"Does he really need to see us right now?" Judy asked in a desperate attempt to get out of the inevitable as the two officers were placed in the back of the limo.
Nick's stifled laugher was the only response.
"Will you quit it!?"
"I have to say carrots, there really is never a dull moment with you."
Judy rolled her eyes, there was nothing they could do now except wait out the long trip to Mr. Big's estate in Tundra Town. The two of them hadn't seen the shrew for a couple of months, after all cops visiting a known crime boss tended to be frowned upon. In fact, the last time they spoke with him was right after Nick's graduation. Mr. Big was surprisingly supportive of Nick's choice to become a police officer. Maybe he just wanted some friends on the force. No matter the case, whatever was going on had to be important, it was risky planting the pick up right outside the police station.
"What do you think he wants?" Judy asked her partner, breaking the silence that had gripped the limo for the first few minutes of the ride.
"Well, Interpol is here in force, and we know about his operation. So I think it's safe to safe he's going to kill us."
Judy looked petrified for a moment, until Nick chuckled, and she punched him in the arm as a grin slowly showed itself on her face.
"Nah, he's only going to kill you, after all I never sold him that rug."
"Oooh but we're in this together fluff, don't think I can't drag you down with me."
"I'd like to see you try."
The polar bear sitting opposite them cleared his throat, signaling the duo to shut up. The rest of the trip was mostly quiet, the two cops may have been friends with Mr. Big, but he was strict on his rules. The question remained, what did the crime boss want with them? Judy couldn't help but wonder. Her best guess was Interpol's presence spooked him and he wanted the two of them to keep the other cops off his tail. Nick on the other hand didn't want to think about it. Mr. Big would never go this far out of the way just for insurance, it had to be something far worse.
They wouldn't have to wait long for their answer, the limo came to a stop and the door was opened for them. Outside, the estate had security everywhere, way more than the usual guard or two. Whatever was going on it was big. Nick and Judy were shown inside, where the place crawled with activity. All kinds of animals were moving about, security systems were being inspected on the walls and cameras meticulously photographed various parts of the building. They were quickly brought to an otherwise empty room containing only a desk at one end, the door was shut and locked behind them. A large polar bear brought in Mr. Big through a side door and placed him on the desk.
"Leave us." He motioned for his bodyguards to exit the room. One of them placed an envelope down on the desk as he left. Once they were alone he began.
"Judy, Nick, I apologize for bringing you here on such short notice."
Nick moved to kiss his ring, but Mr. Big waved him off.
"Unfortunately we do not have time for formalities right now."
"What's going on?" Judy asked concerned.
"It is a sad day when the only ones I can trust are two cops." He shook his head as he spoke. "I wouldn't have brought you into this otherwise, but I require your assistance."
"Mr. Big? What happened?" Nick questioned the shrew.
He let out a sigh, as though he was going to admit something he didn't want to.
"Something very important was taken from me."
"OH NO, Fru Fru!" Judy exclaimed as both Nick and Mr. Big snapped their attention to the bunny.
"Fear not child," He spoke calmly, but with a clearly urgent undertone, "my darling girl is just fine. They stole only material possessions."
"Sorry sir, but don't you have your own people for this stuff?"
"That is the problem Nicholas, this was a professional job, the best I have ever seen. I am under the assumption whoever orchestrated the heist had help from the inside. I believe one of my own is a rat."
"What exactly did they steal?" Judy asked, already working the case.
"I have a passion for fine art, over the years I have amassed a collection of great classical works. Last night, every piece I owned was stolen. They broke into my vault, which had the best security money can buy, and took the whole collection."
Mr. Big read Judy's face before she had a chance to express her concern.
"Do not worry my dear, it is true the funds may come through questionable means, but I assure you I purchased all of those pieces legally."
"Wait a minute, hey carrots, didn't someone just donate a ton of art to the museum?"
"Yeah, wasn't it something like thirty pieces, worth millions."
"Good observation, the donation to the museum came from my collection, however I am not concerned with those pieces." Mr. Big informed the two of them.
