Judy Hopps

"I'm... I'm sorry. That shouldn't have happened to you. To anyone," I sniff. Nick was so young when it'd happened, but he'd known how much pain his father was in, trying to secure to secure a loan as a fox. Hearing Nick describe how the world just wore down his Dad little by little, and that they all just had to accept it as normal...

But this. I can't even begin to understand this.

I'm sitting on the edge of the chair now, the bonds undone and with an empty tranq gun in my paw. Nick's dad is just crouching in front of me so I can talk to him eye-to-eye. He seems so relaxed, that despite the situation I'm not as nervous as I probably should be.

"Mr. Wilde... was that what Nick went through?"

He looks pensive for a moment, when his mouth curves into a sad little smile.

"No one's called me Mr. Wilde in years," he sighs. "But... no. Not exactly. My father was much more cruel when he was younger. I know, I know... that's saying something. He's still an evil bastard, but the years have tempered his efforts at manipulation. With Nick he'd wanted to be more subtle, more insidious. But the end result would've been the same.

"I've... done things in my life, Officer Hopps. Things I never would've thought I was capable of doing. Things I thought I'd escaped and forgotten about when I decided to go out on my own as a teenager. When my father drew me back in... I didn't change overnight. But each step he led me down seemed just barely reasonable. Each one seemed both so small and so necessary to protect my family. But by the time I realized what I'd become, it was too late for me to turn back."

My grip tightens on the unloaded tranq gun. My paws tremble.

"I- I'd like my ammunition back," I say.

But all he does is chuckle. "All in good time, Officer Hopps."

"Mr. Wilde, I- I know you've been through a lot. But the law is the law. And I'm a police officer! I hope you're not expecting me to just be satisfied with your explanations and let you off the hook. Not when so many mammals have died!"

"No... not at all. I expect that after we finish talking you'll arrest me. I'm fine with that. But what I'm asking is for you to help my son."

I shake my head. "I can't. I just... can't. Not with him complicit in the Sanguinis' activities."

"You know... that is precisely the trap Rufinius had hoped you would all fall into," Mr. Wilde says, leaning back and looking thoughtful. "And that was exactly how he tried to influence Nicholas. He knew that using too much brute force and too many threats would turn my son against him immediately. But the soft touch... promising Nicholas that he wouldn't have to move against the ZPD, that all he had to do was come to the Cathedral now and again to train, to stand by. To watch. My father knew that in Nick's mind this sounded almost reasonable, that he wasn't actually betraying his friends. But this whole time it'd been a setup.

"Nick was being watched from both sides, doing a delicate balancing act between Rufinius himself and Jack Savage. He so desperately tried to avoid helping the Sanguinis even as he used his position to feed intelligence to the ZPD. But it was also a tightrope walk that was tilted so that he'd fall in a way that Rufinius expected.

"It was no mistake that my son's position was exposed. This was precisely what my father wanted. The ZPD going after him, thinking that he'd been complicit in the crimes of the Sanguinis... when his closest friends turned against him, Rufinius knew that my son would have no choice but to come to the Twilight Cathedral for his own protection. Nicholas Wilde would be his, without my father ever having to lift a finger or issue another threat."

I'm feeling a bit dizzy, taking this all in. But could it really be true? That our efforts to capture Nick... all that had been part of Rufinius' plan to get Nick on his side? Was this really a trap we'd fallen into?

"That's the one thing you gotta remember about Rufinius Varius Frisk, Hopps," Skye had told me. "His middle name literally means 'versatile.' The old bastard has a lot of tricks up his sleeve and he knows how to use them to confuse his enemies. Don't always trust your first impressions, especially when they're that blatant."

"You need to have your preconceptions challenged. The worst advice anyone could give is what you already know."

I shake my head. "But Nick could've surrendered. He should've just given himself up when the ZIA raided his apartment."

Mr. Wilde raises an eyebrow at that. "A very reasonable thing to do. If you're a bunny."

Those words cut me deep. After the Bellwether Conspiracy and the attack on Tommy Daywood... I should've known better than to say that. Predators, and foxes especially... the way they're profiled, the way they've been treated from they day they're born... the constant threat of being assaulted or killed because of who they are... they have every right to fear the law when it comes knocking at their door. Even if they're innocent.

"But... but Nick wasn't innocent..." I murmur. "When the ZIA tried to capture him, it was because Agent Skye testified that Nick tried to kill her..."

