A cloud burst over a small mountain of baked wheat and sugary puffs. Each of the puffs were formed into several magically delicious geometric shapes. The white rain poured down from the heavens, and the calcium enriched and pasteurized, thick, cream flowed across the brightly colored slopes. Within moments the Lucky Chomps were swimming in a deep sea of rich pale lactate.

Once the rain stopped, and the flavor infused puffs floated peacefully in the sun, they were joined by a giant silver coated shovel, with fancy swirls engraved into the handle. The shovel soon rose from the white sea carrying with it many pieces of pure, vitamin enhanced, sugary goodness. A large, yellow paw with black spots carefully lifted the shovel through the air to a dark and dangerous cave filled with sharp, white stalactites.

Clawhouser took another bite of his favorite morning breakfast cereal while seated at the reception desk in the lobby of Precinct #1. It was a large round room with a great domed ceiling, and several huge windows that let in the morning light. The desk where the cheetah sat was more of a large, round kiosk, situated inside a giant circle and star emblem inlayed into the marble floor. The engraving on the floor resembled an old-western style sheriff's badge. A large, gray wolf was standing next to the receptionist, discussing several official looking papers while the cheetah ate.

With each bite, Clawhouser hummed a happy tune, thoroughly enjoying every artificial sugary flavor, while Wolfard droned on about the finer parts of report specifications and the accuracy of witness details. The gruff wolf barely noticed how much milk and cereal sloshed about as the happy cheetah practically danced with the bowl in his paws. He did not even look up from his paperwork until a sudden breeze ruffled the papers and several of them fell to the floor.

"They're here," the spotted feline exclaimed with a quiet squeal. He put down the cereal bowl and grabbed his phone in hopes of capturing a candid shot from the double dose of cuteness that approached.

The front door was was held open by a dark paw, while it's counterpart swished low across the portal. A red fox with dark brown paws, bowed graciously in front of a grey rabbit with bright lavender eyes, guiding her through the entrance. He was oddly holding his breath while he held the door for her. "Officer Hopps," the todd said.

"Officer Wilde," the bunny replied in thanks as she bowed to him in return.

"Oh, that's just too cute," the rotund receptionist squealed, hurting the sensitive ears of the muscular wolf next to him. He took several pictures of the two tiny officers as they waltzed into the police station with their arms entwined and bright smiles that lit up the nearly empty lobby.

"Good morning Clawhouser," they both said in unison, crossing the lobby and through the far door into the aptly named bullpen..

"Morning, you two," the big cat replied barely containing his glee at how happy the couple looked today. He remembered the last time he saw them, only a few days ago, and how they weren't even speaking to each other. His curiosity over what caused such a dramatic change would have to wait, but before the day was out he would know all the juicy gossip.

"Disgusting," a gruff voice said next to him. The canine wrinkled his large nose and tried to cover it with his disheveled paperwork.

"What's that, Wolfard?" Clawhouser asked thumbing through his new acquisition of revealing photos.

"The two of them," the wolf said shaking his head.

"Oh, um, wait," the yellow spotted mammal looked bewildered, "I didn't know you were against that kind of thing. In fact, don't you have the hots for a certain tigress?"

"No, it's not that," he said giving the much larger mammal a friendly shove, "Can't you smell that?"

Clawhouser lifted his nose to sniff the air, "I don't know, did someone bring in some fresh cut flowers?"

"Felines, all that inbreeding has flattened your noses and dulled your senses."

"Gee, thanks. I can't help that I have such a historic pedigree," the round cheetah said puffing out his broad chest.

"Ugh, can we open a window or something?" Wolford complained while wrinkling his nose again. "The rabbit's pheromones are flooding the lobby."

"Is that what that is?"

"Yeah, she is practically screaming, 'Come get me big boy.'" the wolf started to choke and gag, "I don't know how Wilde can stand it since his nose is almost as good as a wolf's. I've seriously got to get some fresh air!"

"Ok, catch you later pal," the cheetah said in parting, as he watched the wolf quickly head through the precinct's main door, that Nick and Judy just entered.

The bullpen was filled with the usual crowd of large police officers- wolves, bears, hippos, rhinos, cheetahs, lions, and an elephant. Many were carousing about in their sturdy chairs and making bets on the day's early morning arm wrestling match. The small fox and rabbit officers sauntered through the oversized crowd and managed to make it to their shared chair before a shadow filled the opposite door and the large hippo at the front of the room yelled, "Ten-Hut!"

A great cape buffalo entered the room to the sound of paws and hoofs slamming on tables.

He clutched a small stack of manila folders tightly in his hoof, with various papers sticking out of the edges. Handing out the assignments with a cold efficiency, he waited until last to address the two smallest officers.

Glaring down from the podium at Nick and Judy, Bogo said in a calm, yet gruff voice, "You two still have some paperwork to finish."

Both tiny officers stood in their chair and saluted crisply, "Yes Sir."

"Sargent Razorback is eagerly awaiting your reports on the school bomb incident, and you're already three days late," he grunted motioning towards the door.

Again the two smaller cops saluted their boss again as they headed for the exit.

Up two flights of stairs and down several winding halls, Nick and Judy found their desks and began working on sorting through and organizing the mountain of reports required when responding to a bomb threat. Judy dug out her notepad and carrot pen as she sat down with each of the witness reports, while Nick waded through sheets and sheets of paper describing the bomb he found and how they had disarmed and disposed of it. All in all, it was hundreds of pages longer than either one of them would have had to file if they had simply followed protocol and waited for the bomb squad.

Only an hour into their paperwork a large, chocolate-brown llama stopped by their desk carrying a flat white box, "Are you two Officers Hopps and Wilde?"

