"Nng." Judy quietly groaned as she started to move her head a little bit.
"Chief." Clawhauser whispered as he looked over at Bogo.
"Oh. Oh my head, ah, my everything. Where am I?" Judy quietly asked as she looked around a little.
"You're in the department's break room, how are you feeling Hopps?" Bogo answered and asked as he walked over to Judy.
"Horrible. My entire body hurts, and I can't remember anything other than leaving the restaurant with Nick. What the heck am I doing here, and where is he?" Judy asked as she slowly sat up.
"He's at his desk, but I need you to try and focus for a moment. Really think about the last thing you remember." Bogo instructed in a calm tone.
"I don't remember anything between the walk in the park and waking up just now." Judy answered as she placed a paw on her side. "Oh sweet cheese and crackers, my side is killing me. Ah! I have no idea what happened, but it hurts so much! I need something for the pain, please get me something for the pain!" Judy yelled as she pressed on her side.
"I'm on it." Fangmeyer replied as he quickly left the room.
"Ah! It hurts, it hurts! Get Nick, somebody get my fox!" Judy cried as she held her side.
"I'll get him." Bogo replied as he quickly walked out the door.
"It's okay Judy, we're here, it's okay." Francine said as she knelt by Judy and held her paw.
"Here, a little bit of morphine from the fellas in S.W.A.T." Fangmeyer said as he ran into the room, then held a small tube with a needle attached to it over Judy's thigh.
"What's the dose?!" Judy cried as ahe squeezed Francine's limb.
"Don't worry, it's specially packaged for small mammals like yourself." Fangmeyer answered as he removed the cap from the needle and jammed it into Judy's thigh.
"Judy." Nick quietly said as he pushed past the growing crowd of officers.
"Nick! Nick it hurts!" Judy cried as she reached for Nick.
"I know Judy, but everything's going to be okay. Just breathe, that's it, deep breaths. I'm here, everyone's here." Nick quietly said as he squeezed Judy's free paw.
"I'm scared Nick, I don't know what's going on. When did we leave the park? How did I get here, and why am I in so much pain?" Judy cried as she clung onto Nick's paw.
"We'll explain everything later, your health and safety is the primary concern right now." Bogo replied as he stepped in the doorway.
"That's it, just relax. That morphine works fast, just breathe, Judy. There you go, nice deep breaths." Wolfard calmly instructed as he stared at Judy.
"Nick. I'm so..." Judy quietly said before closing her eyes and letting her head gently roll to the side.
"Thank goodness. I think the drug's finally run it's course." Francine said with a smile.
"I can't believe how long that thing affected her, she got darted a good six hours ago." Nick said as he gently rubbed Judy's back.
"We need to find this mammal before they do something like this again, the city won't survive a large scale outbreak of this drug." Bogo informed as he looked at all of his officers.
"Where do we even start, sir?" Clawhauser asked in a sad tone.
"I don't know, but we have to figure it out, and fast." Bogo replied with a sad expression.
"It's obvious where we start sir." Nick said as he looked back at Bogo.
"It is?" Bogo asked in a confused tone.
"Yes, we need to find out who would target Judy. It's no coincidence that out of all the mammals in Zootopia, they just happened to dart Judy. She was specifically targeted for a reason, what that reason is though, that's the question. If we can find a motive then we can start to isolate suspects." Nick explained in a calm tone.
"Well, I can think of two solid motives. The first is that she solved the Nighthowler case, there were a decent number of prey species that publicly expressed their displeasure of her having solved the case. The second motive would be the shooting at the concert, some mammals are trying to claim that Judy's speciest towards sheep. So that could also be a motive for someone to target her." Clawhauser informed with a thoughtful expression.
"Where did you hear that last part from?" Bogo asked in an intrigued tone.
"It's all over the major social media platforms, many mammals are defending Judy's actions, while others are still calling for her resignation, or worse." Clawhauser answered as he pulled his personal phone out and opened an app.
"Go call the tech team and have them start scowering through these social media apps, if there are any credible threats I want those mammals brought in for questioning." Bogo ordered as he stared at Clawhauser's phone.
"Yes chief." Clawhauser replied before quickly leaving.
"What about any relatives or companions of the sheep from the concert? Revenge could be a possible motivator as well." Fangmeyer suggested with a thoughtful expression.
"Unlikely, she had no children or significant other, a few of her coworkers we spoke with said that she was always kind of a loner at the job. It didn't sound like she had much of a social life outside of her obsession with Gazelle. The only living relative she has is a sister, we called her and she came and picked up the body a few days ago. We ran a background check on her and there was nothing suspicious about her. She's well educated, mild mannered, with absolutely no criminal record of any kind, not even a traffic ticket." Bogo explained with a straight face.
"What does she do for a living?" Nick suddenly asked as he looked at Bogo.
"Why's it matter?" Bogo asked in a curious tone.
"You said she's well educated and mild mannered, she sounds like someone who's good at planning for the long haul." Nick replied with a thoughtful expression.
"I doubt it, she works for one of the largest bio companies in the nation. Her employer is actually the company that developed the cure for the original nighthowler drug." Bogo informed as he leaned against the doorframe.
"What exactly does she do for the company?" Nick asked with a small frown.
"She's a... Oh my God. Wilde, sometimes I forget how smart you are. She's employed by the company as their cheif chemist, in the bio engineering lab. So she would have the skill and tools necessary to engineer the new strain of nighthowler that was used on officer Hopps. I can't believe none of us realized that earlier." Bogo groaned as he lightly banged his head on the doorframe.
"I'll call the judge for a warrent." Nick said as he walked away.
"Mmm. Uh, I feel like my limbs are made of jelly." Judy quietly said as she opened her eyes and slowly rolled over. "Hey chief, what's going on?" Judy asked as she slowly sat up.
"It's good to see you awake, how are you feeling?" Bogo asked as he looked at Judy.
"A little sore and nauseous, but I'll live." Judy answered as she rubbed the back of her head.
"Do you remember anything new?" Bogo asked as he sat down by Judy.
"Not really. I remember having a dream, a really bad one. I was being really mean to everyone for some reason. What made it worse is that I realized how cruelly I was behaving, but I couldn't stop myself. It was like being in the passanger seat of a car, I could see everything that was going on and where I was going, but I had no control over it." Judy explained as she rubbed her sore neck and throbbing head.
