Judy was tense. Nick knew she was tense. He could tell from her scent alone, but the ruffled fur was a dead giveaway. She had been that way since yesterday, from the moment that text came through their phones. It wasn't hard to imagine why. His partner had always taken her work very seriously, her career was everything to her. And why wouldn't it be? She'd worked damn hard for it. So, the idea that something had changed — something to warrant the chief summoning her on her time off — was concerning. It was either something very good or very bad, and they had no way of discerning which one it was.

Her little toes tapped impatiently against the elevator floor, waiting for the doors to open. She was in motion the moment they did, slipping through the crack in the door and starting down the hallway. He followed her, falling into pace beside her as they approached the office. The hallways were quiet. That was the first thing he noticed, following her down the corridor. It was strange, considering the chaos it had been mere days ago. There was something in the air this day, something unusual. Something foreign. As though there was something out of place that he couldn't quite identify.

Judy knocked on the door, trying to keep her breathing steady. She was definitely nervous. It could fool others perhaps. It couldn't fool him.

"Enter," came the gruff familiar rumble of the cape buffalo.

When they entered the office, Judy closed the door quietly behind her with a click before following her partner to the chair across from the desk. As with most things in his workspace, it was much too large for her, and the two ended up sharing it side by side. The chief was wearing a particularly troubled expression as he thumbed through his documents. That was never a good sign. Nick could feel Judy's tension returning.

"You wanted to speak with us?" she asked.

A chuff was his only response, his eyes fixated on the papers in his hooves. Another nine seconds passed before he grumbled, plucking his reading glasses from his snout. "I did."

"What about, sir?"

"Your case."

Judy felt her heart leap into her throat, her worst fears coming to life. Was he upset with the progress — or really, lack thereof — they had made? She shouldn't have been surprised; they had barely made any headway in weeks. The only lead they had found had been the connection between their case and Wolford's. And now that she thought about it, she wondered. They were supposed to have informed the chief, weren't they? Had they forgotten? Or maybe they had spoken with him… and now he wanted to take them off of the case.

As the possibilities began to spiral, the rabbit flipped immediately into damage control mode. "Sir, I assure you; Nick and I are doing everything in our power to find those missing mammals. We've got a pretty good lead on this most recent incident, and I really think —"

The chief lifted a hoof, silencing her mid-sentence. "That will no longer be necessary."

"Wh-What?" Nick looked to his side, ears flattening at the slight crack in her voice. It had clearly gone unnoticed by their superior officer, but spending over three years at her side made him exceptionally receptive to these sorts of things. "But sir, we —"

"It is not up for negotiation, Hopps," Bogo insisted.

Judy's ears sagged. Her little fists clenched tightly in her lap. Nick decided to try his hand, putting on his most convincing grin. "Chief, just hold on a moment. If this is about our progress on the case, we've actually been meaning to talk to you about that. We have a lead."

"That's right!" Judy added, catching onto his meaning. "Listen, we've found a pattern, a connection between the missing mammals and the homicides. We want to request combining our efforts for the case. This might be the lead we've been looking for."

"Just give us a little more time, Chief. I've got a good feeling about this one," Nick continued. "If we team up with Jackson and Wolford, I think it will give all of us the edge we need to finally crack this thing."

"It most certainly will."

Nick and Judy both nearly leapt out of their fur when a fourth voice entered the conversation. Whipping their heads to the side, they were faced with a lagomorph, sitting calmly in a seat on the other side of the room. Like their own, it was much too large for him, yet somehow, he seemed to fill it out so naturally it was barely noticeable. His voice was soothing, not too high yet not too low, and every syllable oozed a sense of calm. It matched his appearance as well, a pair of black jeans and a white shirt, complete with a solid black tie. Casual enough not to stand out but just enough to tip over the line into professional. It was fascinating. And unsettling.

The fox was the first to recover, feeling the slightest bit of irritation at the sight of him. It quickly shifted to confusion, lifting a curious brow at the other mammal. "Um… how long has he been here?" he whispered to his partner, who only shrugged in response.

Startling him, the other animal answered for her. "I have been here the entire time. You simply failed to notice." The irritation returned immediately. Rabbits had insanely acute hearing, he shouldn't have been surprised he heard him. Didn't make it any less annoying. Seeing the growing tension between them, Judy spoke up.

"Apologies. I didn't even realize anyone else was here. I'm Officer Judy Hopps, this is my partner, Officer Wilde."

"I know who you are," he stated simply. There was no malice in his tone. Just fact.

"Right. Then, who might you be, Officer…?"

"Agent," he corrected.

