Well, since Finnick is the last episode's hero, I think it's fair to give him the mic.

"Ow come on. You know I ain't good wid' this."

Then get on with it and finish is quickly.

"Right. So, first we have J Shute Norway. Oh, you didn't imagine that bitch of an ewe stoopin' that low ? If Judy doesn't take her down, ya can be sure I will. Glad you saw that lil' italian job reference. Best movie ever."

I don't think you're being objective.

"'Course I am. Then we have a review from techno02. I can confirm that those two vans crashing was pretty funny to see. Glad you like the story wildehopper. Wish I would enjoy it as much as you do. At least there are worst things to be addicted to. And no, Guest 1. I ain't a big softie. Nick's my family, so his family is my family. And lastly... Guest 2. I don't have any idea if Judy will choose to expose herself to Nighthowler or do anything equaly foolish... I guess we'll just hafta wait and see.


Chapter 29 : Broken Boy

Adrian Bogo dismisses the two mammals guarding his office as soon as he arrives, knowing full well that there really isn't anything to keep.

He's currently staring at a phone Honey provided him before they went their separate ways, allowing him to see the data she collected during the night they just spent. Every proof they need is there, and he feels so powerless. He's all procedure, all business. Knowing that the system he's been working with, and for, is an obstacle in his way feels crushing.

But whatever he'll do in the future, there's one thing he needs to do before everything else.

Then the phone beeps.

"You'll want to read this." It says, and the message comes from the ratel hacker. With a lifted brow, he opens the email and opens the attached document called "Plans".

"This fox is crazy." He mutters, as he begins to sift through the dozens of pages the tod wrote.

- 1 -

Woken up by his phone ringing, Adrian Bogo blinks several times, wondering where he is, until he recognizes the walls and furniture. Wiping the drool from his mouth and chin, he notices Honey's phone has fallen to the floor.

Swiping the icon on his phone he answers it. "Chief Adrian Bogo from Precinct One."

"Chief Bogo, this is the DA Arthur Ramowitz."

"Hello, did you need something ?"

"Yes. To inform you that the case about the street firefight has been reassigned to Precinct 5."

The buffalo raises his brows and opens his mail box. There are indeed reports about it from Trunkaby. "Sir, it occurred in Savana Central."

"Nevertheless, it's linked to a case Precinct Five is working on. I'm taking it from you."

The buffalo doesn't have the strength to get angry. Of course, they wouldn't want anyone they couldn't control to get involved. Then again, capitulating that fast would seem suspicious.

"Are you kidding me ? You think you can just barge in and shit all over my-"

"Chief, it's already done. You can shout all you want, it won't change a thing."

Bogo lets a few second pass, in what he hopes the other mammal will believe is angry silence. "Have a good day sir." He seethes before hanging up.

Sighing, he gets up from his seat and picks up Honey's phone. Luckily, the screen isn't broken. He's about to check its content a second time when someone knocks on the door.

With a groan the buffalo quickly checks his uniform. It looks a bit crumpled, but it's not as if his officers would ever dare to say anything about it.

"Yeah, I'm coming !" He answers loudly, walking to the door and opening it, ending up face to face with Higgins.

"We're waiting for you." The rotund mammal simply states.

"Get to the bullpen, I'll be with you in two minutes." The buffalo answers before slamming the door at the large mammal, and returning to his desk to desk to get some files. Luckily, he already had enough prepared for rollcall the previous day to get through that one.

In a quick pace, he walks toward the bullpen, almost slamming the door open, deaf to Higgins' "atten-hut".

"Silence !" He orders in his a slightly more aggressive tone than usual, despite the fact that his officers aren't talking. "Here are your assignments. Nothing out of the ordinary. Higgins, I have drug dealer sightings on the south of the district. Find them. Trunkaby, you're to go inquire about a chronic disturbance that has been reported on Flock Street. Rhinowitz, there are rumours about an illegal garage used to strip vehicle for part near Peak Avenue. I want you to investigate." He hands each assignment in a monotonous voice, while barely keeping in his yawns. "The others, you know your beats. Get to it."

"Uhm, sir ?" Officer Trunkaby raises his trunk, making the chief's right brow raise.

"Yes ?"

"What about the car chase and gunfight report from last night ? Aren't you going to assign it ?"

"The DA said he was personally going assign it to Precinct Five. So no, I'm not." That's purposefully throwing oil on the fire, but he doesn't care. If he can rip away at least some of his officers' trust toward him, he'll take it.

Grumbling emanate from the room and the chief's fist tighten. He's not happy about it either, especially considering who was involved, but his hooves are tied. "You have cases to get to. Now move your asses."

He rest his hooves on the small stand as his officers leaves the room, an allows himself a long sigh. There's a last task to do. Part of him is gleeful, the other is near terrified.

Straightening up and shaking his head, the buffalo exits the room, taking the lobby's direction and leaving the precinct.

