twice outfoxed him concerning Taelia that evening, he owed her some reprisal. It was a matter of honor now.

Judy was more than a little annoyed when she got back to her apartment to find it locked. Well, at least this happened with someone inside, she thought, supposing that she'd simply made a mistake. "Uh, Nick?" she called.

"Oh, Carrots!" he exclaimed a little loudly, taking advantage of the building's fantastic acoustics. "I was just admiring your collection. The little gray bunny with the badge is just so adorable! It even looks like you!"

Judy felt her face turn pale. "Nick!" she cried. "Someone's going to hear!"

"Past tense, bunny," came a voice down the hall.

"And the brown one," Nick went on relentlessly. "I never imagined a tough bunny like you collected stuffed-"

Now Judy's face turned red. She grabbed the knob and rattled the door for all she was worth. "Nick Wilde, you let me in and leave my stuff alone – now!"

"And oh my gosh, you've even got a fox!" Nick cried in delight. "I didn't even know they made stuffed foxes. He smells new. Is he named after me?"

"Your name's going to be Mud when I get in there!" Seeing that the door was getting her nowhere, Judy turned around and leaned hard against it to think. There's got to be a way in, she thought, shoving her paws into her pockets.

Suddenly a way did come to her – and it was so obvious that she felt brilliant and stupid at the same time. Resisting the urge to just storm in and let him have it, she hatched a plan while he cooed over her collector's set of dinosaur puppets from Pizza Hop.

"Nick," she said, sounding both desperate and menacing, "I am telling you right now to get out from under my bed – and don't even think about looking in the dresser!"

Naturally, Nick immediately abandoned the bed and went to the dresser. The little drawers were old and tended to stick, but he got them open. One by one he searched them, only to find... nothing whatsoever of interest; not even in the sock drawer. He hesitated at the underwear drawer; Judy would probably kill him if he went that far.

Behind him, Judy opened the door as quietly as she could, although the noise Nick made as he fiddled with the drawers more than masked it. Stealthily, she crept up on Nick and put her foot down – literally.

"Gah!" Nick yelped, jumping up in the air and grabbing his tail. He spun around before he had even processed what was going on, making for a look which left Judy wishing like crazy for her body-cam.

"Carrots!" Nick yelped, panicking.

Judy just glared up at him as if her lavender eyes were about to turn into death rays.

"Eh heh heh..." Nick laughed nervously, his ears falling back. "Uh, look, you teased me before, so do you think we could just...?"

Judy had to smile just a little, knowing she had him right where he wanted him. So this is what hunting feels like, she thought, grabbing his tie and yanking down so that they were eye to triumphant eye.

"I'm going to count to three."

He was gone before she reached two.

"That fox," Judy groaned, shutting the door and locking it behind him. Heaven only knew how long he would have kept it up if she hadn't had the key in her pocket the whole time. Still, getting him to turn his back completely to the door so she could tailgate him had almost been worth the invasion of her drawers. Almost. Secure once again, she set about tidying up her belongings.

If Taelia wants him, she thought, she can have him. She only half-meant it; deep down Nick was still her friend and she knew it would take more than he was capable of doing to push her past her real limit. Forgiving this stunt, however, was going to take a while.

As she was straightening up, Judy discovered that Nick had forgotten his smartphone. Figures, she thought. Now I'll have a harder time getting ahold... of him.

Her ears pricked up, and a grin appeared on her face. Gosh, she thought, if only I could show him how that stunt with my collection felt.

Luck was with her; the phone was unlocked.

Helloooo, opportunity, she thought.

In another part of the city, a mammal sat in an office lit only by a single desk lamp, listening as his informant filled him in on the investigation of Olivia Poisson. Forming a steeple with his fingers, his brow creased as he considered the information. So, the ZPD's on her tail now? How interesting.

Whether Miss Poisson was actually involved with the recent scheme was more than he knew. It would certainly be convenient for him if she did get in trouble with the law, but not yet; not just yet. Guilty or innocent, he needed her on the loose… for the moment. Once he'd gotten what he was after, she could be shot dead for all he cared.

"Keep delaying the investigation," he said tersely, "and wait for further orders."

This worried his informant; even the mammal's voice was pale. "Hey, if I get caught-"

"You're already caught by me," came the firm reply. He stabbed one finger down at the table top, somehow putting more impetus into that one digit than most mammals could have given to an entire fist. "I can't make my move just yet; the police are investigating every lead they can find, and it's only a miracle they haven't looked into my past connections with you-know-who. Keep them busy." He hung up and pursed his lips, turning his attention to a schedule of flights out of the country over the next month. He couldn't jump on a plane just yet; too much risk of arousing suspicion. He could prepare, though. He could always prepare.

Oh, snap; did I just throw a new evil mastermind into the mix? Yeah; just when you thought you knew the rules of the game.

Some of you already know – or at least have a pretty good idea – how I intend to have this love triangle play out, but I'll ask that those who do not to say anything publicly and just watch how this unfolds.  Is the scene WildeHopps?  Is it not?  Time will tell, but in any case I thought it was a blast in the movie when they teased each other, so that's what I had them do.

I was actually kind of surprised at how well the Easter Eggs thing seems to have gone; I actually got more views on the last chapter than any other except for chapter one. So there's a couple more in this chapter. One: what movie did the dinosaurs come from? Two: Any guesses on where I got the idea for Judy's entry? (it wasn't something that happened to me, but there is a clue in here about the origin).