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

…..

"Welcome to ZooDoo Doughnuts," said the teenage dhole clerk, yawning, "What can I get for you?"

"Oh boy," squealed Ben clapping his paws together, "Today's my cheat day, and I don't know if I should get my usual assortment or throw the calories to the wind and buy two boxes of all my favorites.

"Give me a minute, everything looks so good."

Ben loved his cheat day, or cheat days. Every Tuesday and Friday, like clockwork, Ben indulged his second favorite passion, well first lately, his position as Gazelle's number one fan had taken a backseat to him working on the ZPD's computer systems. Searching the net for Gazelle tidbits and keeping track of her entourage in case they spilled a secret or two was easy compared to tracking down whoever had hacked the ZPD's systems or undoing the series of alerts, traps, and bots they'd left behind. He'd tried to enlist the new IT team to help him with a few tasks, but all they ever wanted to do was escalate trouble tickets to who knows who, and Bogo wanted this investigation done quietly, very, very quietly.

Ben looked down as his tummy rumbled and saw something he hadn't seen in a long while, his toes. All this high-pressure work had been taking a toll on him, and now he may be losing weight. Smiling a bit until another thought struck him, 'What would Mom think?' Ben groaned, he was supposed to be at his mom's Sunday night for dinner, and if he didn't hurry and figure something out, he was going to have to cancel again, which would make her worry, and when she worried, she called Bogo and–

"Sure, take your time," replied the dhole looking around the empty store, well, except for a grouchy-looking fennec fox nursing a black coffee in the corner. "Fifteen percent discount for cops, twenty on two-dozen or more."

"I know, I know," said Ben wiggling his fingers, "you guys are so great."

The clerk yawned again.

"I'll take four each of the apple fritters, the Canyonlands Creams, um, the Tundra Tangos, and a half dozen each of the Carmel Camels and the Oh Chief, My Chiefs…

"Those last ones aren't for me, they're for my boss, Chief Bogo, you know, the actual Chief of Precinct One."

"Gotcha," said the clerk filling a box with the enormous, sugar laden treats.

"He likes the cereal coating."

"Uh-huh."

"Really, he–"

Clawhauser's phone rang, his special phone.

Not recognizing the number, Ben quietly said, "Hello?"

"Order me a half-dozen strawberry frosted Homies."

Clawhauser's fur puffed out as he whispered, "Who is this?"

"A fox friend of yours sent me. Meet me out front. I've got something for you. And if ya include an Old Dirty Hustler in my order, I'll tell yous who won the betting pool on when a certain couple marked each other."

Ben turned as he heard the door chime, just in time to see a fox tail slip through the door before it shut.

"That'll be forty-four fifty with your discount."

Turning back to the clerk, Ben pulled out his wallet and said, "I need six of the Homies and a Hustler too, please."

-/-/-

Judy pulled into the driveway of Nick's parents' house and shut off the engine.

"We're here, safe and sound," cooed Judy patting Sally on the dashboard. "I still can't believe the mean fox stuck you in an old, dusty garage and never told me about you."

Nick huffed as he put out his paw, "Keys."

"Nuh-uh, Sally totally loves me now. She and I understand each other in a way that only does can. Besides, I called dibs, so I get to drive to the rave tonight."

Nick rolled his eyes, "You called dibs yesterday."

"Bunny-dibs lasts for a couple of days. You can drive tomorrow.

"Carrots."

"Pleeeese, I promise. Cross my heart," said Judy making doe eyes.

Nick sighed, "Fine, holster the look and you can drive. But keep an eye on the keys, our pistols are still in the lockbox in the trunk along with my gaming bag, and I don't want to lose anything. Okay?"

"Yes," said Judy, fist-pumping as she hopped out of the car. "This is going to be so cool. Have you ever been to a rave before? You know, if we're going to fit in, you're going to have to actually dance tonight. None of that arm spinning, fake dancing thing you did at the Gazelle concert. We're gonna do the Melbourne Shuffle, maybe some House Stepping, and for sure, I want to see your Apple Picking Moves."

"Carrots," intoned Nick, "Did you Zoogle search rave dance moves?"

"Maybe," said Judy knocking on the front door. "It's called research. You should try doing some instead of playing games on your phone all the time."

"I'll have you know that foxes are natural born dancers. We don't have to research any moves, because we are the moves."

"Pffftt."

The door opened, followed by a happy shout, "Judy!"

Tonya pulled her older sister into a hug, "Torrie said you guys were working on a super-secret case and needed her help. She's brushing her tail, are you guys all going undercover together?"

"No, Tonya and I are going out tonight," replied Torrie coming out from the bathroom. "I figured if I can't go, you know, dancing, Tonya and I could grab something to eat and maybe hit a midnight movie."

"A movie? What movie?"

"Yeah," said Nick, "What's showing? 'Eraserhead?' 'Heavy Metal?' 'Night of the Living Dead?'"

"Nope. 'Rocky Horror.'"

"What's that?" asked Tonya.

"Sweet, are you good on props? There are probably some old newspapers in the garage, and I might know where some water pistols are if you need a couple."

"No, I'm good on those, but if you have some party hats and a pack of playing cards, that would save me a trip to the store."

"Done, I've got a supply for my hustles out in the garage, I'll grab you some of each."

"Party hats?" whispered Judy to Tonya.

Tonya, still confused, put out a paw and said, "Hi Nick, nice to meet you in the fur. I'm Tonya, we spoke on the phone. Thanks again for letting us stay here."

Putting out a paw, Nick replied, "My pleasure." And after shaking the doe's paw, he said, "I remember telling your mom I'd be the one getting the better side of the deal with you guys staying here. She didn't believe me, but I was right.

"I like the colors you picked for the walls. I remember my mom and dad wanting to take down all the wallpaper and paint, but they never got around to it."

Walking into the kitchen, Nick whistled, "New laminate flooring and, wow, you guys replaced the fixtures, put in a dishwasher, and," flipping a new switch and getting a grinding sound, "a disposal. Mom always wanted one of those."

"It was mostly Paul and Phillip that did the hard work," said Tonya.

"Hey, I picked out the paint colors and the curtains," groused Torrie.

"Yeah, Torrie picked out the colors. Of course, she was always too busy with her claws to help with the actual painting of anything," added Tonya, poking her littermate in the side.