"Hopps, I'm sorry to tell you this, but that was no dream." Bogo quietly said as he put his arm around her shoulders.
"What do you mean sir? Don't tell me I actually said and did all of the things that I dreamt about! I was so horrible to everyone, to you, Clawhauser, Francine, and especially Nick! Did I really do and say all of those terrible things, sir?!" Judy asked with tears in her eyes.
"It's okay Hopps, we know it wasn't you." Bogo quietly said as he hugged Judy.
"I don't care, I was so mean to everyone. I'm so sorry chief, I'm so sorry." Judy cried as she clung to Bogo. "I have to go and apologize to everyone else, I feel horrible about the things I said and did." Judy said with a sniffle as she slowly got off the couch, then left the room.
"Hey, you're up. How are you feeling Judy?" Francine asked as Judy approached her desk.
"Francine, I'm so sorry for how I treated you earlier. I had a terrible dream about being mean to everyone, and Bogo said I actually had said and done all of those things. I'm so sorry that I made you chase me, and that I might've broken the vending machine, and that I called you names. I'm so sorry Francine!" Judy cried as she hugged Francine.
"Hey now, it's okay. I know that the real Judy would never act so mean towards others, none of us blame you for what you said or did while you were drugged. It's okay Judy." Francine replied as she gently hugged Judy.
"You really don't hate me?" Judy asked with a sniffle.
"Of course not Judy, you're one of my favorite mammals to work with. Besides, none of this was your doing, you were drugged by a very powerful new version of nighthowler. So don't beat yourself up over it, okay?" Francine replied as she patted Judy's shoulder with her trunk.
l'll try not to." Judy replied with a sniffle. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to apologize to one more mammal." Judy said with a smile as she walked away. Judy decided to make her last apology extra special, because she remembered how much she had laid into her last unfortunate victim. "Okay, place an order for delivery, and that's it. Ten minutes ain't too bad, especially coming from Little Rodentia." Judy said to herself as she placed an order for a special surprise. Judy sat down on a bench near the front entrance as she waited for her delivery, she only sat there for about fifteen minutes before a beaver walked in with a stack of pink boxes that was taller than him.
"I've got a delivery for a Miss Hopps, Miss Judy Hopps." The beaver said as he looked around the side of one of the boxes.
"That's me, do you need a hand?" Judy asked in a giddy tone.
"No thank you ma'am, you want them in the usual spot?" The beaver asked in a polite tone.
"Yes please, all except one of them. I wanna personally hand it off to the recipient." Judy answered with a smile.
"No problem ma'am, and thank you for your order." The beaver thanked as he bent down so Judy could grab a box, then he walked to the break room. Judy smiled as she rushed to the front counter and grabbed a pad of sticky notes, then she wrote out two notes and stuck one on the box in her paw. She grabbed the box off the desk, then ran into the break room and slapped the second note on a different box. Judy smiled as she pulled out her department phone, then she sent a group a message and waited for a couple of minutes.
"Alright Hopps, what's this all about?" Bogo asked as he and everyone else met Judy in the hallway outside the breakroom.
"First, this." Judy said as she moved her paws from behind her back, revealing a box of donuts with a note on it. "Here Clawhauser, for you." Judy said with a smile as she handed the box to Clawhauser.
"For me? Thank you Judy, oo there's a note. Should I read it out loud?" Clawhauser asked with a smile.
"Whatever you'd like." Judy answered with a smile.
"Okay." Clawhauser said as he cleared his throat. "Dear Clawhauser, I'm sorry I was so nasty to you earlier, you're one of my dearest friends and I hope that you can find it in your big fluffy heart to forgive a very dumb bunny. Love Judy." Clawhauser read as he started to tear up. "Awe, of course I love you Judy." Clawhauser replied as he hugged Judy.
"Now come on, there's one more surprise." Judy said as she lead everyone into the break room.
"Wow, you really do feel bad about what happened." Nick chuckled as he looked at a counter, which contained an additional six boxes of donuts, as well as another note.
"Go on chief, I'd like you to read the second note." Judy said with a smile as she looked up at Bogo.
"Alright, if you insist." Bogo replied as he walked over to the center box, then put on a pair of glasses before reading it. "To my friends whom I've treated so poorly over the past several hours, though I was not in control I can't help but feel a horrible guilt at having hurt all of you the way that I did. I know that this could never makeup for my actions, but that doesn't mean I won't try. I love you all like family, and I would never want to hurt any of you. I hope you can all forgive a very dumb bunny for her terrible behavior. Love Judy, a.k.a, carrot breath." Bogo read with a large smile. "I think we can forgive you Hopps, though you really were quite a pain in the butt for a while there." Bogo chuckled as he picked up a donut.
"I can't even imagine. I mean literally, most of what happened is completely blank to me. It's so odd, and eerie. Like I was possessed or something, thank goodness I had all of you to keep me out of trouble." Judy said with a smile as she grabbed a donut.
"Did you talk to your parents yet?" Nick asked as he bit into a donut.
"No, why?" Judy asked as she took another bite of her donut.
"Let's just say that they know what happened." Nick answered with a smirk.
"Do I even wanna know? I should probably at least send them a text and let them know that I'm okay." Judy replied as she pulled her phone out and opened her texts.
"I wouldn't text if I were you, you really don't wanna read that." Nick warned as he looked at Judy.
"How bad could it possibly b..." Judy started to ask, nearly choking on her donut when she saw the first text she'd sent during everything.
"Before you freak out, I already talked to them, they know what happened." Nick informed as he stared at Judy.
"Why would I send this?! I don't even know what half of this means!" Judy yelled as she scrolled through her texts.
"I'm sure it's not that bad, Hopps." Fangmeyer replied as he leaned over Judy's shoulder and looked at her phone. "Oh! Shoved a nightstick in your what?! Oh yeah, you're in trouble. You probably don't even know what the last part of that message even means, do you?" Fangmeyer asked with a grin.
"I'm guessing it has nothing to do with actual pie, does it?" Judy asked with a sniffle.
"Not even close, Carrots." Nick replied with a chuckle.
"It's not funny Nick, they're gonna hate you forever when they read that! I'm so sorry Nick!" Judy cried as she dropped her phone out of shock.
"No they won't, your parents already called and I told them everything. They still love you very much, and they know that you weren't yourself when you sent those messages." Nick replied as he hugged Judy.
"Are you sure? That last one was pretty gross, I bet even Shrew Hefner would've been grossed out by that last one." Judy replied with a sniffle.
