A/N: Oh fiddle sticks! 4 hours behind on posting. Oh well. Least i got to do some fun stuff with my bun bun and kits. Fun things that turned into an awful...disastrous...nightmare... Why did we bring the kids? Oh right, child abandonment laws. Hate those.
Disclaimer: Once again my demands of Disney to turn over the rights to Zootopia have been denied. Therefore I am left with no other alternative. *Chains self to pole in front of door.* Until Disney hands it over I will stage a hunger strike! I will not eat even one morsel of- Wait... Is that a taco food truck over there?
Chapter 4 - Upping the game
To say the calm and the monotony had ended would have been an understatement. Where the atrium had been a relatively quiet area, where officers had been congregating to pass along gossip in recent weeks just to pass the time, now it was a bustling mess of activity. Mammals in cuffs were being brought in for processing so often that Clawhauser joked about having the entry doors replaced with revolving ones. Nobody was sure what had caused the flood gates to open, but everyone was jumping to meet the challenge.
It had been nearly a week since Nick had informed the Chief that The Pack had reentered Zootopia and were peddling their drugs again. Since then several more drug deals had been interrupted, a large amount of them bearing the fiery canine emblem on the product. The dealers not affiliated with The Pack were quick to make any deal they could in an attempt to avoid jail time, even rolling over on some of their suppliers. However the rest sat silent as stone. None of them were more afraid of the police or prison than they were of what waited for them outside. Nick knew all too well what would happen to those who talked and so couldn't blame them for choosing the other path.
The only other avenue they had to gain information on the shadowy group was unreliable at best. Users were never a great source of reliable info, especially not in the condition they were coming into the precinct in. Red Dust, despite the rusty color of the drug, was the most pure form of heroin to ever grace the ZPD's forensic lab. Because of that, most of the buyers were in withdrawals so severe they were rushed to the hospital to be stabilized before any questions could be asked. Those that didn't require a trip in an ambulance still were in no condition to give any sort of rational statement, not that there was much to reveal.
One of the few mammals to walk through the doors that was lucid enough to speak to officers had done so quite willingly, though they assumed he was partially high as it was since he gave them a bit more personal info than they really wanted. What he told them however, while interesting by itself, was not helpful in the slightest in breaking a case or finding a lead. When they wanted more product, buyers would simply make a specific mark on the last drop location that detailed how much they wanted and when. After they did, a note would be delivered by a random mammal they had never seen before, never the same one twice, that would detail a new location and time. They were obviously well prepared and determined to stay in the shadows. The only arrests they had managed to make were by fortunate chance at stumbling across the deals in progress.
With all manner of mammal being brought in, the only thing that stood out about The Pack members was that the majority of them were canines and felines. It was not a predator exclusive gang however as there were several prey species as well, including one hare that had made a pass at Judy when being brought in for questioning. He had finally made it to the interrogation room an hour later after having his paw splinted, Judy having 'accidentally' sprained it when it ended up on her thigh.
Drugs weren't the only thing happening on the streets however. While it had taken a drop, normal crime still happened in the city. Currently Fangmeyer and Wolford were booking a rather aggressive puma on a charge of grand theft auto, a nearby kudu glaring at the big cat while giving his statement to McHorn. By the way he was miming a gun being held to his head, the rhino was trying to mark everything down quickly so the victim could sit down for a breather.
The famed fox and bunny duo were not immune to the common criminals either. Walking up the sloped hall after dropping off an irate Duke Weasleton at booking for purse snatching, the pair gave a casual salute to their friends, Nadine and Ralph returning the gesture while dragging their own perp away. Nick gave Wolford a knowing smirk at the way his tail rubbed up against the tigress's leg which caused the wolf to look slightly bashful. It hadn't taken Ralph and Nadine much time after being put back together as partners after Judy and Nick had become a couple to admit their own feelings for each other. Bogo had not even bothered trying to split them up, making the case that they worked far too efficiently to lose them as a team, though in reality it was because he feared another couple months of insanity like he went through splitting up his smallest officers.