"Hey, I helped pick out the carpeting for the downstairs, too."

"Nice. My mom always wanted that old green shag carpeting gone too. What'd you replace it with? Can I see?"

"Nick, we need to get ready, Toni will be here any minute."

Judy's phone alerted with the arrival of a text. Swiping open her phone, Judy read the message and slipped it back into her pocket.

"Toni's running late."

"Cool," said Tonya, "Come on Nick, I remember Phillip had a question about running another electrical circuit to the back bedroom."

-/-/-

"Do you think he's okay? He hasn't moved from his desk all day," asked Higgins.

"I don't know," replied McHorn, "I've never seen him like this. No gossip, no trying to get anyone to watch a Gazelle video, all he's been doing is typing away on his computer."

"Yeah, and I think those doughnut boxes are still full too. I don't see any crumbs or anything."

"That's not right. What should we do?"

"I've got an idea," replied Higgins as he motioned McHorn to follow.

"Hey Ben, how are you doing?"

No response.

Easing closer to the doughnut boxes, Higgins lifted the lids and, seeing they were both full, asked, "You haven't touched these. Is it okay if McHorn and I have one?"

Ben clicked a few boxes and typed something.

Slowly reaching toward one of the Carmel Camels, Clawhauser's favorite, he was within a hair's breadth of his target when he felt his hoof batted out of the way by McHorn.

Hitting the enter key on his computer, Ben stared intently at his screen.

Glaring at his boss, McHorn mouthed, "No! Take a Tundra Tango."

Higgins made a face and mouthed, "Yuck."

McHorn huffed and, grabbing an apple fritter, he held it to his open mouth and waited.

Text flowed across Ben's screen, followed by a speaker on his desk emitting a test tone. Ben quickly grabbed a ZPD walkie-talkie and, tuning it to one of the supposed-to-be secure tactical frequencies, heard the same test tone.

"Yes!"

"Uh, Clawhauser, what are you doing?"

Ben typed a command which shut off the tone.

"Clawhauser?"

Ben looked over at McHorn, still holding a doughnut to his mouth, and to Higgins, whose hoof was inches from one of his precious Carmel Camels, and said, "I need to go to the server room."

Screen locking his computer, Ben grabbed a pile of notes and a USB stick with the picture of a fox on it and, a moment later, was taking the stairs two at a time on the way to the basement.

Higgins stared after Clawhauser and, finally grabbing a doughnut, said, "That's not natural. We should probably call Doc Silbermann and have him checked out."

McHorn nodded, chewed, and swallowed before motioning toward the open box and saying, "Sure, but pass me one of those Tundra Tangos before you make the call."

-/-/-

Standing in front of Nick and Judy sitting on an oversized couch, Torrie crossed her arms and asked, "Alright, what have you guys got to wear for tonight?"

"I should be good. There are a few boxes of my dad's old clothes stored out in the garage. He always said he was a wild and crazy guy when he was single, so I'll pick out something of his to wear."

"Fine, but no chains."

"Chains?"

"Yeah, a couple of raves ago, there was this guy with a chain that ran through all his piercings, and he kept trying to lasso me like some kind of–"

"Ahem," said Judy.

"Alright, what about you?"

"I've got on what I'm wearing," said Judy standing. "A friend helped me pick out this outfit yesterday."

Torrie narrowed her eyes and said, "No."

"What?"

"I said 'No.' Brown corduroy trousers and a pink crop top t-shirt? I wouldn't be caught dead in an outfit like that. Who the heck help you with that? It's like something a Nun would pick to party in."

"I think she looks pretty," said Nick.

"Me, too," added Tonya.

"No, not going to happen. If you want pretty, go to a Gazelle concert. For a rave, we need 'hot,' especially if you're going undercover as me."

"Torrie…"

"Do you want to fit in, or do you want everyone to think you're a cop, because I'd never wear anything like that, and enough people know me, and what I wear, that you'll get busted in a hot second."

Judy turned to Nick, who just shrugged, and said, "Okay, I'll let you pick, but nothing too crazy."

"Yes," Torrie said, fist-pumping, "I am so totally going to fix it so every guy at the rave will want to hook up with you."

Torrie heard a low growl.

"What about you, Nick? Are you on wingmam duty, or will you be playing the field too?"

Torrie heard a slightly higher-pitched growl.

"Did you guys hear that? Was that the furnace?"

"Probably the plumbing, it's pretty old," coughed Nick.

Judy took a calming breath, "We are not going to involve any innocent kits in our investigation. Nick and I are going together."

"Oh. So, no prowling for hot males?"

Nick raised a brow.

"No, just Nick and me," said Judy, looking at her smirking fox, "working. So, you can dial the 'hot' meter back six or seven notches off of your normal eleven."

"Now Carrots, we are going undercover as college kits to a rave, and you're gonna have to fit in with this," said Nick motioning to himself, "while we're, uh, working. So, maybe you should listen to Torrie, you know, see if she has anything in the eight or nine range. Live a little. Show off what you've got. I mean, not all of what you've got, but some of it."

Judy glared at Nick.

Nick waggled his brows.

Judy sighed as she closed her eyes, and after a few moments, finally nodded.

"Yay," said Torrie clapping her paws. "This is going to be so much fun."

"I am so going to regret this," groaned Judy.

Nick snickered.

"Don't worry, sis," said Torrie putting her arm around Judy, "hot is my specialty." And waving a mom-finger at Nick, she added, "And enough of that from you, fox. Go pick out what you're wearing while I work on Jude, and be ready for the full Torrie hotness inspection. I don't want anyone to see me dancing with someone that looks like they're a noob."

Nick stood and–

"Wait," said Judy with a smile, "Tonya, you go with Nick to make sure he doesn't pick out any old Pawaiian shirts, make sure he grabs something party worthy. Okay?"

"Yes, ma'am," said Tonya straightening up and saluting, "one party ready fox, coming right up."

…..

Judy and Torrie, heads nodding in time with Nick's tail, watched him into the kitchen and out the back door.

"Nice tail," remarked Torrie.

"Uh-huh," Judy replied.

"And you're sure he's serious about his girlfriend?"

"Yes. Very."

