Nick was deep in thought staring out the windshield of the cruiser as he tapped lightly on the steering wheel. The fox and his new partner, McCabe, were sat in the cruiser on their way to the house of the kidnapped politician. From the file he read the victim is a middle aged moose named Thomas Asher. So far that's all he knows; he had handed the rookie the file back in the garage and that's what he was reading up on while Nick drove. The moose lives on the outskirts of Tundra Town in a large mansion, kind of like Mr. Big except on the opposite side of town and probably wasn't a heavily fortified mafia style palace.

As they drove, Nicks mind couldn't help but think back to the letter and about how Judy wasn't the last. Could this be connected with her disappearance? Nick couldn't be for certain; kidnapping aren't a rare thing after al. Though unfortunate, they happen more often then people realize. Of course to abduct such a big public figure is a pretty gutsy thing to do, and within a week this guy makes for the second missing mammal who's a big public figure. That's when the words of that badger came to mind, "Something big is happening." There was definitely something going on, and Nick is afraid to find out just exactly what that is.

He decided that it be best to stop thinking about all that. He has a case to worry about, not some conspiracy. Plus, it would be nice to get her off his mind; as much as he cares for her it's getting to the point where he can't function correctly with her on his mind. That doesn't mean he'll quit looking for her, no he won't stop until he sees her again no matter the condition. That will come in time, make no mistake. For now, however, he needed her gone and out of his head.

Nick turned to the young wolf, seeing his partner still scanning through the file on Mr. Asher. The vulpine smirked slightly, it wasn't hard to see that the wolf was trying to impress him. He's been looking non stop at the sheets of paper since they left; well there are only about three or four pieces and he's looked at them about a dozen times. 'Rookies' Nick inwardly chuckled as he shook his head back and forth. 'Better stop him before he strains his eyes' the fox joked.

"So, McCabe," Nick broke the silence, getting the wolf to look up from the file and towards the fox, "What's your story?" Nick felt that if the two were going to be partners, that it would be smart to get to know each other and try to build a bond. He doesn't think anyone will ever come close to having the same bond as what him and Judy shared, but he knows he needs to at least try.

"My story, what do you mean?" McCabe asked, slightly confused.

"You know, your story. Why did you decide to join the force. Most animals have a reason behind it," Nick elaborated.

"Ah, I see," The wolf nodded, now understanding what he meant. "Well, I guess it starts back when I was just a pup. I didn't live in the best of neighborhoods and saw a lot of bad stuff growing up. Luckily we were able to move out when I was about twelve after multiple break in's, and after my parents got mugged right outside of our house. I never forgot about that time I spent there and dreamed to be able and make the streets a safer place. That and also," he stopped for a second and looked sheepishly out the window, "It wasn't until I saw you and Officer Hopps on TV that I finally built up the courage to join the academy."

Nick chuckled and smirked over at his partner who wasn't looking him directly in the eyes. He found it funny how nervous this kid was acting around him, but also felt kind of honored, in a way, that he helped inspire someone to do some good in this world.

"How about you, Officer Wilde, why did you join the police so late?" McCabe asked.

"Please just call me Nick. Like I said we're partners, drop the formalities. As for why I joined, that's a long story." A smile fell upon the foxes lips as he thought back his first interactions with the bunny who changed his life; turning him from a life of crime to one of law enforcement. What a 360 his life took just by meeting one little bunny. His smile faltered as he remembered why he was even talking to a new partner and for a brief moment the darkness in his heart started to settle back in.

"Uh, Nick?" The foxes snapped out from his dark thoughts and looked to see a concerned looking McCabe. "You alright?" he asked softly. He knows plenty about Officer Hopps's disappearance, but honestly doesn't know the extent of the two's relationship. From how he's acting, the wolf guesses that they were pretty close.

"Yah I'm fine, just got a lot on my mind," Nick brushed off, not wanting to plunge to deep into his mind; he's pretty sure the rookie doesn't want to hear about any of that. "Anyways, you wanted to know why I joined the force?"

"I do, but I'm guessing that'll have to wait," he said pointing out the windshield. Nick looked over and was shocked to find that they were already at the house.

"I guess we'll have to pick up this conversation another time then," Nick stated as they drove up and through the front gates of the estate. Nick couldn't help but let out a long whistle as they drove up the long driveway of the house. Actually, Nick would have to describe it more as a mansion considering the sheer size of the place. A three story house surrounded by snow covered pines on either side of it. A large fountain sat just in front of the huge double doored entrance.

"Man, I chose the wrong profession," McCabe joked as they parked next to the other cop cars that were already there.

"No kidding," Nick chuckled.

The two hopped out of the car and walked over to an officer making sure no unauthorized personal got in. Upon seeing the fox officer the elk smiled and greeted him cheerfully. "Officer Wilde, good to see you back in uniform," she smiled.

