Fox Point

by MaveriKat

Those who forget their history are doomed to repeat it but so are those who cannot let the past go. With the rise of the Mammal Inclusion Initiative, one vixen is going to be uprooted from what she knew to live and breath the tenants of the ZPD: Trust, Integrity, and Bravery. Even if the city doesn't believe she can. Rated M for Violence, Adult Language, and Adult Situations.

10. Sultry Vixen

Disclaimer: "Zootopia" is owned by the Magical World of Walt Disney Pictures and Walt Disney Animation Studios. The "Sly Cooper" videogame series is owned by Sony, Sucker-Punch Productions, and Sanzaru Games. There are also aspects that will be borrowed from or directly inspired from Zootopia's pre-production works and concepts from Nicolaswilde's "Zistopia" Tumblr blog. Said story itself is a fan-based non-profit work of fiction written strictly for entertainment purposes only. Please support the official releases. Thank you.

Fox Point

By MaveriKat & Nanya
Beta Read By Innortal

Chapter 10: Sultry Vixen

Dressed in her baby blue bathrobe, it was a freshly showered Carmelita Montoya Fox that stood before the 1955 GE electric stove, gently stirring a metal spatula across a cast-iron skillet, making sure the broken eggs were stirred into an even mix in the large black frying pan. It was a pearl white range-style double stove with the larger oven on the right while a smaller oven was on the left. Ironically, all four burners were lined up over the left despite it being the smaller space, leaving the majority of the topside a blanket of white. The dials set in the faux-wood style control panel that rose up from the back of the unit was definitely a throwback to the era the appliance had been made, and the vixen couldn't help but smirk a bit as she thought of how such an old clunker had lasted so long and likely would last longer than anything–let alone just stoves–made today.

They just don't make them like this anymore, the Latina red fox thought as she used her free hand to reach over to her left and grasp a measuring cup that contained a few peppers she had diced up and mixed with spiced tofu crumbles before starting on the eggs. She then brought the glass cooking instrument over and tilted it, allowing half the contents to fall into the egg mixture before continuing to stir contents in the skillet. She then raised the spatula up and allowed the beaten egg mixture to simmer for a bit before she started to slide her spatula under and flipped the whole mass over to cook the topside.

Staring down at the eggs that began to solidify into a pancake-like stability, the vixen nodded her head in satisfaction and reached over for one of the slices of cheese she had left out in the open; placed atop the plastic bag the deli had stacked them inside of for purchase. While she had appreciated the breakfast that the two local foxes had brought her yesterday, Carmelita had to get back into a groove of having to fend for herself in some way or another...and if that meant taking the time to make a healthy breakfast, then so be it.

Peeling the slice of cheese off from the rest of the stack, the vixen couldn't help but drag her gaze over the rest of the kitchen. The stove had been one thing, but the other appliances matched the time-frame of the dual oven's origin as well. For example, the fridge had definitely been a much older model, the sort that was like a mini-fort with how thick its steel walls were... and the limited storage space despite the overall size of the damn thing. To the right of the massive–yet sparse storage–cooler it was the counter with an incredibly wide yet extremely shallow sink with a rather tall cane-style faucet that was adorned with white porcelain cold and hot water taps on either side of its base. Also in the kitchen was the pearl white and chrome-finished washing machine with its front load glass port window-door with a matching top-load dryer; something which most modern iterations of the appliances reversed. Shoot, to the right of the washer and dryer set, there was even a cabinet in the wall that, when opened, would reveal a long, wood-and-cloth ironing board.

Indeed, it the kitchen was filled with a beautiful matched set of furniture and modern conveniences that made one feel like they had stepped back into 1950's America... not because someone had spent thousands of dollars to recreate the look, oh no. The Hispanic vulpine was fairly certain the reason for such was because the stuff was all original and had not been moved since it was first installed.

Still, I have to hand it to Wilde. He managed to keep it clean for Honey as best he could, the Latina vulpine surmised. In fact, if she were one-hundred percent honest with herself, that had been a slight factor as to why she wanted to do some real cooking in the place. She was hopeful the aroma that would come off from actually preparing food would eventually overpower the faint, ingrained smell of bleach...

"But not with burnt food!" The vixen yelped as she could see the eggs starting to smoke. She quickly flipped the eggs over again and saw the side that had been facing down had gotten a bit of char to it. "...Looks like I'll be eating that one," Officer Fox murmured as she quickly threw the slice of Swiss cheese on it before reaching to get a second one. Hopefully the excess dairy product would melt over it and help hide the burnt flavor.

She really did need the calories. Even if the pair of male vulpine had kept the place clean for the shut-in badger, Carmelita still had to use a lot of elbow grease to remove all the dust bunnies–was that specist?–and gathered grime.

Thanks to that and some borrowed fans–and prodigious use of a few dozen breathing masks–the female red fox was able to both walk around barefoot and not sneeze her head off. The drains had all received enough bleach and drain cleaner to remove hair clogs–at least, she hoped it was hair–that were likely as old as the appliances.

Officer Fox was hopeful she wouldn't be living there long enough to discover the state of the building's wiring.

At least no one stole the plumbing, the Hispanic vixen thought, as she finished allowing the eggs to cook through on the other side before folding it over and moving resulting omelet on one of the two empty plates atop a tray. "Probably because Honey lives here," the canid cop murmured to herself as she reached for the open carton the counter and retrieved a trio of eggs, ready to begin making the badger's breakfast. She had wanted to do something nice for her erstwhile landlady and a meal seemed like the ticket. So cracking the eggs one after the other and tossing the now empty shells into a nearby trash-can, the woman with a pelt a mix of red, brown, and orange then reached for the spatula once more and began stirring them, breaking the yolks and evenly distributing the contents among the protein mixture.

As she worked, such reminded Carmelita about what the worst part of not having a modern sink was: no garbage disposal. She needed to remind herself to take out the trash when it was time. Well, that or pay Nick to do it, she thought in all seriousness. The Latina vixen doubted there was a garbage pick-up in this part of the city and she needed to find some way to dispose of the trash when it got to that point. She just hoped her fellow red fox didn't call her a specist for wanting him to... God knew that's what Sly would do to try and get out of it whenever she reminded him it was his turn to take the trash out.

Oh Sly... if only he could have been around to see what REAL specism was like. He could have made sure a lot of these idiots saw the error of their ways in the span of a night...

Looking out the nearby window, and gazing about the downturned neighborhood, Officer Fox made a mental note to also ask Nick just where he was planning to dump the trash. It wouldn't do for someone out to get her to find it dumped, 'inappropriately' and fine the hell out of her! Again... something that Cooper would have moved heaven and earth to get even with for the vixen he loved.

Shaking her head to dislodge the memories and thoughts of her old beau, Carmelita returned her focus to the meal she was preparing. It would be unsocial if not outright bad manners if the meal she was making for her landlady turned out worse than what she had made for herself.

Well, as long as she liked her female landlord. The canid woman knew a few mammals whose food that she'd like to slip things into.

Totally non-lethal stuff, of course...

A small smile graced the vixen's muzzle. "Good times," she sighed wistfully, remembering how she had busted a fridge thief at her old office in the Paris Branch of Interpol with a mere heavy application of stool softening agent to some brownies.

...

...What? She was a policewoman, true but she was also a fox. There were some instincts that were completely ingrained in her species. As a vixen, she was the result of four-billion years of evolutionary success and she was going to act like it! Fox Power over thieving jerk walruses that would dare to eat her homemade brownies without asking!

"Damn it, Carm!" She cursed herself as she saw the eggs starting to let off smoke again. "Four-billion years of evolutionary success and yet I can't keep track of four minutes!" The Latina vixen griped as she flipped the omelet over in the pan once more... an omelet the vulpine woman realized she never got to add the ingredients to.

"...Looks like this one is my breakfast then," the policewoman grumbled in acceptance as she remembered why she very rarely cooked using anything that didn't require a microwave. Grasping the measuring cup, the female red fox poured the contents out, intent to make it a stuffed omelet out of it. And yes, that included having to pick up a few more slices of tangy Swiss cheese to melt over the mixed peppers and fake sausage crumbles to hopefully keep everything together so she could eat it neatly.

With the hard part of the meal done and nothing else likely to burn–unless the ancient toaster on the opposite countertop shot flame when she pressed down on the button–Carmelita worked to gather the rest of the meal together. While not her first introduction to Honey, it wouldn't hurt to be nice to and make a good impression with the woman that was letting her live there.

And frankly, if Honey went the rest of the way around the bend, she didn't want her coming out of the bomb shelter like a horror movie.

"…I just hope the cleaning chemicals didn't flood down there," the vulpine muttered quietly to herself. She was a cop so killing her landlord would definitely not be in her career plans.

So with a pair of slightly burnt omelets, a couple of bananas, silverware sets, and two small cartons or orange juice–because there was no way in hell she was going to try and bring drinking glasses down a long ladder–on a single tray, Carmelita gently placed the large serving dish down on the floor before sitting down on the linoleum ground herself, shivering a little as she could feel the cold against her butt even through the cloth of the bathrobe. So sliding herself along the smooth surface until she ended up with her legs underneath the large sink cabinet, the vixen proved her flexibility by rolling over and sliding herself slowly into the hole, feet feeling blindly before they finally took purchase atop a rung of the ladder.

With stability gained, the Latina red fox reached out for the tray with her right hand and slid it closer to her. She then carefully lifted up with her right hand before sliding her left underneath, the palm firmly pressed against the bottom of the tray to lift it off the ground and stabilize the two dishes atop it. Then, using her right hand and feet, the vixen made her way down into the depths of the tunnel that lead into the earth to Honey's true home.

As she got half-way down the ladder, the vulpine woman's ears twitched as she could hear the sounds of tinkering going around. To be more precise, the sounds of metal hitting metal before a deep sizzle and sparking followed. Curious, the policewoman climbed down at a quicker pace, all the while carefully balancing the tray on her left hand. As the Hispanic vixen got further down, she noticed that there was a considerably stronger source of light than the last time she had been down there and wondered if the badger had set up some more lighting fixtures.

Needless to say, when the bathrobe-adorned vulpine beauty got near the bottom and saw the reason for such illumination was the older female predator with her face hidden behind a welder's mask standing at a work-bench and using a blowtorch to fuse two sheets of metal in the start of a cylindrical pattern, the vixen could admit to feeling a tad nervous. Seeing other items atop the metal table-top that included thick rubber hoses, bean bags and canisters that looked like old school gas grenades, the vulpine couldn't help but wonder if she should just drop the dish and climb up the ladder with all her might and ride off into the city to find a cheap motel to stay at for the rest of her stay in Zootopia.

Unfortunately, that would leave a bad impression.

Of course, those grenades going off from a spark or a touch of the butane flame and in turn setting off other items the Hispanic vulpine had noticed scattered around in the bunker would also leave a bad impression... one about a hundred or so feet deep and just as wide.

Mama and Papi Fox taught her manners... but they also taught her a sense of self-preservation... particularly how to not to end up on Darwin's List of Award Winners.

Now what, though? She now found herself mentally asking. As things stood now, the vixen didn't want to startle the badger and thus likely end her life!

Taking a deep breath, Carmelita's only real choice was to wait for a lull in the use of the blowtorch and try to get her attention in a calm manner. So coming to the bottom of the ladder, the vixen took hold of the tray in both hands and stepped towards the busy badger; the woman hard at work on... well, whatever she was building. From the look of it, the ting appeared to be some sort of pipe... but what would the tubes be for? Was she working on plumbing?

Officer Fox sure hoped so. She hadn't see anything akin to a toilet down here and if what Nick said was true about the woman living down here for nearly three decades... well, she was surprised the badger didn't smell a lot worse.

The navy blue-tressed vixen just hoped the opening to get the female mustelidae's attention would come before she blew them to kingdom come!

Fortunately, it would appear a higher calling had indeed heard the canid woman's internal prayers as the torch sputtered out before the flame dissipated into nothing. The thickly muscled mammal shook the tool a few times, hearing nothing but the pings of a ball inside the metal fuel casing. "Bloody hell," came the slightly muffled curse of the badger before she used her other hand to pull her welding mask back atop her head, revealing her features. "Always runs out when I'm in the middle of an important project!"

Taking this as her cue, Carmelita loudly chirruped in as sweet a voice as she could, "Good morning, Honey! I made breakfast!" She then held the tray out towards the burly female carnivore that had to put a pause to her current doomsday prepping. "Shall we share a meal?" She queried before smiling, showing off her pearly white teeth.

Honey turned to look at the younger woman and smiled. It was always nice to have friends come on down to visit–especially if they fell into two categories. Friends that Nick cleared and the friends that Nick cleared that she hoped to pair up with him so she could get to hear the pitter-patter of pseudo-grandkits running around the bunker.

