I packed quite a bit into this one, at least it feels that way, there's a lot going on in Zootopia at the moment.

Anyway, if you enjoy it please leave a like and subscribe, and don't forget to hit that little bell icon so that... OH GOD! I've been watching too many youtube videos it seems.

But seriously leave me some feedback, I love to hear from you guys and it really helps a writer to grow :)

Chapter 25

Sunday had been rather hectic for Nick and Judy. Nick had enough bits and pieces in his apartment to cope but all of Judy's belongings were back at the Grand Pangolin Arms, so she had to leave her shiny new apartment late Saturday evening. After seeing where she would be living from now on, her old room really did seem quite small now. Knowing that she would be right next door to Nick made Judy happy in so many ways but for now it actually made her old apartment feel cold. Add onto the fact that her neighbours seemed to be in a particularly boisterous mood that night and Miss Hopps did not manage to get much sleep.

So it was a very bleary looking rabbit who opened her door early the next morning to find a rather chipper fox standing outside holding two coffees with what looked like sheets of cardboard held under his arm.

"I'm getting this weird sense of Déjà vu" said Nick with a grin "but did you wake up on the wrong side of the cabbage patch today?"

"Are you coming in or not?" said Judy groggily.

"Yes, yes" said Nick handing one of the coffees over as he walked into the tiny room "good thing I picked these up on my way over, I don't think I've ever seen you look tired in the morning unless a Fuzzy Carrot was involved somewhere along the line"

"Partly I was too wound up about our new apartments" yawned Judy before taking a long drink, it was a carrot Frappuccino, just how she liked it "and partly Bucky and Pronk were being very… them last night"

"Well I have it on good authority that your new neighbour won't be keeping you awake like that" smirked Nick "If I am, I'll be in the apartment with you"

The thought of being just that bit closer to Nick helped perk Judy up just as much as her coffee did. Grabbing some clothes from a corner of the room, Judy left the room and headed for the bathroom that was just down the corridor to freshen up and get changed.

Nick placed his drink down on the little desk that was one of the few things in the room and took the cardboard out from under his arm. With a practiced flick, the carboard split and folded out to become medium sized box. Nick knew that there wasn't much in Judy's room, she really seemed to live out of her suitcase mostly since there was no wardrobe, but he'd still brought two boxes just in case.

Judy walked back into the room wearing black leggings and a light blue t-shirt to find Nick very carefully placing all of her mementos and photos and knickknacks into a large carboard box.

"You know I was worried about not bringing enough boxes" said Nick as he picked up the last thing on the desk, other than his coffee, which was a radio alarm clock "but you really don't own much Carrots"

"Well when you grow up with 275 siblings you get used to not having many personal items, and instead lots of communal stuff" said Judy as she grabbed the few pieces of clothing that were still scattered around the room and tossed them back in the suitcase "plus I like to travel light"

"I don't think I will ever be able to comprehend what having nearly three hundred brothers and sisters is like" shuddered Nick as he closed the lid of the box "you know we're going to have to remedy your lack of stuff at some point, you can't go leaving that lovely new apartment all empty now can you?"

"Oh hush you" chuckled Judy as she zipped up her suitcase and looked around her now even emptier room.

Judy jumped slightly when she felt a paw on her shoulder but her ears that had started drooping now perked up again.

"You ok Fluff?" asked Nick concernedly "I know that, as terrible as I think this place is, it means a lot to you"

"I'm fine" said Judy warmly after just looking at Nick for a moment "Now let's move, I want some breakfast"

First, Judy knocked on the door of the next apartment over to say goodbye to the Oryx-Antlersons. They went rather quiet when they heard Judy was moving out, one of them nervously asked if it was because of them because Judy was the best neighbour they'd had so far. They cheered up when she assured them it wasn't because of them and wished her well. Or at least she thought they did, it was hard to tell given how they normally acted.

Second, they visited Dharma Armadillo, the landlady of the Grand Pangolin Arms, in order to cancel Judy's contract and return her keys. There was a brief issue since this had all happened so suddenly, but Nick solved the problem by paying a month's worth of Judy's rent up front to cover till a tenant could be found. Judy gave Nick a death stare all the way out to her car until he promised not to pay for anything else for the rest of the day.

