The Crooked Carnival Caper

by Hyaku-Legger

When a mysterious series of robberies occur both in Bunny Burrow and Zootopia, the police are baffled by the modus operandi. Officers Judy Hopps and Nicholas P. Wilde of the Zootopia Police Department take it upon themselves to crack the case, using all their smarts to unravel the mystery.

2. Act 2

Chief Bogo stood with his arms crossed outside of the interrogation room window. Judy and Nick stood beside him, listening to the police counsellor, a bat lady named Opal, speaking to the coyote girl who had been at the Maison du Bison attempted robbery.

"But I'm telling you, I've never been to the upper-class district in my life," said the coyote girl. "I don't know how I got there. Suddenly I was in a squad car and cops were all around."

"But surely you remember something, dear," said the counsellor. "What is the last thing you remember?"

"I brushed my teeth and went to bed," said the coyote girl with tears streaming down her cheeks. "And that's the last thing I did before I was brought here."

As the coyote girl was escorted out of the room, Bogo and the counsellor spoke.

"Same circumstances," said the counsellor, perching herself on Bogo's ample shoulder. "This makes no sense, Chief. All three of them swear up and down they never left their bed. They're all telling the truth, their heart-rate did not skip a beat during the questioning, no hesitation, no sweating or trembling paws. None of them can remember anything."

Bogo let out a long sigh, which was usually a sign that he was annoyed or stumped by something.

"Alright," said Bogo. "Thank you, Counsellor. Hopps, Wilde, in my office."

---

Judy and Nick sat down side-by-side on the same chair as Bogo placed three files on his desk in front of them. On the files were the pictures of the three canines who had attempted the robbery at the Maison du Bison.

"Accountant," said Bogo, pointing his hoof at the poodle. "College student," he pointed at the coyote. "Professional surfer," he finished with the dingo.

Another long sigh of annoyance and the chief continued.

"No previous records, blood tests clean as a whistle, upstanding citizens with no motive whatsoever," said Bogo. "And none of them can remember anything about Saturday night!"

"What about the weapons?" asked Nick.

"No record. They were never on the market…parts don't match with manufacturer…my guess is parts were acquired from different sources and assembled by the mastermind."

They sat in silence for a minute or so, processing the new facts.

"It's exactly like the bank robbery in Bunny Burrow," said Judy.

"I was getting there," said Bogo. "I took the liberty of telephoning the sheriff over at Bunny Burrow. He has agreed to send me copies of the surveillance tapes and case files for investigation. Whatever wild scheme was attempted successfully in Bunny Burrow is spreading to Zootopia now, and beyond if we don't pull the plug on it."

Judy and Nick remembered the surveillance tape from the bank. Judy suddenly thought of something.

"Chief, what about the plush doll?"

"Had it examined this morning. Nothing," said Bogo. "It's just an ordinary everyday carnival prize."

"A carnival prize that was given away by Old Todd at the dart booth," said Judy.

"And not just to anyone," said Nick. "He chose who won and who lost."

"I'm not following, Wilde," said Bogo.

Judy and Nick told Bogo everything they had gathered so far. About the magnet in Old Todd's booth, about Madame Mystique and her hypnotising act, about the baby chick dolls and how there was some connection between these things.

Bogo listened carefully and finally spoke.

"All this…did you piece this together yourselves?"

"Yes," said Judy. "Just from observing and following the clues from the Bunny Burrow robbery and the attempted robbery at the Maison du Bison."

Bogo sat in silence, looking straight ahead into empty space.

"It is borderline nonsensical," he said. "But stranger things have happened. What you say…might actually lead to something."

"If we could just get a warrant…"

"And there's where we hit our first problem, Hopps," said Bogo. "No judge in his right mind would issue a warrant based on what you have so far. There just isn't enough to go with."

"But if we don't act now, they might give us the slip," said Judy.

"You think I don't know that?" said Bogo gruffly. "Look, I want to catch whoever is behind this as much as you, but there are procedures to follow. If we had some solid evidence linking the carnival booth to the attempted robbery and the bank robbery at Bunny Burrow…"

He stopped at that.

"Well, we won't solve anything sitting here," said Bogo. "Dismissed."

Judy and Nick hopped off their chair and walked to the door.

"Hopps."

Judy and Nick turned around to see Bogo with that rare, unreadable expression.

"I know you have a gut feeling, and good cops usually do. Sometimes you have to trust your gut when all else fails," said Bogo. "But even you have to admit that this is just too outlandish."

---

Judy was distracted as she put the car into gear and drove out of the precinct garage.

"We have to get that warrant," said Judy as they turned onto Mamba Avenue.

"No arguments there," said Nick.

They drove a few blocks in silence.

"Bogo is right. Sometimes you gotta trust your gut, and let your brain figure it out as you go," said Judy.

"Yes. Problem is, though, judges aren't exactly known for trusting their gut in anything, except the buffet line," said Nick.

Judy couldn't help chuckling. She knew what he meant. Judge Hodgson, whom they saw occasionally at the courthouse, was a large pig with a belly as round as a watermelon.

"We need evidence. Hard evidence," said Nick. "Something that will unequivocally tie the robberies to Old Todd and Madame Mystique. Truth be told, even we can't be sure they're the true culprits, despite all the signs that would point to them."

"Sadly, that's true," said Judy.

---

At the carnival, everything was joy and entertainment. But a certain boar was nervously watching Madame Mystique's show, not paying attention to the act.

As Madame Mystique finished her show, the audience walked out of the tent. All but the boar, who sat down nervously.

"So…" said Madame Mystique, once she was alone with the boar. "That was your wonderful fool-proof test to demonstrate the brilliance of our plan, was it, Todd?"

"It wasn't my fault," said Old Todd.

"Oh, really? Then whose fault was it, pray tell me? Because as far as I'm concerned, you insisted upon hitting an upper-class establishment with little to no security to rob the snobs of their trinkets, except you weren't counting on there being off-duty cops among the attendees. It sounds distinctly like it's your fault."

"Well…one minor hitch…"

"Minor hitch?! You idiot! There were COPS at the restaurant! Which means they'll be investigating what happened, which means they'll probably find out about the robbery at Bunny Burrow, which means they'll most likely trace a connection, which means they'll come asking some very uncomfortable questions."

"They ain't got nothing on us, Madame M, and you know it," said Old Todd. "Our helpers won't say a thing. Last thing they'll remember is gettin' into their jammies and going to bed."

Madame Mystique couldn't think of anything to answer. She just pursed her lips and walked towards the entrance of her tent.

"One more heist…one more…and then we're outta here," said Old Todd. "The Lemming Brothers Bank. Then we'll hit the road and not stop until we reach St. Canard or some other faraway city."

Madame Mystique sighed and nodded. Old Todd sighed in relief.

"Now get out of here. They shouldn't see us together," said Madame Mystique.

"You won't regret it, Madame M. You won't regret it."

"I certainly hope not. Now begone!"

---

Judy and Nick had lunch together at Sheila's Café, a quaint café overlooking the Old Outback Bridge just north of Savanna Central. The owner, Sheila, was a koala and she had met Judy and Nick seven months earlier during the Bridge to Everywhere incident. It had been an ugly incident in which Judy almost ended up at the bottom of the bay while going after the escaped prisoner Singcor Swim, a platypus who had led a series of violent protests against the politicians at City Hall. Singcor Swim was the founder of the Outbackers For Equality movement, a group that vehemently defended Outbacker rights, sometimes taking things too far.

Thanks to Judy and Nick, the Outback Island residents were able to get help from the new mayor, Vince Mousawitz. Mayor Mousawitz did his best to make sure everyone in the city had a voice and could have their problems solved by the proper authorities.

"Business has been ripper ever since they repaired the Old Outback Bridge," said Sheila brightly as she brought Nick and Judy their bill. "I owe you two so much."

"It was our pleasure, Sheila," said Nick as he paid the bill. "Anything to help our city move forward and keep its citizens happy."

Sheila brought Nick his change and gave them a little pastry box with two cupcakes decorated with little koala faces.

"For my favourite police officers," she said.

They thanked her and walked out of the café, going back to their squad car.

"You know, Nick, I was thinking," said Judy as she started the car.

"I thought I heard wheels grinding," teased Nick.

"That was probably just your stomach, running on fumes," retorted Judy with a playful smirk.

"Touché," said Nick.

"But seriously…I was thinking about something. The baby chick plushies. So far, there was a plushie at both crime scenes. One in Bunny Burrow, one here."

"Yes. The one from Bunny Burrow disappeared, though."

"Aha. And I think it might have been because the crime was successful. We thwarted this last one, so they left behind their baby chick plushie."

"Mm-hmm."

"I'm pretty sure it's a code. Some kind of signal. The baby chick plushies are given to the winners at the booth. The winners then commit the crimes. That coyote girl, the college student. She was at Old Todd's booth the day before the attempted robbery. I saw her. And she was in Madame Mystique's tent also."

"So Old Todd selects the winners, who take the baby chick plushie as a prize. Then Madame Mystique hypnotises them. So the baby chick plushies are a code to let Madame Mystique know whom to put under her spell."

"Yes…well, maybe."

"Hmm…"

Nick thought of this for a while. As Judy stopped at a red light, he spoke again.

"Something has just occurred to me."

"I'm all ears," said Judy.

"Goes without saying," said Nick mischievously.

Judy giggled and fake-elbowed him in the midriff.

"Making bunny jokes now, are we, Mr Comedic Genius?" said Judy.

"Sorry, had to be done," said Nick.

"Comedy is all about timing after all, isn't it, slick?"

"Darn straight."

The light turned green and Judy drove on.

"I was thinking maybe we can ask one of our colleagues for help," said Nick. "Wolford or Fangmeyer. We could ask them if they could volunteer to win at Old Todd's booth, go to Madame Mystique's magic show, and then wait and see if they sleepwalk or do anything suspicious."

"Do you think they'd be game?" asked Judy.

"No harm in asking," said Nick.

Judy stopped at the end of the block and parked their squad car. They got out and walked side-by-side along the sidewalk, watching the movement at either side of the street.

"Why not try it ourselves?" asked Judy after a while. "You know, get one of those baby chicks and test our hypothesis?"

"Old Todd didn't want me winning the second time I played at the booth," said Nick. "My guess is because he saw I was a cop."

"Wolford and Fangmeyer are cops, Old Todd wouldn't let them win either," said Judy.

"Only if they're in uniform," said Nick.

"In uni…aha! I see where you're heading," said Judy. "You mean ask them to pose as regular customers, in street clothes."

"Exactly," said Nick.

Judy thought of it more and traced a plan in her mind.

"This…could actually work," said Judy.

Their thoughts were interrupted, though, by a loud scream and shouting inside the store they were walking by.

"SHOP LIFTER!"

