Author's Note:

Hi guys!

I know a lot of you have been waiting for an update, and I'm really sorry it's taken so long. I'm back though. I am back. This chapter is extra long because I love you. I really appreciate all your support and I enjoy hearing from all of you. If you haven't done so yet, check out Neytirix on DeviantArt, as she posted a picture I commissioned titled Unforgiven. It's from this fic, so I think you'll like it. Currently, we are close to 150k views, and I can't be grateful enough for your support. I'll continue working on this until the story is told. The good news is, I'm far from dry on ideas...

Please do remember to review. It means a lot to me and acts as fuel to get chapters out faster. Hearing your speculations on the story never gets old.

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Now, onto the chapter...

Edited by UmbraTsuki and Cimar of Turalis WildeHopps

Chapter Thirty Seven

System Purge

The journey back was equally one of pleasant company and growing unease. Time alone was something the two partners had come to value as a precious rarity in these days of uncertainty. Few words were exchanged, but much was communicated. It was in the way they softly shifted closer across the seats. It was expressed through the interlocking of their paws as the stops grew more and more familiar, the list of announced station names preceding Savanna Central's becoming shorter with each stop. A brief attempt at words was begun by Judy, carried by Nick, then dropped by both in some form of mute understanding. In the end, these moments did not need words. A touch, a glance, an intake of breath; all these expressed their feelings in a language which was all their own.

When the train finally reached its terminus, the partners alighted onto the bustling station, carrying their belongings beside them.

Judy was barely aware of the crowded metropolitan arena, her body carrying her through the crush of bodies on autopilot. The rabbit's mind was entirely fixed upon Wolford's conversation, running through the whole exchange again and again in her memory. Did the wolf really think he had found a lead which was somehow linked with her? She dreaded whatever it was he had to say, but felt some excitement nonetheless. It was a lead. It was something which could help her protect Nick. Her Nick. She trusted Wolford enough to know that he wouldn't waste their time with something inconsequential. Judy had always been a purpose driven individual, and the determination to keep her friend and partner safe overrode any concerns about how it would reflect upon her.

It was a relief that the cruiser they had left outside the station had not been repatriated by over-zealous ZPD officers, as neither of them wanted to waste the time ordering a taxi, and walking would be slower still.

Nick glanced at Judy as they approached the vehicle. Her expression was distant. Without having to ask, the fox climbed into the driver's side, allowing his partner some 'passenger time' to mull things over. The months working together had given him insight enough to recognize when she needed time out. It didn't happen often, but sometimes a messy arrest would affect her more than it did him. The worst example of this had been when they were called to respond to the violent assault of a fellow officer, a tiger with whom they had worked. The tiger lived, of course, but the attack had been vicious. Despite her time in the force and the number of crimes she had seen, Judy hadn't lost her ability to empathize deeply and sensitively with others. To Nick, this wasn't a weakness, but a strength. It's what made her the rabbit he loved. Still, he was just grateful that they hadn't yet dealt with fatalities.

While they drove, the fox's eyes refused to stay focused on the road. Whenever they came to a safe pause, whether it was at a set of traffic lights or a moment's stop behind a slower moving vehicle, Nick looked to the rear-view mirror, which was tilted just enough to the left to provide a view of the rabbit. He recognized the look of concentration. It was not so much unease that she displayed, it was intensity - intensity of feeling, of planning...of anticipation.

The reynard sighed, pushing down a fraction on the gas. The sooner they spoke face to face with Wolford, the sooner they could help each other sort through whatever awaited them.

After several more minutes spent driving steady, Nick parked their cruiser outside the ZPD headquarters. Although the day was clear and the sky radiant, there was no time for levity, no time to savor the clement conditions. With a rapidity characteristic of those facing grave yet essential news, they entered their place of work, checking their watches and greeting colleagues as they passed.

They reached the office Wolford had been assigned, both stopping in front of the door. Judy raised her paw without hesitation and knocked.

While they waited, the doe slowly turned her head to look up at the fox, seeing him already staring down at her.

"Are you okay?" they both asked at the same time, stopping as soon as they realized. A grin spread across both their faces.

"We're moving forward, Carrots. All news is good news, right?" Nick winked.

"That's a cliche," Judy smirked, shaking her head.

"Now, is that so? Because it's what you told me when I was worried about my impending academy results, dumb bunny."

Judy paused. "You remember that? That was...months ago."

"I have it written down," Nick admitted, turning his head to face the door again.

She continued to stare, wide eyed with a growing smile. "Wait, do you write down all the stuff I say to you?"

The fox raised a paw to his mouth, coughing quietly. She almost thought she could hear a slight 'maybe' coming from him.

"Nick?" she asked warmly, knowing that he had just let something slip. "Do-"

The door opened, breaking off her questions. They both turned to see Wolford standing in the doorway, back straight. The wolf greeted them in a serious manner, and the partners entered, both giving him a quizzical look, anxious to hear what he had for them.

