Chapter 14: Absence and Resolve - Part 3

"Yo, Phil. Guess what?"

"What's goin on, Big Game?"

"My Pops sold the last building!"

"He did? That's hella awesome!"

"I know, right? He told me that the customer was interested in another one."

"Seriously? I mean… sure we can get another one but..."

"Yeah…"

"I dunno, EJ. We might be pushing it..."

"I know, but what do you say? I've never seen him so happy… we gotta get one more!"

"Alright. I'll line up another building and scout a poser for the job. We'll need to get another set of papers."

"Okay… sure."

"I'll holler when it's time to get'em."

"Awesome! Oh, and come over for dinner. Pops is making his famous stew!"

"Really? Love that stuff. Cept for the twigs. Still dunno how you guys eat that stuff. I'll be over in a few."

"Sweet. See you soon!"

The audio file of the phone conversation ended after the click.

Nick removed the large headphones covering his ears and with a quick flick across his wireless trackpad, closed the audio file directory on his computer. Clawhauser had called him back into the station once the ZT&T Corporation provided the subpoenaed evidence after Judge Baram issued the court order from Chief Bogo's personal request. With added pressure from the Mayor's office, the usual lengthy process was expedited and the phone logs were delivered to the ZPD immediately.

Officer Wilde tilted back into his chair, thoughtfully leaning his chin over his paw on the arm rest. It appeared EJ was involved in the theft and the artist mentioned by Earl appeared to be Phil. Nick assumed he was the same red fox revealed by Dinks' interrogation and Rebecca's greeting when she mistook their identities. EJ's cell phone number matched the Tembory's residence above the toy store but Phil's had no address associated with his. Nick assumed he probably used some sort of pre-paid service and chose to remain unlisted.

The audio log matched several of the previous phone conversations where the two suspects colluded to acquire forged documents, cased a building, found a rodent to deliver the papers, and then stole the apartment once it was vacated.

Looking away from his monitor, the conversations made his weary eyes settle on his own phone. After a few moments of silent consideration, Nick picked up his phone to call Finnick. It rang until the fennec's voicemail answered. A rare occurrence for the former business partner.

"It's your dime, spill it!"

With a heavy sigh, Nick canceled the call and dropped the phone back onto the desk counter. The fox officer had grimly expected that Finnick might outright block his cell number. He was somewhat relieved that his old friend hadn't. It still hurt nonetheless.

Not wanting to leave it at that, Nick called one last time. Once the voicemail answered again, he hesitated to speak, then found his voice.

"Listen, Finn… I doubt you'll forgive me..." Nick paused to glance at his badge. "But this is what I have to do now. I gotta bring these guys in. If I never see you again… take care of yourself, big guy."

Ending the call, he looked at his home screen for a moment. Nick longingly stared at Judy's photo. Hitting her speed dial, the thought of hearing his partner's cheerful voice brought a short-lived smile to his weariness until Judy's phone went to voicemail as well. Not in the mood to leave another message, Nick reluctantly hung up and placed the phone back down. He'd try to call her again later.

Back to the case, Nick thought about his next move. He knew the crime couldn't commence without the stamped documents. It was time to change clothes and get extra acquainted with the outside of the City Hall building, but not before updating his case file and going upstairs to inform Chief Bogo of his plan.

An hour later, Nick was sitting in the overly large seat, watching the Chief flip through his updated report. Bogo finished reading the latest transcribed audio log conversations. He removed his glasses and looked down at his fox officer.

"Looks like your suspects are making their preparations, Wilde. What's your next move?"

"My plan is to stake out City Hall, Sir. The suspects, or possibly Rebecca, will need to make new eviction papers for the building they plan to steal. Once they do, I can tail them to find out which one they're gonna hit next and be there waiting to catch them in the act."

Bogo considered this with crossed arms. "Very well, Wilde. Unfortunately, I can't spare another officer to assist you right now. You have permission to gear yourself with any necessary equipment. Keep me updated if anything changes."

"Not a problem, Chief. Time I catch these dollhouse deceivers," Nick quipped as he hopped down from the large seat.

The cape buffalo curiously eyed his fox officer. The Chief noticed that Nick seemed more distant the past few days. Some of his humor had finally returned but it didn't have its usual snarky bite behind it. Bogo let the subdued demeanor slide as he watched Nick exit the office.

Paying a visit to the equipment armory on his way downstairs, Nick checked out a can of police grade musk mask and scent blocker, a mini video camcorder with a night vision feature, two sets of appropriately sized cuffs, a small single shoulder strapped backpack, a multimammal taser, and a tranquilizer gun.

Entering the locker room, Nick changed into some fairly plain civilian clothes after spraying himself down thoroughly with the musk mask and scent blocker. His outfit was a simple dark t-shirt with jeans and a cap. As usual, he felt naked when not wearing one of his ties as he inspected himself in the full body mirror.

Out on the street, it was a warm late summer morning with a cool breeze. Fall was only a month away. Nick flicked his aviators on and with paws in pockets, he sauntered in the direction of City Hall.

Once he arrived, the undercover fox assumed his typical position, leaning against the adjacent building, and watched the entrance. Casually checking his phone, it was nearing lunchtime. Nick jabbed a paw into his other pocket, whipping out a fruity granola bar he acquired from the ZPD lobby vending machine, and took a bite. His eyes never left the entrance while chewing the rather bland meal.

It was going to be a long day.


Judy came to rest underneath the shade of a tall oak tree. Still panting, she wiped the sweat from her drenched brow. The bunny originally planned on a short run after helping Bonnie serve breakfast and brunch to dozens of her younger siblings, however, that intended mile run became a cross country excursion as Judy lapped around numerous green acres of her family's farmland under the midday sun.

After a brisk walk around the nearby pond to cool down her heart rate, she leaned against the tree and allowed herself to slide down onto the soft grass. Judy paused the playlist on her pink iPaw music player, unclipped a small sports water bottle from the strap on her runner leggings, and chugged the refreshing liquid. Feeling sufficiently hydrated now, Judy checked the time on her phone. She was greeted by a missed call notification from the one mammal who she yearned to talk to most. Of course Nick called when her phone was set to silent mode. There was no voicemail or text either.

Judy groaned in disappointment as her ears drooped.

As was becoming the norm for the past several days, Judy hadn't heard from Nick for a while since he needed to go borrow something from his Mom. The phone tag, the often short or interrupted conversations, and the stubborn fox keeping her out of the loop in regards to work just because she was on vacation was becoming increasingly frustrating. All she wanted was a chance to talk with Nick for more than just a few minutes. Like the night of the skunk parade or the reception.

The reception.

Judy's mind replayed his parting phrase once more. "I really miss you too, Judy."

Every time she thought of that moment, she would feel a little warmer and brim with happiness. With a big sigh, Judy opened her eyes and glanced up towards the top of the oak's bristling leaves. She watched a particular large green leaf sway in the wind.

"You've sure been on my mind a lot…" she whispered.

"Who's been on your mind a lot?"

The sudden curious voice startled Judy as she instinctively jumped to her feet, ears up, and assumed a defensive posture due in part to her police training and a rabbit's natural sense of fight or flight. Judy regained her nerves and looked around. There stood a taller gray doe with a long black sleeve turtleneck shirt, a teal summer skirt, and purple glasses.

"Violet!?"

"Sorry I scared you, Jude." her older sister chuckled. "Mom said you went for a run. Figured I'd find you out here." Violet gestured to the single oak.

"Yeah. I was feeling cooped up inside the house. And I can't be neglecting my exercise just because I'm on vacation," the younger doe pointed out.

"Gotta stay fit to take down those big bad criminals, hmm?" Violet playfully teased while pretending to put her fists up in the air like a boxer at the glaring eyes of her younger sister. Going back to her original question, the older doe clasped her paws. "So, who were you thinking about under the tree?"

"Uh… well…" Judy paused a moment. There was nothing to hide after all so she resumed direct eye contact and answered. "I was thinking about my partner, Nick. He's been working his first big case and I haven't heard from him lately."

Violet thoughtfully scratched her chin. "Must be the same Nick I heard about at the reception and around the house."

"Wait, what? The reception?" Judy looked confused.

"Oh… you didn't know?" Violet regretfully looked away.

"Violet. Know what?" Judy demanded, taking a step closer.

Her sister sighed while pushing up the bridge of her glasses. "Seems Morty wasn't all too happy about you putting him in his place. Kept going on about it to all the other single bucks," Violet explained. She put her paws up to make some air quotes. "Don't bother with that lost cause over there, she's a pred-lover he told them. Then he mentioned something about a fox." she finished with a frown. "What a prick."

Judy simply crossed her arms across her chest with an indifferent muzzle. "You know I don't care what some jerk thinks."

"I know, Jude. If I'd known he'd turn out to be such a loser, I wouldn't have hold him to go say hi to you on the dance floor," her sister said with a regretful grimace.

"It's okay, Violet." Judy smiled and reached a paw out to her sister's arm.

Noticing her little sister not deny anything else about the matter, Violet's own curiosity piqued. "Got a picture of this partner of yours?"

The younger bunny's smile grew wider and she reached for her phone. Judy unlocked it and held up the home screen for her sister to see. "That's him."

Violet leaned in to inspect the wallpaper pic. There was her little sister, all dressed up, in what appeared to be a photo booth looking extremely overjoyed, almost nuzzled right up to a dapper red fox with an equally happy smile of his own, and a glint in his deep green eyes. The only more obvious sign would have been if Judy's chin was just a tad higher and a smidge to her right...

"Let me show you more!"

The older doe watched as her little sister gleefully flicked through several photos of them together, briefly describing each one. There was a mix of on-duty and off-duty photos, including a comical one of the fox in a meter maid outfit, and Judy having dinner with Nick and an older vixen. Violet listened as Judy explained that it was Nick's mother. The last few photos showed her posing with Nick, a tiny fox, another red vixen, and a gray timberwolf in front of a van, and the two of them in uniform playing with a bunch of kits in a snowy park.

Analyzing her little sister's tone and body language, both in and out of the photo gallery, the older doe leaned back with an amused grin. Violet decided to test the waters.

"Well, that's one handsome fox. If I was still single, I'd hit that!" said Violet in her most sultry tone.

The reaction was almost instant. And just as predictable.

"What? Violet!" Judy flustered with reddening ears, glaring at her sister, and withdrew the phone, defensively clutching it away. Judy's overprotective and jealous body language said it all.

"Oh c'mon Jude… you know I was kidding," Violet giggled and socked her sister's arm.

Realizing her strong reaction, Judy blinked and straightened up, feeling a bit embarrassed. Her ears remained lowered. She tried to play if off by pretending it didn't happen.

Violet decided to try a different approach. "Tell me about him. I remember Mom sharing that you two met on your first day on the force after they came home from the concert. I want to hear all about the real Nick."

"Well…" Judy began by taking a big breath as she looked down at the last photo, her ears returning upright. "He's... completely insufferable, cocky, opinionated, cynical, lazy, tells the worst jokes and puns you've ever heard, teases me constantly, argues with me, and thinks he's mammalkind's gift to women…"

Violet raised her brow. That wasn't what she expected to hear.

However, Judy paused with lidded eyes and the tone of her voice changed completely as her ears lowered. "Yet… he's charming, witty, smart, sweet, thoughtful, sentimental, patient, and has a really big heart under that scruffy sly exterior. Even when we couldn't stand each other at first, Nick never once left me whenever I was in danger, and he trusted me, even when I was being reckless. He stood up to my Chief to defend my job, and even forgave me after I hurt him… I would've never solved the missing mammal or nighthowler cases without his help."

And there it was.

"Wow." Violet whispered, her chin resting on a paw.

"Yeah." Judy glowed with a beaming smile. "Since he became my partner, I can't imagine…" she trailed off in silence as she lost focus. The bunny noticed the starry-eyed face her older sister was making at her. "What is that face for!?"

"Huh? My face?" Violet pointed a finger right back at Judy's own muzzle. "You should've seen your's just then!"

The two sisters shared a standoffish gaze while Judy blinked.

Violet softly placed her paws on Judy's shoulders. "What were you going to say earlier?"

Momentarily blanking out, Judy stammered her words. "Uh… that I… I can't imagine life without him."

The older bunny smiled with paws on her hips. "I think I understand everything now."

"What do you mean?" Judy asked with a nose twitch.

"Oh nothing…" Violet sheepishly grinned. "It explains why I saw you constantly on your phone and not mingling with anyone else at the singles' table. Now I know who you were talking to. Gideon even made a passing comment about the two of you baking pies together."

Judy opened her mouth to counter but no words could escape past her lips. She could feel a warmth spread across her cheeks and in her ears as her heart seemed to accelerate at the implication. Judy's body wasn't denying her sister's facts.

Violet rolled her eyes at Judy's cute naivety. "A partner you can't imagine life without…" the older doe repeated. "I have one of those too. Cecilia wants to say hi to you when you're done with your workout!"

With a quick pivot, Violet turned to skip down the small hill, leaving her wide-eyed sister under the shade of the oak.

"See you back at the house, Jude!" Violet winked over her shoulder with a dramatic smirk.

The speechless younger bunny stared at her departing sister as a myriad of new thoughts bounced around in her head. Judy stared at her phone that she was clutching with both paws, at the photo of her and Nick. She didn't even realize she was holding her breath, till she finally had to exhale as she looked back up.

Her sister was already gone out of sight. Despite the onset of soreness in her legs, Judy hopped forward into a full sprint. "Hey! Violet! Wait up!"

After a brisk shower and a fresh change of clothes back at the burrow, Judy found herself heading up to the main family room where Violet and Cecilia were enjoying some tea and apple scones that Bonnie set out. Maude and Dale were also in the room contending with a dozen younger Hopps siblings that were noisily playing about, many of whom were vying for Cecilia's attention.

The tall doe was actually an arctic hare whose family moved from Tundratown in Zootopia to live a quieter life in Bunnyburrow years ago. Cecilia and Violet met when the two attended several art and business classes together at Tri-burrow University. While Violet was the doting, overprotective, observant type, Cecilia was a feisty perfectionist, fashionable, boisterous, and always with something to say or an opinion to share.

The four older rabbits caught sight of the latecomer and stood. Cecilia came over to hug Judy.

"There's my favorite fiery little bunny!" Her hazel eyes scanned Judy from ears to toe. "Look at you, heartbreaker!"

Judy blushed. "Hi, Cece!"