Judy and Nick stopped. They turned their heads and saw inside the window of a store that a shopkeeper was yelling at someone to stop.

"SHOP LIFTER! HEY! STOP!"

"Do I take this one?" asked Judy.

"I'll do it," said Nick serenely.

He walked to the door of the shop and casually put up his foot. The door burst open and the thief shot out…only to trip on Nick's foot and fall on the sidewalk in a heap, dropping his bag of loot.

"OOF! OWW…!

"Nice one, slick," said Judy as she quickly cuffed the thief, a weasel wearing a white sleeveless shirt and gym shorts. "Ah, I've been looking forward to this day."

"This ain't what it looks like," said the weasel, whom they both recognised as Duke Weaselton.

"Can it, Weaselton. You're not talking your way out of this one," said Judy. "We caught you dead to rights."

"I'll bring the car around. Don't go away," said Nick as he walked to the end of the block, where their squad car was parked.

The shopkeeper, a leopard lady wearing an apron and nametag, burst out of the door and stopped in her tracks.

"Oh, thank goodness you were here, Officer!" said the leopard lady. "Not a moment too soon!"

"Don't worry, ma'am, we'll be taking him in and he'll be sitting in a cell for quite a while," said Judy with satisfaction as Duke frowned and struggled against his cuffs.

Judy picked up the bag Duke was trying to run off with, and saw that it was full of toy cars. Judy looked up and saw that the store was Lady Hypanthia's Toy Emporium.

"Stealing toys now, are we, Duke?" said Judy. "Just when one thought you could sink no lower."

Nick stopped the car in front of the toy store and got out, opening the rear door.

"Chauffeur service for one Duke Weaselton?" said Nick with a smirk. "Luxury scenic ride deluxe, final destination: the slammer."

"Ah, blow it out your windsock, Wilde," snapped Weaselton.

"You kiss your mother with that mouth?" said Nick as Judy made him get into the car.

Once Weaselton was safely locked inside, Nick opened the passenger door for Judy.

"Milady," said Nick gallantly as he bowed for Judy and held the door open for her.

"Looks like this will turn out to be a great day after all," said Judy as she buckled up and Nick drove them back to Precinct 1.

---

In the recreation room of Precinct 1, Judy was throwing darts at a dart board and hitting near perfect bull's-eyes with every one. Fangmeyer was sitting at the table, reading a magazine.

"Mad skills you got there, Hopps," said Fangmeyer, looking up from his magazine.

"I knew I hadn't gotten rusty," said Judy. "That dart booth at the carnival is fixed."

"You mean Old Todd's booth?" asked Fangmeyer. "I was there yesterday."

Judy's ears perked up.

"Really? Did you win?" she asked, although she knew the answer.

"Sure did," said Fangmeyer. "I got a cute little baby chick plush toy that will sit pretty in my collection…"

He stopped abruptly.

"You didn't hear me say that!" said Fangmeyer.

"Say what?" asked Judy innocently, taking mental note of what he said.

"Er…um…"

"Oh, by the way, did you go to the magician? Madame Mystique?" asked Judy innocently.

"Magician?" asked Fangmeyer, relieved to change the subject. "Naw, I skipped that one."

"Really? She's a pretty good hypnotist," said Judy. "She put some of her audience members under her spell and made them do all sorts of things."

"Hehe, they're all phoneys, every one of them," said Fangmeyer and returned to his magazine.

Judy returned to her dart board, her mind racing. Nick's plan had somehow already played out, and they hadn't even had to mention anything. It was perfect.

"Well, that's my time," said Judy, looking at the clock and skipping toward the door.

Judy spotted Nick walking down the corridor and hurried to him.

"Nick!" she said. "I got good news!"

"You're taking belly-dancing lessons with Clawhauser?"

"Close," said Judy with a sideways grin. "I just spoke to Fangmeyer. He went to Old Todd's on his day off, yesterday, and he won a baby chick plushie!"

"Well, I'll be an elephant's bathing suit," said Nick. "So our plan…it kinda already happened."

"Yes!" said Judy. "Well….kinda."

She explained to him that Fangmeyer had gone to Old Todd's booth and had won a baby chick plushie. However, he had not gone to Madame Mystique's show afterwards.

"Hmm…" said Nick. "So Madame Mystique didn't have a chance to do her magic on him."

"Yes, but still, he has a plushie," said Judy. "Old Todd clearly targeted him."

"Yes. All we gotta do now is keep an eye on Fangmeyer. He's sure to do something suspicious."

"Exactly," said Judy.

"Do you know where he lives?" asked Nick.

"No, but I do know how to find out," said Judy.

Just then, Chief Bogo came walking down the corridor. He spotted Judy and Nick and nodded in acknowledgement.

"My felicitations, Wilde," said Bogo as he walked past. "That weasel has been a thorn in my hoof for a long time. Now he's where he belongs."

"Thanks, Chief," said Nick.

He walked into one of the side doors.

"I'll be right back," said Judy as she walked to the front desk.

Nick waited for her in front of the bulletin board. Wolford walked by and nodded. Then stopped.

"Hey Wilde," said Wolford. "How did you manage to get a table at the Maison du Bison? They charge like twelve bucks for a glass o' water."

"I've been on my own since I was twelve, mon amie," said Nick smoothly. "Clearly, I've squirreled away some dough throughout the years."

"No kidding?" said Wolford. "My wife would go bonkers if I took her there for our anniversary."

"Then make it happen, sport," said Nick with a cheeky wink.

---

Judy walked up to the front desk, where Clawhauser was checking his phone and sipping a fizzy drink.

"Hello Clawhauser!"

He looked up from his phone and smiled.

"Hopps! What a surprise!"

He leaned over his desk to look at Judy.

"You gotta tell me, Hopps. You gotta tell me everything about your date at the Maison du Bison! Ooh, did you know Gazelle goes to dine there every other Saturday! Ooh, you didn't happen to see her, did you?"

"Um, no, she wasn't there this time," said Judy.

"How did you manage to get a table at the Bison! Oooh, I'm so jelly! It's like the crème de la crème of fine dining and entertainment."

"Well, actually…" said Judy, thinking of something. "…I might be able to talk the owner into giving you a VIP table. He owes us a favour, after all."

"You would!? Oh, Hopps, I'd be in your debt for a billion trillion gazillion and one years!"

"Don't mention it," said Judy. "Um, by the way, I wanted to send something to Fangmeyer, but I lost his address. Do you happen to have it on you?"

"Oh sure, let me pull it up," said Clawhauser distractedly as he daydreamed. "Gazelle, your humblest and most devoted admirer, Benjamin Clawhauser. Ooh, I'd die of excitement!"

Judy waited with her notepad and carrot pen.

"Oh here it is," said Clawhauser. "It's Lupus Rex Suites, Apartment 306, 11037 Nile Avenue."

"Got it," said Judy, jotting it down. "Thanks a lot!"

"Oh, I can only imagine the thrill and the glamour…" Clawhauser continued to daydream.

As Judy walked away, she smiled to herself.

"So that's how Nick does it," she thought. "I could get good at this."

She returned to Nick, who was reading the postings on the bulletin board in the hallway.

"Got it," said Judy, telling Nick how she'd obtained Fangmeyer's address.

"Sly bunny," said Nick with a grin.

"I'm getting there," said Judy.

She looked at the time on her phone.

"Well, another day's work done," she said. "How about supper at Dinah's Diner?"

"A scrumptious proposition," said Nick as he and Judy went over to clock out for the day.

---

The night was rather quiet. Judy and Nick sat down on the park bench sipping coffee and watching the entrance of the Lupus Rex Suites building. Fangmeyer had gone into the building an hour earlier.

"Do you think we'll run into the masterminds?" asked Judy.

"I hope we do," said Nick. "If we can catch them in the act, that will definitely close the case and help clear Nana Bernardine's name and the names of the three from the Maison."

"I doubt they'd risk getting seen, though," said Judy. "When you think about it, a carnival is a perfect front."

"If they are the ones behind it, they must have a hiding place for the loot," said Nick. "Banknotes are traceable to the banks they were deposited at. If we could find where they're hiding the dough, we could prove they're behind this."

"Which is exactly what we need to do," said Judy. "Hey! Look!"

They saw Fangmeyer walking out of the building and crossing the park. He was carrying a baby chick plush doll!

"I knew it!" said Judy. "C'mon, Nick, let's see where he goes."

---

Nick and Judy followed Fangmeyer from a safe distance. He turned a few corners and finally stopped.

"Lemming Brothers Bank," said Nick, looking from the alley across the street at the familiar building.

"So that's their next target," said Judy.

They watched as three other canines slowly appeared: a dingo, who arrived in a blue van, another wolf and a Chihuahua. All but the dingo stood beside Fangmeyer in front of the bank. The dingo kept the engine running on his van. Clearly it was their escape vehicle.

"How are they going to…"

Judy began, but stopped when she saw the wolves, Fangmeyer and the stranger, walk to the wall of the bank and form a living ladder. The stranger stood on Fangmeyer's shoulder, and then the Chihuahua hopped up and climbed to the top, reaching an air vent just above his head.

"They're breaking in!" said Judy, her cop instinct kicking in. "C'mon, Nick."

"Wait, Carrots," said Nick, holding her back.

"But they're…"

"If we interrupt them now, that will be two crimes we prevented. The masterminds will take the hint and skip town, and we'll never catch them then," said Nick. "If we follow them and see where they go, they might lead us to the loot, and to whoever is behind this."

"News flash: They have a van. We don't have a car," said Judy.

"Oh, we do now," said Nick, looking down the street and seeing someone familiar in a familiar parked vehicle. "You stay here. I'll be right back."

Nick walked casually out of the alley and down the block, pretending not to notice anything. Judy watched Nick from the shadows, wondering what he was up to.

He approached the vehicle he had spotted. It was painted with a wacky decal of a fox warrior god holding a beautiful fox goddess, a cheesy sword-and-sorcery theme that wouldn't be out of place on the cover of a pulp novel. There was a small someone sitting in the driver's seat, looking at a magazine. Looking, not reading.

"Well, hellow there, Finnick!" said Nick cheerfully.

The occupant of the van jumped with surprise and quickly stashed his magazine under the seat.

"Wha…Nick?!" said Nick's former associate, the fennec fox named Finnick. He was the owner of the van, which doubled as his home.

"Long time no see, buddy!"

"What the heck are you doing here?!" said Finnick.

"Oh, I just saw my old business partner and long-time compadre and figured I'd come and say hello! Say, by the way, Finnick old pal…I have a question."

Nick looked inside the van. Finnick narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"Is your insurance on the bro-mobile up to date?"

"Insurance…what are you talkin' about?!"

"Well, I don't mean to alarm you, but you see…there's this new law that Mayor Mousawitz had proposed and it passed, and it states that any vehicle owners who owe more than three months of insurance can have their precious vehicles impounded."

