Judy sat at her desk, in her cubicle. The desk had various papers and documents strewn about, and a monitor, together with a mouse and keyboard sat in the upper left corner of the work surface.
One of the three drawers in the desk was slightly opened, revealing some office supplies, and some red ZPD case files. Nothing that stood out.
On the thin cubicle walls, were a few newspaper clippings.
She was working fast on a report she forgot about yesterday, and nearly had a stroke when she remembered about it.
She really was a workaholic, as Nick would say it.
Her small paw worked so fast it almost looked like a gray blur, as she stuck her tounge out. All of her attention was on this small stack of papers. She, in her humble yet very succesfull eleven-month career, has never submited a report one day late.
Right to her left, on the other side of the cubicle wall, sat Nick Wilde himslef, his hindpaws propped up on his own desk. The layout of his cubicle was pretty much the same. The only difference was a nearly ten-inch high stack of papers and documents on the surface of his desk. He was nearly two months behind on his paperwork, yet he always managed to fill them out and submit them right before Bogo ripped his own horns out.
He was browsing his furbook account, with his half-closed eyes and everpresent smirk, he seemed like he didn't have a care in the world.
The small rabbit finished her sccribling as she signed it at the bottom, and placed her pen back in the pen holder.
She stood up and walked arround the wall separating her's and Nick's working areas.
"Hey, Nick I'm done, are-..." she stopped talking once she saw what he was doing, and a small frown appeared on her furry face.
"Niiiick!?" she whined as he placed his phone back into his pants pocket.
"Yeah, Carrots?" the fox questioned as he stood up from his chair, faking innocence.
"Why didn't you finish your report?"
"What?" he asked, intentionally playing dumb.
"Why didn't you finish it?"
"Finish what?", he kept talking as he strolled out of the spacious room, into the main hall of Precint One, Judy following close behind, becoming more angry by each passing second.
"Your report!?" she exclaimed a little bit loudly now.
"What about it?" he asked innocently again, sending her over the edge. He walked up to the main desk, leaning on with his elbow, and proceeding to make small talk with Clawhauser.
She just stood in place, her small paws balled up into tight fists, her eyes closed, and her ears pressed back down her head. She inhaled and exhaled slowly, and then proceeded to walk towards the desk as well.
'Sometimes I just want to hit him' she thought darkly, recomposing herself after a few seconds. She walked over to the desk as well.
"Oh, you have got to go. Don't worry I'll get you the tickets, a cousin of mine works with her manager." she overheard the cheetah receptionist talking excitedly to her partner. She really couldn't tell what about.
"Hey Clawhauser, here's the report from yesterday." she smiled as she handed him the document.
"Well Spots, it's been great talking to ya, but we gotta go." the fox said as he took his weight off of the desk, and he and Judy picked up a regular pace, walking side by side towards the main entrance. Nick's paw was about three inches away from opening the front door when a powerfull voice came thundering in from behind.
"HOPPS, WILDE!"
The two smaller animals flinched and then gave a sigh, with Nick silently wording "Yeah, that would be the perfect ending to this day". They both turned around, seeing Chief Bogo on one of the balconies staring at them. He pointed at them and then at his office.
They both understood what the gesture meant, and took off for the staircase. Judy at a bit of a quicker pace than her partner.
Time skip twenty minutes
"Okay, so you basically want us to... What? Baby sit this guy?" Nick questioned the cape buffalo, as he rubbed his temples.
They have been in the office for the past twenty minutes, listening to the Chief.
He said that the human officer would be arriving a week earlier than expected, thus they needed someone to show him around for a bit, make him feel welcome. He was after all the first human to step on Animalia soil in sixty years, let alone be the first of his species in the ZPD, and Judy and Nick both knew a thing or two about how that felt, so naturally the mayor thought that it would be best to place him under their wing, plus it would look good in the public eye, seeing the famous ZPD duo working with the first human officer.
"That's exactly what I'm saying Wilde. So, how about it?", the Chief questioned.
"What's in it for us?", the fox asked back, prompting Judy to kick him under the desk.
"I'll increase your vacation days and I won't make you do paperwork for the rest of your life. How's that?"
"That's great sir, we'll get right on it!", the fox shot back instantly, his fear of parking duty and paperwork kicking up.
The two smaller animals left the room, and as soon as the door closed Nick leaned back against the wall and dramatically covered his eyes with his paws.
"Urrggghhhh, I don't want to babysit. Quick Carotts, let's get down to the armory and you shoot me in the paw, how about that?" he questioned jokingly, drawing a few giggles from his female partner.
"Come on dumb fox, let's go home and relax", she said as they finally made it out of the front doors.
Time skip two hours.
