AN Please don't put a contract out on me. I did get this chapter posted a little faster than the last one! The next is already outlined and in-progress. As I've said, I didn't expect this story to get as involved as it did when I started-its gone past 200K words with this chapter! That makes this a good time to again acknowledge The Walt Disney Co. as the intellectual property owners of the world of Zootopia and its wonderful characters.

Thanks to the loyal readers and reviewers that remain for my halting literary journey, including: Aninat131, Blkdragon7, J Shute, Medic 27, pampuru, seakard, and Wolfx1120 All reviews pro or con are appreciated!

I hope this was worth the wait.

Chapter Twenty seven:

The Battle of Bunnyburrow

4:30 AM. Sunday, April 30th, at the Wilde home, Happytown Ward, Savanna Central.

Vivian dimmed the kitchen light, carried the breakfast plate down the hall, then silently opened the door to Nicholas's room. It was still dark enough inside that it was initially hard to distinguish Judy's lump from those of the pillow and rumpled blanket at the head of his bed. She carefully set the plate by feel on top of the small dresser alongside, then stepped back and waited to see if the scent of warmed apple slices dusted with cinnamon on a bed of sweet-grass would gently rouse her new relation. They both needed to have an early start, but it seemed cruel to wake the snuggled bunny from such a badly needed sound sleep.

As her vision accommodated further, Vivian noticed Judy's paw curled around a corner of her son's keepsake neckerchief—she'd placed it earlier under the pillow in hopes that his scent might soothe her anxieties. Apparently it had worked since it had been pulled up to her barely visible nose. Vivian leaned closer again and slowly took in the mingled aromas of her son, his new mate and her waiting breakfast. They promised that her house, at least occasionally, would again become a family home.

Judy showed no sign of stirring, so she left to go finish loading up the same beige loaner car that Skye and Kristen had used to recruit her into the resistance. The Soren's business had assured them that it made up for its lack of performance and comforts by being well-maintained and reliable. Packing everything she and Judy thought they'd need, while leaving room for Dr. Alder and his things, was an exercise in patience—she'd already had to partially unload and rearrange twice.

Last night Judy had told her to take anything they might regret not having later. Her chief had told both of them that professional backup would be unavailable due to its certain exposure to the conspirators, and he'd disallowed the use of any of Judy's regular police gear—likely anticipating their failure and wanting some plausible deniability.

Still, it's obvious chief Bogo not only expects, but needs us to make the rescue attempt. He couldn't tell us directly and bear that responsibility, so he salved his conscience with warnings that contained veiled hints. Our mutual game of 'Between the Lines' just meant that we're all afraid this is about to end badly. Judy needs to find usable resources to at least give us some chance; she felt the lack of any but makeshift weapons would make that chance...slight.

That's why John's bow and hers were buried deep in the trunk of the car along with twenty-two of the straightest and least damaged arrows she could find in their well used assortment. So now they had ranged weapons, but Judy didn't know that yet. Nicholas had told her about his partner's officer involved shooting and its aftermath back in Dr. Soren's home, so she wouldn't burden Judy with this until it was necessary. Anyway, it was likely that she was the only one in their group proficient, or even able to use them.

Faint light behind a curtained window showed that Judy was now up. She was already in uniform and adding to a list when Vivian found her at the kitchen table. Her breakfast plate was rinsed clean and drying in its rack. Of course; Judy's huge family would need good organization and discipline from its members in order to function, and her profession had continued to reinforce those traits. Nicholas had chosen to share that with her, and over the past year had become more responsible and structured with his life, but still needed a lot more of that growth to fully integrate himself with his new and very different mate.

"Thanks dear," Vivian said as she put the plate back in the cabinet. "Be careful not to assume more than your fair share of duties once you settle down with Nicholas. He isn't as conscientious as you might expect yet; nor is he a morning mammal. If you'll want a properly domesticated mate, you'll need patience and a firm paw." She was rewarded by a smile and eye contact from the busy officer. "I'd be happy to advise you on the finer points of male fox behavior and management." That got her a laugh.

"If I take your advice, he can never know you gave it to me! And I already know you'll coach him as well. Goodbye privacy. At least I know you'll mean well with your meddling," Judy admitted amiably.

"You'll both have to get used to it. I have a lot more mom saved up than I was able to use earlier."

"So you'll be responsibly filling in Nick's past deficit of maternal guidance and supervision. I already got plenty of that from my mom, sisters, aunts, cousins...everybody's personal life becomes everybody else's business in my family." Judy became visibly subdued. "I won't have to worry about that much longer; I'll become a pariah as soon as they discover he's my mate."

"Both Nicholas and I are very well aware of the choice you've made. Your character won't be questioned from this side of the family," Vivian told her, also aware of the need for her to maintain Judy's privacy until she was ready to disclose. Remaining obliviously unaware of their relationship in front of the already somewhat suspicious Hopps family would soon test her own patience and discretion.