Finnick's eyes went wide at the word 'impounded.'

"Now, I'd hate to be the one to have to do this, Finn old pal, but I am a cop after all, and…well, you know. Nothing personal, it's just my job," said Nick. "Ah, this is the part of the job that pains me…"

"You wouldn't!" snapped Finnick.

"Oh, I would have to. Otherwise, well…I wouldn't be doing my job, would I?"

Nick saw triumphantly that Finnick was properly shaken.

"Of course, we're friends and we go way back," said Nick. "So I could pretend we never had this conversation, if you…oh, I don't know…lend me your van for a few hours."

"WHAT!?"

"Of course, you don't have to," said Nick. "But I'd hate to be the one to have to send your precious bro-mobile to the pound and have you pay that ridiculously high fine at City Hall…"

"Grrr….FINE!" said Finnick, opening the door and stepping out of the van.

"You are a pal, you know that?" said Nick. "I'll bring her back to you at the usual place. Won't take long."

"I'm warning you, Wilde! If you put one scratch on my ride…"

"Don't worry," said Nick with a snarky grin. "I'm sure your insurance will pay for it."

Finnick walked away fuming.

---

As Finnick disappeared into the night, Nick waved to Judy, who had been watching and listening from the alley. She approached the van and got into the driver's side.

Nick was sitting in the passenger seat, with a smug look on his face.

"Pretty smooth, huh?" said Nick.

"What? Your negotiation skills? Pfft," said Judy smarmily, buckling up. "Seen them already. Not impressed, sunshine. You wanna impress me? Take the wheel for a while, then we'll talk."

"Ouch. Cold as ice," said Nick with relish.

He adjusted his rear-view mirror so he could see the dingo in the blue van, still waiting for the others to pull off their heist.

"They're on the move," said Nick as he watched the bank robbers run to the van with bags of money.

"Right," said Judy, starting the van. "We follow them from a safe distance. Tail them until we find out where they are heading. Then we call Bogo."

"Sound plan," said Nick, taking out his phone

The bank robbers hopped into the blue van and the dingo stepped on the gas. They drove away, not noticing Judy and Nick in their van at the end of the block.

Judy stepped on the gas and tailed them, staying a block away at all times so they didn't notice them.

They turned left on Mamba Avenue, right on Coney Street, left again on Acacia Avenue…

"Where are they going?" said Judy as she followed them.

Suddenly, they noticed the street light ahead turning yellow, and the blue van accelerated to beat the light.

"They're speeding up!" said Nick.

"And so are we!" said Judy and floored the pedal.

The blue van shot past right as the light turned red. Judy drove like a bullet behind, going right through the red light.

"Just went through a red light," said Nick.

"Cop didn't see it, I didn't do it," retorted Judy with a wry smirk.

Nick couldn't help laughing.

The blue van exited the city and sped along Meadowlands Highway. Judy and Nick followed from afar.

"They're heading in the opposite direction from the carnival," said Judy.

"They must have a drop-off point," said Nick. "Hiding the loot at the carnival would be too risky. They probably stash the cash elsewhere and collect it once they skip town."

In the distance, flashing lights suddenly lit up and a loud horn sounded. It was a drawbridge signal! It was going up for a ship to pass through.

"Yes!" said Judy. "We got 'em, Nick! We'll corner them at the drawbridge!"

But then, suddenly, the blue van shot forward like a bullet, racing towards the drawbridge!

"What the hay!?" said Judy.

"They've got nitro," said Nick. "Two can play at that game. Quick, the lever in the middle, beside the cup holder! Pull it!"

"What does it do?!"

"It's the nitro! You know…in case of a getaway."

"Oookay…I won't read too deep into that."

Judy reached for it and pulled it! They shot forward like shot out of a cannon.

"Illegal to use…not illegal to have!" said Nick as they raced towards the drawbridge in hot pursuit.

"The law is a strange thing!" said Judy, keeping the wheel steady.

The blue van ran right through the wooden road gate, splintering it to bits. It raced to the edge of the drawbridge just as it was starting to go up. Then…

"Cotton rot!" said Judy as they sped after them.

The blue van jumped the gap between the two sections of the drawbridge and sped on down the road.

"You might wanna consider hopping back to the other side of the sound barrier before we suffer a truncated lifespan," said Nick.

"We can make it!" said Judy, speeding on.

"Carrots! Don't even try!"

"They're getting away!"

"Stop the van!" said Nick. "We won't make it."

"Yes we will!"

"No, we won't!"

"Yes we will!"

"Carrots!"

"Yes we will! Yes we…no! We won't! Hang tight!"

Judy slammed the brakes! The van skid in circles out of control on the pavement. Nick held onto the seat and closed his eyes as they skid and spun and finally came to a stop a few feet from the drawbridge, which was already a solid wall of metal and concrete in front of them.

"Whew! You okay, Carrots?"

"Ask me again in a few seconds…when the world stops spinning. Oh…"

Judy closed her eyes and took a deep breath, letting it go slowly.

The headlights of the blue van could be seen in the distance until it disappeared over a hill. And it was gone.

"They got away," said Judy. "Now we'll never know where they stashed the loot."

"Well, it wasn't a total loss," said Nick brightly as he held his phone in front of her.

Judy watched and saw that Nick had recorded the robbery, the chase and, more importantly, had zoomed in on the license plate.

"We can check and see who owns that van," said Nick. "Who knows? Maybe we can get some prints. If we get a match with Old Todd or Madame Mystique…"

"…that will be enough for a warrant!" said Judy excitedly. "Way to go, Nick!" she playfully punched his arm.

"Now let's get back to the city," said Nick. "Finnick will have kittens if we hang onto his bro-mobile any longer."

---

Judy and Nick took turns sleeping on the park bench in front of Lupus Rex Suites, waiting for Fangmeyer to return. Judy was fast asleep, snuggled up against Nick, who had his arm around her. He looked down at the sleeping bunny and thought how cute she looked. Judy smiled in her sleep and murmured something unintelligible. It was the most adorable sight ever.

Nick bent his head over her face and kissed her softly on her forehead. Judy snuggled closer to him in her sleep.

It was 5:00 AM when finally Fangmeyer walked across the park and crossed the street towards Lupus Rex Suites. Nick followed him with his eyes and waited a few minutes until Fangmeyer was up in his apartment.

"Well, this is it," said Nick. "He's probably back in his bed by now."

He turned to Judy, who was still asleep beside him. It pained him to wake her, but duty called.

"Carrots," said Nick, giving her a kiss on her nose. "It's time."

Judy stretched her paws and yawned, flexing her little pink tongue as she warily opened her eyes.

"Mmm….Nick…what time is it?"

"Just past five in the morning," said Nick. "You know, staying out late in the park isn't so bad after all."

"Mmm…I'd take a nice comfy bed with a thick quilt and fluffy pillow right about now," said Judy.

"You'll get your wish soon, Carrots. Come on, let's go and check on Fangmeyer."

They got up and walked across the street, climbing up the steps and entering the building.

The lobby was mostly empty, just a sofa and a coffee table and a front desk with a pig clerk sitting and looking at his phone.

"Hey!" said the pig, looking up and seeing Nick. "Wrong building. Get lost, fox!"

Nick winced at the comment and immediately flashed his badge. The pig went pale, his eyes wide.

"Uhh..uh…Officer!"

"As you were," said Nick sternly as he and Judy walked past him and got into the elevator.

"You have a quiet job here, Porkins," said Judy, reading the pig's name tag. "It would be a shame to lose it."

"Y-yes, Officer!" said Porkins nervously as the elevator door closed.

The elevator door opened on the third floor. Judy and Nick walked down the corridor until they reached Number 306.

"Shall we ring?" asked Judy.

"I suppose so," said Nick, ringing the doorbell.

They heard footsteps inside, and keys jingling, and the door opened. Their colleague Fangmeyer was stading there in his pyjamas, his fur was tousled and his eyes were sleepy like someone who had just gotten out of bed.

"Wha…Hopps? Wilde?" he said half-asleep. "What are you doing here?"

"We have to talk," said Judy.

"Can't it wait till tomorrow?"

"It is tomorrow."

"Huh?"

Fangmeyer looked behind him at the clock and saw that it was almost time to get up.

"But…I just went to bed…arrg….I need to sleep earlier."

"You didn't do much sleeping, Fangmeyer. You've been on quite an adventure," said Nick.

"What do you mean?"

"Let's get inside and we'll explain," said Judy.

"Is this some kind of joke?"

"If it is, you're not gonna like the punchline," said Nick, taking out his phone.

He played the video of Fangmeyer at the bank, running with a big bag of money into a blue van. Fangmeyer looked, and it didn't register at first…but then…

"Wait a minute…that's ME!"

"Shh…let's get inside. We'll explain," said Judy.

Finally, Fangmeyer opened the door and let them in. The expression on his face was awestruck.

---

The three of them sat and drank coffee as they watched the video again and again. Fangmeyer could not believe his eyes.

"But…I never left my room."

"Where's your baby chick plushie?" asked Judy.

"In my room with the others," said Fangmeyer. "I mean…urr…"

"Go get it," said Judy.

He left the room. Nick and Judy looked at each other. They knew what the other was thinking.

"It's gone!" said Fangmeyer from his room.

"Yup," said Nick.

"But where…why…how…" Fangmeyer came back to the kitchen with a dazed expression. "What the heck is going on here!?"

"We don't know, but for the moment I suggest you turn yourself in," said Nick. "Just go and talk to the Chief and explain it to him."

"Explain what?! I have no idea what happened!"

"Explain that somebody framed you and made you rob the Lemming Brothers Bank in your sleep," said Judy. "Do it before the surveillance tape of the bank gets to the station and they come and take you in."

Fangmeyer was thunderstruck. He had no idea what was going on. It was like a bad dream, but there was no waking up from it.

"Well, you know what to do," said Judy, getting up. "We'd better get a move on."

She and Nick said goodbye and left, leaving Fangmeyer sitting at his kitchen table staring into his coffee.

---

The briefing room was packed and noisy, as usual. Everyone was present. Judy and Nick sat down at their usual seat. Fangmeyer was with the Chief, explaining as best as he could what Judy and Nick had told him.

Chief Bogo walked in and took his usual spot at the podium.

"Alright, settle down! SHUT UP!"

Everyone fell silent. Bogo briefed them on the situation.

"Pay attention everyone! This is the third case in a week! The circumstances of the robberies are all the same. The perpetrators are people with no previous records and no motive. They somehow have their memories tampered with and remember nothing of the events! I want everyone to stay alert! As of this moment, all off-days and leaves are cancelled. I want everyone alert and on-call, 24/7. We will not rest until we catch whoever is behind this. Your assignments…"

---

The blue van from the Lemming Brothers Bank heist was tracked down and turned out to be owned by the dingo who was behind the wheel. He was an Outbacker who worked at City Hall. The van was brought in along with the owner.

