Nick and Judy looked at Bogo as he sat across the desk from them. "I won't sugarcoat this to the two of you, this was not a good way to start the day," he sighed. "If Hooveson was telling the truth, then there is a conspiracy afoot and the sale of weapons to predator gangs was part of it. Best case scenario he was lying, worst case, we may have accomplished nothing with respect to getting those weapons off the streets."

Nick and Judy nodded. "Look, at least we might have stemmed the flow for now," she suggested, trying to salvage at least something.

"Perhaps… But we don't know how long we have before they resurface, if they do so at all…"

"So this is the same shit the boys down in Savannah Central got?" Asked Raymond as he looked over the guns.

"It's comparable," replied the dealer, a Russian snow sheep as she let them look over the various weapons. "With these, you should have no trouble taking out your rivals…"

They looked over the various guns, Berettas and AKs were most prominent, along with many explosives.

"And," the dealer continued. "Consider this a gift," She opened a box, revealing a rocket launcher.

"No shit?" Asked the large polar bear, grabbing it and lifting it up.

"No shit," was her response. "Have some fun with it."

Raymond was the leader of the Glacier Square Claws, a gang consisting mostly of polar bears who ruled the northern Tundratown Ice Cave slums. Thy were currently in something of a cold war with the Southside Pack Gang, a gang of arctic wolves who inhabited the tundra forests in the southern areas of Tundratown. But with this gear, that war was about to heat up…

Nick and Judy had spent the last few hours in the room they had been provided for the case, looking over the evidence they had collected to see if they could find anything important. They were still waiting for a ballistics report on the bullet that had killed Franklin, but that was going to take a few hours.

"I got nothing, Fluff," sighed Nick. "Hear anything from the guys looking over last night?" He asked her.

After Hooveson had been found dead, Bogo had furiously ordered a thorough review of what had happened last night. Every surveillance tape had been reviewed, the officers guarding him had been interviewed and both had Internal Affairs going over their histories. Unfortunately, both officers had at some point left the other alone, usually for a bathroom break, and there were a few glitches in the surveillance tapes where the video feed cut out. All in all, no one had a complete picture of what had happened last night, and that made for one very angry police chief.

"Nothing, and no word from ballistics either," she replied. "This stinks. We really needed him to tell us where the guns were coming from, and now we have a possible conspiracy on our plate, and nothing else to go on."

"Have we put the squeeze on the Pride?"

"Yeah, but since half the Spots got arrested at the Junkyard, they've been laying extremely low, and say what you will about their intelligence, but they are good at keeping their guns hidden. We don't really have much on them."

"This really blows hard," he sighed. "We almost had something and we let it slip through our paws!" He slammed his paws down on the table.

"Nick, it's okay," she grabbed his paws and reassured him. "You won't get anything done like this." She sighed. "It's the end of our shift anyway, it's been a long day. How about we hit the bar?"

He sighed. "Yeah. Okay, I know a good place."

"You go there with Finnick?" She asked, trying to find out a little more about him.

"No, we normally go drinking by buying some beer from the store and drinking in the back of his van."

"Really?" She asked.

"Yeah. Super cheap," he told her. "But since neither of us own a car, that's not really an option."

"We could go to your place or mine," she offered.

"Ehhh… I don't feel like that. I want to go somewhere with atmosphere, where we can have a good time, you know, something to get our minds off this case for a little bit."

Judy thought it over and nodded. She had wanted to see the inside of his apartment, but just spending time with him was good enough.

"Alright. Let's grab the train and head out. We're going to Tundratown."

Judy raised an eyebrow at that, wondering what was in Tundratown. She shrugged and grabbed her coat, figuring a nice evening with Nick was what she needed to get her mind off things.

It was a few hours later, Raymond gave a grin and got into the SUV. Tonight, they were going to go and take out their longtime rivals. The guns were all loaded and ready to fire.

"Ready boys?!" He asked, baring his fangs as they rolled out.

"Fuck Yeah!" Came the reply.

They drove along until they found some of the Pack, hanging out on a corner. They rolled down the window, and let loose with their rifles as they drove by.

Nick and Judy arrived at "The Cold Room" A bar in the Tundratown Happytown that was known for storing its drinks in an open room, separate from the main bar, but exposed to the freezing cold, assuring that if you wanted a cold drink, you had a cold drink. The inside, however was pleasantly warm, enough that she felt comfortable taking off her coat and hanging it over the back of her chair. The inside had large window facing the street that gave the bar a nice, open feeling as opposed to the dank, dark closed off feeling that some places had, and there was an attractive, busty arctic wolf tending the bar.