"Don't worry Judy, your parents love you no matter what. They know what happened and everything's okay." Nick encouraged as he hugged Judy a little tighter.
"Thanks Nick." Judy replied as she hugged Nick back.
"Now come on, eat some donuts. They'll make you feel better." Nick chuckled as he handed Judy a vanilla donut.
"Are you kidding, after I nearly just choked on the one in my hand. Not to mention that I'm still pretty full from dinner and my apparent candy bar raid." Judy replied as she sat down.
"Really? I'm surprised, you must've burned a ton of energy with all of the running around you did today." Nick chuckled as he took the donut back.
"I don't even remember most of it. I feel so bad for the citizens, I wonder if I'll end up on the news for it. I can already picture the headlines, Z.P.D's famous bunny cop goes savage and terrorizes Zootopia. Uh, what a day." Judy groaned as she closed her eyes.
"No, you didn't end up on the news. Though you are trending on Zoo-Tube and most social media sights." Nick replied with a grin.
"That isn't any better." Judy replied with a long sigh.
"Don't worry about it so much Hopps, the important thing is that nobody was seriously injured. Now if you're not hungry then I'd suggest that you drink plenty of water and get a lot of rest, Wilde's warrent request could come through at anytime, and we're serving it the second it does." Bogo instructed as he ate a donut.
"Yes sir, I'll be sleeping in a cell if anyone needs me." Judy informed as she started walking away.
"We really need some beds in this place, why don't we have sleeping racks like we did in the academy?" Nick asked as he looked at Bogo.
"Because we don't normally need them, unlike at the academy, the officers here get to go home after their shift ends." Bogo answered as he took a sip of coffee. While the rest of the officers went about their duties until it was about time for the nightshift to start, Judy was sleeping like a rock on a crummy mattress in one of the jail cells.
"Alright chief, I'm heading out. I'll see you tomorrow." Nick said as he walked out of his cubicle towards the locker room.
"See you then, and Nick..." Bogo said as Nick walked past him. Nick stopped and turned back towards Bogo. "You did well today, I'm very proud of you. You kept it together and took good care of Hopps, even under the terrible circumstances. You did good, Wilde." Bogo complimented with a small smile.
"Thank you sir, and thank you for giving me that break earlier. It helped me even more than you probably realized, so thank you chief." Nick thanked as he went to go find Judy. "Carrots." Nick whispered as he crept into the cell Judy was sleeping in, then gently tapped her shoulder a few times. Judy didn't even flinch at his touch, she was sleeping so soundly that her light breathing was the only sign that she was even alive. Nick lightly chuckled as he laid down next to her, then wrapped an arm around her and closed his eyes.
"Well this isn't what I was expecting to find when I came in here this morning." Fangmeyer said as he stared at Nick and Judy, who were cuddled together on the bed in the cell.
"You think they'd be mad if we took a few pictures?" Clawhauser asked with a smile.
"I don't care if they are. Say cheese." Wolfard giggled as he took a few pictures of Nick and Judy.
"Awe, those two were made for each other." Francine giggled as she stared at the pair.
"What's with the big get together in the jail?" Bogo asked he walked into the jail room.
"Them." Clawhauser answered with a smile.
"You've got to be kidding me, did they actually sleep here last night?" Bogo asked as he stared at Nick and Judy.
"It sure looks that way." Fangmeyer answered with a grin.
"Wilde, Hopps, wake up." Bogo said as he gently shook the pair.
"Uh, where am I; and when did my bed get so lumpy?" Judy asked as she slowly opened her eyes.
"This isn't your bed, Hopps." Bogo informed in a mono tone.
"What?" Judy asked as she looked around a little. "Oh my God, we fell asleep in the jail cell? Uuuuuh! Nick, Nick wake up. Come on Nick, we fell asleep in the cell." Judy mumbled as she shook Nick.
"What? What's wrong, you okay Carrots? What's going on?" Nick asked as he quickly woke up and rolled over to face Judy.
"We fell asleep in the cell last night." Judy informed as she stretched a little.
"I'm not surprised, yesterday was a rough day. Did you at least sleep well?" Nick asked as he sat up and stretched.
"I did, I feel so much better after a goodnight's sleep. I don't know what all those criminals are complaining about when they say this bed sucks, I slept like a rock." Judy answered with a smile.
"It probably has something to do with the fact that most of them didn't spend the day running around drugged up on nighthowler." Nick answered with a grin.
"Speaking of that, your warrent request came through. The night shift already made most of the preparations for it, so grab some breakfast and coffee, briefing's in thirty minutes." Bogo instructed as he held a sheet of paper out to Nick.
"Glad to hear it sir, let's go nail these monsters." Nick replied as he got out of bed.
"Straight to the wall I hope." Francine mumbled.
"Now now, I hate 'em too, but if we really wanna win then it has to be by the book. Right chief?" Nick asked with a smile.
"That's exactly right, though off the record, I can't help but agree with officer Pennington's sentiment. Especially after what they did to Hopps." Bogo replied with a grin before leaving the room.
"Welp, let's get going Carrots." Nick said as he picked Judy up.
"Uh, easy Nick. Let me wake up a little bit, I've got a headache right now." Judy informed as she laid her head on Nick's shoulder.
"You'll feel better after some water and a protein bar or two." Nick replied as he carried Judy into the break room.
"You're probably right." Judy replied as Nick entered the break room and set her on a chair. "Here, they even have some veggies." Nick said as he handed Judy a protine bar, some water, and a carrot.
"Thank you Nick." Judy thanked as she opened the water and chugged half of it. "Oh that hit the spot, thank you so much Nick. I don't deserve you, did you know that?" Judy asked with a smile.
"Really? That's news to me. Am I dating too high or too low?" Nick asked with a grin.
"Don't know, don't care, as long as you're dating me. I'd be miserable without my fox, I can't believe there was a time I didn't trust foxes; even thinking about those days makes me feel disgusted by myself." Judy replied with a sad sigh.
"We all have our personal prejudices Judy. When I was younger, I couldn't stand terriers. Those adorable little dogs, I used to hate them, and I can't even remember why anymore." Nick said with a smile as he sat down across from Judy.
"That makes me feel a little better, I'm glad I'm not the only one who used to think like that about other species." Judy replied as she finished her carrot.
"No matter what anyone says, we all have or had a personal prejudice about someone or something. It's part of being evolved, we look up to some and look down on others." Nick said with a sad smile.
