A quiet exhale results in a soft wisp of vapor that shifts and shimmers under the gaze of the moon, coiling itself around the muzzle of a fox who glares up into the cab of the perpetrator.
"License and registration please," he states, calmly and with a flat tone.
A long, tiring day here in Tundratown, with this being the final piece of business before the end of shift.
A head pokes out from the window and looks down upon the officer.
'A caribou. Young, female, and from the way she was driving, most likely an idiot.'
"You're an officer?"
This brings the fox out of his bored stupor. "And you're a traffic violator. That's generally how this sort of thing goes."
"But you're a fox."
'Definitely an idiot.'
He sticks out his paws and glances at them, rotates them a few times, staring at them in mock shock before locking a half-lidded stare upon her and stating, still tonelessly, "Incredible. Your deduction skills are on par."
"Look, I don't know where you got that uniform or the lights on your car but-"
As she drawls on, the fox reaches towards his back pocket, pulls out a newspaper, unfolds it, and puts it in her face.
Baffled, she pauses before reading the headline. Nicolas Wilde Becomes First Fox ZPD Officer. When he lowers the newspaper, his free paw is pointed at his badge, the engraved name reflecting the grey lunar light.
"Oh! I am so sorry, Officer. I remember reading about you now." She quickly hands over the documents, her gaze cast away.
He sighs. "Thank you." And begins to strut back towards the cruiser, keeping to the path he had already plowed through the healthy layer of snow.
"Had to use it again?" Judy asks as he crawls into the passenger seat and begins running the license.
"Yeah but you should have seen the look on her face when I showed her."
Judy gives him a glance, an apprehensive glance. He's too focused on the laptop to notice. "You know, that's why-"
"Yes, I know. But if the Bellwether incident didn't help people recognize me, what will?"
"News is quick and short-lived. You being on the force and on the street interacting with mammals; that's how they'll begin to change."
"Fluff, you say you're helping me but you know what? I think you just like the warmth of the cruiser a bit too much."
A half-grin is sent his way, a sly glint in her eyes. "We can always trade. You can do all of our paperwork and I'll take care of the social interaction."
Nick returns the look as he hops out of the cruiser—a soft thud of paws hitting snow—and walks back to the Caribou. "Alright, here's your ticket. The information for it can be found on this pamphlet here. This is your traffic court." He points to a section. "And the date of the proceeding if you choose to contest it." When he looks at her, he notices her eyes aren't on him or the pamphlet but staring upwards, into the distance. As he begins to turn to see what she's looking at, he feels her hooves smack into the side of his head, pushing him and throwing him off balance. The next few beats are filled with an ever varied and layered orchestra. It begins with the gentle whizzing of a small object flying through the air, climaxes with a boom that tears the night, and finishes with the screaming of the caribou.
This eloquent piece has an effect equivalent to injecting adrenaline directly into Judy's heart. Out of reflex, she grabs the radio transmitter. "This is 1-Lincoln-34. We have a 10-33 at the intersection of Bryer and Tobias, Tundratown, 10-3."
"10-4 34, units are being dispatched to your location."
She throws the transmitter down, draws her pistol while crawling to the passenger side, and jumps out, using the car as a shield to block the area where she thinks the shot originated from. Crouching, she begins making her way towards the front of the cruiser.
Screams rip through her mind, throwing away any form of normal thought and replacing it with ones that bring nothing but feelings of dread and rage.
'Surely not? Not after everything.' She had been running the plate of the vehicle, not paying attention to her surroundings. When she heard the shot and looked up, she couldn't see Nick over the hood of the cruiser. Her ears perk as she hears footsteps.
"This way, this way. Hurry."
The Caribou and Nick appear, crouching as well. She's in tears and he is shaking. The screams within Judy's mind quiet themselves and she lets loose a shaky breath of relief. The victory is short lived, however, when she spots the growing river of red upon Nick's shoulder. "Nick, you're hit. We need-"
"I'm fine Carrots, it just skimmed me."
Doubt shows through as she looks at him a moment before resolving herself. She reaches back into the cruiser and grabs the first aid kit. "Nick, come here."
