Author's Note:

Family has a way of happening when you least want family to happen. But, it's still family! Speaking of family, my situation has calmed down a bit, and I'm looking forward to a writing-heavy weekend at the end of the month, so maybe multiple weekend updates over the holiday!

If you are just joining Guardian Blue for the first timeyou will want to check out Season 1 first, and I would highly recommend Thanks for the Fox before that as well so everything makes sense. ^^

Disney is in no way supporting what I am doing, but I like to think that the creators would find some of this funny. But, they would probably just stare in horror at the endless stream of fiction flooding out toward them like a dam had burst somewhere.

Also! A HUGE shout-out to J. N. Squire for assisting with editing for Season 2! With my busy schedule and rampant comma-abuse it's a gigantic help!

Guardian Blue: Season Two

Episode 6: Opinions

Quite a few times in Judy Hopps' busy life matters had gone swiftly through her mind as she desperately tried to keep up. Perhaps it was information concerning a dangerous situation or attempting to make sense of a fresh crime scene quickly while the suspect might still be in the area. This time she wasn't just pushing thoughts quickly through her head. It was more like stomping them into a trash can to make them all fit when there was no way that was going to happen. As such, she briefly froze.

What the hell… were her sister and mother doing there? What kind of sense did that even make? In what world was that ever appropriate?

"Oh no." Nick said first in his 'Gerald" voice, shaking the chocolate-toned bunny out of her personal panic.

He and Judy turned at exactly the same time. Judy could not help but look utterly shocked. There was no hiding it. Yes, it was Angela. Yes, it was her mother. She was not mistaken. Both esteemed members of the Hopps family were for some insane reason in a Naturalist Club on the same damned day as Judy and her partner. Worse coincidences had happened in the course of history, she was sure, but she'd yet to read about them. Suddenly, she considered the inevitable. Nick had turned around to. Her eyes snapped up to him. His own were very round in the understandable shock of seeing Judy's family there.

Judy let her reflexes take control. Her hand flicked up and she grabbed the top of Nick's muzzle, jerking it down hard to make him look at the lawn with an audible crack. Nick gave a nasal-sounding 'ow' from that and Judy looked up in terror at the approaching rabbits. Both smiled warmly at Judy and made a beeline toward her. Part of her wanted to just run for her life, but she was working, she didn't want to act weird, cause a scene, blow her cover or be unprofessional. She felt like future opportunities likely hung in the balance on this assignment.

Steeling her resolve, she spoke. "Hey there!" she said in her fake voice, even adding a little accent despite hating it. She could not let herself get recognized by them! Nick did not move.

Bonnie spoke first, saying sunnily, "Good afternoon! Oh that didn't sound right at all, is he okay?" she asked. 'Dee' looked back at the bare, soft-formed lapine before her, not able to remember the last time she'd seen her mother wander out of the shower without a towel or anything. Privacy wasn't a huge deal at home, but it had certainly been a long time.

She looked into her mom's eyes and smiled brightly before lying as hard as she could. "Oh don't mind him, he's just had a massage 'n we are still tryin' to get some of the kinks out 'n all. A bad neck, this fox, but the massage here… better 'n anywhere else, I promise!" she stated with some force. Nick whined. That probably did hurt. Judy would have to apologize later.

Judy's mother tilted her head a little and said, "I suppose, poor thing. Is that your husband?"

"Ahah! Hahah!" Judy laughed nervously, her voice cracking a little. She could not laugh in a fake voice as well as Nick could. "Naw, shore not. He's a good friend though. Kin you imagine that, though? A bunny 'n a fox? I will say I don't see a bunch of bunnies here, what brings ya' if ya' don't mind my askin'?" Judy went full bore with the accent. This was a nightmare. What made it worse was that Angela's eyes were going over 'Gerald' like the rough side of a sponge over a baker's pan.