"Yes, that would be us," the fox quickly replied, eager for any escape from the monotonous reports, "what can we do for you?"

"My name is Ray. I'm from the tech department."

"Why, hello Ray," Nick held out his paw to watch the llama awkwardly try to juggle the box in his hoofs as he reached out to shake the fox's paw, "What can my partner and I do for the techies today?"

After getting his hoof and the box sorted out, the camelid replied, "Well I am actually here to apologize. I seems that my mistake the other day sent you guys on a wild mammal chase."

"Oh, really?" Nicks ears perked up and his eyes sparkled, while Judy just put her forehead into her paws and shook her head at the fox's antics. "What kind of mistake are we talking about here, buddy?"

"Well, the other day Clawhouser asked me to trace a number for you guys ASAP, so I just ran a cursory scan, and gave him the first number that came up."

"So let me guess, that was the wrong number?" the fox asked standing up to get a better view of the llama, but he barely came to the mammal's waist.

"Not exactly, no."

"What do you mean, 'Not Exactly?'"

"It wasn't the only number that came back," the taller mammal replied. "So it looks like whoever made that call managed to route it through at least 12 different countries and then used a spoofed cell number."

"And what exactly does that mean?"

"I guess, what I'm trying to say is that there really isn't any way to trace the call's location without getting ahold of the calling device," the llama explained, his head held low.

Flopping back into his chair, the todd exhaled in frustration, "That's hardly any help."

"I know. I'm sorry."

Judy looked up from her paperwork to ask, "So, if you'll excuse me, Ray, why did you come all the way up here to apologize? Wouldn't a call or an email have sufficed?"

"Yes, you're exactly right. But I wanted to apologize in person," the llama lifted the long white box in his hooves and held it out to the two smaller officers, "And I thought you two might like some donuts."

Nick immediately leapt from his chair and accepted the proffered box. He pulled out one of the chocolate glazed treats, shoved it into his muzzle, and handed the rest to his partner.

"Apology accepted!" he mumbled, teeth full of chocolate and dough.

"Thanks Ray," the bunny replied and waved as Ray headed back to the Cyber Crimes Department, also jokingly referred to as 'The Dungeon'.

Pulling a berry filled donut out of the box and nibbling on the edge, Judy commented, "That was a randomly specific piece of information." She turned to her partner, licking powdered sugar off her lips to ask, "Should we add it to the reports?"

"Naw, that should be part of Ray's job."

"I will add it as a footnote so the Sarge can reference the tech's reports."

"Go for it," the fox mumbled, his jaws once again stuffed with something deep fried and smothered in chocolate. A drop of chocolate dribbled down the side of his cheek.

Judy watched fascinated as her partner tore into the donut with his fangs, but her paws began to twitch when she noticed he had smeared a large glob of chocolate on his cheek. She stood up and walked over to his side of the desk, unconsciously picking up a dry paper napkin on the way. Lifting the napkin to wipe away the offending blotch of chocolate, she completely missed his cheek and let the napkin bonk his nose. Instead she pressed her lips to his cheek and happily lapped up the delicious smudge.

Neither the rabbit or the fox noticed the sudden squeal that echoed from across the room, or the slightly quieter click that accompanied it. "Oh, Emm, Goodness! I can't believe it finally happened," Clawhouser cooed, playing with a picture on his phone. From the angle of the photograph it looked like Nick and Judy were sharing a rather intimate kiss.

"I just have to share this with everyone," the large cheetah squealed again and quickly left the room.

"What do you think that was all about?" the fox said, finally looking up.

"I don't know, but will you just hold still? You are such a messy eater," the bunny replied, holding his muzzle still while she wiped up the last bits of chocolate. She was completely unaware that she had used anything other than the napkin in her paw. Hours later, even after the photo had fully saturated the office, she would still deny the incident had ever happened.

The rest of the paperwork flew by in a combination of furry flurry and the tedium of tapping keys, with both Nick and Judy having to repetitively reference the small yellow notepad and seemingly endless recordings on the carrot pen. Lunch was noodle takeout delivered by a bike-riding ferret, who somehow managed to balance two large boxes of noodles while riding at a furious speed. While they ate, Judy double checked her partner's work, scoffing at his description of the explosive device.

"It's wasn't a pipe bomb Nick," the rabbit exclaimed.

"It was round, and black, and shoved behind the plumbing," he explained, "clearly a pipe, bomb. With two words."

"Har, har. I'm sure the Chief will find that hilarious, Slick."

"But, I'm not writing this report for the Chief. It's for Razorback," the todd explained.

"Regardless of who files the report, the Chief is still going to read it."

"Then he can enjoy my highly accurate descriptions." Judy rolled her eyes at his smug comment and returned to her own reports.

They eventually managed to finish all their paperwork with a few hours left in the day and decided to deliver the reports to the T.U.S.K. offices in person. The special forces unit was stationed in a different building a few blocks away so they took their cruiser.

As the pair walked into Sergeant Razorback's office, the desk loaded down with stacks of reports, the large boar was waiting for them with a gruff expression that reminded them of a certain buffalo. "About time you two finished. I've been waiting three days for those reports."

"Yeah, we were a little detained," Nick replied smugly.

"Oh, I heard all about your suspensions," the gruff boar grunted.

"You heard about that?" Judy asked.

"Of course. Word gets around, especially about officers who like to take risks to get the job done," the larger mammal said looking directly at Nick.

The fox stood up straight and puffed out his chest, "Thanks for noticing."

The boar just snorted at the fox's comment, "You two should consider yourselves lucky the bomber was an amateur. Probably even their first time."

"What do you mean?" the fox inquired.

"I mean, that bomb wouldn't have gone off even if I ran over it with snow plow!" the boar snorted again standing up. "That stuff they used was as stable as my grandmother's corn chowder."