Judy didn't miss the motion by the timber wolf nor the pleased smile on her tigress friend's lips. She felt happy for them and had been humbled when Nadine had confided in her that it was Judy's courage at choosing Nick that made her brave the odds and ask out her own partner. However, what she didn't like was how Nick had purposefully attempted to embarrass the canine and she made it clear with a heavy thump to his arm. "Ow! Jeez Carrots, what was that for?" He didn't like to admit it, but her punches hurt quite a lot when she wanted them to. Rubbing his arm, he could feel the more tender area swelling slightly.
"That is for trying to embarrass Ralph. You know how difficult it's been for him since his family found out about their relationship." She couldn't help but scold the tod even though it had been her fault the way the Wolford Alphas had discovered their son was dating a tigress. On the very afternoon Ralph had been intending to break the news to his parents in as close to a traditional way as he could, Judy had seen him sitting at an outside cafe and had asked how he and Nadine were doing after having found an apartment together, not knowing that his parents had just arrived behind her. While they did not disown him for dating someone other than a wolf, they were still very cross for having not followed tradition in courting in the wolf manner.
Nick simply shrugged, not at all concerned. "His fault for trying to frame me for pranking Bogo the other day."
Judy's jaw dropped as she gaped at her fox before gesturing wildly. "Nick, you did prank the Chief the other day. Wolford only called you out on it, he didn't frame you." Hopping in front of him, she poked her finger into his chest hard enough for him to stop and smirk down at her. "And it backfired horribly because you actually did frame him! He got stuck on Parking Duty that whole day." Nick couldn't help the grin spreading across his face. It had been one of his better plans in recent months and he was quite proud of it.
Raising his digit he began to brag about his genius when a sight coming through the front door made him pause. A young mammal, no older than her late teens, was struggling while being hauled along in cuffs. The coyote thrashed about, letting out a shrill yip each time the steel bracelets caught her up short. He efforts were futile though since it was Rhinowitz and Snarlov, two of their largest officers, who currently had her between them. The dejected look on her face when she finally gave up was heartbreaking to the fox, though he knew she deserved to be there judging by the evidence bag in the polar bear's paw. More Red Dust, Nick growled to himself.
He was no fool to think all of the dealers being brought in meant they were making headway. The real dealers that were part of The Pack had yet to be caught, might never be caught. No, what they were seeing was what had happened last time. Once the gang had set up shop and were fully established, they had sent out suppliers to the larger dealers who would funnel it down to the small fish. That's all we're getting. Amateur minnows.
"Let's go get the report on Duke done so we can get back out there." He needed a distraction right then and being on the road was the best one he could think of. Judy, having followed his line of sight, had seen the way the young girl upset her mate and was determined to fix it however she could. Following him towards their office, she purposefully stepped as close as she could to his tail so that with every swish back and forth it would slide along her legs. The first couple of times it had caused him to pause momentarily, but after that the wagging sped up to brush against her often until they reached the door. He had moved to the side to let her enter first, though his chivalry was soon discovered to be a ruse when Judy squealed and leapt into the air, her poofy tail having been grabbed by a larger paw.
Turning to scold the fox, she was instead swept up into his arms and brought close to his body. She was only vaguely aware of his hindpaw reaching back to push the door closed before Nick captured her lips with his. For a brief moment she considered pushing him away but then his lips parted and their kiss deepened. A pleased moan escaped her throat as she returned the action, her mouth opening to fit his muzzle and let her tongue dance across his canines. When she felt his much larger tongue cross over and slide along hers she couldn't stop the shiver that ran along her body.
Wrapping her small paws around the back of his head, she held them together tightly, unwilling to let him back away until she had had her fill, though he did not seem to mind with the way his own paws began to caress her back and run down her hips. It wasn't until she had locked her thighs around his waist, their hips pressing together firmly, that they broke the kiss and pulled away gasping heavily.
