A/N: A shout out to a friend on FFnet who took a peek at this chapter before I posted it - Thanks!

Disclaimer: Zootopia and all related characters are owned by Disney. All product names, trademarks and copyrights belong to their respective owners.

…

Bogo pounded the podium in front of the bullpen, "Quiet down everyone. First up, I'd like to introduce Senior Police Constable Viola Bechtail from the Duchy of Mordinia. She is participating in an exchange program between the DMPD and the ZPD, and for the next couple of days, she will be working patrol duty with different partners. Hopps, she's with you today. McHorn, with you tomorrow."

As Bogo continued the briefing, Judy looked over at her partner for the day. SC Bechtail was a large Mastiff with a lovely tan colored fur and a dark muzzle. She had on what must be the standard issue DMPD uniform, it was khaki colored with a red belt and a red sash that ran from her left epaulet to her right hip. On each sleeve she had a black chevron with two horizontal yellow stripes indicating her rank as a Senior Constable. Overall, a very different look from the ZPD standard blues everyone else in the room was wearing.

The rest of the bullpen session was quick with Bogo only making slight rearrangements to the patrol areas from yesterday's assignments. As everyone filed out of the bullpen, Judy made her way over to Bechtail. Holding out her paw, a broad smile on her face, Judy welcomed her new temporary partner. "Hi, I'm Judy Hopps, nice to meet you!"

Reaching out to shake the bunny's small paw, Bechtail smiled slightly and returned the greeting. "It is a pleasure to meet you also Officer Hopps. Your exploits here at the ZPD precede you."

Smile faltering a bit, "Uh, thanks, I guess."

In the garage, Judy adjusted the front passenger seat of her and Nick's cruiser to better fit the much larger mastiff and then they loaded themselves up. As Judy belted herself in, she looked over to see the parking cart already gone, Nick must have gotten an early start.

Judy and SC Bechtail relaxed into the morning's patrol. The city's citizens were well behaved today as Judy spent most of the morning cruising around their designated patrol area. Bogo had wanted them to keep their morning route near the city center, work their way through the business district and then some of the park areas later in the day.

"How long have you been a cop?" Judy asked pleasantly.

"I was recently promoted to Senior Police Constable, prior to that I was a Police Constable for five years. How long have you been an Officer?"

"I've been with the ZPD for about a year now." Judy gave Bechtail another smile as she continued. "Being a cop has been a dream of mine since I was nine years old. This city is fantastic, and I feel like I'm really making a difference."

Bechtail looked at the energetic bunny and replied. "Well, you certainly made a name for yourself with your first two cases. I have read about your work and found it fascinating that you were able to so quickly solve those cases while your fellow officers were unable to make any progress for such a long time. Had you had formal investigative experience prior to working for the ZPD?"

Judy laughed, "First off, I had help on those cases, so it wasn't all me. And no, growing up on my family's farm in Bunnyburrow the only investigating I did was of my siblings when toys went missing, so no, I didn't have any formal experience. Although I did volunteer at the sheriff's office one summer, that was pretty cool even though they just had me do filing and simple office tasks. It took me forever to get them to take me on a ride along and then that was just to ticket a fruit vendor that had let his license expire." She smiled remembering that vendor's face when a 15-year-old gave him a ticket.

Bechtail chuckled at Judy's story, "My father always said it was better to be lucky than good. You certainly demonstrated that adage solving your first cases. Although, I am sure you were aided by a University education that was able to make up for your lack of practical experience with a challenging curriculum of study."

Judy's smile fell some. "I guess so. I went to Tri-Burrows College near Burrow's Edge. I graduated with a BS in Criminal Science and a minor in math." Looking at SC Bechtail, Judy felt a twinge and the need to add a little more. "I uh, was accepted to ZU but I couldn't afford it, so I went to Tri-Burrows instead."

"Is this Tri-Burrows an elite school for rodents, such as yourself, out in the farming communities?"

"No, it's just one of the public colleges—," Judy did a double take and looked over at Bechtail, what did she say? "Officer Bechtail, I am not a rodent. Rabbits are lagomorphs."

"Senior Constable if you please. Now that you mention it, I do recall that over here in the Commonwealth there was a recategorization some time back. In Mordinia we can be a bit traditional about things like that. I will endeavor to remember your classification in the future."

Judy quietly added, "We've always been lagomorphs, it wasn't a recategorization it was just getting other mammals to stop calling us rodents."