"Sit! Sit! We didn't get to chat at your brother's wedding." She led Judy back over to the wall length couch. The other siblings sat around occupying themselves while some listened in.

"You did a wonderful job with the wedding planning and reception!" Judy smiled while taking some tea.

"Thank you, sweetie. God, I had to spend so much time yelling at the incompetent staff. They brought the wrong altar. The flowers weren't arranged correctly. The buffet arrived late. Some of the guests got lost. I think I was more bridezilla than the bride!"

The adult bunnies chuckled as Violet squeezed her partner's knee.

Cecilia leaned in really close to Judy. "Did you know I caught a couple of guests going at it like rab… well, like us in one of the janitor closets? It was your cousin, Dylan and one of Dawn's bridesmaids. You'd think they'd keep it in their pants till after the party."

"Oh…" Judy blushed not knowing what else to say.

Violet chuckled while poking her blunt partner. "Dewdrop, not in front of the little ones. They can probably still hear you. Let's not get the Hopps gossip train going. There's no brakes once it leaves the station."

"Especially if I'm the conductor!" Cecilia grinned. She turned back to Judy. "Tell me Judy, are you enjoying your time off here at home?"

"Oh… uh… of course! It's been real great. Though I do miss the city."

Cecilia shared a glance with Violet. "I hear that's not all you miss."

Judy paused mid sip, eyes widening at the insinuation. Her brain, equally conspiring against her, flashed back to the reception night.

"Night, Nick. I miss you."

The flashback and the earlier conversation with her sister, caused her to hesitate. "Uh…"

"I knew it! C'mon, tell us!" Cecilia insisted.

A loud crashing noise, followed by angry shouting turned everyone's heads to the main entry. A small brown bunny rushed through the door holding up a reddish doll in his paws, while a smaller creme colored bunny chased after him.

"Give it back!"

"Nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah! It's mine now!"

"No, it's not!"

Violet was the first on her feet to respond. "Joffrey! Give that back to your sister!" She swiftly swiped the plushie out of the little boy's paws.

"Aww. I just wanted to play cops too!" he pouted.

The oldest sister shook her head and looked at the peculiar plushie. It was a red fox. Violet didn't recall anyone having a fox doll in the house before. Her ears twitched at a barely audible gasp. Glancing over, Judy wore a mortified doe-in-the-headlights expression on her face.

Her suspicions aroused, Violet kneeled down to hand the fox back to the other bunny. "Cotton. Where did you get this plushie?"

"I found it in Judy's room!" she exclaimed as the little bunny hugged the small fox tightly to her chest.

"Oh really?" the wily doe pretended to muse.

All eyes turned to Judy, who wanted nothing more than to crawl under the coffee table and disappear.

"Uh huh! It was under her pillow."

"And what were you doing with it?"

"I was pretending to stop bad guys with Nick like Judy does!" Cotton exclaimed, trying to look proud.

Cecilia couldn't resist learning more as she leaned forward in her seat with both paws on her knees. Violet had shared a few minor details about her earlier conversation with Judy while the bunny was in the shower. "Ohhh… who's Nick, Cotton?"

"The police fox from TV! He's Judy's partner. I talked to him on the phone. He's really nice!"

"I've heard that too," Violet chimed in with a sly grin sitting back down next to Cecilia.

"You heard what? Tell me, Sweet Pea!" Cecilia squeezed her partner's shoulder.

"GUYS! I'm right here!"

Not caring about being the center of everyone's attention this time, Judy stood. The room fell into an awkward silence as several dozen pairs of ears, eyes, and twitchy noses stared at her.

"Okay, look! Yes, I have a fox plushie. I bought it a year ago after making one of the biggest mistakes of my life..." Her ears drooped and her voice became softer. "I lost Nick's trust… his friendship. I was alone… and it hurt so badly… I just needed something to comfort me."

Judy took a breath. "I left it here because after Nick forgave me… I didn't need it anymore."

Violet opened her mouth to speak but Judy raised a paw to stop her. She looked at Cecilia. There was a moment of silence before Judy spoke again.

"You're right. I really miss Nick too. From the moment I got on the train..." Judy sighed. "And everyday since…"

No one spoke afterwards. The room was full of twitching noses and an occasional shuffling sound indicated someone was adjusting their uncomfortable seating. Scanning the room, Judy tensed up as she noticed Bonnie standing in the doorway with a fresh tray of food and drinks, a surprised and concerned motherly look plastered all over her face.

Oh sweet cheese and crackers! How long was she standing there? Knowing her luck, Bonnie probably overheard everything. Judy looked down at the hardwood floor, very much aware of her own admission.

Cotton broke the silence by hopping up to Judy with drooped ears and holding up the plushie. "I'm sorry I took him from your room, Judy."

It was impossible to stay upset when she looked at her sweet little sister's misty green eyes. "Oh come here, you." Judy lovingly squeezed Cotton. "You can keep playing with him if you like."

"Really!? I'll bring him back before supper!"

Judy nodded and ruffled the top of Cotton's head between her ears.

Cecilia held Violet's paw before speaking. "Judy, I'm really sorry. We didn't mean to upset you."

"It's okay, Cece." Judy reassured her with a small smile.

To everyone's surprise, especially Judy, Bonnie played coy and fondly smiled at her roomful of rambunctious children. "I hope you're all hungry. I brought some extra carrot cake snacks."

The younger siblings hopped and cheered, ready to devour the freshly baked treats.

"Let me help you with that, Mom." Judy offered.

Once the snacks were laid out, Bonnie joined Cecilia and Violet on the couch, while Judy sat on the floor, with Cotton in her lap, who was very much occupied with her new plushie.

The matriarch glanced around the room with a fresh tea in paw. "So, you all were having a lively conversation..."

With a devilish grin, Cecilia spoke up. "Judy was sharing…" This caused Judy to gawk at Cecilia. "...more of her exciting police cases." the arctic hare finished with a wink.

"Oh, don't encourage her!" Bonnie smiled while swatting a paw. "She never stops talking about work."

With a small groan, Judy took the initiative to at least steer the conversation away from her apparent deeper feelings. The bunny chose to share a more humorous story of how late one night she heard a lot of strange noises from her neighbor's apartment while watching a scary movie, only for it to turn out that Bucky and Pronk were hosting some type of rowdy Secret Pillow Fight Club. The younger siblings got a kick out of hearing Judy pick up a pillow and wallop those larger mammals to victory after Bucky called her out for not being a capable cop and cute.

After a few hours of renewed and spirited conversation, eventually moving the focus away from herself entirely, Judy excused herself and slowly descended the stairs leading down into the Hopps burrow towards the first set of bedrooms. Soreness had begun to settle in from her little morning excursion. Perhaps she had run just a bit too much. Either way it was always a good sore.

Making her way down the hall to her room, Judy glanced at the small fox plushie in her paws. Cotton returned the little doll before being corralled with the other children by Bonnie for their routine supper rotation. The plush reminded her of the observations she made between Violet and Cecilia.

The young bunny began drawing uncanny parallels between the happy does in her mind. How much they teased and aggravated one another, yet still being thoughtful to each other's needs. Their use of nicknames for one another, just like how often she and Nick used nicknames. Well, she preferred using his actual name, he on the other paw was like a nickname slot machine where the handle never stopped being pulled. But, she thought to herself, it meant whenever he did use her name, it was special. It always made her feel special.

Through the door, down the final set of stairs, past the curtain, Judy finally arrived at her desk. She took a seat in the cushioned wooden chair and gently sat the plush on the counter. Judy stared at the little red fox. It felt like he was looking right back at her. Leaning forward with a chin on one paw, she returned the gaze while thinking back to her rather honest reply to Cecilia's statement.

It was true that she was always thinking about Nick. Every. Single. Day. The frequency had only managed to increase. Judy couldn't ignore it anymore. The bunny leaned back in her chair.

Determined eyes focused on several large pinned crudely drawn mugshots hanging overheard from a clothesline high above her desk, remnants of Judy's younger days, pretending to solve imaginary crimes.

"Okay, Judy…" she whispered. "No different than a case…"

Judy prided herself on having an excellent memory. She could remember the name of every single one of her family members, recite the police handbook from cover to cover, and spit out police codes like her old drill sergeant could spit out insults. The bunny decided to start from the beginning.

Nick's graduation ceremony popped into her mind. She remembered spending the entire evening feverishly writing and rewriting that speech. Her tiny trash bin ended the night filled to the brim with crumpled pieces of paper. Then there was the look on his face when she surprised him by revealing herself to be the special guest speaker; the overwhelming pride she felt pinning his badge to his chest, how great he looked in uniform. Judy's eyes settled back on the plushie.

"When Drill Sgt. Friedkin called to tell me you made Valedictorian, I was so proud of you."

Then they practically spent almost every single day together since officially becoming partners. Even through long grueling shifts, stressful cases, or being off-duty, they always invited each other out somewhere. The fond memory of finally meeting Mrs. Wilde, when Nick showed up at her apartment door, so stylishly dressed and wearing that special violet tie she caught him buying which he said reminded him of his partner's eyes to that vixen cashier. Judy remembered how speechless she was to see him look so dashing and so sweet for bringing flowers to his Mom. The bunny had to admit she felt a little envious of that gesture.

"You really do look handsome when you dress up; much better than those pawaiian shirts..."

That's right. She really did consider him to be handsome.

It dawned on Judy that she never thought that was an odd thing for her to feel. It didn't matter to her that Nick wasn't a rabbit. Those mesmerizing green eyes and his disarming smile could charm anyone. Overtime she found herself always being drawn in by them.

And then Judy remembered when Nick got his new home. She felt so overwhelmed when that sweet fox surprised her by showing his deep trust in her when he simply handed over the spare key so she could come and go freely. Which she often did on their days off and just as often fell asleep there. Nick never complained about it or turned her away. Not once.

"We never did get sick of each other… did we?"

It made her realize that their natural bond was one of the reasons Agent Coltson selected them to masquerade as a married couple. Judy remembered being initially surprised at the assignment but it never bothered her in the least.

Despite the fact that it was all supposed to be an act, everything felt so natural to her. The way they danced in the ballroom, how Nick sold their fake backstory to Felisky, the way they always worked together to tackle any obstacle in their path, and how they would always have each other's backs.

That happy retrospection turned sour as Judy remembered Nick later protecting her by getting kidnapped in her place. When she saw him unconscious and being hauled away, the thought of actually losing him gripped her heart in utter fear. That same fear turned into primal rage when she caught up to his captors, seeing him captive and beaten. The bunny had resolved to do anything it would take to bring him safely back home to her.

The powerful memory caused her to presently bristle with raw emotion. Without realizing it, Judy ripped the fox plushie from his resting position and clutched it fiercely against her chest, like she would never want to let it go.

Judy looked down at the little fox. His head was laying between her arms near her beating heart. Exactly where she would normally pin her badge. Smiling at the plushie, Judy squeezed it again, dropping her chin over it's tiny head as she closed her eyes.

"I was so afraid… because... " the bunny whispered to the plushie. "I can't imagine being out there without you."

With a deep breath, she could still feel that despair. But then Nick made it disappear, like he always managed to do whenever she was feeling down or emotional. His sweet words rang in her ears.

"And you're not a dumb bunny… don't ever lose what makes you special."

That phrase suddenly took on a whole new meaning in Judy's mind as it made her heart beat faster again. Nick was always particular with his choice of words. Had there been more to them that she missed? Perhaps she really was a dumb bunny all this time…

Lost in her emotional thought, Judy forced her eyes open when she realized she had been moving her chin against the top of the plushie.

"Oh no!" the bunny gasped as she held the little fox at arms length. Did she just?

Her nose began to twitch. She did! There was no way Judy could let Cotton play with the plushie until she washed it thoroughly. Her deep emotions and body just provided her all the evidence she could possibly need. She stared into the eyes of the plushie. She swore she could hear Nick's voice.

"You know you love me."

"Sweet cheese and crackers…" Judy blinked while beginning to breathe heavier. "I… love Nick. I'm in love with my best friend…"


The first day observing City Hall proved fruitless.

Neither suspect had shown up. That day Yolanda and Rebecca arrived and left work at roughly the same time. Nick was back at it again bright and early the next morning. He had seen Rebecca arrive first, followed by Yolanda. The fox officer passed the time with his thoughts as he kept vigilant watch over the City Hall entry.

Keeping his head low under his cap, he wondered what Judy might be up to. Oddly enough, she hadn't returned his last call or text. This caused Nick to naturally slump his shoulders. He figured she might still be stuck babysitting an entire warren of her siblings. The thought of her playing more cop games with her family popped into Nick's mind. Remembering Cotton with the large police hat returned a smile to his snout.

Once noon rolled around, he noticed both Rebecca and Yolanda exiting the building with a herd of well-dressed mammals. Nick kept his eyes on them until they were out sight. His growling stomach signaled it was time for a bite to eat. Just as he reached into his pocket for another unsatisfying granola bar, Nick stiffened as he caught sight of a young elephant and red fox, matching the photograph above Earl's sales counter, walking together towards the building from his direction.

Making sure to not be noticed, Nick kept his head down low and face hidden as the two mammals strolled by. They were bantering and laughing about some pickup game they participated in, earlier that morning. EJ was wearing a Savanna Central Community College jacket, baggy shorts, and a large backpack while Phil wore his newsboy cap, leather jacket, and jeans. Phil was dribbling a small basketball. He tossed it to EJ with an underarm pass who caught it with his trunk before putting it away in his backpack.

When the younger fox passed by, Nick spied a bright grin, which revealed a chipped tooth. Exactly as Dinks had described him. The fox officer observed them head straight into City Hall. Rebecca and Yolanda were still gone. Nick narrowed his eyes and pushed himself off the wall. Utilizing the crowds to remain stealthy, he entered the building not too far behind in pursuit.

The two young mammals nonchalantly took the elevator up. Nick zipped through the main lobby and bounded up the stairs to the second floor. Beating them to the floor, Nick got on his tiptoes to spy through the tiny window from the fire escape door. A loud ding sounded the arrival of the elevator and the two suspects stepped into the hallway. Passing some office staff, they made their way towards the frosted glass door that read Zootopia Planning Commission. Pausing to read some note on the door, they cautiously glanced behind them before entering the reception.

Now Nick entered the hallway, casually strolling to the doorway. A note on door informed would be visitors that the ZPC staff is out of the office for lunch. Semi-blurry silhouettes indicated that both mammals were well past the entryway. With expert dexterity and technique, he silently opened the door to better observe EJ and Phil.

