[AN

Hey guys! New chapter is there! Late once again, as I don't have any holidays this year, not until February at least. So I don't think I'll be able to do more than a chapter every other week, sorry. Don't worry though, there's no way I'm giving up ^^

Thanks again for your support, with a special thanks to aomagrat !

And as always, enjoy!

AN]

The mammal was listening to the radio feed with less and less attention. Hours of sitting with a headset on the ears would do that to anybody, especially with how boring the ones he was spying on were. Two whole days, and still they had close to nothing. How much longer would it take for them to finally get a bone to gnaw on?

They were supposed to be cops, Zootopia's finests. Precincts had been given numbers for a reason, and theirs was precinct 1, it should mean something, shouldn't it? His plan, or rather his boss's plan, was at a standstill until those idiots managed to do their job correctly. Sighing angrily, he removed the headset and throw it on his desk, before lying on the bed behind him, a headache pointing its ugly muzzle in the back of his brain.

Part of him knew he was being a bit unfair with the guys. After all, their job was not easy, and his colleagues and himself had made sure Raymond's murder was as unsolvable as a crime could be. Nobody had seen it coming, and there was nothing on the crime scene to work on, expect for her signature. Still, they were expected to be better than that.

Two days should have been enough to find a few leads, useless as they could prove to be, but still something his boss could work with. And here he was, listening to their nonsense hours after hours, interrogating dozens of mammals, desperately trying to get anything useful, to no avail.

Amateurs.

The thought made him frown, and his body tensed. Sensing he would not get anything new for today, he decided it was time to get some fresh air, maybe grab a bite or more importantly, some sleep, as his head was now officially the new nesting spot for a family of woodpeckers. Nobody would notice if he got away a bit early, especially not his boss who was surely busy threatening anyone who would dare walk into his office. Stretching his legs, he rose to his paws and walked to the door, a disappointed look on his face when he stared for a second at the piece of equipment on his desk. With a last shrugged, he exited his room and left.

Nick woke up to the sound of his phone ringing, though by the time his brain was finally able to understand what that strange sound was, it was already too late. The room was still rather dark, the winter sun lazily rising on the horizon. Stretching and yawning, it took him a couple minutes to fully awake. Strangely, he was feeling fine. Rested, both physically and mentally.

His nervous breakdown of the previous day had been cathartic. Even with years of training and hard experiences, there is a moment when a mammal cannot simply take more, and Nick had reached that point. Now something had been lifted from his chest, and he felt ready to face the world again. The first two thoughts that crossed his mind in this moment were of his father and Judy, but none of them triggered any negative reaction this time.

A bit of sadness was still present for the latter of course, but it was bearable. As for the first mammal, another thought had taken root inside his mind during his much needed sleep: there was no proof he was actually back, if even alive. Big had told him, rumors and fairy tales were all he got to share. There still was a chance that he had overdone himself for nothing. Shaking his head slowly at his own lack of control, he jumped out of bed and into his shower.

When finally clean, dressed in his bright blue uniform, and with breakfast quickly swallowed, Nick sit on his bed and reached for his phone. The missed call was from an old contact of him who owed him one favor, after Nick had saved his tail quite long ago. To be honest, he didn't know if anyone still believed they owed him after his career change, but it looked like some mammals were still true to their word.

Honor amongst thieves, as the old saying went.

There was a message, so he brought the phone to his ear and listen to it twice, to be sure he hadn't missed a thing. His contact had been hired several months ago to prepare different itineraries for various sized trucks, mostly coming from out of town. This was unsaid, but those itineraries surely avoided most of the traffic cameras and heavily patrolled areas. Another one was coming in this evening, and Nick now had an address in the Rainforest District, an approximate time of arrival – unsurprisingly late at night - and a description of the truck.

Finally, he had a solid lead. The image of the impatient bunny that had been his partner flashed in front of him, jumping with excitation, and a timid smile crossed his muzzle. Finally, he chuckled, after only two days. You've really rubbed on me, my dear Carrots.

Chaos had erupted in the meeting room. Nick was standing alone in front of all his colleagues, paws crossed behind his back and head high, half of whom had rose to their hind paws and started bombarding him with questions. Wolfard had remained sat, a claw slowly scratching his skin while he processed the news and eyed the fox from head to toe.

