Jack had his gun on her in an instant. "Alyssa, let him go!"

Judy had her gun on Alyssa too. "Skyefall, put down that gun!"

The unarmed Nick held up both paws instead. "Come on, everyone, can't we discuss this over some expired coffee?"

"Shut up, Wilde!" Alyssa fired back at him. "Everyone just shut up! "She turned her wrathful glare back to Slothfeld with her gun pressed against his windpipe. "Tell me, doc! Why did you do it?! Why did you force them to screw each other?!"

Slothfeld regarded her like he might have regarded an uninitiated university student. "Look, it was part of the project. We needed to determine if the new collar could be used for population contro-"

"Wait, you got her pregnant?!"

"Of course not, they both had adequate protection!"

Jack kept his finger off the trigger, concerned that the adrenaline rushing through him may cause an unfortunate twitch. It wasn't just Slothfeld's life on the line, but Benjamin's too. The cheetah was frozen stiff, too terrified to move from behind the sloth.

Jack had known this would happen. This was his fault. He should have checked if the page he'd burned was the only record of the experiment. Miss Morton would be outraged by his stupidity.

"Remember our mission." Jack pressed. "We have our orders. Bring the sloth back alive."

"It's the disk our superiors really care about." Alyssa said. "Dr. Slothfeld's just a bonus."

She was going to kill him, murder him in ice cold blood, and all the while Jack's mind kept flashing back to their first couple of weeks working together; saving each other's lives, paving the way each time one of them hit a dead end, and that night in the Palm Hotel…

Alyssa was going to kill Slothfeld, and Jack didn't want to have to kill her to prevent that. "Alyssa, think about what you're doing! Cheryl is hours away from commencing another city-wide attack, and you're about to murder the only mammal who can-"

"There's more evidence, Jack! A shitload of it under a church in Swinetown! We don't need him anymore!"

"Oops." Benjamin murmured.

"Well, we do seem to be at an impasse." Slothfeld said. "Shoot me if you wish, but my throat happens to be right in front of this corpulent feline's stomach. Hopefully the ZBI gets here before he exsanguinates, but I wouldn't count on it."

Alyssa bared her teeth slightly, then looked up at Benjamin. "Move it, kid." Benjamin didn't move. "Nick, make him fucking move!"

Nick inched closer to the cheetah. "Benji, you gotta move, buddy."

"Can't move until I'm sure I won't pass out or puke or- or puke-out." Benjamin said through clenched teeth and sharp breaths. "Cunninghorn kicked me in the ribs… and she just hit them with the physical embodiment of pure evil."

Slothfeld grumbled in Boarlish.

"For fuck's sake." Alyssa pulled him away, keeping her gun on his neck. "There. Your ribs are safe."

"Will someone just shoot her already so we can move this palaver along?" Slothfeld asked. Judy's arms twitched, and her gun started to shake.

So that's his game, Jack thought.

Benjamin put a paw over the affected area. "Hooo, that's betterrrhat're you doing, Officer Hopps?"

Jack's eyes shifted to put Judy in his sight- and saw that Judy had lowered her gun. What're you doing, Hopps?

"I know what you're trying to do, Slothfeld." She said. "But I won't do it. Alyssa, please, you need to think this through."

"I've thought this through plenty." Alyssa sneered.

"Have you? Have you really? You're becoming the very thing we were taught to fear."

"Let me guess, a savage?"

"… Yes."

Alyssa's ear twitched.

"Carrots…" Nick said warningly.

Judy put her paws on her hips. "Slothfeld may be a monster who deserves death on some level, but who's to say you'll stop here? Who will be next? A rookie police officer succumbing to peer pressure? A frail old woman with racist, outdated views? A fellow predator who doesn't share your beliefs?"

Alyssa frowned at that last one. "What?"

The nervous look Nick gave Judy gave way to understanding. "You don't speak for the rest of us, and for the record, neither does Cheryl. Zootopia- no, the whole world needs to change, but the two of you are going about this all wrong."

Alyssa growled. "Don't get all holy on me, Nick! Unlike your dad, you never even tried to make a change!"

Nick's paws slowly closed into fists. "Yeah. I didn't. I'm a coward, probably always will be. But right now, you are bona fide proof that there are worse things than being a coward."

"I AM NOT THE BAD GUY, HERE!" Alyssa shrieked, making even Slothfeld wince. "It's him! Him and Swinton and all those other bastards who support this fucked-to-shit system! They get let off all the time for the evilest shit and I'm sick of it!"

"But that's the thing, Alyssa!" Jack insisted. "It won't just be the bigots who suffer if Cheryl goes through with this. The predators will suffer too, in more ways than one. And you can't possibly guarantee that Cheryl will accept the information under the church."

"She made it pretty clear she wants the information on the data disk." Judy added. "The Vorpal Blade, remember?"

Alyssa chewed her lip. "But she…"

"Said she'll call it off if she gets exactly what she wants." Judy said. "And Cheryl is a mammal of her word, isn't she?"

"… Still… "

Jack took a small step forward. "Alyssa, let him go. If you're wrong and Cheryl doesn't accept anything other than the disk, this terrorist attack could hurt thousands. We cannot take that chance."

