Final chapter

Judy gave Nick a big goodbye hug, she was only going away for a few days but she knew she'll miss him horribly. He had convinced her to stay with her family in Bunnyburrow until the aftermath of Julien's downfall faded off. It had only been a few hours since they gave the mountain of evidence against him to Chief Mau, and he was being arrested right at this moment.

Both partners were more than happy to give Mau all the credit for bringing down not only a corrupted DA, but also a large chunk of the rotten legal Zootopia system to the ground. With the Night Howler case Judy had become somewhat of a minor celebrity and the media attention had put a huge strain on her and her career, to add that to her recent trauma might have been more than she could handle. Nick on the other hand knew that in order to carry on the second part of HIS plan it was necessary that he kept a very low profile, Judy didn't know about his plot and he wanted to keep it that way until everything was over.

Now both were saying goodbye at the station in Savanna Central, Judy gave him an enthusiastic wave, she was slowly acting like her old self, with the sadness in her eyes not gone but at least dimming. The train's door close and once the it left the station he was flooded with a pang of uncertainty at the knowledge she would be away from him for some time, the possessiveness inside his primal being was urging him to run after her and keep her by his side at all times. He knew that was wrong and whatever animal surge that had awakened in him needed to be controlled and put down, it was unnatural enough that he had imprinted on her so deeply that he had the need to mark her several times, when even between a fox couple that was something you do once or twice in a lifetime. He knew that the best way to regain a sense of normality between them was to stay separated until the imprinting wore off.

Only then, when he was a fully civilized mammal again, they would need to have a very serious talk about all of this. His rational mind had the nerve to suggest they shouldn't be partners anymore, before they did something they could not take back, something illegal like falling in love.

Pushing those sentimental musings aside the fox concentrated on his plan, he dialed Finn's number and after two rings the fennec fox answered

-"Speak"- Came his grave grumpy reply

-"Hi Finn I need you to make me a big favor"- His voice implied two things, one that he was in full blown alpha male mode so the smaller fox had to comply or face the consequences of pissing him off and two, that he would pay back that favor tenfold.

-"Yeah what is it?"- Finn responded in a more meek tone, it was unsettling for the smaller fox to deal with an alpha version of Nick.

-"I need you to deliver some packages for me; I'll meet you in your place and give you the addresses where you are supposed to take them. This is very important though, you have to deliver them in person"-

-"Got it. Chiao"- Finn responded gaining some confidence, at least he wasn't the one at the end of Nick's rage.

….

Two hours later the fox entered the precinct wearing his orange regulation vest and his bob hat, Bogo had graciously given Judy at least two weeks with paid leave but Nick was still supposed to be delivering parking tickets. It suited him just fine, since reporters were crowding the entrance of the precinct where Chief Mau was about to give a press conference and he knew the ridiculous outfit would ensure he was ignored from any prying eyes.

He was heading towards the joke-mobile when Chief Bogo called him to his office.

Once inside the fox kept his casual relaxed stance and sat comfortably in the chair facing his boss. He was glad the buffalo wasn't the type to beat around the bush.

-"Chief Mau had contacted me asking for help in the prosecution against Lapin, she confided in me that it was you and officer Hopps the ones that collected the evidence against him. For your information she doesn't like the idea of taking credit for your hard work"- He knew Cassandra wasn't the kind of mammal that indulged in media recognition.

-"Yeah that's the thing boss, if we were the ones to get the evidence as police officers the files would have been denied on the counts of being collected without a warrant"- He said smugly

-"But as an anonymous tip the evidence will be accepted in court"- The buffalo grumbled, he was also glad those two had finally chose to take a low profile. As the officers that brought down not one but two crooked mayor's plan they were both considered heroes, especially Hopps. If they took the credit they deserved for dismantling the Zootopia's court system they would be full blown celebrities and that would be more of a hassle than he could deal with.

As a response Nick tapped his nose with one paw.

-"Very well Wilde, I think you have earned some rest, take a few weeks off maybe stay with your partner if you feel like it"- Bogo had an inkling of what Hopps might be going through and suspected she might need her partner's support.