Both fox and elephant stopped and checked around the reception area to make sure it was empty. Phil took a few sniffs before nodding at EJ. Luckily, the double combination of the musk mask and scent blocker kept Phil from detecting the fellow fox behind them. The younger fox reached into his jacket and pulled out gloves. One for a trunk and a pair for paws. The young elephant made his way around the reception desk and sat in Rebecca's seat. Nick watched as he tapped away on the large keyboard with his gloved trunk. He strained his ears as best he could to listen in on their conversation.

"Sweet. Password's still the same," EJ whispered. "I can't believe she still uses this."

"What is it?" Phil asked out of curiosity.

"EarlAndEJ1234," the elephant answered rolling his eyes. "Lame, huh?"

"Nah. She just cares about you both, doofus." the fox grimly replied. "My Aunt wouldn't care if I was dead in a ditch somewhere."

EJ frowned at his friend's statement and waved him off with his trunk. "Go get the stamper. I'll print the docs."

"Alrighty," Phil replied and hustled down the hallway towards Yolanda's office.

Both friends focused on their task at paw. EJ fired up a premade template file, pulled out a piece of paper from his jacket, and began to enter in the fake information. Down the hall, Nick could see that Phil was picking the lock to Yolanda's office.

Nick double checked his phone to make sure it was on silent. Artfully taking advantage of his soft footpads with a light dash, Nick snuck in, shimmied against the wall, and hid behind a huge potted ficus. Silently, the fox snapped a few pictures of EJ using the computer.

As the elephant turned to check the nearby printer, Nick seized the opportunity to leap on all fours between the coffee table, several seats, and a few more plants. Once out of sight, he tiptoed down the hallway towards the partially open office door. Nick peeked through the slit to see the younger fox working on the cabinet lock. Just as he guessed, it was no challenge for Phil, who slid the door open and reached up to grab the appropriate sized stamper and ink sponge. The young fox grinned at his handiwork.

Managing to snap a few photos of him in the act, the officer's eyes widened as Phil spun around to head right back towards the door.

Oh god!

Sucking in a gasp, Nick jerked his head back. EJ could be heard leaving the desk and shuffling freshly printed papers from behind. He was trapped in the hallway. With darting eyes, he noticed there was a closet of some type next to him. Nick tested the doorknob. It was locked.

Thinking on his feet, he yanked his wallet out, grabbed his driver's license, and wedged it right between the knob and frame. The ex-con forced the bolt back by bending the card, slipping it under the angled end of the bolt, and pushed it back into the door, popping it open. Nick immediately slinked in and shut it quietly.

Phil exited the office and stopped right in front of the closet door. Looking up from the tiny stamper in his paw, the curious young fox thought he heard something. He cautiously sniffed the air and eyeballed the closet.

WIth his night vision kicking in, Nick appeared to be in a janitorial storage closet. From the thin strip of light emitting through the bottom of the door, he could see the shadows cast by Phil's feet. If the other fox opened the door, he would be caught. Nick slowly reached down behind his shirt and wrapped his paw firmly around his concealed tranq gun.

The shifting of his feet caused a nearby mop to dislodge and begin to fall over. With a sucked in breath, Nick caught it with his foot but not without the long handle smacking him right on his tender snout with a muffled thud. He held the mop in place and winced, doing everything he could not to make a peep.

Outside, Phil tilted his head. He reached for the doorknob. His fingers landed on the handle. Inside, Nick saw the knob barely begin to turn. With bated breath, the officer poised himself. Anxiety and adrenaline began to mix, as muscles tensed, ready for whatever would happen next.

The young fox was just about to turn the doorknob when an anxious voice stopped him.

"Phil! What's taking so long, dude? Hurry up!" EJ whispered rather loudly as he came up the hallway to meet his friend. "I got the docs. Stamp them."

"Yeah, yeah… sorry," the fox replied as he let go of the knob and turned to carefully stamp the tiny documents using two fingernails on the even tinier stamp handle. "Okay. Done. Go keep an eye out." Phil pointed back to the lobby. "I'll be right back."

EJ took the papers and continued to watch the empty lobby as Phil meticulously returned the stamper to its original location, just as he found it, and closed the cabinet proper. Relocking Yolanda's office, the young fox briskly walked back to the reception desk to meet his friend. The elephant deleted the temporary template file and locked his Aunt's computer.

Leaving everything as it was when they arrived, EJ handed the tiny documents over to Phil. "All set."

"Awesome." the fox triumphantly smirked. "Let's beat it."

The two mammals looked around once more and headed out.

With a sigh of relief, Nick opened the closet door to just a sliver and peeked out. He saw his suspects leaving. Carefully, putting the mop back, he quietly relocked the closet, and slipped his way back through the empty lobby. The hallway elevator was already moving downstairs.

Nick bolted back down the stairs. He nearly reached the bottom as he swung himself on the corner railing, only to run snout first into a hippo who was walking up the staircase with a stack of folders. Their collision caused the fox to fall onto his rear, sending papers flying everywhere.

"Sorry, my bad!" Nick apologized as he picked himself off the floor and ran past the angry office worker.

Making it to the stairway exit, he was greeted with a huge herd of wildebeests bleating about and crowding the main lobby next to the elevators. There was no sign of Phil or EJ. Squeezing his way through the crowd, Nick finally managed to make it outside of City Hall and stood at the stairs, sniffing the air for their scent. Luckily, the officer picked up the trail again. Within moments, he found his targets heading south through the bustling herds of mammals.

Expertly keeping his distance, the older fox tailed the two younger mammals as the three sauntered down the sidewalk. Nick couldn't help but be amused at how much Phil reminded him of himself. Nearly the same shade of fur and green eyes but slightly taller. Even their gaits were eerily similar. They passed a few local street vendors on the sidewalk. Phil waved at a tall dark rabbit sitting behind a fruit stand. She cheerfully waved back at the friendly mammal. With a quick flick of his other wrist, the young fox managed to dexterously swipe a pawful of blueberries, and pop a few right into his mouth.

This did not go unnoticed by Nick. He narrowed his eyes and inwardly sighed. Another reminder of his own old habits. The ex-con remembered how he swiped a few blueberries right in front of Judy, on the day they first met. She seemed too surprised to even know if she actually witnessed his audacious four finger discount. Walking past the fruit stand, Nick slipped a few bucks on the counter to cover the blueberries and then some. The innocent bunny behind the stand was completely ignorant to what just transpired.

As Nick predicted, they soon arrived at the outskirts of Little Rodentia.

Phil and EJ circled around through the southern end of the park, strolling down the tiled walkways designated for larger mammals. Nick followed, being sure to keep close to any foliage incase he needed to duck out of sight. Coming to a large park bench, Phil hopped up, and leaned back in a relaxing pose with paws resting in his lap, taking in the sights. EJ plopped next to him, unhooked his backpack, and pulled out a book.

Nick skipped over to a nearby tree within earshot range and hid behind it. Keeping an eye on Phil and EJ, he cocked an eyebrow.

"Great…" he muttered to himself. "Two guys that wanna stop and smell the roses."

Phil appeared to be enjoying himself as he popped the last of the blueberries into his maw. He glanced over at his elephant buddy. "You didn't forget the book this time."

"Yeah, I got it." the elephant handed the textbook over to his friend. "Still can't figure out why you like math so much."

"Cuz I like learning? It's not hard. You're just lazy, dude." Phil ribbed his friend while poking him in the side.

"Whatever, nerd. Well, you wanted me to take this calculus class, so you do the homework." EJ said as he held up the teacher's assignment using his trunk, lounging against the bench, putting his hands behind his head.

"Heh. Give it here." the eager fox looked over the homework and quickly began to solve the math problems while consulting the giant textbook.

Nick leaned back against the tree. The older fox frowned. Just a regular bunch of kids, not much different from himself at that age. He bit his lip, staring down at his feet for a few long moments before returning a watchful eye on the suspects.

Within minutes Phil completely finished the assignment with full confidence, stuffed the paper inside, and snapped the book shut. "All done. Easy peezy."

"Seriously?" EJ straightened back up. "Why don't you try applying again? Can't you get in on some kind of scholarship or something?"

"Why bother? So I can get rejected again? You know I don't have the spare cash for the classes." the young fox sighed in a discouraged tone. "I can learn just fine this way. And we both benefit from it." Phil smiled at the end.

The young elephant glared at his friend but knew better than to continue this weekly argument.

Phil decided to change the topic and leaned in. "Anyway... you should see the building I picked out to hit. It's perfect. Has a nice little art deco motif. I think that customer will love it."

EJ ducked his head down to whisper. "Got the poser fee?"

The younger fox's reply was simply patting the chest pocket of his leather jacket.

"I'm telling you dude, just take some money to help yourself out!" EJ insisted.

"No. We've been over this." Phil growled.

"Phil…"

"Drop it, EJ."

With a heavy defeated slump against the bench, EJ gave up and just looked away before closing his eyes with a sigh. Phil leaned on the large book in his lap and studied EJ in silence. He was about to say something when his ears perked at the sounds of hushed giggling.

"You ever seen a fox with a math book?" whispered a shrill female voice with a valley accent.

A preppy male voice answered her. "No. Bet he can't read. Probably doesn't know what to do with it."

Phil turned his attention to see a passing white-tailed deer couple conspicuously looking his way. The skinny doe was dressed in a tight green, yellow, and white cheerleader outfit, with her arms hooked around a tall antlered buck wearing a similar colored senior varsity jacket with a large B on it. He recognized it. The deer were from Buckton Heights High School. Simply shaking his head, Phil opted to ignore them but unfortunately for the snooty couple, EJ heard both of them and was already on his feet, looking very pissed.

"What did you say?" came the angry bellow.

"Uh… nothing, bro… we were just…" stammered the buck, hooves up in surrender as he cowered in the looming shadow of the larger elephant who was now in his face.

"Think my friend can't read? Bro?" EJ menacingly leaned in further.

Behind the tree, Nick grit his teeth. If the hostilities escalated, he could be forced to intervene to prevent any fighting that could lead to serious injury and blow his cover.

"EJ! Chill dude!" Phil suddenly pleaded from behind, tugging on the elephant's shorts in an attempt to calm him. "It's not worth it."

"Yeah, buddy… we cool, okay? We're just leaving…" said the buck as the two terrified deer pranced away.

"Tch. Bucking pricks," EJ spat.

Both Phil and Nick sighed in relief in unison.

"You didn't have to do that, EJ." Phil nudged his friend and smiled. "But thanks."

"Always." The elephant smiled back and began to pack the completed homework away. "I gotta head to class. Catch ya later, Small Fry?"

"You got it, Big Game." Phil smirked.

The two friends shared a paw and trunk fist bump. The elephant packed the completed assignment away, slung his backpack back over his shoulder, and waved goodbye. With a lazy wave of his own, Phil returned to mammal watching the passersby. Luckily that little confrontation didn't draw too much attention. He bided his time as any possibly curious mammals lost interest and moved on.

Phil watched numerous packs of rodents scurry about their business on the smaller pathways ahead of him for nearly forty minutes. The young fox eventually eyeballed one rodent in particular, a lone scruffy vole in cheap dirty baggy clothes, who passed by with his face glued to a hand me down dingy smartphone.

With a smirk, Phil jumped down and shadowed the impecunious looking vole along his own designated pathway. Nick left his hiding spot and kept tabs on both mammals.

When the two paths crossed each other, Nick could see Phil gain the vole's attention and make small talk. After a brief animated introduction, he could see the young fox nod towards the distance, away from the other strolling mammals. The interested vole followed the fox and they continued their conversation away from prying eyes and ears. With the exception of one pair of eyes that belonged to Officer Nicholas P. Wilde.

Nick spied the exchange and snapped a few photos. He could see Phil waving the money in front of the vole. The vole practically drooled after seeing the nice chunk of tantalizing cash flash before his beady eyes. With what appeared to be an excited agreement and a single paw shake, Phil handed him his upfront pay, the documents, and a construction outfit that the fox pulled from his jacket's inner pocket.

Once the exchange was complete, Phil pointed off to a meeting place and sauntered away to another bench. The vole pocketed the money, took his newly acquired items, and set off for his task.

Making use of the lush foliage, Nick navigated away, keeping the vole in his sights. Unfortunately, the vole returned to the small rodent pathway and entered the district. Nick didn't have time to make his way to a proper designated entrance for larger service mammals. He quickly cut through the shrubs, making sure to stay out of Phil's line of sight, and climbed a nearby tree to hop into Little Rodentia.

Taking care not to land on anything or especially anyone, Nick softly set down onto the inside sidewalk. A few mice squeaked in terror at the sudden unexpected appearance of the larger predator. The officer flashed his badge to calm their fears.

"Pardon me, folks." he whispered. "Just coming through. Police business."

With a few sniffs of his nose, he reacquired the vole's scent, as he made his way in the proper direction, being careful to not be seen by the new accomplice. Stepping softly, he peeked down an alley to see the vole changing clothes. The vole looked over the documents and mosied on to his destination.

The target stopped at a four story apartment building. It was located right near the fence, far from all the traffic cameras. Their usual M.O. Adjusting his hard hat, the vole stepped inside the building manager's office.

Nick reached for his phone, taking a picture of the building, and took note of the address. "Alright… #B221 Baker Street."

His black tipped ears twitched at the indistinctive sounds of a very heated conversation. It was the vole serving the fake papers to the building manager. After a hot debate, Nick saw the vole leaving the property with his copy of the signed documents, and a satisfied grin on his face. The unhappy manager, who appeared to be a tall, gray, lanky mouse, stepped out with crossed arms, and an angry shake of his head.

Keeping low behind his own set of buildings, Nick watched as the vole headed back the way he came from the southwest entrance. There wasn't any way Nick could hop the fence from the inside of the district. He scampered on his feet and carefully ran towards the nearest usable exit.

Many rodent citizens squealed in fright as the red fox dashed through.

Nick kept his badge in paw and tried to assuage their fears. "Excuse me, folks. Pardon me. Nothing to see here!"

It took a few minutes to finally reach the south side fence door, open it, and resume a full sprint on the larger outer park pathway. Those extra precious few minutes unfortunately cost the officer his main target. Coming back to the original meeting place, Phil and the vole were nowhere to be seen. Nick carefully scanned the park, still panting from his run, searching in a small radius for his suspect. No luck. The scent trail had gone cold too. Phil was long gone.

With a deep sigh, Nick scowled at nothing in particular. Either way, he knew where they were going to strike. Now it was only a matter of when. Shoving his paws in his pockets, the officer sauntered East towards Precinct One.