"Is that so?"

"Yup. The chemistry was all wrong. We suspect they used some fairly stable medical grade components, which make a nice fire in a microwave, but aren't strong enough to take down a building."

Judy's ears perked up as she asked, "So you're saying what we found was nothing but an oversized firecracker?"

"Sure, you could lose an arm or a leg, or even do some real nice damage to the plumbing, but that's about it."

"Cheese and Crackers!"

"But if you're looking to get yourself killed, we are always interested in taking on new recruits," Razorback said, turning back to face Nick with a dark gleam in his eye. "Especially small mammals like you who can fit into tight places."

With an expression of sheer terror, the rabbit stomped on her partner's foot and stabbed her elbow into his small ribs. "Nick," she hissed. To the T.U.S.K. Sargent she saluted and said, "We have to get going now."

A small elbow still stuck in his side the fox coughed and replied, "Yes, lots of work to catch up on."

Ignoring the rabbit, the boar gave Nick a puzzled look, "Oh, that reminds me. Bogo said that if you two dropped off the reports early that you were to head back out on patrol for the rest of your shift."

"Thank you, Sergeant," the gray rabbit saluted the sergeant as she was dragging her partner out of the boar's office.

"And Officer Wilde, I meant what I said about new recruits. You've showed that you have the guts for our line of work."

Judy pulled on the fox even harder, mouthing the word 'NO' with her lips.

"Just think about it," Razorback exclaimed as the fox and rabbit disappeared around the door.

Back in the cruiser, Judy gave her fox a solid punch in the shoulder and held her fist to his nose.

"Ouch!" the todd hollered, firmly rubbing his sore shoulder. "What did you do that for?"

"You know exactly what for, or have you forgotten our talk last night?" Judy cried, angrily shaking her fist.

"What, um, yeah I remember," he said trying to remember what they had talked about after the movie was over. He did vaguely remember something about a promise but the rest of the evening was lost in a haze of purple fluff.

"Ok, if you remember your promise to me then you won't even consider Sargent Boom Boom's offer."

"Wait, Fluff. Did you just make up a pretty good nickname?"

"No. If you had been paying attention you'd know that is what everyone around the office calls him," the rabbit chuckled. She then swung her fist back towards his nose, "And don't change the subject, Slick."

Nick wasn't paying any mind to the small gray fist in front of his muzzle, but kept his eyes on the scenery outside the car. "Sergeant Boom Boom, such a great name for him," he snickered.

Driving the cruiser towards their standard patrol route the rabbit had one thought on her mind, "He is my fox, and if I have to remind him of that every single day, then that's what I am going to do."

"And remember to keep it under forty, ok buddy?" the todd said, smacking the cracked and worn leather roof of the old Impala.

Only twenty years old and the car looked like it was on its last legs, as if it had been through a hard life and nearly driven into the ground. Nick almost felt sorry for the old girl.

"I will be more careful, Sir." The young badger announced from the driver seat. He was sitting on a colorful seat cover made out of wooden beads, obviously placed there to cover the huge hole in the cushion. The back seat looked like it had been clawed and chewed on years ago, there were large holes in the cushions and much of the stuffing was missing.

"You be sure and do that, because the next time I see you like this, I am writing a ticket." He probably shouldn't blame the kid for the car's current condition. It was probably the kid's first one and that kind of damage usually comes from years and years of neglect. "Probably bought it off of Cougar's List, out of some mammal's back yard too," Nick thought to himself.

"Thank you, Sir." The teen said grinding the gears badly, trying to get his car out of park before pulling back into traffic, leaving Nick standing on the side of the road in a spray of gravel and dust.

Watching the old Impala slowly disappear down the street, the fox tried to think back to being a teen with his own first car. His mood slowly turned dark and sullen as the memories of his childhood came flooding back. He never really had a car of his own. Of course his buddies were always there to give him a lift, or show him a trick or two, but it wasn't the same as owning his own or having a father to teach him how to drive.

With his mind full of the melancholy thoughts of days gone by, he trudged slowly back to the police car where his partner waited. He took a quick glance in her direction to see a bright and sunny bunny smiling back as she watched him through the bulletproof windshield.

That rabbit's smile could always brighten his day. It filled his world with hope and stuffed his stomach with butterflies, until he felt like a red, plushy throw pillow. "Why did she have to be so darn cute?" he thought reaching for the big, black door handle.

Putting the mask back on to hide his true feelings, he climbed into the passenger seat and smirked back at the bunny. She didn't need to know how this routine traffic stop had dredged up some of his old memories, or that he could never stay sad for long when she was near.

"So I take it you just let him off with a warning, Slick?"

"You know the chief allows us to do that for first time drivers." The todd continued to smirk at her.

"Yes. But you don't have to give them out every time."

"Come on, Fluff. That kid had his license for one day, and really wasn't going that much over the speed limit. Still, he is in the system now, so his next offense is a ticket for sure."

"Oh, ok."

"And if he asks, I will just explain it to old buffalo butt. Besides, what have you been doing on your phone this whole time?"

She ignored his last comment and simply put the cell away.

With the subject of their latest traffic stop long gone, Judy finally pulled the cruiser back on to the street and continued their afternoon patrol.

After they had only gone three blocks the radio crackled to life, "Code two-eight-eight in progress at the Sableton Crescent hotel on Nolton Avenue and I-10. Repeat two-eight-eight at the Sableton Hotel."

Judy turned to the fox beside her, "Remember that one partner?"

"Of course," he replied smugly. "That's domestic violence."

"Right on the dot. We're five blocks from there, so call back the dispatch!" the rabbit exclaimed suddenly flipping the car around with the lights and siren blaring.

