M warning - - There is some mildly detailed, brief but explicit adult activity in this chapter.

Hearts Above

"To audacity. And to bringing order to the chaos."

Judy fumbled with the clothes in her closet. She searched for something fashionable to wear for her night out with Jack. But when she only saw her rugged unisex style clothing, she grew disheartened. The struggles of a farm bunny, she thought. After a brief period of sulking, Judy doubled her efforts. She tossed aside something urban she picked up recently; a pair of skinny black pants and a sleeveless top. The shirt hugged her body comfortably, allowing her to show off some curves. It also gave her a chance to show off her arms. But she frowned when thinking about the color. Her pants were black, but the shirt was a light brown. It didn't look like it would compliment her fur much. She shrugged, not wanting to waste time by judging herself. When she was ready, she took one final look in the mirror.

"Eh, it'll do." Mullified, she walked out the door.

She needed to catch the bus and get to the corner of Hook-Hoof avenue and 2nd street. It was the southeasternmost stop on the Savanna Central bus line. Along the way, Judy fidgeted with her clothing. She pulled at the corners of her shirt, unable to be content with its feel or look. She looked down at herself hundreds of times making sure her clothes were clean.

This was a new experience for her. She never felt so serious about another mammal. Not even in her younger teens had she come to feel so self-conscious as she did now. However, the thoughts and somewhat automatic change in her behavior was a welcome distraction from work. Ever since she returned to work she had been busy trying to make up for personal losses. The Chief had softened his approach to her, and she was grateful for the change in attitude. McHorn occasionally spoke with her to stay in the loop regarding Big.

She finally reached her stop. From the window of her seat, Judy could see the low entrance into Sahara Square to the south of her. The border wall was in clear sight. It was an imposing and guarded structure forty feet high and was nearly a dozen feet thick. She stepped off the bus and noticed Jack waiting by the stop.

"Oh, sweet cheeses..." She was stunned by the rush of heat through her body when she approached. He wore a matching outfit of mid-toned speckled reds. His darker red pleather jacket and red pants popped out his gray and black fur. And the image stole her breath. It was almost regal. Jack laughed, noticing her reaction.

"Yeah, you like it." She caught a hint of warm vanilla as he approached.

"Whew! Okay playbuck, where are we going?" Jack gently pulled her close and they walked together in a side embrace.

"Not far. Not far." He pointed up to a white brick structure snuggled up against a taller building. In the corner on the edge of the roof, it looked to Judy as if there was a blank slate hovering in the darkness. A gap that was hidden from the light. Next to that gap appeared to be guarded railing that encircled the roof but excluded the blank slate.

"We are going up there." Judy leaned into Jack, taking in the smells of his clothes and vanilla scented fur.

"What is it?"

"The Sky Lounge. A high-rise bar."

"You really know how to impress."

"I worked for my wealth. So I'm going to enjoy it. It's only worth it because I get to share it with you." Judy punched him in the shoulder and squeaked.

"You are saying all the right things tonight." He rolled the shoulder she hit. She grinned. I got him good.

"I hope I can hear more about what's been going on with you. Did you find anything interesting about Grizzoli or Delgato since we last spoke?" Judy nodded affirmatively.

"I haven't put my time into Grizzoli. I was sure to stay clear of him and made sure to not be obvious about it."

"Mm-hmm, good. Go on..." They approached the entrance to the building. Judy stopped and faced Jack.

Some troubling news did come just before her date. Thinking about Delgato, Judy said,

"Delgato is missing. He hasn't been seen in a few days. The Chief started investigating him. But he discovered that his house was cleaned out. The entire family is gone!" She shook her head dismayed.

"Missing..." Jack turned and looked at the streets. A habit Judy noticed he had whenever he was in deep thought. Like he expected the city to reveal their secrets to him. "Either they fled Zootopia, or they're all dead."

"I hope nobody got hurt. Delgato was crooked, but he doesn't deserve any serious harm."

"Maybe just a punch in the nose?" Jack joked. Judy slapped his chest, "Be serious."

"I'm always serious," Jack grinned. "I'm just really happy to be out with you. You've any idea how hard it is right now to not make dorky honking bunny sounds? Look at our noses they're practically dancing off of our faces." Judy snorted, "Stop it!"