"Did the two of you have any luck on your trip?"

"Luck would be an exaggeration," Judy sighed.

"Desmond was M.I.A," Nick explained, leaning back against the wall near the doorframe, "and we nearly ran into one of the gang's cronies. So-"

"Noted." Wolford raised a paw to cut him off, closing the door quietly behind them. He strolled to his desk and reached for the file which lay on top of the polished wooden surface, flicking it open and keeping his back to them as he stood reading. Nick and Judy exchanged a glance, her pulling a questioning face, while he raised both arms in a display of confusion.

"You said you've got news for us, buddy," Nick pressed.

"Correct."

Judy tapped her foot impatiently on the floor. "Is it good or bad?"

"You tell me." Wolford finally closed the file, turned round to face them and sat back on the edge of the desk. He raised his arm and rubbed the back of his neck. "As you know, I've spent the last few days scouring the whole internal network, reading through every email, listening in on every recorded call. Aside from discovering that many of Zootopia's finest use our internal servers for decidedly stupid conversations, I found nothing. In fact, until a few hours ago, I hadn't found so much as a paperclip out of place. Well," he considered, "I did find paperclips out of place, but they bore no relevance to the case."

"Is someone getting sidetracked?" Nick smirked.

"No, I'm stalling," Wolford confessed, looking from Judy to Nick with discomfort in his eyes. He sighed, raising himself and walking across the room to Judy, passing her the file.

The doe clasped it in her paws without hesitation. She opened it, casting her gaze across the first sheet of paper, which was merely some text.

Hello Zach. No worries. I'll send you Officer Wilde's file. It'll be waiting for you when you arrive this morning. Good luck! -Hopps

She re-read the message, frowning.

"I…" she trailed off, raising her head to look at Wolford.

"Did you send it?"

"Well yes," she admitted. "Yes I did, but-"

"Did you attach Wilde's file to the message?"

"Yes."

He smiled apologetically. "Look, Hopps, I'm not saying this is what we're looking for. However, it's the only communication I've seen which does seem to provide enough details to present a potential security breach."

"Lemme see," Nick stated with a huff, snatching the file from Judy's paws. His brow furrowed. "Is that it?" he scoffed rudely, looking up at his fellow predator with just a hint of impatience. "I kinda got the impression this was going to be important. This might be nothing!"

"Nothing?" Wolford repeated, ears perking, voice almost sounding offended. "I wouldn't call your file 'nothing', Wilde. Another member of the ZPD, a new recruit nonetheless, having access to your records at the same time as a gang outside of the district boundaries gains knowledge of your identity, is...I wouldn't call any of that 'nothing'. "

"I sent it within our internal network," Judy said aloud, scraping her mind for details.

"Right." The wolf nodded in agreement.

"It was encrypted too! I made sure of that."

"Hopps, Wilde, you're both missing the point," Wolford said, shifting on his feet.

"That being?" Nick asked, rolling his paw, inviting more details.

"It doesn't matter if Judy sent the email in an encrypted format, exclusively within our internal network. What concerns me is what Zach Terse did with it afterwards."

The two partners stared at him. Nick folded his arms, leaned back against the wall once more and crossed one leg in front of the other. Judy placed her paws on her hips and raised an eyebrow.

"Do you get me now?" Wolford asked, slight excitement glinting in his eyes.

"Oh yes," Judy said, voice serious, perhaps even forbidding. "We get you loud and clear."

It took no time for Zach Terse to be found. The leopard was helping Officer Mchorn review surveillance tapes in relation to a complaint that the contents of someone's locker had been pilfered. The rookie cop received the invitation to follow Wolford to his office with an enthusiastic smile. Along the way, he talked endlessly about the day's proceedings, honing in on minutiae which was of no benefit to him and of no interest to Wolford.

Still talking, he entered the office, eyes sweeping the room and taking in the two other cops already inside. His expression fell and he paused for a moment in the doorway, before Wolford gave him a gentle nudge, prompting the leopard to move in fully.

"Take a seat," the wolf said without emotion, walking to the far side of the room and clicking on the coffee machine. He was proud of himself for managing to acquire the machine, having fought for it through long negotiations with the chief, successfully arguing for its installation on the grounds of mammal rights in the workplace.

Zach lowered himself into the seat, looking blankly between his three colleagues, mouth hanging open a little.

"How have ya been, pal?" Nick grinned, peeling himself away from the wall and moving closer to the leopard.

Zach scratched himself behind the ear. "I thought you were both on an assignment in Sahara Square?"

"Oh, we were, we were," Nick smiled slowly, pacing a few inches with fluid motions. "But, you see, something big came up and we thought we best come back pronto."

"And what was that?" the felid smiled, moving from scratching his ear to rubbing his face with one paw.