Back at their desk, Nick scribbled some doodles while formulating a plan. His vibrating phone, drew him out of his musings. For the briefest of moments he hoped it would be Judy. Deeply disappointed that it wasn't her, he still had reason to get excited. Earl Senior was calling him.

The fox officer answered the phone. "Howdy. Michael speaking."

"Mr. Dooley! Hello! This is Earl Tembory from Earl's Old Fashioned Toy Emporium."

"Of course, Earl! What's the good news?" said Nick leaning against the armrest.

"You'll be happy to know my son got in touch with the dollhouse artist and he's expecting to finish another model in the next few days. Are you still interested in purchasing it?"

"Absolutely, Earl! My little girl will be so excited," the fox grinned.

"Wonderful! I'll let you know as soon as it's delivered."

"Perfect. Can't wait to see it!"

"Thank you, Mr. Dooley. Have a good afternoon."

The call ended and Nick eagerly rubbed his paws together. Nick ran over a plan in his mind. It was time to get his gear ready, get some food, head home, and try to get as much sleep in as he could. Tonight, he would begin his stake out until the two mammals show up for their heist so that he could catch them in the act.

Two hours later, Nick sat on his mattress with just some boxers on. He glanced at the small shoulder bag at the foot of his bed while inserting his phone into it's charging dock. The alarm clock lock screen lit up, revealing the photo of him and Judy on it. This brought a smile to his face.

He wanted to call her again. This case wasn't giving him much downtime for any sort of quality time for the two of them to spend together. Nick snorted. The hell with it, he thought to himself - he could at least shoot her a text. The fox grabbed the phone, opened up Ewechat, tapped a quick message and hit send, before placing the phone back into its dock.

His eyes drifted over to the shiny object next to the charger, laying on top of his red handkerchief, reflecting the light from the phone. Nick leaned over, his paw hovering over the brass shield for a moment, before curling his fingers around it, and gingerly running his thumb over the golden metal and engraved lettering.

Trust. Integrity. Bravery.

The words made him glance over to the soft red fabric. With a small curl of his lips, Nick placed the badge back on top of his handkerchief, grabbed his sleeping mask, donned it over his eyes, and laid his head on the soft pillow. Pulling up his navy bedsheets with little paw designs up to his neck, Nick tucked himself in.

He took a deep breath, slowly exhaled to clear his mind, and attempted to fall asleep.


Judy sat staring at her phone.

The bunny spent yesterday morning scrubbing and washing that plushie twice for good measure. Naturally, Cotton eventually came around wanting to play with the doll again. Thank god that she managed to get her scent off of it, and so far no one in the household appeared to be the wiser about it.

Judy continued to be restless all that day; her heart and mind operated at full throttle on what to do next. She tried to distract herself by doing every chore she could get her paws on much to Bonnie's delight at first, but then had to stop when her mom kept giving her constant looks of concern at Judy's sudden interest in washing a seventh load of laundry for her.

Her anxiety was enough to cause her to have a sleepless night. Last night, Nick texted to say hi and that he was thinking of her. And to update her on his schedule since he was going to be up all night for a stakeout and would be sleeping during the day until he caught his suspects.

Which meant he would be sleeping when she was awake and vice versa. Even so, his text triggered an endless cycle of thoughts. What if Nick might feel the same way? What if he doesn't!? Should she try to call him anyway? What would she even say?

"Oh hey, Nick… how's the case going? Guess what? I just found out I might be in love with you… yeah, very funny, huh?"

The bunny groaned, slamming her face onto her desk.

She had even contemplated stealing her Dad's truck in the middle of the night to drive back to the city. If she was going to confront all of this, it should be done face to face. But Nick was still working his case and there was no way she could just bring up something like this directly or otherwise and distract him from his job.

And what would her family think? She originally planned to stay here the full two weeks. But then Judy hadn't expected how her feelings just bubbled all the way to the top once she left the city either. Eventually, she just mentally wore herself out and finally fell asleep, curled amongst all of her plushies on the bed, a certain fox one clutched tightly against her heart.

It was 7:58PM. Chances are Nick could still be sleeping. There would be no reason for him to go into Little Rodentia until after the mouse curfew.

Leaving a message shouldn't hurt right? Sure, she could do that. His phone would probably be on silent mode anyway so she wouldn't accidentally disrupt his sleep. Judy tapped the normal quick dial and brought the phone to her ear. To her complete surprise, Nick picked up the call within three rings.

"Carrots!" came the rather deep throaty greeting.

Her partner actually answering the call made Judy panic and derailed her thoughts. "Oh hey, Slick... I didn't wake you… did I?"

"No, no… I got up an hour ago. Couldn't sleep much is all. Made some coffee and was packing food for later."

"Oh… for your stakeout? So they didn't show up last night?" Judy asked, then sighing at herself for talking about police work already.

"The only thing that showed up was a drunken pack of shrews singing Dino's greatest hits and some rain clouds," he tried to quip but Judy's delicate hearing could tell there was hints of stress in her partner's voice.

"Is something wrong?" Judy dared to prod, bringing the phone closer.

"Hm? I'm alright," he feigned.

Judy found herself grimacing. There was something wrong. "Nick. Talk to me. Please."

Nick paused to sigh. "There's no fooling those ears of yours, is there Officer Fluff?"

"Nope."

"Three days ago, Finn was helping me with a lead. We had an argument over… doesn't matter... I've tried to call him and he doesn't answer. Might have been the last time I'll ever see him."

The bunny didn't know what to say as her ears drooped. What happened between them? It had to be serious. She knew all too well, despite the facade and walls Nick always put up, deep down his closest friends and family meant the world to him. Judy pursed her lips in quiet shock. She swallowed before speaking. "Maybe Finnick is feeling the same way and just needs some space?"

Judy could hear Nick's slow exhale through the speaker. An awkward silence hung in the air.

"Is… there anything I can do?" she spoke sweetly.

"You already have," he replied. She could feel a small smile in his words which made her ears perk. "Well, time I go finish getting ready and go be one with nature again in some bushes while I wait for these guys to show up."

"Okay." the bunny chuckled, happy to hear his mood lighten. "You'll get them." Judy paused to take a deep breath. "Nick... I'm always here if you need me."

"I know, Judy." Nick replied warmly.

She tensed at the sound of her name. Thank god they weren't on MuzzleTime. Judy absent-mindedly rubbed the side of her neck.

On that note, the call ended.

That didn't go as expected. Judy was back to square one. This would have to at least wait for now. She had full confidence in her partner but Nick didn't need more distractions or surprises weighing on his mind.

Putting the phone down on her desk, Judy shifted her legs and curled them up to her chest. She wrapped her arms around them and stared at the phone. At the picture of both of them together.


Outfitted in a dark outfit to blend in with the darkness, Nick was ready to crack the case - this time with renewed energy, waiting in his car, another loaner from the ZPD impound. The fox checked his smartphone clock. 9:59PM. It was time for the rodent curfew to begin. Putting the phone on silent, he exited the small black sedan, while putting on a small dark beanie, and slung a small pack over his left shoulder.

The officer headed into the Little Rodentia park.

Nick camped out inside several large shrubs, keeping his line of sight on apartment building B221. Hours went by as he maintained his vigilant watch. He was constantly tempted to pull out his phone to help pass the time, but fought the urge. Now wasn't the time to get distracted and he needed to keep a clear head. Nick blinked and focused at the task at paw. The officer double checked the special video camcorder he brought along. It would be able to record the theft even in the low light of the park.

Suddenly his ears and nose twitched. There was a new scent in the area. An unexpected nearby rustling caught his attention. Nick reached for his tranq gun, only to pause when a familiar set of large tan ears pushed through the bark and leaves and revealed an old friend.

"Finn!?"

"Who you expecting? The easter bunny?" came the low gravely response with a toothy grin as he ducked into the shrubbery next to his former partner.

"Aren't you the comedian all of a sudden… but... how? Why?" Nick whispered.

"Was making a delivery down the street and saw you. Followed you here. Got tired of waiting in my van."

The fox officer smiled appreciatively. It was hard to hide his happiness.

"Besides, I told you I'd be there to save your tail before you went to cop school. And you leavin' sappy messages on my phone. That crap was embarrassing to listen to it in front of my lady friend."

"You have a lady friend? Since when you sly devil?" Nick smirked.

"I always have lady friends. I may be small, but my game isn't."

"Too true, buddy, too true..." the red fox chuckled.

"So, what we doin?"

"We?" Nick questioned with a raised brow before stressing his order. "I'm going to get evidence of them committing the crime." The officer emphasized his plan by wiggling the camcorder in front of the fennec.

Finnick scoffed. "Lemme do it. I can get closer."

"Uh… no."

"Don't make me kick your tail in this bush, Wilde." he whispered back angrily. "I'll do it."

"Answer's still no!" Nick reached into his bag and pulled out a tiny can of scent blocker. "If you're gonna stay, at least spray yourself and roll around in the dirt a bit so you don't blow our cover."

"Fine. Gimme that crap." Finnick growled as Nick tossed him the can. He quietly popped the top, and vigorously sprayed himself all over. "Damn, this stuff is sticky, how the fu—"

Finnick never finished his colorful statement when Nick abruptly shoved him to the ground.

"Shhhh!"

The fennec fox glared daggers at the red fox. His angry eyes questioned the sudden shove. Nick's reply was to bring a single finger to the tip of his snout and then point over towards the fence.

Both pair of nocturnal fox eyes peered through the shrubbery and settled on a lone elephant in dark clothes pushing a very large blue twin-stroller through the park. A faint smell of peanuts passed by them with the nightly breeze. It reminded Nick of the barely discernable scent left at all of the crime scenes and the toy store.

Rubbing his side, Finnick looked back over to Nick. "Could just be some chump out for a stroll?"

The ex-con glanced over to his friend and whispered. "At this hour? Then why is he looking around and fidgeting so nervously?"

They returned their gaze to the suspect.

Satisfied that no one was around, the elephant briskly steered the stroller off the path, between the park lamps, as closely as he could to the rodent fence. They could see him tap on the side of the stroller. A moment later, a smaller mammal in a dark full body suit popped out from inside and surveyed the surroundings while sniffing around. It was a fox.

Nick began his recording. They were hiding a bit farther than he would have preffered but he didn't want to take any chances. The night vision feature showed the two silhouettes in a green film. He tried to adjust the zoom to the max to get a clearer visual.

Looking over at Nick fiddling with the lens, Finnick could tell they were too far away. Without a word, he snatched the camcorder and darted out of the bushes.

"What the—" Nick gasped. "No, no, no! Get back here! Finn! You're worse than Carrots!"

It was no use. The tiny fox was already gone and sneaking his way through several bushes to get closer to the two suspects. Nick found himself alone with an angry scowl. Why did he have such tiny, impatient, and impulsive mammals as best friends?

Phil looked around inside of the fence and gave EJ the thumbs up that the coast was clear. EJ grabbed something from inside the stroller. It appeared to be a dolly. Now the elephant hoisted his friend with his trunk over the fence and lowered him as far as he could.

The young fox landed with a dampened thud. He was wearing extra thick foot pad covers to muffle his footsteps and cover his tracks. Phil double checked the streets and adjacent buildings. No cars. No pedestrians. All lights off. All silent. He peeked into the B221 building to ensure all of the residents were gone. After confirming it was vacant, he turned to signal a 'let's go' motion at EJ with both paws above his head.

The elephant lowered the dolly over, along with a rope and navy colored sheet, into Phil's expectant paws. Phil took the sheet and threw it over the apartment building. With stealthy precision, he gently pushed the dolly under the building foundation and lifted it off its lot. Quickly backing up, the young fox wasted no time and wheeled it next to the hanging trunk by the fence. Phil slipped the rope under the foundation and tied it like a lasso for EJ to grab. The two friends carefully hoisted the building up and over the fence.

EJ cradled the apartment building and gingerly set it down horizontally into the giant stroller while closing the top over it. Next, he grabbed the boosted dolly from Phil and placed it alongside the building. Finally, the elephant reached over to lift the fox over the fence. Phil climbed into the other stroller seat and closed the top, concealing himself and their prize from the outside world.

Everything was completed in record speed with minimal noise and no slip ups.

Finnick caught the entire act on tape. Closing the camcorder, the fennec patiently waited inside the shrub for the two suspects to move away. EJ pushed the stroller back onto the main larger pathway. The elephant headed southwest to the nearby street.

Nick poked his head out of the bush. Instead of running back to him, Finnick was actually following the elephant. The officer ran frustrated paws over his muzzle and pulled his ears down.

"I feel like I'm being punished!" Nick declared.

Due to his larger size, Nick kept a greater distance as he moved from tree to tree to spy where EJ was going. Out on the sidewalk, he saw the elephant making his way towards an alley across the street, where the barely discernable back of an old elephant-sized station wagon was stashed. Finnick saw the station wagon too and stopped to make eye contact with Nick. He pointed to himself and then to the elephant.

Picking up on his messaging, Nick signaled no by crossing his arms out wide and pointing to his feet for Finnick to come back. Instead, Finnick just scowled and threw up his tiny arms in protest, insisting to point back at the suspects.

With bubbling annoyance, Nick began a flurry of paw signals, making wild erratic gestures utilizing his paws, face, and ears. Finnick's response was to simply roll his eyes, nod no, and flip him off.

Nick exhaled in defeat. Time was running short. He pointed two fingers towards his own eyes, then pointed those fingers at Finnick, and then towards EJ. The red fox finished the nonverbal communication by pointing to himself, then gestured gripping an imaginary steering wheel, and made a whirl motion with his index finger. Finnick gave him the thumbs up and took off.

Moving in the opposite direction, Nick entered a full sprint once he was confident he was far enough away. He needed to get to his car as quickly as possible.

Skidding to a halt, he fumbled with the keys, flung the driver side door open, and hopped in. Nick circled around the block, making sure to look like just another late night mammal driving the city streets.

Pulling up onto the sidewalk, Nick parked where he last saw the station wagon. It was already gone. Finnick appeared from in-between two parked vehicles. Nick reached over to swiftly open the door for him and the fennec fox jumped inside.

Nick couldn't help but snarl at his old business partner. "Way to give me a heart attack back there, Finn!"

"Don't be a chump. I got it all on tape," he replied while handing over the camcorder and ignoring Nick's angst.

"Buckle up. We gotta follow them." the red fox ordered while disengaging the parking brake.