The lab results of the van were a tad disappointing, though. Prints were identified, but they belonged to the four who robbed the Lemming Brothers Bank and nobody else. Judy and Nick's hopes were dashed when the lab found no prints besides the ones they already expected.

"These guys are experts," said Judy as she and Nick watched the surveillance tape of the bank heist for the third time at her cubicle. "They leave no signs that they have anything to do with the crime. All the blame goes to the people they manipulate into committing the robberies, who can't remember anything but nonetheless are responsible for the actual crime. Cotton rot! Why can't we just get one good piece of evidence?!"

She played the video again.

"Fangmeyer wasn't even at Madame Mystique's tent and he still fell under her control," said Judy. "How does she do it? If she does it at all. That's the worst of it. All our speculation could end up being just that."

Nick was silent. He watched the screen without moving a muscle. After a while, Judy turned from the screen and looked at him.

"Nick, have an opinion," said Judy.

"Do I have to?" asked Nick.

"Yes. Your bunny lord commands it," said Judy.

"Well…I noticed something strange," said Nick. "Can you play the surveillance tape of the Maison du Bison again?"

"Okay," said Judy, clicking on the video.

"No, no, the other one," said Nick. "The outside camera."

Judy switched videos and they watched. It showed the three perpetrators of the attempted robbery walking into the building. The coyote girl was holding a baby chick doll.

"That's when they walk in," said Judy.

"Yeah…wait a minute…" said Nick. "Keep watching the screen."

They watched. Nothing happened. The camera was pointed at the entrance. They could see a bit of the street and the front entrance, and that was it.

"There," said Nick finally, after about four minutes.

"What?" asked Judy.

"Go back a bit."

Judy did, and Nick pointed at something on the screen.

"That van," said Nick. "Granny Mae's Flower Boutique."

"Aha."

"Does that ring any bells?"

"No. I never heard of Granny Mae."

"Exactly."

Judy paused the video and looked at Nick, who looked back at her.

"Now, switch to the Lemming Brothers surveillance camera," said Nick. "The front entrance."

Judy did. They watched for about six minutes until…

"There is it again," said Nick.

"It's the same van!" said Judy.

"Yup. Suspicious?"

"Hmmm…yes."

"Ah, but it gets better," said Nick. "Open the video from my phone."

Judy's heart raced as she did. This could be their ticket to finding the real mastermind.

"There," said Nick. "When we…ahem," he looked around to see if anyone was within earshot, "…crossed the red light," he whispered.

Judy looked at the video and spotted the van. It was on the adjacent street.

"It was following us," said Judy.

"No. It was following them."

Nick clicked on the 'next' button. It showed when the blue van exited the city to get onto Meadowlands Highway. And sure enough…

"There," said Nick, pointing at the brown flower van, which appeared parked on the side of the road in front of an emergency phone booth. "It seemed to know exactly where the blue van was heading, and it drove ahead making sure the perpetrators headed in the right direction."

"So that's our guy," said Judy. "The driver of the van from Granny Mae's Flower Boutique."

"Yes. Only there's one little detail," said Nick, taking out his phone and dialling a number.

Judy waited, wondering what was next.

"Yes! Granny Mae's Flower Boutique? I'd like to order a dozen roses for…huh? This isn't Granny Mae's? But this is the number they gave me," said Nick on the phone. "Is Mr Emmitt Otterton in? Yes, let me speak to him, please. Thank you."

Nick waited on the line.

"What're you up to?" asked Judy.

"Wait and see…..Yes, hello? Mr Otterton! A pleasure to speak to you! This is Nick Wilde. Officer Wilde, from the ZPD. Yes, same to you. Oh, just fine. How's the missus and the kids? That's great! Listen, Mr Otterton…was this the number to Granny Mae's Flower Boutique? No? Yes, I thought it had to be a mistake. That flower shop went out of business when I was a kid. Well, I'm thirty-two now, so that makes it more than twenty years ago."

Judy's ears perked up.

"Aha…yes, anyway, say hello to Mrs Otterton and the kids for us. Yes, she's here. Yes, I'll tell her. Okay, you have a good day, Mr Otterton. Bye bye."

Nick hung up and looked at Judy. She was stunned.

"Well, Carrots," he said. "Looks like we're looking for a brown van painted with Granny Mae's Flower Boutique. My guess is stolen, but it could have been bought by another owner who decided to use it for less-than-honest purposes."

"How did you…Nick, how did you figure…"

"Because, baby-carrot-cakes, I used to live down the street from Granny Mae's, and she closed up shop long before you were born," said Nick, tapping her nose playfully with his finger. "Now let's go tell Bogo what we found and have everybody in this precinct on the lookout for that van."

---

Old Todd walked into Madame Mystique's tent that afternoon. She was just finishing a show and the people were exiting her tent.

"Is it done?" asked Madame Mystique.

"Yes," said Old Todd. "I had the wild dog plant the doll in the fox's apartment. But I don't get it, this is more than I bargained for."

"Those two police officers, the ones who showed up at Bunny Burrow and here…they are Judy Hopps and her partner," said Madame Mystique. "The same ones who cracked the infamous night howler case last year."

"What was that case about?" asked Old Todd.

"Clearly you don't read the papers," said Madame Mystique. "But it doesn't matter. The point is they are smart and having them whiffing around is certain to spell doom for us. They already caught our associate, that odious little weasel. Duke, was he? Such a vulgar, common name. He's sitting in a cell at the precinct, awaiting his trial."

"But what you're suggesting…"

"Is the only way to go about it," said Madame Mystique. "Eliminate them from the picture and make it look like an accident, or better yet…a murder. That will throw the cops off our scent. While they are distracted, we get out of here with the cash. It's that simple."

"I dunno, Madame M, this is too risky," said Old Todd.

"Like you said, one more heist and we're gone," said Madame Mystique. "We just have to wait until the cops are distracted, then nobody will notice if we quietly sneak out of town."

"I hope you're right," said Old Todd.

"I am," said Madame Mystique. "Now go back to your booth. I'll let you know if something comes up."

---

The work day ended and Judy and Nick clocked out. Bogo was at the entrance hall as they walked towards the front door.

"Wilde, Hopps," said Bogo. "I want you to remain alert. Anything comes up, I need everyone to be ready to answer immediately."

"Will do, Chief," said Nick.

"We're still tracking down the van," said Bogo. "As soon as the results are in, we can identify the new owner and it may lead us to something."

"Let's keep our fingers crossed," said Judy.

As they walked out of the building, Judy looked at Nick. He looked tired but satisfied. They had worked long hours and had actually made some progress. She felt they were close to cracking this case.

As they walked side-by-side, she felt a surge of affection towards him. Her arm moved as if on its own volition and wrapped around his waist. He looked down at her and smiled warmly, wrapping his arm around her and pulling her closer.

"You did great, Nick," said Judy.

"Just doing my job, Carrots," said Nick humbly.

"Are you kidding? With your city smarts, you single-pawedly pointed out that van, and now we might actually find out who the mysterious driver is," said Judy. "Nobody else could have done that."

"Ah, well…things you pick up when you live off your wits," said Nick with a homely smile.

"You know, I really wanna do something for you," said Judy. "Something special. How about I cook you dinner tonight? I can make my mom's special carrot casserole. She taught it to me and all my siblings when we were old enough to cook."

"Hmm…actually," said Nick. "How about I cook you something tasty at my place? That way we'll be together and alert in case we get any calls, and we'll get to have dinner and chat."

"You…cook?" asked Judy, genuinely amazed.

"I can hold my own," said Nick.

"Okay! Great! Tell you what, I'll get the groceries," said Judy. "Just text me a list of what you need. I'll stop by my apartment and freshen up a bit, and I'll be right over."

"Sounds like a plan," said Nick.

They stopped at a corner to wait for the crosswalk light.

"There's a grocery store halfway down the block," said Judy. "Why don't I go and get the stuff and we meet later at your place?"

"Works for me," said Nick. "I'll leave the door unlocked."

"Great. See you at eight!"

Just as the crosswalk light turned green, Judy jumped up and landed a kiss on Nick's cheek. Then she scurried off to the store.

"Catch you later!" she said waving.

Nick waved back as he walked across the street, struggling to think about the ingredients he was supposed to text to her as his paw touched the spot on his cheek where she had kissed him.

---

Judy pushed the door to Nick's apartment open easily with her back. She was carrying a bag of groceries in one paw and her overnight bag in the other paw.

"Nick!" she called out. "It's me, Judy!"

No answer. She closed the door with her foot and walked into the living room.

"Nick?" called Judy, placing her bags on the coffee table in front of the sofa. "Are you home?"

Then suddenly, a loud voice came from somewhere near. It sounded muffled, but somewhat melodious.

"I got a star on my car and one on my chest…" came a jolly singing voice from the bathroom, not far from where Judy stood, halfway down the hall between the bedroom and the living room. "Stun gun on my hip and the right to arrest…"

With a smile on her face, Judy tiptoed to the bathroom door, which was half-open, and stood against the wall, listening to Nick as he sang in the shower.

"My siren a-screamin' and my flashin' red lights, I work all day and I work all night ,just a-keepin' law and order, tryin' to do what's right…"

Judy suppressed a giggle behind her paw, listening to her beloved fox hit every note with uncanny accuracy.

"If your drivin' too fast like you shouldn't do, you can bet your boots, I'm comin' after you,if you wanna race then get on a race track, 'cause if you try and run away I'm gonna bring ya back…"

Judy listened to the entire song, trying hard not to giggle out loud. Then she heard Nick stepping out of the shower and drying himself. She quickly returned to the living room and sat on the sofa, waiting for him.

Nick walked out of the shower with a towel around his waist, playing air guitar and humming to himself.

"You're quite the singer, Mr Wilde," said Judy from the sofa as he walked by.

Nick jumped with surprise and his towel almost fell.

"Wha…when…did you…!" his eyes were wide with surprise.

"Just now," said Judy.

"Well! Aren't you the stealthy one," said Nick, gripping his towel firmly.

"I brought the groceries."

"Awesome…let me just get decent…"

"Oh, don't bother on my account," said Judy mischievously.

"My my, Officer Hopps, what would your mother say if she heard that?" said Nick with mock disapproval.

"Unless your apartment is bugged, we won't have to worry about that," said Judy, her eyes narrowed. "And if it is bugged, well…Hi mom!"

Nick chuckled as he walked into his bedroom to put on some clothes. He returned shortly, dressed in a comfortable T-shirt and joggers.

"Now then," said Nick. "Let's get these groceries in the kitchen and whip up a lovely meal, shall we?"

Judy giggled.

"If you don't mind," said Judy. "I'll make myself comfortable in your humble abode."

"My humble abode is your humble abode," said Nick.

