Author's note: Thank you all for the positive response on the first chapter. I have written up to chapter 3, so you can be rest assured that continuation will come within the next week. I am yet to think of a good update schedule – do you prefer an update soon and then a longer waiting phase? Or do you prefer updates to be evenly spaced every 5-7 days? (if I can even keep that up. Man.)

I'm also still trying to figure out if I am doing the right thing each step of the way. Lemme know how you like it.

Hope you enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 2

The prison was a giant of concrete towering threateningly over the small bunny as she approached. Judy's ears lay flat against her head and her wide eyes were darting about nervously. She passed through a gate with an armed guard on each side and took a dark concrete road up towards the building.

There was nothing about the facility that was not daunting. In itself, it was an ugly and simple construction, build for cold and precise practicality. The air itself felt claustrophobic in the presence of the building, as though whatever lay inside sucked all freedom and energy out of the atmosphere.

Perhaps, Judy told herself, she was anxious because she was enemy to every prisoner inside.

A prison – the place where a Cop's successes and triumphs manifested in the form of hateful, bitter, angry inmates, all with a strong disposition towards anyone wearing police uniform. It was the first time Judy had visited a prison this secure, the first time she would come face to face with the lives she and her colleagues had restricted. With good reason – she argued to herself.

Inside, her guide and guard, an elephant of considerable size and muscle, stood aside for Judy to turn towards the reception desk. The receptionist sat securely behind a wall of impenetrable glass and looked up at her with a mixture of boredom and suspicion.

"A bunny. You must be officer Hopps?", the female koala inquired. Exhaustion and stress had edged deep shadows under her button like eyes.

Judy stepped closer to the glass, and with her paws resting on the desk, she nodded.

"I am here to-"

"I know what you're here to do", the koala interrupted lazily. "Officer Stomp over there will accompany you. Please keep at least two meters of distance between you and the prisoner at all times. Do not bring any sharp objects or potential projectiles into his range. For your safety as an outsider, we have additionally prepared a remote to activate his tame collar should you find it necessary. As you are probably aware, Mr. Wilde is not easily provoked, and you should, as such, not trust that his tame collar will activate on its own."

A hatch in the glass opened, and the clawed hand of the koala pushed a simple, black remote towards her before reclosing the gap in the protective wall. Judy picked it up as though it was burning hot – only the tips of her fingers touching the device.

"W-will that be necessary?"

The koala shrugged. "Up to you, Officer Hopps. It is just a precaution for your safety. Now, if you would like to step through there and just follow Officer Stomp. Mr. Wilde should already be waiting for you."

The elephant led Judy through a maze of corridors. To her, one looked exactly like the next, and could only be distinguished by the numbers hanging on plain plates on the walls here and there.

She had entered a world of monochrome. Like in old photographs, the world was black and white, tinted sepia by the sickly yellow light coming from the ceiling. The faces of the wardens she saw among the way were heavy and sunken, with strict, mean eyes glinting from the shadows underneath their caps.

"No need to be nervous.", Officer Stomp said kindly. Judy wondered whether he had noticed her tension, whether it was written across her face so plainly. "Our security protocol is strict, nothing will happen to you. Wilde can be snarky. Just don't let him assume he has power over you."

Judy remembered just how snarky he could be. His nicknames for her were still present in her mind, and still made her twitch in anger and flush with a hint of embarrassment every time. Nick had never seen her as a proper cop, and she had never perceived him as a killer. Perhaps they had both been wrong.

"How is he doing here?", Judy inquired, trying to lift her mind away from bitter thoughts.

The elephant watched her closely, shrugged his large shoulders. "He's not caused trouble. He's made friends. He's become famous amongst the prisoners, for all I know. Been really tough, against the collars and all. Some guards pick on him because of it, and the prisoners celebrate him as a rebel."

Nick Wilde was a survivalist. Judy had learnt soon through their less tense encounter so long ago that the fox, a con artist back then, was good at shifting into whatever the situation needed him to be. She was not surprised that he had made a name for himself in prison. Surely, those grey walls had to be getting to him. They were getting to Judy, and she had only been here for less than twenty minutes.

They took another sharp turn around the corner and paused in front of a large set of double doors. Judy had no idea where she was any more. The thought of getting lost in this labyrinth got to her. Had they walked down stairs? There were no windows. Were they even above ground?

The fluorescent light above them flickered and hummed repetitively.

"Hey, is all this about the recent Pred attacks?", Stomp asked. Judy shifted awkwardly. Her feet had started tapping on the ground, getting quicker and more nervous each minute that passed.

"Yeah."

"What's Wilde gonna have to say about that?"

"I'm here to find out", Judy smiled weakly.

"He said all he knew back then, didn't he?" Stomp's tone was conversational, casual. The normality of the voice calmed Judy down just a little.

She shrugged. "Yeah. But back then he spouted a lot of stuff that no one was prepared to listen to."

"And that's changed?"

"Maybe. Now we need to consider every angle. Even his."

Stomp didn't reply. He pushed the door open and led Judy to another, securely locked, set of doors. As he pulled out the keys, Judy pulled the trigger remote from her pocket and held it in her paws. She shifted the bag she had brought with her, felt the edge of the case file inside it.