"Why don't you look me in the eye and tell me that?"

"Mr. Wilde..."

"Look me in the eye, Officer Hopps."

And I do. Green eyes, just like Nick's. That same narrow muzzle, that same slim, lanky build. The family resemblance between them was strong, and if I hadn't known that this was his father, if I'd thought his father was still dead, then a fox who looked an awful lot like Nick would...

"You! You were the one who attacked Skye!"

"As I said, Officer Hopps," Mr. Wilde says, gazing at the floor. "I've done many things I'm not proud of. But everything I've done was to protect my family."

"Which means..." I gasp, covering my mouth. A fox that resembles Nick, so much so that in a dark hallway, when I'd only been able to glimpse him for an instant...

"Nick wasn't the one who grabbed me in the Twilight Cathedral. It was you!"

Nick Wilde – Half An Hour After the Bombing

Oh my God, oh my God...

Gramps had loosened the leash a little bit, and I'd gotten the chance to head to a bar. One where nobody knew me, one where I could just melt into the background for a couple of hours and just try to forget. Just drown out the memory of what'd happened two days ago.

Pearl had looked up at me, and our eyes had met as Rufinius choked the life out of him.

He'd died because of me... I kept telling myself. Because I'd helped Jack Savage get away. A bunny for a bunny.

Even just a glance at the cocktail menu had sent a spike of guilt through me. Cocktails... I don't think I'd be able to even look at one without seeing that little white rabbit again. So many times I'd be depressed while I worked in my room at the Cathedral, and then without any prompting I'd see a mixed drink on the table, made just for me. The fella was just so quiet. So eager to please.

He didn't deserve to die like that. No one deserved that.

When Savage raided my apartment I was just so damn desperate to show my friends that I was still on the right side of the law. I wanted so bad for them to know I was trying to work with them. I mean, I really did, y'know? I'd fed them enough info to capture Woolter Albinus. I'd saved Jack Savage's life. And even though I couldn't do anything at the time, with the bunny auction...

Well, they'll learn about that once they rescue me.

But they needed to know. Judy needed to know that I was still one of them. Dad had warned me about the mole in the task force, but with Savage on my ass and the whole task force about to learn I was Rufinius' grandson... I couldn't let that go. I was so desperate for them to know that I was on the right side of things, that I fed them the juiciest bit of info I could provide. Mole or not.

So I hadn't been surprised when Rufinius learned that the ZIA now had the location of the Twilight Cathedral. He couldn't hurt me though. Not if he wanted any grandchildren. I mean sure he would punish me for this, but so long as he didn't try to get at me through Judy I could take it, I'd thought.

But no. He'd said nothing when we moved to the new safehouse. Well... when they moved. I'd been sitting on my butt, blindfolded and under guard so I wouldn't learn where we were headed. Someone said the Canyonlands, and by the dry mineral smell of the air I'd believe it.

So here I was now, on a little outing that Gramps had allowed me after some pleading. I sat in a bar in a run-down neighborhood with a glass of Scotch on the rocks. Still thinking about Pearl. Hoping that Judy would be leading an expedition into the Twilight Cathedral. Just raid the goddamn place and overturn it completely. There wouldn't be anyone to capture, but hopefully they'll be able to get enough clues to track the Sanguinis down and rescue my fluffy tail.

And that was when I glanced up and saw the ZNN news feed on TV.

My jaw dropped. My eyes widened. Underground explosions. Snipers. Mammals gone savage and mauling cops. Oh no. No no no!

I grabbed my jacket and raced out of the bar. My heart was pounding like it was going to burst. My lungs were on fire, and after only running a block I needed to slow down and try to stop breathing so quickly. It felt as if I was about to pass out.

All of a sudden, a paw gripped my muzzle and another snagged the back of my shirt, yanking me into the alley I'd stopped next to.

Before I could cry out the figure shoved a foil-lined trilby onto my head.

"D-dad?!" I choked out, turning to face him. He was wearing the same hat, the ones we'd been using to block the signals from our earpieces. "Dad... there- there was..."

"I know..." he said. His fur was in disarray like he'd been in a fight, and he looked unusually frazzled.

"You knew about this..." I snapped. "You knew about this and you let it happen!"