And one thing was for darn certain: the female fox had some great birthing hips. "Of course, dear," she said, motioning to one table that could be used for a meal with only a few minor things moved to the side. "I'll be just a moment," she replied, shutting down the welding rig and preparing to remove her safety equipment.

Nodding, Carmelita moved towards the offered table, seeing what could pass for two seats, and after setting the food down, began to clear off what she could so they could both see each other, as well as be able to eat their meals without fear of contracting something from jagged metal that could likely cut them. Yes, it was rather impressive if not disconcerting how the female badger had turned a Cold War Era bunker into a place a Doomsday prepper–or Bentley–would have called home. Still, there were so many questions she had... and admittedly was afraid to ask. Not that the older woman intimidated her, far from it! The female red fox had worked for Chief Barkley for years and had gotten long used to the rough personalities members the species seemed to have.

Nope, instead Carmelita was more worried that the moment she asked, she would interrupt the honey badger at a critical moment, startling her, and blowing them all to kingdom come!

Soon, the older mammal finished cleaning up her workspace, putting away her current project before pulling a towel out of an errand drawer to rub her hands. That said towel was covered in all kinds of black grease stains meant that it was rather useless to use for basic hygiene purposes but that didn't seem to bother the stocky predator at all. Tossing the piece of cloth aside into a seemingly random pile of scrap on the floor, the badger pulled up an overturned bucket and sat down on it, her hands coming down on the table space at either side of the plate the vixen had fixed up for her.

Honey craned her head forward, practically putting her face into the meal. Her nostrils flared as she inhaled the sent a few times before quickly snapping her jaws, taking the omelet into her mouth all at once. Raising her head, she began to chew noisily, smacking her lips as her cheek puffed out. Again and again, she noisily ground down the main part of the breakfast before swallowing it in one go.

Her chocolate eyes wide at the sight of what had occurred before her, the Hispanic vulpine beauty just stared in surprise. "...Did you—"

"Bur~RAAAAAAAP!" The older woman belched out, interrupting the younger female carnivore sitting across from her.

Now the vixen's pupils dilated to pin-pricks, despite needing to be as wide as possible to taken in all the light it could for her natural night vision to work in the depths of the dim underground shelter. "...Did you even taste it?" She finally managed to ask in utter bewilderment.

Smiling wide and showing off her–surprisingly–pearly white teeth, the badger nodded her head. "Of course," Honey said with a happy little tone. She then exhaled softly, calming herself. "It is just..." she began, only to trail off.

Raising a navy blue eyebrow, the vixen looked at the badger across from her with a curious gaze. "Just what?" She chirruped, wondering what was bothering the woman.

Blushing enough that it managed to show through her facial fur, Honey sighed once again. "You know, Nick tries his best... but he's not the best of cooks. So when the eggs and toast came out smelling and tasting like they were supposed to and not outright charcoal..." she murmured. Not that she would ever want to talk badly about Wilde but even she could admit that his culinary skills fell terribly short of his biological mother's.

"Ah," Carmelita replied as she nodded her head in understanding. Between her father, her four brothers, and the assorted male–and one female during college–animals that wanted to be her paramour, the vixen had experienced more than her fair share of bad attempts at making an edible meal. "Just so you know, while I'm living here, I'll be doing the cooking and—GAWK!" She garbled out as the badger leapt over the table and tackled her in a very tight hug.

"Oh you are just a doll!" Honey chimed as she happily embraced the vixen in her strong arms. "First you went and got such a big and powerful police cruiser like I ask, then you got groceries for the house, and now you're even going to cook for me!? Oh please, please tell me you intend to stay forever!" She cooed out. "You and Nicky could be so happy together, I just know it!"

That statement made the vulpine flush with embarrassment. While she hadn't been expecting praise for merely passable cooking, she seemed to be getting it and more! Well that, and the fact the badger was more than hinting at the idea of her and Mr. Wilde hooking up. "Er... that's all right, Mrs. Badger. I'm not looking for a boyfriend right now. I have one back home... sort of."

Needless to say, that admittance made the honey badger blink her eyes in shock. The girl had a boyfriend!? Oh, that was going to break Little Nicky's heart when he found out... unless...

Loosing up the grip of her hug, the stocky female mustelid was able to look her fellow predator in the eyes. "Sort of? What do you mean by, 'sort of' dearie?" She asked as she took another step back, but kept her hands on the vixen's shoulders so she had the female fox at an arm's length. "You either date or you do not, there is no 'sort of'..." she tilted her head, looking at the Hispanic beauty with an inquisitive gaze. "Unless you're the sort of mammal that's into open relationships..." and considering Miss Fox's species, such was a possibility.

The blush that had managed to show through the female red fox's facial fur got that much brighter at the woman's implications. "No! Nothing like that!" the younger fox replied quickly. "It's just... it is just complicated," she finished with a heavy sigh.

Nodding her head, Honey patted her on her shoulders. She had to play this very carefully–enough to move the woman towards Nick, but not enough where the 'sort of' beau might show up and take the great food-giver away. "Can you explain it to me, dearie? We have plenty of time, after all... unless you have to go to work soon?"

Sighing, Carmelita nodded as she sat down. Yes, she did have work in a few hours but perhaps it would be best to get it off her chest, and who better if not Honey... a woman who couldn't report it to her boss and get her dismissed. So taking a deep breath, the vulpine settled herself in her chair–an empty wooden crate that had the word, 'oranges' written on one of the planks–the vixen looked at older mammal in the eye, telling her, "My boyfriend back home was a Sargent at Interpol. I was his superior officer and had been for three years..."

Although she was keeping a solid poker face, Honey was mentally rolling her eyes. Just great. Office romances. Obviously, Miss Fox was into the 'good boys' and poor Nicky, as much as he wanted to be a Junior Ranger Scout back in the day, wasn't someone the honey badger could admit to as being on the up-and-up. Not that he was a criminal let alone a bad boy, heaven's no! He just... had a tendency to skirt the law as much as was legally possible. Still it was enough questionability on his part that would make it difficult for her precious Nicky to worm his way into the possible grandbaby mama's heart.

Sighing, the vixen finally continued. "...The previous five years he had been a master thief that I had been assigned to chasing around this great big world."

JACKPOT! The badger mentally cried. Not only had she been dating a bad boy, she had dated said bad boy longer than the good boy. Add to that the fact she had been dating a junior officer meant she knew how to take charge and maybe she'd be able to make something respectable out of Nicky! "And how did those relationships go, if I may ask?"

The Interpol agent frowned. "When Sly was working as a thief, the darned Ringtail was driving me loco! Granted, I can look back on it and smile now that I realize just how much he'd been helping me along the way but he was really confusing the heck out of me with all the mixed signals. A tease here, a bit of flirting there, a..." she blushed. "Well... a stolen kiss now and then." She shook her head. "Would you believe our first date was a helicopter ride? Not that either of us was piloting, oh no. I had finally handcuffed him and was escorting him directly to Interpol via air-traffic. We talked, laughed, shared stories, a bit of history of ourselves... and then just talked about life in general. Books, music, art... I found out then that we really had a lot in common despite being on either side of the law... heck, I even showed him the bottle of champagne I'd been saving for the celebration of his arrest."

The vixen's lips pursed in irritation. "And then it turned out the helicopter was on a jury-rigged autopilot and we had been flying around for nearly two hours... unfortunately in turning my attention away from the crook, Cooper slipped his cuffs, stole my champagne bottle and parachuted AWAY!"

Honey nodded her head in understanding. Yes, the woman definitely was looking for a connection... and that could be Nick. But first things first! The female badger was going to have to make sure that young rascal knew what NOT to do with the lady fox. "And what happened with the later one, the one you were in charge of?"

Carmelita sighed. "To be blunt, they were the same person... Sargent Sylvester 'Sly' Cooper. It was simple... I was able to reform him for the most part after a while."

"SQUEE!"

The vulpine woman jumped up atop her seat, startled by the shriek of delight the woman released. Blinking her eyes once, twice, the Latina red fox could only inquire, "Did... did you just squeal?" The near-disbelief was clearly evident in her voice.

Blushing slightly, the female badger replied, "Sorry... I just love a good story," she replied with a sweet and gentle tone of voice, trying to cover for her excitement. Oh yes, this was good. Miss Fox was someone who knew how to take a bad boy and shape them up into an upstanding, respectable gentlemammmal! If anyone could fix up her little Nicky, it would be this woman! Thirteenth time had to be the charm, right? "Anyway so you had managed to make the crook into a cop... that seems like a tall order."

Nodding her head, Officer Fox replied, "It was! Everyone back at HQ was ready to throw the book at him and clap the cuffs on him. It took so, so much effort on my part to talk my boss down from doing just that. But I owed it to Sly! I mean he..." she frowned. "He took a bullet for me." Granted, it was more like a blast of energy but that hadn't been the stunning blast of a little shock pistol. It had been a full on laser blast meant to kill!

The muscular mustelidae considered that. It was impressive that this Sly person was willing to lay his life on the line to protect someone he loved. That was both incredibly sweet and made her worry about the level of competition her little Wilde now had to deal with. "So what happened?" She queried, wanting to know more.

"It started small at first. He was great at spotting ways thieves could get around security, how they performed crimes..." the vixen's lips pulled back into a frown. "But the core of his addiction–the need to steal, the challenge, the thrill–it was always there, and it was growing worse as time moved on."

After a moment, Honey nodded her head once more in understanding, the older woman clearly seeing where this was going... and it was going great for Nick! The male red fox didn't have a need to grift or do naughty things. Nicholas P. Wilde was just... unmotivated.

Check one for her little Nicky!

"Eventually, it came to a head two months ago... a black market artifact dealer had opened a museum across town in clear view of our apartment," Carmelita began to explain. "One Cyrille Le Paradox. That he was a criminal was an unknown to us at the time... although I tell you, if Sly knew that he would have cracked the moment that place opened its doors. When you get down to the brass tacks, the problem was he couldn't keep up the 'good guy' act anymore... his blood was screaming at him to commit a crime, and his old gang were more than willing to give him a reason to do just that."

The vixen lowered her head, sighing. "I should have known it was going happen. I tried to reform Cooper because, when he took that blast meant for me, he had gotten injured and bad. When he recovered, he claimed he had amnesia! Told me that he didn't know who he was. I helped him rebuild a life and..." she frowned. "He'd been lying the entire time..." she shook her head. "No. We had been lying to each other. I wanted to believe he was a fully changed mammal and he in turn wanted to be what I knew he could be. Maybe if I had just confronted him before all this happened, I could have saved him... instead..." she clenched her fists atop the table at either side of her breakfast. "I don't know if he's dead or lost..." granted, she wanted to add, 'in time' but with all the conspiracy theory posters the woman had plastered all over the walls of the bunker, the canid cop didn't want to be dragged into a real life X-Files.

Sniffling a little, Honey brought a hand up, wiping at her teary eyes. It was a great love story, and part of her wanted to cheer them on that they would make it.

A larger part of her, however, realized this also meant there was no ex to come back and break up her plans.

"I understand, dearie," the female honey badger said sweetly, a sympathetic tone of understanding evident in her voice. "And now, what do you plan to do?" After all, the female predator wanted to know if there was a way she could make a certain male fox part of said plans.

Carmelita sighed. "Honestly, not much. I was spending the past two months fighting street crime in Paris while launching my own investigation, searching for any traces of him. No one found Sly's body and... I just have to hold onto hope, you know?" She shrugged her shoulders in an almost helpless fashion. "Apparently, such started to worry my boss and he decided to volunteer me for tribute to this Mammal Inclusion Initiative of Zootopia's, effectively making me their first vulpine officer... and boy did the shit hit the fan, both figuratively and literally."

The Interpol Inspector really felt bad for the ZPD's Maintenance due to them having to clean that mess up. But she wasn't the one who kept her species a secret or the idiot who decided to not check into the facts further before making assumptions. Really, Officer Fox felt she was the one who had been wronged the most in all of this!

Honey found herself in a hard spot–and not because the cushioning of the pail she was currently using as chair had been burned off about two decades ago. Obviously, Carmelita was hurting. She still held out hope her ex would be recovered, could still be able to be salvaged. In the end, that path and her own plans might lead Nick to become them 'rebound heat' which in the end would only leave poor Wilde more angsty around women.

But, damn it! The older badger wanted to keep eating this food, get Nick moved towards the right side of the law, and have grandkits come visit her! So, she needed to bring her A-Game! The muscular female predator needed to help the female fatale fox get over her last relationship, move past any rebound activity, hook her up with Nicholas, and make certain their relationship could survive the ex ever being found and coming back!

That meant she needed to know about the competition. "So tell me, dearie. Just what kind of fox was this Sargent Cooper?"

Taken aback by the woman's assumption, the vulpine woman then politely explained, "Actually, he was a raccoon." She blinked her eyes at the rather somber look that came over the older woman's face. "...What?"