"Maybe if I–"

"Torrie. Focus. You're supposed to be helping me with an outfit."

"Okay, okay," said Torrie as she gestured toward her bedroom. "Take off your clothes so I can see which outfit goes best with your fur."

Pulling her top off, Judy whined, "Are you sure about this?"

"Pants, too. And yes," replied Torrie opening her closet and pulling out a hanger holding a barely-there, multi-color, psychedelic glow in the dark, rave bra, and booty shorts combo.

"How about this? It's one of my favorites."

Judy, now in just her t-shirt bra and panties, took a step back from the outfit like it was a snake instead of a few strips of cloth. "What in the lettuce fields is that? Is it even clothing? I mean, seriously, that might as well be one of Amy's swimsuits as much as it covers."

"Yeah, so? It shows a little fur, that's kind of the point of going to a rave. You really need to learn to live a little."

"Maybe a little, but not that much."

Scanning Torrie's closet for something that wouldn't be confused with elephant-sized dental floss, Judy pointed to a pair of cutoffs on a hanger with a purple dragon scale patterned crop top, "How about that?"

"Nice choice, those shorts will really show off your tail."

Judy held up the hanger and, taking a closer look, choked, "There are rips in the backside of these shorts, a lot of rips. These shorts are going to show off a lot more than just my tail."

"I know, they're great, aren't they? Especially if you wear a red thong."

"No," said Judy, hanging the outfit back up and grabbing another.

"Oh, that's nice too. You'll be sure to attract some attention with that one."

Judy liked the neon leggings, but the pink blouse was missing something. "There aren't any buttons. How do you keep the top closed without any buttons?"

Torrie just smiled.

Judy groaned. "You better hope Mom never goes through your closet and finds out what you've been wearing, she'll ground you for life."

"Shhhhh!" whisper-shouted Torrie looking around to make sure no extra rabbit ears were listening in, "Mom isn't going to find out. What happens in school, stays in school, that's the deal. Right?"

Not wanting to be caught up in a sudden parental clothing intervention, Judy whisper-huffed, "What happens in school is supposed to be studying, that's our deal. Got it?"

"Classes haven't started yet."

"Have you checked your class syllabuses for any summer reading lists or early assignments?"

"No," Torrie whined.

"Best behavior, or I tell Mom."

"Whaaaa–" Torrie started to say until a sly smile crept across her muzzle.

"I'll tell Mom you have a boyfriend."

Judy rocked back from that but quickly recovered with a sure-fire, issue-ending response, "Nuh-uh, because I… I don't have a boyfriend."

"Do so."

"Do not."

"Yah-huh. I saw the ear bangle in your apartment when Paul and I dropped off your vegetables."

"Nuh– What?"

"Ear bangle. Green and purple on your desk in your apartment. So, who is he?"

"No, no… No one. I, um, won that at, uh, accidentally, it was a drawing, like a raffle at the Taste of Zootopia food thing. No boyfriend. You can't say that word to Mom or anything about an ear bangle, no kidding, she'd freak and never leave me alone."

Torrie watched as Judy fumbled through her litany of excuses and, smiling as her sister wound down, put out a paw, and said, "So we have a deal?"

Judy sighed in defeat as she shook Torrie's paw, "Fine."

Victorious, Torrie reached back into her closet and pulled out another outfit, and said, "And you wear this tonight."

Judy looked at what was on the hanger and groaned, "Seriously?"

"Yes. Seriously."

…..

Tonya pulled open the door to the detached garage and made her way in with Nick following. "We didn't throw anything away. And any stuff we found in the house, we boxed up and put in the corner over there," she said, pointing to a double stack of old and new boxes.

"Okay. I put all of my mom and dad's old clothes in the boxes over there," replied Nick pointing to the back wall, "and what was left of my dad's costumes in those two wardrobe boxes in the corner."

"Costumes?"

"Yeah, my dad was a tailor, but he liked community theater and used to help out as a costumer. It's how my mom and dad met."

Tonya smiled, "Your mom was an actress, that's so cool."

"No, she wasn't an actress. My mom was a bookkeeper. She liked the theater, but she said she couldn't act to save her life, so she worked in the back office."

Nick paused and grinned at nothing.

"What?" asked Tonya.

"She couldn't act, but boy could she sing. I remember when we did chores together around the house, it was like a mini concert. It made the chores easy listening to her.

Moving a box with the last of his Pawaiian shirt stash in it, Nick grabbed an old picture from the box under it and handed it to Tony. "My dad, on the other paw, was a dork's dork, at least according to my mom. That's him at my kindergarten graduation."

Tonya brushed the dust off the framed picture and smiled at the scene. Nick as a kit, and his dad, both dressed in sailor's uniforms, holding a toy sailboat made out of duct tape and cardboard.

"My mom took that just before we christened the ZSS Wilde and floated her in one of the school's play pools. The theme was 'Sailing off to first grade.'"

Tonya cooed, "That's so sweet, and your dad made your uniforms and everything."

"Yeah, he was amazing. Great with a needle and thread, but not such a great shipwright though. Duct tape doesn't last too long in the water."

Tonya put a paw on Nick's arm and said, "Judy told me your parents passed when you were a kit, I'm sorry."

"Thanks. And thank you for taking care of my mom and dad's house. It feels good knowing someone's living here again and enjoying the place. It sat empty for way too long.

"And speaking of enjoying oneself, how about we find you a costume for tonight's movie? I assume you're a virgin, and you'll need the complete package."

Tonya pulled her paw off Nick's arm like she'd touched a hot stove and scolded him, "What did you say to me? My sex life is none of your business, and there I thought you were such a nice guy too."

Waving his paws around frantically, Nick interrupted Tonya's tirade, "No, no, no, not that kind of virgin. I meant this'll be the first time you've seen 'Rocky Horror' in a theater with an audience and a live cast. Right?"

Tonya tapped her foot and huffed, "First time I've seen the movie ever. I don't know anything about it."

"You're going to love it, just stay right there and don't move. Okay."

More annoyed foot tapping was the only reply as Tonya watched Nick rummage around in one of the wardrobe boxes until…

"Ah-ha! I remember overhearing my parents talking about this outfit when I was a little kit, and…" pausing, he looked at what he was holding and cringed."

"What's wrong?" asked Tonya.

