-Something Wrong-

Life seemed to have returned to normal for the fox and bunny cop duo. Or as normal as life could be working for the ZPD.

Every day brought new and odd calls. Even a 20-year veteran would tell you that no call was exactly the same. Of course, they would be the same scenario for the most part, but they always included new mammals, new surroundings, and the occasional curveball.

Fortunately, Judy and Nick had managed to work well off of one another. Nick with his years of experience in the melting pot of a metropolis and Judy with her knowledge on ZPD procedures.

Nick suggested on several occasions that they apply for one of the many cop drama shows that seemed to be taking up all the airtime lately.

"Come on Carrots," Nick began as they returned to the cool confines of their squad car and away from the humidity that was currently washing over the Rainforest district. "It would be great. We can call it Fox and the Bun. You the no-nonsense bunny who plays by the rules. Me the handsome comic relief."

"First off I am filled with lots of nonsense," Judy chuckled from the driver seat as she finished filling out their end of the ticket they had just given to a speeder who cautiously pulled out into traffic and drove away, this time under the speed limit.

"Really? When?" Nick shot back as he looked out the window and gave a lazy wave to passerby.

"Missing Mammals," Judy said as her lips curled.

"Ugh….you just had to bring that one up didn't you Carrots," Nick groaned as he rolled his eyes. He then began to mimic Judy, "Its called a hustle, felony tax evasion…"

Judy had to stifle a giggle as she remembered how over a year ago she had tricked Nick into helping her solve a case before he had joined the ZPD. Her digits gently gripped the carrot pen in her paw. It had run out of ink a while back and she had been somewhat distraught at the thought of losing it. Leave it to Nick to save the day, he had not only found a special refill bottle for it but managed to convince a friend to help them when it came to refilling. The pen itself had been designed for a one time use kind of deal. Nick, however, had a feeling the pen meant a lot to Judy so he did his best so she wouldn't have to throw it away.

The bunny officer had become so lost in thought that she didn't notice Nick leaning over from his side of the car, a smug look on his face.

"But we are good at multiplying," Nick whispered in a teasing manner.

"Cheese and crackers!" Judy blurted out as her eyes went wide and a rosy pink went up her ears as she blushed.

"Think that is one of your best quotes yet Carrots," Nick chuckled as he wiggled his eyebrows at the bunny who could no longer look at Nick.

"Shut it, Wilde," Judy mumbled as she tried to get her composure back.

"Oh, that's it!" Nick said as he snapped his digits and sat back in his seat.

"What?" Judy groaned, knowing full well she would probably not like what Nick was about to suggest.

"For our show," Nick began as he returned to the previous subject. "I know what our hook will be."

"Do tell," Judy mumbled as she went back to finishing up their report.

"As it progresses our hero realizes she has a thing for her partner," Nick said simply.

It had been a week since the attempted kiss. A week since the 10-7. A week of Nick bringing up the incident at least 3 times a shift. Each time Judy felt mortified, not this time though.

Oh no she had been preparing herself for the eventual joke she knew would be coming that shift.

"So it's going to be a fantasy kind of thing? Because frankly, I don't think anyone is going to believe that," Judy said as her lips curled, her bright purple eyes never leaving her clipboard. "I mean he is smug, arrogant, and smells funny."

Nick lifted up one of his arms and took a sniff, "I do not!"

Judy finally glanced over at her partner who was still busy smelling himself. The two finally locked stares and sat silently for a moment. Then the laughter began.

Nick started and soon Judy followed until the squad car was filled with the sounds of the two officers laughing at one another.

"I guess your right," Nick said as he sat back in his seat. "I mean let's face it. She is so far out of his league."

Judy blushed once more and rolled her eyes, "Stop."

"She has brains, determination, a cute fluffy tail," Nick continued.

"Oh my gosh, Nick stop!" Judy laughed as she put her pen down and looked over at her partner.

"Plus her foot does this thing whenever you rub the base of her right ear a certain way."

