HELLO FELLOW PANDEMIC PEOPLE, It's RiseAgainst522 here to give you something to read so you can distract yourself for a few minutes... seconds for some of you(lol speed reading.. what else would I be talking about). Chapter 27 has it all, action, subterfuge, references and anything you could ever want (except Nick and Judy getting together... that's still gonna take some time). Please let me know if you catch the references and if you enjoyed chapter, enjoy!

As Always I have two people to thank for adding some ideas for this chapter and making it significantly better, so give thanks to

Anteroinen - He catches plot holes and adds logic when I go off the rails,

and

LakesideMiners - He gives me helpful and fun suggestions

AN: Thanks as always to my other editor's SaberGatomon and Toren6000.

AN PT2: You all should know by now that i'm gonna respond to some comments now.

OORAH: King? I wouldn't go that far but thanks for the compliment and the comment (even if I don't necessarily believe this story's as great as you say.) I will endeavor to stay as safe and healthy as possible, if not I'll try to cough on a politician for you, lol. Do your best to stay safe out there as well.

Cimar of Turalis WildeHopps: Thanks for sticking with me, and it's good to be back. I'm happy you enjoyed the chapter and that you thought the scenes were well done it means a lot when someone says that, as I'm sure you know.

StoryWriter2015: Not the direction I was planning on, but that wouldn't have been a bad idea either. And yeah it's high time Nick confided in his friends. Anyway, thanks for reading and commenting, I hope you enjoy the chapter!

AnimeKing7777: Dang 1117, well I'll keep trying to up that number as much as I can. That dose of friendship was well earned for our fox and drunken shenanigans may be coming in the future, then again would Nick be the kind of guy to get drunk? I guess we will have to wait and see. As for Tom being in an interspecies relationship I considered it but decided against it since in my mind it's probably pretty rare in Zootopia and what are the odds that Nick and Judy find a bunch of interspecies friends? Lastly I'll keep staying safe so you do the same!

CameraSkunk: I too think a degree in psychology is a good thing for an officer I mean knowing how people work and how to interact with them in a productive way especially when they might not be in the best frame of mind is an indispensable skill. I'm happy you think my portrayal of Nick and his issues have been well done, it's hard sometimes to know if I'm really doing it justice. As for your "Critiques" of your initial thoughts about the 'inner voices' thing... I don't mind it in the slightest and it would take a lot harsher than that to bring me down. I know it's not for everyone and in the beginning it was really clunky but I find it's grown on people (myself included) and like you said it gives Nick some extra depth that would be hard to do otherwise. That said thank's for sticking with the story even if it bothered you in the beginning. I'm glad your enjoying the music suggestions and the camaraderie scenes, feel free to use anything I write in your daily life, having that kind of impact on someone through this story is kinda strange but not unwelcome, I mean I'm just some dude on the internet after all.

And to everyone who welcomed me back: Thanks for sticking with me, and thanks for the comments, I'm happy to be back. As for those who didn't comment but are still reading, thanks to you all as well.

Disclaimer: Apparently watching Zootopia over 1,000 times doesn't entitle me to ownership rights, oh well. I still don't own Zootopia or it's characters, at least not yet, I'll keep watching and hopefully I'll acquire the rights soon.

Chapter 27: Operation F.O.X H.O.L.E

F.ool

O.verly

X.cited

H.yaena

O.peratives

by

L.ying

E.ffctivly

… Operation, start …

ZPA Dining Facility, Tuesday Morning, 11:45am

*tick tock, tick tock, tick… tock*

Nick stared at the clock, watching the secondhand jerk around completing its rotation over and over again, strangely moving both too fast and far too slow as the food on Nick's plate sat uneaten. Nick wasn't the only one like this though, in fact the entire table was on edge as they all waited for Nick to be pulled away by Friedkin and for the mission to start.

"Damn I wish she would just show up already." Arlo whispered as he quickly scanned the dining hall. "Waiting like this is killing me."

"It's not too late to back out, I'd understand if you wanted too…." Nick offered quietly.

"Not a chance, I just want to get this over with."

"Get what over with?" The booming voice of Friedkin asked as she seemingly appeared out of thin air.

"G-Good afternoon Major," Arlo stammered, "I was just talking about wanting to get this week over with since I was looking forward to going into the city this weekend."

Friedkin eyed the table suspiciously for a moment, "I see. Well don't let your weekend plans distract you from your classes, everything you're learning is vital to not only your survival but the survival of everymammal around you."

Arlo nodded thoughtfully for a few seconds until the Majors gaze left him and fell onto Nick.

"Cadet Wilde I need you to come with me."

"Of course Major," Nick said as he grabbed a phone off the table and quickly jammed it into his pocket. "I'll see you guys later, so make sure to save me a seat in class."

With that Nick was once again escorted out of the Dining Hall by a grim faced Friedkin, unlike last time however Nick was ready, his weapon to strike back at the IA agents locked, loaded, and burning a hole in his pocket as he followed the silent polar bear through the academies halls.