"...Nothing," Honey finally replied after a moment. It wasn't like the badger had anything against interspecies relationships–just so long as both partners were either carnivores or herbivores–nor anything against raccoons–dumpster divers that they were–in particular. It was simply a surprise that a lovely lady like Carmelita would set her bar so low! Did the woman have no sense of self-respect!?

Honestly, if her little Nicky couldn't land this beauty who it appeared really had no major standards that couldn't be surpassed with the most minimal of effort, then she really needed to have a talk with him about coming out of the den!

Not sure what to make of that, the vixen went on to explain, "Well, to continue, Sly is... as his name suggests, was a rather sly individual. Suave, charming, a quick-witted thinker... flexible, nimble-fingered... managed to become quite successful despite the stereotypes surrounding his species." She began to smile wistfully. "He was such a terrible flirt to be certain but he couldn't help but be affectionate with me."

Nodding her head in a rather sage fashion, the honey badger was quick to point out, "So basically, a lot like Nick."

"Yes a lot like..." the vulpine trailed off, her eyes going wide as she realized where the older woman was going with this. Oh dear, Carmelita needed to get out of there, ASAP! "OH GEE! WOULD YOU JUST LOOK AT THE TIME!?" The female red fox shouted as she brought her right arm up and gazed down at her wrist. "I HAVE TO GET TO WORK!"

"...Your watch is on your other arm, dearie," Honey pointed out, only to chuckle as the canid woman turned about and ran away, climbing up the ladder as if the hounds of hell were at her heels. Shaking her head good-naturedly, the badger didn't take offense to the Latina cutie's retreat. After all, she had at least half a year to grind down the girl's resistances...

And looking down at the plate that had contained the Hispanic girl's abandoned breakfast, the badger couldn't help but smirk as she realized she had a half year of good eating ahead of her as well! "Oh yes, Francine would love this girl..." she murmured as she leaned forward in her seat to grasp the plate that had the vixen's omelet. Waste not, want not after all...

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As she roamed down the mostly clear roads in her police cruiser and put distance between her and the badger who was apparently hell-bent on playing matchmaker, Carmelita had to admit, she was growing to love this vehicle... although a big part of that appreciation that was probably because she wasn't responsible for the cost of refueling it thanks the gas card Chief Bogo gave her. Less than twenty-four hours and I've already had to fill it up five times! She thought with slight irritation. The Humvee's custom twelve-cylinder engine guzzled gas worse than an Indianapolis Speedway racecar! From her mental math, it was probably doing somewhere between eight-to-ten miles a gallon... and that sucker had a twenty gallon tank to hold the fuel! Yet even with that much in her car at every refuel, the tour the female red fox took around the four main Districts of Zootopia was quick to rise in cost.

At this rate, she would definitely need to depend on Nick and Finnick for rides on her days off. She couldn't bring herself to justify using the monstrous squad car when she wasn't on duty. At least when she was on the job, she was making the city a safer place and could come to terms with the growing expense the police car was having on the Police Department's budget. If she wasn't, well then the vulpine would have just been a selfish jerk if she did! No, it was better to pay someone to chauffer her around, even if their ride was admittedly a run-down antique van. For Christ's sake, the fennec's Ford was nearly forty-five-years-old and it still got better gas mileage than her modern armored auto!

Not to mention I do have Renato's information if the two are too busy to help, the Hispanic vixen thought, reminding herself that she did have more options outside of the pair of vulpine men. She hadn't heard from Mr. Manchas since she arrived but she could chalk that up to the fact that he didn't have her contact information. Maybe I should give him a call just to keep in touch, the woman mentally surmised as she came to a stop at a red light, feeling the thrum of the engine vibrate through her as it idled at the four-way crossing.

As she waited at the stoplight, the vixen gently drummed her fingers along the steering wheel. Eyes darted back and forth, taking in the sight of Savanna Central. Now that she was closer to the Zootopia Police Station and into the city center, billboards–both physical media traditional and video screens–were becoming prevalent once more. Plastered the sides of buildings or on their own raised structures, these towering monoliths of mammal commercialism that both added a bit of brightness to the city and helped maintain a façade of normalcy. After everything she had experienced so far, such caused the Latina red fox to view the over-the-top advertisements as nothing more than a veneer, a veil that only slightly hid what was truly going on in this city from those who only took a quick glance.

Zootopia definitely needs more in the way of urban renewal than it does renting out advertising space if they want to help make a difference, the Hispanic fox mentally surmised as she continued to stare up at the traffic-lights, the bottom bulb still a solid red. Sure it gives them more in the way of quick and easy revenue but unless they can pick up on actually restoring more of the city, they won't offer those who live here better opportunities. Not to mention by not doing so, the city was denying itself more tax-paying businesses. Animals didn't want to set up a proper shop in a place they didn't feel comfortable in.

Not that the city-state was hurting for businesses, heavens no! From what Officer Fox saw, the Savanna Central, Sahara Square, and Tundratown Districts were thriving with a good deal of privately-owned businesses... even the Rainforest District appeared to have a monopoly on the shipping and transport business with aircraft and boats. However, the analytic part of her mind which helped make her an excellent detective, reminded the woman that the general upkeep for these places must have been terribly expensive. Even if they had an in with Saddle Arabia, the costs to maintain a blazing desert, an arctic environment, and a thriving rainforest must had been staggering! City Hall should have been doing everything they could to take in any stream of revenue available so why hadn't they?

The more I see of this city, the more questions I'm left with, Carmelita thought as her foot pressed down on the gas as the traffic-light turned green; another quirk about being of the vulpine breed that most didn't know. While the majority of mammals knew about a fox's keen night vision that made up for the breed's otherwise jack-of-all-trades slight sense enhancements, the vulpine body could react in sync with the body's brain signals on automatic on the same level as everyone else could blink or breath, no active thinking required. Foxes could have their minds on one thing or holding conversations with some other mammal while their bodies worked on automatic in perfect flow with their active surroundings. As long as something was within the peripheral of their surroundings, the vulpine body would acknowledge it even if they didn't in the forefront of their mind.

As she continued to travel to work through the city, the Latina vixen was surprised at the lack of civilian presence. Yes, it was early morning on a weekday but this was a city. The sidewalks and other areas should have been filled with all kinds of animals. Sure, there were mammals around but the majority of the action at this time in the morning was her fellow drivers and her filling the streets as they commuted.

Looking to her left as a vehicle shot past her in the passing lane, the female red fox was genuinely surprised to see a quartet of polar bears seated through a gun-metal gray Cadillac Escalade with chrome finish. All were dressed up in nice suits... thick material too, considering density of the cotton sleeves on their coats. The vulpine policewoman idly wondered if they were travelling to or from Tundratown. Either way, it supported her assumption that even with the differentiation between Districts, everyone moved back and forth for their daily routines and as long as they weren't going past the speed limit she wasn't about to bother them.

After a bit more driving, the Hispanic red fox came upon the city center, the area which revolved around the Pride Rock Public Park that was settled smack dab in the middle of Savanna Central. It was here one would come across all the major government facilities of Zootopia. Being careful of the largest congregation of pedestrian traffic she'd seen so far as a number of mammals were making use of the public recreational area, Officer Fox was finally reach her Destination: Precinct One of the Zootopia Police Department. Ignoring the opening air active duty parking lot to the right of the main entrance, the vixen drove her police cruiser all the way around to the back and right up to the security gate at the entrance of the municipal building's parking garage. The gate attendant–a portly hippo–took one look and then a second when he realized just who was behind the wheel. Although startled a bit, he nodded his head in recognition of who she was and pressed the button at the console inside his station, causing the yellow and black lined bar to rise.

Driving past the security station and up the driver's lane, the vixen's eyes gazed side to side as she looked at all the cars already at rest inside of the ZPD's multi-story car park. She frowned as she drove around, realizing she was going to have to go up to the second floor. Apparently most of the police were at the station before seven. Makes sense, really. If it's anything like Interpol, there's the changeover between the third and first shifts and then there's the morning report. They'll have two nearly full shifts of officers here at once.

So without further ado, the Humvee that was adorned with the colors of the police department came around the bend and up the ramp, heading to the second floor. As she ascended to the next level, the navy-tressed red fox's chocolate eyes gazed back and forth once again, keeping a lookout for an open space. A smile crossed her muzzle as she could see one not too far from her on the left. "Bingo," she cheered as she was still getting a space technically close to the entrance. She would merely need to walk down a floor.

Grasping the gear shaft of the vehicle's automatic transmission, Carmelita set the gear into Reverse before carefully turning the wheel and backing up in the parking space. With the police cruiser nicely lined up between the white lines of the space, the canid cop moved the shaft into the Parking gear to make sure it was stable before her right hand reached for key in the ignition. She gave the piece of metal a turn in its slot, effectively cutting off the motor and silencing its audible rumble of restrained horsepower. With the engine no longer revved up, the female red fox unbuckled her seatbelt before reaching out with her left hand. Opening the driver's side door, the Latina beauty was careful slide off her seat before descending from the open doorframe of the police car. Landing safely on both feet from a height that was considerable for someone her side. The vixen turned about and pressed her hands against the door, pushing it closed.

Taking a moment to slide her hands over the front of her uniform to smooth out the bottom of the tuck shirt and the pants, the vixen then grasped her belt on either side of her hips with both hands and adjusted it. Feeling as though everything was in order, Officer Fox made her way down the ramp, remaining off to the right to stay out of the way of any oncoming traffic. With no vehicles actively moving about in the area, it was a quick jaunt for the canid cop to get to the entrance; the set of glass doors leading into the station from the garage.

Opening one of the two metal-framed doors, the vixen entered the back hallway. Her triangular ears went straight up, twitching back and forth as she listened to the sounds that carried on the air. Numerous voices talking into one white noise, the ringing phones, the marching of feet... it was definitely a busy atmosphere, and she was eager to take part in it. She hadn't been able to do much at the station yesterday and she wanted to prove that she knew how to be a team player. She might not have preferred working with others but if what Chief Bogo said was true, she had to or else she was going to face the wrath of angry officers.

Making her way into the main foyer of the Zootopia Police Department, Carmelita gazed left and right at the spectacle that was to behold. It was definitely a lot less crowded than when she had arrived for the first time yesterday but it was still a loud and busy place with a flurry of activity. The entrance hall had a number of officers moving about as they travelled to and fro, some policemammals carrying stacks of paperwork, others that were travelling between departments, a number of mammals walking besides citizens–both to bring them into the station and others releasing them to the public–and a few officers who stood off to the sides, talking with one another whether it was consequential to their work or just mere gossiping. The Latina vulpine wouldn't have blamed some of the officers if it were the latter for them; it was likely those who were ready to clock out that were taking it easy.

Walking out into the lobby, the Hispanic vixen took note of how it began to quiet down and she knew without a doubt the reason was her. The female red fox could feel as her fellow officers of the law were dropping whatever they were doing to look at her; some of which she caught doing such within her field of vision! While such didn't intimidate the canid cop–she had faced down far larger threats working for Interpol–the fact was such as a touch unnerving. Whether it were specism because she was a fox in uniform or simple professional rivalry from the huge splash she made on the news yesterday, Carmelita merely hoped the other policemammals wouldn't let it get in the way of their work. They all had a job to do and being angry with her was going to interfere with everyone if they decided to act upon their feelings of insecurity.

Only thing I'm insecure about is the layout of the ZPD, the female red fox admitted to herself as she got further into the lobby, ignoring the stares and cross looks she got along the way. The Latina vixen may have gotten a good look at the city herself to have gotten a basic idea for the layout of the primary Districts but Precinct One was still something of a mystery... outside of making her way back and forth to Chief Bogo's Office. It was why she was making her way directly to the front desk. The vulpine knew one mammal she could trust for assistance.

As she was entering from the back of the building, Carmelita had to make her way around to the front of the reception desk. She smiled as she saw it was indeed Officer Benjamin Clawhauser manning the dispatch station... although the portly spotted feline seemed to be off in his own little world at the moment. He had a bright smile on his face–and a proverbial song in his heart–as he devoured his breakfast, quickly delving a spoon into a large bowl before bringing it up to his mouth over and over again. Her eyes darting over to the bright yellow, orange, and red box of, 'Frosted Lucky Chomps' cereal, the vixen was willing to hazard a guess that such was what the cheetah was busy consuming. "Hello? Officer Clawhauser?" She called out the man's name, not wanting to startle him.

"Mmm~mmmm~MMMM!" Was the response the Hispanic vixen got as the portly officer noisily chewed his breakfast; the sounds of crunching and munching quite audible amongst all the cooing he made. The feline was so into the children's cereal that he effectively tuned out the rest of the world as to solely focus on all the sweetness that danced along his rough feline taste-buds. Such made the world seem that much sweeter to the cheerful cheetah.

