Lawful and Indecent

Part Four: The Baiting

The sleepless hours of the night fell like an anchor after the full investigation of the mysterious garbage chute. The day was swift, and time had escaped them all. It was unanimously decided that someone had to continue their studies overnight. Though Nick was the best witness, he immediately obliged to sit it out and leave the safeguarding to someone a little more covered up. Little had he considered who'd be next to volunteer.

Judy chewed her nails into blunt rectangles while the rain cloaked her fur into dark mats. The cool wind gave her goosebumps from inside her blue, traditional police suit. Such did the paranoia, as she hastily paced in and out of the small alleyway. Arched forward and shivering cold, her weary free hand clutched a walkie talkie, a raucous knot curling in her stomach. It was a pitch black night made darker from the alleyway she was in, boxed in with an array of orange cones and yellow "DO NOT CROSS" tape. Her pounding head against the frigid raindrops told her it was a worthless defense, but the otherwise silent aura said otherwise. Just for the time being, she'd have to toughen up. So long as she was here, nobody was coming near that garbage chute.

Though it never moved, it stared at her like a portal to the void. Pried open from brute strength and a crowbar, it had been fully opened, six feet wide and blacker than the night itself. Not even the drips from its brim could be seen rolling down the pipe. But if she got close enough, she could hear their echoes as they dripped to the bottom. It entered her ear once, and she decided to just stick to the guarding.

Sidling the wall, her violet eyes constantly darted in and out of the narrow corner. Any sign of movement meant danger. She jumped from a shadow under the lamppost, but it just turned out to be an empty pint of milk tumbling down a tiny stream. Sighing, she was slowly beginning to settle, turning back to the-

"Judes?" The male voice came from beyond the wall she was just at, accompanied with loudening footsteps.

She whirled around and drew out her pistol, aimed at nothing, and carefully squeaked, "Sh-show yourself."

"Did I just hear you cock a gun?" he sounded offended and high-pitched as the footsteps stopped. "Jesus! It's just me, Wolfard."

Judy lingered it out for a bit, her hands vibrating hard. That voice...for some reason, she couldn't trust it.

"Who are you?" she stammered.

He let out a long sigh.

"I just told you," he calmly repeated, a tad louder than she. "It's just me. Seriously, calm down. Now, can I come through so we can get this thing over with?"

Pausing to consider it, she muttered, "Slowly."

She backed up a step as she watched the man turn the corner with little hesitation. He appeared as a silhouette in the twilight, skewed triangles perked up like devil horns atop his head. The edges of his grey fur were waving in the moonlight. This brought out the detail of his face...and his eyes...and when her stomach didn't drop, she put the gun away. It really was just Wolfard, and his goofy, startled expression while he held a strange RC-car looking machine in his left hand, the controller in his right.

"I'm tellin' you, the coast is clear!" he exclaimed. "When are we gonna get this thing started?"

"Yeah, okay, okay, just..." Judy hushed, "don't be so loud next time."

Wolfard sighed and sulked his shoulders, thinking of all the times she's said that in the past hour. Lip curled to a dimpled right cheek, the skinny wolf had a heart of gold, but even that was failing to impatience.

"You always do this," he reminded her. "I mean, not that, but...you wait too long until we've got more to deal with than we should."

"Nowadays, it's a bit more complicated," she replied.

"It really isn't," he tried. "It's no car chase, but it's all the same job."

"These criminals are supposed to be smarter than us, Wolfard," she stated. "That's why they've gotten away with it for so long. You can't just run into it headfirst."

"No offense," he eyed her, "but you just busted twenty-one of the most dangerous criminals known to Zootopia a little over a year ago. I'd say they were a lot smarter."

"A little under a year," she corrected, slightly sulking. "That whole thing was a mess, anyways. Beginner's luck. Things are different, now."

"Yeah, one of us is naked, now," he retorted almost jokingly.

She pouted her lip out. "You say that like it's my fault," she grumbled.

He sighed deeply.

"I...don't like saying his name these days," he admitted. "It makes me feel weird. Whatever he did must've been awful, but the way they dealt with it is so...childish."

Judy sighed as well, almost mirroring his disappointment. "I know...frankly, I've been stressed about him lately." She turned and walked towards the garbage chute. "I wish they could at least give him a pair of boxers or something."

"It's not even safe," he griped. "Why did the chief make him do this? Is there some protocol that asks to humiliate their officers? Am I missing something?"

"I don't know, Wolfard," Judy groaned. "God, the poor guy...."

They were quiet for just a moment afterwards, as Wolfard lost himself in thought.

"Is there really no way around this?" he then asked, keeping the same tone. "Can't you just drive one of the cars to his house and pick him up for work?"

"He's not allowed to use vehicles," she replied. "I've tried."

Puzzled, he shook his head. "He told you that?"

"I just...." Judy's voice trailed off. She knew she couldn't finish the rest. The fact is, neither of them were supposed to know. And if Wolfard did, he'd bring his true frustrations to the chief, and it would either find its way to the press or tarnish their reputations with the chief for sure. But as the rain seemed to press his ears out to the sides, it wasn't hitting him as hard as it should.

"He told you and not me, didn't he?" Wolfard prodded demandingly.

"Shhh!" Judy shushed, whirling around to put a finger to her mouth, then taking it off as she talked. "Look, I wanted to help, but in the state he's in, we can't risk_anything_ right now. Whatever happens, happens."

He breathed a long sigh, close-eyed and drooping. "This is gonna kill the department..."

"Not if we don't do anything about it," Judy said softly, putting a hand on his shoulder now that he was low enough to reach it. "Maybe he even asked to do it on purpose."

Wolfard paused for a couple seconds. Then he looked up at her, baffled in his face. "What did you say?"

"We've wasted enough time already," she exacted. "Let's just get this thing started."

Judy turned, leaving a shrugging Wolfard to drop it and follow her anyways, stopping right at the mouth. Once he was there, he bent down to put the car right at the edge. They checked to make sure the angle was right just before they inspected everything else. On its roof, they mounted a cannon-shaped tracking device launcher, which was their one shot at following anybody there. A camera was also attached to the plastic hood of the car and wirelessly connected to the controller. Both were fully functional. Now all that was left was hope. They gave each other assured nods and let it go, watching it swallow into the darkness.

Meanwhile, the screen lit up with a green and black night vision image of the camera. Judy huddled closer to Wolfard to get a closer look as he fidgeted with the knobs. The tube looked like an underground highway that led to Death himself, coupled with the warped audio of rolling wheels and echoing clangs.

"Wherever it's going, I hope nobody hears it," Judy mumbled, but didn't get a response. He was staring intently at the controller as he watched the windings and turns across the pipe, waiting for something to happen.

