-Chapter 14-

The door slammed shut as the last of the four animals filed into the office. Judy let out a sigh, placing a manila folder down on the desk in the center of the room, having read through the evidence one final time to ensure that she hadn't missed any important new details. The other three animals stood in a circle around the bunny.

"Alright, Rory," Judy spoke. Her head rotated to look over her shoulder at the doe, her body mimicking the motion a moment later. "Spill."

Rory's eyebrows raised, feeling somewhat taken aback by the rabbit's audacious order. "I already told you about how I was involved in this whole thing. What else do you want?"

"Give me details. Anything and everything you know about and did for Fasco," she specified, holding up her carrot pen as she stared at the deer. "We're going to crack this case by the end of the night."

Rory inhaled, preparing herself for the long-winded explanation she was about to give. "Okay. So you already know about how he blackmailed me into working for him when he caught me on the street pickpocketing, blah blah blah," her hoof opened and closed three times in imitation of a talking motion. "After that, he and his guards drove me to this building in Sahara Square, where Fasco told me I would be getting my first 'job' from him."

"What did zhe building look like?" Reynard asked.

"Well, it was more of a factory, really," Rory described. "It was made of bricks and had a large delivery bay for trucks with a large sign that had the company name."

"What did the sign say?" Judy questioned.

The doe glanced to the side, a frown across her face. "I...uh...didn't know how to read it," she replied, swallowing nervously. "I...never learned."

The three exchanged glances of stark realization mixed with sympathy as Rory shamefully rubbed her arm.

"Why don't we continue the story?" Nick asked in an attempt to change the subject.

"Right, uh...where was I?" Rory stared off for a moment, before her eyes lit up. "Oh yeah, I was talking about how Fasco would give me the jobs," she remembered. She cleared her throat as she continued. "So, like I was saying earlier... Fasco and his goons were escorting me through this factory place. They walked with me through a lobby area and into a private room, where Fasco explained to me, very discreetly, how, where, and when to break into this one shop in the Savannah District."

"Edvin Klosen..." Judy muttered, the doe not seeming to notice.

"He also made it very clear that I...uh...wouldn't want to mess with him," Rory nervously chewed on her lip. "Then he left, saying that he had something else that was more important he had to take care of, taking his guards with him. And then...then his wife came in like I told you about."

Nick was confused. He must have missed something earlier. "His...wife? You're telling me someone's actually married to that scumbag?"

Rory nodded. "She's nice. I like her."

"His wife was the one who wrote the sticky notes," Judy told Nick, filling him in on the details.

Nick's ears perked up at the mention of sticky notes. "Wait, you caught Rory as she was breaking into vandalize the place, right?"

Reynard and Judy glanced back skeptically, before nodding their heads yes.

"And did you collect the note that she was going to leave at the place?" Nick asked.

The rabbit and raccoon looked at each other, somewhat dumfounded. "We, uh...we didn't zhink about that," Reynard sheepishly admitted.

Nick put his paws on his knees, bending over to confront Rory. "Did Mrs. Fasco give you a note for that place?" he questioned.

"Yep," she replied, reaching into the small pockets of her skinny jeans. "Here you go." She handed the crumpled up paper to Nick.

"Thanks, kid," he smiled, rubbing the fur on her head as he stood up again. "Ahem," he cleared his throat. "I will not rest until we are truly equal," he paused as they all let the words soak in. "Well, I can't say I expected anything else."

Reynard's eyebrows suddenly condensed, a look of suspicion sweeping across his face. Rory, looking up at him, noticed this.

"Whatcha thinking?" she asked him.

"I...I zhink I've heard zhat somewhere before," Reynard answered. "Read it again for me."

Nick did as requested. "I will not rest until we are truly equal."

Reynard shook his head, frustrated by his inability to remember. "Maybe...maybe try reading zhe ozher notes."

Judy raised an eyebrow, as she turned around and began searching through the folder on the desk for the evidence.

"Oh yeah, that reminds me, Rory," Nick said, snapping his fingers together. "Why didn't you leave a note at Reynard's cafe?"

"Mrs. Fasco never got the chance to give me one," the doe explained. "Fasco would always have a guard take me off the street back to the factory place whenever he wanted me to do something for him... and then Mrs. Fasco would talk with me after he finished. But for Reynard's cafe... he met me in person, so I didn't see his wife."

