PICTURE PERFECT

A Zootopia fanfic

By Daniel J. Drazen

PAUSE FOR BOURGEOIS LEGALITIES: This fanfic is copyright 2016 by the author. It is voluntarily rated PG for mature but non-sexual situations (sorry to disappoint some of you). The characters and situations belong to Disney Animation. Distribution of this fanfic is rabidly encouraged unless you 1) claim it as your own, or 2) try to make a buck off of it. If you have any problems, take it up with me at drazen@andrews.edu. This fanfic is protected by Title 17 of the U. S. Code concerning copyright, and when you violate copyright the terrorists win.

SETTING: within the Zootopia timeline during the rather huge blank space between the time Judy and Nick cracked the Savaging case and Nick graduated from the Police Academy.

Police Academy Commandant Sally was working at her desk when there was a knock on her office door. “Come in” the white Alsatian said as she continued signing the papers in front of her. She didn’t look up as the door opened and someone walked in.

“Cadet Wilde reporting as ordered, ma’am!”

“At ease, Wilde.” Doug finished signing the form in front of her. She looked up to see Nick Wilde, the Academy’s first fox cadet, sitting sideways on the chair facing her desk, one arm casually draped across the back of the chair. Sally rolled her eyes.

“I’ve been looking at your progress to date, Wilde.” She pulled out a file folder, but watched Nick instead of looking at its contents. “Relax, this isn’t a disciplinary matter.”

“What makes you think …?”

“We’re both canines, Wilde. We can smell fear, remember?”

“Oh, is that what that is? I thought it was because yesterday was Taco Tuesday at the cafeteria.”

“Don’t be cute, Wilde. You have any idea why I called you in here?”

“No, ma’am.”

“Like I said, this isn’t disciplinary. Your grades are good and you’re meeting the physical requirements. In fact, you remind me a lot of another candidate that came through here a while back: Judy Hopps.”

“The ears gave it away, didn’t it?” Nick put his paws on top of his head to simulate rabbit ears, then thought better of it when Commandant Sally looked at him. He lowered his paws.

“There’s no need for you to be a wise guy, unless you want to give me a reason to throw you out of here. Is that what you want?”

“No, ma’am!”

“As I was going to say, Hopps was the biggest grind that ever came through the Academy. She worked twice as hard as any cadet I’ve seen in my time here. And the same was true for her physical proficiency; when she couldn’t keep up with the larger animals by strength alone she found ways to use the strength she had to meet or beat the requirements. I don’t mind telling you that we made it tough for her, and that some of her classmates weren’t too happy that she didn’t wash out.”

Nick couldn’t help but smile, a mixture of pride and satisfaction.

“So, what do you think of Judy Hopps?”

“What do I think of her, ma’am?”

“You’re a fox, Wilde; you don’t do innocent very well. I know from your record that you worked with her to uncover the cause of the Savaging epidemic, and that was a huge factor in your being allowed to enroll here. So I’ll ask you again: what do you think of Judy Hopps?”

Nick’s gaze went to the wall behind the Commandant’s desk. It was dominated by an enlargement of the Zootopia Police Department seal, the same design as the badge. On the seal were the words “Trust,” “Integrity” and “Bravery.” This was what Nick was learning at the Academy: not just a skill set but a mindset. He could have vamped and faked an answer, but where was the integrity in that? Besides, Judy deserved better.

“She’s a good cop. In my opinion she’s one of the few cops who didn’t get stupider as a result of her training.”

Sally rested both forepaws on the desk in such a way that it looked to Nick as if she’d take a leap at him in a second. “You have a problem with the program, Wilde?”

“I’m only saying that I get the impression that some cadets come through here and they managed to forget what they already knew while they’re learning to be cops. Judy … from what I saw working with her, I got the impression that she’s a natural-born police officer and her training sharpened what was already there.”

“Good answer, Wilde. Very quick-witted.”

“Yes, ma’am. And thank you for not using the S-word.” They both knew the word was “sly.”

“Anyway, you don’t have much of a social life, do you?”

“I’m pretty busy with the Academy routine, ma’am.”

“That’s about to change.” Sally took out another folder and opened it. “You know what’s happening the day after tomorrow?”

“Yes, ma’am. That’s when Mr. Big’s grand-daughter is being christened at the Chapel of the Black Lamb. Judy … Officer Hopps is the godmother; she’ll be attending the christening and the reception later. We talked about it the last time she called me; she’s really looking forward to it.”

“Well, you’re going to be her plus-one.”

Nick’s smile became more obvious.

“This is business, Wilde. Commissioner Bull himself has taken an interest in this.” The Commandant nodded her head toward a photograph of a bull elephant in uniform. “Now I don’t believe Mr. Big is stupid enough to leave anything out where anyone can see it just because he’s hosting a party, but the Commissioner sent word to Chief Bogo to take advantage of Hopps’s presence to see what we can learn about Mr. Big’s operation that we don’t already know. And I’m asking you to do the same, to be a second pair of eyes.”

“Are we going to be looking for anything in particular?”

“No; just take advantage of the fact that you’ll be the first law enforcement officials to set paw in his place without a search warrant or a SWAT team back-up. It’s a party; go and mingle.”

“Are we supposed to take pictures or anything?”

“No; that’s been ruled out. You and Hopps will just have to use your memories. You’ll each be debriefed when it’s over.”

“I’ll remind her to leave her pen at home.”

“How’s that again?”

“Nothing, ma’am.”

“Nick, let’s talk frankly, canid to canid.” She opened a desk drawer, pulled out a chew bone, and started idly gnawing at it. “I get the impression from everything I’ve read about you two that you … work well together.”

“Very well, ma’am. If I had my way, I wouldn’t mind being assigned to her precinct when I graduate and being her partner.”

The Commandant stopped gnawing. She took the bone out of her mouth and fixed her gaze on Nick.

“Define ‘partner’.”

Nick’s mouth was suddenly as dry as Sahara Square.

“Never mind,” the Commandant said as she waved her paw as if treating the thought as a pesky fly. “Just remember to wear your Class A uniform to the party. That’s all.”

Nick rose, stood at attention, and saluted. Sally returned the salute, then Nick turned and headed for the office door.

“Wilde.”

Nick stopped and turned around.

“There’s nothing new about cop-and-cop relationships. I’ve seen a fair number of them in my day. Sometimes they work, and sometimes they go very, very wrong. With the ones that went bad, I think the problem was their feelings for the job got mixed up with their feelings for each other. Just my advice.”

“Canid to canid?”

“Canid to canid.” Sally then raised her left foot and began scratching her chin. “Dismissed.”

“I’ll save you some tiramisu.”
“Dismissed!”

***

Nick recognized the car as soon as it pulled up in front of the Academy gate on Friday morning. It was the same refrigerated limo he and Judy had investigated when looking for Emmett Otterton. They’d found Otterton’s wallet and disturbing signs of a struggle inside. The driver’s window lowered. A polar bear was sitting behind the wheel.

