The new tales from Zootopia

by Vindictive456

This story is a well thought out work of fan-fiction that will cover in moderate pace how Judy came back to the force and convinced Nick to be her partner, Nick's training to become an officer and his days at the academy, a weird new case involving corrupt mammals and a new dangerous drug, all of that sprinkled with the growing love between Zootopia's favorite pair of officers.

18. Episode 18: A few notes

Author's note: Hello everyone. My name is Valiant and I have returned with another chapter of my Zootopia fan-fiction. It has been a pretty packed few days for me to crunch down and get this next part of the story ready for publishing. News around the world has had its ups and downs (as it is costum) and there have been quite the few distractions so it has been a little hard to get the story out there, but I am progressing slow and steady on both fronts, it does feel like I am running a little late and i do apologize for it, but I am always up for getting my stories out there. This next part is like a filler episode but it does work as the introduction of my own original charachter for the world of Zootopia, the seasoned agent of the Zootopian bureau of investigation: Donovan Howlbert, he will be a steady charachter on a few of the other chapters going forward and he shall play a pivital role in the story. At any case: Stay awesome and have a great reading.

Episode 18: A few notes.

Another sun was rising over Zootopia, the streets soon became brightened and lively with the sound of engines revving up and the bustle of mammals passing by on their way to work. From the tall towers of Savanna Central to the scorching dunes of Sahara Square, the entire city was now wide awake, with only a few selective exceptions. Tundra Town was still getting its starting for the morning rush, the moist in the air that crossed over from the rain had built a thin layer of ice over the streets which slowed most traffic down, there was a short period of wait before movement could resume on the main roads for matter of safety. As the sun fully revealed its glow from the horizon, its light shone inside the window of Judy's apartment, it was time to wake up.

Inside Judy's living room, the light of the sun making way past the line of buildings composing the horizon began illuminating her apartment in its entirety, as the light hit over her head and poured its unmistakable warmth over her, the bunny noticed that something was amiss. Judy knew that morning had arrived and that it was time to wake up, to jump out of bed and seize the day, but she really didn't feel like doing any of that, the light of the sun felt way more overbearing and unwelcoming to her than any other day of the week, it felt like a sudden weight over her that she did not wish to lift away. Judy felt an unbearable pounding that made its way from the top of her head to the back of her skull, an unpleasantness that sloshed around inside of her brain and made her grunt in displeasure. All of that irritation combined only made so she wouldn't feel like waking up from her peaceful sleep and that felt very unusual.

Judy turned her head around to try and avoid the rays of the sun, she moved her ears around to get a better sense of comfort and let out a little hum as she tried her best to return her mind to its previous sleeping state, as soon as she felt a little more contented with her resting position, she let out a relaxed dash of air from her lungs and returned to slumber. Judy was very cozy, much more at ease than any other morning, her bed felt so much softer and her pillow felt way more padded and prepped for a longer rest time, she caressed the side of her head against the pillow and let a little smile of contentment form on her face, however, there was something that poked in her brain, something that sparked a fraction of her mind to work as effectively as possible even in her half-asleep state: She did not recall going to bed on the night before and wherever she was laying down it didn't feel like her bed.

"Hum… Where am I?"

Judy thought so as she began to gradually wake up, she moved both of her arms and the palms of her paws slid over a cozy surface as she brought them up to her head, she tried raising her head but a sudden wave of unnerving discomfort prevented her from moving any further. Judy placed her head to rest once more and thought:

"Ugh… My stomach is rumbling, my mouth is dry and my brain feels like gelatin."

Those were the thoughts that crossed her head as her left paw was gently placed over her forehead. Judy felt somewhat indisposed, she tried her best to open her eyes and raise her body but it just didn't appear as if she could do it in a timely manner, she raised her ears in an effort to try and catch any discernible sounds and it didn't take too long for her to hear the muffled sounds of the streets just outside become more and more busy with every passing second. As her sense of hearing was focused on the world outside and her mind was becoming more acute to her location, her sense of touch was centered on her immediate surroundings, the temperature was dwindling but she still had a sense of warmth over her and her entire body was very relaxed but there was also something more to it. Judy felt very safe, overall, she did not feel the need to move or go anywhere fast, her mind calmly returned to a slumbering state until something else that came seemingly out of nowhere awakened another flash of inquiry in her mind.

Her ears caught another sound that was close, very close as a matter of fact. Judy heard a rhythmic bump from a fixed spot right beneath her head, it was soothing but it made her worry about its true origins as her eyes pressed themselves slightly shut and she held her breath for a mere moment to try and study the sound more thoroughly. The warmth that her resting spot was naturally radiating also began to feel fairly familiar as well as a particular smell that occupied the air, she turned her head around over her resting spot once more and for some reason she could also feel a slight elevation followed by a subtle lowering. Judy's mind awoke with a snap as she began to wonder with great impatience:

"Is that breathing? Is that a heartbeat?! Where *am* I?"

Judy finally opened her eyes to look around and the lighting of the room felt particularly oppressive on her pupils as she looked around. Judy's first identifiable sight was her television bolted to the wall right in front of her and she arrived at a simple conclusion: She must have fallen asleep on her couch and that is why she had no recollection of going to bed on the night before. She squinted her eyes as she thought:

"I'm in the living room, on the couch. But… I don't recall my couch being so… Fuzzy?"

Judy pressed her right paw over her immediate resting place and the sensation of soft fur filling her grasp was very disconcerting, she directed her eyes to the side and found where exactly she was laying. Right underneath her rested the sleeping body of her friend Nick, she was placed right over his bare chest as it slowly expanded and contracted in accordance with his breathing and the fox was still locked in deep slumber. Judy screamed internally as she tried to figure what was going on, she fidgeted a little bit over his torso and thought:

"What is happening? Why am I on top of Nick?! Why is he not wearing a shirt?!"

All of her doubts came and went very quickly as she did her best to not scream out of nowhere and abruptly wake Nick up. Judy's nose twitched as she took in a few consecutive shallow breaths that slowed down in a matter of seconds, she calmed herself down and decided to check if she could wake Nick up to ask him what had happened to them to end up in that situation. Judy was very much embarrassed, she tried to contain the blush in her face as she reached to the side of Nick's jaw with her right paw and poked him before saying:

- Nick… Wake up.

The fox grunted and pressed his eyes shut before placing his left arm in front of his face in a futile attempt to hide away from the waking world. He mumbled as his other arm was unintentionally placed over Judy's back, which made her yelp quietly with surprise, and said:

- Hang on. Just five more minutes. I'll be right there.

Judy have had it with that, she poked him a little more aggressively over his nose and said with far more urgency than before:

- Nick, please wake up!

The fox opened his eyes with a startle, he raised his head and spoke up with a controlled volume to his voice, he had a moan stuck in his throat mixed with a great deal of worry as he wondered why he was being awoken in such a manner:

- Oh, God! What is it?! What happened?!

Judy remained silent after confirming that her friend was wide awake, she had no idea on what to say to him next, her arm retreated and she tucked her shoulders in as she waited for him to fully awaken and realize where he was. As Nick rapidly blinked to make his eyes more used to the brightness of the morning sun, he looked over his own chest and saw the bunny resting over him while having her ears lowered and an uneasy expression on her face, he waved his right paw and said with a friendly tone:

- Oh. Good morning, carrots.

Judy admired his composure in that moment, she waved her left paw at him and wished him a good morning as well. Nick gritted his teeth beneath his lips as he slowly raised his body over the couch and gently pushed Judy away so that she wouldn't fall off onto the ground. The fox sat himself up neatly over the couch and Judy did the same as her body was gradually being guided upwards by the fox's paws placed over her shoulders, she sat herself one cushion away from Nick to give him enough room to stretch himself and wake up properly, she kept her eyes and her thoughts to herself as the fox got to his customary awaking rituals. Nick yawned and began to slowly stretch his arms outward over his head, after that he began to shake his shoulders and his head around to get his upper muscles a better feel for the morning, he felt a little woozy after his shaking motion as it felt like his brain shook around loosely inside his skull. Nick felt his fur fluffed up, he placed both paws over his head and thought:

"Ugh! Immediately regret doing that!"

Judy noticed him doing that and turned herself around over her seat, she reached her left paw over o him to call to his attention and ask:

- Nick, are you… feeling alright?

Nick looked over at her and Judy was straight out marveled with his sight, she didn't know why she kept staring at him like the image of his shirtless chest was something brand-new to her and yet it didn't feel like that big of a deal. Disregarding the fact that Nick was bare chested right in front of her, Judy approached him and the fox answered to her question by gesturing with his right paw and saying:

- No big deal, carrots. I'm just feeling kind of groggy this morning. That applejack really packs a wallop.

- You can say that again.

Nick leaned his body forward over his seat and he finally took a good look at himself as he saw his own chest out in the wind. He turned over to Judy and asked while placing both his paws subtly over his muscular figure:

- Hey… fluff. Why am I not wearing a shirt right now?

Judy scooched away from him once more with a little blush on her cheeks and answered to him while looking off to a fixed spot on the wall in front of her:

- I was hoping you would know. I just woke up and I'm not certain what happened after we finished our talk last night. It all goes a little blurry after it started to rain.

Nick looked around for a few seconds until he spotted his shirt, resting nicely on the ground and next to the small coffee table, that ticked him off a little bit but he didn't let that ruin his morning. The fox picked his shirt up and began getting dressed as he answered to Judy:

- Last night was really great. We talked, we ate, we drank, we had fun and it also got really serious, but it was actually good to get it all out in the open like that. You insisted that I stayed over until the rain passed but it just didn't stop. Passed a few minutes, you're dozing off with your head on my arm and I guess I wasn't too far behind. Gotta say: I slept like a log.

Nick finished buttoning down his shirt and raised himself from the couch as he took in one long breath of air and asked of Judy once more:

- Hey, have you seen my tie around? I can't lose it. It was a gift.

Judy searched around for a little while until she found the tie under one of the cushions on the couch, she gave the requested item over to Nick who thanked her and proceeded to expediently tie it around his neck with a perfect knot. Judy raised from the couch as well and walked slowly around the living room, unsure of what to say next. She had quite a lot of fun and learned a great deal about Nick during their conversation, she felt happy and uneasy at the same time and she wasn't sure if it was because of the presence of her friend or because of the drink still coursing about in her body. Her sight soon turned over to the bottle of the drink left over the coffee table along with a few plates and the two ornate cups they had used, she pointed a finger at the object and decided to speak up:

- There is still a little bit of the whisky left over.

Nick grabbed the bottle to check on the exact quantity left over and said:

- Let's leave it like this. I might just save it so we can make a toast for something memorable at a later date, like my one year anniversary in the force or maybe your one hundredth arrest.

