Ryan drove into the main tunnel leading from Savannah Central to Shady place in Rainforest. Judy cracked her cellphone light and began to examine the file on Roger. His apartment wasn’t too far from the hippodrome, only a few blocks down. Ryan was set to drive as close as he could before breaking to patrol on foot. He pulled into a small coffee shop with a rather peculiar tiki sign of a small masked mammal spilling coffee on a trey. 
“The Wild bean?” Judy noted reading it aloud. 
“Don’t even.” Kate playfully waved off. “This place stinks for coffee and snacks, I’m pretty sure it’s one of those reefer places.” 
“Oh.” Judy moved on, following behind Ryan and Kate. “So, how are things going with you, Ryan?” 
“Fine.” He quickly answered. 
“Any word on your promotion?” Judy asked, somewhat bashfully. 
“Huh?” He glanced back. “Oh, no not yet. Honestly at this point I couldn’t care.” 
“Why’s that?” 
“You mean aside from the brutal commute from Sahara to this place? I’m still just getting the hang of first captain. I’m not real keen on jumping into a precinct lead.” 
“Uh huh.” Judy smiled, skipping ahead. “Probably doesn’t hurt either that your “Partner” is right here in Savannah central either.” 
“Hopps?” Ryan leered down. Judy just stared up at him with a big goofy smile while Kate covered her face. “Cram it.” 
“I think out of anyone at the station, you can trust me when I say your secret is safe with me. Besides, I think you two are perfect for each other.” 
“How about I take care of my libido and you mind your own?” He sternly suggested. 
“Don’t mind him.” Kate cut in. “He’s a stiff on the job.” 
“Judy!” Matt called out, waving the crew down. He had Hecklefang and Evens with him as well. 
“Matt!” Judy rushed over, leaping up for a quick hug. “Great to see ya!” 
“Good to see you too. Kate, how’s it going? Ryan?” Matt greeted. 
“The rookies staying in line?” Ryan smiled. 
“Yes sir.” Both Hecklefang and Evens nodded. 
“We were about to go do a quick sweep at the Hippodrome. Want to come with?” Matt offered. 
“Shouldn’t be needed, staying clumped up isn’t going to cover much ground.” Ryan countered. 
“True enough sir.” Matt shrugged. “However it’s not the ground I’m worried about there, it’s the crowd. I just figured a quick sweep before spreading out.” 
“Eh, good point.” Ryan brushed his chin. “Yeah let’s head out.”

Combing the crowd, they found next to nothing aside from a few teens who seemed to reek of weed. As they huddled again near the entrance of the parking lot, Matt was the first to speak up. 
“Didn’t really think he’d be here anyway.” 
“No, but it was a crowded area, worth checking out.” Ryan agreed. “Last thing we need is that shit going off here.” 
“Um, sir?” Evens cautiously spoke up. “What stuff?” 
“Bloodlust, Leena and what did I tell you about reading the dossier.” 
“Your names Leena?” Judy scratched her chin
“You didn’t know that!?” Kate exclaimed with a quick laugh. “Here I thought you were our little police databank.” 
“I’m not offended. After all, Alex and I are still rookies right? Can’t expect the vets to know us yet.” She chuckled. 
“Least you haven’t made any cackling jokes.” Alex brushed off with a smile. 
“We should fan out.” Ryan cut in. “Canvas the canopy. Kate, you’re with Judy. Matt take Hecklefang and Evens you’re with me. We need to get eyes on Leppes and soon.” 
“Right, good call.” Matt agreed. 
“Come on fluff butt, let’s go rabbit hunting.” Kate playfully shoved Judy toward the street. 

Kate playfully whisked her tail behind her, walking alongside Judy down the crowded streets in Canopy Lane. So far, the patrol had been rather uneventful, and Judy thought it might be a good time to rib her friend a little more on Ryan. 
“So, come on Kate.” Judy leaned forward with a big smile. Kate gave a subtle shake of her head as she giggled from Judy’s little prods. “Come on, tell me about him.” 
“You really wanna know?” She threw up her brow to rabbit bounding beside her. Judy eagerly nodded, so Kate took a nice long breath. 
“Oh my god he’s so big!” She blurted out, following it up with a hardy laugh. “He’s just MMM! You have no idea my cotton-tailed friend.” 
“Oh, I have some idea.” She winked. “Nick and I have a bit of a size difference after-all.” 
“He’s so good. Ok so a little while ago, he’s filling up the hot tub right?” 
