*Author's Note* Alright here we go. The chapter where everything starts going to shit. The buildup for the final confrontations! FAIR WARNING! This chapter gets brutal! Read and Review!


It was early morning as the sunrise shined over Mammoth Bridge. The bridge was rather old, not being used very much anymore due to different traffic roads that had been built. The concrete on the road was cracked, and not well maintained. The metal supports holding the bridge up were still strong, but rusted.

At the center of this bridge, parked to the side, was a lone red colored semi truck. A single, lone figure stood at the edge of the railing, standing roughly 10 feet away from the front of the truck. Continuing down another 10 feet, sat a maintenance truck. The logo of a large contracting company on the side of the large white utility truck.

The lone figure was leaning on the railway, looking down onto the jagged rocks below. The figure was wearing a blue denim jumpsuit. A white and red patch on his right pectoral of the jumpsuit. The man was a snow leopard. Rather muscular for his snow leopard size. His eyes, a bright and deep orange. This, was Leon Snowly.

Leon kept his gaze on the rocks below the bridge. It was here, in this spot, that his life was changed forever. The dreadful night when his wife and child were killed by Nick Wilde under the orders of Mr. Big. In his mind, echoed the sounds of the sirens. The flash of the red and blue lights. Remembering the mangled car, and the two stretchers holding the bodies of his beloved and his child.

Leon's attention shifted when he saw Leah walking towards him. She was holding a small aerosol can of fur dye in one hand. She smiled as she walked up to Leon fondly. "Time to get you ready." she said.

Leon nodded and unzipped his denim jumpsuit. Showing his broad chest to Leah. Leah blushed a bit and smiled as she walked up to Leon. "Mmm. Well hey good lookin'" she flirted. Leah shook the can a few times before spraying it along Leon's chest slowly. She connected some of the spots to each other, giving the illusion that he had stripes, instead of spots. He would look like a Snow Tiger.

Leon smiled lightly at Leah as she flirted. "Easy, don't get excited. Day isn't over yet." said Leon. Knowing this was the day that he would either make his stamp on history as the most dangerous animal, while in the process getting the revenge he wanted. Or he would fail, and his careful planning would go to ruin. He had already successfully gotten even with the ZPD, with Mr. Big, and with Nick Wilde. Now, it was the city's turn to pay.

Leah continued to connect the spots on Leon's torso and his head. Leon holding in his breath as the harsh odor filled his nose. "You know, Leon, I know a very fun group of people. They want to shape the world in their image. And we could really use someone like you in making our world." Leah said as she added the finishing touches.

Instead of black spots, Leon had black stripes going horizontally down his body. Varying in thickness and size to blend in with the spots. Leon zipped up the jumpsuit, giving a light smile to Leah. "We'll see if we're all still together after this." said Leon.

Lean bit her lip lightly and leaned up, gently kissing Leon's lips. Leon didn't fight her, nor did he kiss back. Leah pulled back, blushing a bit and smiling. "Something to think about." she said before she walked to the utility truck.

Soon, Doug Ramses walked out from behind the semi. He was wearing the same denim jumpsuit that Leon and Leah were wearing. In both hands, he carried two metal carrying cases that he used to carry the pellets of the Growler Drug around, as well as the dart guns to carry it. One of the suitcases was a little larger than the other. Doug walked up to Leon, stopping squarely in front of him and handing him two of the four suitcases. Doug kept the larger one for himself, along with one other smaller one.

"We got a lot of shots. Think it's gonna be enough?" Doug asked.

Leon smiled and nodded. "We'll hardly need to dart anyone. Just enough to cause a ruckus, and to throw any pursuers off of our backs." stated Leon. He opened up one of the cases to see the dart gun, as well as several of the small fragile glass balls containing the Growler Drug. They were held in place using molding foam to make sure their ride in the suitcase was smooth. Raises in the mold in between the gaps of the fragile balls suggested that there were more of the balls under the foam. Leon closed the suitcase, and Doug walked to the utility van.

Next to come out, was Artie McCoy. He was wearing, as suspected, the same brand of denim jumpsuit that had the same logo as the company on the utility van. Artie was carrying his laptop under his arm as he walked up to Leon. For a moment, they stared at each other, either of them not saying a word. Artie eventually let out a sigh and looked out to the rocky outcropping. "This is it huh? The big day?" Artie asked just to get Leon to speak.

Leon nodded, looking up at the sky overhead. Noticing some clouds were beginning to roll in. In the distance, Leon could see darker clouds rolling it. Maybe a storm was coming today... It would certainly fit the mood.

Artie let out a sigh and started to walk to the utility truck. Leon turned his head to look over his shoulder. "I can tell that you've never been true to me."

Artie stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Leon, a slightly fearful look in his eyes. Leon turned more to glare Artie down. "I can almost smell why you're acting fearful. I only need a few more things from you. You will not have to lay a hand on a single person, or hurt anyone yourself. Once your job is done, you may leave at your will. I will not pursue you, and I will not have you pursued by anyone. You have already gotten your share of the money at this point, so you wont have to worry about that. Are we clear?" asked Leon.

Artie paused a bit and nodded. Remembering what he had done to Nick on a whim for his own, sick amusement. Artie didn't say anything as he walked to the truck, quickly getting into the back seat.

