Change starts with You

by Winerp

Extra credit goes to Euphonemes who is now helping me by Beta Reading these chapters. He's being extremely helpful in this learning experience for me and his own fic Run definitely deserves a careful read.


Chapter 8 - Carrots, Crickets and Crooks

Having recovered their gear and dealt with the surprisingly light paperwork following their interview with former mayor Lionheart – another thing Gordon probably had had a hand in – Nick and Judy made their way back to Savannah Central and then Downtown, with the intention of providing their Chief with a preliminary briefing on both their findings and their current plan of action.

Of course that meant having a plan to begin with… Judy had been faced with such an overwhelming amount of information in the previous three hours – both on the case and on her partner and friend – that she was still trying to wrap her head around it all, let alone construct a sensible course of action based upon it.

And while Nick only had to deal with half of that, his slightly scrunched brow and his ears that had been held at attention since they'd left the Penitentiary told her that he must have been trying to make sense of it all as well.

Eventually, they arrived back at the Precinct's motor pool, but unanimously decided that they should discuss their current situation over lunch before actually meeting with their superior. The lunch part might have been more of a demand by their stomachs than anything else… 1 p.m. had already come and gone after all.

Of the many advantages ZPD's Precinct One possessed over other stations, its central position within both the city and its own district was definitely one of the biggest. Not only did it make public commuting easier, it also meant that the officers stationed there had access to everything they could ever need or want with just a short walk. This included several diners and coffee shops, most of which catered to predators and prey alike. These were Nick and Judy's favorites; they could spend their lunch breaks together. Lunch breaks were sacred, too: when they were on patrol, they ate in the cruiser, so time to sit down together for a calm, normal meal was really something special.

After the Nighthowler debacle, Judy had actually been a little surprised to find that, in the city's very center, predators and prey shared their meals without even a second thought. Sure, while the savage threat had loomed over everyone's heads, a few wary glances were always sent towards the former, but that was about it. Judy had felt pride in the city's ability to leave behind such a damaging event, until Nick reminded her of how different from the rest of the districts Savannah Central actually was.

It was both the political and economic center of the city, which meant that, since time immemorial, all kinds of mammals coexisted and even cooperated towards common goals there. In the end, the vast majority of those who lived or simply worked in the central district had much milder views on inter-species relations, if nothing else, just because they were used to them. So it really was a special case within Zootopia.

At the time, that had dampened her mood. But, she reasoned, if one District can do it, why shouldn't the others be able to as well? And that thought only spurred her on even further on her quest to better the city as a whole.

But all of that was years ago; right now, Judy was more concerned with choosing between lettuce and arugula as her salad's base, much to her partner's despair.

"C'mon Carrots… What difference does a few shades of green make anyway?"

Not even bothering to look back at the meddling fox, she kept her eyes focused on the pictures of different salads above the diner's counter and shot back.

"Just because you eat the same thing every day doesn't mean I have to. In fact, you should try to expand your diet."

While Judy couldn't see her partner's facial expression, the unamused snort which preceded his reply allowed her to paint a pretty clear picture in her mind.

"I'm a simple fox. I find something I like, and I stick with it."

That made something click in Judy's mind. Oh, you walked right into this one Mr. Wilde…

"Is that why you're still my partner after all this time?" Judy quipped, turning her head just enough to look at him while giving a coy smile.

The effects were immediate, if short lived: First, his ears perked to full alert and began twitching furiously, followed almost instantaneously by his tail shooting out with every individual strand of fur standing straight up, and finally, while he didn't actually look at her directly, his vibrant green eyes widened just a fraction, but enough for the bunny to know she'd caught him.

Of course she should've expected he wouldn't take her teasing lying down… And, once he recovered his composure – rather quickly all things considered – he immediately went on the offensive.

"Eh, I suppose your company isn't all that bad… but I think you should be more concerned with the waiter's feelings rather than mine: he's still waiting on you ya know." His usual smirk once again adorned his muzzle.

Whipping her head back towards the diner's counter, Judy verified that the yak waiter was indeed still looking at her expectantly, if a little more impatiently now. Oh sweet cheese and crackers… "Oh right! Sorry…" She quickly blurted out. "I'll have a lettuce based salad with boiled carrots, some green beans and daisies on top."