"Is that really being evolved then?" Judy asked as she stared at Nick.
"I guess that depends on your definition of evolved." Nick replied as he stood up. "Come on, the briefing starts in a few minutes." Nick informed as he started leaving the room.
"Hey, wait for me." Judy said as she shovled the last of her protein bar in her mouth, then grabbed some more water and followed Nick. Nick and Judy walked into the briefing room, where everyone else was already taking their seats in front of large projection of the facility they'd be assulting.
"Alright, settle down everyone. Now, here's the layout of the lab, both the interior and the exterior. Due to the extreme danger of this op, we'll have Z.F.D on standby for any medical emergency. They will remain five miles outside of our initial perimeter, as for the actual assault..." Bogo paused as he clicked a button, changing the slide to an interior map. "While team one holds the perimeter of the facility, teams two through five will move in with the S.W.A.T units to secure the interior. Once inside we have full authority to search through almost anything, thanks to the warrant we received this morning. Please read through it quickly so you know exactly what you can and cannot search through or do. Our primary suspect is Doctor Andrea Maple, sister of Melanie Maple, the sheep from Gazelle's concert. She's the head scientist in the bio engineering lab, be careful when dealing with her, she's well educated and will likely pull every trick in the book to resist without it actually being considered resistance. Any questions?" Bogo explained and asked as he looked around the room. The room was silent as everyone stared back at him. "Alright then, gear up and meet in the garage, we load up in ten. Dismissed." Bogo instructed before walking away.
"I've got a bad feeling about this raid." Nick said as he stood up.
"Don't worry Nick, I'm sure it'll go nice and smoothly. What team are you with?" Fangmeyer asked with a smile.
"Team three, same as Judy." Nick answered with a smile.
"At least you'll have each other, and don't forget, you've got all of us as well." Fangmeyer replied as he patted Nick's shoulder.
"Thanks Fangmeyer." Nick thanked with a small smile.
"Now let's gear up, we've got a warrant to serve." Fangmeyer said with a grin as he walked away.
"Come on Carrots." Nick said as he held his paw put to Judy.
"I'm right behind you partner." Judy replied as she took Nick's paw in her own, then walked with him to the garage.
"Alright, let's load up and move out!" A German shepherd in full tactical gear ordered as he looked at eleven other mammals in similar gear.
"Wow, those S.W.A.T guys look badass, I'm glad they're coming with." Nick said with a smile as he watched the S.W.A.T team get into an armored vehicle.
"Us too." Francine replied as she got in a different vehicle, followed by the rest of the team.
"Alright, listen up. Watch each other's backs in there, this new nighthowler strain is no joke, as I'm sure you all realized with Hopps. We know it affects prey species, but we have no idea what it does to predetory species. Make sure you have your tranq guns readily available, if any friendlies are hit with the new strain, tranq them immediately. Then we'll e-vac them and continue the raid. Understood?" Bogo informed as he got in the vehicle.
"Yes sir." Everyone replied with stern expression.
"Alright, now let's get this taken care of." Bogo said as he shut the doors, then the vehicle started moving. The vehicle was silent for a few minutes before a light buzzing sound started to echo through the vehicle.
"I'm sorry cheif, I didn't realize I had my phone on." Judy apologized as she took her phone out to turn it off, but she stopped when she saw the caller I.D.
"It's okay Hopps, we have time. Go ahead." Bogo said as he looked down at Judy's phone.
"Thanks cheif." Judy thanked as she answered the phone. "Mom?" Judy asked in a happy tone.
"Oh Judy, thank goodness. It sounds like you're finally back to your old self, how are you feeling?" Bonnie asked in a soft tone.
"I'm doing much better mom, I'm so sorry about the things I said yesterday. I didn't even know I was saying them, I'm so sorry mom." Judy quietly apologized with a sniffle.
"It's okay sweetie, we know that it wasn't your fault. We're just glad to have our baby girl back." Bonnie replied in a kind tone.
"I hope you both realize that all of those horrible things I said about Nick aren't true, he would never do anything like that to me. Please don't hate him, mom." Judy cried as she looked at Nick, who gently patted her shoulder in reassurance that it was okay.
"Of course we don't hate Nick, and he told us everything already. It's okay Judy, we're not mad at you or Nick. We love you both very much, and we're gonna come see the two of you this weekend. You both have the weekend off, right?" Bonnie asked in a happy tone.
"Yeah, Friday through Sunday." Judy answered with a sniffle.
"Hopps, two minutes." Bogo quietly said as he gently nudged Judy.
"Okay, we'll see you both then. Is there anything else you wanna talk about?" Bonnie asked in a kind tone.
"A million things, but I can't right now. Nick and I are on patrol, so unfortunately I have to go. Goodbye mom, I love you, and tell dad and the rest of the family that I love them too." Judy answered with a light chuckle.
"Alright honey. You and Nick be safe out there, we'll see you both soon. We love you Judy, and give our love to Nick as well." Bonnie replied in a soft tone.
"I will, thanks mom. I love you all so much. Goodbye mom." Judy said before hanging up. "Mom and dad send their love." Judy said as she put her phone away.
"There, feel a little better now?" Nick asked as he rubbed Judy's back.
"I do. Okay, come on Judy, head in the game." Judy answered before speaking to herself and patting her cheeks.
"All units, this is S.W.A.T command, we're thirty seconds out. Lock and load mammals, it's time to put a drug dealer out of buisness." The S.W.A.T commander ordered in a calm tone.
"You heard the man and you all know what to do, so let's do it fast and do it safely. Everybody ready?!" Bogo yelled as he stood up.
"Sir yes sir!" Everyone yelled back as the vehicle came to a stop.
"Alright, let's go. Wolfard, get the door." Bogo ordered as he drew his pistol from its holster.
"Yes sir." Wolfard replied as he opened the door, then jumped out of the vehicle, followed by everyone else.
"S.W.A.T's on the deck, team one, hold the perimeter, everyone else with us." The S.W.A.T leader ordered as he moved towards the front entrance. The building was a large square made primarily of glass, it was at least fifty floors high, and had the words Bio Inc. written in bold white letters over the front entrance.
"Excuse me, can I help all of you?" A deer behind the front desk asked as everyone moved inside.
"Read it and weep." Bogo said as he slapped the warrent on her desk.