Just as Nick hit the ignition, Finnick placed a paw on the steering wheel. "I'm driving."

"What? First the camcorder and now this?" Nick pointed to himself to emphasize. "Need I remind you, I'm the police officer here?"

"Yeah, and you drive like one too. I saw where they went. Gimme the wheel, Wilde." Finnick ordered. He refused to release his tiny paw.

There was no time to argue. Nick relented and unbuckled himself. "Fine."

The two foxes swapped seats. Only Nick strapped himself back in. In record time, Finnick adjusted the seating, steering, pedal heights, put the car into drive, and hit the gas pedal towards the direction he saw the station wagon disappear in. At first they couldn't find the station wagon.

"I thought you said you saw where they went?" Nick worriedly exclaimed.

"Relax." the little driver growled.

After taking a few side streets, Finnick made an impromptu left and they came to rest under a red light at an intersection. Nick looked over, only to spy the station wagon sitting on their right, signal blinking to indicate a left turn. He diverted his gaze and ducked his face away.

"Finn. 2 o'clock."

A green arrow lit, signaling the beat up station wagon to turn and pass right by them going the opposite direction. As soon as they were far enough away, Finnick checked traffic and illegally U-turned from the middle lane into the other lanes.

Finnick looked over at Nick. "You gonna give me a ticket?"

Nick crossed his arms. Then smirked. "Maybe I should. It does pay for my salary."

"Maybe you should get out and chase these chumps on all fours."

"Hilarious," Nick drawled while leaning forward in his seat. "Now remember Finn, keep your distance but don't look like you're trying to keep your distance."

The fennec fox rolled his eyes. "Yeah? How should I do that, boy scout?" he sarcastically barked.

"You know… drive casual." the red fox gestured ahead.

With a resigned sigh, Finnick shook his head in annoyance, and continued driving. He had no bite left in him after his friend's dumb statement.

As they tailed the station wagon, an unfortunate timing at the next intersection caused Finnick to hit a red light. They braked at the line, watching the red tail lights of their suspects escape.

"I'm gonna run it," Finnick said as he revved the engine.

"Wait, Finn." Nick exclaimed and pointed to the right. He knew the area they were in. "I know a shortcut. Turn here."

Doing as he was told, Finnick made a right. Nick directed him through a gas station parking lot, down a few alleys and through another market center. They came out of the lot, just as Phil and EJ drove by. Waiting the appropriate amount of time, Finnick resumed the chase.

"Not bad..." Finnick complemented nonchalantly. "For a cop."

Nick simply smiled to himself.

They tailed the two thieves through western Savanna Central. Nick observed how the neighborhoods began to become more and more ghetto. They passed a rundown sign that welcomed their arrival into Happytown. The fox flattened his ears in silence.

Soon the station wagon parked between a few vacant buildings. Finnick was driving with the lights off and pulled up around the corner of the intersection, out of sight. The duo watched the other pair of misfits as they unloaded the building and took it inside to what appeared to be a rundown Home Burrow hardware store.

The former con recognized the area. This poor stretch of Happytown suffered from extended riots and looting many years ago when the surrounding communities fell into heavy poverty. Predators had protested their living conditions and took to the streets to make their voices heard. It didn't take much to spark violence and destruction. By the time the weeks-long event died down, so did this section of the district with it.

Burying that piece of Happytown history into the back of his mind, the officer pulled out his handheld police radio and called it in to Precinct One. "Dispatch, this is Officer Wilde. Come in. Over."

Clawhauser was apparently working the night shift. His jovial voice filled the cabin of the vehicle. "ZPD Dispatch. Reading you loud and clear, Officer Wilde."

"I have a 10-31. Two suspects, a young male red fox and elephant, dressed in dark clothes, driving a faded beige station wagon with a stolen rodent building in Happytown. License plate CNH 320. Off the corner of…" Nick craned his neck to see the moonlit street signs. "Chenoa and Canid Streets. Suspects last seen entering an abandoned Home Burrow. Requesting back up. Over."

"Copy, Officer Wilde. No available units in your immediate vicinity. Closest unit is Z-198. Officers Delgato and Wolfard. Fourteen minutes out. Over."

Nick frowned. "Roger that, Claws. Ten-four, Wilde out."

"Looks like we on our own," Finnick scoffed. "We can take 'em. I'll take the elephant."

"Correction. I am on my own." Nick supplied with a rather serious tone while sorting through his bag. "And seriously, Finn? You calling dibs on the elephant?"

"I ain't afraid of no pachyderm." the fennec shot back.

"I know you're not afraid of anything, tough stuff," Nick began while grabbing a taser, cuffs, and double checking his tranq gun. "But I'm dead serious. You're not a cop. I can't have you getting involved anymore. Stay in this car… I have a plan."

With an air of defiance, Finnick seized his door handle but started when he felt Nick's much larger paw firmly clutch his shoulder.

"Finnick. Don't."

He never used his full name. When Finnick turned to look at his old business partner, he could see the sincere mix of concern and seriousness in his soft glare. His soft yet stern tone didn't leave it up for debate either.

Without a word, Finnick let go of the door handle, crossed his arms, and avoided his friend's gaze. His usual scowl reappeared as he flattened those giant ears. Nick gave him a half smile. He hadn't expected his old pal to actually give in so easily.

"Okay, listen. Take this radio and watch that front entrance. I'll only be a minute. If anything happens… call it in to Clawhauser," Nick said while placing his handheld police radio on the dash.

Next, the red fox made note of the time on his phone before opening the glove box to reveal a lunch pail sized cooler full of fruits. He scooped up a generous batch of plums, various berries, and a banana.

"The hell is all that for?" Finnick grumbled when he glanced over.

"What's it look like? Stakeouts give me the munchies," Nick smirked.

Without waiting for a retort, Nick exited the car.

Leaning against the corner of the nearby building. Nick checked the eerily vacant street before crossing it. The officer dashed across, awkwardly clutching the fruits against his chest, and peeked around the side. The aging station wagon was parked far inside a dark narrow alleyway between the hardware store and an old shoe store.

There was no sign of his suspects. They were still inside the store. Creeping up to the back of the vehicle, Nick began to hastily stuff his stashed food into the rusty tailpipe until it was all nicely jam packed inside, completely clogging the exhaust. Nothing like wasting some perfectly good food to prevent an escape.

His amusement was cut short when his ears twitched to the sounds of a pair of voices headed in his direction. A phone light could be seen swaying to and fro. The two suspects were just about to emerge from the partially open side door to the left of the car.

"I can't believe you forgot your tools in the trunk," EJ complained as they approached the door.

Darting green eyes checked the alleyway. Too far from either end of the alley, not even a dumpster or trash can to hide behind, no doorway at the adjacent wall of the next building. Nick did the only thing left. He dove underneath the car.

Behind him came the sound of metal hitting concrete. Looking back, Nick saw that he lost a piece of his equipment. He attempted to quickly crawl over to snatch it but the sound of the door creaking made him reluctantly withdraw his outstretched paw and slink back further under the vehicle.

"Says the big elephant whining about the weight of an itsy bitsy rodent building who needed my help," Phil ribbed back in a baby voice.

"Shaddup. I should sit back and watch you carry it."

"I'd just use the dolly, ya know."

"Okay, smart guy."

The unlikely pair rounded the corner of the station wagon, only for Phil to pause. His night vision allowed him to notice a shiny object lying right below the bumper. The younger fox bent down to pick it up. Nick's eyes widened in fear as he watched a paw and muzzle appear in his line of sight. Shifting as quietly as he could, he edged towards the left side of the car behind the giant rear wheel.

Phil picked up a rather large pair of pawcuffs, inspecting them with a curious brow.

EJ cast a light on them so he could see too. "Damn, Small Fry. You into some kinky stuff with them vixens you always hooking up with, eh?" the elephant chuckled as he gave his little buddy a friendly trunk shove.

"Me? These aren't mine! Look at the size of these things, doofus. I can put my entire head through them." Phil demonstrated and then dangled the giant pawcuffs. He stopped to eyeball his buddy with an amused grin and poked his leg. "I think someone's trying to pass off his own little fetish. Don't worry, Big Game… I won't judge."

"Nah, dude…" EJ huffed in embarrassment. "Maybe it's my Pops? He's always forgetting all kinds of freaky stuff in the trunk. One time I found a stack of dirty magazines and a… nevermind."

The two young mammals shared a laugh at the thought of that lewd scenario. Nick let out a puff of relief. He couldn't believe his dumb luck.

Once Phil stopped laughing, he held the cuffs for EJ to take. "Your old man probably needs the stress relief anyway. But we can't leave stuff lying around out here, remember? Let's check to make sure nothing else fell out."

"Okay."

And now the dumb luck ran out. At the sound of this, Nick knew he would be discovered. The hardware store side door was wide open right next to him. Just as the other two mammals bent down to inspect around the undercarriage, Nick rolled out from behind the wheel and quietly ducked into the building.

Meanwhile across the street, Finnick was impatiently sitting as he was instructed. He watched his old partner apparently shove all of his food into the tailpipe of the station wagon. This gave him a pretty good laugh at Nick's slyness. He always knew that fox was something else. However, that laughter soon died as he noticed his friend unexpectedly dive under the car. Moments after, the two suspects came back outside.

Finnick watched as the other fox discovered something on the ground and engaged the elephant in conversation over it. They appeared to be having a laugh of their own at its expense. Nick's silhouette dashed from behind the wheel and into the building as the suspects began to check underneath their vehicle. The fennec fox's ears flattened as he observed them grab some tools from the hatch of the wagon and head back inside.

The fennec opened the door, paused, then closed it. He did this two more times in rapid succession. An angry exhale fogged up the side window, followed by a guttural growl escaping from his bared fangs. He glanced to the radio Nick left behind. With a huff, Finnick reluctantly grabbed it, swearing under his breath.

"Hey, coppers! You there?" he yelled into the com.

There was a brief pause as Clawhauser was taken aback by the unrecognizable deep voice.

"ZPD Dispatch. Officer Clawhauser speaking." came the confused and worried response. "Sir, this is a police radio channel. Can you identify yourself? Are you in need of assistance?"

"Get your tails out here faster! Wilde needs help. Now!" Finnick tossed the radio into the seat and jumped out of the car, not bothering to wait for a reply.

The radio crackled into the empty cabin with a frantic chatter. "Sir? Can you explain the situation? Sir, are you there? Hello!?"

Finnick scampered across the street. The fennec surveyed the alley and found the open door. He took a few sniffs. The scent blocker was doing its job. There was no trace of Nick, only the other fox and the elephant. With his usual scowl, Finnick creeped inside the dimly lit store.

Back inside, Nick was scrambling to find a decent hiding spot. His nose wrinkled as the stale air began to mix with a variety of new smells: dried paints, musty paper, aging wood, old cans, mouldy cardboard, and rusted buckets. The shelves and leftover supplies had seen better days. Yet there was a surprising amount of long forgotten painting supplies in the paint section.

Guess looters didn't much care for interior design, Nick thought to himself.

Making his way to the back, the officer ducked and weaved between large empty shelves, musty crates, cardboard boxes, and plastic containers. His splayed ears picked up the sounds of approaching whispers behind him. The officer carefully threaded through the aisles while attempting not to disturb any flimsy objects, or trip over anything on the ground. Soon he found himself in what appeared to be the hardware section.

The rodent building was left propped up against a wall with all of the valuables from the homes diligently removed in an unkempt pile. Nick could see all kinds of valuables: toys, appliances, clothes, furniture, and family photos. It took considerable effort for Nick not to growl. A few meters away he caught sight of an empty crate resting on its side. Making a hushed dash to the box, he overturned the packaging over his entire body. Huddling inside, he could peek through the paw slit used for gripping the box.

A smartphone light marked the arrival of his suspects as they entered the room with Phil's tools. The young fox kneeled and spread his makeshift equipment onto the floor next to the building. It was a bunch of aging construction, painting, and finishing tools that he used to spruce up the buildings to look like brand new. Since Phil didn't need a constant lightsource, EJ took a moment to appreciate the architecture of their latest haul.

"Dude, this really is a nice one." EJ exclaimed.

"Right? Told ya I picked a good one. Your old man should be able to get bank for this baby once I fix her up," Phil said while patting the top of the roof.

Finnick prowled his way through the aisles while approaching the sounds of chatter and clinking of tools. His diminutive size allowed him to easily hide himself in the shadows as the fennec came upon the two mammals. The fox tinkered away at the building while the elephant was watching. There was no sign of Nick. Surveying the room with his own nocturnal eyesight, Finnick's eyes landed upon a mid-sized crate. He swore he saw it jiggle. Squinting, Finnick stared at the paw hole only to raise his brow when he saw a pair of glowing eyes staring back at him.

Making eye contact, Nick tried to point for Finnick to get out of there but the slit didn't allow for expressive non verbal communication. Finnick attempted some sign language only to stop when he heard the elephant speak up.

"Need any help?"

"Nah." Phil replied as he stripped the building number off. The younger fox looked at the pile of personal items next to him. "Actually… wanna dump the unsellable stuff for me?"

"Aight," EJ said as he bent down to sort the various valuables with his trunk.

The two hidden foxes watched as EJ finished his task and stood with the goods. The elephant sauntered to the back of the room, heading straight to the box Nick was hiding in. Finnick's eyes widened and he frantically searched around for some type of weapon. The fennec grabbed a small piece of lumber. Nick did what he could to signal for Finnick to stop until EJ was right above him.

The elephant paused to look all around at the floor. He appeared to be in deep thought. EJ began impatiently nudging the floorboards one by one searching for something. With a sigh, he put the valuables down and reached over to pick up the crate.

Finnick was just about ready to pounce, his paw squeezing the piece of wood so hard, it cut into his paw pads. He saw his ex-partner's signal to stop but there was no way he'd hang back if EJ discovered Nick. Coiling himself to spring forward, Finnick stopped himself mid-launch as the elephant lifted the crate straight up.

Nothing. Nick was nowhere to be seen.

EJ continued searching the floor while holding the crate up high away from his face. On the inside, a terrified Nick was stretched out with all fours braced against the inner corners, his nails digging into the wood to help support his weight. The officer had his back against the bottom of the box and bushy tail tucked up against his front torso, straining to keep himself suspended within the box.

The elephant looked back towards his partner in crime. "Hey, where's the spot?"