It was a good thing that Judy didn't have much stuff to transport because her car, while big enough for Nick, didn't have much space for luggage. While on the short journey to the new apartment block Nick pulled out a parking sticker and pasted it to the windscreen, he'd made preparations as he didn't want his partner getting ticketed just after she'd moved in.

Luckily there was a space open so Judy could park up and the two of them could carry everything into the building. After a brief chat with Donald, they climbed the stairs till they reached the right floor. Walking into Judy's apartment, Nick deposited the box on the kitchen counter while Judy left the suitcase in the bedroom.

And then… Then… they went and got breakfast…

It was a glorious Monday morning, the sun was shining, the birds were singing... and Chief Bogo had a headache. For once it wasn't caused by officer Wilde, no, today the cause of his headache had been sat on his desk waiting for him to arrive.

A brown envelope had been sat there when Chief Bogo had unlocked his office this morning. He hadn't even opened it yet, just the fact that it had appeared was giving him a headache. He was the last person in his office before the weekend and only he had access to the keys. And Chief Bogo most definitely did not recognise the envelope, which meant that someone had managed to break into not only the ZPD headquarters but also his personal office. The fact that the buffalo couldn't see anything else out of place other than the new addition just made it worse.

With a sigh Chief Bogo reached into one of his desk drawers and, after a brief rummage, pulled out a pair of disposable latex gloves which he put on. Carefully he prised open the envelope, trying his best not to rip it. Thankfully, it appeared that the contents were fairly sturdy, whatever it was. A set of notebooks slid out onto the desk as Chief Bogo upended the envelope.

Steeling himself, Chief Bogo opened the books and began to briefly scan the contents. Slowly, the buffalo's rather pensive face fell flat, and a cold glint appeared in his eyes. Reaching out for the intercom Chief Bogo began to request certain mammals from his many subordinates.

Nick, Judy and Lunette, along with all the other officers waiting in the bull pen, were getting a bit puzzled. It was nearly fifteen minutes past when the Chief started morning briefing but there was no word from him. Nick noted that a few officers who all had a lot of experience with S.W.A.T were notably absent as well.

Almost ten minutes after that and Chief Bogo finally entered the bull pen. He didn't say anything but his rather grim appearance combined with the unusualness of him being late kept the room silent.

"This morning the ZPD received an anonymous tip" Chief Bogo said slowly staring around the room from his lectern at the front "It included a set of fairly damning evidence that a nightclub in downtown is actually a hotbed of criminal activity. The reason for this briefing's delay was to deal with this. Our Forensics and Legal teams have been working as fast as they can and, as far as we can tell, this evidence is genuine. Officers Pennington, Higgins and Anderson are to report to the armoury. Mchorn, Krumpanski, and Snarlov amongst others are already there. This is a full S.W.A.T operation now; as soon as everyone is ready, and the Legal department is prepared for all the questions and paperwork this will bring up, we will be raiding the nightclub called Temptation"

The atmosphere in the bull pen was tense and serious as the elephant, hippo and polar bear stood up and filed out of the room.

"It will take a little while before all the preparations are made" said Chief Bogo looking around the room at the remaining officers "before then we have to keep up appearances, I want everyone out on patrol and as noticeable as possible. I've checked the shifts, everyone can just cover the area they last patrolled and there shouldn't be any overlaps. And the last thing I have to say is act natural, especially if you end up patrolling near Temptation. Alright, you're all dismissed"

Knowing time was of the essence since briefing started late, everyone present left the bull pen quickly to get out into the field, Nick even kept his mouth shut till he was out of Bogo's hearing range.

Clawhauser hadn't heard what was happening yet and was suddenly inundated by officers requesting vehicle keys. The last place Nick, Judy and Lunette had patrolled was Savannah Central, near the headquarters, so they waited till after the rush to fill the Cheetah in on what was happening.