As he lifted the grocery bag from the coffee table, Judy opened her overnight bag and fished for some things, putting them on the coffee table: fur conditioner, shampoo, a brush, pink bathrobe…

Nick couldn't help noticing.

"Overnight bag, huh?" said Nick. "Am I reading too deep into it?"

"Nice choice of words, slick," said Judy with a hearty wink, flashing a cute pair of silky undergarments at the bottom of the bag. "Now get in the kitchen and crank us out a meal."

"Your wish is my command," said Nick, smiling warmly as he walked into the kitchen with the groceries.

He placed the bag on the kitchen counter and emptied the contents. Leeks, olives, mushrooms, blueberries…

"Hmmm…"

Nick looked at the blueberries and remembered the night howler serum. It had been blueberries that saved them and were instrumental in catching Dawn Bellwether and her flock. Blueberries grown on Judy's family farm.

And he also remembered something else. Pebbles.

"I wonder."

Nick took some blueberries and tried to juggle them over the sink. They fell with a loud clang, he didn't catch one of them.

"Everything alright in there, Chef Excellence?" asked Judy from the living room.

"Um…yes, everything's fine," said Nick. "Did I really juggle those pebbles?" he said to himself.

"If you don't mind, I'll step into the shower for a moment," said Judy. "Gonna freshen up…and get into something more comfortable."

"Make yourself at home, Carrots," said Nick as he sorted the vegetables.

As he lined his ingredients, Judy's face appeared in the doorway of the kitchen. She looked at him with an alluring expression.

"No peeking, mister," she said mischievously.

"I wouldn't dream of it, Officer," said Nick with a playful smile.

Judy blew him a kiss and went into the bathroom. Nick walked to the small blackboard that was on the wall beside the refrigerator and wrote down the ingredients in order with chalk.

"Okay, time to whip up something fabulous," he said, reading the list one more time.

Nick placed the blueberries back in their basket and was about to move to the sink, when he stopped.

"Hmm…let me try again," he said, taking two blueberries and juggling them. "It can't be all that hard."

It was easy enough with two…until he dropped one and it rolled under the table.

"Aw, drat," he said, bending down and retrieving the berry. "Well, I guess I can't juggle after all…"

He stopped dead. On one of the stools, sitting down like a creepy sign…was a baby chick plush toy.

"What?" said Nick. "How…did this…?"

Then he looked in the direction of the hall.

"Judy," he said to himself. "That bunny. Playing tricks on me like that. She reminds me of myself, almost."

The baby chick plush toy suddenly started chirping. And it was then that he felt it again. His ears started ringing.

"What?"

Then suddenly it turned to pain. Intense, severe pain.

"Arrrgg!"

Nick fell to the floor, writhing in pain.

"No! Get out of my head!"

And then all went dark.

---

Judy enjoyed her shower. The water was so warm and the tub was so ample, she felt like singing.

"I told the witch doctor I was in love with you…"

This was fun, she thought to herself. Singing in the shower was actually something she could get used to.

"..Ooh, eeh, ooh-ah-ah! Ting tang, walla walla bing-bang!"

The bathroom door opened. Judy didn't notice.

"You've been keepin' love from me as if you were a miser, and I admit I wasn't very smart! So I went out and found myself a guy who's so much wiser, and he taught me the way to win your heart!"

Suddenly, through the shower curtain, Judy saw a silhouette. A familiar one. It was Nick, and he was holding something in his paw. Something long and pointy.

"Nick!" said Judy, grinning and frowning, her paws on her hips. "That joke was funny in like 1968. Welcome to the future, honey bun."

She thought he was re-enacting a famous scene from a horror film, where the killer snuck up on the victim in the shower with a knife.

"Or….maybe you just couldn't resist having a peek?" said Judy teasingly. "Naughty fox, taking advantage of dis cute widdle bunny while she's in the shower."

Nick didn't answer. He just edged closer.

"Maybe just a little peek…" said Judy, opening the curtain just slightly.

Then it happened.

Nick roared with fury and ripped the curtains down. His paw brought a kitchen knife down where Judy's face would have been if she hadn't dodged to the right.

"Okay, Nick! This isn't funny anymore!" said Judy angrily. "Time out, Norman Bates, you've crossed the line….Nick?"

Nick lunged at her again, and Judy dodged to the left and leaped out of the tub, almost slipping because her feet were wet.

"Nick?!" she gasped, looking into his eyes, which were vacant. "Nick, honey! What's the matter?! Snap out of it!"

Nick lunged at her again. Judy shot out of the bathroom and into the living room.

"Nick, snap out of it! It's me, Judy! Hopps! Carrots!"

Nick ran out of the bathroom and lunged again. Judy dived behind the sofa just in time. She rolled underneath and emerged from the other side, racing into the kitchen.

"Not you too, Nick," Judy thought desperately. "Please, no…not Nick."

She turned around and saw Nick running at her. In desperation, her paw closed around the first object within reach: The pepper grinder. She swung it at him and powdered pepper flew all over Nick's face and nose.

"Ahh…achoo!"

Nick dropped the knife and closed his eyes. He sneezed, wiping his face with his paws. He couldn't see. Moving sideways, he knocked over a stool, on which a baby chick plushie had been sitting. The plushie fell down and rolled on the kitchen floor, stopping near the door.

Judy backed away and tried to support herself, but suddenly her paws slid on a rough surface and her claws scratched the kitchen blackboard, where Nick had written all the ingredients. The screeching noise it made was unbearable.

"Aahhrr! Make it stop!" cried Nick, his eyes teary, cupping his ears in pain. "Make it stop!"

Judy realised the sound had made him snap out of it. She clenched her teeth and scratched the board once more, making Nick scream with pain. Then, with a tremendous leap, she sprang across the kitchen and jump-kicked him hard right in the belly.

"OOF!"

Nick flew back through the kitchen doorway, back into the living room, winded. Judy glanced to her left and saw a table cloth folded on the counter. She picked it up and jumped onto Nick.

"Sorry about this, love," said Judy. "But I have to."

She wrapped Nick up in the table cloth and tied a knot around his midsection, leaving him unable to move, like a fly in a spider's web.

Nick coughed a few times and passed out.

---

Nick opened his eyes warily. As his vision came into focus, he saw the roof of his apartment, part of his sofa, and Judy, in her pink bathrobe, kneeling beside his face, with a wet towel in her paws.

"Nick!" said Judy with a relieved smile. "You're awake."

"Awake…I didn't go…to…sleep?"

He tried to get up but realised he was all tied up in a tablecloth.

"Um…Carrots? Did I miss something?"

"You don't remember?"

"Remember what?"

"What happened just a few minutes ago?"

"Er…kindly fill me in," said Nick.

Judy told him everything. Nick's face was taut with shock.

"No…no, tell me I didn't."

"It wasn't you, Nick," said Judy comfortingly, rubbing his cheeks. "There was someone inside your mind, making you do things…it wasn't you."

"In my own home…" Nick felt as though something sacred within him had been violated. "In my own home, trying to make me kill my own girlfriend…"

Judy couldn't help feeling warm when she heard him say that last word.

"This…has to stop…" said Nick. "We have to stop this!"

Suddenly, they heard something from the kitchen. It was a chirping noise. Judy recognised it as the baby chick plush toy, but it sounded off-key. Maybe the chirping mechanism had been damaged when it fell to the floor.

Suddenly, Nick started to convulse and writhe, struggling against his bonds.

"Ahh! Make it stop! Make it stop!"

Judy stepped away from him and suddenly it all clicked.

"No! I won't listen!" yelled Nick. "Not Judy! No, go away! Get out of my head!"

Judy raced to the kitchen and snatched the baby chick doll. She tore it open with her teeth and found the chirping mechanism. Opening it, she quickly took the battery out and it stopped.

She heard Nick's thrashing stop. Quickly she returned to his side to find him whimpering.

"Noo…don't…not Judy…not my Judy…go away…"

"Nick," said Judy softly, straddling him and looking into his eyes as she held his cheeks gently. "Honey bun, I'm right here. You're safe now. Nobody is going to hurt us."

She untied him and threw the tablecloth to one side. Nick pulled her to his chest and embraced her with a tight, desperate hug, wrapping his arms and legs and tail around her as if wanting to keep her from slipping away from him.

"It's okay, sweetheart," said Judy softly, hugging him tight. "I'm here now. Nothing bad will happen to either of us."

She moved her face closer to his and kissed him. They said nothing for a long time, just snuggled together on the carpet, hugging tightly and feeling each other's warmth and wishing they could stay like this forever and ever.

---

Judy placed the pieces of the baby chick plush doll on the coffee table as Nick brought two mugs of freshly-brewed camomile tea to soothe their nerves.

"This is it, Nick," said Judy, pointing at the little chirping device she had pulled from the plushie. "This is how they do it. Every perpetrator who committed those crimes did so unknowingly, against their will. And every one of them won a baby chick plushie from Old Todd's booth. And here's how Madame Mystique controlled them from a distance. With these baby chick plushies."

"So this is kind of like a wireless mind-control device," said Nick, looking at the chirping mechanism. "Old Todd made the customers win, Madame Mystique placed them under her spell, and she somehow made them respond to the chirping in this plush toy."

"Yes…but there's something else."

Judy looked at Nick.

"Why didn't it affect me?"

"You weren't hypnotised by Mystique."

"Neither was Fangmeyer. But he was at the bank robbery."

That was true. It didn't make sense. If Fangmeyer was never under Madame Mystique's spell, then why was he affected?

"And why are all the perpetrators members of the canine family?" asked Judy.

"Maybe she can only perform her trick on dogs and wolves," said Nick.

"And coyotes…and foxes," said Judy.

They went quiet. Judy edged closer to Nick and hugged him around the waist. Nick stared into empty space, wishing he could make sense of it.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to him.

"This is some high-tech stuff," said Nick.

"It is," said Judy.

"I…know someone who might be able to help," said Nick. "An old…associate of mine. He's totally into this tech stuff."

Judy looked up at him.

"I'll just bet that if we take him this plushie and show him all the parts, he might be able to tell us more," said Nick.

Judy nodded. Any little bit of extra information would help.

Suddenly, beneath her arms, Judy felt Nick's tummy rumbling.

"Oh…um, sorry," Nick looked embarrassedly at her.

Judy smiled understandingly.

"You know…we could always order a pizza."

---

The building they stood before looked like it was new…in 1955.

"Are you sure about this, Nick?"

"Trust me, if anyone knows about tech stuff, it's Garth. He's a wizard with everything electronic."

They walked into the building. The entrance hall led into a dusty lobby. Judy followed Nick to the far side where a door to the basement stood ajar.

"Charming," she thought as Nick pushed the door open and they descended along a creaky staircase that ended in a single landing with a door that had a 'Radioactive' sign painted on it.

"He's pretty eccentric with his décor," said Nick as he opened the door.

