Chapter 19 – Lights Out

Two weeks of desk work. Two weeks of tedious, paw torturing paperwork is what he would have to endure before he could take another physical, and hopefully pass to be put back out on the beat. He had already survived a week of this torture, doing everything in his power to make sure that one more week is all he would have to endure. In the meantime, however, Nick was resigned to his fate as he stared at the mountain of paperwork stacked at his desk. Judy wasn't going to fare much better. She would be shuffled around during his time out of action. He wished they both had additional time to take off but he knew that he had made a commitment and needed to honor it. To help distract himself from the never ending pit of bad paw writing, he had salvaged an old scanner to listen in on the action of the daily patrols. Unfortunately, it seemed even the streets of Zootopia were determined to be as boring and uneventful as filing reports. Lunchtime came and went, and much to Nick's dismay, Judy didn't show back at the precinct. He decided against going out and just skipped lunch, going back to listen to the scanner. He played with the dials for a few minutes, trying to find the car Judy was in but didn't have any luck. The remainder of the day seemed to drag on. As the day drew to an end, Nick was trying as hard as he could to stay awake. Clocking out, he returned to his desk and waited for Judy to return, expecting her any moment. Time continued slowly ticking past and still no energetic bunny.

Where could she be? She hasn't been back to the station all day, he thought to himself.

Frustrated, Nick sat back in his chair and a short time later had dozed off while waiting for Judy to show.

The scanner blared out a warning tone startling him as he almost fell out of his chair. As the tone died, multiple voices could be heard competing on the radio. Nick tried to make sense of the commotion but couldn't focus on any one voice until Judy's came across loud and clear. He could hear the fear as she called out for backup from any available officers. Whatever was going on, it was big. Calls were now coming in from other units trying to coordinate responses. Judy's voice came back over the radio trying to direct officers to positions but was cut off by the sounds of automatic gun fire. Nick was staring at the scanner, waiting for her to come back on, but all that followed was a commotion of other officers calling out "Shots fired!" Nick ran out to the front desk to a flustered Clawhauser who was trying to call in any available officer.

"Ben, what is going on?"

"Nick, you're still here? There have been hostages taken at city hall, multiple armed mammals stormed through the security checkpoints and are making their way to the mayor's office. I'm having problems getting officers from the other precincts to engage. Our guys are getting overrun."

Nick ran back to his desk and grabbed his tranq pistol and sidearm. He ran as fast as his body would let him out the front doors, Clawhauser yelling at him to come back. He couldn't stay behind at a desk while Judy was in danger. Once outside, he noticed that it was dark.

How long was I asleep?

Running down the street a few blocks, city hall came into view. Half a dozen police cruisers had a perimeter set at the front steps. Running up to the closest car, Nick took cover while scanning the scene. A few other officers were covering the front and he could see at least one was injured. Moving quickly between the cars, he made his way over to Delgato who was bandaging up the leg of another officer he didn't recognize.

"Delgato, where are the others?"

Delgato looked up, surprised. "Wilde, what the hell are you doing here?"

"It doesn't matter. Where are the others?"

"They went in a few minutes ago. I lost contact with them shortly after they entered the building."

Nick made to run in when a paw grabbed his arm, stopping him.

"Wilde, if you're about to do what I think you are going to do, be careful. These guys are armed to the teeth and are professional. Don't be a hero, ok?"

Nick just gave Delgato a nod and quickly ran towards the front doors. Checking to make sure his corners were clear, he cautiously made his way into the lobby. A scene of carnage met his eyes. The columns were shredded, splintered wood littering the shattered marble floors. At least six larger mammals dressed in fatigues and masks were laying in pools of blood. No officers were among them, causing Nick to breathe a sigh of relief. He paused in the middle of the lobby, taking in his surroundings when it occurred to him that it was quiet. Carefully stepping over debris and gore, he could hear the sound of his own claws on the marble surface. Seeing nothing on this floor, he made his way up the stairs, straining to hear anything. The quiet was starting to concern him. He knew Judy would have been one of the first to respond to the call for help. What if it was all over? What if she...

No, I can't think that.