"Agent?" Her eyebrows lifted, threatening to disappear into the top of her head. As the first bunny cop, it didn't surprise her too much to see another lagomorph on the force. It was possible he had transferred in from another city even, as she had never seen him around prior to today. But for him to be an agent implied something else entirely. That he was not a police mammal, but rather a form of operative. The fact that he appeared older than her made her wonder if he had been on the force even longer than she had. But what would someone like that even be doing in the precinct?

"Correct," he replied. It was the only thing he offered. That was something she quickly noticed about this visitor. He didn't say any more than necessary. He was an enigma. And apparently, he was also a mind reader since he turned to Bogo not even a moment later and addressed her following question. "And I believe Devlin will be able to answer any inquiries you may have regarding my presence here and its relation to your case."

"Our case?" Nick couldn't stop his eyes from narrowing. This entire situation was setting him on edge. Just who was this animal, strutting around like he owned the place?

"Indeed."

Nope. He didn't like this guy already. He didn't like his attitude, he didn't like his style, and he didn't like the fact that he was probably the coolest rabbit he had ever seen — not that he had a lot to go on. The fact that he apparently ranked high enough to be on a first-name basis with the chief was yet another matter entirely. Everything about this animal agitated him. It stirred that other, darker, part of him. The one that reminded him of his worries. That he was wrong. That perhaps that nice buck wasn't as far off as he had imagined.

Beside him, his partner's entire body tensed as her heart filled with dread. While she was certainly fascinated by the new arrival, it wasn't enough to override her concern. She turned back to the chief. "Is he… going to be taking over the case?"

"Yes," Bogo answered. He watched her ears immediately flatten behind her back. Then, continued. "And no."

"Huh?"

"He will not be replacing either of you on this matter. On the contrary. He will be assisting you in this endeavor. More or less."

"Assisting…?" Judy was now hopelessly confused. What in Serendipity's green plains was going on?

Her partner wasn't fairing much better. His mind was filled with questions. Who was this rabbit? What was he doing in the ZPD? And why, now of all times, was he being summoned to help them on the case? They had been working as a pair for weeks until now, so what had changed? As his eyes drifted between the chief and this strange mammal, he began to wonder. Was this because of his injury? Was this agent being brought in as his… replacement? The thought sat about as well with him as a hornet's nest in his tail.

"Correct," Bogo continued. "It has been brought to our attention that the savage mammals, the homicides, and the disappearances… are all connected." He emphasized the word in a way that made his stomach churn. Like he knew something the rest of them didn't. "And we have reason to believe that contraband may be the source."

"Contraband?!" The officers chorused, both bearing equal surprise at the revelation. Judy was the first to recover once more, her ears shooting straight up toward the ceiling. "Wait, you're saying… you think this is drug-related?"

"Yes. And with this now falling into the distribution of illegal substances… this is no longer in our jurisdiction. If Class A materials are involved, this is now a ZBI matter. As such, our officers are not authorized to continue the investigation."

"But sir —"

Bogo lifted his hoof to silence her. "However,… it cannot be understated that you two are among our finest. And the fact that your cases are all connected raises questions. Too many to leave unanswered."

Nick's eyes widened. "So, you are taking us off of the case."

"I am not taking you off of the case," Bogo replied, "I am shutting it down entirely. We cannot have our officers getting involved in ZBI matters. Therefore, I am closing the investigation. And in light of your… injury… I am placing both of you on extended leave. Do with that time what you will."

Judy's eyes rounded into amethyst spheres. That clever cape buffalo.

It made perfect sense. With their investigation now falling into contraband territory, the department couldn't risk messing around in the ZBI's territory. By extension, their officers couldn't either. But if both of them were placed on indefinite leave, they were no longer officers of the ZPD, at least not in technicality. Until further notice, that made them free agents, no pun intended, and free to operate more or less as they saw fit within the realm of the law.

So, if they were to use that time as freelancers to 'help out' with a separate investigation unrelated to their own under the operation of an entirely separate entity, they wouldn't be interfering with anything. And if they just so happened to take all they had learned from the previous case with them, so long as everything remained unofficial, it couldn't hurt to utilize it in completing that task. Of course, Nick didn't like the idea of now being under the command of this new animal. But if it meant they could put a stop to the crime wave, he was willing to tolerate it. For now.

Bogo cleared his throat, gesturing to the two of them. "Your badge, Hopps. You too, Wilde."

While the two removed their ZPD property, the other animal slid from his chair and landed on the floor with a quiet thump. "If there is nothing further, then I have other matters to which I must attend."

"W-Wait," Judy stopped him.

He paused midstride, turning to face her. It seemed he had once again predicted her question, answering her before she could ask. "Moving forward, you will be operating under my authority as private investigators. I imagine you will be at your partner's residence, so transportation will be sent for both of you. We already have the address, please be ready by tomorrow evening."

