"Now, the proofreader was adamant that I do not give you any hints in these chapters. To be honest, they think I'm spoiling the story just by talking to you. Furry Fanfiction Hizenstein Uncertainty Principles and so forth. I'll give 'em something more practical to be uncertain about. Their OC's next appearance." -Furry Johnson. Black Lives Matter, BIPOC Lives Matter, LGBTQIA2+ Rights and Lives Matter.

There are Four/Five primary (Two are similar) 'Models' of Criminal Justice policy. The Justice Model, the Deterrence Model, the Selective Incapatacitation Model, the Rehabilitation Approach, and Restorative Justice. Now, modern justice systems are primarily the Justice Model but borrow from all of them. To discuss, I'll start with the oldest model, the Deterrence model. Conservative groups are fans of the deterrence model, which believes that stopping future crimes requires having high and long punishments that will discourage offenders from committing offences. And theoretically, it works. If you know there's a speed camera in an area, you slow down. And it bases its logic on the concept that all people are 'rational human beings' who think about their actions in detail before committing them. However, everyone already sees the problem here. It only works if an offender believes that they will be caught 100% of the time and that the offender acts in accordance with rational thought. For one, not everyone is rational. And a starving man will think it's very rational to steal food to survive. Second, there's no way they believe they'll be caught 100% of the time because that's not how it works. The police aren't 'that' good. Thus, while this model 'exists', it should be discarded like the wet paper napkin it is.

The duo we love so much investigate a crime, although what happens after raises a few bunny eyebrows. From there, we come to the other reality of this chapter: Actions have consequences.

Disney owns this world, I just write things in it. But hey, if they want to hire me to be an official writer for the sequel, I'm okay with that. Guaranteed 100% WildeHopps. Eh? No? okay. . .

The Effects of a Hotplate

It was an average kitchen, in his opinion. It was a little larger than the one they had, and not just because it was built for larger mammals. The condominium itself was nicer than their small little apartment, but Nick wasn't here to admire the condo. Nick was here because of crimes.

The fox carefully stepped about the oversized kitchen, his eyes scanning the room for anything that might be evidence of what had occurred here. He held his notebook in one paw, ready to begin writing in case he found anything more to document, while he did his best not to disturb the scene with his 4 gloved paws. He couldn't be leaving tracks now, after all.

Over by the kitchen window, the beginning of the incident became very apparent to anyone. The ground was coated in glass shards, strewn every which way in the large room. There was a large dirty brick over by the table, likely the 'tool' of entry for the Break and Enter. Unless somehow the homeowners were into that 'rough' kind of décor, and the rest of the house certainly didn't look like it. It was simple, quick, and easy for any B&E artist to get. And because of that, Nick couldn't be too sure whether or not they were dealing with a professional, or an amateur. It either suggested that they were an 'unprepared', 'spur of the moment' burglar, or they were a 'basic tool' kind of thief.

The advantage of using a brick was that you could find them anywhere in Zootopia. Steal it from a construction site, go to a house under renovation and take it from the dumpster, or even look around in the alley's enough and you'd find one somewhere. And, if you suddenly had the need to get rid of it, discarding it anywhere in the street wouldn't look terribly suspicious. Although, judging by the way they left it in the kitchen, they weren't exactly concerned about them finding the tool, or reusing it.

What they took was also fairly interesting, given the fact that there was an entire house to search when they managed to climb through the window. They took only the microwave, and a laptop that was in the living room, yet avoided taking anything else of value. If they spent a few minutes more searching, they would've found a lot more they could've taken if they wanted.

The TV was still there, the jewelry, and a bunch of other things that a professional would have tried to snag. Although only the jewelry was easily 'pocketable'. Instead, it was just 'what they could carry'. Another suggestion of 'unprofessional thief' was the fact that there was blood on the windowsill, and dripped all over the kitchen and living room, too. A lot of blood, actually, with bloody footprints tracked all over the place. They must've cut themselves on the broken glass when climbing in, suggesting that they were not equipped with gloves or other protective gear.

Was that just being unprepared, forgetful, or was the crime more of a 'spur of the moment' thing? The person might have been just someone looking for things that would be an easy sale, judging by what they had taken. Maybe a homeless mammal, spurred on by hunger or drug dependencies to steal (Or one that was at risk of homelessness, that was also true). Maybe a young kid, who just wanted a little bit of excitement and cash on the side. That was Nick's leanings right now, given the improvised tool and the 'unprofessionalness' of the work. A professional thief would've gotten the jewels on the nightstand, and not bothered with a microwave. They would have someone they could take it to, instead of a pawnshop. But, if all you were looking for was enough money for a bite of food, or drugs, then anything would do. And appliances were definitely an option. Not that any of that was fairly concrete evidence, merely speculation on Nick's part. He didn't write his 'gut feelings' in his notebook as evidence.

Evidence was evidence. Hunches were worthless. But still. They made it somewhat easy on the officers, what with the bloody pawprints all over the place. It would take very little for the experts in forensics to determine what species they were, and attempt to match it with any records they had. Judging by their size, it was a medium-ish mammal. However, that part of the investigation wasn't Nick's problem. That was a problem for the Special Crimes Unit, not Nick and Judy.

The thing about being on Patrol was that you were always the first people dispatched to major crimes, but you were often not the ones who really 'investigated' the crime. They were the first responders to this, doing their best to lock down the scene, interview witnesses, and discover evidence. But they weren't allowed to do much beyond that in serious crimes like these, that instantly summoned things like the forensic team. At that point, it was turned over to Major Crimes.

Judy right now was taking an interview from the homeowner in the living room, who Nick could still hear her soft sobs. He felt bad for her, coming home to what must have been a horror show with all the blood on the floor. The cougar had been out at work and had come home to see the blood tracked about the living room and the kitchen. She, smartly, called the police before entering further, just in case the person was still in the house. It also prevented her from potentially interfering with the evidence.

But, after slipping on some booties, and walking about the house, the two officers quickly reassured her that the culprit had left. The bloody pawprints made it pretty easy to determine where they went, in the house, on the wood flooring. With that, they had her slip on her own paw coverings, and walk them around the house to point out all the things that were either missing or out of place. To both her surprise and theirs, the number of items missing was only two. She'd feared the worst, reasonably. But after that, Judy sat her down for a brief interview while Nick did a more detailed look around for evidence.

The walkaround with her did reveal something interesting, as he looked back at the table nearby. There was an open beer on the counter that the owner swore was not opened by her. It was definitely from her fridge, but, she hadn't drunk any lately. That was yet another indication that this was likely someone very inexperienced with crime, or desperate. Leaving potential saliva, and fingerprints at the scene? If they didn't already have enough DNA evidence from the blood, then that would've been a really important clue. Already, this looked like it was probably going to be fairly easy to find out who was responsible. If the fox had to guess, the major crime officers would have a list of potential suspects narrowed down by the end of the week.

