then," said Wallace, chomping down the rest of his éclair. "And say 'Howdy' to Mollie for me."

"Will do," said Nick, getting up. "I'm gonna go and have a little snoop around the new kid's backyard. See if I pick up anything."

"Suit yourself," said Wallace. "Hope to see you around more often, although I reckon my cardiologist would disapprove."

"Don't they all," said Nick, walking to the end of the picnic table. "Oh, and Wally?"

"Yeah?"

"Checkmate."

Wallace looked at the chess board. Nick's white rook, queen, bishop and knight had his black king surrounded. Any move the king made would be futile.

"Why, you son of a…"

But Nick was already halfway across the park, heading towards the commercial district. Even so, he could hear the walrus's hearty laughter in the distance.

The building Nick stood before was huge. Opulent was perhaps the better word. Its forty floors shone with pristine windows and the front entrance was at the end of a long stretch of courtyard, complete with a fountain in the middle and benches to sit and relax.

"Not one for subtlety, this Terra Firma, Inc."

He suddenly saw three huge grizzly bear security guards approaching. He walked away and hid behind some shrubs, watching closely. A small mole with thick glasses walked between the guards. And beside him…

"Hmmm…"

Dressed in spotless business suit, with an expensive tie and golden watch, walked…a rabbit.

"I assure you, Mr President, sir, that the matter shall be taken care of promptly and effectively," quavered the mole as he walked, fidgeting with his paws. "I shall personally attend to the matter."

"I hope so, Jenkins," said the rabbit in a tone so haughty and high-and-mighty that Flintheart Glomgold would have been jealous of it. "My patience wears thin, and you know what happens when my patience is tried."

"Yes, Mr President, sir," said the mole.

An elegant black car stopped at the front of the building. The president and the mole got into the car, all the while escorted by the thuggish grizzly bear bodyguards.

"Somehow, I doubt taking care of 'business' involves signing papers and relocating assets," said Nick to himself as he walked away from the building.

It was eight o'clock at night when Nick finally came back to his apartment building. He had spent the day walking around gathering information from his sources.

He took his keys out and opened the door to his apartment.

"Well, time to call the bunny lord and tell her I'm back home," said Nick, taking out his phone.

But he didn't have a chance to dial one digit when someone jumped onto his shoulders and hugged him from behind. Someone small and fuzzy and warm…

"No need for that, Mr Wilde," said a familiar voice behind him. "If you wanna talk, I'm right here."

Nick turned around to see Judy, standing before him with a bright smile on her face.

"Carrots!" he said, embracing her with genuine surprise and delight. "When…how…"

"There's this invention called a 'bus' that people discovered," said Judy. "And I happened to catch the last one. Slower than a train, but it gets the job done. I'm here, aren't I?"

"That you are," said Nick, taking her paw. "Come on in, let me get you something to drink."

Judy sat at the kitchen table with Nick, sipping carrot juice from her family farm, which Nick had become very fond of and purchased at the grocery corner. Nick sat down beside Judy and showed her everything he had discovered so far, bringing her up to speed with everything.

"So this is the list of farms that were purchased by Terra Firma Incorporated in the last month," said Nick. "And it's not just farms. Warehouses here in Zootopia, a fleet of trucks…remember old Cosgrove and the incident with the goat, Mr Capri?"

"Yup."

"Well, Cosgrove was bought out by Terra Firma, Inc. And they sacked everyone overnight," said Nick. "No wonder Capri was so upset. He had worked for Cosgrove for 37 years."

"So this Terra Firma, they're slowly purchasing the farming land and warehouse spaces. Ten to one they'll be moving to retail space next," said Judy.

Nick nodded.

"How did you notice, Nick?"

"If there's something I've learned in my life, Carrots, it's this: When something sounds too good to be true, it's because it's not true," said Nick. "And if something sounds too shady, it's because it is."

Nick pointed at the map on his computer screen. He had drawn a line connecting the farms purchased by Terra Firma, Inc.

