The new tales from Zootopia

by Vindictive456

This story is a well thought out work of fan-fiction that will cover in moderate pace how Judy came back to the force and convinced Nick to be her partner, Nick's training to become an officer and his days at the academy, a weird new case involving corrupt mammals and a new dangerous drug, all of that sprinkled with the growing love between Zootopia's favorite pair of officers.

28. Episode 28: Sadness

Author's note: Salutations everyone, it is I, Valiant, and I am finally back with another chapter of my Zootopia Fan-fic. I must say that I missed the feeling of publishing new chapters quite a lot, I have been hard at work with both of my stories, giving each of them the same amount of care and consideration in terms of worldbuilding and structuring. I put this new chapter as a way to clarify and bridge some of the happenings that shall take place through out the city of Zootopia, not everything goes well and I did my best to emphasize how devastated our main bunny is feeling due to the injury sustained by her partner, hope you find it an enticing reading. Expect to see more chapters soon, I am working on my Spyro fan-fic as well and hope to get it developed by the end of this month, there have been a lot of distractions at my end and I might give fan-fiction a pause to focus on other projects, do not dispair, I will not leave it be for good, just a short respite. Anyway, enough delays, lets get this next chapter started. Good reading.

Episode 28: Sadness.

Judy kept still, staring at her blood smeared paws, opening and closing her fingers and feeling the fur around her fingers bristle as the few remaining tinges of red coagulated quickly outside of Nick's body, a thought that made her become sick. She remained lost in thought until she finally decided to look ahead and continue moving, she was a little disoriented as she moved through the street, she felt dizzy, almost tripping over her own feet on her first steps but she made an effort to move ahead to wherever she had to go. Judy suddenly realized that she could not recall where she parked the cruiser, that part of Zootopia was unknown territory for her and she was transported to there while unconscious but she had to pick a direction to move and stick by it. Seeing no other option on how to go forward, Judy decided to ask for assistance to another officer present nearby and ask for a ride to precinct one, there she would be able to reorganize her thoughts, clean herself up as she needed to and pick another ride to go talk to Nick's mother.

Judy stopped her thoughts in that line, she had volunteered to go tell Maria Wilde that her son had been hurt, badly, it was a decision she made at the spur of the moment. Judy was not prepared to do that, she did not know how the elder fox would answer to the news that her son, her one family member was now injured and hospitalized, just earlier that day Nick saved her life but risked his own in the process. Judy was just about to make her path forward, make a decision that would push her ahead, but she was called upon by a male gazelle from forensics, approaching the bunny officer while fully dressed in an analytic outfit and protective made so the mammal would study any evidence from up close while not contaminate a given crime scene in the process:

- Excuse me, officer Hopps?

Judy turned herself around, the forensics scientist pointed out towards the alleyway where he had just come from, he had called out to Judy so that he could ask for a few clarifications before she left, the bunny looked up to the inquirer, preparing herself to dismiss any doubts that they might have about the apprehension of the suspects and the confrontation that ensued in the alley but her mind was a little unsteady, tethering between the incident and the following questions she would have to answer succinctly. The gazelle wasted little time with the questions as he spoke up:

- I'm sorry to bother, but I need to ask you about some clarification about the incident. If you don't mind that is…

Judy felt a little uneasy due to the words coming from the gazelle, referring to all that she had experienced as a mere 'incident'. After taking a second to calm herself and make sure that she would be able to coherently speak about anything he would ask her about, Judy nodded her head once, pointed a paw while making a subtle wave towards the gazelle, giving him a chance to speak up and ask away, and answered him:

- Sure thing, sir. What do you need to know?

He went right out listing what was found in the scene immediately outside the clinic:

- In the alley we found many shreds of evidence, just an initial sweep to clarify what had transpired. We found a crowbar that was haphazardly thrown on the ground with your partner's pawprints, as well as the prints of another canine, on the handle. Can you attest to why he was carrying it with him? That is not regular equipment for a ZPD officer.

Judy thought back to the time Nick appeared, she did not notice that he was carrying a weapon such as a crowbar when he opened the door, she did not even took notice to the sound of it dropping on the floor when he leapt to her rescue, but she thought about that and arrived at a logical conclusion while demonstrating to the gazelle why Nick would have the need to pick up a new item to use as an impromptu weapon. Judy drew the shock shooter that was still holstered by the right side of her belt and explained:

- Nick gave me his shooter before I went in pursuit of the leader of the group. He insisted that I take it since my own shooter was low on ammo. He must have grabbed that crowbar during a confrontation with another criminal.

The gazelle wrote down Judy's accounts on his own notepad, being mindful to only jot down the most important bits for future investigation and ensuring that he would be able to finish writing with remarkable efficiency so that he would be free to ask other questions as soon as possible. After a single review of his freshly posted notations, the gazelle as ked the following:

- I see. Why would officer Wilde feel the need to give his sidearm to you? Were you two not together the whole time?

Judy shook her head once before answering:

- No, sir. I suggested that Nick and I should split up in case the remaining criminals had scattered through the structure. I would round the stragglers up and he would investigate what they were protecting inside the clinic. We had overheard mention of something called 'Sword'. It turned out to be some sort of signal dampener that Nick was able to deactivate.

Once more, the gazelle wrote it all down, but, for his next question, he showed Judy a bag of evidence that contained the futuristic looking, plastic access key that Nick took with him. Judy felt her fur sparking up as she noticed that the object had some of her partner's blood smeared on its edges, giving the little item a tone of macabre and danger at a glance. The gazelle called to Judy's attention as he asked directly:

- Does this item here have anything to do with this… 'signal dampener'?

Judy looked the analyst in the eyes before answering with as much calm as she could muster:

- Yes, sir. As soon as Nick returned to my side and… saved me from being injured…

Judy did not know how else to phrase that. She continued with her answer after taking a little more air into her lungs:

- Nick told me that he had disabled the machine and that is when I was finally able to call for backup.

The analyst nodded his head and returned his eyes to the notepad as he said:

- Very well.

Judy let her eyes drift to the left, she was so done with answering any more of those questions, she thought as such to herself, she wanted to leave already, go talk to Maria and go to the hospital so that they could both check on Nick as soon as possible. After the end of Judy's answer and after writing down a few more things, the gazelle asked for the definitive inquiry:

- And… the leader of this particular group, the one that injured officer Wilde, he got away?

Judy closed her eyes, frustrated with herself, bottling up the anger she felt towards the criminal seemingly responsible for all of that, putting out with a simple answer spoken out with a controlled tone of voice:

- That is correct, sir.

The gazelle seemed to be done with all of his questions, he stored the evidence bag and his notepad away before he said:

- Oh, we also retrieved your partner's cellphone. No damage was caused to it. We thought it would be for the best if you kept a hold of it. Just in case there is some important evidence like photos or recording in it that you might be able to access later.

Judy slowly extended her left paw forward and took the cellphone from the gazelle's paws. There was no such evidence in the phone's memory and, even if it was, Judy had no idea how to unlock the device, only Nick knew the pin code. Not wanting to part with the item and convinced that Nick would want it back, Judy thanked the gazelle for trusting her with it and stored it away in her back pocket. There was a long moment of silence between the two, as Judy safely put the phone away, before the forensics analyst spoke once more, communicating the end of that exchange of information:

- I suppose this will be all for now. The five suspects that were found inside the building will be taken to…

- Wait!

Judy spoke up with a soft tone of voice, cutting into the spontaneous report of the analyst and asking for a quick recount:

- Did you just say… 'five' suspects? There are supposed to be six of them, counting the one I took down before exiting the basement.

The gazelle stared at Judy with an unsure face, his ears flopped around for a quick second as he rechecked his notes, Judy was quick to place the accounts on her own as she said:

- There were two raccoons, one tiger, a porcupine and two wolves. A total of six criminals were subdued and the ocelot that lead them got away.

The gazelle took is eyes away from his notes as he looked at Judy and said:

- We only apprehended one wolf. He was found in a room near the back along with the signal dampening machine, unconscious and tied down with a rope. There was no trace of another canine in the premises.

Judy sighed in frustration, one of the wolves managed to escape somehow, the eldest wolf that she had knocked down by the hallway had slipped free from the ZPD's hold, the basement must have had some other exit besides the front door leading to the surface that no one else was aware of. Judy lowered her arms and locked her shoulders in, feeling a quick spark ignite in her and direct her thoughts into tracking down the escaped suspects, however, she quickly let that thought slide away as she knew of other important things she would have to do. Judy finished with her reporting, she moved past the gazelle and let the other officers do their designated jobs in piece, the bunny walked forth with a slow pace and rethought about how she was going to move forward from there.

After arriving at a cross section by the end of the street Judy looked around, still having the best option at that time as returning to precinct one and finding a new ride from there, but she was miles away from the center of the savanna, she did not know the track of the commute in that part of the city and she did not wish to go back and bother other officers with her lack of transportation. Judy lowered her head while standing in the middle of the street, she was willing to return to precinct one right away but setting out on foot would take far too long, that is when she got the idea of using Nick's phone to track the location of the cruiser, Judy recalled how he told her that his phone had a software that would be connected to the cruiser's onboard systems at all times, she could use that to find where she was and where the cruiser was parked. Judy picked up Nick's phone, she had stored it away in her back pocket, but it was locked behind a PIN code, four numbers that could be placed in any combination.

- Oh, no!

Judy whined to herself after seeing that, there was no way she could guess Nick's code and she could not recall any number of significance to the fox that would fit the empty four digit space on top of the screen, the phone also had a fancy slot for recognizing paw prints but there was absolutely no way she would be able to unlock it that way. Judy held the phone with her right paw while she fiddled the fingers of her left paw and thought it over for a moment, any wrong guess might leave her locked out of accessing the phone for an extended while so she had to think carefully if she was actually intending on trying that, her first instinct was to try out the easiest four digit sequence she could think of and hope it was correct, she was just about to press away '1234' and pray that it would unlock the screen, it was not the most logical decision but, then again, she was not putting a lot of trust on logic at that moment. Judy's left pointing finger was just about to tap at the screen when her eyes landed on a new alternative that she had not noticed before.

By the bottom of the screen, close to the confirm icon below all of the numbers, there was an emergency icon that would unlock access to the phone by asking for something else from the mammal trying to access it, Judy's finger retreated from the screen for a second and she pressed the emergency icon with her right thumb to put her chances in another method that she hoped would be far easier. Judy was now facing a full keyboard of letters and numbers on the screen, she felt discouraged to even try it until her eyes landed on a hint placed at the top of the screen, a single word that alerted her to what could fit in the password line:

"Father."

Judy halted all of her thoughts after reading that single word, could it really be so easy to access Nick's personal device? Typing letters with to a single name that resonated in her memory so vividly, someone that had brought wisdom and happiness to his life but that still pained him to just think about. Judy calmed herself and typed the letters on, making absolute sure to spell it correctly:

"Thaddeus"

As Judy typed the last letter, the screen was unlocked and Judy let out a triumphant puff of air from her mouth, glad more than ever before that she knew so much about the personal details of her partner's life. Judy wasted little time searching around the list of applications in Nick's phone, the entire device was very barebones when it came to content, aside from the ZPD app in clear markings on the screen the only other icons she saw on the initial menu were marked as a list of contacts, the camera and a messaging app, nothing else. Judy tapped quickly at the selection as soon as the application opened as she searched for the right marked option, the application connected with a GPS software as intended and Judy had a nice trail to follow in order to find cruiser, she was not as distant from the vehicle as she initially thought. With her course set and her mind clearing with every step she took forward, Judy set out to do what she knew had to be done.

Judy entered the cruiser and drove towards the precinct one building, the trip did not take too long, she parked the cruiser at the carpool and went right towards the locker room so that she could wash her paws and changed out of her dirty uniform, putting a clean one that she had in store inside her locker, not really caring deep inside if she would appear more presentable but knowing all too well that it was protocol. Judy set off on her way to Maria's apartment, having to, once again, consult Nick's cellphone for specific directions, roaming around the digital footprints that the device laid out to find the elder fox's residence. Judy already knew Maria, she was calm and sweet but the bunny officer had no idea how she would react after hearing what had happened, she also rationalized that it would be for the best if Maria heard the news from Judy first rather than seeing it pop out on the news, at that point, the news crews of Zootopia might already be badgering chief Bogo for the details on what happened to Nick and they might be after Judy next.

Judy drove expediently towards the old habitational venue by the eastern savanna, having marked the address in her mind more than twenty times in rapid succession before departing the ZPD carpool. Sth. 18, Redwood lanes, Judy did not know what kind of pace she would find, Nick's childhood home, however, her mind was set on meeting one mammal and the words she would speak as soon as she saw her. Judy stopped the cruiser at a nice enough parking space by the end of the street, she walked with slow pace but long strides in the direction of a redbrick building nearby, this was it, and she was not ready for it.