Twenty minutes later, he enters it again, with a doughnut box in his hooves, and heads toward the archive. Opening the door, he hears music playing. The place hasn't changed much since the cheetah took that job, though most files are now properly stored in their own locker. The threadmill is still covered in cobwebs, though.

The chief finds Clawhauser typing on the computer. One of his ears twitch as the large prey's approach "Hey chief." He greets without turning his head.

"Good morning officer Clawhauser." The chief greets in turn. "Doughnut ?"

The feline turns around and aim a strange smile at him. "Sure."

"What is it ?"

The rotund cat almost snort. It was pretty noticeable that he had something on his mind, and he could trust the buffalo to go straight for that. "What happened with Judy ?"

"Oh… Well, that's actually why I came here to talk to you. She's alright, though still suspended."

"Ah. Is it linked with the savage fox she caught ?"

"Yeah."

The feline's expression turns to sadness, as he wraps himself in his own arms. "It's never going to stop isn't it ?"

"Clawhauser-"

"It's always going to happen. We get close to prey and we turn savage… Why did we have to be born with those instincts, chief ?"

"You don't-"

"I like Judy, she's my friend. And she's going to start being scared of us, and I can't even tell she'd be wrong ! We're all savages in waiting. If I was a prey, I wouldn't go near me-"

"Ben, don't say that !" Reacts the buffalo, putting a kneel down to be at eye level.

The feline's eye widen. "Whu-"

"You're not savages. You never were, no predator ever was."

"I-"

"That's why Judy caught this "savage fox". She was infiltrating the lab to find evidence. The ones turning the predators savage were Ramses Lab, helped by BellSec. They turned him savage to prevent him from talking, and she faked being on their side to get out of it."

"What- No, it doesn't make any sense !"

"Listen to this !"

The large prey takes out his phone and plays one of thevideos recorded on it, the one from Judy's bodycam. "It's all true. We made it all up. BellSec, Ramses Lab. We engineered the savage state - Dawn ! What are do you think- Shut up, Doug. I know what I'm doing. Judy's clever, she'll see that what we're doing is for the greater good. We – Ramses Lab and BellSec - engineered the savage state, created it from scratch thirty years ago. It never existed"

"It was all a lie, Ben ! We have evidence, files from their secret labs. Photos, videos of experiments…" The chief tries to keep his composure, but his excitement is showing. "It was them from the beginning !"

"I-" The feline's brain just froze, this new information in total conflict with his core beliefs. With his self-hatred. With the path of self-destruction he chose and remained on for years. "No. It's not- Chief..."

"It wasn't you ! It was never you !"

"I… That means I didn't turn savage ?"

"No ! It was just a drug they used called Nighthowler."

"But- But I still hurt you." Comes his sullen voice.

The buffalo shakes his head. "No. You didn't. They did." He declares. "They tried to make you savage so that I would distrust you. They couldn't have a precinct chief sympathetic to predators. They…"

"So you don't… I…" The feline seems utterly lost, seeming at the same time on the verge of tears and about to burst into laughter. "I'm- I'm not a monster !" He laughs, taking both path at the same time. "I'm not…" All these years wasted, his life in shambles. More than a decade of self-inflicted isolation. "It… For nothing…" His shoulder start shivering as he starts sobbing. He tries to wipe away the tears, not wanting to look so pathetic in front of his boss. In front of the mammal that he used to call a friend. "S-sorry… I just can't- It just won't sto-"

His collar beeps yellow, and the buffalo is glad that all ZPD officers are required to wear low sensitivity collars. "I'm sorry."

Two large arms envelop Clawhauser, and something just crumbles inside of the large feline. A wall he didn't know he had built. The cat cries into his chest for some time. When the prey starts to think he's calming down, he's taken by a new wave of sobbing. Bogo doesn't mind though, he'd probably be an emotional mess too in his subordinate's place.

"I should have been there." States the buffalo when Clawhause starts calming down. "I should have fought harder, I shouldn't have let you rot down there."

"It wasn't your fault."

"No, it was. I told you I wasn't scared of you, but… Deep down, I know I was. Even now there's a part of me that fears that you could try to attack me. I can't quiet it, but I certainly won't listen to it."

As he shoves his face into the buffalo's chest, Clawhauser feels one his hooves tracing soft soothing circles in his back.

"I'm the one that wanted to remain down here."

"That doesn't mean I should have stopped trying to change your mind."

"Chief-"

"You were my partner, you always had my back, and I didn't have yours."

"If I can't blame myself for things that weren't in my control, then neither can you !" The large cat declares in a voice he manages to make sound firm despite the tears in it.

"Ordered around by my own officers… What has the world come to ?" The buffalo chuckles, making his chest rise and the feline giggle as his head bounce lightly against it.

"Can I ask you something ?" Clawhauser asks when his tears start to dry up.

"Anything."

"I… I'd like to see your scars. I know you switched to long sleeves for my sake, so that I wouldn't see what I-"

"What they did." Chief Bogo states firmly.

"What they did." Agrees Clawhauser.

"I'm not sure it's a good idea." Mutters the buffalo. "I'd rather put that behind us."

