Hey, Last here

Had a bit of writers block, just a little bit for some of the connecting scenes, but that almost felt worse than not being able to write at all.

Still, I seem to have gotten over it, now let's see some more Weaselton. People like Weaselton right? Right? well you don't have much choice :P

Chapter 18

Nick had insisted they take a civilian car rather than one of the police cruisers. Even though he had arranged to meet Weaselton in a safe location, the less attention they drew the better. Unfortunately Judy's car, while big enough for Nick to fit, was a little small to get Lunette in as well.

Luckily Lunette also drove to work so they were all sat in her small, blue car. Small for the wolf at least, it seemed pretty spacious to Nick and Judy. Nick was in the front giving directions while Judy slouched in the back looking out of the window. It felt a little odd to the doe to not be in the front seats in some form.

They were driving through Savanna Central and heading for the coast. Not the area near the Zootennial Stadium where Gazelle did the concert Nick and Judy had gone to, that was far too busy and built up, they were heading for the coast near the border with the Rainforest District. Harbour Street was around there and the location was one of Zootopia's major ports.

The scenery around here was made up of dockyards and warehouses, there were few mammals around. In one of the grimier areas Nick got Lunette to pull over into an alleyway between two warehouses. They all got out of the vehicle but Nick immediately began to search along one of the walls before Judy could ask what was going on.

It took him a few minutes, but eventually Nick found what he was looking for, engraved on one of the bricks was a very small gear. Nick grinned and reached a paw to tap the brick.

"Tick… Tock, Tick… Tock… Tick, Tock, Tick… Tock, Tick… Tock…" as he spoke, the fox was walking down the alley tapping on bricks following his uneven tempo.

Stopping at one brick that was identical to all the others he tapped it a few more times and seemed happy with what he heard. Inching it out of the wall a few centimetres at a time with his claws, Nick finally pulled the brick out revealing an empty space behind it. Reaching into the hole Nick fished around a little bit before pulling out a pair of keys that he waved at Judy as if they explained everything. Judging from her expression, it didn't.

"This place was one of Broken Clockwork's safe houses" said Nick tossing the keys in the air a few times "No one really comes out this way which is why I managed to convince Weaselton to meet us here"

Nick led the way through the alley to the back of the warehouses. There was a single door and Nick made a beeline for it. There was a click and the door opened, it was a little stiff but nobody had used it in around a decade.

"So now we just need to wait for Weselton to arrive" said Judy with a little grin.

"It's Weaselton!" came a muffled reply from what sounded like one of the dumpsters nearby.

"And there he is" the rabbit continued as her grin grew larger.

"Sly Bunny" said Nick appreciatively "You knew he was here?"

"Dumb Fox, I heard him the moment we walked out of the alleyway"

Nick couldn't help but snicker as Duke Weaselton pushed open one of the dumpsters from the inside and clambered out. Lunette wrinkled her nose and turned her head away slightly as the weasel approached.

"Oh don't worry your little head wolfie" said Weaselton "nobody's used those dumpsters for their intended use in years, now can we go inside? I know this is out the way but I don't like open spaces"

Nick nodded and led the way inside, it was dark for a moment before the fox flipped a switch and the warehouse was bathed in light. The majority of the building was filled with crates and boxes, the area closest to the door, however, was set up like a small apartment. A sofa, some camp beds, portable TV, mini-fridge and stove, everything you needed really. Nick disappeared between a couple of crates and returned with some extra chairs.

"What is all this stuff?" asked Judy curiously.

"That's… well" Nick scratched his head a bit sheepishly "let's say it's resources"

"Resources?" asked Judy narrowing her eyes, Nick was starting to regret his choice of location.

"Oh my"

Everyone looked over at Lunette, the wolf had walked up to one of the crates and levered the top off.

"What is it Lunette?" asked Judy, deciding the wolf would be far more cooperative in answering her questions.

"Oh, not much" said Lunette slowly as she stared down into the crate "just what looks like industrial quantities of many different chemicals"

Judy looked back at Nick, her eyes wide and her ears quivering, Nick hated that expression on her, made his heart ache something awful.