"You know Major I can't help but feel we've done this before." Nick commented playfully, trying to both distract himself and get a reaction from the stoically silent polar bear. Unfortunately, this attempt, like every other attempt Nick had made to get a reaction in the past few minutes, ended with silence and a scowl.

"I'm serious," Nick continued, unwilling to fall back into silence. "This scene is just too familiar. You and me, together, walking silently through these very halls, it's giving me the strangest sense of déjà vu, it's almost like we did this a week ago or something."

"Not exactly," Friedkin grumbled under her breath. "Last time you had enough sense to keep your trap shut."

"That's fair." Nick agreed, surprising Friedkin who had though she had spoken softly enough that Nick wouldn't have been able to hear her.

"Why so talkative this time?" Friedkin asked curiously, deciding there wasn't much point in keeping quiet anymore.

"Well this time I know what I'm walking into and I'm ready for what's going to happen next." Nick explained confidently.

"Is that so…"

"Yep."

Friedkin said nothing for a while seemingly deep in thought as a slight frown formed on her previously stern expression. Seeing this Nick decided it was probably best to wait for her rather than force the conversation along. Not long after Friedkin and Nick reached the door to the conference room but before she left Nick alone Friedkin spoke up.

"I guess this is it," Friedkin said, a hint of disappointment in her voice. "I know you've made your choice and I won't try and change your mind I just want you to know that I always thought you'd make a great cop."

With that Friedkin turned and walked away without another word, leaving Nick both happy at the compliment and a little confused as to why Friedkin sounded like Nick wasn't coming back.

What that was about? Nick wondered as he watched her large form disappear behind a corner. No time to think about that now, every second counts. Nick thought, quickly reigning himself in as he confidently opened the door, not even bothering to knock.

"Good afternoon Mr. Smith, Mr. Johnson." Nick greeted cheerfully as the door swung open revealing the two IA agents dressed up in their matching suits and wearing matching looks of anticipation.

"Good afternoon Mr. Wilde." Smith replied as he and his partner got up from the table and walked over to Nick.

"I'm going to need you to empty your pockets and spread your legs and arms for me, making sure to stand as still as possible." Johnson asked as he pulled out a black wand-like device from behind his back.

Nick complied, taking his phone and wallet out of his pocket and assuming the position without argument, doing his best to play the part of the good cadet in order to avoid suspicion, but as the hyena moved the wand under his arms, between his legs and all around his body Nick had to suppress the urge to laugh.

"So, what's up with the full body search?" Nick asked, already knowing the answer, as Smith proceeded to cautiously pat him down.

"Would you be so kind as to unlock your phone for us so we can ensure this conversation will stay between us." Smith asked as he finished the pat down, completely ignoring Nick's question.

"There's no password," Nick said dismissively as he put his wallet back in his pocket and handed Smith his phone. "See for yourself."

Smith reached out for the phone slowly, giving off an air of indifference as he took his time taking it from Nick's paw and turning it on, but as soon as the screen lit up his indifference turned to shock and awe mixed with intrigue and a touch of something Nick could only describe as disapproval. Noticing his partners reaction Johnson quickly walked over and looked at the phone himself, his gruff expression turning to one of kit-like giddiness as soon as he saw the screen.

"So Nicky," Johnson said joyfully as he took the phone from Smith's paw and turned the screen so Nick could see it. "Care to tell me who this lovely lady is?"

Nick nearly bite his tongue in half as he fought to hold back the string of curses he wanted to shout at Tom in that moment. The ever-helpful wolf had not done as he promised he would and changed his screen saver, so Nick was stuck staring at a bikini clad, brown furred she wolf, one paw on her cocked hip as she used her other paw to blow a kiss at the photographer. Quickly going over potential lies in his head Nick soon realized that he was just going to have to go with what the two hyenas were already thinking.

"You got me. That's my girlfriend." Nick sighed as he put his paws up in mock defeat. "I wasn't expecting anyone to go through my phone, let alone judge me for my screensaver."

"Oh Nicky don't be like that, we're just surprised is all. We don't mean anything by it." Johnson said consolingly as he took the phone back and began looking through it to confirm the device wasn't recording.

"Speak for yourself Johnson, I for one think Nick is a too old to be experimenting like that." Smith spat disdainfully.

"Well if IA has a problem with my choice of partner, you're free to walk out that door and leave me to my training, not gonna see me shed any tears."

"Now, now Smith, play nice with Nicky, I'm sure he'll find his way eventually. Now since both you and your phone are free of recording devices let's all sit down and have a nice chat." Johnson urged as he handed Nick his phone and walked back over to the table.

Smith said nothing, merely grunting in response as he too took a seat at the table. Nick held back a bubble of anger that he felt building in his chest from the two's remarks, reminding himself that he needed to play nice with them for a bit longer, and that the payoff for his patience would be much more satisfying than if he blew up on them now.

