Chapter 2

.

.

"Are you sure we should be going this fast?"

"It's okay," Nick breathed out. His face, cast black and orange, coming into and out of view as each rain sheathed floodlight passed by, shared no emotion.

The dark sunglasses didn't help.

She kept looking at him; a dark red eyebrow rose.

"As I've said," he rolled his voice, pointing at them, "they're phasing glasses. They only go darker when there's suddenly more light, aka when one of those things rolls past." He pointed up at another one of the streetlights, a mighty T standing sentinel in the centre reservation like a soldier, one of thousands in a long regiment marching on into the distance.

It vanished past behind them as the fox at the wheel shrugged. "These things keep the light level constant for my eyes, which lets my nightvision settle down and work its magic."

"Uh-hu," Judy nodded, glancing on up through the windscreen. In a second or so it was covered and mottled in a sheet of rain, before the merciless swipe of the wipers cleared it. A futile gesture as the opening heavens layered on once more. "I remember the last time we had a storm like this on the farm."

Nick's right ear perked up.

"It was beyond a thunderstorm," she slowly said, pondering her words. "There wasn't actually that much lightning, unlike here." As if on queue, a ripple of light lit up the base of the low slung clouds, batting between the low hanging fruit of the stifling blanket above them like a baby weasel trying to find a way out from under a sheet, only to settle down into nothing once more. "But the rain just came down and down. Pathways became streams, the gutters couldn't cope, looking out the windows it was like looking into a waterfall. We were evacuating the lowest levels of the burrow as water began pouring out of places you'd never expect. Half our electricity got tripped as a spring opened up and flowed out of a power outlet. Outside you had random spots in the field and garden burst open, water coming out of them like a geyser, escaping from abandoned drains and pipes. The damage inside wasn't that bad, we fixed it fairly quickly. But it took a few years to work out everything that had been going outside, and try and make sure it wouldn't again. Not that we ever had a test."

A long pause filled the air.

"Until now I guess," Nick said."

Judy nodded, slowly bringing out a file and scanning through it. Documents, reports, missing mammals and long lost criminals returning. She didn't know where to begin. "Until now," she said, an ear rising as Nick flipped on an indicator and pulled onto a slip road.

Her train of thought was broken off by a paw on her own, her gaze turning and meeting Nick's. Glasses off, he spared a look into her eyes and smiled, Judy smiling back before he had to turn once more to the road.

…

"-Dammit," he muttered, a frown on his face. "Now everything's just stupid lights floating in blackness. -How do you mammals cope?"

"We manage somehow," Judy smiled, only to squint as she saw something. "Isn't that…"

"Yes," Nick said, hurriedly checking his mirror, flipping his signal and pulling up into the restricted pick up area. A perk of coming for official police business, the pair able to pull up right next to where they were needed, under blissful cover to boot.

The two stepped out as the shrill moan of a jet engine cut through the drumming avalanche of rain around them. "Good sign," the bunny couldn't help but say, as she turned towards the bathing light coming from the inside of the terminal, a sign hung above.

Zootopia International Airport.

International arrivals.

"What does that say?" Nick asked, blinking a few times and working his eyes. "-Ah, right." And with that he led Judy inside, moving through the rotating doors and cutting out the relentless high pitched pounding from outside, replacing it with the tinny drumming of all the rain on the roof and the ever present murmur of the crowds around them.

Brushing down their uniforms, they prepared their documents. Briefing files and documents in one paw, a large sign in the other.

"Well her flight should have landed now," Judy said, looking at the board. "Yup, so…"

Out came their placard, the name of the mammal in question spelled out for all to read. Nick couldn't help but grimace, ever so slightly.

Judy couldn't help but pick up on it. "Anything the matter, Slick…"

"I fear my species is developing a stereotype."

…

"Another stereotype," he clarified.

"Is it really that worth getting annoyed over?" Judy teased.

Nick closed his eyes, a finger raised up. "I have long questioned the decisions of the species Vulpes Zerda. Mainly, what is it with those fennecs and naming themselves after their species. Now I can deal with being looked down on by a lot of species. But fennecs? Oh no, I, as a red fox, have my dignity. One that's being dangerously eroded as it turns out more of my species have fox as their literal last name. And yes I can argue that we actually don't have a choice here, but then Finnick will point out he changed his last name which had the same issue, and it's open for us red foxes to do the same."