She still didn't take the gun away from Slothfeld's throat, but now there were tears in her light blue eyes. "This is so unfair."

"I know it's unfair."

Jack's ears twitched at the unfamiliar voice. He and the others turned, expecting to see Maria Manchas or someone else. Instead they saw Starlight Foxtrot standing in the rusted doorway. Gabriel stood slightly behind her, holding Morris's little paw in his. Her untidy, unclean ponytail had been straightened into something more presentable, and her eyes no longer had that harsh shine of ferocity.

Those sane blue eyes were on Alyssa and Slothfeld right now.

"It's very unfair. It's so unfair the mere thought of it is driving you crazy. But it's also unfair that Cheryl went to so much trouble to keep you from finding out what Slothfeld did to her, so you wouldn't murder him and ruin your whole life, just so you could ruin your life anyway."

"What're you doing here, Starlight?" Alyssa asked.

"I was on my way down here to kill him myself." Starlight glanced at Slothfeld, her grip tight around the knife she held in her gloved paw. Jack almost changed his aim to when she added, "But I heard most of what you lot said, and Officer Hopps is right. Shooting Slothfeld in cold blood is just the start. I've seen tons of mammals go down this road, predator and prey, and that road leads to nothing but chaos and death. Skyefall, you can still do the right thing, here. Let this one go."

At long last, Alyssa slowly lowered her weapon and returned it to its holster. Jack exhaled, expelling the tension from his chest, stepped forward and coaxed her paw of Slothfeld's shirt. She remained where she was, eyes staring blankly across the helipad square, as Jack moved the sloth to the wall.

"Don't speak to her again. Ever." He snarled under his breath.

Slothfeld smirked. "You're such a shameless hypocrite. You talk about doing the right thing, and yet you couldn't pull the trigger to save your country. What does one promiscuous vixen compare to thousands of civilians?"

Jack held the disk before Slothfeld's face once more. "If you really care about killing a few to save a lot, tell us how to decrypt this thing."

Slothfeld shook his head. "I never said I cared. The great work on that disk is mine, and mine alone. I could give it up, but for what? A city of dullards?"

Jack scoffed. "Dear lord, you're insufferable."

Slothfeld casually raised his left hand toward the disk. "Face the facts, Agent Savage. You need me just as much as I need my work."

Before Jack could move the disk out of Slothfeld's reach the doctor's hand suddenly fell back and slammed against the window. Slothfeld blinked, as if surprised by his own sudden action. Together they turned their heads to get a good look at the knife pinning the hand to the rotted wood of the frame behind him.

"Holy-" Judy clapped a paw over her gaping mouth as she, Alyssa, Nick and Benjamin turned to stare at Starlight and her outstretched arm. Gabe, presumably having foreseen his wife's intent, was covering Morris's eyes while his own shone with affection and fulfilment.

"How about you don't talk at all?" Starlight took out another knife, spun it so she was holding the blade and reached over her shoulder so Gabe could take it from her. "There. That's the only weapon I have left. Don't believe me, search me."

Gabe pocketed the knife and sighed in content. "I love you."

Slothfeld stammered indiscernibly under his breath, eyes wide with shock as Jack coaxed the knife out the wall while keeping it in the flesh of the sloth's hand.

"You've tormented those predators for over a year, yet you can't take one teensy little knife though the palm? Talk about shameless hypocrisy."

"Go jump in a brazen bull." Slothfeld growled through the pain.

"And on that note…" Nick said loudly, drawing everyone's attention away from the sloth. "Since this jerk is obviously trying to turn us against each other, perhaps it would be best if we don't tell Captain Buffalo Butt and his cohorts about what happened? Just for the time being?"

He looked hopefully at Judy, who didn't appear to agree, at least until she sighed and nodded. "For the time being." She emphasized. Her radio crackled and she stepped away from the group to answer it.

For once, Slothfeld cooperated completely by holding his arm still while Jack assessed the injury. Diagnosis: Slothfeld would live, so long as the knife stayed where it was. "Mossberg, there are still several predators out there who would like to take a stab at killing Slothfeld themselves. Could you perhaps take Alyssa to secure the area?"

Gabe nodded. "Starlight, you want to come with?"

Starlight gently nudged Morris over to Nick and Judy. "Morris, could you stay with these nice mammals while we go do a little recon?"

Morris nodded with a smile. "Sure! I know Nick! He built the big secret amoozmint park by the river!"

Jack blinked, then remembered that the cub was not yet five. "Then can I go see mama?" Morris asked.

Nick bent down and gave the cub a sad smile. "Sure, kid. You'll get to see your mom, soon."

Gabe frowned and leaned toward his wife's ear. "Isn't she still in the hospital under pol-"

Starlight jabbed him with her elbow. "Shut up!"

Judy returned to the group, radio in paw, her expression worried. "Er, change of plans, guys. McHorn won't be joining us."

Benjamin gasped sharply, his face turning a shade lighter.

