A/N: With his intent to join the ZPD, Nick knows he needs to have a very important talk with an old 'friend'.

It's been a while since I last updated. Lots of stuff happening in life, but that's true for everyone. As the year comes to an end, I hope all of you can have a blessed Christmas and a great New Year! May you all be able to handle all challenges you may face, and to enjoy the good times that come.

Thanks to Chris, Minion Master 1, Kylaralynn, Shak112, Omnitrix 12, side-fish, Cimar of Turalis WildeHopps, Nighttide, Twinboy1995, patrickharris98, Aronim, Britt30, InTheLionsDenOnDA, Fox in the hen house, QuillPenAndAnInkJar, VickyT36, and Viridi . Inanitas for reviewing!

And a special thanks to BeecroftA for helping edit this chapter! He is an excellent writer, and I highly recommend checking out the stories that he has written.

Chapter 11: Faux Pas

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH"

Nick leaned back against the alley wall, stretching his arms with a loud yawn.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH"

He tossed his phone into the air a couple of times, flicking it back and forth between his fingers.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH"

He idly scrolled through his news feed, bookmarking a couple of interesting videos that he came across. He looked up after a while.

"…Are you done yet?" he asked.

Finnick clutched his sides, wheezing and wiping a tear from his eye.

"No wait, no wait, not yet…! HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Nick sighed. He'd come over to talk to Finnick's place—his van, anyway—to talk, but right now the fennec fox was more interested in laughing his butt off.

"Okay, I'm done. Phew!" The vertically challenged fox jumped into the back of his van, flopping down onto a mini deck chair. "I still find it absolutely hilarious that you're actually coming clean after all these years, Nick."

"It's complicated," Nick said in response. "Besides, you should know better than anyone else why I want to do this."

"Because you're completely smitten with the fuzz bunny?"

"No!" Nick retorted, glaring daggers at him.

"Relax, chump. I'm kidding. Well, not really, but meh. You've been running your mouth at me for years, so this is my perfect revenge. I mean, a fox and a bunny? I couldn't come up with this stuff if I tried." He paused. "Does she know?"

"No, and I have no intention of telling her about it. And you'd better not say anything about it either."

"Hmph. Why are you chickening out, Nick? Surely she deserves to know your deep down fweelings that you have for her?" he said in a mockingly cute voice, before cackling at the end.

"Look, Finnick. I'm not here to talk about her. I'm here to talk to you."

The fennec fox raised an eyebrow as his phone beeped. He glanced over at the screen, tapping quickly at it.

"What is there to talk about?"

"Uh, lots? I thought you'd be more upset at me for doing this."

"Hmph. It doesn't matter to me. I'll just find someone else to replace you. It's not that hard to pull off a popsicle hustle."

"Ha. I doubt you'll find anyone who can pull the whole thing off as well as I do. It was my idea to begin with, after all."

"I have other hustles," Finnick harrumphed. "It's not like popsicle hustling is the only thing I know how to do."

"Not as profitable, though. And the ones that do bring in the bucks aren't as…legal."

Finnick narrowed his eyes.

"Get to your point before I chew your head off." Finnick said, the irritation clear in his voice.

"As if you could reach it in the first place…" Nick smirked to himself.

"WHAT WAS THAT?!"

"Nothing. Look Finnick, I came here today because I felt I owed you an explanation. For why I'm coming clean."

"Hmph. Yeah, that's a real shocker. What ever happened to 'The world is a terrible terrible place' Nick? The Nick that swore that he'd never do something as stupid as trust a cop?"

"Things…changed."

"More like a fuzz bunny happened," Finnick scoffed. There was a short silence between them, before Finnick cleared his throat.

"Well, it's not like I didn't expect this. You were never hard, Nick. I already knew that."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"I know you never wanted this life. You wanted to be a good, honest hardworking fox deep down inside," Finnick replied.

"I don't remember ever telling you that."