"Maybe you can guess?" Wolford intoned from the other side of the room, finally satisfied with the colour of his coffee. He strolled across to the leopard, carefully balancing three styrofoam cups of liquid in his grasp, a feat which even Nick had never managed to accomplish. With an inviting smile, the wolf passed one to Zach, one to Nick, and kept the other for himself. He tried to avoid Judy's gaze, not wanting her to realize that he had deliberately forgotten her cup. Rumors may be rumors, but he had heard that the drink could make bunnies hyper. That wasn't something they needed right now.

"Guess?" Zach repeated, taking the coffee from his supervisor with an appreciative nod. "I-I don't think I can guess."

"Give it a shot."

The leopard stared at them all for a moment, just the hint of a frown on his features. He then relaxed, shrugged and brought his left leg up and over to rest on his right thigh. "Did you guys get invited to do a press conference? That would be awesome!"

"It wasn't a press conference," Wolford replied.

"Well, if it wasn't a press conference," Zach said vaguely, "did you guys need to get in some training or something?"

Judy exchanged a look with Nick, who had wandered to a standstill beside the window, alternating between looking at them and staring out of the glass.

No one spoke for three seconds, during which time Zach's smile faltered a little. Finally, Wolford sighed and passed the file to the rookie.

A turn of a page later, and still no change had taken place in the felid's demeanor. He looked up at Judy, swallowing. "I...don't understand. I mean, you sent this to me, right? You guys know this."

"Right. And you accessed the information so as to be better prepared for your induction days, correct?" Wolford asked.

"Yeah, I just wanted to be on top form."

"And when did you access the email?"

"Just as soon as I arrived here on my first day! It was the Thursday or Wednesday or-"

"That's fine," the canid nodded.

"Can I ask a question?" Zach readjusted himself in his seat, quickly downing the coffee in two gulps. He waited for his supervisor to nod, then continued. "Am I being interrogated? I mean, am I under suspicion or-or something? And why?"

Wolford tilted his head, catching Nick's eye just the way Judy had. Without a word, the fox understood the question and nodded his approval.

"Zach, it's like this," the grey-furred wolf said, crossing his arms. "Officer Wilde has been the focus of a somewhat raised level of criminal attention. The source of this attention originates from outside Savanna Central, and they should not have been able to place Wilde as an employee of the ZPD. Yet they did. They traced him, and they traced him good."

The leopard squeezed the cup in his paws, almost cracking the soft material. "But what does that have to do with me?"

Wolford casually took some sips from his own coffee. "This heightened attention can be identified as beginning around the same time as Precinct One received an influx of new recruits." The wolf placed his paws behind his back, keeping his eyes focused on Zach. "I have run background checks on all of you. So far as I can tell, I have every reason to trust you. Now, what I-"

"You guys think I'm a double agent?!" the leopard gulped, turning open-mouthed to look at Nick, who still seemed distracted, idly looking at his claws.

"Absolutely not," Wolford cut in with a friendly tone. "All we're trying to do is ask a couple of questions so you can help us determine how information was leaked which revealed Nick Wilde's identity and location."

Zach froze. "Information leaked?" he stammered. "What kind of information are you worried about?"

Judy smiled, shifting from foot to foot. She always found that situations like the current one generated more energy than she could vent. It wasn't stressful as such, but she felt stimulated to resolve the unanswered questions.

"Just about anything which names Wilde…" she stated slowly, pacing towards the leopard, "or identifies where he works...or provides a photo..." she explained, ending up directly in front of the rookie cop, who visibly shrank back from the much smaller mammal, a gesture which didn't go unnoticed by the rabbit.

Once again, they waited. Zach uncrossed and recrossed his legs a few times, rubbing the back of his neck more regularly than ever.

"Buddy?" Nick said in a calm voice, strolling over from the window and stopping next to Judy. "I could really do with your help on this."

The leopard looked up. For a predator, he was doing a good impression of looking like nervous prey.

"So this is all about the file that Hopps sent me?"

"As I said, it's the only message I've been able to find which was sent within our internal network during the time frame in question," Wolford repeated.

"But...it was sent to me by a superior. How is that my fault? You guys are-"

"Okay," Nick growled, "first off, pred up. You're a cop, act like one. Second, we're not saying it's your fault. Not unless you did something to make it your fault."

"What did I do?!" Zach said, almost visibly jumping. He glanced around at the three officers, suddenly sounding out of breath.

"Zach," Wolford said calmly, shaking his head. "Zach, we are asking because we are running out of options. We need to keep Wilde safe. Do you understand that?"

"Yes." He shifted in his seat. "But I can't think of anything I can say to help."

"Then let me ask a few more questions," Wolford said. "Did you access the email when you received it?"

"Of course."

"And did you access it on a ZPD computer, operating on our internal network while logged onto your account?"

"That's what we're meant to do, right?" the rookie said hurriedly.

"And did you show it to any other colleagues?" Wolford continued in a steady voice, strolling again to the coffee machine.

"No, I did not."