Still. . . Nick wandered over to the window, carefully stepping as to not disturb either the glass or the bloody evidence around it as he peered carefully through the open hole. The blood trail ended at the base of the window, suggesting they'd managed to cover whatever wound it was they got shortly after exiting. At least, covered decently well, there were still a few drops he could see here and there.

There was a part of him that felt bad for the mammal if they were indeed homeless like he suspected. Or just desperate, trying to survive in Zootopia. Working on the street, he met a lot of homeless mammals from all different walks of life. And each and every one of their stories was different, and tragic in their own right.

He remembered Jimmy, who had been a Registered once. He had a nice house, a wonderful family, and everything a mammal could've wanted. And then his wife died of cancer, very young. . . He started to drink, to take away the pain. He lost his job to the drinking, and then his house, and then everything. Last Nick had heard about him, he'd been killed during an altercation with another person. . . He didn't deserve to die.

Or Monique, an older woman whose untreated mental health issues lead to her living on the street. She couldn't afford to see a psychiatrist, and all the public 'accessible' services were too busy to see her. So, she stopped trying and adapted to life as a homeless mammal. A lot of people thought her actions were erratic when she was suffering from her mental illness. The number of times he saw mammals call the police on her, and they'd come and pick her up. They'd take her to the homeless shelter, and then the cycle would just resume.

Jack had been a bus driver before the government tightened their belts, and he was laid off. But he'd been a bus driver for 30 years. In the job market of Zootopia, there weren't many jobs available to an ex-bus driver. Everyone wanted college degrees, and the jobs that didn't require them were too competitive for the 50-year-old to get in. So, he too ended up homeless after a time. . . He was such a nice mammal, it almost made Nick cry when he heard that he'd managed to get somewhere safe in a rehab facility for alcohol dependency.

It was easy to forget that the homeless were still mammals, like everyone else. And that everyone could be in their position, given the same set of circumstances. There were a lot of families in Zootopia that were only a few paychecks away from poverty, and all it would take would be them losing their jobs for a month to be out on the street.

Sadder still was the reality that Nick knew would happen to this mammal. If the mammal who did this was caught, they would be charged for the B&E in a court of law. They would go to trial with a public defender, and likely either lose or plead guilty. They would saddle them with a fine, probably, one that they could never pay anyway because they were obviously homeless. Defaulting on payment, they would be sent to jail regardless, to 'pay' off what they owed to society.

When they got out of jail, their life would be no better off. Worse, no doubt. And the cycle would continue, over and over again. He saw the cycle many times before, more than he wanted to.

That's not to say that Nick didn't understand the way law and order worked. A mammal was crying in the other room, after all. No, they committed the crime, and the crime was a bad thing overall. The crime wasn't good, no matter what the circumstances were. But, when the systems they designed to punish the crime only exacerbated the issues that caused it. . . Didn't that mean it was a broken system?

Nick sighed, as he stepped away from the window. That was too much introspection for a fox to make today. If there was one thing he learned on the street, it was looking at anything for too long meant you were bound to find issues with it. He couldn't really think of a better option, off the top of his head.

Luckily, his introspection was halted as he heard the conversation in the living room begin to finish up. He heard a light thump, followed by several more as Judy walked into the kitchen. She took a long glance around the room, before focusing on the fox in the middle of the room. "Well, what do you think, Nick? Got any thoughts?" She murmured, as she carefully stepped around the bloody pawprints and droplets around the room. They didn't want a lecture about contaminating evidence, after all.

"Well, I think the best thing we should do is get the description of the items out to the local pawnshops as soon as possible. Chances are if they don't have a fence, they are going to take whatever they got to the nearest one for the quickest cash. If they haven't already. They might discard the laptop if it's password-protected since a pawn shop won't likely take it if they can't open it. Unless, of course, they find a buyer on the street." He began, Judy nodding along with his statements.

That was just obvious stuff with stolen goods, honestly. Check the pawnshops ASAP, get the info out there. With any luck, the owner was able to retrieve the serial number of the laptop. Unfortunately, Nick knew the odds for the microwave details were just 'black, and silver', with maybe a brand if they were really lucky. But still, a worthwhile description to give out to pawnshops, just in case. It would be a fairly 'recent' pawn of a microwave.

"Also, it would be good to check with any local clinics about anyone coming in off the street with a cut on their paws. It might help narrow down the possibilities. Judging by the shape and size of the pawprints, I'd say it's a medium-sized mammal. They didn't take the jewelry, but did take the microwave, possibly suggesting that they wanted to take items that would be both more difficult to trace and easy to pawn." He finished, as Judy sighed.

"That's some mighty fine detective work, Nick. I didn't even think about the local clinics, that could really narrow the suspect list down. They almost always have security cameras in the lobbies. . . Did you find anything new?" She asked, as he slowly nodded. He had, but it wasn't much to talk about.

"There's a piece of a rag on the ground under that kitchen chair, with a bit of blood on it." He murmured, gesturing over to the small white fabric, coated in small red droplets. It looked like it had been very haphazardly ripped, and then discarded as quickly as possible.

"I think they might've ripped up a dish towel to try and make a bandage with it. Other than that, I think we caught everything of importance on our first walkthrough. They didn't seem to spend much time trying to root through the house for valuables, judging by the blood and paw trails around the house. They didn't even go into the bedroom or the bathroom. According to the blood, anyway. . . What did Ms. Farren have to say?" He inquired, as Judy smiled at him and flipped her notebook open. Considering she wasn't there during the crime, he imagined it wasn't a whole lot of information. Not her fault, of course.

"She said she left home for work at 9 AM and came back at around 12:15 PM for lunch. That's when she found the broken window, which gives us our time slot for the crime. She was able to give me the make and model of the laptop, the description, and the password key. No serial number, but she did state the background picture was a picture of her and her parents at a beach. As for the microwave, she stated that it was a Samstag model, with a black body and stainless-steel front door." Judy poured out the information she received from the homeowner, as Nick reflexively nodded. That was a little better than he expected, honestly. And the narrow window of time was certainly good news for the police.

But, despite that, Judy sighed and flipped her notebook closed. "Major crimes just pulled up. . . Time to relay all the information we've worked for, and be on our way I guess." She asked as Nick put his notebook into his pocket. It didn't surprise Nick, Judy was never a fan of having to pass over investigations. The spunky bunny wanted to be part of an investigation from the start to finish, the way she did with the Nighthowler case. But, unfortunately, B&E was one of those crimes where they were required to pass the case off to Major Crimes if there was no clear suspect.