Nick stored the bottle and the remnants of the picnic they had on the previous night inside the basket, he left Judy imagining how it could be in the future when they would gather once more and share the last bit of the amazing drink together. Judy watched as Nick finished packing all of the things he had gathered inside the basket and hoist the container up without much effort on his part, the fox directed his eyes at the door of the apartment but, before he set out to leave, he looked to his cellphone to check on the time. The device had only a small bit of battery life left but he decided that he would worry about charging it up later, he only wished to see the hours left until they had to go to work. Nick turned over to Judy and spoke up without deviating his eyes from the screen:

- We got about forty-five minutes before ol' buffalo-butt gets all up in our cases about arriving late at work.

Judy's ears darted upwards and she hopped out of the couch while showing off a face of slight concern, the bunny accidentally kicked a small cushion onto the floor when she raised up and didn't even bothered to pick it up on her rush. They had to get ready and head off to precinct one so she believed that there wasn't much time to lose even if the time for their patrol shift was still quite a significant bit of time away. Judy touched her feet on the floor but she nearly lost balance as her center of gravity flopped around and she struggled to stand up straight, Nick saw that and expediently placed his right paw near the front of her torso to speak up and calm her down:

- Woah! Ease it up, carrots. The world isn't gonna end just because you arrived late to work one time.

Judy wabbled on her feet for a couple of seconds before she finally found her balance, she wasn't used to waking up so hastily, especially after a night of mild drinking. The bunny walked two steps in Nick's general direction before speaking up:

- It's more than arriving on time, Nick. Something urgent may come up on the morning docket and we may not be there to get note of it. Every cog in the machine needs to be in place to work properly.

Nick smiled as he watched Judy fumble around to arrange her thoughts and start getting ready for the day, he raised his paw and showed a pointing finger before saying:

- Gonna go out on a limb here and say that you picked that up from a movie.

Judy passed the palms of her paws over the top of her head to give the short fur on her ears an improvised brush over before she turned around to face Nick once more and said:

- It was from a book actually.

Nick gestured with both of his paws and reputed to that:

- Wherever you picked that up from, you don't have to go on a mad rush to get to work, fluff. We'll be there on time without losing our breath. Also, you shouldn't refer to anyone, not even to yourself, as a mere "cog", carrots. It's demeaning.

Judy was about to make a dash to her room to grab her uniform and get herself ready but Nick's quick opinion caused her to halt her planning and turn over to ask of him:

- You… really think so?

- Sure I do. You're not a cog, carrots. You are not a 'piece', you are a whole. You're a full mechanism.

The day had barely even started and Nick had already got a little laugh out of Judy for that morning. Nick placed his left paw on the back of his head and showed an unsure face of his own as he reevaluated his own words:

- That… didn't really sound like what I wanted to mean. Probably could have phrased that much better.

- No. It's alright. I know what you meant.

Judy thanked Nick for the kind words and assured him that he made his point known, her mind slowed down as she saw the fox walking with a moderate pace in the direction of the door, he twisted the knob, swung the door open and looked at her to speak up before leaving:

- I gotta get home and get ready. I might buy a few snacks at the coffee shop before heading over to the precinct. See you at work?

Judy nodded positively and answered definitively:

- Absolutely. See you later.

Nick showed a smile before leaving the apartment and closing the door right behind him, leaving Judy to get her own things in order before taking off to work. As Nick returned to his own apartment with a rushed but steady step since he was still waking up and he did not want to overexert himself, Judy walked around her living room with a sweet smile on her lips as she put the cushions of the couch in their proper places before she walked to the hallway and hopped in the shower to get a quick bath that left her very at ease and refreshed. Judy exited the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her body, she went over to her room and dressed herself in full uniform, she didn't dried her fur out completely before leaving the bathroom and that caused her attire to become damp on a few spots, she didn't mind it too much.

Judy did her final checks before leaving her apartment and rushing down the stairs to get over to street level and head straight towards precinct one, she felt like that run was like a rehash of a time before moving on to her new place, her old apartment was so far from the heart of the savanna and from the precinct one building that she would often have to race to get there on time. As Judy exited her building she noticed that the air around her felt a little colder and that the ground was littered with puddles of water, remnants of the rain that occurred during the previous night, her right foot stepped on a shallow puddle after she had taken just a few steps out in the street, she shook the water off and returned on her way only now more attentive to not step into any more watery spots.

Judy arrived at a nearby crosswalk that was placed only a few blocks away from the ZPD, she let herself relax as she took long and slow breaths before checking her cellphone for the time, there was still plenty minutes left for her to get to the precinct for the morning assembly. Judy looked to the other side of the crosswalk, there wasn't much movement on the street that morning which was fortuitous for her since she was in a hurry. With her eyes focused on the far off turn leading to the center of the savanna and to the precinct one building, Judy prepared to resume her dash but her ears suddenly caught a familiar set of steps coming towards her, she turned her head to the right and saw Nick waking right towards her with a very methodical series of steps while having a plastic cup of coffee in one paw and a paper bag hanging in the other.

The fox approached her with no hurry at all, he was well dressed in his uniform as his feet tipped over the side walk and he moved to position himself right next to her in order to calmly await for the walk sign on the other side to light up, Nick turned his body in the direction he wanted to go without saying a word to Judy. The bunny looked up at him, waiting for him to cumpriment him or say something at all, Nick turned his eyes at her and asked in a well-humored tone:

- Don't I know you from somewhere?

Judy smiled and turned her sight forward once more without giving that much of an answer aside from a little snicker. As soon as the light on the other side of the crosswalk turned green the movement restarted and the two crossed to the other side of the street, there were a few other mammals crossing the street in the opposite direction but Nick and Judy didn't have any difficulty or bumped against anyone as they reached the sidewalk. As they continued the rest of the way to precinct one together, Nick turned to her and asked:

- I thought I might find you heading off through this path, I bought you the same drink from yesterday. You should get some liquid in your body after a night of binge-drinking so you can get to work alert and aware.

Judy looked at him and said:

- I'm not that groggy from drinking, but I might just need a quick pick-me-up for today. Thanks, Nick.

- Hey, don't mention it.

Nick finished drinking the last sip from his cup and promptly tossed it away into a nearby trashcan, he raised his right arm and moved his wrist like he was throwing a basketball into a hoop, the cup hit its target and Nick pumped his fist in the air as a small celebration for having done so. After he was done with that, he roamed through the contents of the paper bag in his other paw for a mere second before retrieving a smaller cup with the warm drink he had bought for his partner, Judy picked the cup up with both paws and brought it to her lips to take a sip, she slowed her walk down as she felt the warm liquid go through her throat and gradually warm her up, fill her muscles with a small jolt of energy and give her a slight motivation to walk with a little more pep in her step.

As Judy positioned herself right next to Nick as they matched paces forward, he asked of her without turning around to face her completely as they continued to walk:

- Are you hungry too? Bought some muffins to fill our stomachs up until we could get some more food in our lunch break.

Judy was slurping down a couple more sips of her drink as she heard his question, her ears placed parallel to one another before she turned her head over to Nick and hummed a positive response:

- Uhm-hum. I would love a muffin right now. What do you got there?

Nick opened the paper bag once more, holding each of its extremities in his paws, he looked inside and listed the available options to Judy:

- Well… let me check. We got hazelnut crump, pumper gloat, merengue madness and banana cream.

Judy retreated and demonstrated with an audible tone of displease her disdain for the last option:

- Irch! Banana cream? No, thank you.

Nick directed his eyes at Judy while still holding on to the bag in the same manner and asked:

- You don't like banana cream?

- I don't like bananas, period.

The two of them gave a few more steps forward until they reached the final left turn that would lead them to the ZPD building, Judy explained her point as she aired her grievances about the mentioned fruit:

- Bananas are mushy and squishy and just plain weird. I never liked eating it. It makes me nauseous just thinking about it.

Nick's head retreated after learning that interesting new bit of information about Judy, he looked back inside the paper bag in his paws and asked of her:

- Hazelnut then?

Judy nodded affirmatively and said:

- Please.

Nick grabbed the pastry and gladly handed it over to Judy, the bunny immediately brought it to her mouth and began chewing on it. The satisfactory crunch of the baked treat between her teeth brought great pleasure to her, she placed her right paw over her right cheek as she released a little hum of delight for having something simple and yet nice to eat. After a couple more steps on their path and a few more bites to her meal, Judy turned over and looked slightly up towards Nick, she stared at him with an idea stuck in her head that it would be for the better to tell him something in referring to the night they had spent together. Judy kept moving her eyes between the path ahead and her friend right next to her, unsure on which one she should place her focus, she fidgeted with her fingers and took a couple last bites of her muffin before she heard Nick asked of her:

- Is there anything you want to tell me, carrots?

The tone he used to ask that of her was very calm and casual, Judy's ears twitched with surprise and she hastily swallowed the bite she had in her mouth before properly chewing it. Judy looked over to Nick after clearing her throat and the look he was directing at her, there was a little side of teasing in his eyes like he was already acutely aware of what was bothering her, she swallowed a bit of air before speaking to him:

- I… might have. I'm just not really sure I should just come out and say it.

The pair approached another crosswalk and positioned themselves next to a small group of mammals that were just about to cross the street, one camel wearing a light fabric white T-shirt; a female armadillo holding a large purse on her right arm while her left paw was holding paw of her young son by her side; and a young female cheetah that was pacing frantically in place as she got ready to continue her exercise routine. Nick and Judy got near the group and didn't have to slow their walk before seeing that the light on the other side of the street had turned green to signal a safe crossing. As the two were crossing the street and being careful to not bump into the other mammals doing the same thing, Nick turned to Judy and said:

- If you got something that needs to be said then go right ahead and say it.

Judy noticed that Nick was tightening his pace and getting ahead of her, she skipped rapidly to get closer to him and say in retort:

- It's nothing important. You don't need to worry about it.

- Are you sure?

Nick kept pressing on her to get whatever seemed to be bothering her out in the open, she released a sigh and her shoulders lowered as she asked:

- You are just going to keep pestering me until I tell what it is, aren't you?

Nick shrugged that off by raising both of his shoulders and passively admitting to it:

- It's a strong possibility.

Judy showed a little smile and decided to just come out and say what she had in her mind, she crumpled the paper wrapping of the muffin she had just finished and stored it in her pocket so that it could be tossed inside a recycling bin later, she turned over to Nick and placed her paws together before saying:

- Nick… about this morning…

- Yes?

The fox inquired of her as a way of asking her subtly to continue with her thoughts. Judy took a short breath before saying:

- I'm just… feeling a little… awkward.

Nick raised a brow as he heard that. He could understand why Judy felt like that, after all she woke up laying over his shirtless body but that did not bother him, he actually thought it to be quite humorous. Nick leaned his body slightly forward and turned his head in Judy's direction in an effort to look her straight in the eyes as he asked:

- Why is that, carrots? If I can be so inclined to know.