"See, nice place huh?" He asked. "Back when I worked for Big I came here all the time," he told her.

"Really?" She asked, figuring that he would not want to come here if that was the case.

"Yeah. After we fell out I stopped coming on account of being afraid of getting iced. But now that you're his granddaughter's godmother I figure I'm safe as long as I'm with you."

"Uh huh," she deadpanned. "You're just using me as a shield to get back into your favorite bar, aren't you?" She teased, side-eyeing him.

"I plead the fifth," he replied. "Also, they have a carrot ginger beer that makes me want to vomit, but it might be right up your alley."

"Ooh!" She was suddenly excited. "I haven't had that stuff in a long time, it's surprisingly hard to get in Zootopia."

"Probably because most civilized mammals know that it tastes like fermented ass," he teased, earning himself a giggle and a punch in the shoulder.

They ordered their drinks and got some food to snack on as they drank, making slam talk about their lives as they did. Judy did most of the talking, with almost three hundred siblings, she had no shortage of stories from back home on the farm.

"This is nice," she said after a break in the conversation. She wasn't drunk yet, but was definitely buzzed. "We should do this more often."

"I agree, Fluff," replied Nick, fairing much better than her, Judy never was great at holding her alcohol. "Make it a Friday thing?" He offered.

She smiled. "Yeah, I think that's a good idea." She took a breath. "You know, after you told me about your… orientation," she kept her voice low so no one around them heard.

Nick froze up. "Yeah…" he replied, nervous.

"Well, I did some thinking and went to go and visit my sister, don't worry, I didn't tell her anything, and I think that-" Whatever she was going to say was cut off by an explosion shattering the windows at the front of the bar, the sound of roaring gunfire and shouting.

Darrius swore, and fired at the Pack. Somehow, they had gotten their paws on similar weapons, and had met them on the edge of the Happytown after one of the victims of the drive by shooting had called and told them what had happened. They had run into each other on the street and were now firing furiously at each other, screaming obscenities and blowing things up.

It was chaos.

Nick and Judy vaulted over the bar and told the bartender to get down while they called the ZPD for backup.

"Clawhauser!" Shouted Judy over the gunfire. "This is Hopps and Wilde, we're in the Tundratown Happytown! Gang Warfare, explosions! Send everyone you can!" She ordered, and then gave him the address.

"Well, this sucks!" Shouted Nick as they kept low, neither of them had their guns, so there wasn't much they could do. Between breaks in the gunfire, they popped up and snapped photos with their phones, so that they could at least get some kind of record of who was there.

Luckily, they didn't have to wait long, as Precinct Five arrived. The Tundratown department were all suited for the cold, consisting of arctic-adapted officers, all wearing proper winter gear and driving cars with heavy chains on the tires and snowmobiles instead of motorcycles. They took cover and ordered the gangs to surrender as helicopters began circling.

A polar bear stood up and yelled "Go Fuck Yourselves cops!" a few short seconds before a loud hissing noise was heard and one of the helicopters exploded, sending everyone running for safety as if crashed into a building a few blocks away.

The officers, more disciplined than the criminals, rushed them as they were distracted by the sight of carnage and managed to tackle several of them, making them drop their weapons. A good number of them went down and one of the officers rushed the building and tried to make it to the guy with the RPG. They almost made it in time and tackled him joist as he pulled the trigger again, sending it flying wide and impacting a building, making it collapse from an explosion.

Screams were heard.

Nick and Judy made their statements and dropped the photos off, sending them to all precincts to use as evidence to catch the ones that managed to run, and then were sent back to Savannah Central to give Bogo their report.

He was decidedly not happy.

"Remember that bad situation I told you two about?" He asked. "Well, it's come to pass. That building that was hit, along with the helicopter crash, caused dozens of injuries and several deaths," he sighed. "Mostly prey mammals. Prey supremacist groups are using this to rally for the old segregation laws to come back into place," he sighed and rested his head in his hooves. "Along with the reinstatement of collars."

"That won't solve anything!" Protested Judy, furious.

"Solving it isn't the point," sighed Nick. "It's not about saving lives or preventing deaths, this is pure and simple speciesism, just dressed up as a noble cause."

"Wilde's right, this is exactly what I was afraid would happen." HE looked around and made sure the door was closed, then he closed the blinds to his windows and unplugged the landline on his desk. "Turn off your phones," he ordered, and then give them to me." He grabbed his own phone and pressed and held the power button.