"Please, chief. It's- I need to know."

There are a few things the chief is bad at, one of them is saying no to that round and cute face. "Only if you don't blame yourself for it."

"I'll try."

Reluctantly letting go, the buffalo stands up and rolls up his sleeves, showing the large and deep scars that cover them.

"That's… Not all of them, isn't it ?"

"Ben-"

"I know I did worse-"

"They did worse !" Cuts the bovine. "They- Okay, I'll show you. Don't freak out."

The feline clenches his jaw. If the chief told him not freak out, he knows it's because it's going to be really freaky.

His hooves open each button after the other, and chief Bogo suddenly feels really self-conscious. He's always been a bastion of confidence in terms of his looks, scars or not. He never got nervous in the locker room, even after the savage incident. But right now, he can't help his face from heating up.

He hears a gasps as he lets the piece of clothing fall to the floor, revealing a torso covered in scars, some so large the feline wonders how his boss is still alive.

"C-can you turn around ?" Clawhauser asks in a really dry voice.

Well, it can't get any more awkward than that, can it ? As he turns around, the buffalo hears the cat get up from his chair.

"Oh my gosh… I d-did all this ?"

"No. You didn't."

"B-but… How ? I mean, you could've easily- I mean, you're bigger than I am, you could have neutralised me-"

"I couldn't without hurting you. I…" Chief bogo turns around again to face the feline and grab his paws into his hooves. "You were- You're my friend, Ben. I didn't want to hurt you. You were still there, inside. I couldn't risk it."

"Do they hurt ?"

"Sometimes." The buffalo shrugs. "Who cares ?"

"I do !"

The cat frees a paw from the buffalo's hooves and rests it on one of the scars over his heart. They're the exact size of his paw, and it makes his lower lip quiver.

"None of this. I told you it wasn't your fault." Scolds the chief.

"I'm… I'm so glad you don't-" The feline exhales slowly. "You don't hate me." He finishes.

"Of course I don't hate you ! Why do you think I spend my lunchbreaks down here ?"

"I..." Clawhauser feels a bit stupid as he says his next words. "I thought you were just… Well, you're always mindful of your subordinates mental state, so, I thought… You were being professional."

"If that's you're idea of being professional, maybe I should give a more thorough look to your work." The muscular bovine smirks, pulling another giggle out of the feline, before grabbing his shirt and putting it on again.

"Are you still going to wear long sleeved uniforms ?"

"Well..."

"I… Thought you looked better in the short sleeved ones… And you always said they were comfortable… And you don't need to spare me anymore." Clawhauser says with a slight blush.

"I guess I could start wearing the short sleeved shirt too." The buffalo answers scratching the back of his neck.

"The pink one ? It looked really nice on you." The cat's blush deepens as he looks away.

"Thanks." The chief awkwardly answers, glad about the relative darkness of the place. Why does it suddenly feel hot down there ? It's probably the boiler. "Well, I think I can make do like that for now." He says, rolling up his sleeves.

Clawhauser can't help staring at his muscular arms, that were holding him only a few minutes ago. How did he not think to enjoy it while it lasted ?

"What are you going to do ?" He ends up asking.

"I… We have a plan. Well, a few different ones. I think we're trying to regroup… Officer Hopps is a mess, Wolford is still recovering from his gunshot wound. And I think Wilde's friends are understandably upset about what happened to him. But we're going to have to talk about it to figure out what our next move is."

"I- Can I do something ?"

The buffalo almost answers no, but then, an idea pops into his mind. "Actually, could you regroup the contact info of all the predator officers as well as our predator informants ? And if possible, a list of which ones know how to keep a secret, that would be really helpful. I think we'll have to try and tell them what's happening as secretly as we can."

"I think I can come up with a few ideas."

"And… Since you're the king of gossip, could you also compile a list of the predator-friendly prey officers ? So that I could have a rough idea of how many could be on our side when the truth will come out ?"

"Queen of gossip, and yes, I'll try. Aside from Ralph and Judy, are there others that know about this ?"

"Officer Fangmeyer, chief Blackfur and officer Weaselton in the ZPD." The buffalo takes out the phone Honey gave him and shoots her a quick text. "Use this phone, and contact the person named Bunker. Explain them who you are and see if they can come up with a way to create a secure group chat within all the mammals you will select. It's top priority, comes even before your work."

"I- Yes, I can do that."

"Good. That's good..." The buffalo trails off, leaving a few seconds of awkward silence linger between them. "I think I should go. Work to do. City to save."

"And I'll be here, pushing paper."

"As well as setting up ZPD officer predator network." The buffalo adds.

"Do I get a raise for it ?" The cat grins.

"I'll check the conspiracy toppling fund. Well… Have a good day."

"You too. Take care."

They share curt wave and the buffalo disappears out of the door, while the feline is left to contemplate the bombshell he just got delivered.

On his desk, the donut box seems to be taunting him, and he almost throws it in the trash, but the buffalo brought it. There's no way he'll get rid of them. So instead he takes one and nibbles it reflectively. His gaze falls on the threadmill, and he gobbles the glazed treat in one bite.