"You didn't. It was pretty easy for me to figure out," Finnick said with a shrug. "Have you forgotten? I've been doing this before your tail was even fully grown. Also, you carried around that cub scout band thing everywhere."

Nick's eyes followed Finnick, before he remembered that particular item was no longer around.

"First of all, it's called a neckerchief. And secondly, what does that have to do with anything?"

"Don't care what it's called, and it was just a guess." Finnick glanced up from his phone. "I don't see you denying it…"

Nick rolled his eyes. Finnick continued.

"Point is, I already know why you're coming clean. So there's no need to pour out a long sob story to me."

A short silence.

"We've been partners for what, fifteen years?" Nick finally said.

"Oh great here comes the sob story." Finnick mumbled sarcastically, before adding: "Longer than fifteen."

"Yeah, do you remember the day we met? You're the one who saved me from a hustle gone bad. I would've lost my tail if it wasn't for you."

"Yeah, saving you was a bad decision. I promise I'll never do anything stupid like that again." The sarcasm was practically dripping now.

"We've been a pretty good team since then, though. We pulled off a lot of hustles together since then. Remember the carnival one?"

Finnick let out a low chuckle.

"Heh. That one's hard to forget. Especially since you were the one getting dunked in the water. That was hilarious."

"Yeah, those kind of hustles worked better when I still had the 'young cub trying to work hard' face. I vaguely remember you laughing so hard you almost gave us away."

"What can I say? Seeing you suffer somehow always makes my day better."

"Well, if that's the case, then I should let you know that academy training is supposed to be really tough. I'll probably be knocked around a fair bit."

"Don't forget to send pictures. And a video."

"Of course." Nick smiled. For the first time that day, they both chuckled together. A short silence soon followed. Finnick slipped his phone back into his pocket.

"…How long?"

"Six months. They said I could come back on the weekends sometimes. Why? Do you miss me already?"

"Not on your life!" Finnick yelled back, tossing an empty soda can at Nick. Nick caught it out of the air with a free hand effortlessly, with his trademark smirk.

"I know you don't need me to say this, but that means that I won't be able to hustle with you anymore," Nick said, placing the can down on the ground. "And more importantly, in the event that I do pass the tests and actually become a cop…" Nick hesitated towards the end, unsure of how to actually put it.

"You're gonna try and put me behind bars, Nick?" Finnick harrumphed.

"No, I wouldn't do that. Not unless you really screw up big time. But I have faith that your tiny little fox brain can keep you out of trouble." Nick grinned.

"Or, you could use your position as a cop to give us some slack. Do us some…favours."

"I'm not even in the academy and you're already scheming, Finnick? I guess some things never change." Nick chuckled. "Not even after fifteen years."

"What can I say? I'm a purebred hustler, through and through." Finnick popped a bag of potato chips open.

"Well, it doesn't mean you have to spend the rest of your life hustling, y'know. You could always try something new."

Finnick looked confused at first, but then it seemed to click.

"…ha. Hahahahahaha!" the fennec fox suddenly began laughing loudly again, his laughter echoing off the high alley walls. "You hit your head or something, Nick? Are you actually asking me to come clean with you?"

"Well, I mean, it's not impossible. If someone like her could become a cop…"

"Forget it. For every one of her, there are a million more who failed. There is no way I'm ever coming clean. Ever. You of all people should know why."

"We're both foxes, Finnick."

"Being smaller than the fluff-fuzz doesn't help. And we've already had this conversation before, so let me make this very clear. I am never going to come clean. Not in a million years. You got that?" he growled.

Nick raised his hands in surrender. "Yeah yeah, I got it. I guess I didn't really expect a different answer."

"Then why did you even ask?!" the smaller fox snapped at him.

"Because it's fun to yank your chain." Nick said, standing up and ruffling Finnick's head—and then pulling back quickly before his arm got shredded.

"Well, this has been a complete waste of time. Is this all you came to tell me?" Finnick said, standing with him while giving him the evil eye. "If there's nothing else, I've got things to do."

