The chief of police almost didn't hear the diminutive knock on his office door. The Cape Buffalo was reading another report from patrol regarding an apparent domestic violence case gone wrong. At first glance, even second read through, the report seemed like a simple crime of passion. But the Chief had been a beat cop for 25 years, something about the context of the case rang foggy alarm bells in his head. Alarm bells that, for the moment, he put aside as his top detective, Judy Hopps, entered his office.

"Detective. What can I do for you?" The chief never took the time to exchange pleasantries. Good leaders did not deal in insincerities; the troops could smell that kind of dishonesty from a mile away, and in their profession they couldn't afford to not trust their leadership. They needed him to maintain good relationships with the city council and local government in order to get the equipment and resources that they needed to do their jobs. That, and planning & executing the city-wide policing strategy to drive down crime, encourage investment in the developing areas of the city...the usual police business. That's what he focused on doing, a fact that his officers appreciated immensely and thus his curtness.

"Sir, I wanted to discuss the arson case with you." The case hadn't officially been classified as arson, so her verbiage was intentional...and had the desired effect. The Chief's eyes sharpened into angular shards, which she knew meant she had his attention.

"The structural fire I reported to wasn't a simple fire. The fire marshal's report says as much." Bogo grabbed the report as soon as it landed on his massive desk, surprising Judy. This development had cleared the cobwebs from his mind immediately. He glanced at his detective, for a moment seeing a grizzled moose rather than the bunny standing before him. He skipped to Officer Hopp's report and scanned through it, a bead of sweat forming on his brow. Bogo decided quickly that she wouldn't have brought it to his attention if she was involved...unless they were setting up a trap. He suddenly felt an old fear creep into his chest, a sensation he hadn't felt in nearly three decades. Bogo forced his attention back onto the papers in his hands. The reports seemed thorough, but that was always the way it was. You never knew what was false or what was true until it was too late...or until good animals put their lives on the line to reveal the truth. As he was about to set Judy's report aside, he read that Nick Wilde had been at the scene of the incident. He continued reading; details that probably wouldn't have been included in the typical report found their way into hers. Custom suited animals in dark glasses, black SUVs, other seemingly inconsequential coincidences...the only aspect that stuck out as odd was one disgraced ex-cop...which only left one question left in his mind. Judy watched him intently, searching for some reaction.

"Sir?"
Hopps and Wilde had been an item since working their very first case together. If Wilde had gotten himself compromised, was Judy compromised as well? Could he trust her?

"Have you told anyone about this?"

"No sir, Detective Wolfard may know about the situation since he was there but I wanted to bring this to you directly."

"Good. Your instincts are as sharp as ever." The Chief leaned back into his seat. The multitude of assaults, theft, drug busts, they were all too convenient. Someone was going to war, and from the looks of things, it was a very one sided one. Wilde had somehow gotten involved, that much was obvious. What wasn't as clear was how, and with whom. The major crime families in Zootopia had been at peace for almost two decades. As long as the legitimate money was flowing and no major accidents happened, the crime families weren't likely to go to war.

Gambling money was at an all-time high, as were the usual lines of gray work available to the dregs of society. The center of all the recent violent crimes was a low income neighborhood settled between the Biggs family territory and their two largest rivals. It was a sort of neutral zone that they had agreed to leave be; to try and help preserve the peace and create a little needed space. The smaller bosses in each of the families occasionally tried to make incursions from time to time, but what was happening recently was coordinated, and large scale. With so many pieces of tinder nearby, the fire was slowly being pushed back together...so many variables to consider...

"Chief?" Judy's voice was just enough to clear his thoughts. There was a war going on that no one could see, and he needed to find out who was responsible immediately. But despite her earnestness, Bogo wasn't ready to trust the detective just yet. The fact that Judy had brought this to his attention made him think she was probably reliable, but there was no being certain. And if his suspicions were correct, things were about to get very ugly and he would need to know who he could rely on. Until then, he needed to know where Judy stood.

"Judy, do you understand what this report implies?" Judy shook her head, frustrated.

"I'm not sure how, but I think Nick and this arson are connected. I...need to find out if he's responsible. Twenty-four mammals died in that fire sir, I just...need to know." The break in her voice almost convinced him she was clear. Almost. As he considered the situation, a potential solution occurred to him. He already knew Wilde was involved and almost definitely started that fire, or at the very least caused it to be so. Judy was good enough of a detective to find that out, so if she reported and arrested Nick then she was solid. If she couldn't, then...well, the old days were well and truly back.

"Agreed. Detective, I want you and Wolfard to follow Wilde. Find out what he's been up to, who he's been talking to, what he's doing now, and who with. I want you and Wolfard to go in plain clothes, take one of the unmarked cars and maintain surveillance. Judy-" Bogo gently placed his massive hooves on his desk, a genuine show of tenderness. He did like the detective, but war didn't allow for tenderness. "-I like Nick. If you ever tell him as much I'll deny it and fire you, but he was a good cop. If he's involved with the arson, we need to know why. He's not deranged, which implies an exterior motive. We need to find out who is behind him and why. I want you and Wolfard to pull 24 hour surveillance until you can answer those questions to my satisfaction. You're to report to myself and myself alone, and neither you or Wolfard are to speak to anyone about this task. Any questions?"

