Hello, hello, hello!

Reporting back with another chapter! :)

VERY special thanks to Cimar of Turalis WildeHopps for editing this chapter! Thank you! If you haven't read any of his work then do yourselves a favor and do it now, you'll thank me later ;) He is an amazing writer and you can never get enough of his stories!

And very big thanks to zooLover for the detailed analysis of the story so far and the brainstorm we had about the planned events. I look forward to your future opinions! ;)

Also, thank you ALL for the attention that you give to this story. I still can't believe how much it has grown! Thank you! :)

YES, Nick finally realizes that he's in LOVE! Why only now? I hope that this chapter gives you an answer to that question. And sorry for sinking the JackiexNick ship but, (slips into Heath Ledger's Joker voice) it's all part of the plan. But, small spoiler for ya' all: she's not going to be alone by the end of this story ;)

Plus, shady business is done behind the scenes and our favorite fox might be in more trouble than he could expect. Also we'll get a glimpse of his past that will be very important later on.

We have a small movie and a game reference this time. The last one was when Basker quoted a piece from The Dark Knight about manners :)

Aaand that's all, so dig in! :)

Chapter 32

The laptop's screen was one of the two sources of light in the dark, spacious office. The other being a small desk lamp that provided enough light to see what was on the wooden surface of the desk, but not enough to show the face of the mammal sitting behind the massive piece of furniture.

The last few seconds of a video passed and the footage stopped, the last frame showing a red furred fox on top of a wounded goat mob boss, his arm in the air, ready to strike down upon the fallen mammal.

"Well, gentlemammals? Your opinions?" A voice from behind the desk asked several dark silhouettes pictured on the computer screen in several windows, as a part of a video conference. Four of them in total.

"It has potential, I will admit it," said a low voice from one of the conference members.

"Wait a moment, how can we be sure, that it's not this fox's own skill?" the second voice chimed in, though considerably higher pitched than that of the previous speaker.

A third one joined the conversation. "I have to agree. What is our guarantee that this is due to the effects of the serum?"

The figure behind the desk smirked in the shadow and leaned forward. "I assure you that he is the real deal. I've been monitoring him for almost a year and the effects outgrew my initial expectations. Of course, if you'd like any empirical evidence, you'll receive it once I take him into custody. Blood tests should be enough to satiate your wonderment."

The high-pitched voice wasn't impressed. "Is that so? Then why isn't he in your paws right now?"

"Security measures," the fox replied swiftly. "At the moment, he has ties with a few, troublesome mammals, that could prove to be dangerous to our project. However, when the time comes, I will… acquire him. In a way that will leave no trace and won't allow his disappearance to be linked with us."

"Supposing that this is indeed work of your serum," the third mammal spoke again. "How exactly do you plan on producing a stable version, that will not cause the injected subject go into a mindless rage like all those mammals before your fox sample?"

The figure hidden in the shadow smiled hearing this question. "That is a trade secret. My apologies, but I will not share all information about the serum, as it is my product and I don't intend to reveal anything about the production process. And yes, while that watered down, low quality version of it could be produced by any moron with two brain cells to rub together, the only result will be a mindless savage."

"If we decide to openly support your project…" the first voice queried, "How long would it take you to supply us with the first batch?"

The smile faded by a fraction of a millimeter. "Why that would depend on the price you will offer…" He paused and put a paw on his chest, stopping himself from coughing. "And for now, let's leave it at that," he managed to finish in a normal voice. "We shall speak again next week." Before they had a chance to reply, the mammal tapped a key on the laptop and the speakers disappeared from the screen. All but one, that hadn't spoken a word so far.

"As I can see, your condition hasn't improved, Wilde," he now spoke, bluntly pointing out the fox's abrupt pause.

The vulpine forced a smile. "Observant as ever, General." And this time he couldn't hold it in and coughed violently into a pawkerchief, painting it with blood. Spasms were running rampant through his entire body, shaking his limbs while causing a massive headache, and an excruciating amount of pain radiating from the middle of his chest.

"How long?" asked the voice from the computer when the coughing attack subsided.

The small predator wiped his mouth with the piece of material and threw it on the desk with a trembling paw. "That's a military mammal for you, always straight to the point," he gasped, attempting to joke. "My doctors give me three months, tops."

The mammal called 'General' didn't reply at first and for a few seconds the only sound in the room was the quiet wheezing of the vulpine. "Does your daughter know?"

The fox shook his head. "I'll have to tell her eventually though…"

"Wilde, you really should-"

The vulpine cut in instantly, his answer practically a bark. "With all due respect, general. Do not use that patronizing tone with me. I know what I need to do and when to do it, thank you very much."