Judy pressed her lips together before she told him:

- You can. It's just… We woke up… snuggled together on my couch and I… I wanted to say that…

Nick jumped in on her talk as he asked:

- And you think that was "Awkward"?

Judy leaned her head to the left and said:

- A little bit. Maybe.

Nick released a well-humored puff of air from his nose and said:

- That wasn't awkward. You don't need to make it awkward.

- You… really think so?

Nick gave a step that propelled his body forward and let his approach Judy a slight bit more, he gestured with his left paw in the air and answered her:

- Absolutely. We're just a couple of friends and we have fun together. We talked and share a lot and it is plenty obvious that we can share anything with each other. Why should this morning be awkward? I don't feel awkward.

Judy looked at Nick and figured by his tone that the night they spent together was not bothering him at all, she searched her mind for a little while before figuring out for herself that dwelling and overthinking the occurrences of that moment would not be productive. Nick extended his free paw a little closer to her and asked of her:

- Oh, I didn't molt any fur on you, did I? That can be sort of an annoying problem for a fox. Lots of grooming on a regular basis.

Judy showed a dismissive gesture with her paws and answered:

- No, you didn't get any fur on me. I'm pretty sure it's okay.

Judy turned her face forward and let the embarrassment she still felt within her gradually melt away into nothing with every step she took, Nick kept smiling as he looked over her and thought how adorable she actually was, believing that waking up over his bare chested body was a weird new experience for her. The fox leaned a little closer to her and said:

- That being said, you move a lot while you're asleep. You must have some exciting dreams. Was I in any of them?

Judy opened her mouth and turned her head to face Nick. She was not up for being teased so early in the morning and her answer to his words was a little shove on the side of his left arm as she said:

- Cut it out, Nick. Let's just get to work.

Judy tightened her steps as she moved ahead and Nick dismissed her little shove and followed sooth as they saw the open space of the park square right in front of them and made one final right turn to face the ZPD building and the stairs leading to the main entrance. The bunny gave a few skips forward as she promptly took the lead but Nick just kept heading on with the same set of slow paces he was giving before, he had no rush at all and Judy thought that if that was the way he headed for work every day than it was no wonder he kept arriving late. Judy retrieved the crumbled paper she had stored on her pocket and looked for a nearby bin where she could toss it away, she walked a few steps to the left of the front door as she encountered a recycling bin to do just that.

Nick placed his right foot over the first step of the way but he immediately stopped his walk as his nose caught a whiff of some new smell that was well present in the air around him, something that felt new and strange to him at first. A pleasant musk invaded and took a hold of Nick senses causing him to halt all of his movements, it was the smell of a male's cologne and it was subtle as well as very welcoming, he thought that smell was sort of familiar and that is when he recalled: It was very similar to the aftershave cologne his father used when he was still alive. Judy was already at the top of the stairs and ready to open the door, she turned her head to offer Nick the chance to get inside in front of her but that is when she noticed that the fox was not right beside her. Judy turned around completely and saw that her friend had barely got up the first step on the stairs, she let go of the door frame and walked down the steps to ask of him:

- Nick, is everything alright?

Nick raised his head and told her:

- I'm fine, carrots. I just thought that I smelled something… familiar. I'm not sure but it could've just been my imagination.

Nick took a couple more sniffs of the air around him, the scent he had picked up was fresh and it lead inside the precinct one building, Judy also tried to catch any suspicious smells for herself but she couldn't sense anything different in the air aside from the still lingering scent of rain water. Nick walked over the remaining steps and said:

- Something is definitely different. Let's check it out.

Nick signaled with his right paw so that Judy would follow him close as he placed his right paw over the handle of the revolving door and it started to turn without much issue, he and Judy made their way inside the building but the bunny had no earthly idea what he had sensed or why he seemed to be more frazzled over whatever it was he thinking.

The duo entered the front lobby of the precinct and that is when Nick found the origin of the smell he had detected before, his nose pointed him to a well-dressed wolf who was positioned close to the receptionist desk of the ZPD. Clawhauser was on his usual spot, eating cereal and waiting for the usual morning rush to go by and he barely noticed the elegantly dressed individual only a few meters away from him. The wolf looked like a figure from city hall itself, he was tall and his overgrown gray fur was well groomed and presented some signs of discoloration bearing witness to his age, it popped outward over the neckpiece of his shirt making it appear as a full and distinctive beard to the sides of his face. His outer wear was a fancy buttoned-up blue suit that was very well sowed, the vestment looked tailor made for the wolf in particular and it showed that he had quite the muscle structure with thick arms and broad shoulders. His muzzle was strong, his ears were moving quickly as he took notice of every sound in the immediate vicinity and his dark brown eyes were fixated over a pocket watch that he was holding on his left paw while his right paw was firmly grasping to the straight handle of a bamboo cane.

Nick and Judy had never seen that mammal before but they quickly gathered from a glance that he was someone important that was trying to get his point across in some way. The wolf closed the pocket watch and stored it back in the side pocket in his suit, he approached the front desk and Benjamin finally took the time to notice him as the cheetah stored his bowl of cereal away to cumpriment him. Nick and Judy walked slowly closer to try and discover for themselves who the wolf actually was, the large canine positioned himself in front of the counter and Benjamin spoke up:

- Good morning, sir. Can I help you with something?

The wolf clacked his cane on the hard floor and answered with a gruff tone of voice that also carried a lot of tenderness:

- I am hoping you can.

The wolf switched his cane from his right paw to his left, he then reached into his suit pocket with his recently free paw and pulled off a single folded wallet with a shiny badge inside as well as a picture identification. He presented himself with all of the references shown by his badge:

- I'm superintendent Donovan Jacobs Howlbert, I am an agent of the Zootopia Bureau of Investigations and I have come to precinct one in the hopes of finding two officers so that I may deliver them an urgent message.

Benjamin looked in awe to the badge flashed right in front of him and then to the mammal positioned at the other side of the counter, the cheetah prepared his mind and body to do some serious search on the computer screen right next to him, he spun his chair over to the side and introduced himself:

- Well, it is very nice to meet you, Mr. Howlbert. I will do my best to help you on your search. My name is…

The wolf stepped in as he completed that introduction with his own knowledge:

- Benjamin Clawhauser, employee of the ZPD precinct one for about five and a half years. Your written test at the academy was worthy of commendation, your report game is on point and you are famous for being the most cordial mammal in this precinct. Your file was very thorough in regards to your working performance.

Benjamin gasped as he heard the main points his entire work resume laid down in front of him, his fists clutched on the side of his mouth and he almost pulled his own whiskers out in astonishment with that motion, Nick and Judy were very surprised as well as they were positioned close by and they heard all of that without being noticed by the wolf. Benjamin leaned his body over the counter and asked:

- Wait a second. I have a file?! I didn't know I had a file.

Donovan placed both of his paws over the counter frame as he spoke with a controlled volume of voice that had a dramatic overtone:

- Mr. Clawhauser, *everyone* has a file.

Benjamin turned his chair over to the computer, he turned a quick glance over at Nick and Judy, just a few steps away from the front counter as he asked while poorly trying to disguise the anxiety in his voice:

- So… how may I help you? Who exactly are you looking for?

The wolf stored away his badge and pulled out another item from his pocket, this time it was a small notebook with a pitch black cover. He roamed through the pages until he found the written notes he was looking for, he proceeded to list the main characteristics of the ones he was searching for:

- The first officer I'm looking for is a fox, male, about twenty-seven years in estimate, goes by the name 'Nicholas Wilde'. Descriptions tell that he has dark orange and bright cream colored fur, is about four feet three inches tall, has deep green eyes, dark colored tips on his ears, charismatic voice with a distinctly strong jaw line and keen sense of smell.

Nick remained silent and was very flattered to be hearing all of the positive points about his own self, puffing his chest and placing his paws over his waist line as he heard that. Donovan continued on his listing as he continued to read from his notes without realizing that the fox being spoke of was very near him:

- He is also known for having a crafty mind and a well-developed instinct for survival and business transaction. Most accounts tell that he is easily identified by his regular vestments, in particular, a green Hawaiian T-shirt and a setting tie that is verily considered by some as… 'Tacky'.

Nick's jaw dropped after hearing that, he looked to the void as he moved his mouth without letting any noise escape it, asking with utter disbelief about his own fashion choices:

- "TACKY"?!

Judy saw the reaction of her friend and had to hold her laughter in to not call any attention to the two of them in that conversation. Donovan turned the page of his notebook and spoke of the second mammal on his search list:

- The second officer that I need to find is a bunny, female, attends by the moniker of 'Judy Hopps'. My research shows that she is very know in this precinct so she shouldn't be too hard to find. She has gray and white colored fur, about three feet five inches tall, has dark purple eyes, sweet smile, with an honest, thoughtful and dedicated attitude that is well known amongst her peers.

Judy smiled and pumped her chest slightly up as she heard that, Nick raised a brow to her and wondered if her image was about to be shot down during that description much like his own. The wolf proceeded with his description:

- Officer Hopps was originally listed in our archives as a 'meter-maid' which can only be a typo or an absurd system error since her academy record is basically spotless. My sources also tell that she has been continuously making great progress in the precinct one work line.

Donovan close the little notebook and turned his eyes back over to Benjamin as he asked:

- It would be greatly appreciated if you could locate master Wilde and officer Hopps as soon as possible.

Benjamin already knew where the listed pair was and he was not sure what to say next to the wolf standing right in front of him, the cheetah directed his eyes to the bunny and the fox and bit his upper lip as he tried to hold out what he wasn't sure would be a direct answer or a little laugh. Judy gave a single step to approach the tall canine next to her and spoke up in order to immediately call to his attention:

- *Ahem*… Excuse me.

Donovan's ears twitched as he heard the little voice sounding off right next to him, his head turned to the right and directly down as he met eyes with a bunny who was waving her left paw at him along with a fox with a smug look on his muzzle and both his arms crossed while holding on to a medium sized paper bag. The wolf raised both his brows as he met with the mammals he had been searching for and spoke out loud:

- Oh… they are already here.

In an attempt to be funny paired with a lot of politeness, Donovan turned back to Benjamin and said:

- By Jupiter, you *are* good.

The cheetah placed his left paw over his cheek and made a dismissive gesture with his right paw as he thanked for the complement:

- Oh, it was no big deal.

Judy released a silent little snicker after witnessing that. Donovan leaned himself down, almost placing himself on one knee, while having his cane supporting a great fraction of his overall body weight as he extended his vacant paw to cumpriment the bunny:

- Officer Hopps, it is an honor to meet you at last. I'm Donovan Howlbert and I am with the ZBI. I have been meaning to come see you much earlier but there was a huge mountain of paperwork that I had to go through before I was assigned for a visit to Zootopia.

Judy extended her paw to cumpriment the wolf:

- It is very nice to meet you, Mr. Howlbert.