"Noct is a chemist remember" sighed Nick "hell, with what he can do I'd call him an alchemist. If he doesn't take his suppressors bad stuff happens"

"So?" asked Judy carefully.

"So where do you think he gets them from?" said Nick shaking his head "he has to make the stuff himself, and that means he needs base resources. We have supplies dotted around the city, one of the good things is the stuff isn't going to go off, so he can just pick up from where he left"

Judy looked less shocked now and there was a little understanding in her eyes, but Nick could still see the frown on her face.

"Don't worry Carrots, nothing here was obtained illegally, Noct has all the relevant permits and licenses to own all this stuff"

"Noct is back?"

The three police officers looked over to find that Weaselton had already made himself at home on one of the camp beds. He was looking over at Nick with an eyebrow raised.

"Yeah, he's back in town again" said Nick with a grin as he flipped one of the chairs backwards and sat down leaning on its back.

"Huh" said Weaselton with an odd expression on his face "Well, uh, say hi to him for me…"

Nick just grinned slightly wider for a moment as Lunette and Judy took the sofa. The rabbit glanced between Nick and Duke a few times with a confused expression on her face.

"This sounds strange to hear me say" Judy said slowly "but are you two friends?"

Nick and Duke's heads snapped round to look at Judy in shock.

"Who'd ever want to be friends with a crooked weasel like him!?" said Nick looking at Duke and grimacing.

"Feelings mutual Wilde" spat Weaselton.

"Still" said Nick as Judy just continued to direct her laser-like stare at him "I may go so far as to say we're 'acquaintances' I guess"

"Agreed" said Weaselton looking away "Noct saved me from a pretty bad jam back in the day and Nick? Well… there's always a bit of respect between smaller mammals trying to make their way in the underworld, even if this one went and became a copper"

"Helps that Duke, while actually breaking the law, doesn't do anything that goes against my bottom line" said Nick "speaking of which, what have you been doing recently? You normally know better than to get caught in situations like that"

Judy pulled out a notebook and got ready while Weaselton wiped a paw down his face.

"The only reason everything went south was because things happened that were out of my control" said Weaselton slowly, focussing on Nick rather than the fact he was talking to three police officers "I'm freelance, you know that, but one of my regular clients was a gang based out in the Rainforest District and the Canals. I think they worked in some of the other districts too but they were pretty small scale. They'd get in touch when they planned some burglaries that required my special touch, that was all I did with them, mainly houses for jewellery and the like, or occasionally a hardware store"

Judy hesitated before deciding not to write down anything incriminating about Weaselton, he was risking his neck to help them out, she found that she didn't want to have to arrest the guy at end of this.

"About six months ago something changed, the gang started to grow, making bigger moves, larger targets. My simple little burglaries looked like they were starting to turn into full blown heists, still nothing big enough that it would attract lots of attention to them, but you could see that the amount of planning going on had increased" Duke paused and frowned as he thought about what he had just said "to be honest, looking back, that was probably the moment I should have pulled out. I stuck around, it was profitable, but then the problems started. I began to have less contact with the guys I would usually deal with, these new mammals I didn't recognise took over, it was around then that I figured there had probably been a 'rearranging' of the gang's leaders. The jobs they had for me started to escalate, it was reaching my limits and I didn't like the way the new guys treated me. It was like they thought of me as just another one of their goons to order around, the old gang always respected that I was freelance" Weaselton's face fell "Then I reached the point where I'd had enough, they came to me with a new job, not sure what it was as I didn't look into it too much, all I know is that it involved drugs. I don't touch drugs"

"You stole Night howlers" said Judy raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, before I knew some crazy sheep was using them to send mammals savage, okay? I wouldn't have touched the stuff otherwise. I'll say it one more time flopsy, I don't touch drugs!"

"Like I said" spoke Nick with a stretch "Duke does have some standards"

"Screw you Wilde" said Weaselton, relaxing slightly "anyway I said no to the job, next thing I know I'm being told that I don't have a choice since I work for them. I did not like how things were turning out so I scarpered. One long chase later and I run into flopsy the copsy and her friend here, that bring you up to speed?"

"Is there any other information you can give us on this gang?" asked Lunette seriously, she knew that he'd already given them quite a lot but every piece of information counted.

