(AN: Hello again readers. It's been awhile since I've updated this story. There will be four more chapters to come, hopefully soon.

Simple recap: Nick has spent his last night in prison and is ready to exit The Jungle.

As always, please leave a review and follow.

Sincerely, Sir_RedFox)

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A Simple Question:

The two large doors in front of the prison clicked and clanged as they started to open. Nick didn't wait for the two doors to fully open. Once they were half-way open Nick walked out of The Jungle and back to modern society.

Nick took a minute to taking all in, all he had missed while being locked up. He took in a huge breath of fresh air, rather than the muggy air that filled inside the prison, which held the scent of dust and mold. He crunched up his toes, the grass under his feet felt so much better, than the rumble of The Jungle. The breeze blowing through his fur had an overwhelming sense.

"Hey, Nicky." Came the voice of his friend. "Over here."

Nick turned to the voice. His, so called, koala friend Flynn waving, and signaling over to him. His minute had come and gone. Now Nick is leaving one prison to another. One where the ZBI put him undercover. He turns that fox like charm of his back on again. Approaching Flynn, Nick notices the black tinted vehicle he stood by with two shadowy figures in the car.

"How is it?" Flynn asked. "To be out, mate?".

"Better than I imagined" Nick said. "I feel like a new fox that's ready to turn his life around for the better. Become a model citizen. Give up his crooked ways and go straight."

Flynn started chuckling before bursting out with laughter. Nick joined Flynn in the laughter of his own joke. Flynn called Nick out on his sense of comedy, being too much to handle and gave a friendly slap to his chest.

"Ready for the big leagues, mate." Flynn said. Flynn opened the car door to the back seat. Looking at the open door that lead to the back seat of the car, Nick couldn't help but imagine, as if going into the mouth of a pitch black cave. A cave where one enters and is suddenly lost to the outside world forever. He had survived coming out one dark cave, only to run directly into another. Nick took in a gulp of air and entered the mouth of this cave.

In the back seat of the car, Nick sat in the middle. The driver up front, a large hefty looking bull. He didn't turn around to greet Nick, but examined him through there rear view mirror. To his left, a jaguar wearing sunglasses that fit perfectly around his head, concealing his eyes. Flynn followed behind Nick and took the seat to his right. Closing the door with a hard slam.

"There is one last thing you need to do, before we head off" Flynn said.

Before Nick asked him what, the jaguar tossed a black sack on his lap. Looking at the jaguar and back at Flynn. The bull up front told him what to do. They wanted him to wear over his head. Nick gave a great sigh and slowly put the sack on his head. Another dark cave to journey through.

The bull turns the car on and slowly exited The Jungle's parking lot. The bull drove for a good thirty-minutes, though hard to say. Nick, in pitch darkness and had no sense of time.

The bag was itchy and hard to breathe into. Nick did what he does best and make everything a joke. He commented the sack could use a good cleaning. Suggesting they use a sack made of silk to give the wearer some comfort. He didn't stop talking until he felt the furry knuckle of the jaguar pop the front of his muzzle. Nick's lip swelled and bled.

When they finally did top the jaguar, with the well fitted shades, grabbed a hold of Nick's arm. Nick was jerked out of the car, pushed and pulled in every which direction. They ascended up a flight of stairs, pushed into a room, and was plopped down onto a chair.

"Hey, Nicky, you all right mate?" Nick heard Flynn say on his left. He was the small shadow that pushed and guided him to, where ever they were. Looking around the room, Nick made out that they had brought him to some warehouse building. "Sorry about the theatrics, but necessary yah see."

Looking around the room that they had brought him to, was some warehouse building that looked a lot nicer than Nick had come to imagine. Sunlight blasted through square panel windows. The room building was large, but not vacant. Looks as though they wanted the place to look like a large fancy office thrown together.

A liquor display to the right, a cabinet with only the finest spirits. On the left, an assortment of beautiful flowers to gaze upon. A throw rug in the center and a large desk , of which a large shadowy figure stood behind. The only thing that made the place look like it was under construction, sheets of plastic spread across the concrete floor.