"Nick... I didn't-"

"NO! My friends are dying! Judy might be dead because of the goddamn Sanguinis, and you just stood by and-"

"Quiet down!" Dad said, grasping my muzzle. No, he wasn't my father. Dad had never put his paws on me before. This was some evil spirit that rose from the dead and was wearing my father's skin...

"Nick..." he said, trying to sound calm. "Nick please... I promise you, I didn't learn about it until the last minute. I only realized what Rufinius was planning when I was checking the inventory we brought back from the armory. The old stockpiles of explosives in the Cathedral, the triggers... half of it wasn't there. I went back to the Twilight Cathedral to check up on it, disarm it all if I needed to, and I was halfway finished when I heard the ZIA storming in..."

"But... but Judy..." I choked.

"She's fine. I was able to rescue her, and I led most of the officers to the central chambers where the bombs had been disarmed," he shook his head. "You really take after your old man, you know. She thought I was you."

I was still panting heavily, but my heart began to slow down. That sharp spike of distress was fading, but a new, oppressive dread was taking its place.

"She's gonna think I did it. That I sold out the ZPD and lured them into a trap," I moaned.

I'd leaked the location of the Twilight Cathedral, left that bandana with Savage, just so Judy would know I was trying to help. But now the exact fucking opposite had happened.

I'd fucked up so bad. And now mammals were dead and dying because of me.

"I have to turn myself in..." I murmured. "Hell, I probably should've just let Savage capture me..."

Granted, there was a ninety percent chance that I would've gotten killed even if I'd put my paws in the air the moment they kicked down the door. Fox being raided by law enforcement? Come on, be honest. You'd also be surprised if I didn't get shot.

Of course, if I'd died right there no one else would've gotten killed.

"If you do that then Rufinius will win. We're so close to finishing what we started, but you need to stay strong. The Praetors... the vast majority of them were taken out by a new assault squad the ZIA Director cooked up. And the henchmammals are being pacified as we speak. The Vulpes Sanguinis' resources in the City are down to a trickle, and we can still take them down from within if we work together."

"A trickle?" I laughed bitterly. "Dad... they still have Sebastian. And Smythe. And Brutus! And whatever henchmammals are left. Even you can't deal with all of that!"

"No..." he admitted. "But we're getting close to the end, Nick. I just need you to do one thing for me."

I shook my head. "I already know what you're gonna ask. Judy... she'll hate me."

"I know, Nicholas. And I'm sorry. But please, Jellybean. If you trust me, I will do everything in my power to make things right."

Judy Hopps

Nick hadn't known.

He hadn't known about the bombs. He hadn't assaulted Agent Skye...

"But... but why?!" I ask. We're walking through the warehouse that Mr. Wilde had brought me to. It always seemed to be a thing for criminals, abandoned warehouses. If we just tore down every one of them we might just cut crime rate by half. "Why didn't Nick just tell us he didn't know about it? When Nick was caught he didn't even try to defend himself when it came to that. He could've just... just said..."

"That his father did it?" Mr. Wilde muses. "Nicholas... if he still loved me for as long as you said... can you imagine him ever implicating me like that?"

"N-no... but... he never even tried to say it wasn't him. When I confronted him about Agent Skye, about him being complicit in the bombing... he just shut down completely. He wouldn't say a word!"

"Officer Hopps..." he says, turning to me, "You've been with my son long enough to know the two main components of a hustle."

"There's the distraction..." I say, mulling over all the stories Nick had told me, "And the actual grab. When you execute your actual goal when your mark isn't paying attention."

"Precisely," Mr. Wilde smiles. "The distraction... it's probably the part of the hustle that takes the most effort. So much needs to be done to create a smokescreen, a broad effort to catch your target's attention so they don't notice your fingers slipping into his pocket.

"For years I've done my best to fade into the background... play the part of the broken Prodigal. Eager to please, quick to submit to the Prince. But in the background I've been planning things out, considering what allies I had and what enemies I needed to deal with. The most dangerous of which was the mole in the ZIA. The bombing at the Twilight Cathedral was proof of how deadly he was. And it was because of the mole that Nicholas couldn't go to you to help save the bunnies that'd been sold at the auction."

"So... he actually did attend that..." I say, my ears wilting.

