Ch. 6:
"We thought this was all a missing mammal case but it is so much more than that," Nick informed the chief as he led them back to the platform where Manchas waited. "Mr. Otterton didn't just disappeared, I believe he and this jaguar, they-they somehow turned savage."
Bogo scoffed, "Savage? This isn't the Stone Age, Wilde. Animals don't go savage."
"And just a few hours ago I would've completely agreed with you," Nick replied, "But then I saw this."
They stepped out onto the platform-only to see it was completely empty.
"What?" Nick balked and rushed forward, looking around but not seeing a trace of Manchas anywhere. "He was right here!"
Bogo rolled his eyes, "The savage jaguar?"
"I know what I saw, Chief, he tried to kill us!" Nick swore but his mouth went dry when he saw the look on Bogo's face.
"And I'm supposed to take the word of a fox?" the buffalo asked with no hint of delicacy.
Nick cringed, trying to keep himself calm as the buffalo turned his back, "Wait, I have a witness!"
He motioned to Judy who stood next to the other officers that had arrived, "Judy, come here."
Bogo scoffed yet again, making Judy flinch and her brow furrow in anger. "You think I'm going to believe a rabbit? Any aggressive predator is savage to them."
"Well, she's a key witness," Nick began but was cut off.
"Two days to solve the Otterton case," Bogo snapped, "Or you quit. That was the deal." He stretched his arm out, palm up, "Badge.
Nick's ears fell back against his skull, his eyes wide as he felt a dark pit start to swallow him up, "But Chief-"
"Badge!"
This was it. It was over. Nick had failed, he couldn't do it, he couldn't prove himself. His paw slowly rose to his badge, he saw that his paw was trembling but he was far too upset to try and control it. The dark pit was swiftly rising to his ears…
"No."
The words made Nick and Bogo turn their heads to look at Judy who wore an unimpressed expression, her paws clasped behind her back and her spine straight.
"What did you say, rabbit?" Bogo demanded.
Judy smirked sardonically, "Sorry, I must not have been clear: I said NO." She slowly shook her head as she made her way across the platform. "He's not giving you that badge."
Bogo scowled but Judy was undeterred, "You gave him two days a his little joke-mobile to solve a case you guys haven't solved in two weeks?"
She stepped to Nick's side, paws on her hips and ears at attention, "No wonder he needed help from a bunny. You weren't going to help him."
Nick felt his lips curl up as Bogo tried to speak but Judy talked over him, "And guess what? You gave him forty eight hours which means we still have ten left." She suddenly started to usher Nick away from the buffalo and to an approaching gondola, the fox's fond smile not waning, "Now if you'll excuse us we have a very big lead to follow and a case to crack. Ta-ta."
Nick opened the door for her and she curtsied, "Thank you, Officer Wilde." The two stepped in and the fox felt a great sense of relief as they were carried away from Bogo and the other officers, his badge still over his rapidly beating heart.
Judy sat on the rim of the gondola, her back facing the scenery ahead. They both sat in silence, Nick's paws crossed over the rim as he processed that Judy had just stood up to him, had saved him from forfeiting his badge.
He swallowed and then spoke, "Thanks."
"Don't…" she breathed, not making eye contact, "Don't thank me. I made a mistake."
"What do you mean?" he asked, wondering if the rabbit was already regretting helping him.
She sighed, "I think it's no surprise how I felt about you when we first met."
Nick smirked, "You don't say."
"Don't laugh," she said seriously, finally glancing at him from the corner of her eye, "I was wrong. I treated you like a deceitful criminal. But really…You're a better mammal than I'll ever be."
Nick blinked, wondering if he had gotten knocked out during the Manchas chase and this was all some bizarre dream. Judy took note of his surprise and allowed a small smile, "I wanted to be a cop too, you know."
He didn't know, and he was glad when she continued, "When I was eight, I was so excited at the thought of going to Zootopia to be the first bunny cop. A lot of animals told me it was impossible, saying there had never been a bunny cop. I just told them I'd have to be the first one."
Nick felt a sudden sense of kinship with the rabbit, realizing she had never taken off the ZPD sticker, he leaned closer, "What happened?"
She spoke two words that were laced with resentment, "Gideon Grey happened.