"Why did you still spray paint the letters, then?" Nick wondered. "And why did he meet you in person?"

"Because the first time she told me to always do it. 'Every time you do something for my husband' she said, 'make sure you spray paint those letters.' But as to why Fasco met me in person..." Rory shrugged. Nick nodded contemplatively, considering all of the information she had just given to him.

"Ah! Here they are," Judy exclaimed, drawing the attention of the rest of the group. "The two other sticky notes," she passed them to Reynard, who eagerly snatched them away.

His eyes scanned the lines of text, a look of realization sweeping over him.

"Zhat's it!" he proclaimed, quickly scurrying behind the desk to the computer, wiggling the mouse in a fury to wake up the screen.

"What? What did you find?" Judy asked, the group suddenly anxious to see what Reynard had discovered.

"Zhe notes..." Reynard started to explain, his attention divided as he typed in and clicked on what he was searching for. "Zhey're all quotes from zhis one speech."

"Speech? What speech?" Judy asked.

Reynard turned the monitor around atop the desk. "Zhis speech," he told them, displaying the transcript for them. "Zhis was given by zhe Alimandish leader Zetrau Nebul to zhe citizens of Zootopia," the raccoon said, bombarded by an array of confused looks. He sighed. "Nebul is zhe biggest predator rights advocate in Alimand. He's very much a leader of zhe city. Probably would be Premier by now if he was legally allowed to hold office," he remarked.

"Well, if the notes are anything like the rest of his speech, I'm not a fan," Nick commented. "Too poetic and justice-y."

"Anyways," Reynard continued, "zhis speech in particular... was given after zhe lifting of zhe travel ban. You see, for years Zootopians weren't allowed to visit Alimand because of zhe animal rights violations. Lionheart lifted zhe ban a year or so ago, hoping that more travel and exposure to Alimand would result in more animals appalled into taking action. Nebul gave zhis speech as a sign of goodwill and rebuilding."

"And he gave the whole thing in Zootopian?" Judy asked.

"Yes. Although his accent is very noticeable."

Judy scanned through the document, trying to pick out the phrases that were associated with the P.P.P. vandalizations. Reynard was right - the sticky notes had all been quotes.

"Out of curiosity...what made you suddenly remember this?" Nick asked the raccoon.

"I watched a lot of speeches when I was first learning Zootopian," Reynard admitted. "I would always put zhem on wizh subtitles to help me learn zhe language. When you read zhe note, I thought it sounded familiar."

"Hm," Nick replied. Political speeches seemed like torture to him, but if they helped Reynard, he supposed that he had no right to say anything.

Nick sighed, shaking his head. "You know, there's something I still don't understand about this whole situation," he confessed.

Judy and Reynard turned to him quizzically.

"Why did Mrs. Fasco do this?" Nick asked. "It doesn't really make sense. What reason does she have for spray painting P.P.P. and placing strange notes at all the places they vandalized?"

"I zhought we said earlier it was a political issue," Reynard replied. "Zhe notes were zhere for social justice...right?"

Judy tapped her chin with the carrot pen. "Y'know, I think Nick might be onto something," she said, her paws tracing the events in a web through the air as she spoke. "If Mrs. Fasco wanted to send a political message, why would she do it like this? It's all so muddled and hard to decode that no normal animal would understand it. And on top of that, there's been zero media coverage of the whole thing, which is kinda important if you want to start a movement."

"Okay...so if zhe notes weren't made for zhe masses," the raccoon asked, "zhen who were zhey made for?"

Nick's eyes widened.

"Us," he exclaimed, causing the other three animals to stare at him. "They were made for us."

The fox's head began to nod as he went through a mental checklist of the facts again. "Just think about it. Mrs. Fasco knew that only the police would be seeing whatever happened at the crime scene. The messages have to be for us."

There was a pause as the words sank in.

Judy's eyebrows furrowed. "But...then what is she trying to say to us? How do the Prey Protection Program and a speech by an Alimandish civil rights leader relate to us at all?"

"Well, Fasco was talking to zhat Alimandish jaguar at city hall..."

"Aside from that?" she pressed.

Silence.

