?" Judy knew it would be difficult for Nick to answer, but she hoped he would. For her.

"Well, I guess I did, for a little awhile. We worked together for over five years." Nick shook his head. "That's over now, though. He made it clear. It was his job to fleece civilians and it was my job to protect them. We would have to compromise if we were going to stay friends. He wasn't going to compromise. Not for me, not for anybody. And that was that." Nick was frowning softly. Judy's sympathetic look was making him a little uncomfortable. Time to change the subject. He glanced over at Judy and took in her appearance. He looked back to the road.

"You look good in those clothes. Are those pants police regulation tight or do you just like to show off?" Judy looked affronted.

"Nick!"

They pulled into the parking lot of a little ice cream and cake shop called 'Prrrfectionaries'. Nick found Finnick's van and parked the cruiser next to it. Finnick was in the driver's seat with the window rolled down, wearing his favorite black and red bowling shirt and shades. He called out as soon as Nick and Judy opened their doors.

"Weeelll, if it isn't my favorite flat-footed fools. You ain't been around lately, Nick. Whats a matter, ya ain't got time for yo' fox friends no more?" Finnick's inexplicably deep and gravelly voice always surprised Judy. How did such a voice come out of such a little body?

Nick smiled and called back as he closed his door.

"You know how it is, Finnick. City wide emergencies can take up a lot of your time." Nick approached one of the van's rear doors and opened it. Finnick called over his shoulder as he watched Nick help Judy into the van.

"Uh-huh. Likely story. I think you just wanna spend all yo' spare time with hunny-bunny there. I can see why!" Finnick cackled when Judy flashed him a mortified look. Nick had closed the back door and walked around to let himself into the passenger seat. He smiled back at Judy and mouthed 'hunny-bunny' and she shot him a warning glare. Nick almost laughed at how cute she looked when she was mad. Nick turned back to Finnick as he started the van and pulled out of the parking lot.

"So, did you get the stuff I asked for?" Finnick gave him a scornful look.

"'Course I got it. What, I look like a fox that can't deliver? Don't make me sick. It's all under yo' seat." Nick reached under his chair and immediately felt cloth. He pulled out a small black duffle bag and placed it in his lap. He opened it and found a roll of duct tape, two stun guns and two black bandannas. He zipped the duffle shut and placed it on the ground.

"How much do I owe you?" Nick asked.

"Fifteen hunnid, vulp." Nick was shocked.

"Fifteen!? That shouldn't be a dollar over seven!" Nick was outraged. Finnick didn't care.

"What's this look like to you, a charity? What part of 'the city's under attack', don't you get? Street prices for hardware like this are nuts. You gettin' the family discount, believe me! So stop yo' whinin' and pay up, or I letchu' out right here!" Nick knew Finnick was completely serious. He sighed and took out his wallet.

"I only brought a thousand. I didn't think it would be this much." Finnick didn't like that.

"What!? Hmmm." He gave Nick a hard, searching look. "Fine. I know you good for it. Thousand now, five hunnid later. But you better believe you owe me a favor!" Nick nodded.

"Trust me, Finnick. I believe it."

The van parked on the street a block away from the building Volpe was supposed to be hiding in. Nick gave Judy one of the stun guns and a bandanna. He also advised her to put her ears down, inside the back of her hoodie. She did so, despite the discomfort. Nick and Finnick went over Finnick's part of the plan one more time, then Nick and Judy put up their hoods, pocketed their gear and exited the van. Now they were walking leisurely down the street.

"No, speedy, we can't hurry. In neighborhoods like this strangers get noticed. But hurrying strangers get really noticed." Nick had explained. He had grabbed her paw to calm her and now they were just walking down the street, paw-in-paw. Judy was sufficiently distracted from the mission to wonder 'do we look like a couple?'. She hoped they did. Trying to get her mind off romance and back on the mission, she spoke.

"Nick, what's the plan, again?" Not wanting to be overheard, she spoke softly, even though there were no other animals on the street just then. Nick, understanding she was nervous, indulged her need to talk.

"We go in. Get Volpe. In five minutes Finnick is going to bring the van around. We put Volpe in the back and drive her to HQ. We drop Finnick off with Volpe to get his reward. We drive off in the van so we don't get caught. Got it?" Judy nodded.

"Got it." After a moment Nick tugged her into a dilapidated building. Aggressive city renewal policies meant there were no slums in Zootopia, per se. But the city had it's share of older buildings that no one had gotten around to fixing up yet, as Judy well knew. This one was probably the worst she had yet seen. The wallpaper was greasier than Judy's building and visibly peeling or missing in some places. The carpet was threadbare and seemed to be worn completely away in high traffic areas.

Nick lead them to the stairs and was a little jealous that Judy didn't look even slightly out of breath when they made it to the seventh floor. He only had to pause to take a couple deep breaths himself, but still!

"Alright. She's on this floor, so gear up." They each tied a bandanna across their face and readied a stun gun. Nodding to each other, they stepped from the stairwell into the seventh floor hallway. Nick checked each room number as they passed, signaling Judy to stop when they stood in front of room 705. Nick flicked his ear, asking Judy silently to listen to the door. Carefully, she pulled her ears out from where the were tucked into her hoodie and made to listen to the door. However, just as she leaned in, the door swung open.

An arctic fox was revealed. She was just a little taller than Judy with one blue eye and one green. She was wearing dull black combat fatigues and she was holding a mug of what smelled like black coffee. Inga Volpe stood in the doorway smiling brightly at the two dumbfounded officers.

"Hi!" She exclaimed. Then she flung her coffee at Nick's face. He turned away, but it was his hood that saved his sight, the cloth catching the scalding liquid before it could damage his eyes. He still got plenty on his snout though.