Cresting the top of the stairs, he found much of the same. Bullet holes riddled the walls and floors. A blanket of debris covered the ground. The mayor's reception desk looked like swiss cheese. Looking behind, Nick saw a fellow officer, face down and still. Nick was sickened and angry at the loss of a brother in blue, but relieved at the same time that it was not a small gray bunny. But where were the rest of the officers? Counting the cars outside, this officer, Delgato and the handful outside, there should be at least another six somewhere including Judy.

Nick was kneeling down to check for a pulse on the fallen officer when the sound of shuffling paws caught his attention. Someone was behind the double doors to the mayor's office. Quietly padding over to the door, he raised his weapon to the ready. Pushing the door open, he swept the room, pausing on the darkened figure standing behind the mayor's desk.

"Judy!"

It was not the scene he was expecting. Surrounding him, on the floor, the bodies of the remaining assailants, five officers, and the mayor. Judy was standing behind the desk, shaking, her eyes focused squarely on him. Nick started to walk towards her, lowering his weapon, relieved to find her alive.

"Carrots, you have no idea how glad I am to see…"

He stopped walking as he noticed her still staring at him. The only movement she made was raising her paw with her service pistol firmly gripped and pointed directly at him.

"Whoa, Judy. It's me, Nick. It's ok. You're safe."

His words seemed to fall on deaf ears. He saw no recognition in her eyes. What he did see was something he had only seen once before. He saw the eyes of a savage. It was like looking into violet versions of Mr. Mancha's eyes over a year ago. Looking to the desk, he saw blue powder coating its surface. Looking back to her face, he saw the same powder clinging to her fur. But something was different. Her body posture showed control, but her eyes showed pure rage.

"Carrots, I'm going to have to ask you to lower the gun. Come on, just put it down."

A flicker of recognition flashed across her face as her tensed muscles relaxed a little. Her facial expression dropped into one of sadness and regret. Then he watched as a grin spread across her face. A grin that sent a chill down his spine. She looked straight at him, malice etched in her features, raising the gun level with his chest. Nick raised his own weapon to match, now in a standoff with his partner and girlfriend.

"Come on Judy, this isn't you. This is the drug talking. Fight it."

She started to laugh. It didn't sound like her at all. "Oh, but it is me Nick. And you need to make a decision. You or me. Either you walk out of here or I do. That's the way it has to be. You or me."

He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He would have thought it a joke if he wasn't surrounded by the bodies of a dozen dead mammals. Looking at her eyes, he saw nothing but seriousness.

"You're not making any sense. Put the gun down and let's go home."

Judy cocked her head slightly, like an inquisitive child, at what he had said. She just laughed again, cocking the hammer on the pistol, still aiming at his chest.

"It's either you or me." It was almost a whisper.

"Judy, you know that I would never hurt you." Nick lowered his gun, throwing it on the floor. "If only one can leave, then it will be you."

He watched as she steadied her gun, a manic look on her face. "Time to die fox." All he saw next was the flash from the barrel of her gun.

"Wilde, hey Wilde, wake up!"

He saw the flash as he pulled his arms in front of himself in a futile attempt to defend against fate.

"Damnit Wilde, snap out of it."

Nick fell out of his chair, startled and a little confused. Scrambling, he eventually sat up, allowing his vision to focus. He was on the floor at his desk, a large grey wolf standing over him, shaking his shoulder.

"Wilde, you need to lay off all the coffee and get some real sleep. You were flailing about and yelling about who knows what. Why are you still here? I thought your shift ended hours ago?"

Nick took a few deep breaths to steady himself.

It was just a dream. But it was so vivid, so real.

Standing up, he glanced at the clock. 7pm, he had fallen asleep for almost two hours. Turning back to the wolf, he was slightly embarrassed.

"I was just waiting for someone, uh, sorry about all this um…"

"Pawtorias, Sif Pawtorias."

Nick thought for a moment. He hadn't recognized the officer at first but the name rang a bell. This was one of the newer recruits who had already started to make a name for himself.

"Right, one of the new rookies. And, if I'm not mistaken, weren't you one of the rookies who helped save the Assistant Mayor from a mugging?"

"Yeah, you heard about that huh?" Sif grinned. "I happened to be working meter duty with my fellow recruit from the academy, Officer Wolfenstein. Just the right place at the right time I guess."

