A/N - Here's chapter 8! This one was rather inspired by Combat Engineer's review on FFNet. Thanks again! =D It gave me a bit more plot direction since I hadn't got much to begin with. Just a vague A to B. Things feel a little more realistic from here on out!  

...

8

The margay groaned and stirred on the wooden chair, then looked up with a jolt.

"Where am I?"

He spoke with a thick accent that Judy couldn't place, and twisted against his ties. It hadn't taken long for him to come around. She was relieved they'd managed to get him back to Finnick's van and cuff his hands and feet to a wooden, foldaway chair – the feet of which were bouncing on the floor and making the van sway while the cat demanded to be released.

"Okay, enough." Judy grabbed the back of the chair and tried to hold it down, failing somewhat miserably. "You're in police custody now."

"What? This the police?" The margay laughed. "A rabbit, fox and sloth? Don't make me laugh!"

Flash lowered his can of apple soda and looked up at the margay. "I... could... be a... police... officer."

"Yeah?! And I could be a champion swimmer!"

"You really aren't helping your accusation here, Mister..." Judy leant over the chair so she could see his face. "What's your name?"

"I ain't tellin' you! You tased me!"

"I didn't taser you," she said.

"Then who..." He looked over at Finnick and a look of realisation crossed his delicate face. "Wait... you ain't no kid, fox!"

"No, I ain't," said Finnick. "Now, you're gonna tell us everythin' we wanna know..." He thumped his baseball bat into his open paw. "Or you're gonna meet Mister Bat."

Judy rounded on him, letting the chair sway backwards and fall to the floor while the margay yowled with surprise. "We are not using violence!"

"You do things your way, I do things mine," said Finnick. "I ain't a cop like you, fuzz. When someone wrongs me, I clobber 'em."

"And that's wrong! Flash, restrain him."

Finnick watched Flash slowly rise from the sofa and looked back at Judy with a raised eyebrow. "You seriously think I can't outrun Speedy here?"

The margay was now lying on his back in the chair, laughing hysterically. "You... you a cop, seriously?! I seen beetles do a better job than yous!"

Finnick flicked his bat around at Flash. "Get back! I mean it!"

Flash raised his paws. "Calm... down."

"Finnick," Judy said calmly. "We're not going to find Nick if you knock out this wildcat."

"Nah, ain't tellin' you anythin'!" said the margay. "Conscious or unconscious!"

Finnick pointed his bat at him. "Oh, you'll talk."

"You lookin' for a Nick, right?" The cat tried to shrug his shoulders. "Can't tell you what I don't know."

"You're sayin' you're innocent?" Finnick narrowed his eyes.

"I'm sayin' I ain't no clue why yous three gone and dumped me in a van and... tied me to a lawn chair!"

Judy scurried behind the chair and strained to lift it back up under the margay's weight. "That's because... you happened to be... armed!"

The chair lifted smoothly and slowly, bewildering her for a moment. She looked up to see Flash stood beside her, righting the chair into its upright position.

"Thank you, Flash."

He gave her a warm smile and moved back towards the sofa.

"Now, you can continue to be stubborn," Judy began, "or you can explain why you're kidnapping innocent mammals."

"Kidnappin'?!" The margay's lips curled into a snarl. "That's a pretty big accusation from a small, meek little bunny, love."

"We have reason to believe it was you," she said, trying her best to brush off his insult. "I spotted a wildcat poking around this van last night."

"He might've been admirin' the paintwork."

"Oh, I don't think so," said Finnick. "'Cos we found this in my fur!"

He held up the tracker, letting it dangle from his claws. Judy looked at him with a start and her paw went to her pocket. When had he plucked that from her? She shrugged it off. They had bigger things to worry about right now.

"See?" Finnick grinned. "You recognise it! I saw that look in your eye, kid. And you can't exactly deny it either."

"That's right." Judy placed a paw on her hip and smiled. "Because we found a pile of those in one of your pockets."

"You idiot cop looted me?!"

"Safety precaution. Besides, it was pretty obvious you'd deny it, and also pretty obvious if you were tagging victims that you'd have a stash of them. So what are you doing? Why did that tracker trace back to you? Do you go around farming victims for... whatever it is you're doing?"

The cat closed his eyes and chuckled.

"You're going to talk," she said. "And you're going to start with your name."

"It's Marcello," the cat said. "And besides, what makes you think it traced back to me? Coulda been any one o' them mammals in that bar."

"You were the only wildcat." Judy made a note of his name on her pad. "And we know this group consists of coyotes and wildcats, so you were the most obvious suspect."

"And why you think that?" He fixed one eye on her. "Pretty shallow assumption. I have you know my group has many animals in it."

Finnick made a thoughtful noise. "I doubt it. Was only coyotes and wildcats who showed up in the Canyonlands."

"So it was you bozos who hit me with the car? I ain't walked right since. Jackasses."