Nick watched as Judy shook the paw of her new acquaintance, he remained with both arms crossed as he spoke up:

- "ZBI"… Never heard of it.

Donovan raised from his previous position and placed himself on a straight posture, there was a little degree of difficulty on his part as he did so, he released a grunt of effort from his mouth before he was back on both his feet once again. The wolf directed his eyes to the fox and explained himself briefly:

- It doesn't surprise me. The bureau doesn't get involved in a lot of inner affairs and even if we do we tend to keep most of our intrinsic details away from the eyes of the media, our superiors have faith that Zootopia's law enforcers can handle any given situation. We are more involved in matters that consist of the entire world as a whole, my superiors are far too concern with the big picture, sort of speak. When we heard that a violent outbreak of savage mammals was wreaking havoc on the city, my superiors were just about to sign a petition that would certainly have dispatched strike teams to deal with the increasing chaos. That was until another report came in saying that a bunny officer and a fox were responsible for diffusing the crisis and putting the real mastermind behind bars. Quite the feat, if you would permit me to say.

Nick squinted his eyes to better study the one who was speaking to him at that moment, he reached a rushed conclusion after taking thorough mental notes about his posture, his mannerisms and the way he talked. The fox pointed a claw at him and asked like it was no big deal:

- Are you a secret agent?

Judy turned her head to face Nick and called out to him so that he would mind his tone. She was utterly shocked after hearing him asking that question out of the blue like that:

- Nick!

- What? I'm just curious.

The wolf released hearty laughter while placing a paw over his belly and answered with an eased tone of voice:

- I do not have cool gadgets or an arch-nemesis that leaves in a volcano lair, but I do deal with plenty of assignments that are meant to be kept secret. I guess that makes me a sort of secret agent.

Nick smiled and was a little relieved to learn with just that answer that the mammal in front of them was not only concise but also well-humored. Judy decided to jump back in the middle of the conversation and ask of agent Howlbert:

- At any case, agent Howlbert, we couldn't help but overhear that you are actually looking for us. What is it that you need to discuss with us?

The wolf retrieved the little black notebook that he had stored in his pocket and roamed through the pages until he found the notes about all of the things he needed to say. He took a short breath before tapping with his fingers twice over the page and saying:

- The message that I have is actually sort of multifold, but I have written all of its main points. I'll try to keep everything as light and direct as possible since I'm sure you're both eager to get to your work shift for today.

Judy placed her paws together and waited for the first part of the message that the agent was sent to deliver, the wolf placed a paw over the page he had selected and spoke up:

- Thank you.

Judy and Nick were a little confused after hearing that, Judy leaned her head a little closer as she inquired of him:

- For… what, exactly?

Howlbert raised his muzzle as he spoke proudly:

- Many of the agents from the ZBI are predators with friends and family based in Zootopia, if it weren't for your quick thinking on solving the night-howler case plenty of our agents would've been forced to wear shock collars as per an amend that would be passed down by city hall and by Bellweather herself as the new mayor in effect. You have saved the well-being of countless mammals, officer Hopps, myself included, I just wanted to set aside a chance to thank you myself, on behalf of all the agents from the ZBI.

Judy released a laugh as she was very flattered for hearing all of that, Donovan saw her little smile and turned his head slightly to face Nick, he continued with his words shortly:

- I also believe that a huge thanks is in order for you as well, Mr. Wilde.

Nick raised his ears as he heard that, he faced the agent but he soon made a dismissive gesture with his vacant paw and said:

- No thanks are necessary on me.

Nick pointed a thumb to the bunny standing right beside him and continued:

- Judy here did all the work sniffing out the clues along the way, I just tagged along for the ride. I'm just a roadie, she's the Rockstar.

- Nick!

Judy was a tad embarrassed after hearing that and she really didn't know why Nick insisted on not giving himself the credit he deserved, she called to his name in a somewhat loud whisper. Nick was as much a part of that adventure as she was and she called out his name in order to make him stop that line of thought and give a chance for her to explain what she thought about that, Nick was not too shaken by hearing her calling his name and he was already well aware of what she wished to say. Without losing his smile or his talking traits for that moment, Nick asked of her:

- What? You don't like being called a "Rockstar"? Because that was the best one I had on me, if you'd like me to praise you in any other way I take requests.

Judy was just about to yelp in embarrassment through that moment, she pulled the tips of her ears and placed them in front of her eyes like she was trying to hide her face from a big crowd of onlookers. Nick knew that it was no big deal to tease her like that while Benjamin and Donovan, still present throughout the whole thing, found that absolutely precious. Nick poked Judy's shoulder to call to her attention in a subtle way and tell her:

- Seriously though, you know you're pretty great, right?

Judy removed her ears from the front of her eyes and answered with a bashful voice:

- Yeah. I know that.

With that bit done, Donovan waited for the two mammals to return their undivided attention towards him so that he could continue his message. He turned the page on his notebook and spoke up:

- Well, officer Hoops, the next part of this message that I am to deliver is actually more of a favor, if you wouldn't mind.

Judy's eyes opened marginally wide with curiosity and her ears were directed at the wolf as he looked at the page right in front of him and continued to speak:

- It has come to the knowledge of a few of us in the ZBI that a lot of rabbit farmers at the tri-burrow county, your family included, use the night-howler flower as an efficient method to ward off pests of the insect variety against their crops.

After finishing that sentence, Donovan directed an inquisitive look at Judy and the bunny confirmed to that brief report as she said:

- Yes, my parents use that species of flowers to protect the vegetables near our home against pests and I know that my father is very aware of the effects that the flower itself has on mammals. He makes a point to warn the younger bunnies not to play around it.

- I see.

Donovan retorted to that with a more stoic expression and tone of voice than before, he looked over at the little notebook one more time and said:

- My superiors have concerns about this sort of thing. It is highly probable that a few of our agents will be dispatched to collect, catalog and destroy the flowers so that nothing like the Bellweather plot can be hatched ever again. It is of our best interest to prevent that any mammal goes through a savage fit unintentionally or otherwise and I would appreciate if you could contact your parents to let them know of this development, it will be a lot easier if they could convince others that utilize the flowers in such a manner to collaborate with this development. We also have a few boys in our labs coming up with a different pesticide that will not be harmful to other beings and that can be used on crops much safer that the night-howler flowers.

Judy understood all of that and showed a positive nod of her head as she answered:

- I will call my dad so that he will know what is going on. I'm sure he will understand and spread the word on other farms steads that still use the flowers in the same way.

Donovan showed an okay sign with his fingers and thanked Judy for her time and understanding in that matter:

- Stelar.

The wolf said so and showed a thumbs up before turning another page and continuing to speak:

- The next thing in here is just a small reminder to check up with the ZPD about a possible conjoint operation budget.

Nick raised a brow and lowered his ears after hearing that, he couldn't stop himself from inquiring:

- A conjoint what now?

Donovan heard the fox's uneducated question and decided that it would be best to explain with more broad details:

- Just a fancy way of saying that since there are more types of mammals joining the efforts to make life in the city better, not just at the ZPD, plenty of our agents have received special instructions to step up and help out on the development, orientation and deployment of equipment. Many of the requisitions to work on new and more advanced forms of equipment comes through the paws of the ZBI. According to our registry, officer Hoops here has already filed twenty-seven different reports about better item management and enhancement.

Nick's eyes turned over to Judy as he imagined how much bureaucracy could have been involved. Donovan leaned a little closer to the bunny and said:

- You can rest easy knowing that your last requested item will be delivered shortly as per all of the mentioned specifications, officer Hopps.

Judy placed her paws together and thanked the agent for assuring that the long hours of work she had put through to better the working conditions in the ZPD had not gone unnoticed. Donovan then turned his eyes towards Nick as he spent some time of his own studying the fox and checking if he was as his notes made him to be. He turned quite a few pages on his notebook before he spoke up with a much more somber tone in his voice:

- I also have a few notes here regarding you, mister Wilde. You have made quite a name for yourself even before joining the ZPD. Your academy records are beyond promising.

Nick leaned his body to the side and projected his vice in Judy's direction, the bragger in him just had to get a kick out of that as he spoke up:

- Really? Tell me more.

Donovan could see where that was going as he saw the smile building up on Judy's face, the dynamic that the pair shared at first glance appeared very similar to a pair of siblings trying to get the best chance to tease or get a leg up on one another. The wolf turned back to his notebook and delivered the part of the message that was dotted with a little concern:

- Curiously enough, it does appear as if you name was not referenced in any other document that reached our database.

Nick's body leaned back to its original position as he made his posture become straight and alert after hearing that. Donovan directed his eyes at the fox and Nick asked of him:

- What do you mean by that, agent Howlbert?

The wolf pointed to a specific annotation in his notebook before he answered that:

- I mean that until the report came in of your involvement in the resolution of the savage crisis we had no idea who "Nicholas Pliberius Wilde" actually was. There was no noteworthy registers about a permanent residence in the city, credit card records or a registered car plate. It took three of our computers searching simultaneously just to find a driver's license. For all we knew, Nick Wilde was a ghost.

Nick knew that a good reason for all of that was because he covered most of his tracks when it came down to his digital paw prints. The fox didn't opt for the use of credit cards and he rarely gave note of any social network accounts, not to mention the fact that, even though he was a great driver, Finnick was the one that transported him across Zootopia on any occasion in the past so the transit system had no record of a license plate. The fox was impressed with himself relating to the fact that not even an investigative group with such a grand reach for information had any idea who he actually was, after taking a mental note of the last bit of information that Donovan let out, he leaned closer to Judy and spoke up with a dramatic whisper:

- Uh, I like that. Did you hear that, fluff? I'm a ghost!

The wide gesture that the fox did with his paws as he moved his fingers in a "Spectral" sort of way really oversold his tone of voice in the matter. Judy rolled her eyes when faced with the fox's antics, she knew all too well that it was going to be hard to deal with that at a later time but she didn't really mind it all too much. Donovan appreciated the interactions between the two officers but he also needed to get the main point of that conversation across, he tapped a finger over the paper and continued speaking:

- That is why I decided to do some research of my own and consult the physical archives listed by the ZBI, what I found was very unexpected.

Nick looked back at Donovan and so did Judy, the fox repositioned his stance to a posture similar to that of a soldier waiting for orders. Donovan turned the page on his notebook and that left Nick wondering what was that really about, the wolf readjusted his own stance as his left foot was positioned just a few inches ahead and he began to speak:

- After consulting the hard files, it came to my attention that Nicholas Wilde is a very uncommon kind of individual. I found a list of reports and plenty of recorded accounts that always circled around to the very same fox roaming across every district in the city. It all ends on a long list of citations and warrants that is, quite frankly, longer than my arm.