It took a lot of self restrain for the fox to deny the offer, knowing that the best course of action would be to stay separated for a while and that a menial job might be necessary for him not to succumb to his primal wishes.-"No thanks boss, I'm good. But there is a tiny little favor I need from you. I want to be the one that interrogates the suspect; I just need five minutes alone with him"-

Bogo noticed the murderous look in Wilde's eyes and feared what he could be able to do

-"I think it is best that Chief Mau handles this from now on"- The buffalo threw the fox a warning glare

-"You Know chief, that DA was a piece of work, when we were browsing through his files we found some disturbing stuff. Did you know that he wanted to blackmail you? Now he followed you for days but you being your usual self he found out you are as clean as a whistle. If not for a teensy little detail"- The fox tapped at his phone for a while until he found the picture he was looking for, and then he handed the device to his boss.

Bogo stared at the picture in Wilde's phone; at first glance it was perfectly innocent. It was a photograph of Cassandra Mau taken while she was talking to one of her officers in the main hall of the precinct. From the angle it was took you could see that the photo was clearly taken without her permission or knowledge. In the back was Bogo talking to Clawhouser, Nick zoomed in on Bogo's face, he was staring with longing eyes at the cat.

The picture could never be effectively used as blackmail material because it was technically nothing out of the ordinary, but you didn't need to be a detective to guess the raw loving emotion Bogo's face had expressed when he had been staring at her, not knowing someone might notice.

For the eleventh time the buffalo hated himself for loving someone so out of his reach in every possible way. He managed to hide the pain in his eyes as he addressed Wilde, realizing that to deny his feelings would be futile.

-"It is quite hypocrite for your part to bring this up, don't you think?"- Bogo was defeated but he wouldn't go down without a fight, everyone with a modicum of observance could tell there was more than friendship between the bunny and the fox.

Too late Nick realized that it probably was hypocrisy, but his plan needed to be carried on and he couldn't let his boss stay in the way. In case it was absolutely necessary, he had some real piece of blackmail material against his boss that had nothing to do with Mau, but he really hoped he never had to use it.

-"Touché"- The sly fox conceded –"So this is my offer, you give me five minutes alone with Lapin and I will erase this picture from any device I have in my power. There's no need to say I have never given the photo to Mau and I'm not planning to"-

-"Very well, but I will be monitoring you personally through the two way mirror and remember that if you touch even one tiny hair from Lapin's sick privileged little head not only he might be set free but you will be kicked out of the force"- then the chief gave the fox a wry grin, showing he knew one of Wilde's weaknesses –"And Hopps will have to be assigned a new partner"-

A flood of jealousy invaded him; he had been foolish to think that separating from Judy was an option. The mere thought of seeing her with another mammal, specially a male was enough to make him simmer with suppressed rage.

-"I won't lay my hands on him Chief, scouts honor"- Nick answered with an impish grin crossing a paw over his heart.

-"You never made it to the junior scouts Wilde, remember I examined your track record personally"- Bogo's nostrils were flaring.

….

Nick strolled into the interrogation cell with a confident expression and a leisure pace, before he got in he saw Wolford guarding the exit. He politely asked the wolf to cut down the audio fee, the officer agreed knowing him and Bogo would stay in the next room observing everything through the two way glass, it was too obvious for a fellow canide to know that the fox was in a very dangerous mood.

Once inside he saw the white rabbit in pawcuffs, his usually pristine hair was matted and disheveled, his red eyes seemed to glow with malice.

-"Are you comfortable?"- Nick said lifting an eyebrow and giving him a smug smile.

-"You do realize Mr Wilde that I am not going to say another word until my lawyers get here, right?"- Julien knew that with an entire law firm by his side he could get away from this ordeal in one piece. In the worst case scenario his family would bail him out, he would have to get away from the country, and then lay low in a tropical island for a few years until the dust settled. In the best case scenario he would be released on parole.

-"Oh you cute wittle bunny, you think you can still game the system don't ya?"- Nick said playfully, his elbows resting on the table and his face over his entwined paws.

-"I believe my father will do everything in his power to see that I have a fair trial Officer Wilde"- The bunny chuckled at the officer's innocence, did he really believe that a common doe and a fox could outweigh all the years his family spent weaving influences into Zootopia's elite?