With an impressed smirk, Finnick had to give props for Nick always being such a quick thinker under pressure. The fennec saw Phil roll his eyes and stop to turn his head to answer EJ. Being partially exposed, Finnick slinked back into the shadows but the piece of lumber in his paw accidentally swung into a partially open plastic container filled with rainwater from the previous evening, spilling its contents around his feet with a loud bang.

Inside the suspended crate, Nick's eyes widened to saucers as he heard the commotion. The suspects jerked their heads towards the sudden crashing sound.

"The hell was that?" EJ said glancing back.

"Something fell," Phil replied.

EJ dropped the crate as he joined Phil to investigate the noise. The two mammals looked around the aisle for the source. Phil spotted the tiny container and sucked in a breath.

"EJ!" he whispered.

The elephant looked at his buddy who nodded towards the floor with his snout. EJ shined the light on the spilled liquid to reveal barely discernable tiny pawprints heading back towards the aisles by the entrance.

"Shit." the elephant snapped. "What do we do? What if they saw…"

"Hey, hey! EJ!" Phil put a paw on his leg. "Keep cool. Go check the car. I'll look around."

With an anxious nod, EJ hurriedly left Phil's side to do as he was told. The young fox followed the trail of wet pawprints as they faded away back into the store. Phil sniffed around, confused why he couldn't pick up any mammal scents. The tracks disappeared in the paint section. He cautiously toed through the aisle, walking past an old display of stacked paint cans next to rows of half-empty shelves.

Finnick adjusted his footing and kept his ears low as the larger fox crept by. The tiny fennec managed to hide right behind a few cans of mid-sized paint on the bottom shelf. Though he'd prefer to fight it out instead of hiding, Finnick stowed his temper, hoping Nick was able to get out from under the crate and out of the room. Wondering where the hell the other cops were at, he nearly scoffed at the thought of actually wanting the police to arrive.

Phil stopped to inspect the cans. Finnick held perfectly still as the other fox's eyes passed over the containers. The red fox thoughtfully scratched his muzzle before moving on. Waiting a few moments once Phil was out of sight, Finnick checked up and down the aisle before emerged from his hiding spot. The fennec turned to make a dash only to greeted by Phil popping out from the corner. Their eyes locked in sudden surprise.

There was no escape. Finnick stood his ground and glared at Phil.

Finding out it was another fox, Phil got over the shock and slightly relaxed but remained apprehensive. "I knew I saw something. What're you doing here?"

Before Finnick could react another voice interrupted their staring contest.

"There you are! Did you find those colors yet?"

Now both foxes turned to see the arrival of a third fox, who tried to appear friendly and non-threatening. Nick sauntered up near Finnick. When he saw him get discovered; a myriad of scenarios raced through his mind in a split second. It would be in their better interest not to startle the suspects outright and stall for time. Nick had checked his phone and backup should be getting here any minute now.

At this point, a startled Phil took a cautious step back. "Who…?"

Nick kept his own distance and made eye contact with Phil. "Hey! Nice to see a familiar face around these parts. You here scavenging too? You didn't happen to see any orchid or lilac paint lying around here, did ya buddy? They're my favorite colors. I tell ya, I can never find a good shade."

Phil simply looked dumbfounded at Nick.

Finnick played along and grabbed a random appropriate sized paint can. "Here."

"Perfect!" Nick exclaimed as he took the can by the handle in his left paw while acting with dramatic flair and turned to Phil. "Just what we were looking for! Our ol' den is looking a bit dainty lately. Thought we'd maybe try a little Fang Shui to spruce it right up!"

Just as Nick and Finnick turned to leave, a giant light lit their faces. There stood an agitated elephant blocking their path. EJ blinked as he saw not one fox but three in front of him.

The large mammal scowled at the intruders. "Who the hell are these guys!?"

Doing his best to keep cool, Nick gestured in friendly fashion with his free paw. "Hey big guy… I was just telling your pal over there… me and my roommate here were just looking for some paint." Nick held up the can for emphasis.

Phil and EJ shared a questioning glance. The younger fox shrugged while the elephant stood his ground. Nick turned to try and slip by EJ with Finnick at his side who grabbed another can.

"Well, it was nice meeting you fellas. Hate to loot and run but we'll just be on our way now and bid you boys adieu," Nick casually saluted with the can in his left arm and tempted a few small steps forward.

The elephant remained lost in thought, watching the two foxes approach to pass by him. Realizing this might not be a good idea after all, EJ tensed up and shifted his leg.

"Hold up!" EJ demanded as he blocked their exit with a pointed trunk.

"Whoa now, pal! Take it easy." Nick calmly said with paws up.

"You aren't going anywhere!" EJ ordered and took a big dangerous step towards Nick.

The sudden aggression caused Nick to rebalance his footing and prepare to defend himself if necessary. "Look, fellas… we're not here looking for any trouble." Nick made eye contact with Phil. "Listen buddy, from one fox to another, we're just trying to get by. You know how it is?"

Phil considered this for a moment, glancing between Nick and Finnick with a hesitant silence. He looked to his friend. "EJ, they might be alright."

"Yeah. Don't be a hog. There's enough crap here for you chumps to share," Finnick piped up.

Dammit Finn, Nick thought to himself. Not friendly enough.

The elephant eyed the fennec fox before returning his attention to Nick. "I don't trust you two. Let's check 'em."

EJ was looking more and more nervous and agitated at the unwanted intruders. He took another step closer.

Nick subtly reached back for his concealed tranq gun. As Nick turned more sideways, Phil noticed the odd bulge under the other fox's shirt, above the back of his pants and noticed his paw moving there. Phil instinctively pounced at Nick in a panic.

"Look out, EJ!"

The younger fox barreled into older fox, as Nick's police training kicked in. He dropped the paint bucket and sidestepped the rushing youngster, tripping him up using his foot, and using his forearm, slammed Phil through his neck into the nearby shelf with a forceful thud. Phil managed to dig his nails into Nick's long sleeve and refused to release his grip.

"Let go, kid." Nick barked. There was no more time for theatrics. "I'm with the ZPD! I order you to…"

Before Nick could finish that statement, he suddenly found himself being lifted off his feet by the neck as EJ came to Phil's defense.

"No, YOU let go! Drop the gun before I choke the life out of you," the elephant bellowed as he tightened his grip with his trunk with Phil still clinging to his arm.

Nick quickly complied, letting his right paw go limp to drop his tranq gun. He quickly tugged against the trunk that formed a natural noose around his neck with his other paw but it was useless. Hearing the gun hit the floor, Phil let go and attempted to make a swipe for it.

Finnick impressively jumped into action, leaping off the bottom set of shelves and smacked Phil upside the head hard with the mini paint can, causing the younger red fox to stumble onto his knees in a daze. With his head down low, the fennec decked him across the face into the nearby shelf, then kicked him for good measure, hoping to take him out of the fight.

Attempting a dive for the tranq gun, Finnick was forced to leap away as EJ stomped the gun into pieces. Finnick looked up to see Nick struggling against the grip that was smashing his windpipe, gasping for air. Nick tried to frantically reach into his left pocket to draw his taser, fighting the instinct to keep his paws around the squeezing trunk.

The tiny fox promptly scampered up the large shelves and hurled himself at Nick's assailant. A snarl suddenly drew EJ's attention as a tiny silhouette jumped him from the side, wildly swinging away with a piece of broken lumber. Finnick, despite his size, rigorously pummeled EJ but to no avail.

Finally gripping the taser, Nick pulled it out of his pocket as he gasped for his friend's attention.

"Finn… here!"

Seeing the taser, Finnick leaped down, grabbed the defensive device and jammed it right into the elephant's ankle. While the taser wasn't set to it's highest voltage, it was high enough to mildly shock EJ into angrily chucking Nick against the display stack of old paint cans. The officer crashed with a thud as several cans toppled on top of him.

With zero effort, a very annoyed EJ tore the fennec fox away from himself using his trunk, holding him up, and swatted the taser away with his giant arm.

Finnick swung wildly in the air, attempting to lash out at the large mammal. "You lucky I ain't bigger!"

Phil propped himself up on one elbow, his paw rubbing the back of his head. "Ugh… what happened?"

Ignoring the hot headed fennec, EJ's concerned gaze fell upon Phil. "Small Fry…"

"Who you callin' a small fry?" Finnick snapped.

"Shut up, spunky. I'm talkin' to my friend," the elephant shot back. Before he could say more, EJ suddenly froze. His large ears fanned open as he picked up the distinct sounds of an approaching siren.

Phil, still partially in a daze, attempted to stand by using the shelf to prop himself up. As the siren grew closer, EJ recognized it. His eyes widened in fear. Within moments, both foxes' ears twitched at the all too familiar wailing.

"You busted now, chump." Finnick taunted with a wry grin.

"He's right, fellas." Nick said.

The three mammals turned to see Officer Wilde back on his feet, badge out, giving them a hard stare. "Put my friend down and get your paws up. Now!" growled the officer.

EJ gasped, staring at the badge, thinking back to the tranq gun, taser, and the cuffs found outside. "Oh god. He's a real cop…"

Nick attempted to talk the elephant down in a softer but firm tone. "EJ. Listen to me. I know about the buildings. It doesn't have to go down like this. Stand down. Please."

The sounds of the approaching sirens triggered greater panic in EJ's response. He hurled Finnick directly at Nick. The officer reacted and grabbed his tiny friend mid-air as they tumbled back onto the floor.

"C'mon Phil!"

"W… wait!" Phil tried to speak up, looking at the other two foxes on the floor.

EJ grabbed his still woozy friend and stampeded to the car. The elephant smashed through the rickety door, unhinging it, and left it hanging from the frame. He gently lowered Phil into the oversized passenger seat and turned the ignition. The starter refused to cooperate. The police sirens continued to grow closer. After a few frantic key turns and a trunk slam, the engine finally roared to life.

Shifting into reverse, EJ backed up, only to have the station wagon lurch about and sputter. He barely made it onto the street when the car rattled, stalled on him, and refused to go.

"What? No! No! No!" he repeatedly banged on the steering wheel.

Flashing blue and red lights filled the area, as a police cruiser screeched down Canid Street and skidded to a halt right next to the dead station wagon's rear bumper, effectively blocking its path. A lion and dark gray timberwolf immediately drew tranq guns from behind the cover of their open car doors.

Delgato was on the horn. "ZPD. Paws up where we can see them and exit the vehicle slowly. Do it now!"

A terrified and dejected EJ put his paws up and complied.

With coordinated movements, the two officers circled the vehicle. Delgato continued to instruct his target. "Okay, buddy. Paws on the hood. Nice and easy."

Wolfard approached from the opposite direction and spotted the still dazed fox in the large passenger seat. His eyes were closed while a paw clutched the back of his head. "Got the other one here, Sam. Looks to be out of it."

"Roger, Greg. I'm gonna search this guy."

Wolfard trained his firearm on EJ while Delgato patted the larger mammal down. The lion officer proceeded to cuff EJ's paws and restrain his trunk while reading his rights. Tears began to roll down the elephant's cheeks as he heard the restraints click around his wrists.

The timberwolf nodded at the perps. "Where's Officer Wilde?"

"Right here. Took you fellas long enough."

The officers turned to see their fellow co-worker stagger against the doorframe, clutching his side, with some of his fur standing in all different directions. His usual smug grin strained on his muzzle.

"You look like hell, Nick." Wolfard ribbed with a relieved smile.

"Always the straight shooter, Wolfie." the fox smirked.

A rustling noise behind Nick startled the other cops as Finnick emerged under his arm to the sudden greeting of drawn weapons.

"Whoa, now!" Nick managed as he partially shielded his small friend.

"Who's that?" Wolfard asked.

Nick and Finnick shared a glance. "Uh… just a concerned citizen who happened to be in the area and came to my assistance." Then the red fox smiled. "And a friend."

"Our bad, Wilde." Delgato apologized as they lowered their tranq guns.

Finnick simply glared at the two cops before helping Nick walk forward. Wolfard radioed to Clawhauser that the suspects were apprehended and to update the station on their status.

"Hey, Nick. Got a med bus on the way," Wolfard said.

"He's fine. Just gotta walk it off," Finnick chimed in with a predatory grin.

Wolfard and Delgato shared a puzzled glance. "Hah, alright. Clawhauser said McHorn and Trunkaby will be here in less than two."

And right on time, the two largest officers arrived on the scene to assist with the arrest, followed by a medical bus to examine any injuries. Nick told McHorn about the rodent building in the hardware section, and the rhino officer went inside the building to retrieve it along with the valuables. Francine escorted EJ to their larger cruiser and put him into the back.

"Hey, is my friend gonna be okay!?" the young elephant yelled.

"He'll be fine. I promise the medics will take good care of him," Francine reassured as she closed the cruiser door.

A pair of EMTs checked over Nick and Finnick. The latter didn't appreciate the poking and prodding but let the staff perform their duties.

Phil, still fighting a pounding headache; opened his eyes only to find out he was surrounded by several police officers. Realizing the gravity of the situation, his blurry eyes fell to the pavement, ears down, and simply surrendered his paws to be arrested. Wolfard helped Phil up, read his rights, and cuffed him.

Managing to find his voice, Phil suddenly outburst, unintentionally barring his teeth. " Where's EJ!?"

"Your friend's in the other squad car over there, kid." Wolfard answered, tightening his grip on the fox.

Delgato came back around and approached the young fox with another metal object in his paws. Phil's eyes widened at the sight of it.

Finnick was intently watching the lion, ears flat, his neck fur bristled, and silently bared his fangs. The fennec looked to Nick as he stepped forth to put a paw on Delgato's arm. The lion paused to look down at his fellow officer.

"Hey Del. Let me take him in." Nick requested softly.

Delgato held his gaze before glancing over to Wolfard who nodded his approval. "Sure thing, Wilde."

"Thanks, buddy."

The younger fox slumped lower, as Delgato passed the object over to Nick, who put his other paw behind Phil's shoulders. One of the EMTs came over to examine the younger fox's head injury and cleared him.

Nick checked over the younger fox. "You good?"

"Yeah…"

"C'mon." Nick gently nudged him forward.

Finnick followed Nick as he escorted Phil over to their loaner car. The officer opened the rear passenger door. He paused to look at the object in his other paw with a hard stare. Phil and Finnick eyed his every movement. Nick simply tossed the offensive muzzle into the backseat. It bounced against the opposite car door with a quiet thud before rolling between the seats.

"Alright, Phil. Get in. Watch your head," the officer ordered.

Despite his predicament, the younger fox was grateful for not being muzzled and glanced up at the fellow red fox. A glint of appreciation flashed in his green eyes.