"You don't say."

The only way she could describe the room they were in was as an in-door junkyard. Old computers, tables piled high with gadgets and gizmos, hunks of metal with levers and meters on them, tools of every kind…it was a madman's playground.

"Oy! Garth! I know you're in there…somewhere!" said Nick.

"Nick!" said a voice from among all the junk. "Long time no see, old buddy!"

An enormous pair of eyes suddenly emerged from behind a hulking old computer. It took a few seconds for Judy to realise that it was a young opossum wearing oversized goggles, dressed in greasy overalls and several tool belts.

"Hang in there, I'll be right with you," said Garth, removing his goggles and jumping up in the air, latching his long prehensile tail on the pipes that ran on the ceiling and swinging dangerously above the metal piles.

With a tremendous leap, Garth the opossum did a somersault and landed right in front of them. Judy was stunned at his prowess.

"Nicky P, my main man! The fox that rocks, the name of the game! The one and only dungeon-master of mischief himself!" said Garth and gave Nick a complicated series of high-fives and pawshakes.

"S'up, Garth?" said Nick,

"Hey! You brought company! Hello there, Officer Hopps!" said Garth, taking her paw gallantly and kissing it in the old-fashioned manner.

"I read all about you in the Zootopia Times," said Garth. "Not to mention the Duckburg Daily and the Cape Suzette Gazette. You're quite the heroine."

"Um, thank you very much," said Judy, still unaccustomed to being famous.

"Did I mention I have your body pillow?"

"Er…what?"

"Uhh…so, let's get down to brass tacks, shall we?" said Nick loudly and quickly.

"Alright, Nicky mah boi! What'll it be?" said Garth, turning to his main computer, which was camouflaged among all the other computers and gadgets. "Any public records you need your name wiped off of? Or do you need to tinker with the stock market a bit? Sneak peek into McDuck Enterprises, perhaps?"

"Erm…not this time, Garth," said Nick sheepishly, giving Judy a sideways glance.

"Well then, set the course, Cap'n!" said Garth, moving an imaginary warp drive lever with his paw. "Warp Seven, engage!"

"I need you to tell me what this is," said Nick.

He held the baby chick plush doll and the chirping mechanism in his paws for Garth.

"Well, hello poultry plushie," said Garth, taking the baby chick and the chirping device.

He examined them for a few seconds.

"Hmmm…interesting. Let's go to the operating table and see what little fluffy here has inside, shall we," said Garth, moving to a table amidst the junk piles. It was lined neatly with tools.

Judy and Nick watched as the opossum took a tiny screwdriver and opened the chirping device, then put on his magnifying goggles and looked at every little piece of the device, taking it apart and examining it thoroughly.

After twenty minutes of silence, Garth spoke suddenly, making Judy and Nick jump a little.

"Well, folks, to end your suspense," said Garth, "this is a radio transmitter. Much like the ones inside mobile phones. It's not terribly uncommon, but I've never seen anything like this one before. It's been heavily customised and some of the parts used in it came from a vintage 1977 Sloth Wheels model car. I've only ever seen one toy store carry them, and that's Lady Hypanthia's Toy Emporium in downtown Savanna Central. The radio portion is pretty run-of-the-mill, but there's something super strange about it. Let me connect it to my computer and I'll show you."

Garth took the tiny device and connected some wires to other wires on his computer and opened a programme that showed a sound graph.

"Okay, now pay attention."

Nick cupped his paws over his ears. Judy understood his reaction.

"Don't worry, Nick, you won't hear it," said Garth. "I've muted the speakers."

Nick was reassured. Garth tapped a few keys on his computer and the sound graph distorted to show some green lines in what seemed like a pattern.

"When you power it on, it transmits a signal," said Garth. "It repeats it at 2.5 second intervals. But I don't get why they'd transmit a signal that practically nobody will hear."

"What do you mean?" asked Judy.

"The signal is transmitting at 60,000 Furtz," said Garth. "That frequency is way too high for most people to hear. Heck, it would take a bat or a wolf to hear something like this."

"Or a coyote," said Judy.

"Or a dingo," said Nick.

"Bingo!" said Garth. "Most canines would hear it. Didn't you say your perps were all canines?"

"We didn't say that," said Judy.

"Oh, must have read it in your files, then," said Garth matter-of-factly.

"Read it in…hold on! How did you read…?"

"Please! ZPD's firewall is good for skipping rope with."

"Erm, more importantly," said Nick quickly."What is the message saying? Can you decipher it?"

"Let me bring it down a few notches, then we can listen to it without having our ears bleed," said Garth as he tapped some keys on his computer. "Okay, here it is. It'll play slower, so listen carefully."

He turned his speakers on and they heard a garbled voice. It sounded eerie.

"Kill…her…kill…her…"

Two words. But the effect was electric.

"Looks like someone wanted you dead, Officer Hopps," said Garth. "And they used Nick to do the dirty work. You were probably getting too close to cracking the case so they decided to have someone off you in inexplicable circumstances. Nick takes the blame and goes to prison, and they run off Scott-free. You almost gotta admire them, huh? Of course, they are evildoers so they deserve to be put on ice," he quickly added.

"How…did you figure all that out?" asked Judy amazed.

"Ever play those point-and-click Sherlock Holmes games on the Carrot II computer?" asked Garth. "It's a lot like that, only instead of a 'You Won' screen, we get real criminals in jail where they belong."

"Garth, how come you never applied to be a police investigator at ZPD?" asked Judy.

"Well…nobody ever suggested it."

Nick and Judy glanced sideways at each other.

"Now that you mention it, though, I like the sound of it. Officer Garth O' Possum, Zootopia Police Department. Pretty catchy, eh?"

"Hold on," said Judy. "The chirping device…you said it used parts from a Sloth Wheels toy car?"

"Yes indeed," said Garth. "More specifically, vintage 1977 models with the spring coil made of steel and the see-through windows. Built to last. I have quite a collection over…er….that away…somewhere over there."

"Toy cars!" said Judy. "That's it! Duke Weaselton was stealing toy cars from Lady Hypanthia's Toy Emporium!"

"So he's the supplier!" said Nick. "He's giving the parts to the culprits so they can fix the chirping devices according to their needs. Nobody would suspect toy cars could be used in the crime."

"That low-down filthy louse!" said Judy. "That disgusting, dirt-eating, lying…"

"Ahh…there's just something so sexy about a girl who can swear like a sailor," said Garth with an ear-to-ear grin.

Judy's face went pink and she fell silent

"So the modus operandi is as follows," said Nick.

"Wooo, pulling out the fifteen buck words, are we, Nick?" said Garth.

Nick just chuckled.

"The dart booth is to select who the next victim will be," said Nick as he pieced it all together. "Old Todd makes the canines win because they can hear above the range of most other folk, then he gives them the baby chick plushies. Madame Mystique hypnotises canines only, so somehow she's using the device inside the baby chick dolls to do it, meaning she's a fraud. She can't hypnotise anybody, only animals who hear in the 60,000 Furtz range."

"Her watch!" said Judy. "She must have one of those radio transmitters inside her watch."

"Bingo! Which is why her hocus pocus won't work on you, Carrots," said Nick. "It wouldn't have any effect on you or anyone else who can't hear in that range. And that's why she didn't do her hypnotising act when there was more than one canine in the tent. She didn't want anyone to get suspicious. But I noticed something odd when my ears started ringing every time I walked by her tent. Bam! That solves the mystery of my ears ringing."

"Can I marry your brain?" said Garth.

Nick grinned.

"Better get in line, lover boy," he said, pointing behind Judy. She giggled.

"Anyway. The baby chick plushies are somehow transmitting orders," he continued. "I'm pretty sure she has radio equipment somewhere that can transmit to the baby chick dolls and make her victims commit crimes while in their sleep, by hypnosis."

"The van!" said Judy. "They probably have radio equipment in the van! Then use it to transmit and move around without raising suspicion. Except they did."

She winked at Nick.

"Right you are. The victims are in deep sleep, so they don't remember anything," said Nick. "They pose as members of a travelling carnival so nobody suspects anything. Until now. We have enough evidence here, the baby chick plushie and the radio equipment inside are definitely sufficient grounds to lock them up."

"So you're going to bring it to 'em, aren't you?" said Garth. "You're gonna bust these crooked carnival capers."

"Yup! They're gonna pay for their crimes," said Nick.

"Insert 'You Won' screen here," said Garth.

"We have to show this to Bogo," said Judy. "We definitely have enough to put those two behind bars."

"Hmm…" Garth examined the baby chick plushie closer. "Nick, do you mind if I hang onto this for a while? I might be able to reverse-engineer this doo-hickey and find out where the signal is transmitting form."

"You could do that, Garth?!" said Judy excitedly. "Really?"

"Anything for you, cute little bunnikinns," said Garth.

Judy frowned, but Nick put his paw on her shoulder meaningfully. Garth was the very definition of isolated from society, and to say he was socially awkward was the understatement of the century.

"Gimme a few hours," said Garth. "I'll whip up something and we'll catch these crooks."

"Right," said Nick. "Garth, I owe you one, big time."

"You'll get my consultation invoice," said Garth as he tinkered with the chirper.

"Well, we'll stop by later, Garth. In our squad car. Then we can all go to the station and tell the Chief what we've uncovered."

"Works for me," said Garth as he worked away. "Say, Nick, when's our next D&D gathering?"

"Oh, er…send me a text, to remind me."

"You changed phones like six times since we last spoke," said Garth. "And so have I, in the interest of full disclosure."

"Ah, yes…that's true," said Nick. "Well, let me just write it down for you."

He did and left his number beside Garth.

"Much obliged. See you later."

"That you will," said Nick.

"See you, Garth," said Judy. "We can't thank you enough."

"For you, mon chéri, anytime."

Judy and Nick turned to leave, weaving through the maze of old computers and machines.

"Hey Nick, what do you call a skimpy swimsuit for rabbits?" asked Garth suddenly out of the blue.

"Eh…I dunno," said Nick.

"A bunnykini! Hahaaa!" laughed Garth. "Tell that one to Flash next time you see him!"

"Will do, heh heh!" said Nick as he did his best to laugh along with the opossum.

"Well, now I see where you got your humour from," said Judy with a teasing grin.

As they walked back upstairs and exited the building, Nick looked sheepishly at Judy and opened his mouth to say something. But Judy spoke up before he could utter a word.

"I won't ask," she said simply.

Nick's mouth closed and he smiled.

They walked two blocks in silence until Judy piped up.

"Nick, what's a body pillow?"

"Errm...Zoogle it at your own risk."

---

The warden escorted Duke Weaselton into the interrogation room. He cuffed his paws to the table and made sure he was securely restrained before exiting the room. Duke scowled at him as he left the room, wondering what this was about.

The door opened again, and in walked Judy and Nick, each carrying a heavy book.