"I was drunk!" Judy shouted at the fox, suddenly realizing that his window was down.

Judy's eyes went wide as she saw a family of bunnies walking by, the mother giving Judy a judgemental look as she hurried her kits away.

"Why do you torture me so?" Judy groaned as she fell back against her seat.

"Because its fun," Nick chuckled as he looked back at his bunny partner. "Plus you kind of set yourself up for it."

"You better be buying me the biggest lunch today," Judy grumbled as she finished up their report and secured the clipboard next to her seat.

"Oh trust me," Nick said as he stretched his arms upward, "I have a big plan for today."

The ground suddenly shook as a muffled thump from somewhere in the district echoed through the trees. Car alarms started to blare and trees continued to sway from the aftershock of the sudden tremor.

Both Nick and Judy looked at one another, eyes wide in surprise.

"Ok so that wasn't the plan," Nick pointed out before the radio on their dash started to explode with a series of loud tones.

"Attention all units this frequency, we are currently in a 10-100 status, any available units respond to the Rainforest District climate control facility. Reports of a large blast occurring somewhere inside of the facility-"

Judy barely heard the rest as she reached over to the dash and flipped a series of switches. The light bar on the roof of their cruiser suddenly came to life, blue and red lights flashing for all to see.

Nick meanwhile grabbed the paw-held radio from the dash and advised their dispatch that both he and Judy were on their way to the scene.

"What do you think it could be?" Judy asked as she weaved through the traffic, grateful for the few citizens on the road that immediately pulled over at the sight of their lights.

"Could be a lot of things," Nick grumbled as he held on to his seat. Normally he would complain about the bunny's rather aggressive driving but even he knew the necessity of speed in this situation and was grateful that Judy had graduated top of her class in rapid response driving. "A few years back they had a clogged pipe of some kind but that one sounded more like a gunshot when the metal gave out."

Judy gritted her teeth as she whipped the wheel so they could avoid a distracted pedestrian who strayed into the road. She managed to right their vehicle and continued to speed down the street.

"What could cause the whole district to rumble like that? How big are these pipes?" Judy asked, relying on her partner's knowledge of the city.

Though Judy had lived in Zootopia for over a year now it still annoyed her how little she knew about the city. With a metropolis of this size housing so many different species, it was really not the bunny's fault. A few years prior an author had tried to write about the city. Unable to fit everything into one book they instead sold knowledge of the city by the district, each one receiving its own tome in the series.

"The pipes?" Nick asked as he looked out the window, "Well let's just say we could easily drive this cruiser through them. They circulate all the water used for the rain system and steam to keep the district humid."

"If one of those pipes were to burst?"

"One already has before," Nick reminded Judy. "Like I said it sounded more like a gunshot, not some muffled thump. This was something else."

Judy had hoped to have more knowledge about where they were going but thanks to her rather rapid driving skills she managed to get them there in record time.

As their cruiser turned a corner they came upon a clearing in the buildings. The Rainforest District weather control facility was considered to be one of the cities "Vital" points, due to its ability to control most of the major functions of the districts environmental system.

Judy was always impressed with how the city architects managed to use nature as a primary theme when designing the structures around Zootopia.

Ahead of them sat one of the many giant trees that sprung up all over the district and provided many of the residents with shade and homes. Sitting at the base of the tree was a series of structures that seemed to be built right into the side of the tree. Several box-shaped storage tanks had a series of enormous pipes connecting them, the pipes led to a dome structure which had its own series of pipes leading into the tree.

"Tree itself is hollowed out," Nick explained as they approached the security gate, a frantic looking security officer waving them through. "You are looking at the heart of the district."

Once past the security barriers, they found themselves in a rather spacious parking lot. Much to Judy's dismay though the lot was actually rather full which meant that there had to be a lot of mammals still inside the facility. Several civilians could be seen frantically dashing from the the various buildings as a series of alarms blared and strobes flashed.