Judy's last comment put a damper on the artificial good mood they'd fashioned. Silence reigned as they locked up the house and left. She'd been living here a month shy of thirty-five years, and didn't know if or under what circumstances she'd ever return. At least she'd been prudent enough to leave a few items and important papers with Vanya.

"Turn in here," Judy finally said as they slowly drove around Zootopia University's peripheral road. "We want dormitory six. And be careful when you get to the warren, if they haven't found another place for you to stay, they'll be prying."

"I'm expecting that. Have you heard from agent Savage yet about when or where we'll meet?"

"No, nothing since his contact with Growley on Friday, and that's making me nervous. If he's already out of coverage in the field he won't be able to check in without exposing himself. I'll fly up at first light tomorrow, so make sure you're at the airport before sunup; we'll leave regardless of whether Jack makes it or not, we need that evidence."

"Won't that make any rescue attempt impossible if we're down to just the three of us Judy? I'm sorry, but I don't think Kristen is...athletic enough to be much help—and I'm not trained like you two officers."

"Plus our being outnumbered based on Nick's report. I'll be working on that today. Chief wants to see me again before I leave and I've got an idea about...recruiting more support. You'll know if I found any when we meet at the airport."

"Is that your Dr. Alder?" Vivian drifted over to the curb and stopped adjacent to a dimly lit walkway; at its head a squat figure was slowly dragging two cases, one at a time, out the door of a long stepped embankment topped with solar panels. Those were already angled towards the nascent dawn.

They both automatically exited the car to help him. Judy had mentioned that Dr. Alder was a raccoon, but not that he was this elderly. His cases were fairly heavy—there had to be more than just personal items needed for a road trip in them. Once they'd been introduced and he was loaded up, Judy reached to wrap her waist in a tight hug, then gave her a piece of paper.

"Be careful Viv. These directions should make it easier than trying to read the map while you're driving. Be sure to follow them! I know these seem overly involved, but we need to get you around that last big junction on the expressway before you leave Zootopia proper, then the truck inspection station and road services plaza a few miles after that. Both of those have traffic cameras that get a good look at drivers, and license plate scanners. Kristen is already under suspicion, so Tarija's agents will be on the lookout for any of their vehicles, not just yours."

Judy pulled out her phone and started entering a text, then stopped and looked up at her. "I'll get picked up. You get going, I'd like you well out in the meadowlands before sunup if possible!" She pointedly went back to texting.

Vivian caught a glimpse of Judy jogging behind them as they came to the end of the parking lot. Two more turns got them off campus and on their own. She noticed Dr. Alder cranking his window closed.

"I heard officer Hopps Mrs. Wilde." Alder confirmed her suspicion. "It might be better if I read the map and notes as you drive." He reached a paw to take Judy's directions. "What is our ultimate destination?"

"Hopps family warren in Bunnyburrow. We have a contact there looking for a safe place for you. If they don't find someplace better, you'll stay there."

"Based on what I've already heard about the officers family; that should be an experience!" Alder said.

"Yess...I'm expecting that too. Life has taken quite a turn recently. It's good to finally meet one of those responsible for that." She turned her head and made brief eye contact with Kristen's boss. "Dr. Soren and agent Savage gave me some background for what's going on before they left—I know about your primitive animal from up north, and a little about the Fairfield discovery. If you wouldn't mind..."

"Excuse me, is Dr. Soren safe and well? I've not heard from her recently and the ZPD has been closed mouthed of late."

"She is, under the protection of and assisting Nicho...officer Wilde. Excuse the chief, they have uncovered some very important need-to-know only information. It will all come out very soon, so why don't we fill in each other's blanks over the next few hours."

"Do you know what that sensitive information is Mrs. Wilde? Since I...um...uh...turn up Herd here through downtown...then left on Liana once we're past Fruit Market."

"I do." Vivian took the turn. "It might be enough by itself to break the conspiracy if we can get better evidence for it. Or society if we fail. But you go first, I want the complete background on how all of this started before I hit you with that!"

5:20 AM. Sunday, two miles up a North Fork tributary in the Mammoth foothills.

Squelch! The murky water near the bank slopped over the brim of Jack's other wader as his foot sank in, and made its runny prickly way down his leg. The wet did little for his sore and likely abraded foot; his hasty purchase the previous day having been too ill fitted to prevent that. And now he could possibly get an infection as well.

At least the most miserable night of his existence was over. His constant gnawing fear for Skye's situation, and the lack of communication with any in the resistance, had been compounded by the chill and lumpy discomfort of his overly light sleeping bag. Forced to pack only absolute necessities, he'd chosen to fill that makeshift backpack with three days worth of minimal food, a tiny first aid kit, and all the safe water he could carry.