"Good to be back Shelly, how's the calves?"

"A hoof full, as usual," she chuckled, her eyes wondering over to the wolf standing slightly behind Nick. "Who might this be?"

Nick turned to McCabe, "This is Officer Walker, a rookie and my new partner," he explained. McCabe waved kindly at the elk.

"Ah, I see," Shelly smiled weakly. Nick noticed this and understood her sorrow. Judy is friends with just about every officer in Zootopia, and seeing her gone can't be easy on any of them either. "Anyway, you'll find the lead detectives probably near the kitchen."

"Thanks, Shells," Nick smiled softly at the cow. As they walked by, Shelly grabbed McCabe for a second.

"Keep an eye on him, alright. He may seem like a big tough fox, but he's still got some emotions under that hard exterior." She whispered. McCabe was taken back for a second, but soon nodded his head.

"Will do," the wolf said before catching back up with Nick.

Shelly looked at the two until they entered the house and let out a soft sigh, "Poor fox," she frowned, then went back to what she was doing.

McCabe caught back up with Nick as they entered into the house, both of them staring in awe at the magnificent interior. "So what was that all about?" Nick asked as he examined the place. McCabe quickly thought of an excuse, not wanting the fox to get upset with him.

"She was just welcoming me to the force is all," he lied. And it seems like Nick didn't notice. He just nodded his head, saying that she is one of the friendliest mammals that he's ever met.

Nick, with McCabe behind him still staring in amazement at the structure he was in, walked into the kitchen finding a whole group of mammals moving around the place going about doing all their different tasks. For a moment the vulpine looked around to see who the lead directives are, but soon found his eyes landing on a few familiar figures.

"Detectives," Nick announced their presence as he walked up behind a male leopard and female hyena. The other partners turned around and looked at Nick and immediately became annoyed by his presence. They have a history with each other where Nick and Judy constantly out performed them at their own job. It's not Nicks fault that him and Judy are just really good at what they do, those two are just a bit jealous of their success.

"Hello Officer Wilde, what a surprise it is to see you here," the leopard said with bitterness. Usually Nick would like to have fun and mess with the two, but today he isn't really in the mood for obvious reasons.

"Hopefully a happy one, Lincoln," Nick smirked, "So how's the crime scene looking? Find anything that could give us any leads on the perp?" Nick questioned as he scanned the room.

Lincoln was about to say some sort of comeback out of instinct, but was surprised to hear the fox was actually focusing on the case. Him and his partner, Sam, shared a look before he returned his focus back to Nick. "Um, no. So far we haven't found anything. The perp left nothing but a body at the gate. Everything else was done clean and without a trace," Lincoln explained as he gestured around the room. "We're just lucky that he didn't know the wife was here."

"Wife?" Nick asked.

"Yah. His wife was supposed to go out with some friends, but ended up getting sick and stayed home. She was in the bathroom when the lights suddenly shut off. She just assumed it was a power outage. Then she said she heard a 'whooshing' sound and something hit the ground. The next thing she knew there was a bunch of stepping in her house for a few minutes and then nothing. When she got out her husband was gone."

"She didn't see anything?" Nick questioned. They told him no, that they were gone by the time she got the courage to leave the bathroom.

Nick thought about it for a second. A whooshing noise, taking a fully grown moose, audible sounds of pawsteps. "I think we're dealing with a team of mammals who have access to tranquilizers," Nick said to the group.

"We were thinking the same thing. You'd have to be a pretty big animal to haul off a moose of his size all by yourself. And tranq guns have a pretty distinct whoosh noise," Sam agreed with the fox.

"Unfortunately, we have no evidence to go off of other than a terrified cow," Lincoln sighed with annoyance.

"Not even the sniffers could pick up anything?" McCabe piped up. He may be a rookie, but he knows his stuff; at least for the most part. There's still some stuff he has yet to learn that the academy just can't teach.

"Nope, none of our wolf specialists could pick up anything. Whoever did this is a professional," Sam stated.

"I imagine there will be a call for a hefty ransom in the not so distant future," Nick speculated.

"I'm assuming that's the only reason they would take this guy. He's pretty well liked for a politician, but when you show people you got money that's when things go south for you," Lincoln sighed.

"So we can't do anything but wait?" McCabe questioned.

"As of right now, yah that's our only option unfortunately," Sam confirmed. Nick hates waiting like this. This is the second kidnapping that's been like this. They couldn't find anything with Judy either, except that there were at least signs of a struggle at her place. Here, they have nothing to go off of other than they may possibly be working with a group and not just a single perp.

"I'll think I'm going to have a look around anyway, see if I can be useful," Nick said, excusing himself from the detectives and motioning for McCabe to follow him.

