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.

23. Episode 23: The Stake Out

Author's note: Quick question:

What was the one RPG franchise that really took you for a ride?

a) The persona series [Shinmegami Tensei 1-5]

b) The Final Fantasy series [I - XV]

c) The Fire Emblem series [Complete Tactical Dominion]

d) The Mario series [The Seven Stars, Paper Mario or Mario & Luigi]

e) League of Legends series [All in for the Arcane]

f) The Pokemon series [Gotta catch'em all!]

g) Some other amazing game series [Feel free to let me know]

h) I don't play RPGs [:-O]

You don't have to answer me, I'm just curious since I have been playing a few of those myself recently. Anyway, enjoy the reading.

Episode 23: The Stakeout

Come the next morning in Zootopia, Nick and Judy were already bright and early at precinct one, they were ready to get the final touches for gear and finish their patrol shift as soon as possible so that they could tackle their stakeout assignment together. After meeting in the lobby and giving their regular salutations for the day, Judy went on to program the spot where they would occupy for the surveillance part of the stakeout while Nick walked aimlessly until he decided to have a quick work with chief Bogo.

Nick walked slowly through the hallways until he came close to the door leading to the officer belonging to the chief, he did not even had to knock on the door because the buffalo was walking through the hallways and aiming to cross paths with the fox on his way to a previously scheduled appointment, juggling his attention between a small draft of documents in one paw and his cellphone screen being held in the other. Nick placed himself a little to the left, right in the path of the buffalo, and gave him a short salute that went unseen before he called to the attention of the buffalo by speaking up:

- Good morning there, chief.

Bogo raised his eyes over the paper in his left paw and looked down to see the fox standing at attention only a few steps in front of him. Bogo made a nod with his head, nudging it in the general direction of Nick, and answered to him:

- Morning, Wilde. I take it that you are excited for your first stakeout mission.

Nick fumbled a bit on his answer as he pressed his mouth shut before releasing a retort:

- Actually… I'm a little apprehensive that is either going to go wrong or just not pent out at all and be a waste of time. I am not even sure if the thieves are going to strike this day at all. However, Judy has done her research and I am also slightly optimistic.

Chief Bogo put his cellphone away inside his pocket and folded the draft of papers a single time before approaching Nick with a single step and saying:

- You're only a rookie after all. There aren't many on your level on experience who would take an assignment like this right away, but you and Hopps are much closer to the case as a whole so it shall be for the best. You don't have to be worried about anything more than the task in front of you. Still, be alert. These feelings you're having are what keep most of us alive in this business.

Nick noticed that the chief's tone of voice was far more approachable and lenient than any other day, but, what really called to the fox's attention, was the choice of words employed by the buffalo. Nick was quick to correct the chief as he signaled by showing both of his paws and saying:

- Wait a sec there, chief. I'm not 'worried', not one bit. Carrots and I did our homework and she is sure this would be the best time to catch these thieves in the act, whoever they are.

Bogo continued his walk while keeping an eye over Nick, the fox wasn't sure about what was happening and he surely didn't know the chief for very long to know exactly what was going through his head so he just remained still and in silence. After having a clear way forward as soon as moving past Nick, Bogo decided to give the fox one last word of advice so that he would have some insight during the mission out in the city:

- You know, Wilde, during my entire carrier I only remember taking two assignments for staking out places. The first one turned out to be a bust and during the second time one of the suspects I was pursuing got away. If you and Hopps go on your way to survey the spot that is believed to be a target, come prepared with as much supplies as you can carry and do not bring anything that might seem superfluous to you. By the end of it, if you end up not finding what you're looking for, do not be disheartened, there will be other chances.

Bogo finished that sentence and took off on his way, the buffalo returned on his path but he had a smile on his face that he did his best to hide away from Nick as he was sure that his words of wisdom had hit the fox but he also wanted that to not go to Nick's head. After the chief had turned a corner and vanished from his field of vision, Nick had thought it best to make a list of items that would help make the stakeout more tolerable, if it was to be a long wait for action it would be best to have some type of distraction that would make the time go faster but not take their focus away from their duty.

Nick walked into the cubicle that he and Judy shared to find something he could write with, he opened a drawer on his side of the cubicle and found a small notepad that still had all of its blank pages, it dawned on Nick just then that while Judy took copious notes of everything and had already gone through an entire pad of paper, he hadn't used the one handed out to him even once. Nick grabbed the notepad that was, apparently, his to use and started to compile a list of things that should be brought up and not be forgotten, he made it a priority to list off devices that would be able to record the scene just in case there were no security cameras around to catch the thieves in the act along with supplies like snacks that would be preferable for Judy and himself. Nick took the attention out of the notepad and turned it to his cellphone as he opened a GPS application and searched for the street that he and Judy were meant to stay and remain on guard, by his account there were no alleys where they could park themselves and remain hidden, he was going to have to improvise something.

After his list was done and an entire page of his little notepad was filled with items to be retrieved later, Nick took a gander at the clock placed at the wall and noticed that almost half an hour had passed and Judy hadn't given him any sign of return, he decided to go looking for her. Nick walked through the hallways on his path back to the front lobby, he would have continued on his intended path if not for a voice calling out to him, he turned to the direction of the voice following the path of the sound picked up by his ears ad found Benjamin who was shaking his right paw in mid-air to best call to the fox's attention:

- Wilde. Come here a sec.

Nick changed his route and put his search for Judy on hold. Nick walked towards the front counter and placed himself at a far enough distance from the upper frame so that Benjamin could see him without an issue, Nick was taller than Judy but he was still a little shorter than the front desk of the ZPD. Benjamin leaned forward to talk with Nick and the fox was quick to ask about the subject of the conversation so that he could get right back to looking for Judy:

- What's up, Benjamin?

Benjamin showed two fingers of his left paw as he confirmed that what he had to say came in two parts:

- Two things, real quick.

The cheetah lowered himself to reach for a document that was placed under his work place, he returned to his previous raised posture as he gave the paper to Nick and explained:

- This little piece is the permit that allows you to officially utilize the newest pieces of equipment that the ZPD has to offer. Sorry for the delay. Hopps has been passing documentation to help move it along but now you got all worked out to have a tranq gun of your own as soon as one is designed and available for you to acquire and use out in the field. It's taking a little more time than usual to get it done.

Nick took the paper in his paws and could hardly believe it himself, he made a mental note to store the paper somewhere safe to review it later, he turned his attention back to Benjamin as the cheetah wasted no time telling him the second part of what he needed to say:

- Judy shot a quick call for you, she didn't want to bother you earlier because she figured you were busy.

Nick made a quick gesture with both of his arms as he opened them making it seem like he was about to give a hug to someone who wasn't really there and then placed both of his paws over his waist line before saying:

- I'm not too busy now. Did she say something else?

Benjamin pointed a claw of his left paw to the eastern halls of the ZPD and answered to that:

- She asked me to tell you to meet her at the lab as soon as you could. Hopps and doctor Pura are reviewing a few things and she was just wondering if you would care to join them.

Nick adjusted the tie around his neck as he looked to the direction pointed by Benjamin and released his answer:

- I'm there. Thanks, Benjamin.

- You're quite welcome.

Nick walked off in the direction of the lab, he got to the door and knocked on it three times before getting the permission to come in side from a voice that unmistakably belonged to doctor Pura:

- Come on in.

Nick reached for the doorknob and opened the door up slowly to check out what was actually happening inside the lab, the fox saw the usual scenario with Bunsens, beakers and other laboratory items but, as soon as he opened the door all the way through, he saw Judy and Pura facing each other and the panther was the first one to notice his presence inside the room since Judy appeared to have her attention set on something else entirely. Nick waved his left paw in the air and said:

- Hey there, carrots. Benjamin said you wanted to see me.

Judy turned around to face Nick and she showed a bright smile for finally being able to talk to him, Nick was surprised as he saw Judy's face since she was now equipped with a foreign apparatus that clearly called out to his curiosity. Judy had over her eyes a pair of goggles that was safely strapped to her head thanks to an elastic strip that hoisted both extremities of the equipment up, the lenses of the goggles were round and small with strange looking dials placed around their frames, obviously meant to adjust the field of vision provided by the item. Nick walked a little closer to Judy and leaned closer to get a better look at the goggles she was wearing and see if there was any other detail that he might have missed about the device, Judy looked at him with an immutable smile as he came in closer and she decided to joke around with that as she enjoyed the look that Nick was giving her. Judy had her ears raised up ad she leaned her head to the left and asked:

- How do you like my new look, slick?

Nick showed a little side smile as he asked perplexed:

- What in heaven's name is that thing on your face?

Pura took some resentment from that question as she came in closer to point out the qualities of her newly designed creation:

- That 'thing', as you referred to it, Officer Wilde, is one of the first in a new lie of special items I will soon have manufacture for the ZPD and Special Forces. These are new and improved night-vision goggles, specifically fitted for officer Hopps, they have adjustable straps, improved battery life, zoom and enhancing features, not to mention and inclusive recording card that allows the goggles themselves to take pictures of a dark scene without any issue.

Nick had his eyes opened wide with incredulity, all of those features sounded useful and marvelous and he absolutely wanted to know more. Nick leaned closer to Judy and reached for the goggles so that he could poke them and check out what they were actually like over her eyes, Judy placed her right paw over his and spoke up:

- Be careful, Nick. These are one of a kind for now and doctor Pura asked me to help her test them.

Nick took his paws away from the glasses and made a gesture with his left paw as he gave Judy another cue to speak right after he asked:

- Why the sudden interest in gadgets, carrots? Are you hankering for an upgrade to your crime fighting skills?

There was a little pause and Judy wanted to answer to that as she saw Nick's paw moving in the air and pointing to her, but she barely had the chance to say anything as Nick answered to his own question by saying:

- Because, if that is the case, I can assure you that they are already top-notch.

Judy released a laugh and lowered her head to hide it away, or at the very least make it so she would return her thought and expression to a more serious status. The motion with her head caused the goggles, which were compact in size but still sort of weighty, to lower over her face and nearly tumble down to her neck. Judy reached for the glasses as soon as she felt that the item had moved down on her face and Nick reached for them as well out of reflex as soon as he noticed Judy gasping out of surprise, Judy turned her head back up as soon as she assured herself that the apparatus was secured once more. After that moment had gone by, Judy directed her eyes at Nick and spoke up:

- Nick, this is not just about improvements to myself, this is about helping with the development of a brand new set of tools that can help the entire ZPD. Things like these are just the beginning of what might be a whole new chapter in crime fighting.

Nick crossed his arms and stayed silent for a short time, imagining what could be going on inside Judy's mind as she aired her excited notions of what that small test could bring forth for the ZPD as a whole, he liked seeing Judy like that. Judy turned over to doctor Pura who was typing away at her computer before she turned the screen off and returned to her side with a medium sized clipboard being held by her left arm, she cleared her throat and said:

- This will just be a quick test to see if the modifications I implemented for the lenses are good enough for field use. I'm very optimistic that this will be a success.

Nick nodded affirmatively and showed a sign with a thumbs up from his right paw before saying confidently:

- Fire away, doc. Let's see what you got.

Pura walked to the windows and closed the blinds, the panther then moved to the light switches and placed her paw in a ready position in order to turn them all off at the same time and making sure that the room would be engulfed in complete darkness so that the full capabilities of the goggles would be tested. Pura turned her attention to Judy and asked:

- Ready?

Judy adjusted the goggles on her head and signaled with a quick wave of her right paw that she was ready. Pura took the signal and turned off all of the lights in the lab, the feline had her eyes well-adjusted to the darkness, so did Nick, Judy waited for a little while until the goggles turned on and turned her head around to check if she could see the room and all that was inside, even during the absence of light. Pura walked away from the light switches and in the direction of Judy, she watched as the bunny stumbled around a bit in the dark and could not hold back on asking:

- Judy, is everything alright?

Judy turned in the direction of Pura's voice and answered to her question by reaching her left paw over her forehead and tapping a finger over the goggles before saying:

- There is a big, dark blur on top of my sight line. Is it supposed to be like this?

Pura made a disappointed sound with her mouth and came closer to Judy, leaning down closer to the ground and to the bunny's height to make another adjustment to the goggles while complaining and muttering mostly to herself:

- Darn, stubborn refractive lenses.

Pura reached with the fingers and claws of her right paw, to a miniscule dial at the left side of the goggles, she spun the dial a few degrees to the left and then to the right before asking of Judy:

- Better?

Judy marveled with her mouth half-opened for a few seconds as she looked around and witnessed the room become illuminated through her eyes. Thanks to the goggles, Judy could now see in the dark, she looked at her paws and moved them around for a bit as she got accustomed with the new bright perspective that was handed to her, she moved her body to the left until she was facing Nick and walked a few steps in his direction as she admitted:

- This is great! I can see so well inside the room. Are the lights really off?

Nick took a look around and pointed a finger of his right claw to the blinds and to the light bulb inside the room, he assured Judy that there was insufficient lighting inside that particular environment for anyone without natural night-vision to see clearly. Nick looked at Judy and spoke up:

- Total darkness in here, carrots. You must be having a field day with those things.

Judy placed her paws over the goggles but she was gentle while doing so since she did not wish to mess up with any adjustment to the settings. She turned back to Nick a few seconds later and said:

- This is so cool. But everything just looks kind of… green.

Judy said so as she reached her left paw into the air and figured out that, although the device allowed her to see in the dark, it did not allow her to identify colors as though she could see everything perfectly. Judy moved her ears in Nick's direction and asked of him:

- Is this how you see in the dark?

Nick leaned his head to the side as he took a pause and thought on a good answer to tell his partner, the fox leaned a little closer to her and answered with honesty:

- Not necessarily. My guess is that what you are experiencing right now is an emulation of night-vision. Most predators that evolved from hunter's grounds, like me, have a notion of sight that can guide them through the dark which is way more precise than any machine.