Closing the door, Nick turned to see Finnick still watching him. With an approving nod, the fennec reached for the driver's side door. "Move your tail, Nick."

With a chuckle, Nick rounded to the other side of the sedan. "You're the boss."

Back on the street, Wolfard was sniffing near the hatchback of the station wagon. "Hey Sam? Do you smell something fruity?"

Finnick's large ears shifted in the direction of the question and he began to laugh hysterically.

"Check the tailpipe, copper!" he yelled while slamming the driver side door shut, pulled off the curb, and gassed it towards Precinct One.


Phil and EJ found themselves sitting in separate cells after being taken into custody and booked. Being closer to the cell block entry, Phil stirred awake to the sounds of a large metal door opening and a herd of footsteps coming down the hallway.

The younger fox peered up to see EJ being led back to his cell by an elephant officer. The two friends locked eyes.

"EJ!"

"Phil! Don't worry Small Fry, my parents are coming."

Officer Trunkaby gently nudged the elephant prisoner forward. "Please keep moving, Mr. Tembory."

"Alright, alright…" said the annoyed youngster as he looked to Phil. "I'll see you soon!"

Another cop was behind Officer Trunkaby. A smaller female pig with a tuft of blonde hair stopped in front of the fox's cell. The officer opened the cell door, and gestured come hither with her hooves. "Let's go, Mister St. Rey. Someone would like to speak with you."

Now Phil found himself sitting alone in Interview Room #2. He twiddled his thumbs till the door opened to reveal a mammal that could pass as his own twin in a fresh blue uniform with a shining badge on his chest.

The uniformed fox took a seat on the opposite end of the table.

"Guess my folks couldn't be bothered." the dejected fox muttered with crossed arms. "To what do I owe the pleasure, Officer?"

Nick leaned forward on his left forearm and offered a sympathetic smile. "I wanted to see how you were holding up, PR. You can call me, Nick."

"Heh. PR. Never been called that one before."

"Didn't think 'Small Fry' was appropriate. You're actually taller than me," Nick said.

The nickname immediately reminded Phil of EJ. He lurched forward, making desperate eye contact with Nick.

"Listen, Officer…uh… Nick... this was all my idea. Please… please don't keep EJ behind bars! I only wanted to help his old man make ends meet. His store hasn't been doing too well… they were so behind on bills and trying to send my best friend to school… his Pops and Aunt had no idea what we were doing…" Fresh tears forming in his eyes, Phil had to stop to take a breath as his voice cracked. "You gotta believe me… I plead guilty to the whole thing!"

The older fox listened quietly with a sullen expression, his own ears down. "EJ's family means a lot to you, don't they?"

"They're more family to me than my own." came the almost inaudible reply.

Nick's stared at the table between them before meeting Phil's eyes. "Unfortunately… the evidence shows EJ breaking the law too. He's still an accomplice to the crime."

Phil sighed heavily.

"But…" the fox officer stood up. "I know someone who might be able to help you both."

Confused, Phil's eyes followed Nick as he opened the interview room door and in stepped a sharply dressed red vixen wearing a gray suit, holding a leather briefcase.

"I'd like you to meet my good friend, Miss Valerie Sinopa." Nick gestured.

Valerie stepped forward with an extended paw and a warm smile. "Mr. Philip St. Rey. Officer Wilde told me all about your case and I'm here to represent you."

Mouth now agape, the flabbergasted younger fox struggled to weakly shake her paw.

"You know…" Nick smirked as he leaned on one arm against the table. "It's bad PR to stare at a lady with your mouth open."

"Nick…" Valerie gave the officer a friendly pat across his shoulder.

"I…" Phil clamped his snout shut and cleared his throat. "I can't afford a lawyer!"

"You won't have to, Mr. St. Rey." Valerie smiled. "I work for a pro bono firm. I will be handling your defense free of charge."

"Best lawyer money can't buy!" Nick quipped.

"I need to ask Officer Hopps if you have an off button, Officer Wilde." the vixen teased.

"I'm sure she'd love to know too," he winked.

Glancing back and forth between the very friendly bantering pair, Phil cocked an eyebrow. "Are you two… um… together?"

Both older foxes turned to stare at Phil.

Valerie laughed, placing a paw on her chest, before Nick could comment. "Us? Oh no… I'm not Officer Wilde's type!"

Phil raised his brow in bewilderment then turned his attention back to Nick.

The vixen grinned devilishly at the blushing fox officer before continuing, "He has a thing for smaller women. Ones with short fluffy fur, long ears, and…"

Nick loudly cleared his throat and glared at Valerie. "So, I'll just leave you two cool cats be… you know... that whole client/lawyer confidentiality thing."

The sly lawyer winked back and waved a little goodbye.

Grabbing the door handle, Nick halted at the sound of his name.

"Wait, Officer Wilde!" Phil spoke up. "Thank you for this. I… I'm sorry we attacked you and your friend. We were just scared. I didn't know what to do and EJ gets really overprotective of me and..."

"Mr. St. Rey." Nick interrupted with a raised paw. "I don't know what you're talking about. I'm a bit of a klutz and that floor sure was slippery," he finished with a wink.

Valerie smiled at Nick's gesture. So did Phil.

"Promise me one thing, PR?" Nick asked while leaning against the door.

"Yes?"

"Don't let this set your life back. I know Val will get you and EJ the best sentence she can. I heard you like to learn. My Mom's a librarian. Tell Val what you like and I'll be sure to send some books your way."

The younger fox suddenly appeared more hopeful despite his situation and nodded.

The fox officer saluted and slinked out the door.

Closing the door, Nick found Chief Bogo observing the interview with his hooves behind his back. Before either mammal could speak, they turned their heads to the sounds of a commotion coming up the hallway.

"Where are they? Where is my son and his friend? I demand to see them!"

"Sir, If you'd please calm down… we can arrange visitation," Francine said attempting to placate the upset elephant.

"I will not be calm! Where is your Chief!?" Earl trumpeted.

"Earl, please…" Rebecca trailed behind her brother, equally distraught as he was.

Bogo turned to assist Francine. "Sir. I am Chief Bogo."

"Finally! Look Chief I just want to speak with…"

Earl abruptly stopped mid-speech when he noticed the small familiar red fox standing next to the cape buffalo.

"Mr. Dooley!?"

Nick tentatively looked Earl in the eyes. "Actually Mr. Tembory, my name is Officer Nicholas Wilde. I'm sorry that I..."

"I don't believe this!" Earl roared. "You… you tricked me!"

Bogo shielded Nick from the angry shouts of the elephant as he stepped towards Nick. Francine also moved closer, preparing to end any potential physical hostility.

"Sir, I know you're upset but my Officer was performing his duty as assigned by me. Your son and his friend were caught committing a very serious crime."

Rebecca's touch made Earl back down but he continued to glare at Nick. Taking a deep breath, Earl gathered his words. "I understand. Please, just let us see them both."

The Chief gestured to the interview room. "Mr. St. Rey is currently with council. You may speak with him once they're finished."

Nick was tapping away on his phone before he put it away and poked Bogo's arm. "Chief, I notified his council that the Tembory's are here. One moment, Sir."

Chief Bogo paused at his officer's gesture. All eyes watched Officer Wilde knock on the door before opening it. When he did, he gestured for Phil to come outside. The nervous young fox emerged into the hallway.

"Philip! We were so worried!" Earl exclaimed as both elephants bent down to hug the tiny fox.

Speechless, the younger fox's eyes began to water as he was squashed between the two giant mammals. "I'm… I'm so sorry, Mr. Tembory… Auntie Rebecca…" he sniffled in their embrace. "I just wanted to help… now I've made everything worse…"

"Shhh, Phil…" Rebecca cooed and caressed the top of his head. "Everything's gonna okay, sweetheart."

"Listen to Rebecca, kiddo." Earl reassured with a bright smile. "We'll get through this; like we always have. No matter what it takes. I promise."

Leaning against the doorframe with paws in his pockets listening to the tearful reunion, Nick stared at the floor with a wistful half smile. Valerie came over and squeezed his shoulder. They shared a glance.

The three mammals separated. Phil returned to Nick's side, who led him and Valerie back inside the interview room.

Chief Bogo motioned to the two elephants. "Officer Trunkaby will escort you to Interview Room #3 and bring your son to see you."

"Thank you, Chief Bogo." Rebecca said.

"This way, please." Officer Trunkaby pointed and lead the brother and sister down the hall.

Earl Senior's gaze fell on Officer Wilde one last time as he rejoined them in the hallway. Angry eyes became melancholic as his head drooped and then looked away. The two remaining officers watched the group leave. Chief Bogo broke the silence.

"Being a good cop isn't easy, Wilde."

"Sir?"

Bogo gazed at the three elephants, returning his hooves behind his back. "Having to deal with upset relatives." The Chief then turned towards the one way mirror. "Arresting one of your own. I had to arrest my older brother once."

"Really, Chief?" Nick looked up in surprise.

The cape buffalo rigidly sighed. "He was pulled over for a DUI. Nearly ran over a family of squirrels. Clawhauser contacted me immediately. I came to take him to the station myself. Begged me to let him off. I wouldn't allow it, no matter how much he pleaded. He hasn't spoken to me since."

Nick stared at the glass too, his ears flattening. "Sorry to hear that, Sir."

The Chief and rookie officer shared a moment of silence.

"Not a day went by when Hopps didn't insist on reminding me to assign you to Precinct One while you were at the Academy." Bogo glanced at Nick. "You certainly made an impression on her in that brief time you two spent together."

"It was mutual," Nick whispered fondly. "Judy made me believe in myself again and changed my life around."

"I still had some reservations. Though when you graduated top of your class, you proved me wrong… again."

Now the all too familiar classic Nick Wilde smirk returned. "I always knew you were a big softy, Sir. Before you know it, they'll be making plushies of you."

"Wilde." It was Bogo's turn to resume his usual hardened scowl as he leaned down with a threatening tone. "You breathe a word of this to anyone in this precinct, especially Hopps… you'll be working under Herbert; scrubbing toilets for a month."

"Cross my heart, Chief…" Nick smiled while crossing his heart with his right paw and issuing the ranger scout two finger salute with his left.

"Good. Now… I came to tell you that the Mayor and the rodent city council representative are issuing a press release about the case and requested your presence. Which means it's mandatory. No excuses. You can finish your reports later."

"Can you make sure they get my good side? Is it my left or my right?" Nick posed for effect. "What do you think, Sir?"

Bogo grumbled in annoyance. "Save it for the reporters, Wilde. Let's go."

"Aye, aye, Sir!" Nick grinned smugly as he followed Chief Bogo with both paws behind his back.

As they approached the atrium, several newscasters and camera crews were already gathering. McHorn was bringing both recovered rodent buildings out for the conference. Several mice joined in as well, many of whom began to cheer and squeak when they saw their homes were returned safe and sound. Nick noticed two familiar faces in the mousey crowd, one who was ecstatic to see him, and the other not so much.

Officer Nicholas P. Wilde spent the remainder of the day busy with the press; answering questions and posing for several photos, and working with Officer Trunkaby to recover the other two sold buildings with Earl Senior's cooperation. Earl Tembory Sr. provided the information of the customers who bought the 'dollhouses' and any accessories. It was quite a shock to the buyers when the ZPD showed up at their doors to inform them of the true nature of their purchase.

As part of his plea with EJ, Phil revealed where they had stashed the more personal items that were stripped from each residence under a loose board in the abandoned Home Burrow store. Nick personally went back to the scene of the arrest and gathered all of the precious valuables to return to their respective families. Afterwards, a mountain of paperwork awaited him but Chief Bogo was lenient to give him an extended deadline till the following day.

Needing a break, the off duty cop sat with feet dangling from the back of Finnick's van. It was parked near the edge of the rundown Docks by Mole Harbor near the defunct Wild Times warehouse. The rear open doors allowed the setting sun's rays and a comfortable serene breeze to fill the van's interior. Finnick opened a cooler, grabbed two beers, and tossed a brewski over to Nick.

Both predators popped the caps off using their teeth. The smaller fennec plopped down next to his larger friend. The unlikely duo sat quietly gazing upon the sparkling waters and enjoying their drinks. Nick leaned forward on his forearms and absent mindedly twirled his bottle around.

Finnick nodded sideways towards his ex-partner. "Hey, Nick?"

"Yeah, Finn?" The officer glanced down.

"Thanks," Finnick said while staring out at the water.

"For what?"

"Backin me up."

"You had my back first, tough stuff." he smirked.

The old business partners clinked their beers. Nick took a long chug while Finnick watched, taking a short sip.

"You and bunny cop an item yet?"

The unexpected question caused Nick to furiously cough as he spewed beer out of his mouth, the liquid having gone down the wrong pipe.

"You waited for me to drink before asking that!" Nick accused once he got control of his hacking, glaring at the smaller fox.

Finnick doubled over in laughter, spilling some of his beer on the ground. "That's for making me wear makeup."

"I deserved that." Nick chuckled, thumping his chest once more as he expelled a final cough.

"You didn't answer the question."

Another pause. Nick's reply came back softly. "No, Finn. We aren't."

"So, what you waiting for?"

"I don't think…" Nick sighed. "It's complicated."

"The hell kinda dumbass answer is that?"

The red fox remained silent again. He just stared at the drink he was nursing in his paw.

"Look, Nick. You wanna be square with me? Then stop being an idiot and be honest with her before some other two-bit chump comes along."

"I didn't know you cared?" Nick said as he turned to offer a smug grin.

"I don't," Finnick replied pointing his beer towards his friend. "But I know I'll have to listen to your mopey crying if it happens."

"You know Finn, I think you actually enjoyed doing some of that police work back there."

And there was the cop out. The deflection in the form of a change in topic. Finnick just hopelessly shook his head and dropped it altogether. "Don't make me toss your tail into the river, Wilde."

Nick smiled as he took another gulp. Finnick did the same and the two foxes returned to watching the calm reflection of the sun on the water's surface. The two finished another round in relative silence before Finnick needed to take Nick back to Precinct One to continue his paperwork.


Judy opened her sleepy eyes to the sounds of thumping feet and general horseplay. Apparently, a large group of her siblings were chasing each other in the hallway, running from one room to the next, causing a kerfuffle.

A yawn and stretch later, Judy was sitting upright, leaning against the headboard. Last night felt like a blur. The day after her conversation with Nick, Violet and Cecilia, along with Maude, Jillian, Annabelle, and Dawn wanted to have a Does' day out. They insisted she come and dragged her out to the main town square in Bunnyburrow.