Leon took one last look to the rocky outcropping. Tracy... I know this isn't how you would want me to respond to your death. Or you too Ricky... But I cant stop now. I have to do this. Leon thought to himself before walking to the back of the semi truck. Leon opened up the door of the trailer and stepped inside. The inside was outfitted to house at least four people at one time. Four beds lining the walls that were nailed to the floor. A vent covered chemistry lab sat in the back where Doug would do his work, and a desk on the other side where Artie's very expensive computer sat. Leon found what he was looking for. Two large wooden crates sitting on one of the beds. Leon picked it up and very carefully got out of the back of the truck. Ignoring the constant, light beeping that came from the bottom of the semi truck's gas tank, and under the actual truck itself.

Very carefully, Leon put the two wooden crates in the back of the utility truck. Strapping it down firmly and making sure that it wouldn't move or shift during the drive. Leon noticed four red portable toolboxes sitting in the back of the truck as well. Knowing what was put inside of them. Leon moved to the drivers seat, grabbing a hat with the same logo that was on the side of the utility truck. Leah sat next to him in the passenger seat, while Artie and Doug sat in the back. Leon looked at the nametag stitched into the jumpsuit he was wearing. Smiling as it read 'Arthur'.

Leah was on her phone texting. She was angled away from everyone so no one could see what she was texting. She appeared worried about it, as if she was frantically trying to get out a message. Leon raised his eyebrow at her inquisitively. "Everything alright, Leah?" He asked.

Leah looked up and smiled at Leon, she nodded and gave a viscous grin. "Yeah, absolutely fantastic Leon. I'm anxious to see the city become your vision." said Leah ecstatically.

Doug spoke up as Leon started the truck. "Where did you get this truck and these uniforms?" he asked.

Leon chuckled and started to drive. "I have my ways." Leon reached into his pocket and pulled out a small tube with a red button on the top of it. Leon reached the end of the bridge and looked back at the truck, pressing the button.

Instantly, the truck exploded into flames, lifting a few feet into the air and propelling itself over the edge of the bridge, crashing down into the rocks below loudly and exploding more. The bridge started to crumble at the site of the explosion, the rocks tumbling away and leaving a sizeable gap in the bridge.

Artie sighed as he saw the destruction. "Man... I really liked that computer."

Leon chuckled and started to drive. "Alright, heads down Artie and Doug. Especially you Doug. Look bored Leah. Artie, black out the traffic cameras on the way there. And get ready to black out every security camera at the location." informed Leon.

Artie nodded and opened his laptop. Lowering the brightness of the screen as to not attract attention to anyone driving next to them. "And where are we going exactly?" Asked Artie.

Leon smiled and started to drive again. "Just a routine maintenance call. Seems like the elevator isn't working in Zootopia City Hall. And the Rowe Maintenance Company has been called in to... 'fix' it."


Meanwhile, Muttcie Hospital

Judy stirred lightly as she woke from her slumber. She felt someone slightly larger than her, and very warm cuddled up to her. Judy opened her eyes, seeing a coarse coat of cream colored fur. She lifted her head from the persons chest and looked up to see Nick's sleeping face. Judy smiled and stretched a bit, the large, cushiony red chair creaking a bit from the weight shift. Judy had crawled into the chair with Nick before they went to bed so the two could sleep together.

Judy slowly got off of the chair and stretched more as she stood upright. Her shoulders and knees popping slightly. Relieved at the pressure escaping from her joints. It dawned on Judy, her legs didnt hurt when they popped. Judy bounced around on her legs a bit, testing the weight on each one. There was no pain at all, or any shaking at all. Her legs felt completely back to normal. Judy smiled wide and excitedly, very glad that she had fully healed. Finally, she could get back on the field to do what she loved most. Catching criminals and making the world a better place.

Judy went into the bathroom to do her morning business. Nick waking up and stretching in the chair when the bathroom door closed. Nick smiled as he noticed small strands of rabbit fur on his shirt. He stood up and tried to brush it off, to no avail. The fur clung to his shirt as if glued to it. Nick sighed and took his shirt off, carrying the fur covered shirt to where he kept his dirty clothes in the back by the door.

As Nick set the shirt on the counter by the door. He noticed that someone left a package at the foot of the door. Someone must had dropped it off while they were sleeping. Nick picked up the box and walked to Judy's bed. He set the box down and opened it up. As Nick opened the box, he heard Judy turn on the shower.

Inside the box, was a set of clothes for both Nick and Judy. For Nick, his usual green hawaiian shirt, and pants. As well as a new ZPD badge with his name on it. For Judy, her usual tight light blue uniform, and black hard plastic vest. A utility belt for each of them at the bottom of the box, equipped with mace, pepper spray, and a taser. Standard equipment for ZPD officers.

Nick separated the clothes accordingly, putting his clothes on the left and Judy's on the right. After a few short minutes, Judy walked out wearing a tshirt, and her undergarments. Carrying her old shorts on her arm. Her fur was slightly damp from having just got out of the shower. The smell of hospital brand shampoo coming from her fur. Feeling a bit more comfortable with less clothing around Nick now. Nick blushed a bit and looked away politely, coughing a bit. "The ZPD sent us some gear." Nick said as he pointed to the clothes.

Judy smiled as she noticed Nick's blush, walking away from the bathroom. "Shower's free. All yours Nick." Judy said openly as she looked over the clothes. Nick nodded and moved to the bathroom quickly as to let Judy have her privacy to change.

Judy quickly stripped her shirt off and slipped on the policeman's uniform. Taking only a few short minutes as she scampered to get it on as fast as she looked at herself in a full body mirror that stood next to the bathroom door, looking herself up and down in her standard police uniform. Her chest swelled with pride as she looked over herself. Wearing this uniform felt right to her, like she was born to do it. An inner calling that felt satisfied that she could do her part to help citizens.