With every inquiry answered rapid fire, there was nothing more to say. Instead, all she could do was nod her acknowledgement. "Understood then. Shall we expect a debriefing tomorrow, agent…?"

"Phantom," he answered. "And yes."

'That's fitting…' Nick thought to himself, taking note of the rabbit's almost otherworldly presence. He had appeared in the precinct without warning, seemingly without anyone's notice. And now, he was poised to disappear in the exact same way, leaving everyone none the wiser. Judy, unsurprisingly, was taking the transfer of power much better than he was. He wasn't sure how much of that had to do with their chance to finally solve the case versus how much of it had to do with the animal leading it. He hadn't missed the look of slight wonder on her face looking up at the buck as he walked by.

It didn't sit right with him. At all.

Seeing as there was nothing more to discuss, the two former officers hopped down from their seat. The agent took the opportunity to exchange a look with Bogo, something foreign that Nick couldn't quite place. Respect? Understanding? As though an unspoken promise had been made between them. Then, he turned away and headed for the door.

As he passed, the rabbit paused, shifting his gaze to Nick's. The two locked eyes, azure and emerald, each sizing up the other. Or really, it was more him sizing up the new leadership. Phantom didn't really seem to care either way. But there was something disturbing about this mammal, though he couldn't put his finger on it. He was around the same age as him if not a year or so older, so that certainly wasn't it. He clearly had more experience in his field, as evidenced by his position in the ZBI to begin with. But no, that wasn't it either.

Nick was getting frustrated. His brain was short circuiting, and he couldn't figure out why, trying to make sense of just what it was that was bothering him. His demeanor definitely had something to do with it. It was tranquil, almost disturbingly so, with a hint of authority he couldn't quite wrap his head around. His presence didn't just command respect, it demanded it. It was strange. After decades as a street hustler, Nicholas prided himself on his ability to read, understand, influence, and manipulate the animals around him. Very few things got past the sly fox. But this rabbit was giving him nothing. A totally blank slate. A blank slate that was aggravating the hell out of him.

Seemingly having found whatever he was looking for, the agent turned and made his way toward the door. He spun so rapidly, the slight whoosh of air from his movement brushed against his fur. The sensitive little hairs against his whiskers twitched in response to the sudden stimulation. And that was when he finally realized. He knew exactly what the problem was. Those still blue eyes were staring back at him. On his level.

This buck was tall. Very tall. So tall in fact that he stood at almost the same height, save one or two inches. And considering that he was a red fox, the largest of the vulpine species, that was frightening. Any distance that remained was made up for by eight-inch ears, which actually placed him taller measuring from the tips. His fur was silver, a similar shade to Judy's. But unlike his partner, this mammal sported distinctive black stripes along the sides of face and the edges of his ears, which ended in black. Strange, how one with such a unique pelt could blend in so seamlessly with his surroundings.

Stranger still, now getting a good look at him as he disappeared through the door, Nick realized he wasn't just taller. He was larger. He towered over Judy. His build was heavier, sturdier than hers and not just on account of being male. There was something about his longer limbs, his lithe frame. He looked like he could sprint across Zootopia in half an hour. The guy gave tall, dark, and handsome a unique new meaning. He didn't even know that rabbits could get that big.

He made a mental note to keep an eye on this animal, staring after him even after he had vanished into the hallway. For his sake and for Judy's. He didn't like him, and he didn't trust him. Both for and beyond his own personal reasons.

"Well, then, I guess we have our orders, Nick…" Judy muttered.

"Yeah. Looks that way."

"Your place, then?"

"May as well."

Mutually deciding their time was better spent getting prepared than standing around, the pair said their goodbyes to the chief before slowly making their way from the office. They didn't know how long it would be until they saw him again. But they hoped that when they did, it would be on much better terms. With the animals saved and the case solved.

Bogo watched them go, following their forms until they closed the heavy wooden door behind them. With the animals gone, the buffalo huffed and leaned back in his chair. His eyes drifted down to the documents resting on his desk. The profiles of four of his finest officers: Judith Hopps, 27, Cottontail rabbit. Nicholas Piberius Wilde, 35, Red Fox. Jason Ryan Wolford, 35, Timber wolf. Nathan Jackson, 37, Bengal Tiger. He had no idea how the story was going to play out, and that thought terrified him. He could only hope that all of his officers would return alive, well, and a little more seasoned. That the agent would honor their agreement, or at least do his best to do so. Bogo ran his hoof over his face in exhaustion. What a mess.

With the last of his visitors gone, he muttered quietly into the empty room, though no one could hear him. "Take care of them, Jack."