"Well...that was unexpected," Judy said with a smile, her breathing slightly ragged. It was not the first time the two had lost control in their office though she was surprised that this time they had finished kissing with all of their clothes intact. "What brought this on?"
Nick bowed his head down, placing his forehead against hers. "I don't know. I think with just all of the craziness happening these days I just needed a reminder of the best constant in my life right now."
"Hmm, well I certainly will never fault you for that, sweetie. Now sit," she commanded, grabbing hold of his tie. "I think I could still do with some reminding of my own." With that she pulled him into her lips while he struggled to find a chair.
The couple were so interested in each other, with Judy's paws stroking Nick's ears and his playing with her tail that they did not notice the sound of the door opening. Their own eyes were closed and their lips otherwise engaged and so did not see the pair of wide eyes staring in on them. However no matter what they had been doing, the sound of a large high pitched squeal was enough for them to break apart extremely fast, toppling the chair in the process.
"Clawhauser!" Normally the cheetah would find himself scared of an angry shout from the first and only bunny on the force, but with the way the two were tangled on the floor, their legs and arms wrapped around each other too tightly for them to move immediately, Ben allowed himself the rare opportunity to gloat at having spooked his rabbit friend which seemed nearly impossible to do so.
"Oh but Judy, you two looked so cu-" he realized that was going too far when a murderous look flashed in his direction. "Sorry. Um, Chief Bogo wants everyone in the atrium. Like now." The way his face had changed from an almost sinful glee to serious in less than a few seconds had the fox and bunny looking at each other in concern. They managed to untangle themselves and quickly ran out the door behind the front desk officer.
There was already a large group forming in the lobby, all of the officers currently in the precinct having answered the Chief's call. The buffalo himself was currently looking down over the gathered mammals with a glare much harsher than they had seen in recent memory. Nothing any of the officers had ever done would warrant such a look so they knew whatever it was came from outside and was very serious.
"Alright listen up. I've just gotten word that the Zootopian First National is being robbed. There is a group of armed mammals inside who have taken hostages. Several patrol cars were nearby and have the robbers holed up inside the bank. We need to move out now. Snarlov, Rhinowitz, McHorn, Wolford, Fangmeyer, Wilde, Hopps, Pennington. You are all to head to First National and establish a perimeter. SWAT will be meeting you on site." He swept his gaze across all of the named officers and let it harden. "I don't need to tell you what this will entail. I don't want any heroics, got it? No one goes in. You are there to keep the civilians back and to support SWAT if and only if it's required. Do I make myself clear?!"
"YES, CHIEF BOGO, SIR!" came the collected cry from his officers, all of them raising their paws and hooves alike to salute.
"Move out." Bogo snorted as he watched each pair head for the garage to their respective cruisers. Most importantly he watched his two smallest ones. He had picked them specifically for dealing with the smaller mammals that would be in the crowd. His larger officers would be more than enough to handle anything from a coyote and up, but smaller mammals tended to get overlooked by them simply because it was hard for them to see. A fox and rabbit would be capable of pushing back those normally missed. He did worry that Judy would possibly get a bit overzealous and attempt to head into the bank on her own, but he was gambling that her partner would keep her back for safety. That or head in with her, the Chief worriedly thought suddenly not so sure he had made the right call.
Getting out of the parking garage was not as smooth as it looked on television. Each cruiser left as soon as both occupants had safety harnesses on and there was a clear path in front of them. With four of them all headed to the same place, there had been a momentary halt when two cruisers had tried to leave up the ramp at the same time. It only took a split second to fix the situation and head out but they were glad no citizens had been watching their error. With lights and sirens active, the teams weaved through traffic, occasionally having to dip around someone who refused to move over for the emergency vehicles.
Thankfully the bank was not very far away being only fifteen blocks from the precinct, but time was still of the essence. With an unknown number of hostages in the bank being stood over by armed criminals, seconds could mean the difference between ten deaths or zero. As they got closer they saw a temporary perimeter already established. A lion with a strong mane seemed to be leading the few collected officers currently holding back the press who were trying to get as close as possible.