Wolford reached for another cup, placing it under the coffee dispenser, hovering his thumb over the option for a latte. A small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. It was time to play the ace. "And did you only access it from a computer on the ZPD's internal system?"

No response reached the wolf's keen ears as he watched the coffee dribble down into the holder. He waited, counting how long the silence lasted. Finally, he turned around again to face the rookie. The look on the leopard's face confirmed that he hadn't been merely wasting his time. In fact, Wolford knew he had just struck gold.

"How do you mean?" Zach asked, gulping.

"Did you, for example…" Wolford pondered in a calculated manner, "...copy the email to a private address?"

Judy watched with a mixture of amazement and indignation as the cat grew ever more alarmed, his ears twitching and tail frozen behind him when before it had been swishing back and forth.

The wolf stepped closer, rhythmically turning a wooden stirrer in his drink. "A Zoogle account, perhaps? Did you access it from home? Might you have accessed it on an unsecured home-based network, stored it on a standard cloud service or even accessed the zmail copy on your phone while connected to a public network?"

By this stage, Zach had shrunk demonstrably in size, looked moderately ill and appeared as though his last vestiges of dignity were the only things stopping him from slipping under the table. Judy glanced at Nick, who met her eyes with a mixture of frustration and incredulity.

"I might have done…" the leopard winced.

"Might have done?" Wolford pressed, tone dropping.

Zach closed his eyes for a moment, breathing in deeply. "Alright, yeah, that's pretty much accurate. I copied the email, created a zmail version which I sent to myself, and…"

"...And he may have forgotten to encrypt his new version, which he accessed on public networks while commuting," Wolford finished, staring at the wall behind the chief.

Bogo sat in his chair, eyes fierce and neck bulging as he listened to Wolford's report. The two of them had been the only occupiers of the room for the last twenty minutes, while the canid went over everything he had gleaned from his interview with Zach Terse. In truth, Wolford would have preferred to divulge the news via a phone call. Every officer in Precinct One felt intimidated when their chief was angry, even if his wrath was directed at another.

"Are you telling me, Wolford, that this rookie knew the procedure for accessing sensitive documents, understood the regulations and safety protocols in place, and still created a private copy for...CONVENIENCE?"

"Precisely," the wolf declared.

The buffalo slammed his fist onto the desk, causing calamity amidst the stacks of files, paperclips, staples and pencils. "And THIS is the kind of material approved and shipped to us by the academy?"

"I know sir, very distressing."

"And he passed all his tests, Wolford? Security awareness? Protocol adherence?"

"I was affirmatively shocked."

"Wolford," Bogo said, rising from his chair and standing tall. He raised a hoof which stayed quivering in the air as he sucked in breath. then suddenly he closed his eyes, paused for a moment and exhaled. When he looked up again, his face was dangerously polite, sporting a slight smile. It was a smile that sent a shudder of worry through the wolf. "Bring. Him. To. Me."

"Sir, might I make a suggestion?"

The chief grunted, but nodded his consent.

"I don't want to interfere with your methods of discipline, but the larger a deal you make of this, the more likely it is for others to hear about why he is being disciplined, and potentially why it's so vitally dangerous that information on Wilde was leaked in the first place. What I mean is, the whole station could learn that Nick is currently being pursued by a criminal fraternity."

"So?" Bogo huffed. "We've got our mammal."

"Well that's just it, sir," Wolford said, finally making eye contact with his superior. "We don't know that Zach was the source of the information leakage. We know he was an idiot and requires discipline irrespective of his involvement in Wilde's current situation, but we cannot be sure that this negates the existence of another, authentic, calculated double agent."

It was several moments before Bogo spoke.

"Very well." The chief slowly lowered himself into his chair again, nostrils still flaring. He mercilessly burned numerous desktop items with his eyes. "He can go on a one cop mission to challenge an alleged crime lord in the Nocturnal District."

The wolf tilted his head and grinned. "Now sir-"

"Can it, Wolford! I don't want to hear it."

"I think you will want to hear it," he countered boldly.

The buffalo glared up at him, finally relenting and waving his hoof in approval. "Go ahead. Make your suggestion."

The canid looked to the wall again, eyes focusing on the framed image of the former mayor standing side by side with the chief of Precinct One. Despite Lionheart's ineffectual handling of the night howler incident and his corresponding arrest, the picture had remained on the office wall. The wolf had often wondered what that said about the relationship between the two officials.

"Sir, Zach Terse grew up in Savanna Central. The climate tends to be comfortable, to say the least. In view of this, I recommend transfer. Parking duty in Tundratown. For five months."

Silence.

A smile began to spread across Bogo's face, not forced like the previous one, but one of genuine satisfaction. When he spoke, his deep voice reverberated with approval. "And after those five months?"

Wolford cleared his throat. "Two months supervising school runs in Little Rodentia. The newspapers have been expressing concern that the ZPD isn't doing enough to establish a positive image among elementary pupils. In two letters, PR."