Judy pointed her carrot pen at him. "Watch your tongue. You're talking to a police officer."

He let out a loud, shrill laugh. "Oh, I hardly think so. Look at you! You ain't even workin' with other officers! You've bundled a suspect into the back of a trashy van with the help of criminals! You gone rogue, rabbit!"

"I've not gone rogue!"

"Oh, you have, love. You as good as the criminals you workin' with!"

Finnick pointed his bat at him again. "Oi!"

"I'm... not... a... criminal." said Flash. "I'm... just... a... civilian."

"Don't care," said Marcello. "My point is this bunny cop here has waded in too deep an' broken the law to rescue... who was it again? Nick?"

"You don't talk to her like that, cat," Finnick growled.

"She wants me to talk so I'm talkin'," said Marcello. "Besides, yous assumption makes sense. You that same bunny cop who accused all predators of goin' savage, am I right? An' here you are thinkin' my group is all cats 'n' coyotes? Well, we have a fox with us too." He smirked at her surprise. "Yup! You heard me right. A sneaky, conniving fox, 'cos that's all they are ain't it? Bet your cute little canine friend don't seem so cute now, does he?"

Judy gave Finnick a sideways glance. The fennec was practically seething.

"Yeh. Surprised? Not the same fox, mind. The one my boss found's been helpin' him increase his sales. Become quite a prized asset actually. To be honest, I think that's why the name 'Nick' is so familiar."

Judy's ears drooped to the back of her head. "You're lying..."

"I ain't lyin', sugar. He told us all 'bout you. Said you'd try to get in the way. Called you a meek, gullible, dumb bunny."

"You're lying!" Her paws balled tightly into fists as she stared down the margay.

The cat watched her for a moment, standing in silence as every hair along her back stood on end. Then he laughed. Just laughed.

She couldn't take it any more. She needed some air. Her pen clattered to the floor and she stomped from the van, letting the door slam shut behind her.

Finnick looked from the door to Flash and back. The sloth seemed to take the hint as he rose from the sofa and slumped after the rabbit.

The fox turned back to the still hysterical Marcello and slammed the bat into an empty soda can, sending it bouncing off the metal walls. The noise brought the cat out of his laughing fit and he let out a yelp of surprise.

"You gonna tell me why you fed her full o' bull?" Finnick growled.

Marcello quickly gathered himself and fixed his twinkling green eyes on Finnick. "Who said it were bull, fox?"

"The fact that I know Nick like the back o' my paw."

"Guess you ain't looked at your paw in a while then, huh?"

Finnick just stared at him, fixing his eyes on the cat's.

Marcello sighed and the corner of his mouth turned up in a smile. "You know, it's pretty sweet you stick up for her like that. I'd say you were soft on her."

"Shut up, cat. I'll tell you what I told her. I don't do cushy. Now tell me the truth." He pointed his bat at him again and narrowed his eyes. "Where is Nick?"

"Of course, she wouldn't look twice at a runt like you, would she?"

Finnick's bat struck the metal trash can, creating a clang that reverberated off the walls and leaving a nice dent in the side of the can.

"Takin' it out on the trash can, eh?" The margay grinned. "Guess I'm right then?"

"You're best to not provoke me, Marcello. I got a strong rep in these parts."

"What, as a small fox with a vocal temper?" Marcello leant forwards in his seat as far as his cuffs would allow. "I'm from these parts, Shorty. I bet you'd never use that bat on another mammal. Yous all bark an' no bite."

"Really? Wanna make this fun? How much money you puttin' on that bet?"

Marcello fell silent. Any sign of amusement had left his features as he kept his eyes locked on Finnick and his bat.

Finnick smirked. "Thought so. Now talk."

...

Judy sat on the curb with her head in one paw, staring at her mobile. Nick stared back at her from her phone's wallpaper, surprised by her glomp and selfie attack. Normally it would make her smile but right now it just hurt.

The margay's words were ringing around her head. His accusations of Nick still felt wrong, but the words that stood out the most were the ones that had been aimed at her.

'You gone rogue, rabbit!'

She glanced up at the sloth sat beside her and sighed. "I think I need to tell Chief Bogo."

Flash shrugged his shoulders. "That's... up to... you."

She let out a flustered sigh and looked back down at her phone, her thumb hovering over the dial button. It was still risky, but right now she felt she had no choice. They had a criminal in the back of Finnick's van. They couldn't very well let him go. One way or another they had to get him to the station and she highly doubted he'd walk there and turn himself in on request. She'd have to tell Bogo everything, and that even meant the absurd story Marcello had told them.

Because if she didn't, he probably would.

"Either... way," said Flash, "I'm... still... helping... you... rescue... our... friend."

She looked up at him and smiled. "Thank you."

He turned his head slowly to look at her. "We'll... find... Nick."

She could feel a tear forming in the corner of her eye and wiped it away as subtly as she could.