Bonnie chuckled happily at the reaction and shook her head. "Oh sweetie, it's fine, you don't have to be so shy!" She put her hands behind her back, looking completely comfortable. "Nothing wrong with it, if that's what it is. One of my own daughters chose a fox so you'll get no worry from me." Judy widened her eyes a bit. Her mom was not supposed to talk about that to her non-designated family members, much less complete strangers.

Nick's false voice spoke up. "Pretty lawn in this place, just here." Judy knew it was Nick's way of saying that he was not happy being forced to look down.

"You can let the poor fox go, we aren't gonna steal him!" Angela laughed.

"I'm fine." Nick stated.

"Yew all just happened upon this place?" Judy asked again, insisting they get away from the subject of dating foxes.

"Oh no!" Angela said, waving a hand at 'Dee'. "We heard about it from one of my sisters and her friend. That would be the earlier mentioned fox!" she chimed brightly. "I was super curious about the place and the fox hooked me up with two one-time guest passes. He's a real sweet fox." Judy twitched hard. Nick. Her beloved fox was directly responsible for this disaster. It was the most plausible answer out of every cosmic alignment that could have happened. Instantly she believed this moment with every strand of fur on her body. It had to be like this because of Nick.

"Oh really?" Delilah said in a powerful and curious tone.

"Sure did!" chimed Bonnie. "I'm Bon, this is Angela, my daughter. I normally would never have done something like this but you know… Try Everything, right?" she giggled. Judy flinched a bit. She was going to be so lonely after Nick died, it would be so sad. Bonnie continued to talk. "It was supposed to be one of my other daughters but you know what, I don't regret anything so far. I did some sunning on the lawn and it was amazing. The wind through my fur? It's just magic."

"Gerald and I need to get some food…" Delilah said with some urgency.

Angela spoke casually. "Have you been here before then? I mean, you know the massage is good so I assume you have."

Dee faltered. "Huh? Oh! Uh, yeah, a few times. It was recommended by a friend. Otter fellow." She nodded at that.

Angela asked, "What pampering do you recommend that a bunny might really like on their first time here?"

Judy suddenly felt frantic. They weren't letting her escape! She tried to think of an answer but she was caught in the snare with that one. She had no idea what to recommend.

Nick saved her. Gerald's voice spoke up as he managed to finally look up so he wasn't suspiciously staring at the grass. "The pedicure and foot massage are top notch here, I promise," he stated, "…also, I would really recommend the Yoga. For those who have endured the toils of motherhood and those who are more athletically inclined it can be easy to become so accustomed to extremes that one forgets how a body is even supposed to feel. I would put that at the top of your list."

Bonnie seemed impressed as Judy's psychological well-being teetered on the brink with her lover seeming so casual in that situation. Judy's mother spoke softly, "Well that sounds just perfect, I'm glad we asked! This is all so new." She nodded. "Thank you…?"

"Gerald!" Nick stated with a warm smile. He was uncannily comfortable for a fox who had perhaps just minutes to live, Judy considered. "… and this is Dee. She's a friend of the family. I work with her brother. She started bringing me here after an accident in the shop kind of messed me up. I went backwards off a ladder. It's been working wonders for me." He flowed so effortlessly into someone else's story that Judy was actually a little envious.

"Thank you Gerald," Bonnie stated happily.

"It's nice meeting you Bonnie." Delilah stated firmly. "I need to git my friend here somethin' to munch on. He suffers from the low blood sugars."

Angela crooned. "Aw, the poor thing, just havin' it rough, huh?" Judy chuckled nervously at that.

"Mind if we tag along to wherever you are getting grub?" Bonnie asked. "We don't know our way around yet, and I could certainly use a bite to eat. It was a really long train ride from Bunnyburrow. Judy inwardly whined. Why? Why was this happening to her?

"Sure, I don't mind if Dee doesn't." Nick offered.

