Judy walked into her office the next morning knowing exactly what to expect. She passed by the officers that were getting ready to go on patrol, casting a longing look towards them and their partners as she mused about what it was like to go to work every day knowing that her best friend would be right there next to her. Unfortunately, she didn't have time to sit and contemplate the past. She had a job to do in the here and now, and that job was to answer emails and complaints regarding the consequences of yesterday's protest.

Opening the door to her office she went to her desk, adjusted her photos and logged into the network. Knowing how this sort of thing usually went she counted down the seconds to herself as she waited for the next part of her day.

"Three… Two… One…" Bogo came in through the door without knocking.

"Wilde, we have something important to discuss."

"Yes sir, what might that be?"

"As I am sure you are aware of, the protest yesterday left more than a few people upset. However, there's one person in particular that the mayor wants you to meet with and reassure." Judy shook her head a little at this.

"The mayor wants me to coddle some store clerk about their broken windows? That seems a bit odd." Bogo gave a little sigh and looked up at the ceiling, clearly a bit annoyed at this himself.

"No Wilde, the mayor wants you to reassure Santiago Ramirez that his property will be protected."

"What!? I don't care that he happens to own most of that neighborhood, he's a citizen just like everyone else and he can wait in line downstairs. Why should I have to go to him to hold his paw?"

"Look Wilde, Mr. Ramirez is a very powerful individual with very powerful friends, and let's just say that the mayor has been yanking at my tail to make sure he knows that his property is protected. I don't like it either, but unfortunately that's how it is." Judy looked back at her desk, her eyes stopping when they landed on a picture of Nick.

"Yeah, fine I'll do it."

"Great. His driver is downstairs waiting for you." Before she could protest he was already out the door.

Judy got back out of her chair and made sure that her uniform looked crisp and well pressed in front of a small mirror. Although, ever since Nick had started ironing her uniform she had never had to worry about it not looking in picture perfect condition. Putting her hat under one arm she walked out of the office and down the stairs to where the driver was supposedly waiting.

She didn't have to search the crowd in the atrium for long though to spot the individual in question. He was a tall Kangaroo in an all-black driver's outfit, his hat cocked a little off to one side. Something about the way he looked, the way he moved, the way his eyes searched the crowd though didn't sit right with her. She was one of only a few individuals who had ever seen another animal go savage, and something about the way he looked made her feel that he was right on the edge. As if he was ready to unleash the animal within at a moment's notice.

"Hello, sir? Are you Mr. Ramirez's driver?" The kangaroo looked down and then spoke with an exceptionally thick Australian accent.

"Yes ma'am. Right this way please."

He led her out the front door to a long silver car with blacked out windows. The car itself looked almost predatory to her. It's meek front end morphing into strong lines and large rear wheels that made it seem like it was ready to pounce on any smaller vehicles foolish enough to stand in its way. Opening the door to let her into the back seat, the driver closed it and got in himself before requesting a destination from his boss.

"Where to Mr. Ramirez?" The cool Spanish accent echoed from the shadowy figure sitting next to her in its characteristically refined accent.

"Just drive, Mr. Crowley."

"Right boss."

The big puma lightly pressed a button in front of him, causing a black pane of glass to rise up between their section and the drivers. The puma shifted slightly as he relaxed back into position before addressing Judy.

"Assistant Superintendent Judy Hopps."

"Wilde."

"I'm sorry? What did you say?"

"My name is Judy Wilde. I chose to take my husband's last name after we got married." The puma chuckled a little bit at this.

"I seem to recall that it was the famous Judy Hopps that saved Zootopia years ago, not Judy Wilde. So sorry that I haven't kept up to date. I must inquire though, why would you take on the name of someone so… Insignificant? The name 'Hopps' is that of a proud family of farmers who work hard and own the land that they till my dear. Why choose to take on the name of a popsicle hustler?" Judy bristled a little at this, but softened as she remembered why she had done so.

"Well… I have always had a large family, lots of siblings, a mom and dad to always help me when I needed it. Nick, well… he didn't have that. His father left when he was still a kit and his mom died in an accident when he was in his twenties. I thought, that even if it was just a name that it would mean a lot to give Nick that kind of family." The puma had been staring out the dark window this whole time, making it clear that he was listening, but not invested.

"How touching my dear. I apologize for mistaking your name, it won't happen again in the future."