“Raymond! Good to see a friendly face.”

Raymond’s face was anything but friendly. “In.”

Nick opened the door and got into the limo. “Say, nice job of detailing! You really got all the scratches out. Your boss probably overpaid, though. Now I know a guy …”

Raymond closed the partition between the front and the passenger seating. Nick buckled himself in and smiled. “And that,” he said to himself, “is how you get privacy.”

Just then the sound of Jerry Vole singing “Al Di La” filled the passenger space. “Well, at least it’s a day off of school.” He settled against the seat and watched the scenery roll by. He hadn’t counted on how cold the interior of the car would be, but he reminded himself he’d slept outdoors in harder weather, not so long ago …

Enough of that, Nick told himself. Leave the strolls down Memory Lane for another time.

The limo soon glided to a stop in front of an apartment building in downtown Zootopia, the Royal Pangolin Arms. Waiting outside was a rabbit dressed in a Class A ZPD uniform: Judy Hopps. She got into the limo, breaking into a smile as she saw Nick.

“Welcome aboard, Carrots.”

Judy belted herself into the seat next to Nick, despite the ample seating in the back. “I forgot they like to keep these cold,” she said. “But the Chapel is in Downtown so it won’t be this bad. So the last I heard, you were working on the unit on larceny. That’s a tough one. You get your test results back yet?”

“Aced it.”

“Get out!”

“Why, we there already?”

“You’re cute.”

“You’re cuter.”

“You still don’t get to use that word.”

“Seriously, Carrots, the only thing hard about that unit was keeping my mouth shut in class. Whoever wrote the textbook didn’t have any personal experience with the subject.”

“Meaning he didn’t have your personal experience.”

Nick spread his paws. “Ancient history now. But at least I got some mileage out of it.”

“So what’s next?”

“I think … yeah, Domestic Situations.”

“Ooh, that’s a tough one.”

“Come on! It’s all about keeping in control when everybody else is out of control.”

“It’s not that easy Nick. It can be … intense.”

“How intense?”

“Well, when I went through the Academy there was cadet who was pretty good; he kept up with the classwork and was good with the physical training. When we did the classwork on Domestics he seemed to be all right with it, but then,” Judy sighed, “then we followed up with some roleplay of the kind of situations we could be facing. He wasn’t even in on the roleplay but right in the middle of it he just went to pieces! He was crying his eyes out and blubbering so much I couldn’t understand half of what he said. That broke up the class for the day, and the next day we had an unscheduled lecture on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.”

“What happened to the guy?”

Judy shrugged. “We never saw him again.”

“I thought they caught those kinds of things in the psych screening.”

“They’re supposed to. I guess it doesn’t get them all.”

“Hey, we stopped. I think we’re there.”

Judy unbuckled her seatbelt and opened the window. “Almost. There are about four or five limos ahead of us. Wow, they’ve got a red carpet down and everything!”

Nick stretched a closed paw toward Judy, as if he were holding something. “So what do you think your chances are for getting the award for Best Actress?”

That got a chuckle out of Judy.

***

The Chapel of the Black Lamb looked more like a cathedral, built in the old style with spires topping off at the fourth floor of most of the surrounding skyscrapers. Nick and Judy looked out of place among the crowd gathering near the front entrance: small, medium and large animals in dark suits, their eyes hidden behind sunglasses. They gave the two uniformed animals a wide berth as Judy and Nick walked into the cathedral to look for Fru Fru.

Because Judy was to be godmother to the infant, she sat in the front pew with the family. As small as Fru Fru and her family were, the baby shrew was so small that Judy was glad that the girl was wearing a white christening gown that was twice as big as she was.

An older ram wearing a heavily brocaded robe led out in the service. The family and Judy stood surrounding a stone baptismal font, ample enough for a shrew but to Nick it was about the size of a large coffee cup.

Nick wasn’t paying close attention to the service until he heard the ram call out “Judy Hopps.” Judy bent down as Fru Fru placed her new daughter in Judy’s paws. There were a few seconds of silence, then the ram turned toward the animals in attendance.

“You’ll forgive me if I indulge in a little sermonizing for a minute. It’s what I do. But as I look at this new life that has come into our world, the smallest of the small, resting peacefully in the paws of a member of Zootopia’s law enforcement community, someone charged with safeguarding our community and bringing those who would harm others to justice …”

Nick glanced around. The animals wearing dark suits and dark glasses, even though they were indoors, shifted in their seats or adjusted their shirt collars as if they were suddenly too tight.

“ … And I cannot help but think that this is a perfect symbol of how we may put our trust in Providence, resting secure in … “

Nick felt he knew where the ram was going with his sermon, so he let himself look around the inside of the cathedral. There was no missing the artwork that covered the niche on the wall above the altar. It was a mosaic done in the classic style of the building’s namesake, the Black Lamb. He stood with forehoofs raised, eyes gazing upward, his head haloed with a rainbow and a mortal wound across his throat. Scrollwork on either side of the image read “GUIDE OF LIFE” and “CONQUEROR OF DEATH.”

“Not soon enough,” Nick thought.

“Judy Hopps,” the ram said. Nick again turned his attention to the service.

“Judy Hopps, do you in the sight of these witnesses and for the sake of this child, promise to teach this child to walk in the path of the True Sheep, to teach her by word and deed and to live in such manner that your conduct will be an example to her all the days of your life?”

“I do.”

For a split second the scene changed for Nick. He saw Judy not in her dark Class A uniform but in a flowing white gown, holding not a baby shrew but a bouquet of flowers, and looking at him with those big violet eyes.

Nick blinked away the vision, and it was gone. Judy was back in uniform, handing the baby shrew to the ram for the act of baptism. He closed his eyes again and wondered whether the universe was trying to tell him something.

***

Despite the perpetually cold weather in Tundratown, the atmosphere around the house of Mr. Big was warm and genial, with tables of all sizes set up both indoors and outdoors loaded with food and drink. The house itself might be large and gloomy and the fencing and guards at the gate intimidating, but that’s how the place looked every day. This day, the grounds swarmed with invited guests celebrating the christening of Mr. Big’s granddaughter.

Nick and Judy may have looked out of place, yet only Nick felt out of place. Judy was energized to be surrounded by so many members of a close-knit family and to be treated as one of them. “Figures,” Nick thought, “she’s probably surrounded by this many relatives at home waiting to use the bathroom every morning.” He knew he couldn’t hang on to her, so he wandered off inside and helped himself to a plate of spaghetti off the serving tables in the front parlor. Just as he grabbed a fork, though, he felt a heavy paw land on his shoulder. It was Raymond. The polar bear nodded toward the hallway. Nick knew what it meant; he let Kevin take the plate from him and let the bears usher him down the hallway.