"Again... under duress," Mr. Wilde reminds me gently. "Though it's not as if he was doing nothing about it. By now he should've found a way to rescue them... something he couldn't do when the mole was in the ZPD. If he'd learned that Nick had plans to present to the ZIA regarding a rescue, the mole would've told Rufinius all about it. Rufinius is ever the responsible businessmammal. He would've warned his clients well beforehand once he got word. And the bunnies, well... the clients would've disposed of them."

He sighs in satisfaction. "But now that's no longer a problem."

"Wait... what do you mean by that?" My heart leaps into my throat. "The mole... you know who it is?!"

"Not at first," he admits. "But this whole time I was trying to work behind my father's back to find that out. He doesn't tell me much, you know. He doesn't trust me enough to let me in on his plans. Everything he reveals is on a need-to-know basis, much as I'm sure that you didn't know everything that was going on in Jack Savage's inner circle.

"Of course, on the side I was also trying to intervene to protect Nicholas' interests whenever I could. The attack on Agent Skye, saving you from the Twilight Cathedral... but this posed a problem. I was trying to keep a low profile in order to investigate the traitor within the ZPD, yet if my father saw me taking such an active role, he would've figured out what I was doing and had me killed.

"And that's where my son came in. If Rufinius was the mark in a hustle, Nick was the distraction. When Rufinius thought that Nick had attacked Agent Skye, he'd had to focus on adjusting his plans around his grandson. When Rufinius believed that Nicholas was the one who'd saved you in the Twilight Cathedral, he placed all his focus on containing my son. And while he was squeezing Nicholas in an ever-tighter grip, my father was blind to me moving behind his back."

"So... so you know who it is now? The mole?"

"More than that, I've captured him." We've stopped at a door, and Mr. Wilde motions at it with his thumb. "While my father was distracted by Nicholas, I had the freedom to investigate the goings-on at the ZPD. It was quite a challenge, but it was worth it to snag the most dangerous rogue element here. All the death and destruction... so much of it can be laid at his feet. He was the one who helped instigate Rufinius' plans from within. He was the one who warned Rufinius that the location of the Twilight Cathedral had been compromised. Because of him, dozens of Officers and Agents are dead or wounded. Don't blame my son for what happened with the raid on the Twilight Cathedral, Officer Hopps..."

He places his paw on the door handle.

"Blame him."

The hinges groan when he pushes open the door, and the breath catches in my throat.

I stare at a mammal... bruised and bleeding around the face. His wrists are chained together, cuffed around a large metal post. He's on his knees, staring up at me through a black eye as a trickle of blood drips down his chin.

It's strange, the way he looks without his antlers. But the smell of cigarette smoke around him is overpowering and familiar.

"Hopps..." Miles Elkredge croaks. "Don't believe him... he's... lying..."

"Agent Elkredge..." I gasp. "No, it... it couldn't be. He's... he got shot protecting Jack!"

"Yes..." Mr. Wilde sneers. "Protecting Jack. Always making sure Jack Savage survived, so that Rufinius Frisk could one day capture him alive."

Elkredge... he'd been the one who'd put a blank in Jack's gun. And hadn't he been the one who'd called for an ambulance that night? An ambulance that'd been staffed by the Prince's henchmammals...

"You're not the only boss I answer to," Elkredge had told Jack then. "With all the stupid shit you get yourself into, my job's always been to keep you from getting yourself killed."

"Not the only boss I answer to," he'd said. At the time Savage had thought Elkredge was talking about Director Seraphine.

"How do you know?" I ask, turning to Mr. Wilde. "What evidence do you have?"

"I think the more interesting question is how did I get a thousand-pound moose here all by myself?" he says with a smirk, before reaching into his jacket and pulling out a plastic bag along with a folded sheet of paper.

"I'd found this disposable cellphone in his pocket when I caught him. He's been routinely deleting his call history, but the cell phone records I was able to acquire match the number for this phone. You'll notice here that the night Jack attempted to kill himself, Miles Elkredge called a number which I know for a fact belongs to a Sanguinis-operated line. This was two minutes before he used his official cellphone to call Director Seraphine to apprise her of the situation.

"But the most telling point here is that at no point did he make a call to a real hospital. It should've been the first thing he did, rather than call the ZIA director."

Elkredge. It was all Elkredge.

If it weren't for him, Nick could've told me all about his situation without fear of me going to the wrong mammal for help. If it weren't for him, thirty-two mammals would still be alive. When I'd questioned him the other night he'd looked so scared. So paranoid that the wrong mammal might've been listening in. He'd had such a bad panic attack that he'd passed out.