The wolf was getting more nervous by the minute as he watched the car speed down the endless tube. Crossing his fingers behind the controller, his eyes narrowed, itching for something to show up. If he could close them, he would've, so instead he breathed a couple soft, disappointed exhales and gripped the device a little harder.

Please don't go out, he repeated in his mind.

Plink!

Suddenly, all the footage went black. They both had to stifle a gasp, leaning in a little closer to hear nothing more but eerie silence. Then, like a jumpscare, it came back: flashes of green looked like a light show as distorted crashing sounds played through the speakers. It looked like nothing at all, until the barrage of images slowed down to a crawl, flipping once to the left as the tumbling car corrected itself upright, finally revealing the image of a large corridor, the crevices of each grimy brick grossly saturated with the green of the night vision.

As the drone sat in place, the true image of where it had landed was unfolding, revealing the green outlines of warped waterfalls flowing down from the caged ceilings, all of which emptying into a murky looking stream that ran in straight lines down each corridor. Two of its turns could be seen, both at ninety-degree angles, passing into separate corridors beyond their vision.

"Are those...," Wolfard trailed off, aghast from the sight, "...catacombs?"

Judy shook her head slowly. "No," she proclaimed in a low voice. "It's a storm drain."

Wolfard removed his right hand from the controller to scratch his chin, cautiously piloting the car with the knob in his left. He was visibly amazed as he watched all the unbelievable detail come to life, their grimy patterns flickering in the peripherals of the camera as it passed by. It was like a labyrinth of structures the city already created, with no knowledge of its manipulation. The more path it uncovered through its poor vision, the further it impressed him.

Though, he couldn't deny how unsure he felt. He heard its motor gently hum and cursed to himself, praying that nobody else could. But even that seemed like a stretch. All its paths looked to stretch on forever. A couple of torches were lit in distinct places, beyond any of the places light could enter. The crashing of the water became louder and softer with the distance it travelled, sometimes barely grazing the top. As he passed the third one, a speck of liquid dripped onto the lens.

Wolfard gasped and winced, then shook his head as his own behavior. "How long do you think this goes on for?"

"I'm scared to find out," Judy mumbled. "How many people must Zane have hired to dig all this?"

She had no answer for it. But she no longer needed one when a small orb of darkness swept over the green light in the upper right corner. Almost instinctively, she jabbed a finger at that section and held his shoulder.

"There! There!" Judy whispered commandingly. "Upper right. Record that."

He backed it up and turned it to the right. Pivoting the camera upwards, sure enough, there was a prominent hole in the wall, about two feet off the ground. It was just as big as the one they were right in front of. Though it wasn't nearly as developed; rather, the opening was crude, slightly jagged with broken bricks and solid cement residue. With no other context, it looked like someone had smashed it with a shovel until it broke.

"That's gotta be another chute," Wolfard mumbled, intrigued.

"It's too high," she resigned disappointingly. "Just keep going."

He nodded and piloted the car down the corridors once again. They sat in silence for a while, wet and too concentrated to care. At this point, both were expecting somebody to hide from.

But something different blasted through the speakers, shaking up the camera footage like an earthquake. The resulting sound sent shocks down both of their spines. It sounded like a cannonball being dropped. Their ears, erect in the frigid raindrops, left them fully alert, giving quick looks around themselves. Feeling ridiculous, they looked back at the screen.

The image fizzled a bit, but when it came back, it was dark; a hill of strange, web-like ridges obscured the center of their view.

"Crap. Someone spotted us," Wolfard sighed.

"Not yet," Judy shook her head.

They waited for a few moments. Then they waited some more. But eventually, it moved; lifting up and getting smaller. The top of it then showed; a wide stalk, nearly as girthy as the object itself. It wasn't long before they figured it out.

"That's someone's shoe, isn't it?" Wolfard murmured, as if it were right behind him.

"Definitely," Judy said. "See if you can get that tracker on him."

Wolfard nodded and moved downwards to a different analog stick. The camera whirred quietly as it elevated, looking straight up at the full, moving leg. Then, without any warning, it fired, sounding like the prick of a thumbtack in styrofoam. A pentagon launched from the tiny cannon glowed red for just a moment before disappearing entirely, latching onto the distant shape.

Right in that moment, it stopped. The two of them gazed patiently into the camera, waiting for any mistakes. Yet, nothing seemed to unfold. The sound was filled with ominous drips of water, and a threatening gust of wind. It might have been a loud exhale.

"Don't tell me you hit his skin," Judy muttered threateningly.

"I swear to god I hit his sock," Wolfard responded calmly. But even he wasn't sure.

Something had to happen. That shape was fidgeting, though it still seemed normal. But it never managed to notice their trap. So, the huge mass moved again, and in unison, they let their stress go as they watched the massive figure walk by.

"There's no way we'd be able to detain someone like that," Wolfard breathed.

They watched it fade into the distant darkness until it disappeared behind a ninety-degree corner, and they were ready to continue. They pivoted the camera around for some time, checking every single brick of the system, trying to find another pipe or a different passageway. That was, until they heard another booming sound. The camera visibly shook again, startling them both. Yet, nobody appeared in front of them.

"It's probably a loose brick," Wolfard shrugged. "You're being paranoid."

"And you're being delusional," Judy grumbled. She rose to her feet and started inching towards the edge of the alleyway, one hand hovering over her holster like a patient cowboy.

"I would've seen him by now," he detailed.

Then, a loud sound:

Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump...

_ _ Like pushing boulders down the stairs...

Thump, thump, thump...

...only it was getting faster.

Wolfard put away the controller. The two whirled around to see where it was coming from.

THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP....

They had to run.

"Back up!" Judy frantically repeated, drawing her pistol.

"I got this!" Wolfard said as he whipped out the desert eagle of his own and took a two-handed aim straight down the chute. Their adrenaline screamed as they could hear the tumults from below. A crack splayed from the darkness, reaching out towards the rim.

"Out of the way!" Judy asserted as she grasped a fistful of his vest and pushed with all her might. The wolf yelped like he stubbed his toe as he was shoved to the right, now closer to the opening of the alleyway than she, just as the rims of the chute began to crack viciously. The entire structure seemed to break just to accommodate for his massive body as he forced himself through, pressed firmly against its walls. Until he finally crashed out, smashing into the pavement before drunkenly recovering to his feet.

On the first look at him, they both were shocked to the core. His torn up, drenched, black sports coat seemed like it had seen countless fights in the past. Wiping his nose with his forearm, they saw the bulletproof vest he was wearing under it. Not that they expected to take down such a behemoth with bullets. They just trembled, realizing they had only brought rubber ones. They were looking for interrogations, not fights, but now, terror was coursing through their veins, as they had gotten far more than they bargained for.