"Nothing," replied Nick as he held a low-cut maid's costume up against Tonya, "I just remembered that conversation happened right before I stayed the weekend over at my dad's friends, the Hunters."

Tapping foot stilled, Tonya looked down at the maid's outfit and said, "No."

"Sorry, I don't remember seeing any showgirl outfits, and you definitely don't want to dress up as Janet your first time going."

Tonya finally took the hanger from Nick's paw and said, "I'm going to regret this, aren't I?"

Handing Tonya a deck of cards and a couple of party hats, Nick smiled and said, "Don't worry, you're gonna have a great time."

"I guess. How about you? Is there something in that wardrobe that'll work for a rave?"

"A couple of things, I think. How about… this?" said Nick holding up a hanger with a pair of brown plaid slacks, a light blue paisley shirt, and an overlarge bronze medallion on a thick chain."

"Yeaaah, no, I don't think so. Plaid died a pretty horrible death a long time ago, and no one wants to see it come back to life.

"How about this instead?" asked Tonya, holding out a neon yellow zoot suit with a matching yellow fedora hat.

"No, this is a rave, not a gangster movie. I was thinking of this one."

Tonya looked over the shiny green and gold jumpsuit costume with huge bell sleeves and tiers of flares on the pants. "Uhhh, I've never been to a rave, but that screams disco to me, and unless you plan on leading a conga line or singing something from Baabba, I don't think so."

Sliding a few hangers of clothes out of the way, Tonya did a double-thumps up and chirped out, "This is it." And handing the perfect outfit to Nick said, "This'll look great on you."

Nick grimaced as he held up a hanger holding black faux-leather skinny jeans and a black mesh hoodie top. "No way am I wearing that, I mean, there's no shirt, and the hoodie's not practically see-through, it is see-through. And the pants, talk about leaving nothing to the imagination, I'll barely be able to fit my phone in that one pocket. You can't possibly be serious, nobody wears outfits like this anymore."

Tonya held up her skimpy maid outfit and raised a brow.

"Fine," huffed Nick, "but if I get arrested for an indecent fashion violation, I'm calling you to bail me out."

Tonya winked, and grabbing Nick by his tie, said, "No problem, as long as you're wearing that outfit, you can call me anytime you want."

…..

"Water or carrot juice?" came Torrie's voice from the kitchen.

"You know you're not helping with rabbit stereotyping by having a lot of carrot stuff in the fridge," yelled back Judy from the couch in the living room.

"We've got five different blends, apple, celery, orange, tomato, and orange-pineapple."

"Apple sounds good."

"Want any carrot chips?"

Judy groaned, imagining what Nick would say if he were within earshot.

"We have some of the sea salt and cinnamon ones you like."

Judy's tummy rumbled its answer, "Sure, thanks. Do you have any of Mom's roasted carrot dip?"

"Yup, Tonya made some yesterday."

Any additional carrot-themed dish discussion was rudely interrupted by the doorbell.

"Grab the door, please. It's probably your friend."

Pulling open the front door, Judy smiled big, "Toni!"

"Wow, Judy," Toni squealed, "you look great. Where's Nick? I bet he's totally loving you in that outfit."

Judy quickly hugged her friend and, with an ear flip toward the kitchen, whispered, "No boyfriend."

Toni whispered back, "Sorry," and broke the hug just as she saw a doe carrying a tray of snacks come into the living room.

"What was that about Nick loving something?" asked Torrie setting the tray down on a coffee table.

"Nothing," replied Judy, "I was just telling Toni that Nick's still in the bathroom getting ready, and he's worse about primping than Amy."

"Toni, this is my sister Torrie. She's the one that helped me pick out this outfit for tonight."

Putting out a paw, Toni said, "Nice to meet you, Torrie, and excellent job on Judy. If she had a boyfriend, which I know for a fact she doesn't, then I'm sure he'd be totally blown away when he finally saw her in such a sexy outfit.

"Except, that won't happen because, you know–"

"No boyfriend, yeah I know, I've been hearing that a lot lately," added Torrie as she turned to Judy with a smirk.

"Whoa. Carrots. Wow," said Nick, eyes nearly bugging out and tail wagging faster than a fan, "You're like… wow, hot doesn't hold a candle to you. I'm totally blown away."

Judy's ears went bright red and dropped down her back as Nick finally ran out of words and stood frozen as everyone else took in his reaction. Judy started to fold her arms over the skimpy outfit she was wearing, but as the silence dragged on, she changed her mind and decided to own her look.

Judy slowly turned around so Nick could get an eyeful of the two-piece, lavender, glitter and diamond sprinkled fairy set she was wearing. The top covered, barely, like a bikini top, except that the light fabric was joined together by a silver ring in front. The skirt, on the other paw, was made out of a light, barely-there material that wasn't quite mid-thigh in length and would have ended up staying on the hanger if Torrie hadn't sweetened their deal with a pair of black bikini panties.

Having finished her slow turn, Judy popped her hip and asked, "So, do you approve?"

Nick's jaw dropped open as he nodded and motioned for Judy to take another turn.

Full-on blushing now, Judy shook her head and motioned for Nick to take a spin, saying, "Your turn."

Nick bowed his head slightly and, with a grin on his muzzle, slowly turned and gave Judy a good look at her date for the evening.

"Fweet-Phwooo," came a horse whistle halfway through Nick's turn, followed by a cute shrug once Nick was face to face again with his bunny evaluator.

"Not too bad, Wilde. One might even say 'foxy.'"

Torrie, looking back and forth between her scantily clad sister and the hot-looking fox, whispered out the side of her mouth to Toni, "You're sure about the whole 'no boyfriend' thing. Right?"

Toni bit her lips closed and shrugged.

"Ta-da!" yelled Tonya coming out of a bedroom, arms wide, "What do you guys think? Do I look great, or do I look great?"

Everyone turned to see Tonya in a skimpy maid's outfit spin around once, take a bow, and almost fall out of the top of a costume sized for a slightly different shaped vixen.

Nick chuckled at Tonya holding her top and said, "Toni, why don't you start on Judy's makeup, I'll grab some of my dad's sewing stuff and see what I can do to fix Tonya's wardrobe malfunction."

…..

"How's she looking?" asked Nick.