"Fine. But in the spirit of having an open an honest chat without any worries I'll be putting my phone on the table in between us so you guys can be assured that I'm not doing anything funny." Nick explained as he placed his phone in the middle of the table. "Oh, and I'll flip it over so you don't have to worry about be assaulted by the image of my bea-u-ti-ful girlfriend, if I get a notification." Nick added hastily as he turned the phone over so the screen was facing down.

"Works for me Nicky, now have you thought about are offer?" Johnson asked eagerly.

"I have," Nick replied as he casually checked the watch Arlo had let him borrow. "But first I have some questions that I'd like answered"

"Ask away Nick, but please remember what's at stake if you decide to turn down our generous offer." Smith said curtly as he leaned forward, giving Nick a hard stare.

"I'll keep that in mind. So, my first question is…"

Back at the Cafeteria…

"Alright guys it's been about fifteen minutes since Nick left, so we should start heading over to Friedkin's office." Arlo said confidently as he got up from the table. "Oh, and Tony you should probably start taking control of Tom's phone."

"You sure, what if those IA agents still have Nick's phone?"

"Don't worry about it Tony Nick knows that we're supposed to take control of the phone right about now so if they were still holding it he would do something about it." Tom assured the nervous tiger as he too stood up.

"Alright then, here goes nothing." Arlo said skeptically as he entered the PackViewer app and started attempting to access Tom's phone.

"We should probably walk while Tony's trying to connect, don't want to be late."

"Good point Paul, let's get a move on." Arlo agreed, leading the group towards the door.

The group spent the next few minutes in a tense silence as they all held their breath waiting for Tony to inform them he'd taken control. After what seemed like an eternity Tony finally broke the silence but all he said was 'Fuck,' causing everyone to swallow hard as they waited for the bad news.

"Guy's I can't access the phone, for whatever reason the password we set up isn't working." Tony informed the group.

"What do you mean it's not working?!" Arlo asked incredulously.

"I mean that I typed it in and it's not working."

"You must have typed it in wrong, give it to me!" Arlo demanded as he stuck his paw out.

"I did not 'type it in wrong' I made sure to go slow just in case, here you can watch me do it."

So as the rest of the group gathered around Tony carefully typed in the password again and smiled triumphantly as the message appeared informing him that the password was incorrect.

"See, see. What did I tell you." Tony said, almost braggingly as he shoved his phone in everyone's face one by one. "And you all thought I wasn't typing it in right."

"As happy as I am that you were right, I think your forgetting how much of a problem this is." Tom noted as the group went silent, each one of them trying to figure out what to do next. "Would you mind typing it in one more time for me?"

"Why?"

"Yeah, what's the point, it's not like anything is going to change." Tony and Arlo both asked as Paul just watched on in silence.

"Just humor me Tony"

"Fine, but it's not going to work."

So, once again Tony slowly typed in the password and once again it didn't work, but before anyone could say 'I told you so' Tom spoke up. "You put in the wrong password."

"No I didn't."

"Yes, yes you did. The password Nick created was, Fluff with a capital F, #274. You typed in Floof#274." Tom explained as he quickly took the phone from Tony. Tom then immediately typed in the correct password before passing the connected phone to the now stupefied striped feline.

"Now hurry up and make the damn phone call, we don't have much time left, any minute now Nick's going to stop stalling and we need to be in Friedkin's office ready to go when he gets them to incriminate themselves." Tom commanded as he rushed off towards the instructor's offices.

"Yeah, if we mess up the timing all this could be for nothing," Arlo agreed as he started jogging after Tom. "So get a move on, we aren't going to disappoint Nick."

After that it didn't take long for the group to reach the instructors offices, a place where the instructors of the ZPA would spend their time when not teaching classed throughout the day. The offices weren't exactly off limits to cadets, but any cadet found inside better have a valid reason for being there or else. Since none of the cadets present had ever actually stepped foot in the room they now stood outside of they weren't sure what to expect, but before he could stop to doubt himself Tom had already swallowed back the fear rising in his throat and turned the doorknob. Tom made sure to open the door as slowly and quietly as possible, cringing as the hinges creaked ever so slightly.

"Alright guys, keep quiet and keep your heads down, we don't want to draw any attention to ourselves since we can't afford any more delays." Tom whispered as he took a cautious look around before entering the offices, followed closely by Arlo and Tony with Paul taking up the rear.

As they slowly made their way inside the offices, Tony was surprised by how plain the space actually was. The room while large in size was filled mostly by cubicles, the walls of which were just thin grey dividers on wheels that created a pathway on either side of the door forcing the cadets to walk straight forward. As Tom looked closer at the walls he noticed they looked as though they could be detached and re attached with ease, allowing them to be rearranged with relative ease to fit any situation. Further inside the room opened up a little into a space that looked like someone had mashed a boardroom and a coffee shop lounge together. In the center of the room a long hardwood table sat covered in papers with twenty chairs tucked neatly underneath, and not five feet away from that sat a much smaller coffee table surrounded by a few comfy chairs and a large couch.