There certainly wasn't one at the moment, with the information we had. Nick understood why they did that, of course. When it came to home break and enters, it was always considered very serious. After all, the old adage 'a mammal's home is his den' was still an important right. And, with B&E's it was always important to compare the MO with others to find out if you were dealing with one group doing many, or individual events.

Which meant a very upset rabbit for Nick to deal with. "Yeah. . . Time for the first responders to pass the torch, hmm?" He murmured, as she slowly nodded. It was the way it always went for patrol officers. They would respond to a serious crime call, record as much information as they could, and then pass it off to the mammals in Major Crimes to solve. Usually.

On cue, they heard the knock at the front door, and the two officers turned towards the living room. They heard the homeowner hopped up, and walk over to the door. While the homeowner exchanged greetings with the newcomers, Nick and Judy slowly walked back into the living room, nodding at Officers Jackson and Johnson standing in the door. The two big cats, a tiger and a lion were very familiar to Nick and Judy at this point.

They nodded in reply, as Nick looked down at the bunny with a grin. Of the last month, they'd been together on the force, they had gotten to investigate and solve several smaller crimes. Thefts from businesses, a few minor assaults, and all of that 'fun' stuff. As far as Nick was concerned, it didn't matter what they were doing, so long as they were out there trying to make the world a better place.

Still. The bunny was competitive. One of the many reasons he felt the way he did about her, with that spunky personality. . .

As Jackson talked to the homeowner and got her details, the big lion slowly walked over to the pair and pulled out his notebook. Nick and the lion had chatted a few times before, and he seemed like a fairly nice guy. Nick nodded again to him, as he stopped a few feet in front of them. "Hopps, Wilde, good to see you. . . What've we gotten so far?"

The two pulled out their notebooks, as Judy took a step forward. "So, we received the call at 1225. . ."

While they finished sharing the information with Jackson, the pair took them through the house and showed them all of the evidence they had found so far. They provided Major Crimes with their insights, as well as a copy of the initial statement given by the homeowner. As soon as that was done, they took their leave of the house, and the investigation for the most part.

But it was clear that the rabbit's mind hadn't left the case. As they descended the short steps, Judy shook her head. "I bet if we went to the nearest pawnshop now, we'd find that microwave sitting there. Or at least the pawn employees would remember someone trying to pawn one." She muttered as the fox looked at her with a light smile. She was always such a go-getter.

Nick nodded, as they reached the landing. "True, true." That was undoubtedly one of the steps that the two cats were going to utilize, it was the obvious choice.

"And I bet that if we went to the nearby clinics, they'd have some info on a mammal who came in recently with a bad laceration." She murmured, repeating the leads they'd formulated earlier. He knew where Judy was going with this, however, that was not a good idea. As much as he loved her for taking what she wanted, stealing an investigation was another story.

"It's fine, Carrots. You know we can't just steal a file from another unit, we'll get in trouble. . . Besides, you know by the time we get driving dispatch will send us to those places anyway." He assured, her, as they approached the car. Officer's Jackson and Johnson were smart cats, they knew that their best shot would be to get people out to those leads as soon as possible. Which meant utilizing the nearest available patrol cars through dispatch. But it was their case to run, not Nick and Judy's.

She looked at him and nodded. "Yeah, it just sucks, not being able to work on the investigation we started without 'permission'." She said with a sigh, as they both walked to their respective cruiser doors. Nick saw that frown, as she clicked the unlock button and reached for the door, and he grinned.

He couldn't just leave her feeling unhappy. "It's alright, fluff. . . That is unless the idea of riding around with your fox partner doing nothing is that horrible of an idea to you. Stuck in a car with a big bad, stinky fox." He teased, as he put on a mockingly sad face. Ever since she made a comment about his smell earlier today, he planned to make her regret it. Sure, all she said was he smelled 'strong', but he understood what that really meant. She glared back at him, shaking her head as she popped her door open.

"I'd rather be solving a case with my fox partner. . . I also never said you smelled bad, I just said your cologne was a little strong today. Stupid." She retorted as she hopped into the car. Nick chuckled, as he popped open his door and looked across at the rabbit in the front seat.

"Well, why are you spending so much time sniffing me, hmmm Carrots? If you were a predator, I'd think you plan to eat me." He joked as he imagined the rabbit trying desperately to bite him with her big, dull front teeth. Wait, that'd probably hurt pretty bad still. . . Although. . .

He crawled into the front seat, and seatbelted himself in while the rabbit glared at him unamused. "I live with you, work with you, and hang out with you Nick. I can't not smell you, it's impossible. . . And quite frankly, your cologne choice stinks. You'd be way better off with your 'natural' musk, or whatever you had before this recent switch. I don't know what could've possessed you to buy it." She chastised him, as he chuckled along. With inner pains about his new cologne purchase, that he was beginning to regret.

He leaned over towards the rabbit, his brows raised curiously. She liked his. . . 'natural musk'? "What was that fluff? Got a thing for natural smells, hmm?" He murmured, as the rabbit leaned away from him with a sneer.

Her little nose wrinkled in revulsion, as she shook her head. "It's better than that swamp-water cologne. . ." She replied as she put a paw to her nose. "Lean away so I can breathe again, hmm?"

Nick laughed, as he relaxed back into his chair. "Fair enough, Carrots. Since you're stuck with me, I'll change my cologne. . . But, just to be clear, I'd never force you to change your perfume, fluff. I think you smell nice." He murmured, as he turned away and looked out the front window of the car.

Strangely, he saw another police car pull up to the front of the house, no doubt called to the same house. "Yeah. . . well. . . I . . . don't really wear perfume, Nick. . . Often, anyway. It's too expensive for me." She murmured to a distracted fox, as his attention focused on the vehicle that had arrived.

Was that the forensic team? No, it couldn't be. They had a big van thing, he'd seen it several times before. This was a regular cruiser. "Thanks for the compliment though, Slick. It's nice to know I smell good enough to fool your snoot." She murmured, as she looked over at the fox. However, nothing was tearing Nick's attention away from the new arrivals.

"Who're them?" Nick asked out of curiosity. Surely Judy might know, she knew more about all the different departments of the ZPD. Every time he turned around, it seemed like there was a new one being created. The doors of the car opened, and two large mammals stepped out of the cars. The one he didn't recognize, he was some young coyote. He looked both ways and crossed the street with a light jog. But, as his eyes turned to the much larger wolf, his breath caught in his throat.