Dead. He wasn't going to live through the night. She would say whatever got Lupin must have gotten Nick too. Dee nodded slowly with a toothy grin. She could not think of a good reason to act completely standoffish to her mom and sister who were in an unfamiliar place needing help.

So they went to the onsite restaurant. It was a long, low hut with tons of windows that let air continue to move freely throughout. There were just a few other mammals about, an elephant in a darker corner reading a newspaper and two zebra right by her. There was a squirrel, a bit older and very grey, sipping tea at the other end of the long row of stools of various sizes at the bar. A lady gazelle ran the counter cheerfully. It was such a wonderful environment and Judy might well have enjoyed it more were it not for the absolutely incomprehensible situation that accompanied it. Judy wanted the Caprese Salad but she ordered that all the time around her family so to help keep her cover she ordered a veggie wrap and loathed having to do so.

Nick enjoyed a black bean salad with cheese cubes and he talked to Angela. He seemed completely unconcerned with breaking his character or giving himself away. Judy knew he had practice with it, but Nick being a completely different fox was believable even to Judy, and she knew who he was. He seemed as comfortable as could be while Judy nervously listened to a tragically boring story all about the history of the Hopps Family Farm from her mother while they ate.

After a while, the nervousness of the situation wore away and she became more and more used to her 'character'. With as talkative as Bonnie was, Judy didn't have to invent much more backstory. After a while, neither Bonnie nor Judy had to talk at all because Angela decided to share the Munch video with 'Gerald" who acted very surprised and enthralled throughout. Judy relished this because to see the phone she huddled in close against the dark-furred fox and she felt better to just be close to Nick.

The video lasted a pretty long time and they were almost done eating by the time it was over. It was actually kind of fun to watch. Judy had a lot of very happy memories built into that day and it felt wonderful to see it again and relive a few of the memories. Nick apparently had some positive feelings about the video as well since 'Gerald's' tail managed to coil slowly around the back of the chocolate-colored bunny. It appeared to have done so subconsciously, but 'Dee' did not feel like chasing it away. Judy was so used to feeling it wrapped around her that she felt no need to chase it away. She absolutely did not mind. Unfortunately, the squirrel did.

"Seriously?" he said loudly from his seat. Everyone looked up curiously. The middle-aged grey squirrel swung his rotating stool around to face the four in the middle range against the long bar.

"What's up?" asked Judy in her Dee voice.

"It's a naturalist club, but it sure ain't an 'anything goes' club. Leave that in your rooms." He gestured a bit more forcefully. Nick dropped his tail, seeming to have just realized that it was there. Bonnie and Angela noticed that part, it seemed.

Angela sneered at the squirrel. "Nothing in the rule book about hand-holding or tail-wrapping. Let them be."

Judy's blood chilled. They did NOT need a confrontation. Dee and Gerald were not even supposed to be a couple because they were trying to avoid attention. It was a slight slip-up in the moment for Nick and nothing more. She could not let this turn into an argument and put all eyes on the bunny and fox. They still had work to do.

Judy spoke up in her feathery tone. "It's alright, we'll jest ignore him."

"…just set in his ways. It's fine." Gerald said.

"Set in the right way, you mean." The squirrel got up. Judy groaned. No, don't escalate this. Nick didn't respond. Long game. He was playing the long game, she could depend on him.

Angela stepped in front of the fox and bunny she'd 'just met' and glared at the squirrel. "Sit back down, mister. If he wants to wrap his tail around her or hold her close, you've got absolutely nothing to do with it."

"It's nothing to stress over." Nick said in his low, gruff tone, "I just lost myself in the moment. It was a fun video, I can't believe she won! I thought it was over for sure…" Judy had to commend Nick's attempt to diffuse the situation.