"Gah!" Inga turned to smash her mug on Judy's face, but Judy managed to duck the blow. Inga, showing unusual speed and agility spun on her toes and took off into her apartment. Judy raised her stun gun, but Inga turned and flung her mug at Judy's head, forcing her to dodge and giving Inga just enough time to turn a corner. Judy turned to check on Nick, who was wiping the coffee off his snout with a paw.

"I'm fine! Get her!" Nick waved Judy into the apartment. She took off after the white fox and Nick followed after her, throwing his hood back to get the cloth soaked in hot coffee off his face. They ran to where Inga disappeared, discovering it to be a kitchen. White feet ran out of sight through an open window. Judy made it to the window first and discovered a fire escape. She jumped on to it and ran up the winding stairs with Nick a few steps behind her. Inga managed to keep either the steps or the platforms between her and them, never allowing Nick or Judy a clear shot with their stun guns. When Inga made it to the top landing she climbed the ladder there two rungs at a time to the roof.

When Judy made it to the top landing she flexed her powerful legs and jumped halfway up the ladder and from there jumped again to the roof's edge. She threw herself to the side when she saw Inga was waiting with a pistol in her grip. Thwip! Judy felt more than saw or heard a dart go whizzing past her head. She landed on her side and had to throw a paw down to clutch the edge of the roof to keep herself from rolling off the ten story apartment building. When she raised her head she saw Inga had turned to flee again. Grunting in frustration Judy rolled to her feet to pursue the fox.

Nick was just coming over the edge of the roof. He watched as Judy sprinted after Inga and would have huffed if had the breath. Was he ever going to be able to keep up with Judy?

Judy raised her stun gun, but Inga evaded again, turning to run behind one of the myriad industrial sized air conditioners that were strewn across the roof. She dropped her arms to her side and poured on the speed to catch up. She skid to a halt and back pedaled when she spotted Inga once again waiting for her, dart-gunl up. Thwip! The dart flew through the space Judy would have occupied if she hadn't taken cover.

Nick, finally catching up, ran to the other side of the air conditioner, planning to catch Inga in a pincer maneuver. He rushed from behind cover toward the white fox and brought his stun gun up and fired before she could draw a bead on him. She dropped to her back, rolled over her shoulders and pushed out with her paws to land on her feet in a perfect reverse somersault to dodge the electrified barbs. She turned to flee when she spotted Judy also running up, stun gun at the ready. Nick pulled the cartridge out of his gun and threw it to the roof in frustration as the duo ran after the wily fox. The stun gun would still work as a taser without the cartridge, but with the way things were going he didn't think he would ever get in range to use it that way.

Inga dodged behind a mass of wires and antennas to once again break line of sight with Judy's stun gun. Judy turned to follow her while Nick ran straight, running around the edge of the roof to cut off Inga's escape. Judy rolled behind cover when Inga spun around and fired another dart. Inga completed the spin and took off with most of her momentum intact while Judy had to play catch-up again.

Judy watched as Inga ran behind the shed like structure that was actually the stairwell access. Having learned something of Inga's tactics, Judy paused before rounding the corner. She darted her head out and back again, checking to see if Inga was waiting for her. She was a little surprised when no one was there. She cautiously jogged around the corner, eyes alert and ears ready. Just as she approached the other end of the wall she heard a very faint crunch from behind. Judy spun around and spotted Inga with her pistol up, apparently having run all the way around the stairwell to get the drop on her. Judy threw herself back and to the side to put the structure between them again. Just in-time, too, as a dart scrapped the corner where she had been standing.

Nick came around another large air conditioner and spotted Inga just after she had taken her shot. Her ear twitched in his direction and she spun to run the other way without looking at him. He grit his teeth and ran after her as fast as he could. He caught flashes of Judy running parallel to them between various structures and pieces of equipment.

They were coming to the end of the roof. Nick realized that the ladder they had taken to get on the roof was in this direction and figured that Inga wanted to take it back down to the fire escape.

Inga turned to go past that first air conditioner and was unprepared for when Judy crashed into her. The two nearly went down, but Judy's training kicked in. She managed to keep her feet and grabbed the arm holding the pistol, twisting it behind Inga's back. Inga dropped the pistol and caught it in her other paw, instantly pointing it at Judy and firing. Judy dove away, feeling a tug at her side. She brought her stun gun up and fired. Inga rolled forward to dodge. One of the barbs actually caught in her pant leg, but her thick fur kept it from making the contact needed to put her down. She landed on her feet and took off.

Nick noticed Judy kneeling on the ground as he raced after Inga and hoped she just had the wind knocked out of her. He then watched in confusion as Inga ran past the ladder that lead to the fire escape. What could she be up to? Did she want do another go-around on the roof? Then his eyes widened in alarm as the arctic fox seemed to run straight for the corner of the roof.

"Hey! Wait!" Inga brought the gun up and fired over her shoulder. Nick was pretty sure he felt the dart brush the fur on the side of his neck. Then he watched as Inga ran full tilt right off the building. Nick skid to a halt at the edge of the roof and watched as the white fox, arms and legs and tail sticking straight out, sailed down, down, down. She hit the road feet first and rolled once, twice, three times and regained her feet. She turned to up look up at the disbelieving officer. She gave a cheeky salute and turned, taking off into an alley across the street.

How could she have survived that? Nick asked himself. He would have continued to stand there and stare, but he turned away when he heard a his bunny shout. He ran back to Judy and was alarmed to see her writhing on the ground, eyes clenched shut with pain. She had a bloody dart clenched in her paw. Her eyes snapped open and Nick saw with dread that her pupils had shrunk to pinpricks. She got up on all fours and shrieked. He swallowed heavily. Judy Hopps was savage.

Nick could think of only one thing to say.

"Oh, hell."