Judy climbed two flights of stairs, she exited the hall by the northern side of the building and looked around, she did not have to look too hard in order to find a white door with a metal pin marked as apartment nineteen, a door with a small see-through lens placed in its frame, a lever knob and a flowery welcome mat by its base. Judy came close, she stood at attention in front of the door and raised her right arm, moving her wrist and knocking four times, her knuckles loudly signaling to the owner of the residence to come straight away. Judy waited eight seconds, she counted the time in her head after the knock and her ears lowered, drooping behind her head as she heard footsteps coming closer from the other side of the door, she heard the sound of a small latching chain being undone and she saw as it swung open slowly, revealing the image of the female fox who greeted her jovially.

- Oh, Judy. What a nice surprise.

Judy looked up, the look in her eyes immediately alerting the fox that something might be wrong. Concerned for the bunny standing by her doorway, Maria asked:

- Is… everything okay?

No verbal answer came as Judy tucked her left arm, raising her paw to the side of her chest only to hear the inevitable question that came soon after as Maria said:

- Where's Nick?

Maria looked around, checking the narrow hallway from left to right and only then noticing that the bunny had showed up while being unaccompanied by her partner. Judy placed her left paw over her chest, feeling a tight gripping pain around her heart, she looked up straight at the eyes of the elderly fox and spoke up, clearly but still apprehensive:

- Misses Wilde, something awful just happened and… I was sent over to inform you of it. You might want to sit down.

It was a cliché thing to say, Judy did not care if it was protocol or not, it did not feel like the right thing to say to disclose the weight of the occurrence. For the few minutes that passed, Judy was invited inside the apartment and she sat down on the closest chair she could find as told Maria about the terrible encounter with the thugs, the daring escape attempt and the courage Nick showed in the moment when he saved Judy's life, as well as how he got hurt in the process. Maria was at the edge of her seat, she listened to every word and believed every single one of them, the female fox's normally gentle demeanor was disrupted as she heard her son had been wounded and she raised from her seat demanding from Judy that they go straight to the hospital where Nick was taken. Judy stayed in her seat, looking at Maria's face of determination, worry, fright, she had to know exactly what happened to Nick and Judy had no objections to that, she wished to know the condition of her partner as well.

Even if it was drastically out of protocol, Judy permitted Maria to accompany her and gave the female fox a lift, the two set off for Zootopia Central Hospital, the ride across the eastern to the central savanna was mostly silent, Judy pressed her lips shut, focusing on the road while giving the occasional side glance to Maria, Judy felt like no further words had to be exchanged between Maria and herself, although, the bunny office still wished to say how sorry she was, she told everything that had occurred except for that, Maria rose from the couch and asked to see where the paramedics had taken her son right away and Judy obliged on the spot. Maria had rushed out of her home, practically having her heart on the palm of her paw with how scared she was for the state of her son, Judy could not hold in the guilt as she drove and watch the apprehensive elderly fox seated right beside her, Judy did not turn her head while she kept driving forward at steady speed, there was a pressure to the bunny's voice as she felt the need to speak without turning her head to the right:

- Look, misses Wilde, I'm so sorry about what happened. It was supposed to be a routine patrol through the savanna. Nick got hurt and nothing can express how awful I feel. I just want to say…

- Don't.

Maria spoke up, cutting Judy off and stopping the bunny from going any further in her guilt trip, Judy slowed the cruiser down, she winced from within after hearing that single word and turned her head to the right to face the fox, finding her with the right palm of her paw raised as she said:

- Judy, there is no need to apologize. I do not blame you for what happened.

Judy was stunned, Maria was able to see right through her, gathering that the bunny blamed herself for what happened to Nick. Maria continued to speak:

- From what you told me, Nick was brave beyond measure, just like I knew he always was. You brought this bravery out of him, this sense of going past everything he knew in order to do right for others. I am worried, I am scared, but know that in no way at all I place the blame on you. The blame solely lies on the ones responsible for this.

Judy was somewhat glad to hear that, but it did not diminish her feelings, it did not make her guilt vanish completely. After taking in a long sniff of air through her nose, Judy turned her head forward once more and said:

- I still wished I could have done more. I *should* have done more.

Maria presented Judy with her sympathies, as a mother it weighed heavy on her that her son had been in danger, that he got hurt, but, hearing what had unveiled from Judy, Maria was hopeful that Nick would be alright. They arrived at the hospital, Judy wasted no time scouting around for a nice spot to park the cruiser but there were so many other vehicles moving around that it too her many minutes to find a spot, the cruiser was parked and secure, Judy unlocked the doors and moved to the sidewalk, helping guide Maria inside through the doors and right towards the waiting room of the emergency wing, that's where the EMTs would have taken Nick for the quickest medical attention but the whole wing was in a tizzy. Nurses walking up and down the hall and medical staff transporting important supplies around, there were only three other mammals waiting in that huge room, occupying some of the lined up seats, a giraffe out in the back busy with his eyes on his phone and not even paying mind to the chaos around that area, a young capybara next to the window far to the left, distracted tapping the fingers of his right paw against the smooth glass surface, and an elderly tiger, waiting patiently while his paws tightened their grip around his wooden cane.

Judy and Maria arrived together but it was hard to get any solid information from anyone passing through there, every other doctor and nurse was far too busy to pay the two mammals that just walked in any mind, it was hard to guess why that was the case. It had been years since anyone has ever seen any mammal come into that ward with a bullet wound, a wide ban on firearms had been stablished around Zootopia since many decades prior and seeing the officer arrive in dire need of medical attention due to a lead-spewer sent the entire hospital into a downward spiral. Doctors were climbing up and down the stairs, consulting one another on the protocol for that situation and some of the staff had been preoccupied making sure that the information would not leak to any reporters or by anyone working at the hospital, they had to keep the occurrence as restricted to that place as possible. Judy suddenly felt overwhelmed much like when she left the alleyway behind and no one was slowing down to pay either her or Maria any mind, it alerted her that something was terribly wrong.

Judy walked ahead, holding on to Maria's right paw as they made their way through the ever shifting hospital crowd, there had to be someone in there who could give them information about Nick's condition. Maria was Nick's mother, she had the right to know how her son was faulting under the hospital's care, she raised her left paw as she was being slowly guided ahead by Judy's hold and tried to ask around for anyone to aid her with some information, no one stopped to give attention to her or Judy, most of the staff who heard the elderly vixen's voice merely answered with a brief wave of their paws off to another direction and the comment that they were too busy to slow down. The movement slowed down gradually, Judy had taken Maria to the front row of waiting chairs, near the left most end of the line of seats, the waiting space was void of noise and hospital staff and the two mammals still did not know anything, Maria pressed her left paw over her chest, holding in a cry, Judy saw that and quickly consoled the fox by her side by saying:

- I'm going to ask around, Nick has got to be here and he has to be alive. I'm not going to stop until I find some damn answers.

Judy's tone of voice and the words she used spoke loudly to her determination to know about her partner, Maria barely had the time to dry her eyes of the small tears making their way out when a loud voice was heard at the entrance of the nearby hallway:

- You have found them.

From the deep and well lit hallway leading to the emergency room a new figure emerged, into that room that had known chaos stepped forth a familiar face to bring in a new sense of order, a large canine clacking his bamboo cane across the floor with every step or so, a stoic expression over his muzzle and clearly willing to help. Judy had her ears raised and her eyes sparking with hope, now there was finally someone there who would not give her or Maria any strife or tell them to leave, Judy hopped with long steps in the direction of the wolf and greeted him:

- Agent Howlbert! You're here.

The wolf adjusted his vest, unbuttoned on a few spots so he could move around in the mid-day savanna for an extended amount of time without feeling exhausted from the heat, he was presenting himself in his regular fancy attire but the glow of kindness and consideration that usually surrounded him was gone, replaced by a heavy grim air that manifested every time he breathed and moved while approaching the bunny. Judy watched as Donovan readjusted his body weight and kneeled down to get closer to the bunny's height just in time to hear Judy asking:

- What… are you doing here?

Agent Howlbert looked at the bunny and spoke succinctly:

- Chief Bogo spread the news across all the precincts, I was deep in paperwork over at the rainforest when I heard that the fox officer of precinct one had been taken down by a lead-spewer. I dropped everything I was doing and came over as soon as I could to learn what had happened, but, by my guess, you are also trying to get the facts on your partner's condition.

Judy nodded her head and said:

- Not just me.

Judy made a gesture with her right paw, leaning to the side as to give Maria a chance to rise from the seat where she was situated and walk forward in order to present herself. Donovan rose up, placing his back straight while standing on his two feet once more, putting a lot of bodily weight on his cane as he did so. Donovan extended his paw in the direction of the small vulpine and presented himself with cordiality:

- Greetings, I am Donovan Howlbert, Agent from the Zootopia Bureau of Investigations. I know your son and I came running once I heard the news that the other precincts let go around the great vine.

- My name is Maria Volpinely Wilde, I'm Nick's mother. Do you know what is the present condition of my son?

Maria extended her paws upwards to greet the agent properly, placing both of her palms over the wolf's big paw and shaking it slowly up and down, she let go of him shortly so that he could get a better feel for the situation and speak up whatever he had to say about the occurrences of that day. Donovan looked at the two small mammals in front of him, the two of them wishing to know the same thing, showing almost identical faces as they waited for a direct answer. Donovan already had gathered the facts for Nick's condition, a feat that required a lot of inquiring and badge flashing but he still was going strong, his pained joints being pushed forward threw adrenaline and determination, the wolf drew in some air through his nostril and answered firstly:

- I do know. I have an… 'in' with one of the doctors and he informed me of master Wilde's condition. The exams were frantic but the doctors were able to organize and take action once it was all sorted out amongst them.

Judy raised both of her paws, almost clamoring more information to the wolf as she asked:

- And?

Donovan changed hold on his cane, putting it on his left paw as he used his right paw to point on to his own body, believing it would better illustrate the condition that Nick was in, explained only minutes earlier by one of the doctors:

- Master Wilde was brought in and little time was wasted on getting him stabilized. The projectile pierced his flesh and went in rather deep, but luckily, his armored vest seemed to have absorbed most of the initial impact. If he was not wearing it, the projectile may have passed right through him and caused even more damage.

Judy felt her heart tightening up again inside of her chest, daring to ,theoretically, put herself in Nick's place and imagine the pain he must have been feeling, her ears dropped at an angle but still remained up so she could hear attentively every detail of what was being told to her and to Maria. Nick's mother remained silent and her face was static as she heard all of that, a cold rock was dropped into her stomach as she imagined the hardship befalling her son, Judy suddenly thought about going right past Donovan, searching about for the emergency room where they had Nick and a similar idea drifted through Maria's mind but the two of them still had something to learn from the wolf as he continued to speak about the fox officer's condition:

- A quick examination revealed that master Wilde lost a lot of blood. His pressure dropped dangerously and that is why he was so quick to faint.

Maria stepped forth as she asked and subsequently spoke out:

- Do they need a donner? I'm a match.

Maria said so as she stepped forth with total willingness to give her own blood in order to help her son, folding the right sleeve of her shirt in order to show her own arm to the agent thinking that doing so would save some time in the process. Donovan appreciated and respected the dedication shown by the female fox but he quickly assured her that there was no reason to jump ahead in such a manner as he showed the palm of his left paw and said:

- That won't be necessary. Master Wilde's blood type is uncommon but it is not rare. The hospital has a surplus of blood canisters stored away from past donners and a transfusion, if need be done, will not require any more blood to be extracted.

Maria lowered her arm and released a sigh of relief, she blinked slowly before turning her head up to face the wolf, her ears raised and her tail swayed to the left as she took a step back to return to Judy's side. Donovan smiled as he felt that the atmosphere was becoming less tense and he took that opportunity to say the best bit of news from his report towards the apprehensive bunny and the worried mother:

- Anyways, the most important thing from what I heard from the doctors is that the projectile did not hit master Wilde's spine, his lungs or his heart. As soon as they remove the bullet and close the wound, he will be out of danger.

Maria clutched her paws over her chest, crumpling the fabric of her shirt and not caring one bit about it as she released a low volume laugh of relief from her mouth, Judy placed her paws over her eyes and slid them to the sides of her head, she was also incredibly relieved to hear that her partner's condition was a promising one, that he was going to live and be alright after the operation. Maria was so happy to hear that her son was going to be alright, the elder fox turned around to Judy and opened her arms in order to drag the bunny into a hug, Judy was surprise to feel the hug but it was a welcome sensation, Judy gladly repaid the hug by placing her arms around the fox as softly as she could.

Donovan waited for the two mammals to wrap up that nice moment together, Maria let go of Judy and wiped off the tears from her eyes, she thanked the wolf for the encouraging words and turned around so she could get over to the chair she had been guided to before and take a seat. Judy remained standing, dividing her attention between the female fox who might still want her assistance with something and the wolf who might just want to ask her a few questions to clarify the happenings that had been left as blank spots in his report. Judy focused first on Maria, the bunny officer walked towards the fox seated not too far from her and leaned closer as soon as she was in reach, Judy placed her right paw over Maria's left shoulder as she asked:

- Are you going to be alright?

Maria looked over to the bunny officer with a hopeful smile before she answered:

- My son is going to be fine. That was all I needed to know. I'm going to stay here, keep my ears up for any update on him.