Nick reached for Judy and placed his right paw over her shoulder as he moved his left paw in the air next to her and continued to explain:

- I can identify shapes and perceive movement, but colors are a different matter entirely. I can't see colors when it's dark, fluff. No one can.

Judy stood still as Nick came a little closer and leaned down to get a little closer to Judy's height, she wished to know more and he wanted to look her in the eyes as he explained what he meant to her but he would have to make due with staring at the small lenses placed over her face. Judy had her mouth half-open as she saw Nick getting closer, she had such a nice view of his smiling face and it was still hard for her to believe that the room was pitch black, she listened as Nick lowered his volume and continued explaining:

- Colors are nothing more than a representation of our own perspectives of deflection thanks to light, the light of a source being reflected and then transmitted through our eyes into our minds so it can be identified as a part of the visible spectrum. Without light there is no reflection and without reflection there is no color.

Nick got up to his original stance with his back straightened up and still placed right in front of Judy. Nick gave one step back as his partner took a moment to think and admit to not being very satisfied with the explanation Nick had just given her:

- When you say it like that it sounds so… mechanical. Light and color are supposed to be beautiful and artful not just a perceptions from our minds.

Nick shrugged that comment off by rising and then lowering his shoulders, he looked over at Judy and communicated with the tone of his voice that he was fulfilled in his explanation, it was all a part of scientific fact after all. The fox gestured with his right paw pointed in her direction as he said:

- Just telling it like it is, fluff. Colors are the part of the electro-magnetic spectrum we can perceive and is all thanks to ages of evolution that most of us can now see so much of it. They still teach it that we could only see in shades of gray back then.

Pura was still in the room and she was listening to every word in that conversation, she raised her left paw with her pointing claw sticking out in the air as she spoke up, even if she wasn't sure about stepping up in that dialogue exchange between the two officers:

- Actually, that's a bit of a myth. Studies show that mammals from the past could perceive many more colors besides mere shades of gray. Red, yellow and purple in particular are said to have been far more identifiable than any other color.

Nick made a dismissive gesture by moving his left paw from right to left as he said:

- The point being: Colors are the one part of the spectrum we can see without the need of special equipment, the other sides of the spectrum are all set with radio waves, infrared, ultraviolet and a few others that can be a serious issue if you're not careful.

Nick crossed his arms in the meaning that his explanation was over and he was just waiting to see if Judy would have any words to give him in return, but she just stayed silent, quietly thinking about what Nick had said to her and wondering about the sense that it made. Nick did not noticed the morose aura coming out of Judy and yet he still felt the need to add something a little more relatable and substantial to the explanation as he uncrossed his left arm and admitted:

- Although, if you think about it, color can be a whole lot more than just a pallet on a spectrum.

Judy showed a little smile as she thought how she should know all too well that Nick referred to more than mere science fact with his words to her. Judy pressed a switch on the right side of the goggles to turn them off and she took them off of her head by making a little correction to the strap before lifting it over her head and speaking up:

- Doctor, you can turn the lights on now.

Pura heard Judy's words and reached for the light switch so that she could turn all the lights in the lab back on, the environment was once again illuminated and the panther moved to open the blinds on the windows and welcome some natural lighting back in the room as well. Nick gave two steps off in the direction of the door but he did not exit the lab, he turned his body around as he waited for Judy to be done with anything else that she still had to do. Judy moved to the desk where doctor Pura kept her computer and left the goggles over it, near the right edge of the desk frame, before she spoke up:

- These goggles will definitely be a useful item for any officer who doesn't have night-vision. I hope you will get the patent approval to make more of them.

Pura grabbed the recently returned item and clasped the thin strap into her right paw as she could feel a small pride from having one of her creations, even if it seemed rather minor, approved and ready for use. Judy turned her attention to Nick and left Pura to her solitude to toil away towards another invention right after waving farewell and joining the fox as they walked to the exit. Judy went to the cubicle that belonged to her and Nick so that she could get a few more documents in order, Nick accompanied her as he took the time to thank her for all the work she had gone through to give him the permission for a tranq gun, she shrugged that off and admitted to being no big deal.

Time seemed to fly at the ZPD, every officer organized files and returned from patrol on what seemed to be a very uneventful day, however, for Nick and Judy, timed seemed to only crawl as soon as they left Pura's laboratory behind. What waited for them was a vital assignment that could lead to the arrest of a dangerous group of criminals, a group of petty thieves that hit the scene with a dangerous compound that could endanger the lives of other mammals. Judy's focused look stayed on her face as she kept her eyes on the lists and maps that she prepared specifically for that day, Nick tried to break the tension she was undoubtedly feeling during the work day but he gave up on it after a few bad jokes later as he was feeling some of that build up tension himself.

Nick and Judy were in their cubicle, Judy was busy doing a quick check on her computer while Nick was seated in silence and making his chair spin around slowly as he got more lost in thought, he looked at the ceiling overhead and thought back on the words that chief Bogo had spoken to him. Nick had the self-assurance that everything would be alright, he knew that he and Judy were capable but he was also mildly apprehensive since he had only a semblance of an idea of what they might come to face. Nick turned his chair around until he was facing the direction Judy was located, he saw as she poked a finger of her left paw at her computer screen as she traced an imaginary line at the map she was studying, the bunny retreated from the computer screen and placed her left paw under her jaw as she continued to place more emphasis on her trail of thought and look for a viable solution for her problem.

Nick raised a brow at her and raised from his chair so that he could get a little closer, Judy began to type away at the keyboard while letting out a frustrating sigh through her mouth and pressing the space bar with an audible bit of extra strength. Nick placed both of his paws behind his back and asked:

- Something the matter, carrots?

Judy looked over her right shoulder and met eyes with Nick as the fox stood only two feet behind her and waited for an answer. Judy pointed to the screen and answered:

- I have been trying to get a hold of a nice position where we can get some surveillance done once the time for our stakeout comes. I have been looking at the map that shows the street with the eatery but I have found nothing. If we park our cruiser without proper cover our thieves won't even dare to show up. I'm stumped.

Nick took one look at the map at the screen as it was still being shown in a smaller digital window. The fox leaned a little closer while placing his left paw over the desk and pressing his eyes to check on any details that Judy may have missed, he thought back to earlier that day and got a comprehensive look at what exactly his partner was referring to. Judy denoted the absence of any alleys that could safely house their cruiser for the duration of the stakeout, she was correct, the only alley in the proximity of the targeted restaurant rested blocks away and its entrance faced in the opposite direction. Nick took a second to think about it and the solution that popped in his head made him smile, he looked over at Judy and poked her shoulders with the side of his paw which gave her a little bump to call her attention before he said:

- I think I got a solution on lock for us, but we are gonna have to pack our gear and I'm gonna have to get a few things of my own.

Nick walked a single wide step back to his side of the cubicle and grabbed the recently used notepad that he had found in his desk, he turned the pages and passed the claw of his left paw over the scribbled paper as he double-checked all of the items that were noted on it. Nick closed the pad after making sure that there were still a few things left to take note of if his plan was going to work and pointed at Judy as he made his way out of the cubicle speaking up:

- I'm going to take off and get what we need, you take off later and meet me in the front of the restaurant at the time we agreed on.

Judy raised her left arm and tried to ask Nick what he meant by that but the fox was already dashing away in the direction of the front door, he was in such a hurry that he didn't even bother to speak to chief Bogo or any of the other officers on his way out he went running past the front door and out in the streets. Nick grabbed his cellphone while keeping on the move, walking with a rushed pace in the direction of the western savanna, he pressed a few icons on the screen and typed away Finnick's number, the line rang three times before the voice of the little fox came from the other side asking:

- What?

Nick had the phone retreating away from his ears as the volume of the voice that came from the other side was a little exaggerated, he put the phone back in close proximity to his ear and said:

- Finnick, I got a situation over here at the ZPD. Can you help out?

There was a brief pause for silence before the little fox answered to that question by saying:

- That depends, Wilde. What do you need?

Nick turned a corner on the left and proceeded through a narrow street before he asked:

- Do you still have all of that old stuff that we stored in the back room of your garage?

Finnick raised a brow and answered reluctantly:

- Yeah, I do. Why do you ask? I never thought you were ever going to need that old stuff.

Nick pointed a finger up as he said:

- That stuff might be a bit old but it is still good for a lifetime. Just head over to the garage and get the keys to unlock the back room.

There was a sound on the other side of the line that resembled a small body raising from a comfy couch followed by Finnick's voice as he said:

- I'm already at the garage. I was taking a nap when you called.

Nick took a pause as he stopped walking and was about to say something until he looked at the time and asked:

- You were asleep? It's the middle of the afternoon.

- Bite me, Wilde. You think it's easy looking as laid back as I look? I have to take some rest whenever I can get it.

Nick made a dismissive gesture with his right paw as he kept on his path and said:

- Whatever. Just stay there, I'll go to you.

---

Two hours had passed since Nick had left through the doors of the ZPD, Judy tried asking chief Bogo or Benjamin as soon as she left if the fox had given any notice about where he had gone to but no one had heard anything. Judy walked in the direction of the restaurant right after leaving her apartment, she picked up some food and a duffle bag filled with surveillance equipment and she carried it all the way from her apartment to the spot where she was supposed to meet Nick for the start of their preparations for what could be a long period of watching and waiting.

Judy was not dressed in her uniform anymore, that assignment required a certain amount of camouflage on both her and Nick's part so she was only carrying her badge as part of her regular duty attire. Judy was dressed with a long sleeved red shirt and a thick pair of jean pants, she felt comfortable and ready for anything even if she lacked the protective capabilities of her uniform. Judy moved her head from right to left as she searched for any sign of Nick but she could not see him anywhere, she decided to shoot him a quick text message but she soon found out that there was no need for that.

After a short wait, Judy could hear the sound of footsteps rushing in her direction and she identified the steps of the fox promptly. Judy turned around and found Nick running her way dressed in his customary street clothes while carrying a huge backpack mounted over his back, the fabric looked stained and the straps on both of his shoulders looked old and ready to rip away but it was still reliable and spacious enough to hold a multitude of supplies. Judy stood still with her cellphone in her paw as she waited for Nick to get closer, the fox saluted her with a wave of his left paw and asked:

- Are you ready, fluff?

Judy nodded her head before answering to him:

- I have been ready for a while. I've just been waiting on you.

Nick walked past Judy and made a gesture with his right arm asking her to follow close, Judy adjusted the strap on her duffle bag as she swung it over her shoulder and did her best to follow Nick's pace. Nick walked ahead as they entered an apartment building that was only five floors high, they went for the stairs and climbed away until they reached the door to the roof and Nick opened it without any problems at all. Judy came right after him and shielded her eyes from the sudden harshness of the sunlight shining over her face, she felt a little winded from having to climb up ten flights of stairs to get there but she was satisfied that they made it up there whichever the reasons behind it really were.

Judy took in some air and felt the wind brushings against her face, she closed her eyes as her body embraced that sensation that caused her to relax while her feet continued to instinctively move her forward. Judy opened her eyes and was delighted to see such a clear view to the sky above her as its color began to change by the end of the afternoon, she lowered her sight and found Nick placing the backpack he was carrying all the way up the stairs down on the ground, it made a few clanking sounds as it hit the ground which confirmed that its contents were heavier than they looked. Judy walked a few more steps further to take a better look at the new location she now found herself alongside Nick.

Judy approached the front ledge of the roof, she placed both her paws over the concrete railing that separated her from the drop and took one good look at the street below, she had a direct line of sight to the restaurant that they were meant to guard from a far. Judy turned her body around as her ears caught the sound of Nick as the fox was opening the bag and checking on the items that he had brought along, she turned her sight to the left and saw if there were any other things of note on that roof. There was a bundle of plastic pipes left to lean alongside a ramshackle wooden shed, placed on the roof to house old tools and surplus construction supplies, it was apparent to see that no one opened the small shed in quite the long time.

Judy continued to turn and soak every inch of that view as she walked away from the railing and toward the left side of the roof, she took a moment to study the neighboring buildings and saw that their roofs were somewhat connected to one another, except for the tallest one out on the very back of the block, it looked much more like a tall business place for her at that distance, but she wasn't very sure of it. Judy didn't have the time to memorize every single detail that was on her map except for the roads that connected to that particular block of the savanna.

After taking her survey of the area and making sure that it was all safe and ready for use, Judy returned to Nick so that she could talk to him and show her appreciation for his find. Nick was placing a small item inside his back pocket when Judy walked next to him and said:

- Nick, this was a great idea. How did you come up with the idea of perching ourselves atop this building?

Nick raised from the ground and passed his paws over his clothing before he explained with a nostalgic smile on his face:

- A long while back, the youths of Zootopia, me included, liked to camp out at the roof space of buildings like these. A bunch of mammals gathered to eat, drink, talk and listen to music. It was always nice to have a big fun night and then curl up to sleep beneath the stars.

Nick walked two steps away from Judy while carrying two sleeping bags with himself, one being held by each of his arms, the bag carried by his left arm was colored red while the one by his right arm was blue. The small sleeping appliances showed no sign of decay like the backpack in which they were carried but they still looked and smelled quite old, Nick made sure that there were no problems like mold or tears in the fabric before bringing the bags with him. The fox unrolled the two sleeping bags onto the floor and continued his previous explanation:

- There are plenty of parks and other areas around the city where camping would feel far more authentic, but there are regulations established by the ZPD to this very day that make camping in areas like that not much of a good idea. Camping on high would prove far safer and much more fun.