Nick grabbed the mic hooked up to the dash and notified their dispatch that they were now on the scene and would advise momentarily of the status but to continue to have other units in route.

Judy hopped out of the squad car and began to asses the scene. Her bright purple eyes scanning the area for an immediate threat.

"Oh thank goodness!" A hyena in an engineering coverall with the facility logo on the back approached Judy, a look of panic in her eyes.

"What happened? Are you alright?" Judy asked as she turned to the approaching canine.

"I'm fine, we just began the evacuation protocol. I don't think anyone is actually hurt but something blew up inside the facility on the upper levels."

Judy's eyes widened and she instinctively looked upward towards the top of the tree facility. Much to her confusion however she didn't notice any damage.

"It didn't breach the outer walls but the facility is definitely bleeding internally. I am in charge of fan maintenance for the vent system and the last readings I saw before I left my station told me we had some kind of problem up in the main cooling system."

"What caused all this?" Judy asked, wanting to try and get to the bottom of the problem.

"No idea. Heard this huge explosion from the upper levels then the alarms went off," The hyena said with a shrug.

In the distance, Judy picked up the tell-tale sound of the ZFD, the klaxons on their trucks clearing a path for them through traffic.

"Any smoke or fire?" Judy asked, having a feeling that the cause of all this would remain a mystery for now.

"Not that I saw-"

"Carrots!" Nick shouted from the other side of the squad car.

Judy looked over at her partner in concern, noticing a rabbit in a security uniform standing next to Nick, a look of concern on the new arrivals face.

"Got some holdouts refusing to leave the facility," Nick explained as Judy hurried over to the passenger side of their cruiser.

"What do you mean holdouts?" Judy asked in surprise.

"The operators in the main control room claim they have to transfer control over to a satellite facility on the waterfront said it will take time and that they won't leave till it is done," The buck explained.

"I thought when something like this happened it was a mandatory evacuation?!" Judy shouted as a ZFD fire rig pulled up alongside them.

Several mammals in ZFD bunker gear began to disembark their large rig and get into position. Judy had hoped with them arriving that they would be able to assist in evacuating mammals however that's when the real trouble started.

As they began to give the ZFD a sit rep several mammals came running out of the facility covered in soot.

"Fire on floor 7!" An engineer in a uniform similar to the hyenas shouted as he hurried over, the rabbit's fur had a few black marks which Judy could tell had been from a flame of some kind.

"Oh, you have got to be kitting me," Nick grumbled. He then looked to the ZFD lead who was already opening his muzzle.

"We need to focus on containment of the fire and slow its progress, who knows what damage it can do. Can you and your partner get to that control room and remove the holdouts?"

Judy practically leaped at the opportunity to help, much to Nick's annoyance.

Normally the ZPD would assist on holding the perimeter or clearing the scene of non-essentials. Rarely were they asked to actually go into a building with this kind of trouble. Seeing how they were the only other team on scene though meant they would have to answer the call.

With a plan set in place, Judy and Nick grabbed a pair of oxygen masks that they kept in the trunk of their squad car. The ZPD provided such equipment in case a situation like this arouse. The masks, however, were not meant for long exposure to hazardous environments. The tiny tanks they clipped to their belts would be good for maybe 20 minutes upon activation. Nowhere near the same time that the ZFD tanks could hold.

The pair clipped the masks and tanks to their belts then quickly made their way towards the main entrance to the control station.

As they hurried towards a pair of enormous double doors Judy glanced over her shoulder. Two ambulances were now pulling into the parking lot and setting up a staging area for any injured civilians.

They made their way around a rhino who was exiting the building, the mammal carrying a gazelle who seemed to be going into the stages of shock.

"See I told you we would get out ok, no big deal," Judy heard the rhino comforting the smaller mammal in his arms.

Once inside the facility, Judy's eyes had to adjust to the lower light level. She glanced up at the ceiling and noticed how only the emergency lights were now active. She looked over at Nick who rolled his eyes and retrieved a flashlight from his duty belt. He didn't turn it on at first but kept it ready in case they were suddenly plunged into darkness.