"I'm calling my boss." The deer said as she picked up the phone on her desk and pushed a single button.
"Bio engineering lab is two floors below us, teams two, three, and four, take the steps; everyone else, elevator." Bogo ordered as he lead half of the teams onto the elevator.
"Alright Carrots, let's get our steps in." Nick said as he and Judy followed everyone else down the steps.
"Stair team, what's your status? Over." Someone asked through the radio.
"All's quiet, lots of civies giving us some looks, but nothing malicious. Over." Fangmeyer answered as he continued following everyone down the steps.
"Rodger, we're exiting the elevators now. Over." The same mammal informed through the radio.
"Copy that, we just hit level three, we'll rendezvous with you at the lab entrance. Over and out." Fangmeyer replied as he and the others stopped next to the elevators.
"Good morning officers, I'm Doctor Maple, head of this department. May I ask what this is about?" A sheep in a lab coat asked as she stepped out of a room surrounded by glass.
"Here, this should answer all of your questions." Bogo replied as he handed her the warrent, which she quickly read through.
"My God, this can't be right. That drug is under lock and key with special surveillance, and only ten mammals in this entire facility have access to the storage area. There's no way someone got their paws on our Nighthowler samples." Doctor Maple said as she looked up at Bogo.
Oh but they did, and they used it. They drugged one of my officers the other day, and her symptoms lasted for a good six hours. So that's a damn lie, doctor." Bogo said as he glared at Doctor Maple.
"You're kidding. Who was drugged, and are they okay now?" Doctor Maple asked in a shocked tone.
"I'm not at liberty to discuss that with you, especially considering that you're the prime suspect here, Miss Andrea Maple, sister of Melanie Maple." Bogo replied as he glared at Doctor Maple.
"Wait? You think I did this?!" Doctor Maple asked in a shocked tone.
"You had the motive and the means, which is why we're here. I want all of your files on this drug, and the tech team will be coming in once we've secured this facility. So there's no point in trying to hide anything, Doctor Maple." Bogo demanded in a firm tone.
"Look, I know how this must look, but I swear to you, I had nothing to do with what happened." Doctor Maple quietly said as she stared at Bogo.
"Who else would have the motive to do something like this?" Nick asked as he stared at her.
"I could print you a list. Ever since I was a kid, mammals loved my sister, more than they ever did me; even my own parents loved my sister more than me. Don't get me wrong, I loved my sister, and I was devastated to hear about what had happened; but I knew what the alternative was. My sister was... Different." Doctor Maple explained in a sad tone.
"What do you mean?" Judy quietly asked as she stepped in front of Bogo.
"Officer Hopps? You're here?" Doctor Maple asked as she looked at Judy.
"Of course, I wasn't gonna leave my team behind just because I had a bad day yesterday." Judy replied as she stared at Doctor Maple.
"Yesterday? What happened yesterday?" Doctor Maple asked in a confused tone.
"I don't know if my chief would like me discussing the details of the incident with you." Judy replied with a straight face.
"Oh, of course. My apologies." Doctor Maple said before clearing her throat. "To answer your question, my sister was always a strange one. She was... institutionalized, for several months when we were younger. She had sociopathic tendencies which she took medications for, not that anyone outside of our household knew about it. Like most sociopaths, she was a smooth talker that seemed as normal as you or I. She'd been doing well until about five years ago when our mother passed, she struggled after that, her condition deteriorated and she rarely talked to me. She text me out of the blue on the night of the concert, all it said was I'm going home. I didn't think much of it, at least not until I turned the news on the next day and found out what she had done. I couldn't believe that she did something so horrible, and I feel so much guilt for not having kept in better touch with her. But most of all, I feel so sorry for you, Officer Hopps. What she made you do, I don't think my sister was planning on surviving. Reflecting on the text, I think she meant home as in the heavenly home. I was never very religious myself, but my sister was always fascinated with what lies beyond our world. I used to think it was part of her condition, and maybe it was. Either way, it doesn't change anything. She's gone, and she went out in a terrible way, making another mammal do it for her. I'm sorry that you were the one who had to do it, Officer Hopps." Doctor Maple quietly explained with a few tears. Judy couldn't help but start to cry as well, slowly walking over to Doctor Maple and hugging her.
"I'm so sorry that it happened the way it did. I never wanted to hurt anyone, I'm so sorry for your loss." Judy quietly cried as she hugged Doctor Maple a little tighter.
"Oh will you two just shut up already!" A wolf in a lab coat screamed as he stood up.
"Thomas?!" Doctor Maple asked as she stared at the wolf.
"You! How dare you stand there and act like you loved her! You're hugging her killer right now! It's because of you that my beautiful Melanie is dead right now! It's all your fault!" Thomas scremed as he pulled a gun out of his desk drawer and aimed it at Judy.
"No!" Doctor Maple shouted as she stepped in front of Judy.
"Get out of the way Andrea!" Thomas shouted as his paws started shaking.
"No Thomas, killing her won't do anyone any good. My sister made her choice, it had nothing to do with Officer Hopps." Doctor Maple replied as she continued to stand in front of Judy.
"It had everything to do with her!" Thomas replied as he started squeezing the trigger.
"Don't do it Thomas, how would Melanie feel if you killed her sister? Do you really wanna kill the sister of the woman you loved?" Nick asked as he aimed his pistol at Thomas.
"I..." Thomas quietly said as he continued pointing his gun at Andrea's head.
"Please Thomas, put the gun down. Make this easier for yourself and Andrea." Nick quietly said as he held his paw out to Thomas.
"I'm sorry Melanie." Thomas apologized with a few tears, then he fired a round at the ceiling and ran, an automated voice began speaking a moment later.
"Security breach. Warning, lockdown initiated." The automated voice spoke as all of the lab doors began to seal themselves shut. Thomas dashed past the doors as they were closing, leaving everyone else locked behind the security barrier.
"Thomas! Damn you, you lunatic!" Andrea screamed as she banged on the clear doors.
"Sorry Andrea, but I guess you just didn't love her like I did." Thomas said as he stared at Andrea, then he looked at Judy. "You think you're a hero, Judy? Prove it. There's a vent in the ceiling that only a mammal as small as you could get through. Show me how much your team really matters to you." Thomas instructed as he pushed some buttons on a computer outside of the barrier. "I've just started a one hour countdown, and when the timer hits zero that chamber will be filled with my modified nighthowler gas, and your fellow officers will kill each other like the savages they are. Prey, predator, it doesn't matter, the gas will affect them all. So what's it gonna be Judy, are you a real cop, or just a trophy bunny for the department to parade around?" Thomas asked with a grin.