Judy pressed her lips together and nodded her head as she confirmed that, the female fox wished to remain there and Judy was not going to argue otherwise. Judy turned over to agent Howlbert and excused herself, giving the wolf agent a quick salute before making a straight line to the exit, leaving the waiting room behind without letting any other words bee exchanged, that immediately concerned Donovan. Agent Howlbert excused himself, saying farewell to the elder fox and wishing that the best outcome would grace everyone, he went off in pursue of Judy, clanking his cane across the ground with urgency as he stepped forth fervently in the direction she went. Donovan tried following Judy's trail but the bunny was faster than him, she was already passing through the hospital entrance when he finally managed to catch up with her and speak out:

- Officer Hopps, please, wait.

Judy slowed down, stopping her dash towards the cruiser and halting all of her movements at the edge of the sidewalk in front of the hospital, she did not turn to face the wolf but her ears twitched to the left as she heard the familiar rhythmic clank of the walking stick approaching her position. Donovan was now a single step away from the bunny, grasping the handle of his cane with both of his paws positioned in front of him as he looked over her and spoke with direct reference to her:

- We need to talk.

Judy did not know what would be the exact nature of the conversation proposed, or rather ordered, by the wolf agent, she had a feeling that she would not wish to talk to him at that moment, she wanted to run off and do something that would contribute to the apprehension of the mammals responsible for harming Nick, she would put herself entirely on the line for it but Donovan's voice, a tone that would not accept silence or dismissal as an answer, called out to her to remain for a while longer. Judy finally turned around and looked up to face the wolf, rotating herself to the left and looking up, she stopped as soon as she was facing the wolf directly and waited for anything that he had to ask, to add to that moment, Donovan did not wish to bother the bunny officer any further but she was the one with critical data that could help him understand everything that went on and what he could do to help out. Donovan leaned his upper body a little bit forward, not wanting to put any more of a strain on his knees to talk to Judy, he adjusted his volume and asked straight out:

- I need to understand what happened in that alleyway. Bogo filled me in on the trap and the call precinct one received but I have to know more before turning this over to the ZBI higher-ups. Can you tell me what happened?

Judy opened her mouth to give an answer, all of a sudden, her first instinct was to tell the wolf to simply go on his way, to leave her be and let her focus on anything else, but that quickly was dismissed by her mind as a non-viable option for that conversation. Judy closed her mouth and looked around, turning her face to the left and then to the right as she took notice of the moderate movement of mammals going into and out of the hospital, she decided that it would be best for them to talk somewhere else so she signaled to the wolf with a quick wave of her right paw to follow her as she walked to the right in the direction of the spot where she had parked the cruiser. Donovan followed close, walking behind the bunny officer with a slow pace, clanking his cane against the ground without much impact as he walked in the trail marked by Judy, she halted her movements once more as soon as they arrived by the cruiser, located to their immediately right as they turned the corner.

After she turned around and directed her sight to the wolf once more, Judy made an effort to recall every small detail about her confrontation against the ocelot in the alley, the fear she felt before staring at the barrel of the lead-spewer made itself known in her mind but she did not let that stop her as she pointed around in order to recreate a convincing and accurate scene around her while describing it to the wolf agent:

- After I exited the basement of the old clinic in pursuit of the leading thug, I pointed the shooter I had in my paw in his direction, he turned around slowly and showed his weapon, it was small, black, rectangular design, a small silver chamber on its side. I think.

That detail called to Donovan's attention, the model of the weapon in question might help him locate the culprit even faster than anticipated. Donovan leaned closer and asked:

- Could you tell me precisely what was around you and the leading thug at the time?

Judy stopped her narrative, she pressed her mind to recall the details that were present around her, she gave a couple of steps back, distancing herself from the wolf before continuing, she waved her arms incoherently in the air before she pointed to her right and then to her left, respectively saying:

- Door to the basement. Trash bags and lids.

Judy then pointed to the area immediately in front of her where Donovan was positioned and to herself before doing much of the same saying:

- The position of the ocelot. My position.

With the location of everything thoroughly and succinctly established, Judy continued to explain as she assumed a combat like position, aiming the fingers of her right paw shaping it like a shooter in the wolf's direction. Like a game board, the pieces were now rightfully placed inside Donovan's mind, the wolf's ears lowered and raised as he figured the motions and gestures that would occur in a chain motion through it all but Judy was not yet done with her explanation as she said:

- The ocelot was menacing, he threatened me and he laughed at me when he figured we would be butting heads. He fired once time into the air to show me that he was in possession of a lead-spewing weapon, it… frightened me, he pointed it back at me… he had all the intent on pulling the trigger. That was when Nick appeared from the door, swinging it open, surprising the ocelot, splitting his attention. Nick tackled me and… saved me.

Donovan detected the hesitation on Judy's voice, the wolf did not pressure her into continuing with her story she pressed onward to the part that would be of greater interest to the wolf as she said:

- There was something else on his voice. He was shaking a bit as he aimed his shooter at me. I don't think… he had everything under control, he was not the one truly in charge of everything, he was scared of letting someone else down.

Donovan walked closer, concerned that the critical piece of information might be misconstrued if he did not listen well. The wolf leaned closer as soon as he was closer and asked:

- How could you tell? He might have just been frightened from never having fired the weapon before this day.

Judy looked at her right paw, she had the sensation that her nerves were getting a little rattled as she went on with that reporting, she almost felt like she was a little shaky herself but it was only her imagination acting up. Judy clutched her right paw into a fist and answered to Donovan's question as she said:

- No, it was definitely not that. It was more something he said, the way he said it. He told me to back off once he had the weapon aimed at me once more. He did not looked concerned about his own safety, he did not care if he would be tossed in jail for harming an officer, he was protecting something.

Donovan rationalized through Judy's trail of thought and arrived at the same conclusion as the bunny, he passed his right paw under his chin and bristled his fur as he said:

- Something 'bigger' than him.

Judy nodded her head and agreed with the wolf as she said:

- Exactly.

Donovan retreated for a moment, turning around to burry himself in thought, walking away from Judy for only three steps before he asked one crucial question that he let escape for a little while:

- Did the thug in question possess any distinguishing characteristic that would make him easier to identify? Anything at all that looked out of the ordinary? Did you get his name?

Judy slowly shook her head from side to side before answering:

- No such luck with a name but I did see that he had a big scar on the right side of his head. Curved, deep, almost shaped like a moon.

Donovan nodded to that, finding it fascinating how such a trait could have been brought about and intrigued by the key detail that could lead him to his main target. The prospect of a hunt brought up excited the wolf but he knew to keep his emotions in check as he stored all of the details he heard away for later use and directed his attention back to the direction they had walked in, Donovan now had all he needed to start a comprehensive case file of his own and his ride was eagerly awaiting for his return, it was time to get to work. Donovan thanked Judy for her time and was just about to shove off in the direction of the crime scene, gather as much data as he could to add on to the case, that is, until Judy called on to his attention one more time as she spoke up:

- Agent Howlbert, wait.

Donovan stopped abruptly with his cane already pushing the weight of the right side of his body back in the other direction so he could stop, turn to face Judy and see what else she would have to tell him. Donovan found an image that was much different than the calm officer he was conversing with only a few minutes before, he found a mammal that looked, for a lack of better adjectives, tightly wound and extremely vulnerable, clutching both of her paws into fists on the sides of her body, her ears lowered and flopping on the back of her head and holding off the tears that threatened to escape from her eyes, Judy was fighting to keep herself composed but all the sadness, the guilt, the anger boiling up within her threatened to burst out in the worst of ways. Donovan waited to hear what Judy had to say, the bunny officer swallowed some air and gasped silently before she spoke up, giving one step forward as she faced the wolf:

- Let me come with you.

Donovan turned his body completely around once more to face Judy, he heard the bunny's request and his serious face already alerted her that he was about to deny her that request, she caught up on that pretty quickly. Donovan took in some air through his nose and was just about to speak but Judy cut him off before any word came out of his mouth as she said:

- I can't just stay back and not do anything. I have to catch the criminals responsible for this. Let me come along with you.

Judy's insistence did not deterred the wolf, his answer was decisive and absolute as he said:

- No, officer Hopps, it is not advisable for you to tag along.

- Y… you're going to that alley. To the scene of the crime. I have to come along with you.

Judy insisted on it even further but the wolf stood his ground as he showed her the pointing finger of his right paw and said:

- No, you do not.

Judy retreated a single step back after hearing the tone and higher volume that Donovan used to give his answer, it was not exaggerated but it served to emphasize how serious he was in that matter. Judy placed her paws still clutched into fists over her chest and directed a pleading sight to the wolf agent, begging silently for him to reconsider but that would not happen, Donovan placed his cane in front of him and placed both of his paws over the handle, his left paw placed over his right, as he talked to Judy, trying to make her see that going full steam ahead in her condition would not be of any help to anyone. With a softer touch to his speech, Donovan spoke up, his tone made it sound like he was talking down an angry child at first but it quickly became apparent that he was placing his concerns out with respect for the bunny officer:

- It would be a detriment if you were to come along in your current state. One slip up, one step in the wrong direction, could spell out the loss of this upcoming conflict.

Judy did not understand what Donovan was driving at, for a moment it sounded like he was about to set out for war or something like that. Judy retook her step forward and asked of the wolf agent:

- What do you mean? I'm not looking to fight anyone and I am okay.

- Are you, officer Hopps? Are you truly okay?

Judy opened her mouth to answer him but the words became trapped in her throat once more and she closed her mouth, lowering her head in defeat soon after, nothing she was going to say in response would do any favors on proving herself as being solely focused on the apprehension of the criminals still on the loose. Donovan's piercing stare may have looked discouraging but he believed he was in the right by stopping Judy ad he explained with clarity what he had meant before as he took in some air and said:

- Once this story gets out, and it will, you will be absolutely swamped with mammals who will be asking you question after question. There will be fear and panic out on the streets, much like with the night-howler outbreak, and you'll need to be prepared for everything that comes next. Until master Wilde recovers and everything can be sorted out for an organized investigation, you must collect yourself.

Judy watched as the wolf started on his motion to leave, he was about to turn around and get on his way but he was stopped by her once more as she spoke up:

- I *am* collected! I need to do something. I can't just… sit around and wait on Nick to get better. Agent Howlbert, I cannot just… I'm…

Judy's small outburst, the last objection she aired towards the agent's opinion, were quickly diluted, her ears alternated between being stout with determination or droopy with daunt , she still could feel as her thoughts violently bashed about in her skull, she was still angry, she was still disheartened for what had happened to her partner. Judy sounded off a sniffle, she was struggling to keep her emotions in check, as she turned to the wolf and said:

- It… it was my fault. What happened to Nick… it was my fault. If I ducked down or moved then he…

- Hey! Hey! None of that.

Donovan cut into Judy's words, seeing as the bunny could hardly hold herself up in that conversation any more, the wolf did not sound aggressive as he stopped the bunny officer from saying any other words that would have just made her sadder, he sounded sincerely concerned, ready and standing by in case she needed anything else to ease her nerves at that moment. Ignoring the discomfort on his knees and fully intending to hold Judy back from saying any other guilt tripping sentence directed at herself, Donovan put himself down on his knees and let go of his cane, settling it down on the ground by his left, he was now as close to the bunny's height as he could get as he reached for her with both of his paws, placing his palms softly over her cheeks and slowly directing her face up, making so that she would be looking right at him. Judy did not know how to feel about that, she felt the warm touch of the wolf and she heard as he spoke in a soft whisper:

- Countless times I have seen that same look, the eyes of sadness and anger of someone who blame themselves for things outside of their control. Do not go down that path. What happened was not your fault. It wasn't. You talking like that to yourself is not going to help anyone. Rise up and tread forward. You shall find comfort once it is all settled.

Judy held her breath as she looked at the wolf, she knew that he was definitively right, talking in such a way and kicking herself down would not benefit anyone, it would not help her rise up and keep herself going through the rest of the day, she had to keep going and keep her mind busy with discovering the real reason behind the ambush and her imprisonment. There was still time ahead of them, time for Judy to come to terms and ease her nerves, time for Nick to recover, but spending that time criticizing her actions and what she might have done during a time of crisis like that would not be productive or healthy to her. Convinced that the wolf was in the right to stop her from spiraling even further down in such a way, Judy sounded a loud sniff as she raised her shoulders, straightened her ears over her head and nodded once, signaling without the need for words that her thoughts would be calmer and steadier going forward, she was going to make an effort to be strong and in control for that point on.

Donovan smiled after seeing Judy like that, getting herself back up slowly and figuring out how she would proceed, seek to help others without damaging herself further. With a satisfied look on his face, Donovan grabbed his cane and rose up from the ground, putting himself up on his two feet once more, he did not care if the knees of his pants were dirty and scuffed from the dirty ground beneath him or that his leg joints were in noticeable pain, he was glad that Judy was feeling better and that he could leave knowing that the bunny had chosen a path away from self-destruction. Donovan said farewell to Judy, slowly turning around so that he could walk towards the fancy black car that was standing by at the hospital parking lot, the car had arrived recently and two trust-worthy mammals were expecting the wolf inside, the female artic fox holding as the driver and the male bunny reviewing digital files on the backseat.