Nick and Judy decided to not question him and did as he asked. Then watched as he stuck all three phones in a thick, wooden box stuffed with cotton-filled lining and then closed the box and out it in his desk. "Don't want to risk what I'm about to tell you being overheard," he explained, keeping his voice quiet. "We still don't know who killed Hooveson, but you two definitely didn't do it, so you're good."

"What is this about?" Asked Nick, also keeping quiet.

"Hopps, you know how you have a close relationship with Mr. Big that I pretend to not know about?" He asked her.

Judy's ears shot up. "I wouldn't exactly call it 'close,' I'm more close to his daughter and granddaughter, but yes."

"Good. And Wilde, I assume you know some very well-connected but extremely shady characters."

"No, sir, I don't know any information brokers, and they certainly wouldn't be willing to sell me some information," he replied smoothly.

"Good. Now, I'm a police chief, and there are thing I am allowed to do and not do. And I am certainly not about to ask you two to act with known or unknown criminal elements for the sake of information, and I am certainly not telling you to do so with the utmost haste." He looked at them both. "Am I understood?" He asked.

Nick and Judy both nodded.

"Good, I'm glad we understand," he sighed. "Take your phones and remember what I said." He opened the drawer and grabbed the phones, handing them to Nick and Judy. "And be careful you two, I would hate to lose such good Assets as you two."

Nick couldn't resist a parting shot as they left. "Love you too, chief."

Bogo pretended to not notice the smile that graced his muzzle as they left.

"Judy! Oh my gawd!" Greeted Frufru as she answered the phone and heard the voice of her favorite bunny. "How have you been?"

"Could be better, I assume you heard about what happened in Tundratown earlier today?" She asked.

"Yeah, scary! Right here in Zootopia! Thank gawd we live so far away from that." She picked her squirming child up and held her to her chest. "Why?"

"Well, Nick and I are assigned to the case and-"

"Judy!" she gasped. "That's so dangerous! Why are you calling me about it?"

Judy sighed. "Nick and I need to talk to your father," she replied. "He has men all over Tundratown, and we were hoping he might know something the police don't."

"You don't think father is involved, do you?" She gasped. "Judy you know that he-"

Judy cut her off. "No, we know that gun running isn't your father's particular… business," she clarified. "We were just wondering if he had any information for us. Could you set up a meeting?" She asked.

"Sure!" She chirped. "Just wait where you are, I'll have daddy send over a car."

"We're at precinct one," she replied.

"Thanks, Nick and I will be here."

Nick fidgeted awkwardly in the plush Kevlar seats, earning him a jab from Judy.

"Will you calm down?" She asked.

"Sorry," he sighed. "I spent years of my life believing that the inside of one of these cars was going to be the last thing I ever saw in my life before I was drowned in freezing cold water," he reminded her. "So I'm a little on edge, even if I intellectually know that Mr. Big no longer wants to kill me."

Judy sighed. This happened sometimes, Nick had a hard time adjusting from his old life. It had gotten better in recent years, but he still had a hard time remembering that he was in a respectable profession, not helped by the fact that he didn't always get the respect that the badge he wore deserved. "It'll be okay, Alright?"

"Yeah… yeah," he took a deep breath. "It's just that… when you spend so long thinking something is true, it's hard to let go of that, you know. I spent so much time thinking I was going to be a conmammal, thinking that Mr. Big would hate me until his dying day, thinking that if I were ever inside one of these cars ever again, it would be the last thing I ever saw…" he sighed. "It's just hard to let go of those thoughts, those beliefs…"

"I understand, Nick," she replied. "I felt the same way during those three months. I spent my entire life telling, myself that I was going to be a cop that when I stopped, I never felt right."

He smiled. "Yeah. You're not enough of a dumb bunny for that life," he cracked.

She smirked. "And you were ever sly enough to hustle anything more than pawpcicles," she shot back.

"Ahh. So we finally have an answer. Bunnies can indeed go savage," he smirked.

The two bantered for a bit more before lapsing into a comfortable silence for the rest of the ride.

Nick and Judy soon pulled up outside Mr. Big's mansion in Tundratown and were escorted into his office. He was sitting in his plush office chair on top of the massive, polar bear-sized desk. "Nicolas, Judy… How are you two this fine evening?" He asked in his gruff, squeaky voice.