Judy recalled back to the talks she had with Nick. The instant he fully turned, she saw the furled pig snout sneer in the center of his face, his pink skin now a threatening shade of rage. She had seen it before...the mugshot. It made her face drop. Then, consequentially, her soul followed. In an instant, she remembered his name.

Jared.

The moment he made eye contact with them, he smiled grisly, and the sight of his pure yellow teeth make their stomachs gurgle.

"Let me guess," he growled smugly. "I have the right to remain silent?"

Ironically, they were the ones who stayed that way.

The towering beast was like a moving wall in leather apparel. No time to react, he threw himself forward directly at Judy. Panicking and overwhelmed, she opted for the taser, instead, pointing the red dot towards the man and pressing the trigger. In an instant, the wires fired out and landed directly into his sports coat, stumbling him back. But it wasn't for long, as he tore them off with one bare hand, then swiped a meaty arm at Judy's hand, knocking it into the wall and smashing into three pieces upon impact. She gasped, and immediately afterwards felt his shoe in her gut, knocking her away into a wall.

He was trembling so hard that he was afraid to fire what little ammunition he had. Though, he did it anyway, firing four rubber bullets into Jared's head. But due to his size, they bounced off like airsoft pellets, leaving minor scratches. Shocked and stunted, Wolfard whipped out the walkie talkie from his belt, slamming his thumb into the recording button.

"Z.P.D.? Z.P.D.? Come in," he pleaded. "This is Officer Wolfard. There's a 240 in progress on Acorn Street! I'm requesting backup immediately!"

"Huh?" Jared sneered, turning away from Judy.

Slightly dazed from the taser, he grunted loudly and turned towards him, chasing him down into the street, Judy following behind him. This time he wasn't so reckless, though, as he reached from a pistol in his sports coat and drew it directly at his face.

"You're gonna pay for that!" he yelled, drawing out his gun.

"No!" Judy cried. In an instant, the bunny made a powerful leap into the air, sailing right over his right shoulder and landing with a kick right on his gun hand. He cried out frustratingly as his weapon went sailing far out of his reach and she landed feet first to the ground.

Jared grunted and charged towards her this time, but this time, she was expecting it. She whirled around fast and whipped out the pepper spray, placing the nozzle up at his face and pushing it down. Stomping the ground thunderously, he stumbled backwards, hands over his eyes as he roared loudly. Meanwhile, Judy whirled her head back towards Wolfard and bolted the other direction.

"Please tell me that transmission went through!" Judy yelled pleadingly at him.

"It must have, but they haven't answered back yet!" Wolfard roughly yelled back, panicking much harder.

The street made it so they could only run in a straight line. As they looked behind them at the huge brute, it was all too clear that the pepper spray hadn't worn off yet. But the glowing lights began to shine clearer on the furthest building. As the two of them limped closer, the falloff had become pure colors, and then followed a police car that turned the corner and drove in their direction. Just as quickly as it showed itself, the radio spoke from the top of the car:

"Sir, put your hands behind your back!" the distorted driver's voice demanded.

But as per usual, Jared was paying no attention. His arms were flailing as he viciously grunted, trying desperately to find his gun. The rain was pelting at the ground, off his coat, dripping onto the ground, and worst of all - adding shimmer to his weapon. With the water washing away the last of the pepper spray, he instantly spotted the glimmer of its metal, and made his drunken way over to it, babbling incoherently along the way.

"Oh, no, no, no!" Judy exclaimed in a hurry. "Please tell me they're getting here soon!"

Judy picked up the pace and frantically dragged Wolfard more, right next to the vehicle that stopped beside them.

She could hear the doors ka-chunk and unlock buried under the screech of the wet tires. If it had gone farther, it could have hit them. But since it didn't, Wolfard reached out to the handle and pulled it open in front of himself, plunging into the backseat. Seeing her opening, Judy promptly slid herself under the door across the concrete. Just before she stood up, she sharply gasped as they heard a shot ring out and smash through the window of the door.

Moving hastily, she threw herself in the car and yelled, "Abort mission!"

They ducked under the windows as the car began to make a fast U-turn, back towards the way that it came. The door came slamming shut with its momentum, and just afterwards, another shot came hurling over their heads through the left window, barreling out the right. The shock mortified them into a scream through the tossing of the car, shards of glass spilling inside, engine roaring outside.

But as it had successfully made the turn around, it began to flee the scene, disappearing into the cityscape. They stayed low for any more attacks, but they could hear the bullets whizz by. In the distance, they could hear two more shots that careened off the buildings, followed by enormous, frustrated screams, slowly drowned out by the barrage of the rain.

They were safe.

Her slow, huge gulps of breath turned into well-earned sighs of relief. She turned to Wolfard, expecting him to be unhinged. He was - but far more downcast. Within time, all his body language slowly but surely transformed into this. The once panicked officer was now permanently looking down, no seat buckle on and completely lost in himself. He fidgeted with a shard of glass between his fingertips, feeling the triangle's sharp edges on his fingertips. Judy was about to say something to him, but he spoke first.

"We had him," he stated plainly. "We failed."

The room was filled with the whistle of the wind from the hole in the window for a long while.

"Things happen," Judy finally shrugged. "At least we know now how many reinforcements we need."

His interest in conversing about it ran out. He fiddled with the shard of glass until a bump in the road made him drop it. Then he crossed his arms like a child. But when she couldn't deny his disappointment, she sulked back in the chair, too, feeling more lucky to be alive than disappointed. Though, the one question in her head itched and itched as she sat there. It had to happen; at a random moment, it came out.

"How's the tracker?" she asked intently, ears perking back up.

Without looking at her, he took his phone out and tapped the fingerprint scanner, bringing him to the last app he used: the radar. It showed a red line circling a few luminate equally red circles. Between the second and third was a dot that kept lighting up whenever the line swept past its position.

"Then it's all right," Judy told him softly. "Just rest. We'll work this whole thing out."

He never responded. So, she sank back into the cushions, and let the sounds of the car engine and the smell of defeat permeate. Judy's face became stone overtime, letting all this sink in.

We at least have something, she thought. I'll have to bring it up with Nick tomorrow....

_ _ She looked up from Wolfard, staring out into the passing street lights beyond the raindrop speckled windows turning into lasers streaking away. Things were going to be fine.