"And to drink?" the horned mammal asked as he typed her order into the computer.

"Just water, thank you."

"Uh-huh… That'll be seven ninety nine," the waiter concluded with what Judy could only describe as an almost rehearsed disinterest.

Having paid for her meal, both officers moved further along the counter where they would collect their meals – Nick had already ordered and payed for his before Judy. While they waited, and trying to ignore her partner's still smug expression, Judy took to looking around the venue for their lunch.

The diner they had chosen ("ended up at" would be more accurate, given how they had just gone for the closest one) was The Stumbling Sabrecat. It belonged to Officer Delgato's brother – hence the feline name – which meant it was one of the ZPD's preferred watering holes. Not so much during week days, but on weekends one could always find a group of off-duty cops from Precinct One hanging out there.

It wasn't flashy or otherwise visually appealing, instead focusing on providing the patrons with a homey kind of comfort, both through how it was internally arranged and thanks to its simple but fulfilling meals. The diner was actually divided into three sections: there was a more formal dining room for ceremonies or larger group meals, a buffet area where mammals could pay a fixed fee and then feast to their heart's (or stomach's) content, and – where Nick and Judy were now waiting for their courses – a main eating area where patrons could eat sitting at the counter, on regular tables or, for a bit more privacy, in booths.

Given the subject of their discussion, the two mammals opted for the latter solution and, once they'd collected their respective meals, went over to an empty booth more towards the corner of the eating area, where it'd be easier to talk in peace.

Having sat down and indulged their stomachs enough in their respective food courses – Judy with her copious salad and Nick with his usual roasted crickets with a side of scrambled eggs – they finally felt sated enough to go over all that they'd gathered regarding the MR case until then, and how they should proceed from that point on. For once, it was actually Nick who took the initiative.

"So, back in Precinct Twelve during our talk with Gordon, you said you had an idea of who the go-to mammal might be in our precinct. Who'd you have in mind?"

Taking a swig of water, Judy explained. "Well, I was actually thinking of Howlson."

"Who, Patrick?" After she confirmed with a nod, he inquired further. "Huh, wouldn't have been my first pick… I mean, he's just a regular beat cop. How did you land on him?"

"Well, for starters, being a beat cop isn't necessarily a disadvantage: you have more freedom while on the streets and nobody really pays too much attention to you within the precinct. As for why him in particular, it's something Snarloff mentioned the other day… We were talking about the usual paperwork we have to deal with weekly – "

"Of course you were…" Nick interrupted while nonchalantly popping a cricket into his mouth.

Directing her intense glare towards the fox, she continued. "As I was saying, Snarloff told me that if I ever needed tips or help regarding the paperwork, I should go to Patrick. He even told me about a time he slipped up while filling an arrest report and how Patrick somehow managed to get it back before it was processed. That would require him to know a few well-placed mammals within the Precinct…"

"And I'm guessing Howlson didn't exactly do that for free."

"No, and that's what made me think about him: Snarloff also said that he'd eventually asked him a small favor in return, some info on a perp he'd brought in. Now, these little favors might not seem like much, but they potentially allow Patrick to get pretty much any tidbit of information or leverage he wants."

"Yeah, I see what you're trying to get at… Well, guess it's high-time I asked him for a favor of my own."

Raising an eyebrow as she finished off the remains of her green beans, Judy asked, "Why? Shouldn't you start misbehaving before approaching him?"

"Yes and no, Carrots. For a favor that might make me truly indebted to him and MR: Yes, I still need to work on tarnishing my reputation, but we don't actually know if he is their contact, do we? All we have is your suspicion."

Judy's ears started drooping as a frown began to form on her face. "Oh… No we don't have any certainties, you're right."

Apparently, Nick had already found a workaround. "Now, now, Fluff, don't go all glum on me." He planted a confident smile on his muzzle. "That's why I'll be asking for a favor now. First off, it'd be a bit suspicious if I just asked him to cover for my tail out of the blue, so asking for something smaller first is a safer bet; second, I'll bet that he'll ask for some info on my old hustling contacts in exchange for whatever I ask of him."

"How do you know?"