"Heh. Let's go inside." Jack led her into the building. The main lobby seemed unusually quiet and empty to Judy. There was no music nor chatter from any mammals. Surely such a place would have had a line of mammals waiting to be ushered in? Jack directed her to an elevator. When the doors opened, Judy saw a peculiarly dressed figure standing in the corner. The sight of someone babysitting an elevator struck her with a moment of confusion. She shook it off, deciding to admire the attendant's outfit. It had many shiny buttons and a pointed hat that looked eerily similar to the ones traffic cops wore. She walked into the elevator after Jack. Suddenly feeling self-conscious about her outfit, she said,

"I'm dressed like a peasant compared to you."

"You're fine," said Jack dismissively. "Lovely arms." He threw her a grin and playfully groped at her biceps.

When the elevator doors opened on the top floor, a cool draft swept up Judy's legs and coiled around her arms. It was surprisingly breezy up top. But she found it pleasant if a bit cool. Solid glass double doors on the opposite end of the hall were propped open. Jack and Judy walked towards the doors. As they got closer, the entrance of a bar to Judy's left came into her view. The counter was made of a cloudy off-white marble. A well-dressed female cheetah was wiping down the counter and placing bottles back on a rack. The old cheetah turned and approached them.

"Jack, lovely to see you. Finally cashing in that favor, I see." The cheetah turned to Judy. "You are very lucky."

"Oh, I'm starting to think so." Judy, standing on Jack's left, grabbed his paw. She noticed the cheetah had a thick foreign accent. She rolled her r's and said her f's soft as if she were attempting to carefully birth a flame by breathing oxygen into a spark. The old cheetah tilted her head fondly at them.

"Mrs. Tirales, thank you for this. I know this isn't an ordinary request."

"Oh, you paid for it. No problem, dear. Money is money. And with barely anyone here, less clean-up to do. The staff will be at your beck and call whenever needed. The number to dial for food is on the counter. Enjoy your private time together."

The cheetah stood with a dignified posture that Judy envied. Though she was no slouch herself, there was a certain kind of grace to the elder cheetah. Tirales walked past them and entered the elevator. When she was gone, Judy asked,

"Did you rent the entire bar for the night. Just for us?" Jack looked at her with a little bashfulness she found endearing.

"Yes. And now I'm going to be tight on cash for a few weeks. But it pays to have friends. When I was working in the south, I helped a team stop a warlord from recruiting child soldiers. Mrs. Tirales' grandson was one of the children."

"Sweet tulips. You are intense." Judy excitedly walked out onto the rooftop. Small round tables and wiry chairs were set up on either side of the lounge. There were three lines of rails crossed by bars that fenced the area, creating a parapet.

"It wasn't as exciting as you're thinking. I'm just an investigator. I didn't do the heavy lifting the others did. Though I worked with them and trained with them, it was for safety and security. I'm just a glorified detective." Judy walked out and admired the buildings across from her, noting his rare expression of humility. She could see through the spaces between the buildings and looked at the many lights that colored the sky. Her awe of the beauty of Zootopia was disturbed by Jack snaking an arm around her waist from behind. She leaned into him, nose twitching.

The worries of her job began to fade. She giggled when remembering that Jack tended to worry more about things than she did. It was nice for once, to not be the neurotic one.

"Jack, this is nice..."

"Thank you." His voice was warm in her ears. Vulnerable. A sudden beeping noise caught Judy's attention. Jack grunted and looked at his watch.

"I have to go to work..."

"What?" Judy's face drooped in surprise.

"Oh, I can work here. I just have to be on my phone for the next...half hour." He shrugged and sheepishly turned his gaze away from her.

"Oh. Well, can I be nosy? I want to see what mysterious work you do when no one is looking." Jack smiled. He looked out over the railing to the streets below and listened to the sounds of the city.

"Of course you can!. I will be on video for an interview." Judy's ears perked up with an idea.

"Oh! I'll go get us drinks and call for food." Jack affectionately poked her nose with a finger before she left.

Bellwether held in one hand two multi-colored folders stuffed with papers, large laminate sheets, and several sensitive files. The dinner event in Tundratown had begun. Guests from all districts came to attend the meeting where average citizens across the economic ladder could voice their opinions regarding future plans for the city. She scurried to the opposite end of a square table in Tundra Timber Tower; a two-story diner that catered to the wealthy. Sitting across from her was Mayor Lionheart and his wife, Elaine Lionheart. To her sides were Frank Stone, the meerkat from the MIC, pigs Luana and Lacie, and Dr. Frank Cunningham, a red fox.