_ Let's hope that tracking device really works._

_____________________________________________________________________________________

An unwelcome morning and an even less welcome walk led to a very impatient, naked fox. Same alarm clock waking him up in the early hours, same answering groans...Nick felt the monotony of the day already. But at least he could appreciate how nice it was outside, with only a few white cumulus clouds in the sky. He made sure to take a shower this time, and that made the day go a little easier. A heartier breakfast of a few eggs. It helped. But not much.

His third naked walk across town was just as humiliating as anybody would've expected. That's how it was, by now; everything was just as predictable as it was daunting. The breeze, the crotch-covering, the laughs, the blushing, and the embarrassment. He groaned any time someone called him out, which was more often than yesterday. Today, he could hardly even look up. It sucked. That's all it was. His fingers wrapped further around his genitals, curling his penis horizontally inside of his fingers while his flushed, slim figure caught all the wrong attention. By now, he just wanted to get it over with.

God, just let me apologize to Bogo, he sincerely thought. I don't even care anymore.

But there he was in the city, for the third time in a row, utility belt jingling unsteadily on his waist while he walked all the way to work completely naked. Though he had memorized Judy's shortcut by now, it was anything but a straight shot. People would still see him no matter what. He sighed agitatedly as he heard another cat call across the street. A couple people even tried running up and taking selfies with him, but as he kept walking by, they did it anyways. Feet aching and fed up, he bit his tongue and reminded himself of the job.

Sector eight - that was where yesterday's crime scene took place. It wasn't too far away. Even if it was, he'd get there. The thought of leaving that garbage chute unattended to again stressed him out into a business mode. So, it didn't take long for the situation at hand to take its place in Nick's mind, focusing him on the destination rather than the journey.

Once he arrived, he was surprised to see Judy still there, facing towards the chute and scribbling hard in a notepad in her hand. It didn't take Nick long to realize how busted open it was. But it took even less time for Judy to notice him, sensing his presence just from her ears and running over to meet him halfway.

"Nick!" she exclaimed happily, handing him the notepad. "Oh, thank god you weren't here last night."

Taking it in his right hand, he took the hint and held it over his crotch. "What's going on here?" he asked. "Was this thing really as fucked up as I remember it?"

She paused dramatically. "You don't know the half of it. Honestly, I still feel worse for you."

"Don't worry about that," he mused, hiding his insecurity. "I take it last night didn't go so well?"

She had to clear her throat, shifting uncomfortably.

"Jared," she stated. "It was Jared. It had to be."

Nick's head tilted. "What'd he look like?"

"Tall...massive, actually," she droned, seemingly lost. "He wore a sports coat, was...rampageous, and-"

"That sounds a lot like him," Nick assured her shruggingly as he nodded. "Are you all right? How's Wolfard?"

"I'm fine, don't worry," Judy pointed out. "Wolfard's fine, too. But last night, we did a terrible job. If we want to get beyond this, I think we need to investigate the inside of this place."

"That'll be a job for you guys, probably," he responded. "I think I'd be an easy target."

"You're hard to miss, I'll give you that," she teased, "but between you and me, that's a good thing."

"Ehh, can it, carrots," he smirked, "I'm no easier to spot than those giant bunny ears."

"Would you like to touch 'em?" she smirked back. "I'm sure a lot of people are watching."

Nick exhaled nervously, giving a quick look around him to see how right she was. "Think I'll pass on that for now. You got any footage of what happened last night?"

"Yep, it's just not with me right now," she said. "Wolfard has a whole bunch of recordings."

"Jackpot," Nick articulated. "I've always known he had no respect for us, but I didn't think he'd be so careless."

"Well, you know," she articulated, her eyes slowly lowering down his body, "maybe he's taking some notes."

He snickered and rolled his eyes. "God, that was corny."

"I know, I know," she beamed jokingly, "but, come on, that was way too easy!"

A couple of passersby caught wind of their talk and started chuckling to themselves, changing Nick's smile to a meek one as they noticed each other. But he didn't want to deter the moment, so he faced his tilted head at her, still smiling.

"Say, you're acting pretty cheery for a bun that just got her buns toasted," he teased.

He felt a little bad as he she sighed out her silliness.

"I need it after last night, trust me," she admitted absently. "You know that underground system you were talking about?"

"Sure do."

"Turns out, it's in the storm drains. That's why they're everywhere."

"Oh, fun. I bet no one gets diseases."

"You walk around the city naked, and you're fine."

"Not now. I've got a notepad. And I'm taking very important notes."

Chuckling a bit, she held out her hand. "May I see them?"

Nick shook his head and laughed. Then, she wrapped her hands around the pad. They playfully fought from it, sharing a few more laughs with each other until Nick finally let her have it back, their heads both shaking as his balls swung, penis with it, and he hid them both as fast as he could.

"Thank god you look so good!" Judy giggled.

But just as they had started, their laughter was interrupted by the distorted crackling of her walkie talkie. Her smile was deleted as she brought it out, bringing it to her ear and concentrating on it.

"The connection's bad," she spoke into it aggravatingly. "Speak up."

They didn't, but as she nodded through their speech, it was clear that she was hearing enough of it. When she put it away, she had her game face on.

"Listen, I've gotta go settle a bank scuffle," Judy stated as she started to run the other direction. "It sounds bad. They need backup. Stay here. I'll be back soon!"

Before she went, she tossed the notepad back to Nick, and it sailed straight into his forearms.

"You've got the job now!" she called out, waving a hand hysterically. "Thanks!"

Nick raised up a hand and wiggled his fingers as she went by. He never said it out loud, but he always thought she looked cute when she sounded stressed. So, he waited around the chute, climbing over the yellow tape to investigate it further, picking up where she left off.

He moved a couple bricks around and sifted through the rubble, careful enough to not tamper with the evidence. But it didn't take him too long to find something intriguing. Under a small pile of rubble, a strange, pink color flashed for just enough time to capture his attention. Nick brushed it aside and found what it was; a medium sized condom with a familiar emblem of the silhouette of a vixen posing on a stripper pole.

Nick smirked at the sight of it, instantly feeling the nostalgia from seeing its fabricated shimmer. Much like the vibrant lights across an actual stripper pole. But the day was moving along, and he only had time to make note of that in the moment.

Most of his time was spent standing there awkwardly, switching between writing down specific cracks he could find and covering himself up. Besides a couple of goofballs asking what the problem was across the street, Nick didn't have to deal with too much. Scratching a couple of obnoxious itches and hearing his surprisingly audible breath was about as exciting as it got. That and the occasional attention. And that'd be for the story for the next couple of hours.

Bored and impatient, the sun reached the apex of its arc. If he could, he'd kick a stone just to pass the time. His ears were perked to the sky for something better. A car honked viciously in the background noise, but he couldn't tell if there was a bang afterwards.

Maybe they need me, he thought. But he knew that he had to be here for a reason.