After a few moments, Nick walked out with a towel over his shoulder, and only in boxers. Judy looked over at him for a moment before looking away politely. Nick smiled and walked to his clothes, quickly putting on his gray-brownish pants. He put on the utility belt as well to hold the pants to his waist. Snapping on the mace, taser, and pepper spray with little clasps that attached the holsters of the items to the belt.

Once Nick had pants on, Judy looked back over to him. Nick's muscles along his body used to be rather small, and not profound. But ever since Nick joined with the ZPD, he did put on a bit of weight. He was still small framed, but definitely having a bit more definition in his arms, chest, and abs. Judy smiled a bit as she looked him over.

Nick noticed Judy's stare and smiled at her. "You checking me out, Carrots?" Nick asked playfully.

Judy blushed a bit and giggled, crossing her arms and looking him up and down like one would to inspect a person. "Not bad, for a fox." teased Judy.

Nick gave his trademark grin and flexed his arms overhead. "Yeah. Been working on my guns and core duuude." Nick said with a goofy accent. The kind that one would use to stereotype a gym junkie.

Judy laughed and threw Nick's shirt at him. It landed over his head, obscuring his vision. "Put the gun show away and get dressed. We can check out your 'core and guns' later." Said Judy humorously.

Nick smiled and slipped the shirt on, buttoning up the shirt neatly as he usually would. He left the top button open as he grabbed his blue, with red spiral striped tie. He put it on the tie, but kept it loose near the top so it wasn't tightened fully around his neck. Nick glanced over at the mirror to see himself, smiling at his reflection as he looked like his usual self again. "Feels good to be back." said Nick.

Judy jumped up on the bed next to Nick, also looking at herself in the mirror. Judy grabbed Nick's police badge that was on the bed and pinned it to the left pectoral of Nick's shirt. Nick smiled as he looked down at it, polishing it a bit with the fur on the back of his paw.

Judy smiled at Nick, with her standing on the bed, they were at eye level. Judy felt Nick grab Judy's bottom jaw lightly, and turn her head. An instant later, Nick kissed Judy. Judy smiled and returned the kiss, wrapping her arms around his shoulders.

Nick smiled softly and placed his hand on her lower back. "I'm glad we're deciding to try this." said Nick. Nick felt very happy, and relieved that he was able to show and express his feelings to her now. No more awkward tension or moments when they would stop in mid sentence to avoid giving themselves away. It was as if a big social weight had been lifted from their shoulders.

Judy smiled back at Nick, her paws sliding down to rest on his shoulders. "Me too. No more tension or awkward moments."

Nick smiled and shrugged lightly. "Well not counting when we have to explain this to everyone at work." Nick said, a slight hint of dread coming from his tone. They'd have to explain this to Bogo, to the city, to Judy's parents.

Judy's ears perked up and she smiled. "Oh hey what about your mother? She seemed to love the idea of us being together." Judy said cheerfully. Remembering how nice Abigail was to Judy.

Nick thought on it. "Yeah. She would love it. I'll give her a call later though, we gotta get back to Zootopia."

Judy jumped down from the bed, a confident and eager grin on her face. "Let's go then! We got a leopard to bag." she said as she walked out of the room. Nick picked up the laptop that Jack had given then, and followed behind her as they made their way to the exam room. There, Doctor Boca did a quick checkup on Judy before allowing her to leave the hospital.

Judy and Nick made their way to the front desk, and signed out to leave the hospital. The bill had been taken care of by the ZPD's healthcare system. Nick lead Judy to the car, which was parked in a car garage. Nick got in the passenger seat, while Judy got in the driver seat. Once Judy had driven the car out of the Muttcie Hospital's parking lot, she turned to Nick. "Alright. So we can't pinpoint where Leon is by just looking for him. So why don't we try to figure out where he'll strike next?"

Nick hooked up the laptop onto a small platform where the laptop for a police car would normally sit. Nick opened the laptop and logged into the ZPD's database. After a few minutes, Leon pulled up multiple files that were affiliated with Leon Snowly. Including the recent cases of the gas attack, blowing up the armory in the ZPD, and his alleged activities at Lavvy Farms. That including causing Nick to attack Judy.

Judy kept driving, now on the county roads leading towards the interstate. "Alright, so what connections can we link to these cases?" Asked Judy.

Nick scratched his chin. "Well, he went to college for four years and trained himself for another four years for all of his goals, he used to be a member of the ZPD on a case to arrest Mr. Big, he's hell bent on revenge for good reasons, is very resourceful and knows how to cover his tracks, and not to mention he'll stop at nothing to make sure his goals are met." Nick said as Judy drove the car.

Judy drummed her fingers lightly against the steering while as she drove. "We know he's smart. But he's also pretty self-centered." Judy said as she pulled onto the interstate.

Nick leaned back in his seat and thought about Leon's previously known cases. Moreover, he always seemed to work alone, or be in charge of his jobs. Why would he always want that? According to his psychiatric profile, he works well in most situations rather it be where he's in charge, or not. The profile Nick was looking at, was outdated though. It was the last one taken before Leon left the ZPD. Now, he seems to be more dramatic about his projects.

Nick shook his finger a few times in realization. "Wait a minute. Leon's always wanted to make sure that at least someone knows what he's doing. He had Artie and Leah running his drugs. After that, he got Mr. Big's attention in the best way he could. By having Artie break in through the front door, and force his way to Mr. Big's office."

Judy nodded and picked up where Nick left off. "He made sure you and I both knew that he was behind everything, but we were in a position where we couldn't stop it. He got into the ZPD as an investigator while still plotting to bring it down and make his stamp. He even blackmailed you into delivering that box to him that held the gas."