"Actually, yeah. There's a couple more things."

Without another word, Nick opened the backpack he was carrying, pulling out a small ice box. He hoped that what was inside was still intact. Finnick raised an eyebrow as Nick pulled out a small orange-coloured popsicle in its packaging.

"Isn't this…?"

"Yeah. It is." Nick said, tearing open the packaging. The popsicle was rectangular in shape, with two sticks coming out from the bottom. The ice bag still kept it completely solid.

"You really are a sentimental sappy fox, Nick," Finnick said, shaking his head.

"Maybe I am." Nick replied, gently splitting the popsicle into two. He handed one half over to Finnick, who reluctantly took it. "But it's just my way of saying thanks for the last fifteen years."

With that, Nick zipped his backpack back up and slung it over his shoulder, before sticking his half of the popsicle into his mouth. He watched as Finnick turned the stick over a few times. He seemed to be thinking about something.

"Aw, don't look so down, buddy. You'll still see me around." Nick said, grinning. "Except I'll be on the other side."

The fennec fox looked up, an eyebrow raised.

"Has the sentimental sappy fox told his mama about this yet?"

Nick's grin vanished.

"Hmph. I thought not," Finnick said, finally taking a bite of the popsicle. "Still having your mama issues, I see."

"That's a low blow." Nick grumbled. "Anyway, that's actually the last thing I need to tell you. I need your help with this." He took a pause, before sighing. "Judy is looking for her."

"What for?"

"She's trying to prove that we can 'mend our relationship'," Nick said, rolling his eyes.

"Well, if the fuzz bunny's looking for her, then you're pretty much screwed, Nick. You know better than me what that bunny can do." Finnick said, looking somewhat pleased at the thought.

"No, I'm taking every precaution to make sure that Judy won't find her. But I have a feeling she'll try and approach you sooner or later." Nick's expression turned serious. "I need to keep her as far away from this matter as possible. I don't need her butting her nose into things that don't concern her."

"The last time she did, she ended up solving the Night Howler case…"

"That's different. This is my family business. I need to keep Judy as far away from her as possible. I need you to keep quiet on this matter. Act dumb."

I'm sure that acting dumb wouldn't be a problem for you. Nick was about to add that on to the end of his sentence, but he decided against it. Finnick still had a scowl on his face though. But then again, it was rare for him not to have a scowl on his face.

"Am I getting paid for this?" he finally said.

Nick sighed.

"When I become a cop, I'll see what I can do to close one eye. But don't go too far."

"Yeah yeah I got it," Finnick waved a hand dismissively. "Keep the bunny away from the fox. Yada yada yada. It's not like this is the first time you've asked me to keep tabs on her, anyway." Finnick grumbled, taking another bite out of his popsicle.

"Thanks for giving me the heads-up back then, by the way. It made it a lot easier to deal with her under the bridge."

"Hmph. Whatever. Let me tell you something, Nick. One day, all these things are going to come back and bite you in the butt. And I'm going to enjoy every moment of seeing it."

"I'm sure you will, Finnick. I'm sure you will." Nick said, standing up. "Well, thanks for your help. See you around."

"Whatever."

Satisfied, Nick got up and began walking back down the alley. The sun was low enough in the sky now that the orange rays of light were starting to fade away, but only slightly. The street lamps flickered on to life as he stepped onto the main pavement. It was still early enough in the evening, so Judy probably wouldn't be wondering where he was.

I wonder what she's doing?

"Hey Judy, is everything okay?"

Judy looked up to see Wolfard looking at her with a concerned look on his face. She hadn't realized she'd been frowning this whole time with her arms crossed. She quickly uncrossed them and softened the look on her face as the cruiser rolled along the main street.

"Oh, yeah. Everything's fine."