At least he hadn't been expected to carry one of the folding camp shovels or help with the bulky roll of tennis netting that burdened the larger members of the team. Agent Felton had decided that they'd likely have to flush or dig a feral coypu out of its burrow once they found one and it had sought shelter. Subduing the animal shouldn't be a problem, two of their ZBI team had trank pistols with appropriate darts.

Leland, a third of the way around the edge of the part pond, part marsh had one of them. They'd drawn the wet and muck work due to their more favorable weight to foot area ratio compared to the hoofed mammals that made up the rest of the team. Those hadn't avoided their share of the misery however. The whole area was overgrown due to the abundance of water and lack of any recent burn. To get there, they'd had to hack their way through a kilometer of dense brush using the shovels as crude blades.

The prospect of breaking that path had convinced Felton that his efforts would be better spent back in town tracing the whereabouts of the remains that had drawn them there. Jack and the others really weren't able to criticize him for that. Their erstwhile leader was the largest on the team, and that along with his impressive spread of antlers would have been a severe impediment amid the tangled growth.

Hartley was now nominally in charge, his slightly smaller size and shorter bent back horns having merely risen to the level of frequent annoyance for him. And he, Jack Savage, had been forced into the determination that not only was this a promising location for any feral coypu, but he had been the first to hear, then see good evidence for their presence. At least that had effectively maintained his cover.

It had been too easy once they'd gotten into the area. A small filled in valley had a sluggish meandering watercourse choked with overgrowth that mostly hid its impoundments of water; it was an ideal environment for the animals and wouldn't be attractive to hikers or prospectors. Then, last night's evidence had been too obvious to ignore.

Which solved my dilemma. I didn't really want to delay this discovery any more and remain helplessly incommunicado and isolated, I need to get this over with, get out of here, and go after Skye! If they can at least get a good look at one, it should be enough for me to legitimately scamper!

"Hold," Leland said just loudly enough for him to hear. "Wake coming between us."

Jack turned his head slowly to look; trying not to otherwise move. He had enough white fur visible to be fairly conspicuous, while Leland stood at the margin of a stand of rushes and blended better. His fellow hare drew, then held the dart gun in both paws as he slowly rotated to track the apex of the narrow V of ripples. They revealed a decent sized swimmer as it headed for shore and the team behind him.

One of the goats back there held a restraining hoof up for the unseen remainder of their team. The only sound was the slight slosh of water as the bare furred coypu climbed out onto the bank, then headed towards a now recognizable burrow entrance on all-fours. The 'phut' of Leland's gun surprised Jack given the nearly thirty meter range. Surprise turned to amazement when he saw the clean hit on the animal's backside—it dashed into its burrow as Leland yelled in triumph.

They gathered around the mouth of the burrow. The one sheep in their group, his visible wool a tangled and filthy mess in spite of having been fairly close-shorn for this assignment, gave Jack a flashlight.

"You're our smallest Savage. Find out how far inside it got."

He took it with a sigh. Leland, just a centimeter taller, looked relieved, then basked in the praise for his shot as Jack squirmed his way inside. He did fit, but his limbs were too long for easy maneuverability. He found the dart a couple of meters in, and the coypu's unmoving brown backside was visible beyond. There was no way he'd be able to get a grip, then drag it out. Even backing up himself was difficult; his legs almost useless in the confined tunnel. He wriggled and pushed himself back about halfway, then someone grabbed his feet and slid him out. It was Leland, who then helped him up—Jack gave him his dart back.

"It's tranked." he told them, then took a few steps and pointed. "Right under here, it'll be safest to dig down on this side and reach to pull it out." Hartley and the other goat immediately set to work. "Why are the rest of you watching? Spread out and see if we can capture another one! This is when they're active!"

Jack waited until Hartley took a brief break, hoping he'd primed him enough with his own fervor for the cause. "We need to report this now and get backup! I'll be the fastest heading down—within three hours if I don't have to stop—I'll call or text Chief Tarija as soon as I'm able to get a decent signal."

"Yeah, that's good Savage, but wait until we're sure we've secured this one alive, then bring back another heavy bag if you can and something better to cut through this brush!"

"I'll carry what I can Hartley." He waited until they'd reached the burrow and were lifting out their inert quarry. "Check if it's a female, if so, keep digging and look for kits! I'm going." Jack got away as quickly as possible and picked up a bottle of water and his tube of antibiotic ointment at their crude overnight camp. He then carefully retraced their chopped trail back, and discarded his protective but confining waders as soon as the brush thinned out. Unfortunately, it still took another hour before he'd rejoined the main North Fork and found a reasonably clear pool where he could strip, wash most of the muck off, and rinse out his clothes. Although shivering now, he felt being cold and wet was far preferable to his disgustingly filthy state over the past hours. He dabbed his sores with some ointment and pressed on.

The more utilized hiking trail along here allowed him to move faster in spite of sharper pain from his foot; saved time now was more important than recovery time later. As he got closer to Clear Lake Village, he began passing day hikers on their way up. They looked understandably curious about the wet hare's unequipped down-trail haste.