"No, no!" Judy backpedaled, looking mortified. "That was Bogo just now. Turns out McHorn isn't in any condition for being moved long distances, so we'll just have to have the Feds come to him. He's ordered me to brief to them, and in the meantime, Clawhauser, he wants you to come back. Room 108."

Benjamin wilted with relief. "Oh good. For the record, very bad choice of words!"

Gabe threw his arms in the air. "That's it, I'm done. Let's get out of here before I kill that smug little fucker myself."

"Language!" Judy snapped, beating Morris to the punch.

Starlight slowly approached Alyssa and put her paws on the vixen's shoulders. "Come with us. You too, Ben." She leaned into Alyssa's ear and spoke quietly. "Once he's out of your sight you'll feel better."

Alyssa gave no reaction other than allowing Starlight to escort her from the helipad, while Judy cheerfully introduced herself to Morris. The little cub looked understandably apprehensive, hiding behind Nick as he started at the rabbit officer, and Judy's face fell slightly. As he watched Judy offer her paw nevertheless, Jack found himself wishing he could go after Alyssa. She and he were not so different. He had felt the same acrimony towards a flawed system when he was younger, even before the isolation he'd faced in the ZIA before he'd proved himself to Miss Morton. When his so-called parents had ignored him one time too many, he'd made the mistake of leaving to take his chances on the streets. It had seemed like a good idea at the time… until the anger wore off.

Morris muttered a meek, "Hi." and accepted Judy's paw.

Her smile grew stronger. "Don't worry, Morris. We'll get you to your mommy as soon as possible."

Morris looked fretfully at the sky. "Do we have to take the hellycopta?"

"What's wrong? Don't you like a little adventure?"

Morris pouted. "I don't like heights."

"Ah." Judy playfully smacked her forehead. "Well, I'm sure there's a car around here we can use."

Gabe pulled his hoodie back over his head. "Looks like he's in good hands all right. I'm going to catch up with my wife."

"Hey." Nick said sharply when Gabe made to leave, making him stop and look at him. "You didn't happen to have a chat with Alyssa prior to our meet-up, did you?"

Gabe scowled and looked away, even as Jack came to the same conclusion himself. "What are you suggesting?"

"Nothing at all." Nick said, turning his body so he could use the stink-eye properly. "It's just that if I was complicit in morally corrupting a highly-trained ZI6 agent, who just so happens to be their second ever fox agent, I would use this time to think about what I'd done. Just saying."

Gabe's hackles raised, and for a moment Jack thought he was going to have another confrontation on his paws. Then his shoulders slumped, and he muttered "fuck" under his breath.

The curse was followed by a rock song coming from his pants, and distant rhythmic thumping of an approaching helicopter. "Now what?" He grumbled as he picked up his phone. His angry look slackened when he saw who it was. "Elba? What's up?" As he listened, his anger switched to alarm. "Emergency Lockdown?! How did she pull that off? You said the City Hall security system was hackproof!" Jack and the others listened with bated breath. "Swinton actually said that? That stupid… wait, what?!" He looked up sharply and locked eyes with Jack, as the sound of the helicopter filled their ears. "God damn that pig! Look, the Feds will be here soon so hang in there! And don't worry about Starlight, I'll let her know what's going on! Don't do anything stupid, just hide!" He hung up. "Guys, we have got a very serious problem!"

"Tell that to the Feds!" Nick pointed up at the sky.

The helicopter emerged at that very moment, swinging over the asylum before hovering over the helipad. It was just the one, but reinforcements would arrive at the asylum's entrance soon. Judy waved her arms and shouted, "Over here!" while Nick kept his arms down and looked like he wanted to cut and run. It was unlikely that there'd be enough room for everyone inside the chopper, but that didn't matter; they were only here for Slothfeld, and the others would be going back to Zootopia on the road.

"Cheryl cut the deadline in half!" Gabe shouted over the noise, staring at the helicopter with wide, terrified eyes.

"She did what?"

"We've only got five hours now! I have to go and warn Starlight!"

FSHHHHHH…

A sudden flash of light and smoke, came from the corner of the roof, the faint blur of the missile streaked across the night sky, punching through the hull of the chopper and bursting within…

BOOM!

Morris screamed, the sound almost lost in the explosion. Nick swore at the top of his lungs. The helicopter made a crackling, groaning sound as it spun helplessly toward them, fire blazing from what remained of the cockpit, right toward the stunned fox and rabbit. Jack instinctively reached out to them, his other paw losing its hold on Slothfeld's injured hand, but Judy was already pulling Nick and Morris out of harm's way, the group running clear to the other side of the helipad as it crashed right into the middle of the big painted H. Fiery fragments of metal scattered across the cracked stone floor like embers as the forsaken helicopter collided with the wall of the asylum and broke through, the jagged rotary blades the only thing stopping it from punching through all the way.

Gabe gave a shout, asking where the hell Slothfeld was.

Searching through the haze and flames, Jack saw the sloth running as fast as he could, holding his injured hand as he opened an emergency trapdoor and disappeared down the ladder.

The rabbit punched the ground, knowing instantly who had done this. It was so obvious.

An armored vehicle had thwarted Ramses once, and it wouldn't do so a second time.