"Pretty hot, if I do say so myself," replied Torrie.

"You're only saying that because I have to look like you since I'm using your fake ID," said Judy.

"Uh-huh. What's your point?"

"Speaking of hot, love the pink dress and white sweater," said Nick with a smirk.

Throwing an ear flip his way, Torrie replied, "Don't worry, it comes off pretty early in the show. Wanna come watch?"

"No can do, Judy and I are working an important case, and neither snow nor rain nor a dark theater with rowdy kits keeps the ZPD from the completion of their appointed rounds."

"I thought that was the post office."

"Yup, them too."

"Okay Nick, your turn," interrupted Judy as she moved over and patted the couch next to her. "Time for you to become a college kit."

"Sorry, duty calls," said Nick sitting and taking in the new look of his bunny.

Gently lifting an ear off her back, Nick inspected it and grimaced at the now gray-colored ear tip. Letting the ear drop back down, his grimace deepened as he reached out with a finger to trace the new black coloring around Judy's right eye. And finally, focusing in on Judy's stunning amethyst eyes, Nick whispered, "I've never heard of lavender as an eye color, but I'm glad it's close enough to yours that you don't have to wear contacts. There's only so much change this fox can handle."

Giving Nick an extra cute pouty look, Judy whispered back, "So, you don't like the makeup job?"

Nick smiled, "I like what's under the makeup, the real Judy Hopps doesn't need any help looking beautiful."

"Ahem," interrupted Toni trying to stick to the 'no boyfriend' theme, said, "Shall we?"

Having gathered herself from Nick's impromptu inspection, Judy put Torrie's ID away and, holding out a paw to Toni, said, "Let me have Nick's fake ID, and I'll hold it up so you can match the makeup to his new picture."

Toni fished out an envelope from her bag and handed it to Judy, saying, "I can't believe you guys had to go underground to get an ID made. That's just wrong on so many levels."

Judy tore open the envelope and shook out the ID, "Yeah, well, Chief Bogo said we were on our own for this, so that means–

"Sweet cheese and crackers, Finn put the wrong birthdate on this ID. He made you eighteen years old. That's not even drinking age. What in the heck was he thinking?"

Handing the ID to Nick, Judy called Finn on her cell phone and–

"Waz up, Cotton Tail, you need a car lifted now or maybe a wire planted? Don't you cops have whole departments in that big building of yours to handle these kinds of calls… So you can leave me the hell alone on a Friday night?"

Nick leaned toward Judy's phone and barked, "Shut it, Finn, you screwed up. You've got me as eighteen years old on the fake. That doesn't do me any good trying to get into the rave. The drinking age is twenty-one."

"Your bunny-girl told me she wanted us to 'young you up.' So, we did like she wanted and younged you up as much as you used to age yourself before you became a cop and forgot how to get your own damn ID instead of bugging your best friend who's trying to get busy with a hot skunk right now. So, if you don't like it, use some white-out or use your real ID and hope whoever's checking don't care how old you are."

"But…" started Judy.

"Ciao, Cottontail. And make sure you don't keep my boy out past curfew."

…..

Judy sighed, "Let me have your real ID. Maybe I can do something to fix it so it'll work."

Nick froze, "Uh, Carrots, you're not talking about trying to alter an official government document, are you? That's against the law. How about if I maybe pretend I forgot my ID, and you give the bouncer a dose of doe-eyes to get me through."

"Whoa," said Torrie, "Judy's giving guys doe-eyes, seriously?"

Judy groaned, "No, I'm not giving guys 'the look', just Nick." And then, holding her paw out and making a gimme motion, she said, "ID, now."

"But…"

"You might as well," said Torrie chiming in, "No way are they going to let you in without an ID. One hundred percent ID checks are what helps keep the rave organizers out of serious trouble with the cops if they ever get busted for trespassing."

Nick pulled out his wallet and passed his driver's license to Judy. And turning to Toni said, "The picture is from just before I went to the ZPA, so I probably don't need any makeup."

"No," said Judy focusing in on the ID's picture, "I still want you to try younging him up a little, maybe whoever's checking the IDs will focus on him and gloss over the birthdate on his license."

"Young him up?" asked Toni tying a bib around Nick's neck, "Everyone keeps saying that, but what exactly do you mean?"

Judy waved the paw holding Nick's license around as she said, "He needs to fit in as a college student, maybe a grad student, you know, twenty-five, twenty-six years old. So, redden any gray strands of fur and maybe use some black or brown makeup to darken up the fur of his muzzle, I heard fox kits are born with dark fur."

Toni looked at Judy for a few breaths, then to Nick, who shook his head slightly, then back to Judy, who made a 'move along' gesture with her paw.

Dipping her brush into the canister of black fur coloring, Toni held the instrument of new youth up and chewed her lip. Eyes glancing toward Judy, Toni slowly moved the brush toward Nick's muzzle, and… gave his right cheek a light brush of color.

Looking back at Judy, who motioned for her to keep going, Toni tilted Nick's head to the right, lightly swiped his left cheek, and…

"All done, twenty-six, just the way you wanted," said Toni as she dropped the brush into her makeup kit and zipped it closed. "Anything else?

"Nope. Well then–"

"Wait," said Judy, waving Nick's ID at Toni, "You didn't do anything. He looks the same as in this picture, and that's too old."

"Twenty-six," said Torrie leaning over Toni's shoulder.

"Huh?"

"Twenty-six," said Torrie nodding toward the ID in Judy's paw, "Do the math on his birthday, he's barely a year older than you are."

"What? That's not possible, I have a copy of one of your old IDs, and it clearly shows that you're…"

Judy stared at the ID in her paw and chewed her lip as the math gears in her head engaged.

"…twenty-six.

"But the birthday on the ID I saw makes you thirty-three. This doesn't make any sense, what's going on?"

Nick plucked his license out of Judy's paw, slipped it into his pocket, and then with a huff, said, "What makes sense is that to join the ZPD, I had to show both my birth certificate and my brand-new, legally acquired driver's license to Mammal Resources as part of the application process. So, how about you tell me about this supposed ID of mine you saw."

Toni stood and, pulling Torrie and Tonya toward the kitchen, said, "I need help cooking something."

"Cooking? Now?" whined Torrie, "But…"

"It's a fox thing, come on."