Nick had gotten them a lead, but from what he was distantly hearing from the other officers, they were all thinking like him and had their doubts, though they had a different way to express them. All knew of his past, so when he mentioned a tip from an old contact they were not surprised. What bothered them, and especially the wolf leading the case, was the missing link between convoys of trucks and the murder of a mob enforcer. His colleague was adamant the two were linked, and he trusted him. After all, he had chosen him as a backup for a reason.

Still, the silence of the fox to the questions on why he was so sure of himself left him a bit dubious, and to be honest, a bit disappointed. He thought Nick had worked with him, with them, for long enough to share a bit more. Something was off, and he didn't like it. Raising, he cleared his throat to gather anyone's attention.

"All right, sit please. All of you." It took a few minutes, but all officers obeyed, except for Nick who had remained standing, one mammal against all.

"You sure you can't tell us why we should look into these trucks to find our culprit?" The question was harmless, but his eyes carried much more than his words. It was a test of trust. One Nick was close to failing.

"Yes, I am." Wolfard's ears lowered on his skull in annoyance and a bit of hurt, but the todd spoke again before he could object.

"At least not now. You'll have to take my word for it, Wolfard. I'll explain later, I promise."

They locked gazes for a moment, before the senior wolf nodded.

"All right. But I expect you to come clean someday, and not only as your superior officer. Understood?" Nick answered with a solemn nod, never losing eye contact. He knew he was taking risks with his attitude, but he couldn't reveal his talk with Mr. Big nor his potentially guilty father. Not now.

He himself remained highly doubtful of the shrew's fears, so revealing this to his colleagues without any proof would be useless at best. Worse scenario would be Bogo firing him for hiding sensitive information and conspiracy with criminals. The thought brought a shiver down his spine, as being fired would mean losing everything he had obtained thanks to Judy. Yep, hiding those information for now was the best course of action. Sighing, Wolfard spoke again.

"All right. Everybody, listen up! I may not like it," his eyes went to Nick, "but we have a truck to intercept." The fox slightly nodded his thanks.

"Grizzoli, Fangmeyer, Delgato, you will head to the armory and get everything we might use. I want vests, night vision lenses for those who need them, tranq guns with ammo supplies, flashbangs and smoke screens, and so on. If the two cases are indeed linked, then I'm not taking any risks.

Rhinowitz, McHorn, Higgins, you get as many photos of the warehouse and its surroundings as you can, as well as traffic feeds from nearby traffic cams. I need a full tactical analysis of the terrain: potential ambush spots, covers to get closer, escape routes, everything."

One by one, each named officer saluted or nodded, taking note of their new orders.

"Snarlov, Trunkaby, you will contact precinct 3 and try and get as many information as possible on the place, see if it has already been looked into for shady business, and if they had heard or seen anything suspicious around there the previous months. If they have any questions, just tell them chief Bogo and chief Hoarlan are discussing it and will soon give their formal approval.

The rest of you, follow on on your investigation for the day, as I'm not forgetting about other potential leads you might get. I want everybody back at five to prepare for tonight's operation. Dismissed!"

They all saluted, before exiting the room. Wilde was about to follow when Wolfard cut him short.

"A moment, Wilde."

The fox sighed. Of course the wolf would not let him go that easily. Preparing himself to lie, he was surprised when he heard what his colleague had to say.

"You are coming with me to Bogo's office. As my second and the officer who brought the lead, you will help me convince him to approve tonight's operation. We can't just barge in there in force without warning them, and risk endangering an ongoing investigation." The fox just stood speechless for a moment, before saluting like his fellow officers had a minute ago.

"Yes sir!"

Wolfard snorted. "I told you I was not holding it against you for now, so you can drop the act. Though I was serious when I said I expect you to explain yourself, okay?" Another nod and another salute was the answer.

"All right. Come then, we have our share to do."

The icy glare the water buffalo was sending them would be a match for Mr. Big's. He trusted his officers of course, especially Wolfard after his long career, and Wilde had been a real asset to his precinct since his graduation three years ago, he couldn't deny that. Still, he didn't become chief of police by rushing each time his guts told him to. A good cop knew when to listen to its intuition. The best cops knew how to refrain themselves and keep their blood cold.

When the two officers in charge of the polar bear's murder came to his office, asking for what they qualified as urgent meeting, he thought they had uncovered a serious lead and was looking forward to hearing it. Now, he was torn between sighing and denying their request, or yelling and denying their request. After another minute of silent reflexion, he opted for the third option.