Then with a determined look on his face, he walks toward it and starts ridding it of the dust and spiderwebs.


"Shush, Finn, I'm working." Honey says just after Finn's collar uselessly zaps the cap he's wearing for the tenth time.

The mustelid is trying to find ways to make the data transfer faster. She doesn't know how long it'll take for the mammals over at Ramses Lab to find her wifi plugs, but she isn't about to wait and find out. There are still teras and teras of data she still need to copy and the fennec fox is distracting her.

"I'm not sayin' anything."

"Calm down then."

"Calm down ? You want me to calm down ? Nick got turned savage ! Are you okay with that ?"

"Of course I'm not okay with that ! But I'm working, so could you please be silent ?"

The fennec glares at the ratel. "Silent ? Ya think I'm making noise on purpose ?"

Honey sighs. "Come here."

"What ?"

"I said come here."

Finnick rolls his eyes. "I don't need a hug."

"Stop being a hardass and come here." She groans while opening a drawer and trudging through its content. "I'm already breaking a promise."

"The fuck are you talking about ?" The male vulpine asks, before approaching her. The ratel turns around, her paws closing on his collar. Then there's a loud beep, and the fennec fox feels like someone lifted a weight from his neck.

"Wuh- What ?"

"Here you go." She says with a discreet smile.

Finnick pats his neck with wide opened eyes. "What- You… No, you had 'dis ?"

"Yeah."

"I thought they had all been confiscated !"

"I saved the first working prototype." The ratel shrugs before putting it back where she found it. "Nick asked me to keep it a secret, so I did."

Finnick's jaw is hanging loose as he stares at the ratel. "But… But… Why..."

"Didn't I use it before, or why am using it now ?"

"Both."

"Because I thought there was a chance one of us could go savage. Easier to knock out a cap than slide a collar back on. Plus Nick asked me to. As for now… Well, you need a break. We both do."

The small fox reaches for the key. "You too then."

"No."

"Come on, you know we can't turn savage."

"Yeah." She nods. "But I have other issues."

"And ?"

"I don't want to risk it. What if I go into crisis and I leave the bunker without it ? Or what if I hurt you ? What if-"

"Hey, girl. Look at me." The fennec fox smiles gently. "I ain't gonna let you, okay ? Not hurt yourself, not hurt me, not do anythin' stupid."

"Finn-"

"Come on."

Her paw trembles as she lets him take the key. "What if it all spill out ?" She ask in a shaky voice. "What if everything just explodes, what if the voices come back and I can't put th-them back in ? You know I'm a nutcase."

"You ain't a nutcase."

"I got interned, Finn. I'm not right in the head. What if we win and I have to keep wearing it anyway ? What if I'm still too dangerous to be let free ? What if-"

"Fuck that ! You deserve it as much as anyone else ! And what if you're dangerous ? so am I ! So's Koslov and you can bet your ass he'll do anything in his power to never wear one again ! And so's the bunny-two-shoes, and I ain't seeing her with a collar !"

"But I'm not in control. My brain doesn't work properly." She says taking a step back as the fennec fox moves forward.

"Ya never got it down, even at Wilde Times ?" He asks.

"Never."

"Listen." He sighs. "I won't force you to take it off. Yer scared, I understand. Shit, I'm feelin' naked without it myself. But I got yer back, okay ? I ain't gonna let you harm yerself or anyone else. I'm here." He grabs her left paw pulls her down, running his other paw on her cheek. "I'm right here and I ain't movin'."

"O-okay."

There's a click, and the collar falls to the ground. "I'm free." She whispers. "I'm free. Spirits, it feels so good !"

Barking a laugh, she grabs the fennec fox and hugs him. "It's like there's colours again ! It's like the world ceased to be grey ! Thank you."

"S'fine." He smiles. "Told ya, t'would be fine. Everything's going to be fine now."

"Everything ?"

"Well..." He hesitates. "No. I mean… Shit, I don't do false reassurance." He mutters. "Sorry to shit on your parade.

"It's alright… Nick had contingency plans."

Finnick can't help but chuckle. "Bet he didn't have one for bein' turned savage."

"Maybe he did." She smiles, pointing at her screen, before carrying him to her desk and sitting in front of her computer. She casually slides him inside her tank top, the fennec fox finding his usual comfortable spot, his head poking out if it right under her chin, his large ears on each side of her face.

The ratel switches windows and to show a long list of e-mail sent by the fox dating from before the Ramses Lab operation. All of them are called "Plan" with one or several characters following them, going up to LE. The fennec fox can't help but snort. Nick's disability with numbers even translated in the way he numerates stuff. He doesn't understand how using letter instead of numbers helped him, but if that works for him, then, who is she to judge ?

"Tha's Nick contingencies ?"

"Not only. Ideas, alternatives… There's a lot of stuff."

"So, basically, plans, or drafts of them."

"Yep."

"How many does that make ?"

