The Next Step

Judy walks through the front doors of the ZPD with a smile on her face. After so long, she finally can get back to work as an Officer of the Law.

"HOPPS!" The source of the thunderous voice was next to the second story railing, the Buffalo it belonged to stared her down.

Maybe the Chief just wants to check up on her, just to make sure she's okay.

"My office, now." And with that he disappears from view.

Judy jogs past the reception desk, and waved hi to Ben as she did, and up the stairs. When she got to his office door it was closed, which annoyed her. She jumps and grabs the doorknob and lets her body weight to turn it for her.

"Close the door. Sit down." He had his reading glasses on and was focused on whatever was in his desk.

What it was, she didn't know. The desk was way too tall for her to see what it was.

His stern focus softened for just a moment "Welcome back Hopps."

"Nice to see you Sir, I'm glad to be back."

"With pleasantries out of the way, on to business. What is Wilde's relationship with Anderson like?"

"Who?"

"Wes Anderson, the one who he went savage on."

"That's not his name. His name is Krisofferson Silverfox."

"Hm... Just answer the question anyway, I'll look into that later."

"... I don't know about now, but before Nick wanted nothing to do with Kris and Agnes. He feels like they abandoned him and his mother when they were young so when they came by to reconnect, he refused and we left. I tried to get him to forgive them but that didn't work out."

"Was he hostile in any way?"

"He was upset and angry but I wouldn't say he was hostile. What's this about, Chief?"

"Krisofferson and Agnes Silverfox have been reported missing. It's concerning that after Mr. Wilde was released, this report was made." Judy gasped and covered her mouth with both paws.

"He was with me all day and night, and two others for a good portion of the day. We were out in public and I'm pretty sure that we were in view of jam cams and security feeds the entire time. Plus he was in no condition to do anything, the meds he was on are very strong."

"So he has an alibi then? Good, we can rule him out. But that still leaves us with no leads."

Nick's voice plays inside her mind. The story of why they went into hiding and abandoned him in the first place.

"I think I may know someone who may have motivation to do something like this."

"Oh?"

"It has to do with why they left Nick in the first place, but Nick told me that associates of the Wilde's and Silverfox's had robbed Boggis, Bunce, and Bean. I don't know if they were successful or not but they were fearful for their lives and went into hiding. Nick told me that Kris wasn't involved but that they thought he was so he went into hiding as well to protect himself and his mate."

"And you didn't say any of this before because?"

"If they did rob Boggis, Bunce, and Bean then they should have filed a Police report. So when he was admitted to the hospital you would have been notified, but I didn't know that they changed their name."

"Give me a moment." Bogo started to type into the computer for a moment "There is a warrant for Wes Anderson's arrest, for the robbery of three point seven million dollars worth of valuables. There are also warrants for Owen Skip, Kylie Wolodarsky, Stan Wessel, and George Fox as accomplices. There is no warrant for Agnes."

"Wessel? That name sounds familiar. Are there any photos of him?"

Bogo spins the computer monitor around to show Judy. The picture shows a well groomed Weasel dressed in a navy blue suit. But what strikes her as familiar is how he is standing, leaning forward with one paw perched on his lower back and the other paw holding a toothpick like a cigarette.

"I know him. I've arrested him before."

"I'm assuming he also goes by a different name."

"Duke Weaselton, I remember Nick calling him Wesselton. Pull up Duke's picture." When the two photos are side by side, there is no question.

Duke Weaselton is Stan Wessel.

...

"Where are the others?"

"..."

Dull thuds are followed by the sounds of cracks of bone. The small body swings back and forth on the chain tied around his wrists. His eyes are bleak and lifeless, blood drips from his mouth. Soft coughs splatter blood on the floor below him and bringing more pain to his chest.

"I know you didn't take my money, so if you tell me where the ones who did then I'll let you go."

"..."

"Give it a rest Frank, you ordered his Mate killed, in front of him no less. He might as well be dead"

"Shut up Walter. Petey, cut the tail. And someone get this phone open."

Kris flinched slightly, unnoticed by the other occupants of the room.

'I'll see you soon, Love.'

...

Nick had dressed in his nicer clothes, black slacks and a gray button up long sleeve. He had called Clive and apologized that he couldn't make it to their dinner plans since the whole "I went savage" thing happened. He understood and said that he can just meet up with him and Jenny at La Ratatouille for lunch. An upscale restaurant that he had only went to when he interned at Clive's firm, and there was a dress code and there was no way getting in without following that code.