Nick chuckled a little. "You'll find out quick that it seems everything happens that way, almost as if by chance. By the way, the names Nicholas Wilde, friends just call me Nick." He stuck out his paw for a shake. "You wouldn't by chance have seen Officer Hopps come through, would you?"

"Hopps, no, haven't seen her all day."

Nick looked a little crestfallen. Sif picked up on it right away.

"Say Nick, a couple of the guys are getting together here in a few minutes, hitting one of the bars down the street. Why don't you join us? You look like you could use some relaxation."

Nick was a little taken back by the invitation. He hadn't been asked to hang out with any of the officers yet, but here was this rookie handing out an invitation openly. A drink would probably do him good, but he needed to find Judy.

"Thanks for the offer, but I really need to straighten up here and get going. Maybe some other time."

"Open invitation if you change your mind. Catch you around some other time then Nick."

Sif walked out of the offices towards the front doors and Nick stacked the papers back on his desk. Looking at his computer screen, he saw a little sticky note that wasn't there before.

Hey sleepy fox, just checking in on you but you seem to be a little out of it. I'm going to be late tonight, Francine and I had to go over to assist interrogations at Precinct 3 over some drug dealers they nabbed. Might be a break in our drug case. I'll see you sometime later tonight.

Miss you,

Carrots

Well that would explain her absence. Wonder why she didn't wake me up. Maybe I can still catch Sif.

Nick grabbed his jacket and ran out the front doors just in time to see Sif walking down the sidewalk.

"Hey Sif, change of plans. It still ok to tag along?"

Sif had a large smile on his face. "Sure Nick, let's go and forget about our day. How does that sound?"

"You read my mind."

A rowdy group of mammals sat in the back of the bar in a dimly lit booth, laughing a bit too loud. Nick was actually enjoying himself amongst the small group of officers. He was sitting next to Sif and they were joined by Higgins, Delgato, and a few other officers from other shifts who either had finished earlier in the day or had the day off. Each officer in turn was telling stories about funny arrests, close calls, or trying to pry some secret from each other. The drinks kept coming, making the conversations louder. Each officer had been poked and prodded by the others when it came time for Sif to open up to the group. It fell to Nick to start the 'interrogation'.

"Ok Sif, so what's your story, why did you join the force, what drew you to this line of work?"

Sif had consumed a few drinks already and had a good buzz going, but no amount of alcohol would impair his judgment enough to answer that question truthfully. He had been trained with an airtight backstory for a situation like this. He wasn't the least bit worried.

"Short story, I was bouncing from job to job, never being able to hold one down for very long." He started to laugh a little, even allowing a slight blush to reach his features. "Damn, this is embarrassing." He was egged on by his comrades. "Well, it seemed that nothing was going right and that everything seemed to be a dead end. Until I saw the news of a rabbit making it through the academy and doing all she did and then," he smacked Nick on the arm, "a fox makes it through as well after solving two of the largest cases this city has ever seen. I saw an opportunity to do something with my life and joined on the very next recruitment cycle."

The group of officers nodded in agreement with his explanation as they all started another round. Nick was noticing that the others were starting to reach their limits for the evening. He thought he might get off being asked when Sif spoke up.

"Hey, Wilde, I think it's your turn."

Damn

The other officers grouped around each other, trying to come up with a good question to get Nick. It was Sif who spoke up again.

"Ok Nick, no half-truths or dancing around this one, only the real, honest truth. So what is really going on between you and Officer Hopps?

A look of total shock fell upon Nick's face causing a momentary silence to fall upon the group. The silence lasted only a few seconds as chairs shuffled to get closer to hear this story as the red fox seemed to become slightly redder. Then pure panic set in as Sif held up his phone.

"I mean, Wilde, can you explain this."

Nick stared, wide eyed as Sif had pulled up the video of him singing on stage at the Harvest Festival. He could only bury his head in his paws to the raucous laughter of the others.

Nick was fumbling with his keys at the front door. He had walked from the bar home, and according to his watch, it was now 2am. Trying to be quiet while slightly tipsy was proving to be more difficult in execution than it had been as a thought in his mind. After a few moments, he was finally able to slide the key into the lock and quietly open the door. Making his way past the couch and to his door, a small cough caused him to nearly scream out.

"I was wondering when you would drag yourself home. Do you realize what time it is officer?"