"So it is," Judy agreed, slowly letting a grin grow across her face. "But I guess they're just too foxy for that."

"Aaaannnnd I'm gonna have to report you to internal affairs for that," Nick said. "Hostile working environment. Too corny for carnivorous consumption."

"I mean," the bunny carried on. "What is it with red foxes and having fox as a surname?"

"This is it, it has happened. It is over."

"Mr Fox and his family. Inspector Fox here. The Silverfox's…"

"-Can I claim that as they're technically platinum foxes that…"

"Nope. And…"

"Also, how many fennecs do you know huh? Two. Both with fennec names, that's one-hundred percent. And how about red foxes?"

"Well, we're onto seven with foxy names right now," Judy began, smiling. "And…"

"You also have two Wilde's, a Grey… -Oooh, a Lewis as well. There, red fox dignity is still intact."

"As much as it ever was."

"Ouch. I am a bad influence on you."

"You know it, Slick."

"Uh-hu," he nodded. "Though… And here's the thing, I actually looked her up when I learnt that she was coming over to work with the ZPD. Crazy vixen, amazing career, I can see why Skye, back when she knew about her, thought I was a total loser. -But anyway, she's from the Pyrenees mountains. Border of Spain and France, speaks both languages… So where the fox did the Fox come from for our Inspector?"

Judy shrugged. "Don't ask me."

"I mean, it wouldn't make sense," Nick carried on. "It'd be like Montrenard up in Canidea being called… Well you can't actually work it out with a vulpine name. Let's just say...

"Mane...treal," Judy suggested.

Nick shook his head. "That just sounds dumb saying it. I mean it's named after Mont Renard, so… Mont royal? Montroyal… Montreal… Monroyal… All those are just weird… -Maybe her surname is Fox as there was this fad to take your species name in english and change your name to it."

"Really?" Judy asked, an ear going down.

Nick shrugged. "You act as if it wasn't a thing in asia. How do you think Ho Chi Mink, Sun Yak Sen and Chang Tiger Shek got their names?"

"Point taken."

"I mean, thinking about it," he mused on, "if it had to be a fully unchanged original Pandarin name like Xiongmao Zedong's, that last one would work well as Lang. Lang… Tai Shek?"

"Lang, as in that biker gang?" Judy asked.

"Lang is actually Pandarin for wolf, so yeah," Nick agreed. "You'd never think they started out chinese looking at them. Funny how things work out."

"Funny. Like a tiger naming himself after a wolf."

"Fluff, isn't there a long tradition of bad English - Chinese translations? Eh- who cares anyway. Someone somewhere decided he'd be a tiger, and a great opportunity for punnage was missed. Always next time, huh?"

.

.

"Nick…"

"Yes?"

"What are we even doing?"

"-You two happen to be having a Slothfieldien conversation."

They both blinked, turning around to face none other than Jack Savage, standing there with Skye. "What are you doing here?" Judy asked, pointing at them.

Jack immediately pointed his finger back. "What are you doing here? We're the bunny-fox pair."

To which Nick pointed his fingers back. "No, we're the bunny fox pair."

"No, we are. You're the imposters."

"Imposters? We were here first."

"No, we got to the airport before…"

Skye and Judy glanced over at the two, before looking at each other. "They're doing the…" the swift fox began.

Judy sighed. "Spiderpig thing," she groaned. "Yes."

"-I mean we paired up long before you did. We were the ones who paired you up."

"You're just saying that to make us think it's true."

"That's exactly why I'm saying it…"

"And we're supposed to be picking up a VIP," Judy cut in, stepping between them. "So calm it Nick, we don't want her thinking the ZPD is completely unprofessional."

"Sorry," he said. "Just my mother told me to never lie."

The bunny rolled her eyes, before looking back to Jack. "So what are you two doing here?"

"My sister," Skye filled in, "she's coming home for a while, so we're picking her up." She pulled out a large sign, 'Sweetie' written on it. "Old childhood nickname. Who are you picking up?"

Nick held out his sign. "I believe you've heard of her."

The swift fox's eyes widened. "Inspector Carmelita Montoya Fox. Head investigator for interpol for close to two decades, in which time she pulled off operations such as the solo dismantlement of the Mesa City Mob. I'm guessing with all this crazy stuff going on…"

"That's the idea," Nick said, breathing out. "Might even give a paw in finding out what happened to that theatre owner of yours, that right Jack?"

