Hey Zootopians!

As I mentioned before, I loved the movie and I loved its characters. Consequently, I've now embarked on another fanfic! For this one, I've taken some serious time to get the story emblem just right, but now it is finally the way I want it to be. It will star our beloved bunny Judy Hopps and our fantastic fox Nick Wilde as they live through the events that befall them in this story, swapping between their points of view. (FYI, it may well be that I change to other characters too, later on. I never plan this, yet sometimes it just seems appropriate).

I don't have a lot more to say. Please enjoy the first chapter. More will follow (soon I hope, though I can't promise you that). Feel free to review or PM at any time!

Cheers,

J. Caesar

1. The New Recruit

== Nick ==

It was nine o'clock in the morning. Judy and I were in the basement of the precinct, the firing range of the ZPD. The air was filled with the odor of gunpowder, with similar traces covering my arms and safety glasses. Apart from the bench behind which I was standing and a couple of targets hanging at about fifty feet away, the room was grey and empty. The concrete walls were completely isolated to avoid the noise from escaping to the quieter working spaces one floor above. She had booked us a spot on her name so she could teach me how to properly fire a gun, without killing myself in the process. I had been wanting to secretly train myself already before going with her, to avoid showing my bitter lack of experience, but I wasn't in the system yet and therefore hadn't been able to make a reservation.

We were here since half an hour or so, me still being as tense and thrilled as when Judy told me last night she had made the reservation. I had shot the pistol multiple times now and each time it had send a tremor across my body, both from the blast and the excitement. My hands were shaky. I had never held one up until today and Judy told me it would take time to get used to the recoil. Thus far, I had blamed it for my poor results, while it was more than likely it was simply due to me being a complete novice. I hadn't hit the target a single time thus far.

"Wanna give it another go?"

"You bet your fluffy tail I do!" I replied overly excited.

"Okay then." She said with a smile, handing me a newly filled service weapon.

I pulled back the safety pal. I tightened my grip and stretched out my arms. I didn't shoot as I awaited Judy to bolster me with advice as she had done the previous times. She shook her head and tapped with her paw on mine.

"Don't squeeze it. Just hold on to it."

I loosened my fingers.

"Don't squeeze. Got it."

"And be sure to align your weapon with your eyes, like so."

She hopped off the small stool she had been standing on. She wriggled herself in between me and the desk, where her ears unwittingly tickled my belly. She pushed my arms up, which took her some effort due to our variant lengths, creating the desired alignment. Then she got back onto her vantage point. She observed me with an expert's eye and judged my current stance, rubbing her chin with her left paw. She nodded, pleased with what she saw.

"There, much better. Now try it again."

I pulled the trigger and the bullet went straight into the bullseye. I looked up amazed. She knew this stuff well.

"Nicely done." She complimented me.

I couldn't let this opportunity slip by to practice my number one hobby: teasing her.

"Ha-ha! Beat that, carrots."

She snorted amused and held out her paw, waving her fingers, demanding the firearm nonverbally. I handed it to her carefully. She opened the magazine and checked the number of bullets left inside. I opened my mouth to make another remark, however before I could speak, she turned towards the target and, in a fluent motion, fired three shots in lightning fast sequence of each other. She hadn't even taken time to aim. My jaw only dropped further when I looked closer and noticed that all of them had gone straight into the inner ring. They were only a nail's length from where mine had hit its mark.

"Don't worry." She said, closing my mouth. "You will get the hang of this too. Eventually."

Then she walked away casually. I couldn't help but laugh impressed. She acted as if her stunt was no big deal, though I hadn't forgotten she was top of her class. I highly doubted other officers could have pulled this off as precise as she had. Judy handed me back the gun and pointed at the storage Our time was up and we had to make room for the next ones. I put the weapon back in the designated rack and joined her upstairs. There she stood, looking at the clock whilst symbolically tapping her foot.

"I thought you foxes were supposed to be fast."

I shook my head, entertained. Yep, that rabbit was a real specimen.

== Judy ==

The morning had started enjoyable. Not only had I got Nick excited about something, which was not an easy task, I had also left him speechless with my deadly accuracy with a service weapon. Not that we got to use them a lot in the field. Most of us didn't even have one. The ZPD's modes of action rarely inclined the excessive kind of violence provided by a gun. We did all have a tranquilizer rifle, yet that was designed for sedation rather than intentional injury. That said, it didn't impede the fun of unloading a couple of rounds in a target. And as I had predicted, Nick thought so too.

"So, how did you experience your first target practice?" I asked.

"As a total rookie… not that it ruined any of the thrill." He added happily.

"Great!"