Nick sighed. That was the part he was stumped on as well. "Look, I have no idea. But I have a feeling that there's a reason Mrs. Fasco always talked to Rory in private. Whatever she's trying to tell us...she doesn't want her husband to know about it."

Judy groaned, angrily placing the folder down on the desk again. "Great. Just great," she said agitatedly, walking behind the desk to the chair where Reynard was seated. "Do you mind if I-"

"Oh, yeah, go ahead," Reynard responded, getting up from the chair. He walked around the desk, moving to stand next to Rory. Judy hopped into the leather seat, rolling it closer to the desk so that she could reach the mouse.

"What are you doing, Carrots?" Nick asked her.

"City hall is a government building," she said, as if that explained everything.

"Yeah. And the sky is blue. What's your point?" he retorted.

"My point," Judy replied, "is that we have access to all of the security cam footage there. And if Fasco talked to someone from Alimand..."

"...then we can identify who it is based on the cameras," Nick realized. "Good thinking, Fluff."

Rory looked around at the two police officers around her, her imagination captivated. The way they all worked together as a well oiled machine was a spectacle to watch. She wondered if maybe, one day, she could be as good at something as they were at their jobs.

"Let's see..." Judy clicked through the cameras. She stopped and started watching the one that monitored the front desk, fast forwarding through until she saw the jaguar. "Okay, here he is," she announced as she zoomed in on his face. She turned the screen around to show the rest of the animals. "We need to figure out who this animal is."

Nick squinted as he stared at the jaguar, scanning through the database of animals he knew for a match. "I got nothing," he shook his head.

Judy raised her eyebrows. "Oh really? What happened to 'I know everybody'?"

"Hey, he's from Alimand. It doesn't count," Nick smirked.

Reynard's smile faded, his expression harboring contempt. "So what you're saying...is zhat if zhey're from Alimand zhey don't count as real mammals?" Reynard argued.

Nick's ear suddenly dropped, his face becoming flustered. "No, I uh-It's not like that, I just -"

Reynard laughed. "I'm just messing wizh you," he slapped the fox on the back lightheartedly. "I know what you meant."

Nick smiled embarrassedly. "You really had me there for a second," he admitted, letting out a sigh of relief. "I'll give you that one."

"I guess we're almost even zhen-"

"I got it," Judy interrupted, seemingly too entrenched in identifying the animal to notice their conversation. "If you follow his path on the cams, he walks back to the embassy. And from there..." she typed something on the keyboard, clicking through the database. "We can figure out that the jaguar's name is Damien Kissal. He's the Alimandish ambassador to the city."

"Ambassador? What's that?" Rory questioned.

"It's someone who represents anozher city," Reynard explained, looking down at the doe. "Zhey speak on behalf of zheir people in ozher cities." Rory nodded in understanding.

"What's he doing with the ambassador anyways?" Nick asked, adding, "Somehow I doubt that it's just a policy discussion."

Judy sighed. "I still have no idea." She plopped her head down into her paws in frustration. "We have all of these dead ends with no way to connect them. There's one thing that we're missing...I know it."

The room was silent, the three older animals all considering their options.

Rory yawned loudly, breaking the spell of the quietness.

"Sounds like someone is tired," Reynard grinned at the doe.

"I am not!" she protested. "I'm completely awake. Not tired at all."

"Mm-hmm. Whatever you say," he teased. "Tell you what. You and I can leave to find a hotel while Nick and Judy try to sort zhis out. Is zhat okay wizh you guys?"

Nick and Judy looked at each other. Alone time together sounded nice.

"Sounds good to me," Nick said.

"Me too," Judy agreed, "as long as Rory is okay with it."

Rory hesitated, considering the proposal. "...Fine," she conceded.

"Good," Reynard replied, smiling. "We'll see you two here in the morning, yes?"

The cops both nodded. "See you tomorrow," Nick wished them well.

They waved goodbye, and stepped out of the office door.

"Well, that was nice of him," Judy remarked as the door shut.

Nick smiled. "Yes. Yes it was."

They stared at each other longingly for a moment.

"The case," Judy snapped them out of it. "We're working on the case."

Nick sighed, leaning against the desk. An expression of unsurety came across his muzzle.

Judy picked up on this. "Nick...what's wrong?"