She heard of this Dr. Cunningham before. He was a retired surgeon most known for overcoming prejudiced treatment in the medical field. The maligned reputation of foxes and certain other predator species have made his successful career newsworthy in some local gatherings. His eyebrows were beginning to turn gray. And the whiskers on his muzzle were also losing their pigment. The aged fox was stout but even-tempered and soft-spoken.

The Mayor motioned with his paw for Bellwether to hand him the folder. She slid them across the clothed table. He snatched up the folder without a word of thanks and turned his attention to the female pigs.

"I'm telling you, the penguin quarter needs to be restructured because of the population explosion. Their numbers have grown dramatically over the last decade. We still have some space to redraw the borders for our residents without disrupting the neighbors."

"There will always be an expense to others. We can't keep taxing residents every time some new issue pops up."

"If I may," Dr. Cunningham began, "the fear-mongering over taxes is such an old political scare tactic. While taxes can be unfairly balanced against the paychecks of Zootopians, the results of these taxes are beneficial for everybody. If taxes do go to restructuring the penguin quarter, it isn't like other mammals wouldn't be allowed to enter the targeted neighborhoods. The streets of Zootopia are free for everyone to roam. Whenever and wherever they please."

"See? Even the fox agrees with me!" said a proud Lionheart.

"I was merely countering the complaint about taxes. I never said I agreed or disagreed with you," Cunningham retorted. He wore a mischievous smirk on his face. It irked Bellwether.

"Yeah, real free when you have career criminals strangling the districts. Who are you kidding?" said Frank.

Bellwether listened with half interest for a moment longer before excusing herself to go to the restroom. Nobody cared what she thought. She was just a prop and a third arm to Lionheart. Believing this, she was confident in what she was about to do. The old Zootopia will fall tonight. Bellwether muttered to herself,

"Just part of the natural cycle..." Along the way, she passed the service counter bordering the kitchen and slipped a note to a panther chef in the back. She whispered,

"Manchas, you good?"

"Yes."

"Okay. I thought we weren't going to slip you in here. Good. Their orders were already made." Bellwether took a frantic glance back to the table then back to Manchas. "Just read the note." She watched as the panther glanced at the paper that read: "Spike the one red wine. That is Lionheart's." Manchas nodded.

"Understood." Satisfied, Bellwether walked to the restroom.

"Time for a phone call." Everything was going as she had hoped. The Mayor remained oblivious to her scheme. Manchas infiltrated the kitchen along with Woolter. And Big had jeeps full of mammals stationed around the city. They were dressed in customized combat gear and were ready to strike their targets. Bellwether supplied each jeep leader with two dozen needles. An even split of the serum and antidote.

Once Lionheart drank his wine, all Bellwether needed to do was wait for Lionheart to show the first signs of the drug's effects. Afterward, Bellwether would make the final call to Big. She sent Big the first message.

"Everything is ready. The food should be coming out soon. Wait for my call."

Judy sipped a white rose wine while she listened to Jack instruct the Lead Diplomat in the Southlands. She never heard of rose flavored wine and found it intense but delicious. The aroma of the roses mingled with the alcohol of the wine almost well enough. Judy's ears twitched in confusion when she heard unfamiliar sounds coming from Jack as he spoke into the phone. It took Judy a second to realize he was speaking in another language. As she sat beside him, she let her eyes wander over the genetically blessed hare. How did I get so lucky?

Though the interview was interesting, she began to fidget. She wanted his attention. He really did get absorbed in his work. At least she had a moment to take in the sights. Jack removed his red pleather jacket and placed it on the chair behind him. His brighter red short-sleeved shirt blended with his pants as if they were one piece of clothing. The speckled decoration that broke up the lighter red made him look like he was shrouded in a frozen bloody fog. She no longer noticed the vanilla scent that hovered on Jack's fur. But that was fine. There were too many smells coming from her roasted and sauced vegetables, the wine. And the cool damp evening city air. When he finally cut the call, Judy finished the last bite of her meal and stared with a wide smile.