He looked down at his notepad, seeing that what white space wasn't full was covered in weird, curly doodles on the corners and sides. He didn't even know how to draw. Sighing deeply, he looked back out on the street corner. Once he did, though, his eyes widened back to life, seeing the petite bunny figure hop her way back to the site, hands behind her back and beaming confidently at him.

"Well, look who it is!" Nick leaned forward, hands on his hips, exposing himself. "I was beginning to think those bad guys put you in the suitcase with the money! How'd it go?"

"You know how it went," Judy replied, tilting her head towards Nick's crotch. "The usual."

Her line of sight instantly made him flustered.

"Oh-ho-ho-ho, I see, now," he remarked in an impressed tone, leaning back up. "Sorry, carrots, I just didn't think you'd want to celebrate so soo-"

"Did I ever tell you about Jared?" Judy asked.

He paused for a bit. "You did right before you left, I guess."

"Well, we've been getting more evidence of him," she continued. "Turns out he's a total sex addict. Kidnaps-"

"I know, I know," Nick replied plainly as he put a palm up at her. "I've met him before. He kidnaps some poor souls and takes them to his-"

"Wanna know how we can beat that?" she suddenly asked.

He paused again, ears folding back down. "You've...already got a plan?"

"I didn't, but then I thought about it over at the bank heist," she insisted radiantly, pacing, "and I started talking about it with the other guys there...we put our heads together, and sort of out of trial and error, we found out exactly where Jared's hideout was."

He was significantly taken aback. "You found his hideout?!"

"Oh, did I not tell you?" Judy raised an eyebrow at him. "We looked further and found an old house on the outer parts of the city. Looked a little closer to the window, and...what do you know? We found who we were lookin' for."

"That's crazy!"

"Exactly. And so now, I think I've got a plan to get there."

"I'm listening."

"First off, your connection to him makes you sort of a danger to him. Obviously. But I know that he wants two things: you, and sex. So, I thought...what if we just brought you straight to his door, handcuffed and naked like you are?"

"Sounds dumb, what's the real plan?"

"It _is_the real plan. He lives in a remote enough place where when he opens the front door, the rest of the Z.P.D. jumps out of hiding and arrests him!"

Nick was dumbfounded. "And you got everybody on board for this?"

She nodded a ton. "I was just with them, silly! Of course I did!"

He shrugged. "Well, if that's the case, let's get this done!"

He was trying to walk a couple steps, but she put out a hand.

"Not now," she spoke. "You're just gonna get put on the internet again. We need to make it look convincing."

He backed up. "In what way?"

"Well, how about this?" she beamed, bringing her arms forth, revealing a black leash attached to a spiny collar in her hands.

"Wh-...," he jumped. "Where did you get that?"

"Just at the store!" she exclaimed. "Look, everybody knows who you are! They're gonna record you anyways. So, instead, let's make everybody think this is some kind of sex act. That way, nobody will try to stop us. And when the videos go online, Jared won't see them as a warning."

He paused for a moment.

"This is the only way?" he clarified.

"Maybe not, but, well...he's right there," she urged, now twirling the leash like a sideways lasso. "We might not get any other chance."

He shook his head. "You can't be serious."

"If I wasn't serious, the cops wouldn't be waiting for you," she insisted honestly. "If nothing else, it'll be fun."

"Huh?" he simply pondered.

"Come on, Nick, you look stressed," she replied earnestly. "Let me give you something to chew on."

He stood there and thought about it some more, scratching his chin with his free hand. As much as he tried to take it seriously, he couldn't deny the smile that crept up his face.

"You know what..." he droned. "Fine. I'll try it. If this doesn't work, I think we'll manage."

Now she was smiling at him much, much harder. "That's the spirit! Now, hold still."

She swayed her way past his right side, but he didn't turn around to watch her. It was like she pulled a lever behind him that forced him to gulp. Unsure if it was from fear or something else, he clutched one wrist, reminding himself not to move. She's someone to trust, after all. The next thing he felt was the ring of metal snapping with a click around one wrist. It made him gulp hard, sucking through his teeth as he felt the bunny's paw unhand the other arm. He felt the urge to ask a question, but he didn't even know what it was. So, he said nothing. And just like that, he felt the same click around the other wrist. Just like that, his arms were now stuck in place, completely immobilized.

He looked down and quickly regretted it, noticing how hopelessly exposed he was. Nick snickered, hoping to laugh it off.

"I feel like a criminal," he squeaked.

"You can say that again!" the excited bunny answered, fidgeting with the cuffs to make sure they were secured. "But I'm sure this'll work!"

Nobody was even looking at them, and he was already blushing. The stride he used to have from conversing with her was completely gone.

"God, Judy...," he breathed, subtly chuckling. "You sure this is really the plan?"

She scowled at him. "What? What's the problem?"

"Well, it feels very overexposing," he hesitated. "I'm not saying it's wrong, just, y'know, gimme a censor bar."

"What, your hands?" she asked impatiently. "And how'd that turn out for ya?"

He blinked. "Gettin' a little blatant there, huh?"

She raised her eyebrows. "Maybe that's the point. Now, come along."

All he could give was a shrug. "Lead the way...."

His eyes were locked onto Judy's back as she led him out of the alleyway, back into the open air of the city streets. Already, he began to feel the jitters come back. Everything in him was expecting to be anxious; mortified, even, as he looked around at the thirty or forty people on the block. Most were minding their own business. If his full frontal nudity didn't already catch enough attention, the handcuffs surely would.

Nervous out his mind, Nick felt his dick brush against his inner thighs and blushed harder than he had in hours. His shoulders jerked by reflex, wanting to cover it up, but learned the hard way how bound he was. He sure as hell wasn't moving his tail, either. Panicking, he then started to twist his knees, pivoting constantly, acting like it was somehow covering up. Unfortunately, the more he did it, the more of a laugh he got from the people around him, especially those adjacent to him. Sore wristed and slightly confused, he tried his best to look the other way. His face was apologetic to those around him, already humiliated with this job. But at the same time, he saw it was clearly working.

Strange idea, he thought to himself, slightly panicked, but whatever catches Jared, I guess....

"Hey!" Judy called out to him. She was already at the end of the leash, beckoning in between four bewildered strangers. "It's this way, dummy!"