"Theatre…" he blinked a few times. "I mean my performance has wrapped for now, it was a great success, I've sold the script on and have an in as a screenplay writer… So yeah, I'd be fine with you finding where Buster Moon vanished to. I suppose Eddie is a bit worried, so for his sake."

Judy's ears couldn't help but drop. It had come as quite the surprise to learn that the koala who owned the theatre Jack worked at had just… gone. Vanished. One moment he was there, the next he wasn't. His idiosyncratic partner, a sheep called Eddie, had opened a missing mammal report, but other than that?

Nothing.

Just like the hare's seeming reaction. "Aren't you a bit worried about him, Jack?"

"Oh sure, of course I am," the hare continued. "I guess everyone has a strange taste somewhere, and for whatever reason Eddie really cared for that Koala. I don't want to see him pulling his wool out forever over it, so any progress is good progress."

…

"Anyway," Nick said, cutting in. "What were we doing?"

"Having a slothfieldian conversation," Jack continued. "You were, at least."

Judy's right ear semaphored down. "What… do you mean, a slothfieldian conversation?"

"A conversation about nothing."

"But it wasn't a conversation about nothing," Judy spoke back, confused. "I mean, every conversation has to be about something."

"See," Skye cut in. "I mean, this one is about a Slothfieldian conversation and what it is."

"And before that?" Jack asked, turning to Nick and Judy.

The pair looked at each other.

"Animal names in place names…" Judy began.

"And in different languages," Nick followed on.

"And basing your name off your species, sometimes literally."

"And how dumb that is, and how worried I am that my fellow red foxes are getting on the band wagon with their surnames."

"And some chinese mammals who I don't know about as no one taught me chinese history," Judy began. She looked up to Nick. "How do you know that much about it anyway?"

"Okay, firstly, at least one third of that was vietnemese. Secondly, when Mr Big and the triads in little Shiziuan don't get along but have stuff the other wants to buy, an independent third party, potentially of vulpine nature, can make a very nice legally legitimate career as a legitimate transactional facilitator between the two. A career choice to which a little bit of reading up can go along way."

"Huh," Judy mused. "The more you know."

"Indeed, a very fun Slothfieldian conversation," Jack mused.

The pair turned to him. "It wasn't about nothing," Judy said. "It was about what we were talking about before, and chinese history, and… -not nothing. You can't have a conversation about nothing."

"And how does this further the plot going on?" Jack mused.

There was a long pause as Skye rolled her eyes. "We're not in a story Jack. No-one is going to read this out loud for a bunch of people, or in a book, or on their computer or phone or whatever. Maybe if this were a story you could call it that, but this is real life."

"Besides," Nick said, "if this were a story, I'm sure all this would have just meta'd it out to the point where it's funny. So it does serve a purpose. I mean, if a Slothfieldian conversation or whatever was 'a conversation about random nonsense or whatever' then fair enough, point taken. But you said it was about nothing."

"I said it before, Jack," Skye reminded him.

He rolled his eyes and shrugged, casting a paw back at himself. "I'd like to think it's the thought that counts."

"Uh-hu," Skye said, glancing up and checking the time. "And unless her plane was shot down over the sea of Japan or something, we need to be at the other side of this terminal to pick her up."

"Right," Jack said, nodding before pointing forward. "Vamos!"

"We'll catch up later," Judy said, as they hurried off. Skye gave a nod, Jack a thumbs up, leaving the two alone for a minute or so. Up until a new crowd of mammals emerged from the gates. Holding their sign up, it didn't take long for one, striking, figure to emerge out.

A vixen, red and cream fur with long, dark, vivid purply-blue head-hair cascading down from between her ears. She didn't look old, but she looked weathered by battles of the past and hard work, not that it didn't stop her from being a statement of vulpine stunningness. Heck, Nick may be all in on Judy, but having much of her upper chest on display, her badge worn hanging on a neck collar and…

"Officers Wilde and Hopps," she greeted in her mixed accent, paw out and waiting.

Judy immediately snapped to attention, paw out to meet. "Good to meet you, Inspector."

"Please, call me Carmelita," she said, turning to shake Nick's paw. She let a little smile grow on her muzzle. "Carmelita Montoya Fox, if I ever screw up enough to deserve a chewing out."