"Of course, as you say. So, you were describing your higher education experience. It is a shame you were not able to go to the more prestigious city university that you were accepted into."

"Yeah, I have a very, very large family and my parents didn't have much money when I was growing up and they also weren't happy about me becoming a cop, so I decided that if I needed a degree to become a cop, I was going to have to pay for it myself. Two part-time jobs, a small scholarship and a lot of student loans later I was able to graduate from Tri-Burrows." Judy's smile started to reappear, she had been proud of herself for being able to work and go to school at the same time and still graduate with a 4.0 and top honors.

"Tuition for higher education in Mordinia is guaranteed for certain castes. As my pack has provided a valuable service to the aristocracy for generations, I was able to go to the University of Clareford. I graduated with two degrees, one in Forensic Science, the other in Psychology." Looking out the window, Bechtail added, "My Father arranged for the settlement of any other expenses that were incurred during my stay at the University."

Judy sat silently, not sure what to think. Bechtail continued a moment later. "You must be pleased with your family and the farm they maintain. I do not typically visit rod—, lagomorph habitats, but I am sure that your species is especially well suited to the types of manual labor required to be successful."

Judy gripped the steering wheel a little tighter and with a tight-lipped smile, she forced out a reply. "Yes, I guess we are. My family's farm produces some of the finest fruits and vegetables in the region."

Bechtail ignored the bite in Judy's voice and carried on. "It was fortuitous that Mayor Lionheart implemented the Mammal Inclusion Initiative. If not for that legislation and his intercession you would not have been allowed to attend the Police Academy or join the ZPD. It seems you narrowly avoided joining your family as a produce farmer."

Judy's smile gone again, replied, "Okay…, I suppose you're right, if the MII hadn't been passed I wouldn't have been able to join up, but Lionheart had nothing to do with me getting accepted to the ZPA. I qualified on my own and made valedictorian of my Academy class by working and studying my tail off."

Bechtail gave Judy a raised-eyebrow look of doubt. "I am sure that you worked very hard, in your own way, at the Academy. I also believe you when you say that you are unaware of any of the success criteria in the program being adjusted for you, but Mayor Lionheart most certainly had a political agenda and I would wager that it required a small mammal, such as yourself, to graduate and join the ZPD. I also remember reading the details of your investigation and seeing that you were almost fired a couple of times by Chief Bogo and you needed Assistant Mayor Bellwether to give you access to the city's JamCam network to help solve the Missing Mammal case."

Bechtail gave out a low "Hmmm" and rubbed her chin jowls, "I find it interesting that you received critical assistance in becoming a police officer and solving your first case from two mammals that had their own criminal agendas and ended up being arrested."

Judy sputtered, "That's not true at all! Like I said, I never met Lionheart until I graduated from the ZPA and Bellwether didn't help Nick or me do anything. Well, rotten cucumbers, you're right, Bellwether let us use her computer to access the JamCams, but it's not like she fed us a clue as to Lionheart's activities or anything, I mean she had no way of knowing what he was up to. She wasn't even there when Nick figured out where those wolves…" Flustered now, her face fell, 'That is not what happened.' She looked over at SC Bechtail and was greeted with an 'I told you so look' on the mastiff's muzzle.

"Senior Constable Bechtail, the only critical assistance provided was from my partner Nick Wilde. Anything else was incidental and the result of solid police work."

"Mmm hmm."

Judy stopped at a red light. She stared ahead intensely, not wanting to look at Bechtail or anything else. Her thoughts were bouncing around in her head. How could this mammal, a fellow officer of the law, be saying all these things? Her thoughts were disrupted by a car behind her giving a polite toot of their horn. Judy looked up and saw the green light. She started the cruiser moving again as Bechtail continued.

"Was not Mr. Wilde, a fox no less, a petty criminal at the time he was assisting you with your investigations?"

Judy reacted to that, insult her fine, but go after her partner, not gonna let that go. "Senior Constable Bechtail, Officer Wilde's history before joining the ZPD is none of your business and if you have a problem with the fact that he is a fox I would appreciate it if you would keep it to yourself."

With a slight smirk on her face, Bechtail lifted a paw to stop Judy's response. "You misunderstand Officer Hopps, I do not have any sort of issue with Officer Wilde. As a matter of fact, foxes, such as he, played a role in our society almost as old and storied as my own people."