The wolf said as so and that filled all of the mammals listening to that with a great deal of concern. Nick had, in fact, walked a fine line to remain over the law during his previous line of work but he never believed that any of it would catch up with him after he had already put on so much effort to become an officer. Benjamin placed both of his paws un front of his mouth to muffle out his gasp and Judy was clearly very worried as well, she felt the need to jump into the conversation and defend Nick, maybe convince agent Howlbert that it was all just part of a major misunderstanding, no one could predict how the agent would act next and that was somewhat alarming. Fortuitously, the situation was diffused without the need for worry or apprehension as Donovan completed his previous thought with a smile on his face:

- Fortunately, these are not the kind of baseless suspicions that require an arrest.

Nick was just about to speak up and explain what the so called list was all about but he was surprised to hear that as his ears perked back up and Donovan continued to speak:

- All of these warrants were never followed due to a serious lack of any incriminating evidence, clearly accounted on the bottom of the report. As an added analysis, it is more than clear that most of these notes record the action of a harmless trickster, not a criminal mastermind. When it comes to tricksters, the ZBI tends to look the other way.

Nick and Judy released a conjoint sigh of relief after hearing that, Donovan closed his notebook and stored it back inside his pocket. The wolf then adjusted his suit and grabbed a tighter grip on his cane before giving what would appear to be his last words for the conversation:

- Well, that is about all that I came to tell you two. I will be getting on my way, my ride should be coming by shortly. I do hope we will get to see each other again in the near future.

Judy leaned her body sightly forward and thanked the wolf for all of his insightful words in a graceful and subtle gesture, she raised her body into a straight position once more before saying:

- Thank you for all your time, agent Howlbert. I also hope we will get to see you again in the near future.

Donovan began to male his exit, walking towards the front door while clacking the tip of his cane against the floor with every two steps or so. Judy and Nick watched the wolf for a moment and the both of them decided to get a move on so that they could get their collective assignment for the morning shift, however, their attention was called once again as they heard Donovan's voice speaking out loud and reverberating across the main lobby. The bunny and the fox stopped on their tracks as they heard him saying:

- Oh, I almost forgot. This is the last thing, I promise.

All eyes were directed at Donovan once more as he showed himself turning around and positioning his body into a straight stance before placing a paw under his chin and giving it a little scratch, his eyes were placed over Judy as he gave a few slow steps in her direction and began to speak:

- Officer Hopps, the bureau prouds itself on recruiting mammals from all around and from every walk of life, as long as they have the courage and the bright minds to work for a better world, anyone is welcome to join us. From active duty to filing and intelligence gathering we are always open to accepting more trustworthy mammals in our ranks. After hearing about your exploits and your efficient work as well as your amazing energy, my superiors were very impressed and they have also instructed me to extend an offer that would allow you to join our ranks.

Judy's eyes opened wide, same with Nick and Benjamin who placed both paws in front of his mouth as he gasped, they looked at Donovan and Judy's breath felt heavy, her chest was full but she didn't feel that as a good thing in that moment. The wolf walked a few steps closer to her and asked his question out right:

- Officer Hopps, would you like to join the Zootopia Bureau of Investigations as our newest agent?

Judy felt a sudden jolt run across her spine and Nick turned his head to look at his friend, he saw the little bunny with an expression of surprise painted over her face and he wasn't sure what was about to happen next. It was almost surreal to him, seeing that well-dressed figure coming over and asking Judy, his partner, to come and join him on some super investigation agency that, apparently, operated all over the world, he was almost sure that she would just jump at the opportunity to join in. Donovan leaned his body slightly forward while still supporting himself with his cane and continued:

- As a fully-fledged agent of the ZBI you will have unrestricted access to an extensive database, advanced equipment and even your own office space. You can socialize with various members of the national security and investigation committee and be summoned for investigations from all around. You might be able to get a permit for deployment in less than a week if you apply you current level of…

- Agent Donovan.

Judy stopped him abruptly as she called out to him and showed the palms of her paws, the wolf had his eyes still placed over her as he saw her gesture and her bright purple eyes telling him that she had already made her decision:

- Thank you for this chance but, I am afraid I'll have to refuse your offer.

Donovan's ears placed parallel to one another and Nick took in a quick breath of air as they heard Judy's words. The bunny gave a short step forward and explained herself:

- I'm certain that your bureau of investigation is a marvelous organization with great mammals and resources to operate it all, but I cannot in good mind just abandon everything and join in out of the blue. I trained and studied my whole life to be a part of the ZPD and I believe that I can do a whole lot of good by answering to the call and patrolling around in the city, right where the action and the good sense of the mammals around me might take my skills and knowledge for better or for worse.

Judy took in some air before continuing:

- I am right where I want to be, right where I need to be. So, thanks for your invitation but I am afraid I must decline.

Donovan was more than impressed with the bunny's stance on all of that, he smiled sincerely and gripped his cane as he leaned himself just a little bit closer to see her face and be sure that her answer was set and final. Donovan's eyes deviated from her and landed over the fox just a few inches behind for but a fraction of a second, he extended his right paw and made a gesture with his fingers as he asked of her just to be absolutely sure of it:

- Are you sure of that? Because if you and mister Wilde come as a set I can always move a few wires and make certain the two of you can join in.

Judy repeated her dismissive gesture with both her paws and answered:

- Appreciated, but unnecessary. I'm very glad to work for the ZPD and I know that I will still be for many more years to come.

The wolf stood straight without letting the smile leave his face, Nick remained still and silent as his eyes moved between Judy and Donovan. The wolf looked over the bunny and his eyes were filled with a little touch of disappointment for her answer but his overall expression was definitely filled with pride for the words she chose to say and the way she chose to deliver them. Judy still felt the need to apologize to him, feeling that such a great offer on Donovan's part was so promptly refused, she looked over to him and spoke up:

- I'm sorry if that was not what you wanted to hear. Please don't be offended.

The wolf laughed with his mouth closed and said:

- No offense taken and no need to apologize, officer Hopps. I had a feeling deep down in my gut that you wouldn't accept my offer and I understand why you chose to remain. If you are truly happy being an officer of the ZPD than it wouldn't make sense to remove you from the force, it was never an ultimatum it was always your choice to make and I am satisfied in hearing you thought it through.

Judy smiled after hearing that, her eyes sparked and her cheeks puffed up as she went over it in her mind, she knew for certain that she was making the right decision. Donovan retrieved his pocket watch once more to make sure he was running on time, he spoke up without taking his eyes off the object:

- I actually had a bet with a few of my cohorts on what your answer would be. Thanks to you… I am now a hundred bucks richer.

Everyone was a little surprised to hear that last part of the conversation. With all that he needed to say out of the way, agent Howlbert made his way to the front door of the ZPD and exited the building just as some other officers made their ways inside. As the morning movement in precinct one began to increase, Judy and Nick remained looking at the door in silence until the fox decided to come a little closer and speak his mind:

- That was a very unusual wolf.

Judy laughed and turned over to face Nick as she said:

- That he was, but I've known my fair share of 'unusual' mammals in my life.

Nick raised a brow and showed a smile as he imagined that she was referring to him judging by the tone she used, he took that as compliment. Judy launched a look off in the distance at the hallway leading to the bull pen and gave Nick's arm a little bump with her right fist before she called out to him:

- Let's get going, slick. Time to get the day started.

- Right behind you, carrots.

The two partners walked off into the hallway far to the right of the front desk to begin their patrol shift and Benjamin was left behind, wondering what all of that was really about. Outside the ZPD, Donovan descended to the bottom of the stairs and waited for a short minute until he saw a black car approaching from the distance, the vehicle stopped right in front of the ZPD and the wolf got that as the cue to get inside.

As soon as he opened the door he was greeted with the smiling face of a beautiful female arctic fox, her blue eyes were centered over the wolf as he entered the car and her clear white coat of fur was shown in clear contrast with the dark cream colored clothes she was wearing, the vixen was hanging on to the wheel with both her paws and was slightly slouched over the driver's seat as her feet reached down to the pedals. The vulpine was wearing a fancy perfume that was not too strong and that had already occupied the inside of the vehicle, she had bright blue eyes and a thin muzzle that was showing off a charming smile. On the back seat, popping his head between the two front car seats and not even bothering to wear his seatbelt, there was the very noticeable presence of a strong male bunny, his dark long-sleeved, unbuttoned vest was a nice complement to his clear white shirt, his dark blue pants and his gray coat of fur that was dotted with three noticeable black stripes that were placed in symmetric spots on the back of his head.

The two mammals inside the car waited until the old wolf was nice and cozy over the passenger seat, he adjusted his back side over the passenger seat and tucked his cane by the side of the dashboard where it would not bother anyone until it was time to leave the vehicle once more. There was little sound in the car except for the purring of the engine. The bunny on the back seat greeted the wolf and asked without giving the canine enough time to put his seatbelt on:

- So… how did it go?

Donovan stopped for a moment and answered to the bunny's question before he continued to put his seatbelt on:

- It was nice. The ZPD building was just like advertised, great place to be and all of the officers I met were very friendly.

The vixen jumped in the conversation as she spoke up:

- He means how did the conversation with officer Hopps went. Did she accept your offer to come join the ZBI.

Donovan knew what the bunny meant by that initial question as the vixen spoke of but he thought about just tossing unimportant bits of the conversation away before giving a straight answer. The wolf didn't even took a long breath before he tossed the answer over his two cohorts:

- She's not joining us. She politely refused the offer.

The two mammals were shocked to hear that, but for entirely different reasons. The bunny opened his eyes wide and then released an almost unnoticeable sigh of disappointment, he poked the wolf on the shoulder and asked:

- She is not joining in?! I was sure she would be excited to come to the ZBI as soon as she learned of it.

Donovan adjusted himself over the passenger seat and passed his paws over his shirt before he said:

- Oh, she was very excited alright. But her decision was ultimately to remain at the ZPD.

The bunny clutched his fist as he refused to accept that, he turned over to the wolf once more and asked:

- Well… did you ask her to join in properly? Did you give her the speech?

Donovan laughed once and made a wide gesture with his left paw, making a horizontal arching motion in front of himself, as he answered:

- Oh, I gave her the speech and then some. Her answer was still no. Judy Hopps is very happy as she is, being a police officer is exactly what she wishes to be.

The vixen was quietly listening to that conversation and politely holding in her taunt but she could do so no more after hearing that. She released the steering wheel and looked at the other two mammals inside the car as she bragged loudly:

- Ha! I told you that she wouldn't join. I guess you both own me money.

The wolf was quick to protest against that as he spoke succinctly:

- On the contrary, my dear Skye. As I do recall, while Jack here made a bet that Judy would join us, you betted that she wouldn't join because chief Bogo would have protested against that. Myself, in clear contrast, betted that she wouldn't join by her own choosing.