Weaselton looked around the room, a little uncomfortable as he considered this.

"Look, I, I can tell you where I met with my contact once, not the main location, they could pin the blame on me" he looked over at Nick "occasionally, only once or twice, we'd meet in the alleys behind Connor's Arms out in the Canals. I just don't know if they still use it… can I go now? Or are you gonna arrest me?"

Nick glanced over at Judy who was still writing down some notes, the quick twitch of both her ears was a signal they had for when she needed to answer but was too entrenched in her work.

"Just get out of here" smirked Nick "you going to be ok? I doubt these guys are happy with you right now"

"I've got my ways, Wilde" said Duke as he quickly made his way for the door "just like you"

Nick snorted and shook his head, the weasel was right, while they may have different contacts and hidey holes, but Nick knew few other mammals who could disappear into the cracks like Weaselton. Duke paused by the doorway and looked back over his shoulder.

"Hey Nick" the fox looked over at the sound of his first name "say thanks to Noct again for me… and listen, the old gang I worked with? They were alright by your standards, I reckon they are in a far worse situation with their new management than I was. Especially their accountant"

And then the weasel was gone, no doubt off to slither into a hole somewhere, it wouldn't be a surprise if no one saw Duke Weaselton for a month or so. Judy and Lunette started to talk over the information they had gotten. The grey doe looked over to ask Nick his opinion on part of it when she saw the expression on his face.

Nick looked very thoughtful and slightly confused, like there was something right on the tip of his tongue but he just couldn't figure out what.

"You okay Nick?" asked Lunette as she followed Judy's gaze.

"Accountant…" muttered the fox before looking up "Hmmm? Yeah I'm fine, I just… accountant? Why their accountant? Why is that important to… me" Nick's face fell and he began to frown worriedly "Accountant, it would have to be him wouldn't it? I can't think of anything else Duke could mean"

"What's wrong Nick?" asked Judy, she could practically feel the confusion coming off him "did you find a lead?"

"No, maybe? I just, I think I might know one of the mammals in the old gang Duke spoke of" said Nick uncertainly "I just really hope I'm wrong, I mean, Duke's warning was very vague…"

Nick looked at the door where the weasel had disappeared just minutes ago before turning and joining in the conversation about the information Duke had left for them.

It was late, a dark cloudy night as the mist and fog of the Rainforest District spilled over the border, and Moonlight was illuminated by the gentle mood lighting that Albert had hidden throughout the plant-life. Last orders had been and gone and so had closing time, the tapir was alone now in the bar, he had just finished collecting the last glasses and tidying the place up a bit and was about to start clearing the bar.

He was facing the back of the bar as he tidied up the hanging bottles of alcohol and gave things a quick clean when he heard the familiar swish and ding of the elevator. Albert frowned slightly but didn't turn from what he was doing.

"I'm afraid we're closed now" said the tapir slightly annoyed "and I would advise against any funny business"

There was a deep chuckle from behind him and Albert paused in his cleaning.

"È stato troppo lungo, I don't suppose you have time for an old friend?"

Albert stood up straight and put down his cloth, he had not heard that voice in quite a long time but he could never forget who it was. Turning around he saw, as he knew he would, a huge polar bear in black turtle neck and suit jacket holding a tiny chair. Sat upon it was an arctic shrew, impeccably dressed, and giving off an aura of power just as intimidating as the bear holding him.

"There is always time for you sir" said Albert bowing his head briefly as he hopped over to the counter "To what do I owe the honour? And hello to you too, Koslov"

"Am I not simply allowed to visit those I consider family?" chuckled Mr. Big lightly as the bear holding him nodded a greeting.

Albert smiled slightly, while that may be the case he felt there was something more to this surprise visit, Mr. Big would normally send some sort of notification. But he also knew that the crime lord had his reasons, he would certainly tell Albert when it was time. Koslov walked forwards and gently placed Mr. Big's chair down on the counter before sitting on one of the bar stools, the bear's eyes constantly flicked around the room.