"But didn't you just-" Judy stopped herself as Nick signaled her to let the shrew explain.
"My entire collection was stolen and given to the museum. All except for one piece, a page from an ancient manuscript. It was a beautiful document portraying early criminal techniques, a priceless one of a kind artifact. I received it in a trade some time ago from an associate of mine over in Mesa City. It has been quite useful in my line of work."
"So what happened to it?" Judy inquired.
"That I do not know. It is my hope that the two of you will be able to track down those responsible and return the piece to me."
"We can definitely give it a shot!" Judy said, excited to head up another case after losing the previous one to Interpol and Inspector Fox.
"Mind if we take look at the crime scene?" Nick asked.
"I'm sorry but I cannot allow you to conduct an investigation here, we can't afford to tip off those involved. Just bringing you here was dangerous enough. I had a thorough analysis of the vault done by my team, I hope I can trust their results. The findings are all right here." He motioned to the envelope resting beside him on the desk. Nick grabbed the file and started going through the contents. There wasn't too much inside, a brief report that was uncertain at best, some decent photos of the vault, and a small folded card. Nick passed the file off to Judy who started studying the material immediately.
"It's not a lot to go on, but whoever did this was good. No alarms tripped, no guards alerted, almost no evidence. The cameras were wiped clean and nothing else was disturbed, they cracked open the vault and made off with my collection. All that was recovered from inside was that card." Mr. Big pointed to the small blue card Judy had pulled out of the envelope. It looked like a piece of paper bent in half to stand upright. On one side was a strange blue symbol reminiscent of a mask.
"It was left at the exact spot where the page was being kept."
"Hang on, I know that symbol!" Nick said as he snatched the card out of Judy's hand with a grin. "I'd remember this beauty anywhere."
Judy looked at him like he was crazy.
"Remember the van from this morning?" He began to explain.
"The one we impounded?"
"That's the one."
"What about it?"
Nick pulled out his phone and opened up a picture to show Judy.
"Don't tell me you took a picture of that thing?"
"You really have no appreciation for vehicular based displays of art."
Nick held the phone and the card side by side. Just as he remembered, the exact same symbol was painted on a much larger scale across the side of the van.
"See?" He showed the two to Judy who was skeptical at best.
"Okay, maybe it's just a popular thing." She replied, questioning the importance of the connection, and Nick's sanity.
He pushed the phone and card closer to the clearly unamused rabbit, imploring her to find some significance.
"Okay fine, we'll check it out."
Nick's grin intensified as he convinced his partner, turning to give Mr. Big the news.
"It looks like I found a lead" He said much to Judy's disdain.
"Very good, I will keep you informed of any changes here. Be careful you two." The shrew said respectfully.
Nick and Judy nodded in acknowledgement as they turned to leave the room. Mr. Big knocked twice on the desk and the door was opened for them. The two cops were shown out of the building, still full of commotion as the search continued. The same limo that brought them to the estate was waiting outside, ready to return them to where they belong. The ride back to downtown felt much shorter than the stressful one earlier. Judy looked over the file Mr. Big had given them, there wasn't too much useful information in it. Some pictures of the scene, the card left behind, and a poorly written report documenting what was taken and how it was thought the thieves broke in. From what she could make out it looked like they managed to sneak onto the property, disconnect all of the alarms, somehow shut down the camera system, get into the basement, crack the vault, and then somehow remove over thirty pieces. All without alerting a single guard.
While Judy ran the whole case, Nick's only concern was one detail, the connection between the card and the van. Whatever the symbol was he hadn't seen it anywhere before, yet it felt so familiar. The most logical relation was that the van was owned by whoever left the card, but that couldn't be. Why would they have such a recognizable icon on a van? Unless they wanted to be found. None of it made any sense. Whatever was going on was not good, and who knew what could happen when they eventually checked out that van. Nick decided to voice his concern as the lights of the city slowly engulfed the limo.
"You know it might be a trap." Nick's ever teasing tone hid the seriousness of the remark.
Judy put the papers away in the envelope and looked over at him.
