It was Friday afternoon. Judy had finished up with the cubs and was headed for the door. Stu and Bonnie looked especially nervous, holding Jason, Liam and Hannah in their paws. Ian rushed down behind Judy giving a heavy sigh. 
“You could at least let me see if I can crack their cameras for you.” He requested once again. 
“No, Ian! Stop trying to be like Parker.” 
“I’m not, jeez.” 
“I told you. I can’t talk about the mission. Besides, where I’m going I have a hunch they’re not using cameras. The fewer eyes, the better for them I think. And yes, you are trying to be like Psych.” She quipped, snapping on her belt. 
“How do you figure?” 
“Oh I don’t know, let’s say; suggesting to illegally hack the cameras, bringing that black box in here, obsession with hacking.” 
“But it’s for the greater good!” he protested. Judy leaned in close and grabbed Ian by his ear. 
“Ian it’s never good if you have to break the law just because you think it’s the right thing to do. There’s channels for that, to change the laws if you don’t like them. I shouldn’t have to remind you, that Nick made that mistake and its likely cost him his life. If you think for one second I’m gonna let you do the same.” Judy tugged on his ear a little harder and flicked his nose. “You’re dreaming, little brother.” 
“Fine fine.” Ian rubbed his nose and joined his parents. “I was just trying to look out for you.” 
“I know.” Judy huffed, coming over to Bonnie and Stu, giving them a big hug. “Hey little guy.” She cooed to Jason. “Be good for granny and grampa ok? All of you.” She gave each of them a good long kiss and as she finished with Liam, she playfully pinched his cheeks. “You can pick on uncle Ian though till I’m back.” 
“Ha!” Stu burst out. 
“Oh don’t you worry Jude, I’ll keep the little critters in line.” Bonnie winked. 
“Thanks guys, don’t worry. I’ll be careful. See you soon, love you!” Judy waved, rushing out the door. After a quick drive, she arrived at the station and sure enough, the teams were assembling. Judy headed into the bullpen, many of the officers inside gearing up in full S.W.A.T uniforms. Judy rushed over to Kate who was struggling with the buckle on her vest and helped her close it. 
“Hey fluff, thanks.” 
“No worries.” Judy smiled, keeping a hushed tone. “You talk to Lani?” 
“Yeah.” Kate sighed, fitting the goggles over her eyes. “Going in on tuesday morning.” 
“Good.” 
“I still haven’t told Ryan.” She shrugged. “Don’t really know what to say.” 
“Don’t worry about it, not yet. Let’s get a real yes or no first.” 
“Smart call, farm girl.” Kate playfully nudged. Ryan begun to unpack a reasonably large crate with the logo C/H Pharmaceuticals on the side, Kate and Judy snuck over to see what was inside. Sure enough it was several darts, along with gas canisters. Ryan shot Kate a quick smile before explaining. 
“She got it done.” 
“Is this?” Judy indicated with her paw. 
“Yep, counteragent to bloodlust. She sent us a hundred darts, twenty-five epi-pen style syringes along with about ten canisters to counteract the mist. But we gotta be careful.” Ryan explained, loading up his tranq gun. 
“Why’s that?” Kate questioned, placing her paws on her hips. 
“Well one.” He began to explain, clapping in the clip of darts. “This is it, and that’s it for a while. Their lab has the ingredients now on back order, we exhausted everything they had. Won’t be another shipment to Zootopia for at least two to three weeks. And that’s just for getting it here, doesn’t count for making it.” 
“And, two? Let me guess, expensive?” Judy surmised. 
“Oh yeah. Delgato and Bogo had to argue to get this in, basically for cheap. We want another batch it’ll be full price. We’re talking close to three-hundred grand for a case like this one.” 
“Sweet cheese and crackers!” Judy exclaimed. 
“Judy, Kate!” Diego yelled from the front of the room. “Up here please.” 
“Yes sir!” Judy happily bounded up to the front. 
