Judy blinked in surprise, wondering if she had heard correctly. "Seven, sir?"

Bogo rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Yes, Hopps. Seven." He leaned back in his chair, as if the news he just shared with Judy was personally exhausting him. He let out a sigh. "Three in District 4, three in District 2, and one in District 3. Spread throughout last night between 20:00 hours and this morning at 06:00."

Judy folded her paws and rubbed them nervously. Her mind filled with images of predators on the verge of savageness attacking police officers in the dead of night, the officers barely able to hold their own and subdue them. "Were any officers injured?"

"No," Bogo was quick to respond. "No injuries, either to the predators or the officers." He leaned forward again in his chair and locked eyes with Judy. "Hopps, we need to get to the bottom of this. Mammals will get hurt if this keeps up; we can't keep getting lucky forever."

Judy nodded. "Yes, chief." She could feel her ears droop, though, the more she thought about their situation. There were now a dozen predators in jail all over Zootopia, all of them sharing similar stories: They terrorized the town in some way, had no memory of doing so, and were now sitting in cells wearing shock collars.

The news was spreading quickly. This morning when she was watching the news while getting ready for work, the two anchors had mentioned that Mayor Lionheart and Assistant Mayor Rolfe were already considering a city-wide implementation of making shock collars mandatory for all predators. Poll numbers showed that as many as 72% of respondents agreed with the idea, and 86% believed it would make Zootopia safer overall.

Chief Bogo's right. We need to get to the bottom of this. Fast. She cleared her throat softly. "How is the court order coming, sir?"

The faintest hint of a growl escaped Bogo's mouth. "By sheer coincidence, Judge Siemammals just began his migration yesterday. He'll be gone for the next two weeks. Usually, he's the one I go to for court orders."

"Okay, so who do you go to now?"

The growl was much more audible this time. "Judge Furgood. He has been most…" He snorted. "Uncooperative with me over this. Actually, he's always been uncooperative with me over just about everything."

"So we're going to have to wait on Judge Siemammals to return?"

"Most likely, yes." Bogo, in desperate need of a distraction, picked up the nearest pile of paperwork on his desk and leaned back in his chair. "Let me take care of the court order, Hopps. You have your own job to take care of, don't you?"

Judy took a second to remember exactly what Bogo was referring to. In her excitement from the car chase the day before, on top of her date with Nick afterward, she had completely forgotten about her interrogations of Victor Bruin and Tony Stripes. While the latter did not give her any more information than she already knew, her talk with Bruin did turn up some tidbits that she could look into further.

She politely hopped off her chair and nodded. "I'll get to it immediately, sir."

"See that you do." Bogo immersed himself in his paperwork. "Keep me updated, Hopps, and if you need anything, let me know."

Judy nodded once more, turned about face, and made her way to her cubicle. A quick elevator ride and walk across the lobby later, she was sitting down at her computer with notes strewn across the desk.

The first thing to do is talk with Bruin's employer. Judy quickly searched her papers, found the appropriate one, and typed the information into the computer.

Claw & Teeth Waste Disposal. The first search result included a phone number identical to the one Bruin provided, as well as an address in Tundra Town. A quick Zoogle Maps search revealed that Bruin lived a few blocks away; he probably walked to and from work every day.

Judy rewrote down the phone number for later, then pulled up the police records database. Normally she wouldn't have access to this, but Bogo had given her unlimited resources, including the ability to run background checks. Legally, she was only allowed to do this on Bruin and Stripes—and the other predators who were in similar situations—but it was a start.

She quickly punched in the necessary key strokes, sat back, and waited, expecting the search to be done in no time at all. To her utter dismay, she saw a progress bar at the bottom of the screen. It didn't reach 1% until three minutes had passed.

Groaning in defeat, she slumped in her chair and stared at the screen, willing the progress bar to make itself run faster. It barely budged.

There wasn't much she could do on the computer while the program ran, so she decided the best thing to do while passing the time was to make the phone call. She picked up the phone on her desk, dialed the number, and waited.

After two rings, there was a soft click, and a voice answered. "Claw & Teeth Waste, how can I help you?"