"I don't like it" said Clawhauser resting his chin on his paws "it feels like the start of something bad, there's been an increase in petty crime lately, bag snatching, muggings, you know. I'd hate it if it started to get even worse out there" he paused to look down at Judy "still, with our best officers out on patrol I'm sure there's nothing to worry about"

The smile on Clawhauser's face slowly slipped away as he watched his friends leave the station. He absentmindedly reached down for a donut as he opened up the Gazelle app on his phone, that always cheered him up.

At 11:06 am Police cruisers appeared from all directions and blockaded the nightclub called Temptation and the surrounding area. Minutes later and two S.W.A.T personnel carriers arrived on the scene, one at the front and one at the back of the premises. The various entrances to the nightclub, while locked, couldn't stand up to the force of several thousand kilograms of elephant wielding a portable battering ram. After that the polar bears and other larger mammals wearing heavy armour were the vanguard to enter the building. The ZPD S.W.A.T was like a tide of justice that swept inexorably through the nightclub.

Eventually Wombach and his remaining subordinates ended up cornered in his office, with all of them cowering behind his upturned desk. The door wasn't locked, it was open even, the problem was the number of weapons pointed at the doorway. Thankfully there were enough cops outside that there was no way for the criminals to escape out of the windows.

Now just because this situation was difficult to deal with didn't mean that the ZPD was out of options.

"Flash or Wall?" asked Officer Anderson, a tall polar bear, to two other S.W.A.T members.

"I don't mind" rumbled a large hippopotamus "but I think Raphael would work better, it's a bit narrow for me"

"Flash it is then" nodded Anderson as the other mammal there started to do a few stretches.

Raphael Ocarro was a giant armadillo and, at 1.5m, was rather big for his species. His specialised S.W.A.T uniform took advantage of, and bolstered, his natural protective armour, namely covering any gaps that were left when he curled up since his species couldn't form a complete ball. He very carefully judged the layout of the room and the distances involved. After limbering up for a moment Raphael curled up into a ball, now he just looked like a dark blue and black sphere covered in various odd rectangular protrusions.

"Alright I'm ready" could be heard from the ball, albeit a bit muffled.

Officer Pennington stepped forward now and picked up her now spherical colleague. With a few steps and her arm swinging back and then forwards, Officer Pennington rolled Raphael into the room like a bowling ball.

There was a brief pause while Wombach and his men tried to work out what the hell had just entered the room, and then they opened fire. Raphael's armour and curved form, combined with the speed at which his was spinning, was enough to deflect these projectiles as he shot towards the table. The armadillo was counting in his head and, as he reached a certain number, unrolled, used the momentum to leap into the air clean over the table, pulled on a cord attached to his left shoulder, and then rolled up into a ball again in mid-air.

Seconds after he'd rolled up once more, all of the rectangular protrusions on his armour let out a hiss before they exploded into blinding light. Randal Wombach, and all of his men, had all of their attention on this strange spectacle and so all of them were robbed of their sight. The rest of the S.W.A.T team moved in the moment the light flashed in the room and they were just in time to see Raphael crash back down to the ground, taking out three hyenas with him.

From there the rest of the raid was simple, they swept the rest of the building for any stragglers and escorted Mr Wombach and his men to the waiting police vans. Of course, Mr Wombach was making wild declarations and vicious threats the entire way, but those weren't things for these police officers to deal with, that was up to the lawyers. Unfortunately for Randal Wombach, the ZPD legal department had had far more time in preparation for all this than he had, and most importantly they were in possession of extremely damning evidence.

A big event like this had caught certain mammal's attention long before the S.W.A.T team had even entered the nightclub. Reporters were swarming the perimeter the police had set up by the time Randal Wombach was escorted from the building in cuffs. When they realised that they weren't getting anything useful from the officers on the scene, the smarter reporters made a beeline for the ZPD headquarters.

Chief Bogo had been expecting this and there were officers with prepared statements on hand to deal with the inquisitive media. They immediately reported everything to their superiors, who reported it to their superiors, and so on and so forth, until it reached figures on the level of Adeline Rover.