By the time Jack got to his Land Commander, the sun was high enough to have started to warm the day, but he needed more. He sank, still shivering, into the luxury of its driver's seat and started the engine—in a few minutes he'd have use of the heater! While waiting, he retrieved his burner phone and turned it on; as expected still no signal or messages. Nothing much open here yet either, he'd need to head down towards Deerbrooke for a connection, a proper bathroom, breakfast choices, and gas for his thirsty mount.

He found them at the same Permian Petro station and convenience store they'd stopped at on the way up Friday evening. It was an excruciating extra four minutes to wait before he could finally pull in and park there—after his phone had signaled the receipt of several messages back along the road.

He immediately tried to select the image file sent by Nick—Jack's paw shook and almost accidentally erased it before he opened it to see Skye smiling out of the tiny screen at him. He stared for a few seconds at his reason to be, switched to his smartphone to open the same message, then raised it to look at her more closely. He couldn't help but lean in to gratefully kiss his beautiful absent vixen—as his lips brushed the screen, she vanished to be replaced by the previous list of messages. Jack sighed briefly over his sappy reaction, and reopened her image. She looked reasonably well, but less than groomed, and the cell door behind her was a stark reminder to move on.

Nick's following coded text message revealed that he'd also found Lionheart in Deer Trail, and that he'd sent additional images of that to Judy and Chief Bogo. That was excellent, and although he appreciated Nick's gesture in knowing that he needed to see Skye, that highly incriminating image had been sent in the clear straight to both of his phones!

Bogo's more recent almost unencrypted message justified that lapse. The conspiracy now suspected Dr. Alder, and he'd just gone into hiding. As soon as Tarija realized that, and received ZBI headquarters confirmation of Kristen and Nick's ties to Junction City, and possibly Dr. Ulric as well, she would have all the information needed to realize their duplicity—his included. At least Growley was firmly on-board, and the rendezvous was set for dawn Monday morning at Tri-Burrows Regional. Bogo had also interrogated Clifton and confirmed that the conspiracy was headed...

A fairly deep horn briefly sounded close by, as a much larger four wheel drive vehicle crunched the gravel to stop alongside. Agent Felton's antlers revealed him as he tipped them clear of his vehicle's roofline as he exited. Jack frantically closed his messages, then managed to select and call chief Tarija's number before Felton came around and crouched close enough to see him well. Jack lowered his window and raised his phone. He shook the phone gently and said "Tarija." Felton watched and listened.

"Boss? Jay Ess here. We struck gold this morning! One recovered safely—uncooperative as expected—possibly a second by now. I left to find coverage as soon as we'd rescued the first…We need dedicated caregivers for them. Yes...yes." Jack then nodded to Felton in confirmation—the buck deer had visibly reacted to his statement. "We tracked them to an out of the way nature commune at grid D5 or E5, hard to determine exactly as far off the road as that place was. Explains why they were missing for so long. No, no sign of responsible parties." He listened for a bit. "I'll need to replenish before I head back... Right, got it. Antler team's lead is here; need a word? Well...okay." Jack broke the connection and looked at Felton.

"Says she can't spare more search personnel; we'll also have to make the delivery, she'll tell us where once we leave and call in again. First, I'll need to find us some brush cutters, get gas and some food, then tend to this before I head back." Jack opened his door and lifted his rather bloody foot so Felton could see. Exploit every usable asset you have however unexpected or unwanted.

"You'd better," Felton said concernedly. "Did you run on that? There should be an urgent care clinic for you back in Deerbrooke. I'd already reported our difficulties to the chief; we spoke again less than an hour ago. She's busy trying to head off a false narrative and manufactured evidence being pushed by several of those pred researchers that started all of this interference. She thinks they know about, and are actually trying to use these primitive animals to implicate some prey species for their own crimes!"

"So you confirmed that those at the museum did receive the initial remains found here?" Jack suppressed his relief that Bogo, or Alder, had realized the danger in time.

"Can't prove it yet, but it's very likely. And Savage, don't worry about more supplies. I've already got those, and picked up some brush loppers and a hammock to move the animals. I'll take those up now; you go take care of yourself and get back up when you can, you certainly came through for us today!"

Jack carefully limped over to the store for Felton's benefit as the buck backed out and resumed his trip up to Clear Lake. What he'd initially felt was an unfortunate coincidence in being found stopped here by the senior agent, should actually delay their realization of his betrayal for several more hours.

Cleaner, changed, and bandaged, Jack pulled away from the Permian Petro station to watch the what he now knew to be inaccurate 'Sign of the Sauropod' recede behind him. It seemed that doctors Soren and Alder had managed to impart a bit of their paleontological preciseness to him. His foot would hold—his white fur, and sores reopened by his hasty scrubbing back in that pool, had made the clotted mess usefully appear much worse than it was. With the conspiracy's agents behind him, and lonely rural roads ahead, he could finish reading his messages, and text the Hopps when he got closer—he'd likely arrive there shortly after lunch.