“Get your radios fitted in good. We’ll be coming up in trucks, but you two will be sneaking in first to give us our recon. Once you give us the go ahead, we’ll create the perimeter and begin the breach.” He explained. 
“Don’t worry sir, I read the dossier cover to cover.” Judy smiled. 
“Me too. I don’t wanna mess this one up.” Kate chimed in. 
“Excellent. An unmarked car will be coming to pick you up soon. Drop you off half a mile from the building. Stay low, stay quiet. Make sure you have everything you need, including a couple of those counteragents.” 
“Got it!” 

Judy and Kate were let out of the unmarked cruiser, half a mile down from Ice-cap Industrial. The area was sparse of mammals, many of whom had headed home after a long days work, or were preoccupied at the nearby restaurant. The two managed their way, weaving through the lot of a closed down snow mobile shop before encroaching on the perimeter fence of the warehouse. Right out in front, the massive sign “Ice-cap industrial” and directly beneath “Closed indefinitely”. 
“What happened to this place?” Kate whispered. “I know you looked it up.” She playfully nudged. 
“Nothing special really. This place used to produce refrigeration parts for the cooling towers and AC systems throughout the city. Owner retired and the new one wasn’t exactly smart about balancing his books.” 
“Oh.” 
“Foreclosed on six years ago. Oddly enough, I think it happened not long after I joined the force. No one has taken an interest in the property yet. I think it’s been slated for demolition.” Judy whispered, approaching a ladder. “Come on, up the ladder and into the air ducts.” 
“Right.” Cautiously the two scaled the ladder, Judy helping Kate up to the roof, they leapt down off the small ledge and began to scurry toward the air duct. Kate withdrew a small screwdriver and began to release the grate covering the vent. Carefully they took it off and placed it on the ground. Kate eased inside, keeping a firm clasp on Judy’s paw as she slid inside and found her footing with little disruptive noise. Judy being a fair bit lighter found no problem making a stealthy entrance in behind. Crawling through, Judy couldn’t help but giggle after the first turn at Kate, just audible enough to catch her attention. “What?” She whispered back. 
“Maybe you are pregnant, your backsides getting a bit bigger.” 
“Oh ha-ha. You always do this on missions?” Kate brushed off. 
“Just keeping you relaxed. I know it’s your first big assignment.” Judy consoled, patting her friends backside. 
“Yeah yeah.” Rounding the last bend, Kate saw the part she feared the most, a straight drop heading down into the darkness. “No, thank you. Here, you go first fluff, you’re the veteran cop.” Kate invited, opening up a small passage for Judy to squeeze under. 
“Heh, either that’s a fox thing or you and Nick are related. Always making me go first.” She winked. Judy eased herself into the shaft, spanning her paws in every direction and slowly began sliding down. Kate saw how easily she was doing it and decided to give it a try for herself. As Judy landed at the bottom, Kate was doing her best to scale down, however clunky her own method was. As she approached the bottom, Judy clasped hold of her foot and began easing her friend down. “I gotcha.” 
“Phew, let’s not do that again.” Kate quietly sighed. Judy unzipped one of the pockets on her belt to reveal a pair of goggles. Strapping them on, she enabled the small button on the side and with a soft whirring sound, they came on. “See anything on the thermals?” 
“Yeah, I can see a little.” 
“Stay behind me.” Kate insisted, climbing over Judy. 
“Where’s this coming from?” Judy playfully swatted her friend. 
“Fox eyes honey bunny. I’ve adjusted. You watch for what I can’t, I’ll lead us through the dark.” 
“Got it.” As the pair cautiously crawled through the chilly darkened vent, Judy began to make out more and more clearly the shapes of her target. A small mammal, along with two rather large ones. The two masses seemed to be moving something  large bout room temperature over and over. “Got a fix.” 
“Good.” Kate whispered, easing Judy to a halt. “Where they at?” 
“They don’t know we’re here. Seems like they’re stock piling something.” 