There was a moment of silence after the last statement. "Very well, but make sure that the project is finished before you kick the bucket," the general stated harshly as the call ended.

The fox was now alone in the huge office, surrounded by silence and darkness. He slumped in his chair and focused only on his breathing. Slow, steady intakes through his nose and breathing out through the mouth. The shivers from the recent attack eventually subsided and the pain slowly melted away, leaving a slightly numbing sensation throughout his body. Several minutes passed, after which he leaned forward and hit a button on a panel placed on the desk.

It took less than ten seconds for the door to the office open and an elegant arctic vixen to approach him. She held her tablet in one paw, apparently being inseparable from the device.

"Sir?" She asked with respect towards her employer.

"Tell Mr. Wolf that I need to visit a certain place. Incognito."

She nodded. "Of course, sir. What shall be your destination?"

The fox stood up from his chair, scooping the bloodied pawkerchief from the desk. The vixen cast a glance at the now crimson piece of material, but refrained from commenting, as the fox sent her a warning glare. "I'm going to a hospital to visit a certain incompetent goat."

.

.

I'm in love.

I love her.

I love Carrots.

I love Judy.

Nick was still in shock, even after spending over ten minutes sitting like a statue on Marcus' couch. He could feel his increased heartbeat, but not from the effect of the serum flowing through his veins. This time he knew that it was purely on an emotional level.

Yet he also felt like his heart was torn in half.

On one paw, he wanted to jump for joy, as his body felt greatly invigorated while a big grin tried to force its way to his face. On the other, he was struggling under the pressure of doubt coming from the fact that he had no idea what to do with this feeling. Even with ten years passed, the excruciatingly painful wound left by Irene was still there, making his heart bleed now that he realized that he was in love again.

*And with a bunny at that!* He groaned internally. *She is prey and I'm a predator! She's eight years younger than me! We're from completely different backgrounds! She has a boyfriend!*

But...all of this held no meaning in the presence of the fact that he loved her. It was something he was anxious about in love, the total disregard for logic and reason. He went through his life basing everything on hard facts and this feeling was capable of throwing any of his most solids 'truths' out the window. It was unfamiliar ground for him and that's what was making him nervous.

Also, he had to digest the fact that he was a complete fool this entire time. Nick asked himself when exactly he had fallen in love with her and, while not being able to pin down the exact day, he had a strong suspicion that it was right after the missing mammals case. *Or maybe even earlier…* Internally, Nick let out a hysterical chuckle at his own stupidity. From the first time he felt strangely excited near his partner, since falling victim to the serum effects, he somewhat sensed that there is a piece missing in the puzzle of his own state. Why would he be attracted so much to Carrots? Why a bunny, of all animals and not some vixen? And his mind started acting silly in front of his partner long before the mating season has started, so he couldn't use that as an excuse. He ran both paws down his face. *Congratulations on hustling yourself, Wilde. As the saying goes: nobody is as blind as those who don't want to see…* It was so simple that he wanted to kick himself for not noticing his now noticeable feelings earlier.

It wasn't that he didn't have feelings for her the entire time. Due to the heartbreak caused by Irene, he was so convinced that he didn't need love, that he couldn't love anyone.

His therapist was right, he was in denial. The world has already given him the answer at the beginning, practically shoving it in his face. But it seemed too obvious and too unrealistic for his mind to consider it real. And now he could clearly see it.

He was in love and there was nothing he could do about it.

Nick shivered. Half from the nervousness and half from joy at the warm, tiny flame that ignited in his chest. A feeling he thought that was lost forever…

"Nick?"

"Hm?" The fox mumbled absentmindedly, lost in his thoughts.

"Nick!" This time the voice was more insistent and finally brought Nick back down to earth from the clouds his mind was floating on.

The fox blinked and shook his head. "Eh? What?" He turned to the speaker and saw Marcus staring at him from the other side of the couch.

"I don't mean to interrupt your nirvana moment, but…" He pointed over his shoulder with a thumb. Nick followed with his gaze to where the tiger indicated and saw the depressed cheetah.

"Ah, yeah…" Nick muttered, letting out a troubled sigh. "You need to take responsibility for your actions, right?"

Marcus glanced at Jackie's gloomy figure. "All I know is that you'll have to deal with it, sooner or later. Might as well start now."

Nick smirked and stood up, performing a theatrical bow. "Whatever you say, dad."

Nick had a feeling of gratitude towards the tiger. He rarely encountered mammals so straightforward with their opinions, yet sensible enough to know where the border to not cross was. "Well, here goes nothing…" With his gaze fixed on the figure outside, Nick walked out to the terrace. His approach was noticed by the slim feline, as he could see her ears flicker a bit as he drew closer. The fox kept a distance of several feet and leaned his back on the glass panels of the railing.