“He has a hot tub!?” Judy cut in. 
“Yep, and while he had it going I started sucking him off you know, really working his knot. But he’s a little old school, doesn’t like blowing his load all over the walls or my mouth or anything. So right before he goes, he slams me up against the wall, humps it in me and just UGH! So, amazing. After that, we get in the tub right and there’s this setting for the jets to be on ultra!” She cackled. 
“Oh good lord.” Judy covered her face, blushing beneath her fur. 
“Haha you asked fluff butt, he cranked that thing to max and-“ Kate was cut off by Judy slapping her paw over her muzzle. 
“Ok, little too much detail.” She giggled. “I meant like, are you guys going to get more, serious?” 
“Well.” Kate shrugged. “I don’t know yet. Bogo let it slide for you two but, that wolfy’s already an established officer and well, technically I’m still a rookie. I mean I worked reception for three years now but.” 
“Under no circumstances can a superior be involved in a romantic relationship, assignations or trysts with officers of a lower rank, of the same precinct. Under penalty of, but not limited to reassignment and or termination of employment.” Judy recited. 
“Thanks Rosy Rulebook, I know.” 
“But he’s special to you?” 
“In a few ways.” Kate shook her head. “But Judy, listen to me. I’m not really sure where we are, or what we are, any of that stuff. All I know is I’m enjoying what the two of us got so far and well, let’s just see where it goes, huh?” Kate seemingly pled, hoping to end the conversation. “So how about you, any luck finding your stray fox?” 
“Mmm, well sort of?” 
“Sort of? You got a lead?” Kate’s eyes beamed with excitement.
“Off the record?” She whispered. “Ian tracked Psych to a mansion in Predaton. We didn’t see Nick there, but he was on the phone with someone for sure. I asked Ben and Mariah to check out Lightning bay track last night but, no answer today. I’m guessing it was a bust.” 
“Darn.” Kate snapped her claws. 
“Guess it was one of the others he was talking to, or maybe a new accomplice. Who knows.” Judy shrugged. 
“Still think he’s dead?” 
“Ugh.” Judy’s shoulders and ears slumped down. “I really hope not. But it’s getting harder and harder to believe he isn’t. That house, it belonged to Raphael Barone. He’s not gonna chance a cop working for him.” 
“Oh wow, Barone.” Kate trailed off. “When I was kit living in Predaton, I heard stories about his father. A real classic gangster kind of mammal. There were rumors that he was super friendly to talk to, but you never made any deals with him and never discussed business or anything with him. It was, “Impolite”” Kate air-quoted. 
“You lived in Predaton?” 
“Till I was nine. Then we moved here, actually not far from where we are. Started out at an apartment over at Ivy, then we moved to Savannah Central when my father landed a nice contract downtown.” 
“Still talk to them?” 
“Course! My mom’s a special mammals care-giver part-time but she’s retiring soon, and my dad well he’s got some big corporate event coming up soon before he cashes in his stocks and retires. They’re actually pretty wealthy.” She grinned. “Guess I’m a bit of a black sheep of the family, being a simple cop.” 
“Simple cop?” Judy quipped. “What’s so simple about-“ Judy cut herself off and gasped as the barrel of a gun was pointed in her face. At the handle was none other than Roger Leppes, sneering as he seemed ready to fire. Judy managed to slap the gun out of her face, shoving Roger into Kate who firmly clocked him across the face. The blow sent him back, forcing him to drop the gun in the process but he was quick to regain his feet. Kate went in to tackle him to the ground, but Roger was swift, blocking her paws and firing them up, leaving Kate’s midsection vulnerable. In a hard kick, he shot her right in the chest and bowled Kate over. 
“Stupid pred cop.” He snarled, reaching for the gun but Judy kicked it away and tried to get a few swings in on Roger. The two traded hands, missing each other before Roger managed to shove her back just enough to attempt an escape. 
“Kate!?” 
“Go!” Kate gasped, clasping her chest. “Stitches.” Judy went into hot pursuit, snatching up her radio. 
“Dispatch this is Hopps, I’m in pursuit on foot, Rosa is injured send units to northbound Canopy!” 
“10-4 Hopps. Backup and paramedics on their way.” Roger easily weaved the cluster of mammals that were lining the dampened streets of the Rainforest District. Charging for a set of wooden stairs that spiraled up into the upper portion of the canopy, Judy remained just a few steps behind. 
“You’re not getting away this time!” She shouted up to him.  