Nick placed himself on the ground again, only this time he sat over one of the freshly unveiled sleeping bags and crossed his legs in a lotus position almost as if he was taking that moment of respite and stillness to meditate. Judy came a single step closer to Nick just to see him extend his right arm to the side and tap lightly over the blue sleeping bag near him, inviting her to sit down alongside him, she nodded in agreement and walked around before picking a favorable position over the bag to sit down. Judy placed her feet over the blue sleeping bag as a sort of way to test its pliability, she slowly leaned down and reached under with her left paw before placing her back side over the bag and releasing a soft hum as she got more comfortable, Judy leaned back and supported her upper body with both of her arms as they were positioned back to not let her get too laid back over the sleeping bag, she turned her eyes to the left to look at Nick and the fox followed her lead as he uncrossed his legs and got into a more comfortable position.

After sitting down, Judy closed her eyes for a moment and could feel the entire city bustling all around her from her perched position, on top of that small building, she could hear the streets down below, all of the mammals and vehicles still moving about, the wind making a sweet sound as it passed by the buildings at a distance, all of that surrounding the sound of eased breathing and two heartbeats on that roof. Judy opened her eyes as she got startled for a second, she never had the concentration to hear and feel so much, not even with her naturally enhanced hearing, it only daunted on her that she had meditated without intending to do so and that caused her body to perceive the sounds around her much easier and much more powerfully.

Judy and Nick had to wait for a long time for their targets to appear, there was still a few things that they would have to do to make that roof a prime surveillance position. Judy raised from her seat quickly, she felt a little sorry that her relaxing period was cut short, she opened the duffle bag that she brought along and revealed its contents, she grabbed a binocular, a small antenna that served some purpose unknown to Nick, a far reaching digital camera complemented with a small tripod, a brand new notepad with a blue pen stuck to its side and a voice recording device. Nick leaned to the side without leaving his seated position as he caught a peek of everything Judy had brought to use at the stakeout, the bunny started to mount up every piece of the equipment at a position that would be best to monitor the restaurant at the other side of the street.

Nick stayed still and watched Judy set up what he could only assume was equipment ripped right out from the pages of a spy novel, he assumed that it was best to not interrupt her while she organized everything. After Judy had slowed down for a bit and kept most of her attention at setting the camera to record a wide image range with moderate lighting, Nick reached for his back pack once more and opened a spacious satchel at the front that was nearly hidden from view thanks to a big covering cloth, he reached deep inside and began to pull out bags of snacks of different kinds as well as a medium sized lantern to light the roof as soon as the sun had set over the horizon. Nick picked up two bags of salty potato chips, three small packs of cookies, a plastic box containing apple slices and at the very end a pack of chewing candy.

Judy turned around and saw the spread of different provisions lying next to the fox but he was not done yet. Given himself some more space, Nick pulled from deeper inside the backpack and retrieved a locked coolant unit that reverberated with the sound of ice rocks trapped inside as Nick hoisted the sealed box into the air by a set of handles on the sides and placed it on the ground. Judy walked slowly while being careful to not disrupt any aspect of the equipment she had just finished setting down, she watched as Nick opened the lid of the cooler by undoing two latches and reached inside to pull out an ice cold can of soda to satiate his thirst. After opening the metal clasp on the can and taking a long first swig of the drink, Nick turned over to Judy and asked:

- You want one? I brought plenty.

Judy placed both of her paws on her waist line, sure sign that she did not exactly approve of Nick's relaxed stance in the assignment. She pointed a finger of her left paw in his direction and said:

- Nick, this is not a casual outing. You are supposed to be treating this like any police assignment.

A little offended with that, Nick pointed a finger of the paw that was not occupied with the soda can down to the ground and said:

- I am taking this seriously, fluff. I thought this over throughout the whole day leading up to it. We will have to take up watch until our suspects arrive, we will have to take turns on watch to make sure we won't be too tired when the time for action comes, if it comes at all, and we'll need to measure provisions as we wait.

Judy was speechless for a moment and she also felt bad for jumping to the conclusion that Nick would not take the task seriously right out the gate. Judy placed her paws together and wholeheartedly apologized to her partner by moving one step closer and saying:

- I'm sorry, Nick. I'm just really nervous right now. This is my first stakeout.

Nick took another gulp of the drink he had in his paw and said:

- Hey, this is my first time as well, fluff. It may not look like it but I'm nervous as well.

Judy walked next to Nick and sat herself on the same spot she was before, she tucked her legs close to her body and placed her left arm over her knees as she turned her head to face Nick and ask of him:

- Do you have anything in there that goes down a little easier? Like tea.

Nick smiled and shook his head from side to side as he answered:

- Sorry, fluff. I only brought soda and energy drinks with me. We got to stay alert and awake in case our suspects show up.

Nick reached inside the cooler and grabbed a can of orange soda for Judy, he handed the can over to her and continued with his answer:

- Just take it slowly with all of that. The only bathroom we have is way down at the lobby of this building.

Judy nodded affirmatively and opened the can to enjoy the refreshing fizzy drink. Time passed and Zootopia was starting to slow down, at least around the block that Nick and Judy were surveying, vehicles crossed by at a much slower pace and mammals walked home back from their jobs, the wind blew colder across the savanna and Nick was enjoying it very much. Nick looked up, the moon was showing itself and there were traces of a few heavy clouds still tracking across the sky, he sincerely hoped that it was not going to rain and laid his body over his sleeping bag with his paws under his head to give him a little more comfort. While Nick turned his attention upwards, Judy kept on making subtle adjustments to the camera and to the audio antenna both positioned over the concrete railing and near the edge of the roof, she did that to spent some time and it did calm her down a little as she took programmable breaks to breathe and relax. Once Judy made one final account that the equipment was in order and recorded a quick draft of the time in her notepad, she sat on the blue sleeping bag and let out a calm sigh.

Nick turned his head to the side as he saw Judy placing her back over the sleeping bag and lay down while facing up much like he was, Judy placed both of her paws over her chest and felt how fast her own heart was beating, she took long breaths of air as she became more relaxed and slowly closed her eyes. Nick took that as a chance to slowly raise himself from his resting spot, sit himself up and turn to Judy so he could call out to her attention and ask:

- Hey, carrots, how is everything down there?

Judy opened her right eye and turned her sight in Nick's direction, she raised her left paw and tapped it over her chest before answering:

- Everything is as calm as it should be. You can take a quick look for yourself if you want to do so.

Nick looked around the roof, there was supposed to be a light coming from the streets but he noticed that the one thing that prevailed over the rooftops was an oppressive shade. Nick raised from his resting place but he did not went over to the mounted equipment Judy ad set up to check things out like she believed he would instinctively do, instead, Nick reached for the electrical lantern that he had brought along and set it down between his sleeping bag and the one given to Judy, the fox turned a miniscule dial on the side of the lantern to adjust the brightness and left it down as soon as he was sure that the luminosity provided by the item would be enough to light up that environment while also not feeling too invasive.

Nick left the lantern down in a spot where it would not impeded the path of neither him or Judy in case they decided to walk past it. Nick took another moment to look around the roof and that is when he decided to walk to the equipment and have a check for himself by placing his sights over the mounted camera first. From the lens of the digital camera, Nick could see a panoramic view of the display window of the restaurant as well as a wide space in front of the establishment where mammals would park their cars before heading inside which it was empty for the time being, the camera was ready to record anything eventful that might occur and the batteries were set to last for a long time with continuous use.

Nick left the camera alone and moved his attention towards another item, this time he went on to check the curious antenna that Judy had mounted besides the camera. The plastic dish was small and mounted on a stand that could fit without any issue in Nick's paw, he already had a hunch about what was the function behind the antenna but he made sure of it by consulting Judy. With the antenna held in his right paw, Nick turned to Judy and asked of her:

- What's this thing for, carrots? Some kind of radio receptor?

Judy turned her ears in the direction of Nick's voice and soon enough raised from her resting spot to check on him, she looked over at his paw and to what he was holding and decided to explain the true nature of the gizmo being pointed out by Nick. Judy sat herself up and turned her body around to point at the device and explain:

- That's an audio receptor, Nick. It's used to catch sound waves from a distance, even ones I can't hear with my enhanced hearing.

Judy rose from her sleeping bag once more to walk towards Nick and show him how the device worked by, first of all, retrieving a pair of headphones that was stashed away inside Judy's duffle bag. Judy walked towards Nick and said:

- Let me show you how it works.

Judy held the headphones carefully with both of her paws and hoisted them in the air with a firm grip on each of its sound releasing ends. Nick got Judy's gesture with the phones in her paws as a cue to lower his body next to her and give her the chance to place the headphones over his ears, the fox lowered his head and Judy placed the headphones over his head without any issue as the plastic arch connecting the two ends adjusted seemingly to fit him. Nick moved his ears while they were covered by the phones and it felt a little strange to him as the sounds of the world around him suddenly became muffled while an unfamiliar warmth was placed on each side of his face, Judy grabbed the antenna and adjusted a little blue dial on the side so that Nick could hear what the device was capable of without harming his hearing, ultimately, he was impressed.

Nick opened his eyes as a myriad of sounds appeared to surround him from every angle thanks to the new device. With the antenna still being held in his right paw, Nick directed his attention to the sounds invading his ears and tried to make some sense of any of them by isolating a specific noise in his mind, it was tricky mostly because the antenna was not calibrated to focus on a single direction and was capturing anything that was considered a minor clatter so it could be transmitted to the headphones, although, thanks to Judy, the volume was not loud enough to actually hurt Nick's ears. Nick took another gander at the antenna and adjusted it so it could best isolate a specific sound, he pointed it to a random direction and heard a sound that was all too familiar to him causing his arm to lock into a position that would allow him to hear the sound without any interruptions.

Judy noticed how Nick suddenly stop moving, he placed his left paw over the left side of the headphones and released a little bit of air out of his mouth as the sound of an engine reverberated in the distance. Judy poked Nick on the side of his torso and asked:

- Did you catch some suspicious sound?

Nick took the phone that was over his left ear so that he could speak to Judy without elevating the volume to his voice:

- One sound but nothing suspicious about it. It's a motorcycle.

Nick took one step to the right as if it would somehow bring him closer to better understanding the nature of the sound. By listening carefully to the roaring of the engine at the distance, Nick figured that, even though the engine was quite far and the whooshing wind was making it hard to isolate the sound, it was still within the realm of possibility for him to better identify it, he began to list off what he could gather from the noise out loud:

- The engine is small but very strong, a little hiccup on one of the escaping valves, the wheels are rolling out quite nicely, maybe it's some thrill seeker on an empty street looking for a quick adrenaline shot.

Nick removed the headphones from his ears and Judy, having some skepticism in her voice, asked of him:

- You can deduce all of that just from hearing the sound of an engine that is probably miles away from here?!

Nick gave the headphones back to Judy and placed the small antenna back in its place before he answered to her question by saying:

- I would've taken a few more details in but it's getting further than the apparent reach of this thing. Quite the neat device, I got to say.

Judy smiled as she saw Nick walking back to the spot where he was seated and reach back into the cooler he had brought to get himself another drink. Judy walked next to Nick after putting the headphones safely back in the duffle bag, she sat herself and continued to look over as the fox placed his entire back over the sleeping bag beneath him and turned his eyes towards the darkened sky with a smile on his face. Judy had a little jolt rush through her mind as she only remembered then that there was something she wished to give Nick:

- Oh! I almost forgot.

Judy turned her attention back to her duffle bag and scrounged around until she found a small case that was placed carefully inside a side pouch. After Judy revealed the case, Nick became very curious, thinking that it was some other important piece of equipment she was yet to set up, he looked over in her direction and was shocked to see that the item inside of the case was actually an old tranquilizer gun. The old model only had a single tranq shot but it wasn't to be used by Judy, she grabbed the shooter and presented it to Nick with both of her paws.

- It only has one shot. Make it count.

Nick retreated from Judy's words for a split second, he reached forward and grabbed the shooter with both of his paws, the tips of his fingers gently scrapped the palm of Judy's paws as he took the item given to him. Nick wasn't sure if he would ever be able to use that shooter, he often imagined having one but the sensation of actually having one filled him with a certain degree of anxiety, not enough to make hi hesitate to take the item but it was still somewhat heavy for him.

Judy called to Nick's attention with a nod of her head and said softly as to reassure him:

- That is just in case. I already know you are plenty great without one of those.

Nick looked in her direction and she completed her words with a little wink, Nick gave her an assuring smile of his own before locking the shooter's safety and storing it away. Nick took some time to check the features of his newly acquired weapon out, it was small and it had far less mechanical or customizable details than Judy's shooter, also, as she said to him prior, it only had a single shot inside the chamber. He was not too worried about it, he already knew how good of a shot he was.

Thanks to Judy's words of confidence, Nick was far more relaxed than before, some hours had passed since they mounted their improvised camp on the rooftop and he had the time to think it over and ease his nerves, he moved his eyes around for a bit, looking for anything interesting in the sky and he felt a little disappointed as it occurred to him how few stars there were to be spotted. Judy leaned in Nick's direction, her right eye was a little irritated from the glare of the lantern near them as it only hit her that the light was aimed at the direction she had chosen to lean over, she shook that off and asked of him:

- Are you doing alright over there, slick?

Nick turned his eyes in Judy's direction and spoke up:

- Sure it is, fluff. Why wouldn't it be?

Judy was caught a little off guard with that, the bunny made a quick dismissive gesture with her left paw and stumbled a bit over her words as she answered:

- N… no reason. I'm… just trying to get the time to pass a little faster.

Nick had his ears twitching as he turned his attention back to the sky and released a sigh before saying:

- Hardly any stars tonight.

Judy retreated a bit after hearing that, she was unsure why the few stars showing up on that particular night would cause Nick to release a morose line like that out of nowhere. Judy turned back to Nick as the fox asked:

- Have you ever just… looked up to the sky without any reason at all?