The door to the van opened with a clatter and Finnick hopped out, still lugging his bat after him. He kicked the door shut and strutted over to them, his muzzle creased into a frown.

"Any joy?" she asked.

"Oh yeh. Tons." He flopped onto the cub and rubbed at his ear. "He won't let that story go 'bout our Nick helpin' 'em out though."

She sighed and ran a paw over her face. It really was beginning to feel hopeless. "I'm guessing he didn't say anything else?"

"Yeh, he did. Funny thing 'bout cats is they like to make themselves look big. Once he realised I got him backed into a corner he talked and talked. Thought he weren't gonna shut up, actually."

"So what did he say?"

"Coyotes have got Nick just outside the Canyonlands. Their base is inside a warehouse. They got a whole factory set up." He paused. "You ain't gonna like this bit though, fuzz."

He raised an eyebrow at her and she felt her stomach do a nauseating flip. It wasn't about Nick, was it? She'd really believed the margay had been lying.

"Them rabbits you said had been kidnapped?" he began. "Well, they got 'em. They got all the missing mammals. What they're doin' there is makin' wool rugs outta their hair."

Her paws flew to her mouth and she stared at the fox through widened, purple eyes. It was clear he could see the horror on her face because he raised a paw to calm her.

"Don't worry 'bout it, fuzz. They're still alive. Explains why they been targetin' mammals with long fur though, don't it?"

"Fur... farming?" Flash looked solemnly at Finnick and shook his head. "That's... illegal."

"Exactly," said Finnick. "Makes me worry what they're doin' to Nick."

"So you agree with me?" said Judy. "He's not helping them?"

"Come on, rabbit. I know Nick. He wouldn't do that, and he certainly wouldn't call you a dumb, meek bunny either. Way I see it is if Marcello's story does have any element of truth behind it then Nick's puttin' on an act to get close to 'em and hopefully turn 'em in. But to be honest I don't know how well that'd go down with your boss."

It would go down like a lead brick. She grit her teeth together and rubbed at her temples.

"Then there's always the chance they're usin' him against you," Finnick went on. "I mean, you got that text, right? And then what happened?"

He was right. Judy stared back down at her phone and pursed her lips together. They knew enough. It was time to tell Bogo.

"I need to let the ZPD know now, Finnick," she said.

He shrugged. "I ain't happy 'bout it, but I'm less happy 'bout havin' that gangster in the back o' my van."

She gave him a small smile and dialled the ZPD.

...

Clawhauser's ears pricked and he looked down at his phone. He quickly licked sugar off his claws and answered it with a chirpy, "Hello, Zootopia Police Department?"

"Clawhauser? It's Judy."

The cheetah's face split into a grin. "Judy! How's it going?" He looked around quickly then lowered his voice to a whisper. "Have you found Nick?"

"Actually, we might have done. Can I please speak to Chief Bogo?"

"Oh! Of course. I'll put you through."

...

Bogo was sat with his feet up on his desk watching Gazelle's latest music video on his mobile. When the phone rang he groaned and leant across the desk to grab it. He really hoped that this time it would be Fangmeyer and Delgato with news about Judy's personal investigation spree. He was getting a little tired of answering his phone on his break.

"Boss?" came Clawhauser's voice. "I have Judy on the phone. She needs to speak to you, it's urgent."

"The elusive Hopps herself, huh? Fine, pass her through." As the phone went silent for a moment, he mumbled, "I hope you've got a really good reason for this, Hopps."

"Chief Bogo?" Judy sounded somewhat frantic which made his ears prick up.

"What is it, Hopps? 'Cos you've got some explaining to do. I've got two of my best officers searching for you."

"What? What do you mean?"

"I know you've traced a tracker, Hopps. You don't exactly cover your paw prints well, do you? What do you think you're playing at?! I distinctly told you to stay on parking duty!"

"I know! I... I'm sorry. I do have an explanation. You see, it's Nick. He's not been sick like I've been telling you. He's been kidnapped, and I've been trying to find him."

Bogo dropped his mobile onto the floor and leapt to his feet, still clutching the cordless to his ear. "What?!"

"I can explain everything," she said quickly. "But right now I need someone to retrieve a criminal from my friend's van. He's one of the kidnappers, and he's told us where the base is so we're going-"

"You are not going to that base, Hopps! Bring that kidnapper here. Now."

"You don't understand! I think Nick's in trouble. They're fur farmers!"

Bogo's jaw hung open wordlessly.

"All those mammals they've kidnapped are having their fur spun into wool rugs," she went on. "I can tell you exactly where their base is, but we'd need to be careful. Because I think Nick is being used against us. They've tricked me once already."

Bogo sighed and sat back down heavily in his chair. "All right, Hopps. Since you seem to know the ins and outs of this case then I'm gonna send a team to help you scout that base." He cut off her overjoyed 'thank you' with a firm, "After you've brought that kidnapper here and explained everything! Then after this case is over, we're gonna have a little talk."