Boilerplate Disclaimer: The various characters from Zootopia are all owned by Disney the great and powerful. Any and all registered trade names property of their respective owners. Cheap shots at celebrities constitute fair usage.

Humphrey Bogart was in Casablanca in 1942. In 1946 The Marx brothers financed their own Night in Casablanca. Legend runs that Warner Brothers threatened to sue them for using the name Casablanca, with the legend claiming that Groucho threatened a counter-suit, arguing the Marxes were brothers before the Warners.

Set about twenty-one years after the movie Zootopia, with references to other stories in the Who Do You Trust? continuity.

A Week in Casablanca

Nick pushed open the door to the pawn shop and let Judy enter first.

The clerk, haggling at the counter with a possum wanting to buy some old coins, looked up. "Uh, detectives... I'll tell the boss–"

"At ease, Sid, we remember the way to the back room."

"But–"

The rabbit put a claw to her lips, in a gesture indicating, "Keep quiet," and pushed open a door, allowing cigar smoke to billow into the main room.

"Cripes, another raid," complained a wolf with a small mange problem as he looked up from the poker table.

"Not a raid, good citizen," Nick assured him. "Purely routine."

"Although gambling is illegal," Judy pointed out.

"We iz playin' Go Fish."

"And the poker chips on the table?"

"Wez takes da game deliriously," argued Duke.

"A harmless low stakes game among friends," argued Nick. "Not worth bothering the courts about. Simple recreation."

"Eggsactly."

"Fine," muttered Judy, "I'd hate to turn in my husband and his buddies, but how many times have I told you guys that smoking in a public place is against the law?"

"And hows many times has I reminded you dat da back room of my pawns shop iz not a public place and youse has no rights to be interlooping here?"

"With Duke's record," Nick reminded anyone who hadn't been there before, "the police suspect he may be working as a fence. So we need to check up and look at his books every now and then with a surprise visit. If he's clean I'll have him back to you in twenty minutes." Nick looked at Duke Weaselton, "On your feet, weasel, your office – now."

"Dis iz harassments," Duke muttered as he got out of the chair and left with Nick.

"Want to play out Duke's hand?" an armadillo suggested to Judy.

"No, I'm checking you all for warrants while I wait. She looked at a squirrel sitting to the left of the armadillo. "Why aren't you in jail? Nick and I arrested you last week."

"I'm out on bail until the trial."

"Figured out the reason your pawprints are on the liquor store cash register yet?"

"Still can't remember why they're there... My lawyer will tell me."

Judy turned back to the armadillo, "Okay, Raul, your turn." She got out her phone and entered Raul's name. "Hey, you're clean. Congratulations."

Raul looked over at the wolf, "Playing poker here a few weeks ago, and this rabbit and fox broke in, and the bunny warned me that if I didn't clear up some misunderstandings with the traffic department that there might be a warrant coming out for my arrest."

Judy checked through the names of the other players, issuing another warning to one that he needed to get to city hall and deal with a public nuisance charge.

As Nick and Duke headed to the office Nick suggested, "You really need an exhaust fan for that room, it's not healthy."

"I will tinks about it," Duke promised. He went to the sideboard and poured out two glasses of whiskey.

"I'm not allowed to drink on duty," Nick reminded him.

"What makes you tink one of dem iz for youse?" retorted Duke. He took a drink from the first glass and sighed, "Ever mist da old days? Out on da street – husslin' fer every cent?"

"What brought on the question?"

"I does not knows... Bein' all respectables is a pain. Dere is rent, an' payroll, an' I worries if da help is cheatin' me, and do nots get me started on da kids an' saving for deir edjucation... Males... Youse an da bun iz lucky youse gots two daughters. No worries wit daughters."

Nick laughed, "Duke, you have no idea the headaches a daughter can give a father. I try to be cleaning a gun when a male stops at the house to see one. Start the relationship off on the right paw. Seriously, would you go back to being twenty-something again – if you couldn't take any of your memories with you? You could go back, but you'd make the same dumb mistakes all over again?"

"Okay, okay, dere is worse tings dan bein' a responsibant citizen. Youse here jus' to schmooze? I gots really hots cards."

"Eric Smalls. Embezzler. Cleaned four or five million from his company accounts. He–"

"Iz taught to be hidin' outs in da white castle. I reads da funny papers. An' do nots give me da, 'An Judy tinks I can nots read'."

"We traced him to Casablanca. Judy and I are going down in a couple days to see if we can find him. The thirty-thousand reward made it too dangerous for him to stay in Zootopia. Rumor on the streets is there may be some heavy-hitters trying to find him to beat the millions out of him. Wondering if you've heard anything."

