3

There was absolutely no way Judy could tell Chief Bogo what had happened.

She'd run it over in her mind over and over again. It was much too risky. Not only had they gone undercover without permission, Nick's act to gain information from the coyotes was too... convincing. Not only had he taken a massive risk, there was the possibility he'd likely be pulled up as a suspect himself.

Several hours later, things were becoming even more worrying. No matter how many times she tried, she just kept getting his answer machine. She hadn't been able to sleep a wink she was so worried, and it hadn't helped matters that the licence plate she'd noted had belonged to a stolen bike and not a van. That solidified her worries. The coyotes were certainly suspicious.

With every passing hour she was starting to feel very alone, and strolling into the ZPD without her partner only amplified the hollow feeling in her chest.

"Good morning!" Clawhauser cheered from behind his desk. His face fell when he saw her and he pushed himself up to see through the door. "Isn't Nick with you?"

"No." She paused and rubbed her ears, currently held flat against her head. She hadn't really prepared for this. No Nick... and he obviously hadn't called in himself. "He's... exhausted. He won't be coming in."

Her stomach knotted as she saw the sad expression on the cheetah's face while he nodded his understanding.

"Poor little guy," he said. "Maybe he should try some sleeping pills?"

Judy made a non-committal grunt. She hated to lie, but right now she felt she didn't have much choice. What if Nick was fired? Or in so much trouble a team hunting him down might cost him his life? She bit her lip at that thought, trying to shove it out of her mind. She didn't need that right now.

She strolled into the bullpen, feeling the cheetah's eyes on her back as he watched her vanish into the room. Most of the officers were already there, watching as she took her spot on the oversized chair. Alone.

Chief Bogo wasn't far behind her and he glanced around the room, his eyes falling on the lone rabbit drowned in her chair.

"What? No Wilde?" He shrugged and looked down at his notes. "You can tell him, Hopps, that I expect an explanation off him for his absence."

"Oh, he has one," she said hesitantly.

Bogo wasn't really listening. Instead, he pinned another photo to the board of missing mammals. Judy's heart did a somersault. The face in the photo was familiar. A brown alpaca.

"Is that-" She was cut off as the buffalo turned to face them.

"The alpaca who came here with a complaint yesterday? Yes it is. Apparently he never went home to his family. I want Fangmeyer and Delgato to deal with this case." He looked around the room, shouting out commands to all the officers until only Judy remained.

She knew exactly what was coming.

"Hopps? I can't have you out there alone without your partner. Parking duty."

...

Judy had to admit it hadn't been her best record for dishing out parking tickets. Despite how she was feeling she had still tried her best, but she'd lost the spring in her step. As she typed out tickets she kept re-living the previous night over and over again. Was there anything she could have done to prevent all this? Even if she hadn't accompanied Nick he would still have gone without her. He'd made that pretty clear.

No. There was nothing she could have done. And now she herself was dealing with her own missing mammal case. Her own partner. Missing, and the ZPD hadn't a clue.

Yet.

She grit her teeth together and stuffed a ticket behind the windscreen wiper of a convertible mere seconds before its porcupine driver returned and became even more prickly as he waved the ticket at her. She did her best to ignore him until he rammed the ticket into his coat pocket and sped off down the street.

"Well, that's another ticket for you," she muttered to herself as she made note of the porcupine's speed racing.

She was beginning to think it didn't matter how many citizens were angry with her today. She had already come to the realisation that one lone, small rabbit was about to track down a group of coyotes. One rabbit amongst a group of canines, who unlike her best friend, were probably not very friendly. A chill ran down her spine putting her fur on end and she leapt out of her skin as another parking meter pinged loudly a couple of feet away. She berated herself for being so jumpy and popped a ticket into the window of the little hamster car.

She really wasn't too happy with her plan. Bogo's voice echoed through her mind. 'I can't have you out there alone without your partner.'

"No, Judy," she told herself. "You can't do this alone."

Did she really have to tell the ZPD? Put Nick's job – and life – at risk?

"Oi, cat! Get off my tail!"

She looked up at the familiar, deep voice and spotted its owner immediately. A small fennec fox waved a tiny fist at a surprised feline who ducked into a shop with such speed she almost didn't see them at all. The fox smoothed out his tail, muttering under his breath, and ducked between a giraffe's legs to get out of the way, casting another glance back at the shop.

A grin spread across her face and she bolted across the road, causing a red car to beep at her angrily.

"Finnick!" she shouted.

The fox's ears pricked up and flicked towards her, followed by his brown eyes. He appeared mildly surprised to see Judy, losing the disgruntled expression he'd been wearing.

"Well, if it ain't the fuzz," he said. "I have you know I'm back in good time for my van, rabbit. You can keep your ticket to yourself."

"I'm not giving you a ticket, Finnick," she said. "I... actually need your help."

He raised his eyebrows and laughed, slapping himself on the knee. "Me?! Help the fuzz?! Not on your life, Hopps!"