And that's when I notice the white-furred fox, his wrists shackled behind him and chained to the wall. He's kneeling on the ground on the other side of the room, happily humming to himself. Even with the blood coating his muzzle and the side of his face swollen, his laughing blue eyes are still bright.

Jacob Frisk – 3 Days Ago

"Yes..." Rhona hissed, "Right here, just set me down right here..."

"I could get you to a hospital..." I told her, trying to choke back the tears. "I could-"

"No... no, please..." she was having trouble breathing. I've seen plenty of blood in my time, but I can't bear to even look at the bandages around her middle. "There's no point t' treatment. Not now."

Not after what Sebastian had done to her.

"Rhona..." I murmured, stroking her head.

"I knew the risks, Jacob. I did, aye?" she breathed. "I did good..."

"You did, Rhona. You were amazing..."

She'd helped keep the vixens from getting pregnant. She'd faked the medical tests. Rhona had even altered some of the digital records from Nick's earpieces to keep Rufinius from discovering his real activities.

"I think..." she swallowed. "I think I'm ready now, Jacob. Let me do it."

My fingers lingered on the syringe when I passed it to her, hesitant to give it up. A high dose of morphine... more than enough to take the pain away.

"I never should've asked you to help..." I said bitterly. She wasn't a fighter. She was a doctor. A healer.

"Yeh were always such a sad-eyed tod..." she said as she ran her fingers along my ear. "What vixen's heart would nae 'ave melted o'er that?"

I couldn't lie to her. Not now. Not with her dying in my arms. I couldn't tell her that even over the long span of years I still loved Vivian... my first true love.

But Rhona knew... she'd always known.

"Yer wife may 'ave had John Wilde..." she smiled as she depressed the plunger into her thigh. "But fer a wee while at least... at least I had Jacob..."

Cupping the back of her head, I pressed my muzzle to hers.

I've seen mammals die. Some quickly. Some slowly. But it's never beautiful, never heroic. And it's always sad. Even as I felt the strength slip from her it's with this aching slowness as Rhona's pulse fluttered and her breathing trailed off. Bit by bit she shut down, and each second that ticked by I was left wondering if I could try to save her. If somehow I could get her to a doctor they might be able to reverse the damage, turn time back...

And with each second that passed, I knew the thought became a step closer to being impossible.

It was a cold relief when Rhona finally fell completely still, and I drew the blanket over her body. My paw was trembling, and I gripped my gun as I headed over to the next room where I was keeping Sebastian.

I'd checked him for lockpicks and had taken away all his hidden knives. The heavy chains shackling his paws behind his back were looped around a pipe. He won't be escaping. Frankly, I doubted he was even interested in getting away. Sebastian was content as always, just smiling away despite the beating I'd given him upon discovering what he'd done.

"I take it our dear Rhona has passed?" he asked with a grin. "I'm so sorry, Jacob. But you know the Prince would approve. The Vulpes Sanguinis has been too kind to traitors already."

He paused in thought. "Speaking of... is the Prince all right?"

"He's no longer your concern," I said coldly.

"Ah. I see," he said, flashing a playful grin. "Well, if you're going to kill me, feel free!"

My paw clenched my gun. Rhona wouldn't have wanted me to do this. She wouldn't have wanted more blood on my paws...

"Sebastian..." I sighed. "If I do kill you now, tell me... what would be your last words?"

"I would think that'd be obvious!" he laughed. "'I'm always happy to serve.'"

Judy Hopps

I stand outside with Mr. Wilde, the metal cuffs locking his wrists together behind his back. He'd wanted to get some fresh air while we waited for the ZPD to arrive. My tranq gun is loaded, and the safety is off. But I know I won't need to use it.

"Officer Hopps..." he'd said as he held up the dart clip for me. "My son has been falsely accused of my crimes. Will you please help me prove his innocence?"

He seems so at peace now, with his eyes closed and him breathing deep the night air. Here at the docks you can smell the brackish water of the bay, rich and clean and salty.

"Are you all right?" I ask him in a gentle tone.

"More than all right," he smiles. "After twenty years it's finally over. The Vulpes Sanguinis will be completely extinct, my son will be free... I know what the justice system has in store for me, but for one day at least..."

The tears glisten in the moonlight as they trickle down his face.

"For one day... I was John Wilde again."