“Bloodlust.” 
“Yeah, probably. Call it in.” 
“Got it.” Kate agreed, clasping her radio. “Dispatch this is Rosa. We have confirmation of the target, over.” 
“Copy that Rosa.” Delgato replied over the coms.
“Judy believes they’re stacking up crates through IR vision, we should be good to go, over.” 
“Roger that, teams are moving into position now. Breach is imminent.” 
“Huh.” Judy pondered for a moment, as a mass of orange and red was showing up on her goggles. “I don’t get it, what could that be?” 
“What do you got?” 
“I’m seeing a red mass, it’s moving.” 
“Bunny butt, let’s move.” Kate insisted, nudging her forward. “Ditch the goggles for now, we have to acquire that coon before things really get out of hand.” 
“Fine.” Judy conceded. Easing their way forward, they eventually arrived at a grate where they could see inside. Sure enough, Rhyhorn was stock piling a large amount of crates, while Stamper seemed to be holding up Yorik while she worked on a few overhead cables. 
“Get those things ready. We have to move as soon as possible.” Shelly commanded, climbing down Stamper’s trunk. 
“Yeah, we got it.” 
“Shelly, you got an incoming call.” Stamper pointed to the display. 
“Oh, perfect.” She fumed, hitting a button near the base of the display. Steer-helm appeared, rubbing his hooves together. 
“OOo, Shelly-shelly, with her creamy little belly, how do you do!?” He playfully greeted. 
“Cut the cheesy lines, Reginald. What is it now?” 
“Well, isn’t that a fine way to greet an old flame, a fine way indeed!” 
“We were never, a flame!” Shelly outright refuted. “Aside from an overwhelming desire to cook you over a burner.” 
“Well, venison is good for the soul. Besides, I thought you might like to know your perimeter is compromised!” 
“What!?” Shelly growled. 
“Psych just messaged me. The diligent old fox, he’s been watching your back while you’ve been off in la-la land. Fantasizing about our last “Working date” no doubt.” 
“Cut the crap and tell me what’s going on.” Shelly demanded. 
“All units.” Kate whispered. “Breach now, mission integrity compromised, she knows we’re here!” 
“Confirmed.” Delgato answered. 
“You have a few mammals a-knocking at your door!” He grinned. Shelly’s face contorted into a look of horror, swinging back to her two henchmen. 
“Get the last of the subjects onto the freight elevator. Once they’re up.” Shelly insisted, tossing a red canister to Rhyhorn. “Blow them to hell.” 
“Right.” 
“Subjects!?” Judy exclaimed. “We have to save them!” 
“Right, you get to the subjects, I’ll keep an eye on things here. Take the shot if it comes.” Kate nodded. 
“Let’s do this.”
“All units, we have hostages inbound. May be coming out afflicted, be prepared with countermeasures.” Kate announced over the radio, while Judy scurried to find an exit close to the test subjects. Rhyhorn and Stamper began unlocking their cages, ushering the dozen and a half mammals at the point of a gun toward the hall. The group a hearty mix of zebra, antelope, wolves, two otters, a single cougar along with a single lion and two tigers. Leading them toward a large freight elevator, he and Rhyhorn stepped inside and locked the door. Judy managed to find a grate, right above the elevator. Before it could start rising, she kicked out the grate and leapt on top of the elevator. Stamper who didn’t lack for ears, heard the noise and smashed the roof with his trunk, sending a solid dent upward only a few inches below Judy’s feet. Many of the mammals in the elevator crouched down.
“All of you, keep your muzzles shut, or I’ll blow em off!” Rhyhorn threatened, sweeping the elevator with his gun. In a similar effort, he jammed his horn up into the roof as the elevator began to climb. Rhyhorn continued to jam his horn up into the roof until Judy unlocked the hatch and swung inside. Hammering Rhyhorn with a good kick to his head, he shook off the blow and took a swing for Judy which only managed to find Stamper’s trunk. 