Plant your feet firm on the ground. Hold his gaze. Do not waver. No deals. You are in power. He will listen to you, and he will talk when asked to. His charm is a weapon. Disarm him. Don't hesitate with the remote.

She took a deep breath. Pushed her chest forward and kept her back straight. Her paw clenched around the remote.

"Officer Hopps, ready!" she announced, more to fire herself up than to assure Officer Stomp. The elephant glanced at her dubiously and opened the door. Judy marched right through, and willed herself not to flinch when it closed behind her.

The room was the same, mild grey colour as the rest of the building, with the same, flickering, fluorescent light shining clinically from above. In the middle of the room there was a single table, two chairs on opposite sites. The table was long enough for there to be no contact between those seated. One of the chairs was occupied.

The painfully familiar red fox glanced up with a mildly bored expression, his mouth opening for a dismissive remark, a sign of protest. His stance was defiant, but relaxed. His fur was not as shiny as she remembered it to be. It looked rustled and matted. He was wearing a grey jump suit and a collar that looked thicker and heavier than any Judy had seen before. It was high security alright. When his gaze met Judy's, she watched his emerald eyes widen. His open, sharp fanged mouth, twisted into a delighted smile.

"Is that…Well I'll be darned! Carrots! Officer Fluff!"

Judy puffed herself up and marched to the table, lightly jumping onto her seat. She remained standing there to be on the same height as him. With one abrupt, decisive motion, she slammed the case file down on the table and glared the fox down.

He was anything but intimidated. With the smile still adorning his lips, he started laughing. The cuffs keeping him at the table rattled as his body shook with laughter. "And here I thought they were sending a real cop! I can't believe it! This is just too precious. A fluffy, little bunny, here. Right in the Fox's den. Who did you mess with to be sent here? They must have wanted you to be eaten alive."

His grin was smug and mocking, half lidded eyes staring at her with obvious amusement. Judy's emotions wavered from fear to anger and back. "Are you quite done, Wilde?", she asked as coldly as she could. He leant back, looking uncomfortable in the stiff, rooted chair.

"No. You've got a coffee stain right on your nose, and I just can't take you seriously…"

Judy's paw reached up to her face as she felt for the stain. "What…", she murmured, thrown off guard. The fox's grin widened. It surprised Judy that his smile had not managed to split his face in halves yet.

"There…is no stain, is there.", she murmured quietly. The fox shrugged.

"Nope. And now I'm quite done. What can a humble fox like me do for you, Fluff?"

"First of all, you will refrain from calling me that."

"I can do that, Carrots."

"And that.", she huffed. "Know your place, Wilde! Refrain from addressing me so familiarly."

He rose an eyebrow and Judy thought she saw a hint of irritation in those green eyes.

"I know my place better than you know yours. Do you honestly think this is the place for a bunny? Miss ever-so-righteous herself thinks she can just march in here and set the rules? No. Nu-uh. Let me explain how this is going to go." He leant forward, and with every inch he came closer to her, Judy backed one away.

"You are here because you need my help. Is that not so? No, don't answer that. I know I'm right. You are obviously not here for pleasantries, despite the fact that I really did expect you to run in here maybe a week after my arrest and rub your pathetic little success into my face. Now. Seeing that you need my help, you have a lot to gain from me, and I stand to gain nothing from you. So how about you let me get away with my very appropriate nicknames for cute little you, and give me a good reason to continue having this conversation?"

He could smell her fear. The rabbit was sure of that. Her nose was twitching at the sight of his bared fangs. The green light on his collar – signifying a normal, relaxed state – haunted her, mocked her further. She felt the back of the chair bore into her back.

Nick took her stunned silence as encouragement and went on. "Look. You're clearly out of your depth here. You can't handle this. But, reasonable guy that I am, I'll take pity on you. I can play along. If you ask really, really nicely. Maybe turn around and shake that fluffy-wuzzy little tail of yours, and say: 'Please, Nick, I'm a dumb wittle bunny that needs your help!'"

He was enjoying this, she realized. This was probably the first time in a while that he had come into reach of someone new to toy with. With regained decisiveness she pushed back forward and laid the remote on the table in front of her, in plain sight of him. He moved back, eyeing it suspiciously.

"This is no conversation, Wilde. It is an interrogation. If you cooperate you gain the assurance that this will not become painful for you. Otherwise…" she prepared herself for the bluff. Was it a bluff? "Otherwise I will gladly make use of this."

She lowered her eyes to hint at the remote.

"Boring", Nick replied. He sunk back into his seat, and although he had not lost his composure, his smile, she was sure, had shrunk considerably. She caught alertness in his eyes now. He had pulled his guard up. "I'm almost disappointed", he continued. "Bad Cop doesn't suit you."

"Shut it, Wilde. Let's cut to the chase. I don't want to be here anymore than you do."

"Well that's just swell, because you get to leave."

"Tell me about the murder you committed. Everyone else went savage – you didn't. Why did you do it?"