Bogo leaned back in his chair, clasping his hooves together, then nodded slowly. Not one to care to admit such things, he didn't state how impressed he was with the lupine.

"Wolford, I believe you have a point," he said, beginning to sort through the wreckage he had created on his desk, starting with the paperclips scattered about. "Perhaps it is time to strengthen those relations…"

Nick spied across the room at his colleague, weighing up whether this was the best time to make his suggestion.

The afternoon since interviewing Zach had been filled with decidedly less drama. Once they had been satisfied that they had acquired everything useful the felid could give them, their conversation had been brought to a smooth close with the admission that these findings would need to be brought up with the chief, and this would most likely have strong repercussions on the leopard's situation in Precinct One, and perhaps his general position in the ZPD itself. The rookie had entered what Nick could only describe as emotional paralysis, in that his previous discomfort, fear and defensiveness had been replaced by a mute acknowledgement that he faced an uncertain future.

Once the cat had left the room, Wolford had joined him in the confederacy of silence, and neither Nick nor Judy had managed to ascertain many of the wolf's thoughts on the matter. He had nodded to them, thanked them for taking the time and effort to hear him out, and promptly left. With nothing left to do, the two partners had relocated to their own allotted office, or the nearest thing to it. They had actually decided to change back into their ZPD uniforms, which they had packed in the bags they had taken to Vulpinia, just in case they had needed them. The rest of the afternoon had been spent mulling over some low priority case files. This wasn't something they strictly needed to do, and, in fact, bordered more on being something they ought not to do, as they both knew Bogo had lifted them from all other assignments to focus exclusively on Nick's case. Regardless, there was such a thing as reaching burnout, and it was time to douse themselves with the cool water of normality. If boring paperwork was what an average day entailed, then boring paperwork was the mission for the afternoon. So far, Judy thought they were succeeding at that mission splendidly.

"Glad for the progress?" Judy finally smiled, spinning her chair around, letting the pencil she had dropped onto the desktop roll away unrestrained, its clatter filling the tight office space. For a square room, the acoustics weren't bad.

"Glad?" Nick said, eyeing her.

The truth was, he wasn't really sure that he was pleased with what they had accomplished. Zach had been foolish, unprofessional and sloppy, but there hadn't been any malicious intent so far as he could see. In fact, he quite liked the leopard in a way and had hoped he would make it to being a familiar face, if only to add even further proof that Clawhauser didn't represent the ZPD standard for big cat officers. Likelihood pointed to him being the source of the security breach, but it would be a shame to see the rookie pushed out of the force for what was, after all, a rookie mistake. Nevertheless, it did bring some peace of mind.

"It's nice that we're one ahead," he nodded, rather nonchalantly.

The rabbit smiled and returned to her file, turning her back to him and leaning over the desk.

Nick was about to say something else, then suddenly realized he didn't even know what he was trying to say. Instead, he just sighed, sweeping the room with his eyes. Finding no particular escape for his bored mind amid the shelves, folders and boxes of the room, he turned again to his colleague. There, his expression softened as he watched her work.

He couldn't remember the first time he had begun to watch her more closely, rather than simply fixing his eyes on her with the normal excitement which greeting a friend entails. It happened gradually, solidifying into a habit before he would even acknowledge it was an occurrence. It was the small things which caught his attention. The way she now crossed one foot in front of the other whenever she leaned forward, giving herself more stability in the chair designed for a slightly larger animal. Her routine of scratching furiously with her pencil until a form was filled in within a minute, then checking it over for mistakes for another three. The small movements of her nose when a case caught her interest, and the sudden pause and scrunching of her nose and mouth whenever a paragraph made the described crime sound even more unjust.

The fox smiled, knowing that any moment now she would sigh in frustration, reach for the pencil sharpener and obliterate the graphite because she always wrote down to the wood, and she inevitably felt so anxious to get back to the writing that she cost herself more time by breaking the sensitive lead repeatedly.

He climbed to his feet and strolled across the room, paws stuffed into his pockets. "Okay, break time's over, Carrots."

"Break time?" she glanced up at him.

"Yep," he grinned. "As fascinating as…" he leaned over her shoulder, staring at the paper, "...reports of petty theft and species slurs may be, we have something more important to tackle right now."

The doe smiled, rubbing the pencil against her chin. "Such as?"

Nick winked with as much radiated charm as he could muster. "Such as me, sweetheart, and you know I'm your priority. So let's get some movies watched while the night is young."

With a sigh, Judy shook her head, amusement tugging at her mouth. "Do you have something specific in mind?"

"Now you're talkin'!" the fox declared, quickly grabbing his chair and bringing it to her desk. "Scooch over and lets get this thing started. Blockbuster thrills and riotous gags are guaranteed," Nick stated with amusement. He pulled the flash drive they had found in Desmond's apartment out of his shirt pocket, slotting it into the port of the laptop which lay a few inches away on the desk.