Nick chuckled. "I've heard a lot about you."

Her grin faded. "Si," she said, getting serious. "Though you must understand there is much you have not, I cannot, tell." She paused. "I've encountered many things that, for the safety of the world at large, have had to be kept a secret."

Judy couldn't help but glance at Nick for a second, ears askew, before breathing in, looking forward, and replying. "Well," she said, voice firming up. "You can trust us."

"I can," she said, "but didn't your force suffer a major intelligence leak recently?"

"I… -That was a recording bug planted on one of our undercover assets, its…"

"And how many more are there," she said, cutting the bunny off. Her tail swished a few times before she took a deep breath in and out, placing a paw on the bunny's shoulder. "I promise you that, if ever necessary, I will tell you things I know but wish to keep a secret." And with that she let go. "In any case, we have an important job to do. While I've been briefed on the basics of the maligned influences on this city, and have worked with two rodent associates of yours before, there is likely far more I need to familiarise myself with. You have the files I requested, si?"

"Yes," Judy said, holding them up.

"Very well," Carmelita smiled. "Thanks to the miracle of timezones, I have recently woken up from a good night's sleep, only to find a second one now available. I can part a large proportion of this time to familiarise myself with the documents at paw. If you could transport me to my hotel, that would be deeply appreciated."

"Well," Nick said, taking one of her bags. "What can I say but, vamos!"

And so they hurried out, quickly piling into their cruiser. Nick had already slipped his glasses on, giving his night vision some time to warm up, but he still needed some more before they actually set off.

They hung there for an awkward moment or two before he smirked. "It's ten-point-six miles to Zootopia, we have a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes. It's dark, and I'm wearing sunglasses."

"Hit it," Judy said, and off they prowled once more.

In the back, Carmelita, ear ticking up at the cultural reference, let her small grin fade as she busied herself re-reviewing the case files. In particular, an urgent one she'd been told about while in-flight.

They'd got one of them.

Or rather, someone had.

In another pulp cultural reference, the orange goat known as 'Petey', who'd had the audacity to bug a police asset in the middle of his own undercover investigation, had been dumped outside the steps of the ZPD's precinct 1, tied up and with a note attached to his chest.

Please deliver to -Chief Bogo.

And that was it, the reports mentioned him being dumped outside by an unmarked van, that was found a short while later as a burning unmarked van, no trace of who had done it.

And sure, she had a lot of experience with mammals on the other side who would take down those they viewed as beyond the pale. A ghostly pang hit her heart, dulled after all these long years, yet still painful. Abandoning hope didn't mean she forgot the loss…

Or how they actually did it.

Beat them up, make out with the loot, leave the bad guys for her to come in, sweep up, and take all the glory. This didn't feel like the work of anyone she was familiar with, not that she was complaining about the outcome.

"So, has our miscreant cabro been of any help?" she asked idly, flicking through the files.

"No," Judy replied, looking back. "He has been reserving his right to remain silent."

"Which means questions about his views on protective custody or plea deals are superfluous," Carmelita sighed. "So we can't even tell if this is out of fear of his employer, or confidence in his ability to succeed."

Judy's nose twitched. "Just how bad is this mammal? In terms of… capacity for bad. Mob boss, worse…?"

Carmelita sighed, looking forward to the bunny. Optimistic, filled with a powerful drive, but starting to wear up against the hard realities. And only now, getting a taste of some of the things the vixen had seen or, rather, a phantom feel for them. Like a young kit tentatively dipping their first toe into a cold pool. "Officer Hopps," She began, softly. "-Or would you prefer Senorita?"

Judy thought for a second. "Officer, or just Judy."

"Very well Officer," she said. "As I have said before, and I understand this is cliche, I have seen, I have witnessed, things that we, at interpol, feel have to be classified. The truth kept under wraps or, at the very least, dulled down." Closing her eyes, her mind wandered back. Red hot machines, still running, fuelling unnatural rain crashing down outside. Or the stench, the nose filling stench, permeating through the humidity of… And there were more, many more. Breath in, breath out, she pushed them back.

Not before remembering, hearing, a familiar scream of a once familiar mammal falling… To be scattered anywhere and anywhen, lost forever. The years and practice helped to dull it.

