Edited by UmbraTsuki

Chapter Thirty Six

Getting warmer, Getting colder

Come again, Wolford?"

Judy gripped the phone tightly in her paw. Her eyes narrowed and a frown tugged at her features as she tried to make sense of what her fellow officer had just related to her. Paradoxically, surprises had become something to be expected when working for the ZPD. This news, however, threw her for a few seconds longer than usual.

"Judy?" Nick said softly, crossing the room to stand closer.

The rabbit looked up, about to tell him what Wolford had related, but the wolf's voice cut in again before she got the chance.

"You heard me right, Hopps. I need to speak with you guys face to face. Just double-time it back to me, okay?"

"Wait," Judy insisted, "tell me more. Are you saying this is-"

"Your fault? You know me better than that, Hopps."

She turned to face the slatted window. "So are we talking about someone operating under my name?"

"Not exactly."

"Misdirection?" Judy pried. She was greeted by a few seconds of silence from the other side of the line.

"A miscalculation."

Judy sighed. They needed a full explanation of this and the only way to get that would be to return to the precinct.

"We're coming back. Fill us in when we get there," she said, forgetting to thank him for his effort. With a tap of her finger, she killed the call, feeling a shudder ripple down her back. Her free paw clenched in frustration, and she threw off any feelings of discomfort. Her email address? If someone had been playing them for fools, they would regret it. They had threatened her partner, they had intruded into her apartment, and now they were apparently trying to frame her.

The doe slipped the phone back into her pocket as she turned to face Nick, meeting his eyes. The concern on his face inquired for details without him having to speak his questions.

"He thinks he's found a lead."

"The lead we want?"

Judy glanced at the floor, exasperated. "Maybe."

"Then put a smile on that bunny face of yours," Nick charmed, placing a paw on her shoulder. His touch always managed to bring comfort back to her, no matter how low she felt. She lifted her own paw to touch his, stroking his fingers for a brief moment. How simple would their life have been if it had just continued like their first date? The uncomplicated enjoyment of spending time in each others company, away from work, away from danger, just them and their feelings, was something which they both missed.

"Carrots, we'll find out what he's got for us soon enough. There's no point getting it in snack packet form."

To this, she acquiesced. A message misunderstood was even worse than a message never received. They could wait.

"Now," the fox continued, flexing his shoulders to release some tension, "I say we check out this room. There's gotta be something left over from Desmond. He must have left in more of a rush than usual. My pal's a bit flighty - always taking off and finding somewhere new for himself - but he doesn't leave without his gear."

Judy raised an eyebrow. "Gear?"

"Not that clutter," he said, wrinkling his nose at the movie cases on the floor, kicking a few aside in hypocritical disapproval of the room's shabbiness. He strolled to the far left corner of the room, where a sleek computer sat atop a tidy plywood desk. As Judy moved closer, she then noticed a selection of microphones, premium quality speakers and a mass tumble of cables.

"This clutter," Nick declared, waving his paw over it.

"Your friend is...musical?" she asked.

"He couldn't sing to earn a pawpsicle, no." Nick shook his head. "He is a ZooTube star though. Naturally, he goes under a pseudonym. His channel's called 'Zoomania', or something stupid. I lose track; he changes it all the time."

Judy bent over to finger one of the microphones, feeling the textured metal mesh. It was one among many, all of similar build. The quality of the equipment was impressive, implying that, despite the condition of his dwellings, he must coast on a fairly decent budget. Unless, she reflected, he gets this stuff by other means.

"Did you just say he has a channel?" Judy glanced over at Nick.

Her partner flopped onto the swivel chair, spinning a complete circle once, just as he always did back at the office. "Yep. He's pretty popular, as far as I've heard. His recordings were the bane of my life while I was staying here. 1am and all I would hear was 'Hello everybody! My name is-' "

"What kind of videos did he upload?" Judy interrupted.

Nick paused, brow arching. "His forte was reaction videos. You know, 'Desmond Denn reacts to the night howler reports'. That sort of thing. Anything crazy and slightly offbeat catches his attention."

Judy resisted commenting on how that reflected on his friendship with Nick.

"And he uploaded regularly?"

"Like clockwork. Five times a week."

A smile spread on the rabbit's face. "Then we find out when he last uploaded..."

"...and that gives us a date…" Nick considered, sitting up with a growing smile of his own.

"...and I bet your friend stores pending videos on his computer…" Judy continued.

"...so we hack his computer, find his files and we have the dates of his most recent stored recordings. Carrots, that's brilliant!" Nick shouted, clapping his paws together.