"Could be better," replied Judy with a sigh. "I assume you heard about the gang shootout earlier?"

"Yes, a tragedy…" replied the Arctic Shrew, swirling a tiny glass of liquor. "Before I go any further, am I a suspect in how the arms got into the city?" He asked very carefully.

Judy narrowed her eyes. "Saying you're a suspect would be a bit… generous. We know that gun running isn't your particulate 'business,'" she replied. "But you are definitely a Person of Interest. We came to you to see if you had any information."

Mr. Big responded by narrowing his eyes, and then smirked. "My child, you truly do have brass ovaries" he said with a small chuckle. "Most cops would have flatly denied anything of the sort out of fear. But you…"

"Do you know anything or not?" She asked.

He sniffed the air. "I'll tell you if Nicolas agrees to stop stinking up the place with fear," he sighed.

She smelled it to. "Nick, please relax," she sighed. "We talked about this, he won't ice you. If for no other reason than he doesn't want to incur the wrath of Frufru."

Big gave a chuckle at that. "Very true."

Nick visibly calmed down upon being reminded that Mr. Big no longer wanted him dead.

"A few days ago, one of my businesses intercepted a boat carrying some… 'Classified' cargo," he began explaining. "After making sure their 'paperwork' checked out, I allowed them passage to one of my warehouses on the Tundratown Ice Docks. You'll find their cargo, whatever it is, there."

"So you found some people with illegal cargo and they paid you to help them smuggle it in," she clarified.

"My dear, when did I say anything of the sort?"

Judy write down what he had told her and then pocketed her notepad. "Thank you Mr. Big, you've been a great help." She turned to walk away then asked him. "But why? I know your reputation well enough to realize that you don't help cops out for nothing."

"Cops, no. Family? Yes. There are more important things in this world than money, and armed shootouts of this scale in my town are more than I can abide by, especially with a grandchild who so dearly likes to go downtown."

Judy considered his words and nodded her head. "Well, with any luck, little Judy will all safe and sound. One more thing, a suspect was murdered and the ZPD suspects it was an inside job. Know anything about that?" She asked.

He frowned. "No," he replied. "Nothing about that. I have some friends on the force, but no one said anything to me. You'll have to go out and seek someone else for that information."

"Well, thank you anyway," she sighed, deciding that she couldn't be that lucky.

He smiled and nodded. "Good luck to you two, and much happiness in your future…"

Nick and Judy were escorted into another limo. "Well, that was somewhat successful," she said after a short silence. "Any ideas on where to go for another lead? Or should we call it a night?

Nick gazed out the window for a moment, weighing his options. "There's only one guy I can think of that might give us a shot, and night is the only time he's out and about. But Carrots, if we go to him, I'm not going to be able to make it into work tomorrow," he told her. "Maybe even the next day.

Judy laughed. "Yeah right, lazybones," she scoffed before she saw the dead serious expression on his face. "Wait, seriously?" She asked.

"Absolutely," he responded. "Just tell Bogo, he'll understand."

"Why," she asked, concerned. "You're not going to have to do anything… bad… are you?" She asked. "Because we can get information elsewhere."

"Relax, Carrots, nothing like that, I'll just be in really bad shape. I'll explain on the way. But first, we need to go to your place and also mine," he instructed the driver. He took a look down at his police uniform. "Where we're going. If we showed up as cops we would not at all be welcome.

Judy raised her eyebrow at that. "And where, exactly, are we going?" She asked.

"Nocturnal District," he answered. "Get ready, Carrots, we're going to Predators' Paradise."

Swinton looked over the assembled City Council.

"In light of the recent events, I feel as though we must take extraordinary measures to ensure the safety of our citizens. To that effect, I truly believe that TUSK will be a great asset to both us, and the ZPD. A rapid-response unit that can arrive on the scene and will be able to secure criminals in case the ZPD cannot get there in time," she explained. "I understand that this might seem like a lot, but with two events, one of which has now claimed innocent lives, we cannot afford to sit by and do nothing."

The members of the council talked among themselves, and came to a conclusion.

"Mayor Swinton," said Honraday, your request for TUSK funding and deployment, has been granted," declared the old Greater Kudu. "May we not need them for very long."

Swinton grinned to herself.

Just as planned.

I really wish I could have gotten this out sooner for you guys, but flunking Organic Chemistry actually takes up a lot of time. Who knew? Anyway, now that my semester is over I will hopefully be able to get these out to you guys a little faster. Please leave a review if you like it.