Even if they accessed his personal files there was no way the powerful mammals in charge would let that information spill on a public trial, it was quite likely they would shut down everything in order to protect themselves. The police was a few steps below in the chain of command and they would have to keep their heads down when the true leaders ordered them to keep quiet.

So what if they got evidence against him from all the does he had his way with? Most rape trials are merely a circus of "He said, she said" shenanigans. Someone as skillful like him in the ways of the law could get away with it even when they had recorded evidence of his actions.

He recognized he had been a fool to tape himself with all the females he subdued, but when every single one of your desires are so easy to achieve, the only way he could feel something even remotely close to excitement was to take what was not offered. Those were fond memories of the only time that he truly felt like himself, so as a sentimental idiot he had taped his activities in order to relive them whenever he felt like it.

-"Oh sorry, I guess no one told you"- Nick feigned sympathy –"But your daddy is going away to prison too. See, you are a scumbag rapist and a blackmail artist but your pops is way worse than you, he killed Natalia Skipter and we have evidence against him, it wasn't just your computer that we hacked you know? Considering what he did to her I wouldn't be surprised if they advocated him for death penalty"-

-"That is a ridiculous lie, everyone knows she was attacked by a large predator"- Julien said outraged.

-"Nope, she was assaulted by your father and when he grew tired of her he called his grizzly bear friends and told them to have a go. I guess the fucked up apple didn't fall far from the tree"- The fox grew serious, a venomous stare in his eyes –"Four large bears against one tiny bunny, I've seen twisted stuff in my life but this is on another level"-

-"You are bluffing"- The rabbit hid his uncertainty under a pedantic mask

-"Let me tell you what's going to happen, you will be given the maximum sentence for each of the twelve cases of rape against you, and I don't even want to know how much time you are going to serve for the multiple cases of blackmail and obstruction of justice. Those penalties are gonna be served in consecutive order, meaning that from the rape charges alone you will face at least 50 years in prison."- Then Nick's smile took a cruel tinge when he continued –"And don't fool yourself thinking you are going to a low security prison with other white collar criminals like you, or even a high security one with all the evil masterminds. Nope, you are going to the worst prison of all, the prison where POOR mammals are forced to go."-

-"Saint Prowlin?"- Julien laughed in disbelief –"No judge would even consider sending someone like me to that place"-

The red fox threw a tablet at his captive, the bunny begun to look at the images the device displayed in growing terror.

-"Yeah, about that. When Judy and I begun to browse through your blackmail files we created two categories. On one side there were the high ranking government officials who broke the law and worked beside you, those are going down along with your sorry tail. On the other side there are the victims of your blackmail who did things many would think are immoral but not illegal, like being gay and in the closet or cheating on their spouses, those were given all the evidence you had against them and it landed right into their paws a buddy of mine made sure of it. So there are only two types of judges capable of trialing you in court, the few honest ones that hate what you did to the justice system and the ones that are tired of having you pulling the strings and no longer fear you, neither of them will give you a light sentence"- Nick laid back in his seat placing his entwined paws behind his back. –"You know, I could spend my entire life thinking of ways to torture you and none of that could compare to what is expecting you on Saint Prowling. After all, several poor mammals are suffering in that hellhole because of you and boy, are they gonna throw you a welcome party as soon as you get there. What wouldn't I give to be a fly on that wall!"-

The look in the small rabbit's face was priceless, the fox almost took a picture of it so he could show it to Judy but thought better of it when he realized she would feel sorry for that twerp. The mixture of dread and panic in his face would have been heart melting in any other circumstance.

Nick stood up and threw a glance at the two way mirror signaling Bogo and Wolford to enter the interrogation room; he took the tablet in his paws and left after throwing Julien a casual wave. He had kept his word, he never touched the bunny, and he didn't need to.

He strolled casually through the halls of the precinct and poured himself some coffee, then he sat in one of the uncomfortable benches near the bending machine and as he sipped the dark beverage he begun to count backwards.

5… 4…. 3… 2… 1…

A crash of glass and some shouting erupted from the interrogation room and he could easily hear Wolford and Bogo's shouting, they were calling for an ambulance and backup. It was simple for him to slip away from the panic that ensued, choosing to lay low until everything was over. With casual nonchalance he threw the empty paper cup on a nearby trashcan bin, put on his stupid orange vest, his silly bob hat and went his way to deliver parking tickets.