Judy leaned to the side, placing her paw on her hip. "Oh, you would have thought of it sooner or later."

"True, but I like to make you feel as if you come up with some of the good ideas." He swiveled the chair to face the computer screen, punching the power button on the sleek, black tower. Within seconds, a blue light illuminated the side of the tower, flashing in the silhouette of a fox tail, before pulsing a warm orange, finally stabilizing in russet red.

"Mr. Denn has style," Judy admitted.

"All foxes have style, Carrots. We start on a base line of charm, then we reach debonair."

"How long does that take?" she smirked.

"Oh, some make it by the time they're twelve. Now hush. I'm hacking." He waved his paw to silence her, a cocky grin on his face. "Let's see if ole Desmond has changed his password in the last few years."

Judy shook her head admiringly. If she knew her partner, she wouldn't have to wait long. He was a crack shot at subterfuge; infiltration was just a natural extension of this.

"In," he announced, locking his fingers together and cracking his paws out in front of him.

"Fast work, Slick. It looks like you haven't lost your touch."

"And you like my touch," he chuckled, placing a comforting paw on her shoulder and giving it a squeeze. "Now, let's navigate these tides."

His fingers clicked with rapid dexterity across the keypad. Judy watched in awe as four more security layers fell within moments to Nick's experience.

"Just how often did you need to hack computers?" she asked, leaning forward and resting her paws on the desk, gaining a closer look at the screen.

"Now and again."

"Regularly?"

"Nope."

"High profile?"

He glanced at her. "Let's just say I got careless once and my van appeared on the traffic cameras when it really shouldn't have. A re-shoot was called for. I didn't like the way my fur looked in the original."

Judy was first shocked at the news, then settled on a smile and a shake of her head. "You would do that," she laughed.

"You know it," Nick replied with a winning smirk.

A few clicks later and the video library was opened. Nick pulled up an online tab and found the relevant channel. As it turned out, it was called Zoopercalifragilous.

"So his last upload on the channel was thirteen days ago. Aaaand…." he browsed through the files on the internal drive, "...he has videos saved as recently as...six days ago." The surprise was evident in the inflection of his voice.

Judy breathed out. "Looks like we need to watch through these recordings."

"Not now," Nick said. "I think we should get back to Wolford."

"Agreed."

The rabbit glanced around the desk, stuck her paw into the desk drawer and began rummaging around, hoping to find what she needed. Eventually, she grinned, retrieving a lightning bolt embossed flash drive. "We copy and carry," she smiled, plugging the device into the port.

"There's stuff already on this drive," Nick said, highlighting the saved files. "We can't-hey!" he cried, as Judy leaned over and tapped the delete button. The files onscreen vanished from the drive.

"Now it's free," the rabbit nodded.

"Judy, you're a bad cop. You know that, right?"

"When we catch up with Desmond, I'll make it up to him," she said casually. When need was sufficiently strong, Judy could still manage to surprise Nick by how determined she could be; she could override normal requirements of courtesy.

A tap, click and transfer later and the files were fully copied. Nick tugged the device from the port, twirling it in his paw.

"Now we need to get back. If Desmond's a no-show, we'll get a full warrant to search this place, and we can take whatever hardware we want."

The street still seemed as silent as it had been before they entered the building. Both partners took up a rapid pace, eager to catch the earliest train back to Savanna Central. The day had become surprisingly warm, feeling more akin to a fresh day of summer.

Judy's mind still remained on her conversation with Wolford. They desperately needed to hear whatever news he had for them. Time only increased the need to gain an advantage and stay in the lead, as the gang was still as active as ever. The thugs wouldn't leave Nick alone for long, unless she could come up with something. Thoughts racing, she decided to quell her curiosity until later. Musing over something that they would soon hear could only distract her from the immediacy of their situation.

Judy's ears perked as she heard a certain amount of lively bustle coming from the next street, a disconcerting change to the hush of the avenue where Desmond used to live. She watched her partner leading the way. His footfalls were more casual now, his swagger more confident. Despite the insecurity she had seen in him, a little good news could readily bring back his lighter attitude.

The fox turned the corner, leaving the avenue and entering a busier stretch of shops signposted as Oodalalee Street. The word was from some kind of vulpine dialect which Judy didn't understand.

"Shhh…" Nick hissed, skidding to a stop and sticking his arm out, halting Judy in her stride. She glanced at him, nose twitching in interest. Before them, a mixture of bug stalls, pay-to-try virtual reality vendors and open-air percussionists brought vitality to the stretch of road. While the majority of citizens were foxes, Judy did notice a few other mammals present, among them an otter, who seemed to be the focus of Nick's attention.