Judy wasn’t about to let him get the better of her. Racing up the slippery wooden staircase and up into the leafy treetops, she pursued her mark through the near endless winding paths. Roger hopped to ditch Judy by weaving and ducking through the sprinkler systems that kept the region below saturated, but it was no use. Judy with a mighty bound, caught on one of the pipes and kicked Roger in the back of the head. She attempted to pin him to the ground, but the squirrely rabbit had little issue wriggling free of Judy’s hold. He took a few swings to which Judy deflected them and managed a good punch right into his bucktoothed face. 
“Give it up, now!” Judy demanded, her ears back and fists clenched. 
“Tough titties, fox fucker!” Swinging again, his mouth bloodied Judy ducked his punch but got caught by a swift kick to her belly. She managed to avoid being winded, but it set her back a few paces and allowed Roger to gain a head start. Back in hot pursuit, they began to descend, snatching vines and massive leaves to ease their way to the ground. Once on the street, Roger made the mistake of following the roads, and with no obstructions nearby, Judy withdrew her tranq gun and started firing. The darts soared over his head and off to his side. The wiley rabbit realizing he was being shot at began to serpentine the road in a rather successful effort to dodge the darts. Reaching into his belt, he produced a smaller gun to the one he held before and fired blind behind him. Judy ducked for cover under a nearby car, but one of the bullets just grazed her shoulder. The cut was quite shallow though and easy to ignore as she bolted up and resumed her chase. At the end of the street, Roger entered into an alleyway that fed up to a large concrete wall. Striding along it he took aim for one of the nearby tram cars that had begun making its ascent back up into the canopy. Judy could feel the knot wring in her stomach. This was the last place she wanted the pursuit to end, given her utter failure last time. 
“No.” She told herself, watching as Roger made a successful leap to one of the cars, snatching the rail with one paw he climbed inside, looking back at the cop he ditched with a smug little smirk. “No, not this time.” Ears back and legs primed, she eagerly awaited the next tram car. “I’m no coward, I’ll never quit! And I won’t let this monster hurt anyone again!” She shouted, and with one great leap she reached for the car. Much to her surprise, her newfound strength carried her far, catching on the rail she hurled herself inside and gave a quick victory whoop. Leaping up once more, she snatched the cables and began climbing up toward Roger’s car. The over-confidant rabbit was set inside, content with the win he thought he had over the rabbit cop. Judy eased herself onto the top of the car. Roger swiftly got up, unsure of what he just heard, but as he approached the front to investigate; Judy swung in with a massive kick, hurling Roger into the back of the car, spitting up a tooth and leaving a notable dent. Judy didn’t hesitate to slap the cuffs on him and throw him onto his belly, a knee on his back. “This is Hopps guys. Suspect in custody.” She smiled, looking ahead to the next platform. 

Back at the station, Judy and Matt had Roger cuffed at sat within an interrogation room. Matt kept himself firmly parked by the door, seemingly ready at any moment to draw his gun while Judy examined the case file before her. Roger groaned, pressing an icepack on his face to ease the swelling from Judy’s kick earlier. 
“How long do I have to sit here?” He asked, his voice muffled by the ice pack. 
“However long it takes.” Judy swiftly replied. “Tell us what you know, and maybe we can arrange a deal for you.” 
“Fuck your deal.” He spat right back to her. “I don’t talk.” Judy cracked a quick smile and gently pushed the case file away. 
“That right? You know I’ve looked your file over pretty thoroughly. Star track athlete, free runner, heck you’ve even got quite a few hits on Zootube don’t ya?” Judy carried on, but Roger kept his composure and stayed quiet. “Bet that’s how you meet all those girls. You’re quite the player, aren’t you?” 
“Trying to hit on me?” Roger grinned. “Last I checked, you were a wanna-be vixen, Mrs. Wilde.” 
“My late husband was a-“ Judy cut herself off for a moment before shaking her head to compose herself again. However Roger saw an opportunity and couldn’t resist jumping in. 
“Oh, late husband huh? Haha. Guess that fucker got what he deserved finally.” 
“We don’t have to talk about Nick.” 
“Oh come on, let’s talk about Nick. What kind of con-artist turned cop thinks he can waltz into Barone’s lap without getting scratched.” He chuckled. “Tsk tsk tsk. For being so street smart, that was extremely stupid.” 
“Shut the hell up, rodent!” Matt barked from the door. 