Once the door to the kitchen was sufficiently closed, Judy turned back to Nick and said, "Uhm, yeah, I saw a copy of an old ID of yours. A while back."

"Uh-huh," Nick replied, folding his arms across his chest, "And where exactly, pray tell, did you get a copy of my ID?"

Judy mumbled something as she examined the big toe on her right foot.

"I didn't quite catch that."

"Sorry."

"Uh-huh."

Judy sighed and then, hugging herself, said, "It was part of what I used to hustle you into helping me find Emmitt Otterton."

"The fake tax form?"

Judy cringed, "Yeah, I was kind of hoping you wouldn't figure that part out. Ever."

"Well, I did. So, spill."

"I, uh, used the information from your ID and all the stuff you said to fill out the tax form, and I, uh, copied the signature off the ID onto the tax form. Sort of."

"Sort of?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry," and making big eyes at Nick, added, "I was desperate, I needed to find Emmitt, and you were the only one that could help me."

"You can holster the look until you tell me how it is you had a copy of my old ID."

Judy groaned and, flipping her ears over her eyes, said, "Okay, okay. I wasn't in the system yet, so I couldn't look up any information on you unless…" Judy went silent as she bit her lip.

"Unless, what?"

"Clawhauser told me that Bob, uh, Sergeant Oliphaunt, was on paid migration. So, I waited until no one was looking and snuck into his office to try and use his computer to look you up."

"I thought you weren't in the system."

Cringing again, Judy said, "I wasn't. I went through his desk and files to see if he'd written his password down."

"You hacked his computer?"

"No, I just wanted to log in and do a search on you. But it didn't matter anyway, I couldn't find his password."

"Okay…"

Judy looked down at her foot again.

"Carrots."

"You promise you won't be mad at me?"

Nick huffed but nodded his head, "I promise."

"When I was searching through Sergeant Oliphaunt's files for his password, I found a file on you. He had a photocopy of your ID and some notes on a mugging you broke up.

"So, I copied the pages I needed, and that's what I used to hustle you with."

"Isn't it illegal for the ZPD to keep files on people who haven't been charged with anything, you know, profiling?"

"Yeah, I was going to tell him to destroy the file, but he retired right after you started at the ZPA and he sort of gave me all his files, including the one on you."

"Sort of?"

Judy nodded, "Yeah, he felt bad for you." Putting a paw on Nick's leg, Judy looked him in the eye and said, "He was the one that found your dad after that drunk driver hit him."

"Oh."

"I think he was trying to keep an eye out on you. He said he lost his dad when he was a kit too. I heard that he talked to Bogo about your ZPA application and submitted a personal recommendation directly to the Commandant."

Nick put his paw on Judy's and rubbed her thumb with his for a few moments.

Three hundred nervous rabbit heartbeats later, or about a minute in fox-time, Nick said, "Thanks, I didn't know."

"So, uh," Judy took a deep breath and asked, "You don't hate me for profiling you, do you?"

Nick kissed the back of Judy's paw and said, "Of course not, I could never hate you for running a good hustle. I might need a backrub later to keep my muzzle shut about your minor lapses in procedure, but hate, never."

Judy tried not to smile as she nudged Nick with her shoulder and replied, "Deal, thanks."

Nick smiled at his bunny, but then his head cocked sideways, "So where did Oliphaunt get his file on me? You said there were notes about a mugging I broke up, right?"

"Uh-huh, his notes said you wouldn't give him your name, but you did ID the mugger and tell Officer Oliphaunt where he could be found."

"What kind of elephant was Oliphaunt?"

"African Savanna."

Nick hummed, "Bigger than Francine, with tusks that curved out, tan-ish hide, and married?"

"Yeah, that's him. His screensaver had all sorts of pictures of him and his family."

Nick nodded.

"I remember now. It was a few months before my fifteenth birthday, and my mom had just been diagnosed. She begged me to go straight, so I talked my way into a job as a bike courier and I'd just finished my first delivery when I saw some old lady getting mugged. I ran over and chased the guy off, and as soon as he was gone, Oliphaunt showed up and tried to arrest me.

"The old lady told him off, told him I rescued her, and that he should be going after the weasel that had tried to mug her.

"I remember telling Oliphaunt where he could find 'Snake.' The guy was a total sleaze bucket, always going after old mammals and kits.

"But, how did he get a copy of my ID? His notes were right, I didn't tell him my name or anything."

"Did you accidentally lose your ID at the scene?"

Nick shrugged, "No, but if we're talking the same event, then you have a copy of the fake ID I used to get that job. You had to be at least eighteen to be a courier, so I added on seven years and made myself twenty-one. You know, go big or go home, a lot of times people will question little lies, but they let the big ones go because they're too crazy not to be true. I think I've still got that old ID in a box out in the garage somewhere."

"Ooh, can I see it? The copy was a little fuzzy."

"And have you arrest me? No thanks."

"I thought the picture of you was kind of cute."

Nick groaned, "I used fake whiskers to make myself look older. I looked dorky, and every bouncer I tried to con laughed and…

"Wait a second," Nick slapped his forehead, "that delivery I made, the guard who signed for the package made a copy of my ID. He said it was something he had to do for all the new couriers.

"Oliphant must have seen my bike and figured out I was a courier and gotten a picture of my ID from that guard. And you–"

Nick laughed.

"What's so funny?'

"You saw an illegal file of a fake ID while trying to hack a superior officer's computer, used those files to forge a Commonwealth tax form, and then tried to blackmail me on a bogus tax evasion charge. Do you know how many laws you broke trying to hustle me?"

Judy smirked, "Maybe a couple, but I was right about you not paying any taxes, Mr. two hundred dollars a day, three hundred sixty-five days a year since you were twelve. Otherwise, you wouldn't have agreed to help me. Right?"

Smirking himself now, Nick said, "Not exactly. All my taxes are paid through the businesses that Finn and I have. LLCs wrapped in trusts and other entities all fronted by that law firm I told you about, so no one can trace anything back to me. And part of being untraceable is paying your taxes and having the right permit paperwork so no one cares enough to try and figure anything out.