She had to admit, she did have a lot of fun and it helped momentarily distract her mind from the recent revelations of the past couple days. However, later in the day, her mood soured. In the commotion, she'd left her phone behind in her room.

The all day event ended up going well into the evening, where the girls went out to sing karaoke and drink. At one point she noticed Violet had disappeared for a very lengthy amount of time before showing up again at the bar. When Judy asked her where she had gone, Violet just told her she had an emergency call from a crazy demanding client and needed to take care of a small design request.

Once the drinking started, Judy tried to use the excuse of being the designated driver but even that failed when she was pressured into having one drink. Apparently that drink was a lot stronger than the bartender advertised. That or she was a super lightweight.

Eventually the sisters all came home late, happy, tipsy, and tired. And crashed. Hard.

Thus she slept in this morning. Judy was rather surprised that no one woke her up.

With a bit of grogginess, she made her way up to the kitchen in her pajamas, actually thinking about coffee. She never drank coffee but it was sounding pretty appealing right now. The bunny smirked at the thought of finally understanding why Nick often guzzled so much brew as if his life depended on it. Just thinking of him suddenly made her feel more alert.

Needing to pass through the large dining area, Judy noticed Violet and Cecilia, fully awake and dressed, at one of the tables, intently reading something on their iPaw tablet. Guess they decided to stay longer before going home. Their faces were very focused on whatever was on the screen.

The arctic hare was whispering to her partner. "Look at that hunk of pred... I can totally see why she has a thing for him."

"Dewdrop!" Violet chuckled in agreement and playfully shoved her partner. Cecilia suddenly noticed Judy and elbowed her partner. Violet glared at Cecilia only to have the arctic hare nod towards Judy with a grin.

"Morning sleepyhead!" the older doe announced and waved the tablet in the air. "There's something you're gonna want to see, Jude!"

Blinking herself out of her morning stupor, Judy curiously tilted her head. "What is it?"

"Oh… just your partner being in the news again…" Violet sing-songed.

"What!? Gimme that!" Judy shouted, suddenly completely alert and nearly reached Violet in one effortless leap.

The taller doe dangled the tablet out of Judy's reach, causing the bunny to become annoyed.

"Violet! Stop it!" Judy huffed while trying to furiously steal the device.

Rapidly becoming impatient, Judy bent her powerful legs and jumped. She instantly snatched the tablet out of her sister's paw and binked away with her prize. Cecilia giggled at Violet for losing it so quickly.

Judy turned around, holding the tablet right up to her muzzle, her eyes quickly scanning the screen. It was the online ZNN front page story for the day.

She mumbled the headline to herself. "Zootopia's First Fox Officer Finds Missing Homes."

Nick solved his big case!

The bunny nearly squealed in delight, bouncing on her toes as her eyes skimmed the article at a blazing speed. She scrolled further with one finger to reveal a giant photo from the accompanying press conference. The Mayor and the rodent council mammal were proudly presenting Officer Wilde, standing next to two rodent buildings with paws behind his back, and a large pack of mice squeaking in joy at his feet. One particular female mouse was on Nick's shoulder, giving the proud yet bashful fox a great big mousey hug around his scruffy neck.

A paw found its way over Judy's heart and her smile widened so much it hurt her cheeks. The two older does watched Judy's every movement with starry eyed amusement. Judy wanted to get a hold of Nick. Right now! She shoved the tablet back into her sister's paws.

"I'll be right back!" she yelled while running down the stairs.

The rabbit and hare chuckled.

"Twenty bucks says she's not coming right back," Cecilia said with an expectant paw out, cocking an eyebrow.

"Geez, who do you take me for? I know a bad bet when I see one," Violet shot back and slapped her partner's paw away.

With renewed energy, Judy was back at her desk and grabbed her phone, only for her excitement to come crashing to a halt when it didn't turn on.

"Nooo!" she furiously tapped the power button as if tapping the button harder would magically turn it on. The battery must have drained overnight.

With a huff, she found her charger cable and jammed it into the phone. Judy stood there with arm crossed watching the screen light up to show the charge status. The phone would need a little bit of juice before it could power on.

Boiling with impatience, her foot began to thump rapidly. "Arg! C'mon!"

It felt like an eternity before the first 1% ticked. Once it did, she swiped the phone and stopped in her tracks. There was a missed text notification from Nick. She brought up Ewechat and read the message. Nick said that Finnick came back around and that they cracked the case together, all was well, and he'd call her later.

Literally, jostling with happiness, Judy couldn't help herself and punched Nick's MuzzleTime dial. She just now remembered the time. In her excitement, she forgot he would already be at work.

"Ugh. I didn't think this through… I'll just leave a message."

Before she could cancel the video call, her screen changed and a tired but happy fox in uniform appeared with a large cup of Snarlbucks coffee in his paw. "You've reached the hotline of Officer Wilde, how may I assist you?" he announced with a wink.

Judy was too happy and ignored his lame greeting attempt. "Nick! Oh my god! I just saw the news!"

The fox pretended to dramatically gasp. "Really? How did I look? Did the reporters get my good side?" Nick paused to pose his face a few different ways for the phone camera. "I asked the Chief but he was no help at all, I tell ya."

Rolling her eyes, Judy had to admit she did miss his silliness. "I don't think you even have a good side, Officer Wilde."

"Cutting me deep, Officer Fluff." he proclaimed with foxy kit eyes.

"Seriously though, Nick… I'm so proud of you!" Judy said softly, changing the topic back.

Nick remained momentarily quiet, taking a deep breath as if to contain the emotion of her sincere words. The way those large bright purple eyes beamed at him through the small screen caused him to shift in his seat. He smiled sweetly for her. "Thanks, Carrots." The fox leaned an elbow on their desk.

The bunny smiled too, brushing her ears back. "I saw your text before I called. I'm so happy you and Finnick are okay."

"That makes two of us," he said, attempting to stifle a yawn.

"You look really tired." Judy observed. Nick's eyelids were droopier than usual with some bags under his eyes.

The fox officer took a huge gulp of his coffee before answering. "You could say that. Haven't gotten much shut eye since the arrest."

She noticed Nick studying the screen intently before cocking an eyebrow. "Are you still in your PJ's?"

Caught off guard, Judy looked down then lifted her chin, defiantly making a matter-of-fact face. Not like her partner hadn't seen her dressed like this before. "Yes. I am."

"So, the infallible Officer Sunshine doesn't always rise at the crack of dawn?" Nick smirked while leaning his snout on his other paw. "Guess she's just like the rest of us mere mortals after all. Is vacation making you lazy?" he finished in a mocking baby tone.

"You shush, mister 'I need ten hours of sleep and three gallons of coffee or death will become me'… bleh!" she sarcastically refuted with a dramatic 'woe is me' eyeroll, covering her face using one arm with a theatrical lolly of her tongue while sliding down her chair for the full effect.

Her partner chuckled. "Nailed it. That was an A-list Zoollywood performance right there. If we ever lose our jobs as cops, I'll be your agent. I bet we could win a Golden Paw award."

Sitting back up with a laugh, Judy noticed a mountain of paperwork next to Nick's arm. Her ears drooped. Poor guy. She knew how much he hated that part of the job. An odd shape caught her attention next to the paperwork.

"Nick, what's that pink thing on our desk?"

"Hm?" The officer turned his head. "Oh, right… you haven't seen this!" Nick reached over and revealed the bottle of cologne that was still sitting on his desk. "I got this after the parade. I think someone was trying to tell me something." He wiggled it closer to the phone, making sure Judy could see the crude drawing on the label.

Judy couldn't help but snicker loudly, placing a paw over her mouth to muffle her uncontrollable reaction.

"Oh my god! Who got you that?"

"Wasn't signed. Maybe some secret admirer? It does smell nice," Nick said taking a few sniffs. "I think you might like it."

The words secret admirer jumped to the forefront of her brain, causing Judy's laughter to almost turn into a cough.

"You okay there, Fluff?"

"Yep… sorry…" the bunny managed between breaths before regaining her composure and cleared her throat. She decided to tease him on it. "Well, if you have a secret admirer… then I suspect it's Clawhauser."

"Only if I came in dressed like a giant donut. Or Gazelle. Think I could pull off a dress?"

"Nick!" she chuckled.

"You know I love Claws." he smirked while leaning back in his chair.

Judy bit her lip at those words. She couldn't help herself and decided to poke at Nick like how Cecilia prodded with her. "Is he the only one you love?"

Her unexpectedly playful question caused Nick to suddenly straighten up in his seat, and his eyes momentarily grew into saucers.

"Well… um…" the fox stammered for a moment before looking around and finding a perfect way to dodge the question. He reached over and presented a large bag of candy. "I love Val and Nose for sending me these candies! They are delicious! Don't worry, I saved some for you."

Of course he dodged the question. Nick always dodges questions he doesn't want to answer or has something to hide. Judy should have known better. Then again she has been a pretty dumb bunny lately. There was a pause while Nick held a goofy 'I hope that worked' smile.

Judy crossed her arms. "They must not be blueberry flavored or they'd be gone already."

Nick suddenly frowned. "Now wait just a minute…"

Before Nick could finish his retort about the implied lack of self control, a loud familiar booming voice interrupted him, almost making him jump from his seat.

"Wilde! The city isn't paying you to slack off! Get back to your paperwork."

Judy watched as Nick turned offscreen to give his favorite two fingered lazy salute. "Sir, yes sir! Right away! I'm on it, Sir!"

His acknowledgement made Judy guffaw loudly.

"Is that Hopps on the phone? I explicitly told her no police work!"

"Oh no," Judy gasped.

"Uh… no, sir!" Nick answered as he slammed the phone against his leg, keeping the screen out of sight. Judy suddenly found her screen filled with a shot of his inner lap. She tried to look anywhere else but her phone screen. "Just fact checking some important information with one of the building residents, Chief."

There was a brief pause as if Bogo wasn't buying it. "Very well. I expect that report in my office by noon."

Nick waited till the coast was clear before raising the phone back up. "Whew."

"Thank you, Nick." she smiled.

"Well, as much as I want to know about this no-police-work deal… you heard the boss mammal, Carrots. I gotta finish this up."

There was a long pause. They both looked at one another with a subtle longing. Clearly neither of them wanted to end the call so soon.

"Okay."

"Listen…" he began softly, causing her ears to perk. "I'll call you later tonight."

Judy couldn't contain her beaming smile. "Promise?"

"You betcha," Nick said while wiggling a pinkie promise.

The bunny gave him a small wave. "Bye!"

The fox saluted and the call ended.

Placing the phone down, Judy headed upstairs. Tonight they would talk. Her devious bunny mind began to think of ways she could try to hustle a little bit more information out of him.

No longer needing coffee, she still needed to grab some breakfast as per the reminder of her growling stomach. Judy smiled and there was an extra pep in her step. She hummed a little tune to herself as she skipped along back into the dining hall. Violet and Cecilia were still there, chatting away when they noticed her return.

"Told ya." Cecilia elbowed her partner. "See that look? Let's give it to her now."

"Calm down, you impatient hare." Violet whispered.

Violet stepped forward to get Judy's attention as she was about to enter the kitchen. "Hey, Jude!"

"Yeah?" Judy stopped in her tracks to look at her older sister.

"We have something for you."

"Oh?" Judy blinked and stood at attention with ears erect.

"I know it's none of our business but we couldn't help but notice you haven't been yourself the past couple of days." Violet began and reached into a pocket to produce a long orange looking ticket. "Dewdrop and I were thinking that you have somewhere else you want to be…"

Judy's eyes widened. There in Violet's paw was a one-way ticket back to the city on the Zootopia Express, scheduled for this afternoon. The stunned bunny didn't know what to say at first.

"If you're worried about the family? Don't." Violet spoke up. "We already talked to Mom. She said she'll take care of Dad. She even got your care package all ready to go in the kitchen."

Cecilia excitedly clapped. "Sweet Pea and I can drive you to the station."

Astounded eyes gazed at both older rabbits before settling back onto the train ticket in her sister's paw that awaited Judy's response.


Author's Note: Hey folks! First let me apologize for the huge time gap between updates. Holidays, computer issues, massive writer's block and rewrites, and literally throwing out over a dozen pages worth of text to improve the story happened. (feelsbadman)

But that means we get the largest chapter of TTB to date: clocking in over 21k words. And probably the one I've been the most nervous about.

I hope you all enjoy the character moments that presented themselves as I chugged along from the entire full cast. With Phil and EJ's story, it evolved to show that not everyone does bad things to be bad. What originally started with just a name and a blank slate to be some actual criminal fox to challenge Nick evolved to a more fleshed out character who just wanted to help out his "family" that were always there for him.

Then we have Nick coming into his own, and Finnick showing that deep down, he is a true friend who kept his promise from all the way back in chapter 1. (the OG duo, amiright?) And of course Judy, finally having it all put out in front of her by Violet, and putting the pieces together herself and being ready to act on it. Some of these character stories actually have some real life parallels I drew from when approaching/writing them.

Thank you for reading and let me know what you all think! I always read all the responses and reviews!

All aboard the hype train! Choo-choo. ;)

P.S. Special thanks to five folks who offered their time and feedback to help me through this monster of an important chapter. Two of my IRL buddies; one who always gives the nitpicky feedback I ask for and a fellow co-worker to give me a gal's opinion; Demo ODST, author of Star Fox: Deception and Star Fox: The Shadow War; Cimar of Turalis WildeHopps, author of Always My Sly Bunny, Always My Dumb Fox; and Anistuffs, who is working on Zoocific Rim - WIP and has a Let's Play youtube and twitch channel. Thanks again to these guys for their tremendous help!

I am also previewing the sketch of the cover art I am making for this story. For fanfiction users, search for "animemagix" on deviantart and you will find my profile and the sketch in my gallery.

I randomly stumbled across this one song some odd weeks ago on youtube that was written and composed by a zootopia fan called "Aviators - Impossible". Then another fan recorded a female cover for it, then… yet another fan put the time to make a mashup of the two versions into a duet that I feel really fits Nick and Judy and I consider it the official/unofficial theme song for this story. Search "Impossible - Aviators & Pinkie Rose MashUp" and give it a listen.

Enough of my AN rambling. Chapter 15 will be very character driven but if it goes according to my story outline… well, I'm not gonna spoil anything! Cya next time readers and I hope you all had a great Christmas/Winter Holiday and a belated Happy New Year!