"-Weapons or devices or secrets or truths that, in the wrong paws, malicious or misguided or just normal in general, could spell disaster. The decision to do so is not taken lightly, I assure you. So, with a mammal like Professor Padriach Rattigan: amoral, ruthless, cunning, intelligent, arrogant… What he is planning could be worse than anything, myself included, can imagine. All we know is that he was absent for a decade, and could have been doing anything in that time."

"Well, we do know some things," Nick cut in. She looked up and studied him for a moment. He was a joker before, but right now he was serious, on the job. She read him as a good and honest mammal, even if he had not exactly been that way for all of his life. Most of her respected him and believed it was legitimate, a small part of her whispered that she of all mammals knew that wasn't assured, the larger part telling her back that that kind of attitude made constructive work impossible.

"Such as?" she asked.

"Basil and Dave lost him after this volcanoes air-tour around the pacific rim or something, you'll have to ask them."

His statement made her slip her fangs over her bottom lip and bite down tensely. "I certainly shall."

"And we know that something he's doing involves this Efrafan temple in Armyeenia or something…"

"-Not necessarily," Judy cut in, looking back at Carmelita. "Our friend, Dr Silverfox, is the father of the kit who was turned into a political football, in part due to these mammals. Two foxes tried to get him onboard their missions, the first one, we think, was with Rattigan."

"The second with our favourite goat delivery service I presume?" Carmelita guessed.

Through the serious tones, a small smile, briefly lit by the flash of a passing streetlight, showed on the bunnies face. "Potentially, yes," Judy said. "The former was asking about the culture that built it, or something like that. Efrafan hares."

Carmelita nodded. "Not that I have any experience with them, but they have a precluding reputation, si?"

"One I have heard too," Judy spoke. "Regardless, that's one of his earliest and best known areas of study, we know about it from him telling us about being one of the first western teams to examine the place. Of course, it's not a certainty that they're interested in that site, or even that culture. Maybe it was a far more obscure area of Silverfox's work they're interested in, the plan being to use this to reel him in."

"Something to examine further," Carmelita summarised. "Many options open are far better than one dead closed. Anything else to add?"

"Not there, no," Judy said, only for Nick to cut it.

"I think it was mentioned that the last place they tracked him to was Armyeenia. And on his video taunt, he certainly talked a lot about investigating into the past, finding something…"

The vixen in the back drummed her fingers on her folder. She never liked coincidences, and a few were ringing in her head, making a constant, mournful, dreadful racket. Him returning while, what she desperately hoped was a false alarm, also pinged… She was going to have to make a lot of investigations and visits, many without these two faithful servants of the law at her side.

They didn't deserve to get dragged into this.

"Naturally you probably know what we're talking about," Nick carried on, his voice starting to take on a long, drolling tone. "But due to unspecified reasons you won't be able to inform us, leaving us awkwardly and clichely hanging…"

And this response to that was a part of the course. Nothing, really, she could let it slide over and…

"Leave her, Nick," Judy spoke, the bunny turning back to Carmelita. "You probably get this a lot," she began, slowly. "But don't worry, I get it."

"Do you?" Carm asked softly, her ears rising up a little. She crossed her fingers, wanting this to be easy on the both of them.

"I'm sure…" Judy began, breathing in and out. "I'm sure you've heard of my famous… mishap… during a press conference."

"Si," she said, lying through her teeth. She had no clue whatsoever, but had no intention of putting Judy through any painful retellings of the past. After all, she'd have enough time tonight to research it.

"Well, what with all the pain those dumb words caused… Heck, the kind of pain all of that case caused, I get it. It actually took a lot of time, but I get it." She breathed out. "It all clicked once when I met the doctor, Lionhearts doctor, this honey badger who worked on infectious diseases and was recruited to run his asylum, and was pretty much cleared of all wrong doing. She got out claiming culpable deniability, the very same video I took catching her talking to Lionheart supported her claim that she, by all rights, believed this was an officially sanctioned legal operation. I… didn't like it, and when I met her once by chance, we got into a little argument."

"Little?" Nick asked.

"Well, no…" she sighed. "And, not gonna lie, that was mainly my fault. Didn't take me long to say that she should still be behind bars. To which she talked about how she had every right to believe it was legally sanctioned and top secret, and after being shown the savages, as a Doctor, what else should she do. I said she should have followed the law, she said she thought she was, repeating her defence. And then… I got to the real rub I had. She was still taking part in the kitnapping of mammals, away from their families, not even telling them. I dove into the case after Mrs Otterton, begging for help, came to me, desperate to see her husband again. Broken after he'd vanished, with no news, nothing. Why the cuss didn't they at least tell her? She just rattled on about not causing a panic. I wasn't impressed."