"Did I ever tell you the definition of insanity?" he began.

This elicited a quiet snort from the cheetah.

"Yeah… I think you mentioned something like that before…" Her voice was calm, even if a bit shaky, but reading mammals and their thoughts and emotions was Nick's profession for many years and he instantly noticed the great sadness beneath her appearance.

"Well, apparently, you kissed me again," he stated calmly, careful not to make it sound sarcastic or turn it into a joke.

Jackie shrugged her slumped shoulders, her gaze still focused on the first evening lights of the city. "It worked. We stopped you," she replied in that same tone of voice.

Nick stared her for a few long moments before he spoke again. "I'm sorry it didn't work for you…" He very rarely spoke so honestly towards someone, but the fox knew that she deserved nothing but the crystal-clear truth, deprived of any linguistic decorations.

Jackie sniffled and wiped her eyes with a paw, still not facing Nick. "You know… I've already had this feeling that it's wasn't going to get anywhere…" Another sniff. "Even before that time in the locker room. And yea… um, sorry about that. I know you didn't want to, but… I guess, I just really wanted to be in a relationship, to love someone… It sucks to be stuck alone, you know…Eh, what am I saying, you know a lot more about that than me." A sniff. "A-and I'm rambling like an idiot again, sorry… I get like this when I'm really stressed out and don't know what to say. Like now. And on some other occasions and…" She slumped even more than before. "Uh, sorry…"

Nick came closer and placed a paw on her arm. "You're okay, Spots," he reassured her. "And you'll be just fine."

She wiped her eyes again. "Oh, really?" A tiny drop of sarcasm appeared in her voice.

The fox decided that it would be the right time to breeze some more life into her. "Hey, you've sparred with Marcus, who is a former hitmammal and stood up to your father, who is a possessive psycho. You're not breakable, Spots."

This caused another snort, this one being slightly louder than the first. "I had some backup back then, remember?"

He smirked. "Like it was yesterday. And, Spots…" He paused, waiting for her to finally turn her head towards him. Her eyes were red from crying and she looked in dire need of a loud, heartfelt laugh. Nick's smirk turned into a warm, encouraging smile. "You still have it."

His words caused her eyes to widen and when they sank in, the girl's face brightened up a bit with a small smile. To the fox's surprise she leaned down to him and wrapped her arms around his torso. "Thanks, Nick," she whispered.

After the initial uncertainty, Nick reached out too and patted her on the back, albeit a bit awkwardly. "Hey, you're not trying anything again, are you?" he dared to joke and her soft chuckle told him that she's recovered enough to play along.

"Well, I'm that crazy to bang my head against a wall, Mr. Bunny-lover."

Nick groaned at her jab. "Hey, go easy on me, I'm kind of new to this, ok?"

She pulled away and showed him a bit teary, but smug expression. "Not a chance! I'm going to tease you to death!"

Nick sighed, but was actually happy to her mood improve like this. "I see that you're fine already."

Jackie's smile faded a bit. "Nope… But I've already cried enough to fill a few buckets, so I think that I've reached a point where I just need to move on." She noticed Nick's apologetic expression. "Hey, don't you be like this or I'll start crying again!" the feline flicked his nose, upon which he let out a small yelp. "I've always been quick to recover from failures, but don't you dare try to start me up again!"

Nick rubbed his nose and flared at her with a gaze of mock hurt. "Great, so now I'm a failure, huh?"

She grinned at him. "Of course you are."

"Hey," Marcus appeared in the doorway to the apartment, deciding that it was the right time to chime in. "Anyone for some tea?" He paused, and after looking at the tear-lines on Jackie's face, he added, "Or something stronger?"

Jackie's paw shot right up. "I'll have a shot of the strongest thing you have!" she declared shamelessly. "I need to forget about some jerk who dumped me for a bunny," the cheetah bounced past Nick, sending him a wink as she headed inside.

The massive tiger cast an inquiring gaze at the vulpine.

"I think she'll be alright," Nick gave his diagnosis and followed his spotted friend to the apartment.

When everyone was seated on the couch, Marcus – as per Jackie's request - pulled out a bottle of the strongest liquor he had and poured her a glass. He turned to Nick and raised the bottle in the form of a silent question.

Nick waved his paw. "Nah, I'm good. Just tea."

Hearing this, Jackie eyed him with suspicion. She already gulped down her drink in one go. "What? Can't tolerate adult drinks?"

"I just don't like alcohol."

Marcus gave him an understanding nod and poured himself a little after filling up the cheetah's glass again. "Considering your situation, not drinking is a wise choice. You have some serious shit to sort out and it's best done sober."

Nick gulped his tea and pointed at the tiger. "See?" he spoke to the cheetah, "Listen to your elders, Spots, you can learn a lot."