Realizing that she was getting nowhere fast, Carmelita decided that maybe she needed to startle him, if only a little. So taking a deep breath, the woman braced herself to let out a loud shout. "Officer Benjamin Clawhauser!" The orange-pelted canid barked out forcefully, hoping that would get the larger predator's attention. She didn't want to be late to morning report and assignment because someone had a sweet-tooth that went straight to their brain.

With that shout, the chubby cheetah's eyes snapped wide open, breaking him from the inner-peace he had been rounded cheeks to extend even further, the spotted feline carefully swallowed a few times, freeing his mouth of that serving of breakfast. Placing the bowl gently down on the desktop, the portly policeman's eyes darted back and forth before he caught sight of a familiar set of navy blue eyebrows and tresses which had a pair of triangular orange ears–the left adorned with a gold hoop earring–peeking through the main of cyan locks that were plainly visible over the edge of the counter. Smiling wide as the realization of who was there came to him Benjamin leaned forward onto the counter so he could look over the edge at his fellow officer. "Well hello there, Sunshine!" He greeted in a rather friendly fashion. "It's nice to see you again this morning, Carm—Officer Fox!" He quickly corrected himself as he saw the woman frown when he began to address her on a first name basis. "Sorry, I forgot you prefer to keep things professional when you're on the clock," he apologized to her.

Despite herself, the canid cop couldn't help but smile a little as she shook her head good-naturedly at the man's legitimate apology. The vixen could tell he was trying so hard to maintain a level of professionalism with her, and she couldn't fault him for having trouble. They'd only known each other for a few days at this point so she was more than willing to cut him some slack. "That's all right, Officer Clawhauser," the female red fox said, reassuring the chubby cheetah that he'd done nothing wrong. "I was just hoping for a little help."

That request made the overweight feline blink his eyes. "A little help?" He chirruped in surprise, parroting what she said in response. His brown eyes began blinking rapidly as his mind processed that. "Gee... I don't know..." he admittedly a little ashamedly, as if not offering assistance was a crime. "I ended up really pushing myself yesterday and some of the other guys kept saying I smelled from how much I sweat so I kind of wanted to stick to a desk job today. No offense to you, Officer Fox."

"None taken," she replied calmly although she was a little upset to hear some of the other officers were harassing the poor spotted wildcat. "I wasn't going to ask you to partner with me today," the Latina vulpine began softly, taking note of the look of disappointment on his face as she said that. So to spare his feelings, she quickly explained, "As I said before, you're great at helping to direct officers on Dispatch and I wouldn't want to take you away from one of your best qualities." She smiled in relief as that got the feline smiling again. "As for myself, I need to find out what the Chief wants of me today so I was wondering where I have go for assignment. Could you tell me that?" She looked up at him with a hopeful gaze.

His smile widening more as he realized he could help, the feline nodded his head in a rather energetic fashion. "Sure! You're going to want to head over to the Bullpen for that," he chirruped in response. The portly police officer then raised his left hand up beside his head and thumbed over to his left. "Just go straight on through the double-doors past the public rest rooms and elevators. You'll find it on the left; can't miss it."

Nodding her heard in understanding, the vixen replied, "Gracias, Officer Clawhauser. Good luck manning the reception desk today!" She said, making certain a rather upbeat tone was prevalent to her voice as she brought her right hand up to the side of her head and gave him a two-fingered salute. She was pleased to see that it made him smile that much more–he really was rather easy to get along with. The vulpine then turned about to her right and went the way the cheetah had told her, heading towards the double-doors. Ignoring the uniformed polar bear that was standing there waiting for one of the two sets of elevator doors to reach the ground floor, the predator went up to and pressed her hands against the metal door on the right at the end of that enclosed enclave area, opening it into the hallway that lay beyond.

Stepping out into the carpeted hallway, the vixen moved to the left, getting out of the way of the large steel door as it swung back with all the weight of the dense metal it was made of. As it shut firmly behind the canid cop with an audible clank, the vixen looked to the left and smiled as she saw a mostly wooden door with metal handle and base along with a window near that top that was adorned with word, 'BULLPEN' above the stenciled image of the ZPD badge that was prominently centered on the glass with the phrase, 'ZOOTOPIA'S FINEST' written below it. "He wasn't kidding when he said you can't miss it," the Interpol agent-turned-Zootopia officer murmured to herself as she moved over to the door. As it was slightly ajar, she didn't have to worry about reaching up to grasp the door handle... but as she got close, it also allowed her to pick up on the muted noise coming from within.

Pushing the door open, Carmelita was hit with the ruckus full-blast. The Bullpen reminded the woman more of a high school lunch-room than a serious work environment thanks to all the macho posturing, rowdiness, and the overall rising levels of noise and testosterone. Various police officers were already seated at the different tables that were lined up in some resemblance of an orderly fashion all while chatting it up, gossiping, boasting, partaking in one-upmanship, and overall socialization among their peers. The Hispanic vixen couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at all of this but calmly made her way into the room, her chocolate eyes gazing back and forth for an open seat.

Fortunately, because the officers were so into themselves and their coworkers, they didn't notice that she was even there. The female red fox merely walked down the central aisle between the two lines of numerous metal tables; her ears pressed back against her skill to help drown out the noisiness of her fellow law-mammals. She ended up going all the way to the front of the Bullpen, where a pulpit adorned with a large replica of the ZPD badge was positioned central to the room. Behind the podium and hanging on the wall to the right was a map of Zootopia that showed all the Districts and even extended far enough as to include its dependent counties of Bunnyburrow, Cowslip, and Deerbrook. To the left of it and embedded firmly in the wall was chalkboard that had numerous names written on it; a clock hanging just above writing surface.

Off to the right of the map and standing near another entrance to the room was a uniformed hippopotamus police officer. The semi-aquatic mammal stood there with a clipboard in one hand and a pen in the other, the officer clearly marking off who was present. Carmelita chose to ignore the frown he gave her before marking her off as present while she did her best to climb into the immediate seat to her right, being it was the only one that was currently vacant. The vulpine woman had to climb a little but she easily got up into the plastic seat on metal legs, despite it being sized for mammals considerably larger than her. She didn't mind though, the Latina lady taking solace in the face that she could at least see over the table without problem.

However in getting herself seated, the commotion drew the attention of the officer to her right. Turning his gaze from his cup of coffee, the uniformed rhinoceros looked over to his left... and was confused for a moment as he saw nothing in his immediate field of vision. It was when his brown eyes gazed down that he became startled at the sight of the vixen, the massive mammal twitching slightly in obvious irritation.

Taking notice of the man's reaction, Carmelita raised one of her navy blue eyebrows. The Hispanic vulpine's gaze travelled over his frame before settling on the golden name tag over his right pectoral. Her chocolate eyes rising up to meet the man's own brown orbs as they stared down at her, the vixen calmly asked, "Is there something you wish to share with me, Officer McHorn?" It was a polite yet firm town she addressed him with, showing that she was willing to be civil as long as he was.

The rhino continued to meet the vixen's gaze for a moment; the little standoff now garnering the attention of both the tigress and arctic wolf that had been sitting to the right of the large horned herbivore. Finally, he closed his eyes and let off a small sigh, the rumble reverberating through his chest as he did so. "That was a nice collar you managed yesterday."

That caught the woman's attention. "...Pardon?" She asked, rather confused. It took a moment for her to realize he wasn't speaking of an actual collar but the arrest made. "Oh! Thank you, Officer McHorn," the canid cop said gratefully as she offered the larger mammal a smile. "Well I couldn't have done it without you," she told him in all seriousness, now recognizing him as one of the two officers that had arrived in the armored van to take Mr. Teddy into custody. "Thank you."

The officer's nostrils flared as he let off a little snort. He didn't smile back but he did nod his head in acknowledgement to the woman's gratitude before turning his attention back to his coffee. The large herbivore was quick to bring the white porcelain mug up to his lips with his right hand and began sipping the steaming contents, savoring the flavor and the caffeine.

Watching as the larger mammal drank from his cup, the Latina vixen relaxed a little. Well, so far so good, She thought with a bit of relief as she turned about in her chair and faced the front of the room once more, awaiting the arrival of the commanding officer... quite possibly Chief Bogo himself if what he told her yesterday panned out. Still, she was glad the cape buffalo took such an active role in the lives of his officers. As much as she had adored learning under Barkley, the Badger did slow down quite a bit once he became the Commissioner-in-Chief of Interpol... and the years going by didn't do anything to help him in that matter either.

Entwining her fingers together as she clasped her hands, the vixen placed her paws down on her lap and waited. Her ears were still down to try and drown out the noise of her fellow officers but she could still make out all the noise going on around here. Indeed, it was taking every ounce of the female red fox's willpower to not just burst out in frustration at the Zootopia police force and admonish them for their improper conduct. Barkley would have tanned their hides for being so undisciplined if she or any of the Interpol agents acted like this! Sure, she could understand if there was a little conversation and even a few raised voices here and there, but all the mammals here were outright roughhousing like a bunch of feral beasts!

Fortunately, the wait for first shift to begin didn't last much longer. Looking at the watch in his left wrist, the hippopotamus nodded his head and put his pen into his shirt pocket before he slid the clipboard underneath his armpit. Straightening up and sticking his chest out as best he could despite the considerable gut he had to contend with, the rotund mammal took on a commanding presence as he opened his mouth wide to declare, "ATTE~EEEEN-HUT!"

And just like that, all the police officers pushed their chairs back and stood, slamming their fists down on the table before them in a rhythmic fashion all while chanting a rough, guttural noise over and over again. Not sure what was going on, the vixen decided that since they were being called to attention, she could at least stand with the others; the Latina beauty remaining atop her seat so she could see what was going on around her.

Within mere seconds of the chanting having started, the door that was settled to the right of the map at the front of the room swung open. The familiar form of Chief Bogo entered the room slowly, needing to maneuver his body within a doorframe that was too small for him; ducking under and leaning in sideways. Straightening himself up, the horned herbivore calmly strutted towards the podium; a number of red folders filled with papers were firmly gripped within the hooved digits of his right hand. Raising his right arm and dropping them atop the central stand, the African buffalo placed both his mitts on the desktop of the pulpit before gazing out at those gathered in the room–his eyes settling on Carmelita for a moment before he raised his head to look out over the room in general. "All right, all right!" He barked out loud enough to be heard over the repetitive cheer. "Everyone, sit!"

And just like that, the chanting and desk pounding stopped, the numerous police officers settling themselves back into their chairs. Seeing that everyone began to calm down as soon as Chief Bogo commanded it of them, Carmelita carefully settled herself back down in her own seat, all the while looking up at the authoritarian presence of the Chief of the Zootopia Police Department in complete and utter awe. He might not have been Barkley but the cape buffalo could instill the same sense of order and demand for respect the badger could. Heck, she was certain even James would have had trouble getting this rowdy a group to calm down.

Once it was quiet enough, the ebony-skinned bovidae nodded his head in appeasement before he began to address the morning shift. "Now then, I've got four items on the docket today. First, I want to congratulate all of you for your efforts yesterday to maintain order despite the chaos that had been Mayor Lionheart's press conference. I know that it wasn't easy for any of you here but you all managed to keep damages to Precinct One to a minimum. Well done."

There was murmuring amongst the officers, pleased to get some modicum of praise from the man. Getting any bit of recognition for a job well done from Chief Bogo was often more impossible than trying to ice skate uphill!

"Second," the African buffalo continued as the uniformed women of the ZPD started to settle down once more. "The damages that have been caused are being handled by city hall's budget so don't fret over your paychecks; no one's hours are being cut. Coincidentally, this also ties into the Mammal Inclusion Initiative," he stated, using such as to segue into the real point. "There will be some remodeling going on over the course of the next few weeks if not months. Maintenance of private contracts are going to need be adding things such as access ramps, stairs, and doors as well take care of the repairs needed. The department itself will be also ordering equipment sized for far smaller mammals than we are all used to seeing here so if any of you have anything you might need, do full out the proper requisition forms and file them with ARO."

When there were no further questions, the bovine police chief nodded his head and continued with the morning report. "Next, I should mention we have a new recruit with us this morning. That, of course, being our first fox..." his eyes were drawn to the vixen sitting in the front row.

Raising an eyebrow in surprise that he was putting the spotlight on her, Carmelita wasn't sure what to make of that. She hadn't been expecting any recognition from what the man had warned her about yesterday. So what was his angle?

Reaching into his chest pocket to remove a pair of reading glasses, he cape buffalo snorted as he put his eyewear on. "Now then, I should take a moment to congratulate her on a job well done yesterday but frankly, I don't care," he said firmly. "You're all officers of the law, this is your job. So what if she managed to bring down a career thug before anyone else? Fine. She did it, he's finally behind bars, and we can now focus on other criminals. End of story."

Her triangular ears twitching at the gruff sounds of begrudging acceptance from around her, the Hispanic red fox understood what the large prey mammal was doing. Yes, there might have been some jealousy that she caught a perp who had been managing to evade the law for months but he just needed to remind them that in the long run, it was no big deal. She could do without any praise or special treatment if it meant she didn't have to worry about any of the other officers stabbing her back when they were supposed to be watching it.