The otter trudged purposefully through the swell of bodies, twisting and turning with a fluidity of motion characteristic of his species. He appeared to be staring at no one in particular and taking in everything at the same time. His paws dug into the pockets of his slender trench coat. The garment's dark tone, coupled with the deep crimson of his pleated trousers demonstrated that he wasn't concerned by the guarantee of standing out from the crowd. He stroked his gaze across the traders, smiling and apologizing whenever he crossed someone else's path.

"Back up," Nick whispered, reversing his steps before turning around completely and heading in the opposite direction.

Judy followed without hesitation, trying hard to stifle the desire to glance around.

"The otter?" she whispered.

"Yes. I recognize him from my time doing you-know-what for you-know-who. I would really prefer not to get noticed."

Nick pulled his sunglasses out of his shirt pocket and held them up in front of him, pretending to wipe away a non-existent smudge.

"Is he still coming our way?" Judy muttered. She was working hard to match her pace with his.

"Yep," he nodded, watching the reflection. After a few more paces, he nudged her with his elbow. "Ice cream at nine o'clock."

She turned smoothly, heading for the entrance to a large shop with pristine windows which looked freshly cleaned. Her paw rose to grip the door handle. Unlike the one she had entered when she first met Nick, this parlour was designed with smaller mammals in mind; the door-frame only offered enough space for perhaps an antelope, at most.

A jingle of chimes tickled the air as the door swept open to let them in. Judy knew that her partner was right behind her, so paused for a moment before allowing the door to swing closed behind her.

The room inside was spacious and semi-circular in shape, with the flat front of the shop being contrasted by a smooth curve of glass counters on the opposite end. The floorspace between the door and the counters was populated by cheap yet attractive plastic tables, to accommodate eat-in options. Currently, the parlour was busy, as it was still the school holidays for youngsters. Rather than the oldie worldie decoration of Jumbeaux's Cafe, the place they had just entered boasted a simple, sleek design and lab-white colour scheme, with a dark floor.

Nick crossed the shop quickly. His paws padded on the smooth and polished surface. He knew the owner of the shop, and the guy liked to keep things spotlessly clean.

Once they reached the counter, they both leaned against the curved glass, flicking their gaze at one another. Judy narrowed her eyes, jerking her head almost imperceptibly at the window.

"Still out there?" Nick asked quietly.

"Yes," she nodded.

"Okay. We're gonna have to keep it low and-"

"Nicholas P. Wilde!" a voice boomed across the shop, causing both friends to jolt, nearing knocking their heads together.

Nick's eyes darted around the room in panic, before he singled out the source of the outburst. A male fox wearing a black and white striped apron was making steady progress towards them from around the other side of the counter. He followed the curve of the shop all the way, until he reached where they both stood in the middle of the counter line.

"Nicholas Wilde," he grinned, brown eyes glinting warmly. "The chances of seeing you here! I thought you brushed this place off years ago…"

Judy glanced from one fox to the other. This new face struck her as harmless. It wasn't easy to tell with foxes, but she would place him at just under twice Nick's age, with his build reminding her of a certain fox back in Bunnyburrow. She decided it must come from working in food related environments. In his paw he held a stainless steel scoop, which dripped with half-melted ice cream.

"Judy," Nick said hurriedly, ear twitching in the direction of the door every time it opened, "this is Joe. He's the owner of this lovely parlour."

"So nice to meet you!" Judy grinned, conscious of the time they were wasting. She only now noticed the large sign above the counters - Joe Letto's Ice Cream Parlour. She also hadn't noticed the sign next to it, which read 'No elephants, even if you can fit!'. This elicited a righteous scowl from her in Nick's direction, who shrugged innocently.

"Well, I must say," Joe laughed, "we don't tend to see many bunnies around here. Or should I say 'rabbits'? Some folks are sensitive to the bunnies term…"

"Bunnies is fine," Nick responded on Judy's behalf.

"Good, good! So what have you been doing with yourself, Nicko?"

"Oh," he exhaled, tugging at the collar of his shirt, "keeping busy. I'm in a little bit of a rush, so-"

"'Rush' nothing! Pick a flavour. It's on me," Joe chuckled, placing the dripping scoop on the glass top of the counter, smiling expectantly and looking between the two friends.

Nick glanced round for a moment, then rubbed his paw across his face. "Joe, we gotta go. Really, I mean, I'd love to catch up, but we're in a mess right now."