Judy looked up to the dark and wasn't sure if she should be actually searching for something out of the ordinary, her eyes turned back to Nick and she was honest with her answer as she said:

- No, not really.

Nick was quick to answer to that as he pointed to her and said:

- Well… I have. It has been a long time since I've done so. I used to look for every answer to a tough question or just the relaxing break to a stressful moment up in the sky.

Judy kept her eyes over Nick and her ears moved slightly down after hearing his words which ended on a soft smile, she did not know what to make of what he had just shared with her. Judy decided to take a proverbial plunge and see what Nick meant by those words by merely imitating him and taking a more detailed look into the skies above by herself, she laid over the sleeping bag and placed her paws over her lower torso as it slowly expanded and contracted in accord to her own breath, she stayed in silence as her eyes moved around and tried to recognized the few stars still in clear view.

It was hard to see any bright points at the night sky over Zootopia, much like any big city around the world, it had a great deal of electrical lights that shined brightly and made almost impossible to see anything but the moon at night. Nick spoke up and asked without taking his eyes away from their original focus:

- Has anyone ever up and told you some story about what the stars really are? Some explanation about their nature and why they are there?

Judy turned to Nick and his question made her reminisce about a time in her childhood when her dreams of becoming a police officer were still very far out of reach, she recalled the words of her father as he told her a quick story before she went to bed. Judy turned her eyes towards Nick as she pointed her left paw up and answered:

- My father once told me that stars are very much like the wishes and dreams from mammals of the past. They remain well preserved and in clear view of everyone up in the heavens. I thought it was a really nice explanation.

Nick could not help himself but to let out a little snicker from his mouth as he admitted:

- Wow. That is a really weird thing to just say to a kid.

Judy raised her upper body from the sleeping bag and looked straight at Nick on his relaxed position as she showed a frown and an inquiring stare before asking of him:

- Is that so? And what were you told about the stars above, Mr. wise fox?

Nick did not unmake his smile as he spoke up:

- My dad just told me that stars are enormous balls of gas that are constantly burning and letting light shine from thousands of miles away. After they run out of fuel they burn out, explode and become singularities, consuming all mater and light around them.

Judy lowered her ears and her eyes remained open wide as she became half convinced that this was all nothing more than a joke for the fox. Nick breathed in a long dash of air into his lungs and spoke once more as he finished his explanation:

- I thought that was the coolest thing ever.

Judy let a smile slowly build on her lips after hearing that, she lowered her head and imagined what would it be like to just hear the scientific truth about the stars, she imagined that her child self would have only understood half of it all even if it was so concisely explained by the clever fox alongside her. Nick took another long breath but, instead of letting out a nostalgic commentary, the fox spoke in a somewhat bragging tone of voice as he placed his right paw over his chest and said:

- I would have made an impeccable space captain.

Judy's ears raised and she felt compelled to ask:

- Wait, what?

Nick raised his upper body slightly from the sleeping bag so that he could better cast a look over Judy and show her how that far-fetched idea excited him, the fox tucked his left leg in as he readjusted his body and spoke up:

- Just imagine it, carrots: Traveling between planets and star-systems in a matter of minutes, charting up the frontiers of unknown wonders, exploring and learning different cultures, different languages. It would be great. Too bad we're all just a few centuries short from all of that.

Judy showed Nick a smile that was already communicating her own opinion, she believed that whole idea was unfeasible and did not even made an effort to imagine how Nick would look as the leading pilot of his own space ship. Judy gestured slowly with her right arm and paw turning at the sky and asked of her partner:

- Do you really think that there would be so much to be done out there in space?

Nick kept looking at Judy as he showed a renewed spark in his eyes, as the fox's ears rose upward and his smile increased before he answered to her question:

- Sure I do. Don't you believe that so many things could be accomplished out there?

Judy shook her head and admitted to not being too interested in outer space adventures, no matter how attainable they could be, by saying:

- I believe that there are already more than enough worries down on the earth. I don't want to think about the worries that could show up out in space.

Nick raised a brow at her answer, she did not show any legitimate excitement like he did. Nick felt inclined to push the conversation further by asking:

- Aren't you just a tiny bit curious about what could be found out there, fluff? New resources? New science? New life?

Judy released small laughter after hearing the emphasis that Nick had placed on the last part of his inquiry, she looked at him with one of her ears flopping to the side as she asked?

- 'New life'? Like aliens?

Nick nodded his head one time with a decisive motion as he asked in a way to confront Judy's evident disbelief:

- Sure. Don't you think that it is possible? To find any shred or evidence of life beyond our galaxy?

Judy tried her best to contain any other trace of laughter that she may still had in her voice, she tried to disguise it by placing her left paw under her chin and speaking up with a more serious tone to her voice:

- That sounds a little too implausible for me, Nick.

Nick was now showing a glaring stare that was directed at Judy but he was not actually mad about her stance in that subject. Nick gestured towards the sky with both of his paws, right as he placed his back straight and moved his shoulders upward, he pointed the palms of his paws to the heavens and moved them slowly in the trajectory of wide arches while asking:

- Do you really believe this is it, fluff? Would it be too far of a shot to say that, in this grand and almost endless universe, our planet is the only one that would have the unmistakable cosmic coincidence to feature life?

After finishing his gesture and being confronted by silence on Judy's behalf, Nick crossed his arms and finished his point of conversation with a comment that hung over his head for quite a while:

- I got used to thinking of this world as one of many that spin out there and as much more than a mere asterisk in the vast written text of existence.

Judy watched as Nick turned away to face some other direction, she leaned her head to look at his face from another angle and take the chance to air her own words, reviewed in better perspective of that matter. Judy took in some air and spoke up:

- Well… When you talk like that, it is rather hard to not give it a much better thought.

Nick showed off a little smile but he did not turn his face back. Judy pointed a finger at him and asked:

- That 'asterisk in the universe' line, did it come from a book?

Nick shook that question off with a smooth gesture from his left paw before answering while placing the same paw over his chest:

- No way, carrots. That one is a Nick Wilde original.

Judy released a laugh that cased her head to bop forward and her ears to flop in the same direction, she enjoyed moments like that with Nick. Times when her perspective could suddenly change and new ideas could transit back and forth between them, it certainly made the atmosphere of a tense situation far more manageable. Judy passed the palm of her right paw over her head to adjust her ears, she turned over to Nick once more and asked of him:

- What has caused your mind to wander so far away from this earthly plain, officer Wilde?

Nick turned his face to look at Judy but his eyes turned to another direction as soon as he opened his mouth to answer:

- Not really sure on that. I always had one piece of my mind set out in space.

Nick's left paw raised and he scratched right below his jaw before he continued speaking:

- I had this teacher back in high school, he taught physics. Goat guy, bent horns, thick glasses, way out of shape, his name escapes me right now. Anyway, he used to ramble on and on in class about this creation theory that he heard, it spoke on how life was originated on our planet.

Nick turned his entire body in Judy's direction and gestured with his paws as he did his best to explain the theory much like his old teacher used to do so:

- Billions of years ago, when our planet was just starting to cool off, a huge asteroid which was carrying foreign mater from space, collided with the surface of the planet and delivered a strange batch of micro-organisms that evolved through the course of eras to become complex multi-cellular living beings as they are now.

Judy had a long silent pause as he heard Nick saying that, it almost felt like the fox was a teacher in the middle of a lesson himself. Nick unmade the straight stance he was sitting on and kept speaking right after he made a brief throat clearing sound:

- The theory never struck me as something that could be outright proven without a few decades of commitment to studies, but, it got me thinking: If life could be originated and evolve from such a small source like a colony of bacteria hitching a ride in a rock, what other things can be found?

Judy showed a face that communicated to Nick how she was listening well to his words and that she really wanted to know more. Nick caught Judy by surprise during the conversation as he pointed a claw at her without seeming too invasive towards her opinion and asked of her:

- What about you, carrots?

Judy had her ears darting up and placed parallel to one another as she saw Nick pointing in her direction and was not sure about the main theme of his question, she looked over to Nick and to his paw before turning her eyes back at his face and asking:

- What about me?

Nick pointed at her again and asked his question with a few more words to detail the specifics of his inquiry:

- What do you think is the true origin of life on our humble planet? Was it the product of some grand plan or something far stranger?

Judy opened her mouth to speak but she closed it right after without releasing a sound and pressed her lips together as she took more time to think the answer over. Judy was not sure how her conversation with Nick entered the recesses of existentialism and Nick was very interested in hearing Judy's outlook on what she could bring to the subject. Judy took in some air through her mouth before answering:

- Well, I'm not very sure on how to answer that. I do believe in evolution and on the path that every species took to get to the present. Everyone in my family has a different belief on the origin of life in accordance to science or religion but I was never one to take sides so I always stayed out of such conversations. I had an uncle who was a firm believer in the Noahinsm form of belief.

Nick raised a brow and tried to clarify the last point of Judy's words out loud to confirm if he wasn't understanding it wrong in any way:

- Isn't that the one that says how all mammals were placed on the earth two at a time after a great flood that swooped away all of the impurities of the older world and life began anew from there?

Judy showed a slow positive nod with her head and answered:

- That's right.

Nick showed a smile as his upper body retreated and he adjusted his back over his seat, he was bending forward while approaching Judy to talk to her a little better. Nick pointed his right paw over his left shoulder and said:

- I had a friend who also believed in it. He was a great guy. Loved telling jokes. I learned some of the best ones that I carry to this very day from him.

Judy leaned forward as she wished to converse a little more with Nick, her attention was called to the lantern nearby, however, as she thought seeing the light flickering for half a second, that wasn't the case. Swarming around the lantern, there was a small legion of bug that only sought to stay close to that light source, Judy saw as some of the insects veered off from the light and tried flying onto her, she shook both of her paws in the air in an effort to swap the irritant creatures away but they all dodged her swipes and continued to pester her for almost a full minute. Judy was on the verge of giving up when Nick showed her that he was prepared to that eventuality.

Nick reached into his backpack and retrieved a plastic bottle with a translucent green liquid inside, he hoisted the bottle in her direction and clarify what it actually was since the label unglued from the front of the plastic surface quite a long while ago:

- It's bug repellant. I thought we might find a few while camping out up here.

Judy picked the bottle from Nick's paw and handled it with care, the container with liquid was small and she was incentivized to use it right away by the fox as he raised from his seat and dragged his back pack away into the far corner of the roof. Judy removed the top of the plastic vial and discovered that the repellant was to be used like a spray, she took the bottle with a firm grip of her left paw and spritzed herself and the air around her to make sure no bug would come near her or Nick for the duration of their stakeout. After Judy was done with the repellant she left it next to Nick's sleeping bag just in case he might come to need it later, the fox returned from his short walk to the corner of the roof now having a small book in his paws and a new expression that communicated how he was already getting antsy over their extended wait.

Nick sat himself down and soon after placed his back over the sleeping bag as he laid over it while holding the book over his head. Judy looked over him but she did not ask about what the title of the book was or if he was feeling more uneasy during the wait, she just sat there and placed her back over the sleeping bag as she turned her thoughts to somewhere else in an effort to keep herself awake for as long as possible. After a wait that stretched through the high hours of the night, Nick was still silenced in his little word and had gone through most pages of the book he was holding, Judy was still placed in a resting position over her sleeping bag and she was now truly struggling as well as she could to stay awake. Nick put the book down and checked his cellphone for the time, the battery still had plenty of life in it, which surprised him a little, and it was now past midnight, not a sign of the robbers to be seen or heard.

Judy tossed and turned over her sleeping bag but not in a way that would make it look like she was throwing a tantrum of some kind, the bunny moved her legs and passed her paws over her lower torso in an attempt to make the energy flow better through her body and make sure that she would still be prepared to spring into action. Judy kept telling herself to remain awake and alert in her mind but it was getting very hard to do so, she rubbed her eyes and released a little yawn which she tried to hide from Nick's view, her mind was active but her body kept on hitting her with the need to sit still and rest. Nick noticed Judy's movement and decided to give her a helping paw.

Nick reached into the cooler and grabbed one of the only few bottles of water he had brought along with him, the rest of the drinks contained inside were all fizzy sodas and energizer tonics but he surmised that Judy wouldn't be in the mood for any of those, the fox hoisted the bottle with refreshing water in Judy's direction but she did not noticed it right away, her body was laid over and turned in another direction over the sleeping bag. Nick shook the bottle in the air, letting the sloshing sound of liquid resonate closer to Judy, he called to her attention by asking without too much volume in his voice as to not sound too pushy towards her:

- There you go.

Nick's soft tone of voice called out to Judy as she turned her head around and soon her whole body started to follow that turning motion, she saw Nick holding up the bottle and politely accepted it as she reached for it with her right arm and thanked him for his consideration:

- Thanks, Nick.

Judy raised her upper body from the sleeping bag and spun the plastic lid to open it and take a long swig of the water, it felt very invigorating to her. Judy removed the bottle from her lips and released a long and satisfying sigh, just in time to hear as Nick called to her attention once again by saying:

- You need to take a rest, carrots.

Judy turned her face to look at Nick and his face which was showing a smile but she could also see a few details that were downgrading his smile into a frown of concern. Judy shook her head from left to right and aired her opinion:

- I don't… need to take a rest, Nick. I need to stay alert.

Judy closed the bottle of water and her eyes soon turned back to Nick to see that he was now much closer to her as he walked a few steps in her direction without her notice before extending his left paw her way and saying:

- You are not adapted to lay awake at night like that, carrots. We can tackle this one together.

Judy raised a brow as she was unsure how they would do that if she just went to sleep, no matter how short that nap would be. Judy leaned closer to Nick and asked of him:

- How so, Nick?

