When Jack disappeared from sight, Nick gave a small chuckle and headed back inside.

Wildcard was currently typing something on his phone when Nick stepped in. He just looked up for a second then continued typing and only pocketed his phone when he sent his message.

"So? Problem solved?" He asked Nick

The fox sat back down and moved the side of his paw up and down. "So-so. Not sure if everything cleared up."

"Hope for the best huh?" Just as The leopard said it, his phone rang. He took a half glance at it, then furrowed his eyebrows.

"Who is it?" Nick asked but Wildcard just stood up.

"Ah… Sorry, I gotta take this. Be right back in a few minutes." He walked into the kitchen and closed the door on himself.

"Huh." Nick sat there confused. "Wonder what got into him." Not long after the door opened, and a disappointed Freddie walked through. He glanced at Nick, seemingly was about to say something then just blew some air out of his nose and shook his head before sitting down. "What's the matter, deputy? The cat got your tongue?" Nick joked, but Freddie just rolled his eyes and drank his beer.

"What a shit show." He finally muttered.

"Why?" Nick asked, "Just because you didn't manage to tear them apart?"

Freddie gave a weak chuckle. "You think you are the hero in this story don't you?"

"No, I don't think anyone is the hero here. I'm just curious why you don't want Jack to be Happy."

The wolf sighed and turned to Nick. "You don't know Pa… Jack as I do. These interspecies relationships never last longer than 1 year, there are a lot of examples of this. Sure it's good as a one-night stand, nobody cares. No chance of unplanned kids, everyone's happy. But Jack was never the one-night stand type."

"You think Mia is?" Nick passed the ball back.

"That's not what I said." Freddie shook his head patiently. "Different species… Let's just say every species has its own tick, which other animals might find annoying or weird. If you are the same as your mate, no problem. You both have the same tick. Let's take wolves for instance." He pointed at himself. "Howling at the full moon was always a thing with us, however, It became more of a tradition as we evolved. While another wolf might find it appealing, other animals most likely think we are insane because of the howl. Some activists already wanted to ban this because they don't understand how much it means for wolves. A rabbit and a fox… That romance is off the charts with unique ticks."

"Isn't a relationship is about accepting your mate's unique ticks?" Nick asked

"Sure. But it's all harder if you aren't even the same species. I told you. Most of these relationships don't last more than 1 year, mainly because of the huge differences. So back to Jack. He is… quick to commit fully to a relationship, and when that is over, it hits him like a truck. It's not easy to pull him out of the gutter. I did once, but it still took a few years to get back our original Jack and I'm not sure I could do it again. So as much as I want him to 'find true love' or whatever, I also don't want him to relive the worst parts of his life. And with a fox, no offense, I feel like the chances of him getting dumped again increase dramatically."

"I still think you are wrong."

"I hope I'm wrong!" Freddie spread his arms. "God, I would drive my own car into the junkyard just to be wrong about this! I'm not a professional in interspecies romance and all I have is statistics. I'm just worried about a good friend… That's all."

Suddenly the kitchen door flung open and a frightened Leopard walked through it. "I'm fucked… Shit shit shit… where is Jack?" He asked.

"You alright buddy?" Freddie asked but Wildcard snapped on him

"NO I'M NOT RIGHT! I was so stupid, stupid, STUPID!"

"C'mon what is it?" Nick joined the interrogation.

While trying to calm down, Wildcard sat down. "I'm going to jail. That's it. I'm done..."

"Hey, it's alright kid, we're here." Freddie put a paw on Wildcard's shoulder. "So what happened?"

Cracking his knuckles in stress, the Leopard searched for words and finally talked instead of rambling. "Look… I… I used to be at the police department."

"As an inmate?" Freddie guessed but Nick already knew it wasn't right. He knew he'd known Wildcard's face from somewhere. He was a recruit. They didn't meet a lot, as he was assigned next to Higgins and sat somewhere in the back. But they occasionally glanced at each other a few times.

"No… I was… I was an officer." Wildcard admitted what Nick had managed to recall already. Suddenly a name came up too. Jacob… Our wildcard is Jacob… Nick became a bit stiff. If Jacob remembers him too, his cover is busted.

"You are a what?" Freddie asked in shock.

"Not anymore!" Jacob quickly explained. "It was my rebel phase, I suppose. I just wanted to try myself as an officer, alright? Long story short, I got into street racing while still being an officer, I had a horrible sleep schedule and missed days just to go to Fortune Hill and race around. So not a surprise that I got fired… However, that was after I got to Jack's crew. So I… Took a goodbye gift if you know what I mean."

"No? What do you mean?" Freddie asked. But again, Nick was already one thought ahead. He knew what the most valuable thing was from the police station to a street racer. And that thing is a police radio.