"Sir, what do we do if Nick is guilty?"

"You know what we do if he's guilty. You arrest him." He paused to observe before continuing. "I'll let Wolfard know and have him meet you at the lockup. See Clawhauser to get phone records and anything else you think you need."

Judy clenched her fist in frustration at herself. Of course she would arrest him if he was responsible for that fire. She had meant what would she do if the animal she loved had turned into a killer.

"I understand sir. I'm worried about my partner. I don't think he has something like that in him, he's cunning but I don't think he's a murderer."

"I know how you feel detective, I've been there myself. You two have spent nearly every day with the other for the past several years. But…is it possible that you've just never seen Wilde under strain? In fact, didn't your assault at the park prove you that Wilde is capable of killing?"

"That was different! Nick was defending me, not burning animals alive for no reason!" Bogo couldn't help but grin.

"But, capable nonetheless. Now it's up to you to uncover the truth. Judy...this is your opportunity to prove his innocence, or his guilt. Don't waste it."

"Understood sir. And thank you for the assignment." Judy saluted and hurried out of his office to her new assignment with a noticeable hop in her step. She was still angry, but also felt rejuvenated in a way that she hadn't in months. After so much moping around and watching her life disintegrate she felt like she had a focus again. The recent past didn't seem an inevitable outcome, but a direct cause of the poison in Nick's life. A poison that she hoped she could extract. For the first time in months, she felt hope.

Skye sat comfortably at Nasty's, the dive bar she had scouted and selected out of a handful of skeevy dive bars. It was more of a pop-up bar than a dedicated pub, but it served its purpose: tax free beer & spirits, and it was a very discrete location for married males to get away from nagging spouses. Which naturally made the bar a popular hangout for all sorts of femme fatales and scoundrels looking to make a buck or wreck a home. You don't acquire that kind of clientele or a lasting invitation without also learning to keep to yourself, something her table neighbors managed quite well as they discussed how the forty-something donkey would leave his wife and run away with the twenty something lynx. Unimportant, she thought, as Nick slipped into the seat opposite her, unseen until the last moment.

"Can I buy you a drink?"

"My, how generous. Just a gin martini please, mister…?" One of the traits that Skye liked to think Jack appreciated in her was her willingness to live a role. Not just act a part, but truly make it a part of her. This synergy was one of the reasons she truly loved her job. And tonight, she was playing her part very well. She had grown out a slight mane and let it hang over her eye, and wore a revealing red dress. She even allowed herself to feel adventurous. Wilde was, after all, a good looking Tod and this was an exhilarating venue.

"Wilde." Nick didn't feel like playing spy tonight, in spite of the young attractive vixen they were using as his controller. They had promised to keep Judy away from his work and they had broken that promise. He needed to remind them that while they had him over a barrel, they still had a deal and without him they would have to keep trying to smuggle an outsider into a murderous crime family. They had all of the cards to manage the situation, but not all of the cards. The only one that gave them any real power was the one they were mismanaging, something that he needed to correct.

"Well Mr. Wilde, thank you. What brings you here tonight? Surely a handsome fox doesn't need to pay for companionship."

"As a matter of fact, my partner and I have been a little too close recently. Need to put some distance between us before things get awkward." Skye looked at him questioningly until the light bulb came on.

"Oh my, what happened?"

"I was having an early lunch in my new role when a building across the street exploded. I think it was an apartment; there must've been a lot of animals inside. Anyways, the police showed up before the firefighters, and wouldn't ya' know it, here comes my partner, who was supposed to be patrolling the other side of the city that day. Imagine my surprise in realizing she would be the first person to see the burning bodies. We even had a little talk before I went back to work, but I can't help but wonder if we might run into each other again under similar circumstances. It's getting a little claustrophobic." Skye watched him for a long time before speaking again.

"Sometimes schedules get switched around at the last minute. At that point, they just are what they are and there's no getting around it. Regardless, I'm sorry to hear that. It must have been very difficult for you to see her take on something so difficult by herself." Internally, Nick snarled at the excuse. It was justifiable, but just barely so. Bogo usually made last minute changes himself, and he doubted the Chief even could be manipulated. He sighed, nodded, and looked away into a disinteresting corner.

"She's tough. Tougher than most. But even when someone is tough, when you care about them you don't want them to need to be tough." Skye watched him with keen interest, despite his efforts to ignore her physical presence.

"She's not defenseless you know."

"I know that!" Nick snapped, drawing a look from the bartender. He didn't need to be reminded that Judy was capable of protecting herself. But Nick couldn't keep himself from thinking about that night in the park, Caesar towering over her. She had been helpless then. If he hadn't thought to challenge him, she would've been raped and they both would've been killed. If he hadn't had that gun with him, if those holding him down had thought to check him for it, if any of a thousand things had gone wrong...she wasn't helpless. But sometimes the capability of an individual wasn't enough to overcome the circumstances they were thrust into.