“Hey! Watch it asshole!” Rhyhorn tried to sort out Judy’s location among the mess of hooves and paws on the floor until he felt her scurry up his side. Snaring his hoove, she snatched up the canister with a toothy grin. 
“I’ll be taking this.” She quipped, as the door of the elevator swung open. Judy attempted to make a leap out, but was snared by Stamper’s trunk. 
“Not so fast, rabbit.” Judy attempted to wriggle herself free, but Stamper wouldn’t chance it. In a swift swing of his trunk, he slammed Judy against the side of the elevator and in doing so, made a fatal mistake. Judy dazed from the blow, also let loose the canister as it smashed into pieces, spreading the toxic gas through the elevator in a red plume that quickly spread out. Judy could feel it seeping into her lungs, a fiery sting as she gasped for fresh air, scurrying away from the scene. 
“You idiot! You killed us all!!” Rhyhorn scolded, slapping Stamper in the face as everyone began relentlessly coughing. Judy reached for the syringe she kept on her belt and jammed it into her thigh while the doors to the warehouse flew open. 
“ZPD! Everyone down!” Alex Hecklefang bellowed, taking point on the mission. Just off to his left was Leena Evens and Wolford. Their barrels aimed at anyone that made a move within the growing plume of red mist. Sure enough, as the mist settled, a stampede of enraged mammals rushed for the door with Rhyhorn taking charge. Hecklefang tried to fire, but the bullet deflected off the big rhinos horn. Crashing for the door, Rhyhorn managed to charge Alex and skewer him. Hoisting him up as he bellowed with rage. 
“Alex no!” Leena screamed. Ryan aimed his shotgun low and blew out the legs of the rampaging beast, sending him the floor. Whipping out his dart gun, he nailed him in the neck with the counter agent and turned his attention to the rest of the mammals on their way. Ryan dove for Evens and tumbled with her to clear her of the stampede, the mammals bursting through the door as officers began shouting. 
“Lay down the gas! Wrap em up, take em down!” The shouts rung out over the icy lot where officers began engaging the crazed mammals. Leena broke free of Ryan’s grasp and rushed over to her friend who found himself freed of Rhyhorn. 
“Alex, no.” She whimpered, stroking his cheek. “Stay with me.” Alex grasped her paw for a moment, coughing and spitting up a fairly large gout of blood. He couldn’t talk, his last breaths fled his body as his head found rest in her lap. “Alex no, please!” 
“Leena!” Ryan jumped over and grasped her cheeks. “Focus! We’ll tend to him later. Right now we have a job to do, save those mammals! We can do this!” Ryan ordered. She paused for a moment before finding her feet. Rushing off to rejoin the fight to corral and sedate the afflicted mammals. Ryan peered back inside the warehouse and spotted Judy on the floor, crawling toward the door. “Hopps!” Judy was writhing in agony, clasping her head while she struggled to crawl. Ryan rushed inside and scooped her up. “You were hit?” 
“It works.” Judy eeked out. 
“The counter-agent? Yeah, I guess so.” He laughed. “You took it point blank. Come on, let’s get you outta here and finish the job.” Breaking for the door, outside seemed like something of a war zone. A few of the officers were using lasso’s to hook the mammals and steady them enough to hit them with the counter-agent. Stamper managed to hammer over one of the trucks, forcing Delgato and Grizzoli to step in. Each of them took hold of one of the big elephants tusks, trying to steady him but he broke free tossing Delgato into a cruiser and Grizzoli just managed to dodge the massive swipe. Francine rushed in, locking tusks with the big elephant. It was just the break she needed to jam her dart gun into his neck and fire. Still fighting hard, he tossed her aside but soon began staggering around. His feet failing him and falling to the ground. Ryan got Judy back to one of the cruisers and set her back on her feet. 
“Thanks.” She nodded quickly. 
“You good to stand?” 