"Hey Tom look over there, I think that's Friedkin's office." Arlo whispered as he jerked his head in the direction of a door marked 'Major Friedkin, Head Instructor' on the far side of the room.

Tom held back the urge to roll his eyes and instead continued slowly leading the group forward, constantly looking around, scanning for any stray instructor that might appear to stop them. As the group made their way forward they could feel the tension growing with each step, as the short walk of less than fifty feet turned into an agonizing crawl that felt more like fifty miles, until finally, they reached Friedkin's door, but right at Tom reached out to grab the doorknob a stern voice called out from behind them.

"What the hell do you cadets think you're doing?"

Tom quickly did an about face and saw the stern expression of Sergeant Meadowwalker, a mule deer with gray-brown fur, large ears and even larger antlers. Sergeant Meadowwalker was the no nonsense firearms instructor for the academy, whose reputation for being as strict as mammally possible was well known by all the cadets. Sergeant Meadowwalker ran the firing range with an iron hoof and would kick anyone off the range if they stepped even a pinky toe out of line. So, despite never having any classes with the mammal Tom knew they were about to go through hell.

"Well I'm waiting for an answer cadets." Meadowwalker barked angrily as he walked towards the group, a stack of freshly printed papers in his arms.

"Good afternoon Sergeant, I'm sorry for the intrusion, but we really needed to talk with Major Friedkin before class." Tom replied smartly, standing at the position of attention as Meadowwalker made his way towards them.

"Really. So you just barged into our offices without scheduling a meeting or even knocking and are just demanding to meet with the Major?"

"We did knock though." Arlo lied defensively.

"Oh, did ya now? I didn't hear anything." Meadowwalker said, the disbelief in his voice as clear as his southern accent. The Sergeant then got right in Arlo's face; eyes squinted as he scrutinized the cheetah.

"We did I swear." Arlo replied as he took a step back from the deer who was now close enough that Arlo could smell the dressing that he's used on his lunch that day.

"We really did Sergeant, it must not have been loud enough and I apologize for that, but we really need to see Major Friedkin, it's urgent." Tom explained, trying to impress upon the deer how important the matter was while remaining diplomatic.

"Oooh, urgent is it? Well in that case I guess I can forgive you for the quiet knocking." As Meadowwalker said this both Tom and Arlo let out a momentary sigh of relief.

"But you can't see the Major right now. So, how about I help you with your problem instead, I might not be the Major but I'm a pretty resourceful old buck." Meadowwalker offered kindly while leaving no room for debate.

Before Tom could think of what to say next Arlo had already interjected. "We need to talk to Major Friedkin, nobody else will do."

Hearing this Sergeant Meadowwalker's eyes hardened as his kind expression melted in an instant. "Well boy's I'm afraid the Major is taking a very important phone call right now and she informed me that she isn't to be disturbed until that conversation is over. So if you're in a hurry and the Major's the only one you're willing to talk to, then it looks like you're plumb out of luck." As he explained this Sergeant Meadowwalker moved until he was positioned between Tom and the door.

"But you can't do that!" Arlo began to protest, but his shout was cut short by the stern voice of the deer in front of him.

"The correct response when a superior tells you something is 'yes sir' followed by doing as you're told."

"Not when the superior is being unreasonable!" Arlo spat back, his worry about letting Nick down overriding his fear of punishment for his blatant disrespect.

"Why you insolent little shit, I'll make you run a hundred laps for daring to talk to me like that."

"I'll gladly run a thousand laps for you Sergeant, after you let us talk to the Major."

As Arlo and Sergeant Meadowwalker began arguing back and forth Tom silently dropped back a few feet to where Tony and Paul were standing. Tony was standing quietly, a phone pressed to his ear, listening intently to whatever was going on to the other end.

"How's everything going?" Tom asked, leaning close to Tony and making sure to keep his voice low.

"I already made the call a few minutes ago, I made sure to mute it so they can't hear us talking and have been listening in ever since." Tony explained as he pulled the phone away from his ear and covered the speaker.

"And how's our favorite fox doing with the big bad hyenas?"

"Well he's been stringing them along and buying time just like we planned, it's pretty amazing actually listening to him verbally run them around in circles without them even knowing it."

"How much time do we have?" Paul asked as he too leaned over and joined in on the hushed conversation.

Tony quickly glanced at his watch, his eyes immediately going wide with concern. "Well if Nick sticks to the plan then he's about to stop toying with them and start trying to get them talking for real any second now."

"We need to hurry up and get inside the Majors office then." Tom said, a slight panic creeping into his voice.

"Mmmhmm." Paul grunted in agreement as his normally stoic expression shifted to one of grim determination. "I know what to do. Get ready to move." Paul whispered as he straightened his back and took a solemn step forward.