"He was a fox that lived in Bunnyburrow. He always laughed at me, but I didn't let it get to me. Until one day I stood up to him to protect these kids he bullied, I ended up kicking him and…" She reached her paw up to trace her fingers across the scars that Nick had never imagined was caused by a fox. "He gave me this. And when I say it's, to this day, the scariest thing I've been through, I'm telling you the truth. Not even getting chased by Manchas beat it."
She leaned forward, resting her paws on her knees, her ears draping over her arms, "And I realized two things. One-" she jabbed a finger at Nick's nose, her expression for a moment was one of righteous anger, "Don't ever let them see that they get to you."
"And two?" he asked.
Judy swallowed and once again looked away, "I really am just a dumb bunny, and I'd never make it as a cop…"
Nick felt his heart constrict at her heartbroken expression, "Judy…" His paw reached out and despite that he didn't like touching animals that weren't his family he placed his palm against the small of her back, feeling the soft fur exposed by the short shirt. "You know you're more than that."
Judy slowly looked up at him, and he offered her a lopsided smile and for a moment the two animals that were much more similar than they realized silently stared at each other…
And then Judy's ears flared red and she jumped into the basket of the gondola, pulling away from Nick's paw and looking down at the roads far, far below. "Hoo boo. Look at the traffic down there." She tried out a radio voice, "Hey, Chuck, how are things looking on the jam cams?"
Nick softly shook his head, his warmth toward the rabbit not waning, "I'm glad you told me."
Judy's eyes had suddenly widened though, "The jam cams…"
"Don't change the subject," Nick said, "I'm being serious-"
"Shush, shush, shush," Judy turned to him and frantically waved her paws, a smile splitting her face. "There are traffic cameras everywhere! All over the canopy! Whatever happened Manchas-"
"The traffic cameras would have caught it!" Nick finished ecstatically.
"Yes!" Judy cheered.
"Sly bunny," he grinned back.
"But," Judy held up a finger with an expression of dismayed realization, "If you didn't have any access to the system before I don't think your 'delightful' chief would let you into it now after I put him in his place."
"No," Nick agreed, his smile not falling, "But I have a pal in City Hall who might."
.
"This is so exciting really," Bellwether said from her seat before her computer, "I mean I never get to do anything this important."
"How?" Nick asked, crouching next to her in the boiler room that doubled as her office. "You're the assistant mayor of Zootopia."
"Oh, I'm more of a glorified secretary," she kindly put herself down. "I think Mayor Lionheart just wanted the sheep vote. But he did give me that nice mug."
Judy and Nick shared a glance over her wool as she said something about being 'appreciated'. But just then Lionheart called for her over an intercom and with a swift goodbye she scampered off.
"You think when she falls asleep she counts herself," Judy joked with a grin.
Nick smirked at her, "Shh." He sat down before the computer where Bellwether had pulled up the traffic cameras for the entire city. Clicking on the Rainforest District he managed to find the sky-tram where they had been chased by Manchas, re-witnessing it almost attacking Judy and the two falling off the platform.
His ears pricked when a van suddenly appeared.
"Who are those guys?" Judy leaned forward to get a better look as two wolves walked out of the van and toward the jaguar.
Nick groaned, "Timber wolves."
"What's wrong with timber wolves?" Judy asked but then they both jumped as the wolves caught Manchas in a net.
"What?" Nick breathed as they started to drag the jaguar to a car, only to stop and throw their heads back to howl. "What is with wolves and the howling?" he asked in disgust, he had lived near wolves as a kit and had been woken up many a night by their howling. "It's just-oh my God!"
"What?" Judy turned to look at him.
"Night howlers!" he gasped, wildly indicating to the screen, "That's what Manchas was going on about! Wolves! They're the Night Howlers!"
Judy gasped, "So if they took Manchas…"
"Then they had to have taken Otterton too!" he grinned as he watched them ride off. But as he followed the van via jam cam he watched them drive into a bridge but not come out the other side. "Where'd they go?"
All of a sudden Judy slid over to sit in the fox's lap, taking control of the keyboard. "You know, if I wanted to avoid surveillance because I was doing something illegal-which I never have-I would use maintenance tunnel 6B which would put them out…" She clicked on another camera and suddenly the van remerged. "There."
Nick smiled then looked down at the rabbit, "Well look at you, Junior Detective."
"Heh."
"You know," Nick said with playful thoughtfulness, "I bet you'd make a decent cop."
She playfully scowled at him, "Oh, how dare you."
The two continued to track the wolves through alleys and back roads until: "They're heading out of town," Nick realized his eyes narrowing, "But where does that road go?"