Why did he feel like a kit getting caught sneaking in late? The light next to the couch was turned on to reveal Judy sitting in her ZPD t-shirt and running shorts.

Nick was a little unsteady on his paws standing in the living room while Judy just sat with a grin on her face.

"It looks like you've had a little too much to drink tonight," she said in a sultry tone, standing up. "I think I just might need to bring you in."

Nick had no chance to defend himself in the state he was in. Judy jumped up and pushed him into the couch, falling on top of him and snuggling up under his chin.

"So I would assume due to the smell of your breath and the lateness of your arrival, you were at a bar?"

"Very astute Detective Hopps. I went out with Sif. He's that new wolf rookie that came in from the last batch of recruits. We met a couple of guys at the bar down the street from the precinct."

"Well it's good to know you are making friends," she sighed as she got comfortable. "Sorry I was so late tonight. I actually got home about thirty minutes before you did. The Sergeant at Precinct 3 had no idea what he was doing and we were getting nowhere with the interrogations, the dealers were a pain. But Bogo thought they could be tied with the new drug out on the market so he wanted to see if we could get any new information out of them. Unfortunately, it was the same old song and dance, as usual." She gave a large yawn. "And we have to be back at it first thing in the morning."

Looking up, she noticed that Nick had his head back with a grin on his muzzle, his breaths rhythmic and light. He had fallen asleep.

"Dumb fox," she giggled as she closed her eyes.

Precinct 3, holding cells 3 am

A few of the dealers were starting to stir in their cells, cautiously checking their surroundings for any guards. Luck was with them this early morning as the lone guard of the cells had stepped out for a reprieve. Upon noticing the lack of security, the mammals already up started to wake the others. They had a mission to accomplish.

It was no coincidence that they had been caught so easily. Using the guise of drug dealers had been a stroke of genius given the heightened amount of police presence issued to stamp out the new drug flooding the market. And the police didn't even realize what was about to happen. They were only one of many groups that had been hauled in last night, part of an orchestrated plan to help move more of the ZPD into the control of their leaders. If anything, the ZPD was predictable and would adhere to protocol when under attack.

"Alright, it's time. You know what to do!" a lion, who had taken charge of this group, yelled.

Like so many cogs in a well-oiled machine, they began to play out their act. Each had hidden on themselves a piece of technology. Each piece by itself was nothing remarkable, but put together, would usher in devastation for the little precinct. Once assembled, the real acting began. A fight broke out amongst the mammals, drawing the attention of the guard back to the cells. The hope had been that this early in the morning, the officer wouldn't be one hundred percent and make a mental mistake. Their hope was rewarded. The officer quickly unlocked the door to quell the fight, quickly finding himself turned on by all in the cell and restrained and gagged.

Moving quickly, they only needed a computer hooked up to the local precinct network. ZPD protocol would dictate that any attempt at hacking the system by an un-authorized user would lock the entire system and dump the core memory into Precinct One's main storage as a means to protect case files and digital evidence. These files could then be retrieved after the threat was neutralized and all files restored. However, as long as the system was down, any and all records would be run through the main frames at Precinct One as a fail-safe. This is what these mammals were after: exploiting that safety measure. One of the mammals jumped on the computer and began entering incorrect credentials in an effort to trigger the system. After a few minutes, the computer began the lockout procedure and data dump to Precinct One. Glancing at their watches, they were running right on time. After a few minutes, the data dump was complete and the entire system shut down. The device that had been constructed in the cell was placed next to the computer terminal and turned on. No sound was heard and no light indicated anything was happening. A few of the escapees were confused, wondering what it was supposed to do when the entire building was plunged into darkness.

The lion chuckled at the looks of confusion on the other mammals' faces. "Short range EMP. We just fried every system in this building. It will take them months to get it back up and running again. Congratulations, we just sent the cops back to the stone-age."

Running out of the building via a side door, a few cars were waiting to take them away. The infiltration and execution of their mission had been flawless. All around the city and outlying districts, the same events were unfolding at the other precincts. Many went as smoothly as the first, a few had some hiccups, but all went as planned. All records and digital evidence were now stored at the central location of Precinct One, and all under the watchful eye of the group who sent out the teams in the first place, thanks to the virus planted earlier.