"So that's what you've been up to? Playing international detective over the internet?"

"Something like that." Jack turned in his chair to face Judy. He gave her an adoring smile. "So, Judy, I never asked you in all our moments together..."

"Yes?"

"Why in the world did you want to become a police officer?" Judy responded enthusiastically,

"To make the world a better place! The excitement. The chance to meet people in need. To be a positive influence." Jack shook his head and smiled. Feeling as if she failed some sort of test, she probed his reaction,

"No?"

"Huh?"

"You're shaking your head."

"You gave me such a simple answer. I expected something more." Fighting back her embarrassment, she pushed against Jack's cold response,

"Hey, you asked."

"Judy. I've seen you. I've read your file. There's more to why you do your job and you know it." Intrigued but still sore, Judy listened with her guard up. Jack bore his gaze into her as he spoke. Maybe it was just the angled features of his face or the way he spoke, but Judy always felt like she could see the gears turning in his head. Like he was dissecting the very essence of another person. But he did it with such a calm demeanor. And Judy thought she could detect a very small bit of wonder when he did so. An innocent passion of some sort. The small smiles he resisted when he spoke, hinted at this. There was no arrogance or maliciousness behind them. Just wonder.

"You certainly have the best intentions for why you do your work. But you do it because you dare to believe you can make a difference. You claim to just want to be a positive influence and make the world better. But how dare you have such an idea." Jack smiled and continued, "You have the audacity to believe that what you do matters. You seek out chaos and disorder because you want to be the remedy to it. You're obsessed with finding things that are wrong and trying to make them right. It makes your heart pound and your lungs desperate for air. You need to bring order to chaos like you need the blood in your veins."

Judy found a haunting accuracy in his words. He articulated her thoughts better than she could think them. It made responding to the analysis difficult because a response seemed unnecessary. She turned away from his beautiful face. Jack placed a gentle paw on hers. She welcomed the contact.

"There is nothing like that rush. S-so, what do you think about it?" asked Judy.

"I love it," said Jack. "I love your voice and your passion. You're always on my mind. I love who you are. And I know it all too well because I have that drive too. We breathe it. Feed off of it. Get high on it. We dare to believe that what we do matters. And we fight with everything we have to make that true."

A rush of energy made her fidget in her seat. His words were an adrenaline rush. When she was with Jack, Judy needed to resist the urge to want to cuff someone. To show off. She secretly begged for something illegal to happen right in front of her while she was in Jack's presence. She wanted to get into the chase. The capture. The arrest. To shout "ZPD. Stop!" To read someone their rights. She saw Jack and stared into a living mirror. He was her passion in physical form. Beautiful, dignified, and relentless.

"Well, Jack how about a toast?"

"A toast? To what?" She lifted up her near empty glass and said, "A toast to audacity." Jack smirked and lifted his own glass, "To audacity. And to bringing order to the chaos." Clink!

With glasses empty, they sat in comfortable silence. The colors of the night sky changed and matched the purple in Judy's eyes. Curious about Jack, Judy asked,

"Who were you seeing, before me?"

"Oh, It was years ago. A female fox." Judy said with surprise, "A fox?"

"Yes. She was a mechanic." Judy chuckled and fiddled with the empty glass. When the waiter approached, she handed them over.

"A predator and a female mechanic. I think I know your type."

"Tomboys."

"Dad doesn't call me 'Jude the dude' for nothing." Judy leaned back in her seat and sighed. She stared up at the clouds and watched them slowly hover by. "I love guys. I love the way they feel they need to be overprotective of someone they care about. I love the way they go above and beyond to impress." Judy gestured with a paw to the bar and winked at Jack. She stared back at the night sky and continued, "I love their bodies. Their clothes. And the way they can be so aggressive yet so gentle all at once. And I love how creative and smart and goofy they can be. I love that a small part of them just never grows up. They know how to have fun." Jack grinned.

"I guess dating you makes me gay."

"Haha!" Judy reached across the table and punched him in the arm. She then ran to the parapet. She looked over the edge, seeing a wide ledge that stretched to the right before it curved the corner. She noticed that blank spot she saw from the streets. A cut out white square nestled in the dark corner of two taller buildings that sheltered the Sky Lounge. Jack slowly walked over to her with a curious look on his face. She jumped over the railing saying,

"Catch me!"