Nick's ears perked up a bit. "He attacked Sahara Square using the gas right after a big speech..."

"Then immediately stole the ZPD's Weapons Truck after fighting off Chief Bogo!" Judy said as she kept running down the list of Leon's actions.

"He went back to Lavvy, and burnt it down after... that happened. Making sure that at least one of us survived to tell." Nick stated.

A tone rang out from Nick's laptop. Nick noticed it was a private email from Bogo that read "Read this asap Wilde and Hopps!"

Nick opened the email and saw there was a video attached to the email. At the top was a text. "A truck exploded at Mammoth Bridge today. Take a look."

Nick pulled up the video and watched it. "We got something just now. Hang on Judy." Nick said as he watched the video. Nick saw the truck sitting at the bridge's center and parked to the side. The camera facing the back side of the truck. The camera was far away so it was hard to make out any particular details, but Nick could see there was no license plate on the truck.

Nick noticed a lone person standing near the front of the truck. And looking further down the bridge, Nick saw a lone utility truck parked. Three individuals walked out of the semi truck one by one, each of them stopping to talk to the man on the bridge. Eventually, the man walked to the back of the truck and went into the trailer. He walked out carrying 2 wooden boxes. At this point, Nick could make out the man's physical features. He had white fur, and either white spots or stripes. It was difficult to tell with the quality of the camera. It was difficult to tell if this was Leon.

The man walked to the truck and placed the wooden crates in the back, then got into the truck and drove off. The moment the truck was clear of the bridge, the semi truck that was left behind exploded, and was propelled off the side of the bridge. The concrete under the truck collapsing away and nearly completely destroying the whole bridge.

"Looks like someone blew up a semi truck." Nick stated.

Judy raised her eyebrow. "Alright...but what does that have to do with Leon?" She asked.

Nick smiled. "Four people. One of them with white fur, and black spots or stripes. With a semi truck with no license plates, at Mammoth Bridge."

Judy thought on it before looking at Nick excitedly. "So assuming that is Leon, we can add this to the list. Everywhere Leon struck, including today, he made a statement. He wants people to know what he's doing and he wants people to see him doing it. He'll strike somewhere that EVERYONE will be watching." said Judy.

Nick nodded and looked in the distance towards Zootopia. He noticed a large column of smoke coming from within the city. "Uhh... Carrots... is that smoke coming from the bridge?" Nick asked nervously, his ears lowering.

Judy noticed the smoke and drove faster. It was difficult to see the source of the smoke, as the building's were not visible yet due to a large hill overhead blocking the view. Judy drove even faster, swerving around the cars to get to the top of the hill. Nick and Judy could finally see Zootopia's skyscrapers, and gasped at what they saw.

In the center of Zootopia stood City Hall. Not the tallest building but it was visible from a distance. And multiple columns of smoke were pouring from multiple floors of the building, and into the sky above. Judy flipped on the sirens and floored it.


One Hour Earlier

The Rowe Maintenance truck pulled into the parking lot of Zootopia's City Hall. The truck pulled up to the front doors and parked in the fire lane for a moment. The engine still running as Leon stepped out of the car, securing the hat on his head to hide his face slightly. Leon took a clipboard out of the dashboard and walked towards the front door. He glanced down at his arms occasionally to look at them.

Before they left the bridge, Leah had used fur dye to give the appearance that Leon had stripes, instead of spots. And they looked very convincing. Leon was the most wanted man in Zootopia at this very moment. If a snow leopard walked into City Hall, it would turn heads. Plus with Leon's bulk, he could pass for a snow tiger.

Leon walked up to the front desk and held out the clipboard. He spoke in a roughneck city accent. Ones that a stereotyped construction worker would use. More rough, and deep. "Mornin'. We got a call to fix an elevator?" Asked Leon.

The person behind the counter took the clipboard and looked it over. After a few seconds, she signed and handed it back to Leon. "All set. Show that to the guys at the gate to the maintenance garage and they'll let you use the maintenance stairs."

Leon nodded and took the clipboard back, heading out to the truck and closing the door. Artie, Leah, and Doug awaited to hear what happened. Leon smiled lightly. "We're in." he said as he drove to the back of the building where the entrance to the maintenance garage was.

There was a single booth with a stopping arm outstretched to tell cars to not enter till that arm was lifted. Leon rolled down his window and handed the clipboard to the man in the booth. "Here ya go. Fixin' the elevator." Leon said with his rough accent.

The man looked it over before handing it back, a light smile on his face. "About time you guys got here. Tired of hearing everyone complain about having to take the stairs." said the man excitedly.

Leon took the clipboard and tipped his hat to the man before waiting for the stopping bar to lift. Once it did, Leon drove inside. He very slowly drove over speed bumps. Doug tensed up each time they neared a speed bump as if afraid of what could come from it.

Leon pulled the truck up as close as he could to the stairs. Leon looked back at Artie. "Are the cameras blacked out?" He asked.

Artie nodded and closed his laptop. "Yeah. All except the one on the rooftop."

Leon nodded and looked at Doug and Leah next. "Let's go."

Everyone got out of the truck and walked to the back of the truck. Leon unfastened the two wooden crates and stacked one on top of the other. Picking them both up and carrying them. Doug grabbed all of the small metal carrying cases for the Growler Drug, and the guns. Making sure that the larger of the three cases was there. Leah grabbed two of the four toolboxes, and Artie grabbed the last two. They all made their way to the maintenance stairs.