"I get that a lot," Carmelita noted.

A little smile flashed on Judy's muzzle. "I accused her of working for Lionheart's PR firm, and she then asked how old I was."

"Change of subject," the vixen mused.

"Uh-hu," Judy said, "just what I thought. But then, she talked about how, before I was born, she was starting her career and was called out to Outback Island." The bunny's tone faded. "A Tasmanian devil with a facial tumour. And a second, and a third, then ten, a hundred, a thousand…" She blew out some air. "Cancer doing something no cancer should or can do, spreading between mammals like a disease. And she went on about how, as she and her crew did their best to work out how and why, other species began to panic."

Her ears drooped. "And this mammal I almost hated was almost in tears about how, while she was having to tell entire families, from old great grandparents to joey's barely out of the pouch, that they all had months to live… The entire species were being shunned by those who feared they'd catch it too, or even abused. Thrown out of their jobs, their homes, going hungry and having to crowd together, helping the spread of disease. -And there was no point, as it could only spread within their species, not that those beating them up cared."

"Of course they wouldn't," Carmelita spoke, musing how if something that simple could cause that…

"And of course in the end it was their biting customs that were spreading it, and knowing that, devil facial tumour disease was stopped. But Dr Badger said that when she saw the savages, she saw something far, far worse than DFTD, and that keeping things quiet was, in her view, the best option. Especially given what later happened, and what was behind it in the end."

"And so then, you understood," Carm said.

"Well…" Judy began, a bit nervous. "She accused me of fanning the flames, I pointed out I was quoting her with 'biology' remark, she said that she was trying to point out it was a thing common to predators and that I added the really bad bid. In the end I said that even if she thought she was doing the right thing, she went too far, and belonged in a prison cell. And she said she'd be happy to share it with me."

Carmelita blinked. "¿Qué?"

"Her reaction exactly," Nick said.

"Ah, ¿Tu conejita habla español?"

Nick blanked out, Judy taking over. "It was a shock, I was confused, then I asked what she even meant by that. And… she kinda pointed out that me following the law as a cop would have meant phoning the ZPD as soon as I identified the subway car being used to grow the howlers, but I went 'beyond that' and 'too far' by driving it off… and crashing it… into a museum… where it blew up."

There was a long pause, filled by the sound of them racing over grooves and bumps in the roadway.

Finally, Carmelita pointed forward. "Train and museum," she pointed back at herself, "entire back lot of police cruisers. Do they expect us to be perfect or what?"

Judy snorted out a laugh and settled down, relaxing, her grin shared by their back seat passenger. "You've going to have to tell me that one," she began, only to freeze up a little. "-Unless…"

"No, no, it is fine," Carm said.

"Anyway," Judy said, carrying on, "It certainly shut me up. I accused her of thinking she was better than me, to which she said she felt we were both the same. She just didn't think that I had the right to think I was better than her… And after… I kind of got it."

Nick looked in. "Sympathy for the devil with sympathy for the devils, Fluff?"

"Maybe," she sighed. "I don't know. But looking back on all the damage the savage crisis caused, I get why some would think that's the lesser evil…" And with that, she looked up at Carmelita. "Maybe I haven't worked with you enough to completely trust you, but from what I've read about you I really want to get there… And you trusted us enough to tell us that you were going to keep some things secret, unless you had to share them, something most wouldn't do. -And that makes me want to trust you."

So, do you trust me?" Carm asked.

There was a pause. "Do I?" she asked out loud. "Yes, yes I do."

"Well then," she summarised, "it'll be a pleasure to get to know and work with you. We will have busy days ahead, no doubt, but it is our duty."

The bunny nodded. "Make the world a better place."

Nick glanced back. "Obey the temporary speed limit for roadworks even though nobody is working."

That brought a snort from the pair of girls, and soon discussions moved back to some of the general things about the case. What little they knew of the other henchmammals out there, the lion and tiger. What other things could be brought to the table. Speaking of tables, it soon moved onto things like making sure she had enough supplies to go on for the next few days. She assured them that she was fine. Her hotel would have all the amenities she needed, and she was well awake enough to go and retrieve them. Talk had even moved on to food the next morning when Nick announced that they'd arrived at her stop. Parking up, he insisted that he'd take her bag in, like a good gentletodd would.