Nick grabbed the radio receiver off it's hook and keyed the mic, "Unit 240 responding. Hopps and Wilde en route to the Sableton Crescent, ETA 3 minutes.

"Roger Unit 240, will advise the hotel that you're on the way," the dispatch replied after several moments.

The Sableton Crescent was a large half rounded, business class hotel sitting in the middle of Sahara Square, just off the main freeway. It's grounds were moderately luxurious, with tall palms, and a colorful variety of rare flowers laid in a bed that spelled out the hotel's name. There were two private pools, one had a popular cabana while the other had a smooth sandy bottom. Since the Crescent was not as grand as some of the other luxury resorts closer to the beach

it didn't include a golf course or an amusement park, but it did have two very nice restaurants, and an exclusive private bar on the top floor.

Pulling the cruiser up to the curb near the main entrance, Judy turned off the flashing lights and got out, leaving the car running. Nick joined her and they both walked through the large sliding glass doors together.

A marble fountain splashed in the center of the lush lobby, hidden behind tall ferns and a short date palm. At the counter was a young antelope dressed in the company's fashionable uniform. When the two cops approached she picked up a phone receiver that was attached to the desk by a long curly wire. With in moments a tall, well dressed badger ran through a door off to the side of the counter and up to the small officers.

Folding his paws in front of his chest, the manager spoke calmly and slowly, belying his irritation over the current situation. A bead of sweat rolled down his nose, "I am so glad you got here so quickly." He took the two cops to a quiet corner of the lobby to explain the situation. "We just barely got a call from one of the guests saying there was a loud fight up on the seventh floor. They said they heard a lot of yelling, stomping and breaking furniture."

Judy stepped forward asking, "Can we speak to your in-house security?"

"Certainly. They should be up on the seventh floor now," the badger motioned to the elevators on the far side of the lobby. "I'm sure if you head up there, they can answer all of your questions."

"Thanks. You've been too kind," the rabbit replied, hiding her sarcasm, as they walked towards the elevators.

Exiting onto the seventh floor they found more potted ferns evenly spaced along the long curved wall. The walls were painted a light beige with a dark trim and the carpet had a sharply geometric and wavy pattern that didn't quite align with the curve of the building. Every door on this floor was build for medium height mammals and all of them were numbered in the seven thousands. Several mammals could be heard talking further down the hall.

The rabbit and her partner cautiously walk down the half rounded corridor expecting a savage mammal to jump out at them any moment. Their stances relaxed when they come into sight of a security guard standing outside one of the guest rooms. He was young brown bear with a haircut that made Judy think he had just gotten out of the military.

A nasally voice with a foreign accent, could be heard speaking to the bear from inside the room, "I hope your guys don't rough him up too bad. He may have broken my nose but we still have to work together."

"I can't make any promises Mr. Wedgewoods. If he comes back peacefully then no harm will come to him, but if he gets violent again, we may be required to use force to restrain him."

As they approached, they could see a raccoon dog, dressed for a night out on the town, standing inside the doorway, with a swollen eye and holding a hand towel up to his nose. The small towel was soaked and the red stain spread further as the mangut continued to speak, "He is usually such a nice guy, I really don't know what got into him."

"Evening officers," the large security guard said when the two cops stepped up to the open door. When the bear stepped out of the way Judy could see a small paw holding the wounded guest's, and what looked like a pair of pink ears sticking up behind him.

"Evening," Nick and Judy said in unison.

"What's the situation?" the fox asked.

While Nick was talking to the bear Judy stepped around to the other side of the door and spotted a familiar looking rabbit behind the raccoon dog. She was holding his paw and rubbing his back to help calm him. Her fur was dyed pink and there were swirls of glitter in all the right places. The older rabbit looked surprised when she saw Judy standing there in her uniform. Judy smiled at her and stood a little straighter, her ears stiff as a board.

The bear looked down at Nick replying, "When my partner and I arrived, to respond to the noise disturbance call, the assailant had already fled down the stairs."

"And where is he now?"

"Jake took off after him but he must have given my team the slip somewhere around the second floor."

Hearing that the perp had so far eluded the guards Judy started bouncing on her toes, and the gleam in her eyes said she was eager to give chase. Nick put his dark brown paw on her shoulder, "Easy there, Carrots. Let the guards handle this."

"But," she looked up at her partner with fire in her eyes and smoke rolled out of her ears. She was anxious to run, and it showed.

"I know, but this is their turf," Nick replied, waving his paw at the bear beside him. "They know the building layout better, so let's sit this one out and let the other guys handle it for once."

Judy was impressed, "Who are you and what have you done with the impulsive fox from the other day?"

The fox chuckled through his teeth, "I just thought we should have a nice chat with the witness this time." He turned to look into the guest room when a sudden flicker of surprise crossed his face before it was covered up by the usual conmammal's mask, "Hello Cotton."

"Do I know you?" the pink rabbit asked puzzled.

"It's Nick." he replied, but her expression remained blank. "Nick Wilde!"

"Oh, wow," she still didn't seem convinced. "It's been a while, I really didn't recognize you like that."

"I get that a lot," he chuckled.

"So where is your little buddy now? Is he still driving that ugly, orange van?"

"Yep, Finnick is still Finnick."

"Gee, what a small world, can I invite you guys in?" Cotton was tall for a female rabbit but had the typical rounded bunny figure, and yet she still filled out her dark red evening gown quite nicely. When the rabbit turned to show the two cops into the hotel room she stumbled slightly and gave a bit of a hiccup. Nick also noticed that her eyes were glassy and slightly droopy as if she had just woken from a short nap.

Turning to leave the guard said, "If you have got everything in paw I will just head back to the security booth."

"Yeah, we're good here big guy." the fox replied waving to the bear.