"It starts at AA, so twenty-six times four plus twenty-one… One-hundred and twenty-five."

The fennec fox snorts. "He still got it. So it was one of his plans ?"

"Plan TB. TA and TC are basically the same with a few variations. Knowing him, he just tossed Judy toward one of them without giving her specifics..."

"Sounds like him. Fuck… Why didn't he tell me ?"

"Because you would have lost your shit ?"

"Of course I would have lost my shit. He actually planned for her to toss him under the bus in case things went sour… This is- Shit, it's insane !"

"It's Nick."

"And all of these plans are for this single operation ?"

The ratel shakes her head. "No. Some are for after. Some in case, he or any of us dies. In case we didn't get the evidence. In case we did get the evidence but Judy blew her cover… it'll take time to read them all."

"Did he forward them all to the others ?"

The ratel snorts. "Are you kidding ? Of course not. The only reason I have them all is because I backed up is phone's content. But let me make a quick search… Crap."

"What ?"

"I can't find the one for this specific situation… But this one…" Honey points a digit at her screen. "It's in case we got the evidence. It has a bunch of references to other plans with a lot of hypothetics scenarios..."

"What does it say ?"

"First thing is to check the- Oh, I'm a moron !"

"What ?"

"To check the data for a cure formula !" Almost shouts the mustelid. "Of course they would have made one in case an accident happen" She switches screen and start typing several keywords.

"Finding something ?"

"I have hundreds of gigabytes to sift through, this is going to take more than five minutes, sweetheart."


"… Has refused to make any comment on the matter."

"Yes Moosebridge. I have to say I too am flabbergasted by this case. I have it on good authority that Officer Hopps had been suspended, so what was she doing here ? Why was she in company of this fox, Nicholas Wilde ? Was she investigating him while of duty ? All this seems highly irregular to me." States the porcupine.

"Nicholas Wilde, for those of you who don't know, was the prime suspect in the creation of Wilde Times, an illegal amusement park aimed at predators where they could have their collars removed. He was never convicted as there was never enough evidence to condemn him. Of that crime that is. He still went to prison for tax evasion a few months later. Crime doesn't pay, as they say."

"I wouldn't have said it better." Confirms the quilled mammal. "The details are still muddy as the police still hasn't released a statement in the matter, and Officer Hopps has kept out of sight from the media."

"We'll keep digging on our end, but if anyone has any information on what went down at this lab, don't hesitate to forward us the details. This has been Peter Moosebridge."

"And Spike Fergusson, for ZNN."

The camera stops rolling and the porcupine rubs his eyes. "It seem that bunny simply can't stop putting herself into all kinds of mess."

"What are you talking about ?"

The smaller mammal waves his colleague to follow him. They walk to one of the corners of the studio where equipment is kept and few mammals are passing through.

"You know how she got involved in the missing mammal case ?"

"Yeah, we did a quick segment on it a while ago. What about it ?"

The porcupine looks around to make sure no one is listening. "Fabienne knows a few predators from tundratown, she's an arctic leopard after all. She heard that her case got her involved with Wilde and the mob."

"What !? Do we have any elements-"

"We don't, it's only hearsay. I told her to stop digging, but since they stopped giving her any field prime time, she's been trying to prove herself to the higher up."

The moose's eyes widen. "They pulled her from prime time ?"

"Didn't you notice ?"

Moosebridge is a bit ashamed to admit that he hasn't. "Well, she's one of several field anchors… I didn't really think about it. She's a good element, though !"

"Yeah, well, I guess the pred scare got to our bosses too."

With a dip frown and a huff, the moose shakes his antlers. "I'm going to have a word with them."

"What ?"

"If this keeps up, we're going to see and even bigger divide between prey and predators. Weren't you the one that taught me our roles a public figures was to uphold the right values ?"

The porcupines smiles. "I didn't think it would ever get through your thick head. I'm coming with you. Two have more weight than one."


Nadine managed to convince the bunny to come back to her place, but she barely slept. Not that the sofa was uncomfortable or that the tiger snored too loudly (she did snore, though), but her brain was still a mess. She managed to hold it together until 8AM before turning the TV on, but the morning news only made her state worse.

"Hey." Comes the tiger's coarse voice. "Coffee ?"

Nadine's only wearing a tank top and panties, and doesn't seem to care about it in front of the bunny.

"I'm not- Bunnies don't drink coffee."

The tiger takes out a metal box from one of the cupboard and shows it to the bunny. And old box teabags.

"That'll do it."

With a nod, the tiger turns on the kettle. "Have you received the chief's message ?"

The bunny lifts a brow. "What message ?" She takes her phone and realises it's still off from the operation. Turning it on, she sees very few notifications, but there's indeed one from the chief sent through yaksapp. There's a message : "For safe keeping, just in case." It's a small MP4 file. As she plays it, she realises it's the recording of Bellwether's incriminating explanation. She quickly turns it off, not wanting to think about it.