Seeing that a few words were all it was going to take to get his officers to drop the subject for now, the muscular slab of beef nodded his head. "Anyway, onto the main reason you're all here bright-eyed and bushy-tailed this morning: assignments!" The horned herbivore snapped out, his brown eyes darting left and right to make certain his policemammals were giving him their full attention. Picking up the first of the red folders, the Officers Grizzoli," the Arctic wolf at the end of the opposite end of table Carmelita was sitting at raised his head. "Fangmeyer," the buff tigress sitting to the McHorn's right gave the Chief her attention. "And Delgato!" A young male lion sitting two rows behind the previously named tigress straightened up in his own seat. "Tundratown, Investigations."

The trio of police officers made their way out of their seats and to the front of the room, it was the wolf who managed to reach the podium first. Bogo handed the lupine the red folder as the two felines came up. Allowing them a moment to clear out of the room and free up space up in the front of the Bullpen, Chief Bogo continued, "Officers Snarlof," a male polar bear sitting all the way in the back sat up straight. "Rinovich," he called out, a black rhino on the opposite side of the room raised his head. "And Wolford!" A brown-furred timber wolf grinned. "Patrol, Sahara Square!"

Ignoring Piotr's griping about sending a polar bear like him to the hottest place in Zootopia, the cape buffalo awaited the named policemammals to make their way to the front. Interestingly enough, it was Officer Snarlof who made it up to get the paperwork first; the bovidae supposed the ursine just wanted to get the assignment over and done with since it was simple patrol duty. When that trio had cleared out, he went onto the third group, knowing he had to play this straight, for her sake. "Officers Pennington," a female elephant sitting near the back of the room curled her trunk up in surprise at being called so soon. "McHorn," the rhino sitting up front snorted at having his coffee break interrupted. "And Montoya... Fox..." the ebony-skinned prey mammal trailed off as he corrected himself, his brown-eyed gaze was once more drawn to the vixen sitting practically in front of him.

Said vixen had perked up at having had her name called, curious as to where she was being assigned and for what. Hopefully it would give her a chance to make up for yesterday and find this, 'Beebo Pig'.

"Rainforest District, Vice," Idriis finally said, looking up from the paperwork and to the room as a whole so his attention wasn't solely on Barkley's protégé. The African buffalo just hoped that the fox remembered what he told her yesterday.

Carmelita nodded her head in understanding. She could do this. She'd had to work vice for Interpol before, particularly when the Klaww Gang was active and they were trying to track the Spice shipment and distribution to its source. Although, considering Vice was the umbrella term for crimes involving activities that are considered inherently immoral, regardless of the legality or objective harm involved, she got a distinct feeling that they would have her cracking down on some meat restaurants. Darn it, someone needs to start a, 'Free the Bacon' movement around here, she thought idly as she dropped down from her seat and made her way to the police chief.

Watching as the Hispanic vulpine walk up to him and reach the podium first, the cape buffalo bent down and handed her the red-colored folder, making sure to tell her, "Don't forget to stop by the Acquisition Request Office! We should have some fishnets in your size."

"...Que?" She chirruped in confusion. Why would she need fishing nets? She was certain fish was still legal in this city but perhaps the act of fishing itself was illegal under certain circumstances in Zootopia and they needed the nets to catch any divers-turned-fish poachers. Still, if that's what he wanted of her, then so be it. "I just have one question, Chief!" The vulpine officer spoke up, watching as the larger mammal glared down at her as the other two much larger officers joined them up front. "Just where is the Acquisition Request Office?"

Realizing the woman wasn't going to cause a stink by refusing such an assignment, the muscular bovine let off a breath he didn't realize he had been holding in and nodded his head in gratitude to the woman's professionalism. "Head out this door," he motioned to his left. "Go down the hallway all the way to the end and take the stairwell down a floor. You'll signs pointing the way to ARO. It's part of the armory so it will be easy enough to find. Just make sure to show Officer Lupus the paperwork; he'll get you what you need."

Nodding her head, the Latina red fox replied, "Gracias." She then made her way for the door as the Chief began talking with the other two to about the van ready to mobilize. Pushing the wooden barrier open, the vixen made her way down the carpeted hall once more. When she made it to the steel door at the end of the hallway itself, the vixen brought her hands up and pushed it opened as well, the door swinging into the stairwell the African buffalo had told her would be there. Going down a solid flight of steps, the policewoman stopped at the next door and pushed it out into yet another hallway. One that was built of concrete walls that were painted with a rubbery gray color, adding a sensation of dreariness to the place but in turn made something all the more prominent.

The hallway itself lead into a somewhat open space, where a uniformed timber wolf with a ZPD baseball cap on his head was standing behind multi-layered wall of polycarbonate and laminated glass with a rolling chain-link fencing on his side of it. The open port in the wall was the only–actually visible–way to directly interact with him and vice-versa. She watched as the taller canid was idly flipping through the pages of a magazine he had set atop the counter on his side of the porthole, obviously just doing some light reading to pass the time. "That has got to be the armory," the vixen murmured as she walked up to it, red case folder firmly in hand.

Hearing the sounds of footsteps echoing in the hallway, the brown-furred wolf raised his eyes... only to do a double-take at what he saw before him: a uniformed fox. He had to blink his eyes a few times, straightening up posture as he became a bit more serious. "You are...?" he trailed off, wanting to get the woman's name.

Coming up to the wall of bulletproof glass that acted as the first line of defense for the ZPD's armory, the woman straightened up as well, giving the lupine male the same level of professionalism he was giving her in return. "Officer Carmelita Montoya Fox," she stated in a firm and commanding tone of voice.

The officer behind the protective barrier blinked his eyes as recognition dawned upon his features. "...Oh..." he finally said. "You're the lady that the other fox was here last week for then, aren't you?"

That caught Carmelita's attention. She blinked her eyes once, twice. "...You mean Nick?" Yes, she had sent him to the police station but she didn't think they would have allowed a civilian down here so close to an assortment of weapons... not that she believe Wilde would have gotten away with anything but such seemed rather lax when it came to security.

Nodding his head, the tall wolf replied, "That's the one..." he released the part of the magazine he was holding, allowing the pages to drop down flat on his side of the open window's counter-top. He then leaned forward, trying to get a better look at her. "I must say, I am impressed. That uniform I had to piece together came out quite nicely." The carnivore cop chuckled. "Personally, I thought the guy was crazy or pulling my leg at the time but..." he shrugged his shoulders in a helpless fashion. "Well, after yesterday you certainly proved you aren't some Chihuahua." Straightening up a bit, he queried, "Anyway, I'm Officer Franklin Lupus. So what brings you down here today, Officer Fox? If you need to, we can fill out some forms and get you more uniforms."

Nodding her head at the lupine male's amiability and overall helpful attitude, the Hispanic vixen gave him a small smile in return. "Well then, Officer Lupus," she began slowly, making sure the taller canid was listening. "Chief Bogo sent me down to the ARO—"

"ARO~OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" The wolf howled suddenly as he reared his head back, startling the smaller female predator. Blinking his eyes once, twice, the man went flush wish embarrassment. "Er... sorry about that, ma'am. Please, just call this place the Acquisition Request Office outright or simply, 'the Armory'... otherwise you get a Howl going."

The vulpine policewoman blinked her eyes once, twice, thrice. "Oh... oka~aaaayy..." she drawled out slowly as she gave the lupine officer a nod of her head in a show of understanding. It was best for both her and him to not to trigger something like that again. "Anyway," she began, hoping to put the faux pas behind them. "I need you to look at this, and let me know what equipment I will need for it, please." She asked as stepped up to the open port in the wall and she slid the colored folder in through it.

Taking the red folder from her, the lupine started to read over it... before his eyes went wide with genuine shock. He looked over the rim of the open folder he was holding and at the vixen who stood beyond the security wall. "Well beaver dam..." he cursed in a rodent fashion. "I mean, it makes sense they would choose you for this assignment but... beaver dam it all! If this ain't one of the most specist things I've seen, than I don't know what is!" He grumbled as he placed the paperwork down atop his magazine.

Her eyes wide, the woman stared up at her fellow canid cop in shock. "Que!?" Carmelita gasped out in surprise. Needless to say, his response made her more than curious as to what was going on. The female red fox wanted to reach for the case file and take a good look for herself but she didn't want to cause any trouble by reaching behind the port. However that didn't mean he couldn't give her an answer. "What are you talking about!?" She asked firmly in a commanding tone, demanding some sort of explanation.

The wolf looked down at his fellow canid, his features cringing as if he'd bit into a lemon. "...Maybe it would be best if I just showed me. Just let me get you the box."

"...The box?" Officer Fox chirruped. "What's in the box?" She asked as the lupine policemammal turned around, putting his back to the woman. "Hey! What's in the box?" She called out after him as he headed deeper into the armory. "Darn it, what's in the box? What's in the box!?"

After a moment, Franklin's voice called out from within the depths armory. "Cake."

That gave the Latina beauty a moment of pause. "...Really?"

"No, I lied." The wolf out of the woman's field of view chuckled.

Groaning, the Officer Fox brought her right hand up to her face, gently pinching the bridge of her muzzle near her eyes to avert the oncoming headache. "De todo lo increíble..." she grumbled irritably at her fellow policemammal's ribbing.

"Oh, don't be like that... it's all in good fun," The lupine police officer replied as he returned to his fellow canid cop, carrying a large box in his arms as he did. He then placed the container atop the counter on his side of the port window and used both hands to push it through. Really, he actually needed to push through. Even with him adding a bit of elbow grease, the box JUST made the clearance and even then he had to scrape the cardboard slightly to get it on through. "I can at least promise you that while it's not Gwyneth Leoparltrow's head in there, it might still be rather disturbing in a whole other way..."

Carmelita frowned at that comment as the box made it through the opening in the bulletproof glass to her side of the security wall. Reaching up with both her hands, the Latina vulpine took hold of the cardboard container and lifted it up. It was, surprisingly, rather light but there was a bit of heft that let her know something was inside it. The Hispanic red fox began to rustle it about, nodding her head as she heard materials moving inside of it. From the sounds coming inside, it could have been fishing nets...

Setting the box down on the ground, the vixen opened the top of the folded cardboard lid halves, nodding her head as she did indeed see netting atop a whole bunch of other stuff, some of which actually had a shimmer to it from reflecting the fluorescent lights overhead. "Looks like I'm going finishing..." she murmured as she took hold of and lifted the net up to get a better look at it. After a moment Officer Fox blinked her eyes in confusion as she saw it wasn't a straight up square or rectangular shape on first glance. "What the..." she murmured in growing confusion as she pulled more and more of it out of the box, realizing that it was taking on the shape of a leg... a leg much, MUCH larger than her own.

This wasn't fishing net! This was a pair of fishnets!

Seeing the woman look at him with a perplexed gaze, Franklin merely shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, we keep adding more and more pieces of clothes of various sixes to the Vice box as time goes on... stuff that certain parties never reclaimed after being busted the first time, stuff that is released to us from criminal storage after the active case's time is up, and even some are outright donations. We affectionately refer to it as, 'The Slut Box'."

Carmelita twitched as she mentally digested that bit of information. "The slut box?" The Latina red fox parroted. Oh, she was getting an idea of what she was supposed to do, but this? Oh yeah, this would be lots of fun to dress up in the bedroom with, that was for sure! NOT! The vixen thought with absolute annoyance. "So I need this because..."

Bringing a paw up and using a thumb to tilt the brim of his baseball cap higher, the wolf leaned onto his side of the counter to get a better look at the woman on the floor with the box of proverbial shame. "Well, your paperwork says your working Vice; prostitution busts in Downtown," Franklin replied as he looked down at the woman. "So you need to look the part."

"Look the part my furry... crimson... wait..." she trailed off as something the wold said stuck out to her. "The Downtown District?" Carmelita questioned, wanting to make sure she heard him right. Seeing the man nod his head, he closed the crimson folder and slit it back out for the woman to take. Standing up, she reached her right hand up to the counter before grasping the case file. Bringing to her, the vixen flipped it open and began to look over it, her eyes widening as she really took in the information. "Huh... so it really does list Downtown as the place we're setting up the stakeout. The Chief had told us to go to the Rainforest District..." she murmured quietly before shrugging her shoulders in acceptance. He did tell her yesterday that she should follow the paperwork to the letter, not just what he said because of his age. "Well then... looks like I'm going downtown... as the bait."

Nodding his head in agreement with that assessment, the timber wolf helpfully added, "Yep! Although if I might give some advice?" Seeing the vulpine policewoman raise her head to give him her attention, a huge grin blossomed across his muzzle. "Go with the purple things if they're in your size. I think purple would be the perfect, 'slut' color for you."