Donovan entered the car, situating himself at the front passenger seat and closing the door to his right side as soon as he got comfortable and buckled up for safety. A few seconds of awkward silence were spent inside the car, no one knew exactly what to say at that moment, the wolf looked out the window in search of any trace of Judy, still having some concern for her, he saw out on the street as her cruiser left the blue parking space next to the hospital and drove off, his attention returned to the inside of the car and to the two mammals waiting for him to say something. Having his head turned forward and looking at no particular sight in front of the car, Donovan heard as a feminine voice asked him:

- So… what happened?

Donovan turned his head to the left, he looked at the female fox, staring right at him with her blue eyes, looking concerned and silently praying to hear encouraging news. Donovan took a breath, letting his body relax for a moment under the refreshing sway of the car's air conditioner before answering:

- Master Wilde was brought over and he is expected to wake up after the surgery, the time table for that is undetermined. Officer Hopps is taking it pretty hard, she has informed master Wilde's closest kin of what happened, she is also blaming herself for what happened. I talked to her, she wanted to come along for the investigation.

After that sentence was completed, Jack Savage, letting go of his digital device first and foremost, leaned forward to pop his head between the two front seats of the car so that he could ask upfront:

- What? Why didn't you let her come along with us?! She could have helped.

Donovan turned his ears and his sight to the bunny on the backseat, the wolf was quick to post out an answer as he said:

- The poor girl has been through enough for the day. Her spirit is strong but she needs to recover from everything that has been thrown at her up until now.

Jack protested against that course of action thoroughly, mostly looking out for his own selfish interest towards Judy, as he spoke up:

- Precisely. She just lost someone close to her, she needs a shoulder to cry on. Preferably mine.

At that moment, Jack felt a violent shove against him as the fox's right elbow bumped against him right before her voice reprimanded his tone of voice:

- Do you even hear yourself talking right now?! This situation is bigger than all of us or your feeble need to get a girlfriend. A mammal just got shot!

Jack did not even dignified that with an answer, keeping it down in his core the affirmation that he knew to be truth, Judy Hopps was an exemplary mammal and she deserved to be a ZBI operative alongside them, alongside him. Jack crossed his arms and placed his back against the repost of the backseat, he deviated his eyes and stayed silent with his thoughts, imagining that Judy's skills and determination would have been better suited as an asset to their future cases while also slowly becoming disillusioned about the fact that she would not be joining them any time soon. Donovan turned his head and his ears towards Jack, the buck remained just outside his field of view but he figured it would be opportune to ask of him:

- Has the ZBI sent us any updates? We might need to stock up on resources before going forward on this one.

Jack retook possession of the device he was hanging on to previously and took another look at the screen, the tablet showed an extensive document that refused to dispatch any more agents or resources into the larger Zootopia area, the monitoring team still had to be absolutely sure where their units would be sent before the presence of more ZBI operatives incited a large scale panic. Jack looked at the wolf, seated just ahead of him inside the car, and answered clearly:

- They said to go and investigate the scene ourselves, they will set up more units after we send them the necessary evidence to open a case file.

Donovan made a clicking noise with his mouth, the wolf also grunted in frustration before turning his head to the right and saying with a mumble:

- Damn, white collar grunts back at the office. A mammal has been hurt by a lead spewer and they still want more evidence. I love the ZBI but I have a burning hate for their bureaucracy.

Jack and Skye already knew why the wolf had chosen that tone of voice, his posture, the look in his eyes, the way he breathed loudly, it all communicated that he was about to make a decision that would involve all of them and it would be very important to follow his words from that point on. Skye turned to the wheel and tightened her grip over it, she looked around and saw as a few cars came by and went away around the parking lot, she wanted to get moving right away and her chance to do so came as soon as the wolf seated to her right pointed forward and said:

- Skye, we're going to the site of the shooting. We're going to sweep the whole entire street for evidence if we have to and we are not withdrawing empty-pawed. The press is going to sweep the story right from under us all and we have to get the facts before that.

Skye was a little concerned after hearing that, she agreed with the wolf, surely, but there was still a lot of protocol to be followed if they truly wished to be a part of the investigation, they had not even contacted chief Bogo or any other representative of the ZPD and their involvement in the investigation may be tricky from that point on if they decided to intervene. Donovan did not care about any shred of protocol at that moment, his blood boiled as he recalled Nick's resting face over that hospital bed and Judy's sad expression as she told him what happened, his heart pounded inside his chest as he ordered the artic fox on the driver's seat to step on it and guide them towards the crime scene without any more delays:

- No further deferrals. South savanna, take us to the alley on 'Rundown Avenue'. Time for us to get into the investigation scene. If anyone tries to stop us I'm going right over their heads for it. We need to get the facts for ourselves.

Skye nodded her head once and turned the engine of the car on, the vehicle roared to life and she drove it out of the parking lot with great efficiency. Traffic around Zootopia at that afternoon was becoming unbearable, it took the three agents a considerable amount of time to move through the streets, enter the right side roads and avoid as much traffic lights as they could manage in order to get over to the alleyway in Rundown Avenue with time to spare. As soon as they arrived at the scene, Jack was the first to leave the car, he was the most impatient, Skye followed soon with Donovan right behind her as the wolf took in every sight and scent he could detect for himself, there was certainly a strange mixture of clinical scents in the air, he could not discern if it was the sterile smell of the forensics crew still hanging around or the smell of the hospital rooms still lingering on the fabric of his old suit. Donovan took the lead as Jack and Skye followed close behind him, the fox grabbed a jacket that was stored away in the trunk of the car along with a suitcase of investigative gear while the buck held on tightly to his tablet device, they approached the perimeter set off by the forensics team and were barred from entry right away by a male gazelle with protective goggles over his eyes who said:

- Oh, I'm sorry, sir, this is an isolated crime scene, you cannot come inside.

With a loud clank of his cane against the asphalt beneath him, Donovan reached for the left lapel pocket inside his suit with his right paw to pull out his identification and present it to the stoic scientist, the wolf did not care for the emotionless tone of the mammal in charge of examining the scene. Donovan was quick to identify himself as he opened the fold containing his badge and said:

- It is alright, young mammal, we have special qualifications to be here. I'm agent in charge Donovan Howlbert and these here are my cohorts: Jack Savage and Skye Blisfang. We have come to investigate and put in notations of this crime scene ourselves.

Donovan left the badge in clear view so that the gazelle would have more than enough time to see that the identification was legit, Donovan stored his badge away in the same pocket it was located before and turned his full attention over to the crime scene just behind the chief mammal in charge of the preliminary investigation. Most of the forensics team had moved on and combed over the internal area of the scene, the abandoned clinic filled with empty rooms and corridors over to which Nick and Judy had previously escaped from, evidence was still being gathered but movement in and out of the area had died down which made that an opportune time for Donovan and his allies to investigate the spot for themselves. After exchanging a few words with the male gazelle and assuring him that they would do nothing to contaminate the scene or jeopardize the investigation, Donovan took the lead once more and guided Jack and Skye into the alleyway.

Donovan decided to split up for a short time, he and Jack would carry out a quick look of the confiscated items on the inside of the clinic while Skye would momentarily stay behind and isolate the alley, taking the chance to look for anything that may have been left behind and that might aid them in piecing it all together. Donovan and Jack passed through the doorway that lead to the underground level of the clinic, they found a huge labyrinth as soon as they reached the bottom of the stairs and pressed onwards, each of them focusing on a different aspect of the search for clues. Donovan tracked closer to the ground, doing his best to distinguish between the tracks left behind by the two officers in contrast to the trails left behind by the thugs, lots of strange smells were present there, not just the preeminent stench of cleaning products and sterilized items, a distant echo of what that place used to be. Every room Donovan stumbled upon told a similar story, a variety of smells as well as scrapes on the floor, faint trails of dust, those rooms were previously occupied by large containers but they all have been moved.

Jack left Donovan behind to search the inner most areas of the abandoned clinic, the areas that the buck entered were so empty that he could hear the bump of his feet echoing around the hallways, also, for some reason, that particular environment felt very oppressive to him, Jack was not afraid, he was just… uneasy about his surroundings. By the time Donovan caught up with Jack, the buck was already surveying the back rooms of the clinic, the place where the thugs had stashed the only operational item left behind, the radio jamming device that was found and disabled by Nick, the operational side of the machine was in shambles and there would be no use in trying to activate it or study its software constraints, Nick did na admirable job in destroying the device but, luckily for Jack, there was still much to be learned from the internal workings of the device. By removing a lower panel that was bolted on by six small screws, Jack was able to access the machine's internal casings and retrieve a few pieces of it, chips and circuit boards that could be analyzed later.

Donovan and Jack were done collecting all of the evidence they could, the buck even took some ample shots of the machine with his cellphone from different angles to make sure he would have visual evidence to be filed later, Donovan guided Jack to the door leading out of the room and the two of them proceeded back through the path they came from originally. As the two mammals were advancing slowly towards the exit of the underground clinic, Donovan turned to Jack and said:

- I managed to find some small scrapes on the floor next to the exit, somewhere near the room that would be the front office. Lots of scents around that area and a scent trail that leads to a new direction, high probability it's one of the two that got away.

Jack kept walking as his ears were turned in the direction of the wolf's voice, the buck recalled how there was a small piece in the report he just checked that seven suspects were spotted but two of them managed to evade capture, the feline calling the shots and the wolf who provided directions to the others, there was still more to be studied within that scene and Jack was hoping that Skye would have found something else of note outside. Jack and Donovan climbed the stairs and opened the door leading to the surface, suddenly the air around Jack felt less oppressive, the buck released a small sigh of relief after he exited the basement right behind Donovan and the two mammals turned to look for the third member of their group so they could compare notes about what was found.

Skye was waiting for Donovan and Jack at the other end of the alleyway, looking around and taking in the details of the other street neighboring the crime scene, not much to put in her report aside from a few abandoned buildings and the remnants of a commercial avenue left in sorry disrepair. Skye turned around as soon as she heard the sound of a squeaky and heavy door swinging open right behind her, she walked to meet up with the two emerging mammals and report that little was found to connect that part of the savanna with any recent movement of vehicles or other mammals. The female fox had a small contemplation as she imagined how Zootopia was such a big and busy city with streets always in motion, and yet, that piece of the savanna stood out as a miniscule ghost town, hidden from the rush and the noise commonly associated with the rest of the city.

Donovan, Skye and Jack huddled up as soon as they reunited and the wolf took the lead in discussing how they should proceed, Jack shared the images he had collected from the underground clinic with Skye but he admitted that little was learned about the true identities of the assailants that trapped Nick and Judy. After studying the images on Jack's phone and hearing what they saw in the clinic, Skye gave the small device back to Jack, she had crucial information to share with the group as she had just received a small addendum from the ZPD listing the names and affiliation of the apprehended criminals, now with her eyes on her cellphone screen, she spoke up:

- According to chief Bogo, the thugs that jumped officers Hopps and Wilde are part of a small group of intel thieves known as 'The Wasps'.

Jack had his ears twitch on top of his head as he heard that name sounding out loud, he turned to the fox and asked of her:

- 'The Wasps'? That's kind of a cool name. Are you sure about that?

She turned the screen of her cellphone in his direction so that he could see the outlined information for himself as she pointed to the screen with the claw of her right paw and answered:

- Says so right here. They identify themselves thanks to the metallic wasp shaped pins that they wear on their jackets and they used to dig for dirty intel on all the major criminals around the city at one point but their track towards the criminal high time was short lived when they tried going after dirt on Mr. Big himself.

Donovan turned his head away from Skye and Jack, he reminisced to a time not that long ago, back when he first heard the name and increasingly large influence of the fabled crime boss:

- 'Big'. Now that's a name that has not crossed my mind in quite a long time.

Skye looked away from the screen, tucking her arms closer to her body and directing her head up to the wolf next to her as she asked him:

- You… know him?

Donovan nodded his head twice in slow intervals before he answered that question:

- I know 'of' him. Every law enforcer has a different tale about Zootopia's biggest crime boss. Some mammals tell how the guy has a nasty habit of dropping warm blooded individuals to an icy death into the cold waters of Tundra Town. Truth is: He is a business mammal like many others, his presence helps keep some of the most audacious crooks under control, keeping the floodgates shut, sort of speak. If he was not involved in this in some way, then chances are, whoever he is, he is going to be the one to make a move against the mammal who hired these thugs.

Jack and Skye remained silent during the insightful wave of information provided by the wolf, Donovan walked a couple of steps away from his two allies as his mind turned away from Mr. Big and back to what had happened in that alley, he could almost see the whole scene clearly unraveling around him, however, he had a sneaking suspicion that something was missing. There was a piece of the picture that was struggling to fit in place, Donovan would have to dig a little further and he would need some help doing so.

Donovan turned over to Jack and Skye, hanging on to the handle of his cane firmly with his left paw and gesturing with an open wave of his right paw towards the two mammals, the wolf clacked the tip of the cane against the ground and said:

- Something officer Hopps told me has been nagging at my mind, we might be able to uncover a little more information, but we need to do more.