As they walked, they passed animals lined up against the wall. Nick knew who they were: the usual crowd of well-wishers, petitioners, and hangers-on who showed up at Mr. Big’s house when the occasion called for it, each with their own agenda. Nick tried to look apologetic as he appeared to be given preferential treatment. The fact that he was being escorted by Mr. Big’s bodyguards, however, caused some of the animals to shake their heads mournfully.

Raymond knocked on the door to the study before opening it. Nick was escorted inside, and the door was shut. Mr. Big said nothing, sitting immobile in his chair. Nick approached him to kiss his ring but before he could do so Mr. Big withdraw his paw.

“No, Nick,” he said, shaking his head. “I mean, look at you, the way you are dressed and what that stands for. It looks good on you, by the way, but Nick … you see, I cannot even call you ‘Nicky’ anymore. You are no longer the boy who worked this town as a street hustler. Sit. We will talk.”

Nick seated himself in the chair next to Mr. Big’s desk.

“I know you do not have a family here. And a man who doesn't spend time with his family can never be a real man. Seeing my Fru Fru and her daughter Judy makes me think about family.” He gestured toward a wall filled with dozens of framed pictures of arctic shrews. But the wall was dominated by one picture larger than the others: it was a life-sized oil portrait of a gorilla wearing a suit and striking a dignified pose. Yet it was more than a simple portrait. The background was cluttered with what appeared to be disconnected objects, buildings, and vignettes – scenes without context or explanation.

“Wait,” Nick asked, “Bonzo Bananas was family?”

“You know the story of that portrait, don’t you Nick?”

“I know the rumors; that it was some kind of map or something to a pile of money that Bonzo squirreled away.”

“Yes. Before he retired from the business and relocated.” Nick knew that by “retired” Mr. Big meant “was found clawed to death” and by “relocated” he meant “was found floating near the Canals.”

“So why is it here?”

“Like you, I heard the stories. I used to meditate on the picture and try to understand what it meant. In the end, I figured it meant nothing. I told myself that if I figured it out I could help provide for my family. I have given up thinking that way. Besides, they are getting along well enough on their own.

“Nick, my Fru Fru has had occasion to meet several times with Officer Judy before the christening. When women get together, they talk; you know this. And when they talk, they sometimes speak of their men in a way that does not show them the proper respect. Fru Fru tells me that when Officer Judy speaks of you, she does show you the proper respect. This says a lot about her character. And about yours.”

Nick did the one thing he had never done in the presence of Mr. Big: he blushed.

“Nick, I want you to enjoy yourself here today, because you can never come here again. I will not send for you. We are on different paths now, and it would not be good for them to cross.”

“What?”

“I may send you something sometimes. Accept it as a gift freely given, with no obligation. I do not expect anything from you in return. Now go. And for both our sakes, may we never meet again professionally.”

Nick opened his mouth to speak; no sound came out. He rose, walked across the floor, and left the room.

He walked back to the front parlor, where animals were still coming and going, serving themselves from the buffet tables. Kevin was standing there, and he handed Nick the plate of spaghetti he’d taken from him earlier.

It hadn’t just gone cold. It was frozen solid.

***

Nick was quiet in the limo afterward. He let Judy go on about the party, about Fru Fru and the baby, about large families like the one she left behind in Bunnyburrow.

“So, what did you and Mr. Big talk about?”

“Nothing much, Carrots. He made a lot of small talk about family. I guess seeing his kid having a kid got him to thinking about, you know, Circle of Life stuff.”

“That was all?”

“That and he talked about this weird old portrait of Bonzo Bananas he has in his study.”

“Nothing about you?”

“Not really. I hope you had a more interesting time.”

“I spent most of the time with Fru Fru, except when I was trying to shake this ferret.”

“Ferret? He wasn’t a writer, was he?”

“How’d you know?”

“I thought I recognized him! He was waiting in line to see Mr. Big but looked away when I got closer.”

“But who is he?”

“His name’s Randall. He’s a freelance writer. The day I checked in to begin training at the Police Academy he was waiting for me at the gate, wanting to do a piece about my being the first fox to train there.”

“What did you say to him?”

“I told him any kind of article like that had to be approved by the department’s Public Information officer; they made that clear to me in the intake interview. I guess they took one look at me and figured I might be more interested in selling myself than in training to be a police officer. Anyway, Randall left me alone when I told him that. Beats me what he wanted to talk to Mr. Big about.”

“And when I saw him, he didn’t seem to be interested in Fru Fru at all. He wanted to talk to me, he said, but I was afraid that he was going to bring up that horrible press conference I did, so I kept giving him the brush-off. Raymond must have noticed the trouble I was having because the next thing I know he was throwing Randall out the door. Nick, you’re not still sore about the things I said, are you?”

“Hey, more ancient history, fluff. Just remind yourself that changing the world takes more than a couple of days.”

Judy smiled.

The limo stopped in front of the Royal Pangolin Arms. “This is my stop,” Judy said. “See you.”

She got out of the limo and headed for her room, which was smaller than the car’s interior. Nick watched her go, a smile on his face.

“Say Raymond, as long as …”

Nick’s voice was drowned out as the interior filled with the sound of Jerry Vole singing “Have You Listened To Your Heart?”

“OK,” he wanted to say to the universe, “I get it!”

***

The debriefing with the Commandant was predictably quick. Nick was surprised, though, when he was shown a brief dossier on Bonzo Bananas, with a magazine article on the enigmatic portrait. Nick gave it a quick scan, declaring that it didn’t say much of anything and had managed to leave out the more outlandish stories. He also learned that the Academy would take a 4-day break so the campus could be deloused.

“You got a place to stay?” the Commandant asked.

“Yeah, ma’am, I have a place in town.”

“You’d better; I don’t want to hear about a Police Academy student living under a bridge somewhere.”

“Don’t worry, it’s not under a bridge.”

After the last class on the day before the break -- Vehicle Licensing and Registration -- Nick went to check out of his dorm room. He figured he wouldn’t need to bring anything with him; he only had to drop off his room key at the front desk. He did not figure on having an envelope waiting for him at the desk.

There was something inside, something small and hefty. He tore open the envelope. It was a key with an orange plastic handle with writing on it. There was no letter inside and no return address on the envelope.

“OK, Cadet Wilde,” he told himself, “pop quiz time. This looks like the key to a storage locker. It has an orange handle; Zootopia Central Station uses orange locker keys; the three bus stations in town use green, blue and yellow. ‘113E.’ ZCS lockers come in three sizes: Rodent, Mammal and Elephant. Whatever is in that locker, it’s big.” He pocketed the key. “Next stop: Zootopia Central Station.”

***

Two days later, Officer Judy Hopps checked out after ending her shift, stopped at the booking desk in the lobby of Zootopia Police headquarters, leaned her head against the front of the desk, and groaned.

“Is that you, Judy?” asked Sgt. Clawhauser. “Still got you working 12-hour shifts, huh?”

“I can handle a 12-hour shifts, but this one was so crazy I didn’t even have time to take a Code 7 food break.”