The vixen and the bunny raised brows at the wolf as he tried keeping himself calm as he recalled their collective bet. The two promptly grabbed their wallets and decided to get things done already as they each grabbed bills marked with fifty and handed them off to the wolf. Feeling very satisfied with his gains, Zachariah placed his recently acquired money in his back pocket just in time to hear a voice on the back seat saying:

- You know what? You always tell us not to get involved on betting games and yet you jumped at the chance to bet on officer Hopps' answer.

The wolf raised a finger and launched his counterpoint:

- Ah, but playing with my wards is not a betting game, it's an investment.

The vixen smiled and shifted the gears before directing the black car at the street just ahead, the trio made their way across the savanna as they returned to their previously scheduled routine. However, Donovan did not look to the street ahead as he customarily did when they drove around together, he was far too focused on a single spot out and above the window on his side, he saw the tops of the buildings passing by and occasionally block his view from the sky fully while he wondered if he would ever cross paths with the bunny and the fox that he just met at precinct one. His instinct told him that it was not a possibility, but a certainty. Skye shifted her eyes in the direction of the passenger seat and asked:

- So… any of you up for getting something to eat? They just opened a new restaurant by the Great Oak mall.

Donovan placed his paws over his torso and answered:

- That sounds delightful. I might visit a book store while we are there. It has been ages since I bought a new literary piece for myself.

---

Back at precinct one, Judy and Nick arrived late at the morning assignment call, chief Bogo let it slide and allowed the two to sit down on their usual spot before he continued speaking. Bogo proceeded with the items in his docket noting that the suspicious activity reported by the docks of Tundra Town was still marked as an unsolved case, patrol shifts were assigned as normal but there was a little more surveillance needed to be done before any decisive methods were taken for the previously stated case. Nick and Judy received their patrol route and got inside their cruiser so they could get going right away to their given task, their ride out of the precinct and over the streets was mostly quiet, Nick looked out the window while keeping his aviator shades over his eyes, he seemed bored, but he was actually just thinking back on the events of that morning.

Judy was well focused on the path ahead, she was gliding over the asphalt without any issue at all, it looked like she was way more accustomed with the riding and patrolling since she didn't ask for directions as they headed out. After half an hour of driving without a conversation, Nick decided to break the ice as he turned over and asked vacantly:

- Why did you do it?

Both of Judy's ears turned in his direction as she heard that question. Not really sure what her partner meant by it, Judy asked:

- What? Why did I took the last left turn? I thought it would be faster if I turned for the road off with…

- No, not that.

Nick smiled as he said that, interrupting Judy's previous line of thought. The fox leaned ahead over his own seat and asked what he really meant at the time:

- Why did you rejected the offer to join in with the ZBI? That Donovan guy was laying down all that could've had if you accepted it and you just said no without a second thought.

Judy looked briefly at Nick but her eyes turned to the road ahead quickly as they were approaching a right turn, after making the turn, Judy answered to Nick's question:

- I don't need any of those things to do the job I love, Nick. Sure I could have accepted the offer and moved on to the ZBI but I would've probably ended behind a desk during a great deal of it and that is the last thing I want.

Nick's eyes were focused on Judy as she continued to passionately explain her decision, she didn't take her eyes away from the road ahead as she spoke up and gestured with her paws over the wheel:

- Right here, in this cruiser, with you, with the other officers, *this* is what I want to do. Be right where the action is, helping others not because of some assigned memorandum that could take me to a crisis to the other side of the world, but helping others because it's what I wish to do, making the difference one good deed at a time. I know that my life will be great and I have no doubts that my future is bright but, right now, I don't need to become anything more than what I already am, I'm happy like this.

Nick smiled after hearing that and he decided to stop prying on Judy's interest, he could already sense that she had great plans for her own future and that she was already in a good place at the moment, but he also imagined if she might reevaluate her words in the future. The fox's smile degraded for a quick moment as he imagined Judy becoming far greater than a beat cop, making a huge difference as a globally revered crime scene investigator. Nick's smile soon returned with full force once he saw Judy's smiling face as she leaned herself forward to get a better look at the street she was driving on. Nick gestured with his left paw and spoke up:

- If you're saying that you're happy, that's okay with me. But, just for the record, I think you would've made a great secret agent.

Judy tossed her head back over her shoulders, her ears flopped around and she released a little laugh before speaking up:

- Nick, I wouldn't be a 'secret agent', I would've been an investigation's official, that's the title. Also, do not lie, slick, you would've missed this. Driving around and hanging out with me.

Nick showed a little gesture with his paws and answered:

- Sure I would've missed it. Who else is going to complement my trademarked dolce toned vernacular while dispensing sweet justice around the city?

Judy lowered her head to try and hide her wide smile and decided to put a pin on the ZBI subject by turning over to Nick and saying:

- Look, I'm glad to be here, patrolling the streets with you. Now that it has been well stablished, can we change the subject?

Nick leaned his head to the side, facing the window and the skyline just outside, his eyes soon came down as he placed a more vigilant watch over the streets and saw the various mammals and shops passing by. Nick wondered what he could talk about with Judy, he could've brought the night of talk and fun that they had before but he also thought that she may not get too much into it with how she was acting like earlier that morning, teasing her leading with that may not be the best idea. Nick turned his thought around a couple of times before he heard Judy calling out to him and speak up:

- Hey, I heard that there are these cute new automated vacuum cleaners entering the market, they roam around the house and clean stuff off on their own thanks to an internal sensor that maps a place's interior and can even be commanded via an app. I've been thinking about getting one of my own.

After catching the word about the automated cleaner, Nick released a puff of air that was remarkably close to a groan of disapproval, he rolled his eyes under his shades and said:

- Sure, because that is always a stupendous idea. Invite a machine to come right over into your house.

Judy looked over at Nick before reducing the speed of the cruiser, her left ear dropped a little bit to the side as she raised a brow in confusion about what she just heard. The bunny then asked:

- What is it? What is wrong?

Nick placed himself straight over his seat and answered:

- I just don't put a lot of trust in machines, carrots.

Judy released a little puff of air from her mouth that was actually a poor attempt to disguise a laugh, she turned over to Nick and said as a retort:

- You don't trust machines?! You spent half of the work day fiddling around on your phone.

Nick raised a finger and answered to that:

- True, but my cellphone is a commodity. When I say: 'Machines', I'm actually referring to tools that other mammals try to label as 'smarter'.

Judy tried to divide her sight between the street ahead and the controlled argument she was having with her partner. The bunny turned over to him once more and inquired with the intent of making a point more apparent:

- I thought you liked robots, like those huge automatons from your comic books.

- Those are different. There is someone piloting them. The second a machine gets too smart it starts taking control of everything. The day a machine tells me what to do is the day I drop out of the grid completely.

Judy squinted her eyes as she thought about how Nick was blowing that entire deal out of proportion. She wasn't sure where that was coming from so she decided to just ask of him:

- What is your problem with technology, Nick?

The fox made a quick dismissive gesture with both of his paws, waving them from side to side. He looked at Judy, untucked his tail and launched his answer:

- I don't have a problem with tech, fluff. I'm all about taking on ways to make life easier. I'm just a little uneasy about the whole 'Artificial intelligence' thing. My point stands, I trust mammals, I don't trust machines.

Nick turned to the left and leaned his upper body in the direction of Judy, he gestured with his paws placing both of them parallel to one another as he pointed at her and gave a solid example of his opinion:

- Take you, for an example: I trust you because I do know you, I know who you are and I have an idea of what you are capable of. You got conviction, you got grit, you got an opinion, you got a face I can read, a heart and you got a soul. I can trust you, no question.

Judy smiled and wooed as she heard that of him:

- Aw. Thanks, Nick.

The fox then went ahead and aired the rest of his grievances:

- When it comes to machines, however, I don't place a lick of trust. It can be as smart as you make it to be, it can crunch data and point facts as fast and as accurately as possible, it won't make any difference to me.

Nick showed the palm of his paw and counted on his fingers as he followed with his speech, placing moderate emphasis on his dislikes:

- Machines do not have souls, they don't have consciousness, they can't go beyond what they are programed to do and they can absolutely be reprogramed far easier than any living being if given the chance. All it takes is for one machine to think itself superior. That's when the tables turn on us 'Organic life forms'.

Judy shook her head as she turned to him and said:

- Nick, I was talking about buying a vacuum cleaner. A harmless house appliance.

Nick was still firm on his beliefs about not trusting in anything that had any traces of the so called artificial intelligence so he retorted while still throwing in a little joke in the middle of it:

- Sure. Today is a little appliance that helps you clean your house, tomorrow is a cybernetic assassin that goes back in time to kill Sarah Conor.

Judy showed a blank stare over at Nick's direction, the fox showed a side smile and spoke up:

- Sorry. I realize that the reference may have flown over your head a little bit there.

Judy shrugged that comment off and turned her attention back to the street as she halted the cruiser's movement by a red signal just ahead. The bunny then spoke up like it was no big deal at all:

- Please, even I have seen 'The Terminator'. Did not care for how police protocol was handled on that picture.

Nick felt his smile renewed as he heard that, plenty often he liked to reference some of his favorite cultural icons from movies and it felt actually good to hear that Judy caught his jokey reference that time. The fox leaned over in her way once more and said:

- Well, didn't peg you for an old movie buff, fluff.

- I'm not. I don't usually watch movies, just a few classics entered my radar.

Nick scoffed that and launched a retort:

- That's just silly. It's so easy to pick up a movie and watch it now a days, you even told me a while ago that you improved your internet to catch up with movies on stream. How else do you spent your weekend days off?

Judy was quick to give him her answer as she listed some of her preferred past times for slow days:

- I do remember that but I only go to watch movies when I don't feel like doing anything else. I usually read a book, review case files, cook, take a nap. Movies are nice but they are just a distraction, not something that I get to watch on a regular basis.

Nick leaned back over his seat and directed his eyes out the window on his side of the cruiser, he saw a line of vehicles moving by an over pass from afar, slowly moving ahead with an enormous truck at the front of the line. The image soon disappeared as the cruiser kept moving ahead and the picture out the window turned into a new gathering of buildings and stores which Nick recognized instantly. He saw a sidewalk that lead to the entrance of a mini-mall with a big open outdoors area where different groups of mammals had gathered to sit by the various tables and having conversations, even though a great deal of them were burying their faces on electronic devices. Nick also saw a sizeable area covered with grass where a few families were walking around with their children, he couldn't help but smile after seeing that. Being silent for a minute, Nick decided to restart the conversation with Judy as he asked of her:

- Got any plans for today?

Judy thought that question to be a little unusual but understandable as to casually ask for her opinion. The bunny leaned herself forward to get a better look over the wheel of the cruiser and answered to Nick's question without deviating her eyes from the street:

- Not too much of a plan. I might just get to exercising back at the precinct once we're done with our patrol.