As Paul calmly made his approach he could see that Arlo and Sergeant Meadowwalker were still going at it, their faces just inches from each other as they argued back and forth. Paul said nothing as he reached the pair, opting to silently move Arlo aside, cutting him off mid rant.

"Paul what the hell are you doing?" Arlo asked angrily.

"Shut up Arlo." Was Paul's only reply.

"Ah finally a voice of reason. Thank you, Cadet Bennett, I'll be sure to leave you out of the punishments that are sure to follow this little incident." Meadowwalker said happily as he patted Paul's much larger arm appreciatively.

"I'm sorry." Paul replied somberly.

"You, have nothing to apologize for Cadet, it's your insubordinate friend that should be apologizing for his behavior."

"That's not why I'm apologizing." Paul clarified as he took a step forward.

"Wha-what are you apologizing for then?" Sergeant Meadowwalker asked as he looked up at the brown bear who was now looming menacingly over him, straining his neck a little in the process.

"For this." Without another word Paul's arms shot out and wrapped themselves around Sergeant Meadowwalker's thin frame, trapping his arms and pulling him into a literal bear hug. Paul then lifted the Sergeant up into the air making sure it was high enough that his hooves were a few inches off the ground and his legs were left dangling uselessly before stepping out of the way of the door.

A full minute went by in silence as nobody did or said anything as everyone was in shock by what Paul had just done. As the seconds continued to tick by Sergeant Meadowwalker was the first one to get his bearings as he started demanding to be let down which Paul promptly ignored.

"What the hell Paul?" Arlo asked as he too broke out of his stupor.

"This is the only way Arlo we're out of time, if we wait any longer there's a good chance we'll miss the confession, so I did what I had to." Paul grunted as he continued holding Meadowwalker back.

"Paul are you sure about this? I mean what you're doing could get you in some serious trouble." Tom asked as he too came to his senses.

"I'm sure. Now hurry up."

"But why? You could actually get kicked out for this."

Paul said nothing for a second, clearly in thought, before breaking out into a toothy grin. "Because I feel like it."

"That's not good enou-"

"We don't have time for this, just GO!" Paul barked, cutting Tom off mid-sentence as his goofy grin shifted back to a look of grim determination all the while he held tighter to the now struggling instructor.

"You let me down this instant before I have you kicked out of the academy and arrested for assaulting an officer of the law." Meadowwalker shouted as he tried in vain to break free of Paul's grasp.

Tom looked hesitantly at Paul for another second, torn between wanting to help Nick and stopping Paul from potentially ruining his life, but before he could make a decision Arlo had already started moving.

"Thank you, you're a good guy Paul." Arlo said as he opened the door to Friedkin's office and ran inside, with Tony and a reluctant Tom in toe, the door slamming firmly behind them.

After a few, long, tension filled seconds that seemed to span into eternity Paul decided that enough time had passed and gently put Sergeant Meadowwalker down and released his grip. "Again, I'm sorry about that." Paul added meekly, head bowed a little as he stepped back from the still fuming sergeant.

"Not as sorry as you're going to be." Meadowwalker was still pissed, but as he took a look the cadet who was now cowed before him, he couldn't help but let out a sigh. "I hope whatever you needed to tell the Major was worth the shitstorm you just brought down on your head."

"It is."

"Well I think your friends have had enough time in there already, so either Major Friedkin is about to throw them out or they've caught her interest enough that she's listening to them, would you like to join them?"

"I would."

"Let's get on in there then." Meadowwalker said as he walked over to Friedkin's door and ushered Paul and himself inside before closing it gently behind him.

Fredkin's Office, a few Minutes Earlier….

As soon as Arlo opened the door he could hear that Meadowwalker had been telling the truth, Major Friedkin was having a conversation with someone, and it didn't sound like it was going well.

"I don't know what to tell you, he's made his choice." Friedkin's irritation was unmistakable in her voice.

…..

"Maybe something is wrong, ooorrrrr maybe he just changed his mind." Friedkin said as she finally noticed the door to her office opening.

Friedkin's face showed no hint of surprise as Arlo, Tony and Tom all tumbled into her office, she instead stared them down silently as they slammed the door behind them.

"I'm sorry Adrian I'm going to have to call you back, a few cadets have apparently grown tired of having their fur and have come asking me to make them run until it all falls off." Friedkin then calmly hung up the phone and moved to get out of her chair and approach the three intruders, murderous intent clear in her glare.

Arlo, seeing the Major was getting ready to tear into them and realizing there was no time to argue swallowed down the fear rising in his throat and started to move. In one fluid motion Arlo had grabbed the phone from Arlo's paw, unmuted it, crossed the ten feet to Friedkin's desk and slammed it down.

"What the hell do you think you're doing Cadet!" Friedkin yelled, baffled by both the cheetah's actions as well as his impressive speed.

"SSSHHHH, just listen."

Shocked and intrigued by the sheer audacity of the situation Friedkin shot a glare at phone on her desk. "You have sixty seconds, if this isn't worth my time, I'm breaking it."