“Say no more, Jude! I got a couple donuts left over. Lemme see if I have a carrot cake … or is that stereotyping?”

“Anything will do, thanks.”

“Got a couple plain cake donuts.”

A gray rabbit paw poked up in view in front of the desk. “Here you go!”

“Thanks.”

“Anything else I can do you for?”

Judy swallowed the by-now dry donut. “Not really.”

“Then go have some real food and go to sleep.”

“Yeah, uh … listen, there is one thing.”

“What?”

“Can I make a call on your phone? Just one.”

“You running out of minutes?”

“Something like that.”

“OK, here.”

Clawhauser handed his cell to Judy. A few seconds later she set it back on the desk.

“No answer?”

“No. Thanks, Clawhauser. And thanks for the donut.”

“No problem. Take it easy.”

But Judy couldn’t take it easy. For the past two days Nick hadn’t been answering his phone. And he didn’t answer when she tried calling him on Clawhauser’s phone, either. Something was wrong. The donut had been enough to settle her stomach but she couldn’t eat or sleep until she knew what was going on.

***

It was a red brick building a block from Lionheart Avenue in an older part of Downtown Zootopia. It might have been an office building some fifty years ago but now it was dwarfed by the bigger, more modern buildings that dominated the skyline. The sign on the building, “Pack Rat’s U-Store,” didn’t set Judy’s mind at ease. She looked at the address. There was no mistake. She walked inside.

The lobby of the building was musty. The windows facing the street hadn’t been washed in a long time. The floor had been gutted and a row of wooden-slatted storage lockers faced the windows; some of them were empty, others held haphazardly-piled stacks of boxes.

Judy turned back to the front door. Across from it there was an elevator. She took it to the 5^th floor, where she found another row of storage lockers.

“Nick?” she called out.

“Go away, Carrots.”

Judy walked about halfway down the row, past empty lockers, until she came to one jammed floor to ceiling full of boxes and furniture. Sheltered in a corner on the right-hand side was a beat up old couch. Lying on it, his back to the door, was a fox.

“Nick, are you all right?”

“I’m really not in a mood to talk about it. How did you find me, anyway?”

“You gave this as your emergency contact address when you applied to the Academy.”

“The Academy is closed for fumigating.”

“I accessed their records through the ZPD computer system.”

Nick sighed. “Isn’t bureaucracy wonderful? Now go away.”

“No, Nick, why won’t you tell me what’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong is … is none of your business.”

Judy opened the locker door and stepped inside. “Do you live here?”

Nick still kept his back to Judy. “Yeah, this has been my home, office, and storeroom since …”

“Since when?”

“Are you getting ready to take the sergeant’s exam? Move up to detective already?” There was an edge of anger in his voice but he still didn’t turn to face her. “Well, a detective needs to see all the clues. There’s a desk behind you. An envelope’s taped to the underside of the second drawer on the right. That should tell you what you need to know.”

Judy turned to look at the desk, piled high with cardboard boxes. It looked like it might have been a school teacher’s desk from fifty years ago. She pulled open the second drawer; it was empty. She looked underneath and saw a plain envelope taped to the bottom. She pulled it off. There was something inside. She opened the envelope, took out what was inside, and gasped.

It was an old photograph. Some of the colors had faded. It was a photograph of a female fox lying on a hospital bed. Several tubes were connected to her arm. Her face was gaunt and her eyes had a tired look to them but she smiled for the camera. It was clear that even smiling was an effort for her.

“Oh, Nick,” Judy said softly. “Is …”

“Yeah,” Nick said, still with his back to her. “And to answer your next question: six days after that picture was taken.”

“Nick, I’m s…”

“DON’T SAY THAT WORD!” Nick turned to face her. His voice was husky with anger but his eyes were red and puffy and the fur around them was matted. “Do not say that word; I got so sick of hearing it. It’s the easiest thing in the world to say you’re sorry, but not sorry enough to take in someone’s brat kid. It’s easier to just tell him you’re sorry and leave him alone.” Nick sat on the sofa, his head in his hands.

“You said you’d been working hustles since you were twelve. That’s how old you were …”

“Yeah. That’s when I had to go into business for myself. So I was a little too busy to, you know, feel it.

“Then, when we were at the party at Mr. Big’s he … he just cut me out! He said I couldn’t deal with him anymore because I’d decided to be a police officer. I couldn’t see him anymore, I wasn’t even supposed to go to his house anymore.”

“Nick, you didn’t tell me any of that on the way home from the party.”

“No, it … it hurt too much. See, my father, my real father, was never in the picture when I was growing up. It was just me and Mom. And after that, I guess I kind of treated Mr. Big as a kind of father figure.” He ran a paw across his head fur but didn’t look up. “I never admitted it to him, but I think even he figured it out. So when he said I couldn’t see him anymore, that kind of set me up. Then he sends me that.” He pointed to something large and square and wrapped in canvas lying on top of some boxes near the ceiling.

“What is it?”

“That crazy picture of Bonzo Bananas. That’s his idea of a going-away present! Anyway, that’s when it all came crashing in on me. I crawled in here and threw myself a pity party. And no, your invitation didn’t get lost in the mail, Carrots; this was a private party. For one.” He curled up on the couch again, turning his back to her. “You know the way out of here.”

Nick expected one of two things: either Judy would go stubborn, say “No” and stand her ground, or she wouldn’t say anything and just leave. Instead, Nick heard only the sound of Judy breathing. Then, a sniffle.

Nick turned. Judy was still standing there. He caught her in the middle of wiping her violet eyes. Nick couldn’t say anything angry. He couldn’t say anything snarky. He couldn’t say anything at all.

“I know they’re a pain,” Judy said, forcing out the words, “and everything they told me about predators is wrong, but … but they’re my parents, and I love them, and they’re still alive … and … and the thought of losing both of them …”

Nick still couldn’t say anything.

“I need a hug!” Judy wailed.

Nick was actually stunned. He opened his mouth a couple of times; nothing came out. Then he opened his arms. Judy rushed to him and buried her face in his chest. He held her close as she sobbed her heart out. He wrapped his arms around her, wishing that he could undo whatever damage had been done to her.

After several minutes, she stopped and became still. She didn’t move or try to break out of Nick’s grip. The silence started to get to Nick.

“You know, Carrots, there are some pick-up bars in this town where, if you walk in with a stuffed animal under your arm, you’re advertising that you’re looking for someone who likes to cuddle. Of course there are also a million crazy rules about what kind of animal and which arm … ”

Nick looked down as Judy. Her face was no longer pinched with grief and sorrow; she was at peace, sleeping like a child. Nick smiled. For a rabbit to trust a fox this completely was, he thought, the highest compliment he would ever receive. Wrapping his arms around her, he settled back against the couch to drift off to sleep as daylight faded.

***

Nick woke up. It took him a second to realize two things: that it was starting to get light outside, and that Judy was gone.