Judy, relieved at the statement, blurted out, "Really? Wow, that's so cool. Foxes here seem to always get the short end of the stick and Nick is a really great cop, so it's amazing to hear that in Mordinia foxes have such a different reputation. I can't wait to tell Nick. Were foxes part of the Royal Guard or a special elite force or something?" Judy's ears began to perk back up and some of the more horrible things that Bechtail had been saying started to fade a bit.

Bechtail chuckled at the enthusiasm from the bunny as she replied. "No, no, nothing like that. Foxes were specially trained and even some selectively bred for the sport of hunting. For the ancient aristocracy, this was very important and those successful at the hunt were held in the highest regard."

Judy suddenly got a disgusted look on her face. "Eww, foxes back then hunted other mammals just for the entertainment value and mammals watched, that's really gross. Why would anyone find that even remotely entertaining?"

SC Bechtail laughed this time, "Oh my," Bechtail laughed even louder. "Foxes hunting another capable mammal, that would be a sight to behold. Foxes are low-born animals, practically scavengers, even the best of their breed were incapable of hunting anything except the most ignorant and helpless of small prey creatures. Such a display would hardly be interesting to the nobility back when the hunts were still held."

Bechtail paused again as if thinking. Judy looked over and noticed her rubbing her chin jowls again. Oh no, she thought to herself. What is she going to say now?

"Come to think of it, foxes were quite successful at hunting rabbits back in those days, were they not?"

There it was. "Yes ma'am, they were." Judy didn't add anything else to her monotone response, just waited for the next foot cover to drop.

"I thought as much. To answer your question, the high-born predators of that day enjoyed the challenge of participating in a hunt. You see, foxes did not hunt, foxes were hunted. For many generations, the smartest, strongest, most capable foxes were trained to run, hide and evade to make the hunt as glorious as possible. Once captured and slain, their tails were mounted on spears or pikes as trophies."

Judy's face turned a little green. "I think I'm going to be sick."

"Oh, do not fret over the fate of those low-borns, they died a worthy death entertaining their betters. On occasion, some particularly capable foxes would even survive the hunt through the time limit. For those that did, they were rewarded by being treated as champions, given the best accommodations and allowed to mate with the most desirable vixens."

Judy was afraid to say anything. She knew she shouldn't. The silence started to eat at her. Don't do it. She glanced to the side as Bechtail just sat there. She gripped the steering wheel tightly and ground out her reply. "I suppose that doesn't sound too bad for the foxes that won. I guess. How many foxes survived the hunts?"

"Interesting question." Bechtail looked up and thought for a moment. "I do recall stories of eight or nine foxes surviving their first hunt and even one surviving three hunts, but eventually they were all caught and dispatched in the way they deserved."

Judy really wanted to puke now, how could Bechtail sit there and talk about hunting and killing other mammals like it was nothing. She shook her head, horrible, just horrible.

Bechtail must have (finally) noticed Judy wasn't enjoying her history lesson because she spoke up and added. "If it makes you feel any better, foxes were considered too disgusting to eat, so their carcasses were always burned. Of course, their ashes could only be properly disposed of in a cesspool."

Judy, looking straight ahead over the steering wheel replied in a slow even tone. "No, that actually doesn't make me feel any better, not even a little bit."

"I see, how about we talk about something you might find more pleasant?"

"Yes ma'am, that would be nice."

"You said earlier you have a large family, why don't you tell me about your mate and kits."

Judy sank in her seat and wanted to groan again. What happened to something more pleasant?

"I don't have a large family, I come from a large family, I have almost 350 siblings."

"Ahh, so no mate? A boyfriend maybe? I just assumed a bunny your age would already be mated given your species' propensity for propagation."

Judy grimaced, just shoot me in the head, I might as well have invited my parents on this ride-along, they could be sitting in the back seat feeding Bechtail embarrassing questions about her lack of a love life. Gritting her teeth, she replied, "No mate, no boyfriend. Being the best cop possible has been my focus since I joined up."

"I see, how noble of you to sacrifice so much for the greater good. I was blessed to meet my mate a few years ago, he is quite understanding of my commitment to law enforcement."

Okay, a safe subject at last. "That sounds really nice, what's he like?"

Bechtail beamed, "Oh, yes, he is quite the handsome mastiff. He is a large mammal, with the softest light brown fur, dark brown eyes, and the floppiest ears. He is so sensitive and kind, wonderful with pups and he still calls his mother at least once a week."