Once everyone was inside the room the pink rabbit turned around and like a good hostess asked, "So what can we do for you today?"

The raccoon dog with the bleeding nose immediately spoke up chastising his date, "Will you let me handle this?"

"Fine. I'll just go over here and make everyone another drink," she flounced smoothly over to the minibar, her gravity defying assets bouncing rhythmically with each step, and poured the remains of a small plastic bottle into a short glass of ice.

Nick faced the ring tailed mammal and asked, "So Mr. ah?"

"Wedgewoods."

"Yes, Mr Wedgewoods, can you tell us exactly what happened?"

"Alright, um."

"And please start from the beginning."

"Sure, ok, let me see," the wounded mammal said lifting his other paw to his brow thoughtfully.

"Charles and I were coming back from the convention when he started to get real upset about something," Mr. Wedgewoods started to explain.

"And Charles is?" the fox asked.

"Charles is my business associate."

From across the room the glitter covered rabbit shouted through a glass of ice, "He was his dealer. And he was mad because I was paying more attention to Nigel here," she waved her now empty drink at the other nicely dressed mammal in the room, "instead of that dung heap of a miniature panda."

"Would you just keep your big mouth shut!" the mangut yelled.

Cotton glared daggers at him, "The two of you paid me to drive you around town, and keep you company at your big dentist convention. I even recall you specifically asked for 'Stimulating Conversation' too. If you want me to stop talking now, that'll cost you extra."

Through the shouting match Nick looked over at his partner, then tilted his head back towards the door. Seeing his signal Judy walked over to the other rabbit and carefully put her paw on her shoulder.

The todd turned to the raccoon dog with all the charm he could muster and said, "Hey buddy why don't we head downstairs and get that nose looked at?"

"What? No it's fine."

"Are you sure? It looks really bad to me, probably permanently broken. You really should get it looked at by a paramedic."

"Ok, I guess. If you really think I should," Mr. Wedgewoods agreed and headed for the door with the cloth still pressed firmly against his nose.

Swiftly setting the glass of ice on top of the minibar the fancy pink rabbit moved to follow, but Judy stepped in her way and with a very friendly tone asked, "Can you tell me what really happened?"

Back in the elevator Nigel was describing the incident to Nick, "As I was saying, Charles and I had just gotten back to the hotel from the convention. That convention was the whole reason I was even in town."

"Ok, what kind of convention are we talking about?" the fox asked.

"Well I sell dental office equipment. Only the best equipment."

"Really?"

"Not what your thinking. It's not anything so mundane as toothbrushes and floss, but all of the large scale tools, like drills, overhead lamps, and those special sinks."

"Wow, fascinating," Nick said dryly, trying to hide the sarcasm. "So what happened next?"

"So when we got back to the room, Charles starts complaining about how I should pay him for all the drinks and limo driver too." By the way the raccoon dog stumbled over his explanation, Nick can tell he was hiding or holding back something important.

"How did you manage to hire an escort like Cotton Candy?"

"Charles said she came highly recommended from a ram he knows, and she cost him almost a whole month's salary," Nigel exaggerated.

Chucking, Nick agreed, "Yep, I hear she knows all the best spots in town, and can get you into any club with just a smile. Skipping those kinds of lines is well worth it, but what was she doing up in your room?"

"Well aside from driving us to the convention and back she agreed to be my date. She really seemed to enjoy the food and the wine too."

"Interesting."

"Yeah, she took to the wine like a bloody fish. After a few drinks she got really friendly and even tried to climb in my lap."

"So you thought you'd just bring her back to your room and have your way with her?" Nick's disapproval was apparent even in the polished steel surface of the elevator walls. Since you're a foreigner, I should warn you that prostitution is illegal here in Zootopia."

"No, no. It was completely her idea, and besides, Charles was the one interested in her."

"Ok?"

"But she was all over me for some reason, and I'm not really into prey that way."

"And what were you expecting after you got to the room?"

"Well she said she wanted to check out my claws or something like that. Then when she kissed me and shoved me into the room, that's when Charles decked me."

"And was that it?" the fox asked nodding.

"No, that's just when everything started. He was stomping around the room screaming something about stealing what was his, and then he picked up one of the rattan chairs and broke it on my face."

The elevator came to a sudden stop and the door slid open with a pleasant ding. Standing outside the door was the brown bear hotel guard from earlier with a smug expression on his muzzle, "We got him."

Judy watched as Nick and the raccoon dog exited the guest room, then she turned back to the flamboyantly pink doe next to her and asked in a meager imitation of Chief Bogo's gruff voice, "So tell me what really happened."

Cotton gently placed her paw on Judy's and replied in a thick sultry voice, "Sure honey, whatever you like." She then walked over to the bed and hopped up on it, dangling her legs over the edge.

With her paws on her hips, Judy waited for the other rabbit to continue.

"So, how did you hook up with that fox anyway?" Cotton asked trying to change the subject.

"Just answer the question, ma'am," Judy's eyes narrowed.

The other bunny just giggled and replied with a hint of desire, "You know I really love a tough mammal who takes charge."

Still not taking the bait, Judy continued her questioning, "How did you meet Nigel and Charles?"

Looking directly at the police bunny, the pink rabbit winked a lazy eye at her, "All right, tough bunny, I'll play along, because I like you. It was a typical job, like any other. Drive these two mammals around town and show them a good time, then act like their date for this big dinner party."

Judy glared back at the older rabbit, who was nearly covered from the tips of her tall ears to the ends of her toes in red and silver glitter, "You do know that prostitution is illegal, right?"

Cotton raises her paw as if to slap the rude rabbit, but after a second thought, lowered it with a sigh, "I am NOT a prostitute!"

"So why did I see you working for that pimp? The ram in the purple top hat."