"Well, whaddaya know! It's Flopsy the Copsy and her foxy!"

Judy and Nick said nothing. They closed the door and placed the heavy books on top of the table, one on top of the other. Then Judy propped up her phone against the books with the screen facing Duke. And they stood at either side of the table, arms crossed, not saying a word.

"If you think you're gonna get anything outta me, dream on, coppers," said Duke. "Ain't nothing you can do that's gonna make…me…mamaaa…AAAH!"

"Hello, Duke," said a smooth voice coming from Judy's phone.

It was Mr Big, Tundratown's most notorious crime boss, and Fru Fru's father. Small as he was, his image dominated the screen on Judy's phone. He was sitting at his desk…or rather, on his desk…and his face was stern and unsympathetic, as usual. Several thuggish polar bears in suits could be seen behind him.

"I hear you've been a naughty boy lately, not that it should come as any surprise."

Duke almost fell out of his chair. Mr Big was every bit as intimidating over a video call as he was in person.

"Stealing toys from innocent children, are we? And just when one thought you could sink no lower. Just when one thought you'd reached the bottom of the barrel, you discover that if you lift up the barrel and tunnel under, there's your new low."

Mr Big paused to let it sink in, and continued.

"I hear you have information that might help a lot of people, but are unwilling to share. So here's how it's going to go: I'm giving you two choices. You can either refuse to tell my granddaughter's godmother and her stalwart companion everything they need to know, and go quietly back to your cell for the rest of your sentence thinking how clever you are. But the moment you step out of prison, my men are going to pick you up and you're going to come over and pay me a little visit, Dukey. And believe me…it won't be as pleasant as it was the last time you were here."

Duke swallowed hard.

"Word of advice: grow a nice thick winter coat while you're in the slammer, because things are going to get nice and frosty when I'm through with you," said Mr Big with relish. "And then there's choice number two. You tell them everything they need to know, they close the case, and you spend the rest of your sentence in prison knowing that you did the right thing, and thus avoid a great deal of discomfort."

Duke looked at Judy, then at Nick. Both their faces were stern and unmoved.

"I'm making you an offer you can't refuse," said Mr Big. "Ciao."

And he hung up.

"Okay…okay…I'll spill the beans," said Duke, shaking like a gelatine cube.

Judy held up her carrot pen to take the confession.

"Start talking," she said, pressing the RECORD button.

---

"…and so I sold them to Todd. He gave me big bucks for 'em. I didn't ask any questions."

Chief Bogo listened to the recording with his eyes wide.

"I don't know how you do it, Hopps," said Bogo. "But this is our golden ticket."

Then came a knocking on his office door.

"Come in," said Bogo.

Judy, sitting on the chair in front of Bogo's desk, turned around to see Clawhauser walk into the office.

"The results for the van identification came back," said Clawhauser. "It was purchased by one Todd H. Boaringer two years ago, in an auction. We looked into Boaringer. His list of offences is two pages long. Known accomplices: Pandaki Kumamoto, known by her carnival name Madame Mystique, fortune teller and magician. Her list of offences is almost as long as Boaringer's."

"That will do, Clawhauser. We've got them," said Bogo. "Well done Hopps. I want everyone in the briefing room immediately."

There was another knock on the door.

"Come in," said Bogo.

It was Nick, and he had someone with him: Garth O' Possum.

"Greetings and salutations, Chief!" said Garth. "I got a little something you'd like to see."

Garth held up the chirping mechanism and a sheet of paper. It was the schematics with details about the parts and their functions.

"Um…who might you be?" asked Bogo.

"Garth O' Possum, mechanical genius and computer operator extraordinaire, and recently Junior ZPD Officer," said Garth, showing Bogo his sticker badge on his shirt. "On this sheet of paper is everything you need to know about the devices that the perpetrators used to control their victims and coerce them into committing crimes on their behalf, thus taking the blame and leaving the real criminals out of the spotlight."

Bogo took the paper and read it. Nick, Judy, Clawhauser and Garth all waited for him.

"This…is incredible," said Bogo. "Briefing room. Everyone. At once."

---

Bogo stood at the podium in the briefing room. For once, everyone was silent and eager to listen.

"Alright everyone! We have our perpetrators! Dim the lights, Higgins."

Higgins did, and Bogo switched on the projector, showing the pictures of Old Todd and Madame Mystique, along with their long list of crimes.

"I want two teams!" said Bogo, showing them an aerial view of the carnival. "Team One will be at the entrance of the carnival, making sure they don't run away. Team Two will move in and arrest them. There will be people at the carnival, we don't have time to clear the area. I want everyone to exercise caution and good judgement. All canine officers must wear earplugs; the perpetrators use a sonic device that can affect officers with hearing ranges in the upper ten thousands. Your positions…"

Everyone listened, got their assignments and rushed to their squad cars. Bogo himself would go and oversee the operation.

"Hey, Chief!" said a voice in the back. It was Garth.

Bogo was surprised to see him. He hadn't noticed the opossum walking into the briefing room, but he didn't have time to say anything.

"This is a tracking device I whipped up," said Garth, giving Bogo a small gadget with a screen and some knobs. "It can detect where the radio signals sent to the baby chick dolls are coming from."

"I see," said Bogo, holding the tiny device in his massive hoof. "Perhaps one of our…er…less corpulent officers can operate this device. Hopps…"

"I'm on it, Chief!" said Judy as she jumped onto a desk and took the device from Bogo.

"Okay, then. Let's get moving."

---

Judy and Nick drove through town with Clawhauser in the backseat, heading towards the city exit.

"All this tension is making me hungry," said Clawhauser.

"You don't say?" said Nick, grinning and looking sideways at Judy, who struggled not to chuckle.

"Hopps. Can you please stop over there for a minute?" said Clawhauser, pointing at a doughnut shop.

"Clawhauser, we're on our way to make an arrest," said Judy.

"It'll only take a minute," said Clawhauser.

"Grrr…alright. Make it quick," said Judy, slowing down and stopping the squad car in front of the doughnut shop. "If you drop any crumbs in our squad car, I expect you to clean them up."

"Don't worry, I can be very tidy," said Clawhauser, opening the door.

"Emphasis on 'can'," Judy muttered under her breath.

"Hey! Look over there!" said Nick, pointing at something farther down the block.

Judy looked and saw that it was the Mystic Springs Oasis, a naturalist club where she and Nick had had to go into ten months ago during their investigation of the missing mammals.

"Oh cripes," said Judy, rolling her eyes. "Don't remind me..."

"Oh! The Mystic Springs Oasis," said Clawhauser smiling. "I haven't been there in a while."

He got out of the car and walked to the doughnut shop.

Judy and Nick sat looking into empty space, processing what Clawhauser had just said, their eyes wide.

"My mind just went to a place I hope it will never go to again for as long as I live," said Judy.

"Mine too," said Nick. "And now I need mind bleach."

They looked at each other and shuddered.

---

The fairgoers noticed the heavy police presence. Four squad cars were parked at the entrance of the carnival, and three more were parked a short distance from the road beyond.

Judy switched on the tracking device that Garth had made, and she and Nick followed the beeps, with Officers Higgins and Anderson behind them. Then they spotted it.

"Jackpot," said Judy, pointing at the brown van with Granny Mae's Flower Boutique painted on the side. "Ten to one the money is in the van."

Higgins brought a wheel clamp and locked it securely on the front wheel. Then Anderson forced the lock and opened the back. Sure enough...

"Holy fifteen-buck-van-with-fifty-thousand-worth-of-equipment!" said Nick.

The inside was decked with electronics. A box of baby chick plush dolls stood in the corner, and some toy cars in a bag.

"Looks like the carnival is over for the gruesome twosome," said Judy triumphantly.

---

Chief Bogo marched through the crowd, heading straight to Old Todd's booth. He saw the boar going about his shtick as usual.

"Step right up, folks! Try your luck, only for a buck! Hit the target...oh, good day, Officer!"

"Good morning," said Chief Bogo as he stood in front of the booth and rested his elbow on the counter. "How's business going?"

"As good as one can hope," said Old Todd. "Gotta make a living somehow."

"Yes, and from the looks of it, you are making quite a tidy profit for a carnival booth owner, aren't you, Mr Boaringer?" said Bogo, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

"Ermm...come again?"

"Does the number eighty thousand and six hundred sound familiar to you?" whispered Bogo.

Old Todd's face went pale. Bogo knew that he had shaken the old boar. Eighty thousand and six hundred was the exact amount of money that was stolen from the Lemming Brothers Bank.

"Umm...er...who...I mean...how did you..." stammered Old Todd.

"Oh, a little baby chick chirped it to me," said Bogo triumphantly.

Old Todd edged backwards into his tent.

"Um...er...I don't think...um..."

"Todd Boaringer, you are under arrest..." started Bogo, but suddenly, the boar shot out of the tent by the side-flap and made a run for it.

Bogo ran after him.

"ALL UNITS!" said Bogo into his radio. "HE'S RUNNING EAST, TOWARDS THE FERRIS WHEEL!"

Old Todd charged through a funnel cake stand and raced towards Madame Mystique's tent. He burst into the tent, finding her on the stage performing her flower magic trick.

"The game's over, Pandaki! Let's split!"

Madame Mystique jumped off the stage and ran towards the entrance of the tent, followed by Old Todd. Her audiences looked confused, wondering what was happening.

"I'll distract them," said Madame Mystique and pulled a smoke bomb out of her garment.

She threw the smoke bomb into the crowd and it exploded in a puff. Loud screams and commotion ensued, giving the two perpetrators a good diversion.

"The van!" said Old Todd. "It's in the parking lot!"

They ran through the crowd but stopped near the entrance, seeing the police cars blocking the gate.

"We're trapped!" said Old Todd.

"Lucky for you, I prepared for such an occasion," said Madame Mystique. "To the funhouse. Hurry."

They turned around and saw Officers Delgato and McHorn coming towards them.

"Other side," said Old Todd and they bolted around a cotton candy stand, narrowly dodging Officer Rhinowitz and Chief Bogo.

"They're heading towards the funhouse!" yelled Bogo. "Two at each entrance! Trap the in!"

Old Todd and Madame Mystique ran into the funhouse entrance, pushing aside everyone in the line.

"We've got them!" said Bogo. "Stay here, Rhinowitz! Delgato, McHorn, cover the exit!"

But suddenly, something burst out of the side of the funhouse. A pickup truck!

"They have a getaway ride!" said McHorn.

"TEAM TWO!" yelled Bogo into his radio. "THEY'RE ESCAPING IN A BLACK PICKUP TRUCK! BLOCK THEIR ESCAPE ROUTE!"

---

Judy heard Bogo's voice on her radio and waved to Nick to follow her. Nick's ears were stuffed with cotton, so he could not hear.

