Copyright Disclaimer

The following is a work of fanfiction: there is no intent of this author to violate, transgress, profit from or infringe upon the Copyright and Intellectual Property (IP) rights of the parent Copyright or IP holders of characters, events or locations belonging to the same which may be contained within this work. To reiterate; this is a Derivative Work meant to be used under Fair Use as described in 17 U.S.C. § 101 and § 107.

All language is either through Google Translate, or the site 'Bits'n'Bob-stones'

The Sons of Efrafa

.

"Judy?"

"Yeah, Nick."

"Your phone's ringing again."

"Yeah, Nick."

"You going to answer it? It's getting kind of annoying."

"No, Nick."

"Oh, come on Fluff! How long is this feud going to go on? They're your parents! It's not like you can trade them in if you don't like how they drive. Just pick up the phone, that's it, and … (beeoop) You just turned it off, didn't you?"

"Nope, just muted it. -sigh- I have tried, Nick, really, I have; three different times since last Friday. Do you know the first words out of my dad's muzzle every time? -ahem- 'Now see here young lady!' Like I'm a disobedient child, not a grown mammal with the right to live her own life. And for the record: No-one feuds like country folk."

"So I see; well, at least it'll be quiet. Speaking of, you've been bottled up over there for a while now. Care to share, Partner?"

"It's, um, -grunt- it's dumb, don't worry about it."

"Hopps."

"Hm?"

"You need to stop second guessing yourself. You misjudged a situation, and it backfired. So, what? I thought it was a good idea to sell a rug of suspect quality and make to crime lord, and I thought it was fine to hustle a cop on her first day. I managed to survive both of those situations and have come out a better mammal because of it. You can learn too, but like your favorite song says, 'Try again'. You have incredible intuition when it comes to situations, so if there's something you think warrants our attention, it's not dumb."

"It's 'Try Everything', Nick." -huff- "Okay. You know that café we ate at after the Pier 30 bust? You remember how I was twitchy and hearing things? You said you smelled ozone. Well I was there a little over a week later with Moira, and I heard it again, but it sounded, different, and she said she smelled a thunderstorm, but I checked the city weather center and there were no storms, scheduled or otherwise. There's something going on there, I can feel it! I just, can't prove it."

"Well, sounds like we've got lunch plans. Let's draw up a preliminary report I can file in the call-log with Lt. Higgins, and we'll see where this leads."

Chapter 19

Nick and Judy were given the go ahead to stake out the restaurant, though Bogo did advise them not to claim desert on their taxes. It took a little convincing, but Judy eventually agreed to go in plain clothes to not raise suspicion at having a pair of cops sitting at a Café all day. Lunch was both as pleasant and as irritating as ever; the food and service were both excellent, but the noise was still there. Also, Judy's parents were still calling. The only change came when the lunch rush ended, so did the noise and ozone smell. After an hour of nothing, Nick suggested they head back to the station for a bit, then come back out around 3:30.

"What's up Nick?" Judy was curious, as her partner wasn't one to give up on something.

"Just a hunch; Chances are, whatever is going on, if it's illegal, they will be doing it when people are least likely to notice it, like the lunch rush, or…"

Judy grinned. "Commuter rush hour, Nick that's brilliant! I've said it before, and I'll say it again; you make an excellent cop."

"It's the glasses," Nick put his Aviator's on, "… they fill me with confidence and a righteous fervor for justice!"

Judy snorted a laugh. "As long as you don't start acting like that tool from 'CSI: Vice City', we'll be fine."

Nick dropped a few bills on the table and followed Judy to her car. "Hey now don't go dissing my favorite TV cop; his stuff is comedy gold."

"CSI isn't a sitcom Nick."

Nick chuckled for a moment before getting a confused look on his muzzle. "Wait, really?"

When they arrived back at the precinct house, Nick immediately started asking the other officers if the CSI series was intentional or unintentional comedy; the resulting debate nearly crippled the precinct. When 3:30 rolled around, Nick and Judy were back at their table at the café.

"Chief's gonna kill you when we get back, Nick."

"Only if we come back empty pawed. Anything?"

Judy's ears flagged. "Not yet."

Nick settled in with his Cappuccino. "Good. That means this isn't just regular construction you're hearing. Now begins the waiting game."

Four O'clock arrived with a rush of mammals leaving Lemming Brothers, and Judy's ears shooting up. Nick smirked. "I love being right. Come on, Fluff. Let's… what is it?"

Judy's head was tilted slightly. "It's moved. Not much, but it's definitely moved from where it started this morning."

Nick was suddenly all business. "By about how much?"

"Hard to say; maybe, five degrees from this morning at the beginning of lunch. Come on, let's head across the street!" She got ready to leap to her feet when Nick lay a restraining paw on her shoulder.

"Not so fast, Carrots. If this is as illegal as we suspect, then they're going to have spotters. Use your ears to point to where you think they were, and where they should be." Watching his partner, Nick did some calculations in his head. "At most, we're looking at five feet an hour, and they are likely still under North Broad Street. Sound about right?"

Judy relaxed into her seat. "Yeah, you're right, so unless this is some 'Boarn Identity' crap and they intend to hit something on the road itself, they'll be heading, to… Lemming Brothers!"