"Stan?" she said with a hint of laughter, "I don't work for that jerk."

"My partner and I saw you handing him a large envelope full of cash, outside a coffee shop last week."

Breaking into laughter, Cotton placed her paw on Judy's arm affectionately, "You've really got the wrong idea here darling."

"How is that?"

"You see, Stan owns my car. And I haven't made a payment in months. So, what you thought you saw, were actually my back payments."

"All right then, let's get back to what happened here today," Judy said stepping out of reach of the affectionate witness.

"Sure," Cotton said swinging her hind paws back and forth against the bed, "after showing those two dentists around the better parts of town we went to their big fancy dinner party."

"Ok, and what happened while you were there?"

"The free food and drinks were excellent, but the speeches were really boring and I started to doze off. But while Charles was giving this horrible speech, Nigel and I got to be pretty friendly." Cotton stood up, and began slowly walking towards Judy.

"Go on."

"I really liked the way he kept his claws and fangs sharp, not at all like the flat toothed red panda, who had been hitting on me all night."

"So Charles was hitting on you?"

The nicely dressed rabbit stuck a sparkly finger down her throat, "Ugh, he was so boring. I am just more interested in a mammal with some teeth." She pointed down at Judy's paws, "And sharp claws, like yours."

Judy pulled her paws away trying to hide her claws. She had gotten them done in the mall shop the other day when she decided to try something different to impress Nick, so she went and had them sharpened. Never once did she think they would attract the wrong kind of attention.

A pink glittery paw slid up a blue sleeved arm to a gray shoulder and squeezed, "I could help you release all of that tension you're holding inside."

The gray uniformed rabbit stepped back sharply swatting the softly dyed paw away, "What tension?"

"All that tension I can see, that you're not hiding so well. Holding it in for so long is going to make you explode, ya know," the pink paw reached out for the gray rabbit in her blue uniform.

Judy stepped back again, "Propositioning a uniformed officer of the law is a fineable offence."

The sultry bunny quickly replied, letting one shoulder of her dress slip down her arm , "Well, you could go ahead and remove that stuffy uniform, and then I can show you how to have some real fun, tough guy."

As a dark glare formed on her muzzle, Judy almost let out a dangerous growl, "I am not a guy."

"Oh, I don't mind," the sparkly bunny said, stepping up to Judy, their noses almost touching.

With a harsh shove, Judy pushed the other rabbit away with both paws, causing her to stumble and land on the bed with a loud flop, and Judy said, "Don't!"

"Ok," the pink rabbit cried with a small tear forming in her eye. "I'm just trying to be a friend."

"The way your acting it seems like you want much more than friendship."

Her deep seductive voice vanished and the doe replied plainly, "I just can't help myself. You're really not like other rabbits... so strong and sure of yourself."

"Thanks, I think."

"I have never met any mammal like you before, and I find that very exciting. And besides, it's pretty obvious that you could really use some intimate attention right now."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Judy's gruff tone returned.

"As soon as you walked down the hall I could feel your desire, like a hungry rolling storm. It fills this room," Cotton gestured vaguely around the room, "and the essence makes me want to swoon."

Judy looked around the room as if she was searching for a hidden ghost. After a second pass her eyes fell on something small and white sitting on top of the minibar. Letting the other rabbit talk, she walked over to check out the small items, not listening to a thing the doe said, "And a bunny only builds up that kind of tension from being in love with someone they can't have. When I see a mammal like you in such distress, I just want to help. Plus my date for the evening was ruined and I'm still feeling very frisky, if you know what I mean."

"Well that's alright then," Judy mumbled, no longer hearing a word the pink rabbit said.

On the counter on top of the minibar was a small plastic bag that contained three tiny white pills. Each pill was a different shape but they were all the same powdery white color. Some left over flakes of power could also been seen at the bottom of the bag.

She picked up the bag, turned around and shook the pills in front of the other rabbit, "Where did you get these?"

"Oh, and the tough guy returns," Cotton replied winking at her.

"Where?!" Judy's voice was almost a yell.

The pink doe's eyes could not focus on the small bag in front of her face, and they kept drifting to look at Judy instead.

"Cotton, where did you get these pills?"

For a brief second she smiled at Judy before frowning as she took a step back to let the bag of pills come into focus. Giggling, she said, "That ugly panda, Charles got them. He gave me one at dinner, saying we would have some real fun."

"You each took one of these?"

"Yeah," Cotton said with several warm giggles, and leaned in to whisper to Judy, "I took two."

"Oh, cheese and crackers. Are you feeling any strange side effects? Dizziness, or a bloody nose?"

"Nope. Just very much in need of some quality attention right now, and really thirsty too," she said smacking her lips dryly.

A slightly ashamed look crossed the pink rabbit's muzzle, "Judy?"

"Yes, Cotton," Judy replied, expecting the worst.

"I am really sorry if I have offended you."

"It's really alright, I grew up in a very large bunny family, so I've seen all kinds."

"That's great," the other rabbit held out her paw to the cop, "Can we still be friends?"

Judy didn't even hesitate before reaching out and grabbing the pink glittery paw, expecting a friendly handshake and replied, "Sure, friends." Instead Cotton pulled her close into a warm hug, and Judy felt something squeeze her fluffy cotton tail. Before she could pull back from the affectionate embrace, she was met with a very wet kiss to the cheek.

Cotton held the kiss for several seconds, making sloppy noises with her mouth as Judy squirmed and tried to escape. The pink rabbit finally released the captive cop when Nick's voice came over her shoulder radio.

"Wilde to Hopps, come in Hopps."

"This is Officer Hopps, over," she answered, trying to hide how flustered she felt from the other rabbit's sudden show of affection.