“I’m alive, all that matters.” Judy shrugged. “I blew it though. Can’t believe... I let him snatch me with his trunk.” 
“What you gotta take all the credit for heroics? Little miss run-down-a-free-runner. I think you’re trending on Zootube with that stunt you pulled through Rainforest.” Ryan encouraged. 
“Har-har.” Judy smirked. “Well let’s hope Kate’s still in position, maybe even picked off Yorik.” 
“She’s still inside?” Ryan asked urgently. 
“She was good and hidden. Waiting for a clean shot and to give us confirmation that bloodlust was in those crates.” 
“Perfect, then let’s finish this.” Ryan nodded, standing himself back up. “Leena!” He called out. The shaken coyote rookie rushed over with a near empty clip. 
“S-sir?” 
“Let’s get the last of these mammals under control. Judy, help tend to the wounded. We move in as soon as we have a green light from Rosa.” 
“Got it!” Judy fist pumped. 
“Right!” Evens joined in. 

Back inside, Shelly was typing something on her computer while still keeping Steer-helm on the display. 
“Come come, little coon-bum. Surely our little rivalry hasn’t blinded you to the truth! You can’t make it out of there in time. Just send your staggy-waggy the last little notes on the catalyst and we’ll be all set.” 
“As much as I hate to admit it, you may be right. You better get Barone to bail me out.” As the two were talking, Kate took her time, easing herself out of the vent and skulking her way up toward Yorik.
“And here I was so looking forward to our first conjugal visit.” He playfully suggested. 
“Will you get your mind out of the gutter for one damned second!?” She scolded. 
“I’ll remove my mind from the gutter when you fix your eyes on your six o’clock.” He smiled. Shelly swung back just in time to see Kate aiming her tranq right at her. Ducking, she just missed the dart, the flights of which she could feel graze her head. Snatching up her own gun, a strikingly similar one to the weapon used by Dawn Bellweather, Shelly returned fire. The sphere hammering Kate right in the face and bursting into a small gout of red mist. Kate frantically rubbed at her eyes, the fear of being hit overwhelming her for a moment.
“Idiot.” Shelly mocked, before hammering a button on the console. “My data’s all yours. The contingency protocol is already in place, I’m gonna try for an escape. Do what you can for me Reginald, I’m counting on you.” 
“Don’t you worry my sweet, I’ll take good care of our little pet project.” He giggled. Kate managed to grasp at the syringe and hammer it into her thigh. Concealing it while Shelly stomped by, heading out of the room and toward the left wall where a fairly tall ladder was leading up to a hatch on the main floor of the warehouse. 
“Stupid ZPD cops. Enjoy the ride fox! It’s bound to be a blast!” Shelly taunted once more. As she began to scale the ladder, she barely made it over halfway before a thunderous crack rang out. Shelly felt as though she had been hammered in the stomach, the force of the shot sending her off the ladder and onto her back. Gasping for air, she rolled onto her side to see Kate panting and wheezing. Stumbling over, her head in absolute agony she stood over Shelly and showcased the little syringe. 
“Looks like the stupid ZPD, got some help, from the smarter Yorik sister.” She gloated. 
“What?” Shelly gasped, taking a moment to examine her own paw that was now soaked in blood. “Melissa?” She questioned. 
“That’s right. Looks like she found a way to sate your bloodlust.” Kate quipped. 
“Bitch.” Shelly moaned, rolling on to her back. “That.. Two timing..” Kate lined up the barrel of her gun with Shelly’s head. 
“You, are the bitch. What you did to those poor mammals, to those innocent cubs! You’re disgusting! How dare you use them for your experiments like that! Those were someone’s babies!” Kate continued to chastise before firing another shot into Shelly’s leg. Crying out in pain, she clasped her leg and rolled over onto her side again. “You’re going down for this one! Judy and I will see to it that you rot in a cell for the rest of your life!” 