He strolled away from her, still laughing and causing a family of gerbils to warily step aside. Judy watched after him for a moment and shook herself, giving chase after the small fox.

"You won't be helping me, exactly," she said. "It's for Nick. I... think he's in trouble."

"What's that, Hopps?" He looked back at her, his brow furrowed. "You let somethin' happen to Nick?"

"No, I didn't let-" She faltered and bit her lip, looking away from the small fox. Part of her really did blame herself.

Finnick was still watching her, but the irritation had left his face. "What's happened?"

"I can't really discuss it here." She looked around at the bustling mammals. Some of them were watching them, while others had found their parking tickets and were giving her leers.

Finnick let out a long sigh and waved a paw. "Alright, rabbit. We can talk in my van."

Judy bounced on her toes and trotted after him. "Oh, thank you! I really appreciate your help-"

"Let me stop you there, fuzz. I never said I was gonna help you. I just wanna know what's happened to my brother, Nick."

Judy clasped her paws together as she fell into pace beside him. "So do I."

He gave her a worried sideways glance but said nothing.

They walked in silence for a moment and he rounded a corner where his van was sat waiting for him beside a parking meter. Judy was pleasantly surprised to find the meter hadn't expired.

Finnick pulled open the back doors of the van and nodded for her to climb inside. She obliged and glanced around at the dingy interior. It wasn't exuberantly decorated. An old hob stood at one side while a sofa she assumed pulled out into a bed sat against the other.

He closed the doors behind him, flicked on an old analogue radio and paused at a small fridge, pulling out two sodas. He tossed one at Judy which she almost dropped, then flopped onto the sofa with a laugh.

"You catch like a bunny," he said. "You sittin' down or what?"

She perched on the sofa beside him and sipped at her drink which she realised was root beer. Her nose crinkled and she placed the can on the small coffee table.

"So you gonna tell me what's happened to Nick?" he asked.

"Yes." She tried to relax back in the sofa, but it wasn't easy. She settled for leaning on her knees instead. "You already know mammals have gone missing, don't you?"

Finnick nodded, his look prompting her to continue.

She took a deep breath and relayed the previous day, from investigating the missing angoras and the mother's reaction to seeing Nick all the way to him going into the coyotoes' van. She finished it off with her dead end - no trail on the license plate.

"But you know where their stall is, right?" said Finnick. "You just go there and find your coyote, Hopps. It ain't no dead end!"

"Yeh..." She stared down at her paws and twiddled her thumbs together. It wasn't a thought that hadn't crossed her mind. It had been up there along with the idea of a rabbit confronting three coyotes.

Finnick let out a laugh. "I get it now! You're scared!"

She placed her paw over her twitching nose and muttered into her paw. Always a give away.

"That's why you came to me! All right, fuzz!" He ducked under the sofa and pulled out his baseball bat, smacking it into his open paw. "We'll go find those coyotes and we'll get Nick back! Then, you an' I, cop? We don't speak 'bout this again, you hear me?"

A huge smile spread across her face and she leapt to her feet, clasping her paws together. "Oh, thank you!"

"Oi!" He pointed his bat at her. "Don't get all cushy on me, Hopps. Finnick don't do cushy."

She laughed and folded her arms. "All right. I'll lay off the cushy. How are we getting there?"

"You kiddin' me? We drive. I ain't walkin' all that way."

He pushed the doors open and hopped outside. The sunlight was almost blinding after being sat inside a van with no windows. She pulled herself into the passenger seat and refrained herself from offering to drive herself as she watched Finnick crane his neck to see over the dashboard. She'd seen him drive before. He was perfectly capable.

As soon as the engine roared to life, the radio blared out rap music, startling a passing deer so much his hooves left the ground. Finnick wasn't remotely fazed as he pulled out of his parking spot. Judy caught sight of the parking meter with its red 'expired' sign and decided to say nothing.

It was mainly her fault after all.

...

The market lunch rush had long come to an end as many stalls prepared to pack up and go home for the day. Finnick had parked his van beside another meter since most of the market was heavily pedestrianised. Judy kept an eye open for the familiar alley she'd been hiding in the previous night, desperate for a pointer towards the coyotes' wool rug stall. So far, there had been no sign of it, and she was beginning to doubt her memory of its location.

"It looks so much different during the day," she said.

Finnick stayed quiet, not wanting to draw attention to himself since he was lugging a baseball bat. He'd said it was easier for others to just think he was a cub on his way home from baseball practice which hadn't come as a surprise to Judy since his main disguise was a mute toddler.

She was scanning over the shops running alongside the market, trying to spot that elusive alleyway, when Finnick grabbed her sleeve and pointed his bat to a long table. An antelope was folding up elaborate rugs and placing them neatly into boxes below his table.

"No. That's not it," she said with a shake of her head. Then it hit her.

Hadn't Nick told the coyotes they had competition with rugs on the market? From what he'd said, they could be close.

She stood up on her tiptoes to try and see beyond the stall, but it was no use. Instead, she trotted past the rug merchant, searching for any sign of a coyote, rugs, the familiar van.