"O-okay!" he called back, slightly losing his balance as he followed her down the sidewalk.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

If a speck of dust flew into his wobbling legs, he'd feel it. The pressure was building constantly. Though it took quite a few blocks, Nick became acutely aware of how intense it all was on him. The leash around his neck made sure he couldn't reconsider, and even if he tried, Judy would talk him straight back into it. This made him constantly notice the gawking, confused strangers and shake his head every time. He hadn't felt this exposed since the time he waded through the center of town, and that was the last thing he wanted to think about. So, his outward, obvious embarrassment came as no surprise whenever he walked past a full diner or a gift shop, with no way to hide his cock from its crowded windows. If that wasn't bad enough, there were plenty of places where it was worse, with tons more bystanders, adding onto the shame.

But Judy's stride told him how much she meant it. Her walk was confident and brash, almost like a strut; quite the opposite of his. Though he said nothing, he wondered how much she must be enjoying this. She had already led him through four crosswalks and through the paths by a couple outdoor restaurants, winking at him whenever his reception raised. Every time, it made Nick blush a little harder. By now, he could almost estimate how many people in each crowd would never break eye contact with him. It made him sigh, thinking it was going to take him ages to forget the looks on their faces.

Everything humiliated him, from his open nakedness to the angle of the leash, travelling at a downwards diagonal to this one small, inferior bunny. But of course, none of them suspected a thing. Or, perhaps they did, and simply assumed it was standard protocol. Maybe that was it. They sure as hell hadn't said anything about it. Since he couldn't fidget much, he picked at his handcuffs with his claws, scratching at the surface like a lottery ticket.

They walked down a slightly quieter street, and finally, he had his first clear thought: What time is it?

For the first time in a while, he looked up at Judy.

"Hey, carrots?" he finally mustered. "Do y'think you could...I don't know...pick up the pace?"

She groaned and turned around, her eyes seemingly tracing straight to his pelvis. The sight of it made her giggle, placing her fingertips to her beaming mouth.

"Ooooooh," she droned on, sounding impressed. "What's this?"

Nick couldn't hide the fact that he knew what she meant. His penis was still flaccid but had become considerably girthier.

"No, wait...come on!" he protested. "It means nothing, I promise!"

Mouth agape and surprised in her eyes, she finally looked up at him.

"You're really liking this!" she gasped before her eyes darted back downwards.

"Carrots, we can talk about this later!" he told her from between his teeth, eyes burst open. "This is just for the job, okay? It's all for the job."

"Looks like it's working all too well!" she taunted excitedly.

"Are you even listening to me?" he asked, offended.

She paused, putting a finger to her now closed mouth, then after a moment brought that hand to her belt to remove a small, plastic carrot. Nick recognized it instantly as the recorder from a year ago. It was clear on her seductive face she was cooking up a new idea. And it wasn't much longer until she blurted it out:

"Look...you're really hot, and you've been doing a great job," she mused seductively, fidgeting with the object, "but_gosh_, I just don't think this is enough to trick him. Why don't we try something new, hmm?"

He blinked. "Are you going to stick that up my ass?"

"No, silly!" she giggled loudly. "But I've got a whole 'nother idea what to do with it."

She thumbed the button on the side of the device. All of a sudden, it made a strange whirring sound. Then, she pressed the top down hard. Two claws jutted out the sides of it, one closer to the lush green, while the other was about midway down the device. Though she beamed at him like she was expecting a reaction, all she got was blank confusion.

"Why the fuck can that thing vibrate?" he faltered.

"Have I really never shown you this?" she asked innocently. "Perhaps I'm using it too much myself.

He sighed deeply and lowly pouted, "I still think you're gonna shove it in my ass."

She laughed at that out loud. "No, silly!" she exclaimed. "I'm gonna attach it to your dick!"

He stumbled back. "What?!"

"Come on, baby," she moaned as her lips pursed. "You don't want the bad guy to get away with it, do you?"

"The plan was to walk me around handcuffed, carrots," he scowled. "You know I don't like it when people make shit up like this."

"True...," she nodded, "but guess how many people get to live your life?"

He stopped. "Zero."

"Exactly!" she exclaimed, her words far more drawn out than usual. "Don't you wanna try some new things? Why not be a little more fun?"

"Judy, we're on a mission here," he intensified. "Why would you fuck around with one of the most feared criminals in Zootopia?"

"Because," she droned on, "sex sells."

He blinked, face back to a neutral position. "Huh?"

"The more we show you off," she half-eyed him, "the better chance he has of taking the bait."

Nick said nothing as she put her hands on her hips.

"You know I'm right," Judy went on. "The officers are ready. Jared isn't. With the videos going around, he doesn't even have to wait for us. Everything's in just the right place. But at the end of the day, it still has to be done exactly right."

When he tried to argue, it all came out as useless babbling. She was right, and he just couldn't deny it. And when the ridiculous look on his face only made her smile, he had to give it up.

"Fine," he finally snorted, "just make this quick."

She giggled beneath her lips this time, biting them when she saw his engorged dick again.

"You're just thick enough to make this work," she observed.

Her light walk over to him looked funny before things got real and shit bent before him, becoming face to face with his half-erection. A shot fired in his heart, not even remotely expecting that. Shaking quietly, he could feel her soft breath gently kindle his loins. Then, in a second's time, she stuck the carrot to his dick, letting the surprisingly soft claws cling to his shaft, then snap around his full cylinder. No pain. Just sensations.

Nick's eyebrow raised as the object quietly vibrated against his cock, its fatter, more mechanical part pressing firm against the skin of his purplish-red tip. At first, it was confusing. But the longer it stayed there, he felt exactly what her plan was.

"Are you serious?" he questioned her, slightly amazed.

She nodded with a sly, seductive grin, and said nothing else. Then she picked up the leash, through the strap over her shoulder, and walked back out onto the street. Nick had no choice but to follow her, feeling his member slowly harden and warm from the strange caress. He knew for a fact, there was no way that thing was coming off.

____________________________________________________________________________________

Nick felt like a steamed vegetable. The secret vibrator was doing its job all too well. They hardly traveled even a few blocks down before he met himself with a stiff, stone hard erection. Marching naked and aroused through the crowded streets, his surroundings seemed basically the same, but it felt as if the population had multiplied, blending into a blur of morbid curiosity around him. Perhaps it had. At least before he had his open palms. But now, nothing could stop them from seeing his nine-inch hardon, flushed as hard as his cheeks and throbbing all the way out to the tip, waving like it was saluting the audience. His huge balls were twice as exposed now, too, rubbing up against his thighs while he walked. It was hard to find the words for what was even happening. He was obviously humiliated, but something inside him just...didn't care.

Red as a stop sign under his orange fur, it was as if nothing wasn't stimulating him; everything from the cool breeze of the outside atmosphere to the ride his best friend was giving him. He didn't want to ruin it, so he stayed silent as his mind raced of how Judy got so lewd so fast. It was a feeling not unlike the one he felt in the crowded marketplaces. But here, it seemed to have been invited out in full force, raging and as naked as he was, displayed in all its glory.