Good that I'd already decided to tell Tarija if we discovered any feral animals. Mightpull some of her focus off of the ZPD and museum staff, and it kept Felton from getting suspicious. I'll have the rest of the day now to think about and prep for our recon flight. They shouldn't expect me back until mid afternoon, then it might take another few hours to either try and look for me or realize that I skipped out and get back to report that! If and when they do, they'll suspect I might have returned to the Hopps place—and they know I'm driving this, better avoid being seen near there and go return it. No, don't slack off on the misdirection! Better to leave it at the train station, then text the rental place.

Once in Deerbrooke proper, he spotted a reasonably busy restaurant and pulled in—its Kiona's Kitchen sign showed her to be a prairie marmot. This should spare him from any further imposition on the Hopps hospitality later, and he could more safely read and consider all the delayed messages and reply if nee…

They're not going to find out from Tarija! Maybe give our side the big news?

Skye's image, and then Felton's interruption, had inexcusably pushed the rather important occurrence of the feral coypu's capture to the back of his mind. Jack gritted his teeth as he rectified that lapse and finally informed the rest of his resistance.

10:15 AM. a mile or so north of Bunnyburrow Station.

"We should pass a small bakery if we're on the right road," Dr. Alder said, reading Judy's directions.

"That's right! Judy had told me that it's owned by a red fox. She probably mentioned it because she wants me to meet them. She did say there weren't many of us around here." The isolated structure duly appeared within a couple of minutes; the sign out front and matching name on the van parked alongside confirmed its identity. A faint thread of smoke came from a pipe above what seemed to be the repurposed service bay of an old gas station. Vivian turned in past the rain canopy and parked right in front. The door to the customer end of the building opened as soon as they stepped up to it.

"Been watchin fer yeh Mrs. Wilde," said a surprisingly portly younger vulpine—until she considered his present occupation. "Come on in—you'll need to wait a minute—I got my second batch ready to come out." He hurried off through the door behind the sales counter as soon as they were inside.

They walked around slowly to stretch out the remaining kinks from their cramped journey, and to look at the appetizing goodies in the cases. Vivian then looked up due to a feeling to find Mr. Grey appreciating her from the far end of the counter. He started in embarrassment, having likely just realized himself what he was doing. That was a rather problematic compliment considering that she was a good thirty years older—there must be almost no other foxes in the area.

"I uh..got a call from Judy that you might come by. I, I'm Gideon Grey." He held his paws and didn't come any closer. "She said that you might need a place to stay fer tonight...no not...not where I live. I meant here cus it's closer t the station. This the feller yer bringin to the Hopps?"

"Yes, and I was expecting to stay there too, Judy said she'd arranged it."

"Well, Judy's kinda OK with us cus of her partner in the police...I mean your son...Is he alright? I mean with the news and all."

"For now he is. But we're all still in danger until this threat against us gets resolved, which could happen very soon now," Vivian said, not sure if she should disclose any more. "Did you mean to say that the Hopps aren't OK with us...as foxes? I thought from what she said that you worked with them."

"I'm a business partner with Judy's parents...that'd be Stu n Bonnie. There's some other Hopps gotten used to me, a few even come here from time to time. But there's still a lot that don't. I get my produce from one of their road stands, or they load me up out in front of their house—ain't never been invited in." He tipped his head and smiled sadly. "Course when Judy came by, my kin didn't let her in the house either."

You're not in Zootopia anymore Vivian. At least there's some tolerance for us there—seems like that, and progress, might still be cuss words out here. Judy told them who was coming, and estimated their arrival time, so they'll be prepared and waiting. Did her idealism blind her to how we might actually be treated at their door? At least age might work in our favor—we might appear to be less of a threat. We? Or maybe just me? I don't think raccoons have the same history with bunnies that we foxes do.

"Mr. Grey? When did Judy call?" If she'd become worried about the possible reception awaiting her at the warren, it might be better for them to talk again before going on up. Vivian pulled out her phone to see if she'd missed a message. She had, but it was a text from Jack.

"Bout an hour ago Mrs. Wilde," Mr. Grey said as he went behind the counter again and bent down.

But didn't call me, although she probably knew I was still driving. Or text. So she relied on Mr. Grey to caution me assuming I'd stop here. Somethings not right.

She opened Jack's message—they'd already found and captured a feral coypu—that would accelerate things now. He'd successfully quit the ZBI team and was on his way here, where he intended to abandon his car at the train station they'd just passed, and take the train down to Middleburrow to await tomorrow's rendezvous. She texted him back to stop at Mr. Grey's shop first since she knew they'd already met.