Adeline didn't say anything as she read through the information her secretary had given her. She was alone in her office, as she preferred to be, and the silence was only broken by her light chuckling as she read about the plight of Randal Wombach. The ZPD had certainly shown its colours and performed above and beyond this time, but the bigger the spectacle this turned into, the more respect Adeline came to have for Broken Clockwork.

Mr Gear clearly wanted to make a statement to Zootopia, that they were back in business, not that many mammals would ever know who had orchestrated this entire situation from the shadows. But limited information was always all the more valued.

Adeline put down the dossier she was reading and leant back in her chair. Broken Clockwork had more than fulfilled their contract this time and the raccoon was considering leaving a tip. She shook her head moments later though, from what she knew about Broken Clockwork, they stuck to their contracts and disliked payment beyond what was agreed.

On the whole, everything had turned out excellent for the Rover family. That annoyance, Randal Wombach, was no longer able to encroach on their territory and they had initiated a positive working relationship with Broken Clockwork. Adeline glanced at the report on her desk one more time; by her reckoning, starting with the other players on the high stage, this information would have just begun trickling its way down through the rest of Zootopia.

Mr Big was sat in his chair in his office, fingers steepled as he pondered over the information Koslov had just recounted to him. His daughter's family should be arriving shortly and he had not expected this last minute report to be so major.

"Certamente, that old buffalo would not pull off a stunt like this without proper preparation and safety nets in place" said Mr Big to no one in particular "It would require extremely heavy evidence for Mondara Bogo to even consider an operation on this scale… have we heard anything regarding the ZPD investigating this Wombach fellow?"

"No sir" rumbled Koslov curtly "there was no prior indication that the police would do something like this"

"Hmm" Mr Big closed his eyes as he sat in silence for a few minutes "Beninteso, it has been too long, I nearly forgot all about them. There is only one way the ZPD would spontaneously gain access to enough information to warrant a S.W.A.T raid" Mr Big opened his eyes again as he smiled "This is nothing to worry about Koslov, it is merely Noctis' way of announcing his return to the rest of the city"

The polar bear's eyes narrowed slightly before he nodded in understanding. Koslov was about to say something else when an indistinct but high-pitched voice could be heard out in the corridor.

"It would appear that Fru-Fru has arrived" said Mr Big with a warm smile "we will have to deal with anything else later, family always comes first"

Bai Yun was lounging on a sofa in the offices directly above one of her family's restaurants. She was currently staring at a business card in her paws, a phone number on one side and an image of a spiked circle with a crack running through it on the other.

Her parents had wanted to know if she had managed to make any connections when she had returned from Temptation. She told them yes, however she needed to find out more about them before she considered it a benefit for the family.

Bai Yun hadn't been sure her parents would accept that however they seemed very happy, praising her caution. They accepted her not going to Temptation any more in order to focus on the contact she had made. Her parents felt that this would be a good learning exercise for current heir of the main family.

The only issue was that, no matter where Bai Yun looked, no matter who out of her limited range of 'acquaintances' she talked to, she couldn't find out anything about the mysterious Mr Gear. Bai Yun was starting to feel a little anxious. Not about Mr Gear, the more difficult he was to track down the better in Bai Yun's opinion since that meant he was hidden deeper in Zootopia's underworld, she just wasn't sure her parents and the rest of the family would see it the same way.

At this point she began to hear raised voices, her father and some of the other higher ups of the family were having a meeting one room over. It had been very civil up till this point, Bai Yun had seen a low-ranking subordinate heading for the meeting in quite a hurry a few minutes ago, it would seem that they had brought bad news.

Pricking her ears up Bai Yun did her best to hear what was going on. From what she managed to piece together over the next few minutes, it appeared that the ZPD had come down on Randal Wombach and Temptation like a ton of bricks. Her father was angry, because that was the gathering point the Bai family was using to expand, and nervous because Randal Wombach's operation was far bigger than theirs, and yet Mr Wombach had just been wiped from Zootopia's underworld by the police.

Bai Yun thought back to her encounter with Mr Gear, what he'd said and her sudden feeling that there was no point in her visiting Temptation anymore. She idly flipped the business card in her paws, as the voices from next door got louder and louder, and Bai Yun smiled to herself.