ZPA Administration Building, Meeting Room.

"So you see Nick by working undercover for Internal Affairs you get to help the citizens of Zootopia in two ways, protecting them from both criminals and bad cops too." Johnson explained, as he nudged his partner to contribute to the same sales pitch they had been going over for the past fifteen minutes.

"Plus you get some extra 'perks' too, one of which is a decent boost in your pay. So, there's no reason to refuse our generous offer." Smith added gruffly, barely looking in Nicks direction as he spoke.

"Well you both definitely make some good points…" Nick said, pretending to trail off into thought as he snuck a glance at his watch. It's just about time, guess I should get started. Nick thought to himself as he saw what time it was.

"I knew you'd see it our way eventually." Johnson beamed, his tail wagging slowly and thumping against the chair behind him.

"What a pity, I was hoping to do this the hard way." Smith grunted under his breath.

"Don't you start." Johnson warned, not wanting his partners bias to ruin the almost sealed deal.

"I start if I want too, the day I need you to give me advice is the day chickens start talking and the sky starts falling."

You know what I should probably set the phone to record just in case the guys failed. Nick thought to himself as he watched the hyenas argue amongst themselves. I mean what's the harm in it, they're distracted right now so the timing is perfect. If the guys succeeded then great, but this way I know for sure everything will work out. I'm sure they would do the same if they were here. Nick reasoned as he began leaning forward, inching his arm, ever so slowly, towards the phone in front of him.

Nick continued his stealthy advance towards the phone, unnoticed by the two bickering agents in front of him, but just as his fingers were about to make contact with the target Nick stopped himself. What am I doing? Nick questioned himself as he realized how stupid he was being. I was just about to jeopardize the entire plan and for what? Because I'm worried my friends will fail. What was the point in asking for help if I wasn't going to trust them? As Nick chastised himself, he carefully moved his paws back to their original spot, determined to trust in his friends.

"Stupid move, you can only trust yourself, you know that." Cyn-Nick taunted as he tried to chip away at Nick's resolve.

I. WILL. TRUST. THEM. Nick thought stubbornly as he straightened his back and prepared himself for the next phase of the plan.

"Oh Yeah well at least I'm not the asshole who farts in the car and says nothing like a savage. When 'I' fart in the car I have the decency to warn you first so you can roll down the window, like a civilized mammal." Johnson shot back heatedly.

"Guy's, guy's can we get back to the matter at paw here. I did have a few more questions." Nick interrupted, immediately getting both hyenas to stop fighting and focus back on him.

"And what might those be, I thought we had come to an understanding?" Smith asked, his tone bordering on threatening as he glared at Nick.

"Oh we did," Nick assured. "I just wanted to know why you had to threaten me at all. I mean after we talked it through and you explained all the benefits I don't see why you would need to resort to threats to recruit mammals."

"Pfft, you only listened to us because we threatened you." Smith retorted as Nick nodded in understanding.

"It's more than that though. IA has no issue in recruiting regular agents like myself and Smith, it's the undercover job we are offering you that is the issue for cadets." Johnson explained happily, treating Nick like he was already one of them. "You understand now that what we're asking you to do is the right thing, but not everyone is as understanding. So, sometimes we have to give the reluctant mammals a push in the right direction so to speak."

"Yeah and threats seem to be the only thing that keeps hardheaded cadets in line, plus it stops them from telling others what's happening, because if everyone knew then this wouldn't be nearly as effective." Smith added with a sardonic smile.

"I gotta say that's pretty impressive, makes me glad I'm on your side." Nick said, the easy smile on his face looking as if he was talking to two old friends putting the Hyenas at ease. "But that brings up another question, how valid are your threats? I'm certain you could delay my graduation with an investigation, but can IA really influence where a cadet gets placed?"

"You're right, IA doesn't directly have that power." Smith admitted with a shrug. "But the chief of Tundra Town's Precinct is a good friend of our director so if our director was to mention a particularly outstanding cadet at their weekly poker game that cadet's fate is sealed."

"Smith you have to explain it better than that." Johnson chastised playfully as he noticed the look of confusion on Nick's face.

"You do it then." Smith grumbled back.

"Oh, kay. You see Nick, while you cadets can request what precincts you want to go to the chief of a precinct can also put in a special request for certain cadets, and as long as they aren't blood related then the request is usually approved and the cadet will be assigned to there."

"This isn't something a chief will do often though, they're usually too busy to pay attention to every cadet that comes through these halls, but special cases appear from time to time, usually it's the kid of an officer they served with or a friend of the family that they want to keep an eye on, or something silly like that." Smith added dismissively.

"I see, but you can use this rule to your advantage if a cadet fails to see reason." Nick said, trying as hard as possible to seem like he agreed with their methods while biting back on the bile that was building in the back of his throat.

"Exactly. See you get it." Smith smiled, his annoyance with Nick seeming to evaporate into thin air.