Pulling up, Judy honked their cruiser horn to compel the curious onlookers to back up before parking their vehicle directly in front of where they had been standing. The two then jumped from the cab, watching as their fellow cops did the same tactic along other groupings of mammals. "Hey Delgato," Nick called to the lion with a wave. "Any idea what's going on?"
Not able to spare a moment to glance over as an overeager beaver reporter tried to scurry below the tape to get a better view of the glass doors, the lion simply waved in their general direction to acknowledge he heard them while catching the prey mammal by his suit coat. "No idea, Wilde. Heard the alarm, got the call, came and watched the door in case they tried to bail but so far no one's paw has even touched the handle." Lifting his paw and with it the trouble making reporter, Delgato turned his attention to him. "Listen bud, I ain't going to say this again. You go under the tape one more time and you'll be spending this report in the back of my cruiser before I take you down for booking. Got it?"
Nick couldn't help but snicker at the way the beaver's tail started quivering while he nodded, the brown furred animal looking as if he was about to wet himself at the sight of the fangs showing in Delgato's mouth. He had to admire his spirit though as he remained close by once he was put on the ground, though he stayed several feet shy of the yellow tape this time.
"Focus Nick. We need to keep everyone back so that nobody gets hurt." Nick sighed knowing his mate was right, joining her next to the barricades that Francine was setting up in an semi-circle around the main entrance. They kept quiet and adopted serious looks on their faces, though Nick was sure that Judy's was all too real. They refused to answer any questions which wasn't hard since they didn't have any answers to give at that time but Nick found himself getting annoyed very quickly by a few reporters that had taken to pushing their microphones in his face.
Soon the heavy rumbling of large tires signaled that the back-up had arrived, or more accurately, they were waiting for the SWAT trucks to arrive so that they could provide support to them. Snarlov and Fangmeyer separated from their partners and started pushing back the crowd, allowing the vehicles to park and start unloading the officers and equipment.
First off the truck was a welcome sight for Nick. "Whiskers! When did you join SWAT? I thought they had you over in the Rainforest precinct." Lylah Forrest had been one of Nick's closest friends going through the Academy. They had trained side by side for months. She had outperformed him in most of the physical exams, something she continued to lord over him, but his extensive knowledge of the law and how to circumvent certain loopholes had given him the edge in the testing overall allowing him to graduate with higher honors to get into precinct One.
"Been with them a couple months, Foxy. Hey Flopsy," Lylah greeted Judy with a wave which the bunny eagerly returned. It had been great to learn Nick had made friends while at the Academy and the tigress had been such a fun mammal to get to know over the months since their graduation. "Bogo put in a request to the assistant Chief of District four to see if they would be willing to let me go to fill a position with SWAT and after passing all the bullshit our beloved Chief put me through, here I am."
"Well they couldn't have chosen a better officer, Lylah." Judy beamed at her friend, happy to see her fitting into her new role with ease and pride. "Are you going in?" she asked, nodding her head towards the bank.
"Looking like it. Negotiator has already tried to deal with them but they aren't buying what he's selling. They didn't even make a list of demands apparently. Just told them that if the cops don't back down then we are going to be looking at a lot of dead bodies coming out that door." Reaching into the back of the equipment SWAT vehicle, Lylah's paw emerged with a large shotgun that she held with ease. Combined with her kevlar vest and helmet hanging from her shoulder, she looked like a mammal that no one should mess with, and with her successful career so far it was with good reason.
"Did they get anything out of 'em?" Nick was curious to know if the negotiators had been able to achieve anything, wondering maybe now would be a good time to approach the Chief about using his old hustling skills on the job. Regardless of the experience the negotiators had, he was confident his silver tongue could go farther.