Mr. Grey was talking with Dr. Alder when she finished, and there were now five pie boxes on the counter. Vivian stepped closer to gain their attention.

"Mr. Grey? Judy told me you'd met the ZBI agent she was working with—Mr. Savage?" He nodded in affirmation. "He's on his way over in another hour or so and I've asked him to stop by and see you. If I really do need to stay here, I can come back and meet with him—that could benefit both of us." Dr. Alder seemed quite relieved at the prospect of the agent's arrival—even though she'd meant Jack and herself.

"Then I'll give him the spare key if I hafta leave—and you can just call me Gideon miss..."

"Vivian," she said after a slight hesitation. She really hoped this was just country courtesy on his part.

"An if you can take these to the Hopps for me miss Vivian—boxes are marked—it'd save me makin a delivery an might help you get your foot in the door." Gideon furrowed his brow at her likely quizzical expression. "They bake plenty for themselves, but order some o my specialty pies for big events n treats," he said with a hint of pride.

Gideon disappeared in back as soon as they picked up the boxes and turned away. She secured her three amid the piled rear seat; Dr. Alder put his two on the floor in front of him. Fifteen minutes later they made the final turn on Judy's list. Their journey should end at a hill with a tapered octagonal tower above it.

As they approached the home a mile or so before the larger Hopps warren—already visible in the distance—she saw two bunnies out in front watch them drive closer, then dash back inside. She didn't think that they'd passed by closely enough for them to even see what species she was. A similar thing then happened at the Hopps place as she pulled in to park near the other cars out front—several watching bunnies melted away from the balcony above the portico for the main entrance. They collected their pie boxes and carefully walked up the flag stoned path towards the empty porch and doors below.

Vivian's apprehension slowly grew as they came closer—she began to hear numerous voices from inside, some argumentative. Then her phone gave a surprise text notification as she stepped up onto the porch—which spiked it. She could only hold the pies in frustration as the door opened to reveal an entrance choked with bunnies.

Silence fell—except for the soft jostling as some shied away and others tried to get a better look. Two adults approximately her own age were right in front looking up at her—Judy's parents based on the photo she'd seen. There were a few other similar elders at the back of the room—which seemed to open into a larger one beyond. The rest of the crowd was younger, but had no kits visible among them.

"From Mr. Grey's pie shop...he asked if we would deliver them," Vivian said placidly as she held out her boxes—hoping to release some of the tension in the air. That prompted a brown furred buck around Judy's age to squeeze outside and take them from her.

"I'm Jeremy, Maam, thanks for saving Gid the trip." He turned back to the crowd. "Rachel, Kara? Could you take these in around the back so they don't get squashed?" His tone and manner also calmly promoted normalcy.

Certainly because he was one of the informed family contacts Judy had specified for her. Vivian took a step to the side for courtesy's sake as two does edged outside and took the pies from Jeremy and Dr. Alder, then went down the steps and off around the warren.

"I'm Stu Hopps; now you go with Bonnie here," Judy's father said abruptly after they'd gone, then stepped past her and up to Dr. Alder. "Professor? Sorry for this mess, go with Jeremy here, he'll get you loaded up and back to the west warren, that'll be safer for ya now, he'll explain on the way." He put a brief paw on his mate's shoulder as they passed. "Be careful hon, we still don't know what-all."

A sharp paw gesture to follow her, and a glance back to make sure she did, was Mrs. Hopps only reply. They went at a brisk pace around the opposite side of the warren from the pies, where two larger rabbit bucks behind the corner of the porch watched them go by. One held a short handled hoe in front of him, the other leaned on a heavy pronged pitchfork for turning soil. They were kept in sight from a distance by the impromptu security detail as they walked nearly around in back. Mrs. Hopps slowed as they entered a large and well kept garden.

There's more going on than my arrival. Too much upheaval here since we were expected. The rabbits at that first house must have alerted these to our arrival, and their taking the doctor back there because they say he's not safe here. Am I? Judy's concern about her mother was justified, I'm not welcome here. It's obvious I'll be questioned about their relationship, why else would I be back here for a mom-to-mom. Be careful Viv—she'll approach what she wants to know obliquely, and according to Judy, can't be dissuaded.

A somewhat more cordial gesture seated them on a bench partially shaded by a trellis. It was still a bright day; Vivian regretted leaving her sunglasses back in the car. She moved slowly as Mrs. Hopps silently scrutinized her and drew out her cellphone—her opposite number looked mildly surprised.

"I got a text walking up to your door; I need to read this, it might be important." There was no objection as she opened it—she'd likely missed or been left behind by current events again.

"Wish I'd gotten this earlier, it's from officer Hopps." She gave the phone to a wider eyed Mrs. Hopps, thankful she'd managed not to name Judy. It had mostly asked her to stay at Gideon's or stop at the other house until Jack arrived. So Jack hadn't amended his earlier message to her—what else had she missed?