"We all received it." States the tiger. "Ralph, Weaselton, all that participated in the operation, so that there are enough copies that at least one should make it out to the public in case things go south."

The doe nods. She doesn't want to think about what things going south would entail, but it's not a bad idea.

- 1 -

It's a very tired Judy that makes her way into Zootopia Central Hospital again. Nadine tried to protest about her getting back to see Nick, but the bunny didn't listen. She'll stay there until the fox wakes up from his state, whether it's by himself or with a cure.

When she arrives, she's surprised to see chief Blackfur standing in front of the glass with a cup of coffee in her paw.

"Hello, chief Blackfur." She greets.

"Hello Hopps. How are you doing this morning ?"

Her eyes stray to the sleeping tod. She's glad he isn't awake. "Not that good."

"Understandable."

The panda keeps sipping on her coffee while staring at the unmoving vulpine. Her face looks reflective, and there's a regular twitch in her ear.

"Did you… Did you two meet before all this ?" The bunny asks.

"Once, yes."

The ursine looks like she's about to say more but stops herself, aiming a glance at the bunny. "How well do you know him ?"

"I… pretty well I think." She surprises herself as she says it. "He's very secretive, but he talked a lot about… Other things. I think I'm beginning to understand what kind of person he is."

"Hm… And what kind of person is he ?"

"I… He's hard to describe. Why do you want to know ?" Judy asks.

The panda hesitates. "Because, reading his file, I can't imagine him being the heartless criminal it describes. He's a sort of… Enigma. When I met him, I was in a pretty bad place, and so was he. It showed." Then the panda abruptly stops talking.

They both keep staring at him through the glass, until the bunny takes a deep breath and starts talking. "He's… I don't think he's good in the usual sense of the word, but he's kind in a way. I think he tends to put the mammals he cares about first, and himself right after them. And he's not… Cruel. Not really. Deep down,-" Judy can't help but snort. "He'd hate for me to us that formulation, but deep down, he just wants what's best for his friends and family. He likes to hide behind this mask of smugness and contempt, but it's a barrier. The world has hurt him so much that he doesn't want to leave himself vulnerable again." She breathes. "It's the kind of mammal Nick is. He's clever and caring. A bit sly. And he thinks he's not good enough."

"Do you think he is ? Good enough, I mean."

"I think he's perfect the way he is." She states, before realising what came out of her mouth and flushing. "I mean, he's- He's a good friend."

"Hm." If the bunny looked up, she'd see the dubious smile on the panda's face. "He changed a lot, then. When I met him he was… Angry. Bitter. Almost broken… His wife had just died, if I recall correctly, but Howlowitz was still alive. Anyway, I needed intel on… A case. He provided it to me in exchange of money."

"Nick accepted snitch money ?"

"I wasn't really snitch money." Sighs the female panda. "It was… Off the record." She takes a sip of her now stale coffee and smiles darkly. "Have you ever wondered why I'm on your side ?"

The bunny nods. "Yes, actually. I mean, it's the right things to do, but…"

"But I'm a herbivore. A prey."

"So am I." Judy counters.

"But you have personal stakes in this. While I don't have any that you know of.." Chief Blackfur completes. "Not saying that you wouldn't be doing this for the principle of it, of course."

"I hope I would." Judy states. "I was so… Prejudiced before I started to really understand predators. Even now, I'm not sure I have the whole picture, but… I hope I would have been that kind of mammal."

The panda nods. Sliding her paw in her pocket, she pulls her phone out of it and taps the screen. Then she shows it to the bunny.

"Who is she ?" Judy asks, looking at the picture of a small panda girl. She's wearing a pandarian traditional outfit and is grinning from ear to ear, waving toward the camera.

"She is- was my daughter. Her name was Lauren."

"Is she..."

"Dead, yes. Killed, more precisely."

The bunny wants to ask what happened, but it would feel insensitive. She doesn't have to, though, because the panda keeps talking.

"Did you know that the panda bear is the only one of the ursids' species considered as prey ?"

"Yes."

The female panda nods. "The sloth bear ans spectacled bear would be good candidates too, as they barely need meat in their diet. Did you know that too ?"

Judy shakes her head. "No."

"I'm not surprised. Most mammals don't realise that the prey/predator frontier is more of a grey area than anything else. Some don't seem to understand the difference between a panda bear and grizzly bear either… Not that there is much of one, aside from dietary, now that we now about the Nighthowler. Anyway… Some mammals never really got the memo about panda bears not being predators. And these mammals thought it would be a good idea to make it known by…" Closing her eyes, chief Blackfur slowly inhale. "Let's just say that… Lauren died of an... assault."

"I- I'm so sorry !" Reacts the bunny.

"Not your fault, but thank you. She'd be twenty one this year if she was alive."

"Did you find out who did it ?"

"Not at first. I knew they were members of a prey supremacist group, these guys sign their work. But I couldn't find them precisely. A case was open, that I couldn't work on because of the conflict of interest. The inspectors working on the case were good but… Well, they were by the book. And by the book wasn't cutting it."