Nick became alarmed at the gleeful look in Judy's eyes. "Judy, what are you thinking." By now she had covered her muzzle and was bouncing in her seat. "Alright, let's get out of here before you wet yourself."

Once seated in the Maserati, Judy let out a Clawhauser level 'Squee!' "It's a bank heist Nick!"

"You're a cop, Fluff, you shouldn't be this excited about something like that."

Judy gripped the steering wheel in excitement. "Are you kidding?! This is literally something I've dreamed about since I was a kit! Bank robberies are…"

"Usually either white collar computer jobs, or demand notes given to a teller."

Judy looked sidelong at Nick. "To quote a friend of mine, 'Don't tell me what I know.' Just let me have my dream, until we find this is an extreme case of trying to steal cable. Any way, what's our next step."

"What you were going to do earlier, triangulation; we go somewhere else to see how far they move, then pinpoint them."

"Sounds like a plan, so why the sour face, Slick?"

Nick grimaced. "The only other good spot on this street is the Golden Panda over there."

Judy looked at the restaurant in question with concern. "What, do they have a history?" She had images of Triad drug dens and illegal gambling parlors flashing through her head.

Nick stuck his tongue out in distaste. "Yeah, they think MSG is a food group; every time I eat something from there I get the runs and a screaming headache."

When Nick and Judy made it back to the precinct house, they found the debate from earlier still going. Bogo was waiting for them as they entered building. "Wilde give me one good reason I shouldn't transfer you to the Fifth right now."

"Sir!" Nick stood at attention. "We have tentatively confirmed that there is an unidentified activity occurring at or near the 700 block of North Broad Street, and that said activity is moving towards the Lemming Brothers main branch building on the corner of 2nd Ave. and N. Broad St. Our next step will be to confirm that there is no utility work in that area, scheduled or otherwise. That means going to Callie." Nick hid his smirk at the grimace on the Chief's muzzle, as the porcupine who worked at the City records office was as personally prickly as her species was physically; to date, Nick was the only mammal on the force who seemed impervious to her acerbic nature.

The water buffalo leveled a no-nonsense glare at his vulpine subordinate. "You're lucky you manage to get results, otherwise I'd have already bounced you out of here like a tennis ball. I keep you on because your partner would be inconsolable were I to remove her pet project. Hopps!" Judy snapped to attention. "Your evaluation?"

"Sir! I don't think it would be possible to cure Wilde's smugness without invasive surgery that isn't covered on our insurance." The Chief snorted while Nick gave a feigned gasp of pain. "We'll go to city records to see if there are any work orders on file first thing in the morning. If there are any irregularities, we'd like one more afternoon of observation to confirm our suspicions; with your permission, sir."

Bogo considered the pair before him. "Another 'working lunch' at La Bohemia?"

Judy shook her head. "No sir; we need to triangulate, so we'll be staking out at, what was it Nick?"

"Golden Panda."

Bogo grimaced at the two. "If you're willing to suffer that place, it must be serious. I'm assigning you two patrol there tomorrow. You're exempt from morning brief; sign in then hit city records first thing. After that, come back here and do up your preliminary findings so I can justify this to the Commissioner and the Finance office. Dismissed."

As the two small officers opened the office door, the day's argument could still be heard from the lobby. They were half way to their cubicle when the P.A. system kicked on.

"Attention First Precinct; this is Chief Bogo. CSI: Vice city is hack, pandering writing, and laughably bad police work. That is all. Now, GET BACK TO WORK!"

They were packing up to leave when Judy's phone went off again. Glancing at it, she saw the call was from one of her littermates. Judy indicated to Nick that he could stay, when he pantomimed his leaving to give her privacy for the call. "Hey, Jen! You usually call on weekends; what's up?"

"Hey, Jude…" Judy threw a wad of paper at her partner as he started singing The Beatles, sotto-voce. "…just checking in for the family; you haven't answered mom or dad in like a week."

Judy huffed. "So they had you call for them?"

"Not even! I was here for last week's call; mom and dad were way out of line. But they've been freaking out since you stopped answering their calls."

"Well, if they ever considered treating me like an adult instead of a piece of property, I might consider talking to them." Nick winced at the bitterness in his friend's voice and slid his chair over to rest a manual paw on her shoulder. She gave him a thankful look and gripped his paw for a second. "You can tell them that I'm fine, just very mad right now. When I'm ready, I'll call them.

"Now onto more important things: how's the residency going?"

The voice on the other end perked up. "Finished; what's more, I'm being considered for a position with Doctors Without Borders!"

The sisters spent the next five minutes catching up, with a promise from Jen to visit Judy later that week. Once she hung up, Judy finished getting ready, with Nick waiting nearby.

"Ready to go Fluff? It's a Schlocky double header tonight: 'Bog Thing' and 'Attack of the Killer Potatoes'! Zib said she'd make something called, 'Poutine', to go with the theme of the night."

Judy settled into an easy walk next to her partner. "If we're going to be dealing with 'Prickly Pierce' first thing tomorrow, I should ask her to make us Jaeger Bombs."

"Don't push your luck too much, Carrots. She may have forgiven, but she sure as hell hasn't forgotten."

Everyone stood in Nick's kitchen while Zib cursed in three different languages.

"It's okay, honey," Nick soothed while rubbing her back, "…you didn't know. Hell, Judy didn't know until we cut into one."