"A mess? You? You're always in a mess, Nick!" Joe laughed loudly. "Last time I saw you was...what? Three years ago? You were in a mess then, too. Remember when you brought that-"

Nick's eyes widened and he placed both paws on the counter. "Yes, we have just enough time for an ice cream. Two scoops - blueberry and cappuccino."

"Now you're talking!" the older fox smiled, spreading his paws wide. "And what would you like, Miss Judy? We have every flavour you can imagine. Sour, sweet, spicy. Profiterole, horseradish, prunes, chocolate, popcorn…"

"Mulberry and strawberry," she blurted out.

"Coming up," the fox declared, grabbing the scoop like it was a weapon of war and racing further along the row of multicoloured desserts. Within half a minute, he was back with two overfilled tubs, complete with a spoon in each and various sprinkles on top.

"So kind," Nick drawled, taking the tub in his paw and passing the other to Judy.

Joe was about to respond when a customer from the other end of the shop called out for bloody murder if he didn't receive some service soon. With an apologetic shrug and enthusiastic nod, the fox trundled along to his awaiting public.

Glancing to her side, Judy saw Nick prodding his ice cream with the spoon, eyeing up the blueberry flavour.

The rabbit ribbed the fox in the side, scowling. "I thought we didn't have time for this?"

"We don't," he whispered, stabbing at his ice cream with his spoon. "But Joe's gonna make a bigger commotion if we try to slip away. I know him. Best thing we can do is just keep our heads down."

"You sure this is a good idea?"

"Of course it's not," the canid muttered. "But I don't fancy having him call out across the shop at me either. Look, we have a jumble of customers between us and the shop window. We're practically invisible. Now eat your ice cream. This happens to be the best joint in the whole of Vulpinia."

"Vulpinia?" Judy frowned.

"Yes, it's where we are. That's the name for this suburb. Did I forget to tell you that?"

Before she could answer, the shop owner was already back in front of them, grinning in expectation. "Well go on," he insisted. "Try it!"

Nick lifted the spoon to his lips, watching Judy from the corner of his eye. He tasted the cool dessert, smiling at his partner as his liking for his favourite flavour began to override his concerns.

"It's okay Judy. I don't think it's likely that an ott-"

There was a jingling sound from behind them. Nick spun round, green eyes flaring wide. In a second, the fox dropped downwards to the floor, disappearing from level sight.

Joe glanced at Judy in shock. "Well, I've heard of not being able to hold your drink, but…ice cream?"

The rabbit grinned, shrugged, then slipped down to the floor too, noting that the older fox's expression seemed to become even more confused. She lay flat, looking at her partner.

"Otter just came into the ice cream shop!" he whispered. "What are the odds?"

"Did he see you?"

"I don't think so. Carrots, we need to get out of here. If he sees me, they could pull support out of the woodwork."

Judy nodded, gazing around. "There!" she pointed. Halfway along the counter row, there was a gap allowing staff to walk behind to the serving side. It also led straight to a set of double doors, presumably allowing access to the backstock area and, hopefully, a rear exit.

To her frustration, there were no customers standing at that point to cover their departure. It would be all too easy for the otter to see them.

"We need a distraction, Judy," Nick muttered, shaking his head.

She thought for a moment. "Get ready," she said gravely.

"What are you-"

"Free ice cream for EVERYONE!" the doe shouted as loudly as she could, then waited for the magic to happen.

Within seconds, the whole front of the shop was one solid wall of beckoning customers, some having abandoned their tables once they heard the announcement, others now coming in from outside, recognizing the tell-tale signs of a bargain. The two friends scurried along, keeping as close to the base of the counter as they could to avoid getting stepped on. They snaked around the side, scurrying towards the double doors. Nick took one glance behind him. The otter was simply staring around, alarmed by the commotion and in the process of closing the case for his phone. Never once did he see the two mammals sliding towards the staff area. Seeing the staff door opening for a moment before closing meant nothing to him.

In the back of the shop, Nick gave Judy a thumbs up. They were in a small central room with three doors leading off. Two presumably led to a washroom and office respectively, while the third was clearly marked as Fire Exit. With a push of the panic bar, Judy opened the door, allowing them both to tumble out into a dirty back alley.

Nick bolted up, slammed the door and pulled his partner further down the alley, stepping over empty cans and ruptured trash bags as he rushed by. He turned down another alley, swinging and flattening himself firmly to the wall, holding her close against him.

