Quick notes: First of all, you've probably noticed this story now has cover art! It was drawn by the excellent KungFuFreak07, and I've got to say that working with her was almost as great as the picture itself. She was very communicative and showed great diligence in getting it just right.

Second, for those who may be wondering, I generally imagine Callie Catano as having a voice much like that of Raven from Teen Titans. It strikes me that I haven't mentioned voice actors since Emmitt Otterton, but if anyone wants I can supply a list of other voices.

Third, I have decided to go through with "Prank War" at the earliest opportunity. I'm open for suggestions as well as anyone looking to participate in the project, which I want to make a collaborative work of multiple writers. There is no minimum of maximum limit on participation, and all participants will be credited.

And now, on with the story.


"Again, the prophecies of the Matoran oppose my will. Must I release those who should never see the light of day?"

Makuta, Bionicle: Mask of Light

In a hidden room somewhere in Meadowlands, a cluster of mammals – mostly sheep and other hooved species – sat lounging around on couches or pecking away at computers and mobile devices. None of them were browsing news articles or using social media. No; instead, they were going over blueprints, skimming databases of mammals around the city… and one, in the corner, was studying an array of chemical formulas on a desktop computer.

The door opened, and an uncommonly muscular ewe poker her head in out of a dimly lit hallway so grungy-looking that no mammal in their right mind would have considered poking around in it – which was the whole idea, of course.

"Hey, Faust," she called. Though there was virtually no chance of being overheard (the walls were soundproof, and few unauthorized mammals ever came near the door at the far end of the hall anyway), the manager of the place had it on a very strict policy; codenames only. The big mammal had a thing for theatrics which irked his employees to no end, particularly when the room's full-time occupants all knew each other anyway. On the other hand, many of them would have been in jail without his protection, so they had little choice but to accept his whims.

The ram at the desktop looked up with a scowl. "This had better be important."

The ewe jerked her head. "Obearon wants to talk."

No one ever saw 'Obearon,' the mysterious benefactor of the rogues in the secret room. Even calling him male was an assumption, as none of them had spoken to the mysterious mammal directly. It was generally supposed that 'he' was of the prey persuasion, but Obearon worked strictly through proxies and the odd distorted speakerphone call. When 'Faust' – better known as Doug Ramses – had followed the ewe to a small meeting room down the hall and saw a flat square speaker on the table, he surmised that he was in for the latter. A musk deer, however, stood in the corner to observe the proceedings, with a tablet grasped in one dangling hoof at his side. His species were unusual in that part of the city, but not unknown to Doug; pint-sized deer with large, pointed teeth that really gave him the woolies.

"He's here," the musk deer reported.

"Excellent," came an electronically distorted voice. "Now, Faust, I'd like a progress report."

Doug rolled his eyes, drawing a warning look from the musk deer. Straightening up literally and figuratively, he answered, "Well, the new formula looks like a go. I've already started mixing batches up."

"Good, good. And the other part of our operation?"

"Yeah, we covered our tracks. Even if they find the other lab, they won't be able to dig up anything they can use on us, and I only left enough material behind to make it look like we abandoned the operation. I still think we should just blow it up like they did to the last one they found, though."

"Do you, now? Well, I decide what measures are needed, and when." By the tone of his faceless boss's voice, garbled as it was, Doug had a feeling 'Obearon' was steepling his fingers. "You are certain no one can trace us?"

Suddenly, Doug wasn't as sure as he had been. The tone of Obearon's voice, and the musk deer's sudden tapping on the tablet screen, proved unsettling even to him. "Is there a problem?"

"Only what my associate is about to show you," came the eerily calm reply.

The musk deer stepped up and handed Doug the tablet, which was showing a news article. The hornless ram scanned it, and his nervousness grew. The sum total of the news story was that the ZPD had found new evidence on the case – and expected to find even more – in his apartment!

"They're bluffing," he asserted a little too quickly. "I never even brought any info on the scheme home."

By the angry tone in his voice, Obearon wasn't buying it. "Bluffing, you say? So you want me to just sit back and do nothing, all on the assumption that you left no evidence?!"

"Hey, it's got to be a trap. You have to see that. They made something up to try to lure me back there so they can catch me – and without me, you can't use the-"

"Silence, you idiot!" The deafening hush which came after this was worse than the outburst itself as Doug awaited further instructions. "Alright," Obearon snapped at last, "put the formula on hold for the moment. I have another assignment for you."

Doug was hardly Mr. Nice Ram, but as his boss outlined the new plan, even he felt some misgivings. "Well, if I had the right materials, sure, but-"

"Then get going. I'll get you the materials. You wanted more aggressive methods, so get to work!"

"But my apart-"

"It's not your apartment anymore, simpleton! You blew that when you let them find you the last time, and as I said, I decide what measures are necessary! Now go, and send me Tigerbalt!"