"Oh, wonderful! I'll fetch the popcorn," Judy said, rolling her eyes while sitting back tiredly.

A few clicks later, a video loaded up showing a fox with blue eyes and neatly combed, russet fur as he sat staring at the camera, which had presumably been placed atop the monitor of his computer. From his features, Judy would guess that he was roughly near Nick's age, but probably a few years younger. He wore a turquoise, buttoned shirt with white edges, the top two buttons left undone. The gentle grin he displayed was undeniably charming, although the main thing which caught Judy's attention was a white line of fur which ran back from his forehead to the nape of his neck and which had obviously been dyed.

The doe rolled her eyes. Altering the colour of their fur was something which a minority of animals liked to play around with, but, aside from the potential follicle damage, Judy always saw it as a sign of unappealing self-admiration.

The room in the video was the one they had searched, and he was clearly sitting at the same computer station they had investigated.

"Hello everybody! My name is Desmond…"

"Here we go," Nick groaned.

The video lasted for six minutes, during which time Desmond talked vaguely and humorously about current affairs in the city, ranging from digging out holiday snaps of one of Gazelle's tigers to discussing the best restaurants in Misty Boulevard. The video ended with a professional lightning strike logo and music which could only be described as techno-euphoric.

"Well, that was fun," Judy sighed, starting to suspect that she would grow used to the formula of these videos.

Her suspicions were justified. For the next thirty minutes, they did nothing but trawl through similar well crafted videos discussing useless topics. Slick, professional and amusing...but trivial all the same. Beyond learning that the fox clearly spent a great deal of time roaming for news bulletins and special deals to entertain his viewers, nothing else seemed apparent. Until Nick made an observation.

"You know, Carrots, I happen to know Desmond better than you do, so I'm working from an advantage here, but does he seem to be getting jumpier in each video?"

The rabbit flicked her eyes at him, then focused on the screen again. For the next two videos, she paid closer attention to his mannerisms. He did indeed seem to be less at ease than in the earlier ones, and as the dates came closer to the last recording, his fluid paw gestures and laughter seemed more restrained. Every now and again he would glance behind him, as if in the direction of a noise. Once, he noticeably jumped, ears twitching, before settling down and continuing with his monologue.

"Is he normally this excitable?" Judy asked, resting her face on her paw as she leaned on the desk.

"Nope. I don't think this-"

There was a knock on their door, which promptly opened.

"Hey guys."

Both of the partners had their attention drawn away from the screen as Wolford strolled in.

"Hey," Nick smiled, tapping the pause button, secretly relieved to have an opportunity to switch off the videos for now. "How did the hearing with the chief go?"

"Smoothly," Wolford said, leaning against the door and raising a paw to rub his face. For the first time in a while, Nick actually thought he looked over-tired. "Zach will be disciplined. Our investigation will continue as before."

Judy nodded. "Understood. And thank you, Wolford."

"You're very welcome. But for what?" the canid grinned, genuinely confused.

"For putting yourself out for us the way you have been," Nick answered, already knowing what Judy would say. "It means a lot, buddy."

Wolford pushed himself away from the door and stood straight. "Well, I think we could all do with a break. You guys are going to burn out after all the traveling you did."

So much had happened in the day that Nick had almost forgotten it was only that morning when Judy had been suggesting they visit his home run. Life was busy.

The reynard stretched. "We've got about three videos left. Some of them have turned out to be longer than expected."

"You still need a break. Go on, grab some food and call it a day," Wolford smiled. "Not a lot of point if you die from working too hard."

"Done!" Nick beamed, only too relieved to grab at the chance to take a break from the intensity of the day. In truth, he was flagging. Coffee could only do so much.

"That's kind of you," Judy added, "but don't overwork yourself, Wolford. You already do so much."

"Forget about it," he shrugged, waiting for them to collect their belongings. As they passed him in the doorway, he raised a paw slightly. "One idea did occur to me."

Nick rolled his eyes. "I'm glad you've still got some. We're dead beat."

"Quite. But this is it. Your safety was possibly jeopardized by someone foolishly accessing your file." The wolf stepped slowly away from the doorway. "Currently, we don't know for sure that there are no more threats within the ZPD."

"So what are you suggesting," Judy asked, not really paying attention, as she was already thinking about the best restaurant to eat out with Nick for a pleasant evening.

"Make me the one responsible."

"What do you mean?" Nick asked, raising an eyebrow in interest.

Wolford folded his arms. "For now, we limit access of both your files just to me and my passcode."

The rabbit looked at him quizzically. "What would be the point of that?"

He tilted his head to the side. "Responsibility and answerability. If I am the only one who has access and something goes amiss, you'll know exactly who to blame. As I won't be accessing your files though, it will keep out all unwanted snoops until we get this mess sorted."

"Why my file?" the doe asked, frowning.