Nick's left ear twitched upwards as he heard that. Mildly interested by that and figuring it might be fun to hang out with Judy and maybe other members of the ZPD, Nick decided to ask:

- Hey, mind if I join in? Might be nice to hang around at work.

Judy smiled and said:

- Sure, if you want to.

The rest of the patrol shift went by very nicely, Nick and Judy actually left the cruiser for a few minutes during the day to take a more enclosed patrol by a parking area, certifying that none of the vehicles that they were instructed to be on the lookout for were nowhere to be seen. Their patrol riding soon took them to uptown, Nick thought that his partner would be able to handle the rise in traffic without much issue and save more time on their way back to the precinct but that proved far too overtaxing for Judy, even with her improved driving as she got lost amidst the different exits of the suspended roads and they were forced to make their way back to the down streets. Judy didn't mind it too much, that just gave her something more to improve her sense of direction and get a more alert sense of urgency as she drove around to not impede any other drivers.

Took them far longer but Nick and Judy made it back to the precinct and plenty of other officers were already back from their own patrol routes. A few officer decided to dive into office work for the rest of the day but Judy and Nick had already agreed on something a little more active, after visiting their respective lockers and switching out their uniforms for the training attire of the ZPD, sleeveless gray shirts with the ZPD logo stamped in white over the chest area and dark blue shorts. After getting dressed, they moved on to the second floor of the precinct and found themselves by the main entrance of the indoors gym. Nick entered first, crossing the immense threshold with one overreaching step of his right foot, Judy came right behind him, walking slowly while carrying a little satchel with towels and water bottles, she probably wouldn't need it since there were always plenty of those inside the gym locker but she still preferred to bring her own.

Nick started to pace and look around while Judy went past him and placed her satchel over a tall counter with a clear granite surface, she leaped on to a tall stool near the counter, opened the zipper of the satchel and retrieved a white towel for herself before hopping down to the ground and walking over to begin a routine of stretches and get started with her own exercises. Nick finished looking around the gym and was very excited to get it started, e turned his body around until his eyes landed on Judy as she was just standing alone near one of the lifting machines and getting her stretching done. Nick crossed the gym, passing by Fangmeyer, Snarlov and Delgato on his way, stood next to Judy and asked:

- I see you are already getting started without me.

Judy continued with her stretching as she calmly placed both paws over her waist line and leaned her back from side to side, she released a little hum before answering to Nick:

- You were busy exploring, I didn't want to interrupt you.

- Well… I finished exploring. What am I supposed to do?

Judy raised her arm as her stretching continued following up shortly with her answer:

- You can do whatever it feels right to you. I'm just going to start slow for now.

Nick looked around the gym one more time, he turned his head left and right until his eyes landed over Judy once more, he was unsure of where to start so he decided to just follow her lead and stretch out for a while as he thought it over. Nick wasn't really too much into the stretching, he was showing signs of his impatient line of thinking as he frowned while slowly following Judy on her movements. After the two were done, Nick called to her attention and asked:

- Carrots, don't take this the wrong way, but I don't really know how to get started here.

Judy didn't really get that, he thought that Nick would be excited to start exercising like he seemed earlier during their ride back to the precinct. Her head leaned to the side as she looked at him, she extended her right arm to make a simple gesture in his direction and asked:

- What is wrong, slick? I thought you would be all over it. Didn't you get used to gym work-out back at the academy?

Nick gestured with his two paws and answered:

- It's not really like that. I'm used to physical training, I just don't really know where to get my start in here. The training equipment is way simpler than the sets I worked with back at the academy.

That was when a voice filled with grit and authoritarian in nature sounded off from directly behind the fox, a female voice that may have sounded gruff at first but it was actually fairly smooth as it said:

- Then stick with me, rookie. I'll show you the right stuff.

Nick turned around to see who was the owner of the voice and his head was directed up with great surprise as a large female tiger was standing right behind him and looking down over him and Judy as she casually continued with her movements. The bunny nudged her head in the direction of the tigress and cumprimented her:

- Hi there, Fangmeyer.

- How's it going, Hopps?

Nick positioned himself in a stand of attention as he turned his whole body in the direction of the larger mammal next to him, he waited in silence for a little while until the tigress leaned her head a little lower and asked of him without expecting of a direct answer:

- You want to get your muscles in gear for the more strenuous sides of the job? Then you need to come along with me and get yourself a full paws-on training experience.

Nick extended his right paw and cumprimented the mammal that directed a perfectly pitched speech to get him more motivated for an entire round of gym activities. The fox squinted his eyes a little bit as he asked:

- Nice to meet you… Fangmeyer, right? Judy here spoke a lot about you.

The tigress was not much for formalities at that moment, she gestured pointing the thumb of her right paw at herself and continued speaking at the same tone that she had started on that conversation:

- Name is Melissa Fangmeyer and I couldn't help but overhearing that you don't got a lot of gym experience for yourself.

Nick gestured dismissively with both his paws and said:

- No, it's not that I…

- Well, don't you worry there, rookie. I spent more time in the training course than anyone has ever recorded and the same can be said about this gym.

She didn't even give Nick time to finish his answer, she kept going:

- Since we're hanging by a slow day we will start with the simple course: We will get a few open armed pull-ups on the horizontal bars, a couple of sit-ups, some nice aerobics and end it all with a friendly sparring match, just you and me.

Nick feared for his own well-being after catching all of that, specially the last part. The fox gave one step back and tried to squirm out of that as he spoke up with a nervous smile on his face:

- Uh… No, thanks. That might be a little too much for me. Also, I'd like to keep my teeth where they are: In my mouth.

Fangmeyer laughed out loud a single time and leaned down as she reached her left paw over Nick's shoulder and pulled him closer to her, jesting and speaking like they have known each other for a very long time. Fangmeyer turned her voice over to Judy and spoke up:

- Damn, Hopps. You weren't kidding around. He *is* funny!

Judy let a smile build up on her face after hearing that and after seeing that there was no chance that Nick would escape the tigress plan to put him through the whole course she had planned out. Fangmeyer spoke up without letting go of Nick:

- You can relax, rookie. I'm not going to beat you down too bad. There will still be plenty of you left once were done. Come along.

Fangmeyer began to push Nick in the direction of a few other pieces of equipment that were laid out by the far corner of the room, she pointed with her right paw to a set of parallel bars placed quite high and spoke up:

- First let me see what you're capable of, then we can get the real work-out started.

Nick was nervous but he ultimately decided in silence to go with the flow and hear Fangmeyer out. Judy and Nick were placed separately for most of the duration of their exercising time, Judy went on to run at the treadmill and raise a few weights while Nick made hardcore aerobics while being supervised by Fangmeyer, he thought that he would be spending more time with Judy but his mentality to show off what he was made of to somebody else in the force got the best of him and he was pulled away from his partner thanks to that. Judy kept smiling and moving about at her own pace during her exercises, she decided to take one quick break and get herself some water until she was interrupted by Wolford as he walked in the gym with his own equipment and asked of her:

- Hey, Hopps. Working hard over there?

Judy answered to him after getting one refreshing gulp for herself, she let out a cumpriment while also releasing a satisfied sigh:

- *ahh*. Hey there, Wolford.

Judy placed the plastic lid on the bottle she was holding to safely store it away, Wolford turned his head from left to right and noticed that Judy was no accompanied by her partner fox. The wolf asked of her:

- Where is your fox partner? Figured you two were inseparable after seeing how you moved about at work.

Judy adjusted the short patch of fur over her head and adjusted her ears using her paws before she turned over to Wolford and answered him:

- Nick is right over there. Fangmeyer's got him for a good work-out.

Wolford turned around and saw as the fox was laying on the ground, being held by his feet as the tigress kept pressing on for him to keep at it. Nick didn't look like he was minding that too much, he was determined to show off figuring it would be a good way to convince some of the other officers that he had earned his place in precinct one, little did he know that it was not necessary, pumping others up to reach their potential was just something that Fangmeyer enjoyed doing. Wolford watched the fox giving his all and felt a sudden rush as he recalled what it was like to be 'supervised' by the tigress, he shook his head slowly and spoke up in a dramatic whisper:

- Heavens have mercy on him.

Judy snickered after hearing that. After plenty more minutes of work-out, Nick tossed his body over the floor, it felt like every muscle in his body was sizzling after so much continuous and forced effort but he felt like there was still just enough energy left in him to move about once he figured out the best way to get up. Fangmeyer loomed large over the fox's body with her head looking down and her strong arms crossed over her chest and spoke up while placing a wide smile on her face:

- You are tenacious, got to give you that. Most mammals would've just called it quits after ten minutes on my work-out plan.

Nick grunted with effort as he raised his upper body and got his back side away from the floor, he turned his head over to Fangmeyer and spoke up while gasping for air:

- No way. I went through the most tough routine ever to get here. Compared to the month I went through with Hopps training me, this was nothing.

Fangmeyer's ears twitched forward and back over her head as she heard those words, her smile didn't fade away as she asked with a cheeky tone of voice:

- Is that a fact?

Nick tucked his left leg in and used it as a support to raise his whole body from the ground, it was evident that he was very tired as he grunted and shuttered while his body tried to gain support over itself, Fangmeyer let a little puff of air escape through her nose as she silently recognized the undaunted nature of the fox, very much like his bunny partner. The tigress decided to leave off and let Nick rest for the rest of the day as she walked off with short steps and spoke up:

- You're good to go. I'm gonna take off and get me something to drink. Keep up the good effort, Wilde.

Nick showed off a salute with his right paw over his head while his left paw was supporting his upper body by being placed over his left knee, the fox let out a big puff of air though his mouth and said:

- You got it.

Nick breathed in as much air as he could through his nose, letting his breathing level off with continuous and steady inhalations. Nick looked around in search of Judy but he couldn't find her anywhere in clear sight, he became worried as he thought for just a second that she may have left without telling him. He gave a few steps forward as his head continued to turn from side to side and his eyes kept scanning around for any sign of her, he continued to move around as he turned left and passed by the big granite counter where he saw Fangmeyer reaching around the back for supplies meant for her and the other officers present near that location, Snarlov had already finished his exercises and he left the gym but there were still plenty of officers there. Wolford was relaxing over one off the stools while Delgato was leaning against a nearby wall as he lifted a single pawed weight with his right arm.

Nick moved with a steady pace and thought about calling out to Judy to make sure if she was still around, he took a short breath to ask for her but he caught a sight of Judy by a space in the gym covered by a hardened foam mat and filled with dumbbells and weights of different sizes. Judy was standing straight and still while looking down on something, having her ears slightly lowered to the front and placing both her paws over her waist line as she focused on breathing, Nick could not understand what she was looking at, he could only see her from the back, but she looked very focused on whatever she was thinking about. Nick walked towards her and he had a feeling that she knew he was coming closer, he positioned himself a few inches to her left side, placed his arms on his back and spoke up:

- Hey there, carrots.