The ram scowled to mask his fear, but he was in no place to argue. "Sure thing, boss," he answered, turning to leave. As far as he was concerned, he couldn't get out of that room fast enough.

As soon as the door was shut, the musk deer coughed to signal his employer that it was safe to vent.

"Fools," fumed the faceless mastermind. "I'm surrounded by fools!" The worst of it, on his end, was that Doug was right about his place in the plan and the security it gave him. The prospect that the news release might not be a bluff was too dire to leave to chance. However, the long-term plan simply could not succeed without knowedge which Doug alone possessed. Both problems would need to be fixed... and soon.


The following evening, well after Judy would normally have finished her workday, she and Nick waited uneasily in a meeting room toward the back of the ZPD building. They would have preferred the lobby, but Nick had pointed out any mammal might come through on some pretense and take their presence as a cue something was up. Bogo had already left for the day, but the lieutenant in charge at that hour had agreed and sent them to their current place instead.

"Gotta say, I've never been on the inside of a police sting before," Nick admitted, trying with little success to make himself reasonably comfortable in an over-sized chair.

Sitting in an adjoining seat, Judy sipped a cup of black tea and hoped the extra jolt would prepare her for the night ahead. There was no telling when – or even if – one of the sheep would fall into the trap, which just made waiting for the team to get ready all the more annoying. She had ended her shift early and gotten a couple of hours' sleep, but she and Nick had still arrived early – and been assured that the officers preparing for the stakeout would be just fine. They both did their best not to take that as an insult.

To take her mind off of that, she answered Nick's question. "Well, any ideas as an outsider?"

"Yeah," he replied lightly, studying his claws. "Don't get shot." Catching the peeved look on her face, he lifted his paws and let his frivolity drop a few notches. "Sorry. Look, you'll do fine. Chief Buff... Chief Bogo thinks you can do it, and I've already seen you in tight spots. Take my word on this as an ex-crook: short of an atom bomb, whatever sheep shows up won't have anything you can't handle."

She had to smile at that. Nick could still be annoying on occasion, and his witty banter sometimes came at the wrong time, but behind all of that... well, she couldn't have asked for a better friend. "Alright, maybe I'm getting a little tense over nothing."

"Ah-ah-ah," he warned, waving an index claw. "Remember the first rule, Officer Fluff: never let them see that they get to you." Taking a sip of his coffee, he added, "Besides, you've got Officer Catano for backup. I've run into her a couple of times, and believe me: if there was any cop out there quick enough to bring me in – besides you – it would be her."

Judy blinked, suddenly gaining a newfound appreciation for her temporary partner. Any cop good enough o net a compliment from Nick must really be something. "Wait, she almost got you?"

"Once or twice," he admitted. "But I'd rather not get into the details."

That was just like Nick, teasing and then cutting off the details. "No, go on," Judy urged. "I'm all ears."

He raised an eyebrow at the obvious rabbit pun, but shook his head. "One," he replied, ticking off on his claws, "you might have to testify. Two: it would take too long right now. Three: it was nothing she could stick me on, and I like it that way."

"Well," said a voice from the doorway, "I thought you looked familiar."

Both of them turned to see Officer Catano standing in the door, leaning against the frame with her paws propped on her hips in a, 'what are we waiting for' sort of way.

"Officer Hopps, I assume you're ready?"

Judy jumped a little; the quiet way cats moved, even ones so large, was something she still hadn't quite gotten used to. "Oh! Yes, yes I'm ready. Um, Cal- I mean Office Catano, this is Nick Wilde. Nick Wilde, this is-"

"Officer Catano," the cheetah interjected, regarding the fox with an inquisitive gaze. "We've met." She had heard that Judy's associate was a fox, but seeing him in person... well, that was another story. I guess things really are changing, she thought. After the merest pause, she walked over and held out a paw to shake.

Nick took her gaze for skepticism and masked just how neatly he'dbeen caught, much as he had when Judy had called him out for lying to her about the Jumbo Pop. "Nice to meet you, Officer," he greeted, shaking her much larger paw. "I guess this means you two are heading out."

The cheetah nodded. "We are. I understand you're part of this too?"

"Yeah. Call me a local consultant."

"Mm-hm. Well, I suggest you wait or your group out in the lobby, now that I'm taking your escort. Stay safe, fox."

Nick watched the ladies leave and headed out to the lobby as advised, where he took his stand up on the rim of a planter by the main desk. Hooking a paw around the trunk of the small tree within, he strongly resembled a castaway searching the horizon for ships as he looked out for the surveillance crew – and tried not to think about how small and alone he felt now that Judy was gone.

Officer Catano led Judy out to the back of the station, where a large, nondescript white delivery van was parked. Already present were two big cats – a leopard and a lion – dressed in T-shirts and jeans; the typical attire of a pair of truckers. The lion cast a friendly wave and a wink at Catano. She waved back, but shook her head.