They have a Frequency Protection System, or FPS for short. That means it doesn't matter if someone manages to crack the radio's frequency. Without the verification that a police radio has, you wouldn't be able to hear anything other than white noise. So Jacob wanted to be one step ahead and just kinda took a radio while he still could. He stole a radio…

"I stole a radio." Jacob said, "And by the things stand, they somehow figured out it was me!"

After a while, Jack appeared too, in the door, and Wildcard immediately stormed him with his problem.

"Jack! You gotta help, man."

"What's up?"

"The police figured it out. They know I stole the radio."

"Hmmm… That is a bit of inconvenience, yes." He wondered a bit and then shrugged it off. "Don't worry about it."

"But they have everything about me! Name, address, everything!"

"I can offer you a place to move in for the time being. We don't plan on staying in Zootopia for long anyway. You do need to lay low during the day though."

"Plus there is no valid evidence either." Slipped out of Nick's mouth. "Without any evidence, you are free to go." He didn't want to add that they had to let a few criminals away just because there wasn't any clear evidence. Witnesses Zero, leads Zero, so no matter how obvious the answer was, they had to let the criminal go. "Well I mean in movies the officers always need valid evidence, I suppose it's the same here."

"See? Your situation isn't that horrible." Jack patted the kid on the back. "I do suggest that you lay low for now. I wouldn't like to play the 'No evidence' card yet. I actually have a house on Vulture Road. Nothing too special but it could do the job. I'll help you pack your things tomorrow morning. They hopefully won't bother you until 8 or 9, so we can leave sooner."

"Thanks, Jack!" Wildcard sighed in relief. "You're the real lifesaver."

"Don't mention it. But now! We have a new teammate to celebrate!"

During the next hour, everyone managed to ease up a bit, and everyone forgot about any drama that had been happening. They talked about the past of the crew and what happened before. Quickshifters were only Jack and Freddie for a long time and they only started looking for additional crewmates after the Sponsor appeared. They also reunited thanks to the sponsor, as they left racing for a while.

They also talked about Wildcard. Since the 'Cards' were already on the table about his police officer past, which still made Nick a bit nervous. He didn't want any details coming to the surface about his police officer past. (And present for that matter)

Of course, after a while, the topic got diverted to Nick's past. He tried to be less specific on certain topics but made up for it with stories about him and Finnick.

After a while Freddie called it a night, saying it's a pleasure to meet the new generation of Quickshifter, but family is more important. Eventually, Wild 'Jacob' Card left too, to have his things packed up by the morning.

So in the end, only Jack and Nick stayed in the small apartment.

"What's up with the crew name?" Nick asked. "I mean… 'Quickshifter'. It sounds like a nickname of a college student, given by the girls he had slept with."

"Pfff. What?" Jack spat out a bit of beer while laughing. "What do you mean? No! We did drag races with Freddie at the start. That is where the name is from! It's not a… It's not a byname!"

"Uhumm… Whatever you say." Nick raised his paws and laid back on his seat.

"Come on. You are a crewmember for 1 day and already have a problem with the name? Nobody ever thought of it like that!"

"Or they are just too busy laughing at the fact that you don't realize this." Nick grinned. It was just too easy to mess with every rabbit's head and he used this knowledge more than enough times. This thought however brought him back from the skies. He suddenly thought about Judy, which was almost directly connected to his job. He has limited time to get an invitation. He knows that the blacklisters are willing to put it up on a race, and he is still here, chit-chatting and wasting valuable time. His grin slowly disappeared. For the first time, he felt like a part of a pack. A REAL pack. "Hey… Uhh, Jack…"

"Hmm?" The rabbit got pulled back from his thoughts.

"Can you set me up on a race against the Blacklisters?"

Upon hearing this question, Jack furrowed his eyebrows. "I'm not sure you'd want that."

"I do want it. They offer an invitation in exchange!"

"Those races are always rigged in their favor." Jack waved. "It would be like hoping for a Jackpot at a casino. The house always wins. Forget about it. Plus I'm sure you will get an invitation yourself. Be patient."

"But I… I need that invitation more than you could imagine."

"Look. Blacklisters are just insane nutjobs on the street. They are a danger to everyone, including themselves."

"The sponsor still gave them a chance in the big 12…"

"That's a different story! The sponsor looks at skills, which the blacklisters clearly have. I told you. Be patient. With your skill, you will get an invitation."

"But…"

"No. I'm sorry Bigmouth, but there is no chance I will set you up with those insane idiots. If you want a race, I can organize one for you. I've heard there is another crew climbing up and they have some potential. I could set a race up with them. But not the blacklisters."

"Come on! It can't be that bad! Look if you don't help me, I will seek them out myself!"

"Don't!" Jack warned Nick with a raised finger. "I hate one thing the most and that is when others tie my paw to do something or ignore me absolutely. Be… Patient…"

Nick sighed and shrugged. "Fine. I won't do anything with the Blacklisters until you say so."

"That's what I like to hear." Jack nodded with a smile. Thinking a bit he asked. "Is the Quickshifter name really that bad?"