"I know, but that's what I have you for."
"Now what's that supposed to mean?"
This time it was Nick who couldn't tell if his partner's tone was serious or just joking. His wonder would remain as the limo stopped a few blocks from the station. The driver slid open the window to the back.
"Here's your stop." He said casually.
The two passengers looked up to see a smiling black jaguar glancing back at them.
"Mr. Manchas!" Judy explained as she jumped forward to greet him.
"Nice to see you too Judy," He laughed as the excited bunny attempted to hug him through the tiny opening. "and I suppose it's Officer Wilde now?"
"Hey Renato." A slight smile gripped Nick's face as he too acknowledged their driver.
"I haven't seen you since you got released from the hospital." Judy was thrilled to see the jaguar yet again. After the incident with the night howlers, all the naturalized mammals were held and treated for several weeks. Mr. Manchas was among the first to be considered cured. During his recovery period Judy and Nick visited often, they had become good friends. He was cleared for release right as Nick went off to the academy for training. After that the two hadn't heard from him in a while, they were worried Mr. Big didn't give him his old job back, but that doesn't appear to be the case.
"After I got out the big guy was happy to offer me my job again, plus a raise."
"Good for you." Nick was genuinely happy for him.
"Sadly, working for the shrew means I can't have too much contact with you guys. But I knew I'd find a way to say hello again."
All three of them sat there smiling, happy to reconnect after what felt like forever.
"Now you two should be going, we both have jobs to do."
"Yeah," Judy sighed, "please try to keep in touch, we should all go get dinner or something."
"I'll try Judes, but no promises."
"Hey Manchas," Nick said to the jaguar, "take care will ya."
"Don't worry about me," He said smiling "you're the one who needs it."
"Bye Renato!" - "See ya."
Nick and Judy said their farewells as they exited the limo, giving one more look to their not so old friend.
"Hey," he called to the two cops, "Be safe out there."
They both nodded, and with that the limo drove away, leaving the two back where they started. Nick and Judy just stood there for a minute, trying to take in everting that had happened over the last twenty four hours. It wasn't the day they thought it would be, beginning with a stakeout for one case and ending with a lead for a completely different one. The two cops looked at each other, weary expressions showing themselves as the joy of seeing Manchas faded away.
"So, what now?" Judy asked Nick, too tired to think of what to do next.
"Well seeing as the impound is closed until tomorrow, my vote is to get some sleep."
"I second that."
A moment passed as they awkwardly tried to figure out who would say goodbye first.
"So, uh, goodnight Nick."
"Yeah, night carrots."
Judy turned and began to walk home to her apartment. Nick hesitated for a second before heading out in the opposite direction. He only took a few steps before stopping in his tracks. The fox straightened up and spun around.
"Hold on there fluff," he called as he jogged back to the rabbit who was nearing the corner, "come on, I'll walk you home."
Judy perked up, trying to hide the smile on her face.
"Thanks"
"I mean how would I live with myself if some crazy fox attacked you in the middle of the night" Nick looked down at the rabbit who simply rolled her eyes at the remark. He leaned in closer to her, a wide grin on his face showing off his teeth "After all, I've got first dibs."
Judy punched the smug look off his face as Nick let out a pathetic 'ouch'.
"Dumb fox" she said, mimicking his grin
"Sly bunny"
And that's Chapter 3. Again I would like to thank all of you for reading, you're all awesome. Quick shout out to the guys over at ZNN, I'm glad you like the crossover.
Now for some notes. Reviews! Please let me know what you think. What's good, not good, hows my writing, story, etc. This is the first story of this scale I have ever written so feedback is appreciated. Also I have now confirmed my upload schedule. I can get at least one chapter of 2000-2500 words each week. If I have more free time I might be able to sneak in a second one mid-week so keep your eyes open for a surprise chapter or two. Story wise, if you don't know who Sly is, the next few chapters are going to be quite fun. If you do know who Sly is, the next few chapters are going to be awesome. Thanks again everyone, chapter 4 up soon.