"They finally caught the guy, and are holding him in a room on the first floor, so hurry up and get your fluffy butt down here," Nick's urgency could be heard even through the scratchy radio.

To the pink rabbit she said, "I really have to be going, but are you going to be ok up here by yourself?"

"Sure. I'll be fine. Go do your tough cop thing," Cotton said waving Judy towards the door. "Oh and if you ever need a friend, you can always call me." She pulled a small business card from somewhere out of the top of her evening gown and handed it to Judy with a wink. "I think I'll just lie down now," she said, then promptly passed out on the bed.

Noticing a small drop of red under the sleeping doe's nose, Judy grabbed her shoulder radio again and called down to Nick urgently, "Officer Wilde, can you send a paramedic up to room 7034 to check on Ms. Candy? Possible OD."

"Roger that, Officer Hopps."

Once the paramedics arrived to check out the unconscious rabbit, Judy headed down to the first floor and met up with her partner, who was standing outside a rather bleak looking steel door next to the hotel's security station.

"Guess what I found in their room?" the rabbit chirped holding up the small bag of drugs to her partner.

"Don't tell me, this isn't just an assault and battery case anymore?" Nick replied scratching his chin.

"Yep. It looks like the same stuff that giraffe, Mr Flanner, had last week, but with a few varieties mixed in."

"It's called a grab bag, or a candy dish, Fluff. Popular with the kids about a decade ago," the fox explained.

"Huh?"

"You see, everyone brings a batch of their favorite prescriptions, or street pills, and tosses them into bowl, or 'candy dish'. And then they pass it around."

"Sounds pretty scary," Judy said with a shiver.

"It's a fast ticket to the hospital, or even the morgue."

Trying to change the grim subject Judy inquired about the suspect on the other side of the door, "So did you find anything on our perp?"

"Definitely," the uniformed todd replied smugly. "One Charles Osaka, M.D.. Arrived yesterday on Pan Zoo airlines. He has a pretty short list of misdemeanors, drunken disorderly, petty theft, property damages, resisting arrest, and a couple of speeding tickets, not much else." He ticked off each item on his fingers. "I doubt he will spend more than a night in a cell, and probably just get out on bail. It looks like he makes enough to get almost any lawyer in the city."

"Darn. Wait, what did you say about the morgue?"

"What's that Carrots?"

"You just said the mixed drugs were a quick way to the morgue."

"Oh, right. I heard once about this kid who brought their grandma's prescription heart medication to one of these parties. Those mixed with a couple of speed pills and several of the other kids went into cardiac arrest. Unfortunately the one who brought the pills was dead long before the medics arrived."

"Cabbages," Judy exclaimed, shaking her head sadly. "That gives me an idea, Follow my lead," the rabbit hopped happily towards the steel door with the bag of pills firmly grasped in her paw.

"Carrots, wait!" The fox could only follow after his excited partner.

The steel door slammed open with the force of a pair of large feet. Built against the hotel's foundation this brick room was mostly empty, except for a single chair in the center, with a well dressed red panda sitting in it. Bags of mulch, or sawdust were also stacked along one wall, and the room smelled of fresh garden supplies. A small brown bear standing next to the chair jumped when Judy kicked open the door.

With a look of pure evil on her muzzle, the small cop pointed at the bear and said with a commanding voice, "You, out!"

"But..." the puzzled security guard they had met earlier started to reply.

Pointing at the slowly closing door behind her, Officer Hopps simply said, "Out."

The guard shrugged and slowly walked to the door, opened it and left.

"Cuff, em." she gruffly ordered to her partner, "And don't spare any niceties for this dirt bag."

Nick quickly lept behind the chair and cuffed the panda's paws to the back of the chair. He made sure to pull the cuffs painfully tight till the panda cried, "Ow!"

Assured that the panda was now secure in his chair, Judy turned her sinister glare directly at the small mammal. A snarl began to form slowly on her muzzle before she spoke, her voice thick with malice, "Where did you get the drugs, Mr. Osaka?"

Fully taken aback by the evil rabbit before him, Charles could only stutter, "Wha-, what drugs? I don't have any drugs, see." He was a small red panda with an unfamiliar English dialect, and he was dressed in an expensive, dark gray suit that had fresh dirt on the knees. One of his ears was bitten half off, and his left shirt cuff was stained. The bite was old, but the stain was fresh ,and might have been easily removed at the dry cleaners.

The rabbit's glare only deepened.

"Th-th-they they already searched me. All all they found was," the panda stuttered as he pulled against his restraints and tried to stand, "w-was m-my room key and- and my passport. I don't have any drugs."

Judy held up the bag of white pills, and the panda visibly shrunk back into his chair, "Do you remember these?"

"Where did you get those?"

"These are the pills you gave to Mr. Wedgewoods and your escort at the dinner party."

Struggling to stand, the small panda began to yell at the fierce rabbit before him, "What did that filthy bitch tell you..."

"She didn't say anything," Judy cut him off with a snarl. "She won't be saying anything to anyone for a very long time."

"What, what are you saying?" the panda barked.

Standing behind the chair Nick could barely contain his shock at how well his partner played on their suspect's emotions.

"She's dead Mr Osaka!," Judy said, her voice completely cold and flat. "She died in my arms, spitting foaming blood."

"I didn't," he continued to stutter, with Judy's cold and unfeeling glare beating down on him. "I didn't kill anyone!"

"You gave her these pills. The pills that eventually stopped her heart."

The panda slumped back, and if it wasn't for the cuffs, he would have slid all the way to the floor. After several moments he spoke again, "I didn't …"

"You didn't what, Mr. Osaka?"

"I just wanted to have a little fun with her."

Cold, lavender eyes slowly turned crimson as the evil, savage rabbit returned, "You drugged her in order to take advantage of her?"