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah…" once again, she emptied her glass instantly.

Nick shook his head with a weak smile and directed his attention to Marcus. "I assume that the situation you were referring to is what happened at the club?"

"Pretty much," he agreed. "We've seen you go savage before, but this was different. What the hell did you do?"

"Ugh, always straight to the point… Aren't you nice?" the fox grumbled and raised his paw to stop the tiger's response. "Hold on, I'm not going to tell you everything, but I can share a few details. I didn't think that anyone would enter the club so decided to use a mantra my teacher had taught me years ago."

"Mantra my butt. You had a gaze like a corpse," Jackie commented with a voice slightly softened by the alcohol.

Nick's head lowered a little. "I can imagine. My teacher called it 'The Mantra of the Living Dead'. He said that it fits me," he snorted.

"And how exactly does it work?" Marcus inquired while sipping his own drink in a much slower pace than Jackie.

"Hey, hey! Why am I supposed to fess up everything? What is this, a therapy session?"

"Nope," the cheetah giggled. She was after her third glass. "Just cause yer a dork," the males exchanged glances and decided not to comment on her state.

Marcus focused on the vulpine again and showed a mischievous smile. "Apart from the fact that she's right…"

"Thanks…" Nick grumbled into his tea.

"… I think we deserve some explanation after hauling your ass here and dealing with the immediate aftereffect of your little party," he suddenly raised his eyes, as if remembering something. "No, wait. She dragged you here and kept you at gunpoint for a few hours, as we weren't sure what state you'd wake up in."

"Spots?" the fox glanced at the merry cheetah. "What about you?" he directed the question to the tiger.

Jackie giggled and rocked a bit back and forth in her place, with legs folded under her. "He was busy with daddy stuff! You should see the poor rookie wolf officer that tried to talk him into staying at the 'crime scene'," she made quotation marks in the air.

Nick raised a puzzled brow. "O-kay."

Marcus set his empty glass on the table. "Consider this… professional curiosity on my side."

With a bright smile, Jackie raised her arm in the air. "And just curiosity on mine."

The fox ran a paw down his face. "Fine!" He groaned and leaned back on the couch. "Are you both familiar with how computer works? I mean the startup process?" A nod from Marcus was enough, but Jackie's tipsy nod-slash-shake seemed to indicate that in her state she needed to hear it in simpler terms. "Okay, it's like this: you can force a computer to start the system in a safe mode and it means loading just the basic, crucial elements, required for the system to work. No additional stuff, that clear?"

"Yes."

"Me thinks so…"

Nick paused for a second to sigh, then went on. "This mantra is similar. You force your brain to 'restart' and function in the most basic mode. Only pure instinct and basic motoric functions of the body."

Marcus raised a paw at this point. "Hold on, so what you're saying is that can just switch off your consciousness?"

"In a way, yes. It leaves you in a state of fight or flight mode, similar to a savage animal. The difference being that a savage will have some other instincts and, for example, would protect someone he or she sees as their mate. With this mantra, you have nothing like that. Think of it more in terms of becoming a machine that has only one goal – to survive. Anyone within the range of your senses will be judged if they're a threat or not. If there's a slightest indication of hostility, you will attack in the most efficient manner."

"'Efficient' is the right word," Marcus nodded, "there were over 30 mammals there, Nick."

The fox decided to play with this a bit. "What? You're saying that a fox couldn't do it?" he raised his chin, challenging the tiger.

But his host didn't follow along. "I didn't say that. I was only surprised a bit."

"Well, my former co-worker once told me: The more the easier. But that was his specialty."

"Nickyyy!" Jackie waved her paw over her head. "That be a guy from the organization?"

The fox blinked, completely taken aback with the precision of her guess, especially under the effects of the alcohol. Therefore, when she reached out for the bottle again, Nick quickly snatched it and kept it away from her fingers.

"Awww!"

"No more alcohol for you, young lady."

She folded her arms and pouted at the fox. "Cottontail chaser," she huffed under her nose.

Marcus shook his head, but with amusement on his face while addressing the vulpine. "Well, aren't you full of surprises? You friends with the organization, Nick?"

The fox put a paw over his eyes. *Please don't speak, please don't speak…* He kept repeating in his mind.

"Hah! He was a member!" Jackie announced, proud with the revelation.

Nick groaned internally. *God, why do you hate me so much?* He lifted his paw to encounter Marcus' cheerful gaze.

"This is getting more and more interesting. Maybe I should bring out another bottle?"

The cheetah flew her arms in the air, a big smile plastered on her face. "Yaaaay!"

The fox ran both paws down his face. "Stripes, buddy… Have some mercy…"

.

.