"I went along with your hustle because," raising a finger, "one, I wanted to find out how a meter maid had so much of my personal information. Two, I was impressed because not many mammals had ever tried hustling me before. And three…"

Nick dropped his smile and looked into his bunny's eyes as he said, "You were the first cop I'd met that seemed to care about small predators, and I wanted to know if that was for real or if you were like everyone else and just running some hick's version of a hustle."

"But, I–" started Judy.

Nick silenced Judy with a finger to her lips and whispered, "I know, which eventually led me to number four, falling for that bunny cop.

"Thanks for proving me wrong."

"Thanks for understanding," said Judy leaning into Nick.

Nick and Judy held each other's paws quietly for a few minutes until Nick finally broke the silence.

"So, you're okay with the whole age thing? I mean, I am still technically a lot older than you if you consider my age is counted in fox years which are way more mature than bunny years."

Judy rolled her eyes.

"Did you just roll your eyes at me, young lady?"

"Why didn't you tell me? Why'd you keep letting me think you were older than you actually were?"

Nick sighed, "Because you believed it, and you kept telling everyone else. I hoped that if the guys at the station thought I was older, it would give me a little more street cred and… you know, maybe they wouldn't rag on me as much."

Judy squeezed Nick's paw, and with a growing doe-eyed look she–

"Besides, with me being as perfect as I am, I figured being old and infirm would give you something to tease me about. Unfortunately, now that you know the truth, you're stuck with just the perfection part."

–poked him.

"Ow."

"Just for that, Mister Perfect owes me an hour-long foot rub tonight before bed."

"Yes, ma'am. Yes, he does."

-/-/-

White stepped into the lab, papers in hoof, and walked up behind his target who was immersed in the charts and graphs in front of him.

"Yes," Orange asked without turning around.

"The male's numbers look good. Where are the female's?" asked White, waving his papers at Orange's screen.

"Is that the female's chart?"

"Yes," replied Orange.

"The response level looks less than optimal," said White. "And they're fluctuating around what you reported yesterday. What's going on?"

"Not entirely unanticipated. Brown had me adjust the botanicals to augment an increase in the prohormone, and now I'm testing the beasts' responses to different stressors and environmental conditions. Temperature, light, nutrition, and hydration have all been adjusted and removed as issues of concern."

"Isolation?" asked White, pointing at two different data points on the graph. "The animals were separated for cleaning here and here."

"I asked Brown about that yesterday, and he said it was coincidental. He was firm that if it had been a stressor we needed to test for, both animals would have shown a fluctuation, not just the female.

"He also pointed out, quite loudly, that the fluctuations are within the tolerances he set out."

White nodded, "Yeah, he called me this morning before he headed out of town for his annual herd retreat and told me that we're either ready to go by the time he's back on Monday, or he'll throw us in with the preds as a final test and find mammals that know how to do our jobs better than we do.

"He's not in the mood for any more delays," said White setting the papers he was holding down on Orange's desk. "Within tolerance is all we need.

"Finish up your testing on these two asap. Test the higher dosage on the male pred you get tonight, and if it's still alive in the morning, we put them all down for autopsies and call it good.

"Got it?"

"But…" started Orange.

"No buts, no excuses, and no one leaves. We're on full lockdown until the formula is ready for production.

"I'll be in my office. Call me the second you've got anything."

Orange nodded to the receding ram and, turning back to his graphs and plots, wondered if there were still cots set up in the basement because he was going to need one.

-/-/-

"Sir, *pant*, sir, *wheeze pant* I think I've got it," yelled Clawhauser pushing open his boss' office door. "Sir, it was in the communication device tables. *cough* I created a honeypot and trapped him in a maze of VMs until I could–"

"Clawhauser!"

*cough pant*

"Yes, sir?"

"Sit down before you fall down."

Groaning, Clawhauser pulled his jiggling bulk into the sturdiest of the two chairs sitting in front of Bogo's desk and started panting again.

Pulling a water bottle out of his desk drawer, Bogo stepped around and handed it to Clawhauser. "Take a drink."

Nodding, Clawhauser handed the box he was carrying to Bogo and took a deep drink of the water.

Opening the box, Bogo grunted his appreciation as he set his likely dinner on his desk before taking a seat in the chair next to Clawhauser.

"Now, tell me what's going on?"

"Sir, the network routers, he hacked an old account and–"

"In English, Clawhauser, I don't speak internet, and I can't understand a word you're saying.

"As a matter of fact, how in the hell did you learn all this computer stuff anyway?"

"Uhh, well…" Clawhauser started coughing. Taking another gulp of water, he leaned in close to his boss and whispered, "It's how I find out about Gazelle's upcoming releases and her concert schedules before anyone else."

"You hacked Gazelle?"

"Of course not, I just, you know, I'm good at keeping my eyes and ears open on the internet. Did you know she and Davis Buckham secretly traveled to Catcun together? I think they might be getting mated. I've got a program watching all the churches and mating venues to see if any of them suddenly get booked up."

"Really, Davis Buckham, the soccer player? I would have thought he was just a fling, and she'd settle down with– Aarrgh, Clawhauser, now you've got me doing it. What did you figure out about the computers?"

"It wasn't all me. A friend of Judy's was investigating all her accounts and credit cards because she'd been hacked–"

"Yes, Hopps told me what happened, and I assumed Wilde would sic a fox from the Community on finding out what happened."

"Yes, sir, he wouldn't tell me his name, but he figured out that whoever was after Judy is the same hacker that's been in the ZPD's systems."

Bogo nodded, "So, Hopps is the target. First her finances, then they used hacked ZPD information to set up a hit on her."

"That's the hinky part, sir. Whoever this hacker is, they've been in the system for a couple of years, pulling data on different cases and officers, even some of the evidence records. I didn't see anything involving Judy until after she was back on duty after being shot by that gang-banger. You remember, the wolf high on PCP?"

After Bogo nodded, Clawhauser continued, "Well, right after that, the hacker used a worm on Judy's work account so he could monitor her arrest logs, investigation notes, and especially her achievement records. Then about five weeks ago, about the same time she and Nick tranqed that caracal girl, the hacker seemed to forget about Judy and instead, started seeding our systems with Trojan horses, back doors, bots, and time bombs."

"What about my private files? Councilor Woolerby knew more about them than anyone could or should?"