"She's not defenseless, but sometimes that's not enough."

"You really are in love with her, aren't you?" Skye hid her face behind her martini glass. The question made Nick uncomfortable.

"I didn't change my entire life over a fetish. I love her." Skye licked the salted rim of the glass before setting her drink on a coaster.

"Even though she's a bunny?"

"What does her being a bunny have to do with whether or not I love her? You should love who someone is, not what species they are."

"Well sure, you can love someone who's not the same species as you, but you have to realize there are sacrifices you'd be making. You won't be able to have biological offspring. You can adopt, or maybe figure out a way to hire a surrogate or IVF or something, but is that going to be enough for you? Is that going to be enough for her and her family? You know how bunnies are."

"The one thing I know about Judy & I is that we can work through anything. We didn't have anything when we met, and we've built that into our world. So if Judy wants children, either adopted or her own, we'll figure out a way to make that happen."

"I wonder. Well, that's a fair point, she is the first and only rabbit cop after all. Detective now, actually. What about you then? Do you want to have kits someday? Are you willing to give that up for her?"

"This is a really strange line of conversation. Are you in heat?" Nick asked, and he could've sworn he saw the vixen smirk. "That explains a lot. Well if you want to know what it's like being with a rabbit I'm sure Savage would be happy to oblige, his wife seems like she has a stick up her ass anyways." Skye merely raised an eyebrow and took another sip from her martini.

"You seem fixated with bunny girl's asses. Why do you have such a grudge against foxes? Did some vixen turn you down as a youth?" Nick blushed as the vixen laughed her high pitched girly laugh, which only made her laugh more.

"Is there an actual reason we're still here?" Nick growled, trying to hide his face from the superior look the bartender was throwing his way. Always pleased to see a fox fail. Skye covered her mouth and managed to stop herself from doing any further damage to Nick's ego.

"Fine, fine, fine. The reason we're still here is because I wanted to tell you we're almost done. Keep up the act and we can go home to your place very soon." The mirth drained from her face and Nick knew she was being serious. She was using innuendo to hide her actual meaning. To anyone listening in, it sounded like she was encouraging their flirtations. To him, he understood her to mean that the evidence collection had gone well and a number of Mr. Big's caporegime's had been compromised and were poised to be arrested & prosecuted shortly. He only had to maintain his cover and continue playing the game of cat-and-mouse, leading more of the family into incriminating themselves. One by one, until eventually Mr. Big himself would make a mistake. Then he was free. Despite how supremely frustrating the vixen was, he was glad they were making good use of his intel. He leaned in towards her, elbows on the table now.

"Really? Well that's interesting...in your opinion, how much longer until we can ditch this joint and go home?" Skye mirrored his pose, placing her elbows on the table as well.

"Well now, that depends on you. How motivated you are...and how lucky. Maybe hours...maybe minutes..maybe now." The vixen finished, before leaning forward and kissing him. Nick pushed himself away from the vixen and the table, feeling shocked. "Don't look so upset handsome, otherwise someone might wonder why you're getting cold feet all of a sudden." As soon as she said it, he understood the logic behind what she was doing. To an observer, it looked like they had been flirting all night, why would he start being standoffish right when things were seemingly going well? It was strange. And if Mr. Big had him being watched, it looked downright suspicious. Grudgingly, he returned to the table.

"You just surprised me is all."

"I can tell. Now, how about we head back to my place? I'm feeling tired."
"That sounds lovely. I'll hail a cab." Nick threw down some dollars and headed outside, leaving the vixen by herself. The bartender came by to collect the tab as Nick walked outside.

"You really wanna go home with that guy? Seems kinda fragile for a...discerning lady such as yourself." The bartender said with a distinctly bayside accent. Skye sighed dramatically.

"I know, he's such an amateur. But his eyes are so vivid! Goodnight." She found that Nick had already hailed a yellow cab by the time she got to the corner, rather than the black SUVs he used most of the day. She gave the driver her address as they slid into the backseat. Then she laid her head against Nick's shoulder and wrapped her arms around his right. He felt warm, in spite of his chilliness towards her. She instinctively knew that bodies were warm, but for some reason she hadn't thought his would be. She understood his attitude toward her, she couldn't be upset by his coldness towards her. He had good reason to resent her, and it was part of her job to deal with it. In fact, that coldness made it much easier for her to operate. It would be much harder to use someone if she let feelings get involved. It was only a shame that he actually was handsome...before long they found themselves in front of her apartment.

"I guess this is where our paths part." Nick turned around as if to leave. Skye cut him off.

"Wrong handsome. If anyone is watching, it would be weird if you left immediately after coming in. You have to stay for a few hours, although all night would be best."

"An hour. If any of the Family are watching me, they'll wonder why I'm staying the night with you and not with Judy. They might understand inconsequential physical affairs, so long as you go home to your old lady. You stay with someone else too much, that's when betrayed wives start talking and acting crazy. Causes problems that need fixed." Skye nodded, and led them inside.