Nothing.

They were coming to the edge of the market now and they'd found nothing.

She came to a stop, her arms hanging limply at her side as she stared helplessly at the remaining stalls. Could it be that they'd moved?

"I hate to break it to you, Hopps," said Finnick. "But there's been no sign of a coyote in this market."

A look to her left revealed the alley, complete with its heaping trash cans and littered floor.

"I don't believe it," she said. "It was here."

"You sure?"

"I'm certain. I was hiding in there." She pointed to the alley then turned to look behind her, exactly at the spot where she'd seen the van. There was no market stall. Not even an empty table.

Finnick shook his head. "Well it's clearly gone. Maybe they don't work Thursdays."

"That's... always a possibility."

She turned to head back the way they'd come, pausing beside a stall selling clothes for giraffes.

"Excuse me," she said.

The giraffe behind the table looked up from her magazine and lowered her neck to meet Judy's eyes.

"Yes?" she said.

"I was wondering if you could help me. Was there a stall around here ran by coyotes?"

"You mean the wool rugs?" The giraffe lowered her magazine and pushed her glasses up her nose. "They've been here every day this week, lovey. But they didn't show up this morning."

Judy tapped her foot on the floor and crossed her arms, glancing over at the empty spot. Every day. And now they were gone. There was a chance Finnick was right, but something didn't settle well with her. What if they'd found out Nick was a police officer and found it too risky to set up their stall?

"Is there a problem?" the giraffe asked.

"Yes, and I think you've helped me to uncover it. If you hear anything more," she handed a small card with her number to the giraffe, "please call me."

The giraffe seemed rather taken aback. She took the card and nodded before ducking back behind her magazine.

"Smooth," said Finnick as they left the stall.

Judy sighed and ran a paw down her face. "I really don't know what I'm going to do. I guess... I have to tell the ZPD."

"You know what, Hopps, I never thought much of the police. But I can tell you one thing, Nick's happy in his new job. There's no way he was helpin' those coyote out."

"I know he wasn't!"

"Yeh, but who's to say the rest o' you cops is gonna believe that? The word of his best friend and the world's first bunny cop should suffice, right?" He pointed his baseball bat at her chest, stopping her in her tracks. "But you get more cops involved, it might cost him more than his job, you hear me? We don't know what those coyote are up to. And we don't know what's happened to him."

"I know all that, but I can't do this alone, Finnick."

"You're not doin' it alone. You got me." He thumped himself in the chest and turned away, marching back through the market. "And we're gonna rescue our Nick, alright?"

Most of the passing mammals had stopped to watch him with wary eyes (or amusement in the case of the larger mammals). So much for his facade.

She caught up with him and fell into pace beside him, clasping her paws behind her back.

"Thank you, Finnick," she said quietly.

He flashed her a snarl and clutched his bat tightly at his side. "I told you to lay off the cushy."

She smiled and pulled her phone out of her pocket. If she'd been expecting a message or a missed phone call, she was disappointed. With a sigh she dialled Nick's number and put the phone to her ear. Ring after ring after ring until she hit his voice mail.

A flood of nausea flowed through her stomach and she hung up, placing her phone back into her pocket.

Worried sick didn't even begin to describe how she was feeling. If it weren't for Finnick offering to help she might be curled up in a fit of tears on her bedroom floor. For someone who often joked at the police he was still willing to work with one to help his friend. Was he as worried as she was? A lump rose in her throat and she could hear Nick's voice in her head jabbing at her for being emotional.

She swiped tears away from her eyes as discreetly as she could but it was obvious the fennec fox had noticed as he shifted uneasily and stepped away from her, diverting his gaze to the names of the shops they passed.

Before too long they were back at his van and he pulled the passenger door open for her before scooting around to the driver's side. She blinked at him in bewilderment as she pulled herself inside.

"Before you say anythin'," he said bluntly, "I was worried you wouldn't see the handle through your bleary eyes."

She chuckled and wiped at her tears again. "And here I thought you were turning soft."

He glared at her and popped on a pair of shades. "You need to be careful, Hopps, or you'll be walkin' home."

She laughed again and pulled the door shut before buckling herself in. As Finnick turned on the engine, a strange chime came from Judy's pocket. He stared at the ignition for a moment before turning his eyes onto Judy as realisation set in that the strange noise had been her mobile.

She hadn't been expecting it herself. Her heart was racing as she pulled out her phone and a loud gasp came from her throat when she saw Nick's name plastered across her screen. Shaking paws weren't making it easy to open her message, but once she did her heart did a backflip.

'I'm okay. Meet me in the Canyonlands at 10pm.'

Her breath was coming in heavy bursts as she tried to process this. Something about it felt wrong, but she couldn't put her claw on it.

"Well, Fuzz? What is it?" Finnick leant across his seat and took the phone from her trembling paws. He shook his head and looked up at her. "I don't like it."

She swallowed drily and tried to stop her twitching nose. "Neither do I."