Chapter 7
Nick's pov
We stand in the rooftop over a one store building overlooking at the abandoned garage the Movement for Pray Supremacy uses for their meetings. All our comrades are surrounding it holding sniper rifles.
Judy entered the building an hour ago, along with two sheep that recently joined the family. She is supposed to pass as a new member while planting the bombs in strategic places over the place.
I am terrified that they might find out about her plans, our plans, and kill her. The prey inside might be fluffy sheep but I know how violent and ruthless those fuckers can be, and now that we killed one of their leaders we can only expect them to get even worse.
The young comrades are very enthusiastic to say the least, though I think psychopathic murder machines might be a more accurate description. I can practically hear their twitching fingers over the triggers, it kinda freaks me out but then again it's pretty useful that many of these guys have previous training with a sniper rifle, since I actually have none.
Our main goal outside is:
If things work out and Judy and the guys escape the building without trouble the bomb sets off, then it's up to us to shoot the terrorists that manage to get away from the explosion.
If things go south in there Judy will give us a signal and we will provide back up, we expect that if they know we have them surrounded they will understand that they have no choice but to let her go, or face the rain of bullets we are preparing for them.
But fuck! Why is she taking so long? I would kill for the ability to get in the warehouse and check on her without being mauled by the terrorist, but as a predator that is not really an option. My intercom connects with one of the newbies, a beaver with three previous convictions for arson and armed robbery –"Hey Danny, why don't you get inside and see why our guys are running so late?"- Before the guy can answer I see our three fluffballs leave the place running away and then I hear it go off.
A cacophony of fire, deafening thunder and screams literally explode in the air, all the mobsters in the roof duck their heads for cover.
I see several sheep and other pray animals scampering away from the warehouse, their wool matted with blood and shrapnel. There is some guilt inching away inside my head at the sight of so many injured mammals, but I push it aside knowing this is just the beginning. There is no point in trying to act like I am a decent fox after all I have done and will have to do in the future, I sold my soul to the devil, now it would be hypocritical of me to flinch as I look at the flames of hell.
-"Do we start with phase two boss?"- I hear Lobato asking me through the intercom, the excitement and glee in his voice is palpable, I kinda envy the guy for he enjoys the same dirty work I hate doing.
-"Not until we are sure our guys are okay, we don't want to risk shooting them"- I say as I take the emergency stairs to the ground looking for Judy, I call her on the phone but she isn't answering. There is some panic in my heart when I realize she was too close to the explosion and she might have been hit by the shockwaves. Minutes pass like ages as I look in the night searching for my girl but finally I hear whistles from above me and I see her waving from one of the rooftops. Almost howling with joy I sigh in relief as I quickly climb next to her and give my bunny a large hug, the sheep comrades beside her are fine as well so I give the order to my team.
-"Phase two is on, I repeat, phase two is on"-
-"Finally!"- My guys say in unison and now there is a shooting match below us, the wailing terrified terrorists are shot down one by one. The comrades are using them for target practice and they talk between them like teens over a first person shooter videogame, it makes me sick to the stomach to remember that most of these guys are too young to understand the gravity of what they are doing.
-"I got the fat one! That's got to be double points!"- A hyena says chuckling
-"Dude I got one hidden behind a car, that is a shot worth at least five plus on my score!"- Another wolf snorts back
I survey the slaughter below our feet, it is over in less than twenty minutes and the street is covered in fur, wool and blood. Now comes the most dangerous part, I look at my girl and I am worried, she seems shaky and a little wobbly on her feet.
-"You okay carrots?"- I cannot hide my concern
Shaking her head she says –"Yeah Nick, I just got hit by the shockwave and I'm kinda dizzy right now but I'll be fine"-
-"Maybe you should sit this one out"- It takes way too much willpower not to drive her away from this carnage right now, I really wish I could keep her safe and away from all this carnage. She can be very efficient when doing a job, but I know she hates this violence as much as I do, probably even more.
Putting on her Kevlar vest and her helmet she says –"No I can handle it"-
Sadly she is right, we are supposed to prove to our guys and the whole Savannah how tough and ruthless we are, if she doesn't fight by my side she will be perceived as weak by the family, and when you work for the mafia looking weak is a one way ticket to the graveyard. Sorry sweetheart, I wish you could have been spared from all this shit, but now you either toughen up and taint your hands with even more blood or the mafia will eat you alive.
I bark the orders at the intercom –"All right guys, the tickle fight is over, suit up we are starting phase three."-
Up until now, most of us were relatively safe on the rooftops but our orders are to leave no one alive, the bomb we planted was meant for maiming and shock but it was certainly not strong enough to kill all of them, those that tried to escape were shot down but there is a large possibility many stayed inside. These terrorist have no qualms about using guns, so now we that have to go down and shoot the remaining preys, there is a big possibility they might shoot back.
Half of us go down while the best snipers stay up, Judy and I on the lead. Neither of us wastes time with the hurt or agonizing ones, those we leave to the more inexperienced comrades behind us. We are looking for the terrorist that are able to defend themselves, and sure enough a big ram shows up from behind a turned table… Oh for fucks sake he is using a machine gun! Judy gets hit right in the chest before I blow his head off. I swing my assault rifle around the room looking for more threats and I can't hide my terror as I talk to her –"Judy are you okay?"- I want to be by her side so badly but none of that will help if another guy pops out of nowhere and start shooting at us while I let my guard down. –"I'm fine, ugh the vest protected me but it still hurts like…"- She couldn't finish the sentence when a hare came out from the rubble, his left ear was completely severed off by a piece of shrapnel and he begun to shoot in our direction, we turned him into a bullet deposit within seconds.