Nick showed another paw-full of salty popcorn into his maw, as the rabbit leaning on his chest adjusted her position slightly. The soft, warm blanked that covered them both shuffled, as Judy gave a small sigh of content. They sat alone in the dark, the only dim light in the room was coming from the flat-screen TV on the opposite side of the coffee table.
They could both feel that the end of the movie was slowly approaching, and it was about time, as they were both a little sleepy.
They both were about to slowly doze off, the haziness of their blured thoughts clouding their minds as the world around them dissappeared, their bodies relaxing slowly, but surely...
Pfft
Judy's ear twitched at the noise that came from somewhere outside, in the city.
Pfft, Pfft
Now Nick's ear twitched as well as the rabbit that was pressed against his chest opened her eyes. 'What is that noise?', they both thought.
Then, a series of rapid, loud pops sounded off right below their apartment window.
They both jumped up at the sudden loud noises, sending the nearly empty bowl of pop-corn flying. They ran to the window, and pressed their faces against it.
In the middle of the dimly lit street four stories below, they saw a black SUV engulfed in orange flames. About fifty feet to the left of the burning car was another vehicle, two wolves ducked behind it, in their paws were two... guns. Judy's breath was caught in her throat at the sight of the deadly weapons.
"Nick, do you-..."
"Yeah, I see them" was the fox's answer, his facade cracking slightly, as one could make out slight panic in his words.
"Call 911, now" the rabbit said as she continued staring at the scene down below.
She diverted her gaze to the right, as Nick picked up his phone and dialed the police department. About thirty feet to the right of the SUV, was another car, this one riddled with bullet holes, and its windows shattered. Judy could also make out a dark outline of a slim, tall figure crouching behind it. They also had a weapon in their right paw, and were dressed in what appeared to be a long, wool, gray trenchcoat and a hat.
'That's a weird outfit', the rabbit thought, but was instantly snapped back to reality when she saw the figure move.
He ducked further down, peeked under the car he was hiding behind, and then proceeding to move towards the rear side of the vehicle.
The two wolves were fidgeting with a phone, trying to call someone. They weren't paying attention to the other mammal, and he too seemed to notice that.
Judy saw the mysterious figure slip out of cover, and run towards a small alleyway. She didn't notice that Nick had hung up long ago, and was standing at her side, watching the event unfold.
One of the wolves stayed behind, talking on the phone, while the other one, ran towards the last position of the unknown figure, moving slowly to the car, and then very quickly spinning around, hoping to catch his opponent by suprise. What he found was literally nothing, followed immediately by a bullet slamming into his shoulder. Both Nick and Judy flinched at the loud, sharp noise of a gunshot, as the wolf fell over, crying in pain. The noise wasn't a quiet 'Puff' like before, but a very loud, resounding 'Bang'.
'I thought I saw, uhh... what do they call those? Silencers, right! I thought I saw silencers on the guns the wolves had.' Nick thought as he watched the second wolf take off in the opposite direction at the first sound of wailing police sirens, leaving his 'friend' behind.
The oddly dressed mammal emerged from the alley he was hiding in, taking aim with his gun, and firing a few rounds after the fleeing canine. All of his shots missed in the confusion as the sirens drew near.
"C'mon Nick, let's go" Judy exclaimed, seeming to forget about the danger of guns.
"What, Carrots?! No! Get back here!" the fox yelled back, chasing after her.
By the time they managed to get down to the street, they found that the police has arrived.
Five patrol cars, and more could be heard coming. The officers left their vehicles at the scene as they reported the situation and proceeded to set up a perimeter.
While they were doing that, the tired, casualy dressed Nick and Judy made their way over to the alleyway that they saw the figure hide in earlier.
They peered into the dimly lit, narrow space. Nothing stood out, the only things there were two dumpsters, a few pieces of trash, and a few puddles. They however became very suprised when they saw a pair of legs sticking out of a dark corner. They were black, suit trousers, with some weird, black, shiny things covering the feet. It looked similar to the paw covers animals wear to protect their hind-paws from more dangerous objects laying on the ground, but much more heavy-duty.
They couldn't see the upper half of their body, but the mysterious figure could see them, for sure, as the street lights casted a yellowish shade over the two animals. Judy could make out the bottom part of a gray trench coat lying on the ground beneath the figures legs, confirming that it was the same mammal that was shooting up the street mere moments ago.
There was silence for a few minutes, as Nick and Judy didn't dare move. They could hear the mammals raspy breathing. It seemed as if they were in pain.
Finally, Judy, beeing the daring mammal that she is, managed to let out a quiet, nervous...
"Hello?"
Nick, realizing what she had just done, facepalmed.
"So, are you two gonna do anything or just stand there gawking at me?", came the voice from the mysterious figure in the dark. He sounded tired, even exhausted.
"Are... are, you okay?" said Judy unsurely, as the man clearly sounded like he needed help.