Twitching in growing irritation, Carmelita lowered the case file in her right hand as her left started to clenched and unclench in a fist that promised to deliver a world of pain. "You are so lucky you're behind a protective barrier of bulletproof glass right now. Otherwise I would SO pop you in the nose for that, damn the consequences!"

The lips of his smile pulling back even further to display his sharp teeth in a massive grin, the lupine policeman offered, "Why do you think I actually said it?"

Bringing her hand to the side of her head, the Latina red fox rubbed her left temple and sighed heavily in exasperation. Honestly though? She couldn't really blame him. Not that she looked at women like that, but she could only imagine how she would look as a wannabe-prostitute. "Fine..." she murmured, hoping he would drop it at that.

Of course, Officer Lupus didn't. "Oh! You may also want to make sure you're wearing sexy panties!" At the look he was given, he held his arms up in a warding fashion. "Prostitutes get more business when they wear Brazilian-cut panties after all."

"...You better pray we don't meet outside of here, and I don't mean the station, I mean this room in general," the vixen warned after a moment of deliberation before deciding, 'fuck it'. "Even if you are a fellow officer of the law, I find your conduct bordering on sexual harassment and I won't stand for it!" Hell, this whole case would have been one big massive lawsuit waiting to happen if it happened anywhere but Zootopia! Hopefully it was just going to be for today.

Nodding his head, the timber world replied, "Understood..." he went silent for a moment and then offered, "Also you should wear the Brazilian-cut over the fishnets for an extra hot-to-trot factor going!"

Raising an eyebrow at how this literal horndog seemed to tempt fate quite often with her in the mere span of minutes, the vixen's corners of her lips pulled back into a frown across her muzzle. "That's an adult magazine you're looking at, isn't it?"

"...I plead the Fifth," Franklin said after a moment.

The woman took a deep breath before telling him, "You do realize that I'm not American, right?" At the wolf's confused look, she sighed. "I recognize that as an American term, I know that it means something but I'm not from this country and that term doesn't mean as much to me." Granted, she really did but she was hoping he didn't... she had a setting on her shock pistol with his name on it otherwise!

Sadly for her, the mammal knew what he was talking about. "The right to not incriminate myself," he said quickly, hoping to cover his tail.

The Hispanic vixen blinked her chocolate eyes a few times. "Darn fifth amendment and cultural differences..." she murmured in annoyance as it looked like her shock pistol would be remain reserved for the streets for the time being.

The wolf considered that comment for a moment before deciding perhaps what he wanted to say was worth a shot. "Well since you admit to not being from this country..." Franklin started slowly, not wanting to come off as antagonistic–and certainly not wanting to test just how much stress bulletproof glass could actually manage. "...Could I see you dress here? I mean it when I said I wish to give you heads up on how you're dressing."

"NO!" Carmelita snapped, feeling that yes, she needed to report this asshole to Bogo ASAP! Keeping things civil with the other officers be DAMNED! She was not going to put up with such openly abrasive sexual harassment, especially when the jerk genuinely didn't think he was doing anything wrong by it!

Shrugging his shoulders, the lupine could only murmur, "Well, it was worth a shot. Good luck with your assignment today!" He chirruped in a surprisingly merry fashion.

Taking hold of the box once more, the Hispanic vixen grumbled under her breath in irritation. She couldn't believe she was being handed such a crappy assignment. Sure, she was certain it probably had to do with her experience and the fact she could handle herself, but the fact she had to lower her appearance to that of a common hooker was loathsome! A bitter pill for her to swallow, considering the stereotypes that surrounded her species...

She just hoped she could put together an outfit that wouldn't use any purple.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"I wonder what's taking her so long..." a uniformed elephant murmured as she sat in the back of the unmarked white van that was filled with state of the art communications equipment; the pair of back doors currently opened to allow the woman a chance to breath. It really did get hot back there with all the heat the consoles could generate while they worked on keeping stable reception for back-and-forth transmissions. "We need to get her wire hooked up and head out!"

His left hand reaching out on the side-view mirror as he physically adjusted it, the rhinoceros sitting in the driver's seat spoke up questioningly, "What's the problem, Francine? You got somewhere else you need to be?"

"Yes!" The elephant snapped in response. "I'm needed to pick up little Thomas from soccer practice after school. If I don't get in at least six hours active duty on the clock Animal Resources won't let me punch out."

That statement made the horned herbivore blink his eyes in surprise. "Ah..." Officer McHorn finally said in understanding. "I didn't realize it was your turn to look after your son today."

The woman's shoulders sagged. "Frankly, it's my turn all this week and next," the female elephant replied, the nose of her trunk pulling a napkin out of her pocket and bringing it up to her forehead to wipe. "My husband's still on Migration. He's not coming home until the first Sunday of next month!"

Before the rhino could respond to that, both heard as one of the doors to the parking garage opened with a rather audible click-clacking. Turning his head to look out the window while Francine got up from her seat to look out the back of the van, both officers stared at what they beheld. They couldn't help it. Both were almost certain that Carmelita was going to have to beat mammals off with a stick... or that shock pistol of hers.

Her hair was fluffed up, both it and the purple arm-length gloves able to draw attention to her from a distance. But as she got closer, one could see the Hispanic vixen was wearing fishnet stockings and purple high heels which caused her to walk in such a way that her hips were swaying more than usual. She was wearing a tight corset that covered her abdomen... but what really was eye-catching was the fact that her breasts were all but bare, save for a pair of red heart-shaped pasties over her nipples, the woman's mammaries jiggling with each step, the corset also tugging up high enough so that they could easily see her violet panties with the yellow text, 'Lick Here'.

Her head sticking out of the back of the truck, all Officer Pennington could reply was, "My word." Really, there was nothing else to say. The small female predator certainly looked the part of a prostitute. That much was darn certain!

Now craning his head out of the open driver's side window, the rhinoceros was just as flabbergasted by what he was staring at. Eventually, he was able to finally respond, "How much for an hour?"

No one could say the man wasn't able to speak without thinking.

"Officer Patrick Bluth McHorn!" Francine trumpeted out, positively scandalized that he would ask that of another officer, even if she certainly was living up to her breed's standards of being a, 'sultry vixen'!

Seeing the reactions of the officers she was being paired with for this assignment, the Latina vulpine just sighed in annoyance. "Let's just get this over with," Carmelita muttered as she walked up to the back of the van. Oh, how she really, really did not want to be doing this. The last thing she wanted was for someone she knew to see her like this. She could only imagine what Honey's or–God forbid–Nick's reaction would be to seeing her like this.

Nodding her head in complete agreement, the larger policewoman leaned forward. "Sure, sure... come on," the elephant replied as her trunk came out, her strongly muscled proboscis wrapping itself around the female red fox's outstretched arm and giving her a lift into the back of the vehicle with her. Letting Officer Fox down into another seat of the back, the larger woman took the time to close both sets of doors on the back of the van. "I have to say, I'm very surprised you chose something so... revealing."

The Latina vulpine couldn't help but blush with embarrassment; a crimson flush managing its way through her facial fur. "I couldn't help it! I looked through that damned box and about ninety-percent of it was stuff that was way too big on me. I had to put an outfit together with what was left and this was the best I could come up with." Otherwise there was no way in hell she would have been wearing purple after how excited Officer Franklin got for it! "Believe me, I wanted my breasts to at least have more cover than this!"

And for the first moment in her career, Inspector Carmelita Montoya Fox was actually glad Sly wasn't around. If the Ringtail saw her like this, he would be begging her to come home in this outfit–if one could actually be generous enough call it that–every day for the rest of their lives!

Nodding her head in understanding and sympathy, the massive prey mammal told her. "I understand. Believe me, I do. That's why I must admit," Officer Pennington chirruped as she sat down in her own seat. "I have to thank you for joining us. Usually when I get stuck working Vice, I'm the one that has to go out there."

Carmelita blinked her eyes once, twice, thrice. "...And that explains why a number of the fishnets in that box were so stretched out they actually could have been used as fishing nets..."

Blinking his eyes for a moment, a smirk tugged at the corner of the rhino's lips. Despite himself, McHorn barked out a laugh from his place the front seat.

Her ears pressing against either side of her head, the large herbivore blushed a bit. "Yeah... not something I'm proud of, trust me." Officer Pennington sighed. It wasn't her fault that her breed was just so massive and that so many smaller mammals were chubby chasers. "On the other hand, with how appealing you look, you'll probably be making more than a few busts today."

Managing to calm down his laughter, the lone male officer of the group had to add his own two cents. "And remember!" He called out to the back. "If you like one of the animals who propositions you, at least use a hotel when not on duty," McHorn chirped in with a laugh.

Her ears pressing against the back of her head, Carmelita frowned as she looked towards the front. "I'm not looking for a relationship, Officer McHorn," she told him in all seriousness. "Just take us to some place in the Downtown District so we can get on with this assignment."

"Sure I—wait," the horned mammal suddenly stopped himself as he switched mental gears. Looking over his shoulder and into the back once more, the rhino was quick to interject, "The chief said we're supposed to be heading out to the Rainforest District."

The Latina vixen nodded her head, a little relieved to find that IS what he she had heard back at the Bullpen. "He may have said that but the paperwork clearly states Downtown." As she said that, the vulpine held up the case file, only to have the elephant take it from her with her trunk.

Holding the crimson file aloft before her at her eye-level, the pachyderm policewoman used the flexible muscle at the end of her nostril to flip open the cover open. Narrowing her eyes, she began to carefully read over the assignment outline. Nodding her head in satisfaction, Officer Pennington chirruped, "She's right, McHorn. It's written here clear as day: Downtown District."

Shrugging his shoulders, the uniformed rhino replied, "Whatever. In fact that's even better. Trying to drive this clunker in the Rainforest District is terrible. Tires get barely any damn traction as it is, let alone the constantly slick roads of the RD," he said as he grasped his seatbelt. "Anyway, you all buckle up back there. We're heading out." When he had his own seatbelt fastened, he began shifting the van's gear out of Park and into reverse, backing the large vehicle out of the parking space.

As she was settled in her own seat and her safety restraint fastened, Carmelita took a moment to look at the police wire the larger woman offered. "How am I going to set this up?" She queried, as it seemed to lack the usual characteristics of wearing a wire.

"Don't worry, I'll help you," Francine said as she took hold of the elongated bud and ear clamp combo. "If you're curious, there's a battery already in it. With no physical wire, it's less likely to stand out than a traditional wire-tap," the elephant explained as she fitted the device into the left ear and slid the extension of plastic within the hoop of the other woman's earring, making it look as though it were part of the jewelry.

With that taken care of, the pachyderm then turned her seat about towards the console and picked up her own head-set. Working a few buttons on it, the woman looked at the screen as numerous lines of text came on as the system booted up. After a few minutes of keeping watch of the screen as the rhinoceros drove them away from Precinct One, Officer Pennington's eyes widened as she saw the system go online. Bringing the headset up and placing it on her head with her hands, her trunk moved the microphone into position near her mouth. "Can you hear me, Officer Fox? Is this too loud?"

Blinking her eyes as she heard an echo of both the voice in front of her and in her ear, the vixen realized that, "It's working! But you may want to turn down the volume control on your end. If you're too loud then the John might here you talking to me."

Officer Pennington nodded and gave her a thumbs-up with her trunk after fixing the volume control. Seeing the decibel control where she wanted it the elephant officer told her fellow policewoman, "There we go. You're all set then."

As the two sets of voices were more in sync and the direct source in her ear no longer a considerable blast, Carmelita nodded her head. "Okay, that's MUCH better," she replied as she made sure to shoulder her pocketbook. "All right, I have my badge, handcuffs, and my shock pistol in my purse. So how are we going about this?" She chirruped, wanting to know the ZPD's modus operandi for prostitution stings.

"It's simple," McHorn called back from the front seat. "You get them to verbally offer you money for sex. We come in and bust them up, and call for a pick-up. Then we start all over again somewhere else in the District. Usually the department wants us to catch five perps in a day whenever we're on this assignment." The way he spoke, said volumes of his experience in with this job in particular.

Nodding her head in understanding, the Latina vulpine figured, "Sounds easy enough. I admit I haven't done anything like this in a long, long time but I'm willing to give it a shot..." she trailed off as her eyes went distance, remembering the last time she actually went undercover was that party at Rajan's palace where she managed to have her first dance with Sly. Wanting to get the traitorous thoughts out of her head, the vixen distracted herself by turning her attention from the back of the driver's cabin and back to the elephant. "Say, Officer Pennington?"

The wide ears of the elephant flapped a moment at realizing she was being addressed. "Hmm? What is it, Officer Fox?" She queried as she turned her seat about slightly to get a better look at the vulpine to address her.

"Just how bad is the prostitution problem in Zootopia if they have to dedicate an actual case assignment to Vice for it?" The female red fox asked, genuinely curious as to the city-state's standing with sex trafficking.