“Ha!” Shelly scoffed, clasping her leg. “You think.. You think I’m gonna go to some prison. Stay stuffed in.. In a cell?” Shelly coughed up. “You don’t know what’s coming, do you? But you will. It’ll start in that pred infested shit hole. End up here.” She coughed a few more times before meeting Kate eye to eye. “You think... Think he sent that cheetah and fox to Zootopia just to stir up the shit?” 
“Who!?” Kate demanded. 
“Barone. He was reaching out. He’s more ambitious than you know.. He’ll.. He’ll come for Zootopia. Bloodlust is just the beginning for him... You blind pigs never even saw... Saw it leave... The final phase has already begun..... He’ll come for your friends... Family.. he..” 
“Shut your mouth!” Kate bellowed, clasping her head briefly, the pain from her antidote was really in full swing now. “You’ll never get away with this. You’re coming with me!” 
“Wrong, vixen.” Shelly chuckled, her eyes slowly closing. “I took you... With... me...” 
“Didn’t my coon girl tell you?” Reginald called out from the monitor in the other room. Kate rushed in and peered in the doorway. The mad stag rubbing his hooves deviously as he announced. “She always wanted to go out with a bang.” 
“No..” Kate’s heart sunk. Grasping her radio she made a mad dash for the ladder. “All units! RUN! Get away from the building! It’s gonna blow!” 
“Kate!?” Ryan called out over the radio. 
“Explosives!! Explosives!!!” She screamed, climbing the ladder toward the hatch. 
“Kate hang on!!” Ryan called out, rushing for the door to the warehouse but Delgato was already ahead. 
“Wolford get them back! I’ll get her!” 
“All units, evacuate!” Ryan announced. “Get the wounded and get to cover, now!” 
“Come on!” Judy insisted, guiding a pair of groggy otters away. Leena took a wolves paw over her shoulder and dragged him away, stashing him behind one of the trucks. Diego threw open the door just in time to see Kate escaping the hatch a good hundred feet away. 
“Kate, to me!” Delgato called out, but just as the words passed his lips the explosion rang out, the ground beneath Kate splashed up like water before crumbling down. Both Diego and Kate were sent hurdling through the air as fire blew through the roof. A second explosion shook the ground, the walls blowing out in a searing hot flash of fire while the ground outside sank into the ground, leaving only a few dozen feet of the lot on which the building stood above ground. It was sheer luck that the cruisers and trucks didn’t succumb to the collapsing earth, but no part of the building was spared. Debris fired out in all directions, pelting the officers and victims in a haze of shattered wood, gnarled chunks of metal and fragments of rock. Judy’s ears stung from the horrific ringing, she had managed to keep the two otters covered and mostly unharmed. She turned to Leena who was still covered behind the truck, the wolf she saved right beside her coughing as the dust began settling. As the sound of the explosion and clamoring metal subsided, a voice could be heard over the wreckage. 
“Kate! Diego!” Ryan called out, rushing into the disaster zone. Matt wasn’t far behind and Judy joined right after. Ryan slid down into the wreckage, looking for any sign of Kate but something caught Matt’s eye before he slid inside. 
“There!” Matt pointed toward the remnants of a door, a stripped tail hidden underneath. Judy bolted over and slid underneath. Sure enough it was Delgato, unconscious with more than a few scrapes. Matt tossed the door off while Judy checked Diego’s vitals. 
“Breathing’s a bit shallow, but his heart rates good. He needs a paramedic.” 
“Right! Dispatch this is Grizzoli, we need med-evac and paramedics to our location, over.” 
“Roger that, Grizzoli.” Johnson answered over the radio. “I’ll have em in asap.” Judy rushed over to the pit to see Ryan frantically digging and tossing aside massive chunks of rock and metal. Judy shot a quick look around, but couldn’t see anything within the rubble. Heading away from the pit, she scoured the eastern fence of the building and spotted something sticking up in the snow. She ran over and began uncovered the snow on the head of the figure she found. To her horror it was Kate, mostly concealed by kicked up snow and a few scraps of debris. 