Judy was throwing out the offending batch of potatoes. "I'd check with your green grocer to see where they got these; there's no way for a farmer to not have noticed this." As she washed her paws in the sink, an unusual amount of brown came off her paws. "Then again, they could have known and just wet-dyed them brown and rolled them in the dirt."

Jacob screwed his muzzle in distaste. "That can't be legal."

Judy sighed while drying her paws. "It isn't, but farm subsidies only carry you so far; if a farm had a bad couple of years, drought or blight or something, they might have pushed whatever crop they could just to stay solvent. That's one of the problems with co-op farm communities; you are sharing the profits while trusting your neighbors to do right."

Zib nodded her head, then quirked when Judy went to the door with her car keys.

"What, that's it? The potatoes are bad, so you're going home?"

Judy shook her head while putting her coat on. "Not at all; Jacob and I will go to one of the convenience stores and pick up a bag of frozen fries. I know they won't be as good as fresh home-made, but you can work on the rest of the recipe, and we can bake the fries when we get back, so we shouldn't be too delayed."

"Oh." Zabrina looked slightly abashed. "Sorry." Judy just smiled and waved her off.

"Why am I going along with you?" Jacob asked as they were leaving the apartment.

Judy batted her eyes at him. "You wouldn't allow some poor, helpless doe to wander these streets alone at night, would you?"

"What, are you expecting us to run into one out there or something? OWOWOWOW! Let go of my ear!" Zib and Nick's laughter was cut off by the closing door.

Judy and Jacob didn't say anything until she was pulling out of the parking spot.

"Why am I really coming along? I know you and Zib are a little strained right now, but this seems excessive."

Judy turned onto a main street and headed downtown.

"I'm making the run as a down payment on my apology to Zib and Nick, and you're coming along so they can have some privacy. Besides, why should I carry the produce when I can have you do it."

They had just arrived at a gas station with attached mini-mart, when Jacob noticed a silver and black Pierce-Arrow Model 2017 Touring at one of the pumps, with a large mammal standing near it.

"Jude, hold on a second!" Jacob said as he rolled down and leaned out of the passenger side window. "Hey Turret! Look left!"

"Screw you too, Larue!" Judy was aghast as a bull moose in a tailored suit headed towards them, while Jacob laughed and got out of the car. Judy scrambled to follow him out.

"Oh my God, sir! I am so sorry! My friend here is…" Judy petered off when she saw the grin on the muzzle of the approaching mammal.

"That's quite all right, miss. I'm more than familiar with this fuzzy little terror. How are you, Jacob? And more importantly, am I going to need to help Val hide your body?" The ungulate glanced questioningly between Jacob and Judy.

Before she could take offense at the innuendo, Jacob waved Judy off. "Nah, we're just here on a snack run; besides, they've met. Speaking of, Turret? This is the ZPD's own Judy Hopps. Judy, this is Horace Oswald Hornblower, the Third; Turret, for short. I'm gonna run in and get the potatoes." At that, Jacob headed inside.

Horace gave an easy smile while extending a manual hoof to Judy. "I'd say don't pay attention to him, but that's a recipe for disaster. Just call me Horace. Between Cat and Dickie, I feel like I already know you."

It took Judy a moment to make the connection between the mammal before her, and the Bull-Horn media empire as she shook his hoof. Then Judy's eyes widened in surprise.

"Wait; Cat and Dickie? As in Catherine Montaigne and Alexander Davis?"

"Yes, but no one who's a friend calls them that outside of business."

Judy hung her head slightly. "I can't really be called Mr. Davis' friend, not after what I did."

"Yeah, Dickie mentioned that." Horace scratched the underside of his chin. "He also said you really stepped up; came in person to apologize, then left without trying to, 'sweeten the pot', as it were. You probably don't know, but Dickie's always on guard for gold diggers trying to bed him for a part of his fortune. When you left as you did, without trying to make a play, it really made an impression."

Judy was stunned into silence; she had been convinced that she had alienated one of Zootopia's wealthiest citizens. She was torn as to what to do with her new-found knowledge: should she ask Mr. Davis for a do-over, and risk coming across as desperate? Should she take the chance to at least get to know the mammal? Did she risk her family finding out she had, in fact, asked a buck out on a date? The idea of letting her fear of her family's reaction guide her decision galvanized her. Like Nick said, it was her life to live. "Mr. Hornblower?"

"Please, Horace. Saying 'Mr. Hornblower' has me looking over my shoulder for my father." Judy was intrigued at the stress in Horace's voice at that statement but chose not to pry.

"Horace, then. Do you think Mr. Davis, Richard, would be willing to meet? Somewhere inoffensive; coffee or something. No gold-diggers or family obligations. Just, two adults talking over coffee?"

The bull moose looked thoughtful for a moment. "I can't really say. His business has been in a bit of an uproar recently, between this gala next month and some contracts he's been renegotiating. I can say that he really appreciated you coming in person, so I would think you should just call him. The worst that happens, is he says no."

Judy looked both determined and hopeful. "Thank you, Horace." She paused for a moment. "If I may ask, why does Jacob call you 'Turret'?"

Horace hesitated for a moment. "Ask me again in a couple of years."

"Um, okay. Why?"

"Because that's when the NDA expires. Good evening, Miss Hopps."