"But what happens if the cadet's a piece of shit and refuses to work with IA after he graduates?"

"Well Nicky it's never happened before, but if a mammal was stupid enough to try and betray us, we would just cut our losses and ruin their entire career." Johnson bragged, flashing a cruel pearly white grin.

"How?"

"I'll explain." Smith cut in. "Since I want Nick to really understand the ramifications of fucking with us"

"I could make Nick understand." Johnson pouted.

"No, you'd try and be funny, or use some ridiculous metaphor to get your point across and end up convincing Nick that machines are going to take over the world and that he's be better off living the rest of his life in the woods."

"How was I supposed to know he suffered from technophobia!?" Johnson asked angrily as he slammed his paws on the table. "Dammit, you traumatize one guy into living off the grid and you never hear the end of it."

Smith just smiled as his partner. "Nope, that little incident with cadet Conner will follow you for the rest of your life."

"Whatever."

"Good, now that that's settle let's get back to business." Smith said menacingly as he turned back towards Nick. "Cadet Wilde, what is the one thing your instructors have emphasized to you from day one?"

"Our duty to the citizens."

"Sure, but what else?"

"Honor?"

"No, what else?" Smith asked, getting visibly annoyed while Johnson sniggered in the background.

"Constant Vigilance?"

"No… what ELSE?"

"Look Mr. Smith the instructors say a lot of things, and emphasize most of them too, if you want this conversation to move forward you should probably just tell me what you're getting at." Nick explained, not wanting to continue the obnoxious guessing game.

"Fine." Smith huffed. "I was referring to trust. Trusting your fellow officers and having their trust is crucial during life or death situations as I'm sure you know."

"Trust might have been mentioned before." Nick grumbled back.

"As it should, now if a cadet was foolish enough to renege on our generous deal we would be forced to 'accidentally' expose the fact that they work for us, and I'm sure you can imagine how other officers would feel about a treacherous worm like that. The cadet would have no choice but to either quit the ZPD altogether, or move permanently over to IA where he would still be ostracized and eventually fired."

"But wouldn't that expose this whole operation?"

"Surprisingly no. You see officers love to joke that new recruits are actually IA agents in disguise, so when one turns out to actually be one they would be shocked, but as long as they don't find out the reason than it will just become another rumor that adds to IA's terrifying reputation."

"That's brilliant." Nick complimented.

Smith smiled. "Thanks, any other questions?"

"No, I believe that's everything I needed." Nick smiled back.

"Fantastic, just sign here and your future is secured." Johnson said as he slid a pile of papers over to Nick.

Nick chuckled as he slid the papers back across the table. "No, I don't think will." Smith and Johnson looked shocked and ready to object but Nick silenced them with a paw. "The fact that you actually though I would work with you shows not only how stupid you are but how incompetent Internal Affairs is to have hired fools such as yourselves."

"WHY YOU!" Smith shouted, standing up as he did.

Johnson calmly stood up and put a paw on his partners shoulder. "Calm down Smith." He then turned to Nick. "I'm sorry you feel that way Mr. Wilde, you'll be receiving notice of our pending investigation by the end of the week."

"Would you like to tell that to Major Friedkin as well?" Nick smirked.

"In due time." Johnson said stiffly as he put the papers neatly back in his suitcase.

"Why wait, she's been listening to this whole conversation."

"What." Johnson froze.

"Yeah the phone I put on the table was used to call the Major so she could hear what you had to say, in fact let's put her on speaker so she can talk to you right now." Nick said mockingly as he took the phone off the table and presented it to the two hyenas.

Nick's triumphant expression was short lived however as he realized that the screen was showing that no call was in progress.

"Seems like whatever you had planned failed." Smith mocked as he and Johnson walked over and stood next to the stunned fox.

Johnson put his paw on Nick's shoulder. "Too bad Nicky, now Smith and I will take our leave, but we'll be seeing you again real soon."

Nick was astonished, did the guys actually fail, was I wrong to put my trust in someone else? what the hell do I do now? And as he stood there in silence Nick realized he had no answer, the hyenas wouldn't let their guard down again and without any kind way to prove they were harassing him Nick had no way to retaliate. It's all over.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl as Nick felt his stomach drop and future crash around him. He'd never get to work with Judy, catching criminals and solving cases, instead he's be forced into a frozen hell until his contract expired and he could quit and slink back to his con mammal ways.

What did I tell you Nick, trusting others is something a fool does, but hey it's fine since all you really lost is this idiotic job. Cyn-Nick said mockingly as he fought to contain his laughter.

Hearing this Nick wanted to retort, to tell himself everything would be fine and that he was right to trust others, but in that moment, he couldn't find the words and that hurt too.

Never let them see that the got to you Nick, Cyn-Nick reminded as he sensed the fox was about to break down.

Nick said nothing and simply hardened his resolve. Still feeling helpless and now holding back tears Nick could do nothing but turn around and watch as the two agents walked past him and out the door, probably right back to Internal Affairs to draft up their investigation against him.