Sitting back in his chair, a flood of new information came to his screen. He now had a backdoor into the entire ZPD network. A wicked grin flashed across his muzzle as he realized that the police couldn't make a move against his organization without them already being three steps ahead. A grizzled, throaty laugh passed his lips as he shut his laptop.

"Now, the real fun begins."

For the first time in a long time, Nick was having a pleasant dream instead of the usual nightmare. He was with Judy in the fields of Bunny Burrow, enjoying a sunny day out on a secluded hill. Sitting at the top of the hill with Judy, the two just gazed into each other's eyes. It was remarkable that even in a dream, her eyes could still be so vivid and pierce his soul. All was perfect, except for a buzzing sound that he couldn't quite place. Judy was speaking to him, but he couldn't understand what she was saying. The buzzing was constant and was getting louder. Suddenly, his eyes opened to the surrounding darkness as he was still on the living room couch. Glancing down, Judy was curled up on his chest, gripping his shirt, the top of her head nestled under his chin. As his eyes adjusted, he found the source of the buzzing. Judy's phone was on the floor, buzzing. She had forgotten to turn on the sound. Carefully he extricated himself from her on the couch and picked up her phone. He saw four missed calls from the Precinct. Quickly looking at the clock, he noticed it was only 4 am. The phone started buzzing in his paw as he held it and he quickly answered.

"Hey Chief, what can your favorite fox do for you this fine, early morning?" Nick paused and waited, enjoying the confusion on the other end of the line.

"Wilde, why are you answering Hopps' phone at four in the morning? Wait, you know what, never mind, I don't want to know and I don't care. Where is Hopps? I need to speak to her."

"Well Chief, since you kept her out all evening and into the early morning, she would be sleeping. I just happened to hear the phone buzz."

Nick could hear a grunt on the other end. "Wilde, wake up Hopps and tell her I need her at the station, NOW! Oh, and since you're up, why don't you come in as well. Could use all the help we can get."

"Aww Chief, do you miss me so much that you are asking me to come in?"

"Get in here now Wilde, that's an order."

Nick could hear the phone slam on the other end as the call abruptly ended, causing him to cringe slightly. Turning back to the couch, he gently started to shake Judy, getting a few undiscernible mumblings before her eyes flicked open.

"Hey sleepy, up and at 'em. Bogo needs us at the office pronto."

Judy jumped up, all signs of sleep disappearing instantly.

"Bogo called? What did he want? What's going on?"

"Ok, calm down. No need to get your fur all bunched up. We just need to get ready and get going soon. We are going to have to walk since I am in no condition to drive."

Nick's head was splitting with a massive headache, not having enough time to overcome the hangover from his late night. Splashing some water on his face and brushing down a few patches of wild fur, he made record time getting ready only to be surprised by an impatient bunny waiting at the door. It never failed to surprise him how fast she could get ready to go, especially when she was motivated. Unfortunately for Nick, Judy kept a quick pace, eager to get to the Precinct to find out what was going on. Nick was having a hard time keeping up with the alcohol still in his system. He had to stop a few times to empty the non-existent contents of his stomach. Arriving at the front steps of work, Nick had broken out in a cold sweat, panting, with Judy chiding him as she entered. The magnitude of the situation was immediately apparent as soon as they entered. The lobby looked like it was mid-day with officers running back and forth in an organized chaos. Even with the loud din of all the officers, Bogo's yell could clearly be heard over all of it.

"Hopps, Wilde, office, now."

Bogo sat across from the two officers, tapping his hoof on the desk top.

"Early this morning, we had breaches of security at every precinct in the city proper and at a few outside the city limits." Bogo started to slide photos onto the desk. "There seems to have been a coordinated effort at each facility. From what we have gathered at this point, these suspects were rounded up earlier in the day and placed in the holding cells for processing." Bogo pointed to images of the suspects in their cells.

"I recognize that group there," Judy chimed in, "Francine and I brought them to precinct 3 on suspicion of drug distribution. Interrogation didn't get anywhere so we left them for the next day."

Bogo scratched his chin. "These other suspects were brought in on similar charges. Each group seems to have executed the same plan."

"So what happened Chief? What did they do that has everyone buzzing around?" Nick questioned, wincing at the bright lights of the office, hoping the aspirin he took earlier would start working faster.