While wanting to maintain a kind of calm demeanor both of them understood the importance of getting to the control and getting everyone out. They silently decided to pick up the pace and began to jog down the hallway, occasionally running into a facility employee who was hurrying in the opposite direction.

Judy was grateful that whoever had designed the facility had made things simple. There was no steady winding turns or fancy architecture involved inside the halls. Everything was either straight or occasionally down a hallway on either side of them. Signs were hung all over the place giving the officers the directions they needed.

It didn't take them very long to reach the part of the facility they had been looking for. They arrived in front of a large steel door with a dark green sign that read "Operations Control".

Before Judy could reach out and open the door however Nick grabbed her paw and gave it a firm squeeze.

"Wait," Nick said firmly before slowly raising his muzzle upward and sniffing the air.

Judy found this rather odd, Nick had never used his nose like this, not seriously anyway. There had been the occasion where he teased the doe about his heightened sense of smell but he had never really used it in front of her like this.

After a moment or two, Judy finally broke the silence, "Nick?"

"Something is wrong here," Nick said in an almost cold tone as he looked around and took in their surroundings.

"What do you mean?" Judy asked in concern.

"I….I can't explain it Carrots but something feels wrong."

"We need to get them out of here," Judy said as he glanced at the door, knowing they still had a job to do. "If the fire spreads-"

"I know but…" Nick trailed off as his nose twitched. He then took a step closer to the door and took in another long whiff. Judy felt a little odd watching Nick act in such a manner. The fox turned and looked at his bunny partner. Her own purple eyes widened when she noticed an almost carnal look in Nick's eyes. "It's not safe….You trust me right?"

Judy didn't even hesitate and nodded as she reached down and unclipped her tranquilizer gun attached to her belt. Nick, however, raised his paw and took his head. Whatever was wrong it wasn't something a piece of equipment on Judy's duty belt could fix.

"What do we do Nick?" Judy asked as she tilted her head.

"We make a call."

While the reception inside the facility wasn't the best they managed to get a hold of their dispatch center via Judy's cellphone. Their radios were acting up and there was some kind of odd interference which wasn't too surprising given all the equipment currently surrounding them.

They received an update on how the fire was going. For the most part, the ZFD had managed to contain a majority of the blaze and the evacuation of the facility was almost complete. They did have reports though that a few of the mammals that worked in the main control room were missing.

That was when Nick and Judy gave an update on their situation.

"10-4, stand by," The dispatcher trailed off in a somewhat confused manner. Nick and Judy stood by for a moment or two before the voice returned. "Officer Wilde, can you please explain what exactly you mean by...off?"

Judy looked up at her partner and could tell this was a little awkward for him to explain. How was he supposed to convince someone that he had a hunch? Even though the fire had been contained by the ZFD they weren't exactly out of the woods. They were still standing inside of a building that was currently on fire and all they had to do was open a door and get the civilians out of there.

"Well, its just-" Nick said, obviously trying to find a way of explaining he smelled something odd. Judy, however, decided to jump in and help her partner.

"We are currently at the door but we are not receiving a response from anyone inside," Judy bent the truth a little. "We are concerned that there may be a hazard that we are unaware of and are requesting assistance."

Nick looked somewhat stunned but grateful none the less as he looked down at his partner who gave the fox a smug wink.

"10-4 standby while we try and organize something," The dispatcher said in a hurried manner.

"Carrots," Nick said as they waited for the dispatcher's voice to return. "Thanks."

"If you say something is wrong then something is wrong," Judy said with a smile. "I trust you partner."

They stared at one another for a moment or two before the voice on the phone returned.

"We have backup on the way."

Backup as it turned out was a pair of goofy painted dogs Judy and Nick had seen just a week prior.

Judy heard them before they even arrived, her large ears going up as she picked up some loud sniffing followed by a familiar smug voice.