"That's the K-9 squad. They were probably called to see if they can get a track with the blood, especially since we know they had one blood-covered footpaw. They're pretty helpful if they get to a scene soon enough. Otherwise, the scents get pretty covered." She responded, as the two officers carefully crossed the street, and walked up to the front door.

But Nick's attention was focused on the wolf. On Wolfsei. That was him, wasn't it? That. . . That damn wolf, who tried to charge Nick with murder. . . It had to be him, the appearance was uncannily matching. Nick felt a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach, as he watched the wolf knock on the door, and be invited into the house. That wolf. . . still worked for the ZPD? He was actually still here?

"What's up, Nick?" Judy asked, leaning closer across the centre console as the fox's attention was finally pried off of the wolf. He looked at the rabbit, his black ears flat against his neck as his mind wandered back through that horrifying memory. The Reid method. . . those hours in that metal chair, in that cold room.

But the bunny looking at him with concern pulled him from those memories, thankfully. He blinked, as his ears flipped back up. "Oh. . . Nothing, fluff. . . That wolf seems familiar to me. . . I know everyone, remember? Anyway, what were you saying?" He asked, smiling as those memories faded in the back of his head. The fact that he was still working here pissed him off to no end. . . But what could he really do about it? Judy shook her head, as her eyes narrowed at the fox. He had a feeling that she wasn't going to accept that answer. . . To be honest, he'd never accept that response from the rabbit, either.

However, Nick didn't want to talk about his bad cop experiences with his police partner and friend. Before she opened her mouth to speak, Nick interrupted as fast as he could. "Oh yeah, I remember. You were telling me how attractive I smell, right? Something like that."

She snorted, shaking her head. Yeah, he didn't really think that was going to work. "Nick, what-"

"Z240 from Base." A voice crackled from the radio between the two, as they turned to face the sound. Nick had never been happier to hear that sound. That. . . Would distract the rabbit, right?

Judy looked back at Nick with a glare, as she reached out and grabbed the microphone. "Base, go ahead." She muttered as she pointed at the fox. He had a feeling that wasn't going to be the end of that. But, at least Base managed to pick the right time to interrupt.

"MC10 has requested a check of the local pawn shops about Case 1706-4415, are you still in that area Z240?" The voice continued, as Judy nodded at Nick. The fox smiled, unsurprised that he turned out correct. The two cats were bombastic, but they were not dumb when it came to their job.

Judy held the transmit button again. "Yes, we are, we'll get on it right away, Base." She replied as she buckled herself into the seat with her other paw. With any luck, the rabbit would drop the conversation about the wolf after this interruption.

"10-4, Z240." They replied, as Judy set the microphone back in the holder, and started the car. That was a good sign. . . He needed to reinforce the subject change, though.

"Should I roll my window down, fluff? Let some of the stinky fox cologne out?" He teased, waggling his eyebrows at the rabbit. The sooner he started cracking jokes, the sooner she'd forget about bringing up the wolf. Knowing Judy, she'd try to do something about it, and would likely end up in trouble or something.

And besides, Nick was getting a little ahead of himself with immediately condemning them, wasn't he? He didn't know who Wolfsei was today. Maybe he'd learned? Been disciplined enough to change? Had a moment, like Judy, where he realized all the bad things that he'd done. Heh. . . That was a little too hopeful, he imagined. But the less he thought about it the better.

Judy looked at him and frowned. A really good sign for the fox's diversion plan. "No. . . I've got it, stinky." She responded as she lifted a paw to thumb her set of controls. As the window motor whirred to life, Nick couldn't contain his chuckling as she started the car, and began to pull away.

That cologne was getting throw in the trash as soon as he got home. 'Attracts all types of prey mammals', what a load of bullcrap.

Nick stared into the computer screen, slowly clacking away at the keyboard as he worked on finishing the last of his daily reports. The endless, electronic reports that he had to type up every shift, and submit at the end of shift. This was the moment when you found out whether or not you took good notes or crappy notes. At least he was good at that by now. He had only been through two and a half months of his six months of 'training' but by now the rabbit trusted him to fill out his reports without a single look over.

At least, that's what Judy told him anyway. He had no guarantee that she didn't still look them over after he submitted them. . . But, if she did, she never said anything to him about it. And every once in a while, he came to her anyway to make sure he was still doing it correctly. Granted, it wasn't a far chair roll to her anyway.

Nick peered over his shoulder, to the rabbit seated behind him at the other computer within the cubicle. She was humming, likely to the tune of some Gazelle song Nick assumed. It seemed familiar, probably one of the ones the singer performed that night. But he didn't know which one, there were many that night. While he didn't hate Gazelle, he was certainly not a superfan like Ben or a big fan like Judy.

The song choice never mattered to the fox. It was still adorable to hear her humming behind him, while he worked on finishing up his reports. While working on reports, the rabbit had the tendency to break out humming to any tune that crossed her mind. She'd apologized for it before, to which Nick eagerly told her to not worry at all. Nick very much enjoyed listening to her hum along behind him. He turned his attention back to his notebook and the computer, as he continued typing up the final details of his day.

Other than the initial investigation, they didn't have much to put in their reports. They went to about 3 pawnshops before they found one that had remembered someone coming in with a microwave. They'd refused to buy it because they knew the person was known for selling stolen items. But, they got some grainy footage of the interaction, and it gave them a decent description of the individual in question.

It was a male dingo, dressed in a green jacket and dirty green pants. The shop owner confirmed he had a cloth wrapped over one of his paws, helping enforce the suggestion that it was the one they were looking for. They passed that description off to Jackson and Johnson, who thanked them greatly as they headed for another pawnshop.

Apparently, the K-9 team was having trouble locating a good track. . . That gave him a lot more happiness than it should have, probably. They went to the next few pawnshops looking for it, and soon enough found the microwave at a smaller pawnshop, a few more blocks away. It was about that time that they heard over the radio that Jackson and Johnson had located the suspect in a clinic, getting stitches in his paw. After he was taken care of by the nurses, they took him into custody for the charge.

Which is where their second event of the day came from. Apparently, he'd tried to sell off the laptop to people on the street, but no one would buy it without a password. So, he ditched it in an alley off on 5th Avenue. Nick and Judy were sent by dispatch to locate it, and spend way too much time digging around in dumpsters looking for it.

Nick made a joke about whether or not his cologne was still the worse thing she was smelling. Judy confirmed it was still worse than the garbage bins, surprising Nick. What a waste of $50. . . But eventually, they found the laptop, tagged it, dated it, and signed it in an evidence bag.