Basker was far from being happy about his current situation. Just this morning, he was indulging himself with a few, carefully selected, bottles of alcohol, expensive cigars and very nice looking girls. And right now he was bed ridden, cuffed to said hospital bed, both legs having suffered severe multiple fractions and were now stuck in plaster, several of his ribs also suffering slight fractures, police were keeping watch outside the room he was placed in, and none of the nurses that checked up on him could be considered pretty by his standards.

The only positive thing was that he was still alive.

And he really could have ended on a mortician's slab. A shiver ran through his body when he recalled the fox's face back then. Emotionless, blank, with eyes that showed only an endless void. He's seen many different thugs and killers in his life and they had various gazes. From angry, mad, happy, vengeful, focused to even ecstatic. But none of them looked like that abyss that showed in the vulpine's eyes. It was a stare of a mammal who could probably slaughter this entire city's population and not feel a thing. This also confused the goat, as he never recalled Nick having this kind of attitude, not to mention fighting skills. Where…

There was a quiet click when the door opened.

Basker turned his head and he instantly added one more problem to his list. This definitely wasn't going to be a good day for him.

Two foxes entered his room and closed the door behind them. The first had well-groomed red fur and was wearing a blue dress shirt, unbuttoned at the top, with an elegant, dark jacket and matching pants. His attire was smart, but it wasn't just his clothes. The mammal themself seemed to give off a confident, almost cocky aura and it went well with the smirk on his face. And there was one element that was unique about him – his eyes had different colors. The left one looked like a golden circle, while the right had the appearance of a brilliant emerald.

And both eyes were focused on the goat.

"Th-the police…" Basker stuttered, not comprehending how they got in and he didn't even hear anything from the officer outside.

"The police are not a problem," stated the red fox, gesturing towards his companion. "Allow me to introduce my compatriot. This is Mr. Wolf, he... solves problems." The grey fox bowed his head.

Basker swallowed and his gaze quickly scanned the other vulpine. The second fox had meticulously combed fur and his choice of clothing was an impeccable black suit with a white dress shirt and a bow-tie.

With that said the red furred predator approached the bed in a relaxed way, as if he owned the room, the entire floor, or the whole hospital. It was a walk of a mammal that seemed to have all the time in the world and allowed things to happen just because he wished for them to occur. He grabbed a chair meant for visitors and pulled it right next to the goat's bed and placed it with the back towards Basker. The fox sat on it, supporting his arms on the seat's back and stared at the goat for a moment in silence, the old mobster not daring to speak. Eventually, the vulpine spoke with a voice of a teacher scolding a student for failing a simple task.

"I distinctly remember saying: catch the fox. Not shoot the fox. I am very particular with my choice of words." He moved his paws a bit apart, gesturing while he talked. "Catch." Left paw. "Shoot." Right one. "Catch." Left. "Shoot." Right. After he said this, the fox put his paws together and stared at Basker over the top of them. "Do those words sound the same?"

The goat swallowed nervously. "Things got out of control…" he mumbled, staring at the bed sheets.

The fox leaned slightly forward, turning his head a bit, so his ear would be closer to Basker. "I'm sorry. What did you say?"

"Things got out of control," the mobster answered more clearly.

The predator straightened up. "I see. Well, I hate when things get out of control." This was said with a slight edge and the fox stood up, heading for the door.

"You've become a problem for me," he said and glanced over his shoulder at the prey on the bed. "Therefore, I'm leaving you in capable paws of Mr. Wolf."

Basker blinked. "W-what? But..." he stammered, trying to follow the flow of the conversation.

But the red fox was already walking out of the room. At that point the other fox approached the goat and coughed politely to gain attention.

"Mr. Basker," he offered his paw. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Looking at the friendly expression of the predator before him, Basker was suddenly certain that he didn't want to be Mr. Wolf's problem.

.

.

Despite Nick's protest, Jackie got another bottle and emptied it rather quickly. Luckily for the fox, the alcohol acted almost instantly and the cheetah was fast asleep, sprawled over the couch.

"You okay with her sleeping like that?"

Marcus waved his paw dismissively. "Leave her. It's not a problem and way easier than trying to drag her somewhere else."

Nick chuckled at his words. "You have a point there." He leaned back, stretching his arms over his head and when he finished, the fox noticed a stare from the striped predator. It had some slight pressure behind it, but not in an amount that would make one uncomfortable. It was a non-verbal question that awaited permission to be spoken.

It didn't take much for Nick to guess what Marcus wanted to ask about. He leaned forward with a heavy sigh and returned the feline's stare. "Yeah, she was telling the truth. I was a member of the organization for a short time, satisfied?"

"So, you've lied to me about killing?" The tiger inquired of the, now surprised, fox with a calm voice that didn't betray any offence or hurt.