…

By the time he collected the required 150 tickets Julien's corpse had been taken to the morgue and the blood filled interrogation room was almost fully processed by the CSI techs. He feigned complete surprise when Clawhauser told him Julien had thrown himself into the two way glass breaking it in pieces, and before either Bogo or Wolford could stop him he dug a piece of glass into his own jugular.

Nick felt sorry for the sweet natured cheetah, like everyone in the precinct his face was a mixture of horror and relief, at least that cruel bunny would never hurt anyone else ever again.

The secret to a good hustle was to corner the victim and make them feel they had a choice in the outcome, that they could control their actions when in reality you were the one pulling the strings all along. Julien had been cornered, either he braved entering one of the most brutal, underfunded and infested prisons or he took the easy way out; either way the sly fox wins and the dumb bunny looses.

He was changing out of his "meter maid" outfit in the locker room when he heard a deep rumbling voice behind him.

-"You had it planned all along didn't you"- Bogo's voice rumbled on the empty space. He had been changing as well, removing his blood soaked uniform and placing it in a forensics' evidence bag. In vain he had tried to save the rabbit's life.

-"I don't know what you are talking about"- Nick said in his most sheepish façade

-"Cut it Wilde! Do you have any idea of what you have done? We had the chance to bring this case to actual justice but you chose to play vigilante!"- If mammals hadn't evolved into civilization Nick could have sworn the buffalo was about to tear him up. A few days ago he would have cowered at the impressive sight but he was an alpha now, alphas don't coward and they certainly don't back down when faced with another aggressive male, not even someone as big as his boss.

-"YOU HAD THE CHANCE TO BRING THIS CASE TO JUSTICE THREE YEARS AGO!"- The small fox towered over the giant buffalo, his voice could have come out of a roaring lion –"We searched through that monster's files remember? Even in his father's computer! And when we did, we discovered that Mau had been trying to prosecute him in the murder of Skipter and she asked for your help but you told her it was best to look for other leads"-

Defeated, Bogo sat down in a bench and rubbed his temple with his hooves, his voice soft and broken. –"You are right Wilde, my superiors gave me orders and I was stupid enough to follow them. I was never the one to question authority and because of that I failed, it doesn't escape my mind that had I acted when all this started your partner would not had been attacked, I won't even delude myself in thinking I am worth her forgiveness"-

Nick responded sourly –"You don't have to, she never blamed you for it. She is a lot like you, eager to please and with a huge respect for authority; she says the she might have done the same if she were in your place."- Somehow he knew his words had hurt Bogo more than any accusation. He also wondered if his carrots had said it so he wouldn't have another powerful mammal on his black list, she was slowly growing aware of how dangerous he could become when truly angry. –"Oh and for the record, I erased all evidence of anything that wasn't strictly illegal. We will have too much work on the actual criminals that helped Lapin, we don't need to worry about a few closeted gays or interspecies"- He threw a knowing glance at his boss.

-"What is it that you want?"- Bogo said lifting an eyebrow, it was impossible for Wilde to have so much leverage on someone and not take advantage of it.

-"For now I want to go home and lay back after a hard day delivering tickets"- He had his typical sly careless mask back on. –"And when my carrots comes back from her leave we will star working in cases again, she is MY partner you know"- A possessive glint ignited his green eyes.

Bogo sighed understanding what he wanted, to never be separated from Hopps and that she under no circumstance was assigned to anyone else, with a sad nod he conceded.

-"Very well Wilde but let me give you a warning, if you stay by her side you will suffer a lot more pain than you can imagine. Believe me when I say I know from experience."-

…..

It had been five days, five days without talking to her or being by her side, five days without smelling her sweet fur or looking at her violet eyes. He had begged her not to contact him in any way until she came back to the city, he explained her he was growing too attached with her and it might be best to get some distance before things got out of control.

Judy had agreed, admitting she was feeling out of sorts as well and that she was worried to get too close to him emotionally. They both wanted to get back to how things were before her attempted rape, to be just buddies solving crimes and working together, before he became possessive and she became dependent of him.