“Have they found the body yet? Tell ya what. I will tell ya one thing. Gonna need to check all along the coast to find him. Bit by bit, I’m sure he’ll turn up. Barone’s big on that.” 
“Hey!” Matt bellowed once more. 
“He’s not dead.” Judy folded her ears back and shut her eyes tight. 
“Oh the sweet little lies we tell ourselves.” Roger cackled once more. Just as he finished, a knock came at the door to the room. Matt opened it up to reveal a familiar pair of rabbits. Jack and Gabriel walked in, giving a quick nod to Matt before taking to Judy’s side. 
“Officer Wilde, we’ll take it from here.” Jack stated, resting a paw on her shoulder. 
“No, I can handle him.” 
“If you want to sit here and watch, fine.” Jack clarified, producing an envelope from his pocket. “But he’s ours from herein. Just don’t interfere.” 
“Well well, Roger dodger, looks like ya lost a tooth or two.” Gabriel quipped. 
“Lovely, suits.” He scoffed. 
“Tell us about Project Bloodlust.” Jack sharply turned to Roger, steadily pacing over to his chair. 
“Nothing to tell really.” 
“Oh ho, I don’t think so mr. Sexy-flexy ass. Come on, spill the beans.” Gabriel playfully demanded, tickling Roger’s ear. 
“Why don’t ya go walk in the next blast and take a good whiff ya butt-pounding pig.” Roger fired right back. Jack flipped his ears back and growled, sweeping the chair out from under Roger, he whipped to the ground head first. Jack followed it up by stomping right on his mouth, forcing the rabbit to squeal in agony. Jack leered down, keeping the pressure good and hard on him. 
“I’m not a fan of mammals with a foul mouth. But maybe, I can loosen your lips by taking that other tooth out.” 
“Mr. Savage! That’s enough!” Judy cried out, rushing over she tried to take Jack’s foot off of Roger’s mouth but it was no use. 
“Back off, Wilde! Too many lives are at stake over this, dozens are dead already including cubs! You mean to tell me you are complicit with that, Leppes? Your boss is going to slaughter thousands more! The least you could do is say his name.” Roger managed to wriggle his mouth free and spouted.
“Your-fucking-mother!” With that, he showcased the fact he got his hands free of the cuffs and stuffed his paws down his pants. “Eat shit, pigs!” He cried out, taking a swing for Jack but Judy caught his hand along with Jack. Prying open his fingers, Jack spotted it, 3 small red pellets, similar to the ones used back in the Nighthowler incident years ago. Jack snatched them up and put them onto the table while Judy tried to hold Roger down. He was still quite strong, and managed to wriggle free of Judy’s grip and leapt up to his feet. Jack offered no hesitation and with a quick draw of his gun, fired into Roger’s chest. Stunned, the rabbit staggered back, pressing on the wound. “Wha- what...?” 
“Thank you, for your cooperation.” Jack scowled, as Roger slid down to the floor. Matt rushed over and started pressing on the wound.  
“Jack!” Judy cried out. 
“He’ll live, in a manner of speaking.” 
“You got to stop doing that.” Gabriel scolded.
“We got to get him to a hospital.” Matt insisted. Gabriel bent down and reached into his pocket. Withdrawing a small case with a rather particular looking syringe, he aimed it to the entry wound and injected Roger. “What is that?” 
“Wound packing with a numbing agent. My own invention from back in my lab days. His lung will collapse soon. Don’t worry officer Grizzoli, we’ll take him from here. He’s our prisoner now.” 
“Wilde.” Jack returned his attention to Judy. “Thank you for the assistance, however we need to get this back to our lab.”
“Actually, I have someone familiar with the situation. She’s ready to work on it right away.” Judy smiled. 

Jack and Judy stepped out of the elevator and back toward the lab where Melissa worked. Jack approached the counter, the same Yak working reception and seemingly packing up to go home. 
“Um, office is closed.” 
“Agent Savage, ZIA. We need to speak to Dr. Yorik, immediately.” 
“I’m sorry but our facility is closing up and I’m not allowed to let anyone in.” 
“I’m not interested in negotiating-“ 
“Hold on, two secs.” Judy cut in. “Hi, Judy Hopps, ZPD. Remember me from a few weeks ago? Melissa’s actually expecting us, she asked us to come back after hours because it’s a personal matter.”
“Oh, well. I don’t know.” He shied away scratching his head. 