Other than Flynn, Nick saw that a black panther, a little back to his right. The panther wore a black suit and tie that matched the color of his fur. He stood tall and very lean looking, standing next to a wooden table.

On top the table appeared to be what Nick can only guess to be, a sawed-off pump-action shotgun, within the panther's reach. There also appeared to be a branding iron and a small handled blow torch.

To his far left, sitting in an antic looking chair, Nick saw a black fox vixen sitting side ways in the chair with her feet propped up on the arm rest shooting Nick a devilish smile. She had blue, pink, and purple high lights in her bangs that only draped over her right eye. She wore tight leather pants, a tank top, and a leather jacket that cut off a little below her breast. What stood out most from her design wear was a soft silk lavender scarf wrapped around her neck.

Other things that stood out to Nick was the handle of a katana blade, made perfect for a mammal of her size, poking out the left side jacket. The handle of a silver revolver tucked into the waist of her pants stuck out and last of all, a knife in a leather sheath, attached to the right side of her belt.

"Nicky," Flynn says, wanting to get his attention again. Nick turns to the Australian Koala and what he has to say. Flynn turns his head toward the large warehouse glass windows that let the sun's rays fill the room. Standing in the middle was a towering figure, cast in shadow. Nick couldn't make out who or what mammal it was with the sun's light in his eyes, only that he or she were large. The figure steps forward so Nick can better see.

"Nicky," said Flynn. "I would like you to meet my employer. Mr. Shere Khan."

The shadowy figure becomes visible to Nick as it steps closer to him. Towering over him was a large muscular tiger. The hair on top of his head slicked back. His eyes jaded bright green. The suit he wore was a dark gray that clashed well with his orange and black striped fur. His fist were like two large bell bar weights, that had one or two gold rings.

Shere Khana stops in front of Nick and looks down at him. He didn't say anything, which was a bit off-putting. Nick was unsure whether he should be the first to speak or not. Nick scratches the fur under his chin and smiles. "Well," said Nick. "Let me say it is an honor, Mr. Khana. I've been waiting a long time to meet you.

"And I assure you, the feeling is the same" said the large tiger. He stepped forward, so the suns light did not hide him.

Flynn patted Nick's shoulder before giving him a squeeze. He leaned down to whisper into Nick's ear. "Good luck mate, you're going to need it." Flynn stood up straight and thanked the large tiger for his company and left.

"Have to admit" Nick said. Hearing about you in prison, I would have thought that this meeting would take place in a fancy penthouse."

"Trust me," Khana said. "I have several places I like to conduct my work from. If you are lucky you might get to witness them all." Shere Khan pulled a cigar from inside his jacket pocket. With two quick 'Slit,' the sound of two metal blades slicing through something. With a gold lighter he lite the bottom end and gave a few good puffs, illuminating the tip of the cigar. Shere Khan reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out another cigar. "Would you like one... is it Nick or Nicholas?"

"Well, my name is Nicholas, but everyone just calls me Nick, and no I'm fine."

"Very well," Khan said, returning the cigar back into his pocket. "How about a drink then?"

Nick looks over to Shere Khan's left were the liquor was set up. All of it was high end liquor. "Sure" said Nick, "I'll take one of those fruity drinks that come with those tiny umbrellas."

No laughter from his audience. Clearing his throat, he sits up straight. Looking at the display of liquor, he saw exactly what he wanted. "All jokes aside, I can't help but notice the blue label of Rolling Hedgehog. That stuff is a rare treat. What is it, like, twenty dollars for a single shot?"

"Try thirty-dollars," The Shere Khan, the large tiger said. "You have a keen eye for the finer things in the world."

"Of course. I'm a fox, and growing up, everything was 'the finer things in the world.'"

"So I take it you grew up poor?"