Angela crossed her arms and shook her head. "No, this is principle now. I know you two are just friends, but if you weren't, well, there's nothing wrong with that. He can just sit down and let it go at that." Judy covered her muzzle. Her black-furred sister was one of the most hot-headed bunnies ever born. There could not have been a worse rabbit for this squirrel to cross and Judy was not sure she could salvage the situation. He was almost the same size as Angela but he was not nearly as athletic. She knew why Angela was being defensive too. She obviously had no problem seeing her sister getting treated like this and it made her blood boil. Judy wondered how this was all going to look in the report. Bogo would need another drink, she bet.

Bonnie finally attempted to be the voice of reason, much to Judy's relief. The older bunny stated, "It's okay, we don't want to start a scene, let's all just let it go."

The squirrel sneered back at Angela before saying, "Things will go back to normal soon enough. A bunny saves a dumb fox who rightly should have been killed for thinkin' he had any business being a cop in the first place, and now half the city's given the foxes a damn free pass like they all earned it." He left his tea and walked closer to Angela. "'Little bunny went down to hell to get a fox.' She should have stayed there with him! It'd have brought less shame to her family at least, I bet."

Judy's eyes went wide. Oh dear heavens, this squirrel had no idea who he just said that to. This was it. Assault charges against her own family. This was how her first undercover operation would end. So much for her shot at detective in the future. She held stark still and slowly looked up at Nick. Yeah, he was freaking out too. His eyes were round, pupils tiny, ears back, completely still. Judy wanted to tell him to at least close his eyes so he didn't get blood in them.

To Judy's amazement, Angela's response was not with her fist like she expected. The black-furred bunny stated in an almost teasing fashion, "If that bunny didn't already have rights to that fox I'd be after him myself, so you can take your pitiful fox-envy and jam it right under your twitchy fluffy tail." Judy rolled her eyes at that. It was certainly said to irritate the squirrel, but she was never going to hear the end of that from her partner.

The squirrel scoffed. "Envy?" he asked, suddenly standing up taller and puffing up. If he hit Angela first, it would absolve Judy from having to arrest her sister. Judy suddenly felt awful for hoping the squirrel tried to hit her sister first.

Bonnie quickly spoke next, "Angela, sit down, honey. This… mammal… isn't worth our trouble. Show Gerald and Dee the video of-"

"A bunch of cheap knot-cozies, every one of ya'." the middle-aged squirrel stated loud enough for everyone to hear. "How about it fox? Do ya think you can handle all three bunnies at once?" he asked, obviously trying to antagonize 'Gerald'.

Nick looked back at the squirrel and smiled that classic, smug Nick smile. He said slowly, "Sir, you obsess over the strangest things… Just look up some videos on the internet or something in your room. Let us enjoy our meal in peace. Please." Judy inwardly groaned. The squirrel's accusations were being applied in reverse. That was not going to calm him down. It was going to piss him off worse!

The squirrel stomped toward Nick angrily, shouting, "You callin' me a predophile, you brush-tail piece of shit!?" Judy began to move to get out of her seat for the inevitable police take-down and complete obliteration of their cover, but to her horror it was Bonnie who got in between them.

Her mother said, in a voice reserved for only the naughtiest of her siblings, "Sit. Down."

The squirrel shouted at her in a rage, "Screw you, carrot-farming predo! I'm not gonna stand here and-" he tried to shove Bonnie to the floor to clear a path to 'Gerald'. Judy felt a protective rage flare up inside her, but actually never had a chance to intervene.

Bonnie bounced back a step when shoved, then jumped up half the squirrel's height and planted both her feet into his gut. There was some kind of pitiful grunt from him as he was fired backwards like a stone from a slingshot, chairs on that side of the bar clattering and scattering as he was slammed through them easily twenty feet. Judy's heart nearly stopped. That could not possibly have just happened. The disguised bunny was unable to even say anything as she took in what she saw. She suddenly saw her mother in a very, very different light.

"Wow." Nick said in his own voice, not able to think to change it. Fortunately Angela was too shocked to notice that either.