"We're gonna find out." Judy replied as she jumped onto Bogo's shoulders, then pulled the vent open and climbed into it.
"Hopps!" Bogo shouted as Judy started crawling away.
"You stupid bastard." Nick quietly said as he turned his head towards Thomas.
"Says the stupid bastard trapped like a bug in a jar." Thomas replied with a grin.
"You have no idea what you've just unleashed. Judy may be kind and sweet, but that stops when you mess with the mammals she cares about. I hope you're ready, because you just poked mama bunny, and she is pissed about it." Nick replied with a grin.
Judy scrambled her way through the vents, blindly going in any direction that just felt right. Her instincts were sharp as a blade though, because within minutes she'd found an exit. Judy peeked down through the vent cover and was glad to see an empty room. She kicked the cover off and exited the vent. "Don't worry guys, I'm coming." Judy said to herself as she carefully made her way out of the room.
"Copy that. Alright listen up, new orders from the boss. Find the bunny and bring her back alive." A security guard with an A.R ordered as he walked down the hallway with several other guards.
"I don't believe it, the company security betrayed everyone." Judy whispered to herself as she watched several large mammals of various species walk past the room she was in. "This is bad, I need to call for backup." Judy whispered as she grabbed her radio, only to find that there was no signal. "Of course, they're jamming the radios. Those sons of bitches planned all of this, they knew this raid would happen. Do we have a leak at the Z.P.D, or did they know we'd figure it out?" Judy asked herself before shaking her head. "It doesn't matter, what matters is saving Nick and the others. But how, what can one bunny do to an entire armed security force?" Judy asked herself as she thought for a moment. "I'll just have to roll the dice and hope I come up lucky, I don't have time to sit and think, Nick and the others will be dead in less than fifty minutes." Judy said to herself as she peeked around the corner, finding it clear. Judy made a dash towards the lab, ducking into a closet at the sound of footsteps in an adjacent hallway.
"This is team five, no sign of the bunny." A moose in a suit informed as he walked past the closset Judy was in. Judy let out the breath she was holding before slowly opening the door. She checked to make sure the coast was clear, then she continued towards the lab.
"Forty-five minutes. I wonder if the little cotton tailed coward bugged out, how would it feel to know that she left you for dead?" Thomas asked with a small smirk as he looked directly at Nick.
"I wouldn't know, because Judy's not that type of mammal." Nick replied with a grin of his own.
"Oh, and how would you know that? You've been working with her for what, a month, two at the most?" Thomas asked with a chuckle.
"As an offical officer, yes. But I've known Judy for longer than that, and I know that she's coming for us; and she'll go straight through you to accomplish that if she has to." Nick explained with a sinister grin.
"Oh, I'm counting on it." Thomas replied as he snapped his fingers, at which point dozens of armed guards entered the room. "I hope your bunny's bulletproof, because we have a lot of bullets." Thomas said with a wicked laugh.
Judy found the hall that lead to the lab, with no cover and nowhere to go if anything happened, she steadied her nerves before rushing towards the door. "It's over Thomas! Let my friends go!" Judy shouted as she burst into the lab.
"Run Judy, it's a trap!" Nick screamed as all of the guards quickly turned around. Automatic gun fire started echoing in the room, and Judy made a mad dash for cover, narrowly missing a deadly hit on multiple occasions.
"I'm impressed, not only did you show up, but you actually survived my surprise attack. They said you were good Judy, but I didn't think you were that good." Thomas chuckled as everyone began to close in on the refrigerator Judy had hid behind. Judy drew her pistol and held it at the ready, but she was horribly outgunned. She had three nineteen round magazines and one in the chamber. A total of only fifty-eight rounds, versus dozens of armed attackers, each with fully automatic weapons, and all of them had over three-hundred rounds in just their primary weapons. Her odds couldn't have been much worse, yet despite the terrible odds, she refused to surrender or give up.
"That's nothing, just wait until I get my paws on you. You'd be shocked at just how hard I can punch." Judy replied as she tried to think of a plan.
"Ha! Such brave words from such a hopeless fool. Though I'd expect nothing less of the great Judy Hopps, at least you'll die a warrior's death." Thomas said with a laugh.
"Yep, and you'll die like the coward you are. Crying in the corner like a little bitch." Judy replied as she suddenly got an idea. It would be drastic, terrifying, and completely insane; but it was the only thing she could think to do.
"I like how you say that as you sit in the corner, it's quite ironic." Thomas replied as he fired a shot in Judy's general direction, just to scare her.
"What's ironic is that despite what's about to happen, you're more of a savage than I'll ever be." Judy replied as she looked at the refrigerator she was hiding behind, it was filled with the new Nighthowler drug.
"Judy." Nick whispered as he stared at Judy, realizing what she was planning to do.
"Oh, and what, pray tell, are you about to do? Other than die, of course." Thomas asked with an evil chuckle.
"Take you with me." Judy answered before smashing the refrigerator's glass door with the handle of her gun, then she grabbed two syringes of Nighthowler and stuck one in each of her legs. Judy gasped as the toxin began to course through her veins. "Ah! Uh! Ah... AAAAH!" Judy screamed in pain as the drug tore through her system. Her pupils dilated, her body convulsed, and her breathing became rapid. She grit her teeth as the drug surged through her, then she let out a growl that would've been worthy of the mightiest lion.
"I don't like this sir, something ain't right here." One of the guards said as he looked at Thomas.
"You're not paid to think, you're paid to kill. Now do your job and kill that bunny!" Thomas screamed as he shoved the guard forward. The guard stumbled forward before cathching himself and peeking around the refrigerator, only to have a savage Judy latch onto his face and rip his eye out with her bare paw.
"AAAAH!" The guard screamed as he spun in circles, firing his weapon as he did.
"What the hell?! That psycho rabbit drugged herself with the new nighthowler!" One of the guards shouted as he tried to aim his weapon at Judy, but she darted to the side, then started zipping around the room.
"Damn she's fast! Watch out, she's coming from... AAAAH!" The guard tried to warn, but Judy had dashed behind him and clawed her way up his back; then she bit down on his neck and ripped a huge chunk out of it.