"Judy… it's just a-"
"Come here." Nick does so reluctantly and she begins to apply bandages. "Do you know where the shot was fired from?"
"Somewhere behind me. Haley here was the one who saw the shooter."
The sobs of Haley have not let up. "He-."
"So the shooter was male?" Judy asks.
"Oh, a-actually. I'm not sure."
"Okay, continue."
"T-The shooter, I- I mean, I d-didn't see him. Well, not exactly."
Nick interjects. "What were you looking at right before the shot was fired then?"
She takes a deep breath, attempting to focus on the details and keeping calm. "W-well, you see. I saw a lump moving on a rooftop. It was extremely dim and I'm surprised I saw it at all. We caribou can- we can actually see UV light so that probably helped a bit but I couldn't make out the shape of an animal."
"But you pushed me. Surely it takes more than that to shove an officer."
Abruptly, she breaks again, her sobs resuming. "I-I saw- I-saw the muzzle flash of the shot."
Nick's ears fold back as he swallows and Judy's eyes widen.
A moment of silence passes, broken only by the soft whimpers of Haley and the rubbing of cloth as Judy finishes the patchwork. The wound would need more but that would have to wait.
Nick inhales and exhales deeply. "That means he is distant... really distant. Possibly between a half mile and a mile away."
Judy pauses and looks at the ground, patting her foot. Nick has a feeling of what's coming.
"Okay, since somebody has to see to Haley and you're hurt, I'll take the cru-."
"No, Carrots."
"We need to get this guy."
"Carrots… No."
She holsters her pistol and opens the cruiser's passenger door.
"Judy. Wait until backup arrives."
She hops in. "With every moment, this-," she pauses to think of a sufficient word, "this scumbag is getting further away!"
The sound of distant sirens catches Nick's and Judy's attention. Haley doesn't seem to notice. "See?" He gestures towards the sound. "They're almost here. Besides, are you sure he's even gone? He could be waiting for another shot."
"Would you stand around for more cops after attempting to take the life of one? Haley, point to where the shooter was." After considering something, she adds, "And in the small chance he is still there, don't show yourself, just point in the general direction."
Haley does so. "It's tall and stands out." A chill spreads through her body and she shivers. "Please be careful officer."
"Thank-you, Haley." Judy glances at Nick, their eyes meeting, a silent message passing from her to him before she closes the door.
"If you do this. Judy, I'll make sure the chief gives you parking duty for a month!"
Judy cracks the window, allowing her to talk to him without having to yell. "You do understand you're my partner, right? You'd have to do it too, dumb fox."
"You're right, I am your partner. Which is why you should wait so we can go together."
"Nick, this guy has a sniper. In the city. That is unacceptable." She flips on the sirens and screeches away.
"Two months then!"
A ripple of tightened muscles courses through Nick and his paws clench for a brief moment before he composes himself. The sirens are close now. They'll be here shortly.
'That impatient, carrot-loving, numb-skulled, impulsive-.'
"Should we get behind my car? Just in case?"
Nick jumps, remembering Haley. He sees that she has her eyes locked to the building where the shot originated. "I assure you, he's gone. Criminals don't like to stick around after such a spectacular failure."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure. Let's just say I'm a bit of an expert."
"Oh. I see." She pauses and wipes away some tears. "Then why'd you suggest that? It had me worried."
Nick doesn't answer but makes his way back to where he'd been standing, aligning himself using his prints in the snow. He looks at the polished metal of her car, directly into the small, dark hole that now blemishes its surface. It would have plowed through his skull and into the vital meat of his brain; a clean shot. His spine tingles and, as his fur begins to rise, he slowly exhales. The breath flows from his muzzle and gets caught in a gentle breeze, riding it towards the sky. He can't help but think of a soul leaving his body. He continues to watch it until the rays of moonlight take it into its soft embrace.
Haley stands near the back of her car, studying Nick, unable to think of what to say or what to do.
"Haley?" Nick whispers.
"Yes?" The word falls from her lips, not wanting to go out into the cold and bleak world.
Nick looks over at her. "I seem to have forgotten why I pulled you over... And it wouldn't be very fair of me to make you keep that ticket, would it?"