"Relax Koslov" said Albert as he reached under the bar and began to pour something, he pulled up a glass of something and placed it in front of the polar bear "on the house"

Albert snorted, his trunk twitching, as Koslov shook his head at the proffered drink and continued to monitor the room.

"It's just pineapple juice" grinned Albert as he watched the bear's eyes flip back to the glass in front of him "and you know my place is safe"

Koslov nodded gratefully and picked up his glass of juice. Next Albert collected a set of specialised equipment, exactly the same as what he would normally use to make cocktails but barely a tenth of the size. Despite his rather chunky fingers as a tapir, Albert expertly manipulated the tiny beakers and shakers as he prepared a very small drink for Mr. Big. There was silence except for the tiny tinkling of tiny glasses as Albert worked.

"One Classic Martini, stirred, no ice, with lemon to garnish" said Albert handing a very small martini glass to the shrew sat before him.

Mr. Big took a sip and his whole person seemed to relax "Delizioso, to be honest with you, Albert, this was the main reason I came today, nobody can quite make them like you"

"My pleasure sir" said Albert thoughtfully "is something wrong? You seem… tense"

"Things are… complicated right now" sighed the mafia boss "mammals are moving in the shadows and getting ideas above their station… I don't suppose you would consider returning to the family again, Albert?"

Albert smiled and shook his head, nearly every time Mr. Big visited he would ask that question.

"I'm afraid not sir" said Albert gently "you've been doing fine without me, and I can't put Louise through all that again. Besides, I'm just a bartender, always will be. Of course, you are always welcome here at Moonlight sir"

Mr. Big smiled as well, this back and forth question and answer was almost a routine between the two of them by now, so he sipped his martini and pursued it no longer.

"I expect he has already been here"

Albert looked up and pondered what Mr. Big meant for a moment. Just a moment, it didn't take long to figure out who the shrew was talking about.

"Yes, Noct has been here several times" said Albert with a wide smile on his face "Nicky as well, along with their lady friends"

There was a splutter from Koslov as he nearly choked on his pineapple juice and he gave a rather sheepish look at his employer. Mr. Big didn't say anything about it, to be fair he was just as shocked as the polar bear.

"La Innamorata?" asked Mr. Big carefully "You know Nick and Noct better than most, so you should know why that sounds a little… surprising"

"Of course I do" said Albert reaching under the bar and pouring himself a shot of Moonlight, he toasted briefly before knocking it back "but I'll be damned if that wasn't what happened. From what I could gather Noct met a female while he was out of the city, it seems pretty serious as well, I think she followed him back here to Zootopia. Beautiful white wolf she is, anyway I think Nick and that rabbit girl of his got them back together again, seemed like a tense reunion sort of deal when I took them drinks" Mr. Big's eyes glinted but he did not say anything "but, I mean, Noct was always the one I expected something to happen to eventually. Nick on the other hand, now that was a surprise"

"Nick?" asked Mr. Big incredulously, now this he really couldn't believe "What about him?"

"I have seen countless mammals sat at the bar in front of me, I've seen every emotion there is to see put on display here, from hatred to love and affection" said Albert a little misty eyed "So I did a double take when I saw Nick sat there with a pretty grey doe, I don't think I've ever seen Nicky look at someone that way before, what was her name? Hopps I think, the cop he works with now, July?"

"Judy" said Mr. Big quietly with an odd expression on his face "her name is Judy and she is family" now it was Albert's turn to looked shocked "she saved Fru Fru's life and dragged Mr Wilde around like she owned him… I must admit I was getting worried, she clearly has some sort of attachment to the fox, I thought I would need to sit down and have a talk with her. But you are actually saying that Nick… feels the same way?"

"Early days" said Albert with a shrug "but it's more than I've seen in the gone fifteen years I've known him. To be honest, I'm more impressed with the girl, never seen anyone manage to move Nicky like that before"

"Judy certainly is an extraordinary mammal" agreed Mr. Big "Scioccare, I should trust my daughter more, Fru has been going on about those two for months but I never thought anything of it given Nick's… circumstances"

There was silence for a long time as Albert let Koslov and Mr. Big enjoy their drinks, the tapir busied himself with doing the last bits of tidying up.

"What…" Albert paused for a moment not looking at the other two mammals "what are your opinions on the boys… choice of companions?"