But before Smith and Johnson could reach the door it slammed open with a frightening bang causing the table to shake and everyone in the room to jump.

"Ah Major Friedkin, we were just leaving." Smith said plainly, as he recognized the hulking form that was now taking up the doorway.

"No."

"Excuse you? We have some very important business to attend to so please step aside." Smith said, trying to take on a tone of authority.

"You two aren't going anywhere." Friedkin said, her enraged expression becoming clear as she took a menacing step forward, causing both hyenas to backpedal.

*Step*

"We are going to have a chat about who the hell you think you are to threaten my cadets"

*Step*

"and where the fuck you get off trying to pull a stunt like this at my academy."

*Step*

"And after all that I'm going to personally call the head of IA and if I get my way you both will be out of a job before you get back to Zootopia."

"M-major this is u-unacceptable behavior." Johnson stuttered as he felt his back press up against the table.

"I don't give a shit what you find unacceptable Keith, now sit your soon to be unemployed ass in that chair before I put you there myself."

Seeing they had no choice both Smith and Johnson dejectedly slunk back to their seats without another word of protest.

"Cadet Wilde."

Nick, who had been watching the scene, mouth agape in pure shock was snapped out of his disbelief and immediately popped to attention. "Yes Major."

"I need to have some words with these sorry excuses for mammals, Sargant Meadowwalker will escort you back to class."

"Yes Major." Nick replied, his usual snark nowhere to be seen.

"Good, you and I will need to have a chat later about the day's events, but I'll send someone to get you when that time comes."

Nick simply nodded. "Understood."

"Alright then, come with me cadet." Meadowwalker said as he appeared in the doorframe, shooting a murderous glare at the two hyenas before gesturing for Nick to leave the room.

Nick had just about made it into the hallway when he heard the Majors voice call out to him. "Oh and cadet Wilde,"

"Yes Major." Nick said as he turned around and watched as the Major began closing the door.

For less than a second the polar bears enraged expression dropped and was replaced with a soft smile. "You are a lucky mammal to have such good friends." After that the smile evaporated as if it had never been there and the Major turned and let the door slam behind her.

As Meadowwalker silently led the way back to class Nick couldn't suppress a grin as he could hear the Major's booming voice begin to chew the two hyenas out, Nick couldn't make out everything but he understood the gist of it and vowed in his heart that he would never piss off the Major if he could help it.

A Few Hours Later….

"That was a total failure." Smith grumbled as he tenderly rubbed his temples in a failed attempt to relieve the headache that the Major had given him.

"Yelling that loud should count as assault." Johnson moaned in response.

Smith nodded pitifully. "Let's just get back to the office. I'm sure the Director is going to give us an earful too."

The two hyenas walked on in silence down the halls of the academy, slowly making their way towards the exit both of them lost in their own thoughts about how one fox could cause them so much trouble.

As the two were mentally licking their wounds a voice came out of nowhere accompanied by the dull thuds of mitts on a punching bag. "Fuck Wilde!"

"That wasn't you, right Smith?" Johnson asked, figuring his partner was just voicing his anger.

"No I thought that was you."

Both hyenas shared a look of surprise before shrugging, "If someone else hates that no-good fox it's got had nothing to do with us." They said simultaneously before continuing on their way.

Despite their initial disinterest the voice continued sounding more and more agitated as the strikes continued. "I'll get that little SHIT! He'll be thrown out of the academy so fucking fast!"

A wicked smile found itself on Smiths face. "I think we need to talk with this mammal."

"I would have to agree with you Smith, if that mammal has proof of a cadet's wrongdoing, we are obligated to look into it." Johnson agreed as the two hurried to where the voice was coming from.

It only took a few minutes for Smith and Johnson to reach the open gym door, and once inside they found a sweat covered cadet, his head resting against the punching bag as he took a break.

"Grrr! But how will I get the fucking picture to anyone without getting caught!?"

The two hyenas smiled at each other and began approaching the agitated cadet.

"I swear he has no idea who he's messing wit- oh hello I didn't see you there," The voice said as it recognized it was no longer alone.

"Oh don't mind us. I'm Agent Smith and this is my partner agent Johnson we're with Internal Affairs. We just happened to overhear you and were curious since kicking bad mammals out of the ZPD is our job."

"Yeah, yeah. So if you were to have proof of something we'd be very interested in seeing it, Cadet….." Johnson said, trailing off so the cadet could introduce himself.

"Malanga, James Malanga." The wolf smiled. "And I have a picture that proves one of my fellow cadets is mentally unstable."

Thanks for reading, if you enjoyed it feel free to drop a review down below, tell me what worked, what didn't, what you want to see, ect. I love hearing from you all. Also If for some reason you don't want to comment but still want to suggest something or talk to me personally don't hesitate to PM me, I'll respond when I have time.

Chapterly song recommendation: No Fairy Tale By: Assuming We Survive