"Let me get this straight. You are looking for the murderer of a polar bear in Tundratown, by chasing after trucks in the Rainforest district. Truck you know nothing about except it isn't the first one to drive there. Big news indeed, a truck in town. You have no ideas what it's carrying, or who ordered it there. More importantly, you have no solid connection with your current case. Did I sum it up right?"

He had tried to keep his tone even and professional, but on that last question the hint of impatience and anger could clearly be heard.

"Sir, I know it might seem… far-fetched," Wolfard began. Bogo snorted mockingly, but that didn't stop the wolf. "But I trust Wilde on this one."

"I don't." The reply was short, but incisive, and got the two officers to tense in their chairs. The red fox looked completely stunned. After three years on the force, he clearly didn't expect to hear this from his chief. However, before he could protest, the chief raised a hoof and spoke again.

"Wilde, I'm not doubting your abilities as an officer, you've proven yourself long ago. But do you really get what you are asking me? You want me to call a fellow officer, a precinct chief no less, and ask permission to investigate on his assigned territory without any reason or clue except a hunch? Are you too tired to think it through, officer?"

"Sir." Wilde was sitting with his back as straight as he could, head raised high, trying to seem more confident that he really was. "This is no hunch. I got the tip from an old contact of mine, and I saved his life. He wouldn't have called me if this wasn't worth it. You know this isn't the first time I'm using my years on the streets to help an investigation, and you also know it has always worked well. This is no different than before. Remember the Rumerton and Frailin cases sir? Without my contact, we may still be considering those as two separate cases and getting nowhere. If you really believe I have proven myself, as you said, then you know I wouldn't ask that of you if I wasn't certain it was important."

His little speech now finished, the fox exchanged a quick look with his partner, and temporary boss, before waiting for the buffalo's answer. Answer that didn't come for a long time, much too long for both officers. Wolfard had already given orders to his teams, thinking they would easily get Bogo's approval.

Now that he was failing to convince him, he was getting more and more nervous. Nick's exterior was as composed as always, his mask well in place, but inside his impatience was boiling. Without this lead, he had no way to verify the mafia boss's information about his father. Finally, Bogo decided to speak again.

"I will make the call. BUT!" Seeing his officers relax, he immediately raised a hoof and hardened his glare. "I can't promise chief Hoarlan will accept." Nick and Wolfard nodded, but they knew their chief could be convincing, to say the least. "And, if he does accept, he may have conditions, such as filling him on your discoveries, obeying some of his orders, and worst of all, collaborate with his officers. We already are involving many good cops on this case, and I don't like endangering more without an excellent reason. Reason I still don't have. Have I been clear enough, officers?"

"Crystal, sir" was the synchronous and much too eager answer to the buffalo's taste.

"Good, because I will also call for SWAT reinforcements, and THAT'S NOT NEGOTIABLE!" He had nearly shouted the last part, making sure to cut short to any additional protest. The wolf and the fox stared at each other for a couple second, before nodding to their boss with a resigned slump of their shoulders. With a sigh, Bogo waved at the door.

"I'll have Clawhauser inform you when I am done. Dismissed."

After a quick salute, both officers obeyed and exited the office, minds running miles per hour in preparation of the night's operation.

"I heard they are calling SWAT too. Is it standard procedure?" The grizzly bear was a bit puzzled. He was part of the last wave of recruits, having graduated only two months ago, and still had doubts on what was normal or not. This was one of the biggest case the ZPD had to address, all new recruits had understood it, and hearing more forces were involved worried him. His partner of the day, Higgins, the massive hippo and Bogo's right hand, smiled as he answered.

"Rest assured, kid, it is. We may be cops, but raiding a warehouse is not what we are trained for, so it is common to ask for experts. That doesn't mean the operation will be more dangerous than usual, it had already happened that SWAT or even the ZBI was involved for nothing in the end. Our job is dangerous enough as it is, so they just don't like taking unnecessary risks."

The bear nodded, though still deep in thought and visibly not entirely convinced.

"Still, seventeen officers from our precinct, plus precinct 3 and SWAT, isn't this quite a lot for a single raid? I mean, one of the officers acknowledged they don't know much of their target."

"Exactly, kiddo!" Higgins' smile grew a bit, trying to calm his new colleague. Teaming a new recruit with an experienced officer was standard procedure, as it was the best way to learn the tricks of the job. Easing their fears was one of the hardest part in the end, as there was no universal method. His way, which had proven quite effective to this day, was to play it off like everything was just another usual day on the force. When you try too hard to calm someone, they feel you have a reason to do it, and thus they panic even more. But when they see you are unmoved, then they more easily accept it.