Judy could see the starry-eyed look in Bechtail's face as she continued. "I never believed in love at first sight until that night. I can remember it like it was yesterday. I was supporting a drug raid that turned into a firefight when the Special Operations team arrived in their armored transport. I was instantly smitten when I saw my future mate breach the building with his team and take down half a dozen armed enforcers before the rest surrendered. We couldn't take our eyes off each other while handcuffing the survivors and by the time we finished the paperwork, he had asked me out on our first date. The rest is history."

With a genuine smile on her face, Judy said. "Wow, that sounds so romantic. Handsome guy sweeps a building clear of bad guys and woos the beautiful maiden. I like it."

"Thank you, he is very special to me." Bechtail paused and gave Judy a look she had grown to fear since her shift with Bechtail began. Judy braced herself.

"I am sure that there is a handsome hero out there just waiting to sweep you off your feet."

Well, that wasn't too bad.

"I did mean to ask…"

Oh, no.

"…as I mentioned before, I have not met a great number of your species, but I have noticed that you have a different look about you than what I expected. Other rabbits are rounder and fluffier whereas you are thinner, less fleshy, more tomboyish. Your fur coloring and pattern, from what I can tell, also seem… unique. Your fur is a bland two-tone gray and lighter gray, I was expecting multiple earth tones in a mottled pattern or a solid color, not the simplistic pattern of your fur and your black colored ear tips are extremely unusual. So, I was wondering, are your features considered desirable by rabbit bucks? Or does, whichever?"

Boom!

Judy froze, besides keeping the cruiser moving in a straight line, she could barely even breathe. Ever since she was nine, she had worked hard to become a cop, that included as much physical exercise and work as she could possibly undertake. Unfortunately, it also meant that she'd never developed the same attractive curves that her sisters had.

Then her thoughts were suddenly replaced with the sing-song of one of her brothers calling her Jude the Dude, a horrible nickname that her whole family started calling her when she was 12 years old. They thought it was clever, but every time they called her by that nickname, it made her feel homelier and more undesirable.

The hurt of years of hearing her family use that awful nickname was followed quickly by the memory of her asking a buck to the Freshman Fling high school dance. The buck laughed in her face and then proceeded to humiliate her in front of everyone at school. He loudly mocked her dream of becoming a cop and then grabbed her loose-fitting dress and yelled out to the crowd, "Look at this, she's so skinny she barely qualifies as female, she'll never be able to fill out a dress because all she wants to be is one of the boys." As she stood there crying, the buck finished by telling her that no guy in their right mind would ever want to date a crazy, pathetic doe like her.

Bechtail broke into Judy's thoughts as she motioned her paw from Judy's head down to her feet and said, "Do not fret dear, I am sure that some mammal finds… that attractive."

She just gestured to all of me.

"Oh my, look over there, a tea house. I would love a short respite, how about you call us out for a break and we enjoy a nice cup of Caravan tea."

It's as if she has no idea what she's saying and all the while, she spews a caustic verbal vomit that burns everything it touches. Judy vowed to herself that this horrible mammal wouldn't get to her, she would not cry in front of her, she was way tougher than that, well maybe not way tougher but tough enough. As she felt a tear starting to form, she decided that maybe a quick break would be a good choice, she'd work on being tough after that.

With a bit of a hitch in her voice, Judy replied, "Sure"

…

Nick was working the city central business district today. Driving the parking cart down the lines of parked cars marking the tires with chalk to catch the meter-feeders. A two-hour limit means a max of two hours in the same spot, move it or get a ticket.

As he marked tires, Nick made an occasional call. He needed to work a few more details and he wanted everything in place by this weekend. He wondered how Judy was getting along, she hadn't been her usual chipper self in the mornings. He really missed meeting up with her before work, and after work, and during work too. He shook his head to stop that train of thought, things would work out and then everything would be good again, better than good even.

The meters started chiming and Nick got down to work. About 30 tickets later his phone rang. Glancing at the number, he smiled. "Hey Cassy, how'd it go?"

Cassidy Longtooth, Cassy to her friends, was a reporter for the Zootopia Times Newspaper and Online Journal. She was a single groundhog in her mid-30's, a great writer and one of the rising stars amongst internet journalists. Nick had met her for the first time shortly after his mom had died. He'd been looking for help in investigating her death and the resulting expose Cassy wrote shone a bright spotlight on some pretty outrageous treatment of the cities under-class by some in the medical industry. Ever since then, Nick would give Cassy a tip whenever he saw something that might need a closer look. Between them, they had helped more than a few mammals, and it hadn't hurt Cassy's reputation as an investigative journalist either.