After taking that back to the station, the rest of their day was pretty short and bland. A few social service calls (luckily, no lawn clippings on flowers again), and that was pretty much it.

Looking at the tail end of his report, the rest of the day would barely fill more than a few paragraphs of the daily report. But still, he needed to put everything from his notebook into the report, so he kept writing in all the boring bits about the end of their shift.

However, his ear twitched as he heard the rabbit's humming slow to a stop. Usually, that could mean she was distracted, possibly about to ask him something. Or maybe several other things, but Nick was pretty sure the rabbit was about to talk. Call it a bad hunch. "So. . . Nick. . ." She began, as he heard her chair creak as she turned to face him.

The fox followed suit, smiling as the rabbit came into view. The rabbit was looking back at him with a small smile, but the concern was written all over her face. "Are you in a place where you're okay with talking about that wolf officer you saw? You seemed. . . upset, after you saw him. And, for a while afterward, between all of the jokes. I can't help but feel there was more to that than just a simple 'I know him' situation. . . You can talk to me, Nick." The rabbit asked, her paws resting on her knees as she leaned into the conversation. That meant there was no way out of this conversation, didn't it?

Nick winced at the question, immediately regretting the fact that Judy could no doubt see it on his face. She nodded slightly, confirming that suspicion regretfully. But then, maybe it was good to talk about it? If it ever was going to be, it would be with Judy, after all. "He. . . Looks very similar to an officer who I had an 'altercation' with when I was younger. Ten years younger, specifically." It had been a long time, hadn't it?

Judy's brows lowered. "What do you mean by 'altercation', Nick? Did you get into a fight, or?" She started, as Nick lifted a paw and waved as he shook his head. As if. . . hadn't she already read his file before they met? There couldn't be too much in there, right?

"No, no, nothing like that, fluff. I did nothing. However. . . He was convinced I was involved in a crime, that I had nothing to do with. We didn't really have a lot of. . . Pleasant interactions. And I really mean it when I say I was not involved." Nick responded, downplaying the details a little bit. For his sake, and hers. It was the truth, but he'd rather not bring up what happened in those 3 hours to make him hate the officer that much.

It wasn't like it was the first time that he'd been questioned by the police. Nor was it the last time. But the things that the wolf told him, and that interrogation. . . "Why did he think you did it?" Judy asked, snapping Nick's attention back to the present. Thankfully, he admitted. Those weren't good memories to focus on.

Nick shrugged. "Because. . . I was a fox, I guess. He stopped me near the scene of the crime and said I 'matched' the description of the suspect. So, he questioned me for a while, and was a real piece of work about it. . . But it's nothing. It was a decade ago, hardly important now." Nick added as Judy's eyes narrowed.

Nick slowly shook his head and looked down at the floor. "It's not that big of a deal, honestly. . . I didn't even think about it until I saw him today, and that's why it kind of bothered me. . . Just a reminder of sadder times in my life, I guess." He lied, as he let out a heavy sigh. The rabbit nodded and hopped off her chair.

Nick glanced back up at the rabbit, surprised as she began to approach him. What was the bunny about to do? She looked. . . Very sad. He expected concern, not sadness. She walked across the short area between them and placed a single paw on his knee. What. . .

Somehow, the rabbit seemed more upset about it than he was. . . But why? "That's. . . Horrible, Nick. . . Did you report him? Back then, I mean." She murmured, as she rubbed his knee gently, looking deeply into his eyes. Nick's ears flicked back, as he shook his head lightly.

Yeah, about that. . . "No. . . Back then, I was used to that kind of treatment from the police. He wasn't the first or last officer to do something like that. . . And I was pretty used to the reality that there was no one out there who'd listen to a fox." He mumbled, shrugging as the rabbit shook her head at him.

"It didn't help that I was doing. . . shady-ish stuff at the time, I suppose. Don't want to poke the cops and cause a problem for me, y'know? " She retracted her paw silently, earning a slight flick of Nick's tail in regret. The touch felt nice, even if it made him feel. . . He shifted his paws draping his arms across his thighs. Just in case anything about his pants looked. . . weird. But the rabbit was too busy staring at the floor to notice.

". . . I'm sorry, Nick. . . That you had to deal with this then, and. . . Well, ever. . . I want you to know that I'm here, and I will always listen to you." She spoke earnestly, as Nick nodded along. He knew that she was always willing to listen to him, that was a given after the 11-ish months they'd known one another. But hearing it every once in awhile still warmed his little fox heart, in so many ways. But there was no way he was going to ruin his aloof fox image now. Or. . . Reveal anything else going on.

He snorted, shaking his head. "I know, fluff. I know you support me. . .But, not by cologne." He teased, hoping to wipe that sad look off the rabbit's face with a little humour. Yes, it was depressing, but Nick had long since gotten over it. And. . . Quite frankly, right now he'd rather have a happy bunny than a sad one.

She glared at him for a moment before she rolled her eyes. "Alright, Nick, we'll stop talking about this. . . But," She paused, stepping forward to bop him on the nose. Instinctively, he let out a small sneeze, shaking his head as he focused on the grinning rabbit. "I am here for you, Nick. And if someone ever treats you like that again, I'm going to kick their ass. Okay?"

Judy set her paws on her hips, looking up at the fox with her trademark grin. Nick couldn't help smiling back, as he nodded. "Alright, Carrots. . . Maybe don't commit assault though, okay?" He replied, raising a brow at Judy.

However, her grin only got wider, as she narrowed her eyes at the fox. "I don't know, Nick. If they mess with my fox, you never know what I might be willing to do." She responded, cocking her hip out sassily as the fox stared in amazement.

Was she. . . Intentionally doing that to be sassy, or? "Heh." He muttered, as he slowly shook his head. "Dumb bunny."

She softly chuckled, looking up at him with those beautiful purple eyes. "Now, we'd better get back to work, hmm?" She murmured, as she hopped back into her chair. Nick nodded, as he turned back to his computer.

As he began to clack away at the keyboard, the rabbit behind him began to hum again. Nick smiled, as he recognized the song immediately. Beyond the concert, Judy played the song on the car radio, while working out in the ZPD gym, and even sometimes at home.

He began to quietly hum along, clacking away to the tune of 'Try Everything' as he thought about what the rabbit had just said. 'Her' fox, huh. . . Fox friend, maybe. . . But was that all that meant? He shook his head slightly, as he focused on his report. Distractions meant writing mistakes, and he didn't need that issue. He could think about that later tonight. . .

"Why would Bogo ask us to go to a fundraiser?" Nick asked as he walked around the kitchen, gathering up the supplies he needed to whip up a quick dinner. He knew the large mixing bowl was somewhere in the kitchen. . .