When Delta and Atom turned the corner Delta froze and put his paws on his hips as he stared at Nick and Judy, "Of course we find you two here. There I was about to sit down for lunch when-"

"Lunch during a 10-100?" Judy asked as she put a paw on her hip.

"Oh please, they hadn't even finished the tone out before we hear you two already rolling to it. Thought you and wonder fox could handle yourselves," Delta teased.

Judy's lips curled into a smirk. Even though the painted dog was giving her a hard time she couldn't help but notice how quickly they had arrived which told her they had either already been on their way when the call for backup went through or was close by to provide assistance if needed.

"Well well looks like you two will actually earn your pay today," Nick said with a confident smirk as the two painted dogs approached.

While Delta kept his eyes on Nick and Judy his partner Atom had his nose up and was taking in a series of long sniffs. The lighter colored painted dog glanced down and noticed Judy, a broad open mouth smile crossing his muzzle as his tail swished.

Judy braced herself for what she knew would probably be a hug from the eager painted dog when Atom suddenly froze mid step.

All eyes went to Atom as he became rather focused in sniffing the air. He held up a paw which caused Delta to freeze and look right at his partner. Judy had never actually seen a K-9 team at work before and was somewhat impressed with how quickly the two goofy canines changed into a professional detection team.

Atom took a few cautious steps towards Nick and Judy, still sniffing loudly as he approached. He stopped and made a series of paw signals towards Delta who simply nodded before looking at Nick and Judy.

"Slowly walk towards me," Delta said as he signaled the fox and bunny pair towards him.

Nick and Judy followed the instructions and carefully moved towards Delta who looked at the floor between them and then towards the ceiling.

"No visual threat," Delta mumbled. "Wouldn't be a frequency detection or they would have set it off…"

Judy winced and realized what Delta was getting at. Atom showing such an interest in the area could only spell trouble. Delta was now listing what that trouble wasn't though. It was bad news however if these two were so interested in the area. After all they were trained to find explosives.

"Dispatch mentioned you didn't want to enter the room right?" Delta asked as he looked down at Judy before glancing at Nick.

"Yeah, we just-" Judy started to say, ready to give some excuse. Nick, however, decided to come clean.

"It's the smell in here," Nick said firmly. "It smelled wrong ya know?"

Delta shook his head which caused Nick's ears to fall back in embarrassment.

"No Nick, I don't," Delta began but before anyone could speak up he painted dog looked over at his partner, "He however does."

The whole reason Delta and Atom had been sent to this call was because Nick had smelt something odd. As it turns out Nick had been right. It hadn't been just a hunch though, he had smelt something in the air. He had detected a problem!

Atom made an odd snorting noise which caught everyone's attention. The painted dog glanced over at his partner, his brow furrowed which was odd to see such a playful mammal do. With a simple nod, he confirmed what they had all be wondering.

Delta put a paw on Judy's shoulder and nodded towards the other end of the hallway. The four members of the ZPD slowly and cautiously moved away from the door. Once around the corner Delta finally made the call to dispatch.

"Rain 1 this is Kilo 16," The painted dog said in a determined manner.

"Go ahead Kilo 16," Came a male's voice on the other end of the radio, the voice somewhat distorted due to the signal issues.

"We have an alert on the door leading to the control room. Notify EOD to roll on our location. Perimeter has already been established outside but notify the onsight assets of the status. We may need a bigger perimeter."

"10-4 Kilo 16," Came the voice, sounding a bit flustered. "Just to confirm your partner detected an explosive odor?"

It was at that point Delta looked over at Nick.

"The odor was detected by a K-9."

Hey all.

Longtime right?

So my writing has slowed to a crawl I know but you know how life can get right? Work has been super hectic lately and lots of other stuff has been going on.

I appreciate the patience and all the support I have been getting lately.

I am still working on all my other stories. None of them are dead, just super duper delayed.

How is Explosive Love? You all see where we are going now right? I mean the cover kinda gave it away but now we are seeing some headway.

Will try and have more for you all to read soon.

-Blue