Pursing her lips, the pachyderm considered that for a moment as she considered how to answer. "Well, I can't say it's too bad, per say..." the Elephant trailed off. "From what I know, the prostitution problem is about on par with most major cities... at least those out in the open."

That response caused the vulpine officer blink her big brown eyes. "Out in the open?" She repeated, wanting a bit of an explanation behind that.

"There are always the high-end prostitutes that make house calls," Francine went on to answer. "We have a real tough time catching up with those. Plus there are rumors that sometimes minors slip into sex shops..."

Carmelita frowned at that. Minors in sex shops? That wasn't something she liked to think about. "I can't believe there are shops that allow that..." she grumbled in annoyance. Of all the aspects Zootopia would actually have Left leanings, that of all things was one of them?

The woman snorted, making her trunk toot out. "They don't," the larger of the two policewomen said firmly. "Some kids are tall enough, mature looking enough and their voices don't crack constantly that they can get away with it," the elephant replied as she leaned back in her chair, making it creak under her wait. "Although I did hear about a rumor concerning a sixteen-year-old who got into one of the porn movie theaters and started an orgy..."

The male officer up from chuckled upon hearing that. "I heard about that. The lucky punk. That must have been one hache-eee-double-hockey-sticks of a sweet sixteen..." he murmured, unaware of the larger elephant glaring at the back of his head.

Seeing the larger female mammal ready to smack their driver in the back of his skull, Carmelita decided to nip such in the bud by keeping the conversation going. "So I can assume no one was caught then?"

However, it was the rhino that gave her an answer instead of the woman she had been trying to address. "It's a bit difficult to arrest animals when you hear about it months after the fact," McHorn grumbled. "Trust me. We would all want to stop that from happening again," he said firmly as he turned his attention back to the road fully. "All right, ladies. We're almost at a good section of town for drop off. You sure you're going to be good for this, Officer Fox?" He called out over his shoulder to the pair of policewomen in the back.

Nodding her head, the vulpine firmly stated, "Ready as I'll ever be!" She meant it too. While she wasn't so keen on being dressed for the assignment, this was a genuine problem and so she would do her best. She promised she would make the city a better place and if such included getting a number of perverts off the street, then so be it! "So you two will be nearby then?"

"Naturally," The rhinoceros replied. "We just can't keep the van too close. Even if it's mocked up as a regular delivery van, having a large parked vehicle around any hooker is suspicious if not an outright tipoff something is wrong. We'll still be within a block or two though, not to worry," he told the predator in a reassuring manner. "Speaking of which though..." he pulled the van up to the sidewalk curb. "Here's your stop. Go get 'em, Fox!"

"Got it!" The Hispanic vixen chirruped as she unbuckled her seatbelt and got up from the chair. Making her way to the direct back of the van, she opened the door to her right and carefully pushed it open. Climbing down to the bumper and standing to the front of the opposite door, she then closed the metal barrier she had exited out through before jumping off the back end of the vehicle. Stepping back and watching for a moment as the white van began to drive off, Carmelita got up onto the sidewalk as she looked about the area of the Downtown District around her. Not that the place was in disrepair or anything along those lines but there was something of a, 'seedy' feeling to it thanks to the muted colors that made it feel more natural than the cheery theme park sensation that city center of Savanna Central seemed to give off.

So walking down along the sidewalk before coming to a stop at a corner by a street sign, the vixen waited, looking positively bored while leaning back against the metal pole. As much as it annoyed her to do this, all she could do was wait for someone to approach her. Not that she wanted anyone to, it still would have been better if at least one person attempted. She idly wiggled a chopstick between her index and middle fingers before wondering where she got it from. Then again, if I smoked, I'd probably be smoking a cigarette right now, she thought to herself, wondering if the rest of the day was going to be like this. "I sure hope not." The Latina vulpine muttered to herself as she adjusted how she was standing and looked around some more. Not too many mammals out, but still... it wasn't like they would be coming out of the woodwork to illegally purchase sexual gratifications. All Carmelita could do was be patient and just try and be the sexiest vixen she could be.

She remained on the street corner for a solid twenty minutes before she finally heard a voice call out to her. "Well, hello there..." the male voice spoke up with far too much enthusiasm to be anything but sleazy. Turning her head towards the source, the undercover vulpine blinked her brown eyes at the white-furred wolf that grinning at her. "Now I must admit," the lupine in a three-piece Giorgio Armanadillo suit began. "I'm not normally into foxes, but I won't say no to a fine piece of meat like you."

Ignoring her gut reaction to simply punch the guy in his gut, the policewoman pushed down her instincts as she looked up at him. Oh yes, this lupine was practically a citrus fruit with how badly he was setting off her Inspector's Intuition. So much orange was shining all over his frame, particularly around his neck and his right hand which was mostly buried in his pocket. Oh, this was definitely someone that was no good and likely to be the first John of the day. "Hola yourself, handsome..." she cooed out in a sultry tone that put emphasis on her accent, one she knew Sly loved to hear her talk with. "So what are you looking for, Papi? It's one-hundred and fifty a half hour, two hundred a full hour, and another twenty-five if you want anal."

Damn! I am actually ashamed of how easily I just listed that, she thought in disgust. It was something she had heard a couple of the prostitutes say to potential customers before she gave both a fat lip during her one-woman war on street crime the past two months in Paris. Still, the fact it sounded natural would have helped convey the legitimacy of what she was trying to appear to be.

Bringing a paw up to idly scratch at his chin, the wolf considered that. "One-hundred and fifty dollars, huh? Good thing I've got both the money and protection. Hope you don't mind if you clothes get dirty." He chuckled to himself with pride, just knowing how awesomely he was going to rock this whore's world. By the time the half-hour was done, she wouldn't be able to take anything smaller than his dick.

Despite the urge to vomit in her throat at the lupine man's sleazy come-on, Carmelita kept her sultry smile firmly plastered on her face. "Oh? Only the one-fifty, Papi? Don't want to take me for an hour?" She cooed. "I take it you don't want to do much to sweet little ol' me if you can be done in only that much time..." she cooed. She had managed to coax him into offering money but she needed him to say what for to make any charges stick.

"Oh but I do. You're getting one-hundred and fifty dollars for an hour and you will appreciate my generosity... unless, of course, you don't need the cash, little lady." He grinned at her, crossing his arms over his chest in a rather imperious fashion. "Why, at this rate I might as well take my money elsewhere if I can't trust what you streetwalkers are saying."

Carmelita's smile twitched. Sure, she had said a hundred and fifty for a half hour while he wanted a full hour for such money... but since she had no intention of actually having relations with the canid creep, she would let him have this small victory... only because it helped to further incriminate him. "All right, all right Papi..." she said, making sure her tone was one of bitter acceptance. "One-hundred and fifty for the hour..." her lips went into a thin line. "But remember, it's still twenty-five more if you want to try the backdoor."

At the woman's show of spirit, the wolf chuckled. "Listen here, bitch! I will get whatever I want with one-hundred and fifty dollars. That includes tapping that sweet, rounded vixen ass. Now either get in the alley and bend over or I'll go elsewhere. There are plenty of you Yiffers out there who would bend over BACKWARDS for a hundred and fifty!"

The woman's lips twitched again... although this time, they began curling up into a devious smile as she heard Francine tell her, 'We got him' via the radio0bud in her left ear. "Ah... well when you put it that way, Papi..." the Latina vixen cooed as she stepped forward, making sure to thrust out her chest at the carnivore creep she was going to make regret his life choices. "To the alley then? I plan to be very busy today..."

Grinning wide in victory to show off his pearly white fangs in an act of dominance, the Arctic wolf told her, "Now that's the spirit, bitch." His right hand came down, firmly slapping the undercover vixen's left butt-cheek before giving it a harsh squeeze. "Lead the way."

"Of course," the Latina beauty replied as she smiled at him. Looking left and right, she grinned as she led him towards an alley way for some privacy.

Bringing his paws up and rubbing them together in anticipation, the lustful lupine was quick to follow after the sway of those luscious foxy hips. "Oh, this will be fun..." The wolf whispered gleefully, his tail wagging behind him in delight.

A moment later there was a spark that illuminated the alley that was compounded by the sounds of both a crackle and a yelp of pain as a burst of electrical energy was discharged into the hapless idiot.

Carmelita smiled as she looked down at the twitching creep, his nice clothes smoking as they were singed along the edges of the hem, sleeves, and pant-legs. Exhaling in satisfaction, the woman could only say, "Well now THAT was worth the verbal abuse..." she murmured as she put the shock pistol back into her purse. Bringing her hand up to hear ear, the vulpine replied, "Make sure pick-up comes ASAP and reads him his Miranda Rights. I've already got the perp down and I don't think he'd appreciate getting another blast from The Equalizer."

"Roger, roger," she heard over the com link. "ETA two minutes."

Nodding her head at the affirmation from Officer Pennington, the vulpine turned her gaze towards the downed and twitching form of the white-furred wolf. "Well, I have some good news and some bad news," she said in a surprisingly sweet tone. "The bad news is... yes, you're going to jail. The good news? While a Class A misdemeanor, the sentencing can only go up to one year, a fine of six-thousand dollars, or both! Isn't that just grand?" Or six...

His eyes now blood-shot from the point-blank blast he took to the face, the downed lupine in now dirty high-scale suit coughed out, "Cuh-can I just pay the fine?"

"Maybe if you hadn't been such a prick and smacked my ass," the Latina vixen chirruped sweetly. "But once the arresting officers get my report?" She clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth and shook her head. "I can only imagine all too well you pulling this shit on other vulpine women if not prostitutes in general. So we'll see what the court of law says, pal."

His ears flattening back against his skull, the downed perp couldn't help but whimper like a kicked puppy. "I'd rather just pay the fine..." the wolf groaned as he lay on his back.

"Well that will be up to the courts to decide..." the Latina vixen replied as both the white van and a police criminal transport vehicle came at the mouth of the alley. "Oh look, and there's your ride now."

Bringing his hands up to his face, the wolf groaned in exasperation.

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Sitting hunched over his desk, Chief Bogo glared at the tiny screen of his cell phone. Having perused ViewTube, he had come across that which would help him relax during one of his very rare lunch breaks.

A vintage Gazelle music video. One so old it only played in 240p!

"This time for Africa! You're a good soldier, choosing your battles! Pick yourself up and dust yourself off and back in the saddle..."

As he watched, the cape buffalo's long face was pulled back into a rare grin, the massive muscled mammal's shoulders swaying back and forth as he danced in his seat to the beat. He couldn't help it! He always enjoyed listening to and watching the sweet and lovely Columbian herbivore Gazelle dancing and he was finding such joy in his favorite song...

*Knock*!

*Knock*!

Joy that was interrupted by the noise of knuckles firmly rapping against the open doorframe of his office; the police chief's quarters still hadn't gotten its new door. "Chief Bogo?" Carmelita chirruped as she stuck her head into the room. "Are you busy at the moment?"

His hooved hands coming down atop his phone to cover the screen, the African buffalo snapped, "DON'T WAKA WAKA IN HERE!" Before coughing as he then corrected, "I mean, don't walk in here just yet! Give me a moment!" He then grumbled under his breath at the injustice of it all as he had to turn off his cell phone. The man could barely find time to indulge in his one harmless vice of some poppy Gazelle songs anymore. When he had it ready, the large bovine turned his gaze towards the door. "All right, enter!" Bogo called out.

Given permission, Carmelita walked into the police chief's office, wearing a very large police shirt... and seemingly nothing else.

Raising an eyebrow, the heavily-muscled herbivore eyed the much smaller predator with a most curious gaze. "...You're going commando?" He chirruped in confusion. He knew she was a dedicated Inspector of Interpol but he didn't think Officer Fox was that dedicated!

Rolling her eyes, the navy blue-tressed vixen let off a long-suffering sight. "I'm dressed under this. Officer Clawhauser didn't like seeing me costumed for prostitution busts so offered me one of his extra shirts he keeps on paw to maintain a neat appearance for his shift to allow me a measure of dignity." She then lifted a flap of the shirt's hem to show off the grape jelly stain for emphasis. "Or at least as much dignity as one of his already used shirts will allow for..." still, even she had to admit it was a step up from walking around looking like a hooker.

"...Ah..." the horned herbivore replied in a rather deadpan manner, only to be hit by a sudden realization. "Wait a minute! You're back already?" He looked at the clock on his wall, seeing was just a little past one pm. He turned his gaze back to the vixen standing before his desk and frowned. "You were supposed to be out there for another three hours! I mean, would five perps looking for a good time be that... difficult... or...?" He trailed off, realizing that his worst fears for her may have come true. "What happened?"