"They want to monopolise the land three hundred miles around," said Nick. "And who knows what's next. Industrialise, change farmland into factories...he who owns the land owns the people, an old adage says."

He looked at Judy.

"And it's up to us to keep this from happening."

He closed his fist and lifted it. Judy grinned and did the same, and they shared a fist-bump.

"Amen to that, brother!" said Judy. "Hopps and Wilde are on the case!"

Nick's tummy suddenly rumbled.

"Well, seems like someone decided to voice his opinion," said Nick.

Judy suddenly had a thought.

"You're not sleepy, are you?" she said.

"Not in the least," said Nick.

"Good!" said Judy, standing up. "Movie night! You and I! And a big tub of yummy popcorn and some soft drinks. On the bunny!"

Nick could only say 'Yes'.

It was close to midnight when Judy and Nick walked out of the cinema, chattering happily.

"I'm so glad you introduced me to the film, Carrots. Now I'll have to go and watch the previous ones on Newtflix."

"See, I told you you'd love it!" said Judy. "Although I will say, those special effects at the end looked like they were made on a Carrot II Computer in 1983 by a third grader!"

"Yes! And that's why we love it!" laughed Nick. "So much cornball and cheese if you drop it in hot oil, you'd have cheddar popcorn."

Judy laughed heartily.

"And the villian's voice acting, so hokey it's Racso-worthy!"

"I know, right!" giggled Judy. "It totally deserves an award just for being entertaining. Can you believe Hindentanic won like eight awards? I'd be hard-pressed to think of a more boring film."

"Oh, don't even get me started," chuckled Nick. "You wanna talk about an endurance round? Hindentanic was insufferable! Now you were six years old when that film came out, so you probably watched it later on video at home."

"Yup, my oldest sister rented it and we all sat down to watch it," said Judy.

"Well, at least you could pause the movie and go get a snack from the kitchen," said Nick. "I watched it at the theatre, when it came out and people wouldn't shut up about it. After the third hour I was like 'Oh for heaven's sake, just sink already, please!'"

Judy laughed mirthfully as she held Nick's waist, burying her face into his side, inhaling his lovely scent. He smelt so nice, like cologne and masculine virility. She took a deep breath of his wonderful aroma as they crossed the street and headed towards the park.

"So, tell me, Carrots," said Nick as they sat down on a park bench.

"About what?"

"Why did you really come all the way from your hometown all of a sudden?" asked Nick, putting his arm around her shoulder and pulling her a little closer.

"Do I really have to spell it out for you, slick?" said Judy with a raised eyebrow.

"No…but it's so much fun when you do."

Judy smiled and went quiet. Her expression changed. She hugged his waist snugly as her cheek brushed lightly against his chest.

"I just…needed to be with you, Nick."

She held his paw, fondling it softly.

"These past days have been…very emotional. For all of us."

Nick nuzzled the top of her head with his nose softly.

"We shared so much," said Judy. "I just…really needed you, honey bun."

Judy looked up into his eyes.

"I just really, really wanted to come."

Nick narrowed his eyes and looked at her with that teasing expression she knew so well. Then she realised it.

"You…rascal!" she said, slapping him playfully on the chest.

"Hey, I didn't say it! You did," said Nick laughing.

"You absolutely shameless cad!" laughed Judy.

"Heh-hey! I didn't say anything at all!"

They laughed for a while and then went silent again. Judy moved up onto Nick's lap and straddled him, resting her head against his chest and closing her eyes. Nick hugged her lovingly, feeling the soft fuzzy warmth of his beloved bunny close to him. She was so precious. In every way.

"What you did for my family, Nick..." said Judy, "…and how you put a smile on dad's face when all seemed so bleak…"

She opened her eyes and gazed at him.

"We could never, ever thank you enough... I could never, ever thank you enough for what you did for us. You saved our farm, and you brought joy to my family... you've done so much for us..."

"Hey, that's what we're here for, right?" said Nick

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