- By taking guard shifts. I'm far less tired than you so I can take the first one no problem. We shift back to you in an hour or so and we we'll both be ready and moderately rested to take action when the time comes.

Nick's idea made a lot of sense for Judy, she turned her eyes to the ground and decided to agree with his idea by pointing a finger of her right paw in his direction and saying:

- Very well, Nick. I'll take some time and get a little bit of sleep. But, the second something happens, you have to promise to wake me up.

Nick showed Judy a single positive nod with his head before assuring her:

- Judy, you can relax, I'll wake you up as soon as I get something. You are still the one in charge here.

Judy turned her body over the sleeping bag so that she would be laid over it on her left side, facing away from the light of the lantern, Nick decided to approach the light providing item and turn its luminosity down a bit. After he was done with that, Nick moved next to the concrete railing where the equipment was still placed in wait for anything remarkable to happen, he reached into his pockets before leaning to the left and taking one final look at the state of the equipment and thinking to himself:

"Wish I would've brought my deck with me, but the chief told to not bring anything that looked unnecessary."

Nick walked back and forth to help him come up with some mental game or some type of self-made puzzle that would help him past the time, halfway through coming up with something of the sorts, however, his mind wandered off to a few different places until landing back on that rooftop. Nick decided to grab another drink for himself, something more substantial that would help keep him awake and focused, he reached for the cooler and grabbed a can of energy drink that was labeled as citrus flavored, he undid the latch and heard a brief hiss from the can before taking it to his mouth and sipping the drink little by little, it did not have much flavor but it soon provided Nick's body with the wished effect as he felt himself getting more awake.

Almost two whole hours had gone by, the restaurant at the distant side of the street still found itself untouched and Nick was, once again, getting doubts about the thieves and if they were actually going to show up, it was almost time for Nick to wake his partner up and tell her that it was her turn to stand on watch, he looked at the clock on the screen of his cellphone and the time shown was far past three in the morning. Pretty soon he would be able to see the sun as it peeked over the horizon. Nick passed the fingers of his right paw over his eyes in an effort to keep himself alert and he did not have to wait very long for his expectation for that night to finally be met. As Nick took another look at the street beneath, he witnessed a big car drive by, he could not see inside the cabin but his suspicions were immediately raised. He decided to give a little more time before calling Judy but he activated the recording function on the camera near him just in case.

He car passed by the front of the restaurant and drastically reduced speed as the driver searched for a parking spot, Nick could not see a hint of whoever was driving it since the windows and windshield were both tinted black and there were no lights on inside the cabin and there was so much distance between him and the sighted target itself. Nick turned his head to the left and saw the pair of binoculars resting next to him, he almost forgot that he had those, the fox reached for the far seeing lenses and ducked down next to the concrete railing of the roof almost like a soldier peeking from the confines of an improvised trench. Nick followed the route of the car from a far and he had his ears well at attention to figure out every single detail about the vehicle, it all fitted out according to the information gathered; the tires were big and had indented trails in the rubber that matched fancy manufacturing marks, the engine rolled smoothly but it was also exerting a lot of effort and letting out a lot of fumes from its exhaust pipe, possible air filter malfunction; Nick heard all of that and the facts combined in his mind alerted him to the true of the fact, that was the car they were looking for.

Nick let the binoculars rest on the ground, he turned his body around and dashed towards Judy's sleeping body so that he could awake her, he was alert and his heart was beating increasingly fast as a fresh new dose of adrenaline was being pumped into his system. Nick approached Judy and placed himself on his knees before reaching over with both of his paws to wake her up, there was little time left for subtlety so he just woke her up promptly with a strong shake of her shoulder and a call made with a controlled volume to his voice:

- Carrots! Carrots, wake up!

Nick's loud whisper and the shaking motion he was exerting against Judy's left shoulder was more than enough to wake her up. Judy was pulled aggressively back to the land of the awake and the sudden shaking gave her a little scare, so much so that after she adjusted her body over the sleeping bag, she rose up with a loud yelp threatening to escape her throat:

- Ah…!

Nick heard Judy almost releasing a scream and he was worried that any loud noise would come to alert the suspects down below, even if they were probably too far away from listening range. Nick placed his right paw over Judy's mouth to quiet out her voice and that only surprised the bunny even more as she squirmed around for a bit before placing both of her paws over Nick's and turning her eyes to the right to meet sights with his concerned face. Nick showed Judy the pointing claw of his left paw directed at the edge of the roof while his left paw slowly let go of her mouth, the fox took a short moment to breath one dash of air so that he could speak to Judy and explain in an abbreviated form what was happening:

- I think our targets just arrived. Get your tail in gear because it's go time.

Judy felt a jolt invading her body, her heart skipped a beat and a sudden wave of energy washed over her. Judy raised hurriedly from her resting spot, almost tripping over the sleeping bag beneath her, she shook that off and hurried to the camera and to the antenna placed where Nick had pointed out before so that she could begin with the recording. Nick followed Judy's lead right after he turned the dim light of the lantern next to him off, he walked to a spot right next to Judy's new station while keeping himself low as to not call any attention to their position.

Nick was placed by Judy's left side, she had the binoculars over her eyes as Nick placed himself by her left, the camera placed between them. Nick looked at Judy and whispered:

- I turned the camera on and began recording. Just in case.

Judy shot a side glance at Nick and showed him a positive nod, silently acknowledging him and complimenting his action. Nick and Judy were watching the car as the sound of its engine was cut as soon as it was positioned by the corner by the left of the sidewalk, the door from the passenger side slowly opened and a huge presence appeared from inside the vehicle. A huge bull stepped out from the car, he looked around and certified that there was no other presence on those streets that could report them besides him and his associates, he placed his head inside the car and said something that was unheard by the two unseen officers on the roof but it was apparently a signal for the others that the coast appeared clear.

Soon enough, the two doors from behind the car opened, one mammal walked out from each side, from the left the presence of a stag was revealed, the scrawny figure walked out of the vehicle while flaunting his antlers around and adjusting his dark vestments before taking one step over the sidewalk. From the right side appeared the intimidating visage of a muscular puma, he would be completely camouflaged amidst the shadows of the street if not for the red shirt that he was wearing, he adjusted his shoulders and cracked his knuckles before moving away from the car and joining the stag as they moved together in the direction of their objective.

Judy needed to make some adjustments to the antenna but most of her attention was still placed over the suspects down on the street, she finished the preparation for the audio recording device as she connected it to the antenna's relay cable and turned it on with low volume so that she and Nick could hear what was being said from afar. The bull remained next to the car as he walked around it and tapped the window on the driver's side, the glass lowered slowly to reveal the face of the smallest mammal in that group, an opossum that had his right paw placed on the button that lowered the glass and his right paw still hanging on to the wheel.

Judy raised her ears and Nick leaned closer as the antenna received the sound information from the direction it was pointed at and the receiver sounded off the voices that were being recorded. The bull spoke up:

- Mitch, keep still and stay alert. Shoot us an alert if you see anything.

The opossum raised his left paw and answered with a waving gesture and a well-mannered tone of voice:

- I'll be here on alert. You guys just hurry it up.

Mitch, reached for a button on the dash panel of the car with his right paw and the sound of two simple electronic latches becoming undone notified the others to the cargo trunk of the car being opened, since the vehicle was 'pick-up' like in its design, the puma only had to lower the back panel to get a clear view of the payload that they had brought with them. The puma leaned forward almost laying his entire upper body over the cargo space so that he could unstrap two elastic latches that were hanging on to a cylindrical container that had a strange nozzle mounted to its release valve, he slid the container off from its previous position and began carrying it on his arms, it was much lighter than it seemed.

The stag approached the puma and pointed out to the container as he warned his strong headed accomplice:

- Be careful with that thing, Sal. The last thing we need is you dropping it to the ground again.

Sal looked at the stag and showed a frown as the repetitive orders of the self-appointed mammal in charge were beginning to get on his last nerve. The feline growled and answered to that with s loud whisper:

- I already told you that was Mark's fault. He bumped into me and made me drop it. At least it didn't break.

Hearing mention of his name, the bull stepped forth and placed his own voice in the conversation:

- That's right. If it did break there would be an ugly ice statue of a loud mouth puma adorning the street right about now.

Sal turned to face the bull and his answer was a savage sounding snarl that barely caused the bovine to flinch away from his spot. The stag stepped in as he placed himself between the other two while thinking that they were just about ready to tear each other to pieces:

- Enough of this! Mark, take the lead and continue surveying the other side of the street, make sure we actually took the route out and that no cameras caught wind of us. Sal, stop your incessant snarling and take the canister to the store, we have a job to complete.

The two mammals who were just about to trade harsh words, or maybe even a few hits, decided to walk to their designated spots and prepare for the unfolding of the agreed plan. Nick and Judy were still listening to the far off conversation and Nick was the first one to say something to Judy as soon as the words stopped coming through the audio receiver in Judy's paw:

- I'm guessing the douche with the antlers is the one in charge.

Judy looked in Nick's direction after hearing his comment but her attention turned back to the suspects as she followed their progress with her eyes and with the listening antenna. The stag accompanied by his two muscular accomplices, placed his paw over the display window of the establishment and pointed with his other paw the perfect spot to spray their secret weapon, Sal came closer with the container in his arms and Mark was already getting ready to do his thing. Sal left the container in the ground and a subtle metallic sound was heard thanks to the bottom of the container entering in contact with the concrete right below it, the bull turned a valve by the top halfway and adjusted the nozzle to disperse the substance as a thin spritz that would spread more easily over the glass surface.

The stag which name was still unknown, stood straight with his eyes focused on every action his cohorts were employing at that moment, making sure that all would run smoothly, that no other presence was around to stop them and that there would be no more fighting under his watch. Mark grabbed the container mounted nozzle on his right paw and pressed a releasing trigger that discharged a bright blue liquid along with a thick white mist and a strange hissing sound. There was a concentrated spurt over the glass that lasted no more than seven seconds, it was apparent to Nick that most of the substance that was released evaporated almost instantly as soon as it entered in contact with the warm atmosphere around it, however, more than enough of it touched the glass to cause the desired effect.

The glass of the display window had a more close resemblance to a white wall, the mist provided by the canister had vanished and the stag looked very satisfied with the progress of the plan. With a simple bump of his antlers, the stag caused the affected glass to creek and crumble until it became nothing more than specs on the floor, the sound of the crumbling glass was noticeable but it was not loud enough to be heard by anyone and that scene shocked and amazed the two officers who were still keeping watch over the entire thing from a distance.

- Holy plantation!

Judy exclamated with an astonished whisper as she could hardly believe what she was seeing for herself, Nick didn't say anything, he only remained still while having a steely gaze in his eyes. Judy knew that he had to act fast, she already had the evidence that they would need to arrest the thieves but there was still more to be done, she was already formulating a quick plan in her head as she grabbed her cellphone and called to the ZPD. The front desk of the dispatch station answered to Judy's call and a feminine voice on the other side of the line spoke up:

- ZPD dispatch.

After getting the confirmation that her call was received, Judy spoke clearly with a controlled volume to her voice, giving all the details she could on a limited amount of time:

- Dispatch, this is officer Judy Hopps. There is a disturbance on the bar Proclaim's, Savanna central, three assailants and a mobilized driver on the scene. Requesting immediate back-up to our location.

There was a quick confirmation signal on the other side of the call and Judy got that as her cue to turn off the phone and turn over to Nick to tell him of their current situation. Judy placed the phone down and looked over to Nick, the fox was still ducked down and waiting for confirmation on their next course of action which came soon enough as Judy said:

- We have back-up on the way but it is going to take some time. We have to make sure that the thieves are going to stay put and that they won't use that substance against anyone.

Nick took another look at the street below and figured how much of a challenge that could end up being but he also thought how easier it could become if the driver and his vehicle were to be decommissioned. Nick showed a mischievous side smile that Judy caught side of before he turned to her and said:

- I think I have a plan that could impair their chances to run away, but it is going to be tricky. Are you up for it?

Judy nodded her head once before demonstrating how ready she really was by showing Nick that she had her tranquilizer shooter hidden nearby. Judy walked with a rushed set of steps in the direction of her duffle bag and pulled her tranq gun from a hidden pouch concealed by the left side of the bag, she turned over to Nick and said:

- Let's go.

Nick opened the door on the roof that lead to the stairs, they reached ground level and unlocked the service entrance at the side of the building which was shown by a huge fire proof door as per safety regulations approved by the building's tenant. Nick and Judy walked up to the streets and did their best to remain in the shadows as they approached the corner on the other side of the street where the getaway car was parked, Nick looked over and saw that the driver was distracted, the opossum was fiddling away at his cellphone as he awaited for the others to conclude their business. There was a prime opportunity to make their move and Nick signaled to Judy with his right paw that the coast was clear and that they should move swiftly to the objective.

Making sure to stay lowered and avoid having their movements detected by the distracted driver, Nick and Judy moved towards the back of the vehicle as the fox saw the exposed tires and placed his stratagem into fruition. From his back pocket, Nick grabbed a Swiss army knife with an assortment of small tools folded into its contrivances, he placed the claw of his left paw over the metallic edges while he looked for the one tool that was suited for the job.

Nick wasn't sure at first if it would've been prudent or even necessary to bring the old camping tool with him but he was so glad that he did, his limited training and studies as a scout told him to always be prepared for any eventuality, even the ones he could not see coming. Judy was crouched near Nick as she constantly peeked her head to the side of the vehicle and made sure that their presence was not yet detected, her ears were lowered to not call any attention by making a perceivable shadow on the ground but both of her ears darted up as she heard Nick's triumphant whisper derived from finding the specific tool he was looking for:

- Alright.