Jack already had a feeling about where that was going, what the wolf was going to ask for, he and Skye already had plenty of investigations alongside Donovan and there was a certain pattern on how he chose to study a crime scene. Donovan pointed to the two mammals close to him and asked:

- Do you two know what we need to do?

Jack shook his head slowly from side to side as he said:

- Please do not say 'a reenactment'.

To which the wolf reputed:

- A reenactment!

Jack lowered his head and groaned in frustration, that was clearly not the answer he wished to hear from the wolf but, in clear contrast, Skye merely stood still and smiled after hearing the groans of her associate. The female fox predicted no foreseeable issue with a quick reenactment of the scene that occurred in that alleyway, overall they would have everything clear and in great perspective, so they all decided to get to it right away. With clear directions being provided by Donovan, Jack and Skye repositioned themselves, taking the respective roles of Judy and Nick while Donovan would take the role of the dastardly villain responsible for injuring the fox officer. Walking a few steps back so that he would study the positioning of his allies, Donovan pointed around and gave them their cues to assume positions as he said:

- Jack, you stay right over here, next to these old bags of trash and that pile of old wood. Skye, take your place by the door's threshold and look surprised. I'll walk right over there closer to the exit and pretend to aim a weapon at you two.

Donovan walked back and assumed his position, displaying an improvised look of malice on his muzzle and aiming his cane in the direction of Jack, pretending that it was the weapon used for the crime. Skye climbed a single step so that she would stay ready right in front of the door while Jack unenthusiastically walked a single step to the left, everyone seemed to be in precisely the spot that each of them needed to be but something still appeared off upon further looking. Donovan looked to the two mammals he would be required to interact during the reenactment suggested by him and pointed out that they were still not perfectly placed, gesturing with a nudge of his head towards Jack and telling him:

- Jack, you need to go further back, closer to the door and to the bags of trash. Step back a little bit.

Jack complied to that, moving slowly back until he was positioned just about where Judy was standing earlier that day, the buck crossed his arms and waited for any further instructions as he continued to stand with a frown on his face. Donovan directed a look in the direction of Skye and told her to prepare herself, assuming emotional position as he pointed at her and said:

- The ocelot would have been standing right here when, suddenly, master Wilde bursts through the door and sees what is about to happen. Skye, look surprised.

The female fox took little time in revealing her 'surprised' expression, placing both of her paws on the sides of her head, pressing over her cheeks and making so that her lips would resemble the shape of an 'O', it was an amusing attempt to get into the role but it was not satisfactory. With a gentle wave of his left paw, Donovan signaled to Skye that she would have to change her expression promptly, she lowered her paws and listened attentively as he pointed out:

- No, not like that. It almost looks like you're pleasantly surprised. You need to show worry, almost despair. Someone you care about is about to be harmed.

Donovan did not post that as a heavy critique to Skye, merely pointing out that she was putting low effort into the reenactment, only asking her to make herself a little more present in her role as to grant major accuracy to the scene. Having that statement from the wolf as a clear motivation to correct her acting expression, Skye adjusted her shoulders, lowered her ears and opened her eyes wide, making herself look downright scared that something awful might be unveiled in her presence. Having witnessed the serious expression now on the vixen's face, Donovan gave her a little praise and continued:

- Very good. That is the one. We may proceed.

Turning over to point his cane, the weapon, back at Jack, still standing with his arms crossed in the middle of the alley, Donovan stated out loud:

- Very well. Now, officer Hopps told me how master Wilde came through the door suddenly, that obviously had the assailant astounded for a split second. He saw himself as in clear disadvantage due to Nick's presence and took the shot, that was when Master Wilde tackled Judy and pushed her out of the bullet's way.

After ending that sentence, Donovan lowered his cane and thought things over, but his trail of thought on the events that unfolded had barely started when he heard Skye asking him:

- You want me to tackle Jack?

To which the buck answered:

- Do *Not* tackle me. Don't you even*Think* about it

Skye was only kidding of course, but with her tone of voice it was a little hard to tell for sure, smiling with the exchange between Skye and Jack, but it daunted on the wolf that there was a reason to why Nick showed up to the scene in a rush, why he was suddenly alerted to come running to Judy's side to aid her. Donovan looked up to the sky and said with low volume to his voice:

- He shot upwards.

Skye and Jack heard the wolf but his voice almost sounded like a mumble and they wanted clarification to that as the vixen asked:

- What was that?

Donovan pointed his cane upwards, almost as if he was triumphantly pointing to a skyward discovery. The wolf spoke up as he clarified what he had just thought of, slowly bringing his cane back to the ground as he spoke:

- The ocelot fired off a shot upwards in order to intimidate officer Hopps, a warning shot that sounded loud and alerted master Wilde to come running to her aid. That is why he busted through the door when he did. Officer Hopps told me that the design of the weapon was… triangular. That might mean…

Jack cut into that line of thought as he pointed a finger of his left paw towards the wolf and completed that thought on his own by saying:

- If it was a pistol model similar to a magnum or glock, the bullet was not contained inside a revolving drum, it expelled the first shell from a clip. Like the ones we used in old tranq shooters.

Donovan's mind lit up with the resulting trail of thought that he was pursuing at first so feverously. With a wide rotating gesture using both of his arms to point around him, the wolf asked his two allies to help him search for the one piece of evidence that may have flew right over the minds of all the forensic analysts:

- Take a look around, search for a tiny metal piece. If the expelled shells of the first and second bullets fired are still around here somewhere, we may have our undeniable piece of hard evidence that the ZBI asked for.

Skye stepped out from the front of the door and began looking around for any gleam of metal small enough that no one else would have been able to find during a preliminary sweep of the alley, Donovan began to look around for himself but he did not move from the spot he had chosen to stand during the reenactment, believing that he might be able to pick the scent of hot black powder or metal which would lead them straight to the object of their search. Instead of looking frantically all over the place, Jack decided to pick out a more logic trajectory in search of the bullet casing, the buck had an extensive knowledge of how weapons and guns worked, from their handling and caliber to their overall firepower, so he had a general idea on where the bullets fired as well as their shells may have gone to.

Jack's first instinct during his independent search was to look upwards, trying to find a small breach in the brickwork on one of the walls encapsulating the alleyway, if the ocelot fired the weapon at a diagonal angle to either one of the sides, the bullet fired as a warning shot would be now embedded in one of the walls, then again, if he shot upward at an angle facing the alley itself, odds are, he would never find the bullet itself, not even if it had lost all of its upward and forward momentum to come back down to earth. Jack kept on looking, now with his eyes focused on the ground to search for either one of the shells mentioned by Donovan, since finding the spot where the first bullet was fired upon was no longer an option after scanning each wall from side to side and the second bullet was, obviously, stuck in Nick's flesh and it could be collected as evidence after it was removed, Jack had no other option but to join the search on the ground for the shells. Donovan and Skye had looked everywhere but there was one crevice in the alley that was largely ignored, behind a big trash bin, close to the spot where the ocelot assailant was standing earlier that day, Jack saw a small metallic glimmer, it appeared at the corner of his eye for a split second and prompt him to bend down closer to the ground and search for it.

Jack was now on all fours, squinting his eyes and pressing the right side of his head close to the dirty ground, feeling an urge to gag due to the smell of wet garbage coming from the inside of the trash bin, that is when he saw it for sure. Between the bin and the wall there was a small golden glint of the shell, it had been ejected from the gun and rolled across the ground until it came to reside in the most inconvenient spot possible, the buck raised from the ground, raised his right arm and waved his paw in the air as he yelled out:

- Heya! I think I just found it.

Donovan and Skye rushed to Jack's side, he pointed to the ground bellow the trash bin and Donovan wasted no time telling his two allies to assist him in acquiring the small item:

- Quick, get to the other side and help me push this thing away from the wall.

Donovan directed the vixen and the buck to one side of the trash bin while he took the other, the container of garbage was not that big but it was still plenty heavy and hard to move, even with the wheels on its lower part placed there as to facilitate movement. The wolf used both of his paws and all of the strength he could muster in order to move the bin away from the wall, even letting go of his cane in order to get an optimal grip on the side of the container, Jack and Skye took to the other side and worked in unison to move it, the screeching sound of the metal moving caused some discomfort but it proved fruitful as the bullet casing was now reachable. Donovan gasped for air as soon as the task was completed and the trash bin was now far enough from the wall so the little metal shell could be reached, he leaned down in order to retrieve his cane and released a sigh of relief once Jack confirmed the acquisition of the item:

- I have it.

The buck placed the shell inside a small plastic bag provided to collect samples and evidence, the trio now had everything well in hand to present that shell as evidence to the ZBI and to commend the support that they need for a full investigation. Jack and Skye congratulated themselves for handling the situation so quickly and efficiently, they began to walk out of the alley and towards their vehicle while Donovan walked right behind them but something slowed them down. Donovan gave only a few stops out of the alleyway when he suddenly halted his movements, leaning down with his left paw over his chest and breathing deeply, heavily, pumping as much oxygen as he could get into his system. Jack and Skye turned themselves around as soon as each of them noticed how the wolf had not caught up with them right away, they saw the old canine hanging back and looking completely exhausted , they rushed to his side to offer support and each of them asked if he was feeling okay:

- Donovan, are you alright? Do you need some water?

Skye asked of him, followed by Jack as he asked:

- You are looking ragged there, boss. Are you sure you want to keep heading on like that?

Donovan heard the concern of his allies but he rose up with resoluteness, drawing a deep breath through his nostrils and looking forward to a brief moment of respite before returning his full attention to work. The wolf clutched the handle of his cane in his right paw and cleared his throat before speaking:

- We return to our base. We contact the ZPD and the ZBI to tell them about everything that transpired. Damned be the paperwork that comes after, I'll not halt for a breath until every single mammal responsible for this is brought up in shackles.

The wolf darted ahead, stepping strongly with loud clacks of his cane across the asphalt, moving in the direction where his car was parked, Jack and Skye saw the wolf taking off with moderate speed under his feet and each of them could not help but in equal proportions admire and worry for their superior's dedication. The buck pointed ahead in the direction the wolf walked off while directing a side glance at the vixen, asking out loud:

- Don't you just love when he gets like that?

To which Skye answered:

- It surprises me every time. Let's go.

Jack and Skye walked together, following the wolf in his proverbial tracks so that they could proceed with the investigation, many thoughts were flared up at that moment, questions bounced around in silence inside each head without immediate answers at that moment. Who could have been really behind all of that? What would they have to gain? Was all of this merely a series of unwarranted events spilled over the big picture of a massive plan for the city?

Donovan pushed many of those would be inquiries away from his mind's focus, the only question still revolved around one bunny and how she must still be feeling at that moment.

---

Judy returned to the ZPD only to fill out a long form for her report, printed and copied in order to be archived later, she stored the keys of the cruiser away in her locker as well as Nick's tranq gun and his cellphone which she still had on her ever since she took off from the hospital. Judy's movements ever since she entered the precinct one building appeared devoid of any motivation, any true motion, she did not speak a word with any of the officers in her path and she moved as well as performed other simple tasks around the precinct for the remaining of the day with a sort of aggressive efficiency, almost like a machine devoid of light moving about the corridors. Many of the other officers inside precinct one, Benjamin most of all, wanted to talk to Judy and confirm if she was feeling up for any more tasks that day, concerned that she might be putting herself at risk of tripping over her own emotions if she just kept going like that, putting her work at a loss, but they had each their assignments to patrol the city in search of any trace relating to the criminals that harmed one of their own, they chose to leave the bunny officers to sort most things out on her own for the time.

Judy changed out of her dirty uniform, took a shower at the precinct before changing into a set of civilian clothes she had stored in her locker and returning home, without bothering any other officers with the details of what happened and knowing that chief Bogo was not present to say to her otherwise, Judy walked out of work early towards her apartment while still wearing her ZPD belt and having a few items from work on her. Judy was carrying along with her, held by the belt around her waist and concealed by certain parts of her clothing, her tranquilizer shooter as well as a few extra cartridges, a pair of paw cuffs and a copy of her report concerning the events of that day in great detail, she was taking those pieces of work, her resentment and everything else that might have weighted her thoughts down, home with her, no one would have stopped her.

As Judy entered her apartment, she locked herself inside, one look around was all that she needed in order to center her mind on the dining table over in her kitchen and decide on tossing all of the things she had brought home over it so that she could take a quick study of the facts, she sat down on the nearest chair to her and began to read every word, study every image. The file holder was opened quickly by the bunny and all of its contents were spread over the table, pictures, notes, a lengthy report with addendums placed by herself, forensics personnel and other officers who conducted parallel investigations relating to the thugs and their previous affiliations, all that she got away from Nick as they talked shortly after escaping the confines of the broom closet was that the group's name was 'the wasps' and they worked shortly for Mr. Big. Judy scanned the information in front of her eyes over and over again until the sun came down, it was time for dinner but she did not feel hungry in the least, her only drive was to find out who was really responsible for all of that, where the blame laid so that she would not place it all upon herself.