Bonnie stomped over to the squirrel. He rolled onto his side, half-curling into a ball to clutch his midsection where he'd been kicked. Judy's mom leaned over him and spat out, "That's right! I'm an honest to goodness carrot farmer! But, hey - it looks like I just diversified! Looks like I'm a squirrel farmer now because you just got planted!" She then stomped over to Angela who looked way more shocked than even Judy was. "Come on!" Angela obeyed without a word, seeming genuinely rattled. Judy cupped her muzzle, not even recognizing any longer that everyone was naked. That was the most reasonable part of all of what she had to mentally digest. Her mother just got into a bar fight! Bonnie leaned in and smiled. "It was lovely meeting you both. I'm gonna check to see when the Yoga class is and let our… culturally re-educated friend get his wind back. Have fun!"

And she and Angela left.

The squirrel tried to get up and changed his mind, deciding to remain curled on the floor. Judy's mind was racing. The squirrel put his hands on Bonnie first. She could claim self-defense! Judy didn't have to arrest her mother, right? She didn't have to blow her cover. Had she already messed up by letting her leave the scene? Oh this was all going to hell so badly.

Eyes still wide, Nick spoke in a level, slow, barely audible whisper. "Your mom… just kicked half the letters out of that fella's last name." Judy looked up, her paws actually still in front of her face. Nick sighed out softly, still in a whisper, "Whooo, I'm glad we are out of jurisdiction." The bunny blinked at that.

They were out of jurisdiction! She couldn't arrest her mom! She was spared. She sighed softly, and then looked at the groaning squirrel. She should check on him. He got hit hard. By her mom. The bunny shook her head again incredulously. Before she could even start in the direction of the writhing victim of Bonnie Hopps, an elephant entered through the beaded curtain of the restaurant. Judy looked to the other side of the bar, having almost forgotten there were other patrons. The zebra were both still there, wearing bright grins to illustrate how entertained they were. The elephant that had been there was gone, and was not reentering. How in the world had she gotten out…?

Judy then recognized the pachyderm from the henna tattoo over her trunk. It was Nangi. It made perfect sense that the Yoga master elephant snuck out during that conflict. She was followed by Yax. Well, this was it, the proverbial poop was about to be elevated to fan-level. Nangi pointed to the squirrel.

Yax strode over to him and helped him up.

The squirrel grumbled, "Arrested, I want all of them arrested!"

Yaks drawled out calmly, "Woah now, slow your roll there, Mr. Beechgrove. No one's getting' arrested, which is totally great for you since you started the fight. This elephant here saw the whole thing and that's as good as it bein' on camera! I'm gonna need you to head on out and not show up here again." Judy blinked at that. The squirrel was getting thrown out? She felt kind of bad that she was having trouble feeling kind of bad for him.

"What?!" he exclaimed. "On what grounds? I just got kicked by another guest!"

"Nangi, what is Line Six of Article Three of the MSO Rules of Patron Conduct?" Yax asked, crossing his arms.

The elephant glared at the squirrel. "I don't know," she deadpanned.

Yax spoke officially. "Matters of personal bias, negativity toward your fellow mammal, and personal strife are not to leave your pockets, and those are to be left with your clothing in the 'Naturalization' area. Bringing strife into the MSO and interrupting the general chill-vibe is totally grounds for dismissal. Yer gonna have to leave, yeah?" Judy watched, dumbfounded. Her partner was likewise transfixed.

"I am not going out that door without a full refund." Mr. Beechgrove crossed his arms defiantly.

The yak laughed a bit at that, sounding so cheerful and care free. "Huh huh! Oh, you don't have to go through the door if you don't want. Nangi, how far you figure you can throw a squirrel over the property wall?" he asked.

"I have no idea," the elephant stated flatly.

"Thirty-six meters and sixteen centimeters if it's not too windy." Yax chimed. The squirrel looked suddenly terrified. That was a very exact figure and it seemed good enough reason for Beechgrove to retreat. Out the door he went. Nangi went back to her seat, munching casually on a stalk of what looked like sugar cane as she read the paper she had before. She seemed to genuinely not care about any of what just happened.