Judy turned her head to face Nick and saw as the fox pressed a switch that revealed a sharp blade which glistened in the air, even with the limited lighting provided by the far off street light. Nick held the previously concealed knife firmly in his right paw after making sure that the blade was locked in place and would not unintentionally retract itself away, he pointed the tip of the blade to the rubber cover of the tire closest to him but he stopped abruptly and released a sigh that was heard by Judy. Having some concern, the bunny leaned closer and asked of her partner with a soft whisper:

- Nick, what's wrong?

- Nothing. It just sucks to flatten such a prestigious tire.

Judy didn't have to say anything else to convince Nick that their mission had top priority over his love of automobiles. Nick stabbed away at the tire frame, holding the blade steady with his right paw while his left paw was pulling at the base of the hilt to drive it deeper, he twisted the knife up and down and was successful in puncturing a hole that let the air escape from the tire little by little, just enough that it would not be noticed. Nick turned in Judy's direction and pointed to the one tire closest to her before saying:

- Now the other one.

Nick repeated the process on the other tire and his plan to stop the car in its tracks was completed, although that did not diminish the feeling that he had about letting such immaculate wheels going to waste. He guarded the tool back in his pocket after retracting the blade, turned over to Judy and said:

- I don't feel pride on what I just did.

Judy looked at him and her eyes showed a mixture of satisfaction and misconstruction for his words. There was still the matter of the driver to take care of and, luckily, Nick had a plan for that too but it was more daring and far more risky.

Nick looked around on the ground and found some lose pebbles that had the perfect weight for what he had planned, he tossed the diminutive stones into the air and they made a tight arch before coming down and getting sprinkled over the windshield of the car, the noise scared the opossum who let his cellphone fall to the side and he decided to recklessly go outside and check what made that noise. The opossum opened the door and quickly stepped out to check things out, the clueless rodent looked up, leaning his body at different angles and searching around thinking that the rocks fell originating from a higher position. Nick's plan was working far better than he previously imagined, it did help the fact that the driver in question had his nerves shaken by the small impact on the front glass of the vehicle.

Like a ninja moving in closer for a deadly strike, Nick rushed in the direction of the suspect, opened his arms and snuck behind the opossum as the rodent was preoccupied with checking another direction. Nick placed his arms around the mammal having his right arm restraining his upper torso and having the palm of his left paw pressed over his mouth, the apprehended mammal tried to scream in panic but he was already caught and no sound could leave his lips loud enough to alert the others.

Nick had the first of the suspects in his arms and the rodent was not making things any easier for the fox officer, he began to shake, kick and contort as he tried to slip away from Nick's hold but the fox was strong and he held on tightly, turning his own body around and re-centering his balance to not fall down and give the suspect an edge to run away. It was getting increasingly hard to hold the suspect at bay, the opossum tried resorting to hurting Nick by passing his claws over the arm that was constricting his torso and nearly slipping away over to his neck, it was a desperate effort to ease the fox's hold but Nick wasn't alone and he asked Judy for immediate assistance as soon as both him and the opossum were turned in the bunny's direction:

- Carrots, shut this guy up!

Having both of his paws occupied, Nick released the loud whisper towards Judy so she would employ a rushed tactic that would quiet the suspect down. Not wanting to hurt Nick by accident or cause any loud commotion, Judy gave one hopping step closer to her partner, pressed the chamber of her shooter on the perp's chest and pressed the trigger to release a close range tranq dart that would put the opossum to sleep. The sound of the shooter firing a dart from such a close range was muffled by the cloth of his shirt but the impact of the dart hitting his skin as such close range was felt in full, he released a grunt of pain before noticing the dart sticking out of his chest and, as the anesthetic entered his system, he slowly began to lose consciousness and stopped moving in Nick's arms.

The driver was now neutralized and Nick released his unconscious body over the ground. Nick passed the palm of his left paw over the extent of his right arm to check if there were any lacerations caused by the claws of the wriggly rodent he just detained, no severe injuries were felt and Nick released a relieved sigh as he certified himself of that fact. Judy walked next to Nick and placed her left paw over his lower back to silently call to his attention and ask of him:

- Are you injured?

Nick turned over to Judy and showed her his arm, brushing the fur out of the way to give her a full assurance that he was just fine followed by his voice saying:

- I'm alright and ready for more.

Without taking her eyes away from Nick, Judy reached for a pair of cuffs that she had brought along, she lowered her body closer to the ground until she was placed down over her right knee, she then turned the sleeping body of the opossum with his front facing the ground and proceeded to restrain him. Judy raised from the ground and both her and Nick were alerted to a loud tumult inside of the store, the sound of a wooden item hitting the floor rather hard alerted both of her ears to the fact that their task was still far from being completed. Nick grabbed the tranq gun that Judy handed to him and said confidently:

- One down, three more to go.

Judy lead the way with Nick following her close behind, their eyes focused forward and attentive for anything that could spell out immediate danger for either of them, the two officers approached the shattered display window y the lower right edge and they took a look inside to see what all the noise was about. Sal, the puma with perceptible anger issues, was tossing the furniture and décor of the restaurant around, ripping portraits from the walls to smash them on the round and turning chairs over along with the tables, creating a scene that would make searching for clues later very difficult. Sal took a moment to admire his own handiwork and laughed menacingly before saying:

- Oh, I have been looking forward to this.

Mark, the bull, who was far more concerned with prying open and cleaning out the cash register, approached the puma and said:

- I still do not understand why you insist on doing all of this. We only need to rob the place not tear it apart.

Sal turned over and faced Mark as he pointed a claw to the bovine's face and said:

- Fancy places like this are a blemish on Zootopia. There are families of mammals out there who can ill afford a decent meal while other mammals laze about eating fancy food and drinking ritzy drinks. It makes me sick.

Sal finished his anarchic sentence by kicking a table down and almost annihilating a display case for sweets due to the proximity of the impact, such a display of ferocity startled Nick and Judy as the two mammals retreated back a few inches to make sure that they weren't seen by one of the criminals. Sal turned back to Mark and finished his thought by saying:

- Mammals could rise up. Grab hold of their lives and take what they really want, what they really need, but they are scared. If it were up to me I would tear it all down, so it could be rebuilt the right way.

Mark showed a frown as he admitted without the use of words that there was much wrong with the life as his cohort explained, but he also knew that pointless and aimless destruction was not the way to get your point across. Nick and Judy were still outside, witnessing as the scene unfolded, Nick continued to watch and spoke to Judy with a controlled volume that would, hopefully remain undetected by anyone else:

- Looks like we have quite the anarchist in our paws.

Judy looked over at Nick and spoke to him with low volume as well as she expressed her distaste for the feline culprit:

- I think that big puma guy is just insane.

Convinced that Judy may have a point and that the destructive inclined feline would not go down without a fight, Nick retorted:

- Then let's get him a nice padded cell somewhere.

Nick's one-liner alerted Judy that he was ready to step in and apprehend the criminals but Judy stopped him by placing her right paw over his chest and saying:

- Wait, Nick. First we need to grab that metal container and take it away from them. We've both seen what it can do.

Nick looked inside and saw what Judy was referring to, the metal vat of freezing agent was resting unattended on the ground. Nick looked at Judy and agreed with her point of order by saying:

- We wait for an opening, go inside and take it away.

Judy looked over to Nick and nodded before saying:

- Agreed.

Judy could feel her heart beating faster and faster, she never felt a rush of adrenaline like the one she was feeling at that very instant, all of the tension and stress she was feeling before that moment had chipped away and given place to a readiness that she was preparing to unleash. Nick felt much of the same but most of the eagerness that he was feeling in his chest was directed at Judy, he could also feel a small gasp for air being trapped in his chest but that subsided once he took a moment to breathe. Nick and Judy were ready to engage their targets and the opportunity that they were expecting came right away as a commanding voice came from the back of the establishment, yelling out:

- Sal! Mark! Get over here. I think I found something.

The bull finished storing away the lose money inside a bag and walked off in the direction of the voice belonging to the leader in charge of that caper. Sal took another short moment for himself to turn a chair that was next to him over to its side before answering to the stag's call. With the two bruisers away from the main scene and the container unguarded, Nick and Judy leapt into the fray.

Nick vaulted over the empty window frame and Judy followed right after him, the fox was extra careful to not step on any shard of glass and he made a firm mental note to watch out for any remaining sharp obstacle once he was to carry the vat away. Judy was most careful to not bump into any piece of furniture that was left laying around, thanks to Sal's viciousness the route between them and the container laid littered with obstacles, they would need to be extra cautious on their way back.

Judy was the first to arrive next to the container that had the freezing agent, she took some time staring at it to make sure if there could be any logo or substantial clue that would lead them to the manufacturer of the substance, nothing of note was found on the thick metal shell. Nick arrived soon after and he placed his left paw over the outer frame of the container, he began to tip it over and find an angle that would make it easier to carry it someplace more secure. The container was not too heavy and there was a nearly inaudible sloshing sound that told them how little of the freezing substance there was left. Nick and Judy did their best to raise the container from the ground and to not drop it as to not alert the robbers, Nick held on to the top and was weary of the releasing nozzle pointed in his general direction while Judy placed both of her paw close to the bottom and made sure to not hit anything as they walked towards the nearest exit with the big vat of evidence in their possession.

More to the inside of the restaurant, Sal and Mark were walking side by side through a wide corridor until they both spotted a door that lead to a storage room, that where they were needed. They went on to answer to the stag's call but they hit a short impediment as they tried to go through the threshold at the same time and ended up bumping shoulders with one another. Sal growled but Mark did not picked a fight in any way, he simply stepped back and let the feline walk inside the room first.

The leader of the robbers was looking into a gap between a storage locker and the wall, there was something behind it that called to his attention, something that was not on the original plan. He signaled to his comrades to come closer and help him move the heavy locker out of the way. The bull, the puma and the stag worked in unison as they positioned themselves at the left side of the locker and began to push it away with all of the strength they could muster, the metal legs of the locker scratched and scrapped across the floor tiles releasing a high pitched sound that definitely bothered each of them to some degree. After no small effort, the locker was out of the way and the prize was revealed, an big vault door was placed there in front of them, the stag nearly squealed with delight while the bull crossed his arm with satisfaction for the completed task and the puma just stepped away and was tankful to be simply done with that task.

Mark stepped closer to check that vault door, whatever it was protecting it was valuable and there was plenty of it to go around. He checked the mark of the vault as well as the locking mechanism before saying:

- The dial is electronic but the latch itself is easily accessible. We'll just spray it and pry it open.

The stag showed a jovial smile before saying:

- Music to my ears.

The leader of the robbers proceeded to point towards the door and the direction his associates had come through and bark orders at them:

- Let's grab the freeze juice and get his thing open, we just his the jackpot.

Sal was trying to catch his breath while leaning next to the closest wall, he looked at the bossy mammal to his right and showed a pointing claw before taking in some air and saying:

- I'll do it, but I refuse to call that stuff 'freeze juice'.

Back to the outside, Nick and Judy were just finishing to secure the container, they left it stashed away next to the stairs leading to their stakeout nest, even if the thieves caught their trail it would take them too long to secure it back. Judy was careful as she lowered the bottom of the container back to the ground and Nick was certain that she had let it go before adjusting the container until it was set straight up, the easiest part was done. Judy pointed towards the other side of the street where they just came from and said:

- We have to go back there and pin the thieves down.

Nick wanted to air a protest, tell Judy that it would be far safer to wait for their back-up to arrive before engaging the criminals, he looked away from Judy as that thought crossed his mind but another thought came right after and convinced him of the contrary course of action. The more time they would waste arguing or waiting the more time there would be for the thieves to regroup and spring for a counter action against them. Nick turned his eyes to Judy once more, nodded affirmatively and pointed to the direction they just came from as a sign that he was prepared to put Judy's plan into action.

Judy took the lead and Nick followed, they vaulted over the window frame and reentered the restaurant perimeter, they hid themselves amongst the wreckage of the tossed furniture and waited for the thieves to show up in search of their secret weapon. Sal was the first one to show out to the hallway at the far right wall followed by Mark and the stag who pointed out to a random spot in the room and spoke the same order:

- Grab the stuff. We are moments away from striking big time.

Mark looked around and noticed that the container was nowhere to be seen, it was definitely not at the spot he had seen it last. The bull began to look around, to place his paw over some of the furniture pieces that were still left untouched and lean his upper body around a he frantically looked for the one item that they were repeatedly told not to lose. Sal and the stag followed behind him soon enough, the other two mammals emerged from the corridor under the effect of a very ominous shadow as they revealed themselves, they witnessed their cohort look around and become more desperate with every step that he took around the room and every fail to locate the desired item. Sal pointed his right paw in the direction of Mark, making an exaggerated gesture with his fingers before he lowered his paw and asked:

- What the hell are you doing?

- It's gone!

Neither one of the tow mammals who just entered the room understood what that was about but the stag already had a very good idea about what the bull in front of him was referring to, he prayed that he was wrong in his assumption. The stag raised his left paw and asked, just to make sure:

- What is gone… exactly?

- The freeze canister! It's gone!

Sal could not believe what he just heard. The one reaction he could show at that moment was to bare his claws, lean forward and yell out:

- WHAT?!

Mark continued to look around to see if there was still a chance they could find it but it was to no avail, the canister was already hidden away and the two officers responsible for that were readying to enter the scene and make themselves known. Judy and Nick took advantage of the disorganization on the part of the thieves and jumped over the window frame, they got back inside and they hid behind the turned over table that was closet to them as they entered the room. Placed side by side behind that make-shift barricade, the two officers nodded to one another as a signal to take drastic action and apprehend the thieves.

Tensions were high between the robbers, the bull continued to search around still holding to the faintest gleam of hope that the canister was somewhere nearby, merely unseen, he kept rationalizing how it could not have simply walked away by its own nonexistent will. Nick and Judy revealed themselves in that moment, the thieves were turned in the opposite direction as the fox and the bunny appeared side by side, facing away from the display window frame and pointing both of their tranq guns in the general direction of the intended targets. Judy, always loyal to procedure, yelled out as she surprised the criminals and dropped the veil of concealment:

- ZPD! Paws in the air!

