Disclaimer: I do not own Zootopia, if I did there would be a sequel already.

Chapter 8: Confrontation

"What kind of problem," Wiley's voice came through the phone.

"A 'my cover might be blown' kind of problem," Judy said, "One of the club patrons from the past couple of nights was acting suspicious, stalking the only rabbit dancer, Lola Basset, and searching through her private room. I confronted him as Alexis, and he left. On my way out tonight, he followed me and told me that he recognized me. He's a private investigator who was hired by Lola's parents to find her. His name is Pete Cottons."

"I'll verify that info," Wiley said, "For now, continue the op as planned. If it comes back as phony, I'll pull you immediately."

"Affirmative," Judy said, "Talk to you at 1500."

Judy woke up at 1200 and did her current normal routine. After breakfast and some musical relaxation, she called Wiley at 1500.

"Wiley," he responded.

"Checking in," Judy said, "Did you find out anything new?"

"I verified Pete Cottons' identity," Wiley said, "He's a licensed PI in Sahara Square. How much does he know?"

"Nothing as far as I know," Judy said, "He just said that if I'm here undercover, something must be happening at the Warren. He offered his assistance."

"We might take him up on that," he said, "I'll talk to Bogo."

"Any new info about the case," Judy asked.

"Nothing pertinent to your investigation," he answered, "I'll talk to you at 0300."

He hung up.

"How do you know," Judy said into the dead line before putting down her phone, "He's frustrating."

She opened the chat app and sent Nick a message.

C – I have a lead for you to follow

She attached the photo of the bathroom wall that contained the phone number to solicit Selina's services.

C – See if you can trace this number. It might lead to Selina's manager

She closed her phone and headed towards the bedroom to get dressed. Today, she chose a classic little black dress. When 1600 arrived, she headed towards the Warren.

Judy went through the motions of her shift. As she delivered the drinks to the dancers, she noticed that Natalia was sitting next to Lola on a couch. As she poured Beli's sake, she noticed Natalia lean over and whisper into Lola's ear. The bunny giggled as she took another drink.

"What are you doing," Beli asked.

Judy's attention snapped back to the mongoose in front of her, "I'm sorry, what?"

"You've delivered our drinks," Beli said, "You can go now."

"You don't have to be so mean," Aisha purred into Beli's ear.

Beli didn't respond, only leveled a glare at Judy.

Judy nodded and made her way to the door, "If you all need anything, let me know."

As Judy went about her job, the night got busy and the drink began to flow. As she did her job, she didn't notice that she was being watched. As Judy walked past the stage on which Lola was dancing, she heard a, "psst." Judy made eye contact with the blonde bunny.

Lola mouthed, "Bathroom, midnight."

Judy nodded before continuing her rounds.

As it grew closer to midnight, the patrons began to grow rowdier.

"What's different about a Tuesday," she asked no one in particular.

"Full moon," Lightning said out of the blue, "Everyone seems to go a little crazy. I'm not superstitious, but it seems like bad things always happen when it's a full moon. I swear, every month something happens."

"Like what," Judy asked.

"You know," he said, "Just bad things. Felipe closes the club for two days following the full moon. Last month, no one told me, and I left my phone here. I came back the next day, and had to break in to get it."

"Really," Judy said, "Must be difficult to do. I'd figure there's a security system."

"Nah," Lightning said, "It's actually pretty easy. There's a vent next to the dumpster that leads right into the kitchen."

"Weird," Judy said to herself as she walked away.

By around 11:30, the crowd was insatiable. Everyone was acting loud and boisterous. It had gotten so bad that Sergei and Piotr had taken up their post inside the main floor of the club. Judy was doing her best to keep up with the demand of the patrons around her. Every now and then, she had to dodge a stray hand that got a little too close to her tail, but it was nothing she couldn't handle… yet.

As Judy was walking by a table at which was seated a hyena and an armadillo, the hyena flagged her down.

"Yes, sir," she said sweetly, "What can I get you?"

The hyena smirked, "I'll tell you what you can get," he said with a drunken slur, "You can get your cute, fluffy, little ass over and dance for me."

"I'm sorry sir," she said, "I'm not a dancer. I'm just a waitress, and I have other customers that I need to tend to."

She turned to walk away, but the hyena's arm shot out and grabbed her shoulder, causing her to spill the drinks she was carrying on her dress.

"Where the fuck do you think you're goin' bitch," he stammered out, "Get your ass back here a dance for me."

In that instant, Judy saw three different ways to nullify her attacker, but she didn't have to as a shrill whistle rang out through the crowd. Everyone stopped and turned to the source, Beli the Mongoose.

"Yo, Pete," she shouted in the direction of the door, "We got a piece of shit over her fucking with Alexis. Take out the trash for me."

Before the intoxicated hyena could register what was happening, the large polar bear shot through the crowd and hoisted the hyena up by his collar.

"Your night is over," Piotr said, "Now apologize to the nice rabbit."

"I'm sorry," the hyena stammered out, before Piotr nodded and carried the offender towards the door.

Beli hopped off the stage and threw her satin robe on in one swift motion. She walked over to Judy and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Come on. Let's get you cleaned up."

Beli led Judy towards the employee's women's restroom.

"Go ahead and clean up," the mongoose said, "I've got a similar dress that should fit you. I'll be back."