Click

Beep

"I'm surprised"

Rennie Lamane looked over at the savage grizzly bear sat in the booth near him. Despite Blue Tide itself being closed at this time of day there were always mammals around in their underground den, especially those on Dusk.

"By what?" the lion rumbled as he lounged back in his seat.

"By the boss" said the grizzly nursing his drink "Your report was going great till you brought up the fact that we haven't found any clues about the Shade yet, I really thought you were fucked for a moment"

"Mr Albicauda…" Rennie paused as he thought about his boss "The boss is the sort of mammal who would congratulate you on a job well done but then shoot you in the knee caps for not following his orders to the letter. And then he'd tear your throat out with his teeth because he didn't like the colour coordination of your outfit. He's powerful, cunning, and extremely deranged"

"Exactly" agreed a wolf leaning over the back of the booth to listen in "that's the boss to a tee, which is why we were so surprised he'd be so understanding this time"

"That just goes to show how much the boss thinks of the Shade" everyone present turned to look as a black rabbit walked up to the booth "he knows exactly how hard it will be to track them down. No matter how crazy the boss can act, he won't ask for the impossible, he's too calculating for that"

"What's going on Carlos?" Rennie frowned slightly "I thought you weren't due to return till this evening"

"I cut my meetings short when I received certain information" the rabbit said curtly "Randal Wombach and his entire operation are now gone"

"Hmm, how troublesome, Temptation was useful to us" growled the lion "did he forget to pay his dues to Mr Big or some such?"

"No" replied Carlos seriously "The ZPD raided the night club and arrested everyone"

"Oh?" Rennie Lamane raised an eyebrow "The police actually did something? How laughable"

"I would take this seriously" advised the rabbit "The might the ZPD revealed completely overwhelmed Randal Wombach and we have no way of knowing their full strength"

"Ha!" barked the wolf "I'd like to see them try and take down this place the same way!"

"Yeah" agreed the grizzly as savage eyes flashed "I doubt any of them will have encountered Dusk before"

"Perhaps we should change that" chuckled Rennie "Carlos, double the amount of Dusk we are selling, and tell our customers that they no longer need to restrain themselves. They are free to do as they please and let Zootopia watch."

The black buck's mouth twitched slightly, which Rennie knew was as close to a grin as he would get out Carlos, and the rabbit turned and left the club once more.

"The ZPD have just made a show of force to the whole of Zootopia" murmured Rennie as he gestured for a waiter "so let's just shatter this new public image before it can take root"

The perpetrator of the uproar gripping Zootopia had, in fact, not been paying any attention to what the ZPD had done. Noct had spent the morning concocting another batch of Suppressors, he would need to keep more in stock now that Asra was around. Thankfully, from what Noct could tell, Asra's condition was nowhere as serious as his own. Once the little jackal was taught a few techniques to calm his nerves and senses, Noct felt Asra should be alright to function without Suppressors most of the time, unless something drastic happened.

Asra was doing much better now, he mainly slept and when he was awake, he ate a lot. Noct and Lunette spent as much time with him while he was up as they could. Lunette was a little worried that he was still sleeping so much but Noct reassured her it was fine. Since Asra's body was adapting and healing itself naturally, the process could take as long as a week or so, bearing in mind that the damage done to Asra to start with was not slight in the least.

Since Noct was down in the lab he decided to pop his head into Asra's room. As he expected the pup was fast asleep, Asra had actually woken up rather early that day and had breakfast with Noct and Lunette, so Noct wasn't expecting Asra to be up till late this evening. With a small smile on his face, Noct shut the bedroom door and made his way back up to the main apartment.

Noct had been alone when he'd designed this place and, while he hadn't been harbouring any hopes of seeing his Bruma again, he figured that if the impossible did happen then the fact that Lunette couldn't access the lower floors wouldn't be an issue. Now, however, not only did he have his mate back, but they had a new plus one as well and Lunette now definitely had a reason to access the lower floors.