The weasel nodded, "I gots no names, but hearin' da same stuff. Dat much money will attracts an unsavorable crowd of fortunate hunters. Youse an' da rabbit needs watch your tails." He tossed back the second glass.

"I'll watch hers as well as mine," Nick chuckled. "I'll let you get back to your hot cards."

"Tanks. I do not hears as much as I used tos, back in da day, but I would calls youse if I had."

Nick returned with Duke to get Judy. "Oh, Nick, look who's here," she said pointing to the squirrel.

"How many nights in jail?"

"Two."

"I'm wondering how you plan to pay your lawyer. Hope it's not by holding up a liquor store."

"Youse iz impugnating da honor of me friends," Duke scolded. "Iz must asks youse ta leaves da promises."

"Okay, we're leaving the premises," Nick growled, "you appear clean, but we know you're still dirty. We'll be back."

As she left, Judy whispered to Duke, "I didn't let anyone peek at your cards."

"Pennington wants to see you," Clawhauser warned the next morning as Nick and Judy entered the First.

"Any idea why?" asked Nick, "Not that it matters. A captain's work is never done."

"No... Although she said it after I told her your twentieth anniversary was coming up... Do you think she might be too nice to be a captain?"

Judy defended her friend, "The fact no one has seen a nice captain before doesn't mean it's impossible. She's doing great!"

"She only got the position a month ago," Ben started, "and–"

"Every captain has only held the job for a month at the end of her, or his, first month," countered Judy. "Have some faith in the system."

"They put you on parking detail when you started," Ben argued.

"And somebody has to do it. I was the newest officer at the First. I deserved it. And I shouldn't have whined the way I did."

Nick chuckled and told the cheetah, "You'd think, after more than twenty years on the job, that her incurable optimism would have worn off."

Ben looked thoughtful, "Isn't that what incurable means, I mean, that it doesn't wear off?"

"Good point," Nick agreed, "but it's bad luck to keep your captain waiting. Respect for authority."

As they headed for the new captain's office Judy asked, "Turned over a new leaf? Respect for authority? Bad luck to keep your captain waiting? What have you done with my real husband?"

"She's nervous around us, knows one of us could have had the job. So I'm going to play nice until she gets comfortable before I resume my usual lazy, sarcastic attitude towards anyone in authority."

The elephant's door was open and Judy knocked on the frame to get Francine's attention, "Come in," Captain Pennington giggled.

The giggle was a bad habit. Nick thought it might have kept her from being promoted earlier, it often kept her from being taken seriously. And the fox still felt a sense of unease from the elephant. He and Judy were Zootopia's 'celebrity' detectives. It put pressure on them that the fox hated, but gave them a high level of unofficial power. It put pressure on their new captain. Francine Pennington needed to assert her authority in her new position, but didn't want to quarrel with the most visible members of the ZPD.

"Ben said you wanted to see us," explained Judy.

"He said your anniversary was coming up. Will this assignment interfere? I could–"

"This assignment is actually perfect," Nick assured her. "Don't know if you remember, but Casablanca was where Judy and I got engaged."

"We've been back a few times since then," continued Judy, "so we have some contacts. That will make it easier for us to find the embezzler than... than anyone else I can think of on the force."

"You don't want to celebrate with family?"

"First," Nick reminded her, "anniversary of engagement, not marriage." He raised an eyebrow and cocked his head to one side, "Second, you've never wanted to get away from your kid?"

The elephant giggled, "Well, there are some weekends I'm very grateful to give him to my ex-."

"We're going to take Jay with us," Judy explained, "and her friend Min to keep her company. They're old enough to appreciate the white city. Julie will be with Nick's sister while we're gone and Bill will be with the family of a friend from school."

"Who we will owe big time for watching him," added Nick. "We may need to take out a loan to pay them back if this runs more than a week."

"But if we find Smalls in less than a week we have a couple days just to relax before we're scheduled to come back."

"So, no problem?"

"No problem," Judy laughed, "and you're doing great!"

The elephant beamed.

"Not a bad idea to flatter her a bit," Nick thought. "Happy captains are easier to deal with. Piss her off and there are a lot of ways a captain can make life miserable – and an elephant never forgets."

Two days later Hye dropped her daughter, Min, off. "You're sure this isn't dangerous?" the raccoon asked nervously.

"Smalls stole a lot of money from his company, but he isn't considered armed and dangerous," Judy assured her raccoon friend.

"But he has money! He could hire guards or something!"

"Perhaps," Judy agreed, "but, assuming he is still in Casablanca, he probably wants to keep a low profile. A nice sized reward for anyone turning him in. Most of the fennecs we know don't want to engage in shoot-outs with the police."

"He could have hired lions."