The three assailants turned around and met with the silhouettes of the two mammals pointing in their direction, it was hard to discern who they were, the streetlights being projected from behind them made a little trickier for any mammal to identify anything but their shapes but Sal's vision was getting used to the lack of nearby illumination and he had a nagging feeling he knew precisely who the mammals pointing at him were.

The stag clamped his right foot against the ground and Judy directed her shooter at him out of pure reflex, she did not wish to encounter any surprise as she and Nick apprehended the suspects. Mark looked at his leader and asked with his stress levels peaking and his voice being nervously projected between his teeth:

- What the fuck, Edgar?! You said that the cops wouldn't be able to tail us!

Nick was glad to barge into that supposed argument as he spoke up:

- You fellas left a pretty flaky trail to be followed. It wasn't too hard to rule out all of the targets that you wouldn't hit and single out the only one that could make the cut.

Judy provided verbal backing for Nick as she tightened her grip on her shooter before saying:

- You hooligans pulverized your last shard of glass. Our back-up is already hot on its way and you will all be officially under arrest soon enough. I suggest you surrender.

Sal hated that, that voice of authority that rang loudly and echoed around in his mind. The panther was not going to let himself get arrested without a scrap and he was more than willing to provide the two officers with a fight to be remembered, from his point of view they did not look like huge threats. Sal growled and answer to Judy's words with a loud volume to his voice while his paws searched the area around him for a favorable angle to pounce:

- Suggestion duly noted. Now, step aside before I break both of you down over my knee.

Judy was frazzled by the direct threat but Nick knew how to play the game like that. Nick could already see that the burly feline had anger issues and he knew that anger could make any fighter sloppy and undisciplined, he released a laugh and then spoke up:

- If you say so. Good luck reaching for either of us behind bars, grumpy.

Sal was now steaming with anger but his rage had its focus split as Mark called to the attention of everyone in the room by saying:

- Wait! This was not in the plan! I'm not going to do this:

- "What"?!

Sal and Edgar yelled that question at the same time. The bull explained what he meant by that, even if that was the worst possible time to do so:

- You said that this was the chance to pick easy money without leaving a trace. I'm not about to pick a fight with the ZPD over this. That is crazy!

Sal pointed a claw at Mark while stomping his right foot on the ground to emphasize how furious he actually was at that moment:

- You spineless dolt. You took the chance and now that the chips are down you're not gonna do anything?!

- Edgar said that this was easy money!

Judy intervened in that conversation as she renewed her aim on one of the thieves and yelled out:

- Take it from us you crook, there is no such thing as 'easy money'.

Nick showed a little side smile before saying, mostly intended as a quick jest to crack some of the tension:

- Well…

Judy caught wind of that and stopped his train of thought before it could go any further:

- Not the time.

Sal was done with all of that, he took that time of arguing confusion to make his move as he pointed to the two officers and said:

- Zootopia's finest are part of the problem. If you high and mighty mammals think you're strong enough to step up and fight, then… LET'S FIGHT!

With that said, Sal reached for the wall closet to him and pulled a portrait of a lovely green landscape to throw at Nick and Judy like an attack disk, he aggressively ripped the item from its hold on the wall and tossed it forward making it spin vertically in the direction of the two officers. Judy caught wind of the criminal's intentions, Nick did so as well, each of them dodged in a different direction, Nick swayed to the left while Judy ducked and leaned to the right, the portrait flew past them, out the window and it was heard smashing down out on the street.

Sal was not done with his assault, for his next attack he grabbed a wooden chair with only one paw and tossed in the air like a shot-put. The item in question weight far more than the portrait and the horizontal arch he made with his arm before throwing it only caused his aim to veer off in an undesired direction as the chair spun out and flew too far off to the right. Nick did not have to exert a lot of effort to dodge the chair, it hit nothing but the wall next to him, but the sound of the wooden leg of the chair breaking against the wall surface let the fox know how strong the feline actually was, they would have to take them down hard and fast.

Mark panicked in the middle of all of that insanity, he saw as Edgar ducked behind a counter to get some cover and how Sal was basically going berserk with the prospect of a full-on fight. The bull then remembered that he was still holding on to the bag containing the sum total that he took from the cash register, he decided to make a run for it and leave the others as a long distraction to sort things out. As Mark turned around to search for a back door out of the restaurant through the kitchen, Nick caught wind of that, the bull's face communicated loud and clear that he was far more interested in fleeing than actually winning the confrontation. Nick yelled out as he pointed his shooter to the bull, trying to find a favorable targeting range that would let him use the one shot he had:

- The bull is making a break for it!

- Oh, no he is not!

Judy heard Nick and her eyes immediately turned to the one mammal that her partner pointed out, she was not about to let a suspect give her the slip. Sal saw as the bunny began to dash toward the center of the room in search of a better shooting chance, he tried to stop her with the last piece of furniture that was next to him. Sal grabbed a chair that was left on the ground, raised it over his head and tossed it in Judy's direction with excessive strength but Judy was already prepared for that. The bunny had her left ear detecting the effort that the puma had exerted to grab the chair and toss it in her general direction but she did not take her eyes off her original target, Judy leapt forward, lowering her body closer to the ground as she performed an epic dodge maneuver that caused the chair to miss her by a wide margin, she rolled on to the ground, tucking her body into the shape of a ball and landing over her right knee as she placed herself in the perfect position to fire a dart that would not miss its mark.

Judy held the little bit of breath she still had in her chest, pressed a hold over her shooter with both paws and pulled the trigger to release the second dart in her clip, the projectile flew through the air and hit the bull right on his back. Mark hadn't even made it to the kitchen doors when he felt a sharp needle puncturing a spot next to his left shoulder, he dropped the sack with the loot and tried to reach back in a desperate attempt to identify and maybe removed what had just hit him but it was in vain. The bull's muscular arms did not reach all the way on to his back and the tranquilizer was already working its way through his bloodstream, Mark felt tired all of a sudden, he tried to stay awake but it did not take, he was brought to his knees and collapsed on the floor while Judy, after making sure that she had a confirmed hit, ran out of the way in order to find some new piece of furniture she could use as cover.

With no more furniture around to throw and convinced that his supposed associate was about to ditch them, all that Sal could say at that moment was:

- Serves you right, you miserable traitor.

There was so much confusion inside the restaurant, Edgar simply could not believe how his marvelous plan had gone so wrong. The stag looked around and his eyes landed on the display window and he yelled out in frustration:

- Where in the hell is Mitch?

Nick was the one to answer that question as he stoked the fires of that fight:

- If you mean your getaway driver, forget it. He was our first collar of the night.

Edgar was livid but, oddly enough, Sal was not surprised. The panther always figured that the smallest one of the group would be the first one to get captured. Nick decided to do something bold at that time, something that the criminals would not see coming, as his partner moved about in search of a new angle of attack, he dashed towards the counter, lowered under the table to remain concealed during his run without losing too much momentum and appeared next to the serving counter where the stag was trying to hide in order to surprise the leader of the robbers, it did not work as expected. Edgar was already wise to Nick's quick maneuver, he waited for the fox to appear from behind the corner and charged at him with the intent to knock him down and out, Nick was shocked to see the target he was trying to capture so close to him and ready to strike, there was no reason to aim his shooter up, it was too late to try that, Nick was hit by a swift kick in the gut that pushed him back and nearly caused him to trip, he needed a quick way out or he would be done.

Nick moved his eyes around in search of anything, any object he could use to provide a distraction or an angle he could find to escape that situation, luckily, he found both. Nick saw as the stag was getting ready to charge him and he waited until the last possible moment to put his new strategy in action, Edgar rushed ahead, gaining speed with every step and Nick was waiting for it as he thought:

"Time for a little payback."

Nick dove to the right and tucked his right leg in before kicking it and pushing a downed chair into the path of the stag. Edgar tried to stop but he could not, he saw as the chair slid over the floor and was placed perfectly over the path of his run, his legs fumbled around before hitting the chair frame, he stumbled about without losing his forward momentum which carried him over past the counter and on to the kitchen door, the doors leading to the kitchen were not locked and he tripped right where Nick expected it, the perfect chance to take the leader down. Nick raised from the floor, using both of his paws to push him onto his feet once more, he dashed towards the kitchen and yelled out so Judy would not worry about him:

- I go this one.

- Nick! Wait!

Judy tried to alert her friend but she had other things t worry about, the panther was right on her as he readied his claws to take her down. Judy dodged out of the way of the wild swing and placed all of her attention on the fight at hand, confident that her partner would figure out a way to come out on top of his own established confrontation. Nick infiltrated the kitchen and began scanning the new environment in search of any trace of the stag, he turned to the left and saw the criminal moving in search of an instrument that he could use as a weapon, Nick saw the chance to stop the stag and shot the one dart he had with him inside of his shooter but he missed. The dart flew past the stag missing the mammal but only a few inches and hitting the shelf of spices right next to him as he continued to move about, frustrated with his lapse in aim, Nick could only yell out:

- Damn it all!

The fox had to continue pursuit and take the suspect down personally, he put the tranq gun away as he fully intended to give it back to Judy later. Edgar moved about and spotted a suspended rack filled with pots and pans, one of them would make a suitable weapon to use against the fox but Nick was not just going to lay back and watch that unfold. Nick climbed over the kitchen counter, cutting his way over the bowls and pots and left over utensils that were left strewn about, he leaped right on the path of the stag and left the criminal without a clear path to attain a weapon. Figuring that Nick was, indeed a clever mammal and capable of spotting a chance to act wherever there was one, Edgar decided to try his chance in distracting the fox by talking to him:

- You seem like a very clever fox.

Nick's answer to that was quick and sharp:

- Clever enough to know that whatever you're selling I'm not buying. Don't even think about reaching for a weapon because that just might leave you open, just because I play for the good guys that doesn't mean I'm above playing dirty.

The stag released a small ticking sound from his mouth, the fox had figured him out in an instant. He launched a retort as he gestured with his right paw moving from side to side and said:

- Good guys, bad guys, that is such a short sighted way of looking at things.

Nick shrugged that off by answering:

- True, but it's not going to change the fact that what you and your friends did was wrong and you're gonna go down hard for it.

Edgar realized that there was no talking out of that, he would have to take the fox head on and he was sure that it wouldn't be hard, he was much taller, faster and stronger than Nick. Edgar took his chance as he advanced ready to throw a punch while saying:

- That in a wrong assumption, the only one going down is you along with your bunny friend. Now stay still so I can…

Before Edgar completed that sentence, Nick swayed to the left and advanced against his opponent, delivering a quick jab onto his gut, it did not hit that hard but it managed to knock Edgar temporarily out of his guard. Edgar saw Nick's sudden movement and tried to dodge out of the way but the fox switched direction in the middle of his advance and confused the stag, Nick's punch scraped alongside the right edge of his torso and Edgar got that as a sign to talk less and fight more. Nick showed his ever increasing confidence as he hopped around, ready to punch and dodge at the sign of another movement, he gestured with a nod of his head and said:

- My bunny partner is way tougher than she looks, it wouldn't surprise me in the least if she is mopping the floor of the next room with your friend's face right about now.

Edgar had enough, he threw a punch in Nick's direction that would surely shut him up, a wide vertical hammering swing with his right paw that Nick was quick to dodge and answer with one punch of his own. Nick gave a single step to the side, avoiding the punch and getting closer to the stag's reach, he delivered a quick double jab to Edgar's chest and the criminal stepped back as he was left with little breath to strike back. Another hit was thrown Nick's way, a left hook that was sloppy at best, Nick leaned his body backwards as the punch missed him and he started to understand why: The dim illumination at the kitchen combined with the momentary loss of breath was causing the stag to misjudge the reach of his punches which gave Nick ample chances to seek an opening.

Nick gave one long leap back, giving himself enough space and plenty of time to take his surroundings into consideration, it did not take too long for a new plan to spark inside his mind and the prospect of easy victory made him smile. Nick unmade his smile quickly as he recalled the long lived lesson about getting cocky in the middle of a fight, he renewed his battle stance before his right paw reached behind his back and he grabbed a set of pawcuffs that he had on him just in case. With all of the angles for his plan worked out, Nick thought:

"Here goes nothing."

Edgar rushed against Nick once more, having his arms open and seeking to tackle the fox, Nick was waiting for something like that to happen. Nick swayed to the left with a fluid motion and unleashed a quick punch on the side of Edgar's knee just as it was locked down to support his weight during the run. The stag yelled in pain as Nick's quick strike hit an unforeseen pressure point on his leg, he was brought to his knees and brought closer to Nick's height level, the fox wasted no time with another attack, a straight right punch to the side of the head that left Edgar more disoriented than before, it was time to end it.

As soon as Edgar had regained his senses, Nick was already done with his plan, he had cuffed the stag to the railing arm of the nearby stove, the fancy kitchen appliance was sturdy and provided the perfect anchor point to trap the criminal, Edgar noticed how his left paw was now chained and he tried his best to move so he could hit Nick at least once. Nick got smarter to it, he reached over the nearby counter, grabbed a copper frying pan and struck the criminal square on the head, Edgar fell unconscious while still having his left paw raised and cuffed to the stove, Nick smiled satisfied, he stood victorious and made a quick gesture with the frying pan in his paw, tossing the tool into the air and catching it once again as it came down but there was little time to celebrate.