"I thought for sure that you were wasting my time by sending me on some sort of wild goose chase, but I was wrong. Hell, I may end up owing you for this one instead of the other way around."

"Gotcha, now spill, were you able to come up with anything?"

"Yeah, I'm on the train back now. I should be able to send you a review copy later. It probably won't be until after midnight though, it still needs some work and I want this on the net in the morning and ready for the print version tomorrow afternoon." Nick heard a sigh before Cassy continued. "Nick, I know you wanted me to investigate the treatment of the town's predators, and if there was any discrimination going on to come up with enough of a story to get the attention of the local town leadership, but there's a lot more going on in that town than what you thought. I'm assuming you've never been there because it's bad."

Nick frowned, she was right he had never been to Bunnyburrow. Instead, he'd taken a huge gamble on the tiny fact that Judy had told him that her dad had tried to load her up with an assortment of Fox Away products when she first moved to Zootopia. Now, he was wondering how bad it could be in a town full of fluffy, cute, bunnies hopping around.

"Okay, what's the real story then?"

Cassy steeled herself and started, "Alright, I started out by looking at the treatment of predators, but then I found out that what's going on there involves more than just the preds. Bunnyburrow is over 90% rabbit now and a century ago it was a lot closer to 100%. So, everything about the town, including the law is rabbit-centric which means if you're not a rabbit, it hasn't always been so easy to live there.

"Most of the rabbits are just hard working, go to Sunday church, move along, get along folk, but there are a few Orders or Sects that don't want to have anything to do with anyone who's not a rabbit and they definitely don't want to be around preds. So, up until around 30 years ago when the law was changed to include rights for all prey mammals, those that weren't rabbits were often discriminated against. You know, where they could eat, shop, redlining, that sort of thing.

"Once the law changed, a lot of those problems went away, legally, but as far as full acceptance into the community, they still have a little ways to go before the prey in Bunnyburrow are as integrated as they are in Zootopia."

Nick chimed in, "What about the predators?"

Cassy cleared her throat, "Yeah. Predators are still treated like crap. Aside from one predator who was able to open his own bakery and the predators that found work on a couple of farms, the best jobs predators can find are all either basic manual labor or the nasty jobs no one else is willing to do."

"Do you think the treatment of predators is bad enough for the Commonwealth to trigger an Article 18?" asked Nick.

Cassy chuckled, "No idea, that's your bailiwick. What I was able to do though, was get a few minutes with the Mayor and ask her about the treatment of predators. She told me that she's submitted three proposals to change different parts of the law including one to adopt all the same mammal rights laws that exist in Zootopia. To her credit, the Mayor was pretty forthcoming in letting me know that her proposals are being blocked or delayed in various committees and that she's frustrated with the town council."

Nick took a breath, "Alright, that's a lot to think about. What about the other part?"

Cassy snorted, "Interspecies relationships? Yeah, well, it's basically the same in Bunnyburrow as it is in Zootopia, it's against the law for an interspecies couple to become mates.

"In my mind, the biggest difference between Zootopia and Bunnyburrow with regards to interspecies couples is that in Zootopia, couples are apt to try and work around the law using living wills, power of attorney documents, trusts and other legal maneuvers to create partnerships or unions and no one is really trying to stop them anymore. In Bunnyburrow, the law is the law and I didn't hear of anyone trying to work around it. So, interspecies couples keep a low profile and if a rabbit is involved with someone who isn't a rabbit, they're keeping it very, very quiet."

With a sigh, Nick shook his head, "Well, none of that is exactly what I wanted to hear, but I suppose I shouldn't be surprised either. You said you're going to publish your story tomorrow morning, right?"

"Yeah, I've already cleared it with my editor, just a few more things to add and then I'm good to go."

Nick replied, "Sounds good."

Cassy spoke back up, "Hey, I almost forgot, my editor wants me to stay on top of this story, so whatever else you find out if it makes for good follow-up material, I want an exclusive on it."

"Sure thing, Cassy. Thanks again."

The line went dead and Nick put away his phone. As he turned to go look for an expired meter, he saw his and Judy's cruiser pass him on the street. He waved, but there was no response from the stone-faced bunny driving like she was headed to the gallows. The cruiser pulled in and parked up the street in front of a few small diners and a coffee kiosk. Nick decided a quick detour was called for to find out what was up with Judy.