"Oh, don't worry about it. A lot of people get it wrong. You're right after all, I am the famous Judy Hopps, not Judy Wilde. In any case though Mr. Ramirez, other than my last name, is there something else that you wanted to discuss?" The puma turned away from the window and looked back towards the front of the car.

"Yes. As you may have heard, either from the news or the shouts of the hooligans yesterday, I am now the proud owner of most of the Canidae neighborhood. Which, as you recall, the residents seem to be less than happy about."

"Well Mr. Ramirez, when you plan to evict all the residents and demolish their homes it might be cause for them to be upset."

"Yes well, the feelings that they have for me are mutual. They are all worthless to me. Nothing but scammers, con artist and thieves. I assure you, that when I am through with that neighborhood, you and the rest of Zootopia will thank me for having gotten rid of it." Judy felt a flush of anger in spite of herself.

"My Husband is from that neighborhood, so I don't think that you can call them all criminals." The puma chuckled a little at her rage.

"My dear. If I recall correctly, I remember hearing that Mr. Wilde was a 'popsicle hustler' before he met you. You found him and produced the fine upstanding citizen that he is today. What that neighborhood produced was merely a petty criminal." Judy looked a bit crestfallen. Her parents had used that argument once before too, and there wasn't much she could do about it. The puma took another breath and spoke again.

"Mrs. Wilde, I do not feel like discussing the ethics of my actions, or my opinion of the residents of Canidae any further. What I want to know is if the ZPD can protect my property from any further damage due to illegal activity by the residents."

"I thought you were planning to demolish it anyway." The puma leaned in a little closer to Judy.

"True. But this isn't about the property itself my dear. This is about upholding the law. Am I to assume that you won't uphold the laws of Zootopia simply because you disagree with the political views of one of its citizens?" Judy closed her eyes and balled up her paws. He was right, unfortunately, and there was nothing that she could do about it.

"No Mr. Ramirez." The puma leaned back and relaxed.

"Good. I expect extra officers to be posted around the neighborhood. It seems that we're back at the ZPD my dear." Santiago lowered the barrier between him and the driver and asked him to open her door. As she exited the car Santiago gave her one last remark.

"Oh, and I suspect that we will be working together for some time, so please, call me Santiago." He reached out a paw for a shake, but Judy looked away and stepped out of the car.

"Wilde is fine for me." Judy walked away from the puma's outstretched paw back towards the station. Santiago gave her a baleful stare but returned to his relaxed position as the driver shut the door to the car.

Judy muttered to herself all the way back to her office. Who was this puma to tell her how to do her job? Who was he to decide the worth of an entire community? She just couldn't stand it. Opening the door to her office she moved back to her desk and waited for the entrance of chief Bogo. Leaning her head against her paw as she curtly greeted the chief.

"Hi." Bogo looked a little flush.

"Everything went well I assume?" Judy snorted.

"Yeah, sure, if you call being told by a rich jerk that I need to clamp down on a neighborhood a good thing." Bogo sighed a little, he had expected this.

"Wilde, you know that he's right. I have a list of officers here that you can assign to Canidae who are familiar with the area." She flashed a look of annoyance at Bogo.

"Not you too!"

"Look Wilde, regardless of whether you like the cat or not we have to keep law and order in that neighborhood, and based on how things went yesterday there's a good chance that order is going to suffer."

"I just don't like it, that's all. I don't like that some rich real estate feline can just walk into Zootopia, get his paws all over city hall, and then expect us to do exactly as he says." Bogo gave her a serious look.

"Is that a 'no' Wilde?" There was a pause as Judy tried to drag the words out of herself.

"No, I'll assign the extra officers."

Bogo nodded at her, deciding that at the moment it would be best to give her some space to be alone. After he left the office Judy looked at the pictures on her desk, her eyes pausing once again on the one of her and Nick. She picked up the photo and brought it close to her before setting it face down on the desk, her ears hanging behind her head. There were some days where she really hated this job.

Author's Note:

As usual, thanks for reading! For those of you who have submitted reviews I reserve even greater thanks! There is nothing more important to me than critical feedback. I am not a writer by trade, in fact I have never received any formal training in the art whatsoever. In undergraduate I studied Physics, Mathematics and Computer Science. Therefore, well worded critical feedback is worth more to me than you can possibly imagine! Basically, I am eager to learn that which I have missed and if you think that there is more to be taught than can be captured in a simple review, go ahead and send me a Private Message. Once again, thanks for reading everyone!