"We'll be riding there in the back," she explained, opening the door there and waving Judy in.

The back of the truck was obscured by a curtain consisting of overlapping strips of plastic, allowing easy passage but no visibility. "Why the curtain?" Judy asked as she slipped inside.

Callie climbed in after her. "So no one outside can see the box," she replied, taking a seat towards the front end of the cargo section. As Judy took her own seat and buckled in, she eyed the large cardboard box on the floor, open and holding a few assorted pieces of equipment. The cheetah explained that this was to be their ticket into the apartment building.

"We're assuming that the surveillance teams will notice if anyone is watching the place," she told Judy, "but since we can't be too careful, the undercover officers up front will be dropping us off in the crate, which anyone not in the know would think was a refrigerator."

"We're going in the box?" asked Judy, raising an eyebrow and scrunching her face.

Catano raised one in turn. "Unless you know a better way to get in without anyone noticing two strange mammals who didn't come out again."

Judy looked at the box again as the lion closed the doors at the back. It looked like they could both fit, but the trip was sure to be cramped. Nick would probably make some wisecrack, she thought. 'Just like the old burrow back home,' he'd say. Thinking of the very less-than-funny joke, and about informing Nick that her parents' home was actually very spacious, lightened her mood a bit, but she needed to focus right then. "So, we get in there, you wait in one apartment, and I wait in Doug's?"

This drew a nod from the cheetah.

"You ladies comfy back there?" asked a voice over an intercom.

Catano pressed a button on the wall. "You know we're buckled in, Leroy. You closed the door, remember?"

This was answered with a clicking sound and a teasing, "Touchy, touchy. Sounds like someone has a rough time ahead."

As the exchange ended, Catano pointed a claw at Judy. "No comments," she warned. "Officer Leroy has problems staying focused on the job."

Judy raised an eyebrow. "And you?"

Callie's face turned sour, then shifted to resignation. "I don't mix police work and relationships. It always ends badly." She was silent for a moment, but before any questions could come her way she changed her demeanor and adopted a tone which seemed to say, 'So much for regrets.' "Anyway," she added, "Leroy will flirt with just about anyone female – so consider yourself warned."

The remarks, and the tone in which they were delivered, brought plenty more questions to Judy's mind. However, she could tell Callie didn't want to talk about it any further, so she moved along to going over their plans.


A half-hour later, Nick was still waiting in the lobby. He had donned his trademark sunglasses, less to look cool than to do a better job of shrugging off the dubious looks from passing cops. One bear gave him a double-take before passing on; Nick recognized him from an incident involving some fireworks. He passed the time by pecking away at his phone, wondering how the lowbrows giving him the stink-eye would react to seeing him in a uniform one day, and trying not to think about how antsy he felt sitting around the police station. He and law enforcement had always been like oil and water. Without Judy around to be the soap, he just felt... grungy. It gave a new – and none too pleasant – meaning to his preferred nickname, 'Slick.'

On the bright side, she's not calling me Junior Detective right now, he thought. Then again, at least if she were that would mean she was present – and having a friendly face would really have been nice at the moment.

He spotted a timber wolf and a jaguar headed his way – mostly the wolf, whose presence caused him to jump just a little.

"Kevin? Is that you?" Kevin was an old friend of Nick's, and fortunately a good deal more sociable than a certain other Kevin who lived over in Tundratown. He was the only wolf Nick knew who didn't howl with or without provocation – earning him a modicum of greater esteem than Nick had for most wolves – and had once been part of a trading card gamers' club with the fox. In fact, they had often met in the very same restaurant where Nick had gone the other day to get takeout for his date with Taelia.

"Nick! So you really are here." Kevin seemed only slightly less surprised to see Nick. "Fancy seeing you in a place like this."

"My thoughts exactly," Nick replied with a glance around, though the truth was that Kevin had always been a bit more straight-laced than he had. Then realization sank in. "Wait, are you guys the surveillance team?"

Kevin grinned. "Yep, that's us. Meet Officer Chad Clawson," he added, gesturing to the jaguar. "Clawson, meet Nick Wilde."

The jaguar glanced down at Nick. "Hello," he greeted in a low voice.

Nick noticed with some confusion that the cat was dressed rather shabbily – more like someone who'd been homeless for a week or so than a police officer. He even smelled like he needed a bath. The contrast was all the more striking when one looked at Kevin's clothes, which were fairly neat and tidy without screaming 'police officer.'

Deciding not to question the fashion choices of a cat big enough to pin him under pa and use him for a floor rag, Nick turned back to Kevin. "You still into cards?"

Kevin shrugged. "More of a video gamer lately. Ever try Elder Tails? In high-def it feels like you're really there."

The fox made a mental note to look into that when he got around to setting up some gaming gear for his dog cave. He was about to say as much when Clawson cleared his throat.