"It seems each group escaped captivity by duping the guard on duty and then proceeded to try to break into the encrypted servers at each precinct. Lucky for us, they failed in that attempt. After failing at that, it seems they set off some sort of device that shorted out all electronic devices in the building."

Nick's ears perked up at the information as he looked at the crime photos, his mind working in a different way from a standard police officer due to his previous occupations. This look did not go unnoticed by Judy.

"Nick, what is it? What do you see?

Judy was watching him study out the photos, seeing something they couldn't see. The Chief was now watching him with a curiosity.

"Chief, do we know what they were trying to access in the system?" Nick asked without even looking up.

"That is the part that has our techs stumped. Each group seemed to access different parts of the system and each failed to access their target."

This news did not sit well with Nick. These mammals were not some two-bit drug dealers. The way they operated and the equipment they had told him they were professional and had deep-pocketed backers. Something was wrong, but he couldn't see it. What did these mammals want, what was their plan? What did they need inside the ZPD. It wasn't evidence because no one came close to the evidence lockers. It wasn't weapons or gear. So what else was left? Then it hit him.

"Chief, what is the protocol when the database is experiencing an attempted hack?" Nick asked, rubbing the side of his head.

Bogo grunted, "That is highly sensitive information Wilde. I don't see what…." Bogo was surprised when he noticed that there was no hint of sarcasm or joking on his face, just a serious glare accompanied by slightly bloodshot eyes. "Are you ok Officer Wilde? You know what, don't want to know, don't care. But, in answer to your question, what I am to tell you does not leave this room, it is highly sensitive information. Whenever the system of a precinct comes under a hacking attempt, the data is dumped into our precinct's protective mainframe. Even our systems are connected to this mainframe. Once dumped, they are only accessible from the source here. All information can be reuploaded to the individual precinct once the system has been re-secured."

Nick thought for a moment, looking at the device used to knock out the systems at the other locations. His jaw dropped open as he stared at the paper, seeing nothing, but his mind racing. Judy placed her paw on his shoulder, jumping when he turned around and yelled, "Chief!"

"Damnit Nick!" Judy punched him on the shoulder. "Don't scare me like that."

"Sorry Carrots. Chief, I know what they are planning. The failed hacking attempts had to be on purpose. They wanted the information to be dumped here." Bogo was listening intently. "That's why they deployed these devices. You said it wiped out all electronic equipment at the stations. So, what is the turnaround time to bring all those systems back up? One station, maybe a week, but all of them? Whoever these mammals were sent by wanted all the case information, digital forensics, and digital evidence consolidated into one place. How much easier is it to hack one system versus all of them? They are going to try to get at the main server here. It's the only explanation. Chief, their next move will be against this precinct."

Bogo was stunned and proud all at the same time. In just a few minutes, Nick had pieced together what had happened all from a few photos. Yet he was terrified at the prospect of his Precinct becoming ground zero on this shadow war being waged on the city.

"I would like to see them try to gain access to the backup terminals. I will place additional patrols in the building and get some of our more tech savvy officers to monitor any attempted hacking. This will be the end of the line for them. We will also coordinate getting the other precincts back up and running. Hopps, Wilde, I am pulling you off of whatever cases you may be working at this time to help in this reconstruction effort. I will have your assignments after today's bullpen session. Dismissed."

Leaving the office, Judy looked a little crestfallen while Nick couldn't have been happier.

"Carrots, you know what this means?"

"Yeah, it means no real police work. No going out and stopping crime on the streets."

"Oh Fluff, it means no more mounds of paperwork. No more sitting behind the desk for hours on end. I can get out of this building and into some fresh air for a change."

"We haven't gotten our assignments yet, so don't get too ahead of yourself." She couldn't help but smile a little at his enthusiasm and she felt a little bad that she forgot he had been stuck behind his desk for a week while waiting to be cleared for normal duty.

Receiving their assignments, Judy realized they got off pretty easy as far as work was concerned. The two of them would be working security at the different precinct locations while they got their systems up and running again. It was an assignment that would take the better part of a month. A month with no patrols didn't sit too well with Judy, but it did prevent her from having to do any parking duty while Nick was still not one hundred percent. Nick, on the other paw, was ecstatic. He was going to escape his paper prison and by the time this assignment was over, he would be ready to go back out onto the streets. A few other officers were pulled off their day to day operations to assist in getting the precincts restored to working order while a few were relocated to the server in the building to prevent physical or digital intrusion. Nick was surprised when Bogo asked for Pawtorias to help in prevention of digital intrusion. After the bullpen meeting, Nick caught up with Sif before leaving for his assignment.