"Why do I get the feeling they don't like you?" The wolf asked when the two were out of earshot from Lincoln and Sam.

"Because they don't, they're a tad bit jealous," Nick chuckled as he examined the place, looking for any little detail that may give him a clue of what they are going up against.

"Do you think these animals could be ex-military?" McCabe asked looking, and smelling, around the place; taking what he's learned from the academy and putting it into action.

"It's a possibility that we can't rule out. There's a lot of ex-military persons who become mercenaries after their done serving. It's unfortunate that they tend to do illegal things though." Nick talked on as he stared at the layout of the kitchen. Something was off, but he couldn't place his finger on it.

"Something wrong?" McCabe questioned walking up next to the fox.

"Yah," Nick mumbled walking over to a row of chairs behind a counter. "These mammals went through a lot of trouble to make sure everything was perfect," Nick commented, getting McCabe to look at him quizzically.

"I'm not understanding where you're going with this," the wolf shook his head confused.

"Where I'm going with this, is that if they wanted everything perfect then why is this chair crooked," Nick gestured in front of him. McCabe looked at the chair in front of Nick and saw that it was slightly crooked, but it was barely off with the others and doesn't seem like that big of a deal.

Nick knows better. It's always the small details that give the biggest outcome. He pulled the chair out and began to examine it, turning it left and right then taking off the seat cushion. He looked down under the cushion and smiled. He put on a rubber glove and picked up a small card that had been hiding under the cushion.

"Consider myself impressed," McCabe said as he looked at the card in Nicks paws.

Nick looked at the card closely and on one of the sides it had three words printed in large bold letters 'TIDES OF CHANGE' he read it out loud wondering what it could mean.

"Does that mean anything to you?" McCabe asked. Nick shook his head. He knows what it means as a saying, but has nothing in this context. The only thing he could think of is that this may not be a typical ransom. Before thinking about it anymore, he called over another officer and asked him to put the card in evidence.

"Well, at least we got something!" McCabe said cheerfully.

"Yah," Nick responded not focused at all on the wolf's words. Instead, his mind again wondered back to the badger and letter. 'Something big is happening' he had said; 'Judy isn't the last, watch your back' the letter had read. Maybe, just maybe, this was connected with Judy and this could be they key to finding her. Then he thought about the card he just found. "If this is a calling card, then maybe theirs one at her place," Nick mumbled thoughtfully to himself.

"What? What are you talking about?" McCabe asked confused. From his point of view, Nick was talking nonsense and acting very strange.

"Follow me, hurry," Nick suddenly said, speeding out from the house and making the wolf have to run to catch up.

"Where are we going?" McCabe shouted at Nick.

"Another crime scene."

Almost an hour later and the two found themselves in front of a building only one of them recognized. Nick had hoped he wouldn't have to come back here for a while, but coming here is a necessity. "So what happened here that is connected with our case?" McCabe asked as they walked into the building and through the lobby.

"There was another kidnapping here that was very similar," Nick explained glumly while walking up the stairs and onto Judy's floor. McCabe was starting to understand where they were and thought it would be smart to stop asking questions. They got to the room which still had police tape on it. It was locked up tight, luckily Nick was given a spare key by the owner. He opened the door and ducked under the tape into the apartment with McCabe following in suit.

Immediately Nick began looking for anything that is out of place. He knows this place better than any other mammal that could come in here and try to look. If the same mammals that took Mr. Asher took Judy, Nick would find out here. As the fox did this, McCabe stood back and just watched. It was already weird being partnered to one of his idols, but it felt even weirder being in one of his idols houses, especially after her disappearance. He didn't want to touch anything in fear that Nick might get mad at him, but he did feel like he had to ask a question.

"Do you think Officer Hopps was taken by the same mammals?" he asked the fox. Nick stopped for a second, still not a fan of hearing her name said out loud.

"I can't be for sure, but I can't not try and find out." Nick walked into the room where it happened and had to close his eyes and take a few deep breaths. 'Pull yourself together, you are a full grown fox' he scolded himself. He pushed forward through the negative thoughts, opened his eyes and scanned the room, almost immediately finding something out of place. Judy's lamp was on the wrong nightstand, on the opposite side of the bed from where it should be. He walked over to it and picked it up, finding exactly what he thought he would. He picked up the card with the words 'TIDES OF CHANGE'.

"So it is them?" McCabe asked from behind, looking at the familiar card in Nicks paw.

Nick inhaled deeply and let out a sigh, "I need to go and have a talk with the chief."

And so the plot thickens. Who is this group? What's going to happen next? Will Nick ever see Judy again? I know the answers, but you'll just have to keep coming back to find out.

Thanks everyone who has favorited, followed and commented. I'm happy that there are at least a few of you enjoying this story.

Keep On Keeping On

Peace Out