Artie pushed the door open and let everyone come in. Closing the door behind him. Leon very carefully set down the two boxes and looked around. The stairs were made of thick metal that were made in a honey-comb pattern. Allowing anyone to see through the holes that were on the stairs. Allowing for better grip for those walking up the stairs. The walls were made of metal as well, and spiraled upwards, having two bends for every floor.

Leah and Artie put down the toolboxes and opened them up. Inside wasn't tools, but clothes. Everyone quickly changed out of the maintenance company's one piece denim jumpsuits. Artie wore a black turtleneck with blue jeans. Leah wore her usual low cut black shirt with a yellow stripe down the side. In the bottom of Leah's box was a special weapon type she liked to use. Metal finger covers she could put over her fingers to have long, sharp metal claws on each fingertip. And tight black pants. Doug wore a yellow sweater and matching pants. Inside Leon's toolbox was a rag that he used to clean off all the fur dye. Making it so it looked as if he had spots again and not stripes.

Leon then quickly took off the jumpsuit and put on black pants, and a white tshirt. In the bottom of Leon's toolbox were four walkie talkies. Leon handed one to everyone, and put his on his belt. "Alright, we got a long climb. This building is twenty-seven stories tall and we have to get up to floor 23. Let's go."

Leon picked up the wooden boxes and started the climb. Artie, Leah, and Doug followed him, clearly not looking forward to the climb. No one came into this stairway unless there was maintenance that needed to be done, or in case of emergencies. On each floor, there would be a white painted number on the all telling which floor they were on. After about 20 minutes of constant stair climbing, they reached floor 23, which was also where the top of the stairs was.

Leon set down the wooden boxes and looked back behind him to see Leah right at his heels. Artie and Doug however, were still a few floors down. Leah laughed at them, and called out to them. "Come on scrubs! It's only stairs!"

Artie panted up at Leah and flipped her off before finally reaching the top of the stairs, resting his hands on his knees and panting hard. Doug made it as well, who sat down on the top step to catch his breath. Both of them clearly very tired, and winded.

Leon chuckled and opened up the first wooden box. Inside, were several sticks of the C4 plastic explosives that they had managed to get off of the truck before Judy blew it up. The explosives wrapped in thick cloth to stop them from bouncing around. Leon grabbed one of them and unraveled it. Leon stuck it to the wall in between the stairway, and the wall so it was difficult to see. Making sure that the explosive stuck to the wall before leaving it there.

Doug watched as Leon placed the C4. "You got the detonator?" He asked.

Leon nodded and pulled out a thick, silver metal detonator. It had two buttons on the front, and a red on the top. All three had to be pressed to detonate. "The first press will detonate the C4 I just placed. Second press will blow out the next wave. And the third will do the last charge." Leon put it back in his pocket and closed the wooden box.

Leon picked up the boxes again and looked at Artie. "According to the blueprints and the cameras, there's a storage room three doors down on the right... right?" Leon asked, pausing at the moment of confusing wordplay.

Artie nodded and stood up straight, having caught his breath now. "Yeah. We wont be bothered in there once we start everything." stated Artie.

Leon nodded and smiled lightly. He turned to Leah and Doug. "Alright, here's the plan. I'll drop this stuff off in the storage room, and make sure its well hidden till we can... 'clear out' the next three floors. You know what to do."

Leah and Doug nodded. Doug set down the metal suitcases and opened them. Doug quickly put together one of the small handheld dart guns. Similar to the one that Bellwether used when she tried to get Nick to attack Judy at the natural History Museum. Leah loaded up her clip, and placed a few of the small fragile balls in a pouch at her hip. Once Doug finished putting together the small handgun, he opened the larger case to show a much larger stock, and barrel, as well as a scope. A dart gun for much longer range.

Doug put it together, earning a glare from Leah. "Oh why do you get the good one?" Asked Leah

Doug shook his head and showed the clip, which only had room for one dart. "Yours is Semi Automatic. Mine is single shot only." he said rather begrudgingly.

Leah smiled and looked at her dart gun again before shrugging. Once they finished, Leon quickly opened the door. It was a typical office building hallway, short carpeted floors. Bland, tan colored wallpaper with the occasional picture hanging on the wall. Artie walked in front of Leon and opened up the third door as he said, leading Leon inside. Leah and Doug stayed at the door. Doug crouched down on one knee just behind the door while Leah walked out into the hallway a few steps.

The storage room was once an office that people now used to store old invalid files. Leon noticed a half empty desk and set the two wooden crates down on the desk. Artie closed the door and kept watch using a small window in the door.

Leon grabbed his walkie talkie and spoke into it. "Do it."

Leah quickly walked down the hall, while Doug took aim with his rifle. At the end of the hall, the room turned into a much wider atrium. There were several people walking through the halls on cell phones, or looking over papers. In the center of this atrium, was a male grizzly bear. A receptionist that would schedule meetings for people in his department. He watched Leah walk up to the desk, looking her up and down at her rather revealing outfit. "Can I help you, Ma'am?" asked the bear.

Leah grinned wide, and viciously as she raised the dart gun, firing it point blank and striking the bear between the eyes. His face getting coated in the blue liquid. The bear roared out in surprise, and tried to run away, only to fall to his knees as his muscles began to tense, and he began to growl loudly.

Leah didn't stop there. She continued to walk down the halls, darting any predator she saw along the way. She quickly got out of their way before they would turn violent. Leah eventually reached where she needed to be, a staircase leading up to the next level. Leah closed the door and smiled, pulling out the walkie talkie. "Give it three minutes boys." she spoke into it.