Yax clapped his hooves together as if dusting them off. "Huhhuh! Yeah, no one interrupts Nangi's crossword puzzle!" He laughed and looked back to the pair. He moved over beside 'Gerald' and whispered, "How goes the thing with the stuff?" Judy looked at him blankly, almost forgetting entirely what he was talking about. Her mom and sister came to the Mystic Spring Oasis. Naked. Her mom got into a bar fight and positively wrecked someone. It was, for a second, hard for Judy to re-focus on what she was even doing here.

'Gerald' motioned for Yax to follow him and they went outside. 'Delilah' politely righted a few knocked over chairs and followed quickly. Nick spoke as Judy reached them where they sat at one of the 'chilling' booths, the fox warily making sure no one else was close by.

Nick finally said in a hushed tone, "We have a couple of questions to ask about one of the guests who was here, possibly the same day the incident took place."

Yax straightened up a little, which was impressive given his nearly permanent lazy slouch. He said, "Wow, that's impressive. You haven't even tested and of the fur from the scene and you're already on the trail. Now I see why Adrian has such faith in the two of you." Judy stumbled a little at hearing her boss referred to by his first name. Did Yax know him personally or something? Did Bogo come here? She suddenly wanted to think of absolutely anything else, looking off to the side. Oh, two naked pigs in a ridiculous play-slap fight in the mud-pool; that would do nicely, yes.

Nick spoke softly, his voice uneasy. "Rrrright… Yes, the mammal of interest." He cleared his throat a little. "We're wondering if you have had a lycaon visit here recently?" Judy refocused on the conversation.

Yax expression was always hard to read because his face was partially obscured by his hair, but his suddenly ridged body language made it obvious he knew something. The yak spoke in a more hushed tone. "Wow, yeah. Yeah! I'd love to see you take on Nangi on Trivia Night!" Judy was starting to feel a little sorry for the elephant. If she really had a memory that good, every elephant brain quip this proprietor levied against her must have really worn thin. Nick stared at Yax a bit longer, expecting more.

The fox finally asked, arms out as if ready to receive, "Can you tell us anything about him?" Nick asked.

"Oh, sure!" Yax said, "But the one who would really remember would be-" he started.

"Nangi, yes, we know!" Judy cried, then forced herself to lower her voice. "…but this is an undercover investigation, remember?" she asked.

Yax laughed a bit and nodded. "That's right, I forgot." Judy flinched. Really?! Nick was grinning at her and seemed to understand her reaction. The yak continued, "… So yeah, somethin' odd about that guy, for sure! But I don't know that he'd be involved, he didn't check in till like… four or five hours after the wolf guy… you know…." Yax seemed not to want to talk about the incident itself. They already had a statement on file from him about that, it was not what they wanted to know about.

Nick asked in a calm and level tone, "What was odd about the lycaon?"

"Oh, Ukweli was his name, that's right," he said in a measured tone. "He was very quiet and kind of shy. He came here alone, but the odd part was… He didn't collect his clothes and belongings from the Naturalization Area." Judy widened her eyes at that.

"Wait, what? Did you look for him? Yax, do we need to search the property for another body?" Judy asked. She did not look forward to that prospect at all.

Yax shook his head heavily, unsettling his flies. "No way, Nangi saw him leave. He calmly and quietly walked right out the front door with nothing on. She was so surprised that she didn't try to stop him." Judy folded her ears back. Or the elephant didn't care. Apathy seemed to be Nangi's default. Nick seemed to mull that over a bit.

Judy asked quietly, "Was the door to the cabin Professor Lupin was staying locked when he was discovered?" asked the bunny.

Yax shook his head. "Nope, it was left open, that's why we found him so quickly. An attendant saw it open and investigated and found him. Oh, you'll want to disregard her fur in the investigation. She blew out half her coat in there from the scare. She's a bobcat."