Judy looked thoughtful as Horace walked back to his car. "What does he mean, 'when the NDA expires'? Jacob's always saying that." She looked up as the hare in question came out of the store. "What the hell did you do?"

Jacob was taken aback. "Spuds and Suds! I decided to get a 12-pack as well. I am a grown mammal after all."

Judy just stared for a moment, then shook her head. "No not that; what's an NDA?"

"Oh." Jacob paused in loading the car. "Non-Disclosure Agreement; it' LoNF legal speak for 'Gag order'. Has Turret been not telling stories?" Jacob chuckled at Judy's confused expression. "Come on, let's head back; I'll not tell you along the way."

"Alri…what?"

Judy stared at Nick as they descended into the bowels of City Records. "I know you say you know everybody, but that was just weird."

Nick glanced at his partner. "If you must know, during my non-cop years with Mr. Big, one of the things I did was, acquire items people wanted. No B&E shenanigans, if that's what that look is for. I traded in favors, and a few cash deals but mostly quid pro quo kind of things. Callie, hers was a cash deal; she had a grandfather who was a Merchant Marine. He lived in Kyoto for a time just after the Yamato-Sinic war and appeared in a few movies from that time. I managed to get 8mm reel-to-reel copies of all of them, as well as the projector set up."

They entered the primary records hall and headed to a workstation to look up 'City Work Orders'.

"So, what? She just asked some random fox if they could track down a copy of their grandfather's movies?"

"Not at all." They settled into the workstation, and Nick started typing in their request. "She heard through 'the grapevine', that I could track things down, and went to a very specific fox. What do you think? Look for underground utility work orders forward and back one month?"

"Hm, two months, just to be sure." Judy hopped up just as Nick started typing. "Oh! Also look for work orders on buildings along the southbound lane."

"Sure thing, Fluff. May I ask why?"

Judy smirked. "Just thinking like a hustler." Nick mock glared at that. "What ever is being done requires heavy machinery; if they have a legitimate work order on one of the other buildings, it justifies bringing in heavy equipment."

"Well, look at you, junior con-mammal! You'd actually make a really good hustler."

Judy snorted. "Oh, how dare you." She noted the predatory grin on his face. "I already am a really good hustler! What have you got."

"713 N. Broad, the Glassman Building, has two work orders: one to drill a new utility conduit, and the other through Board of Health for 'Black Mold Remediation'."

"I see a couple of others here with work orders. What makes you think it's this one?"

"First, the Glassman is a turn of the century brick/steel/concrete hotel, and Black Mold is a problem with damp organics, like wooden supports in or behind walls." He shrugged at her skeptical look. "Hey, trust the mammal who squatted in abandoned buildings to survive his late twenties. Second," Nick pointed to a note on the building file, "…the Glassman was bought last year by Ronald Silver-Foxe; he's the sort of mammal people are thinking of when they talk about 'shifty, no-good foxes'." Nick grimaced in distaste until Judy started to scratch him behind one of his ears.

-sigh- "Thanks. Anyway, Ron here has a reputation of buying up wide swaths of real-estate, then bulldozing whatever's there, building some generic office structure, and selling them to the highest bidder. You don't remediate a building you're going to tear down."

"Do you think he's involved?"

Nick snorted. "No, he's a shyster and a crook, but he's also a coward, not a criminal; it would endanger his business, but I wouldn't put it past him to look the other way. Whoever 'Schwartzalfen Contracting' is, they've probably greased his palms enough to fry fish."

Judy stood up. "Well, we're not going to be able to investigate based on 'Ron's a shady fox'. Are the approving official's names on file for the work orders?"

"Yeah…no wait; BoH is a tracking number of some kind."

Judy looked at her watch. "Let's head on up to the BoH's office and see what that number means."

"I am so, so sorry!" Judy said while Nick sat beside her in their squad car, clutching his tail. "That was just…do you want me to act as a witness? God, if someone treated me like that…"

"We'd be cleaning them up with a squeegee and pressure washer if I didn't get to you in time." Nick pinched his eyes and shivered. "You know what?" He took a deep calming breath. "Let's just move on with the day. Prioritize; first, we get what we've got to Bogo, then we head out to Golden Panda for Hanese flavored MSG. (snort) I should have called in dead this morning."

When they pulled into the precinct car park, Judy sat staring at the console for a moment. Nick looked at her in concern. "You okay there, Carrots?"

"Nick, does it bother you when I touch you?"

"Judy." She looked at him as he gave her an easy smile. "You are a trusted friend who cares enough to try and comfort me when I'm down and respects me enough to stop when I ask. Pamela Duff," Nick flicked his tail towards the City Hall, "…is apparently a fur covered lamprey that escaped from the Three Mile Island quarantine zone and is now masquerading as a coyote. Now come on; we've got bad guys to foil!"

The Chief wasn't very accommodating until he saw the information they had uncovered, including the digital confirmation code from the Department of Public Health: they had found that this particular code was meant as a read-receipt for intradepartmental memos, not as a signature for official documents. They had a promise the tracking number was going to be traced. The two were sent out with a grunt and a pair of Buffalo-sized antacids. From there, they were off to the Golden Panda.

They were the first mammals in the restaurant, and so could pick the ideal place to sit and observe. They were served by a bubbly feline with purple dyed ears that looked like a leopard but was only a head taller than Judy. "Ni Hao! Welcome to Cat Café! I Xian Pu! How may I serve you?"