"You seem to be pretty good at getting the chief riled up." Wolford said, chuckling. The cruiser slowly came to a stop at a red light. "Why did you come back to work, anyway? I thought he said you weren't coming back for another couple months at least."

A couple months? Really? I'm not wheelchair-bound! Judy groaned in her head.

"It's a long story. There was something bugging me, and I needed to look for someone's info. I was trying to avoid attention."

"Clearly." Wolfard chuckled. "But you needed to sneak back to work just for that? Must be pretty urgent. It's not another Nighthowler incident, is it?"

"No no, it's not," she said quickly. Why does everyone think that? "It's just a personal issue, that's all."

Info…wait, all police cruisers have mobile data terminals! She turned to her right. True enough, the minicomputer was there. They were normally used to bring up license details, records, and incidents. It definitely didn't have the full functionality of a terminal in the ZPD, but there was a chance that she could find some info about Evie Wilde in there.

"Say, do you mind if I use the MDT for a moment?"

"Uh, what for?" he asked, looking a little uncomfortable.

"Oh, um, just needed to check some data on someone."

Wolfard paused, staring at her for a moment. "Woah, that's creepy."

"What is?"

"Chief Bogo told me before we left that you would probably ask to check the database."

Judy stared. Wolfard scratched the back of his neck. "He told me not to let you use it."

Somewhere in the back of her head, a voice cursed very loudly.

"I should've known," she finally said, sighing.

"Sorry Judy, but it's the Chief's orders. You know how he is. I'd love to help but…" he looked around the car for a moment, before whispering: "…the walls have ears."

"That only happens because people forget to turn off the comms after they're done using them," Judy replied flatly.

"Wait, really?" Wolfard leaned over to check the receiver. "Oh…"

Ever the joker, Wolfard. Judy thought. Normally she would laugh, but right now she was too busy being annoyed at all the things that had gone wrong today.

The light flicked to green. Wolfard released the footbrake and began accelerating. As he did, Judy's left ear perked up. She turned her head in the same direction.

"Wolfard, stop!" she yelled.

"Gah!" the wolf slammed on the brakes, just a moment before a green car sped past right in front of them. Some pedestrians crossing the road screamed in a similar manner, diving out of the way before the car could run them over.

"Jeez, that guy…!" Wolfard yelled, gripping the wheel. Judy watched as he flipped a switch on his right, before the familiar sound of sirens filled the air. He started to reach for the transceiver, but his hand grasped this air; she was already ahead of him.

"Dispatch, this is car 34, we've—"

"Woah woah woah!" Wolfard yelped, snatching the transceiver away from her.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Judy demanded.

"You can't be on the comms! If Chief Bogo heard your voice, he'd kill me!" Wolfard exclaimed, panic rising in his voice.

"But…"

"Please Judy, just let me handle this, okay? I really don't want to be skinned alive…" Wolfard gulped.

He was giving the equivalent of puppy dog eyes. After a moment, Judy reluctantly acquiesced, sitting back in her seat with a sigh of defeat.

"Alright. Go ahead and do what you need to do."

"…not clear. Please repeat." The voice from the radio spoke up. Judy kept having to remind herself that Clawhauser wasn't working the front desk; he was still stuck in records.

"S-sorry, Dispatch, this is car 34," Wolfard spoke into the transceiver with one hand, while using his right hand to swing the steering wheel right. "We've got a—"

A loud crash cut Judy off. Both she and Wolfard turned their heads simultaneously to the right. Said green car was now stationary, but not in a good way. The front of the car was crushed in, with the hood popping up awkwardly. Another grey car was in a similar predicament—with the damage being to the rear instead. Although Judy didn't see exactly what happened, it wasn't difficult to put the pieces together.

"Scratch that. Dispatch, we've got a 10-52: Car accident on Robin Road, across Central Boulevard. Unknown number of casualties. I'm moving in to check it out."

The person on the line—most likely Kang—gave an affirmative as Wolfard brought the cruiser closer to the collision point. A curious crowd of onlookers was already beginning to form.