Walking up to and standing beside the man at his desk, the vulpine policewoman reached her arms out from within the oversized shirt that Clawhauser had lent her upon seeing her state of dress. When the large prey mammal's eyes were drawn down to the woman, he found vixen was offering him to a large stack of papers to take. "Here you go, Sir!" Carmelita began with a strong and clear tone. "Officers McHorn, Pennington, and I made a total of thirty arrests."

"..." Bogo stared down at her, his eyes going wide as his pupils dilated.

"...Before noon," the Latina vulpine added in a firm, no-nonsense tone. "We could have likely cuffed more but seeing that we had handled six times the requested amount of arrests and Officer Pennington got a phone call from the school about her little boy getting into a fight during lunch, we decided it would be best to take a break. I've been spending the past hour filling out these forms for you. I might not be able to put them into the system myself yet but at least this way you don't have to write the details yourself."

"..." the large ebony-skinned mammal twitched before reaching out and taking the stack of paperwork from the ZPD's latest–albeit temporary–recruit. He placed the papers on his desk and began to flip through them, quickly looking at pictures, skimming over the initial facts of the reports... and taking notice that she really was quite thorough with how much was written on each page. "Take a seat, please," he requested of the red fox, knowing this would likely take him awhile to read through.

Nodding her head in understanding, the female vulpine walked back around to the front of his desk and climbed up into one of the uncomfortable stiff-backed chairs, making certain to draw in the shirt a bit more to try and give herself some decency. As she tried to adjust her sitting position, she watched as her current boss put on his glasses and began to peruse the written reports with courteous professionalism and genuine interest.

It took around twenty minutes as he ended up doing more than just skimming at some sections. Finally though, the cape buffalo lowered the papers in his grasp and raised his head up, his brown eyes gazing out at the woman with a look of shock and awe. "You genuinely did it... you busted thirty Johns. That's a new Precinct record..." left unsaid was a record for all the ZPD Precincts, from their smallest of officer's outpost in Outback Island to their massive station here in Savanna Central!

Smiling slightly, the navy-haired canid officer looked up to the man and replied, "Thank you, Sir!" She hadn't been after any company record but she was glad to have gotten something positive concerning vixens out there... even if it was for busting dirty-minded mammals.

"Still," the man started once more, his voice becoming deep and serious as he made sure to make eye contact with the woman. "I would appreciate it if in future reports you didn't include their pickup lines." Some of the stuff he read was just sad.

Sitting up in her seat, Officer Fox firmly replied, "I felt it was necessary to show the depths of their depravity."

The horned herbivore's right eyebrow shot up. Flipping through a few of the files, he pulled one out and looked at it again. "...So this one really did ask..." he trailed off, unable to bring himself to say it.

The Latina red fox gave her superior a nod of her head in affirmation. "Yes, Sir," she piped up in a professional manner. "He did indeed request that I kick him in the balls and tell him he was a good girl."

"..." Truly, there are no words for this, was all the muscular mammal could think.

Fortunately, Carmelita did. "They're animals, Sir."

"...Fair enough," Chief Bogo replied before making certain to double-check a certain aspect of that report. "...But did you have to shoot him in the balls though?" He could feel his groin shriveling up just thinking about it.

Not wanting to be accused of police brutality and give foxes a bad name, the Latina policewoman was quick to explain, "I had my shock pistol on a very low setting. At that capacity, it would only be able to singe the hair on a mouse."

"..." the muscular slab of beef couldn't help it. Curiosity got the better of him. "...You didn't tell him he was a good girl, did you?"

Folding her hands over her lap, the female red fox answered, "I told him if he went to jail he would have plenty of new friends to call him that."

His shoulders slumping, Bogo slowly hung his head and sighed in exasperation. Bringing his right hand up to the side of his head, the man rubbed at his temple with his hooved digits. "Please. Do not encourage these mammals..." he grumbled before bringing his hand down to grasp the case files. He then immediately stiffed up as the next report had him blinking in shock. "Wait... a woman?"

"Just the first," the Hispanic vixen chirruped from her seat. "Five of the arrests made overall were women."

His eyes quickly darting back and forth between Officer Fox and the contents written on the report, the African buffalo could help but remark, "And this one..."

The woman could only nod her head once move in affirmation. "Yes. She wanted to bend me over, spank my rear until it was red, and have me call her Mistress FucKitty." One could practically hear the capitalized 'k' in her speech.

The horned herbivore continued to look at his subordinate with a perplexed gaze, wondering if he hadn't had a heart attack and was currently under getting a second bypass done. Finally, Bogo began to look over the reports once more, treating them as if they were the second coming of the company phone... which, come to think of it, he really needed to just dump into the trash can at some point.

As he continued to read, one thing became absolutely clear to the ebony-skinned herbivore. "I have half a mind to submit these to Penthouse Magazine..." he told her firmly. "But I was never much of a fan of Bob Goosecione." That mammal just didn't have the same level of class Hugh Heiferner had in his day. He then snorted as he lowered the reports. "So what of Officers McHorn and Pennington?"

"As I stated earlier, Officer Francine Pennington had to take off for Zootopia Public School One-Eighteen to check on her little boy Trumpet," Carmelita explained. "Officer Patrick McHorn on the other paw, is taking care of his own paperwork he is behind on and wanted me to let you know that if you need him for anything else, he and I can make ourselves available to you."

Chief Bogo waved off the woman's offer to take up more cases. While her work ethic was impressive, he didn't want to push her too far... or have her show up anyone else again so soon. "Well, you did far more than what was expected of you, far faster too... and the most humiliating job that we had, although someone had to... do... it..." he trailed off as he looked at one of the reports in particular. "Huh... how about that..." he murmured, more to himself than the fox.

Watching as the African buffalo studied one of her case reports the woman raised an eyebrow in speculation. "Is something wrong?" She queried, genuinely curious as to what about that one report caught the man's attention.

"Nothing much, Officer Fox. You just happened to bust the nephew of the head of the River Bank over in the Canal District." He gave her a dry smirk as she groaned in response, realizing once again politics became involved. "Yes, I believe this one will conveniently... disappear."

Her ears flattening back, the Latina vixen let off a sigh. "Well that's just lovely..." Carmelita grumbled. Oh, she just knew this was going to come back to bite her in the tail!

Seeing the look of dread on his subordinate's face, the cape buffalo snorted. "You're actually very lucky in that regard, Officer Fox. Mrs. Harriet Beaver is likely to be more pissed at her nephew Jack than she is at you," the large and muscular prey mammal told her in all seriousness. "I mean it, you are genuinely lucky. If it had been anyone else on the City Council who had family busted by you, you could bet your fluffy orange tail they'd be up in arms to run you out of Zootopia by this time tomorrow."

That explanation made the vixen woman blink her eyes in shock as they penetrated her skull. "Wait... the City Council is involved? Again!?"

Nodding his head, the horned herbivore replied, "Yes, again. I can appreciate you doing your job but you need to be more careful. These mammals will take things personally, especially the Party Heads. So we'll just put this single report into the shredder and release the young Mr. Beaverton and let him be on his way... a gentle slap on the wrist and a reminder that sex is an arrangement between legally married mammals."

Huffing in annoyance at what was going to happen, the vulpine shook her head in disgust at what was going on between the Police Department and City Hall. "Seems awfully corrupt to me..." she murmured irritably.

Shrugging his shoulders in agreement with her, all Chief Bogo could tell her was, "Zootopia is a sovereign city-state. As such, the members of the City Council and their families can make and break the rules on a whim whenever they please, so long as their crimes remain within the realm of being misdemeanors." Letting off a sigh, the man went on to share, "I can't tell you how many times one of the Punjob family has been pulled over for speeding, only to be told to be careful with, 'breaking in new shoes'... and they don't even wear shoes!"

Tilting her head to the left, the female red fox looked at her superior with a curious gaze as she considered that bit of information. "...Punjob?" She chirruped, confusion prevalent in her voice.

"Yes, Punjob. Be wary for your sanity, thought. It's always a punny time around them." The African buffalo shook his head as the canid cop groaned. "They're well known for making puns no matter the situation or the appropriateness thereof."

Tilted her head to the right next, the vulpine woman raised one of her navy blue eyebrows high enough that it disappeared into her hairline. "Sounds like a rather annoying group," she said sternly, remembering how many times she wanted to simply punch one Dimitri Lousteau in his big fat mouth every time the lizard blurted out some mangled jive talk or pun-laden phrase... which more often than not, was also mangled from him getting it wrong.

The Chief of the Zootopia Police Department let off a long-suffering sigh. "Oh, you have no idea..." he trailed off with a tone that conveyed a long time spent suffering under such. "And we can't do a thing about them. They are one of the families of Zootopia; they and the Golden Palm are practically synonymous with the Sahara Square District. They are, 'celebutants' who know how to flaunt their local fame and even greater family fortune."

Nodding her head, Carmelita was getting a picture of what was going on all too clearly. "So basically, unless they do something that actually counts as an outright felony, our paws are tied." It wasn't a question.

"More or less," the horned herbivore replied in a solemn tone. "When it comes to the Punjobs, particularly the few instances we actually had to make arrests, we brought them in, apologized profusely for the inconvenience, and then let them go after they had a chance to sober up." At the look the Hispanic vulpine gave him, the chief explained, "Even if they are that important, we can't let them drive drunk." Thankfully no one got fired for having to do that as of yet.

Taking a deep breath, Officer Fox slowly exhaled, trying to keep herself calm. "Lovely..." she mumbled in annoyance that so many mammals could get away with such. "Can you make sure I get a file on the, 'who's-who' around here so I can study up on them?" Although she made it sound like she wanted to keep them in mind so she wouldn't cross them, the vixen personally wanted it to know who she should be keeping a close eye on.

The muscular mammal nodded his head. "If you want, I can have it ready for before you leave," he told Carmelita before a smirk came across his face. He was then quick to ask the vulpine woman, "You said McHorn was free for use if needed, right?" As the female red fox nodded her head, the African buffalo told her, "Well there you are. Tell him he's needed to make a list for you." At the curious look that crossed the Officer Fox's features, the Chief of Police explained, "He may not look it but Officer McHorn is a long-standing veteran of the force; twenty years of dutiful service and counting. We worked alongside one another quite a bit before I ended up becoming chief of the ZPD. It's why I chose him to partner up with you; I knew I could trust the mammal to ignore any preconceived notions he might have and take the job seriously."

That explanation certainly caught the Latina beauty's attention. "Really? I wouldn't have guessed it." Then again, the rhino did look that much older than that Teddy guy she busted yesterday... and Teddy couldn't have been more than somewhere between eighteen and twenty-years-old. The vulpine just wouldn't have guessed her fellow officer to be over the hill.

"Yes, he is. Just don't bring that little fact up to him," the cape buffalo insisted as he began to try and neatly stack her written reports. "Now go get out of here and take care of it," Bogo said as his eyes gazed down at the papers once more. "In fact, you can take the rest of the day off if you need to. I feel if you went back out there, we would have another thirty arrests and so much paperwork that the damned tree-huggers would be swarming the place."

"You could always just make a call," Carmelita smirked at him, getting an annoyed look in return.

"Ha... Ha... Ha..." the Police Chief laughed out sarcastically even as his eyes looked down at the landline with an accusatory glance. Turning his attention back to the vixen he added in a commanding tone, "I mean it. Go see McHorn and tell the man the Chief wants him to update you on the, 'untouchables' of Zootopia." Then as an afterthought, the horned herbivore added, "And Officer Fox? One last thing..."

Tilting her head back to look up at the much larger prey mammal, the Hispanic red fox replied, "Yes, Chief?"

"Before you go see Officer McHorn? Head back to the locker and put on some Gouda-darned pants!" Chief Bogo snapped. He didn't want her giving the men any ideas! Some of these brain-dead idiots could barely function as is! If she got their testosterone pumping no one was getting any work done!

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Author's Notes: Good lord, this chapter wasn't easy. Not because I didn't know what I wanted... it's just actually getting the time to write proved to be way more difficult these past couple of weeks than a number of the previous months. I was literally writing up to 11 pm Friday night for this to get it out when I promised, so please forgive any typos I may have missed.

But hey! We have more Honey Badger! It's been awhile since she had a bit of page-time so I felt now was as good a point as any to give her the spotlight once more.

On a lighter note, I made it to the Zootopia Movie Meet-Up on Saturday the 27th. Got to spend time with Radman404 of the fic, "Hopps and Robbers", YFWE of the fic, "The Redemption of Gideon Grey" Andy Lagopus, the head of the ZNN website, and many other Zootopia fans! We barely watched the movie at all, as we all knew it by heart at this point, although we had fun pointing out things to one another that we may have missed. It was just relaxing being able to shoot the breeze with people who held a common interest.

As for the story itself... sorry to say, Cerberusx but you called it. Fortunately, Carmelita knows how to handle herself as long as she's free to do her job.

Now then, if all goes well, the next chapter will be September 17th! Hope you all keep reading and enjoying!

And remember, Try Everything!

Yes, that does include Burger King hotdogs.