Shrugging his shoulders, Nick explained. "They were always a pretty secretive lot. When you depend on fooling and tricking mammals for a living, the less anyone actually knows about you the better. So, if he's with MR, he'll probably see me as a golden opportunity to learn more about the hustling community."

In the meantime, Judy had slowly returned to her regular beaming expression. "And that way we can confirm if he's actually their front man! Nick, that's genius."

"Thank you, thank you." He said, folding his arm and giving a mock bow. "I'll be here all week."

Rolling her eyes, Judy pushed the conversation onwards. "Okay slick, that's enough showboating. So we know how to approach MR's contact, but what about our individual roles?"

"You mean, how will you go about investigating City Hall?"

"Yes, and how'll you go about… getting a bad reputation."

Taking a deep breath, and letting his previously smiling muzzle settle into a joyless line, he explained. "I won't give you the details, because you need to be as surprised as everybody else for them not to suspect anything." As she nodded in agreement, he continued. "In short, there are three main aspects of my persona that need to change: one, how I approach perps, two, how I approach our colleagues; and three, what I do off-duty."

"I'm guessing I won't exactly like any of those changes, huh?" Judy replied, her expression once again sullen.

"Fraid not fluff. Sorry."

"No Nick, don't apologize." She said, shaking her head. "You need to be convincing if we're going to pull this off, so don't hold back." And I'll be right beside you no matter what, she concluded in her head.

And the small smile he managed to muster only strengthened her resolve. "Thanks for trusting me, Carrots." Taking another breath in, he continued. "And what about investigating City Hall?"

"About that… "Judy said, bringing her paw up to her chin, "I suppose we could get Bogo to switch our patrol routes so we pass by it and the spots Lionheart mentioned, but other than that I'm not sure."

"Hmm, yeah, that would be a start I guess. Maybe our dear Chief can suggest something more, because we'll probably need something more solid than a few pictures of politicians dining or having a good time..."

Nodding in agreement, the rabbit began wrapping up. "Other than that, all that's left is for us to set up the gear we got from Deputy Chief Gordon" A sudden worry however jerked her train of thought. "Speaking of which, how much of what we learned so far should we tell Bogo about?"

"Are you actually suggesting we withhold information from our superior, Hopps?" Nick inquired, eyebrow raised and that knowing smirk once again dominating his muzzle.

As much as she wanted to wipe the smug off her partner's face, Judy had to admit, that was a pretty odd question coming from her… Then again, this was an equally strange case, where the Chief himself had asked them to work and think outside of the norm.

Her discomfort was still apparent though, if Nick's change in demeanor was anything to go by. "I'm just teasing, Carrots. I know you don't feel right with any of this; yet, that is still a pertinent question." He joined his paws in front of his now empty plate.

"I think we should tell him about the equipment, since it is still ZPD property, but as for what we found out regarding his old crew… I'm not so sure we should open up just yet," he concluded, lightly shaking his head.

"Why not?"

"If he didn't tell us at the start, then it's most certainly because he resents what has become of some of his friends, not to mention he definitely doesn't want to favor anyone, knowingly or not." He then locked eyes with Judy and she finally began to understand how Nick had managed to avoid any big clashes with Bogo since he first started working, despite their pretty much opposing personalities. Deep within those glimmering emerald orbs, she could see a compassion and respect that Nick very rarely displayed. He doesn't want to corner Bogo, she thought, He wants to spare him as much as possible…

But if that's the case – "I understand Nick, but wouldn't it be a weight off his shoulders if he knew he didn't have to hide anything from us? I mean, the fewer secrets we keep from each other, the more efficient we'll be, right?"

Nick was apparently still unsure as he turned his head away, ears glued to his scalp.

"Trust me, he'll be relieved that we found out by ourselves. I agree it's something he's probably not proud of, even if he's done nothing wrong. And you know, admitting is always the hardest part."

#

She's right… Guess we'll have to put Bogo on the spot for a bit after all, Nick thought once again, looking at his friend and conceding a half smile. "Alright Carrots, you've got a point. We'll be straightforward with him then."

Given how her smile brightened, Nick could tell that pleased Judy. "Well I think that about wraps it up for now, Nick. Ready to go?"

#

Leaving the diner, the cop duo started heading back towards City Center and their Precinct. They still had to debrief Bogo on their progress and plans before actually heading back home to set up the gear Deputy Chief Gordon had provided.