They finished up the reports fairly quickly and were both very glad that the day was over when they finally left that small cubicle. He felt sad that Judy had to deal with that stink, the whole time. . .
But, on their way out of the station, they were stopped by the very excitable Ben. Apparently, Bogo asked him to tell them that they were 'requested' to attend the upcoming 'Homelessness awareness Fundraiser' on Friday that the Police Union was putting on. And by 'request', it was more of being ordered to, apparently.

Judy and Nick had seen the open invite email earlier in the week about it but quickly deposited it into the trash bin. Neither one of them really wanted to spend a night out rubbing elbows with the rich people of Zootopia, and at the time they thought they had zero obligation to go. At least, until Ben apparently told them that Bogo wanted them there. Nick had wanted to refuse again, but the go-getter bunny didn't want to piss the chief off. As a fox who'd dealt with a pissed off 'boss' before. . . Yeah, he understood her point.

It was sad, considering that was supposed to be on their day off. However, the buffalo apparently didn't care, and wanted them there as the 'Saviours of Zootopia'. Nick was pretty sure he was an afterthought in that scenario and didn't actually 'have' to come. . . That was Judy's title, not his. However, if Judy was going to be going, he might as well go with her. Sitting at home alone sounded boring.

But Nick wasn't going to be the happiest fox, that was for sure. The idea of the fundraiser was stupid, honestly. Not helping the homeless part, that was fair. But what was going on behind the scenes was. Basically, they were putting on a big wining, dining, and dancing thing, with a silent auction on the side to raise funds to donate to the local homeless shelters. All of the city's 'elite' were invited, with their big fat wallets in tow in the hopes of getting some big donations.

Now, the annoying part to Nick was the fact that the Police Union was not going to donate so much as a red cent on their part. Maybe a few thousand, or something, but nowhere near what the rich people would be throwing down that night. Which, again, the rich people were just being rich people, the typical nuisances they were as they threw around what would be pennies to them, and call it charity.

But the Police Union would be the ones getting the news. They did the fundraiser, they'd be the ones getting the big rebate after donating all the funds raised, and they would get lavished by the public for doing this, on what would maybe be the third page of a newspaper. Maybe second, if they were lucky. It was a great way to show to the population that you 'cared' about the problems of the city.

Meanwhile, the price of any one of those police cars out there would pay for a homeless person's rent for months. Maybe years, or decades if it was a mouse. . . Not that it was the ZPD's fault, specifically. The ZPD, and especially Nick and Judy, were being used by the Union to look good. That way, the Union members would pull in a bigger 'profit' at the end of the year. The fact a union was trying to make a profit still disturbed him. . . That didn't seem 'union-y' to him.

"Well, it's nearly the anniversary of the Nighthowler disappearances, so, I imagine they want to drum up some sympathy there. And I'm sure there's a lot of rich medium and smaller prey and predators that they might want to curry favour with." Judy responded from behind him, as she carefully chopped the vegetables for dinner. He could practically hear her shrug, dismissing his confusion with reality.

That sounded about right to Nick. It wasn't like the Union was doing anything 'wrong' by doing this. It was like any other corporation did, really. The only reason the supermarkets asked you to donate for this cause or the other cause at their tills was because they received a tax cut when they later went and donated all that money 'on your behalf'.

You end up feeling good with your two dollars, they feel good for using thousands of customers goodwill as a tax break. As scam-y as it sounded, it was well within the law. It was just 'good' business, after all. It was stuff like that that made him wonder who the real crooks were when he was still on the street, him, or them. Definitely, still him, he was breaking laws. But the worse thing was they weren't breaking laws to do that.

Nick sighed, as he shifted down the counter slightly. "Mhm. If Bogo wants me to rub elbows with rich snobs, then fine, I'll rub elbows with rich snobs. But shouldn't that mean we get a week off, or something?" Nick mocked, as he opened one of the lower cupboards in search of the bowl. It had to be around here somewhere. He remembered washing it once, recently.

Judy laughed, as she chewed on a piece of cut celery. "I think we're out of luck for that, Nick. . . But hey, we get a free night out on the ZPD, that's good, right? We'll be given the same food they're serving the guests. . . . I think, anyway. There will be drinks and appetizers at least. And during the whole silent auction thing, we can do whatever we want, too. I'm sure they'll set up a dance floor or something, and have some music playing."

Nick snorted. "Probably some snooty classical music. . ." He muttered as she laughed. Where could the damn bowl be. . . "Carrots, do you know where the big mixing bowl is?" The fox asked, as he finally gave up on his solo search. It was in here somewhere, he knew it. But he was either not looking in the right place, or he was being dumb and completely missing it.

Either option was highly possible. Judy looked away from her chopping for a moment and gestured over at the cupboard in the far corner. "It should be in there, dumb fox." She responded cheerily. "As for music, you never know. There are a few young rich mammals nowadays, they're not all 'regal', you know."

Nick didn't know if that was going to be true. Sure, there were younger rich mammals. However, would they bother coming to such an event? It was kind of an 'old mammal' type of thing. Either way, the gurgle in his stomach was telling him it was time to cook food, not debate on the musical tastes of rich people. He moved over to the cupboard she indicated, one that he didn't remember looking in.

Maybe he did. Maybe he didn't. It was hard to know when he'd spent the last 5 minutes looking in a lot of cupboards. But the moment he popped it open, the large blue bowl was staring him right in the face. So, he was either really blind, or he'd missed the cupboard. . . He shook his head, as he pulled out the bowl and set it on the counter above him.

He rarely looked in this cupboard, what did they even keep in there? Nick looked inside and instantly knew why he rarely went in it. There was a blender, a rice cooker, and a few other 'extra' appliances that they didn't want to clutter up the kitchen counter. After all, it was only so big for the two mammals to work in together, they didn't want to limit their space.

There was also a food processer, an extra toaster, and a. . . hotplate? Nick's eyes narrowed as he looked at the contraption in confusion. That was definitely what the appliance was, but that wasn't his hotplate. It looked new and unused. Wait, then where was his hotplate? He hadn't seen it since he moved in. . . Granted, he hadn't needed it either, but it wasn't in the boxes when he unpacked. And if it wasn't in the cupboards, where was it?

Maybe Judy knew? "Do you know where my hotplate is?" He asked as he looked around in the cupboard again. Did he miss it, was it in the far back or something? No, it wasn't in there. . .

"Oh. . . That." Judy responded as she turned to face him. He glanced over at her, squinting at the rabbit curiously. That didn't sound very promising. . . Did she- "I threw it out a while ago. I bought that new one in there for you, to replace it. . . You know that dingy thing was a fire hazard, Nick."

