"We're up to twenty-one missing mammals now," Chief Bogo grumbled at the head of the bullpen, rubbing his forehead with one hand. "We need those predators found. Mayor Lionheart is getting anxious, and frankly, so am I. Now, everyone is on their previous assignment. All but you, Wilde."
Nick's eyes opened wider in surprise and a bit of hope. "Sir?"
"There's been a graffiti artist by the name of Judy Hopps tagging alleys in Downtown," Chief Bogo said. Nick's ears instantly flattened and his lips crawled out into a frown. "Should be right up your alley. You're a fox, she's a bunny. Go chase her. Dismissed!" The other mammals filed out of the room, but Nick tried to grab Bogo's attention as he opened the door to leave.
"Sir? Chief?" Nick waved his paw.
"What is it, Wilde?" Bogo said. "I'm very busy."
"Sir, if you would, I'd really like to help with the missing mammals case," Nick said politely. "I mean, it's my kind of mammal out there going missing. Is catching some sort of little bunny delinquent really going to help Zootopia?"
"Let me be perfectly honest," Bogo said, looking down at him. "I don't trust you, and I didn't want you on this team." Nick's ears flattened again. "Mayor Lionheart gave you to me with his Mammal Inclusion Initiative, so I'm stuck with you. I don't like your smart-tail attitude, you have no partner, and you're the smallest mammal on my team. What do you think you're going to do to help? You should be glad I haven't stuck you on parking duty again."
"Yes, sir," Nick's eyelids were falling and he was trying not to frown angrily.
"Now, if you somehow prove yourself trustworthy and capable, we can see if you'll be able to assist the big guys," Bogo said condescendingly. "Good luck with that." He shut the door firmly behind him.
Nick's shoulders fell and he growled, shaking his head. "Great. I joined the ZPD to serve my city. To be brave, loyal, helpful, and trustworthy." He looked up at the Zootopia map which had just over two dozen photos of smiling and normal-looking predators pinned to it. "How am I going to be able to help if I keep getting assigned busy work?
Judy shook her spray can, wearing an almost offensively brightly colored neon yellow and green outfit and chewing bubblegum. She added the finishing touches to her latest tag, which said "Smellwether Hates Preds" and had a caricature of Assistant Mayor Bellwether.
"Hm," Judy mused over her work, smirking. "I wonder if I should add stink lines over her head, or if that would be too much."
"I'd say what you've done is just enough," Nick said calmly, approaching her from her side.
"Oh! Hey, Copper!" Judy grinned nervously. "I was just leaving!" She sprinted away. Nick started to give chase, but she had a lead and he knew he wasn't faster than a bunny. He retreated in the opposite direction. "Huh? He's giving up already? Wow, maybe the ZPD isn't all it's cracked up to be after all!" Judy snickered and headed for the other end of the alley. "Dumb, fo-OOF!"
"Nice of you to run into me," Nick smirked as she bounced off of him. The bunny had run straight into him at the opening of the alley.
"Ack!" Judy tried to regain her footing, but Nick lunged out and grabbed her by the wrist. "Perfect..."
"Let's go admire your handiwork, shall we?" Nick grinned, dragging her back to her graffiti mural. "Smellwether, huh? What are you, like nine?"
"Twenty-four," Judy rolled her eyes. She blew a small bubble of her gum and brought the bubble back into her mouth, biting down on it.
"You really chew gum?" Nick perked up an eyebrow. "If you made a big enough bubble it'd just pop and get all over your face fur.
"Just gotta know when to quit, Copper," Judy shrugged.
"Apparently you don't," Nick scolded. "You've been tagging downtown with these anti-Bellwether messages for the past week or so. What gives?"
"Eh, just don't like her, I guess," Judy blew another bubble flippantly.
"Listen here, Chewdy Pops," Nick snapped. "You're looking at a big fine and some community service time. Could you be a little less disrespectful?"
"Heh, Chewdy Pops, not bad," Judy said in smug amusement. "Hey Copper, between you and me, I think Bellwether is behind all this."
"All what? Do you mean the missing mammals? Like some sort of conspiracy?" Nick cocked an eyebrow again.