As they were walking side by side, Nick began making a mental to-do list of what he'd have to do in order to get into position to infiltrate the syndicate. It was by far one of the least enjoyable lists he'd ever come up with, but also one of the most important.

His thoughts were interrupted when he felt something pulling at the back of his pants. Stopping in his tracks and looking back and down at his rear, he saw the elastic to which he always attached his wallet poking out from his back pocket. As his gaze followed the stretched band, he found the aforementioned personal article in the hands of a rather well dressed skunk, who was also staring down at the situation.

As the two mammals raised their heads in unison, their eyes met. Nick's filled with curiosity and annoyance; the skunk's were confused and rather frightened.

"Can I help you, sir?"

This alerted Judy, who also came to a stop a few feet ahead of Nick. Her reaction was much swifter. First looking at the striped mammal and then down at the wallet in his paws, she immediately adopted a defensive stance and shouted.

"Hold it right there!"

Startled, the suit-clad skunk suddenly released his hold on Nick's wallet, swiveled around on his paws and darted away from the officers. In the meantime, the wallet was immediately pulled back by the elastic, striking Nick just below the tail, eliciting a pained yelp and a small jump from the fox.

Wasting no time, Judy set off in pursuit, using her superior speed to quickly catch up to the offender. Just as her partner was recomposing himself and joining in on the pursuit, the rabbit had gotten close enough to the skunk.

"You're under arrest!" She exclaimed as she grabbed the mammal's coat. This slowed him down momentarily, but he wasted no time in shaking the piece of clothing off, once again freeing himself from the bunny's grasp.

Since she was still pulling on the coat, Judy suddenly cried out as it smacked her and enveloped her head. Deprived of her vision and still barreling down the street at a considerable speed, she could do nothing about the light pole that appeared in her path.

"Hopps! Watch out for –" he was cut-off by the muffled thud of a blind rabbit meeting a metal pole and then slumping down and grabbing her unintentionally covered head.

Completely forgetting about the would-be pickpocket, Nick's only concern was making sure his friend and partner was all right, as he quickly reached and kneeled beside her.

Grabbing the rabbit by her shoulder, he gently reached for one end of the coat still covering her head, all the while asking, "Hey! Judy, hey! You okay? How are you feeling?"

Through muffled complaints, the pair eventually managed to untangle the mess of fabric impeding Judy's senses, with Nick quickly tossing it aside to gently cradle the bunny's head while looking her over.

As she brought her paw up to feel at her forehead, she suddenly winced in pain, prompting Nick to swat the meddling limb away. "Tsk! Leave it alone. How are you holding up Carrots?"

Opening her violet eyes once more, she moved to grab at the paw Nick still kept on her shoulder. "Remind me not to pick fights with light poles next time…"

Chuckling in relief, the fox helped Judy back to her feet.

"Where's the pickpocket?"

Of course she's asking about that right now… "He slipped away, and don't worry about that right now. We need to get to the precinct and put some ice on you before your head doubles in size."

Inevitably, she frowned. "But – "

Bringing up a finger, Nick cut her off. "No buts, I need that clever bunny brain of yours working properly. And we have his jacket anyways, so we'll find our friend soon enough."

Sighing, Judy relented and went to grab the mangled garment, only to seize up as she lifted it off the ground.

"Uh… Nick? You better look at this," she said, pointing at the ground where the coat had lay.

Following his partner's gesture, Nick's eyes suddenly widened, as they came to gaze upon a rather comprehensive collection of wallets and purses of all shapes and sizes.

"Figures… We get assigned a case that's been dead for weeks and we bump into the perp the very same day," he said, rolling his eyes.

#

To say Bogo was a rather impatient mammal on his good days would be an almost insulting understatement. He demanded the best from everyone under his command – he himself included – and if there was one thing he did not tolerate more than anything, it was a lack of punctuality. So when Judy and Nick arrived outside his office just under half an hour late – they'd lost some time with Judy's accident and then finding her an ice pack that wasn't half her size – they really were not surprised by the violence his booming voice carried. Slightly frightened, but not surprised.

"COME IN."