Chief Blackfur takes a second sip, her eyes darkening.

"So I made a copy the case, and started an investigation of my own, covertly... Three weeks later, I knew I'd never find them. No clear lead, not enough evidence. We heard that they had learned their victim was from a cop family and had disbanded to muddle their tracks. So I started digging deeper, in the underbellies, the places ruled by the mob bosses. I had to disguise myself… I… It wasn't pretty. Then I found a lead. Or more precisely, I pulled the attention of a few mammals, including Mr Wilde. He was the one that came to me. He made it clear that the only reason he was helping me was because I was working off the record. He had more respect for my reasons than for my badge. Told me he'd get me intel on them if I got cash."

"How much ?" The bunnys asks.

"A lot." The panda simply answers. "With my kid dead, I wasn't going to need it anyway. He did good on his part of the bargain, so I did good on mine. He told me exactly who they were, where to find them. He didn't tell me how he knew, but the first one that I caught actually apologised to me, if you can believe it. Then he confirmed Mr Wilde's intel."

"Where… What did you do to them ?"

The panda takes one last sip from her coffee while staring at the bunny right in the eyes. A shudder runs in Judy's back. It isn't the gaze of a prey.

"How didn't you get caught ?"

"Get caught for what ?" There's a little smirk on the corner of Blackfur's lips. It isn't mocking, just somehow indulgent. "I'm glad Wilde got over his wife's death, at least partly. Though we let only briefly, I can tell he isn't the same mammal at all. There is still sadness within him, but it feels more… Mute. General. Like any predator really." She finishes in a whisper, her gaze getting lost in blank space. She then shakes her head and gives the bunny a weak smile. "So now you know why I'm on your side. I want this to be over. The divide, the suffering. I don't want any other mammal to go through what we did."

- 2 -

Judy has been alone for quite some time in front of Nick's cell now, and he has woken up. The tod keeps pulling on his leash and snarling. She'd have thought he'd have understood it was of no use by now, but it seems the predator isn't capable of any rational thought.

Her stomach gurgles, and she realises it's already noon. With a tired sigh, she makes her way back upstairs, to find a vending machine.

The white hallways aren't bubbling with activity, but there are way more animated than the previous night. The vending machine are in a large common room where groups of mammals are gathered, talking to each other. They look like families, friends, visiting sick close ones. With a sad sighs, she goes to one of the machine and buys some waffles and a tea. She feels a bit jealous that the visiting mammals can actually talk to the ones they are visiting. All she can do is stare at her savage fox, talk to herself and feel guilty.

As she enters the Savage Predator service again, she's surprised to see someone already occupying it. It's a polar bear, not that big, and he seem to be here to visit Raymond, the polar bear that she caught. He's standing with one of his paw slightly raised, palm upward.

"Hello ?" She calls.

The ursine turns toward her and lift his brow. "Hello. Oh, you must be Officer Hopps. It's nice to meet you. I'm Morris, and this is Fru-Fru Big." He greets, lowering his paw, showing a female arctic shrew in it, before offering the other for her to shake.

In a blink, she's back into the street near the salad bar. A large polar bear is holding a shrew in his palm. Then she's back into the hospital's underground level, her nose twitching madly.

The bunny approaches carefully and represses a shudder as she grabs one of his digit and shakes it.

"Hellooo ! Oh, I'm so glad to finally meet you properly !" Squeals the small mammals Judy recognizes as the one she saved what feels like a lifetime ago. She offers a paw too and it's her finger that is shaken this time.

"Nice to meet you again. I love your dress." Judy smiles. "And please call me Judy."

"Will do ! I wish we could have seen each other in other circumstances, but I'm glad I can finally thank you for saving my life."

"I was just doing my duty."

"It doesn't make it any less impressive." States the polar bear. "I've seen your fight with uncle Ray, I don't think anyone could have handled it better." His eyes wander back toward the mad drooling bear in his cell. "I'm glad you didn't inflict any damage to him, but I'm afraid he's going to end up harming himself anyway."

"So… You're his nephew ? Are there any other member of the family coming down today ?" Judy asks.

"Do you mean the family, or the family ?"

There are quotation mark around the second "family" and it finally clicks. "You're Morris Koslov ?"

"Heh… Yeah. I thought you knew. Dad told me you saw the video of my collaring and everything."

"Mo, you changed a lot in nine years !" Reacts Fru-Fru. "Anyway, we weren't here to see only Ray, but also Nick."

Judy's shoulders slouch and she points toward his cell. "He's this way." She says, leading them. As they settle in front of it, she can see the bear's expression turning to sadness, but Fru-Fru looks really shocked.

"I thought- It's so hard to see him like this."

The bunny nods. "Yes. It is."

"Madge's team will find a cure soon, now that they have the samples." Whispers the polar bear after having checked they were alone.

"You know about that ?" Reacts the bunny.

"Are you kidding ? I was there when your colleague - Wolford was that it ? - brought them to him. I know you had to..." He makes a gun gesture toward Nick. "He told use everything."