Judy looked at the appropriate paper. "Hi there. I'm looking for Arnold Stinkavich. Can I speak with him, please?"

"This is he," came the reply.

Judy grabbed a fresh piece of paper, readied her carrot pen, and started. "Mr. Stinkavich, I'm Judy Hopps, Zootopia Police Department. If you have a moment, can I ask you a few questions?"

There was an uncomfortable pause—understandable, given the circumstances—before Stinkavich responded. "Yes, ma'am, Officer Hopps. I have a few minutes. I'm not in trouble, am I?"

There was no way to truthfully answer. Judy honestly believed Bruin when he insisted he wasn't conscious during his escapade, but that presented two problems. First, it didn't matter whether she believed him or not; all that mattered was that he had terrorized Zootopia. And second, if he was telling the truth—if all the predators were telling the truth—then there was someone behind all of it.

That fact was becoming clearer and clearer to her. These events were happening too often now, and each predator taken into custody shared the exact same story. None of them had any recollection of doing anything wrong, so the only logical conclusion was that they were drugged or otherwise incapacitated. Someone was behind all this, and it could be anybody.

Anybody. Including Stinkavich. Judy decided the best answer would be, simply, no answer. She once again readied her pen. "Mr. Stinkavich, one of your employees, Victor Bruin, is currently in our custody. A few days ago, he went a little AWOL here in central Zootopia."

"Yes, I've already been informed of this," Stinkavich responded. "I just want to go on record to say I've known Victor for years, and he's never done anything of the sort before. Are you sure you don't have him confused with another mammal?"

"I'm the officer who took him down, sir," Judy replied. "I wish I could say it's a simple mix-up, but it really was him."

There was another pause as Stinkavich collected his thoughts, before he said, "I'm willing to answer any questions you have if it means helping Victor."

"Good. Let's get started, then."

For the next twenty minutes, Judy asked the usual questions—how long had they known each other, had Bruin acted suspicious at all the few days before the incident—before contentedly thanking Stinkavich for his time and hanging up the phone. She quickly organized her notes in a neat pile, set them aside, and took a look back at her computer screen.

"Eight percent?" she yelled. She groaned, loudly, and banged her head on her desk. "Oh, come on!"

"Careful, Carrots. Computers have feelings, too."

Judy felt her face flush red, and was suddenly happy her forehead was still connected with the desk so Nick couldn't see it behind her. She waited a moment for the embarrassment to disappear, before turning around to face him.

Nick leaned against the wall of her cubicle, right paw in his side pocket, left paw holding a styrofoam cup of steaming hot coffee. His aviator sunglasses were perched on his forehead, and his shock collar stuck out like a sore thumb on the side of his neck. A tiny bit of brown on the top of his lip gave away that he had been sipping his coffee quite a bit already today—though she could barely see it behind the snarky grin he flashed at her.

She narrowed her eyes. "How long have you been standing there?"

Nick shrugged, taking another sip of his coffee. "A minute or two." He chuckled. "You're so cute when you're embarrassed, you know that?"

Without missing a beat, Judy raised her carrot pen and pressed the button on the side. The pen spewed out a voice clip from Nick that she had recorded months ago. "Two hundred bucks a day, Fluff. Three hundred sixty-five days a year, since I was twelve."

The resulting paleness on Nick's face caused her to flash the briefest of smiles in his direction. "You still have that?" he managed to squeak.

She narrowed her eyes and grinned. "You wanna call me cute again, Wilde?" she taunted.

Nick sighed, lowered his aviators onto his eyes—why he always did that indoors, she would never know—and finished the rest of his coffee in two big gulps. "I have my rights, rabbit. Ever heard of the Fifth? I can't be tried twice for the same offense." He tossed the empty cup in a nearby trash can and walked over to her. "And for the record, it's still my word against yours."

Judy crossed her arms, ready to continue with the argument, but decided it would be better to leave it be. Instead, she switched to a new topic. "So, where you have been all morning?"