Since Judy was still holding the ice up to her forehead, Nick took to pushing open the door and letting them both into the office. Bogo was aggressively filing some paperwork in one of the cabinets behind his desk, meaning he had his back turned towards the pair. Nick helped her up into one of the chairs and then took his own seat.

Probably sensing his prey was ripe for the picking, Bogo slowly turned towards the young officers with a glare Judy could swear went straight through her head like a searing heat beam. Though that might have been her headache: the ice pack had prevented most of the swelling, but her head was still throbbing with pain.

That being said, the buffalo's glare only lasted for a split second, just long enough for him to take in the sight of the injured bunny and worried fox, after which a strange mix of worry and annoyance took over his expression. Apparently the worrisome side of the Chief was winning though, given how he began their meeting.

"Alright, before anything else, how bad is it, Hopps?"

"Nothing to worry about, sir. I just hit my head; it should be fine in a couple of hours." Judy took to emphasizing her point by waving with her free paw and attempting a grin, only to have it devolve into a grimace as her facial muscles cried out in complaint.

"Hmmm… It doesn't look that simple, Hopps. But so long as you're back to your regular self soon enough, I don't care."

Liar… Judy thought looking over her superior's raised eyebrow. Everyone knew the Chief deeply cared about his officers, regardless of how little he showed it.

"What I do care about is how you got like that, Officer."

As the Chief crossed his arms and straightened his back awaiting her reply, Judy's mind was working as fast as it could given the circumstances to come up with an explanation that wouldn't be too embarrassing. Fortunately – or unfortunately, depending on her chosen perspective– she didn't have to, since her partner took to explaining it for her.

"Come on Chief, you know how Hopps always likes to dive in head first." As much as she had grown to like his easygoing grin, right now she felt more like smacking it away with her icepack…

And then she wanted to do it to Bogo. "True as that may be, Wilde, it still doesn't answer my question."

Wanting to avoid further banter at her expense, she cut in and gave as brief of an explanation as she could. "Sir, a mammal tried to pickpocket Officer Wilde. My partner noticed and caught him in the act. While giving chase I, miss-stepped, and hit a light pole."

This time both of Bogo's eyebrows started climbing up his forehead. "A pickpocket?"

"Yessir. We believe him to be the suspect behind the Wallet Case's string of thefts-"

Nick was cut off, however, by the loud breath Bogo began to slowly drag in, letting himself lean back in his chair in the process. Gripping its arms tightly, the buffalo then exhaled even louder, after which he finally spoke, looking at the ceiling.

"Of course. I give you a case that's been dead for weeks and it immediately gets a breakthrough… Better yet! The actual perp comes to you all by himself… Finally looking down at the two smaller mammals, he concluded, "Why am I not surprised."

All Nick and Judy could do was exchange weary chuckles and nervous glances as their boss once again inched closer towards the desk, his frame towering above them.

"Like I said earlier today: you are free to pursue any and all leads regarding the Wallet Case, since it's the one you're officially assigned to, but remember it is not your priority."

"Yes Sir!" They answered in unison.

"Now, before you fill me in on your progress so far, I have an update on MR's activities." Opening one of his desk's drawers, the Chief produced a regular manila envelope, handing it to Nick. "As I had already told you, since MR began operating, crucial pieces of evidence began disappearing before being brought to court — something that's been occurring in all Precincts, I should add. We didn't know how this was happening…until this morning." The buffalo then gestured towards the folder in the fox's paws.

Opening it so that both he and Judy could see, they found themselves looking at a quartet of grainy CCTV close ups depicting a fox, a zebra, a bear and a wolf.

"There was a break-in reported at Tundra Town's evidence locker, and while the perps managed to get away, surveillance footage allowed us to identify them."

"Dallas, Hoofston, Chains and Wolf," Nick read aloud, "I assume these are just their aliases?"

"That is correct; they're one of the more notorious heist crews in the City. They're also pretty good, since all we have on them is in that woefully thin folder.

"Of course, this changes nothing; it's just something else you'll need to look out for. So, what do you have to report regarding your investigation into MR?"

"Sir, following the information we gathered this morning, Officer Wilde and I have been able to plot out a course of action which should enable us to both learn about and infiltrate MR as well as start to uncover its ramifications for City Hall." Judy hesitated. She was the one who'd argued that they should let Bogo know about both the extra gear and knowledge they'd acquired, but she wasn't comfortable with their plan to present it. So she turned to her partner… "But there were some unexpected contributions which we would like to report first. Officer Wilde?"

