Eight times.

Eight times, Judy and Nick had nearly caught this fox. And each time, he slipped away.

The first time, he had managed to slip between the closing doors of a train.

The second, fifth, sixth, and seventh, he had disappeared in an alley.

The third time, he had lost them in a large crowd during a farmer's market.

The fourth time, he had vanished inside of a warehouse.

The eighth time, he had sprinted through a roundabout's busy traffic to lose the officers.

Even the other units had made run-ins with the fox, but none had come so closely to catching him as Nick and Judy.

And now they were chasing him again, through a small area between Tundratown and Sahara Square. Nick's ears folded against his head as he kept pace with his partner and their vigilante target. At one point, the officers had tried using boas – with the chief's permission, of course – only to find their target rolling over, before it went slack and fell away, a clean cut going through the rope. And they still hadn't figured out how the tranquilizer dart from their first meeting hadn't stopped the fox, but the consensus was that he had given himself adrenaline to cancel it out.

Nick rounded the corner beside Judy as they heard a honking horn ahead of them, the masked fox taking a sudden turn across the street, a cougar family slamming on their brakes with wide eyes. The officers sprinted across the street as they gathered their breath, Nick being thankful that no other cars were heading their way.

The chase resumed for what felt like an hour. The fox had been leading them through winding paths along the streets of Zootopia, even briefly turning into Tundratown before crossing back into the northern portion of Downtown. Now heading south, Nick had a growing feeling that the group was headed for the train systems again. Frustration grew within him, he didn't want to keep chasing after this fox every day, and he knew Judy didn't want to, either. The two of them often had late nights poring over every little bit of information they could get in vain hopes of getting a lead.

So far, nothing had come up. But there was always something nagging at them about the appearance of the fox, something familiar. Judy could swear it was in his eyes, but Nick was more focused on parts of his outfit. It had seemed like they had seen a fox wearing similar clothes somewhere, at some point, but could never pin down who it was.

Another few turns, and the train terminal came into view. Judy let out an audible groan of defeat, seeing the fox heading straight for it. But that groan turned into a small yelp of joy from them both when a police cruiser pulled up in front of them, forcing the fox to stop dead in his tracks, before making a break to his left. Judy and Nick adjusted their course as McHorn stepped out of his cruiser, shouting for the vigilante to stop. At seeing that he had no intentions of doing so, McHorn got back into his cruiser with a grumble, taking off after them, only to stop as the masked reynard dipped into an alley, leaving the smaller officers to continue their chase.

Nick clutched at his chest lightly, stumbling at the burning sensation in his lungs. This chase had gone on for far too long, and it was beginning to take its toll on him. Judy was faring better, but he had a feeling even she wouldn't be able to keep going much longer. Which also meant that their fox couldn't, either.

This showed quickly, as the duo began to gain on him. Nick slowly started to fall behind his partner, gasping on occasion as he kept up the pursuit as best he could. Judy, seeing the fox slow down, began putting on a burst of speed. Nick grinned, able to see it now.

Judy, tackling the fox down, cuffing the winded mammal as Nick caught up to her. Reading him his rights as they pushed him into a cruiser after signaling for another unit. The chief actually smiling for once in his life at seeing his best officers bringing in such an evasive foe.

But that wasn't what was happening, he realized, eyes widening as Judy raced into the street after their target. Something flicked from the other fox's wrist, and Judy turned to look at it, again distracted by something so small – another bouncy ball. Her feet tangled with one another as she fought to keep from turning, tripping her in the middle of the street.

She never saw the semi truck coming.

~ óÓÒò ~

The sixth sense. That gut feeling, that unspoken instinct that every animal had.

Oh, yes, nature had granted each animal their share of heightened abilities – rabbits were fast and could hear well. Cheetahs could put on sudden bursts of speed. Black panthers could blend in with the dark of a rainforest. Foxes could move quietly and had exceptional night vision.

And yet these were all general abilities, given to most members of a species. For each animal, the sixth sense was unique. Most often it was just the feeling that one was being watched. Another common one was when someone was no longer alone. Each of these had their own sort of level, ranging from just before it's too late, to being an immediate realization.

For the black-clad fox, it was a realization that something was about to go horribly wrong.