Nick darted to the main room of the restaurant to check on Judy and her situation had gone from dire to critical during his absence. Judy kept being the main target of Sal as the puma swung his punches wildly, not giving the bunny the proper chance to aim her shooter and knock him down. Every time Sal released an attack and it missed, he went for another one, following the bunny with his angry filled eyes and noticing the changes in her direction thanks to the mild dashes of wind he could feel with his whiskers. In terms of speed, the officer and the vandal were equally matched and there was little to do but keep with their regular combat strategies until either of them gave an opening.

Judy held tightly to her shooter's grip with her right paw, she dodged to the left as she saw the puma advancing against her once more, his growling and snarling as he put different moves into action made it sound like he was doing his best to emulate the appearance of a savage mammal, the bunny was half convinced that the criminal was trying to take a bite out of her during some instances. Judy did her best to keep her entire body out of range from the claws and teeth of the puma, slowly giving herself more room to maneuver and trying to find a way to corner her opponent, a risky gambit to be sure but she had little choice for fighting since Nick was not close by to back her up at that time.

Sal was getting tired, his swings were starting to slow down, he kept on with his wild tactics until he saw what he believed was an opening. Sal ducked down, leaning closer to Judy, he opened his arms and swiftly brought them together intending to catch Judy between the claws of both his paws and compress her small body in a shredding hold. Judy kept her eyes directed at the thief, he thought that she would have nowhere to go if she was to be hit from both sides but he was sorely mistaken. Judy gave a big jump straight up and escaped the puma's hold, his claws grasped nothing but air, once in the air, Judy tucked both of her legs in and delivered swift double kick to Sal's snout, the kick confused the tiger and propelled Judy backwards, she landed safely away from him and now she had all the distance she needed for a decisive shot.

Judy aimed her tranq shooter at the puma and pressed on the trigger but something went wrong, the trigger mechanism stopped halfway and no sound came out of the main air chamber, Judy's shooter was jammed and the clip containing the dart did not want to come out, her weapon was suffering a malfunction at the worst possible time.

- Oh, cucumbers!

Judy said in understandable frustration as she clapped the palm of her left paw against the weapon frame, hoping that an aggressive touch would make the hobbled mechanism click back into place but there was no such luck, the trigger still would not move. Sal showed a wicked smile, he walked towards Judy with a menacing set of steps while showing the gleam of his sharp teeth, Judy took her eyes away from her weapon and back to the criminal, she waited for another angle that she could exploit to dodge out of the way but, to her surprise, escaping out of the way would not be necessary right away. Sal was preparing another attack when a sudden feeling of pain hit him on the back of his skull, he bent his neck slightly forward with the sensation of recoil and placed both of his paws on the back of his head, there was a metallic noise as the object that hit him collided with the floor and his eyes turned over in the direction of the sound to try and identify it, it was a frying pan.

Judy leaned to the left and Sal turned his body around until their eyes landed on Nick as the fox showed his dramatic entrance. Being to far away for a direct assault and not wanting to call attention for himself, Nick tossed the metal pan straight at the puma like a hatchet and he was very satisfied for having hit his mark without the need to curve his throw or having to walk any closer. Judy was very thankful for Nick's action and she was marveled with the fact that her partner could still find unorthodox ways to help out, she took in some breath and yelled his name out loud:

- Nick!

The fox thought that the perfect cue to dish out a magnificent catch phrase that he had come up with:

- Today's special: A swift blow to the noggin. Get it while it's hot!

Sal clutched both of his paws into fists as he looked at the fox and his slick smile. It was obvious that Edgar had been defeated but there was still plenty of fighting ahead, Nick saw Judy and the situation she was in but she was not hurt and that was the most important thing at the time, he waved a paw in her direction and saluted her with a friendly tone of voice, not even acknowledging Sal next to her:

- Hey, Hopps. What's up?

Nick's choice of name sparked something else inside of Sal. The puma held in a bit of air that he had in his lungs and asked without expecting a direct answer:

- Hopps?! You're Judy Hopps?

Judy gave one step back to give herself a little more distance from the clearly unstable mammal, she did not say anything in order to answer him. Sal showed his teeth again, only this time he had a furious scowl on his face as he directed his attention solely at Judy before saying in an angry mumble:

- It was you. It's because of you that we're not free!

Sal directed his full rage at Judy, baring his claws and trying to give her some serious injury, Judy did not give into panic, she continued to dodge but it was becoming much harder. It was like the large predator had awoken something far more primal inside of him and that renewed his will to battle. Nick saw that Judy was in a pinch but there was no clear way to help her, Judy was running out of room to move about and asked, hoping that her partner would come up with something quickly:

- Nick! Help!

The fox did not know what to do, he directed a look of concern in Judy's direction and shook off the mesmerizing sensation he had as he saw Judy continuously ducking and dodging her way past every hit that came her way. Nick harshly admitted to not having a plan at the ready as he said:

- I can't, I wasted my one shot at the kitchen, my shooter is empty! Don't you have a shot left?

While continuing to evade the hits directed at her, Judy answered:

- I do, but my shooter is jammed!

Nick saw in that the chance to win the fight in one fell swoop. Nick extended hit right arm into the air and showed the palm of his paw as he yelled:

- Toss it over here!

- But it's jammed!

- Carrots, just do it!

Judy held on to her shooter and decided to do as instructed, she clamped her feet down into a more favorable stance and tossed her shooter into the air, the weapon passed over the head of the puma and fell right on Nick's paw, more than ten feet behind him. Sal gave no importance to the weapon, he knew that it could not be fixed in time, he prepared another attack against Judy as he raised both of his paws into a makeshift hammer that would descend over her quickly and crush her bones to bits. Judy saw a small opening and she took advantage of it as she dove ahead and passed right between the feline's legs, the attack missed her by a thread and Judy now had ample way to run and relocate herself next to her partner so the two of them could take the last suspect down together.

Nick was kneeling closer to the ground, he had his emptied out shooter and Judy's weapon placed in front of him on the floor, Judy watched in anticipation as Nick grabbed her shooter and studied it hurriedly, Sal turned his body around and was preparing to tackle the two mammals, there was little time to lose. Judy turned to Nick as the fox had her shooter in his paws and an analytic look on his face, it made it look like he was in no hurry to solve that problem, she decided to hurry him up by saying:

- Anytime now, Nick!

Nick continued to look for a specific mechanism in the weapon but he had no time to be delicate, he needed a direct approach. Nick turned over to Judy and said:

- Carrots, I'm really sorry.

- 'Sorry' about what?

- About *This*!

At that moment, Nick clasped the shooter in his right paw holding one extremity while his left paw was placed over the other, he pulled aggressively on both sides almost as if he was trying to tear up a piece of paper and, much to Judy's surprise, the weapon cracked open and its internal workings were revealed. Pins, couplings and springs that helped the service weapon function properly were scattered on the floor as well as the one piece that Nick was searching for, the remaining piece of ammunition that was caught over the clip. Sal was getting closer and gaining speed, Nick reached for the dart on the floor, grabbed it with his left paw, inserted it into the chamber of his shooter, aimed his shot ahead and pulled on the trigger, the puma didn't stop. Nick pushed Judy out of the way as he directed his body in the opposite direction, Judy fell down to the left while Nick rolled to the right and the two officers raised from the ground to catch a glimpse of the puma and check if there was any more fighting ahead of them.

Sal stopped running, he turned around slowly and showed that there was a dart sticking out of his chest, Nick had hit his mark and he was very proud of that. Sal knew that he was going down, there was no escape for him now, but he wanted to take one final swing and see if he could take one of the two officers along with him, his vision was getting blurry, he turned over to Nick and raised his right paw, he would fall down in the fox's direction and smack him with all of his weight on the way down, Judy saw that and took action with the little shred of energy she still had left.

With her heart pounding against her chest and a clear target in sight, Judy dashed ahead and unleashed a rapid succession of kicks on the back of Sal's knees, it became increasingly harder of the puma to keep his balance. Sal went down on both of his knees, his breathing became shallow and he searched around to identify any target that he could still hit before falling into unconsciousness, Judy did not give him the chance to do anything else. Judy jumped up and released a horizontal flying kick to the side of the feline's face, her right foot hit the side of his left check at full force and Sal fell to the ground with the subtlety of a befallen tree.

Judy landed safely on the ground after her epic move, Nick approached her to see if the suspect was down for good and to express his appreciation for what Judy did for him as well as his concern for the apparent fact that she was a ninja and did not tell him:

- Damn, carrots. That was kind of excessive.

Judy calmed down from her battle rush, she placed her body in a straight stance before taking a long breath through her mouth and saying:

- I'm sorry. But he was about to take a swing at you. I just jumped in.

Nick smiled, he placed his left paw over Judy's back and said:

- You were legendary, fluff. Hoping you can teach me some of those moves.

Judy smiled back at Nick and nearly collapsed back from strain, she was more tired than she thought. Judy hard her ears fall to the back of her head but they rose up and stood parallel to one another as the sound of sirens was heard approaching their position, two ZPD cruisers stopped right in front of the restaurant as they surrounded the front of the perimeter. From inside of the cruisers stepped out two officers, one of them was a handsome horse officer, his mane was colored as an autumn dark brown and he was ready for a scrap as he clopped his hooves towards the window frame with a tranquilizer weapon in his paws. From the other car stepped out a tall lioness and she was the one taking the lead as she yelled out with weapon and badge in paw:

- ZPD! Nobody move!

The two officers arrived at the scene but were very surprised to see that the only mammals still standing inside of the restaurant were a bunny and a fox. The vulpine turned around and showed both of his paws in a welcoming gesture before saying:

- It's about time you got here.

---

Judy took all the time she needed to explain to officers Erica and Strongheart about what had just happened, how she and Nick staked the restaurant out and caught the thieves in the act, she decided to leave out the parts about the epic battle that ensued. The four suspects were now cuffed and unconscious, placed near the front door of the restaurant so that they could be taken to jail right away, officer Strongheart clamped his right hoofed foot against the ground as he said:

- I really can't believe I didn't get here sooner. I really wanted a piece of this action.

Frustrated with her partner's lack of tact for that situation, Erica hit him on the side of his left shoulder with a soft bump that was far stronger than she had initially planned, Judy didn't mind that really. The lioness bowed forward and apologized for the delayed response to the call that Judy posted to the ZPD dispatch by saying:

- Officer Hopps, I'm really rosy we couldn't get here any sooner, it takes a really long time for officers in other precincts to answer to the call, especially at this hour.

Judy showed the palm of her left paw as a sign that there was nothing to be concerned about, the thieves were captured and no one was hurt that was the important thing. Judy took in some air and said:

- It's alright. You two are here and there are suspects and evidence that need to be collected. Nick can help with that.

Judy looked around and she only then noticed that her fox partner was nowhere to be found, she yelled out to call his name and identify his locations with both of her ears listening attentively to an answer:

- Nick? Where did you go?

The sound of metal scrapping continuously against the pavement came soon after, Nick had gone to retrieve the canister of freezing solution from its hiding place. The fox halted his movements as soon as he was close enough ad released a displeased grunt right after placing the canister straight up and letting go of it:

- Freaking hell! This thing's really heavy.

Nick turned over to the other officers and said:

- This stuff will be far safer inside an evidence locker. Just be careful not to release any of it. That's some nasty stuff in there.

Erica and Strongheart nodded affirmatively and collected the canister as well as the four mammals to be taken back to their precinct, there would surely be a lengthy report explaining their early excursion in the near future. Nick and Judy were left alone on the street and in front of the restaurant, Judy closed her eyes for an extended period of time as she took some refreshing air through her nose and spoke up:

- It's finally over. I can't believe we did it.

Nick bumped her right shoulder softly with the back of his left paw and said:

- Believe it, fluff. We took down four bad guys before breakfast. I feel really good with our lives right about now.

Judy walked a few steps over the sidewalk before she leaned next to a lamp post, she was just so tired and it was hard to keep herself awake but she tried to push through and keep moving. Nick noticed that Judy seemed to be moving a little more sluggishly than before, he knew that she was not used to being awake at that hour and she barely got any sleep before they had to engage the thieves, Nick stepped in closer and placed both of his paws over Judy's shoulders, he positioned himself by her right side while keeping his paws over her and saying:

- Don't rest on your laurels just yet, fluff. We still have to grab our stuff from the roof.

Judy placed the palm of her right paw over her face and passed it over her eyes nose and mouth in an effort to shake the sleepiness off of her, she turned her head around to face Nick and say:

- Oh, I almost forgot about that. Let's go.

Judy lead the way as she and Nick walked across the street, entered the building through the emergency exit which was left unlocked and climbed the stairs up to the roof so that they could retrieve their equipment and belongings. Every step up the stairs felt more oppressive for Judy, she could hardly wait to go back home and sleep for the rest of the night. Judy opened the door for the roof and released a satisfied sigh after realizing that they had arrived at their destination after climbing all of those ladders, Nick looked at Judy with some concern, it was a little hard seeing her like that but the sight that presented itself to them over the roof definitely make the climb worth it.

Judy kneeled down and began to collect all of the things that they had left at their camping spot but Nick merely stood still and did not make an immediate effort to collect anything in front of him. The fox made a gesture with his right paw, calling to Judy's attention as he whispered:

- Yo, carrots, come check this out.

Judy hated her task and walked next to Nick with a whole lot more drowsiness in her stare as she asked of him:

- Nick, what is it now?

Nick pointed his right paw forward and Judy turned around to witness a breathtaking scenery, the sun was rising over Zootopia, morning had already arrived to greet the city and Judy didn't even realized it until that moment. The warmth of the sun passed over the line of buildings in the horizon and bathed the two officers, Nick kept his eyes focused ahead and Judy closed hers as the feeling of the morning winds mixed in with the light of the sun were more than enough to keep her awake and motivated. Another day was upon Zootopia and the future still had a whole lot more in store, but, for the time being, the peaceful air of the morning was plenty to be enjoyed.