He didn't respond for a moment. "It's just..." he paused. "Do you think we're making a mistake?"

The bunny frowned. "What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean," Nick replied. The rabbit's ears sagged. "I know you're aware of the elephant in the room. We can't just pretend like it's not there anymore," he said, swallowing. "We can't be partners and a couple, Judy."

She stared at the ground. She knew he was right. For one thing, there were strict rules against workplace fraternization, and for good reason. Being too close with someone else could inhibit rational thought and action, instead being overridden by overly emotional decisions. It would be one thing if they both worked office jobs, but as police officers where split second decisions could mean life or death...it just didn't work. Bogo would have no choice but to split them up if and when word leaked out. And she had no idea what she would do then.

"I don't know," the rabbit said unemotionally. She sighed. No less than an hour ago, everything had seemed right. When she had kissed him, nothing could be more perfect. She knew that she loved him, and that he loved her. That seemed like the only thing in the world to matter. But now...now she was faced with a question, an inevitable question which she had been ignoring ever since they had solved their first case: which Nick did she love more? There was the Nick from the cruiser who was always finding a way to make her laugh through some witty joke, the Nick who directed her naïve determination with the street smarts she lacked to succeed, the Nick who was forever her companion and her...partner.

And then there was the other Nick. The romantic Nick. The one that made her heart race in what she could only describe as pure ecstasy, the one who was able to swoon her on demand with his sweet talk, the one who was deeply and emphatically and forever her...lover.

Judy sighed exasperatedly. "It's not fair, Nick," she told him, her head held up by her arm as she tried to hold back tears. "Why do we have to decide? Why do I have to choose which parts of you I like most?"

Nick didn't say anything. He almost regretted kissing her. He hadn't wanted to shatter such a wonderful experience, but now that he was out of the heat of the moment...he was having second thoughts. Yes, it had been perfect. Yes, he loved her. But it had magnified a previously minor conflict in their relationship, and he didn't know if that was going to be good for them in the end.

"You know...It's a shame we're so perfect for each other," he remarked sarcastically. "Of all the problems to have..."

"I just..." Judy sniffled, "I just don't know which us is best."

There was a pause.

"Look, Judy," he said, his tone endearing. She turned towards him. "I know how much you love this job. You're living out your dream. You're helping to fix a broken city. If I can help you to do that...then that's all that really matters to me."

"What...what are you saying?"

"Judy..." he stared into her eyes, "All I want for you is to be happy. Nothing else matters to me. Because..." his voice started to shake, "because if I can go to bed every night knowing that I am doing all I can to make your life the best it can be..."

The light refracted through the water that was pooling near his eyes.

"Then I know that my life will be worth living."

The fox and the bunny remained locked in a stare. Tears ran down their faces in near perfect synchronization, an outward manifestation of their tied fates.

"Nick..."

"Hold on one second, I've got try to find a way to husk all of that corniness," he joked. Judy laughed.

"You should let me do it," she replied shrewdly, "I'm just a bunny farmer, remember?"

This time Nick laughed. They wiped their tears away together, smiles overtaking their distraught faces.

Judy looked up at the fox. She loved him. And finally, after so many months...she knew how.

"I think...I think I know what I want."

Nick's ears perked up.

"Ever since I was a kid...all I've ever wanted to do is make the world a better place. To help, to serve, to protect...it's what I was born to do. That's my purpose in life. And..." she swallowed, "and I can't think of anything that would make me happier than living out that purpose with you," she paused. "Partner."

A smile crept across Nick's face. "Ah, c'mere, you dumb bunny," he invited, extending his arms out. Judy slid out of the office chair, walking around the desk. She wrapped her arms around his waist, sinking into his embrace.

"Thank you, Nick," she whispered as they hugged.

"No, thank you, Carrots," he whispered back. "You saved me."

The two kept hugging, enjoying the saccharinity of the moment.

"So, should we get back to cracking this case, Officer Hopps?" Nick asked.

"Good idea, Officer Wilde," she replied. They slowly pulled away from each other. "Let's do this."

She extended a closed fist. Nick shot her his signature fiendish smile, and bumped his fist into hers.

All aboard the friendship! Another emotional chapter, as all of the characters (and author) try to figure out what the heck is going on. As always, please leave a review telling me your thoughts!