Set One

Judy finally fell asleep.

Set Two

Judy finally fell asleep.

Set Three

Judy and Nick finally fell asleep.

Set Four

Judy bought a one-way ticket for Bunnyburrow. Her apartment was furnished, so moving out had been as simple as moving in. She just had the one suitcase with the carrot pattern on it. She tried not to think about Nick calling her Carrots, first in condescension but eventually in something close to affection.

When the train came, she boarded it and sat in a corner, turning her head away from the window. She had no interest in seeing the beauty of Zootopia this time. She couldn't read or look at the Interpet. So she just played music, much less upbeat than Gazelle, and did her best to nap. Everyone left her alone, except the ticket-taker. She wondered if any of them knew she was the cop who had changed Zootopia, and if they saw her as a heroine or a villainess. She hoped she looked like just another bunny, one of the millions from the Tri-Burrows.

Meanwhile Nick walked the streets of Zootopia alone. He ignored the anti-fox hostility, nothing violent, just everyday garden variety prejudice, not much worse than before Judy's little DNA speech. And at least no foxes had gone savage yet, so he didn't have it as bad as some predators did, like bears and otters.

It was a long walk from where he left Finnick but he made it to his destination, the bridge by the old abandoned amusement park his great-grandfather founded, back in the collaring days. He wondered what Great-Granddad would think of Zootopia a century later. Predators were freer now, but for how long? Maybe the prey animals would bring back collars. Or maybe with technological advances, they'd go for emotion-controlling computer chips implanted right in the brain.

Nick found the lawn chair where he left it. No one else ever came here. It was the one spot in the world that belonged to him, even more than his apartment. (And he had to wonder how long it would be before the landlord decided that having a predator in the building was dangerous.)

Nick unfolded the lawn chair and set it next to the underpass of the bridge. He straightened his sunglasses and, nocturnal beast though he was, he let the spring sunshine soak into him. It had been a long time since he'd had a vacation, and he'd more than earned this. Well, he supposed it was more of a staycation, but he wasn't going to blow his savings even now. If he had to, he'd use them to get himself and his mother and maybe Finnick out of the city. But things had not yet gotten anti-fox enough for that.

Set Five

Judy followed Nick's directions to a run-down alley in Sahara Square. Sure enough, there was Duke Weaselton selling bootleg DVDs. Judy didn't let him get to her, even when he called her Flopsy the Copsy. She had Nick, a burlap bag, and a spade.

"Remind me to never get on your bad side, Carrots," Nick said, as he looked down at the weasel sprawled on the sidewalk after Judy hit him on the back of the head with the spade.

"You already did, Slick Nick, but I forgave you."

"Oh, you forgave me?"

Instead of replying, she knelt on the ground and checked Weaselton's vital signs. "He's fine, just unconscious. Help me get him in the bag."

Nick did and then tied the opening of the bag with a rope, using a scouting knot.

"What's next?" Judy asked. "We're not going to threaten to throw him in the river or something, are we?"

"Or something. How do you feel about an ally outside the law?"

"You?"

"No, someone, let's say bigger in the world of crime."

"Nick! Are you suggesting we ask Mr. Big to ice Weaselton? I mean, he's just a liar and a petty thief, not a murderer!"

"No, that would set a bad precedent for liars and petty thieves. But Mr. Big might be willing to pretend he's going to ice the weasel."

Judy still had her doubts, but Weaselton had said that there was nothing they could do to make him talk about the Night Howlers. "OK, but just this once."

"I think once is all we need."

Some other animals were coming down the street, so Judy whispered, "We'd better get him back to the truck."

"Hey, do you think your little sisters would like a copy of Floatzen 2? Or how about Wrangled?"

"Nick, those are bootlegs!"

"So you're OK with extortion but not piracy?"

She shook her head. "Come on!"

They dragged Weaselton over to the truck. They considered throwing him into the back of the truck, but they thought he might wake up before they got to Tundratown and figure out a way to escape. So instead they sat him up between them in the cab, and Nick held the spade in case they needed to knock Weaselton out again.

Judy didn't know how to get to Mr. Big's, since the one time she'd been there before, it had been in the limo and she hadn't really had a good view out the window. Nick though, as a former "member of the family," knew the way.

At the gates, Nick quickly explained their situation to the bear guard, who let them in. They were met at the front door of the mansion by Raymond and Kevin, who grunted hello. Then Raymond took the burlap bag and the spade, and Kevin escorted them into Mr. Big's den.

Fru Fru was there, heavily pregnant. It had been three months since her wedding, and shrew pregnancies were even shorter than rabbit pregnancies, so it wasn't like she'd rushed into it. But it was a reminder to Judy how much time had passed, how much had changed.

"Judy!" Fru Fru exclaimed.

"Fru Fru, you look so beautiful!"

"Thank you! I'm so glad to see you again. One of the babies is going to be female, and I want to make you her godmother."

"Oh, Fru Fru!" Judy was touched. She was of course already godmother to some of her nieces and nephews, but this was the first time that a friend had asked. Judy didn't know Fru Fru that well, but she had saved her life and was fond of her. "I'd be honored!"

Then Judy caught the sly smile on Nick's face. She knew he was thinking that she would be like a member of the family to a mob boss. That and the icing they were going to threaten would not look good to Chief Bogo if he ever found out. But there was no reason for him to know. Either they'd crack this case and all would be forgiven, or they wouldn't, and she wouldn't have a career in law enforcement anyway.

"Let's have some wine to celebrate," Mr. Big said.

"None for me," Judy said, "I need to keep a clear head."

"I'll take some Bestial Seasonings if you've got it," Nick said.

Mr. Big sent Kevin out to get Nick some tea. Kevin returned with a larger-than-shrew-sized but still small-for-foxes cup and saucer, and Nick thanked him.

"So, ready for the mock-icing?" Mr. Big asked.

Judy and Nick looked at each other and nodded.

Mr. Big had Raymond come in with the bag. Weaselton was still unconscious when he emerged, but he soon came around. He immediately groveled when he realized where he was, but he still refused to say anything about the Night Howlers. So Mr. Big gave the command to ice him. Weaselton wondered why Mr. Big was helping a cop. He really did seem unaware that Judy had quit the force, but it wasn't making him any more cooperative.

When Mr. Big said that Judy was going to be his granddaughter's godmother, Fru Fru said that she'd name the baby Judy. The bunny was again touched. Even her brothers and sisters hadn't yet given her that honor. But she reminded herself she needed to play the calm, cool cop. Nick was definitely playing it cool, slowing sipping his tea.

When Mr. Big again gave the command to ice the weasel, Duke this time broke down and said that he stole the Night Howlers so he could sell them to a ram named Doug. He warned them that Doug was "the opposite of friendly, he's unfriendly." Then he told them where the underground drop spot was, the abandoned train station on Banyan Street.

"That's in Savanna Central," Nick told Judy, as they made their way back to the truck. "The last stop before the Watering Hole."

"OK. Weaselton, can we drop you off anywhere?" Judy asked.

The weasel had refused to stay behind at the mansion. "Yeah, right outside the gates. I don't trust you two flatfeet much more than I do the mobsters."

"As you like," Nick said, and so they left the weasel out in the snow of Tundratown as they returned to a sunnier part of Zootopia.