"Only that they have twenty-two hostages, three of them shot in the leg, one critical. Apparently they warned them not to make a run for the exits and a few of them panicked and tried anyway. From what we've been able to determine based on what Delgato told us, there are at least four in there and they looked armed to the teeth. We're getting snipers in position across the street. Hopefully we'll be able to pinpoint them and figure out a plan. Although with the way the bank's front entrance is set up, we may not see anything." The three officers all shook their heads at that. A lot of banks preferred to make their buildings more aesthetically pleasing in an attempt to attract customers to them, however those decisions often caused problems when dealing with any security or police issues as it routinely blocked viewpoints into the lobby.
Just then the SWAT team leaders called over their officers to begin formulating a plan of attack. Lylah gave them a quick goodbye before loping over to the group. Nick and Judy moved back to the barricades, resuming their attempts to keep other mammals back behind the yellow tape. The reporters were the main problem but the sight of the heavy vehicles were making them a bit more cautious, seemingly understanding the danger they would be in the closer they tried to get.
A loud bang suddenly echoed out across the area, the sound confusing several of the officers nearby as well as the gathered onlookers. The SWAT teams radios suddenly blared to life, reports from their sniper in position coming through. "There's smoke in the lobby. Heavy smoke. Looks like a-" their words were interrupted by another bang, this time a flash of light, blinding even through the gray fog lingering inside the building, became visible through the windows. "We've got flashbangs in there!" Another loud noise, this one easily identifiable as a gunshot rang out.
The team leaders wasted no time in shouting orders. "Everybody move, move, move!" With superb responses, something the officers had learned in their continuous training, they headed for the front steps. Each of them were wearing their protective gear and had multiple weapons drawn to use in tight quarters. Lylah was one of the first in, Nick noted, her shotgun primed and to her shoulder as she followed a rhino with a ballistic shield in front of him.
The ZPD officers currently assembled out front waited with baited breath for the inevitable sounds of more gunfire, however it never came. They saw more than a dozen SWAT members go in so they knew they would not be getting caught unawares or be outnumbered, but the absent sound of ammo being expended or explosives going off, even more smoke or flashbang grenades, was slightly unsettling. They did not think that the suspects would be willing to surrender, not if they were as heavily armed as they thought and unwilling to negotiate.
Nick turned to his partner, noting the confused look in her eyes as well. "Maybe they sealed themselves in the vault?" he offered unhelpfully with a shrug. He couldn't keep a chuckle from leaving his lips when she looked over at him as if to say 'really?'
Their musings were answered when several of the SWAT officers exited the building, Lylah among them. "All clear!" The shout came from the rhino they had seen only moments before, the one leading the charge with his shield. He headed down the steps and approached the makeshift base of operations they had constructed when they arrived. Lylah instead moved towards her smaller friends.
"Lylah! What happened? Is everyone okay?" Seeing that her vest was still immaculate, not even having any dust on it, Judy couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. She had been very nervous watching her friend head into such a dangerous situation so willingly, almost eagerly.
"Yeah, we're all good. As for what happened..." A noticeable amount of confusion was on her face, as if she had no explanation for what she had seen. "C'mon. I got permission from the higher-ups to let you come see for yourself. Part of your 'training'. Just don't tell them you aren't actually interested in joining the team because I'll be in deep shit then. My boss would love to get his paws on the two of you." Judy could only grin at the idea of being allowed to investigate such a case, even though they would only be there to view instead of actually doing any evidence gathering. Nick meanwhile had enjoyed the unintended compliment about being desired for such an important role in the ZPD, though he would never allow his mate to enter such a dangerous part of the job.
They made their way up the front steps, moving to the side for the ambulance crews now hauling out the injured hostages. They were quickly followed by a large group of those previously tied up on the bank floor, each of them being pulled aside by a different officer in order to get their statements. Once past the threshold, the fox and bunny saw the chaos that had erupted inside the building. The smoke had not completely cleared but it was dissipated enough for them to see properly.