Nick quickly rewound all memories containing the scarred feline and all conversations they had. His mind quickly found the connection.

"You're talking about that time at the Academy." His paw went up to massage his temples. "Well, technically-"

But Marcus wouldn't let him finish. "Did you lie or not?" He asked firmly, phrasing the question in a way that didn't leave Nick any opportunity to weasel out of it. Simple yes or no.

Nick held his friend's gaze for a moment, before an image of a crying kid - a small arctic vixen, flashed in his mind and the fox had to withhold a wince.

"Sorry, I lied…" He confessed, looking the tiger straight in the eye.

Marcus eyed him for a long time, the silence from his side being very uncomfortable for the fox, as he wasn't certain what would be the feline's response. From Nick's point of view, it was clear betrayal of trust they forged in their time in the Academy. Marcus admitted being a former hitmammal, something the fox encouraged him to do, while Nick lied about his past.

Finally, the tiger broke the awkward silence.

"If you want to have any friends, you need to learn some honesty, pal. I can't say that I'm happy about the fact that you kept this from me, but I can somewhat understand where it's coming from."

Nick blinked several times, still too ashamed to speak, but the last sentence caused him to look at the striped feline with curiosity.

"I had been hiding my real profession from Icy, so I'd be a hypocrite to condemn you for this." He raised a finger, now adding a slight edge to his voice. "One thing, don't lie to me again, got it?"

The vulpine adorned a grateful smile and couldn't stop himself from cracking a little joke. "Only if you won't ask how many girlfriends I've had."

.

.

The room was all too familiar to him. Small but stuffed, offering very little space to move about. A single desk in the middle, almost completely hidden under piles of documents, files and several oily papers after unknown fast food. The walls decorated with dozens, hundreds of other papers and corkboards heavy from the number of pinned notes and maps. A veteran coffee maker was placed on the window sill, dark liquid still left in the cup next to it. And next to no natural light was allowed inside with how dirty the windows were. Dust gathered on countless of boxes piled on the floor. Nick recalled that they were filled with evidence connected to a certain case.

The fox heard a creak from behind the desk and took a step forward to examine it.

When he glanced over a pile of papers, a gruesome sight was revealed to his eyes. A middle aged red furred fox in well-worn attire was slumped on an office chair, his head tilted back, a ZIA badge in his paw. He didn't move, as he was dead. A combat knife was sticking from his chest where his heart was, full length of the blade sunk into the flesh. It happened some time ago, as the crimson liquid tracing down from the wound already dried, turning into a brown crust on his shirt.

Nick's own blood drained from his face as he took a step back, only to hit something. He spun around to see a small arctic vixen in his way. She was ten years old, at most. The girl was wearing a floral-patterned summer dress and her blue gaze was locked on Nick.

"S-snowflake…"

"Why is daddy not moving?" she asked of him, her face or eyes not betraying anything.

Nick swallowed with difficulty. "He… he's…"

"Why is he bleeding?" her eerily emotionless voice was giving him the chills.

There was another creak from the direction of the corpse and the fox dared to glance there with the corner of his eye.

The chair was empty.

The body disappeared and the empty seat was rotating with an occasional creak.

"Nick."

His focus switched to the girl again, but she wasn't standing in the room anymore. The little vixen was in a church, still right in front of him and a coffin on a pedestal was placed behind her back. In his growing panic, Nick looked around only to find that the building was empty. Nobody sitting on the benches, no one to lead the ceremony. Just him, the girl and a coffin surrounded by a sea of funeral flowers.

"Why did you kill daddy?" she asked of him, not a bat of an eye not a quiver in her voice.

Nick started backing away his paws in the air in a defensive gesture. "Snowflake… I…"

Then he noticed that her eyes began filling up with something red, making her pupils and retinas disappear completely. As the eyeballs turned fully crimson, the redness spilled out in a form of tears and the rosy liquid trailed down her cheeks, contrasting with the white fur.

"Why did you murder daddy?"

The fox tripped and fell on his back. As he got up to his elbows the girl was slowly walking towards him with her arms down by her sides.

"You're a murderer," she stated with bloody eyes and her cheeks painted with the red tears.

Nick began crawling backwards to get away from her as far as possible, but she was inevitably getting closer, even with her slow steps. "I'm sorry, Snowflake… I couldn't-"

"Murderer," she cut in.

The adult fox could feel his own eyes filling up with tears. "I'm sorry… I'm-"

At that point the girls muzzle opened far wider than biology would allow and a horrifying scream escaped from her throat.

"MURDERER!"

Nick whimpered and rolled into a ball, covering his head with both paws.

"No! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

"MURDERER!" the horrendous howl echoed within the confines of his mind.