The fox with the highlights in her hair got out of her chair and went to the display of liquor and poured the blue label into a shot glass. She walked over and extended her hand for Nick to take. Nick grabbed the glass in her hand, but she did not let go. Instead, just looked at Nick with her wicked smile. Made him uneasy. She finally let go. Nick brought the glass up to his lips and sipped down the entire drink.

"That. Is. Heavenly," Nick said. "Much better than the toilet wine we would make in prison."

"I imagine so," Said Shere Khana. "But you did not answer my question."

Nick thought for a moment. This is a job interview. The best way to win a job interview was lie, which was easy, for, as he was trained, the best lie is the one that's true.

"I'm afraid so," Nick said, placing the empty whiskey glass at the bottom of his feet. "Father left before I knew him, only have one thing to remember him by. My mom took up the mantel on raising me on her own. Left home early to make it out on my own. Ran a few successful hustles till I got the chance to work at the ZPD as a real officer, which I did. That is till I got caught trying to destroy evidence and was sent to the Jungle. I'm sure you can guess the rest of the story up till now."

Khan walked over to one of the several potted plants. Most were varieties of roses from classic red to rare black. There were a few, of darker colors, that dropped downward and the tips of petals curled out ward. But there was one plant he had his emerald eye on. The stem was tall and strong. Blooming outward like a trumpets horn. Golden pollen in the center, glowing, while the petals were stroked with every possible dark color. Khana extinguished his cigar in the soil.

"You sound like this here Fanfare" Khan said. "Its stocks and stems are strong, and blooms magnificent colors." He scoops up a small handful of the soil from the pot. He holds his hand up and lets the soil crumple from his palm to the ground. "But grows in the worst environment conditions, and only the best bulbs bloom. If not, they rot and die, but allowing the other buds around to grow bigger and stronger. You, Nicholas, are just like me and my brother here. We both come from the slums of Zootopia and survived, blossoming into somethingextraordinary."

Khan held his hand out. The Vixen fox wrapped a white towel around his tiger size hand and wiped it clean. Khan said thank you to her. The Vixen fox made a gesture with one of her hands. Nick didn't know what she was trying to say, making him wonder if she could speak at all. Then a word Khana used dawned on him.

"Brother?"

"Yes. My brother" Shere Khan raises his paw to someone behind Nick. Turning around Nick sees who he is referring to. The black panther behind him nodding his head.

"I can see the resemblance" Nick joked.

"I am curious though, how a cunning fox as yourself gets caught and sent to prison?"

"Well," Nick explained. "Happens to the best of us. Thankfully I went to prison and became better. I mean, is that not what prison is? Just a school on how to become a better criminal?"

"Tell me Nicholas, what do you know about me?"

"Only good things from my buddy Flynn, Mr. Khan. You're a fair, but stern boss. You're the top dog because you earned it, it was not given to you. You run the whole Blue Sky operation in Zootiopia and other parts of the country, but mainly Zootopia."

"All true. So, let me tell you what I know about you. Based on what you've told me." The tiger took a step towards Nick. "You grew up in the slums. Dropped out of school and off the radar for a long time. Until a few years ago when you helped solve the Night Howler case, and joined the police academy. Graduated and became the first fox in the ZPD. Until you were arrested as a dirty cop and sent to The Jungle. Survived two years and now find yourself in front of me."

"Ha ha," Nick laughs. "That would be the, uh... jest of it."'

"I admire your tenacity"

"if there is one thing my mother said we should have, its tenacity."

"There are two people I trust Nicolas. And they are my brother and Vicky here." He waved a hand to the fox vixen. Her smile grew as Shere Khan hand gestures toward her. "You, however, I do not trust."

From behind Nick hears the loud cock of the sawed-off shotgun. He did not have to turn around to know the barrel was pointed right at him. The hairs on the back of his neck stood straight up. Cold beads of sweat started to form on his brow. He takes in a deep breath and sat up straight. Tried to make his body loose and relaxed, like all was fine. That nothing would hurt him. But all was far from the truth.