Nick's ear fell down, as he heard those painful words. She. . . Threw it out? It was actually gone now? "Oh. . ." He murmured, as he looked away from the rabbit. "That's. . . kind of depressing, honestly. I really liked that hotplate." That was a little bit of an understatement, although it wasn't the appliance itself that made it upsetting.

Judy's ear cocked to the side in confusion, as she tilted her head curiously. Yeah, she probably didn't get it, did she? "What was so special about that hot plate, Nick?" She responded as she took a step towards the fox. "It just looked like an old, cheap, broken hotplate."

Yeah, that was true. It was every bit of what she said. But the memories it was connected to were so much more to Nick. And now it was gone. . . It wasn't that bad, was it? "It's not a big deal. . . After I. . . Moved, out of my mother's house, we didn't see each other for a while. I was always too busy, and we just, never really ran into each other. . . But, the next time I saw her, she gave me that hotplate. Wanted to make sure I had something to cook with, and that I was staying healthy. It kind of just. . . Hung around after that. . . It was the first cooking thing I ever had."

It wasn't like it was the most important object in the world to Nick. Nothing was if he was honest, except maybe that pawkerchief. He wasn't a materialistic kind of fox. But he could never bring himself to throw it away, himself. It was like throwing the memories away, to Nick.

He left home when he was young, and for a long time, he didn't see his mother at all. They didn't exactly leave on the greatest of terms. . . The rebellious kid, running 'scams' ever since he was twelve years old. But then, the first time he did meet his mother, all she did was talk about how she missed him and gave him that hotplate. And some money, some simple recipes. But that was beside the point. It was. . . Not how Nick had expected that interaction to go.

She didn't try and drag him home. Didn't scold him. Didn't do anything, but give him money and a hotplate and tell him that she missed having him around the house. And to come to visit whenever he could. The hotheaded kid he was back then took that conversation for granted, but looking back on it made him appreciate his mother so much. For just letting him figure himself out on his own.

Granted, there was also the fact that if she had done other things, dragged him home, maybe he wouldn't have committed minor felonies for twenty years. . . But he didn't want to think about that. The way things turned out, with this bunny in their shared kitchen, it wasn't too bad. And. . . Those memories would still exist, hotplate or no. He shook his head and stood up as he slowly closed the cupboard doors.

And then, he felt that soft paw reach out and grasp his forearm. Judy stared up at him, holding a sad expression on her face as she squeezed his arm gently. "I'm sorry, Nick. . . I didn't know it meant so much to you. . . I shouldn't have thrown it out without permission." She murmured softly, as Nick stared down at her with surprise. Yeah, she was right about that. . . But, it wasn't that big of a deal, as Nick smiled and shook his head. It was just an appliance.

But, she stared back at him, with a heartbreaking expression. Was she really that sad about it? "It's okay. It's just a hotplate. I still have the memories." He responded, a little joviality injected in the hopes of cheering the sad bunny up. "Mostly memories of a lot of poorly cooked meals, honestly. For the first few years, my cooking could barely be considered edible." When he finally got around to learning to cook properly, that's when the hotplate began its slow descent into failure. . . Kind of ironic, now that he had a real kitchen to cook in.

But the rabbit shook her head forlornly. "Still, it mattered to you, and I threw it out without considering your feelings. . .". . . And I'm also sorry for something else, Nick. . ." She murmured, as she turned her gaze to the ground. "You know. . . The day that we first met, at the ice cream shop?" She murmured, as she retracted her paw and crossed her arms shyly.

What. . . Was going on here? She looked even sadder than before. What else was she sorry about, let alone with the ice cream shop? Where he scammed her? "Yeah, I do remember. . .. You were dressed in your adorable safety vest, with that little 'meter maid' cap on. Why?" He asked, trying to interject a happy flirt as he cocked his head to the side. His flirts usually made her feel a little better, right?

However, instantly he knew it hadn't worked. The rabbit uncrossed her arms, darting forward with a thump as she threw herself into his chest. She wrapped her paws around his slim body, burrowing her face into his shirt. She hugged him tightly, as the fox's arms instinctively splayed outward while he stared down toward the bunny in surprise. "C-carrots?" He choked out, as he heard soft sniffles emanating from the rabbit against his chest.

"I'm sorry. . . I never told you about this, but. . . The reason I w-went into the shop is because I saw you outside, a-and. . . ." She began, and Nick felt his heart drop as he realized where this was going. ". . . I went inside because I thought you looked. . . . s-suspicious. . ." She sniffled, as Nick saw her tears staining his shirt.

His eyes narrowed, as he nodded sadly. Yeah. . . Nick had kind of guessed that was the reason she was in the ice cream shop, all the way back then. . . Between the fox repellant on her belt and the fact she didn't get in line when she came in kind of. . . suggested that reality. Even the way she talked about how she disliked people with 'backwards feelings' sounded weird to him.

"Yeah, I figured that. . . But it's okay, fluff. . . We've all made bad choices. And, I mean, you weren't technically wrong that time. . . I did swindle you outta twenty bucks." He added, as he carefully patted the rabbit on the shoulder.

That particular bit of their relationship hadn't bothered him at the time, let alone now almost a year later. The apology under the bridge kind of covered that, for the fox. . . It covered a lot of things that she'd done. But the rabbit shook her head into his chest, as the tears continued to flow. "That's not enough to excuse it, Nick. . . I-I was no better than that wolf. . . I saw a fox, and I judged you on that fact alone. . . . Whether I was right or wrong doesn't matter, I did the same thing he did to you."

Oh, that was where the connection was. . . Was that why talking about Wolfsei caused her to be that sad earlier? Because. . . She felt like she was the same, as the wolf? He, carefully, wrapped his paws around her shoulder, as he hugged her in return. That was the correct move, right? Hugging back? "Dumb bunny. . . You're nothing like him, trust me, fluff . . ." He murmured, as he held her in the hug loosely. No, the rabbit was not at all like the wolf. If she were, he'd have been arrested by her before he'd ever had the chance to swindle her out of the $20.

However, the rabbit sniffled again and shook her head. "Nick. . . I lost you for three months, because of what I did. What I was doing. . . For three months, I saw you dart into an alley every time I saw you on the street, and I knew that I deserved it, for hurting you. . ." She mumbled through the fabric and fur, as Nick's ears stood at alert. Wait. . . She saw him avoiding her? He thought she'd. . . She'd never let on, not one time. . . "I actually thought I was somehow a good person back then, and I hurt you, so, so much. . . I was so damn naïve, and dumb. . ."