Artie pressed his ear to the door, hearing the sounds of predators growling, and people screaming in terror, or pain. Knowing that behind this door, predators were succumbing to their savage instincts, and attacking prey, Artie walked away from the door and pressed his paw to his chest, his heart beating uncontrollably at the realization of what exactly was happening.

Artie felt a strong hand grab his laptop and pull it out from under his arm. Artie turned around to see Leon standing over him, his eyes glaring in warning. "Everything is in place, and you are no longer needed Artie. I recommend you stay here till everything boils over." Leon leaned down so he was eye level with Artie.

"Let me make this clear for you. You have not hurt anyone. Leah, Doug, and I all did this. You just blacked out the cameras for us." said Leon.

Artie glared a bit at Leon and stepped back. Fearful of what the dangerous, and deranged snow leopard would do to him if he dared fight back. "I know why you're doing what you do... But what is it that you're doing?" Asked Artie.

Leon chuckled, his white fangs flashing. This was not a chuckle of amusement, or gloating. But a chuckle of viscous intent to kill. "Remember what I had done in Sahara Square? Well... THAT... only to the whole city." Leon picked up the wooden boxes and walked out of the storage room, leaving Artie alone.

Leon walked down the halls, looking to each person for what damage had been caused. Many of the predators that Leah had darted, succumbed to their instincts. Inflicting mortal injury on any prey they came across. Several bloody stains on the floor as he walked into the atrium, and several motionless bodies strewn on the floors. Some of them were moving, and groaning. Leon stepped over each one of them.

Leon noticed a single brown hair crouched in the corner. His paws on his head and shaking violently. His eyes were bloodshot, and blood dripped from his jaws. "What... what have I done? Why couldn't I stop!?" he screamed out as he looked up at Leon.

Leon smiled at the bear and chuckled. "It's in your nature. You lack the will to fight it." Leon stated as he continued towards the staircase that Leah was at. The bear quickly stood up and fled for the first flight of stairs he could find to get out of the building.

Leon entered the flight of stairs to find Leah waiting for him. Leon smiled at her. "put your walkie talkie to my mouth." ordered Leon.

Leah lifted her walkie talkie to him, and Leon spoke into it. "Doug. Move to us. Hallway's clear." Leon ordered. Within a few moments, Doug made it to the stairway, his rifle over his shoulder. Leon nodded and started to walk up the stairs. Several people heard the screaming and growling, and were now on the way down to investigate. Leah growled loudly at everyone they passed as they went up to the stairs. Most of the people flinching and getting out of the way.

Leon walked up to the twenty-fifth floor and set the box down. Leah growled and threatened anyone who got close, while Doug followed at his heels. Leon opened up the box containing the explosives and raised it overhead for any passerby's to see. "This is C4 Plastic Explosives. You all should leave this building right now. Don't think im serious? Take a look at floor twenty-three. Also as well..." Right as Leon finished that sentence, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the detonator, and pressed the button. The first C4 charge at the maintenance stairs detonated, shaking the building. The lights flickering. "Avoid the fire. Now RUN!" Leon barked at the people staring.

The civilians quickly started getting out of the way of Leon and running down the stairs. Leon opened the door and placed two C4 charges next to the door. Leon had two charges remaining. Leon looked at Leah and Doug. "Stick close to me. We don' have a lot of time now before the ZPD are at the doorstep."

Leah and Doug nodded. Leah reloaded her dart gun before Leon picked up the boxes and started to walk down the hall. Leah, once again, darted every predator she saw along the way. They moved quickly so as to not be in the way should the predators not be able to resist their freshly brought out impulses.

They came to another set of stairs, and followed it up to the twenty sixth floor. Leon continued out to this floor. On this floor, there was a large atrium for both the 26th and 27th floors. This was the most important two floors in the building, as it housed the offices of the mayor, and all other branch leaders including healthcare, justice system, and many more. In the center was a large circular desk much like that at the ZPD's lobby.

The floor was a polished tile, and the walls made of an elegant stone. The sunlight shining through from the panel glass ceiling above them. A platform on the second floor allowing those on the 27th floor to look into the atrium, and get down to it via small staircases.

People were starting to panic as the fire alarms went off. Leon even noticed several phones hanging off the hooks as the people fled the building. A large crowd of people pushing past them to get to the emergency staircase. Leah growled loudly at anyone who dared try and get in their way. Leon walked to one of the closed elevators at the center of the hall. Leon set the box down and grasped both of the doors, prying them open so he could see down the elevator shaft. When the fire alarm was pulled, the elevators would move to the nearest floor, open the doors, and turn off as a safety precaution. Leon took out another C4 charge and wrapped it around one of the cable wires of the elevator. C4 plastic explosive was surprisingly malleable, meaning it could be reformed like clay.

Leon smirked as he heard the loud, and easy to identify voice of Mayor Lionheart as he stormed out of his office. He was screaming at his phone. He had two large burly rhino guards with him wearing black suits. "Someone pulled the fire alarm! I have to get out of this building now!... Shut up Bogo, I'm on my way..." Lionheart stopped as he saw Leon. Leon quickly grabbed the box that had not been opened, placing the final C4 charge on top of it and picked it up. Leon, Leah, and Doug walked out into the atrium. The guards quickly rushed Leon.

Leah ran in front of Leon, brandishing her iron claws and slashed at both of the guards. Digging the sharp metal into the sides of their faces and dragging down. The rhinos both groaned in pain and stumbled back. Lionheart pacing back slowly.