"This is your chance to prove yourself" Shere Khan said as he massaged his hands. "Take your clothes off."

"I'm sorry, what?" This surprised Nick. He laughed, not able to control himself.

"Your clothes Mr. Wilde, I would like you to take them off."

Again Nick chuckled. He looked around the room. Shere Khan and the black panther, his brother apparently, had stern looks. He looked over at the vixen fox. She had a smile on her face, showing her sharp teeth, and her breathing increase. Nick stood up and slowly undressed.

"I was hoping, once out of prison, I would be done taking off my clothes in front of a crowd." He pulled out the lighter He looks nervous as he undresses, there was three things Nick had that he did not want them to discover. A pen that acted as a recorder, a fluid lighter that takes pictures, and the pendent around his neck which allowed him to make untraceable calls. He undressed all the way till he was in nothing but his birthday fur. The lighter and the pen set aside on a tray and the pendent around his neck.

Nick became nervous as the black panther examined the pen and lighter, The foxy vixen approached. The heels of her boots 'clicked' against the stone floor covered in plastic. She stopped in front of Nick who didn't know whether to look at the vixen or not. Nick felt her staring and smiling at Nick making his body run with sweat.

Her hand clamped down hard on his shoulders. She was giving him a pat down and a strange one at that. Her fox hands moved softly across his chest and giving his muscles a firm squeeze. She circled behind him, her arms wrapped around his waist. His ear twitched in reaction to something. Was, she, sniffing him? Though not seeing, he swears that he could hear her smack her lips. She moved back in front of him. She still had that villainous smile on her face. She leaned down and slowly brought her up the inside of his thigh, making him wench as she neared his privates that were on display. The Vixen fox was taking her sweet time inspecting the inner thighs on Nick, never turning away but kept her eyes on Nick who was blushing, and cold sweat running down the back of his neck.

She stood up, done having her fun, she looked at the pendent around Nick's neck. Before she grabs it, Nick snatched it away. "Sorry, but, it's a family heirloom. It's the only thing I have of my father."

She didn't say a word but turned back to the tiger, Shere Khan. She threw some symbols in the air with her fox fingers. Shere Khan nodded that he understood. Must have been her way of giving the all clear to him. Khan pulled another cigar from his jacket pocket, clipping the ends with Nick guessed was his claws, before plunging the cigar into his mouth. He moved over to where the black panther was and lifted the lighter up. He flicked it open and struck a flame to which he used to light his cigar.

"He's clean" the panther said. Nick released a birth of relief. He bent down to pick up his clothes.

"Not just yet Nicholas" Shere Khan said. "In fact, you won't need them anymore." The black panther picked up Nick's clothes and stuffed them into a bag.

"Alright," Nick said. "As long as I get my pen and lighter back. That pen is actually expensive and I know the lighter is just a lighter, but it's my lighter damnit." Nick sat down in the chair. The plastic crinkling as he sat.

Shere Khan took in a big puff from his cigar and slowly expelled the smoky flavor out of his mouth. "All will be returned to you, except your clothes. We will have new clothes waiting for you if you answer one question Nicholas."

He walked over to Vicky the vixen fox. He held his cigar out for her to take. She took the cigar and even allowed herself a puff or two, blowing smoke out her nostrils.

"All you have to do, Mr. Wilde, is answer a simple 'yes' or 'no' question." He walked over to a coat hanger. The large tiger took off his suit jacket exposing every single muscle on his upper half with only a thin muscle shirt to cover him. Any gold rings he had, he took off and placed aside.

He walked up to the naked Nick Wilde sitting in the chair. A sense of fear washed over Nick as he stared up at the large tiger, Shere Khan. He took in a big gulp and kept his charming smile. Didn't want to show any kind of fear or weakness.

"So," Shere Khan spoke. "Nicholas, 'yes' or 'no,' are you a cop?"

Nick couldn't help but laugh at the question. "No" he answered. "No. I'm no longer a cop."

Shere Khan sneered, "Good."