"Nick and I will do the looking for Smalls. Jay and Min just get to see exotic sights, eat exotic foods, and do the homework they've been assigned."

"Just keep them from meeting too many exotic males," warned Hye.

"They're only fifteen," Judy reminded her.

"I was fifteen once. Were you ever fifteen?"

Judy nodded, "Good point. I'll watch Jay and Min, Nick can find Smalls."

Hye laughed and looked for her daughter, who was off with Judy and Nick's daughter and not to be seen. "Give her a hug for me. I need to get to work."

A little more than an hour later the four were at the bus terminal in front of the Sahara police station. The bus ran to Serengetti, but stopped at Casablanca – the center of the Sahel. A variety of animals waited for the bus. Nick and Judy assumed the zebras and lions, who would travel in the section of the bus reserved for larges, probably had Serengeti for their final destination. It was impossible to tell where a handful of other larges might be headed.

"Oh-oh, company," Judy whispered as a feline, who looked every inch the cross he was between a lynx and bobcat, approached Nick and Judy as they waited for the bus to Casablanca.

"Nick. Judy. Great to see you again! We'll be–"

"There's no 'we' Aubrey – at least if you're talking about you and us. Turn off the camera, you can't film us."

"Skip. Skip Tracer: Bounty Cat."

"Is the name of your show. You are Aubrey Tuggens. How many times do we have to tell you not to film us?"

"The police department said I could."

"The police department said officers could be filmed with their permission. You don't have ours."

"We'll censor your faces! We do it with suspects all the–"

Judy sighed, "You know the court ruling, since we're the only fox and rabbit pair on the ZPD it isn't enough for anonymity."

"Fine," muttered the feline and signaled his camera animals to stop recording. "I still say, if they can make porn movies of you an honest citizen, such as myself–"

"The porn movies are parodies. It's not Judy or me. Parodies are protected by law as works of art."

"You're telling me that 'Juggy' Topps is a work of art?"

"I'm sure her plastic surgeon thinks she is."

Judy gave her husband a level two dope slap, "If we could leave the porn, I assume you are heading to Casablanca and hoping to catch Eric Smalls."

"Right. Hey, it would be great to work with the two of you. Don't even need a piece of the reward – just let me film it and–"

"No," Nick told him firmly. "No way, no how. No working with you. No filming. But hey, if you catch him, no fur off our tails. Less work for us. We'll wish you luck – and give you a warning."

"You already did, you'll have me up on charges if I film you."

"Another warning. We suspect there may be violent criminals looking for Smalls too. I don't know if your show is real or not, but if it's fake you need to be careful."

"Hey, I'm real! Any reward for any of them?"

"We can't be sure who might be looking, but the story appears real."

"Hot damn! This could be exciting!" He looked at the young animals standing by the couple, "Is that your daughter, Jade? Any chance of an introduction?"

Judy said, "Another warning. Jay and her friend are minors. You film them and your show will be Skip Tracer: Jail Resident."

Aubrey grumbled, but he and his camera animals moved away.

"That was Skip Tracer? Really?" Min whispered to Jade.

Nick heard the questions, "There is no Skip Tracer, really. That's the name for his show. Yeah, that's him. He bothers us every now and then – desperate for ratings."

The four were on the bus, but not together, of course. The teens were seated as far from the detectives as possible in the section of the bus for shorts, laughing and talking in low whispers to keep parents out of the conversation. Nick and Judy had their own matters to discuss.

"Business first, or reminiscing?" asked Nick.

"You need to ask?"

"Business first then. I still can't figure that out. Always business before pleasure with you."

"Because it gives us time for uninterrupted pleasure when business is done."

"Are Min and Jay keeping away from us so we can't hear them, or so we won't embarrass them?"

"So we won't embarrass them, of course. Do you figure Eric Smalls is still in Casablanca, or is he out in some fennec oasis?"

"I'm going to guess still in Casablanca. A newcomer stands out in an oasis more than in a city. But we still need to check them. And that, Carrot Breath, is the only business I think we have to discuss at the moment."

Judy thought for a moment. "Okay. Where to you want to start on reminiscing? How much things have changed since the first time we were here, or if we should still perform at Rick's?"

"Two excellent points. Things have really changed since it became a tourist spot. I like that there's now almost enough water for a decent shower. I love we can now have ice in our drinks. I like we can use a cell phone there, even if we still need a satellite phone to call Zootopia. That'll keep Jay and Min from hours on the phone with their friends. While we're there we have to take her to that shop where I bought you the ring. But I think my absolute favorite memory of the place is standing by the gate and seeing a dusty bunny on a motorcycle riding up to the city with a pizza box strapped down on the back of the bike."

Judy laughed, "My second favorite memory, after you asking me to marry you, is–"

"I didn't ask you to marry me."