The look the fox bestowed upon her was not completely new, but she'd only ever seen it once: when he was pretending to be savage… Safe to say he wasn't pleased with being put on the spot like that after she'd been the one wanting to tell Bogo everything. Oh well… Good luck Nick.

"I'm waiting, Officer."

That gained the fox's attention, whose muzzle turned towards the Chief with an apologetic look.

"Ah, yes, well… First of all, Deputy Chief Gordon supplied us with some specially designed gear to facilitate our intelligence gathering. I'm sure he'd be happy to give you a detailed list of it." The buffalo limited himself to a nod, so Nick kept going, albeit even less confidently than before. "He also gave us some insight regarding MR's possible inner workings and arranged a meeting between us and a convict at the Penitentiary for us to learn some more about City Hall."

"Hm? Who was it?" Once again, one of the buffalo's eyebrows began to rise.

"Um… Leodore Lionheart, sir…"

As an audible groan escaped his chest, the Chief brought both hoofs up to his face, sliding them down and dragging his eyelids along. "Blast it, Gordon…"

"Sir, if I may…"

"Yes, Hopps, what is it…"

"The talk we had with the former mayor was actually extremely useful, sir. Thanks to his insight, I have an idea of how to proceed regarding City Hall, and… well…"

"And what, Officer?" Bogo's voice was booming as ever, but it also carried a tired tone to it, which made Judy think she'd been right: the Chief had probably been mulling over what Lionheart had told them for quite a while now.

"He told us about your former association, sir; beyond the relations between the ZPD and City Hall."

Once again letting himself sink back into his chair and closing his eyes, Bogo sighed sadly before continuing. "I should've expected you'd find out sooner rather than later. For what it's worth, I am sorry for keeping it a secret under these circumstances…"

Apparently, seeing the Chief in such a defeated state rubbed Nick the wrong way, as he immediately took to reassuring him. "We understand, Chief. It can't have been easy dealing with what you've had to."

As for Judy, she was witnessing a side to Bogo that the Chief almost never displayed. His towering walls of indifference and gruffness crumbled to reveal a very much normal feeling mammal. And while she'd seen such demonstrations of emotion regarding her and other officers, she'd never seen them focused on Bogo himself. To his credit, the buffalo always kept an extremely altruistic attitude, putting the issues of those under his command ahead of his own.

"You're right about that, Wilde. But I still should've kept you in the loop, at least after MR surfaced as a threat."

Feeling it was the right moment to move on, Judy began summarizing their plans "Regarding MR, sir, what Officer Wilde and I had in mind was – " only to be cut off by Bogo's raised hoof and commanding voice.

"Hopps, if you and Wilde don't mind, we'll discuss your plans later today. Go deal with whatever paperwork you still have due. I, uh… I need some time, officers."

Quickly exchanging interrogative glances, Nick and Judy promptly stepped down from their chairs and, after a quick salute, exited the Chief's office, leaving the Buffalo alone with his thoughts.

They had relieved Bogo of a secret, yes, but that also meant they had had access to his private life. And that was something neither of the smaller officers was too comfortable with. So they figured some time to adjust was the least Bogo could ask of them.

The only downside was how they were going to pass the time until he called them back in. As dedicated as Judy was, papercut detail was still the bane of any Police Officer…


A/N

Two references in this chapter to watch out for: one in regards to a game that recently had its fifth anniversary (although it's a rather small one) and another regarding a certain Belgian comic book and its two comic relief characters.

It should also be said that the diner was designed to resemble "Pastelaria Cunha", a nice restaurant in Porto, Portugal. If you ever find yourselves there, I definitely recommend it. The biggest difference is the lack of a fast food-like ordering system.

In the meantime, something very exciting has happened. I've been in contact with Blenderguy15 and he's allowed me to include his "Payday Quartet" in my fic! They're mentioned here for the first time, and they'll show up more prominently in the near future. His stories are very pleasant blends (pun intended) of heavy topics and lighthearted storytelling and I urge you to check them out.

See you next time.

Cheers!