"You mean about interspecies relationships?" asked Mr. Big with a chuckle "I thought you knew me better than that Albert. Family comes first, Judy is family, so is Noct, and, despite his best efforts to prove otherwise, I cannot seem to escape the fact that so is Nick. If they are happy then I am happy… besides… one of my uncles was an elephant shrew"

Albert smiled wryly, despite being a cold and ruthless business mammal, he should have known that Mr. Big wasn't one to judge those close to him.

"My wife is a panda" said Koslov as he cleared his throat.

Albert stared at the polar bear in shock, partly at his admission but also simply because Koslov actually spoke up. Mr. Big could not help but laugh lightly at Albert's expression.

"Well, at least there will be a safe harbour for the boys" said Albert sadly "I'm just a bit worried for them, the rest of the city isn't as accepting as we are"

"That is very true" said Mr. Big as he finished his drink "it is unfortunate that they are police officers, I cannot do much without hurting their reputations if they are found connected to me"

Mr. Big waved to Koslov who picked the shrew up once more, chair and all, and moved to leave after nodding to Albert. The shrew obviously gestured at Koslov because the polar bear paused and turned back to face Albert.

"Of course" said Mr. Big with a cold smile "if anyone really tries to mess with my children then I will make my move, reputations or not, good night Albert"

"Good night sir" said Albert bowing his head briefly once more as the sound of the elevator was heard.

That was certainly something that the tapir agreed with, Albert smiled grimly as cleared up the last pieces so that he could finally go home to his wife, nobody was going to get away with messing with his boys.

Chief Bogo had been very pleased with the information Weaselton had provided. Patrols were increased in the Rainforest and Canal Districts and there was word of organising a stakeout for the alley behind Connor's Arms. Not that this had anything to do with Nick and Judy, now that the blip with Duke Weaselton was out of the way they were back to escorting Lunette around Zootopia's different environments.

Tuesday had been slow so far, today the three of them were patrolling Sahara Square. They had to take a cruiser out there since it was far too far from Precinct 1 to walk. But on the other hand, the cars were wonderfully airconditioned since they had to work in all of Zootopia's districts. So Lunette wouldn't get any benefit from driving around, other than learning the streets better.

Lunette had taken Judy's advice and brought Nick in a blueberry pie, the fox had been more than willing to give up his week driving in favour of the wolf, so Lunette was the one who had driven them out to the desert, so to speak. Judy had been very firm in making sure that their parking spot had no chance of getting them a ticket, that was something she had never let happen again since her first day.

Leaving the comfort of the car behind the three of them advanced on foot for the day. Nick and Judy were doing absolutely fine. Judy had aced her training through hard work and perseverance, adding on to that the fact that she had been working in the city for three quarters of a year now, and Judy was more than capable of dealing with everything Zootopia could throw at her weather-wise. Nick on the other hand, well, he was born and raised in Zootopia. He'd never actually left the city before so he had 32 years worth of living, working, hustling, and surviving in every part of Zootopia. The fox looked far too relaxed and at home in the blazing sun for Lunette's tastes.

And Lunette? Well, she was flagging a bit. She was definitely more of a winter mammal shall we say, Tundratown sounded lovely to her right at this moment. She had certainly trained to deal with a desert-like environment, however Los Antleres had a vastly reduced set of environments compared to Zootopia, it was rare to deal with something outside an urban setting. And Zootopia was far ahead of the game in climate control, Sahara Square was literally like being in a desert and training for desert-like situations didn't quite cut it.

Still, Lunette was doing okay, she was certainly stubborn enough to hang in there and power through till she adapted. She was certainly panting a lot but Tuesday was slow so far so they hadn't needed to exert themselves in the heat. About the most exhausting thing they had to deal with was greeting people on the streets, a fox and rabbit pair of police officers meant only one thing in Zootopia, and a lot of mammals still remembered the missing mammal cases that Judy and Nick had solved.

They picked up some lunch from one of the many street vendors that were dotted around. Nick paid, Judy still hadn't shown him that picture of Finnick yet and the fox wasn't going to give up till she did. Plus Nick still felt a little guilty about having to cancel Movie Night, though he knew it'd be worth it once everything was done.