He was sure that since they were cops, they were safe from the slut shaming, but he learned too quickly that wasn't the case:

"It's about time somebody arrested this fuckin' twink!" someone with a fedora shouted from the crowd.

It's not like he'll do anything, though, he thought. How could this be working so well?

"Skaaaaank!" someone else yelled from a passing taxi cab.

That one may have been directed at her, but she didn't react. And as she turned around every so often, he was convinced it was up to hers, as well. The longer they went, the more he knew she was getting into it. She even gently tugged on the leash a bit if his fragile legs made him fall behind. It was like she knew exactly was she was doing. In fact, she even seemed more controlled than him.

As he was losing the control of his own, inevitably, they came to the part he was most nervous about. Hopelessly restrained and dripping pre cum, his hard cock was bright red, and his body was completely flushed. Some of his fluids bounced off the carrot and flew off into nowhere. Ringing with pleasure, he looked to the right and exhaled hard. There was a doe on the sidewalk look back at him, gasp, and drop her milk onto the ground, the contents spilling onto the concrete. Nick bit hard on his lip.

"Carrots...Judy?" he squeaked through the commotion, speeding up and slowing down his speech. "I think I'm gonna cum...uh...do you think you can...?"

But all he got was a tug on the leash. The embarrassed, aroused fox felt himself sweat, darting his head around. As he did, he noticed nearly every one of them had a cell phone out, pointing in his direction. His cock felt like a rod of steel while he nervously looked back at them.

"C'mon, carrots!" he pleaded again, harder this time, feeling himself sweat. "People are looking! I'm getting really fucking close...!"

He waited for a response, still walking along with her. But instead, he just bit his lip harder. The vibrator was chugging at a constant, unsustainable pace. Breath quickening by the minute, he felt lighter, yet harder, especially in his length. The handcuffs around his wrists were jingling loudly as his whole body shook, tensed and humiliated while wave after continuous wave of pleasure rang through his genitals to his spine.

It was like an eternity before she turned, bedroom eyes like weapons as Nick sucked wind through his mouth. When she made eye contact with him, he felt the tumult across his whole body. It only took one look to know that he was about to erupt.

"I want to see this for myself," she murmured.

"Ahhh... aaaahh! Oh god!" Nick moaned loudly as his cock exploded out the end with an impressive load of semen, shooting far across from him and splattering onto the pavement. His second rope was just as powerful, this time spraying into the bunny's tunic, drips of it splattering in all directions upon impact. Lost in himself, he continued to wail, cumming in streams as his audience groaned, laughed and even applauded in various tones. Some even had to jump out of the way, but most of them shared a laugh about it. Nick, on the other hand, couldn't stop writhing in pleasure.

When he was done, he was panting, nearly tripping over himself while he continued to walk. Guilt began to overtake him. His dilated pupils traced the tan sidewalk, now tainted with the pure white puddles of fluids. But even that overwhelming emotion would soon be flustered by the vibrator, still attached to his stiff cock.

"O-oh god," he thought aloud. "What have I done?!"

"It'll happen!" Judy laughed at him. "You shot far, you know that?"

The spectating commotion exploded when they heard her say that. Though he subtly agreed, his attention was turned to the mechanical carrot keeping its pressure. His urethra had turned to a bright red, and he constantly twitched from the sensation he received on his tip.

"Oh geez...carrots, I get it," he moaned faintly, "now please, get this thing off of me."

She wagged a finger at him. "No, no! We've gotta keep you hard for the arrival."

"Are you kidding me?!" he demanded frustratingly. "This...hnngh! This is too much...."

"Well, you've gotta stick to the plan!" she reminded him enthusiastically. "Trust me, we're almost there!"

"Oh, come on, carrots, I'm...woo! Dyin' over here!" he droned on.

But she unexpectedly turned the next corner into a new part of town, straight into a peculiar, wooded area.

"Just hang in there!" she told him pleasantly. This time, the eyes weren't helping much.

As they turned the corner, the street sidewalks slowly disappear into the sediment, until it was nothing more than the earth itself. But it wasn't like the park he walks through every morning, as every tree here sprouted leaves like a tarp covering the sky. From all corners, the place was covered with lush foliage, surely rich enough to hide the likes of his officers. Though his breath was rampant, it became a lot easier while he was there. The further they walked, the less he could hear anybody else, and the more eerie it felt to even trespass on these lines.

Opposite to their path in the city, the one she took here was winding, seemingly taking forks in the road at random, and sometimes, even leading him through the bushes. Every now and then, they heard a snap in the twigs behind them. But the path was rough, and his numbed-up erection was the forefront of his problems.

Nick was struggling just to walk with her. To her credit, he was still hard, but it was barely becoming enough to bear.

"Judy...please...," he breathed exasperatedly. "It's...really fuckin' much...."

When she faced him, it was clear that she finally had remorse. In a moment's time, she reached down, fidgeted with the vibrator and took it off, relieving him at last.

"Don't worry," she smiled lightly. "We're here."

But around him, he could see basically nothing. What wasn't obstructed by the brown, finely aged trees, shrubs and poison ivy was either too far to see or too small to matter. But her tender look said otherwise. She then led him into a specific patch of trees and bushes, seemingly cramped together unlike the rest of the forest.

"Right here," she beckoned before stepping directly between two of the bushes.

As he followed her through, bending down and nearly tripping over himself in the process. But when he emerged from the other side, almost all was clear in a circle shaped perimeter, save for two trees, they saw a quaint little wooden house, its dark brown shade becoming darker as it got closer to the ground, like cooked hamburger. There was nothing special about it; just two windows, both seemingly shut in, placed to the left of a door, accompanied by a stepladder up to it.

"All right!" she said confidently. "We're here! Now all we've gotta do is walk up and bait him out."

"Little underwhelming for a secret hideout, right?" Nick mused.

His eyes widened in his new epiphany.

"Wait a minute," he stopped. "Why did you need to turn me on in the city if he's hiding out in the woods?"

Judy's head tilted. "Well, some of his goons might be out to get us, right?"

He shook his head. "How'd you know he was a sex addict?"

"The case files, sugar," she comforted him. "It's no big d-"

"You've never called me sugar," he mumbled darkly, making them both stop in their tracks. "Never in my life."

For the first time, she looked as if she was at a loss for words. It only made him scowl more.

"Show me where everybody is," he mumbled down at her. "I don't care about the mission anymore."

"Shhhh!" she put a finger to his mouth, but he jerked his head away. "Don't blow their cover."

"Then can't they just storm the place?" Nick quipped impatiently, now eyeballing the house. "Fuck, I'm more equipped to defend myself than this place."