"Uhh…" Nick and Judy looked at one another in confusion.

"Oh! You wonder about name, yes?" They nodded. "Great grandmother take from stupid panda mam to pay for debt yesterday, no have time to change sign. Now we make too too delicious traditional food from Qing Hai. I bring tea while you look, yes?" With that, she disappeared into the kitchen.

Nick looked at Judy and shrugged. "Maybe we won't need the Chief's gifts." He patted the pocket where the antacids were.

After half an hour of tea and soup, Nick put his pedal paw on top of Judy's, which had been thumping like a Jack hammer for the last 10 minutes. "Carrots, relax."

"I can't!" Judy started to fidget. "It's all starting to come together and, well, I'm worried I'll miss something."

"Of course, you'll miss something." Nick smirked at her shocked expression. "That's why you have a partner; to cover you and make sure things go smoothly. We've still got twenty minutes until the lunch rush hits full swing. Why don't you, I don't know, call Dickie like you were talking about last night. If you do, I promise to stop."

"What are you talk… Oh that is gross! Knock it off, Nick!"

Judy physically recoiled from her partner as he began noisily chewing on a freshly delivered spring roll with his mouth open. "Mwah mwah, theeshe are sho tashtee, Cawots!"

"-Blech- Fine, I'll call him; just stop already!" She shook her head as she pulled her phone out. "Seriously, how are you older than me, again?" Nick just grinned as he returned to a more civilized manner of eating. Her call was answered after two rings.

"Hollander International, Mr. Davis' office; how may I direct your call?"

"Miss Ming Ye, it's Judy; um Judy Hopps. I was wondering…"

"Just hold on the line Miss Hopps; I'll connect you to Mr. Davis' office." Before Judy could balk, there were a few seconds of classical music in the back ground, then the phone rang again.

"Richard Davis speaking."

"Mr. Davis, it's Judy Hopps."

"Oh, Judy! I'm sorry, Officer Hopps, or would you prefer Miss?"

"Judy's fine, this isn't an official call." She looked at her partner, who was smirking over another spring roll. "-hm- In all honesty, I'm calling because my partner threatened to eat like a three-year-old in front of me if I didn't." She stuck her tongue out at Nick, who returned the gesture after swallowing. She was surprised to hear laughter on the other end of the line.

"I remember doing something like that to my mom and dad one year when I wanted an 'Action Savage' play set. They responded by giving me peanut butter sandwiches or peanut butter toast with every meal."

Judy giggled at the mental image of a little Dickie Davis with his cheeks puffed out, filled with peanut butter. "I take it you never got the playset?"

"Oh no, come Christmas, it was waiting under the tree. I was just doing that around Memorial Day."

Judy started laughing in earnest until Nick lightly kicked her shin. When she looked at him, his nostrils were flared, and he was motioning with his ears to a pair of mammals who had just entered. She didn't immediately recognize the muskrat, but the small mountain goat looked and sounded familiar. When the smaller mammal started scratching himself in the manner of someone suffering the DT's, she recalled them: the muskrat was one of the mammals Nick had met as the 'Candymam' the day before 'Race Day', while the goat had been one of the racers who showed up early. She started to mess with her phone.

"Oh, that sounds lovely dear! Here, let me put you on Muzzle Time." With that, she turned on the camera on her phone and began recording even as Dickie started to ask questions. "There you are, darling! I'm here with Red. You remember introducing us?" She worried that she was going to ruin any chance of even a cordial relationship with Mr. Davis, until…

"Ju…did this suddenly become, work related? Should I be calling backup for you two?"

Judy's relief was palpable. She leered at her phone while pointing it and her ears at the two mammals at the counter. "You know it girlfriend, but don't you worry; I've got this in the bag." Both Nick and Dickie snorted at her over-the-top performance.

Judy caught a part of what the two visitors were saying, and even for a junkie they were ordering a lot of food. Judy continued the bizarre conversation, while Dickie read the Horoscopes, just to ensure there was sound coming from his end of the call. 10 minutes later, the two race-escapees left with multiple large bags of food. They turned at the door and walked down the street, directly towards the Glassman Building.

Once she was sure the coast was clear, Judy stopped recording.

"Mr. Davis I am so sorry! That came completely out of the blue."

The rabbit on the other end of the line chuckled. "That's quite all right, Judy. This is the most interesting working-lunch I've had in months. Though perhaps you should call back when you are less likely to have to do improv. And please, call me Dickie."

"Alright, Dickie. I'll talk to you later. Bye."

"I look forward to it, Judy. Good day."

Judy slumped in her chair once the call was hung up. "Well, that could have sucked more. Now what?"

"Now," Nick readied his chopsticks, "…we have our lunch and see if the machinery sound kicks on in 20 minutes or so; then we head back to the House and check the Jam Cams to see where Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum came from, and where they went. If, as we think, everything lines up time-wise and they head to the Glassman, we work with Bogo to plan our next move." Nick savored his lunch of Imperial Fire Roasted Chestnuts and vegetables over Glass Noodles. "Mmhh, this is so much better than the Golden Panda. The muskrat, Lenny I think, he's our avenue of attack: compulsive addict, not really focused. I think he'll break under questioning like a 'Happy-Meal' toy."