Judy finished her meal in under a minute which shocked Lunette a little, Nick was already far too used to Judy's faster metabolism. It was at this point that someone further down the street they were on shouted "THIEF!".

Judy's ears twitched as she took off into the distance. Nick sighed, this was a common occurrence when the two of them were walking patrol, he shoved the last mouthful of the burrito he bought into his mouth and set off after her. Lunette looked down at her own burrito, there was definitely too much left to do what Nick did. She took one last bite before running after Nick and Judy, along the way she regretfully tossed the rest of it into a bin she passed.

Nick's buying all week Lunette thought to herself to try and cheer herself up I'll just order something extra nice and expensive next time.

Lunette's longer strides let her catch up with Nick again though Judy was still ahead. They could only watch as Judy talked to the victim briefly, a young female wildebeest who pointed across the road, they all saw a black bear ducking into the alleyways carrying a large handbag.

Nick and Lunette veered off course and headed for the alleyway, thankfully there was a break in traffic so they could cross without worry, but even so Judy still managed to get there before them.

"What the hell?" said Nick almost to himself as he rushed into the narrow alley after Judy.

The black bear had already reached the other end of the alley, it was a T shape so his only options were to run to the left or right. He had, however, chosen a third option. With a speed and agility that seemed out of place, the bear was currently scaling the far wall, powerful arms launching him further up before he grabbed the upper ledge and flipped over and out of view.

Judy gritted her teeth, the bear wasn't getting away that easily, not on her watch. She leapt up onto a dumpster beside her before catapulting herself off it to her right. Her powerful legs flexed as she pushed off the right hand wall of the narrow alley and then repeated the action on the left hand side. Nick shuddered as a tingle ran down his spine as Judy rapidly reached the height of the far wall and vaulted over it as well after the bear.

Oh god-fucking-damnit not now Nick thought frantically.

"I'll take left, you take right" Nick shouted over his shoulder at Lunette before peeling off towards the left.

Lunette nodded and split off to the right, hopefully one of the routes would let them quickly regroup with Judy. Both of the routes were exactly the same it turned out, Nick and Lunette almost immediately ended up back on main streets. Turning in the respective directions they ran around the corner and began searching for Judy. The pavement was fairly empty here so they spotted her stood between them holding the handbag.

"Don't do that to me again Carrots" said Nick a bit reproachfully as they joined her "I can't keep your back if I'm not there"

"Sorry Nick" said Judy her ears drooping slightly "I got a little carried away"

"So where's the perp?" asked Lunette looking around "I mean, you got the bag so…"

Judy frowned and looked down at the handbag in her paws.

"I didn't get the bag" she said slowly holding it up so that her colleagues could see the snapped handle "the guy dropped it, or rather broke it"

"What do you mean by that fluff?" asked Nick seriously, the whole thing seemed a little strange to him, especially since his hustler sense went off.

"He didn't seem… right" said Judy with a puzzled expression as she tried to explain her thoughts "like his movements were wrong, like he wasn't used to his own body. He tore the handbag without even noticing, by the time he did I was already over the wall as well, he gave up on the bag and disappeared into the crowds on the other side of the street"

There was a gloom hanging over the three of them as they headed back to the wildebeest to return her bag. Judy was down that she actually let a criminal escape her like that. Nick had a very bad feeling about the whole thing and was getting more shivers down his spine as he thought over it all. Lunette was just rather tired from running in the heat and the other two's moods were getting to her.

Returning the bag cheered Judy up a bit, they had done the important part even if the criminal had escaped. Thankfully, as far as Lunette was concerned, nothing else of importance happened for the rest of the day. So no more running around when it was far too hot for that sort of thing. The wolf was very happy to see their cruiser again when they finished their shift, air conditioning was a feat of the gods, or so she thought at that moment in time.

"What are you smirking about now Slick?" asked Judy as Lunette started the car.

Nick had perked up again and had his trademark grin plastered across his muzzle.

"Oh I was just thinking, we get to go see where Noct lives now" said Nick grinning wider "it better be fancy or I am going to judge the hell out of it"