Judy replied, "It takes weeks to even go through all the individual fur-types in a public room like that, and it's notoriously inadmissible so I would not worry. Genetic testing is usually used to prove a perceived link, not to create one."

Nick pushed forward with the investigation. "Do we have any personal information about Ukulele?"

"Ukweli," corrected Yax. "Only other thing I really know about him is that he came here on a shuttle bus from the Gold Antler hotel, by the airport." Judy clapped her paws together. That was a lead! They already had a lead, and they had barely had time to get used to being naked. They might just get the bonus for the investigation.

Nick responded in the same fashion that Judy had been thinking. "I think that will be our next destination then. Thank you so much Yax. I hope that we can clear up this matter quickly so you can let the chill-vibe fill your establishment again."

Yax bowed in a rather reverent fashion to Nick and said, "Śānti, syālalē." He then wandered off with his characteristic lazy slouch evident, leaving Judy and Nick alone.

The lull in activity was just the opportunity Nick needed to tease his bunny, and he took full advantage. He grinned at the brown doe before him and stated casually, "First Sammie, then you, then Angela? Am I making life harder for foxes in Bunnyburrow? You can tell me." Judy put her hands by her hips, balled into fists, glaring at Nick.

After a moment she said, in a slow, careful tone, not masking her voice, "It will be so unfair…"

Nick perked his ears. "Oh? The fate of those foxes, you mean?" he asked with a sly grin.

"No," Judy stated flatly. "Some poor medical examiner will have to stay up to some unforgivable hour trying to figure out exactly how you managed to get beaten to death with your own smug." Nick's eyes widened at that and he recoiled, as if expecting the beating to commence immediately. His phone rang, likely saving him. The fox fumbled with the zippered pouch on his beaded lanyard a bit and finally fished his phone out. He had, by then, missed the call. He inspected to see who it was from.

"It was Jack." Nick stated, immediately calling back the number.

"What?" Judy asked. "Why's he calling you?"

"I sent him the picture of that weird note." He put the phone to his ear.

Judy protested. "Nick! He's not on the case, you can't share that stuff with civilians!"

"Hey, Jack, what's up?" Nick asked, ignoring the bunny. Judy fretted visibly. Her playing loose with the rules by necessity when she was struggling against a department that didn't want her there was one thing, but there was no call for that now, her partner could get in trouble! Nick furrowed his brow, and Judy immediately wished she could hear the conversation but being that they were outside it was just a little too muted to understand. "We are following a lead out to the Golden Antler hotel. It's by the airport. Lycaon signed in under the name Ukweli." Nick stated. He widened his eyes a little and nodded slowly. Judy could hear Jack's frantic voice but it was still too hard to make out what he was saying, but he was obviously distressed. Nick finally replied, "Absolutely, we will be heading out there as soon as we get our clothes. That will buy us some time. Are you sure that's what it is?" Judy felt a thrill run through her. It was coming together, she could feel it. Nick said firmly, "Thank you, Jack. We owe you." He hung up the phone.

"So what?" Judy asked immediately, "What's the deal?"

Nick said, not even hiding his voice, "The note was written out GPS coordinates. A very rare language was used that our book-friendly rabbit pal happened to know. Jack said that the coordinates were for the interior, and that whatever is there is likely what Professor Lupin died searching for. I think someone else is after whatever he was seeking and if we don't stop them, according to Jack, a lot of harm can be done. He said he didn't dare explain it further because we were in danger even seeing the words. It's a big deal, Fluff." Nick stated. "Jack said this was bigger than a murder. We need to get going." Nick headed for the entrance, Judy quickly following. She looked back at the frolicking mammals, bare and care free. She folded her ears back with a smirk. Yeah, she was gonna come back eventually. For now, however, far more serious matters awaited. Judy could not deny the sense that what was to come might well be extremely dangerous and the sensation of excitement that accompanied that worried her.