"Yeah! I had just got a job at a diner, and I saw Bellwether there, talking to a ram," Judy nodded. She put her free hand into her pocket.
"Hey! Paws where I can see them!" Nick warned, drawing his stun gun with his own free hand.
"Easy, Copper!" Judy said, pulling out a carrot pen. "But listen to this." She clicked a button on the pen, and Assistant Mayor Bellwether's voice came out over the tinny speaker.
"We just hit twenty, we've got to hit the next one. You running low on Night Howler?" "No", said another voice. "Get someone in a populated area this time."
Nick blinked in astonishment. "What's... Night Howler?"
"Could tell ya," Judy said airily. "If you let me go."
"You're not going to bribe me!" Nick growled. "I've got integrity. Give me that pen!" Nick shook his stun gun.
"Ah ah..." Judy frowned. "I think not. If you twitch the wrong way I'll delete this recording."
Nick's jaw dropped. "Disgraceful! If Bellwether was the one behind the missing mammals and that's what the recording was about, you deleting it would put more of us in jeopardy! How could you live with yourself, knowing that?"
Judy showed some of her teeth. Nick couldn't read her expression; if it was shamed or defiant. "Listen, Copper. I'm only doing this, and making graffiti in the first place, because I want to help expose Bellwether. ...I wanted to be a cop, myself, if you can believe that."
"I don't think I do," Nick frowned. "I think you're just saying whatever it will take for me to let you go."
"No, its true!" Judy said desperately. "I wanted it more than anything. I came to Zootopia just for that purpose. My parents, everyone around me was telling me a bunny couldn't be a cop. But... in Zootopia, anyone can be anything! Or so I thought." She frowned. "The Mammal Inclusion Initiative didn't pick me up; they said I was too late for this year."
"So why don't you wait till next year?" Nick challenged.
"Because I already told everyone I was in," Judy sneered. "I was so sure. I graduated from the Academy at the top of my class. But no one wanted me because I'm just a bunny. You can't know how that feels; to have your ambitions dashed aside just because of what you are." She was breathing heavier, trying not to cry. "Worse yet, I lied to my parents, saying I got a rain check for the whole thing and just have to stay in Zootopia a bit longer before I'm an official cop. But I just went through the ceremony and nothing else. I'm a nobody now! But I want to help make this world a better place..."
"And you think solving the Missing Mammals case as some sort of graffiti vigilante will do that?" Nick put his stun gun away.
"I don't know, Copper," Judy sighed shakily. She offered her free paw. "Here, take the stupid pen." Nick did this gently. Judy grit her teeth hard, tears forming in her eyes. "That was it. That's my trump card. Without it, I have nothing. I'm nobody again."
"...What do you want from me, Chewdy?" Nick said in a low tone. "What do you want me to do?"
"Can I maybe..." Judy looked away. "Help you prove that Bellwether is behind this? I know some stuff about her and what she's doing, but it'd be nice to have someone official on my side."
"I'm not even supposed to be working the missing mammals case," Nick grumbled. "I'm supposed to be bringing you in. But... okay. You have the end of the day to prove you're not talking out of your tail-end."
"Yes!" Judy pumped her arm as Nick let her go. Nick actually expected her to run off, but she stayed. "Okay, c'mon, let's go! I know some things about the Night Howlers."
"Whatever those are," Nick grumbled, following her.
"Hehe, can't believe you fell for a little hustle like that, Copper," Judy grinned, starting to skip a bit, blowing a bubble and popping it inside her mouth merrily. "The emotional bunny act. Ha!"
"Yeah, no, you can't hustle a fox," Nick claimed. "That doesn't happen. You were actually upset."
"I'm a good actress," Judy claimed. "I can cry on command."
"Really? Do it right now, then," Nick challenged.
"Don't feel like it," Judy said cheerfully.
"Right," Nick rolled his eyes. "So you actually want to help me, then? You really want to do whats right for this city?"
"Even if I have to do something wrong to get there," Judy said with surprising seriousness, starting to walk instead of skipping.
Nick didn't say anything for several seconds, he grit his teeth, then sighed.
"I hear that, Chewdy Pops," Nick grumbled. "I hear it."