In she darted. Nick quickly followed in, heavy bag in paw.

"So, thought I'd snatch us some fox on fox discussion time," he said, giving her a smarmy look. Her initial reaction was to blow it off, she may be getting older but her looks were very much still top form, so she was used to it. However, once the first reflex take had passed, her better judgement told her that this wasn't that. He, like many mammals, was a big pile of humour and sarcasm, enough to trip you up if not initiated but quite pleasant to be around if you didn't take things too seriously. She could work with that.

"About what exactly," she asked, before pausing. Given his junior years… "So, was I a source of inspiration for Zootopia's first fox cop, or…"

"Nah," he said, "sorry to burst that bubble. In fact, back in those long ago, misguided days, I didn't so much not know about you, just didn't care. This swift fox vixen I knew, who you actually just missed at the airport, she knew, and was insistent about this being proof I could be something. Not that dumb past me cared. No…" he said, trailing off. "This is more about Zootopia's first fox cop thing, in general."

And then Carmelita's mood twinged downwards. She didn't live in a vacuum, and she knew this city had some… interesting historical, cultural and legal issues in the past. And a reputation involving her own species, one she'd certainly seen flaring up as of late, in no small part helped by the very thing she was coming to tackle. "I have heard a lot about this city," she said, looking over at Nick. "Many things sound quite foreign to me, and I can't comprehend abiding by them or respecting them, it doesn't register… Undoubtedly some of the sour things I've heard have been… soured down even more. Some of the rosier things, rosied up. I suppose I should be able to appreciate it coming from the words of a local fox."

"Yeah, well…" Nick began. "Many mammals will say that this was never against foxes and bunnies specifically, it was misguided laws that cast a wide net, that happened to catch us. And now mammals have seen the error of their ways, drawn it in, it's all good, sing kumaya. And others still say that those laws were especially against us to keep us down, and that net is definitely still there… -I'd say that the echo of that net is still there, and it'll be for a long time, getting quieter and quieter as time goes past, not helped by some trying to cling on and re-cast it. As for you, I can't see you hitting it."

"That's good."

"-But…" he said, looking curious for a second. "How often have mammals gone off on you, based on your species?"

"When they really mean it?" she asked. "Back home, probably no more often than I have fingers. Nothing compared to being a female. Neither as painful as… how would you put it… office politics based slights and accusations against my integrity…" She grimaced bitterly, only to shake it off. "I suppose though," she trailed off, "you're going to warn me to expect more of it here."

Nick breathed out a little. "I wish I could say no, but… I can't. There'll be mammals out there who think the worst of you no matter what, or Murana Wolford is the Dark Flame Wolf."

"¿Qué?" she blinked.

"Oh, a new Zootopian saying," he said, his voice taking on a warmer tone. "But it seems you have thick skin, senorita. My advice, as ever, is simple. Never let them see that they get to you."

They'd reached a lift, the door opening to let her in, and she turned, smiling. "And not hit them with the long arm of the law?"

Nick smirked. "That, too, may work."

"I think it fits my style," she said, smiling, something Nick shared back. "Buenas noches Nicholas," she said warmly. "See you tomorrow."

"Yes Ma'am," Nick replied, giving a soft salute back as the door closed.

Soon, he was back in the cruiser with Judy, heading back home.

"So, what do you think of her," the bunny asked. "Same as me?"

"I've met a lot of mammals who've had long storied careers," Nick began, "and others with bad attitudes, or tons of charm, and so on. She… She came in saying that she was everything said on the tin, and, vulpine to vulpine, I think I'm inclined to believe her. After all," he said, "she came out right away and spoke what's essentially our unspoken operating procedure."

"Ahem," Judy corrected. "Your unspoken operating procedure, Mr legitimate business transaction facilitator."

"And a very good one I was too," he said, boasting as they went off into the night.

.

Back in her hotel room, Inspector Carmelita Fox of Interpol laid out her files on the table. Ears up, nose out, signal searcher in paw, she gave a cursory check for anything of interest. It seemed their enemy was into bugging and espionage. A new, if truly understandable and disturbing, tactic.

As Shizi Tzu said, know your enemy.

And there was the rub, in truth, they didn't know theirs.