"I'M SORRY!" he roared and opened his eyes.

He was in his bed, in the small cellar that was his home.

The fox realized that he was in a sitting position and panted heavily. Sweat covered his paws and heart hammered in his chest like crazy. Nick whimpered and fell forward, resting his forehead on the bedsheets.

"I'm sorry…" he whispered, his voice half choked from tears that dripped on the bed.

.

.

The next morning Judy walked into the precinct, feeling sharp and energetic, as she always did, and approached Benjamin's desk. The feline seemed to be preoccupied with something. He kept something in his paw, right under the desk and the other paw was pressed at his chin, a posture he had whenever he saw something he deemed extra cute.

And he was so preoccupied with whatever was in his paw that he didn't notice Judy coming closer. The doe tilted her head to the side, wandering if the big feline would register her presence eventually. But then a nasty smile crept up her face and she jumped on Clawhauser's desk in one, quick leap.

"Hey Benji! What's up!"

"WAAAAAHH!" the cheetah threw up his arms from the shock of Judy's sudden appearance, sending whatever he was holding high in the air and right after that grabbed his chest, hoping that he didn't just have a heart attack.

"J-j-judy! Haha… H-hey, w-what are you doing here?"

She shook her head with a smile. "Work?"

Benjamin calmed down a bit. "Ah, right…" and then was hit on the head with a falling object. He groaned, with his eyes rolling back and toppled backwards, landing on the floor with a loud thud.

"Oh, gosh! Benji, are you okay?" she asked with concern, feeling a bit guilty for her friend's situation.

"Heee?" He shook his head. "Ouch… Just, just give me a sec…"

"Um, sure…" Judy looked around to see what actually hit the cheetah when she noticed his smartphone on the desk. It wasn't there a moment ago and now was lying screen down, showing the cheesy Gazelle picture on its back.

"Seriously, you got knocked out by your own phone?" she chuckled and began reaching for the device. "Let's see what's so hypnotizing this time that you didn't even notice me."

"WAAAAAAH!" For the second time Clawhauser let out a sharp yell and scrambled to his hindpaws faster than it seemed possible with his posture. His paw shot forward and snatched the device before Judy could touch it.

"Did you see it?! Did you?!" he asked her in panic.

She raised a brow at him, perplexed with his reaction. "See what?"

Hearing her answer, Benjamin visibly relaxed and slumped in his seat. "Phew, that was a close call… " then, he noticed Judy's inquiring gaze. "Uh… I mean… That's my private stuff and… and really wouldn't anyone to see it, sorry!" he quickly explained, showing his best, apologetic smile.

Judy wasn't convinced in the slightest, but decided not to pry, assuming that it was another one, among gazillion other things related to Gazelle.

"Okay, easy there, Ben. No pressure, alright?" she hopped down to the floor. "I'll be heading for the briefing, anything interesting happened?"

The feline scratched the back of his head. "Not really… Oh! Nick's back! He's already in there." Clawhauser pointed at the bullpen.

Judy's ears perked up. "He is?! He was supposed to be sick."

"Uhm, maybe he got better or something…" But the doe didn't hear it, as she was already racing towards the room where the morning briefings were held. Benjamin breathed out with relief and held up his phone. "That was close, Nick would strangle me…" he muttered to himself.

.

.

Once Judy got to the bullpen, she immediately noticed the familiar tail hanging from their shared chair. When she approached her side of their seat, a pair of shining green gems locked onto her and a warm smile appeared on the muzzle of her partner.

"Hey there, Fluff. Miss me?" And just when she was about to snap at him, Nick leaned towards her and offered his paw. She frowned at his unusual behavior, but accepted the paw and climbed up to sit beside him.

"Okay," he sighed, as soon as she was next to him. "Let's get this over with. What's it gonna' be? Shoulder? Ribs? My leg?"

She blinked, confused where he was going with this conversation. "What? Hold on, what are you talking about?"

He sent her a wink. "Weren't you going to punch me? Might as well be done with it." Nick studied her face to gauge her reaction. And was surprised when, with a stern expression, she reached up and grabbed his ear, pulling it down to her. The fox stifled a yip to not attract any additional attention.

"Punch you? Oh no, my slick friend. I want to do something far worse…" she whispered in his ear. Nick swallowed nervously hearing these words, as his brain raced to come up with possible scenarios that she could have in mind, though she beat him to it. "I want to talk." She let go of him, now showing him a determined expression that he accepted as a part of her 'not one step back' attitude.

He let out another sigh.