"If you were the chief and didn't know what your officers would be facing, how would you react? Send more officers with experience and special training to make sure they could face anything and all come back alive, or throw your new recruits in the arena and see what happens?" The bear laughed, and some of the tension left his body.

"Put THAT way, yeah it does make sense." With a satisfy smirk, Higgins saw the light had turned green and pushed the pedal, resuming their patrol.

Unbeknownst to them, a pair of eyes were wide with excitation and a pair of ears were twitching frenetically.

About time.

The mammal was taking as many notes as he could. Finally, the cops had a lead, and according to all the conversations he had eavesdropped since his coffee break, it was big, no matter how much they wanted to hide it from the youngest cops. They were the very talkative and had many questions for their superiors, so even if it took half of the afternoon, he managed to get everything he needed, an address and a timeline among others things. Putting his headset down on his desk, he ran to his boss's office and knocked thrice on the wooden door.

There's was no answer. The mammal waited for ten seconds, literally counting in his head, before knocking again, thrice. A snarl echoed behind the door. This was the signal. When the boss didn't want to be interrupted, she just remained quiet, making believe she was away. But if you waited exactly ten seconds and knocked again, it meant you really needed to see her, so she would finally make herself heard.

Inhaling and exhaling deeply to compose himself, the mammal opened the door and came inside the very professional office. A massive desk with a heavy chair on wheels stood in front of a giant double-window. Two regular chairs for visitors and a little table with a coffee maker in the corner of the room completed what little furniture the office had to offer. The walls were covered with maps of the city, photos and newspaper articles, and reports from his associates, nearly all of them with paw-written notes. Reaching the desk, he stood straight and crossed his paws behind his back.

"They are on the move, boss. Suspicion of illegal smuggling, probably drugs or weapons. Truck interception, tonight, 1AM, Rainforest district, warehouse in canopy 3's industrial area. No civilian housing within seven miles, only warehouses and factories. Two precincts, 1 and 3, as well as SWAT units. Total headcount unknown, estimated between twenty-five and thirty."

The mammal knew his boss was everything but patient, so he, as well as all his associates, had learnt to keep their debriefs extremely short and focused on crucial details. Until they were given orders to detail of course. His was now waiting, trying to decipher his boss's face, to no avail as always. He tried not to shiver under her glare. After what always felt like an eternity under those soul-piercing ice-blue eyes, she decided she had tortured him enough and spoke, her mellow voice contrasting her rough exterior, and at the same time increasing his fear of her.

"Pick one officer from precinct 1. One of the most experienced and respected. He must send a message. Call her and give her his name. She acts when he is heading home, no matter the time."

Nodding, the mammal left the office as quickly as he could, not wanting to spend any more time with his boss. Upon reaching his desk, he took his list of the names he had managed to catch, and picked one. Higgins, a huge brown hippo. On the force for eleven years, Bogo's right hand, training half of the recruits on the field himself.

The perfect candidate.

He then opened his desk and took one of the many disposable phones in his possession, as well as a list of numbers. He typed his message, keeping it simple, Higgins, tonight, way home, and sent it to the first number on the list. A couple minutes later, a bip indicated an answer. Kiss blown.

A sad frown crossed the mammal's muzzle. This was not his favorite part of the job, but he had been chosen to do it, and would remain loyal to his boss. The hippo's death was now unavoidable, and though it would benefit them all, he still couldn't help but shiver. Sighing, he took his pen, crossed the number on the list, before demolishing the phone, making sure the chip and motherboard were completely destroyed. Rule number one: leave no evidence behind.

Somewhere, a mammal was taking a shower. A long and hot shower, to rest her tired body after all the exercises she had worked through her entire day. A twenty mile long jog, pushups, abs, punching ball, everything to keep her body up to the task, again and again. An excellent way to pass the time too, and not let her impatient nature take control. Working kept her sharp mind focused on her job and the reasons behind it. Reasons she began to list in her head, like she had done countless time before.

Her thoughts were interrupted with a bip from her phone, that only her natural superior hearing could discern through the sound of flowing water. Turning the water off, she didn't bother reaching for her towel and just crossed the small distance between the bathroom and her bedroom. She read the text, and typed in the coded answer, before methodically disassembling the phone and destroying any valuable component. When she was done, she went in the shower again, shampooing her black fur and taking most of her time on her long ears.

This night would be a busy one.