"I hate to interrupt this," the cat noted, "but we're on a schedule."

"Right, right," Kevin coughed, waving Nick to follow them. The fox had to walk double-time to keep up with their longer strides, but they made handy blockers as the group passed through the lobby (not perfect ones, though; he did have to stop for a passing rhino). Besides that, the presence of an old buddy made the situation considerably less daunting.

Nothing more was said until they reached the van, which looked like a typical run-down minivan with tinted windows, sized for something a bit larger than either of the cops. Based on TV shows he had seen, Nick surmised that the inside would be full of state-of-the art equipment arranged with efficiency that would put Finnick's van to shame.

To his surprise, as Kevin guided him into the sliding door at the side, he found that the interior looked every bit like a normal minivan, save that a seat was missing in the back. "Where are all the gizmos?" he asked.

Kevin just smiled. "You'll find out when we get there. Right now we have to buckle up."

Nick followed the wolf's lead as Clawson got into the driver's seat and got them started.

"So," Kevin added, "I assume you know what's going on tonight?"

"Well enough," Nick replied, ticking off on his paws. "You watch the surveillance feeds, I help you screen anyone passing through, we relay any heads-up to Ju- I mean, Officers Hopps and Catano." Nick had caught himself just in time. It was one thing to be familiar with Judy in an informal setting, but he'd have to be more careful trying to get into this new career. Sure, he doubted Kevin would say anything to Chief Bogo, but who knew about Clawson? Then, of course, there was also the risk of slipping up where someone who would point a finger might say something.

"Yeah, pretty much. We'll let them know if anyone suspicious enters the building. Once we arrive we'll tap in wirelessly to the traffic cams in the area, along with a few we've set up ourselves for the operation."

Nick knew about the new cameras. Not that he didn't trust the ZPD's work, or respected the decisions of his potential future superior, but he also knew the value of preparation. Which is why he'd casually cased their destination earlier that day and noticed several mammals putting up extra cameras under the guise of routine maintenance. As the van began to roll, he just hoped the sheep wouldn't be so savvy, or the whole trap could be a waste of time... or worse.

That was one thing he had learned from dealing with criminals nastier than himself: there was always an 'or worse.'

Well, there you have it. Sorry I took so long, but hopefully it was worth the wait. I also hope everyone enjoyed the lighter parts, because I think the upcoming chapters are going to get a bit more intense. What was all that talk about a new formula? And what about the mammal known as Obearon? Is it Miss Poisson hiding behind a clever facade, or the mystery mammal playing her against the ZPD? Will the plan to catch the runaway rams go over smoothly, or do the sheep have something in store?

Well, I'll give you one spoiler: They are definitely up to something.

I will confess that in this story I'll be lapsing a bit on my usual dedication to realism. I picked the brains of an actual cop or two, and it turns out most police stakeouts do not involve surveillance gear or vans. Most times it's just a cop sitting in an unmarked car; the vans and cameras are mostly for cop shows because they look cool. For this story, I decided to flex my fondness for subterfuge – but you'll find out more about that later on.

Also, a quick explanation about musk deer: they are not classified as actual deer, and the males have teeth like saber-toothed cats (I promise, I'm not making this up). Don't ask me why now; I'll ask about it when I get upstairs.

My thanks to the Guest reviewer on the last chapter, and to everyone who so helpfully pointed out both the good points and the room for improvement on previous ones. I've recently been trying to give closer heed to the point about Nick shrugging off various small acts of unkindness like ditching Judy to go on that date with Taelia. Although part of the point of this story is that I think it would take a gradual process for Nick to become the fox we know he will, I am now in the process of refining the past chapters to address that particular concern. So thanks, and remember that your feedback really does make a difference! :)

There's one other change I've made that bears mentioning. For those who missed it before, I've shuffled a couple of things around; I moved what used to be chapters two, three, and four back (getting rid of the old Author's Note to make room) and slipped in another chapter (the new Chapter Four) to introduce a new character. All the other adjustments are relatively minor, but the new character will come into play later. I'm also going back and adding in a few details here and there to flesh out the existing cast; nothing crucial to the plot, but hopefully it will make the reading more enjoyable, particularly to those who liked the extra touches already there (BeecroftA, Foxlover91). Also glad Catano is of such interest; I haven't decided how much to build her character, but I do have plans for her both as an officer and as a private citizen (there's a hint or two of that in here).

EASTER EGGS

First, a fairly easy one: the literary names drawn on here

A nod to All Dogs go to Heaven

Kevin's game of choice

Chad's last name (actually put this one in by accident, but it is an Easter Egg)

And finally, the firecracker incident was something from another fanfic whose author and title I couldn't recall, so if anyone can tell me where I found it, please do.

As always, please feel free to fave, follow, and most of all let me know what you think!