A million thoughts raced through his mind, trying to find the source of the feeling. Did he throw the ball into something? Had he lost an item of his?

And then he heard the rumble of a truck nearing him. Large, likely an eighteen-wheeler or something similar. The fox knew that Hopps and Wilde were behind him, and gaining. He knew he had been slowing down – that was why he threw the ball, as a distraction. A chance to slip out of sight.

Now his gut was telling him something was wrong. He had next to no time to take a flying leap of faith and decide if he should turn back, and leap out, or continue running. With an internal groan, he spun around, boot gripping the concrete below well enough to nearly make him topple backwards, as he leaped for the rabbit officer, noticing her on the ground in the middle of the road. She wore an expression just like a deer in the headlights, as the loud horn rang out and the sound of tires trying to halt a massive vehicle's progress on the road.

With a silent prayer of hope to his gods, and a flying leap, the fox grabbed for the bunny in hopes that he could get to her before the truck could.

~ óÓÒò ~

They often say that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. Sometimes, it's true. Sometimes, your mind goes completely blank. Sometimes, your mind kicks into overdrive and begins to imagine what your life could be like if you weren't about to die.

For Judy Hopps, this was what happened.

Flashes of what her life could be like. More blue uniforms. Lights, badges. Some orange, a few flashes of emerald green. Happiness, mostly. A bit of pain here and there. But overall, a life she would love. One of hope and love, in all forms from all kinds of mammals.

Instead of panic, Judy felt calm as she turned her head to see the large white and silver grill of the truck bearing down on her. A calm that was changed into confusion as a set of firm arms wrapped around her and tore her from the ground. Then her world spun end over end as her stomach lurched and her feet kicked at the air for a moment, before meeting pavement, then air, cycling between them a few times as she spun, feeling something always land between her and the ground, before it disappeared, leaving her to come to her senses on the pavement. The truck screeched by her right as it continued to try and stop.

Nick was at her side in an instant, dropping to his knees as he set a paw to her head, eyes worried. "Judy, are you alright?"

She was breathing quickly, eyes wide and nose twitching, but after briefly checking over her body, she gave her partner a shallow nod. A set of footprints sounded behind Nick and he spun around, taser drawn, as Judy sat upright and drew her dart gun. The vigilante fox stood a few feet away, paws up, but with a concerned gaze.

"Is she alright?" he asked. Judy gave another shallow nod as she got to her feet, Nick rising with her. His arms lowered as he let out a sigh of relief, both officers still aiming their defensive weapons at him. "Good. That shouldn't have happened. This road should be dead around now."

"How would you know that?" Judy asked, more curious than anything. The fox just stood there and stared, as if internally debating whether or not to tell them. "You can study the routes a large truck like that will take in the morning, assuming you can figure out how to get them. That one shouldn't have been on this road."

Nick and Judy glanced at one another, the smaller officer stepping to her partner's side. They were spaced out, however, should the other fox decide to suddenly attack.

Nick shifted a bit as the masked fox turned so that his shoulder was facing them, the other paw blocked from their view. "I'm sorry that this happened," he muttered, eyes darting between Judy and Nick constantly. "You're going to be more sorry when you're behind bars," Judy said. The fox locked eyes with her.

"You're taking the fact that you nearly died rather well," he mused.

Judy's ears flicked, hearing a faint scuffle to her right. Nick was moving away, out of sight. The fox didn't seem to notice, making the small smirk attempting to form on Judy more difficult to control. "It hasn't quite kicked in yet," she replied. A bit of red and orange appeared out of the corner of her eyes, and she reflexively looked at it for a brief second. Nick was creeping up on the masked fox, taser in paw.

The vigilante was still watching Judy. Had he noticed her look away from him? His expression, or what she could see of it, hadn't changed. Nick and Judy had the upper paw here, she was sure of it.

There was a flick of an ear from the fox and he lifted his head. "Officer Wilde, if you think I don't know what you're doing, you're sorely mistaken." Nick hissed and leaped forward, trying to tackle the fox, but he darted to the right and avoided the uniformed reynard. Judy fired off one of her darts, smirking with satisfaction as this one shot hit its mark, the needle embedding itself in the fox's side. His eyes grew wide as he reached under his coat, turning from the officers as he tried to move to the alley before the concoction kicked in and put him to sleep.