“Ryan!!” Judy called out, dusting the snow and debris away she was horrified by what she had found. Kate’s entire tail had been seared off, largely down to the bone. Her back suffered third degree burns and a portion of her left ear had been blown off. Judy felt for a pulse and listened for even a hint of breath, but as she did, Ryan leapt out from the pit and swiftly joined her, sliding in beside her he scooped up Kate and cradled her in his lap. 
“Kate?” He breathed, stroking her head. “Kate, come on!” 
“Ryan.” She trailed off. 
“No! No you’re not doing this! Come on Kate, wake up! Kate!!” 
“Ryan there’s no pulse.” Judy whimpered. 
“No.” He cried, placing her back down on her back he propped open her mouth and began CPR. “Come on Kate!” He carried on during the compressions. “Come on!!” 

“Tragedy strikes the ZPD tonight, as an attempt to siege illegal contraband within Tundratown ends with the death of two police officers.” The jaguar reporter began to recite, speaking to the camera in front of her as more police, fire and paramedics had arrived. Judy was being checked over, but aside from a massive splitting headache and some major nausea, she was uninjured. She headed over to Matt and Francine who were speaking with Mayor Bogo near an ambulance. On the stretcher was Diego, wrapped up warmly as he was loaded inside. 
“How is he?” She asked. 
“Oh, hello miss Hopps.” Bogo warmly greeted. “Ol Diego’s a tough one. He’s just unconscious, likely took a nasty blow to the head. He’ll be out for a while, especially considering his recent concussion just a month or two ago.” 
“And, Ryan?” She questioned. The three looked at each other for a moment before Francine excused herself. 
“He’s a wreck.” Matt spoke up. 
“How long were you planning on keeping their relationship secret, Miss Hopps?” Bogo leered down. 
“It was always don’t ask, don’t tell.” Judy shrugged. “It hasn’t been that long and.. I don’t really know what kind of relationship they had besides being physically involved.” 
“Judging by his reaction.” Matt interjected. “I’d say they were close.” 
“Hmm.” Bogo huffed, letting a moment pass before speaking up again. “With our chief and first captain down, we’re going to need an interim chief to stay on top of things.” Judy’s eyes went wide for a moment, but instead of turning to her, Bogo looked to Matt. “Grizzoli. You were one of my most seasoned on the force, even when I served as chief. Are you up for the task?” He offered. 
“Me. Chief?” He asked in surprise. Judy smiled up to him and gave him a quick tap on the knee. 
“You’d be perfect, Matt.” 
“Huh.” He laughed, shrugging for a moment. “Know what, I’m gonna pass.” 
“What?” Both Judy and Bogo spoke up. 
“Look I’m a good cop and all but, I never wanted to walk in yours or Delgato’s paws. I don’t think I’m cut for the job but.” He smiled down to Judy. “Maybe this town’s star officer would like to try it on.” Bogo gave a quick laugh and pat Matt on the back. 
“Why do I get the feeling this is one part fear and another part lazy.” He quipped. “Well. Needless to say, I’m not opposed to that suggestion. Judy?” 
“Yes sir?” 
“You’re a fine officer as well. Next in line for First Captain if I recall. What do you say? It would only be until Delgato is back on his feet after all.” He offered. 
“Wow. Chief of the ZPD.” Judy thought for a moment before smiling and offering up a salute. “It would be my honor, chief Bogo.” She accepted with a wink. 
“Heh, well then. It’s settled. I’ll go speak with the media about this, but might I suggest Chief Hopps you rally your officers here.” He suggested. 
“Right.” Judy agreed. She walked over to Ryan who was sat on the curb, a grey blanket draping his back as he stared down to the ground. Judy placed her paw on his and spoke softly. “Hey.” 
“Hey.” He took his time in replying. 
“How are you holding up?” Ryan just shook his head and huffed, scratching the top of his head for a moment. 