"Oh, Gee.", Nick growled sarcastically. "That fat little sheep with its hideous flannel shirt and sandals looked just so appetizing to me! I thought to myself, hey, you know what would be great? Throwing away everything you've worked for, and mauling to death some prey that wasn't supposed to be there in the first place."

"Because you were at Wilde Times", Judy continued for him. "The…amusement park. The one you ran just for Predators."

"Thanks for reminding me, Officer. That had almost slipped my mind." He started tapping his claw on the table rhythmically, lazily.

Judy had one paw on the case file, shifted it uncomfortably. It took a few seconds of her glancing from the file back up at Nick for him to pick up and stare down at the simple brown folder.

"You're not here about that old story though…are you? I told your people everything a year ago, and none of you wanted to listen. What's changed?"

Judy breathed deep. "There have been a series of Predator attacks. Similar to last time, the victims mauled or eaten…but with the new collars, that shouldn't be possible."

Nick's smug smile slowly disappeared as he listened. The tapping on the table stopped, too. He looked at Judy straight for the first time it seemed, doubt in his eyes. "….so you came here, because you think I found a way to kill without setting off the collar.", he finished her thought.

She stared straight back at him, nodded. "The murders seem premeditated. Evidence stolen. We have not a single one of the murders on CCTV. So since you beat the system before…"

Nick leant back, went to fold his arms, and realized that the cuffs didn't allow him that sort of freedom. He was forced to stay straight, distract his hands only by clenching them.

"Sorry to disappoint you, Rabbit. But I never beat the system."

She had been prepared for defiance, denial, rebellious behaviour, but still Judy was stunned to hear that. "What do you…", she began, his answer already clear in her mind.

"Darling, I forgot your name. What was it again?"

"Officer Judy Hopps.", she answered numbly before she could think about it.

He leant forward, his eyes big and earnest now, no trace of mockery or humour in his voice or expression.

"Judy. I didn't kill that sheep."

Judy, struck by the sincerity in his voice, shifted back. She had to remind herself that he had tricked her before, that she had wanted to believe his ever shifting expressions before. She tensed, her lip a tight line.

"I don't want your lies again, Nick. It won't help you. I am only here for this murder investigation."

Nick threw his hands up in defeat, just rattling the chain. "Why! Oh Why, why, why won't you Prey listen? Is it so important to you to fear us? Does it mean so much to you to have entire species collared for your sense of superiority? Hopps! Open your eyes! I didn't kill that sheep, I couldn't have. And as long as your killer is collared, he couldn't either."

"Then the killer has found a way to remove his collar", Judy protested. "You've looked into that, haven't you? Where do they remove them? How? It's illegal, and has proven very, very dangerous! Those Preds could go savage any moment – to stop the bloodshed, every predator needs to be collared."

Nick smiled bitterly. "Listen to yourself, jumping to conclusions. Here's what I think. Your killer wasn't collared, but it wasn't a predator."

Judy's amethyst eyes narrowed dangerously. "Excuse me?"

"What, despite your big ears you didn't understand that? You heard me! Your killer might not be a Predator!"

"…It's not like Prey could ever go savage.", the bunny retorted, bewildered and amused at the idea. No, a bunny could never do such things. And neither could a sheep, or a cow, or…Nick sunk his snout down into his hands and groaned loudly.

"You dumb bunny. You dumb, small minded, silly, misguided little bunny."

To her own dismay, she felt her heart ache at those words. It felt as though they had this conversation for the second time, as though she had to stand up to him again just to assure the sly fox that she was not just meek prey. She felt her lips quiver and hardened her features as best as she could.

"Give me a lead on the people that remove the collars.", she demanded.

Nick glanced from the remote on the table up at her out of tired eyes full of disdain. He took a breath, paused for effect. When he spoke, his voice was harsh and spiteful.

"No."

"Nick, you don't get a choice here!"

"Disregarding if I know or don't know them, whoever removes collars out there is a saint in my books. You have no idea what it's like. You'll never know, and you'll never bother to understand."

"Nick, tell me! People are dying!"

"…. Prey is dying.", murmured the fox. "After all that happened, why should I care?"

Judy felt herself lose grasp of the conversation. He was not just defiant, he was without hope and interest. Whatever had kept this talk going before had disappeared. Nick Wilde was no longer interested in her. His gaze was one of cold indifference, which she suddenly felt was so much worse than his smug mockery.

In her despair she fumbled for the remote on the table and pulled it close, one finger looming over the button that would set his collar off. Lightly. She could not bring herself to shift her finger down to the red button. He watched her without mirth or life, his paw tensing around the edge of the table.

"Tell me. Help me, Nick.", Judy tried again.

"I won't confirm a conclusion for you that you've jumped to without evidence.", he said slowly. "If you want my help, you will have to listen to me."

"T-tell me!" She pressed her finger down until it just barely touched the button. It felt like a burning ember under her finger. He looked her straight in the eyes the entire time. If he was scared, he hid it well. Judy understood why the guards got unnerved around him. He wasn't frightened of them. Their threats didn't work. He was calling her bluff.

"No.", he repeated.

Judy closed her eyes and pushed her finger down.