"Peachy" was his monotonous, sarcastical response, that came in the sleepy voice from before. He groaned as he attempted to readjust his position.
Nick took out his phone, turned on the flashlight and pointed it at the mammal in the dark.
'It's the human' the fox thought as both he and Judy now truly gawked at the man. He was dressed rather sharp as well.
He had no fur on his body at all, except a small patch of neatly combed, and styled hair on the top of his head. He also had no muzzle, but his nose was a very weird shape. He had warm, hazel brown eyes, with a pair of glasses over them.
His outfit consisted of the abovementioned double-breasted, gray, wool trenchcoat, a dark gray fedora lying on the ground next to him, a charcoal gray, double breasted suit, a white shirt, and a single black tie, with a pair of black, leather gloves. He looked just a bit overdressed for a shootout.
But something seemed awfully wrong. His suit was stained, together with his shirt, in a deep crimson red. He was very pale, his eyes half-closed. Together with that, and the fact that his breathing was constricted, the two police officers standing before him came to the conclusion that he is very badly hurt.
Judy started feeling sorry for the man, being the mammal that she was, she couldn't just stand there while he bled out.
She walked over and crouched next to him.
"Nick, get someone." she said turning to her partner.
"What? No. Carrots, I'm not leaving you here." came Nick's panicked, worried response.
"It's okay Nick, I'll be okay. Besides, what can he do?"
"Well, that's reassuring." the human mumbled out as he closed his eyes, and leaned his head back, groaning from pain.
"Sorry, I didn't me-..." Judy instantly tried to appologize, realizing her mistake, but was interrupted by a violent, coughing fit from the human, as Nick ran out of the alley, towards the officers for assistance.
As the man settled down, a small trail of blood emerged from his mouth, and made its way down his pale chin. Judy tried to think positive and help him.
"W... where are you hurt?" she stuttered, slightly nervous, as she attempted to lift one side of his coat up, to get a look at his wound.
He made no resistance, he just gazed up into the narrow space between the two buildings above him, towards the night sky.
She oppened up his coat slowly, revealing a single, small wound, just below his ribcage. It was very bloody and messy, and Judy didn't like it at all. She didn't know what to do, but he seemed totally fine.
He calmly lowered his gaze and redirected it towards her. He took her small paw in his much bigger, gloved hand, and gave it a slight squeeze. She looked into his eyes, calming down slightly.
He gave a small reassuring smile.
"Hey, hey. It's gonna be okay. Look at me. It's gonna be okay" he told her managing to calm her down and to stop hyperventilating.
A few seconds of awkward silence, as Judy composed herself.
"D... Does it hurt?" she asked, trying to look like she knew what was going on.
"Yeah." he replied as if somebody asked what's the time.
Thankfully, Nick came rushing in with three paramedics and they took care of the man. As the man was lifted up on the gourney and wheeled away to the ambulance, and Nick examining Judy all over, making sure she wasn't hurt, she noticed something shiny where the man sat.
She slowly walked over, managing to peek Nick's curiosity, as he peered over her shoulder trying to get a better look at the mysterious item.
There, next to a wall and a small puddle of dark red blood, sat a gun and a shiny police badge. The two animals picked each item up, examining it.
Judy held the oversized badge in her small paws. The badge itself was encased in a leather wallet. His Personal Information read Michael Smith. He was a detective. The golden badge also had a few patches of smeared blood on it. Judy realized he must have been holding it very tight to get nearly perfect fingerprints left behind. She chocked up, imagining Nick or herself in the same situation. She didn't want to think about that.
Nick turned the firearm in his paws, inspecting every detail of it. He knew just enough about these things to get around. Nick is twenty eight years old, and guns have been banned in most of Animalia for nineteen years, so based on the little knowledge that remained in his head from his early days on the street, in the first decade of his life he was introduced to these things designed to kill and maim another mammal, and from the knowledge he acquired from TV and video games, he knew what was what as he turned the black, small, but thick and heavy pistol in his slightly smaller paws.
Its grips were made of black hardened plastic with the words SIG SAUER engraved in the midle of them. They too were smeared in sticky, dark blood. The slide was locked back, indicating that there was no more ammunition in the weapon. The pistol smelled strongly, at least to Nick, of burning gun powder.
"Hey Carrots, let's go and report this mess." Nick said as Judy nodded, her gaze still affixed to the badge as they made their way out of the alleyway, and towards the ever-growing group of police, paramedics and firefighters gathering at the scene of the shootout.
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Alright, that was fun... and long. I hope you enjoyed it. I kind of don't like this chapter because there's not enough dialogue and no actual point to it, it's more like an introduction into later chapters. Anyways, leave a Review, very much appreciated, also fav. and follow.
See ya in the next one.