"You'd better lay low, Judy," Wolfard said. Like water, the crowd parted as the police cruiser rolled in. Judy grabbed her straw hat and put it on as he put the car into neutral and pulled up the handbrake.

"Yeah, I got it," Judy mumbled as he quickly exited the cruiser and rushed over to the other two cars.

Judy kept her eye on him as he approached the green car. The driver inside was already stepping out of the car, holding his head in pain. Wolfard was motioning for the growing crowd to stay back and not congregate around the area. He definitely looked occupied.

Two times. She thought to herself. I've been caught two times today. I'm not going to make it three.

She wanted to be out there, helping him, but she knew she couldn't. And yet, this was still the perfect chance for her. She wasn't going to let this one slip away.

She looked around quickly, even though she knew there was no realistic way Bogo—or Nick, for that matter—would be anywhere around here. It was extremely unlikely, but then again, that's what she had thought both times before she got caught. She had to be very sure of this.

Okay, it looks like I'm clear. No one is paying attention to me either.

With one eye still on Wolfard, Judy swiveled the laptop monitor to face her. Thankfully, she knew that the password to access the laptop was conveniently written on a small post-it behind the screen—people couldn't be bothered to remember the passwords for each individual device. She punched in the numbers, and did a little victory fist-pump as the familiar homepage of the database came into view.

She pulled the dropdown list and selected 'search by name'. Her heart was beating fast. She typed in 'Evie Wilde'.

A second passed. Then two.

"NO RESULTS FOUND"

"No way…that can't be." Did I spell her name wrong?

She typed in 'Evey Wilde'

"NO RESULTS FOUND"

Why is it wrong? She tried as many variations as she could think of. Evii, Evai, Eevee…but still, nothing. It was unlikely Nick's mother shared the same name as a pokemammal, anyway.

She ran a quick search for 'Nicholas Wilde', and sure enough, the first hit on the list was the smarmy red fox's face, accompanied with information that she already knew. It was just a picture, but she knew he was taunting her like he always did.

Darn you, Nick…You gave me a wrong name on purpose, didn't you? It definitely sounded like something he would do. She bit her lip.

There must be another way to find her. She typed in 'Wilde'.

Her heart sank as a few hundred, then several thousand entries filled the screen. Zootopia was a large city, sure, but she didn't expect there to be so many Wildes.

Okay, relax. I can narrow this down. Okay, just cross reference 'fox' and 'Wilde'...

More than a thousand entries populated the screen.

Wait, I forgot to specify the exact species! She tried hitting the backspace key, but the system wasn't responding nearly quickly enough. She forgot how old some of these mini laptops were. Unfortunately, she didn't have the time to be patient with the machine. She quickly glanced up at the sound of ambulance sirens. There were paramedics already at the scene. Fortunately, it seemed that there weren't any serious casualties. Unfortunately, that meant that Wolfard was already on his way back. Probably to run some license plate checks.

Desperation started clawing at her. She willed the computer to go faster, but she knew no amount of hoping would help. In the end, she forced herself to close the program and move the screen back to its original position, just as Wolfard approached the window.

"Are they okay?" she asked immediately.

Wolfard nodded. "Yeah, the car in front was stationary, and there wasn't anyone inside. It's just our little friend in green who fell asleep behind the wheel."

"Was he drunk?"

"No, just old." Wolfard chuckled. "He says he doesn't even remember getting into the car. And you know what? I actually believe him."

"At least no one was hurt…are you going to run his plate?"

"Was going to, but Chief called. Told me to send you home first. He's getting Higgins to cover this one."

Judy heaved an inward sigh of relief. It looked like he didn't suspect anything. But that relief was short-lasted when she realized she was still no closer to finding Nick's mom than when she started the day.

Not even a lead, an address, anything.

Whatever it was, Judy had to think of another way to find this mysterious 'Evie Wilde'. Her investigation was starting to become harder than she expected.