Judy and Nick were on the lift.  Judy looked at the plate information.  The car belonged to a shrew named Mr. Big, who was extremely wealthy, and was the most feared crime boss in Tundra Town. Didn't seem like a mammal you would want to mess with.

Judy looked up at Nick.  A look filled she had never seen before filled his face as he looked down at Zootopia below them.  No, it was not his sarcastic face, his ignorant smirk, or his triumphant smile, or even his growl that showed his teeth.  No, it was sadness, it filled his face to the brim.  His ears were bent back and his eyes glazed over like he was struggling to remember something.

Her heart went out to him.  It made her so sad to see the normally tough to work with fox depressed. But what was she thinking? Nick was always difficult to work with.  He was in the process of making her job harder.  She only had 36 hours left because of him.  How would she make money if she had to work with him.  Was he lying about the car on the side of the road, did she really trust him?

Before she could think this matter even harder, Nick spoke,"Even I had dreams once.."

Judy looked up in surprise and pondered, should she say something or should she let him go on.

Again she didn't need to think about it, he started again,"I used to believe I could become a cop."

Judy couldn't hold back much longer, Nick a cop? She had to say something. "A cop?"

"Yeah," Nick said,"It was my dream."

"Wow." was all Judy could muster to say,"Hey it was my dream, too.  But I actually am a cop, so it's like no longer a dream. 

"That was my dream, until reality woke me up." here he turned to Judy a slight tear catching his eye,"I am naught but vermin, a crook, a con.  I am nothing except for what I am born into.  My father was con and now, so am I.  Even if i tried, and trust me, I did, I can be nothing but a con, nothing, nothing, nothing." 

Judy's breathe caught.  Nick was back looking at Zootopia, smiling fondly at Sahara Square and looking on with pride at the hard to see, Little Rotunda. She looked at him with her big purple eyes, now she understood why he acted the way he did.  It made her sad to even think about it.  His dream was crushed, he basically had to fight for a living.  She sniffed away a tear.

"You know," Judy said,"I believe, that you can become anything you want to be, if you set your heart into it of course."  She looked for a reaction in Nick's now emotionless face.

"Innocence," Nick said,"I wish I possessed it.  You know Judy that it's just to late for me, I can never be redeemed.  I am just one small fox in a giant and cruel world.  You'll learn Judy, that soon enough nothing is what it seems."He looked down and cracked a small smile.  It was a nice one, not one of his sarcastic ones, it looked real and true,"Thanks anyway.."

"Hey." Judy said, still trying to process what he had just said,"I only have 36 hours left.  We can only solve this case together." She held out her hand in a shake.

Nick looked at it for a second before shaking it,"No promises though, foxes and bunnies are mortal enemies, and I intend to make your job even harder."

"Hey."Judy laughed.

"We only have 36 hours left, we've got to get going you know!" Nick said, his face slipping back into its signature smirk.

Judy smirked back,"I can handle anything you throw at me, Nick.  I'll be able to handle you."

She didn't see the shoe coming to smack her head.