While the panther could have cobbled together something, it would have taken him a while and Noct wouldn't have been happy with the quality of the security. So he'd called Bakari in, the temptation of seeing Noct's home was probably one of the few things that could get the caracal to leave her room. Now Bakari wasn't good with meeting new people but Asra was asleep and Lunette was at work so it worked out well.

Noct was always impressed by Bakari's nimbleness at working with technology. She always said "if you want to know how it works in the digital world, then you need to know how it works in the physical world as well". Between the two of them they installed a voice recognition system, Noct coded it to Lunette when she got back from work that day, and it was only coded to Lunette. Noct and Asra had their computer chips so it they didn't need it anyway. And of course Noct, ever cautious, had left some presents for any mammal who tried to subvert this system.

Noct chuckled to himself as he thought back to him and Bakari working, they were quite dangerous when left together, Noct never felt that there was enough security and Bakari was a terrible enabler when it came to building technology.

VVvvrrrrrrrr

"Speak of the devil and he shall appear" murmured Noct to himself as he checked his vibrating mobile "Hello Bakari" he said answering the call "what can I do for you?"

"Since you're back in business again I've been keeping an eye on the Twin Calypso's security footage. I just spotted a wolf walking through the back corridors there who is rather too well dressed for a member of staff. I think you have a potential client, I'm running a background check on him now, should be ready by the time you arrive"

"Thanks Bakari, I'll set off now"

Noct tapped his phone on his chin thoughtfully as he started to leave his home, he'd done a little research into who was still around to play on Zootopia's high stage, and he couldn't place a wolf in a position of importance in any of the families or organisations that he remembered.

Now it could just be that someone has sent a messenger, but I would have thought that any old 'acquaintances' would visit in person at least the first time, just look at Adeline Rover. Which means that this may just be some of that new blood everyone keeps talking about…

Arthur Wolverton was a rare breed. He was a timber wolf, not something rare on its own, but more importantly he was a Lone Wolf. To any other mammal the term might mean that they like being alone or weren't very social, but it possessed a specific implication for wolves. A Lone Wolf did not have any pack instincts, at least not like other wolves, and this was perhaps the most drastic condition a member of their species could have.

A Lone Wolf had no requirement to be part of a pack, most canines need the company of other canines for at least some period of time for their social wellbeing and mental stability, but a Lone Wolf did not. They could easily operate alone, separation was no issue for them, they tended to be rather cold and withdrawn.

This isn't to say that a Lone Wolf could not have pack interactions, it simply meant that they were free from the necessity of it all, they could not be induced to howl as so many of their brethren could for example.

A lot of mammals view canines, though particularly timber wolves, to not be very smart. This is a common misconception. Wolves can be just as intelligent, crafty, cunning, sly, and calculating as any other mammal, it's just that their biology often hampers them. To start with, perhaps due to their powerful pack bonds, but wolves still possess much stronger instincts than many mammals. This causes them to often rely on these instincts, acting without thinking, reacting to stimuli, and this behaviour is often attributed as stupidity. It's interesting that the more wolves an individual is in contact with, the larger a wolf's pack is, the greater the influence their instincts have on them

Stupidity however implies a level of intelligence while often the wolves are not using their intelligence at all. Another factor is a wolf's strict adherence to hierarchy. It is ingrained in their very bones to know where their place is in any organisation they are part of. In mixed mammal society this does not mean much, however in packs of wolves this is biological law, a wolf does not go against a wolf of higher status in the pack. With so many unassailable figures above them, the grunts of wolf packs (the ones the public tends to see doing noticeable jobs) can be very subservient and uncreative, blindly following orders. With these factors it can be easy to see why wolves, especially timber wolves, can be thought to be pretty dumb.

But what if you had a wolf who was beyond the influence of their instincts? Who felt nothing about the binds of hierarchy?

That is a Lone Wolf, they follow no orders but their own, they follow no pack but their own, their instincts answer to them and not the other way around. They are smart, often cold, withdrawn and calculating as mentioned before, and they know exactly what their strengths and weaknesses are.

A Lone Wolf nearly always comes to lead any particular pack that they become a part of, they are unencumbered by hierarchy and are as intelligent, if not more so, than any alpha.