Judy didn't move her body from its well stablished stance, she turned her sight to the left and said:

- How are you doing, Nick? Are you done with your exercises?

Nick let out a loud sigh before answering:

- Yes, I'm done for good. Your tiger friend over there is quite the demanding trainer.

Judy smiled and retorted:

- Fangmeyer means well. She is like the hype-mammal of precinct one. I had a feeling that she might have come over to you to propose her own gym plan but I knew you would be just fine on your own.

Nick smiled and wanted to launch some smarty joke in response to those words but Judy turned her sight back towards her primary focus and that incited some curiosity on Nick as he leaned ahead to try and identify what were Judy's eyes looking at. Nick looked down at the aqua-green colored mat beneath them and saw a big weight right in front of Judy's feet, it was a single paw dumbbell that was meant to be used by a mammal many times larger than him or Judy as evident by the design of the ergonomic central handle that could easily fit and be held by the paw of a bear. Nick felt like Judy was on the verge of challenging herself way past her own limits and, by the look on the bunny's face, she was not discouraged by the sight of that weight in the least. Nick knew that look, he didn't like where that might be going.

The other officers present at the gym were just sitting idly and they turned over to see what the bunny and the fox were doing, just out of curiosity. Nick was seen giving a single step forward and asking of his partner:

- Ahm… Carrots, what are you doing?

He spoke with a touch of concern, a tinge of hesitation as he was very unsure about what her answer might be. Judy didn't look at Nick while she answered:

- Not much. Just… psyching myself up.

Nick fiddled with his paws and turned his voice at Judy as he spoke up without actually meaning to say anything:

- Cool… Cool… Okay.

Nick looked at the weight again and tried to pick up a few more details about it. The blue colored item had a central part that served as a connection for the two circular sides that carried most of its hefty mass, there were clear numerical indication indented on the plastic covering both sides showing that each extremity carried a weight of more than twelve pounds. Nick looked at both the inanimate item and at his friends and figured that she was going to try and lift the weight no matter what he said but he was very worried for her, he didn't want Judy to pull a muscle or injure herself by doing something that no one else was forcing her to do, he decided to just come out and ask of her:

- Carrots, you are not thinking about lifting this big weight up in the air, are you?

Judy turned her entire head at Nick and answered with confidence:

- Yes I am. Want to be my spotter?

Nick's head retreated and he showed his teeth on a shocked frown as he heard that. He tried his best to convince Judy that this was a bad idea, he gestured by showing her the palms of both his paws in order to make her stop and think it through, even if she had been doing that for more than enough time, and said:

- Look, carrots, I'm not sure this is such a good idea. You should get yourself some moderate weights and go on from there.

Judy shook her head, she was in clear disapproving of Nick's opinion but still getting the point he was trying to make for her sake. Judy knew that she was capable of lifting that weight and she was sure that it would take a lot out of her so she took all the time she needed to get prepared mentally and physically before trying that, the true reason why she was standing straight in front of the weight was to perform a sort of personal ritual before crushing that self-imposed challenge. Nick kept looking over Judy with apprehensive eyes while the other officers, still sitting nearby and apar of the whole deal were watching to witness if the bunny would actually lift the weight and what would be the fox's reaction to it.

- I have been pacing myself for quite some time, Nick. It's about time I get the feel of what I am truly capable of.

Judy said so and Nick's line of thought retreated as he leaned back into a straight stance and gave Judy more than enough space to go through with her feat with a single, hesitant, step back. After looking for and successfully catching the feeling of enthusiasm, Judy reached down and grabbed the horizontal bar of the weight, Nick saw how fast she reached for the item and hastily leaned himself in her direction and reached out with both arms but he stopped his movement halfway as he saw that she had already had her paws over it. Judy didn't lift the weight right away, her left ear caught wind of Nick's rushed breath and she looked over her shoulder at him while her body was crouching down and her paws were firmly grasping the bar which was slightly larger than the reach of her paws. Judy smiled and spoke up:

- Relax, slick. I got this.

Nick didn't doubt her but he was still worried and his worries did not cease as he saw Judy grunting and lifting the weight, bending her right knee forward, the weight was being held right over her chest line and right beneath her jaw, Judy breathed strongly through her mouth and held her pose for two seconds as she thought:

"Push through it! You got this!"

Judy raised her arms and triumphantly stood straight with her ears hanging back, her teeth biting on her lower lip, her nose twitching as she tried to keep her breathing as steady as possible and her shoulders tuckered to give her shoulder line a balanced support over her entire body as she kept that pose for as long as she could. Nick was astonished and all the other officers were left speechless after witnessing that. Wolford raised from his stool while Fangmeyer rushed over and stopped just in time to catch the sight of Judy releasing the weight as the bunny tossed it a short distance ahead of her and on to the mat, nearly falling down flat on her bottom after her body caught up with the strenuous effort she had just performed.

Nick reached for Judy and held on to her shoulders while he placed himself down on the ground on both his knees and asked to see if she was alright:

- Carrots! Are you okay?! Please, tell me you are okay!

Judy smiled and raised her left arm as she reassured her partner that she was fine. The bunny took the time that she got, sitting herself so comfortably on Nick's hold, to brag about her latest physical achievement:

- I'm fine, Nick. Don't worry. Did anyone else catch that? I think I just broke a record.

Nick frowned after hearing that, he called to her attention by shaking his left forearm, where Judy had most of her upper body being supported by him, and spoke up:

- You could've broken your back. I thought for a moment that you were about to crumple under the weight of that thing like a scrap of cardboard.

Judy placed her right elbow gently over Nick's chest as she gently pushed him aside so that she could sit straight on her own, Nick leaned back and watched as Judy raised her ears and looked at him before saying:

- I wasn't worried, I knew you were close and that you would help out if I was really in trouble. Besides, I clearly crushed my own weight lifting quota and I am perfectly fine. I don't understand why you are so stressed out.

Nick did not let the frown on his face lose its strength as he heard those words, he understood what Judy meant by all of that but he was still dead centered on the fact that her increasingly want to prove herself time and time again would come to cost her greatly on day. Determined to make his point and to set her mind straight, Nick asked:

- Oh, really? Do you understand this?

Just like that, Nick reached with both of his paws and placed their palms over Judy's cheeks, he turned her head so that she would face him completely after making sure that he wouldn't use to much strength as to actually hurt her and spoke loud and clear while her face was being subtly smooshed between his paws:

- You. Are. CRAZY.

Those three words rang out to the bunny and to every other officer who was watching that scene but it ultimately failed to get the true point across, Judy felt a little spark rush across her body and the sight of Nick's wide open eyes while his muzzle pointed down and his paws were placed over the sides of her head just felt… silly to her. Judy snickered and Nick's ears twitched over his head after catching that sound, Judy couldn't hold back and pretty soon her snickering turned into a full fit of laughter as she kept giggling with her torso bopping up and down as her laughter continued. Nick squinted his eyes and pointed a finger at the floor as he continued to make his point:

- Why are you laughing? Stop laughing. I'm trying to be mad at you.

Judy placed her paws over her mouth but her laughing did not end immediately, her lips were still locked in a genuine smile as she spoke up between laughs:

- I'm sorry, I can't. I just can't help myself.

Nick shook his head as he understood that Judy was just fine, he showed a little side smile and spoke up so that everyone else could her it:

- Great. That's just great. I'm paired with a crazy bunny. That is it for me.

Judy placed her left paw over her belly while her right paw was kept over her mouth, Nick got himself up from the ground, her laughs were still heard despise her efforts to muffle it out. After he was back on his feet, Nick extended his right arm and gestured with his fingers, offering a helping paw to assist Judy in getting up. Judy waited for a second or two as her laughter gradually ceased and she extended her right paw up, clasping it in Nick's paw, the fox pulled her arm calmly in a diagonal way and got her back on to her feet easily the two mammals made their way out of the gym walking side by side, the other officers just watched marveled as the two left together. As Nick and Judy walked in the direction of the exit, he turned over to her and asked:

- You do know you could have ended up seriously hurt, right?

Judy turned her head to face him and answered:

- I knew I could do it. I bet I could lift an even bigger one next time.

Nick grunted with displeasure after hearing that, he tossed his head back and raised both of his paws as he continued to accompany her walk and spoke up:

- Carrots, I swear to all that is holy, if you keep raising my blood pressure like this every time we get here for exercising, I'm not going to last one month in the force before I have to see a doctor, and you do know how much I hate that smell of hospital.

Judy released a giggle and assured Nick that she was only kidding, they continued walking and got down the stairs so that could go directly to the locker room to change out of their sweaty gym clothes.

The rest of the day flew by quickly, after such an exhausting routine, Judy was glad to just sit by her desk and get some filing work done. Nick joined her but he spent a good portion of his time messing around over his swiveling chair and playing solitaire on his computer. As the afternoon came to an end, Judy and Nick exited the precinct building together, they stopped their walk right by the end of the last step of the front stairs as Judy spoke up:

- Today was a really nice day.

Nick nodded affirmatively and agreed with her:

- It really was, but I think I got a little crick on my back after Fangmeyer's gym plan. I can't wait to get back home and lay my body on the couch.

Judy gave a few steps forward and turned her body around to place herself right in front of Nick and face him before saying:

- I'm gonna rush on home too. I'm going to burry myself in a nice book before going to sleep.

Judy and Nick walked their separate ways for the day, giving one another a little wave of goodbye before they were completely out of each other's sight. As the two partners left, Wolford and Grizzolli exited the precinct and the bear leaned closer to the wolf before asking with a touch of bragging in his voice:

- You still think that they aren't going to be great partners together?

Wolford turned to him and spoke up while showing the pointing claw on his right paw:

- I gave them one month on my bet so don't knock it. A lot can happen in one month.

The wolf finished his sentence and descended the front steps of the precinct before heading off to his home. Grizzolli showed off a little smile as the wolf walked off and took a little time to himself as he looked up to the sky and watched a half-minute pass by before he headed out on his own way.

Two days passed by and the routine in precinct one remained largely unchanged, there was still an ongoing side investigation about the suspicious reports of unregistered cargo seen by the Tundra Town docks but no noteworthy clues were spotted. Chief Bogo kept to his office for most of the afternoon and throughout the night as he kept reviewing the digital reports sent by the administrators and chief from other precincts, no traces, no clues, it was enough to drive him up the walls. When chief Bogo centered in a case with significance he put all that he had on it but it was hard for him to stomach it when there was nothing to go on when concerning the investigation.

It all seemed very calm on Zootopia but nothing was at it seemed. In the middle of the night, the sudden sound of breaking glass somewhere amidst the dunes of Sahara Square gave the sign of a pack of goons getting up to no good on their first official staging robbery and the first part of a game set by a dangerous criminal setting his pieces in motion. Nick and Judy were about to take on their first serious case together and it would take them into a very unexpected direction.