She continued holding onto him tightly, as he wrapped his arms more properly around her. He carefully rested his chin upon her head, as he hugged her back. She was. . . Bringing up a lot of old feelings. . . But maybe it was good to deal with it. Before he could figure out how to reply, the rabbit continued. "I'm so scared I'll screw up again, and lose you, Nick. . . I don't want to see you look at me like you looked at that wolf. I've grown so close to you, and you're so special to me now. . ."

Wait. . . Did. . . She mean. . . ? His heart was fluttering, unsure of how to. . . Respond. Was this her way of- "You're my best friend, Nick. . ." She murmured, as Nick felt the metaphorical dagger stab into his beating heart. Oh. . . Yeah. . . His ears flipped down, as he chastised himself for letting his thoughts get carried away.

With a slight frown, he patted her back gently. "It's okay, Carrots. . . I'm here now, and I'm not going anywhere." He spoke softly, as the rabbit squeezed him even harder. Oh god, he was going to need to get out of this hug soon, or she was probably going to notice. . . that. She was squeezing more than stuffing out of him at this point, as she pressed her body against him. "But. . . That reminds me. . . Do I still owe you $20, for that?"

That comment made the rabbit laugh between sniffles, as she pulled her head away and wiped the tears from her face. She relaxed her grip on the fox, as she let some air finally pass between their bodies. Thankfully. . . "You don't owe me anything, Nick. . . I owe you a lot more than that, for putting up with my mistakes. . . I'm really sorry Nick, for every time I've made you feel like that." She spoke between small sniffles, as she began to calm down.

Now the fox could finally start calming down, too. Nick snorted, as he leaned further out of the hug, intentionally shifting his lower body away from the rabbit. "Well, thanks for the apology. But, I don't know about you, but I'm not sorry about those mistakes now. . . As much as a pain in the butt you are. . . I'm glad that we met, and I wouldn't change it for anything." He murmured, as he looked down into her still-teary eyes.

A small smile spread on her face, as she gave him a light punch. They took a half-step back from one another, her one paw still clinging to his waist. . . Eh, at least that was better than her whole body. He retracted his paws, and let them hang loosely at his sides. "Thanks, Nick. . . I'm really glad we met, too. . . Although I'm still sorry for the mistakes I've made to get here. . . I can't imagine not having you as my friend." She responded, as she once again wiped away the remnants of her tears.

Meanwhile, Nick was busy trying to deal with the second turn of the knife. Friend. . . Yeah. . . That's what they were always going to be, and he needed to accept that. There was never any reason to hope for something more. His ears twitched, as he smiled and nodded. "Me too, Judy."

She snorted, as the last of her paws fell from his waist, and the hug finally 'officially' ended. That meant he could relax, and they could get back to cooking, right? But before Nick could take a breath, Judy suddenly reached up and stroke the end of his muzzle softly. His eyes widened, as his ears flicked up in surprise. What was she. . .

"Nick. . . Are you. . . intentionally growing out your whiskers?" She asked as she stroked the lengthening whiskers gently. Nick, on the other paw, just stared back perplexed. If she wanted to comment on his whiskers, why wouldn't she just. . . Say it? Why did she decide to touch him. . . And stroke his muzzle. . . ?

Was this some sort of rabbit thing, the touchiness? It could be, and it would explain how she could say they were 'just friends' in one sentence and start fondling his muzzle the next. Let alone every other time she got close to him, like the hugging, the nose booping, and all that jazz. Judy never seemed to have a problem with reaching out and touching him, as if it was some kind of game. Foxes definitely weren't like that outside of their close family and significant others.

This kind of touching would even be weird with close friends, or family at times. But. . . Nick nodded slightly, as she finally lowered her paw from his face. "Yeah. . . Well, I started letting it grow out, anyway. I haven't decided if I'm going to keep it or not. . . Why?" He asked, cocking his head to the side curiously. Did. . . She have a reason for the random subject change?

Judy shrugged, as she turned and walked back over to the chopping board. "Well, you should look good for the fundraiser next week, Nick. You can either let it grow out for the week or shave it before the fundraiser. You're not going to want just stubble, it won't look very professional in your uniform. . . Just my opinion, but I think you should let them grow out. I think you'll look good with long whiskers." She muttered, as she instantly went back to cutting vegetables for the meal. . . What was that?

For one,, he was definitely going to let them grow now. . . But what did she mean about wearing his uniform to the fundraiser? Nick assumed he'd be wearing a nice suit or something. Didn't their uniforms look kind of 'pedestrian' for a fundraiser, especially her fur-tight blue suit and armour? Wait. . . By 'uniform', did she mean the fancy one? "We have to wear our. . . what's it called. . . Class 'A' uniforms? Like, the ones with the dumb gold braid thing?" All that fancy stuff was still in a box underneath his bed, he hadn't taken any of that 'accoutrement' out since his graduation.

"Yeah? What else did you think we'd wear? We're there as representatives of the ZPD, and we're going to want to look good, too." She responded, looking over her shoulder and shaking her head at him. "Dumb fox."

"Oh. Well, that sucks."

Weaselton was a scrounger. He never wanted to let a good thing go to waste. And most mammals in Zootopia always let something good go to waste. The dumpsters of Zootopia's alleys were always full of valuable items, that he could either sell off or keep for himself. The rich, self-absorbed bastards threw out the best stuff, for no reason sometimes.

He shook his head as he walked down the street with his bag of loot. The weasel reached in and pulled out the little crystal bottle. He let out a chuckle, as he read the label. For example, someone actually threw out this near-full bottle of expensive cologne, for no reason.

Or was it perfume? Was cologne the same thing as perfume? Nah, it didn't matter, it said cologne on it. The name was pretty exotic, the weasel wasn't even going to bother trying to read it. But that meant it was expensive, probably at least $200 a bottle. Anyway, it smelled pretty good to Weaselton, and he certainly couldn't leave it behind it considering the chops its slogan had.

'Attracts all types of prey mammals'. Now that's a cologne he could get behind. He lifted it up and sprayed a little more on his neck. It was 'females night' at a few bars downtown.

If his luck held out, maybe he'd find a new shirt in the next set of dumpsters. . . That'd be just the ticket.
And hey, why not get a little adventurous with a prey mammal? He normally didn't go for that kind of thing, but with this, why not? 'Try everything, pay for nothing' was his motto, and he lived for it. He'd had a rough couple of months, 'fun-wise' but tonight was going to be Duke's lucky night. With this cologne, he was guaranteed to have a good time.

He looked at it again, frowning slightly. There was a lot left in the bottle. . . Weaselton lifted it back up and held it against his neck. Another few squirts couldn't hurt his chances, right?