Judy closed her eyes and used her paws to massage her eyelids for a moment, she was so tired and it was hard to keep focus on the documents when it felt like she had absorbed every detail they could provide into her mind. Judy pressed the temples of her head with the palms of her paws and raised herself from the chair, her entire body felt wobbly, strangely unbalanced, she was tripping over herself, her emotions were erratic, she felt sick. Judy stepped away from the dinner table and leaned her body against the right side of a threshold, leading to the short hallway and the door to her bedroom in the distance, she let herself slid down to the ground until she felt the bump of the floor against her body and until she heard the sound of the belt and all of its tools shaking due to that movement, she tucked her legs closer to her and placed her forearms over her knees as she tried to get a handle on her emotional state, it was useless, she felt lost, she did not feel safe inside her own home.

Judy heard a ring coming from her cellphone, a small chime that alerted her to something important sent over through the larger news channels of Zootopia, it was as her feared, the entire city now knew about it. All major news outlets were letting out the same story but this was the information heard on the late afternoon report on all television and cellphones across the city:

For the first time in almost a decade, bullets were fired in the streets of Zootopia

'At approximately 15:30 today, two loud bursts were reported at the streets of the south savanna, at the proximities of the street known commonly as Rundown Avenue. Acording to reports passed by chiefs of police form all of the five savanna precincts, a gang of seven perpetrators ambushed two ZPD officers while on a routine patrol while answering to a call about a reportedly stolen vehicle. Five mammals were apprehended but two of them are still on the loose, the criminals are clearly charged with assaulting two officers of the ZPD and gravely wounding one of them. It is confirmed that the officer harmed by the criminals is none other than officer Nicholas Pliberius Wilde of precinct one, the first fox officer in the history of Zootopia and partner to officer Judy Hopps. Officer Wilde was hit by a lead projectile that was embedded deeply in his flesh, he was taken to the central hospital of Zootopia for immediate care but there are still no information about his condition or if he will make a full recovery. Chief Bogo of precinct one was on the scene of the investigation and he confirmed all of the known details, officer Judy Hopps was not found to give any commentary.'

After reading through that news feed two more times, Judy turned the screen off and set the phone down with the darkened screen facing the ground, she returned to the position she was before, tucking her arm closer to her once more, making so that her right paw was placed in front of her mouth with her fingers bobbing up and down over her lips for a moment until a new sound snapped her out of that state. Judy heard a loud ring coming from her cellphone, a familiar chippy tune began to play suddenly and that made her jump from her seat for a moment, raising her ears and retreating away from the sound for a split second she turned her eyes over to the device, picked it up and looked at the screen once more to find out that it was showing the request for a facetime call, it were her parents calling her and she felt like she was obligated to answer. Judy held on to the cellphone firmly with her right paw once more and slid her thumb over the screen to unlock it, the worried faces of her mother and father appeared soon after on the other side of the call, each of them trampling over each other's words to make sure she was alright:

- Judy, sweetheart, your father and I just saw the news, your name was all over the feed. What happened?!

Bonnie finished asking only to hear Stu's voice right next to her as the buck asked very loudly:

- We heard that your fox friend got hurt and taken to the hospital. Jude, dear, are you hurt? Are you okay? Do you need something? If you want us to help…

- Mom! Dad!

Judy's voice resonated with her parents, they became silent after hearing the volume she used to call out to them, it scared them a little bit. Judy was still holding on to the sadness she felt early, to the anger due to her inability to do more, a thought that returned to her head even after Donovan's words and his assurance that measures would be taken in order to apprehend the ones responsible for it all. Judy pressed her eyes shut for a couple of seconds, pressed her lips together and took s short whiff of air through her nose, readjusting her pasture and her voice before she decided to talk to her parents once more and answer all of the questions they might have, beginning with an answer that would reassure them and give her enough time to breathe and talk continuously:

- I'm alright. I'm not hurt, but Nick is…

Judy could not bring herself to talk any further all of a sudden, her eyes turned away from the screen and from the worried look in her parents' faces. Judy returned her eyes towards the cellphone screen once more and took a breath before telling her parents, without skipping on any details, what happened during that afternoon of patrol out in the south savannah. Judy told how Nick and her were captured and how the fox's ingenuity helped them escape, she spared a few details on the description of the thugs and the techniques she employed to capture some of them but the weight of the conversation was only felt when she told about how Nick came to harm when protecting her and how she volunteered to tell Maria that her son had been hospitalized.

Stu and Bonnie remained in line for the call for as long as they could, as long as they felt like they should, in order to comfort Judy and assure her that they would be always willing and ready to lend her their support. The news of the bunny officer's most recent misadventure and of the brave fox that protected her, was heard by all of Bunnyburrow, everyone in and out of Zootopia knew the story already and this story reached every interested party, even the ones at the very top.

Somewhere else, far beyond the savanna and inside an old warehouse by the Tundra Town docks, someone was being expected in order to recall their own side of the facts unfolded during that afternoon. Andersen arrived with few breath left in his lungs, he busted through the side door of the warehouse with an aggressive swing and fell to the ground on his knees. The ocelot had spent the rest of the day dodging the authorities that had been sent to scour the streets in search for him, he had sought shelter in every dark hole he could find along the way just to make as straight of a line as he could to that forsaken part of the tundra, the place where his superior warned him would be the safest spot to be after the supplies had been redirected, after the device had been deployed, in case anything were to go wrong. Andersen closed the door behind him after confirming that there was no one following him, he walked back, still unsure if someone else was going to come inside the ware house, afraid that the safe space may have been compromised by him. The ocelot's heart jumped after he heard a feminine voice greeting him from the darkness

- Hello.

Andersen jumped high with his fur sparking up as he turned around to see who just greeted him, his fear and surprise were quickly replaced by displeasure and disgust when he saw the owner of the voice. Stepping with loud hooves from the far off shadows the warehouse, stepped a beautiful female sheep, tall, wearing a soft perfume, dressed elegantly in a work dress that placed a tight circle around her legs right above her knees and only allowed her to perform short steps ahead at a time. The sheep was well trimmed so that she would appear slimmer but she still had a generous tuff of cream colored wool over her head that flopped around and bounced with each step she took, Andersen hated the sight of her curvy figure confident strutting around in a room, mostly because he knew that most of her appearance was synthetic and meant to cover up how most of her intentions were directed at her own well-being and no one else's, even the color of her beautiful wool was artificial. The ocelot swallowed some air he had in his mouth before saying:

- Damn it all to hell, Cassandra! What is wrong with you?!

The sheep faked interest for the ocelot's condition as she placed her right paw in front of her mouth without covering it up completely before saying:

- Oh, so sorry. I didn't mean to startle you.

Andersen showed the sheep a tight frown and a shake of his right fist in the air as he opened his mouth to show his teeth, figuring that might intimidate her, it did not work. Two lights were turned on inside the ware house, wide cylinders of light located on each wall to the west and east that managed to shed some clarity in that dark environment, not all of the interior of the warehouse was lit up but it was more than enough to look around and let Andersen know that he and Cassandra were not the only ones inside that place. There were at least four other goons positioned behind some large crates by the far left, they appeared one at a time as soon as the lights turned on, two male bulls, one large gray wolf and a moose with short antlers over his head, each of them dressed in modest clothes and it only took Andersen a couple of seconds to identify who they were, those were some of the drivers that had been tasked with transporting the supplies to other parts of the city just earlier that day and they were being accompanied closely by Ortega himself.

Andersen saw the image of his superior emerging from behind cover and his mind was promptly placed on high alert, he had spent the entire time running up to that warehouse thinking on good explanations about everything that went wrong but, now that he was face to face with his employer, all of that seemed fruitless, he would be punished for his incompetence, for letting something so priceless as the prototype he was explicitly told to protect slip away into the paws of the ZPD. Andersen jumped back and spoke up in surprise:

- Mr. Ortega! You're here.

The goat turned around, showing with the look in his eyes and his heavy breathing that he was in equal measures tired and furious. Ortega gave a few steps forward, the mammals that were following him remained behind as he walked towards his most loyal employer in order to ask why everything went so wrong. Ortega would demand answers and Andersen was not sure if he could provide his superior with all of the details, the feline was not going to have enough time to think things through since the deep sound of the goat's voice scrambled his thoughts on the spot as he asked:

- Anders, I expected today to go off without a hitch. I expected to receive your call telling me that it was all running as planned and ahead of schedule. Why… I was delighted to hear from our dear Cassandra right here that you reported everything going swimmingly.

Ortega's voice did not communicate any anger or disapproval but Andersen knew that his boss was building up towards a hostile disagreement, screams and harsh words of criticism were sure to fly and the feline was bracing himself up for it. Andersen heard a small pause in his superior's words, he wanted to take the time to explain himself and assign blame to the correct target, to the leader of the wasps, the feline raised his arms and showed the palms of his paws as he began to speak:

- Mr. Ortega, please, listen. I'm…

- I am not done yet.

Andersen retreated after hearing Ortega's voice once more, displeased due to his employee cutting into the conversation when he was not even given the cue to speak but he did not yell out or used any threatening tone to command silence, it was not necessary. Andersen lowered his paws placing them to the sides of his torso and lowered his head, showing how sorry he was from doing so, Ortega continued:

- Now, I was in the middle of a meeting this afternoon when a new call comes in: The ZPD barreled down on my newest lent building, thankfully nothing was taken as evidence. Except, shockingly, for five newly hired mammals that are now in custody and the *ONE* item that could absolutely have not been left behind no matter the circumstances.

Andersen lowered his head even further down, Ortega's tone of voice was gradually changing and the volume of his voice was getting louder and louder, he demanded to be heard with clarity without bluntly ordering the feline to do so. Andersen felt his lungs tightening and his breath become shorter, not once he recalled ever feeling so small, trapped under the watch of the mammal he respected more than anyone, the fear crept up his spine as he became worried that his punishment would be severe beyond anything he could imagine and the sudden soft touch of his superior's right paw over his left shoulder only increased that worry as Ortega asked straight out as soon as Andersen's head was once more lifted and his eyes were directed at him once more:

- What happened, Anders? Why was the device and all of my recently contracted employees poached by the ZPD? Whose fault is it?

Andersen struggled to say something but the words he wished to speak came out soon enough as he took some air and did his best to say as calmly as he could muster at the time:

- The one who is at fault is that Darfang character, sir. He received a report from one of his subordinates that a ZPD patrol was in the area, they acted before reporting to me first. I was preoccupied with something else.

Ortega raised a brow and leaned closer as he asked for further clarification and after he was sure that Andersen was finished with the first part of the explanation:

- 'Preoccupied' with what?

Andersen lowered down to his knees and showed one thing that had remained hidden under his coat, secured by a precarious hanging around his torso, supported by his left shoulder and provided by the thick strap of his belt. The small black case he had received from the young porcupine earlier that day, the item found inside the clinic and that was not seen in any of the files trusted to them, the case housing the firearm that Andersen used against Nick and Judy. Andersen placed the closed case down and slid it over the floor in the direction of his employer, using both of his paws to direct it slowly towards the goat's reach, silence was heard for about three seconds before Andersen took his paws away from the case cover and said:

- This did not show up in any of the manifestos. I checked. I held on to it so I could bring it to you and you could tell me where to place it. I never expect to use it.

Ortega calmed his breathing, it was not plain to see but the goat was stressed, ready to burst into a furious rage if need be, but the explanation aired by his trusted employee was reasonable so far. Ortega leaned closer to the ground so that he could reach for the case with both of his paws, open it up and take a look to its contents, he already knew what he expected to see and he knew what he would say right after checking for it. Ortega carefully undid the latches and opened the case without taking it up from the ground, his only interest was the item placed inside, he saw the weapon, the gun he had gone through great financial strife to acquire, and he released a sigh of relief after seeing it, he reached for the handle with his left paw and hoisted it in the air as he spoke up:

- I'm sure you can recall what I said when I showed this to you for the first time. The words of my late father: 'The sword that is drawn keeps the other in the sheath'. I figured he was talking about ensuring the safety of others by pretending to be strong and intimidating, only in more recent years I understood that he was talking about ensuring the safety of those closest to you through a clear show of power and strategy, this weapon is from his time, the time when mere clubs and blades would not suffice.

Andersen remained down on his knees as he looked up and saw Ortega picking the weapon up, moving his wrist around so that he could check the gun through various angles and make sure that every piece was still in its place after being used, Cassandra was loving every moment of seeing Andersen so down to the ground, inches away from groveling at the feet of her boss who she admired beyond measure. Ortega took the weapon closer to his face, he had the safety switch engaged and his finger away from the trigger as he took a quick sniff of the metal and felt the far scent of sulfur burnt, black powder exploded, he blinked slowly as that scent became immediately ingrained into his mind before he spoke:

- Black powder, such a remarkable invention. This weapon is a relic but every single one of its bullets is custom made thanks to our access to the formula for the explosive powder and to the perfect metal molding of each shell. Never thought it would end up lost in a shipment error, much less that it would be fired so soon after being found. How was it? How did it perform out in the real world?

