"Three Minutes"

"Nick! Nick! Thank God you're OK!" Clawhauser said as Nick entered the precinct after the morning's terrible shooting. "Tell me honestly—will Judy survive?"

Nick had a face like a soldier who had witnessed the wipeout of his entire squad. "I don't know," he said, his voice full of pain and worry. "She is in extremely critical condition. Two bullets got her in the abdomen just below her vest and another in the shoulder."

The cheetah sighed. "Poor Judy." A tear fell onto the donut he had lost his appetite for when he had first learned that Judy was down.

"How are things going with the interrogation?" Nick asked. "Did the accomplice give up any information about the gunman yet?"

Clawhauser shook his head. "Wolford, McHorn, and the chief himself all tried, but he isn't saying a word."

Nick clenched his paws. His blood began coursing with livid heat and his whole body throbbed. "Then I'm getting answers out of him myself. No one gets away with hurting Judy."

With that, Nick left the front desk and entered the nonpublic areas of the precinct. He walked right past the interrogation rooms—there was one thing he needed to do first.

After a right turn and a left turn, Nick arrived in front of the evidence room. Entry was restricted to those who were given a special key, but Nick had picked more than a few locks over the years and saw this one as not much of a challenge. After checking that the coast was clear, he removed his badge and inserted the pin on the back into the keyhole. A few picks and a couple of bumps later, he was in.

Inside, Nick walked over to the area where evidence from cases that were closed within the past year was kept. After searching for less than a minute, he found the box he was looking for. He broke the tamper-evident seal and placed a small object from the box into his pocket before putting the box back and leaving the room.

After a left turn and a right turn, Nick was on his way to the interrogation room where the accomplice was being held when someone called him from behind.

"Wilde," Chief Bogo said, walking up to him, "I'm glad you're safe. But why are you here? You don't need to finish your shift. You've been through enough today."

"It's been a rough morning," Nick agreed, "but Clawhauser told me that the accomplice of the guy who shot Judy still hasn't said anything. I want to see if I can get him to talk."

Bogo shook his head. "I'm afraid I can't allow that. You're Hopps's partner; you're too close to her. And you're too shaken up from everything you experienced. Let the other officers handle this."

Nick replied with a head shake of his own. "I'm sorry, chief, but I can't do that. Judy is my partner, but she's so much more than that. I can't leave this to someone else. I think I'm the only one who can do this right now. Please. Just give me five minutes. That's all I ask."

Bogo could see that Nick was holding back tears as he spoke. The thought that someone might get away with attacking his best friend was unbearable to him. The chief sighed as he put a hoof on his officer's shoulder. "Five minutes, Wilde. Not a second more. Then go home, for your own sake."

"Thank you, sir," Nick said. "And you're right. I am still shaken up, and I probably should get out of here for a while. Please let me know when the five minutes are up."

Bogo nodded and then walked away. Nick continued on his mission.

Mateo Orden, the mountain lion who had been arrested as the accomplice and would-be getaway driver in the failed jewelry store robbery and subsequent shootout, shook his head as Nick entered the interrogation room. "You're the fourth cop to come in here to try to get me to talk. But if I didn't squeal to the wolf or the rhino or the chief, what makes you think I want to talk to you? Get out, fox. You're wasting your time."

Calmly but with authority, Nick walked over to the table and sat down across from Mateo. He pointed at the front of his shirt and his tie. "Do you see this? I still have her blood on my uniform from when I picked her up off the street and tried my best to stop the bleeding while rushing her to the hospital. My partner is dying right now—she might even be dead—but instead of being at her bedside, holding her paw and praying to God, I'm here with you. I am the last mammal you want to have an attitude with."

Mateo just stared at the wall above Nick's head, not looking at the officer or his uniform. "I don't care about you or your partner. I'll be out of here soon. I have the best attorney in Zootopia."

Nick took a deep breath as he stood up. "Very well. I weigh eighty pounds and I don't need to go completely crazy, so I think half will be enough."

"What are you talking about?"

Nick struck the table with a clenched paw and leaned forward. Any calm was gone. "You had three opportunities to talk to other officers and didn't take them. Big mistake. This is your last chance to do things the easy way. Are you sure you don't want to tell me who he is and where he is?"

"I'm not saying anything to you."

Nick reached into his pocket and took out the night howler capsule he had taken from the evidence room. He looked at the clock on the wall. There were three minutes left until Bogo would come in and put a stop to him. He put the capsule to his lips and squeezed until about half the serum inside squirted out the tiny pinhole it had been filled through. The fox swallowed before leaning across the table again. "Yes, you will. You will tell me everything."