"I don't think we're being followed, "Judy whispered trying to turn to look up at the fox.

"Wait" he whispered, remaining where he was, listening intently.

A few more seconds passed. Judy could feel his heartbeat against her back, gradually slowing. She then felt him shifting, still holding on to her as he moved a little along the wall, peaking around the corner. He let out a sigh.

"We're fine. He's not following us."

"That's what I said," Judy laughed.

"It was a close one, Carrots."

"We had it covered." Despite her show of confidence, she was relieved that the immediate threat was over.

"I just wanted to make sure it was safe," Nick said.

The rabbit smiled. Something told her that he had been more concerned about keeping her safe.

The fox's chest rose as he breathed in. "You really know how to hustle, don't you?"

"I just put my mind to what needs to be done, Slick," she stated, clearly amused. "Now, if the coast is clear, you can let go of me."

He looked surprised, as if he hadn't even realized he was still holding her with one paw. "Don't you like me being close?"

"Of course I do," she stammered, not expecting the question.

The gleam in his eye alerted her to what was coming.

"How close?" he soothed, placing his other paw on her shoulder. "This close?"

"Nick…" she whispered.

"This close?" he smirked, leaning towards her so their noses were nearly touching.

Judy felt a warm sensation spreading inside her. "It's a start."

"How about…" he whispered, moving even further forward, "...this close?" He tilted his head and placed a chaste kiss on her cheek, moving back slightly to eye her with amusement.

She met his gaze, purple on green. "I'm not sure, Nick. I wasn't able to decide."

"Sly Bunny. Shall I show you again?" He moved in closer, then paused before making contact.

Their eyes never left each other as the time seemed to stretch out.

"We do have a train to catch," he said quietly.

"And this place is pretty dangerous," Judy added.

"Well, I'll have you know that I'm pretty dangerous, Carrots," he smirked, rising to stand straight again. "But I take your point."

"Will we continue this conversation another time?" Judy laughed, consciously stopping herself from stroking her ear. "Your arguments were very compelling."

"You supported your stance fairly well too," the fox chuckled.

"Oh," she brushed off, "you definitely had the stronger case."

"You bet. Sounds like you could do with some help. Maybe you can ask Wolford what he thinks about some of my finer points when we get back," he winked.

The smile on her face caught him off guard. "I'm not so sure that he'd be any help. He doesn't speak to me the way you just did." She began walking down the alley. "Often…" she grinned.

"Often? He hasn't often spoken with you the way I do? Don't you mean never?" Nick said quickly, rushing to catch up with her, staring down at his partner intently.

"Do I mean never?" she mused, making a show of thinking it through, stretching out the fox's unease. "Yes. Yes I do."

His body relaxed. "You bunnies. So flirtatious…" He ruffled her ears with his paw.

"That's a new one!" Judy laughed.

"New to say, not new to notice. You've been making moves for a while, Carrots."

"Are you saying I should put the brakes on?"

"As it so happens, I've always operated in the fast lane. Speed doesn't scare me."

The fox and the rabbit stepped out from the alley into a broader street. Nick scanned his eyes across the area, satisfied that he didn't recognize any familiar faces. They could see the train station just one block away.

Flashing their return tickets, they joined the line to board the train outbound for Savanna Central. The platform was neat, tidy and complete with yet more traders and sellers. It must be a fox thing, Judy shrugged.

Despite the levity of their previous exchanges, the doe began to feel a heavier weight as she boarded the train just behind her partner. Their troubles were far from over, and she knew it. Desmond was still missing, the gang was still out there, and however Wolford explained this finding and how it related to her, she felt sure she would not like the news.

Author's Note:

Hey!

Nice to see you again. I do apologize to you all for the wait. The next chapter should be out much sooner. Also, we've tipped into the 500s for followers. I can't believe it! I wanted to be sure to get this out to you all, as it's my birthday today, so it's my gift to you. :D Thank you all for your amazing support. Please do remember to review! It helps me a great deal and makes my day. I do so love to hear from you guys. There is also a string of Easter Eggs in this chapter, so let me know if you catch any.

Shout out to Cimar of Turalis WildeHopps, who is not only an amazing guy who has been a real help when I wanted to plot my evil schemes, but has also just written (another) fantastic fic! Check out The Masked Fox. Nick Wilde as Zorro? It's impossible not to love it.

I will see you all soon. And just to set the record clear, this fic has a lot planned out for it. You're in for a ride...

Now don't forget those reviews!

Replies to guest reviews:

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That's all for now. I will hopefully see you all soon.

Till next time!

-AF