Coming to the precinct in the early morning, he already knew that such a conversation was inevitable. *Besides…* He looked into the amethyst eyes of the purposeful doe and all his resistance melted away. Her gaze was now so mesmerizing for him that he had to stop himself from gasping in awe. It was difficult, coming back to work beside her. Before the club incident, he felt a strong attachment to the bunny, but denied it with all strength that he could muster. And now… now he was embracing it and savoring every moment. Her mere presence filled him with soothing contentment and motivated him to push forward. It was similar to what he felt around Irene, but on a completely different level and made him question if he even knew what love was before.

I love you.

His heart ached to utter these three words and to hell with consequences. Whatever the public would think, whatever Bogo would yell, whatever else would happen… He just wanted to embrace this doe to his heart's content. Which would mean that he'd have to hold her forever, as he couldn't imagine ever letting her go.

But he couldn't do that.

He had too much weighing on his conscience to realistically consider a relationship with a girl as pure as Carrots. Besides, he was her partner, if they would get together Bogo would have to separate them and Nick shivered at the thought that he wouldn't be close enough to support her. And what about her career? If she'd got involved with someone like him, surely there would come a time when his past wrongdoings could torpedo all her hard work and end her dream of being a police officer.

Not to mention that she has a boyfriend.

*Shut up.* He snapped at the pesky voice in his head.

What if she truly loves him?

*I told you to shut it!*

Are you going to force her to be with you?

*I… I…*

Even if Mr. Rabbit was out of the picture, what makes you think that she would fall for someone like you?

*Hey, I have a ton of great qualities.*

Yeah, and responsibility, honesty and reliability, which usually girls like her look for in a guy, are certainly NOT part of that list.

*Oi, I may not have been too honest in my past, but Carrots can always rely on me!*

Right, like when you sent armed pigs on her…

*That… that was a mistake, okay? I won't let it happen again!*

Oh yeah? And when was the last time you took responsibility for your actions?

*I AM responsible. I-*

Like that time with Snowflake? Major oopsie, slick. And she looked soo sad after the funeral…

*SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT-*

"Nick?"

The fox almost gasped when his partner's voice wrecked his train of thought. He thanked the Nature that foxes didn't perspire through skin, else he'd have a very serious case of a cold sweat. Nick suppressed the shiver that came with the memory of Snowflake's face and forced his mind to focus on the present. *Guess what's going to haunt me again tonight?* He asked himself a rhetorical question.

He made an instant self-check-up to verify if his face and voice were under his complete control. When he was sure that was the case, he turned to bunny on his right. "Sorry, Fluff. Lost in my thoughts for a second there."

Her face lost all traces of annoyance and strictness and was now filled with concern for her partner. The fox wasn't aware of this, but during his mental struggle with himself, his mask fell down for the briefest of moments, revealing a ghastly expression on the vulpine's face.

"You okay?" She reached out for his arm and Nick flinched, putting up his paws in a defensive gesture.

"All fine! Really!" he blurted out automatically and right after he said that, the fox scolded himself for this reaction. *Stupid! You don't say things like that in front of her!*

But Judy wasn't looking at his face anymore. Her gaze wandered to his left paw, which was still wrapped in a bandage. He heard her gasp and the doe's paws shot forward to catch his wrist.

"Nick, what is this?! What happened?!" Her raised voice caused several officers to turn their heads and in his panic that this might escalate, Nick welcomed the sound of heavy hoofs behind the door as a second later Bogo swung open the door and walked into the room.

Nick instantly pulled back his paw and leaned slightly to his partner.

"Today at Joey's. At seven. We'll talk there, swear on my life." He muttered to her with the side of his mouth.

She cast him a puzzled look, but didn't have a chance to comment as Bogo slammed his fist on the speech podium and the wood creaked in agony. "SHUT IT!" All the chatter died down and the room quickly became silent.

"Assignments!" The buffalo didn't offer any grumpy comments or complaints about his officers, causing a wave of uncertainty among the gathered animals. Several officers exchanged worried glances. It wasn't like him to get straight to the point like this.

Bogo gave out assignments to every officer, except the fox and the bunny in the front row. The others cast them sympathetic looks, as they assumed that whatever storm was coming, it most likely will hit the ZPD's smallest duo head on.

"Hopps, Wilde, my office,"the big mammal said once the door to the corridor closed after the last officer.

Once inside and sitting on the guest chair together, Nick and Judy watched as their boss sat behind his desk and reached for a file right in front of him. He shoved it in their direction and Judy caught it when it slipped over the edge.

"What you will read there is confidential. Do not share this with any other officer, especially Clawhauser. We cannot risk this getting out to the public."

The doe opened the file and along with her partner they read out the title loud:

"Serum theft."

Nick's insides flipped in his stomach, even if he didn't show it on the surface.

His trained eyes instantly scanned the whole page and he didn't like this even one bit. Someone had stolen the Nighthowler serum supply.