"You're working with Judy and agent Savage on their corruption case? You're not just...like a witness? Why would they let you meddle around in that?" Bonnie blurted in amazement after she'd read.

"Because I'm working to protect my son from all those corrupt accusations against him!" Wait...that justification could let me deflect Bonnie's suspicions! Don't lose this moment! Vivian pointed her finger straight at Bonnie Hopps face—who then flinched back encouragingly.

"Before we go on with anything else, I demand to know what your daughter's intentions regarding my son are! I know she's used her position of authority over him to try and facilitate her own unnatural personal agenda—I insist on knowing what she's really trying to do with him!"

Utter shock was a mild descriptor for Bonnie's expression; Vivian pressed her advantage.

"My son Nicholas has been talking about his partner on the force far too often for me to be comfortable with, and I've discovered that rabbit has begun to make demands on his personal time away from work!"

"That rabbit is my daughter and she's done nothing of the sort! She's not the predator here, your son's the fox...that confidence mammal the newspaper reported on. Anything improper would be on him! And how dare you question my Judy's conduct! She has morals due to our giving her a proper upbringing!"

"So some mammals are beyond reproach while others have to constantly prove themselves? My Nicholas did everything your Judy did, he was class valedictorian too! And he first had to overcome the barriers society imposes on us foxes in order to be even considered by the academy. As for your morals, we have ours; he's always followed those that I've taught him, regardless of that life forced on him by all of you self-righteous looking down at us!" You give it to me Bonnie Hopps—you'll get it right back!

"Not from what I've read and seen on the news! As soon as your shifty son was in a position to benefit, he betrayed the trust put in him by everyone—even by my Judy!"

"Is that one of your moral imperatives? Twisting the truth for your benefit? We both know he's been targeted because he's a prominent symbol that's being used to discredit other predators." Good, she's using defensive character attacks because she can't accept that any extracurricular activities might occur between them—regardless of which one of them initiated it.

"And before his becoming reformed, he spent all those years bending the laws, coercing unsuspecting victims with his schemes, he…"

"Was trying to survive like me, his only other family. I lost my mate, and he his father when he was six! Our business folded and we quickly found out what hungry was. The local vulpine community wasn't much better off, and the city didn't care—we're throwaway mammals! How many meals did you skip so your kit could eat?"

That had an impact, but she's not ready to concede anything yet. No need to further accuse Judy, I'll just react to where Bonnie wants to take this...discussion. I've already planted the seed of doubt about her view of our progeny's relationship. I need to leave that to grow slowly.

"You expect me to believe that my daughter is leading an older, larger, more experienced fox around by the muzzle?" Bonnie shifted tactics.

"Yes, I'm worried about that. Nicholas has little social experience—his long-time difficult living conditions didn't attract any decent vixens, and I know he wouldn't settle for less."

And she immediately picked up on the secondary implication. Still pushing that limit Viv, don't accidentally confirm her fears!

"You do need to reliably provide to maintain a family," Bonnie retaliated in kind. "Can he change and be...responsible now that he has a job...will he even keep it?"

"He won't have to change! He sent me a good portion of whatever he scraped together over the years so that I was living better than he was! And I saved as much of that as I could—that will be my gift when he's ready to start his own family. He's my only child, my only chance for a legacy." Vivian hoped that would be enough to pull Bonnie further away from the verge of realization.

"You've been working on my sympathy just like he's done with Judy!" Bonnie was up and returned the finger point. "That's how you foxes worm your way into other's good graces. I've met your son at his academy graduation—he was very charming, you trained him well. I'll bet he got my Judy to give him his badge at the ceremony just to gain further legitimacy!"

"So your Judy had you deliberately meet with Nicholas at his graduation and excluded me! I was there too! So you must condone what she's doing—molding him to be less a fox and more a...I don't know!" Vivian waved her paws to reinforce being the aggrieved parent—but stayed seated because she couldn't go too far with it.

"Or maybe your...Nicholas was working on us and didn't want you to know about it?" Bonnie said with some uncertainty as she sat back down.

"Or he was being considerate in not having you have to face two foxes at once!" Vivian said reasonably. She reached an open paw and Bonnie slowly gave back her cellphone. They stayed with their thoughts for nearly a minute—both having likely expended their arsenals of arguments and needing to replenish.

"Judy has been...reluctant to tell me all of what is happening," Bonnie said slowly. "Just that the news is limited or wrong, and that it is very serious. And here you are, working with her, agent Savage, possibly others?" Bonnie pointed at her phone. "You're getting messages, you have to know more. My daughter is as involved as your son, I have a right to know what they've told you!"

"You do Mrs. Hopps; it's all about to break open anyway. But none of this can get out for a few more days. We badly need that time." Vivian looked over at the distant, watchful bucks back near the curve of the warren—Bonnie saw and waved them away. "Thanks, this might take awhile."