"Because you're Nick Wilde's partner. Mention would have been made of you in his file, which the gang presumably possess. I wouldn't like them to know anything more about you, be it where you live, when you joined…"

"Understood," she agreed, not feeling it would be a good time to mention that they already did know where she lived. "You okay with that, Nick?"

He exchanged a look with her, then nodded. "Good planning," the reynard said enthusiastically. "You keep the info safe, and if something happens, we can kick your rump for it." He gave a thumbs up to emphasize the last comment.

Wolford sighed, shaking his head. Sometimes, Nick Wilde could be a little too much. "Precisely. But, for now, I'm heading out for dinner. Like you guys, I'm beat."

The cafe was an unpretentious building on Acacia street. Admittedly, it required more driving to get there than some of the offerings which preyed on the wallets of tired officers exiting the ZPD headquarters after a long shift. Still the place served an olive focaccia designed for sharing, which the partners had previously enjoyed during lunch breaks on long days spent patrolling.

Over the months of their first partnership, they had visited enough cafes for them to produce a video like the ones they had just watched on Desmond's flash drive. Nick's street savviness meant that he could always tell a bargain from a cheap tourist trap, which quickly proved to be a helpful skill. Living in Zootopia, it was easy for residents to forget that tourism was quite the draw, with mammals from the surrounding areas coming to the big city for fortnightly stays. Consequently, the overpriced restaurants received sufficient business to keep their doors wide open.

The fox and rabbit sat at a window table, although it didn't make much difference where they sat in the small corner joint; the floor space was limited and semicircular windows left the entire place open to view.

Nick drummed his fingers on the dented varnish of the tabletop, waiting for Judy to finish staring at the menu. When she sighed, examining it back to front for the fourth time running, he finally reached over gently and took the leaflet from her.

"I think I'd best order, Carrots," he winked. "It seems having too many options sends bunnies into an early midlife crisis."

She smirked and shot him a look, kicking his feet under the table. After a moment, she felt him kick back.

He looked like he was about to make some retort, but his expression became serious instead, a frown appearing. "Judy, I think it's time I..."

The rabbit stared for a moment. "Time for…?"

"I think it's time I try ringing Desmond."

She exhaled. "I thought you didn't want to risk that?"

"I didn't. I was worried." The fox rubbed his eyes with his paws, trying to combat fatigue. "But right now, I'm more worried about what's happened to him. The guy doesn't usually disappear like that. The way he was looking in those videos…"

"...makes you think he's in trouble." Judy finished, nodding understandingly.

"I've got to give it a shot." He retrieved his phone from the pocket of his uniform. With how hungry they were, they hadn't even bothered to change out of their uniforms.

Nick opened up his contacts list, scrolled down to Desmond's name, looked at Judy again for one fleeting moment, then tapped the call icon. He held the iCarrot, waiting for a response.

Thirty seconds.

He looked to Judy, concern flashing in his green eyes while he waited.

One minute.

A sheep waitress came across, and Judy quietly made their order, having known all along what she wanted. She had only stretched out the choosing to tease Nick.

One minute and twenty seconds.

Finally, the call ended without even offering the option of leaving voicemail. Nick's shoulders sagged in disappointment, and he placed the phone on the table.

Judy could see his ears droop a little, while her own detected the slow rate of his breathing. She reached across, taking his paw in hers, inviting him to look up and meet her eyes.

"Let's focus on the good stuff that happened today," she said with a smile.

To his credit, he made an attempt at a sly grin. "You mean like cracking down on Zach?"

Her grip tightened ever so slightly. "That guy…" she muttered. "How does someone get through training and still manage to be a jerk who pays no attention to the rules?!"

Nick shifted in his seat, giving her a wide and charming smile.

She rolled her eyes. "Well, okay. No comment on that."

Their first round of coffee arrived. The sheep placed the two steaming, red colored mugs on the table, giving the fox and rabbit a funny look when she saw their paws clasped together, but moved off without comment.

Judy could see the frustration in Nick's face as he followed the waitress with his eyes, evidently having noticed the way she looked at them. Given that he had been on the receiving end of prejudice his whole life, Judy could only assume his indignation was...on her account.

She cleared her throat. "So, I ordered our favourite dessert. Carrot cake.

The fox pouted, eyes narrowing. "Our favourite?"

"Got you worried there," Judy laughed, glad to have distracted him. "One carrot cake and one blueberry cheesecake."

The fox's wry, cheeky smile returned. "I should never have doubted you."

"Never. Now, here comes the main course!" Judy stated excitedly, the smell of their meal already making her stomach rumble.

Two servings of fries with pine nut salad were placed on the table. Nick threw Judy an admiring look. "Nice thinking."

She winked, reaching for her fork. "You know I have good taste."

"Well, you singled me out, Fluff, so booyah."

Judy shook her head in despair. "Just pass the sauce, you dumb fox."