"You bought me an engagement ring."

"I didn't know it was an engagement ring."

"It's the same thing as asking for my paw, or it's fate. Your choice."

"Karma. Definitely karma. You're my reward for good deeds in a past life, and I'm your punishment. You must have been a bad bunny."

"Maybe I wasn't a rabbit."

"Good point. I can't imagine a rabbit doing anything bad enough to deserve me."

Judy snuggled closer, "I think you're a reward. Oh, back to reminiscing. This is where I found out you played the piano."

"And you sing."

"How about we skip that part this year... I mean, you can play if you want, and we have time, and Rick... Is Rick still running the place?"

"I assume that Louie still is, since his picture is on-line as owner, but if they haven't updated the website my guess would be that a new owner has magically transformed to the new Rick. If the place is called Rick's, you need a Rick."

"Well, you can play, but I skip the singing. Since the place has gotten more popular I think the music has gotten better, I don't know that I–"

"You're wonderful," Nick assured her, "but let's see if our act is still wanted. I think he has a professional pianist now."

"And he doesn't need a middle-aged rabbit who–"

"Is as gorgeous as the day she first sang there."

"She's now the mother of three."

"And sexy as ever."

"Mister Wilde?"

"Yes?"

"I'm keeping you."

Nick snorted, "Like you have a choice. I'm not letting you go."

"Think it would embarrass Jay if we started kissing?"

"I'm sure of it," he told her, and kissed his wife.

Several rows back, on the other side of the bus, Jade Wilde groaned. "Don't look at my mom and dad," she warned her friend.

The bus stopped in front of the main gate into the old city. A camel and zebra and a couple other larges, who might be tourists, were among the large animals to leave. Nick and Judy couldn't be sure how many smalls might have used the white fortress as a destination as they gathered luggage and herded Jay and Min from the bus.

While the driver checked to insure everyone with tickets to Casablanca had exited, and checked tickets for anyone getting on the bus for Serengeti, Judy told the teens, "We need to go to the police station first and check-in."

"Carry your own bags. Station isn't by the main gate," Nick added.

The outer walls of the police building hadn't changed since Nick's visit twenty years before, but the force and interior had. Several full-time officers of different sizes now served the city and the surrounding oases, although the crime rate remained low and the station would be considered under-staffed at any precinct in Zootopia proper.

A zorilla female looked up from the modern communications corner as they entered, "Detectives Hopps and Wilde?"

"Yes," answered Judy.

"Eve. Eve Ebon. We've been expecting you." She looked with curiosity at the teens with the detectives.

"Our daughter Jade," Judy explained in answer to the unasked question, "and her friend Min. We managed to get this as a week-long assignment and thought they might like to see the city."

"First time I was here," Nick told the zorilla, "officers were sent in from Zootopia for a three week rotation."

"Things are different now. You... I assume you'll be at a new hotel?"

Judy smiled, "I think Nick and I might prefer a room in the old city, but I'm certain the teens will be more comfortable at a place with wifi."

"You'll even find some of the shops in the old city have it now."

"Any news of Eric Smalls?" asked Nick. "If you've already got him in custody Judy and I get a week of vacation."

"No, haven't found him. Haven't had time for a real investigation. The fennecs tend to come out at night and we usually just have a single officer on the night shift, rounding up drunks."

"We'll probably take it easy until tonight then. His name and species?"

"The night officer? Jafari, a meerkat."

Judy handed Eve a slip of paper, "We shouldn't spend too much time at the hotel. Here's our cell numbers. That's another change, isn't it? How's reception at the oases?"

"Poor to non-existent at most of them. Some things haven't changed, yet."

When told to pick up their bags for the hike to the hotel Jade asked, "Can't you call a taxi or something?"

"Don't think that's changed yet either," Nick explained. "The streets in the new city might be wide enough, but there's no way to get a vehicle on the streets of the old city so there aren't many around. Most of what you'll find are trucks for round trips between city and oases."

The teens had a room adjoining that of the detectives. "Unpack," Judy instructed them. "We'll show you a little of the city in about an hour."

As they organized their room Min said, "The reward for finding that fennec is, like, thirty thousand creds. Do your parents get that if they find him?"

"No, it's their job. They don't get rewards for doing what they're supposed to."

"But if I found him I could get it?"

"You?"

"Me. Us. Whatever. What do you say?"

"I say you're crazy."

"Fifteen thousand creds each? That's a lot of money. We could buy... We could buy all kinds of neat stuff with that much money!"

"We don't know how to find a crook!"

"We can try. I read he wasn't supposed to be dangerous. You know martial arts. You could stop him."

"And what do you do?"

"I stand to one side and shout encouragement. Two against one doesn't sound fair."