And Arthur Wolverton was a Lone Wolf.

He wasn't particularly big or physically intimidating for a wolf but there was a certain sharpness to his amber eyes that could be easily missed. He waited patiently in the dark between the Twin Calypso's two sky scrapers as he had been told to. Mr Wolverton was told a lot of things, out of all of the new blood rising in Zootopia he was one of the more powerful and respected. He wasn't at the level of Mr. Big and the other old families yet, but he was close.

It was at this moment that the little light above the glass fronted door flickered into life and Arthur Wolverton opened the door of Broken Clockwork. His nose twitched slightly at the dusty smell of old books. His eyes adjusted quickly to the dimness as he scanned the room.

"Please have a seat" said the figure sat behind the desk softly.

Mr Wolverton moved forwards and sat down opposite them, he could now make them out to be a panther in suit and tie, wearing sunglasses despite how little light there was.

"Welcome to Broken Clockwork" said the panther "You can call me Gear but I must say, I do not think we have met before"

"I am Mr. Wolverton" the wolf said curtly "it is understandable that we have never met, I was informed that you have only been operating quite recently"

The panther simply smiled as he sat forwards in his chair slightly.

"You seem to be rather well-informed mammal Mr Wolverton, so I will assume that you have not come to Broken Clockwork seeking more information. In which case I must ask, what do you require?"

The wolf reached inside his jacket and withdrew an envelope which he slid across the desk. Bringing the information for your request in a sealed envelope was the last thing he had been told to do. The panther reached out and picked up the envelope, there was a black flash of claws and the envelope was open.

Mr Gear slid out the documents inside and began to read through them. Mr Wolverton sat quietly as he waited for the panther to finish. Slowly he began to pick up on the off kilter ticking of the clock and, as calm as he usually remained, it began to grate at his nerves.

"My apologies" sighed the panther as he set the envelope down on the desk "but Broken Clockwork will not be taking this mission"

Arthur Wolverton's eyes narrowed as he heard this.

"For a new operation you seem to be quite fussy" said the wolf slowly as his fur bristled slightly "I was informed you were the organisation that assisted in such matters"

"It would seem you are not as well informed as you believe… Why exactly was this your request?" said the panther after a brief pause.

"It is the request of one of my subordinates, they cannot do anything about it, so it is my responsibility as his leader to assist"

"A respectable reason but you should teach your underlings better" rumbled the panther "you never know whose tail you are stepping on here in Zootopia"

"An excellent phrase Mr Gear" said Mr Wolverton coldly "there are certain mammals that you would not want to offend" the wolf stood and made to leave "it would seem we have nothing left to discuss"

"Sit down Arthur" said the panther as he took off his sunglasses, emerald orbs flickered in the dimness "on the contrary we still have plenty to talk about"

There was a moment of shock and fear in those amber eyes at the mention of first name before the cold sharpness returned. Arthur Wolverton sat back in his chair as his mind began to race.

"Arthur Wolverton" said Mr Gear as he steepled his paws "the only Lone Wolf in Zootopia currently. You certainly aren't a criminal like Mr Big, and you aren't an old family with a monopoly in certain sectors such as the Rovers. No, quite simply, you are the alpha of a pack. The largest pack in Zootopia in fact, you just broke 3000 members last month, which is quite impressive. You don't organise your members very much, you simply let them get on with their lives. The fact is that all of these wolves' employers need to understand that a pack of this size holds more sway over their employees than they do, holds more sway than Zootopian law in fact. You hold your current position in the city simply because you have subordinates everywhere"

"So you turn out to be a well informed individual as well" said Mr Wolverton trying to read the panther sat opposite him "What do you want?"

"Arthur Wolverton, Lone Wolf, free from the bindings of a pack" said Mr Gear instead of answering "A singularly mysterious mammal, no family, no friends, the ice cold king of the wolves in Zootopia" the wolf began to get a bad feeling in his stomach as the panther reached down and took something out of a drawer in the desk "who would have thought that you were also a doting uncle, your sister's daughter is going to be twelve in a few weeks, little Alison is doing well at school at the moment. I believe they have a play coming up"

Arthur Wolverton's hackles rose at the sight of the photograph Mr Gear tossed onto the desk, a youngish looking female wolf holding her pup out in a park somewhere.