Nick scrambled to his feet and dove at the vigilante again as Judy started to do the same. He let out a yelp as the larger officer managed to bring him down, glass clinking as something skittered between buildings. Nick wrestled with the masked fox, trying to pull his arms back and handcuff him, Judy's weapon still trained on his side if he struggled too much more. Unfortunately for her and Nick both, the fox pushed himself up and rolled over, essentially slamming Nick to the ground beneath him and knocking the wind out of her partner.

The masked fox scrambled to his feet, eyes almost pleading as he looked at Judy, making her freeze for a split second. "I don't want to fight you two, but I can't be arrested, either!" he hissed as Nick pulled himself from the ground. "Not yet!"

"Then maybe you shouldn't have been running around and attacking other mammals!" Judy retorted.

"And what, let the Night Howlers be used on the city again?"

Nick and Judy paused for a moment, giving the masked fox a look of both concern and curiosity. "What, you two really thought that the whole Night Howler thing ended with Bellwether?" the fox hissed again. "Don't be stupid! Something that dangerous is a hot commodity in the underworld once the public is made aware of it. Between the two of you, Nick should've at least expected it."

The officers had gone somewhat slack as the fox talked, but immediately went tense as Nick's past was brought up – though Nick was visibly less affected by it than Judy. She had her gun trained on the other fox's chest again, but movement behind him drew her attention away for a moment. A police cruiser had pulled up down the street, Wolford stepping out with his own tranquilizer gun drawn. He nodded at Judy as he slowly approached, coming within range but hoping to catch the fox off guard. Judy gave another small nod as she returned her gaze to the fox.

"I'm trying to help the city. But I couldn't just go to the police with a small hunch. City hall is a total mess. No one I went to professionally was of any help. So yeah, I started taking matters into my own paws. And look at that, Phraxus isn't getting what they want, and evidence for and against them is building."

"Wait, wait, wait, you couldn't go to the police with a small hunch? Phraxus?" Nick asked, head tilted in an effort to get the other fox to make a few dots for them to connect. Judy's large ears flicked a bit as she heard a nearby car engine, but shrugged it off as another cruiser.

"Not long after the whole Night Howler thing ended, some of my pals heard rumors about them being trafficked in the underworld. Just a hunch, rumors. Can't quite go to the police and say 'Hey, I think Night Howlers are being sold on the black market,' and expect something to be done. It's happened before. So we did some digging. Found out it was true, but the way things went, we weren't going to be on the force's good side. Self defense that doesn't look quite like self defense." The fox gestured a bit wildly as he spoke, pointing at the officers, or waving his paws about briefly. "And Phraxus? Think of it like a new gang or mafia. With really, really high hopes."

Judy frowned at the news and idea, as did Nick. The idea of someone using the Night Howlers as a weapon again would never sit well with them, or anyone after what Bellwether had done. She had nearly torn Zootopia apart in her plan, but Judy and her series of lucky breaks had managed to stop her just in time. And Nick, of course. He had been the biggest help she could've ever asked for on that case, and they often looked back at the memories fondly. Both of them skirted around the idea of what would have happened had he not been there to help the little rabbit during many points there.

"Be that as it may," Judy said. "We can't let you keep running around, doing this."

"We've been over this each time you two corner me," the fox replied. "Once this is all over I'll gladly turn myself in. But not before."

Nick gave a sigh. "Then this back and forth game is just going to continue," he said. The other fox grunted and nodded.

"Unfortunately." he said, just before turning and darting for the alley. He was unaware of Wolford behind him, however, stumbling slightly as he caught a flash of white before a dart tore into his backpack. Judy fired off a dart of her own, this one actually cutting into the backpack, the front of it tearing open as he continued running for the alley. Nick started after him, but stopped as a pair of headlights lit up the alley, blinding him briefly.

Judy heard the sound of a door being shut and an engine roaring to life and Nick grunting as he dove to the side, a white sports car with two black stripes running along its length and doors peeling from the alley. Wolford let out a curse as he raced back for his cruiser, the sirens already being flicked on by his partner as the two began to give immediate pursuit.