“Carrots!”

“I’m out here, Nick.”

Nick got off the couch and out of the storage locker. Judy was looking out the window. “Can you see the sunrise from here?” she asked.

“Not with all those buildings out there. Are you all right?”

“I’m sorry I lost it yesterday, Nick. I was coming off a 12-hour shift, and … ”

“Hey,” he said as he cupped one of her cheeks with his paw, “don’t apologize for caring about your folks.” He turned and tried looking out the window himself.

“Now what?” Judy asked.

“Well, we could either go back into the storage locker and try to keep the pity party going, or we could go out for coffee and figure out something else.”

“Coffee sounds good.”

“I’ll lock up, you ring for the elevator.”

A minute later, they were on the sidewalk, headed toward Sahara Square a couple of blocks away. Nick kept his paws in his pants pockets.

“Hey, Carrots?”

“What?”

“Thanks for tracking me down. I guess being alone wasn’t what I really needed, even though it’s what I’ve been used to.”

Judy didn’t say anything.

“And … thanks for being with me while I was unpacking my baggage.”

Judy hooked one of her arms around Nick’s. He stopped and turned to her. She looked at him with that sweet smile of hers.

“You foxes are so emotional.”

It’s rare for a fox to act on impulse, which helps explain their reputed cunning. But Nick then did a very un-foxlike thing: dropping to one knee, he hugged Judy tight. Judy returned the hug. Nick felt something in his chest, like a balloon getting bigger and bigger, crowding out the dark memories of the past few days. He wondered, hoped, Judy felt the same thing. A few seconds later, Nick relaxed his grip and stood up.

“Let’s move it, Fluff, that coffee isn’t going to brew itself.”

Judy looked at him and smiled. Maybe she had felt it, Nick told himself.

***

Sahara Square teemed with life, but it was unevenly distributed. A variety of businesses lined the perimeter of the Square where it rubbed up against other neighborhoods: mostly modest restaurants and open air bazaars selling clothing and handicraft and anything imaginable. At the heart of the Square was the upscale resort district, anchored by the luxurious Palm Hotel.

For the most part, however, the rest of the Square was quiet during the day, as the heat of the sun and what was considered waste heat from Tundrarown drove the temperature into the triple digits on a routine basis. It was in the cool of the evening that the Palm district came alive. At the outer edge of the Square, however, activity hummed at all hours of the day or night.

Nick and Judy crossed the street that divided Sahara Square from Downtown Zootopia. “You ever had coffee in Sahara Square?” Nick asked.

“No.”

“Prepare for an experience.”

Nick directed Judy to Jamil’s, an open-air diner with a half-dozen tables on a shaded patio. Judy looked around.

“No menus here, Carrots. And it’s too early in the morning for any kind of real food.”

“I guess you’ve been here before.”

“And you’d be right.”

Just then, a black-faced goat with wide eyes and droopy ears walked up to the table. He began to set out tableware in front of Nick and Judy. He also began talking to them:

“Nick it is Nick right good to see you again haven’t seen you in ages I hope you are well you look very well but a little skinny you should come by in the evening we do a kebob will bulk you up I promise you we have fresh beans in today coffee beans you know very very tasty …”

“Ardi!” an older goat yelled at him, “finish setting the tables and stop bothering Mr. Wilde.”

Ardi grinned and began to set the next table.

“I’m sorry Ardi got to you before I did, Nick.”

“Not a problem, Jamil.”

“Is he …?” Judy didn’t know how to finish the sentence.

“Ardi is all right, miss; he just ate too many coffee beans when he was a kid. And you are a friend of Nick Wilde?”

“Yes, I am. Offer Judy Hopps, Zootopia Police Department.”

“Yes, yes, I recognize you now! Thank you, thank you very much! You did us all a great service solving that savage business. Rahim, one of my dishwashers, a jackel, he was one of the ones who went savage. It broke the heart of his family. But he is all right now and things are back to normal, inshAllah. But I’m beginning to ramble like Ardi now. What can I get you?”

“Two coffees, medium,” Nick said.

“I’ll take care of it myself. Good to see you again, Nick.” He turned and went inside.

“Well, I guess you really do know everybody,” Judy said.

“And animals are beginning to know you, too, in a good way.”

“Nick, how long have you been coming here?”

“I can’t remember the first time, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t for the coffee.”

“For what, then?”

“Well, I spent a few nights sleeping under one table or another. That was before I moved into Pack Rat’s.”

“But if you were making $200 a day …”

Nick rubbed the back of his neck. “OK, I may have overstated my income … and understated my expenses … and didn’t mention some hustles that never came close to paying off.”

“And you never tried going straight before?”

“Not until some deranged fugitive from Bunneyburrow decided that a fox could be something more than shifty and untrustworthy. Ooh, showtime!”

Jamil set up a simple tripod next to the table, with a metal tray resting on top. On it there were two small coffee cups resting on saucers, a small open copper pot with a wooden handle set up at an angle, a glass pitcher filled with water, glasses, small dishes holding sugar and what looked like a red candy dusted with sugar, coffee grounds as fine as dust, a few spoons, and what to Judy looked like the kind of small alcohol lamp they used in the science class in school.

Nick and Judy watched as Jamil measured coffee and sugar into the pot, then added water and lit the lamp. Holding the pot over the flame, they saw the brew almost come to a boil before Jamil took it off the heat and let it settle for a minute. He repeated this two more times.

Nick leaned in toward Judy. “Big finish.”

Instead of simply pouring the coffee into the cups, he raised the pot above the cups as he poured almost level with his head. Judy’s eyes went wide and she held her breath. It looked like an invitation to disaster, but Jamil filled both cups and didn’t spill a drop. Jamil served the coffee to each of them with a piece of the red candy on the saucer next to the cup and a glass of ice water.

“Thank you, Jamil,” Nick said.

“And thank you, Officer,” Jamil said to Judy. He then left.

Nick raised his water glass. “Water first, to cleanse the pallet.” Judy raised her glass and clinked it against Nick’s. “Don’t worry about the foam on top of the coffee; that’s supposed to be there. And there’s a reason they serve it in these little cups; it’s not the kind of brew you can chug. And I hope you take it black; they don’t use milk.” He raised his coffee cup. “Here’s to Zootopia, where anybody can drink anything.”

Judy took a sip. “Whoa! That is different!”

“A good different, I hope.”

“I can’t get over how tiny these cups are! They remind me of the ones my sisters used to use when they had tea parties.”

Nick grinned. “I’m having trouble picturing you as the tea party type when you were little.”

“Yeah, you got that right. I was all about being a police officer as far back as I can remember.”

“Well, look what we have here,” someone said as a shadow literally fell across the table. Nick and Judy looked up to see a brown-furred ferret in an old plaid shirt standing over them.

“Randall!” Nick said. “Last time we saw you was at Mr. Big’s house.”