Judy looked thoughtful. "We should probably call Jacob as well." At Nick's questioning look, she pointed at her partner. "You remember that recording he was listening to? The one with the three Germanic wolves? Same event we encountered these two. Then, there's the contractor; what was it, Shwartz Alf?"

"Schwartzalfen Contracting, and yeah, that sounds very Germanic. That's a lot of coincidence to ignore."

"This just keeps getting bigger. We can't go after them now, can we Nick?" Her voice was filled with resignation.

"Not yet Fluff; all we'd have them for would be some building code violations. We need to wait, let them get into position to do, whatever they're going to do…"

"And then we'll be waiting for them, catch phrase at the ready: 'It's called a hustle, sweetheart!'"

"Oh please, Carrots; get with the times!" Nick took his Aviators out of his pocket. "We're the police; It's called a Sting, Punk!" He just put his glasses on in time to stop the thrown chopstick wrapper.

After confirming the startup of 'work', enjoying a light yet very filling lunch, and calling Jacob to tell him their suspicions, Nick and Judy headed back to the station house. As they were striding through the atrium towards Cyber-crimes and records, Benjamin waved them over.

"Judy, I should warn you; your parents called again."

"Was it a family emergency?"

"Um, no but…" Ben looked slightly concerned.

"Was it a police matter?"

"No. But Judy…"

Judy archly crossed her arms. "Then it can wait. I've told them I'll call them when I'm ready. I've got work to do. You're going down to the gym tonight? 25 hours on the PPE machine, right?"

"Yeah… why does everybody care about that? I mean I enjoy it and all, but I've only lost like, 10 pounds."

Nick smiled at the cheetah. "That may be true, buddy, but you've dropped four inches off your waist. What was it your friend said, Carrots? Soft bodies and soft hearts go paw in paw? Well hard bodies and soft hearts are the stuff dreams are made of, and we all just enjoy seeing a dream come to life. So, stick with it Ben; you won't regret it! You coming, Fluff?"

"Not right away; I'm going to let the Chief know we called Jacob in on this. Last thing we need is for him to think we're trying to go around him."

"Alright, I'll see you in records Hopps." As she headed off, Nick turned to Ben, only to see a concerned look on the reception officer's muzzle. "Alright, Ben; what's going on."

Clawhauser turned to face the front of the atrium again and started fidgeting with his papers. He then bit his lip and looked at Nick. "When I said Judy's parents called, I didn't mean they called me."

"Ooohhh, -hiss- that's not going to go well."

He and Ben turned to face the front doors just as Officer Raibert and Sgt. DuPrey entered. Nick was struck by the casual military precision of their movements. "Welcome back, Jack! You look good."

Jacob settled into an easy stance by the reception desk. "I feel good; the First isn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, but the Seventh feels right. You said you and Judy had something for us? Where is she anyway?"

Every mammal in the precinct turned when a high-pitched scream of frustration erupted from the Chief's office. "THEY DID WHAT?!"

"Possibly deciding whether or not to orphan herself; apparently, her parents called the Chief when she didn't answer their calls."

The door to Bogo's office slammed open, and Judy's rapid footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs. Jacob stood straighter when she came into view at the bottom of the stairwell. "My junk-punching offer still stands, Hopps."

She stopped for a moment. "I'll get back to you on that. For now, focus on work; we have criminals to deal with."

Judy and Nick managed to pull together all the little details they had been considering: Lenny and the goat that Sgt. Daschle identified as a professional wheel mammal that went by 'Zing', did head to the Glassman building. Cyber crime was assigned to data mining Jam-Cam footage to track the movements of all mammals that were seen in association.

Jean-Pierre had an alarming bit of intel on the possible goings on. "If this is Thule, then Schwartzalfen Contracting is likely made up of Der Schwartzalfen."

Bogo looked across the conference table at the black panther. "And the difference is?"

"Der Schwartzalfen is the instrument of policy for the Thule Society: you want something stolen, send Der Schwartzalfen. You want leverage on a politician? Send Der Schwartzalfen. You want someone killed?"

Oates waved a hoof. "We get the picture."

"No, sir, I don't think you do." DuPrey shook his head. "These aren't thugs for hire: they are true believers who choose from an early age to become the weapons of the Society. They enlist in police forces, the military, wherever they can get training to become better operatives. If this is what we have here, then we are effectively dealing with foreign military agents operating in Zootopia, and it's not going to be for recruitment. Zootopia is everything they stand against: unity and inclusivity. If Bellwether wanted to control the city through fear, these mammals are looking to use fear to tear the city down. We need to confirm whether or not this is Der Schwartzalfen, or just a bunch of criminals borrowing the name."

Nick pushed several stills from both his 'Candymam' cam, as well as CCTV images of the front of the Glassman building that morning; they showed one wolf who bore a striking resemblance in both sets of images. "I'd say there's enough for securing a warrant, if that's what we wanted."

Raine shook her head. "Which as you said earlier, we don't. We want to bust the leadership, not pick up the foot soldiers. We need to know what they are going after, but getting information out of Lemming Brothers about what their clients may or may not have in their vaults is a nightmare."