Judy helped drag Nick back to his feet as they watched the cruiser tear past. "That... Didn't quite go according to plan," he said, brushing off his uniform. Judy nodded. "Surprised to not hear any of your quips during that," she commented. Nick shrugged.

"I was thinking about what the fox said," he explained. "I swear, if we were a show, he'd be the most expositional character."

Judy nodded, looking around. "Thinking about what?"

"The Night Howlers. And whatever Phraxus is."

"Ah... As for the plants, we need to get them pulled off of the shelves as soon as possible. We can look in the database for anything on... Phraxus, whoever or whatever they are."

Nick nodded. "But what about our vigilante friend? We aren't much closer to figuring out who it is."

Judy nodded this time, spotting something laying on the ground in the alley. "True," she said, "But I think we may have just found a lead."

Her partner walked over, head tilted in curiosity as the small rabbit held up a red hoodie. Their eyes locked as a fuzzy, half-remembered image appeared in their minds, of a red fox looking for the train station weeks ago.

~ óÓÒò ~

Two days had passed since Judy and Nick had nearly caught their vigilante. The Night Howler plants were beginning to be taken off the shelves, but it was a slow process. After a more thorough investigation of the area where they and the vigilante had made their standoff, another item was found: A small syringe that had once been filled with adrenaline. This proved the theories of how the fox had gotten away numerous times after being hit with a tranquilizer dart. The small bit of DNA left on it, however, led to a concerning dead end in the ZPD database: no mammal had a matching DNA.

"But that doesn't make sense," Judy said, Nick looking over the report, coffee in his free paw. "We should have him on file, right?"

"Not if he's a first time offender, Carrots," Nick said calmly, taking a sip of his coffee. "He'd have no reason to be in the database, then."

With a grumble, the rabbit agreed and crossed her arms, spinning in her chair to face her computer as she began trying a new tactic. "That fox we met at the park, he might match the description. His name was Aiden, right? Aiden Wick?" Nick gave an affirmative grunt. "I'll see if we have anything on him, even just a brief mention in a confession, or something. Anything."

Nick continued to sip at his drink, before pushing his chair over into her cubicle, looking over her shoulder. She did her best to ignore him, but he kept drawing closer to her shoulder, eventually resting his chin on it. Judy gave a small shrug to try and throw him off, but he just resettled with a chuckle. "Nothing?" he asked, letting his smile dip slightly at her frustrated growl.

"Nothing," she confirmed. "All we have on a fox with the last name of 'Wick' is an old police veteran who's around his fifties, way out past Bunnyburrow. Somehow I don't think it's him."

"Mm. What's his name?" he asked.

"John Barry Wick," she replied. Nick snorted.

"What, like the movie?" he asked, grinning in amusement. Judy shrugged in response.

"Seems that way. But I'm pretty sure it's more coincidence, or he was way more into the movie than should be healthy," she chuckled.

"Coincidence? That seems a bit too much to believe. Completely, at least. After all, it was coincidence that you happened to be putting a ticket on a car just to see Finnick and I getting ready for a hustle," Nick said, smirking as he pulled away from his partner, taking another drink of his coffee. "And we know what happened after that."

Judy folded her arms and spun her chair around, trying and failing to hide her smug smile. "You mean when I hustled you right back, out of 48 hours, two days of sleep, and four hundred dollars?"

Nick grinned and rolled his eyes. "Hey, I let you hustle me," he said, making Judy laugh.

"Says the fox who got a whole new life because of a 'dumb bunny,'" she responded.

"Maybe I just wanted an excuse to have a change of scenery?" Nick challenged, grinning.

"And so you did a complete 180?" Judy asked. Nick nodded. "Why?"

"Well," Nick said, his smirk growing a bit mischevious as he leaned down to meet Judy at her eye level. "A cute wittle bunny went past, flaunting a more stable paycheck and a shiny new outfit."

Judy's amethyst eyes went wide at hearing the word "cute," immediately pushing herself and her chair away from Nick, into her desk. She floundered for a response briefly as Nick watched her with an amused expression, before giving in. "Niiiiiiick," she said, her tone somehow that of a whining child and a scolding parent at the same time. All he did was laugh, however, before taking another drink. "Fox: ten; rabbit: zero," he snickered, rolling his chair back to his own cubicle.