Andersen believed that question to be strange but he wasted little time thinking up on the answer, recalling the amazing feeling of power that he had when wielding and firing the gun at the two officers. The ocelot cleared his throat before saying:

- It's… heavy, loud. I never felt so empowered and scared at the same time. But after two shots it… stopped.

Ortega lowered the weapon, no more placing it in a spot of pristine admiration, now it was positioned as an instrument of intimidation, prepped for violence. The goat leaned a little closer to Andersen, gave a short and slow step forward as he asked:

- 'Stopped'. 'After two shots'. Why would that be the case? Why did you use two shots?

Andersen hurried to explain that next bit of information as he waved his hands immediately in front of him and said:

- The bunny officer was after me, the first shot was to intimidate her, the fox showed up next, I pressed the trigger twice but it only fired once.

Ortega was curious about the reason behind the gun only firing one bullet after the trigger was pulled twice, as Andersen described it, the goat popped the clutch of the gun and drew the most logical conclusion after seeing the upper mechanism stop halfway through its regular course, feeling the pull of the spring tighten and prevent his right paw from pulling the clutch any further. Ortega lowered the weapon and removed the clip before answering to any doubts his subordinate would have towards that:

- The gun jammed. It is a regular occurrence after the firing mechanism becomes unaligned with the main chamber. The dosage of black powder inside the shells must be corrected if this problem means to be corrected.

Every ear present in that room listened to the goat and to everything he had to say attentively, he knew what he was talking about and he intended to get the current defect with the weapon corrected right away as he quickly disarmed the item, slid the clip out of and into the handle and disabled the safety, proudly stating as soon as the quick reconfiguration was completed:

- There you have it. Good as new.

Andersen felt the tension rising once more as the weapon was now operational once more if the words of his superior were to be believed. Ortega looked away from Andersen as a new voice entered the fray, another mammal had entered the warehouse while being forcibly escorted by a large thug, it was Darfang having both of his arms held behind his back and being aggressively nudged forward by a lion:

- Get your paws off of me! I'm not going anywhere until I get to my brother!

Andersen recognized the voice of the wolf right away, he appeared from behind the same spot where Ortega had emerged only a few minutes before, the lion who was escorting him, well-trimmed, barely having any emotion on his face as he pushed the canine into the room, did not say a word before giving Darfang one final push and dropping him to the ground in front of Ortega and Andersen. Darfang rose up slowly, both of his paws propping him up as his head rose and he looked around, the first thing he saw was Andersen kneeling down in front of the mammal in charge who was turning himself around in order to look at the one responsible for the whole mess, the canine stared down the ocelot who reciprocated that angry look with one of his own. Ortega turned his body around and approached the wolf, still flaunting around the silvery badge that represented the association with the other wasps and asked of him:

- So, I have been told that you are the one responsible for bringing two of the most famous officers in Zootopia right through our doors. Care to place a comment on that, mister Darius?

The wolf raised from the ground completely and did not even bother correcting the goat by saying his preferred moniker, he pointed a claw of his left paw at the inquiring mammal in front of him and answered:

- The fox officer recognized me, if we've let them walk out of that alley they would have called for reinforcements and the ZPD would have been on us much sooner.

Ortega raised his ears and clutched his wrists as he asked:

- Is that right?

Darfang nodded once and spoke again without losing the resolve in his voice as he said:

- Yes. We took them after Damian shot them with tranquilizers and we even restrained them but they managed to get out somehow and…

Before Darfang could finish that explanation he was surprised by a sudden attack, Ortega swung his right arm, with his paw still gripping strongly to the firearm, and delivered a strong smack to the left side of the wolf's face, Darfang was pushed aside due to the weight of the impact and he was left disoriented for a moment until his mind took full notice of what had just occurred. Ortega was now showing up his angriest side, the goat stepped closer to the wolf who was turned away and placing his left paw over the spot on his muzzle that had just gotten hit violently out of nowhere, Ortega bared his teeth, even though he had no sharp teeth poised for intimidation to be doing such a thing, and spoke out with a loud and aggressive tone of voice:

- You moron! You and your hopeless gaggle of crooks were hired and ordered to do simple tasks for me and for my enterprise, you did not have to *think* things over or *manage* anything that was out of your payment range. Thanks to your short-sighted way to carry this task, the ZPD is on high-alert and I just lost one of the most rare and expensive pieces of technology available.

Darfang turned his face around only to receive another heavy smack coming from Ortega, the goat's right arm swung from left to right to hurt the wolf's other cheek and push him aside once more, the second hit had barely been delivered when Ortega began talking again:

- I thought things through so meticulously, I planned out a perfect vision, and now I'll have to rethink it all because of you and your idiotic pack. If I did not have the need for all the help I could get right now I would be taking every dimes worth of what I just lost out of your worthless hide.

Ortega's piercing words were intended to make the wolf feel small, make Darfang feel like all of his thoughts and goals up to that point were inconsequential, the wolf slowly raised his head and looked over to the mammal who was kicking him down, looking into eye filled with cold and calculated hatred, only now aware that he drove himself and his allies on to a huge mistake. Darfang, not saying a single word to counter act Ortega's violent outburst, raised his right paw and reached for the left inner pocket of his jacket, Ortega did not move an inch, simply watched the wolf reach for whatever it was inside his pocket, it was a paper envelope, a very familiar looking one, it was the same envelope that was given to the wolf with his upfront payment inside. Darfang took the envelope out of his pocket showed it to the goat and tossed it on the floor, a controlled gesture that demonstrated how fed up he was with all of that and that he was resigning from his employment under Ortega and his so called 'vision'.

Ortega looked down on the ground, accompanying with his eyes as the envelop hit the floor with considerable weight behind it, the money was still inside and not even a single bill of the hefty sum had been removed for expenditures, that seemed unusual. Ortega looked back at the wolf without unmaking the intimidating posture and facial expression that he had previously during that conversation, just in time to hear as Darfang said:

- It's all still in there. Thanks to your 'vision', my little brother and all of my friends are behind bars right now. I do not know what crazy new plan you are cooking up in that head of yours, but keep me out of it. I'm quitting.

Darfang looked to the left and identified the nearest exit to that place, a door that would lead him to the outside, back to his home, to a place where he could think things over and maybe even find a way to release his brother Damian and the rest of the wasps from the ZPD lock-up. A momentary delusion maybe, but he was still hopeful that he would get to see the rest of his pack once more so he started walking towards the exit, turning his back on the rich goat, his ilk and to his entire enterprise. Ortega was legitimately surprised to see that reaction coming from the wolf, a crook who gave his back to money, admirable to a point, the goat put both of his paws behind his back and took a breath before asking:

- Are you sure about this?

Darfang halted his walk towards the door, he leaned to the left as he turned slightly to project his voice to the goat and answered with certainty:

- Without my brother and the rest of my pack, all that I worked for has no meaning. I'm out.

Ortega nodded once as he saw the wolf turning his back and continue on his path, the goat lamented silently for what he would have to do for less than a second before he raised his right paw and said:

- You have a sense of loyalty towards your pack that is almost commendable. Lamentable, truly, that it has to end right here. When you're out, you're out, I suppose.

Ortega raised his right gripping paw, a cold air entered the warehouse, colder than any regular chilly breeze throughout the tundra, there was a clicking sound, brief yet heavy, Darfang stopped and turned around to identify what exactly that sound was. There was an explosive bang, the solemn 'thud' of a body hitting the floor, silence… finality… Darfang the wolf was no more, leaving behind empty words of rebellion, regrets and a bloody stain on the floor. When the scare due to the loud sound subsided, Ortega looked around and found Cassandra with both of her paws over her ears and bracing herself away from the horrible sound, Andersen paralyzed on the floor with horror on his face and the remaining mammals under his employment still dutifully stationed side by side and waiting further instructions. Ortega raised the weapon once more, looking at it with appreciation in his eyes, he turned a sight to Andersen who was still stunned by what he just witnessed and said:

- You were absolutely right, Anders. It is frightening and empowering in equal measures. Quite the show.

Ortega walked a couple of steps to the right, looking at the ground for something that he believed was missing, a small glint revealed the shell of the bullet that had just been fired resting inches away from him. The goat reached down, picked the hollowed out shell with a pinching motion of his left paw and stored it inside his lapel pocket, he was done with that part of his plan, correcting a big loose end, and he was ready to proceed, ordering the goons to come up and clean the scene before any suspicious onlookers came by after hours to check on the warehouse. Ortega pointed to the four goons on standby after reengaging the safety on the weapon and ordered them:

- Take the supplies on the back end of this place, also, take a power washer and clean this mess up. Pin the body with some concrete and toss him in the water, it will make it look like another one of Big's fiascos if anyone would to find him.

Ortega watched as the four strong mammals went right to work and he was satisfied with the calm conduct that they demonstrated through that ordeal. Ortega followed up his ordering towards Cassandra, still dutifully awaiting for her cue to enact something vital to her boss' schedule or accompany him to another location, she leaned closer while giving a dreamy look to Ortega as the goat said:

- Cassandra, ensure that everything that remains to be stored away at a later time keeps on the move until further notice. The chair-mammals of the ally conglomerates are going to be watching every single one of my steps. No more slip-ups will be tolerated.

With a quick step ahead to rearrange her stance, the sheep went on her way to grab her things and get the message going to any other employees that should be in the know, she kept a list of them in the memory card of her mobile device. Cassandra retorted to the order she was just given with a little salute and her own words:

- You can count on me, sir.

She gave Ortega a little wink after her affirmation, she turned around and walked towards the space on the back of the warehouse where Ortega's limo was parked and storing all the belongings that they had brought along for that trip. Finally, Ortega turned to Andersen, leaned down to him and said with a whisper in his voice:

- You are such a loyal associate, Anders, I admire you for it, I praise you for it. You bumbled and crossed a major line today, but you do not deserve the blame, what you have done is better than having you at the mercy of the ZPD.

Ortega reached for the black case which was only a couple of steps away from him on the ground, he placed the weapon inside and safely locked the latches so that the firearm could be taken away somewhere else, it would be of use later. Once more, Ortega turned to Andersen after making sure that the weapon was safely stored away and the ocelot had a spark in his eyes after receiving praise from his boss but a hefty bit of disillusion would be delivered to the feline as he heard when the goat said his last order to be issued that night:

- Make sure this is stored away somewhere no one can find it. Also, I believe it would be for the best if you remain 'under the radar' for a while. If you are ever seen with me again in public the ZPD will connect the dots. Go somewhere, anywhere that is far and hidden, and stay there until you are called again

Andersen felt his heart pierced after hearing that, the mammal that he respected most just told him to stay as far away as he could as to not attract any unnecessary suspicions to his other operation centers, he had done good to defend himself and repute every other safety instruction but he had just been set aside as well as learn that there were drastic consequences for fumbling an assignment, for losing important assets, for going off plan. More consequences would arise for Andersen, he would not be left to return to work with only a slap on his paw, but that would come later, Ortega and everyone affiliated with his enterprise in any way left the tundra behind leaving only vague whispers and a burdened spec of death.

---

Morning came around in Zootopia and tensions were high, most officers of the ZPD from all the precincts worked through the night, patrolling the streets in search of the two escaped criminals without catching a wink of sleep during the whole time on patrol, attentive for any trail, any calls that would alert them to the whereabouts to the one responsible for hurting one of their officers. News outlets around the city played the whole story in repeat, that morning, reporters moved around in search of any angle that would help them to nab the story in its entirety, specifically, they were searching for Judy and for any chance to ask of her about the facts without caring about her current condition, she had locked herself inside her apartment and has not been seen to give any comments since the shooting.

Judy woke up suddenly, with a gasp and a jump she tossed herself off from the couch and planted her feet on the floor of her living room, almost like an alarm had sounded off calling her to immediate action. Judy looked around, she was safe, inside her home, her heart was beating fast and she could feel an uncomfortable warmth from within the room, she breathed slowly until her heart calmed down and then she directed herself towards the bathroom. On her way through the short corridor, she recalled everything that happened on the day before, how she spent most of her time reviewing files of everything that was discovered and reported through the scene, the conversation she had with her parents and then how she spent most of the night wandering around her own apartment in search of something that she was not sure about in neither form or meaning until she collapsed on to the couch and fell asleep.

Judy leaned against the left side of the threshold housing the door that lead into the bathroom, she went inside, undressed and hopped in the shower to take a long bath, she felt a little more refreshed as she dried herself out and only then she realized how hungry she was, she dressed herself up in normal attire, not sure if she should put her uniform back up and step outside after what happened on the day before, she lacked certainty and motivation, she hated feeling like that, she hated not being able to help her friend while feeling like she could not even help herself but groveling in her own negative feelings would not help move things along in any way so she decided to stand straight and strong, stealing her resolve and move ahead one step at a time until the chance to elucidate all of the threads connecting the facts could present itself. Judy stopped her thinking and her motion once she realized that she was already in her kitchen, she opened the fridge and selected something to eat for that morning.

