A/N: I apologize for leaving this story hanging. I started procrastinating and getting distracted by other things, and before I knew it, it was the other day and I hadn't updated in forever.

I especially want to thank anyone who has followed, favorited, reviewed or read this story since I started it. Your support pushed me when I started it, and it was a major consideration in reviving Storm Surge.

Chapter 11: Small-Time Activity

Bunnyburrow
August 1
06:45

By now, Nick was getting used to making the trip to Bunnyburrow. That had made getting to the station at the ludicrously early hour easier, even if he had asked Marie to drive him there.

He looked over to the window seat, where Ellen was dozing, muzzle half-planted into a pillow placed against the window of the train. She had tried to stay awake from when she got on the train, but had barely made it past the train pulling out of the station before she was out cold.

Beyond his sleepy traveling companion, the sun hung low in the sky, occasionally blocked from the train by a silo or large barn. Based on his best guess, they had a couple of minutes before they reached their destination. There wasn't likely to be a large number of animals getting off, if the almost empty carriage they were in was any indication.

Nick nudged Ellen in the side. "Hey sleepy."

Ellen snuggled deeper into her pillow. "5 more minutes."

Nick looked up at the map on the wall. "I guess if you want to go to Wesselton instead of Bunnyburrow…"

As expected, that got Ellen to bolt upright. "No! Bunnyburrow's our stop, not Wesselton!" Nick couldn't help but laugh at how serious his niece was. "What are you laughing at?"

"Sorry, kit. Even if you wanted to go to Wesselton, we need to get off here." He ruffled the fur on top of Ellen's head. "You should have seen your expression." Ellen harrumphed in response. "Pass me the pillow, we'll be at the station soon."

The welcoming reception was much smaller than the last time Nick had come into town. It probably didn't help that the department had sent them on the early train out of Zootopia, nor did it help that Judy wasn't coming with him. As it stood, it was just Stu, Ava, and Jackie standing there, with the latter holding a sign that spelled out "LEN-EL."

While Ellen ran to greet her friends- and point out that the sign was mixed up, if she had noticed- Nick walked up to the Hopps patriarch and offered a paw. "Thank you for having us, Stu."

"It's our pleasure." Stu took the offered paw and shook, warm smile on his muzzle. Turning to the girls who were chatting a mile a minute, he motioned towards the front door. "Hop to it, girls."

The Hopps truck stood out in front of the station- there were barely any other cars or trucks there. Stu and Nick climbed into the front, while the girls climbed into the bed behind, still chatting at a mile a minute. With a small cough, the aging truck started and Stu drove carefully back towards the Hopps' farm.

"I was surprised that they didn't assign Judy to this case as well. They had you two partnering up on a fair number of cases."

Nick shrugged. "They've actually had her working on some other projects recently. I think she's due to head out on assignment herself later today."

"Oh?" Stu couldn't remember if Judy mentioned anything about it the last time they had Muzzletimed.

"I'm not supposed to say too much, but she's on guard detail."

Stu's heart briefly sank. "The Games?"

Nick nodded. "Yep."

"Why her?"

"Personally requested by one of the athletes. There was some worry that something was going to happen, with the protests and all."

Stu sighed. "Yeah. Had been hopin' that she wasn't going to be in harm's way." After a pause, he continued. "Can't say I'm surprised that she was requested, or that she would accept…" He trailed off for a moment. "You do get to decline these jobs, right?"

"If it's outside our normal duties, sure- I'm here advising or something like that, so I didn't have a say. Judy would have gotten a choice, though if the requester has enough clout, that could come back to bite."

"How influential is the requester…" Stu had a sinking feeling.

"Fairly… theoretically." Nick paused for a moment himself. "Swiftfoot's not known for wielding his influence in that way in Zootopia. Judy had wanted to go anyway, I think. Might be PR, as well. I remember reading some article asking why he was at Carrot Days instead of training harder."

Stu swore mentally, though on the outside he limited it to "Cheese and Crackers. That kit has a rep around here, athlete or not."

Nick agreed, "He's not the favorite athlete of the station either. Chief wasn't about ready to create potential tabloid fodder, especially after that interview."

Stu nodded. That interview had taken a toll on both Judy and Nick, and nearly ended Judy's career barely a couple of weeks after it began.

Bunnyburrow Police Headquarters
August 1
10:37

Nick furrowed his brow at the report in front of him. The report seemed more like what he'd see back in Zootopia as opposed to what he expected out of Bunnyburrow. The criminals seemed to be melting into the darkness after their crimes committed. Most of the crime wasn't violent- Nick thanked his lucky stars for that- but it did seem to be escalating.

The other cop in the small room set aside for the project, a slightly portly young pig by the name of Freddy, was typing away at his computer. "How can you be sure they're connected? Chief seems to think they are, but I can't see the link myself."

Nick looked over at the rookie. "Aside from similar-looking reports from eyewitnesses? Security footage that seems to show similar-looking individuals in each case?" Nick paused, flipping through the folder for the third time since sitting down.

"Well yes- but- I mean-" The young cop looked up, taking a moment, as if collecting his thoughts, then continued, "I mean the individuals. They don't have any record of interacting with each other, and the only thread is location."

"Location is key. Even the change of a couple of feet can make or break a swindle." Nick's eyes defocused briefly before he shook his head and continued. "But that's not the point- each time they're on Cornmarket-"

"In. Cornmarket's not a street."

Nick shot a glare at his counterpart, who slightly withered. "In Cornmarket, then, fine. Anyway- each time, they set up within a foot of each reported incident before. Con artists are very much territorial- so if I'm wrong we may get some roughed up con artists and we can call it a day- but the most recent incidents are arguably more severe. Take-" Nick flipped through to the list, and pulled it out, "Line 22- theft of a case of matches, a case of styrofoam packing peanuts, and several cases of pawpsicles- followed by Line 24- theft of 2 riding mowers- seriously, by the way, how did you not catch those- and several empty gasoline carriers."

"Line 22 amounts to only about 300 in shoplifting-"

"It's not about the value, though Line 24 amounts to north of 5 figures of theft- Same perp at those two places. Why jump from the small-time to the big time so quickly?"

"Money? Those mowers aren't big enough for the farmers, but big enough for the rural non-farmers to mow lawns. You find a buyer, even taking 50 cents on the dollar and you're still looking at a hefty check…" Freddy trailed off.

Nick looked down at the folder, then back at Freddy.

Freddy continued, "It's almost as if the swindling wasn't enough money? But then, what are you doing, that you need to steal to get?"

Once upon a time, she would have found this to be a dream come true. Spending time with the star track athlete, in a town far far away from home- where none of her siblings could harass her- her inner teen was green with envy.

Adult me, on the other hand… Judy's inner voice paused. She wasn't sure. On the one hand, she was spending time with an old friend, one who didn't seem to be putting on the moves more than the flirting that she and Nick were accustomed to. "Banter," She outwardly corrected.

The city was fun; Rio had a more relaxed, carefree vibe to it, a symphony of noise and color wherever she and Bryan went. Sure there were a fair number of photographers, admirers, and wellwishers, but they hadn't been too hard to deal with, and Bryan had definitely developed a more mature attitude in his time away from High School as far as they were concerned.

For now, she had settled into her spot in the stands, watching as several of the competitors ran laps around the track surrounding the stadium. Bryan seemed to be alternating between sprints and distance runs, which made sense, as he was slated to compete in several distances; though most, including Judy, expected he'd be better on the sprints. A couple of dark clouds lingered in the distance, making Judy thankful. The rain would likely cool it down a bit.