Utter silence. And so he eyeballed her harder.

"Carrots...?" he growled.

"Out of the way, Nick!"

** ** Out from the blue - or rather, the green - the flurry of five officers jumped from beneath the shrubs the two had just waded through, one by one rushing straight past Nick, pushing him out of the way and latching their arms around the bunny he was just talking to. She screamed and kicked as the rhino and the tiger in uniform swiftly apprehended her, pushing her to the ground and locking her wrists in handcuffs in the blink of an eye. While Nick stood in place, dumbfounded, the other officers followed to his side, guns drawn and aimed at the hostage.

He was stunned, babbling questions as the disaster unfolded. The only officer that wasn't trying to hold her down was Wolfard, who was darting his eyes in between the mobile home and the officer.

"You have the right to remain silent!" he boomed at her. "Anything you-"

"Holy shit, what's going on?! Nick asked frantically. "Did I cum so hard that I fell headfirst onto the pavement?!"

"This is an imposter!" Wolfard growled at him, making his jaw drop. "Stay away from her."

"What?!" he yelled back.

"They followed the real Judy back to the car and kidnapped her," Wolfard informed him, sullen as he spoke. "They confiscated her outfit to trick you into believing it's her. You were being kidnapped in plain sight. I've never seen anything like this before."

Nick didn't respond, too shocked to find any answers. "How is that even possible? She said she was coming back in a few...."

"Can't blame him that hard," McHorn grunted as he brought up the imposter in cuffs. "You led us straight to one of our hardest cases."

It took him a minute, but soon, Nick understood.

"Holy shit," he murmured in shock. "Are you telling me that's subject twenty-three?"

McHorn nodded slowly, patting the furious, silent bunny on the shoulder. "Guess they aren't all as smart as they seem, huh?"

"I just wanted to have some fun!" the fraud complained loudly.

Wolfard approached them cautiously. "We'll take her back for interrogation. In the meantime, I'll get Nick out of those cuffs."

"Fine by me," Nick agreed calmly. "Just get her out of my sight."

With that, the four officers brought her to her feet, still kicking and grunting in frustration, screaming a few times, even. It only took a growl in her ear from the tiger to shut her pouty face up as they dragged her through the bushes, disappearing in the foliage. While they did that, Wolfard walked behind Nick, instructed him to outstretch his arms away from his body. Then, with the utmost care, he took his pistol and shot through the chain, point blank. Immediately afterwards, Nick brought his arms forward, scratching his wrists, happy to finally be free.

"What on Earth gave you the idea to follow her?" Wolfard asked, frustrated.

"I don't know, man, I wasn't expecting this...." Nick told her. "She just told me this was Jared's hideout. He's a sex addict, so the plan was to bait him out and start an ambush."

Wolfard stared, head slightly back, seemingly limp. "Let me get this straight. She led you to a highly classified suspect's house..."

"Yes," Nick stated.

"...naked, handcuffed and leashed?"

"...It's complicated."

"Where in this plan do you not get kidnapped?"

"She told me you were on standby...it was a stupid thing to believe, I know-"

The grey wolf had a grunt-exhale as he wiped his pointer finger and thumb across his eyes. "Next week can't come soon enough...Nick, this isn't even a hideout. It's just some abandoned house. They probably wanted to hold you h-"

"Where did they take her?" Nick demanded, jutting himself forward. "That's all I care about right now!"

"Calm down, Officer Wilde," Wolfard shook his head. "She may be gone, but we at least know who took her."

He drew his hand down to his utility belt and swiped out his phone, unlocking it to show him a red radar field. Nick's eyes widened as he watched the red, spinning line cross over a flashing dot.

"It's Jared," he stated. "We got a tracking device on him last night. So long as it stays on him, he can't escape."

"He just did! Get your ass in the car and chase him down!"

"Can't. He went into the storm drains."

"You couldn't just follow him?"

Wolfard shrugged half-heartedly. "You should've seen the maze."

Nick lowered his head, and growled, "Damn it...."

"He's one hell of a fighter," Wolfard admitted. "But he's not much of a thinker."

"No kidding."

"So, we're gonna wait."

"What?!"

"We're on the search, don't get me wrong. But we aren't gonna pick this guy off anytime soon."

"Do you think she's taking her on a shopping spree?"

"Nick, if we engaged right away, we'd have no idea what we're running into," he exaggerated. "Besides, he must have connections. We'll just to see where he lands, trap him there, and make sure that he can't leave without us. What do you say?"

Nick peered at him. "How do I know you're the real Wolfard?"

He exhaled frustratingly. "Because you won't stop bragging about owning every edition of Playbunny since the 1980's."

The fox was still skeptical. "Well, then where do I-"

"Under your collection of 1970's Playbunny mags," Wolfard groaned.

His eyes slanted, but eventually, he nodded to him. It took some consideration, but the more he thought about it, the more passionate he felt. It was more of a blend; a concoction of danger and imagination, until the boiling up emotion morphed into a smirk. Then, he looked straight back up to Wolfard, this time, much more assuredly.

"You think he likes his intruders naked?" he asked.

Wolfard blinked. "The fuck?"

"I'm just saying that I might know a thing or two about this guy," Nick articulated. "He's still moving, right?"

The wolf checked back at the screen. "Yup."

Nick nodded. "Does he look like he's still in the drains?"

"No," Wolfard shook his head. "In fact, he's not even in town."

To his surprise, Nick closed his eyes and laughed, looking down as he did it. "God, what a goof."

"You got way too much sun, today," the more confused officer gruffly spoke.

"I've seen him do this shit before," he smiled back. "Matter of fact, I've heard him brag about it in the jail cells. Any pretty lady he kidnaps, he takes 'em all to the same place."

Wolfard was baffled. "Where's that?"

Nick stared at him roguishly. "Just be ready by tonight."

The wolf's bafflement visibly turned to annoyance. "Are we headed into a minefield?"

"No, if he's going where I think, it shouldn't matter what Zane thinks," Nick assured him, daintily walking back towards the bush, "'cause he doesn't know about it, either. Trust me, I've got a few more tricks up my sleeve."

Wolfard's face lowered and groaned, "You don't have any sleeves."

The fox laughed to himself again, gesturing his body back to the wolf and drawing his fingertip down his forearm, until it reached the elbow.

"She lost her uniform, too," he smirked. "We'll have something in common."

His only response to that was a sigh. "You better be right about this, Nick."

"If you were me, you'd be acting just as cocky," Nick admitted. "And right now, we could use a change of attitude."

With that, he and Wolfard sifted back through the leafy entrance, disappearing back into the open air.