As Nick approached the parked cruiser, he saw Judy sitting near the kiosk with a cup of half-caf sitting untouched on the bench next to her. Her head was drooped down against her chest, ears flat against her back, and her eyes closed tightly. With her paws gripping the edge of the bench, Nick could see her shoulders trembling as she tried to fight back the tears. No way a bunny could look more miserable than this one.

Nick quietly sat down next to Judy, she didn't move or acknowledge him at all. Nick wanted to say something but he was worried, he'd never seen Judy this down before. Instead, hidden by the bench's backrest and their bodies to either side, he gently placed his paw on top of hers. It rested there for a few seconds until he felt her fingers relax and move apart so they could interlace their digits.

Judy sniffed, "Nick, she's a monster."

"I heard you got saddled as a tour guide for a cop from the DMPD, a real piece of work, huh."

"She called me a rodent."

Nick knew there was more to it than that, but he also knew that Judy didn't need him to say anything right now. So, he just sat and occasionally rubbed the side of her paw with his thumb pad letting her know he was there for her.

As the minutes passed, Judy started to relax. Nick always had a way of soothing her mood when she was down, and the feel of his paw meshed with hers felt right on so many levels. Nothing had changed, they still couldn't be together, but Judy decided that for just a few more minutes she'd put 'not being together' on hold. Maybe like, fifteen more minutes, then totally back to being not together, no go-backs this time, ever again, for sure.

As her breathing leveled out, Nick felt like it was safe enough to find out what had happened to his bunny um, partner. Just as he was going to ask a question, the sun was blocked out by a large canine approaching the two small officers.

"There you are Officer Hopps, I was wondering where you had wandered off to."

Nick quickly removed his paw from Judy's before the larger canine could see anything and turned around to greet the stranger. Noticing the uniform as he rose, Nick stuck out his paw, "Hello, you must be Officer Bechtail from the DMPD, nice to meet you, my name is Nick Wilde. I'm Officer Hopps' regular partner."

Looking a bit indignant and making no effort to try and shake Nick's paw, Bechtail replied, "Senior Constable Bechtail, thank you."

Nick smiled and let his paw drop to his side, "Of course, my mistake." Recovering from his faux pas, he added, "Are you enjoying your stay in Zootopia and working with the ZPD?"

"Yes, yes, quite an interesting city. Officer Hopps has been an adequate partner so far today." As she spoke, Bechtail focused a little more on Nick and gave him a detailed examination. Nick was wearing the meter maid vest over his standard issue uniform and he had the small bowler hat firmly placed between his ears so it wouldn't slip. Bechtail's continued examination reminded Nick of going through a uniform inspection at the academy, so much so that he almost reached up to give his badge a quick shine.

Bechtail finally spoke, "You seem exceptionally fit for an animal of your species."

Hearing the compliment, Nick puffed up his chest and whispered to Judy, "Told you, I make this look good."

"Dork" was all he heard whispered back.

Bechtail continued, "In particular, I must compliment you on your tail, it is quite long and bushy and with very nice coloring. I was just telling Officer Hopps about the ancient hunts the Mordinia nobility hosted in which only the most capable mammals competed. I believe you might have been an excellent choice as a participant."

Nick seemed pleased, "See Carrots, back in the day, I would have been an elite predator."

Judy rolled her eyes, she knew exactly where this conversation was going.

"Yes, I imagine you would have done quite well, you might have even survived through a couple of hunts." Looking up as if she were reminiscing, she continued. "It would have been glorious, the pack chasing you down, you, exhausted and worn, dying the pitiful death of the low-born scavenger that you are and finally having your tail mounted on one of my pack member's war pikes. We are obviously mammals living in the wrong time, do you not agree?"

Nick's smile fell and his jaw dropped open.

"Told ya," Judy whispered again.

Bechtail came out of her reverie, "Now that I think about it, ever since the hunts were discontinued it has been difficult for your kind to find a useful purpose in Mordinia. It is nice to see that over here, the ZPD has been able to find a function that someone, such as yourself, can adequately perform. Albeit, I expect that exhaustive training in parking enforcement was required before your superiors would trust you to be able to work unsupervised."

"Well, um…", Nick looked at Judy and then back at Bechtail. He grabbed his phone and checked the time. "It's getting late and you know those meters won't maid themselves." Looking back at Judy he added, "I'll let you two ladies get back to your patrol. Carrots, I'll see you back at the station." With that, Nick zipped down the sidewalk to retrieve his parking cart.

"Fairly speedy that one, especially when he is running away. Maybe three hunts."

Judy shook her head as they walked over to the cruiser. Only half a shift left, she could make it.