Today he was finishing his last parking ticket for the day, no sane mammal in Zootopia dared to complain or question him as he did his job, not with the predatory fire in his eyes and his increasable aggressive demeanor. Finn had come to chat with the fox and check on his friend from time to time, not even hiding his concern anymore. They barely talked; the smaller fox knew that even a single word could tip his friend over the edge.

Nick realized he should be improving now that the source of his savagery was far from him but instead he was getting worse with every passing minute. Horrible thoughts plagued his mind, from another evil buck attacking Judy to an actual kind and gentle one stealing her heart, it took so much self restraint for him not to go straight to Bunnyburrow and snatch her away.

An hour later he dragged his feet into his dark windowless apartment; his old jaded door opened with a creek, once he got inside the heavenly smell of his carrots assaulted his nostrils. It was fresher than usual, filled with clear country air and dark rich soil.

-"Hey nick"- She said shy

-"Carrots what are you doing here?"- He said expecting her to be a dream or some hallucination.

-"Finn called me, he said you were getting worse and he was worried about you"- Her big concerned purple eyes bore into his.

With deliberately slow graceful steps he walked close to her the same way his ancestors would have closed in on their prey, and gently placed his arms around her, as soon as she hugged him back his cheeks nuzzled with frantic motions to her whole face. He didn't stop until her ears twitched and her fluffy adorable tail shook wildly.

He had marked her again showing everyone else she was his and nobody else's but now that didn't seem enough, slowly, as to show her he would not cause her harm he guided her to his old mattress laid carelessly on the floor. He would not take her clothes off; he knew that the last thing she might want after her ordeal was to have a male remove them. No he simply cuddled by her side, his arms legs and tail wrapped firmly around her, this was not mingling nor a mark, this was an imperative order from his physique to make a full blown imprint. She responded in kind, stroking his back with her incredibly soft paws, her sweet twitching nose over his.

Night came but they couldn't have known while lying in bed in the always dark windowless apartment, not that they would have cared.

But it was up to Judy to try to bring her partner out of whatever trance he had put himself into, she didn't forget her mission was to get the old Nick back, or at the very least a fully functioning version and not this dangerous predator that could ruin his career and personal life.

A serious question needed to be answered, because its implications could be devastating.

-"Nick, what are we?"- She asked puzzled.

With a contented grin he responded –"Dumb fox"- He said putting a paw on his chest –"Sly bunny"- He now placed that paw on her shoulder. Now that she was with him all the aggressiveness that had invaded him melted away, he felt a little more like his old self.

She was relieved a little of her partner's humor had returned to his spirit but this wasn't something they could postpone till later. –"I'm serious Nick, we are supposed to be friends but friends don't go around marking each other all the time. Yet at the same time we never kissed or went beyond hugs, so I ask again what are we?"-

He had been asking himself the same question over and over again since she had left his side, after much pondering he had reached a somewhat acceptable solution to the predicament they had gotten themselves in, he doubted it would work forever but right now it might be the only way out.

-"Platonic, Carrots, that's what we are"- He said with a mixture of peaceful acceptance and sad annoyance.

She sighed after pondering on his answer, what other choice did they have? Marking each other was bound to get attention but unless they mated the scent could easily get hidden and even if someone did notice it would still be obvious they never had intercourse.

Back in the farm she had a very uncomfortable chat with Gideon Grey but he had been very understanding, he told her canides could easily detect signals from pheromones that indicated if a male or female were marked and if they had mated. Apparently when a fox mates with a vixen a strong bond forms between them that is as chemical as emotional, the fox's scents changes forever acquiring some sort of sweet tinge in their natural smell. That in their case had a terrible implication, if they mated even once any other canide (even several felines) could detect it right away and that would mean imprisonment in an asylum.

The most logical and right thing to do would be to just be friends but they had tried that and failed miserably, she had been an emotional wreck when separated from his side and for what Finnik had told her he had it even worse.

His long snout rested on the crook of her neck, his raw long fur felt glorious on her paws and the skin underneath it was surprisingly soft. No, friends would just not do and being lovers was impossible.

-"Platonic huh? Yeah I like that"- She lied.

THE END.