“Pfft. Not worth talking about.”

“And you were getting kicked out because you couldn’t take ‘No’ for an answer,” Judy added.

“I said it’s not worth talking about!” He slammed a paw onto the table, which drew the attention of some of the patrons nearby. Randall pulled a chair from a nearby table and seated himself. “Hey,” he said as he spread his paws, “I’m not here to make trouble.”

“A little too late for that,” Judy whispered.

“So why aren’t you off somewhere writing the Great Zootopian Novel?” Nick asked.

“It just so happens I’ve got a manuscript just about ready. It’s 317 pages so far, nonfiction, about an enigmatic and fascinating portrait.”

“The Meowna Lisa? It’s been done.”

“You know what I’m talking about, Nick. The painting Mr. Big sent to you after I offered to acquire it from him.”

“Wait a minute. If you know so much about the painting that you could write 300 pages about it …”

“Three hundred seventeen, so far.”

“… why ‘acquire’ the painting itself?”

“Because publishers are funny that way. I’ve written about a painting that’s private property rather than something public. Even if those dopey editors have heard of it they’re going to need more than the reputation of the painting to market it.”

“Couldn’t you just take some pictures?” Judy asked.

“And have them laugh at my photography as well as my prose? No, this time I’m offering them something they can’t ignore!”

“OK, we get it,” Nick said, “but what does this have to do with us?”

“Don’t play dumb, fox. You’ve got what I want.”

“Maybe I want to hang onto it myself, for sentimental reasons.”

“A sentimental fox,” Randell chuckled. “That’s a laugh!”

“And what makes you so sure I even want to part with it?”

“Oh, you’ll want to.” At that moment, two lowland gorillas stepped up behind where Nick and Judy were seated. “These guys used to be with Bonzo Bananas’s old crew. They have an interest in seeing that the painting gets a good home, for a percentage.”

“Yeah, I’ll bet they do. Come on, let’s go.”

“Nick!” Judy protested.

“Look, Carrots, we’re outnumbered and outgunned here. If I’m going to lose at least I want to lose at home.”

“And don’t think about calling for backup, either,” Randall added. “Let’s keep this nice and cozy.”

“Right, cozy.”

Nick got up, held out Judy’s chair, and with the two gorillas following uncomfortably close behind, started walking back toward Pack Rat’s.

“Nick, what are you doing?” Judy said in a harsh whisper.

“What’s the first word on the ZPD badge?”

“’Trust’.”

“Right.” He pulled a pair of mirror sunglasses out of his shirt pocket, gave them a quick glance, then put them on. “So even though I’m a fox, I’m going to have to ask you to trust me.”

They walked back to Pack Rat’s and Nick stopped at the door. “So, do you want me to put my paws in the air?” He raised his paws as if surrendering. “Or maybe behind my back?”

“Just get inside!” Randall barked.

In the lobby, Nick rang for the elevator. “Wow, I never noticed how small this elevator is, especially when there are two gorillas waiting to use it. Maybe one of your guys should wait down here.”

“Where’s the picture?”

“With the rest of my stuff, on the fifth floor.”

Randall thought for a moment. “OK.” Randall pointed to one of the gorillas. “You wait here for the time being.”

Nick resisted the urge to say anything as he shared the elevator with Judy, Randall and the other gorilla. At the fifth floor, they got out and Nick opened the storage locker.

“All right, where is it?” Randall asked.

“Up there.” Nick pointed to the canvas-wrapped rectangle near the ceiling of the storage locker.

“You’re kidding!”

“Hey, it was no picnic getting it up there, either.”

Randall looked it over. “Well, it is the right size … OK, Wilde, stand back here.” He grabbed Nick’s shirt collar and pulled him toward the doorway. “And you,” he said to the gorilla, “make sure the bunny in blue is comfortable.”

The gorilla seized Judy’s right shoulder and forced her back against the couch, pressing his thumb against her throat.

“No funny stuff, Wilde.”

“Judy,” Nick thought to himself, “if you remember any self-defense moves from Academy, use ‘em now!”

Judy must have been thinking the same thing, because she had been put in the perfect position to kick the gorilla in the face with her powerful legs, dazing him.

Randall was momentarily stunned, and that moment was all Nick needed. He stepped in front of Randall and grabbed him by the shirt collar.

“My turn.”

He pulled Randall toward him, at the same time raising his other arm so Randall’s snout collided with Nick’s bent elbow. He then shoved Randall against the still-dazed gorilla on the couch, and pulled a small box out of the pile of odds and ends behind the couch. There was a soft groaning sound.

“Out, Carrots! Now!”

Judy and Nick stepped into the hallway and Nick locked the storage locker just before the groan turned into a roar and several dozen boxes of various sizes cascaded onto the couch, burying Randall and the gorilla.

“Judy! Are you all right?” Nick asked as he held her by her shoulders.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” She was visibly shaken but smiled when looking up at Nick. “But what about the other gorilla?”

Nick walked to the window and looked out. “Not a problem anymore.”

Judy, curious, looked out of the window. Two ZPD squad cars, lights flashing, had pulled up in front of Pack Rat’s while a third rolled in.

“How …?”

“Like I said, Trust. You might want to go downstairs and tell everyone the party is up here.”

“What will you be doing?”

“Standing here, keeping an eye on our two guests and trying not to faint.” Nick’s knees buckled momentarily and Judy helped steady him. She allowed herself to give Nick a quick, fervent hug, then headed toward the stairwell near the elevator. After everything that had happened so far that morning, she needed to exert herself physically. A five floor run downhill was no problem.

When she got to the lobby, she saw the second gorilla flanked by Officer Rhinowitz and Officer Snarlov, a polar bear, being led to a squad car in handcuffs. After they had secured the prisoner, Judy told them to head to the fifth floor. They crowded into the elevator and Judy heard a voice behind her: “Guess I’ll take the next one.” She turned.

“CLAWHAUSER?!”

The big cheetah smiled. “Are you and Nick OK?”

“We are now. What are you doing here?”

“It’s really weird. I stopped off at the Risin’ Swine Bakery to get some donuts before going in to headquarters. I looked out the window, and I saw you and Nick having coffee at Jamil’s. I thought of going over to say ‘Hi’ but my order was ready. When I was leaving the shop, though, I saw you’d been joined by a couple of gorillas and a ferret. It just didn’t look right, you know? So I got in the car and waited. I tried to keep back far enough but I think maybe Nick saw me. Then, when you got here, I saw Nick’s paws go up. I knew that was a bad sign, so when you went inside I radioed for back-up and waited for them to show up.” He grinned almost apologetically. “I guess this broken-down desk sergeant can still read the street, huh?”

“Yeah,” Judy said with a broad smile, “you sure can.”

By that time the elevator had come back empty. Judy and Clawhauser rode it back up to the fifth floor where the police and Nick had just about finished unearthing Randall and the gorilla.