"That's another hinky thing–"

"Clawhauser?!"

"Sorry, I meant strange. This guy had been into everything for a couple of years without anyone knowing, he was amazingly subtle and hid everything he was doing incredibly well."

"So, he's a good hacker."

"Yeah, really good and really careful. Then all of a sudden, he brute-forced his way into your files and Judy's bank accounts."

Bogo took a breath and–

"Sorry, it was like he rushed it. Like it was a last-minute, high-priority thing that someone special was pressuring him into.

"I'd think it was two different hackers if I hadn't seen the same fingerprints on both attacks."

Bogo stood and, pulling his keys out, rubbed Chris' ring as he thought.

"I told Hopps in the Tundratown safehouse that I didn't think Woolerby was behind this, she's a speciest bigot, but drugs and assassins aren't her style. Even when she was in private practice, she wouldn't defend drug dealers or violent offenders. I remember her using that as part of her law and order campaign."

"Mmmglm ma…" replied Clawhauser, his muzzle covered in frosting and his lap covered in cereal crumbs.

Bogo shook his head spying the open doughnut box and Clawhauser licking his fingers.

"Sorry, sir. I haven't eaten anything all day. Maybe the hacker is a freelancer, and Councilor Woolerby was a last-minute contract."

Bogo watched as another doughnut disappeared before he distractedly closed the lid while there was still something left for him, "A hacker focused on the ZPD, multiple customers, and a special interest in Hopps' career.

"What else did this fox say when you talked with him?"

Clawhauser shrugged, "He was focused on fixing her accounts, so once the trail led into the ZPD systems, he made a copy of everything he found and the programs he'd been using and gave it all to me on a USB stick. He did say he thought the original hacks came from somewhere in City Central, but the source of the hacks changed about the time he started monitoring Judy. Since then, he's been untraceable, bouncing his signal all over the world."

"What about our systems? When can we use our radios and phones without everyone and their grandmother knowing what we're doing?"

"A couple of hours, sir. Judy's friend gave me a program I'm using to clean our communication systems and set up a firewall to keep the hacker out. Once it's done running, I'll reboot the servers, reconfigure a few routers, and then use a data probe to trap the hacker in a VR VM.

"The hacker will be out of our systems and won't even know it. Great, huh?"

Bogo shook the blank look off his muzzle and said, "Yes, it's great, whatever all that was you just said. Especially the two hours part. And Clawhauser, when you're done EM-ing your RRs, I want you to make a copy of that USB stick. I know someone who might be able to use it to help track down our hacker friend once you've cleaned our systems.

"Now, do you have anything else that doesn't involve any computer linguistic alphabet soup?"

"Yes, sir. I'm supposed to tell you that Nick thinks the two mammals with the white van who've been kitnapping predators may be a ram and a goat. And that he and Judy have a lead on them, and they're going undercover to an underground dance party tonight to see if they can find them and maybe trace them back to where they've been taking all the missing mammals.

"Nick wants me to stay close to the Gazelle hotline tonight."

Bogo spun Chris' ring on his keyring again for a few moments before saying, "Wilde must think they're onto something. What's the hacker's activity been looking like the last couple of days?"

Clawhauser paused from putting the final bite of a doughnut in his mouth and said, "Well, not much except the change he made to the JamCam system a few hours ago. He activated something that I think is monitoring the traffic cams and the Metro station cameras for something, but I don't know what."

"I think I might know," grunted Bogo. "Something important, something they don't want the ZPD stumbling across."

Doughnut bite forgotten, Ben gasped, "Oh no, what about Judy and Nick?"

Slipping his keys back in his pocket and pulling out his secure phone, Bogo pointed at Clawhauser and said, "I'll call in Pawson. You tell McHorn and Higgins that I want them in my office now. No ZPD phones or intercoms, keep it quiet."

"Yes, sir."

"And Ben, hurry up on cleaning that hacker out of our systems, Hopps and Wilde may need it."

-/-/-

Standing on the porch as Nick and Judy drove away, Toni chuckled and asked, "So, do you think their first stop will be at a gas station where they can change out of those outfits you guys picked out for them?"

"They better not," groused Tonya. "Not after all the bobby pins Nick had to use on the top of this costume, I'll probably end up having to sleep in it depending on when we get back."

"Don't worry, they're wearing them for sure. All night long," said Torrie.

Toni shrugged, "I don't know…"

"Well, I do," said Torrie smirking now. "While you guys were all in the kitchen gabbing, I might have 'borrowed' Nick's car keys from Judy and snuck out and grabbed all their old clothes, including the spare jeans and gingham top in Judy's backpack and the three ugly Pawaiian shirts I found hidden in the trunk."

Tonya laughed.

"You didn't," added Toni in between giggles.

"I absolutely did," said Torrie, "If there's one doe in our family who's sorely in need of a good time, it's Judy. And if that outfit doesn't catch the eye of a Mister Good Time as soon as she walks into the rave, I don't know what will."

Nodding her head, Toni said, "Yeah, I'm pretty sure there's already one Mister Good–" and, coughing as she realized what she was about to say, said instead, "Uhhh, do you guys need a ride to your movie? Finn's letting me keep his delivery van overnight."

"No thanks," replied Torrie checking her watch, "we're good. A friend of mine from school is going as Brad, and we always drive together. He should be here in a few minutes."

"Brad? Who's that? And when were you going to tell me we're going with some boyfriend of yours?" asked Tonya.

"His name is Raul, and he's not my boyfriend. We just cosplay together and like a lot of the same movies. Besides, he's an El Lobo wolf a little bigger than Nick, and I'm a small bunny. I don't think bunnies and canids exactly fit together well enough to be boyfriend-girlfriend, if you know what I mean."

Toni chuckled as she waved goodbye, and, a few feet down the walk, she whispered to herself, "If only you knew exactly how well bunnies and canids actually do fit together."

"Goodnight Toni," called out Tonya. And closing the door, turned to her littermate and asked, "Did you catch what she said?"

Torrie nodded slowly, "Maybe. What color eyes does Nick have?"

"Green. Why?" asked Tonya.

"And Judy's eyes are purple," said Torrie, fist-pumping.

"Yeah, so?"

"No reason," replied Torrie with a grin as she went to grab her stuff. Raul would be here soon.