She left the room as Judy pulled the booze-soaked dress off of her body. Moments later, she returned carrying a little black dress that looked to be just about Judy's size.

"Here," she said as she handed the dress to the curious rabbit.

"Thank you," Judy said as she slipped it over her head, "but why are you helping me? I thought you didn't like me."

Beli sighed, "You seem like a nice kid, but I've learned not to make friends with any rabbits who work here. Your kind don't seem to last."

Judy cocked her head in confusion, "What do you mean?"

Beli began chewing on her lip like she wanted to say something, but before she could, the bathroom door opened, and Lola came in.

"Alexis are you alright," she said, "I was in my room with a client, but Lightning told me."

"Yeah," Judy responded, "Beli helped me out."

Lola turned to face the mongoose, "Really?"

Beli looked between the two rabbits, still biting her lip, "I've gotta go. I have clients waiting."

She quickly left the room.

"That was weird," Lola said, before turning back to Judy, "Anyway, I'm glad you're here. I have something for you."

Lola pulled a folded-up piece of paper out of the deep pocket of her robe.

"What's this," Judy asked.

"A note, silly," Lola said, "Read it later when you're not here."

After midnight, the crowd began to thin out, and Judy found that she could slow down a little. At two o'clock the last of the patrons were kicked to the curb by Sergei and Piotr, and the dancers were heading to the door.

"I'm going for breakfast if anyone wants to join," Jessica shouted.

"Sound's good," Misty said.

"How about you, Lola," Jessica asked.

Lola glanced at Natalia before saying, "I think I'll pass this time. I've got some plans."

"Talia," Misty said.

"No thank you, dear," the vixen said, "I too have plans."

"Well, we're going home," Aisha said as she wrapped her arms around Beli, who was watching Lola and Natalia with a pensive stare.

Judy took in the whole conversation, noting how each of the dancers interacted with each other. She was especially curious about Beli's reaction to Lola and Natalia. As they filed out, she noticed that the fox and rabbit were headed in the same direction. The thought of what Nick told her about Lorena and Selina popped into her mind.

"She was accompanied home by a female arctic fox."

Judy grasped the note that Lola gave her and turned towards her apartment.

Judy sat at the table in her safe house, her forehead resting in her paws, her ears drooped forward. Lola's note lay open in front of her. Next to it, the files on all of the missing rabbits as well as a calendar, which was ripped apart. On each page, a single date was circled by a pen. Each date had a name in it: Lorena Lop; Selina Winters; Melanie Grace; Sakurai Hana; Miri Constance; and in the current month: Lola Basset. In the corner of each square was a symbol notating the full moon. The grey rabbit felt defeated. Her operation was a bust. Lola was in danger, and there was no way she could prove it.

The letter read:

Dear Alexis,

Or rather Dear Officer Hopps,

When I first met you, I felt that I knew you. After thinking about it, I remember seeing you on the news. You seemed like someone I could trust, not just because we're both rabbits. You feel like a friend that I've always known. I know that you're at the Warren for a reason, and that scares me. I feel like it justifies my paranoia. I'm sure there's a reason you're using a fake name, and I'm sure it's not a good reason. None of the dancers talk about the dancers who came before me, and I found out why. The place is bugged. There are recording devices everywhere. Natalia and Felipe won't let them talk.

I asked Natalia about my concerns. When I asked her, I could feet a darkness coming from her, but she was able to mask it well. I don't trust her. And now she wants to come over to my apartment to "bond." I don't know what that means, but I doubt that it's as innocuous as it sounds. My only solace is that I know that Beli and Aisha are next door, and the walls are thin. If something happens to me tonight, please don't forget me. Tell my parent's I'm sorry for leaving and disappointing them.

Thank you,

Lola Basset

In her despair, Judy glanced at the clock on the wall and noticed that it was 3:30.

"Shit, I missed my check in," she said as she pulled out her phone and dialed Wiley's number.

"You're late Hopps," Wiley said.

"I know," Judy said solemnly, "I'm sorry."

Wiley could sense the pain in her voice, "What's wrong?"

"I think we're too late," Judy said, "I can't prove it, but I think Felipe and Natalia already have their next victim. I was doing some digging into the other cases. All of the other rabbits went missing on the night of the full moon. That's tonight."

"Get some rest," Wiley said, "We'll solve this. I know that the club is closed the next two days. Tomorrow, meet with Cottons. Read him in and the two of you start digging. It's time you go on the offensive."

"Affirmative," she said, "What about Lola?"

"There's not much we can do if she hasn't gone missing yet," Wiley said, "We can't jump the gun on this. If Felipe is behind it, we can't spook him. If he leaves the city, he's gone forever. We have to get some hard evidence."

"Did you and Nick find out anything about Sakurai," Judy asked.

"Nothing really," he said.

"Okay," she said, "I'll talk to you tomorrow."

She hung up the phone and opened the Chat app.

N- Sakurai Hana had the same extracurricular as Selina. I don't know if they had the same pimp, but I have Clawhauser running the number you gave me. He should have the answer in the morning. -6:00pm

N- I miss you, carrots. Please be careful. 3 -1:15am

A light blush adorned her cheeks as she typed back:

C- I miss you too 3

With that, she closed her phone and went to bed.

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