Bellwether masked her anxiety in silence at the table. The discussion shifted to the oncoming election season. Guests from neighboring tables were asking questions. In all the commotion, it was easy for her to go unnoticed. Dr. Cunningham continued to throw jabs at the Mayor. He was serious. Not that it would matter. Bellwether would see to it that they were all cleared out of the way for her and Big.

Finally, a raccoon waiter threaded through the crowd and brought the mayor and his wife their wine. The Mayor graciously took the red while his wife took the white wine. Mayor Lionheart looked at the table and spoke with renewed energy.

"Look, we need to improve transportation in the penguin quarter. It's getting crowded. The special ice-cars we invested in have not been updated in sixteen years." Mayor Lionheart paused. He stood up and looked at his table of guests then raised his glass of wine.

"To all of you. Thank you for attending the dinner. And thank you for believing in us and being a part of this feast." The audience nodded and muttered hear-hear's as the Mayor took his seat and waited for comments. Bellwether excitedly clenched her fists, eyes darting from the wine to Mayor Lionheart. He turned to Elaine.

"Honey, why don't we switch? I never tried the white wine." Bellwether gripped the edge of her table.

"Seems a grand idea to me," she said, and switched glasses. Damn it all. This would have to do. Elaine drank the poisoned red wine. Bellwether looked away, fighting back her panic. I'll make this work. I have to.

To calm herself, Bellwether decided to start up a conversation with Frank. It was good that he was at the meeting. She could probe for information on Jack. He was, after all, her third target.

"So, Frank. How has Jack been keeping himself busy these days?" The meerkat, suddenly aware of her presence, smiled her way,

"Oh. He is alright. Been incredibly busy. But I can't comment much. He doesn't tell me everything."

"Ever the keeper of secrets hmm?"

"Yes."

"Surely there must be something you recognized? Has he seemed irritable in any way? Nervous? Angry?" Frank laughed.

"No more high-strung than usual. He is worried about why Big has been so active recently." An opening. She leaned in closer to Frank and smiled.

"Do tell!"

Frank leaned in and whispered, "He's investigating Big on the down-low. Working to bring him down. But his superiors haven't accepted his request officially." Bellwether held in an excited breath. She shifted her gaze back to the table of guests. They turned their heads uncomfortably at Mrs. Lionheart. Her breathing had quickened and she could be heard across the table. Dr. Cunningham was the first to speak,

"Mrs. Lionheart? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine!" The lioness slammed her fists down on the table, causing the plates and glasses to jump. Bellwether rose from her seat and slipped away from the gathering. She kept an eye on the group as she backed off. Doug and Woolter met her gaze from across the diner, and she nodded their way. A sudden crash drew her attention back to the table. Mayor Lionheart was on the ground fending off his wife's attempts to bite him. Dr. Cunningham and Frank rushed to try and subdue her. The four of them wrestled on the ground. The crowd around them scrambled in a panic.

Through the noise and chaos, Bellwether hurried out the front and picked up her phone to call Big.

"It's time!"

Judy began to feel the effects of the wine as she walked the ledge. She clung to the railing and carefully made her way to the hidden square. Once she comfortably hit solid ground, she turned away from the corner and looked at the sealed windows in front of her. They were covered on the inside by thick curtains. Good. The windows were unable to be opened, and the curtains meant she and Jack were unable to be seen. Privacy. Jack's light steps tapped in her ears behind her.

"What's gotten into you?" Judy raised her fists again. Her body burned with excitement and a need; a need to play and to touch. Jack turned the corner. Judy threw a half-hearted punch but he caught it. She was surprised by his speed, or maybe the alcohol had finally thrown her off balance. He looked straight at her and tightened his grip on her paw just enough to keep it in his grasp. With his free left paw, he pulled on her shirt and crushed the distance between them. Their eyes and noses but inches apart. A sudden thought crept into Judy's head. It nagged at her like a forgotten memory that needed to be recalled but the lust of the moment was too powerful. Too distracting. The static build-up between them hung heavy in the air. Judy snaked a paw under his shirt,

"I want to see you. It comes off!"

"Here?"

"Yes!" She forced the red shirt off of him and squeaked when she saw the muscles on his ribs, the stripes that wrapped around his sides, the sleek form that communicated vitality and desirability.