"W, well …" he started to stutter again.

"Didn't you?!" the rabbit was yelling directly into his face.

"Ye, yea, yes."

"Drugging someone in order to get them to sleep with you is what we call Attempted Rape here in Zootopia."

"So?" the panda just looked on, puzzled.

"Maybe it's ok where you come from, but do you know what they do to rapists in prison here?"

Nick finally spoke up, "They will cut off your privates and find new and exciting ways to make you their own personal love slave. You will probably be pooping out of a straw for the rest of your life... provided you live through the week."

The evil rabbit interjected, "Let me finish."

"What? There's more," Mr Osaka cringed.

Judy only glared daggers at the panda, "I don't take kindly to mammals who come into my town and kill my own kind, Mr. Osaka, so if you're not going to let me finish there won't be anything left for the wolves to find. Are we clear?"

The panda nodded, with a look of horror on his muzzle.

"So, as I was saying, you drugged your date with the intent of taking her to bed. But she wasn't interested in you at all. She was all over your partner like a cheap rug. Am I right?"

"Yeah," he nodded again.

"So you gave them more pills hoping that one or the other would pass out, but things didn't go according to your plan."

He shook his head.

"And you attacked Mr. Wedgewood in a fit of jealousy."

Charles stood up so fast he knocked over the chair that was still attached to his paws.

"Things are not looking good for you at all today," the uniformed rabbit said watching her partner put the chair back in place. "You're looking at possession of an illegal substance, the sale and distribution of said substance, assault, battery, destruction of property, attempted rape, mammal slaughter, and I'm sure the hotel also has a nice list of offenses and a large bill too."

"Mam- mammal slaughter?"

"It means murder, Mr Osaka," the fox said stunned at his partner's sudden aggression.

"Now, I'm only going to ask you one more time. Where did you get these drugs!?" the furious rabbit asked, calmly holding up the bag of pills.

"Think carefully about where you want to spend the rest of your life," Nick cautioned, placing a friendly paw on the panda's shoulder.

Looking over his shoulder for a second he started to answer the rabbits question, "I- I got them at this club downtown. It- it had a blue, neon sign with some kind of whale on the front."

Nick nodded, "The Velvet Orca."

"Yeah, yeah that's what they called it, I think," the panda said, trying to lick his dry lips.

"Interesting choice," the fox replied casually.

Getting the interrogation back on track, the bunny asked another question, "And who at the club gave them to you?"

"I bought them off this tall, snooty, mountain goat. And let me tell you, those suckers weren't cheap." he said once again struggling with his bonds.

"A mountain goat, what kind of mountain goat?"

"Um, ya know, the tall ones, with the big crescent horns that go down past their butts. They always have their noses in the air like they're better than everyone else."

"An ibex," Judy exclaimed.

"I don't know. Whatever you call them around here. I'm just glad we don't have any back home."

"Ok, now we're getting somewhere," as the evil rabbit suddenly fled the room and was replaced by a cheerful, happy bunny. "Did this ibex, happen to have a name?" she asked sweetly.

"None that I ever heard, no," the suspect replied, shaking his head.

And the evil bunny returned as quickly as it had fled, "We're done here. Get this sack of manure out of my sight!"

Following her orders to the letter, Nick turned towards the back wall and lifted one of the sacks of gardening supplies that was stacked there.

Judy could not suppress a deep chuckle at her partners antics. "Not that manure, this one," she motioned to the red panda still cuffed to the chair.

Nick released the bound mammal from the chair and hauled him out to the waiting cruiser.

Later, once they had finished tying up all the loose ends with the security guards and the hotel manager, and were walking out to their car, Nick grabbed her paw and looked directly into here violet eyes. "That was a pretty amazing con you pulled back there, Carrots."

Caught in his deep emerald green pools she held her breath for several moments before she could reply blushing, "Thanks, Nick. I've been practicing."

With a laugh, he said "I just can't believe you did all that with your tail covered in glitter."

"My what!? Where?" the rabbit cried, trying to reach behind her and brushing furiously at her rear. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Stop, Fluff. You're just spreading it all over." Nick exclaimed as he mysteriously pulled his old handkerchief from a hidden pocket, "Here, let me get it." He bent down on one knee, as she turned around showing him her well rounded posterior, and he carefully began to wipe the offending shiny bits from her fluffy tail.

Moments later, he stood and shook out the cloth, "Ok, all better."

The rabbit tried to turn her head to inspect her tail but quickly gave up and instead jumped into the fox's arms. "Thank you, Nick!" Judy exclaimed.

"My pleasure, Carrots," the fox replied with a slight bow before climbing into the cruiser.

A light was shining through a window on the seventh floor, and a shadow with tall fuzzy ears stood fixated on their brief exchange. The shadow held a small paw up to the window and something glittered in the light. As the police car pulled out of the lot, the rabbit-shaped shadow purposefully left the window, closed the drapes and turned out the lights.

[AN] Thank you so much for all the awesome comments. I have really enjoyed reading them all. And I do want to apologize to everyone for not continuing this story sooner. I really do have about 20 chapters in total laid out for this part of the story, and I would really like to be able to share a second part. It has been pretty tough for me to put so much emotion into each chapter when my job leaves me feeling dead and lifeless most days, but I will try not to disappoint, and keep the story flowing as best I can.

A lot of the mystery will be coming together of the next few chapters so lets hope that Nick and Judy aren't to blinded by their own feelings to spot the crucial clues. I would really love to hear from everyone about what they think has been going on. This has been my first mystery story so I would like to know if I am making the clues too obvious.

And I would really like to thank Diavololo over on DiviantArt for all their super amazing comics. Their work has been a real inspiration for me so far.

OneWolfe-