"Well Sif, seems you got the cozy job. Sitting in front of a computer all day. If I were you, I would call in sick for the next week," Nick chuckled.

"It's not so bad Wilde. I was in data encryption and system recovery operations before I joined the force. Bogo just wants to utilize my skill sets on this. By the way, have you heard who is responsible for this? I mean, this seems big, but everyone is keeping pretty quiet about it."

"You know, now that you mention it, Bogo didn't say anything. I don't know if we have enough leads to really pin this to anyone other than the mammals who actually carried out the attacks. It is strange though, all the attackers that were arrested had the cover of being drug dealers. They had to have a backer, someone else had to be orchestrating this, it is just too big and too well coordinated to not be something big." Nick smiled and patted Sif on the shoulder. "But we shouldn't have to worry with you here. We have the big bad wolf protecting all of our data."

Nick turned and left with Judy, not seeing the strained smile on the large grey wolf.

Four weeks had passed since the attacks on the city's precincts. Nick and Judy quickly found out that their 'easy' jobs were not so easy. It turns out coordinating the startup of an entire precinct was a lot more work than either cared to admit. Each day started early and usually ended late in the evening or early the next morning. The silver lining in everything that had happened was that Nick had passed his duty physical and was cleared for full duty. He still felt slight pains during strenuous activities, but he kept those to himself, not wanting to worry Judy or have to wait longer to join back up with her on patrols. He had enjoyed being back with her these few weeks on this new assignment, but they didn't really have much time together. Luckily, they were close to wrapping up getting the precincts back online. Power had been restored and the station servers had been thoroughly scanned and secured for when they went back online. All that needed to be done was to re-upload all the data that had been sent to Precinct One.

Nick had wondered if he had been wrong in his analysis of the evidence. No one had tried to attack the precinct as he had predicted, either by physical or digital means. All the systems had been gone over meticulously and nothing harmful had been found. For the time being, it seemed, whatever the attempt had been meant to accomplish had failed. No evidence had been found as to who or what was the cause behind the attack. There were many theories but each seemed more ridiculous than the last. It seemed that whoever or whatever was behind the attacks was after one thing, information. But all they had done was allow the ZPD to strengthen their defenses and build a stronger defense against future intrusions of their database.

Judy and Nick were standing at a computer terminal behind Sif waiting for all the precincts to come online. Once they received the go-ahead, Sif started the uploads to each individual station along with the new security features, some of which he personally designed and implemented.

"Well, all we can do now is wait until the uploads are complete. It will take a few hours due to the amount of data. I can finish everything from here if the two of you want to call it an early day. I don't think anyone would fault you for that," Sif commented as he stared at the computer monitor.

Nick put a paw on Sif's shoulder. "Thanks buddy, it has been a long few weeks. We might just take you up on that offer. Call if anything comes up, otherwise we will see you next week."

Nick and Judy walked out, leaving Sif to finish the job. He was watching the progress bars as they inched closer to one hundred percent, sending off the critical files to each precinct. Each one had a special package attached, a program that mirrored the one currently embedded in Precinct One's own server. Soon, his boss, his real boss would have access to every ZPD computer on the network—access to all case files, all digital evidence, all forensic files, in other words, everything he needed to evade, avoid, and fight the ZPD. This was the next large step in the downfall of Zootopia, and it had been pulled off without incident or suspicion. Nothing could be tied back to him or his partner Wolfenstein, nor to the organization currently wreaking silent havoc on the populous of the city. Sif couldn't help but feel a little conflict building within himself, but he was in too deep. This was a group of mammals that did not forget, and they most certainly did not forgive.

"What have I gotten myself into?" Sif sighed as the final upload bar finished loading, completing the takeover of the ZPD computer system.

A/N – A huge shout out and thank you are in order for Writer's Convexity for letting me use a great OC of his, Sif Pawtorius. A little different role in this story compared to the one he plays in "Never Simple, Isn't It?", but an important one none the less. As always, thank you to those who are reading and following the story. Until next time.