"You are a buck!" He pressed her lips against his and shoved her to the wall. Before she knew it, her legs were half exposed to the cool night air as she frantically lowered her pants. Jack opened his own and moved forward. He made contact with her in a way that sent shivers through her groin. She hugged him and wriggled her pants down to her ankles before kicking them to her side. A low growl of pleasure vibrated through Judy's ears and down into her bones. She responded back with her own approval and guided him with soft moans. She rested her head on his shoulder as he deftly lifted her and slowly eased her down back onto him. She clung to his waist with her legs and peeked down at his back.

She let her eyes get confused and lost in the stripes on his back as they swayed with the motion of his hips. The dancing black marks dazzled her like the lights in the city sky that colored the clouds. Each mesmerizing movement and flood of outside sensations only matched what she felt inside. She compared his beauty to the hazy horizon broken up by the different districts. They reveled in the pleasure in silence, using only moans and love bites to communicate. That is until Judy decided to speak.

"S-so, those s-st-stripes don't go to your front?"

"N-no..." Jack was too focused on the activity of thrusting into her to say more than one word at a time. Too lost in the pleasure they shared. She nibbled on his ears and neck, letting her own higher pitched growls vibrate in her throat. He pressed his cheek to hers and smiled, leaning into her kisses. His hot breath bathed her left shoulder. She quivered with the ecstasy as Jack moved with a rhythm. The insides of her legs were noticeably moist now.

"No cute heart-shaped smudge on your balls?"

"Ooh! I'm...done!" Judy landed on her feet and laughed as Jack's legs buckled. She didn't care about the hot sticky moisture suddenly coating her right leg. Jack hugged her waist as he knelt in front of her. He pressed his face to her covered belly and panted. His hot breath ran down her front and tickled her groin. She squirmed from the tickling sensation.

"You had to say that..." Jack squeezed her waist as if in worship before returning to his feet. Judy planted a hard kiss on his muzzle and stared into his gray eyes. To her, their partnership couldn't be more appropriate. And she hoped it would only strengthen with time.

"Maybe if you behave, I'll decorate the fur on my balls to say 'I heart Judy.'"

"You do that, and I'll marry you right now." Silence returned once more as Jack walked to retrieve his shirt. It was excessively dirty from being tossed aside. He pouted as he dusted it off, only to further smear black soot on the shirt.

"Geez. It's filthy." He looked down and noticed that his pants at the knees where he knelt from his climax were also stained black. "I hope nobody saw. Don't need the trouble now." Trouble...trouble...It suddenly hit her. Judy hurriedly dressed and almost tripped over her words saying,

"Oh! I forgot! Finnick and Nick were released! When the Chief gave me the case on Delgato, he mentioned that Nick and Finnick were cleared of charges. I talked to McHorn about it!"

"But cargo theft is a high-felony. And we had a witness! Impossible!"

"It happened. Really." Jack stroked the fur on his head. "Damn, Bogo. Get your shit together..." Jack made to return to the lounge. Judy followed him pausing for a moment to glance behind her at their little love corner. She smiled and inhaled deeply. As she stepped on the ledge, a sudden trick of light caused her to turn her head to the right.

"Did the lights just..." Judy froze for a moment. But the city was quiet. She dismissed the thought.

"Wait! I got it!" yelled Jack. Judy raced to the lounge, clearing the parapet as if she were hopping a fence.

"What?"

"Judy, this is serious. There are only one of two ways they could have been set free. Cargo theft usually involves the theft of international product. Such product is monitored by the top of the top. The Mayor, Assistant Mayor, and the Zootopian Trade Commissioner." Judy worked to slowly piece together his thoughts.

"Now, the ZTC doesn't have the authority to pardon criminals, obviously. So that only leaves two people with such authority. The Mayor and his assistant!"

"Are they corrupt?"

"I don't know." Judy turned again. The lights around them and throughout the city flickered. Jack also caught it. This time she was sure of it. Jack turned to her as the rising sensation of dread crawled up her body.

"Judy, something's wrong." The city went black. Her romantic evening was ripped from her like the flesh from her bones. A raw fear chilled her. Down in the streets, in the darkness, rising like the terror in her blood was a rumbling of voices. Cars raced in a panic. She heard screams. Then an explosion.