Nick was still getting used to many of the police's customs, obligations and, most of all, their rules. Learning and adapting to these had mostly been boring to him, so I was glad I found something in the building that didn't make him yawn. Or at least he had had it look that way to me. He had been an excellent actor his entire life, which sometimes had me question whether he truly meant everything he said. A good example was not so long ago. He had emphasized his glee when Chief Bogo taught us how to use our notebooks to maximum efficiency. I couldn't (and still didn't) believe that he was honestly enthusiastic. My belief was that he did it to get on good terms with the chief. The course itself had been a part of the ZPD's latest adaptation to one of the recent hypes in our society: Being wasteful is being distasteful. Following this motto, we, and many others in Zootopia, did our best to utilize everything as long as possible to minimize the garbage this city produced. The final goal was to have a major impact on the ever-growing amount of litter in the streets. A noble cause, however recycling old stationary seemed to me like an excessive and exaggerated fling by Chief Bogo, who only implemented it, because the whole idea was launched by Gazelle. Don't get me wrong, I loved her and her music too, but that didn't mean I copied her every move. That was one step too far. A step Bogo, on the other hand, had been willing to make.

"Hopps!"

Speaking of the devil.

I looked up, seeing my boss gesture me to come over as he leaned on the glass inlaid fence that railed off his floor. Judging from the frown in his forehead, he either had found me a real case or I was going to get scolded for not have properly disposed of my pencil dust. Nick glanced at me to gauge my attitude and estimated if tagging along would be a wise decision. I didn't know exactly what he concluded, yet he stuck with me as I took the first stairs to Bogo's office.

The door was left open, hence we entered without knocking. Bogo's room was spacious and carpeted with soft green and yellow cotton. The big ox sat behind his desk bent over more paperwork than anyone would be content with as the enormous, golden ZPD badge stared down his neck. Hopefully he didn't ask me over for that; paperwork was one of the most detestable parts of being a cop. When Nick closed the door behind us, he pointed at the chair opposite him without looking up.

"Ah, Hopps, sit down." He said to me without looking up.

A few minutes of stillness went by before Bogo put down his reading glasses and sat upright to speak to me. Only then did he note I was not alone.

"Wilde." He added sternly.

He did not offer him the same courtesy of sitting down. Intentionally I thought. It seemed that he tried to get the fox to leave us. I wondered why. Nick on the other hand was not that easily deterred and he stayed in the room, not getting the hint.

"We got ourselves a situation at Sahara Square. There are a couple of filthy hus-errr... I mean, dishonest swindlers on the loose."

An "Ah" slipped my mouth as I realized this is why Bogo didn't want Nick around, considering his former con history. I did not share these concerns. I had baselessly questioned my friend's loyalty once before. I wouldn't make that mistake twice. He had my full confidence.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, sir. Please continue."

"Right. So, we've had multiple complaints about a couple of them operating there every day around noon. That means you'll be likely to encounter them in about an hour or so. I suggest a stakeout, but in a regular car, not a police vehicle. That'll avoid them from seeing you."

A smile formed on my face. I couldn't help it; this was going to be my first undercover operation.

"Sounds like a plan, yet don't you think people will recognize me and my car?"

He nodded.

"Yes, that's why you'll be assigned one of our incognito vehicles."

I tried my best to stop my grin from widening. I didn't think I was doing a great job at it as the corners of my mouth felt crampy.

"Sir, if I may." Nick spoke up.

I turned around startled. I had nearly forgotten his presence in the excitement.

"Yes?" He was answered dourly.

"Don't get me wrong, the plan's great, but as a former swindler, I know that they will be well on their guard. Any person just sitting in a car staring will raise their suspicion."

Bogo sank into thoughts. I was glad he respected Nick's input these days. That had been different when he had been with me during the missing mammal case. Ever since he had joined our ranks, he had shown good insight in various cases. This had given Bogo an increased respect for him. It had also made me admire him more. I knew Nick to be a clever one, yet he still managed to stun me with his wit.

"What would you have us do instead?" The buffalo said eventually.

The tone was less friendly; however, it never was when somebody had reasonable doubts to any of the chief's plans. That he valued our input, was irrefutable. He just didn't like to be proven wrong. A feature I regrettably shared.

"Well, I think we'll have to walk around, casually dressed of course. It'll limit our line of sight, while it raises our chances of blending in significantly. This gives us a much more realistic shot at catching them red-pawed."

Again, Bogo seemed to crack his cranium. It was unorthodox to have two officers on foot, without any backup in a car, that I had to agree, but Nick had seen the situation through the eyes of the enemy. I trusted that he knew the best way to avoid attention getting drawn to us.

"Fine. We'll see how it plays out."

"You won't regret it, sir." I said proudly.

"Please don't remind me." He sighed exaggeratedly.

So, that was the first! I hoped you liked it, because I got a lot more in stall for you ;)