"Then I can call for lunch in another hour Mrs. Wilde. We might even have something you'll like."

Bonnie Hopps, you are a worthy opponent! Now that you've survived an introduction to one, and a lengthy conversation with another of the red menaces, I hope that we can have more in the future, and that you'll realize that this could be your first step on a path towards a new kind of friendship.

12:45 PM. On the road halfway between Deerbrooke and Middleburrow.

Jack relaxed some more as he incrementally read Judy's latest text between glances out at the road. She'd managed to get two of them! He'd gotten the idea while in Deerbrooke's one stand-alone camera shop, but they didn't carry those anymore. At least he'd found a good deal there on a used digital camera similar to his own back home, and a mild 100mm fixed focus telephoto lens with a polarizing filter. Those would be a good alternate setup for aerial imaging since he didn't know what Growley would provide.

Earlier, she'd reported finding an eight-pack of recently expired trank darts in her ZPD locker when she went to turn in her own equipment. Still no gun allowed for them, but that minimal surreptitious backup from her department was far more encouraging than none at all. It also showed the need for their success.

Now, what to do about Vivian's messages? First she wanted him to stop at Mr. Grey's shop or the west warren, now she wanted him back at the main Hopps place where she'd ended up. Vivian hadn't said anything about the reception she'd received, or about Dr. Alder, which worried him.

I'm still going to ditch this at the train station for misdirection, not leave it in either of the rental agency's lots. Then I'd probably have to arrange a rather inconvenient pickup for someone. That's what you get Jack for becoming distracted and failing to collect Mr. Grey's contact information!

Vivian wanting to meet with him before their rendezvous at the airport had accentuated the difficult choices he'd have to make by the time he reached Middleburrow. Those were forced by his chronic worry that he'd been under enough initial suspicion by the conspiracy, that they'd placed a tracker in his vehicle once he'd met up with them. He must assume they had, there was just too much to risk if he didn't. Thus, what time ZBI surveillance would first notice his unauthorized departure, depended on how closely they monitored him. He'd been on this road to betrayal for an hour—so Tarija at least, could already know.

Jack had three choices now. First, stick to his original plan and drop his vehicle off at the Bunnyburrow station closer to where he'd rented it, then take the train down to Middleburrow to await the rendezvous. That would leave it to Vivian to make it down there on her own. Safer for him, but points a finger towards the Hopps, her, and Dr. Alder.

Second, drop it off at the Middleburrow station, that gets rid of it faster, pulls attention further away from the Hopps place, and draws it towards him. Tarija's agents wouldn't just assume he'd taken the train to either Zootopia or Pacifica, they'd still institute a local search for him, and agent Jack Savage would be a rather standout stranger there. That would jeopardize the rendezvous for everyone.

Last, he could leave it at the Bunnyburrow station, hope for the misdirection, get a ride, and meet Vivian. Then they would have to either drive down to the rendezvous early and sleep in her car, or hide out at Mr. Grey's place or elsewhere, then go in early the next morning. That still left the Hopps in danger.

At least he'd been able to make most of his wanted purchases in Deerbrooke, so he wouldn't have to expose himself in Middleburrow at a later, and probably more vulnerable time for him. Once he got there, seeing the town might narrow his choices. He had another hour to go, and the flurry of their messaging had ended for now, so Jack turned on the radio. Only two country stations came through well—he chose the less annoying at the moment one, then looked back out at the equally unappealing terrain. Off to his left, it was very broad and flat, the sparsely reed covered bed of the vanished Lake Tulare.

"And that was Brooding Buffalo with 'Landmark'. And comin up at the top of the hour we have Dill..."

Jack reached to punch off the even more irritating announcer's voice...and punched it back on hurriedly.

"...ispatches! Where the truth be told bout the news you do hear, and the real secrets bout what they make sure you don't! But first, this message from today's truth sponso…" Jack turned it down further.

Talk radio propaganda wasn't the medicine he needed for his present mood, but he'd better listen to it since he'd been out of the news loop for a couple of days. The show intro, a litigation avoiding cover version of a popular rock instrumental, started to build, and was abruptly cut off with a distinct pop. Jack turned it back up a little.

"Bless our great land, Dillon here! Before we get into Today's Tidings, we have a just arrived dispatch from one of our Disciples down in Bunnyburrow, who for reasons for their own safety—wishes to remain anonymous for now! Remember, we always protect our Disciple's privacy, and archive your contribution to the truth so you can receive your due recognition safely! Now! A wanted fox fugitive has been seen at..."

Jack's guts shriveled and his breath halted in dread anticipation. Fate would be this cruel.

Sorry. I felt that another cliffhanger would be better than a more passive conclusion to this. That scene will start the next chapter.

I wrote Dillon's voice as that of Slim Pickens.

Our next tension filled installment will be-Chapter Twenty eight: Hare Ascendant