Leah grinned viciously, her eyes seemed to glow red as she licked the blood off of one of the claws. "Ahhh. The thrill of the hunt!" Leah yelled out as she rushed to another one of the rhinos. The rhino swung his huge fist at her, of which Leah ducked under. Leah jabbed her clawed hand upwards towards the rhino's throat, sinking the sharp metal in just below his chin. The rhino's eyes went wide from the pain and he stumbled back, pulling himself off of Leah's claws. He grasped his throat and gurgled as his throat filled with blood.

Leah kept her wild grin and licked the iron claws again, turning to the other guard. The rhino glared and charged at Leah, roaring in rage as he watched his friend's throat get slashed open. Leah opened her arms up as if bracing for someone to tackle her. "Come on, big guy. Bring it!" Leah said with a savage tone.

The rhino grabbed Leah with both of his massive arms, wrapping them around her and squeezing her hard. Intending to crush her to death under his grip. Leah grunted and laughed. "Ahh you like it close and personal huh?" goaded Leah. "Well, you gave me a clean shot to a little snack!"

Leah bared her fangs and bit down hard on the right side of the rhino's neck. The rhino winced but kept trying to crush her. Leah growled and sunk her teeth in hard. Her paw pressure pushed her teeth clean through the large chunk of meat and artery on the rhino's neck. Leah pulled her head back with a mouthful of the rhino's neck in her mouth. The sickening sound of gushing and flesh tearing going as she pulled back. Within moments, the Rhino collapsed to the ground dead. Leah quickly chewed up the meat in her mouth and swallow it. Blood still dripping from her jaws.

Leah took in a deep breath and licked her jaws. "And that is without a drop of the Growlers."

Leon watched with eyebrows raised. He knew Leah was rather savage, but not quite like this. Noticing the growing pool of blood around the two corpses of the rhinos.

Leah quickly ran up and snatched Lionheart's phone out of his hand. Lionheart still shocked from what he just witnessed Leah do. Leon set down the boxes and took the phone, holding it up to his ear. Leah growled at Lionheart as he tensed up to run away.

Leon could hear Chief Bogo on the other side. "Mayor Lionheart? What happened? Answer me!"

Leon chuckled into the phone. "Sorry Bogo. The Mayor is my hostage now."

Leon heard Bogo huff into the phone. "LEON! Give yourself up now before this gets any worse!"

A sigh came from Leon as he pulled the detonator out from is pocket. He pressed the two buttons, and raised his thumb to press the red. "Bring any ZPD into the building, and I'll throw the mayor over the side of City Hall. Have fun scraping him off of the pavement if you decide to get brave. Wanna see how serious I am?"

Leon pressed the button. Behind him, the C4 detonated, destroying the hallway that they had just exited, and the remaining C4 charges detonated, save for the last charge that Leon now had sitting on top of the last wooden box. The building shook and stone on the walls cracked from the vibration. Leon threw the phone to the ground, cracking and breaking it as it struck the floor.

Lionheart growled at Leon. "What do you think you're doing!?" roared out Lionheart. Leah raised her claws up as a response, swiping at Lionheart threateningly.

Leon smiled and picked up the box with the C4 sitting on top. Leon carried the box towards a staircase leading up to the mayor's office. "Calm down, Lionheart. I wont kill you. But I will make an example of you. Knock him out Leah."

Lionheart watched Leon walk past him, his head turning away from Leah as Leon was speaking. Once Leon gave the command, Leah rushed up and punched Lionheart on the back of the head hard, causing Lionheart to fall unconscious.

Doug called out to Leon as he walked up the stairs. "What do you need us to do now?" He asked.

Leon smiled at Doug. "Stop anyone that comes through that door. I need time."

Meanwhile

Artie had left the storage room and was on the 24th floor of the building. Artie appeared eager, and was searching for something. Eventually, he found it. The IT department of the City Hall. Artie remembered it was on this floor and walked in. Ignoring the loud buzzing of the fire alarm.

Inside the IT Department, were several computers behind desks, and a large server mainframe sitting in the back. Artie quickly rolled up a chair to one of these computers, and logged in. Artie pulled the handgun out from its holster on his belt and set it on the desk next to him, remembering he still had one bullet left.

Leon's gonna kill many innocent people... I have to do something Artie repeated in his head.


A short time later

Nick's and Judy's squad car's tires squealed as they came to a stop in front of City Hall. The sirens ringing loudly for a moment before Judy shut them off. Nick and Judy both jumped out of the car. The scene was in panic. Multitudes of people had gathered around City Hall to watch the events unfold. Several police officers pushing back crowds of people while they got proper blockades set up to stop people from getting near the building. Hundreds to thousands of people had gathered in Sahara Square.

Every officer that was available had come to this spot, However those numbers were very very few. Chief Bogo, Clawhauser, Higgins, Trunkerby, McHorn, and three other officers. Including Nick and Judy, that was ten officers in all. Nick and Judy saw Bogo walking up to them, his face looked grim.

"It's Snowly. He's taken the mayor hostage." relayed Bogo. "He claims if he goes in, he will execute the mayor."

Nick's and Judy's ears dropped. Nick placed his paw to his chin before biting his finger lightly in frustration. "No doubt that Artie's got the building under his eye. Is there ANY other way to get into the building undetected?" asked Nick.

Judy nodded. "Yeah. Like a service elevator? An unsupervised staircase? Anything!"

Bogo thought on it before he pointed towards the back of the building. "There's a maintenance staircase that leads up. There shouldn't be any cameras there. But the only door there that you can get to right now is in the Maintenance Garage, which does have cameras." Bogo said.

Judy tapped her foot rapidly in frustration. Nick let out a small growl and snapped his fingers irritably. Just then, Nick's phone rang loudly. Which surprised him because he left his phone on silent. Nick picked it up to see a contact he had never added before. 'AFox'.