Fingers drumming against the steering wheel is his way of letting out his anxiousness. He took his medicine that morning and it didn't mess with him like it did the night before. If he were to describe it, it would be like he just woke up and was still groggy. However last night, he remembered taking the pill then all of a sudden he was being led to the van by Judy, then he was home. It's different than when he takes them in the morning, it's almost like he was on auto-pilot or like he was a passenger in his own body. He shakes his head to clear his thoughts. He really needs to focus on driving lest he crash or something of the like.

When he gets to the restaurant, he sees Clive and Jenny waiting by the entrance. The first thing that Jenny does is pull him a lung crushing hug.

"It's been so long since I seen you! You used to be so little."

"Jen, I don't think he can breathe."

"OH! I'm so sorry." She lets go and Nick takes in a deep breath

"You still don't know your own strength, huh?"

"You're just weak. C'mon, lets go get our table."

The inside of the restaurant is beautiful. Musicians play in the center of the room and the garçon and fille zip around on roller skates.

Where they got that idea he didn't know but it worked.

They got a private booth ordered their food and Nick was recounting the adventures from when he cut ties with them onwards. Even after all this time, Clive and Jenny were the two mammals he could confide in. He loved his Mom, but she had enough to worry about without adding to it. He was never really that close to Ashe. Sandy was his best friend (that spot is now occupied by Judy), but she can't relate to him. He could talk to Finnick, but the advice he would give usually wouldn't help (he made just as much as him but he lives in a lemon of a van). He used to be extremely close to Kylie and Kris but the whole 'I robbed the wrong mammals so I'm going to abandon everyone so that they don't get mixed in' thing happened.

Judy... he loved Judy more than anyone else in the world and he would give his life to and for her, but he wouldn't tell her these things without some hesitation. The thing is, Judy is just too dammed optimistic, not that was a bad thing (he actually loved it), but she doesn't understand. She has always been a good mammal, and she lives by the model 'Try everything' and saw the good in everything. She had so much hope, which he had cracked a bit when she first realized that he hustled her back when they first met and it almost shattered after the conference. But she solved what was basically an impossible case within her first three days as an Officer. She jailed two corrupt Mayors, and healed some of the rifts between pred and prey because of it. She broke so many stereotypes because she had the strongest will out of everyone he knew (and he knew everyone). She can comfort, empathize, and sympathize with him but she cannot relate to him. She never had to be beaten, never had to worry about how she would take care of her family at the age of twelve because they couldn't support themselves. She wasn't close to anyone who was murdered. And she came from a tight knit community where everyone relied on each other.

But Clive can relate to him. Clive was a criminal out of necessity, he quit as soon as he had the chance and he helped others because he could. As a predator who was seen as an extremely violent species, he too faced discrimination similar to Nick and had to worry about his families safety and well-being. He is the one who will give helpful advice unlike Finnick and he understood the world and it's corruption better than Judy.

"-after working with Mr. Big, we didn't want to do those things anymore because it was too dangerous without his protection. So we started running our food related hustles like reselling elephant sized pawpsicles, cupcakes, and drinks among other things to smaller mammals and continued that up until the whole missing mammals thing."

"What about now? Since you know, your Mate is a cop."

"She wants me to join the ZPD."

Clive burst into laughter and Jenny slapped him upside the head "Don't laugh, I think that he would be a great Officer."

"It's ridiculous, I know. But.. she has such high hopes for me. And I just thought that since so much trouble for my family came from being in the wrong side is the law, that by joining the law things might change. But now I don't know if that's even an option anymore."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm still a savage. I have my meds, but that's no guarantee. I need to be able to take them whenever I get stressed or I could turn again. But the last time I took them while stressed, I was in no condition to help myself let alone others. And Police work is a very stressful job."

"You could work with her in other ways than her partner."

"How?"

"You could be a dispatcher.. or a lawyer."

"You would love that."

"Yes I would and if you can't work alongside your Mate, then she would too. Your good enough to be a lawyer now without going to school and you have a gift of getting others to admit to something that that they didn't want to admit."

Before dismissing it right away, Nick entertained the idea. It wouldn't be the worst thing that he could do, and definitely a much better option than his other choices. But he still will try his best to get accepted into the ZPA, it's the least that he can do for himself and for Judy.

"If things don't work out with the ZPD, then I'll consider it."

"That's great to hear."

Jenny cut in "Enough talk about work, tell me about your Mate. How did you meet? What's she like? Will you introduce us sometime soon?"

Nick smiles softly as he begins recounting his tale of adventure and how he started turning his life around.