The bunny bows her head, and he reaches down to pat her shoulder. As his paw touches her, she jumps, her nose twitching madly, eyes wide with fear.

"Sorry !" He reacts, pulling his paw away and looking mortified. "Dad told me about that too, but I forgot."

"It's fine. I need to work on it anyway. I actually have a therapy option right there." She jokes, pointing a thumb toward Raymond's cell, before putting a paw to her mouth. "Sorry, that was insensitive."

"It's okay. Better to joke than to cry about it, as my dad always says."

"By the way, where is he ?" The bunny asks.

"Up there, waiting in the car. He said he couldn't come down… He still feels very guilty about… Well, you know what. But uncle Nick isn't mad at me, so I could come."

"Uncle Nick ?"

The young bear emits a small chuckle. "Yeah, I used to call him like that. Godfather would be more accurate, though."

"Godfa- Nick's your godfather ?"

"Yeah. Dad and him used to be really close." He confirms. "He considered him a brother. But then, prison happened, and Nick wouldn't work with him again. Dad only understands business… And he's a bit… Stubborn. He's a good dad, but I know he isn't a great mammal."

It feels like a punch in the gut for Judy, to see a kid talk like that about his father. "You know about..."

"How he almost executed you two ? Yeah. I do. To be honest, we're not really talking at the moment." The grin he shoots has a tinge of sadness. "Anyway, Fru-Fru wanted to see Nick too."

The arctic shrew nods. "I hadn't seen him since before he went to prison, but I didn't think it'd be like that."

"I take it you two have known him for a long time." The bunny reflects.

"Oh yeah. Almost since I was born." The young polar bear smiles. "Dad used to say Nick only worked with him so he could come play with me. I didn't see him that much, truth be told, but… He was always kind of here, in the background, until… In any case, yeah, I think my family and his were close. That's why dad took them in."

"He took them in ?" Judy reacts. "I thought Nick had prepared a safehouse for them."

"Maybe he had. Dad insisted to protect them. I feels like he owe uncle Nick." Morris notices Judy's wary expression and raise his free paw. "Don't worry, they'll be safe. He's not going to use them as bargaining chips or anything. I won't let him." His face turns serious for a few seconds, before relaxing again. "Besides, I think he already proved his good faith by saving them."

"Savin- What ?" The doe reacts. "Did something happen ?"

"Oh… You didn't know. We're not sure who they were exactly, but a bunch of sheep came to take them last night. There was a care chase and gunshots, but they're all fine."

It's takes all the doe's will not to let her jaw hang. The way he talks about it sound like he was commenting on the weather.

"How are they holding up ?" Judy asks.

"Physically, they're good. Dad's providing. They're small mammals, they use way less resources together than I do alone. Mentally… Not great. They're really shaken." He sighs. "The car chase plus Nick turning savage… It's a lot. We took away their collars, so, that helps. They mostly stay among themselves, and I can't say I'm blaming them."

"I should visit." Judy mutters. "I should- I have to apologise."

Both polar bear and shrew shakes their heads. "We all saw the footage, we know it was an impossible situation. But if you want really want to come over, just ask dad, alright ? He'll arrange things." The young ursid turns toward the glass wall. "Well.. I saw him, didn't I ? I'm sorry, I don't think I can keep watching him like that any longer." The polar bear says, his face closing, taking a step back from the glass. "Will you be leaving soon ?"

Judy shakes her head. "I'm staying. Someone needs to, in case he wakes up."

Fru-Fru opens her mouth and then closes it. She wants to tell the bunny that she shouldn't force herself to remain here out of guilt, but she somehow knows that it won't make her change her mind. The polar bear raises his paw and puts her back on his shoulder, before taking out his phone and taking a quick video of the tod.

"What are you doing ?"

"It's for his parents… In case they want to see him. They can't have any contact with him at the moment, so… Don't worry, I wont let his children see it."

The bunny stares at him reflectively before asking. "How old are you ?"

"Just turned seventeen, why ?"

"You seem very mature for your age."

Morris gives her an embarrassed smile. "Thanks… Mom always say I'm too much like dad. But I'll inherit the business someday, so..."

The business. He's so young, and he's already expecting to get into a life of crime. Is it a choice or a necessity ? She doesn't ask, because none of the two possibilities seem good to her.

Meanwhile, the polar bear slides his phone back into his pocket.

"Oh, before we go !" She reacts. "Judy, I wanted to tell you, I named one of my children after you."

"That's- I don't know what to say." The bunny smiles.

"There's nothing to say. I hope she grows up to be just like her godmother." The shrew grins back.

"Wha- You want me to be-" Judy sputters.

"Yes."

"But we barely know each other."

"It's something we'll have to fix when all this is over, then."

Judy can only stare in surprise at Fru-Fru while Morris chuckles.

"Don't fight it. No one can stand in front of the unstoppable force that is Fru-Fru Big. Now sorry to cut this short, but we need to go."

"Bye bye Judy ! See you later !" Waves the shrew, before Judy can formulate her thought.