Several mammals, most of them employees of the bank, were still inside talking to a mix of SWAT and regular ZPD officers. A few still looked terrified although one mammal, an ocelot wearing a suit and tie, looked positively excited. Nick gathered he was rather bored of his job and even though he had been put in danger, a bit of excitement was making his day.
"This is what we're baffled at," Lylah said, indicating the bodies on the floor just coming into view. There were five of them in all, armed with multiple firearms each. While not the first ones they had seen on the job, it was still difficult for Judy to look upon death and not flinch heavily, though her cop training helped keep her steady while glancing over the first suspect. His mask had been ripped away by one of the officers that had breached the door, confirming the timber wolf was actually dead. Another, much larger body laid nearby, a tiger's striped tail poking out from underneath. Both of them had vicious puncture wounds into their necks between the armor and where the mask joined.
"It looks as if they were taken down by someone with a knife. But who would try to attack a bunch of gun wielding lunatics with a knife?" Nick was just as lost as his partner was, although judging by the number of dead assailants and no other body on the floor, he would say either the mammal was extremely lucky or extremely good.
"Not just that, but each had their achilles tendon sliced before being killed. Would have made it quite easy to overpower a mammal in shock and suddenly distracted by losing a functioning limb. And over here," she led them further down to where a lion lay on the floor, though they had to judge based on the remaining bits of the mane sticking out from the collar as most of the mammal's head was currently missing, "this guy came equipped with both flashbangs and smoke bombs. We're pretty sure whoever did all this managed to pull a couple from his belt to cause a distraction." The tigress reached down and hefted up a shotgun, near identical to hers. "He was also carrying this. These are sold only to military and police. For him to have this...Well, we're not sure but it has me spooked."
"And I'm guessing it was responsible for..." Nick waved his paw towards what remained of the lion's head. "I'm not much for blowing mammal's heads off normally, but I'm pretty sure that's only doable with a shotgun at close range."
"Bonus points, Foxy. Yeah, looks like when the flashbang was pulled it caused a small wound in the lion's side allowing whoever this was to gain the upper paw and take em out with their own weapon. Only one shell used from this gun." Judy looked on in fascination before something the tigress had repeated caught her attention.
"You keep saying 'whoever'. You think one mammal is capable of doing all of this?" Lylah nodded.
"Yeah, I'm sure of it. Hell we all are."
"What makes you say that?"
"Because," her friend looked into Judy's eyes, all joking gone and complete seriousness now taking it's place, "Out of twenty-two hostages they had, only twenty-one were here when we got in."
Pushing aside several boards made to look as if the window was sealed, a small mammal quickly climbed through the opening, their hindpaws leaving the fire escape, the metal cold to touch even in the rather warm weather. The shaded entrance to the side of the building helped greatly to conceal any comings or goings by the room's occupant. It wasn't until they had flicked on the sole light inside the small abandoned room that the sight of blood staining their fur was noticed. The mammal knew they would need to scrub soon to prevent the red lasting a while. It was only by some strange twist of luck, or perhaps fate, that the owners of the building had long forgotten about this particular room as it had been condemned, since they had never shut down the water.
Pulling a bloody knife from behind their back, one rather large for their paws, it was quickly discarded into a box by the window already filled with knives of all different sizes, blood and rust coating the blades from misuse. It would almost seem like trophies except for the lack of care with which they were tossed away. Instead it was a piece of a jacket that had been torn from one of the bank robbers, the material having been visible from under the kevlar vest, that made it to a spot of importance.
Spearing the scrap of fabric through with a pin, the mammal stuck it into the wall where several others already hung. Taking a moment to stare at the strange collection, the cold, vibrant blue eyes slowly tracked to where a photo was placed nearby. The only thing held in reverence in the entire room, the mammal's gaze never left it, taking in the sight of two white jackrabbits, near identical in appearance. A single tear left the eye, the gaze softening slightly before it hardened once more. Turning back to the collection of pins, a small growl slipped from the mammal as they stared hard at the emblems coating the wall. For each scrap stabbed straight through, showed the head of a canine, consumed by fire.