"If you so much as touch a hair on them" growled Mr Wolverton "then no matter your capabilities, my pack will spare no effort in crushing you!"

Mr Gear sat back in his chair and put on his sunglasses again.

"Allow me to give you a brief history lesson" said the panther with a stretch as if the wolf in front of him wasn't angry at all "Broken Clockwork is far older than your pack, while we have been… dormant for a decade, we were operating for figures like Mr Big long before you came to Zootopia" a chill ran down the wolf's spine "While we will perform a variety of roles, we have a set of cardinal rules. First, we will never kill. Second, you will not lie to us. Third, we will never be antagonistic to children or the very elderly. Fourth, we reserve the right to refuse any and all missions if we so choose. So you do not need to worry Arthur. We will never touch your family, and you can trust that we will never give out your personal information as that could be harmful to your niece"

"How can I trust you?" said Mr Wolverton quietly "Given what you've demonstrated, all of my secrets seem to be laid bare"

"Not all your secrets" smiled the panther "we check every client who comes here. Since you have a pretty good reputation, I thought I would be more accommodating. Perhaps a third party would help to resolve your doubts"

Mr Gear reached into his pocket and took out a mobile phone. After quickly sending a message simply saying Gear will be calling, the panther then rang a number and set the phone to loudspeaker.

"Di nuovo. What can I do for Broken Clockwork today?"

"My apologies for calling Mr Big" Arthur Wolverton froze up when he realised who was on the phone right now "I'm currently dealing with a charming client, a Mr Wolverton, and I was hoping you could give a guarantee on our confidentiality here to help set his nerves at rest"

"Sicuramente, that would be Arthur Wolverton, of the wolf pack?"

"Y-Yes sir" said the wolf nervously.

"Ha, do not be so worried, you are one of the few new blood who have reached the high stage with out compromising your mammality. The established figures are always watching and with you we are quite impressed. You have my word that Broken Clockwork is a fair and loyal organisation, I would advise you do not get on their bad side"

"I see" nodded the wolf slowly "Thank you for your wisdom sir"

"Hmm, now is as good a time as any, I will be organising a celebration in the not so distant future. I would like to see you there Mr Wolverton, there are some mammals I would like to introduce to you"

"Thank you again Mr Big" said the panther before the mafia boss ended the call.

Mr Gear put his phone back away inside his jacket and tilted his head as he looked at the rather dazed wolf sat before him. The panther decided to give the mammal a few minutes to sort his head out. Several minutes later Mr Wolverton seemed to come to his senses, he shook his head and snorted softly.

"It would appear some thanks are in order" the wolf said quite tiredly.

"Not particularly" smirked the panther "you would only have been given an invitation like that if you deserved one"

"True" agreed Mr Wolverton "however I may not have warranted such attention for some time yet. And while you will not be assisting with my request I have more than made a profit from this visit to Broken Clockwork"

"If you ever have any other requests" said the panther with a smile "then Broken Clockwork will be open to you, just remember our rules"

Arthur Wolverton nodded and stood. He paused for a moment to stare at the envelope that was still sat on the desk.

"One of my subordinates has come into some business conflict with that target. I will tell them to extend an olive branch, it is the least I can do since you have some kind of connection to them"

Mr Gear smiled warmly and nodded, a Lone Wolf truly was intelligent. The wolf turned and left, Mr Wolverton had quite a bit to take in, mammals to contact, even now there was a lot about Zootopia that he still had to learn apparently.

In Broken Clockwork there was silence save for the out of tempo ticking of the clock. After so long away it was actually very comforting to Noct as he sat in his chair with his eyes closed. After who knows how long, the clock was broken, he opened his eyes again. The panther reached out and slid the documents back out of the envelope. Noct sat in silence for a long while, reading and rereading the mission brief, an old habit even though he wasn't taking the job.

After reading through the information three times as per usual Noct found himself staring simply at the target's name.

M. Wilde