He bowed graciously, leaned across without even needing to look and snatched the stainless steel sauce container from the adjacent table. His dexterous fingers flipped through the sachets. "Now, would madam care for the ketchup...or the brown sauce." He dropped his voice mysteriously as he spoke.

The doe looked at him, mouth open. The fact that this only made him wiggle his eyebrows at her made him all the more insufferable. The comment took her back to Bunnyburrow, and the time they had shared in her family home.

"Hot sauce," she finally declared, meeting his eyes blankly. There was no good reason he should trick her into throwing some compliments his way.

To her delight, her partner was taken aback by that. But then he leaned a little closer. "Of course. I mean, you think I'm hot, so why not-"

"Nick! Enough," Judy ordered, groaning through the smile on her face as she shoved his muzzle away to his amused laughter.

Just in time, the waitress returned and placed a third plate with tear-and-share focaccia bread in the center of the table. She gave off the same curt atmosphere, sauntering back to the kitchen quickly.

"What's her problem?" Nick grumbled, jerking a thumb in the sheep's direction.

"Eh, she must be new," Judy shrugged. "I haven't seen her here before. She must imagine we're a couple."

Discretely, she stole a glance and could see the ewe whispering to an antelope colleague, the two female animals casting funny looks in their direction. When she turned back to Nick, she could tell that it hadn't passed him by either.

"Wanna give them something to talk about?" Nick asked out of the corner of his mouth.

The tingle which ran down Judy's spine was her rabbit instinct telling her that he was, once again, up to no good.

"Something like…?"

The fox rested his arms on the table, bringing his head forward. "Lean a little closer and I'll tell you."

Judy caught the glimmer in his eye and knew exactly where this was going. And she didn't mind in the slightest.

The rabbit slowly leaned across the table towards his face, stopping when their noses were only a few inches apart. She could see him dart his eyes towards the counter and kitchen area, making sure they were being noticed. Clearly, what he saw met with his approval, as an even wider smile set fire to his white and russet face.

"What did you want to say?" Judy asked quietly, enjoying every moment of their act of defiance.

"Oh," he purred, inching closer until his fur was brushing against hers, "it went something like…"

The moment was shattered by the sound of an instrumental version of one of Gazelle's hits chiming out of his phone where it lay on the table, while the device vibrated noisily. The two friends instantly pulled away, suddenly caught off guard, both visibly frustrated at the sudden disruption.

"Not again!" Judy groaned. It seemed fate conspired against her sharing a moment with her partner.

Nick reached over and picked up the phone, staring at the screen angrily before Judy noticed his expression shift to one of gradual surprise.

"It's...a return call from Desmond."

Judy's face became serious and she sat back, frowning.

"Video or voice?" she asked.

"Voice." Nick glanced around the cafe. His finger hovered over the option to accept the call. He took a deep breath, tapped green, and raised the phone to the side of his head.

The voice came through with slight distortion.

"Hello, Nick. Enjoying the heat?"

The fox went still, frowning. He flicked his eyes at Judy. "Back in a moment," he muttered, standing up and walking for the door.

She watched him go, sensing already that something was wrong. Of course, if the call was sensitive, he wouldn't take it in the cafe while other animals were sitting close. Frustratingly, she couldn't follow him, as they had yet to pay for their orders and the last thing they needed was some stupid waitress thinking they were dodging payment.

But just as soon as that decision came, another thought made her pause. The last time they had been in a cafe together, Nick had been jumped by members of the gang. This whole call could be a trick to lure him outside and away from her. She raised her paw, beckoning for the waitress, who arrived with a degree less scorn on her face now that Nick wasn't sitting there.

"Would you pack this food up for us?" Judy asked hurriedly, rising from her seat. "I think we need to-"

Her comments were cut short when Nick turned and shot her a look. The look in his eyes didn't betray much, aside from insistency on her waiting. Words were not necessary; he clearly didn't want her to follow him yet.

So she waited. Watched him leave the cafe and stand outside, sometimes talking, most often just listening. She reached across and grasped the handle of the coffee mug, raising the drink to her lips. Whatever Desmond was saying, Nick still seemed confused and anxious. Then he moved the phone away from his head, tapped the screen, slowly lowered it and looked vaguely into the distance for a moment. The whole exchange must have taken about a minute and a half, maximum.

The chimes above the door sounded as the fox re-entered the cafe, walking stiffly to their table and flopping down opposite Judy, expression dark.

"Nick?"

He looked up from the table.

"Nick," she smiled, hoping to reassure him in some way. "How did it go? What did Desmond have to say?"

Nick sighed, slumping back and running a paw down his face. "It wasn't Desmond."

Judy stared, confused. Her ears perked as the fox opened his mouth to finish delivering the news.

"It was Jordy." He wrinkled his muzzle as he spoke. "It was Jordy Jerome...and he wants us to meet him tomorrow on Outback Island."

I know you adore that guy.

Until next time!

-AF