It was up to them to find out, to learn, to adapt and to defeat them.

From what she'd learnt of the bunny fox pair, who seemed suspiciously closer than a normal set of police partners would be, they would be a clever and reliable pair of sides to the triangle of justice she aimed to build with them.

They were good mammals.

Which was why, as she brought out a scientific report, its potential true meaning hidden to even those who wrote it, she hoped she could keep them out of what this could be.

Keep them free from the secrets.

Free from the lies.

Free from the terrifying truths.

Free from the losses, and the pain, and the long lasting heartache.

Because she knew what it was like to lose a partner, a lover, a fiend and a friend.

Coming up to ten years now.

She had a feeling that Nick and her raccoon would have got on so well together.

To the point that leaving them alone together for too long would be inadvisable.

She was going to make sure that Judy never ended up like herself.

Her grip on the page tightened. She would lie to them, hurt them, throw them off or betray them if need be.

She would make sure they never knew the pain.

But could she?

Who knew?

Who knew what the future, or those in the shadows, both foe and 'friend' had in store for them.

All she knew was that she would stick this course.

And fight.

.

.

Pulling up, Nick got out and dashed inside, opening the door just in time to slip past him. Turning in after her, he swung the door closed and made his way to a small area beneath the stairway. While many private homes would have a wet-lobby area, to the point of full on mud rooms in Tundratown, apartment blocks like his would never truly embrace the idea. Though, in recent times, a cheap substitute more often than not would be included if possible.

So, ducking under the stairs into a tiled area, Nick pulled across a cheap shower curtain and shook his body for all it was worth. Thankfully, it was only his extremities that were damp, most of the thrown off moisture coming from his tail or slipping off his coat.

Out he came, leaving nothing but wet footprints, the pair making their way up the steps.

To their home.

Judy's lease had come up for review, and the bunny had chosen to let it go. After all, she had a fox to sleep with.

Maybe not tonight though, it was a long tiring day, and as they reached his door, they…

"-Get back!"

Judy jolted up, stepping back as Nick stared at his door, tail bottlebrushing out behind him and head honing in. His teeth were grit and he pointed at his nose, before back inside. The bunny got the message, before losing it again as he slapped the wall. Once, twice…

"You're called horseflies," he spoke, giving it another slap. "Go bother some horses!"

He stopped, looking at her and winking. "I wouldn't even care about them stealing a tiny drop of my blood, if they didn't leave cussin' mega bites that itch for the next few days."

"I know," Judy groaned, playing along with a regular voice. "Surely one of these bugs will wise up at one point." As she did so, Nick unlocked his door, putting away his keys and pulling out his tranq gun.

"I know, right," he said, pausing on the threshold, giving far more attention to anything going on inside than one might expect. "Come on evolution, don't you realise that the bug that sucks blood without anyone noticing basically wins."

In he went, Judy following after, only to pause as she noticed something on the ground. Picking it up, she saw it was the writing of Mrs Reed, an older beaver who lived a few floors down and who, in her retirement, had picked up a whole bunch of small odd jobs to keep her occupied (with some business advice from Nick, given that he had a little soft spot for her). This ranged from offering to do the cleaning once a week, which she had a key for, to cooking large batches of food for mammals in the building, something that Judy subscribed far more too than Nick given their dietary differences.

'Dear Mr Wilde, some delivery mammals came for you while you were out, so I let them in for you. Hope you don't mind.'

Judy's nose began to twitch as she saw another note.

'Hey Mr Fox cop, this is Eddie, Buster's friend. I've been a bit busy with his disappearance, but it turns out…'

"ARGGGGGHHHHH!"

Judy leapt up into the air, limbs kicking out in a mad flurry before she landed back down on a shaky all-fours.

In she peeked, the lights were on, and Nick was staring wide eyed at one, or rather two, things in the corner. "Bu… Wha… How…?"

Judy nudged up to him and handed over the first message, while finishing the second for herself. "-But it turns out you won that auction!"

She handed it over to her fox and on seeing it he groaned, gazing up at the yellow-blue statue-things now happily posing in the corner of his room like a pair of big hairy warts. "This isn't so bad…"

"Yeah," Judy spoke out into the air. "And Murana Wolford is the Dark Flame Wolf."

The fox looked down and shrugged. "I suppose I can look on the bright side."

"Which… is?"

"I know a scrap metal guy."