From out of nowhere, left side, came a swift and powerful punch from the large tiger. Nick had to regain himself. He had never taken a punch that hard before. Thinking about it, the guard's batons at The Jungle were less hurtful. He shook his head and sat up straight.

"Nicholas, 'yes' or 'no,' are you a cop?" Again Nick answered 'no.' Another swift punch slammed into the right side of his face. The blood rushing to his face and starting to swell.

"Nicholas, 'yes' or 'no,' are you a cop?" Nick delivered another 'no.' Shere Khan rammed his fist deep into Nick's stomach, making him gasp for air. If he did not know any better, he would say that last punch moved his organs around.

"Nicholas, 'yes' or 'no,' are you a cop?" This time he couldn't speak. His arms were clutched around his stomach. Nick shook his head 'no.' Shere Khan grabbed the back of Nick's head and lifted him up, delivering a full-blown punch to the center of Nick's face. The blow was so powerful it knocked Nick backwards and out of his chair. He was definitely bleeding.

Cold wet blood coming out his nostrils and dampen his face. Too weak to get up, so instead crawled on the floor. He now understands why there was plastic tarp spread across the floor. It wasn't for remodeling, it was to make sure blood didn't get everywhere and that clean up would be easier when done.

"Nicholas," he heard standing over him. "'Yes' or 'no,' are you a cop?" Shere Khan didn't even give him time to answer, but instead grabbed Nick's back, raising him up in the air, and slamming him full force into the hard floor. He spat blood on to the plastic sheets. He continued to try to crawl away. Futile effort, but what else was their to do.

"Nicholas, 'yes' or 'no,' are you a cop?" Nick opened his mouth but no words came out. He did not know what to say anymore. He knew the answer was 'no,' but if he said 'yes,' then all would be over. Only, all would be lost if he gave in and said yes.

"Nicholas..."

"NO!" Nick shouted. "No, no, no. I"m not a cop." Shere Khan's massive foot came slamming down on Nick's left arm. He yelled loudly as his arm breaks in two places.

"Nicholas, you didn't let me finish." Nick Hollered in pain and rolling on to his side, wanting to cradle his arm. "Nicholas. Are you a cop." This time Nick did not answer and met with a hard kick to the gut, that pushed him sliding backwards.

"No," He said. Whimpering in pain.

Shere Khan stood over the bloody mess that was Nick. The blood and swelling in his eyes made it hard to see the large tiger standing over him. The copper taste of blood filled his mouth. Lips, nose, and fur drenched with wet blood. Nick cradled his new broken arm and prayed there was no more. Khan crouched down and wrapped his large tiger hands around Nick's neck. The air being cut off from his body.

"Tell me the truth, Nicholas. 'Yes' or 'no.' Are you a cop?"

"No," Nick whimpered out.

"You swear this?"

"I swear."

"Swear it. Swear on your mother and father's lives that you are not a cop."

"I swear."

Khan let go of his neck and felt air return to his lungs. He coughed blood onto the floor. With a hard kick from Shere Khana, he laid on his back. Vicky, the black Vixen fox was at Khan's side again with another fresh white towel and the cigar he lit earlier. He takes the cigar and gives himself a few good puffs. He then takes the clean white towel and wipes his hands, this time to clean the bright red blood from his hands. He looks over at the black panther and gives a nod.

Nick could hear the sparks from a blowtorch starter. With a clicks came the whooshing flame of a blowtorch. Staring straight up, Nick looked up at all three of them: Vicky, Baquera, and Shere Khan. In Barquera's hands he held a blowtorch in one and a branding iron in the other. He moved the flame side to side till the iron was red-hot. Khan took the branding iron from him and looked down at Nick. Shere Khan leans in.

"Then welcome Nicholas." Shere Khana pressed the branding iron down into the center of Nick's naked chest. He hollered in pain till Khan removed the branding iron. The smell of burning fur and flesh filled his nostrils. The entire room swirled around him. Around and around it went till there was nothing but blackness.