Judy opted to prepare something nice to eat, a variable plate of fruits and vegetables that would satiate her hunger, a lot of time was spent as she selected, gathered and prepped apples, slices of watermelon, carrots and straps of cabbage to prepared a nice dish for herself, Judy admired her culinary work for a few seconds before she jumped right in and elated herself with each taste present in that meal. After her plate was cleaned, Judy breathed deeply, releasing a series of sighs as she became surprised with herself, with how much she needed nourishment, she had never felt saddened enough that she would forget to eat, it felt unnerving for a moment. Judy rose from her chair by the dinner table and went on to clean her dishes, she looked over her shoulder to check on a little clock that she had left as an adornment for the kitchen counter, it marked precisely nine twenty in the morning, she had missed the call out for the ZPD and no doubt all of the other officers had already been assigned their patrol routes and tasks for the morning, she felt a little stressed with the fact that she was not there to help out but she also felt a little relieved with the fact that she would not have to stress herself out with work for a little while.

Judy returned to the living room, the soles of her feet scrapped against the carpet right beneath her, she closed her eyes ad focused on that comfy feeling for a little while until she was rudely snapped out of it by a chime from her cellphone, she opened her eyes and reached for it so that she could check on her alerts and messages that were missed while she was occupied with other things. Chief Bog had just left Judy an urgent message, alerting her that the media drones had gathered in the ZPD and had given him hardly a moment's rest so that he could focus on his work, they would swarm her if she were to come any closer to the precinct. Judy thought things over for a few seconds, she was in no mood to deal with the press and her intrusive questions but she also felt like she should deal with that soon and answer whatever doubts there might still be left, she sent a reply to the chief, thanking him for the warning and telling him that she would be back to the ZPD as soon as she was more focused on work and her nerves were less shaken. Only a few moments later there was a short reply from chief Bogo as he texted that he understood what she meant and that every officer in precinct one was pulling their weight to catch the escaped criminals.

Judy spent some time meandering through her apartment, checking her phone for any more messages, working out, rereading files, trying to find something that would make the time go by faster. Approaching the end of the morning and the time for lunch, Judy grabbed her phone and thought about calling Maria, check with her if there were any news about Nick's recovery but the thought crossed her mind that the female fox might be feeling twice as bad as she was, it was her son resting in the operating table after all. Judy's thoughts were becoming more aggressive towards her as she kept trying to dig herself out of that slump, unsure of which direction to take, she needed a nudge in the right direction and it was about to come through her front door. A loud knock was suddenly heard, Judy raised her head and her ears as she looked to the front door and a new question scrolled through her mind:

"Who could that be?"

Judy was in full on alert, she raised from her couch and walked with a soft set of steps towards the door, the forceful sound of the knock alerted her that the presence behind it required urgent attention but it also arose a lot of suspicion out of her. Judy was now only a few steps away from the door, she was leaning on to a safety point next to the threshold, allowing her to keep herself ready for a confrontation and to safely identify the yet unknown presence behind the wooden frame. Judy swallowed some saliva, clutched her knuckles and asked:

- Who is it?

A familiar voice came from the other side of the door, low baritone and a touch of anger at the back of it, a fennec fox speaking up and answering her:

- Fuzz, it's me. Open up.

Judy's ears twitched, she hopped in front of the door frame, unlocked it and swung it open, the figure of a small vulpine revealed himself. It was Finnick, standing right there with his arms crossed and a sharp look aimed at her over his muzzle, he looked really angry by Judy's point of view and she could not blame him for it. Judy lowered her ears and looked at him, leaning herself ahead so that she could greet him properly while looking into his eyes:

- Finnick, you're here. I didn't expect you.

- Yeah, I figured you would be at work at this hour but I saw a bunch of news vans out by the ZPD and they were looking for you as well. So I came to search for you at home. I heard about Wilde. I heard it on the news and I heard it out on the streets. He's hurt bad, isn't he?

Judy pressed her paws in front of her chest, she looked at the little fox after gathering up some courage to talk to him, she was not sure how to apologize for that, she still felt like it was her fault that Nick got hurt. Judy took a long breath before speaking:

- Finnick, I'm sorry. I should have stuck closer to Nick. I should have protected him…

- Stop!

Finnick halted Judy's words as he showed her the palm of his right paw, he then pointed at himself by placing the paw over his chest and saying:

- You don't have to say anything like that. I'm not angry at you, fuzz. I'm mad at a lot of things, but you… ain't one of them.

Judy stood in silence, pressing the worry she was feeling back inside her chest as Finnick spoke again:

- I woke up today and went right to the hospital, found miss Wilde there on the waiting room, didn't want to disturb her. No doctor would tell me how Nick is doing and no one would let me see him, his room is under guard, imagine that. I was so worried so I drove in search of you, so you can give me a straight answer.

Judy was a little surprised to learn by Finnick that Nick's hospital room was under guard but it made sense since the ZPD protocols have such guidelines to be put in effect when one of their officers is attacked, she was glad to hear that. Finnick walked half a step ahead so that he could ask straight out:

- How is he, fuzz? How's he doing?

Judy lowered her ears and swallowed some air before she spoke up, answering to Finnick's question and reassuring him a little bit, telling him what she heard, that despite being hurt, Nick was going to be alright:

- Nick saved my life, but the bullet entered him instead, I tried to stop the bleeding before the E.M.T.s came along. Nick was taken to surgery but it was confirmed that no vital part of him was injured, he is going to pull through. I'm sure of it.

Finnick placed both of his paws over his eyes and slid the over his head, pressing his ears back until he removed his paws from his pelt and made his ears flop back up with an almost spring like motion. The little fox mumbled to himself and Judy could hear every word and the tone used, Finnick complaining that his friend caused him to worry so much but very glad that everything would turn out right:

- God damn it all, Wilde. What's wrong with you? Making me worry half to death.

Judy sounded off a little sigh as she heard Finnick saying those words to himself, almost as if he was trying to communicate with Nick himself in some way, she leaned her head to the left and watched as the little fox looked back at her once more, trying to reacquire the facial expression he had before. Judy still felt like she should show her concern for Finnick and for everything that had happened, she was not feeling as bad as she felt earlier, Judy leaned close to Finnick once more, not too much as she was still close to the door's threshold, and spoke up:

- Nick saved yesterday. It feels like I should have done more.

Finnick nudged his head in Judy's direction, calling subtly to her attention and giving himself a cue to ask of her:

- How are you holding up, fuzz? Are you okay?

Judy moved her head from left to right slowly as she answered:

- Not sure. Not great. It feels like I'm going to be sick to my stomach. I feel awful.

Finnick gave one short step back, subtly giving Judy some space to breathe, he raised his paws and told her:

- Well, I didn't come here to make you feel any worse. I had to have some answers about Nick and see how you were doing and… it turns out I am not the only one.

With a quick gesture of his right paw, turning to the side and pointing his thumb to a low angle beside himself, Finnick showed that him and Judy were not the only ones standing by her front door in that hallway. Right next to Finnick, waiting patiently by his feet, there was a little female shrew with fancy brand clothes covering her body, a gorgeous hairstyle over her head and she wished to talk to Judy as well, she had accompanied the fennec fox up the stairs to Judy's place and remained unseen and unheard as she got the general feel to how her friend was doing up until that point and she was glad that Finnick pointed out towards her and revealed her presence, there was so much that she needed to say. Finnick finished his gestured and waited for only a couple of seconds as Judy and Fru-fru met eyes so that he could finish his thought from before:

- Turns out I was just the first one in line.

Fru-fru stepped forward to greet Judy and the bunny kneeled down to the ground so that she could be as close as possible to her friend's height. Fru-fru came closer and saw as Judy extended both of her paws forward and made an improvised platform for her to step over, the shrew stepped forth to do just that as she spoke out:

- Judy, I have been so worried about you. I thought I was going to have a nervous fit when I heard your name on the news.

Judy waited for her small friend to step safely over her paws before hoisting her up into the air, closer to her face so that she could give the bunny the closest equivalent of a hug, placing herself close to her left cheek with both of her paws and a warm little kiss. Judy was grateful for the demonstration of affection and concern brought over by her friends, her smile demonstrated that right away as soon as she took her paws away from her face as slowly as possible so that Fru-fru would not stumble and fall, the female shrew looked over the bunny and began to hyperventilate, breathing faster and slightly louder as she saw the state Judy was in: Her fur was messy and her eyes appeared red around a few areas, sign that she was crying and had undoubtedly lost some sleep.

Fru-fru had obscured herself from Judy's preliminary view point as soon as the bunny opened the door, she could feel just as she arrived by the building that Finnick needed to speak to the bunny in a more urgent manner, what the shrew had to say could wait a little while longer, she did not even bother to ask if Judy was feeling alright as soon as she was seen since the answer the bunny has given before answered it evidently. Judy was very surprised to see Fru-fru appearing besides Finnick without her usual escorting, usually the daughter of Zootopia's toughest and most respectable mob boss had a huge security detail waiting to transport and protect her wherever she went, but then again Judy thought it over and believed the hallway in front of her apartment would be kind of narrow to allow the passage of an entire polar bear. Fru-fru placed her right paw over Judy's left thumb, tapping over it softly so that she could do her best to soothe her friend, but that moment of caring would have to be cut short since the shrew had an important message to be delivered, so Fru-fru breathed deeply and spoke up while pointing towards the nearest exit to that hall:

- Judy, listen, my daddy said that he really needs to speak with you. I think it is related to everything that happened to you and Nick, he is expecting you to come along so that you can talk. But, if you don't feel like going, that is alright as well, I can tell him that you had some other things to do.

Judy shook her head after a single second of processing the message, she should have guessed that Mr. Big himself would have wanted to hear about what had happened straight from the mouth of the one officer from the entire city that he trusted. Judy was quick to give a reply as she said:

- No, I can talk to him straight away. Just let me grab a few things and then we can go.

Judy placed Fru-fru back on ground level, slowly lowering her paws to put the shrew back down, Fru-fru hopped off from Judy's paws and turned over to watch the bunny rise up on to her feet once more, Judy proceeded to turn around and enter her apartment once more so she could retrieve her cellphone and her keys before heading off and following Fru-fru to go see her father. Judy felt up for it, leaving her place for a short while and maybe talk to someone that could give her a few words of wisdom, maybe help her understand what would be the meaning behind it all. Judy was walking back towards the door with all of the belongings she might need for the trip to the Tundra and back, she walked past the front door's threshold and locked the door behind her, Fru-fru looked to Judy and pointed towards the exit saying that a car was already out front ready to provided them with a comfortable ride to her father's chosen location.

As Judy reached down to Fru-fru once more, intending to provide her with some assistance to descend the stairs leading to the outside, Judy turned over to face Finnick, the little fox still waiting for anything else that might have been left unsaid before he decided to leave. Judy took in some air through her nose and said to him:

- Everything is going to be fine.

To which he replied:

- You're not just telling that to me, are you?

Finnick was right, Judy was mostly telling that to herself, trying to make herself feel more at ease, convince herself that it would all, indeed, turn out fine. Judy and Fru-fru said farewell to Finnick who exited the building soon after, he had another important meeting that morning relating to a new job, a simple moving contract across the rainforest, nothing too taxing for him. Judy exited the building, carrying Fru-fru on her right paw, the little shrew directing her towards the right path through the sidewalk and towards the place where the car that brought her there was parked. Judy was received by two polar bears that were standing on guard but it was obvious to see that the two snappy dressed body guards were not comfortable standing under the heat of the savanna for too long, as soon as Judy and Fru-fru entered the big black car, the driver turned the air conditioner at the lowest temperature and at full blast, Judy did not say anything, knowing all too well that she would have to face the oppressive cold air of the tundra.

Surprisingly for Judy, the drive towards the destination which was intentionally undisclosed by Fru-fru, did not take too long. The car stopped at a reserved parking spot in front of a fancy building somewhere in the center savanna, nowhere near the tundra, Judy certainly was confused but the confirmation that they had indeed reached their destination came as Fru-fru spoke up:

- We're here.

Judy watched as the two bears exited the car, the driver and the escort exiting each of their sides and directing their attention back at the vehicle, watching for Fru-fru and Judy's exit since they were under strict order to watch over and protect them. Judy saw Fru-fru raising from her seat and walking over to exit the car, the door had been opened for her and her escorts were waiting but the shrew was stopped by Judy as the bunny asked:

- Fru-fru, what is this place? I thought we were heading over to Tundra Town.

Fru-fru turned to Judy and dismissed her doubt as she answered:

- Oh, no. This here is a safe house that daddy had commissioned a while ago. He has one of these in every district and rarely uses them, I almost freaked out when he asked me to have my things sent over to here.

Judy exited the car and looked around, she did not knew that part of the savanna and there were no other mammals around except for Fru-fru, herself and the two polar bears, Judy was guided into the building and it did not take long until the frigid air brushed over her fur, apparently Mr. Big made a case to keep even his safe houses in similar climate conditions to the tundra as to make it more comfortable to his employees. Judy walked through a long hallway that lead to a huge atrium, a large candelabra was posted at the ceiling and there were a few gorgeous paintings depicting different landscapes by the far right side wall and leading to the stairs. Judy was told that Mr. Big's office in that particular domicile was located upstairs, she walked towards the ascending steps and prepared herself to talk with one of the most feared mammals in all the city, wondering what exactly might be asked of her and