"RAAAAR!" Judy snarrled as she leapt onto another guard, scrambling down his arm and grabbing his gun. She bit his arm and gained control of the weapon, spraying bullets on full auto as the guard spun around in a panic. The rounds ripped through everything but the barriers that secured the refrigerator, and the one Nick and the others were behind. Guards began to drop like sacks of carrots as Judy mowed them down with their own weapons.
"Enough of this crap!" Thomas shouted before running into the refrigerator. Judy continued tearing through guards like they were mere sheets of paper, and within ten minutes, all but one of them were dead.
"No! No, please! I didn't sign up for this!" The bear guard cried as he repeatedly pulled the trigger on his empty pistol. Judy grabbed his wrist in her jaw and tore a huge chunk out of it, spitting the chunk out as blood began to gush from the wound. Judy slowly walked away as her last victim began to bleed out through his now torn artery. Everyone stared in horror as the bear quickly died.
"Judy?" Nick asked as he placed his paw on the glass that separated them. Judy stared at him through the glass, but then she let out a growl and backed away.
"Okay cotton tail, two can play the savage card." Thomas said as he stepped out of the refrigerator, with a vial already stuck in his arm. He pushed the plunger down and went through the same convulsing process that Judy had, when it was over he let out a deffening howl. Judy growled at him, then she charged him head on.
"JUDY!" Nick yelled as he helplessly watched what he thought for certain would be Judy's brutal death. Everyone gasped in horror as Judy leapt straight into her foe's open jaws, then disappeared down his throat. For a few seconds nothing happened, but then Thomas suddenly started howling in pain. He fell to his side, kicking and yelping as part of his chest began pushing in and out. "Uh, guys. Have any of you ever seen that old movie about the creepy aliens?" Nick asked as he watched Thomas writhing in agony.
"No, why?" Bogo asked as he watched the terrifying scene unfolding in front of him.
"Spoiler alert." Nick replied as Judy burst out of Thomas's chest, letting out a horrible screech as she did so. Judy's chest was heaving as she tried to take in more oxygen. Once she'd caught her breath and wiggled her blood soaked body out of Thomas's chest, she limped over to the barrier and stared into it.
"Judy." Nick quietly said as he knelt down to Judy's height.
"N-Ni... N-Nick." Judy stammered as she stared at Nick.
"She spoke." Bogo quietly said in a shocked tone.
"Judy, can you open the barrier please? Just push that red button on that long desk." Nick asked as he pointed at a small red button built into a council by a computer. Judy growled at him before limping over to the button, then she slammed her fist against it so hard that the button broke, but the barrier opened. "Judy." Nick quietly said as he slowly approached her. Judy growled at him once, but then she suddenly lost consciousness and fell into his open arms.
"I've got you Carrots, I've got you." Nick quietly said as he craddled Judy in his arms. "Her pulse is racing, I can feel it just from holding her. We have to get her to a hospital." Nick said as he held Judy close to his chest.
"Everyone, grab a weapon. Wilde, hold onto Hopps, and stay behind us." Bogo ordered as he grabbed an A.R from one of the dead mammals.
"Any of those guards have a spare mag on them?" Andrea asked as she picked up an A.R.
"You shoot, Doctor?" Wolfard asked as he tossed a magazine to her.
"Shoot? Are you kidding, I'm a country gal, born and raised. I used to do it competitively back in high school, champion trap shooter four years in a row." Andrea answered as she swapped out the empty magazine for a full one, then slapped the slide release.
"Cover yourself Wolfard, you mini me is showing." Francine said with a grin as she lightly smacked Wolfard's back.
"Cut the chatter! Judy's getting worse, we've gotta get out of here." Nick snapped as he picked up a pistol.
"Wilde's right. Fangmeyer, Wolfard, take point; everyone else, form up around Nick and Doctor Maple." Bogo ordered as he levied his rifle at the door.
"Yes chief." Fangmeyer replied as he and Wolfard moved towards the door.
"Hallway's clear, everyone on us." Wolfard instructed as he and Fangmeyer moved forward.
"We need to dissable the lockdown if we're gonna get out of here." Andrea informed as she looked at Bogo.
"How do we do that?" Bogo asked as he looked at Andrea.
"We need to get to the security room in the main lobby, the only issue is that with the lockdown engaged all of the blast doors are sealed. So the only point of access would be the ventilation system." Andrea explained with a thoughtful expression.
"That's great, and how exactly are we supposed to do that? The only one who can fit in the vents is unconscious and beat to hell." Wolfard asked as he looked down at Judy.
"That's the dilemma. We need to either alert someone on the outside somehow, or we have to wait for Judy to regain consciousness. Either way, our options are bad." Andrea replied in a sad tone.
"Hold on, doesn't Zootopia health and safety code require the automatic shut down of security systems under certain circumstances?" Nick asked with a thoughtful expression.
"It does, but the circumstances have to be very specific, especially in a facility like this." Andrea answered as she stopped walking and looked back at Nick.
"Would a fire be specific enough?" Nick asked with a grin.
"Wilde, I don't think we want to set a building on fire that we're standing in, especially one with so many chemicals and bio hazards." Bogo replied in an annoyed tone.
"We don't have to set the building on fire, we only have to trick the system into thinking it's on fire." Nick replied with a grin.
"What do you have in mind officer Wilde?" Andrea asked in a curious tone.
"Simple, this lab should have some kind of burners or something, right? Or at least a lighter somewhere. If we hold a small flame up to one of the sprinklers, it should trigger the fire suppression system and disengage the lockdown." Nick explained with a grin.
"Wow Wilde, and she calls you a dumb fox. Not bad." Francine replied with a smirk.
"Over here, we have a bunsen burner." Andrea informed as she lead Nick over to what looked like a metal candle with no wick.
"Great, I have no idea what that is, but as long as it makes fire." Nick replied as he stared at the device.
"Technically it doesn't, it just releases gas which we ignite with a striker." Andrea explained as she held up an odd tool that looked like metal prongs with a tiny bowl built onto it.
"Well whatever you need to do, just light it up." Nick instructed in a joyful tone.
"Wait, if you have this here, why doesn't the fire suppression system activate constantly?" Bogo asked as he stared at the burner.