Just as they got into their squad car, a black pickup truck crashed through the wooden fence a short distance away from them, bypassing the police barrier. It drove over the rough terrain and bounced about, heading towards Meadowlands Highway.

"It's them! They're getting away!" said Nick.

"Not this time!" said Judy. "Hold onto your brush tail!"

She started the car and floored the pedal, shooting off after them.

"This is Officer Wilde! Perpetrators are fleeing west on Meadowland Highway!" Nick said into the radio, pulling the cotton swabs out of his ears. "Officer Hopps and I are on their tail."

"Copy, Wilde," said the voice on the other end. "We're right behind you."

"This time you're going down, creeps," said Judy behind her teeth, leaning over the wheel like a racer as they pursued the fleeing truck.

They shot past a familiar landmark. The emergency telephone booth where the brown van had been parked the night of the bank robbery. And just ahead...blinking lights and a loud horn...

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me!" yelled Judy as she saw the drawbridge signal flashing.

"We can corner them at the drawbridge!" said Nick.

"They're not slowing down! Look!"

The black pickup truck sped past the broken road gate and shot across the bridge just as it began to elevate.

Judy sped on towards the bridge, clutching the wheel hard.

"Carrots!" said Nick. "We've been here before!"

"We can make it!"

She held the gas pedal down hard with her foot.

"This time we can make it!" she said, her eyes glued on the bridge.

"I hope you're right about this!"

"Hold onto your seat!"

They reached the end of the elevating drawbridge and...

"Sweet cheese and crackers..." muttered Nick as he felt his tummy going to his feet.

The squad car was airborne for all of two seconds...and then plummeted down onto the other half of the bridge.

BAM! It bounced twice and sped on down the other side, right behind the black pickup truck!

"We made it!" said Judy.

"In one piece!" said Nick.

They both laughed out loud and shared a fist-bump.

The runaway pickup truck sped down the road, just a few yards ahead of them. Judy kept the wheel steady. They were gaining on them fast.

"They're trying to reach the county line," said Nick.

"We'll intercept them before they get close," said Judy. "The others are probably stuck at the drawbridge."

"If we...WHOA! WATCH OUT!"

The black pickup truck slammed the brakes and started swaying back and forth. Judy dodged it by a hair's breadth and slammed the breaks also. Just as they came to a stop, the truck shot past them.

"Dirty trick!" said Judy, flooring the gas pedal once more.

"They're not gonna make taking them in an easy task," said Nick.

Judy drove at top-speed and was just a foot away from them. Then, she opened her window.

"Take the wheel, Nick!"

"What!? What are you doing?!"

Then he figured out what she was doing.

"Carrots! I know what you're thinking, but unless you have a flask of Gummiberry juice in your pocket, don't...even...try...aii!"

Before he could stop her, Judy leaped out of the window and onto the pickup truck...just as it swerved away.

She barely made it. Her paws closed onto the edge of the tailgate, her body hanging in the wind dangerously.

With a tremendous move, Judy pulled herself over the edge and landed on the floor of the pickup bed. She took her stun gun out and crawled to the front.

Madame Mystique and Old Todd were inside, sealed and beyond her reach. There was no way she could make them stop.

"Cotton rot!" said Judy under her breath. "Maybe I didn't think this through."

Then her eyes turned to the right...and she saw a box. It was half open and inside were...

"Darts!"

It was Old Todd's box of spare darts to replace the ones that got damaged at his booth. Judy opened the box and took a pawful of darts.

"Well..." she said, moving to the back of the truck. "This is either very smart...or something else altogether."

She threw the pawful of darts under the truck...and she heard a loud BANG! A wheel had busted!

Nick sped right beside the truck, now destabilised and swerving dangerously.

"GRAB MY PAW!" said Nick, extending his arm out the window.

Judy tried to jump, but every time she tried, the truck swerved away.

"JUMP! I'LL CATCH YOU!"

"NICK!"

"JUDY!"

And then, the truck tipped over!

"AAHH!"

Judy jumped. She closed her eyes, feeling nothing beneath her, sure that these were her last seconds of life...only to be gripped firmly by the paw and pulled in through the squad car window, landing on a lap and embraced tightly by a warm, familiar arm.

Nick hit the brakes as he held Judy tightly, watching the pickup truck tumble and skid on the asphalt, until it came to a complete stop.

---

Judy and Nick approached the pickup truck. It was lying on its side, its wheels spinning slowly. Out of the broken windscreen crawled two figures, battered and woozy: Madame Mystique and Old Todd.

"Urrrg," muttered Old Todd.

"Beaten by a backwater bunny and a trashy fox," groaned Madame Mystique under her breath.

Judy and Nick looked sideways at each other and nodded. Nick knelt down and Judy jumped onto his shoulders.

"Cop didn't see it..." said Judy as she leaped off Nick's shoulders and round-house kicked Madame Mystique in the jaw, knocking her out!

Old Todd looked aghast, but before he could utter a word, Nick's fist connected to his face and the boar fell to the ground, out cold!

"...I didn't do it!" finished Nick as Judy landed from her jump right beside him, and they high-fived.

And just then, they heard the sirens of the rest of their fellow officers arriving in their squad cars.

---

At first, they were uncooperative. But finally, they gave in. Old Todd and Madame Mystique confessed to their crimes. They told the police where they had stashed the loot. The banknotes were found and traced to the Stoat Farm Bank in Bunny Burrow and the Lemming Brothers Bank in Zootopia. Everything was recorded and registered and broadcast on ZNN for the entire city to see. Judge Hodgson was less than sympathetic when the time came to pronounce their sentence.

Mayor Vince Mousawitz was proud to award an Exceptional Merit Medal to Judy Hopps and Nicholas Piberius Wilde in front of the press, extolling their virtues and emphasising that they served as an example for the community. A rabbit and a fox, awarded medals for courageous and intelligent duty at great personal risk, for the entire city to witness. Chief Bogo was right. The world was moving forward.

Mayor Mousawitz also awarded a Good Citizen Award to Garth O' Possum for his invaluable help in cracking the case and finding the true culprits behind the mysterious robberies.

"Aww, shucks, it was nothing, really," said Garth into the microphones. "So this is what a 'You Won' screen feels like in real life. Gosh, I could get used to this."

And he was met with thunderous applause.

---

Nick and Judy walked out of the courthouse after witnessing justice being imparted. Suddenly, from the crowd, a familiar face came running towards them! It was the coyote college girl, now cleared of all charges. She was carrying two bouquets of flowers.

"Thank you so much!" she said, hugging Judy and Nick and giving them the flowers. "I can never repay you for all you've done! I study Forensic Science, it's my final year. As soon as I get my diploma, I'm heading straight for ZPD and I'm going to work with you! You are my heroes!"

And with that, without warning, she kissed Nick's cheek and ran away blushing like mad.

Judy smirked and looked sideways at Nick.

"Well, slick, looks like I've got competition," she said. "You should get yourself a PO box for all your fangirl mail."

"Oh, shush, you," said Nick, grinning and chuckling with her.

---

Nana Bernardine was acquitted. The sheriff and his deputies and half of Bunny Burrow were present when the judge pronounced the verdict. Nana Bernardine hugged Judy with tears streaming down her old eyes. She could not express her gratitude.

"We knew it would all end up well, Nana," said Judy as she held the old St. Bernard's paw and walked her out of the courtroom amidst cheers and congratulations.

"You two are the most wonderful pair of detectives since Watson and Mr Holmes," said Nana Bernardine, looking fondly at Nick and Judy on the front steps of the Bunny Burrow Courthouse. "I must bake you a pie or a cake...or something. I do not know that I can thank you enough, my dears."

"Seeing you smile and seeing your neighbours celebrating this day is more than enough thanks for us, dear lady," said Nick gallantly.

Sheriff Shepard offered to give Nana a ride to the town hall, where the police staff was organising a party for her. As Nana sat in the car, she looked at Judy, holding Nick's arm and smiling back at her.

"You chose well, honey," said Nana, smiling and giving them a knowing wink. "Let me know the date, and I'll bake the cake myself.

As the sheriff's car drove away, Judy felt herself go pink in the cheeks.

---

Duke Weaselton walked out of the prison gates. His sentence was over, and he was once again free to do as he pleased on the streets.

No sooner than he reached the sidewalk, though, a large black car pulled up and three polar bears in suits surrounded him.

"NO!" yelled Duke aghast. "I DID WHAT HE WANTED!"

The polar bears snatched him and stuffed him into the car.

Shortly, the polar bears roughly pushed Duke into the familiar study where, atop a large mahogany desk, sat Mr Big himself.

"Duke," said Mr Big. "You made the right choice, my lad."

Duke smiled warily, looking around him.

"You helped my granddaughter's godmother close her case, and for that, you have my gratitude."

"Um...it was nothing..." quavered Duke.

"However, there is one little matter to discuss," said Mr Big dangerously.

"Er...what would that be, Mr Big, sir?"

Mr Big grinned evilly as Marcel, one of his thugs, snatched Duke by the scruff and dangled him above the carpet.

"NO! NOO! I DID WHAT YOU WANTED!"

The other two bears removed the carpet and the false floor, revealing the infamous pit of gelid ice and freezing water.

"You're a bad apple, Duke," said Mr Big. "And a bad apple spoils the others."

"MERCY! PLEASE!"

"I may not earn an honest buck, but I know where to draw the line. And that's something you have not learned, Dukey."

"I'LL MEND MY WAYS! I'LL DO ANYTHING! ANYTHING!"

"That you will, my boy," said Mr Big as he watched the weasel dangle over the deadly pit. "Because from now on, you're working for me. I'm going to straighten you out and make sure you learn never to cross certain lines. I'm teaching you respect and loyalty. Every move you make, every sneeze, every cough, I will know of it before you think of it. And if you ever step out of line again..."

Marcel let him go. Duke plummeted and shrieked until Marcel caught him again by the leg.

"Do I make myself clear?" asked Mr Big with a big smile.

"YES! CRYSTAL CLEAR!"

"Good."

The polar bears replaced the false floor and the rug, making the dreadful pit disappear.

"Marcel, take this piece of scum and throw him out," said Mr Big, waving his paw.

Marcel nodded and carried Duke away in his paw.

"Oh, and Marcel..."

The bear paused, listening. Duke swallowed hard.

"...make sure he lands in something as filthy as he is."

Marcel nodded in acknowledgment, carrying Duke out of the office and closing the door behind him.

As the door closed, Fru Fru came into the study, carrying Baby Judy, and walked to her father's side.

"Daddy! It's almost time for your soap opera."

"Is it, baby? Well, I'll be right there."

Then he looked at his granddaughter and smiled. Baby Judy smiled back.

"Granpapa!" she gurgled in her babyish voice.

"Who's my little pudding cake?" said Mr Big, taking his granddaughter in his arms. "Who's Granpapa's little poppet? Koochie-koo!"