“Whoa!” Rhinowitz exclaimed as he stood Randall on his feet, “if it isn’t Randall the Vandal.”

“You know this guy?” Nick asked.

“Since I was a rookie. He’s piled up plenty of misdemeanors: disorderly conduct, trespassing, disturbing the peace, and enough unpaid parking tickets to wallpaper this place.”

“A real master criminal, then.”

“Nah; he just can’t help being a jerk.”

“Hey, I’m standing right here, you guys!” Randall interrupted. “After him and the bunny nearly killed me in there.”

“We’ll get you checked out at the E.R. if you think you need it.”

“Well,” Nick said, “you can add threatening a police officer to his rap sheet.”

“Who?”

“Officer Hopps.”

“Is that right, Randall? That’s felony weight. Congratulations; you just made your bones!”

“Wait a minute,” Snarlov asked, “what does that even mean?”

“What, ‘make your bones’?” Rhinowitz asked.

“Yeah. I know we use it a lot but I could never figure it out.”

“I’m not really sure. I think it’s a gambler’s thing. You know, because that’s what they call dice.”

“Oh, I don’t need this!” Randall moaned.

“Listen, you have the right to remain silent. Please exercise it.”

“I just wanna know that the painting is all right.”

“Oh, that,” Nick said. “Yeah, it’s right over here.” He pointed to the old desk on the other side of the storage locker. He grabbed the top of the desk and started to stand it up.

“That’s the painting?! You said it was over on this side!”

“Hey, it all starts to look alike after a while.” He turned to Judy. “Thanks for trusting me.”

Judy grinned. “You saw Clawhauser in your sunglasses, didn’t you?”

“They’re more than just a fashion statement.”

“Can I give you a hand with that?” Clawhauser asked.

“Sure. We should probably get this into the Evidence Room at ZPD Headquarters. They’ll give it a good home.”

Randall’s face fell.

Clawhauser went to grab the other corner, but only held onto it for a second before it slipped from his grasp and landed with a crack on the floor.

“Sorry.”

“You moron! You’re destroying my painting!”

“It’s not your painting, Randall,” Judy reminded him.

“At least check to see if it’s OK!”

Nick worked the canvas cover around the corner loose and folded it back. He put his paw on the corner, and several square inches of the painting came off with a snap.

Randall groaned, but everybody else’s attention was on the painting, or rather the bare spot in the corner. It wasn’t canvas. It was a greenish white with an elaborate border and some numbers, most prominently a “5” in the corner.

“Hey, does anybody here have a Fiver?” Nick asked.

Judy reached into her back pocket and pulled out a five dollar bill. On the front of the bill was the face of a celebrated character from rabbit literature: a seer with a gaze that made him look frightened or insane or as if he were seeing events happening in another world. Nick held the bill next to the space in the corner and his eyes opened wide.

It was a perfect match.

***

The following Friday, Nick was running across the grounds to the gate of the Police Academy. He was panting and his Academy sweats were soaked. He’d just finished the final physical proficiency exercise. It was grueling but he wasn’t worried about whether or not he’d passed. He was afraid he’d be late. As he got to the gate and leaned on it while catching his breath, a ZPD cruiser pulled up. Judy was at the wheel. Nick climbed in.

“Open the windows,” Nick said between gulps of air, “I reek.”

“Obstacle course?” she asked.

“Track.”

“You think you passed?”

“If I don’t keel over in the next few minutes, yeah.”

“So you have, what, one more week of classwork to go?”

“Right. Some of the other cadets call it the Touchy-Feely stuff.”

“I remember that block: Communication, interpersonal relations, diversity training, dealing with aggressive behavior, and last but not least …”

“Blood, blood, BLOOD…”

“And death!” they said in unison.

“Death 101; I am not looking forward to that one, Carrots.”

“Awww, you’re squeamish. That’s cute!”

“No, I just don’t want to crash and burn emotionally like I did last week.”

“Oh. I see. Have you been having nightmares about it? How have you been sleeping?”

“Since then, fine.”

“Nick, I really think you can handle it now.” Her voice was earnest and steady. “You were in a pretty dark place, we both were, but you made it through.”

“We made it through. Thanks again for being there. Hey, what’s with the questions? Are you tired of being a police officer already and you’re studying to be a shrink now?”

“No, but at some point next week they’ll stress that you’ll be practicing psychology in just about any situation where you have to deal with another animal.”

“Sounds like you learned that lesson.”

“Compared to the class work, the field trip to the Morgue to look at bodies will be a breeze.”

“Yeah, the … wait, what?”

“It’s no big; you just have to remember two things.”

“What?”

“Don’t faint and don’t puke.”

“They always leave the fun stuff for the last day of class, don’t they?”

Judy pulled into the ZPD Headquarters parking lot. They entered the building through the front door, waved in greeting to Clawhauser, then took an elevator two floors down to the ZPD Crime Lab.

In the center of the room, on a large table, lay the portrait of Bonzo Bananas. Several more square inches of the painting along the edges had been cleaned off, revealing official-looking papers and a few pieces of currency arranged in a loose grid pattern. Inspecting an intact edge was a mongoose wearing a white lab coat. He looked up.

“You must be Mr. Wilde, the owner of the painting,” he said in a heavy accent.

“That’s me,” he replied as he extended a paw. “Do you know Officer Hopps?”

“We have not met. Very pleased to meet you. I am Dr. Chandra Ramharaksingh, but you can call me ‘Rocky’. Everybody else does,” he added with a forlorn sigh.

“So what have you found?”

“Understand, Mr. Wilde, this is like a combination of archaeology and art restoration and the process has just started. What I can tell you is that there are many layers of paper that were glued to the canvas of the painting; I do not yet know how many. Then the papers were covered with a coat of lacquer, followed by a coat of white primer paint on which the portrait was executed.”

“You’re going to destroy the portrait, aren’t you?”

“It cannot be helped. I photographed the portrait in detail; if you like, I can have it blown up to original size as a poster.”

“Pass. What kind of papers did you find?”

“So far, I can identify some bank notes, what looks like one or two stock certificates, and possibly some bonds.”

“That’s good, right?”

“Don’t get your hopes up,” Chief Bogo said as he walked into the room. “Rocky tells me that they don’t even know yet if they can separate the papers; if they can’t do that they’re worthless. If they can, the Department’s forensic accountants will examine everything, check the serial numbers on every bill to see if they’re the proceeds from any bank robberies, and trace the stocks and securities to determine ownership.”

“I get the feeling that still isn’t the end of the story.”

“Then the District Attorney’s office will put their lawyers on it to see if any laws have been broken or if there are any claimants to the securities.”

“Sounds like it’s going to take a while.”

“We need to determine the composition of the lacquer, among other things,” Dr. Ramkaraksingh told Nick. “We cannot just tap it with a hammer and expect it to fall off.”

“Yeah, I suppose. Well, just keep me in the loop, all right?”

“I will tell you of any major developments, Mr. Wilde.”

