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Judy went home without Nick so much as looking back on her more than once. She'd watched him match his stride with Ffion's, falling into a rhythm of chatter than made her grind her teeth in frustration. He should have been focussing, not running around with the females of his species!

Then again, she was his old friend, not that he'd told her anything of their history together. Nick didn't like opening up to her, even after everything they'd been through, and she respected that. It wasn't like she was honest about everything in her life, either. It would probably be good for him, perhaps, to have someone else to focus his attention on rather than spending all of his time with a rabbit. They spent every day working together that he deserved some time alone or with other mammals. Being selfish wasn't her style.

"Well look what we have here, a cute little bunny in an officer's uniform; don't see that every day, do ya, Leo?"

Judy jumped, whipping around to her right, staring directly into the shadows of a dark alley. Two pairs of glowing eyes stared back at her before they moved forward, one a shocking red while the other was a crystal blue. By their scent, she knew what they were before she saw them. Bunnies had far more enemies than foxes, after all.

Had it not been for the thickness of the air and the very lonely feel that overcame her, she would have made an outburst to the "cute" comment.

The smell of coal was thick in the air, coal and damp earth and sometimes the fresh spring water that was purer than sweet, sweet summer. She could hear the razor sharp claws teasing the ground, the sound so faint to any other animal than her. It was a threatening gesture, the almost silent scratching making her twitch uncomfortably. She didn't need to think about what the other mammal would be, either.

While a cat was pure and majestic, a stoat was no better than a weasel if not worse. Like their cousins, they were common thugs she dealt with everyday in Zootopia, scamming others, pickpocketing them, sticking their noses in mammals' business where it was not wanted. They always smelt like bad eggs mixed with all the trash of the world, and it made her want to hold her breath in disgust.

The cat made himself known first, followed by the stoat, confirming her suspicions.

The cat was not much taller than she was, perhaps a head shorter than Nick. He was dressed casually, a blue shirt over a green t-shirt, accompanied by blue jeans. Black fur had a silky shine in the moonlight, cleanly groomed regularly. His ears were pricked, no doubt listening to the thundering of her heart that his satisfied grin suggested. He was chewing something, though she wasn't quite sure what, and she found herself staring into those blue eyes in a way that had her paralysed to the spot. Cats had a way of charm, not quite in the same way of a fox, but certainly not far off. She glanced at his hind claws continuing to tease the concrete, gulping nervously.

Mr stoat was equally as sly. He was in his summer coat, thin and slick why his movements had mischief write all over them, poised as if ready to pounce at any given moment. He had a bandana tight around his neck, red and blending into the collar of his purple shirt. He modelled black trousers, tight to his scrawny legs and must have been privately tailored for himself. His tail swished behind him, and he leaned one elbow up against the wall to balance himself.

"Not often we get to see Officer Hopps walking in the evening alone anymore, not with foxy around." the stoat said in the most mocking voice she had ever heard. "How sad; Nick used to be a fine hustler. You transformed him into a cop. You should be ashamed."

"Hardly." She snapped in response, folding her arms. "What do you want?"

"What happened to your buddy? Finally got bored of you and ditched you, huh?" the cat purred, picking at his fangs.

"He had somewhere else to be."

"Yeah, sniffing around that stunning vixen the last I checked." The stoat chirped. "Mammals notice things, you know."

"What difference does it make?"

"Well," said the cat, prowling forward, circling her slowly. She held her breath, hoping against hope that he couldn't smell the fear beneath her skin. He prodded her in the back was a claw, causing her to gasp and jump away. "He left you here, alone and unprotected, off duty, in the dark."

"I'm still an Officer." She warned coldly. "I wouldn't try to threaten me if I were you."

"How sweet, you almost sound brave." The stoat chuckled. "Lucky for you were not trying to threaten you."

"Then what are you trying to do?"

The pair looked at one another, smirking and eyes untrustworthy. She could have run there and then, but flight wasn't her game. She'd joined the police for a reason, and to run from trouble was like running from the job. Besides, she was curious as to why they had approached her in the first place, particularly now.

"You're working on the attacks on prey, are you not?" the cat asked, tapping his chin thoughtfully. Automatically Judy's ears pricked forward, alert and eagerly listening. A part of her wondered how they knew about that, but the other was just grateful that this was a first lead despite not voluntarily finding it. Maybe this was where she was about to start-

"What do you know?" she shook her head. "Wait, what are your names?"

"Leo Felinton." Said the cat, gesturing proudly to himself.

"Chad Ermin." Chuckled the stoat.

"Now tell me what you know."

"I don't think so." Said Chad, nibbling his nails in amusement, circling the rabbit with mocking eyes. He poked and prodded her, clearly trying to get a reaction out of her. When he pulled on her ears, she shot back and crouched, ready to make a break for it if she had to.

"If you're just going to waste my time, I'd leave now." She threatened, not that it was a strong threat. She was no match against two predators on her own. She couldn't make an arrest because she had no ground to stand on. The only thing keeping her here was the possibility of gathering information. They had to know something!

The cat smiled. "Find the red squirrel, he can help you."

"What red squirrel?" she demanded.

"Now that would be ruining the game if we told you more than that, darling." Chad said, tickling her chin disrespectfully. "I'll tell you one thing though, fluff; watch your back."

"Is that a threat?!"

"It was a threat, but not directly from us. Think of it as a warning."

Suddenly, happening so quickly she didn't have time to look up, she heard the sound of something falling through the air directly above her. She couldn't even work up enough strength in her legs in time to react, for everything had gone dark. She was knocked off her feet, breathless and horribly startled to the point she was convinced her heart was in her mouth. She struggled, desperate to be free of the musky brown sack that now contained her, and after a few violent thrashes she was free, her eyes wide and fighting through the darkness.

But she was alone, predators no longer in sight.

The following morning, after a brief sleep that had her running through corridors filled with questions yet no one to answer then, she was on her laptop at a time that not even the nocturnal animals had retreated to bed yet. She searched anything relating to the red squirrel that may have been referred to, but for a while she found nothing. She scrolled and scrolled and scrolled, hoping to find something deep on the confinements of Zoogle's search engine, but it wasn't until she hit page twenty four that she had finally found something that may have been of interest.

Peter Bush, a red squirrel who had the scars of a brutal attack but had remained silent. He'd been transported to hospital eighteen months earlier after being found in a gutter near his home, unconscious and unresponsive. Police had asked him time and time again what had happened, but the fear he had felt from the experience had kept him silent.

Now, from the information she had gathered, he was left blind in one eye and so frightened to the point that no one had been in contact with him since his attack.

She hastily grabbed her phone, which highlighted a text from Nick.

I'm sorry about tonight, Carrots. I'll make it up to you, promise.

She rolled her eyes and rang him, hoping that she could keep her annoyance out of her voice once he answered. She wasn't in the mood; they had far more important matters.

"Carrots, this is way before your wake up call, is everything alright?" he sounded incredibly awake, which was no surprise due to being nocturnal. Nick didn't sleep much, and when he did it was for a whole day or nap over the course of three days. His sleeping patterns were irregular, yet he never seemed phased. He was never tired, never unfocussed, and never late to work in the morning from over sleeping.

"I got a lead."

"What? How? When?"

"I'll explain later, meet me outside the station in twenty."

"You got it."

They hung up, and Judy made a mental note of looking up that cat and stoat at a later date. But for now she was happy with what she had. A lead.

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