Bogo sat back in his chair. "I'll deal with that at the Commissioners level. Until then, business as usual. Hopps, Wilde; you two are back on patrol starting tomorrow. I'll assign you to areas of interest on this case. Oates, Daschle; you're now the heads of this investigation. I want OCT, Vice and Gangland all coordinating; any officers you can spare that aren't on anything else, get assigned to this. I will NOT have terrorists loose in my city. DuPrey, Raibert; I have no authority to order you, but I will ask you keep all of us appraised of anything you find, and we'll do the same. I'll keep Gladys up to speed at my level. Thank you all. Hopps, can you stick around?"

Once the room cleared, the Chief took off his reading glasses. "I understand that nobody gets under one's fur quite like family. Bondye knows my mother and mother-in-law could drive any mammal to drink; but I need you here on task. If you need a day or two to get this sorted out, let me know. You certainly have enough leave saved up."

Judy took a few moments to center herself. "I'll have this resolved by Monday sir, one way or another."

That night, Judy was sitting across from Gladys Winterhorn at a Hindi restaurant.

Judy waved emphatically with a piece of naan. "The look on Benjamin's face when the recorded message from Gazelle came on was priceless! I can't wait to see his reaction when she live-streams for his 50-hour mark." Winterhorn chuckled at Judy's exuberance.

The smile fled Judy's features. "I know you said you'd talk with me about anything regarding career development, so I really appreciate you taking time out for this."

"Not at all Judy; I'm glad to help. I assume this doesn't have to do with your coworker's fitness. Is this an issue with another co-worker?"

Judy huffed into her potato curry. "More an issue with family. A little over two weeks ago, my mom and dad found out I had met a buck, and I mean that in the most literal sense. I'd had maybe two conversations with him, both work related, one of which I'm really not proud of. Anyway, they immediately started planning my coming home, permanently. It got worse when they found out who I'd met. They called the night we were having Moira, Mitch and Jacob's going away party and basically told me that I was being stupid for spending time with my friends and peers instead of trying to entice Richard Davis, and then implied I should give up being a police officer! I haven't spoken to them since except to tell them I'll talk to them when I calm down, but now they're calling Chief Bogo right as we're, well, you know." Judy looked sheepishly at her dining partner.

The reindeer sipped her tea. "That I do. Your family are farmers, yes? Tri-Burrows County, Palouse River region?" When Judy nodded, she set her cup down. "You need to talk to them, but as equals. You have a car? Good. Call ahead and tell them you want to talk, then drive down; don't take the train. Let them know that you can and will leave at any time if they aren't willing to treat you as an adult. You need to be ready for that. Also, go in the morning, that way you still have the day to yourself if you do leave, rather than trying to navigate back in the dark while upset."

Judy took a deep breath. "I'm, I'm scared that I'll alienate my family. I know I have friends, real friends, but still..."

"Judy; they are alienating you, not the other way around. Your parents are just scared, and you know that scared people don't make the best decisions. Once they calm down, they'll realize what they risk losing but it could take you walking away for that to happen. You need to be ready for that. Know your fear, understand where it comes from, but also know theirs; ours is a dangerous job, so every day your parents wake up knowing that today might be the day they answer the door to see a black sedan and two officers in Dress Blues." Gladys closed her eyes. "I've had to be that mammal in Blues before, and there is no more heartbreaking thing to see, than a parent having to bury their child."

Winterhorn rested her manual hooves on the table between them. "Be patient with them, Judy, but also firm. You are your own person, and they need to respect that."

Saturday morning at 10 O'clock, Judy was sitting stone-faced across from her mother.

"Dad had to suddenly go out into the fields? Just before I arrived, even though I was explicit with both of you; 10 O'clock, we sit down and talk, and yet he decides to wander out to the asparagus fields to, 'look over the irrigation system?'"

Bonnie fussed with a pitcher and glasses without looking at her daughter. "Oh, you know your father; he's a paw-on kind of mammal. He'll be back by around lunch time. Won't you have some sun-tea?"

"Dad is many things mom, but a plumber is not one of them; uncle Reece put that system in, and I just saw him out front putting up the badminton set, yet My Dad has to disrespect the wishes of one of his daughters, to insult me and my intelligence and blow me off to wander the back 40?!" Judy was standing and shaking with barely contained fury.

"Now see here, young lady…"

Judy slammed her paws on the table. "No! You will see here! I asked in no uncertain terms for you and father to be here, so we could talk. You chose to ignore my request. Now you will hear my demand. I know how long it takes to get to the south fields from here. I will be waiting in my car: if father isn't here in 15 minutes, I. Will. Leave." At that Judy turned and headed for the front door. Her mother gaped as Judy climbed into her car.

15 minutes came and went, and Judy drove away. She was only five miles down the road when her phone rang; when she pulled over, she saw it was her father's number. Judy went into her settings and blocked both of her parents. Then, she wept. It was twenty miles later that Judy had to pull over again or have an accident from her anger and distraction.

'I have to talk to someone!' She thought to herself. Not Nick, he and Zib were on a makeup date. Not Jacob, he had already volunteered to commit violence against her family, and she wasn't willing to risk his being serious about that. Besides, a Black hare in a pale Cadillac? Half the family would drop dead from cardiac arrest. Twitchle? No, Judy was in an emotionally vulnerable state, and they both deserved better than the aftermath that would occur.

Cathy; she'd call Cathy.