Nick's eyes widened and he answered the phone. "Artie? Why are you calling me?" Nick asked.

Artie spoke quickly and quietly. "I'm not working with Snowly anymore. I wanna help you guys out as best as I can." It sounded as if Artie was trying to hide from someone, or not attract attention to himself.

Nick growled into the phone. "Why would we trust you now, Artie?" asked Nick, tempted to just hang up the phone now.

Artie sighed. "Two reasons. One, I was the one that called Gideon's Delivery out to Lavvy Farms that night. And two, Leon's not gonna kill the mayor. He's gonna put on too much of a show for that." Artie explained.

Nick blinked a bit as Artie gave his reasons. "W...wait that was you who called him?... Uh well... thank you... You helped me save her." Said Nick slowly. Judy looking up at Nick as he replied. "And how do you know he wont kill the mayor?" Asked Nick frantically.

Artie responded quickly. "Because he wont give up a trump card that easily. He could have just killed you at Lavvy and been done with it. The Mayor crossed him too. Do you get it?" Asked Artie.

Nick paused as he reflected on that night at Lavvy Farms. Artie was right, Leon had plenty of chance to kill Nick outright, but instead he drugged him. He wanted to punish Nick in his own way other than the quick release of death. Nick nodded. "Gotcha. He wants to do the same thing to the Mayor. Right?" Asked Nick.

"There you go. Bring in everyone who's gonna go in the building and put me on speaker." replied Artie.

Nick looked up at Bogo. "Who's gonna go in the building?"

Bogo glared for a moment then looked around. He noticed that most of the other officers were busy either holding back civilians, or helping panicked civilians out of the building. Bogo sighed lightly. "Just us three."

Nick turned on the speaker. "Bogo, this is Artie McCoy. Now before you start getting mad and screaming, he's gonna help us." Nick said calmly.

Bogo huffed loudly, his nostrils flaring and his teeth gritting. "You get one sentence, McCoy. Why should I listen to a single word you say?"

Artie responded within seconds. "Because I'm your only chance to stop what happened in Sahara Square from happening to the city."

Bogo stayed silent for a moment then huffed again. Artie chuckled. "Alright now that I got your attention. The building is mostly clear until you get to floor 23 and up. That's where the C4 chargers were detonated. I'm currently held up in the IT room on floor 24. The building is running on emergency power so this room is still active. Leon's making his way up to the roof right now. Leah and Doug are in the atrium just before the mayor's office, guarding the staircase that leads up to the roof from the helicopter pad. The only other way up there, is a flight of stairs. Which is now up in flames."

Judy spoke quickly into the phone. "Why is Leon on the roof?" she asked.

Artie responded quickly again. "Remember that device you found under Sahara Square? We had a second, much much larger machine put on top of City Hall, and had every single record erased that it was there. No one goes to the roof much on account of hardly any maintenance needs done there. And the device had been covered with a tarp so it would be impossible for surrounding buildings to see it. The stairs that lead up to the roof, are connected to the helicopter pad that's connected to the Mayor's office."

Bogo listened as Artie spoke. "You mentioned C4 charges. How many are left?" Asked Bogo.

Artie paused for a moment. "One. He's got it on hand. I don't know what he's doing with it. Once we're up here, and Leah and Doug are dealt with, I'll help you diffuse the device before it activates. It needs roughly an hour before it can detonate after being set up. Leon had override codes put in just in case we would have to stop. Only he, and I can put those codes in."

Nick raised his eyebrow. "And why not us?" he asked.

Artie sighed. "It's a 45 character code that you'll have to write down and put in while Leon's kicking your ass. Unlike me, who has it memorized."

Nick nodded. "Fair enough..." Judy smiled at this.

Bogo nodded. "Alright McCoy. We're heading in now." Bogo nodded at Nick and hung up the phone.

Judy smiled at Bogo and Nick. "Just a second guys. Gotta go tell Clawhauser something."

Judy darted off to Clawhauser, whom was helping citizens out of the building. "Clawhauser! Heyyyy!" Judy said cheerfully.

Clawhauser turned and saw Judy, making him smile brightly and run up to her, his arms outstretched. "Oh my goodness JUDY! Glad to see you safe hun!"

Judy jumped up into Clawhauser's arms and hugged him. Clawhauser hugged back and smiled, setting the bunny down. Judy quickly got her phone out. "Hey I got something to show you." Judy brought up her pictures and showed the most recent one of Nick and Judy's first kiss, showing it to Clawhauser.

Bogo and Nick watched as Judy ran off to him. Bogo appeared really annoyed . "What could be so important..."

Nick saw Judy hold her phone up to Clawhauser, whom immediately squealed and thrashed like he does when he sees something he finds adorable, or very cute. Nick facepawed himself and sighed. "Real quick, Sir. Just so you know." Nick got his phone out and brought up his picture that he took at the same time Judy did, and showed it to Bogo.

Bogo looked at the picture, pausing for a moment before rolling his eyes, he appeared even more agitated now. "We'll have to talk about this later. Professionally, this can bring up problems in the ZPD."

Nick nodded and put his phone away. Bogo and Nick began to walk up towards the building. Judy put her phone away and joined them. The three entered the building, preparing themselves for what horrors they could witness inside the City Hall.


*Author's Note* That's a good note to end this chapter. Next chapter is the confrontation with Leah and Doug... But not with whom you think it would be. Any guesses? You get two hints. Both have mentioned her, and one has worked with her. And yes this was in this story, not a hint to the next story. Read and Review!