Nick shook paws with the doctor, and he and Judy walked back to the elevator.

“Nick, I’m sorry about this. I thought the news would be better.”

“To be honest, I kind of tuned out when I heard the word ‘lawyers.’ Still, I figure by the time the dust settles and there’s anything left of Bonzo’s fortune, I can use it to finance my retirement.”

The two crossed the ZPD lobby and walked through the door. Then they stopped.

Parked in front of the building was a white limousine. Kevin the polar bear looked in Nick’s direction and opened one of the car doors.

“Carrots, I think my ride’s here.”

Nick walked toward the limo and got in. Judy followed him but before she was halfway to the car Kevin slammed the door shut. He then got back in the car himself and Judy watched it move out into traffic and down the street.

In the passenger compartment, Nick looked at the only other passenger: Mr. Big. He waited for him to speak.

“So, Nick, I understand that the portrait of Bonzo Bananas is no longer a mystery.”

Nick then recounted the events since he picked up the painting from the train station storage locker, his encounter with Randall, and the discovery that the portrait was not a map to Bonzo’s treasure but in fact was the treasure. Mr. Big was silent for a while, then shook his head.

“Of all the words I ever used to describe Bonzo Bananas, one that did not occur to me was ‘clever.’ He did not seem to me to have it in him. I realize now I was mistaken.

“I said the last time we met that any gift I give to you would come with no obligation of expectation. So it is with the portrait. I won’t send my lawyers to court to claim any of the wealth that may come your way.”

“I appreciate that.”

“Nick, you should be very proud of what happened. You have succeeded in something where I have failed. Such a success is the kind that a father likes to see in a son. It tells him that he has grown up and will do well in the world.”

“I … well, thank you.”

Mr. Big said no more, and Nick didn’t know what to say so he kept silent. In a matter of minutes, the limo pulled up to the gate of the Police Academy. Kevin opened the door to let Nick out.

“Nick,” Mr. Big said. Nick turned to look at him.

“Once again, I hope that our paths do not cross professionally.”

Nick stepped out as Kevin closed the door. He stood by the road and watched the limo drive away. A part of him wondered why Mr. Big had said what he said. Had Judy told Fru Fru about how much Mr. Big’s words had hurt him? Or had he realized it on his own?

“O.K.,” Nick told himself, “leave the psychology for the classroom next week.” He stepped onto the Academy grounds and headed for the dormitory. He was looking forward to calling Judy to tell her what happened.

***

As soon as the Police Academy graduation ceremony was over, Judy jumped down off the reviewing stand, ran to the far side of the crowd, and threw her arms around Stu and Bonnie, her parents.

“Whoa, Jude! What’s with the big hello?” Stu asked.

“I’m just happy to see you guys.”

“We’re happy to see you too, dear. And that was a wonderful speech you gave.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

“Yeah, I thought so, too,” Stu added. “And you know ‘change’ isn’t my favorite topic. I’ll be honest with you, we sort of hoped you might forget about the police business and become an entertainer. It’s a lot safer.”

“Now, Stu, you know there are a lot of predators in the entertainment industry.”

“Look, guys,” Judy interrupted, “we really need to get going if you want me to show you Zootopia like I promised. So just give me a minute to talk to Nick and I’ll be right back.”

“Please be careful, dear,” Bonnie fretted.

“Ugh,” Judy grunted. “You just saw him graduate from the Academy. We’re on the same … Look, I really don’t want to have this conversation now. Give me a minute and I’ll be right back.”

Judy turned and started walking back across the parade ground. She was glad to see her parents and she loved them dearly, but they could also drive her up a wall. Maybe they had something to do with each other.

As she got closer to the section where folding chairs had been set up for the audience of relatives and well-wishers, she saw Nick sitting on one of the chairs, alone. He was bent over, his gaze fixed on his smart phone. Since he was facing to her right, she cut to the left to get behind him. As she got closer, she could hear his voice, but not whoever was on the phone. Then she realized it; he wasn’t talking on the phone, he was talking to the phone. She was now within range to hear him clearly.

“So yeah, I’m a cop now. It feels … right, like when I first put on the Junior Ranger Scout uniform. I thought I could only be what I am, but, well, I feel like I’m something more than that now, more than what everybody sees when they look at me.

“And I have a friend, a girl. Her name’s Judy. She’s a cop, too, a rabbit if you can believe it, and she’s really great. She has some bad habits, though, like listening in on other people’s phone conversations.”

Judy stopped walking.

“Come on, Carrots, I know you’re back there.”

“How?” she asked as she walked toward Nick.

“You moved out of my sight line but you also moved upwind of me. And I thought I was the rookie!” He turned his attention back to the screen of his phone. Judy walked over to take a look.

The wallpaper on his phone was the same picture Nick had her look at in his storage locker. The same female fox with the same smile dimmed by fatigue and illness.

“I scanned it in and cropped out a lot of the hospital room stuff. I thought about cleaning it up a little in PhotoHop, but I figured I’d keep it real.”

Judy laid a paw on his shoulder. “Nick, she would be so proud of you.”

“Yeah.”

“Nick, are you sure you don’t want to meet my folks?”

“I don’t know. Let me check.” He turned around to face the rabbit couple. He smiled and waved at them.

And even though they were forty yards away, both rabbits flinched.

“They’re not ready yet. Go ahead and give them the grand tour.”

“What will you be doing?”

“I still have to check out of my dorm room and turn in my key. That’s when they’ll give me my paperwork, and my orders.”

“So you don’t know where you’ll be assigned to yet?”

“For all I know they’re assigning me to a sheep community in the Meadowlands. Of course, since I’m the ZPD’s first fox, maybe they’ll post me to the 1^st Precinct where they can keep an eye on me, probably pair me up with a grizzled old veteran.”

“Or the ZPD’s first rabbit.”

“You don’t look that grizzled. But yeah, that would be the best case scenario. I hope that’s how it shakes out, anyway.”

“I hope so, too.”

“But if not,” Nick said as he rose to his feet, “I’ll always have something to remember you by.” He touched the screen of his phone.

“I really am just a dumb bunny.”

“What!?”

“Hey, it’s your personal ringtone.”

“Nicholas P. Wilde, that is way over the …”

“I really am just a dumb bunny.”

Judy made a grab for the phone, but Nick pulled it out of reach. “You can change it, Carrots … if you can catch me.”

Judy lunged at him again but he stepped back and let her sprawl across a chair. He started walking backwards. “C’mon, I thought you bunnies were supposed to be quick.”

“Oh, it is on!”

There began a chase around the parade ground, Nick trotting at a relaxed, teasing pace while Judy followed, not yet running seriously and laughing like a child.

And up on the reviewing stand, watching the improbable sight of a rabbit chasing a fox, stood Commandant Sally and Chief Bogo.

The Commandant smiled. “They’re all yours now, Chief.”

“You owe me big!”

THE END