“I understand, trust me I’m quite the by-the-book character myself. But I think it’s important for Melissa to know the uh, “Circumstances” about her sister. It’s something we need to deliver in person if you know what I mean.” 
“Jeez, I get ya. Of course, head on in.” The yak complied, opening the door for the two of them. 
“Thanks a bushel.” Judy playfully bounded through the door while Jack simply raised his brow and followed behind her. 
“I see your husband’s slick tongue has rubbed off on you.” 
“Very poor choice of words.” Judy glanced back. 
“Ugh.” He scoffed.
“Have you, heard anything from Nick? Wait, let me guess. No right?” 
“No.” 
“But you didn’t bother telling me that Psych and Aiden are living at Barone’s mansion.” Judy threw in. Jack quickened his pace and cut off Judy, pressing her up against the wall. 
“How exactly did you find that out?” He quietly asked. 
“I have my methods.” Judy growled, shoving him back. “So stop lying to me.” 
“Do yourself a favor, officer Hopps. Stop exercising your, “Methods”.” He quietly threatened before trying to take off. Judy swiftly swung him around and pressed him up against the wall and glared him right in the eye. 
“If you are hiding anything from me about my husband’s whereabouts, I will make you pay for it if it’s the last thing I do.” Satisfied with her warning, she took the lead down the hall while Jack straightened his collar. 
“Nick was right, stronger than she looks.” He quipped before following a good few dozen feet behind her. Judy gave a brief check into the break-room, but no one was there. Carrying on down the hall, she spotted a locker room. Stepping inside, sure enough she spotted Melissa, just settling into her rough looking blue jeans and red top. 
“Melissa?” Judy spoke up quietly. Melissa snapped around and swiftly adjusted her shirt. 
“Oh, Judy! You surprised me. Little late isn’t it?” 
“Yeah well, we have it.” Judy informed, allowing Jack inside. 
“Great, I just finished getting changed.”
“That’s perfectly fine.” Jack interjected. “We can send these off to our lab if you prefer.” 
“No no, I said I’d help. What I need to do with those shouldn’t be overly messy. Come on.” Melissa guided them back to the lab, a few of the engineers were still lingering around, some working on their own projects while others seem to be cleaning up. 
“Dr. Yorik, they’re not allowed-“ One of the porcupine ones tried to speak up. 
“I know, stuff it Dr. Sharp.” Melissa grabbed an apron and mask and headed toward her station. Jack handed over all three of the little orbs and Melissa carefully placed one down on the table. “That list you gave me before, gave me an idea of its composition, I just didn’t know the balance she used.” She began to explain. Sticking a syringe in it, she withdrew the fluid and poured it into a vial. Bringing it to a machine, she placed it carefully inside and sealed the lid. “Just need a few minutes to find out how she made this.” 
“Will this take long?” Jack questioned. 
“You want them, take one back for whatever evidence you need. I needed that one to give me the composition, and that second I’ll use to as a tester for a counter-agent.” 
“You think you can really make a cure for it?” Judy wondered. 
“Yeah, that part of it I’m not too concerned with but. Won’t lie, whatever antidote I come up with, given the ingredients in that stuff well. It’s not going to be fun.” She explained. 
“Hmm, I think I know where you’re going with this.” Jack surmised. 
“What do you mean?” Judy joined in. 
“Most of these are powerful dopamine inhibitors, stimulants and hallucinogenics. Any antidote I come up with to counteract that junk, is basically going to be shutting those systems down rapidly. Simply put, think of the worst hangover you ever had, along with the worst migraine. Side effects like headaches, nausea, vomiting, irritability, photosensitivity just to name a few. It’ll last hours, but. You won’t be dead.” Melissa explained, as the machine finished.
“Harsh, but expected.” Jack agreed. “The fact it exists will be dagger enough against this little project.” 
“I don’t know how much it’ll cost to make, or how much I even can make. Ingredients for this might be, difficult to get in bulk so. Don’t go thinking I can save a whole city or nothing.” Melissa reinforced. 
“If finances are a problem, the ZIA is happy to step in to assist in any way it can, but I agree the burden of mass production of this cure should not be on you. We need to stop it from being made, period.” 
“Right. We have to cut off the source.” Judy agreed. 
“No easy task.” 
“Leave it to me, Jack.” Judy proudly stated. “I’ll bring down Shelly Yorik, and have her whole gang in cuffs before month’s end.” 
“A bold promise, but if reading into your case files shows anything is that you often surpass expectations.” Jack conceded. “We’ll be in touch.”