“I need to get out of here.” 
“Shh.” Judy hushed, leaping in for a quick hug. “She was my friend too. Maybe she never said it, but I know she loved you.” 
“Judy, please.” He stammered. 
“It’s ok Ryan. Whatever you need, I’m here for you. We all are, ok?” Judy insisted, easing her grip on Ryan. Shrugging off the blanket he stood off and let another stammer escape. 
“I just need out of here.” 
“I got it.” Judy agreed. “Davis Macuihtl?” She called out. 
“Oh, hey Judy.” He waved back. “What is it?” 
“As acting chief, I would like to ask you to please take Ryan to his home. I’ll debrief him at a later time.” 
“Acting chief? Oh wow, ok. Yes ma’am. Come on, Ryan. My car’s not far from here.” Davis lead on, putting a paw on Ryan’s shoulder. Having tended to Ryan, Judy turned her attention to a weeping Leena who was set at the head of Alex’s body bag. 
“Hey.” Judy leaned in, placing a paw on Leena’s thigh as she cried into her own paws. “Leena, it’s me.” It took a few moments, but as Leena wiped her eyes and let a few sniffles escape she spoke. 
“It’s all my fault.” 
“Shh, no. It’s not your fault, Leena.” 
“But it is!” Leena protested, sitting back on her tail. “I’m so stupid! Alex said he didn’t want to be a cop, but he went along with it because I joined the academy.” She tried to explain, choking back on a few more tears. “This was his first big assignment and I got him killed. He should have never joined!” 
“Stop that, Leena! Alex wasn’t forced to join the academy was he?” 
“He came.” She paused to wipe her eyes again. “He came along because, he wanted to work with me. We’ve been friends for a long time but.” 
“Oh boy, were you two dating?” 
“No, no. Nothing like that. He was married before joining the force. His ex was really cruel though, treated him like garbage. He just trusted me cause, I always treated him nice, you know? But now.” She began to cry again. “Now I got him killed. Oh god, what am I going to do now?” 
“You’re going to stop blaming yourself, right now.” Judy said firm, but softly. Taking her large paws, she clasped them together and took Leena’s attention. “You, are gonna take some time off. I’m putting you on bereavement. Once I’m relieved of being chief, I’ll partner up with you and teach you as much as I can, so that god forbid this never happens to you. You might have heard, I’ve been through the loss of a loved one, very recently. It’s hard, and while the pain doesn’t really go away, it does get better in time. So I promise, I’ll help you. Ok?” 
“Ok.” Leena nodded, clasping Judy’s paws. “Thank you, Judy.” 
“I’ll arrange for your ride home. Drink something warm, try to get some sleep over the next few days.”

Ryan pushed through the door of his apartment, shrugging off the heavy and frayed gear from the operation. He was tired of the smell of ashes and blood on his clothes and began kicking off as much as he could, sparing only his boxers. Passing the couch and drudging into the kitchen, he opened a cupboard and pulled out a small glass and large bottle of scotch. Opening the freezer, he dug out a few ice cubes and dropped them into the glass, pouring the scotch and swiftly taking a good long drink. Immediately he refilled what he had just downed and began taking a few sips. He turned his attention to the fridge and opened it up, his heart catching in his throat for a moment. The fridge was still packed with about six bags of R.J’s eats. The food that Kate kept bringing over during their dates. Some of them in the back were quite old, but the bag at the front was only a day or so old. He slammed his head into his arm, a few tears creeping out. The memories of their time together still so vivid, even believing he could still catch her scent emanating from the bags. Snatching up one, he took it out and placed it on the table. Inside was an order of onion rings, a fair sized synthetic chicken burger and nuggets. He took out the onion rings and took a bite. Immediately a swarm of tears flooded his eyes, but he never whimpered or offered any of the usual signs of crying. The tears simply raced down, as Ryan sipped on his drink, fantasizing that he could still catch her scent, and finally took to the last gift the girl he loved gave him.