A light silence fell on the two as they both began to dig for any information to help them with the case, before Judy let out a loud sigh and pushed away from her desk. Nick had been surprisingly quiet the past few minutes, meaning he was likely in another doodle session. Now it was her turn to push over to Nick's cubicle, peering around his arm as he scribbled away on a sheet of paper. She let out a frustrated groan as he shifted to block the paper from her view. "Uh-uh, Carrots, no peeking at today's art," he said.

Judy looked around his cubicle to buy him time to finish. The walls were lined with crude drawings of other officers, as well as some personal pictures, though those were significantly lacking in comparison. A few pictures were of just Nick taking a selfie with a goofy face or smug smile. One had him standing beside a small white fox – Finnick, his old hustle partner and friend. In one picture, Finnick and Nick were sitting on some beanbags in the back of the smaller fox's van, the front seats visible beyond them as they played some card game, a few glass bottles around them. Another was of Finnick and Nick, sunglasses on, as they sat in an alley. Finnick was playing a guitar, while Nick had his arm around him, mouth open and head tilted back like he was singing some old tune.

What surprised Judy, though, were the pictures of her and Nick. Most were simple ones, and she could remember what was happening for the majority. Like the one of her and Nick sitting in Snarlbucks, a bit of frosting on her nose after eating a slice of carrot cake a little too quickly. And another, of them walking into the Precinct, side by side. Her head tilted, not noticing how close together they walked, how their feet seemed to move at the same pace. Given the perspective, it seemed to be a photo Clawhauser had taken one morning and sent to her partner. Another one was of him in his casual clothes, holding an embarrassed Judy up by the back of her uniform after having ambushed one of his selfie sessions.

Smiling to herself, Judy turned around to face Nick again, seeing him turn in his seat. "Alright, you can see the masterpiece now." He held up a piece of yellow lined paper, showing a rather unflattering (albeit slightly accurate) depiction of Chief Bogo shouting. His head was too large, horns almost too small, arms too short and uniform a mess. But still, Judy laughed, and took the picture from him with a grin.

"Amazing as always, Nick," she said, holding out a paw for a pin. Once she had been given one, she stuck it between a picture of Francine, with a longer trunk and slightly wider body, and Higgins, his nose far too large and, again, body slightly wider than should be. Nick just snickered as he put away his papers and pen.

"Alright, paperwork's done. Ready to head out?" he asked. Judy nodded and pushed herself back to her cubicle, doing a minute long session of tidying up before she slipped from her seat, Nick waiting just outside her area patiently.

"So, what're we doing for tonight?" Judy asked. Nick looked down at her, slightly surprised. "What do you mean?" he asked curiously.

"Weren't we going to get dinner and watch TV?" Judy looked up at him, almost expectantly. Nick gave a dismissive shrug and stretched, yawning.

"Well, I was planning on heading home, throwing something in the microwave, and crashing on the couch," he replied. Judy paused, nose twitching. "No idea what you had planned, Carrots. Of course, I could be convinced to change my plans with some... Persuasion." He looked down at her with a smug smile, emerald eyes twinkling with faint hints of mischief.

Judy stared at him for a moment, before giving a soft sigh of defeat. "Alright, we'll get food from that noodle place tonight," she said. Nick grinned.

"Always knew I could count on you, Carrots. But uh, I forgot my wallet back at home."

Judy gave him a look of disbelief. Nick clearly saw this, taking the chance to comment "I'd lose my head if it weren't attached." She hurried after him, waving goodbye to Clawhauser as they walked out of the Precinct and to Nick's car. As Judy had asked, they went and got dinner, stopping at her place long enough to change and grab a few of her things, before going back to Nick's to sit on his couch and watch TV.

Judy was getting everything set up for them when she looked on the coffee table, where Nick had deposited the contents of his pockets. Keys, phone, some loose change and, of course, his wallet.

"Nick!" she yelled, turning to see him walking down the hallway, tie loose around his neck as he had begun unbuttoning his uniform's shirt. He paused and turned to face her, paws over a button on the center of his chest as he gave her his trademark smirk.

"It's called a hustle, sweetheart."