Judy's chair was a swivel desk chair, but her cubicle also had a small rabbit-sized chair for guests. Nick sat down in it—or rather, he tried to, but given how small it was, he ended up crouching in it more than sitting in it. "I have my own leads too," he responded, struggling to get comfortable. He tried shoving his tail through the small hole in the back, but it wouldn't fit. "You're here investigating Victor Bruin, right?" He tried sitting so that his right side was on the chair. "Well, I'm looking into Tony Stripes." He tried sitting on his left side, instead. "And it turns out…" He stood up, glared at the chair as if it was his archnemesis, and placed his paws on his hips. "You do know your partner is a fox, right?"

Judy shrugged. "Do you see any other fox-sized chairs in this building?"

Nick sighed, defeated, and resorted to sitting on the floor instead. He tucked his knees underneath his chin and continued. "It turns out, Tony Stripes works for the Lettermammal Graphics company out of Savannah Central."

Judy raised an eyebrow. "How did you find that out?"

"Well, he told you he works in graphics design, so it was only a matter of asking around to find out who in Zootopia employs a tiger who's recently been in the news for potentially trying to kill the mayor and his new assistant." Nick raised his aviators back to his forehead. "I made a few calls, got some answers, and that's one of them."

"But how did you know who to call for graphic designers of all…" Judy's voice trailed away, before she slunk in her chair and crossed her arms with a huff. "Let me guess: It's because you know everybody?"

"Bingo." Nick smiled smugly. "It didn't take all that long, actually. Maybe three phone calls altogether. Anyway, here's the most important part. Lettermammal Graphics does have a legal team for various reasons, should they ever need one. But they are not represented by Tim Fields."

Judy blinked in surprise. Fields had stopped her interrogation the day before claiming to represent Stripes on a business level. "So, if Tony signed a non-disclosure agreement with someone, and it wasn't with Lettermammal Graphics…"

"Then he has another job somewhere else," Nick finished with a nod. "By the way, how's that court order coming with Chief Nuts-and-Bolts?"

"No luck so far, and it probably will be a bit of time before he can get it," Judy admitted. "And without Tony able to give us any more information, we're kind of stuck." The look on Nick's face, however, told her otherwise. "Nick, what aren't you telling me?"

Nick stood up and approached her computer. "Well, we don't know anything else about Tony Stripes," he admitted, moving the mouse. "But that doesn't mean we can't find out more about our good friend Timothy Fields, attorney at law." He waited a few seconds for the screen saver to go away, and when it finally did, his smile dropped. "Nine percent, huh?"

Judy stared at the screen, fighting the urge to moan. "I swear, it's actually getting slower," she murmured.

"Doesn't matter," Nick huffed in resignation, standing back up straight. "I've already sent an email to City Hall asking for the records."

"The records?" Judy repeated, almost in disbelief. "You didn't actually ask for a full list of clients Fields represents, did you?"

Nick chuckled, swatting the air. "No, no, don't be ridiculous." He turned around and began walking away. "I only asked for a full list from the past ten years."

Judy hopped off her chair and walked after him, happy to abandon her computer for the time being. "Can we even do that?" she asked.

Nick shrugged. "I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask," he admitted. "The worst they can do is tell me no—but since companies have public records, including legal counsel, I think we have a fair shot."

"And what if we're looking for an individual who privately hired Fields instead?" Judy inquired.

"I checked the security tape from the office when Fields made his little speech to get Tony to stop talking. He specifically mentioned it's a company that he represents."

By now the two of them were in the main lobby, passing Clawhauser and making their way out the door. "What if he was lying about that?" Judy asked, ignoring the nagging voice at the back of her mind asking where they were going.

"He's a lawyer, Judy," Nick pointed out. "He wouldn't be stupid enough to lie about that. It would mean voiding his non-disclosure agreement and letting Tony off the hook."

Judy had to admit, she admired the extra steps Nick had taken in this case—especially since it wasn't even his to begin with. Chief Bogo had assigned her to the case; what he did with Nick when they weren't partners out on the field was between the two of them, and simply wasn't her business. Even so, during the past day, Nick had reviewed the security tape, got in touch with enough databases to come up with the information he had just given her, and contacted City Hall in pursuit of some leads. He had even gone as far as to review the…

Suddenly suspicious—and more than a little uncomfortable—Judy joined Nick's stride, walked side-by-side with him as they exited the lobby. "Why were you watching the security tape?"