"Simple, we don't make much if any smoke while using these. They're mainly for heating liquid which turns into vaper, not smoke. It's a similar principle as to why the smoke detectors in your kitchen don't go off when you cook on an open burner, but they do go off if you burn something in the oven. They detect the smoke and chemicals in it, not the actual flame. Hence the name, smoke detector." Andrea explained as she ignited the burner, then held a piece of paper on the flame until it ignited. "Alright, here we go." Andrea said as she held the flaming paper up to the suppression system. A few seconds went by before an alarm started to sound, followed by an automated voice.
"Warning. Fire detected in sector five." The warning said on repeat. The alarm continued to blare as the lockdown system immediately shut off, automatically opening the lab doors.
"You sure you're in the right line of work, officer Wilde? You'd make a good smart guy." Andrea said with a giggle as she started heading for the door.
"No thanks, this is all too serious for me. I'd be fired in a week with my obnoxious attitude." Nick replied as he looked down at Judy. "Besides, I wouldn't have my bunny if it weren't for this department. Her job was the only reason we ever met, and I wouldn't trade my Carrots for anything." Nick quietly answered as he hugged Judy's unconscious body.
"Adorable, but focus Wilde. Doctor Maple, please take care of officer Hopps for us; everyone else, guard them with your lives." Bogo ordered as he took the lead. "Fangmeyer, Pennington, watch our six. Wilde, I want you on Doctor Maple as security. Your one and only job is to ensure her's and Hopps's safety. Anyone who's name I didn't call is on the forward position. Now let's move." Bogo ordered as he started moving forward.
"Apart from the alarm it's pretty quiet, no security." Wolfard said as he walked alongside Bogo.
"That's what concerns me, I doubt they turned tail and ran because of a fire alarm." Bogo replied as he continued leading everyone towards the building's exit.
"Coms are still down, so we can't even request a status update from S.W.A.T." Fangmeyer replied as he looked around a little.
"Then we assume the worst, heads on a swivel. I don't want any more surprises from this place." Bogo instructed as he stopped to peek around a corner.
"Nnng." Judy quietly groaned as she started to regain consciousness.
"Awe this isn't good. Guys, I think Judy's waking up." Nick warned as he looked down at Judy.
"Why is that a bad thing?" Andrea asked in a confused tone.
"The new nighthowler drug makes her very aggressive and rude, and she's not quiet about it. I have no idea what will happen when she wakes up, she's never been hit with that much of it at once. Last time she was targeted she was hit by a round the size of a blueberry, and the effects lasted for a solid six hours; she took two full syringes of it this time. There's no telling how she'll behave when she wakes up." Nick explained as he stared down at Judy.
"How many times has she been hit with the new drug?" Andrea asked as everyone slowly approached the stairs that lead to the main lobby.
"Including today, twice. But that first time was terrible, she was so nasty. I mean she was just... Bad! Like binge drinking, drugged up lunatic, bad. She had a mouth like a sailor, no control of her behavior, and she almost got me skinned alive, metaphorically speaking I mean. She was a completely different mammal, so I'm very worried about what's going to happen when she wakes up; plus she'll probably be in pain, and she gets grumpy when she's in pain. I suppose we all do though." Nick explained with a sigh.
"This may not be my place to ask, but what exactly did she do that nearly got you skinned alive?" Andrea asked with a small grin.
"She sent the grossest and most explicit text to her parents that I had ever read in my life, and that's something coming from an ex-conmammal. It was so nasty that I felt sick to my stomach when I finally worked up the guts to read it." Nick replied with a sigh.
"Was it really that bad?" Andrea asked with a chuckle.
"Oh yeah, that bad and worse." Wolfard replied with a grin.
"But how did her sending a text nearly get you skinned?" Andrea asked in a confused tone.
"Because she told her parents that I had actually done all of the nasty stuff in the text, and that I did it to her." Nick answered with a shudder.
"Ooooh. It was that kind of nasty text, oh you poor guy." Andrea replied as she patted Nick's shoulder.
"Good, there's the exit." Bogo said as he and everyone else approached the main doors.
"Looks clear chief." Francine said as she started walking towards the door.
"Yeah, too clear." Nick replied as he stopped Francine.
"That is the most cliché thing I've ever heard, Wilde. Come on." Bogo ordered as he started walking forward.
"Guess it is just Hollywood B.S." Nick replied as he and everyone else followed Bogo outside.
"Freeze!" A police officer shouted as he aimed his weapon at Bogo.
"Wait, it's Cheif Bogo and the others! Stand down! All units, stand down!" A german shepherd ordered as he lowered his rifle, followed by everyone else.
"I need a medic over here, we've got a wounded officer!" Bogo shouted as Nick quickly carried Judy over to him.
"We're on it!" A cow said as he and a pig rushed a gurney over to Bogo.
"What happened?" The pig asked as she started looking over Judy.
"She took two standard syringes worth of the new nighthowler drug, I don't think she was injured in any of the fighting though. But there's no telling what kind of internal damage that much nighthowler can do." Nick explained as he stared down at Judy.
"We'll take her to the hospital right away, are there any other victims of the drug or other injuries?" The cow asked in a calm tone.
"No, we're all fine." Nick answered as he continued to stare at Judy.
"Alright, then we're loading her up and moving out." The cow replied as he and his partner loaded Judy into their ambulance, then started driving away. Nick watched as the ambulance drove away, not knowing what to do next.
"Over there! Officer! Officer! Do you have anything to say about what happened today?!" A sheep asked as she thrust a microphone towards Nick.
"What?" Nick asked in a confused tone.
"Is it true that the Z.P.D discovered a new type of nighthowler and hid it from the public?!" Another reporter asked as he did the same thing with his microphone.
"Do you have any comments on the injured officer?! Who where they?!" A third reporter asked as her cameramammal zoomed in on Nick.
"Cheif!" Fangmeyer yelled when he noticed Nick being bombarded by reporters.
"Oh crud." Bogo replied as he started heading over to Nick.
"Is it true that officer Hopps went savage less than twenty-four hours before this raid?!" Another reporter asked as he stared at Nick.
"Was this raid some kind of retaliation for what happened to officer Hopps?!" Another reporter asked as she pushed her microphone towards Nick.
"WILDE!" Bogo shouted as Nick became so overwhelmed by everything that he suddenly collapsed.
"Cheif?" Francine asked as she and everyone else looked at Bogo.
"Wilde! Wilde, wake up!" Bogo shouted as he knelt by Nick and patted his cheek. "Get an ambulance!" Bogo yelled as he looked back at the other officers. "Hang in there Nick, it's gonna be alright." Bogo encouraged as he stared down at Nick.