It was three rings before the phone was answered.

"Judy! How've you been? I was going to head to Club Cache tonight. Do you want to come with?"

"Actually, Cathy, I just need someone to talk to."

There was a moment of silence on the phone. "Where are you right now?"

"About 10 miles from the Bunnyburrow municipal line."

"That's about, what, three hours out from my place?"

"Yeah."

"Good, that gives me time to get everything set up. You just let Aunty Cathy take care of you. Do you have Blue-Fang with your phone?"

"Yeah?" Judy didn't know whether to be scared or intrigued.

"Good we'll talk as you drive. Now I need to know three things; what type of wine you prefer, what's your favorite ice cream, and what size you wear."

Judy was certain as she started her car and began driving back to Zootopia with a smile; she should be scared.

Judy ran through a mental checklist as she woke up Sunday morning: mild wine hangover? Check. Flannel Pajamas that used to belong to Catherine's daughter? Check. Tummy overly full of Rocky Road ice cream? Check. Catherine curled around her on the couch after binge-watching 'Silver Gals' all night? Check. Life was good.

Then Cathy stretched as she woke up, knocking Judy onto the floor. They blinked owlishly at each other for a moment, then collapsed in laughter.

"Cathy? Thanks. You don't know how much I needed this."

"Anything for you, Judy, you know that." Catherine got a pensive look.

"What? If I can help let me know, Cathy."

"Actually, I think I can help you. I seem to remember you saying this was all happening around an investigation near the Lemming Brothers branch on N. Broad?"

Judy's eyes bugged out. "Oh my god, was I talking about that last night?! No, no, no!"

Before Judy could scramble anywhere, Catherine scooped her up into a hug. "Shshshshsh. It's okay. How about a little reciprocity, hm? There's a charity event, the tail end of next month. My company's being contracted to move several items that are being auctioned there from the N. Broad St. branch of Lemming Brothers, to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. When my ex started heavily associating with those wolves, that seemed to be one of the things they took unusual interest in. I wouldn't have thought of it, if it weren't for that yummy little hare friend of yours and his gorgeous panther friend asking about those very wolves the other day. Too bad they're both taken." Catherine theatrically sulked.

Judy huffed in good natured frustration at her friend's antics. "So, what do you think; were they trying to get into your company to get onto the security detail?"

"If you were a member of a predator dominance group, a charity event put on by one of the most famous prey celebrities would be just the ticket for your manifesto."

Judy's eyes bugged out. "Oh, god! How much did I say last night?!"

"Huh? Oh no, honey. I've had ages to look into these mammals; anyone who ruins my marriage and tries to have my ex kill me? You'd be surprised at how that can motivate a mammal. Plus, as a security company, Knight Howlton has extensive resources for performing background checks."

Judy breathed a sigh of relief. At least she hadn't blabbed everything out last night. Noting Judy's rising stress, Catherine decided it was time for a change of themes.

"At the risk of sounding like a meddling matchmaker…"

Judy snorted at her friend. "Way too late for that."

The cat-a-mount snorted. "Oh shush. You said last night that you were going to try and work things out with a buck you'd met earlier?"

Judy crossed her arms and looked directly into Catherine's eyes. "Don't try playing coy; you know damn well I was talking about Richard Davis. I… oh god!" Judy groaned and pulled her ears over her face.

"Judy?"

"I promised him on Thursday that I'd call him when I had time, but this case just blew up! And then my parents happened, and I just… he must think I brushed him off again."

"Oh, honey; that's easy to fix!"

Judy's interest was piqued when her friend set her down on the couch and headed into her bedroom. There was silence for a moment and then…

"Dickie, Darling! It's Cat." Judy suddenly scrambled off the couch. "Listen, I have a friend over and I was going to make omelets and waffles; you're coming over for breakfast." Judy frantically tried to wave her friend off. "No, you don't have a choice; and as your security is, in fact, my security, don't think I won't come over there in slinky sleepwear to pick you up and carry you back. Yes, very casual is fine. Okay, see you in fifteen; Kisses!" Cat hung up and turned a smug look on her friend. "There; problem solved. Now, time to make the Waffles."

Judy all but screamed in frustration as her hostess sauntered into the kitchen. "No, Cat! Problem not solved!" She frantically scurried around the bedroom while Catherine chuckled in the kitchen. "Dammit! Cat, where are my clothes?"

"If they're not in the bedroom with you, then Roberto probably took them to be laundered. Don't worry; they should be ready by Noon."

Judy screeched. "Noon?! You invited the city's most eligible bachelor buck for breakfast, and I'm going to meet him in a 'My Little Primate' flannel onesie!"

"Oh, so you have noticed the opposite sex after all!" Catherine giggled over her preparations. "Our little kit is all grown up."

Judy growled at her friend. "Of course, I noticed him; I'm driven, not dead. Now where is something I can where?"

"I still have one of Mabelle's Easter dresses. Ooh! And a witch's costume from her first Walpurgis Night Trick-or-Treat!" Catherine paused in her work to turn and face her diminutive friend. "But in all seriousness Judy, just meet him as you are; no pretense, no false assurity. Simply Judy Hopps, flawed mammal, just like the rest of us. If he can respect you and treat you with the dignity you deserve as a mammal while in your borrowed sleepwear, then you have yourself one of the good ones."