"What can I say?" Nick thrust open the front doors, leading Judy outside the ZPD. "I just can't get enough of seeing my cute little cottontail, no matter the time of day."

Judy snorted. "Nick."

Truthfully this time, Nick answered, "I told you, I'm looking into Tony's case as much as possible. Since we didn't get much from Tony, I figured the best thing would be to get information from Fields." He led Judy around the side of the ZPD. "Unsurprisingly, Fields' office was, shall we say, less than cooperative. Lots of lawyer language, not much information I could use. So I resorted to a less direct approach."

"Watching the security tape," Judy finished.

"Yep. And it was very helpful. Now all we need is a list of all his clients, and we can keep going." Nick glanced up at the sun, winced in pain, shielded his eyes with his paw, and looked into the distance. "Let's see, City Hall's about a ten minute walk away. They told me it would be about half an hour before they could get their records pulled and a copy made for us. I think we'll arrive right on time."

Judy followed his gaze. City Hall, the skyscraper directly in front of them, was located not far away from the ZPD. A clear open field separated the two. Usually it would be filled with cubs and kits and the like after school hours, playing ball or tag. Now, though, it was far too early for that, and the field was deserted, allowing the two of them complete privacy during their short trip.

Judy smiled, once again admiring Nick's resourcefulness in this case. "Clever fox," she complimented.

Nick shrugged, shooting her one of his signature half-lidded grins. "I figured with you needing to give the database so much time to run a background check, you wouldn't mind tagging along." He started walking across the field.

"Not at all," Judy replied, matching his pace. Truthfully, she hated desk work. Being out and about in Zootopia, able to make the world a better place from somewhere other than the police department—that was what she loved about being a cop.

Even if it means walking across the field to pick up a few papers. But hey, at least it's a nice day outside. Lots of sunshine, not much noise from traffic, and the grass feels perfect. Judy stayed silent for a few minutes, enjoying the peace and quiet as the two of them walked. She found herself entering a sort of trance, closing her eyes and perking her ears in an effort to fully enjoy herself.

Whereas other mammals slowed down when they got distracted by nature, Judy's bunny instincts kept her walking, perhaps even a tad faster than before. "We'll get this case wrapped up before we know it," she said excitedly. "We'll get Tony and Victor their freedom, we'll acquit every one of these predators, and we'll get those shock collars thrown back in the vaults where they belong."

Nick slowed his walk ever so slightly. She probably wouldn't have even noticed it, but she had known Nick long enough to sense it. Nick always walked at a set pace, radiating a sense of confidence around him. Any time his steps faltered, it meant that his mind was distracted by something—usually something important.

She opened her eyes again and turned to look at him. "What is it?" she asked.

The pace picked back up instantly. "Nothing, Carrots," Nick assured her, flashing another grin. "I'm with you. Let's solve this case. The sooner the better, right?"

Judy refused to let it go that quickly. "Nick, what's wrong?" she asked again.

Nick quietly dropped down his aviators again and shoved his paws in his pockets. "You ain't got nothing on me, Carrots. I've been doing this since I was born," he teased.

By now they were back on the pavement, approaching the steps to City Hall, and Judy knew there was absolutely no way he would tell her in such a public place. She sighed in defeat, accepting that it was something she would have to come back to later. "Okay, fine."

They walked up the stairs, and Nick politely opened the door for her. As she passed him, she shot him a sneer, trying to lock eyes with him behind his sunglasses. "Oh, and I do have stuff on you, Wilde. And don't you forget it."

Nick let out a single chuckle. "Oh, yeah?"

Judy whipped out her carrot pen, held it up, and pressed the button on the side. With the volume cranked up to maximum, Nick's voice emerged from it and filled the lobby of City Hall. "What can I say? I just can't get enough of seeing my cute little cottontail, no matter the time of day."

The lobby, filled with numerous mammals of all shapes and sizes, fell dead silent, eyes turned to Judy and Nick at the front door. Judy smiled in satisfaction as Nick's face flushed even redder than usual, his only cover being the sunglasses covering his wide-open eyes.

"Oh, yeah," Judy replied, lightly tapping her pen over Nick's nose in rhythm with her words. "And don't you forget it."