Shots were fired in every direction, the bullet shower lasted for several minutes, I will never forget the smell or gunpowder and death that stench the torn room after we were finished.
By the time the police came all that was left was a large collection of dead bodies, bullets and rubble.
We on the other paw were back at the manor, Judy was sent to a large infirmary in the higher levels of the building along with a few comrades that got shot or bruised. I gotta give credit to the boss, the protective gear he gave us was top notch and thanks to it we not only had zero casualties but most of our guys were perfectly fine, the few that were injured only had minor lesions. Judy in fact will be up and running as usual in a few days, she just needs a little rest and to take it easy for a while; her cracked ribs should be healed in a few weeks though.
I think we did a pretty decent job when it came to give a big statement, shit if a tally of seventy corpses and a torn building in the middle of the Savannah doesn't work then nothing will.
I fret over Judy as I lower her into our bed, her eardrums were not torn but they did suffer from some damage after the explosion. The military titanium enhanced vest stopped the bullet from tearing into her but it still left a pretty nasty bruise, it's a good thing the boss has a whole medical team working for the mafia because at the rate things are going they sure will come handy in the future.
-"I need to talk to the boss Nick"- She squirms below me as I tuck her in.
-"No Carrots, what you need to do is get some rest, doctor's orders. Whatever you want to talk to him about can wait till morning"- Are bunnies always this active? For the life of me I can't stop her from bouncing of the walls.
-"Look when I was in there the leader said they had a plan for dominating Zootopia and that once the new mayor was in charge prey would not fear predators anymore, he said they would bring the shock collars back!"- She said struggling in my arms as I tried to get her to lie down
-"The new Mayor?"- I asked in disbelief, did these terrorists really have a plan to overthrow the government?
-"Yes Nick, think about it, if Lionheart hadn't kidnapped the predators gone savage what do you think would have happened to the city? What would have the preys thought if preds were roaming the streets hurting innocent mammals?"- There is a feverish intensity in her eyes, my paw reaches at her twitching cute little nose and I am relieved to find it cold, no sign of actual fever. She just seems a bit adamant about the whole thing.
-"That jerk was right, there would have been a species war and he as a predator would have been impeached"- Fuck, this whole scenario went from messy to disastrous in so little time we never saw it coming.
-"And a new prey mayor would have taken his place, one with links to the terrorist organization. But their plan is not over yet, they still want to cause a speciest war and get rid of Lionheart."-
-"Well we can't have that; we need a mayor that stays on our side if we want to take control of the Savannah."- Sighing I leave her bedside and head over to see the boss –"I'm telling Mr. Big about this, and I guess we will have to warn Lionfart about this coop so he can keep his eyes open for any prey capable of taking his position"-
-"We need to find who is behind this before the city is torn apart, this is more important that coming after the other mafias. After all, we both know they had nothing to do with Fru Fru's death or any of this stuff"- Those purple big eyes make me wish I could go back in time and stop all this bloodshed from happening, she wants all this massacres to end and not going after the other families would help that goal.
Poor Judy, she doesn't like the idea of attacking more mammals than she absolutely has to, but once the Tundratown mafia aimed for the Savannah turf the choice was made and we can't go back now. -"We will fix all this mess carrots, but now I need you to rest, I'll come back as soon as I can"-.
The boss listens to my report with a serious expression, once I'm done he lights up a microscopic cigarette, tiny smoke rings expand towards the roof of his office.-"Both of you did a good job Nick, too bad poor Judy got hurt I wanted to talk to her as well. You have proven to be worthy of your subordinate's respect, this terrorists now know what is coming for them and the other families have by now heard of what you are capable of."-
-"Thank you sir, but right now we are more concerned about this terrorist plot against the predators. If they overthrow the government they might bring the shock collars back, we have to warn the mayor"- I can see the gears in the shrew's head turning, his mind has already cooked up a plan I can tell, yet I worry that this plan is not something I'll like being a part of.
He has an air of grandiosity about him, the kind that tells me he has a master plan already in the works and it would cause a big turmoil in the city.-"Political intrigues are delicate, to say the least. Looking for the culprit to all this in the town hall would take too much time and there is a large margin for error, I mean we would be searching for a corrupt politician willing to burn Zootopia to the ground only to achieve power"-
-"You just described every single one of them"- I scoff sourly.
-"Exactly, finding the one behind this would be impractical right now. Sometimes it is better to let things run their course"- He says with indifference waving a dismissive paw over the smoke.
-"Are you saying we let the terrorists win?"- I raised my voice out of sheer incredulity; as if our boss was ready to let things go after all the family has gone through.
-"What would be a better way to find them? We know the one behind this conspiracy wants to become mayor and will rise under a platform of hate, when the new ruler steps on the podium he or she won't be able to hide anymore"- There it is, the master devious plan, one that is destined to shake the grounds of everything we stood for. My eyes widen as I am taken aback by the implications of what the boss just said –"And then you will kill the new Mayor"- I said numb.
Mr. Big taps his tiny snout with an evil grin.
-"But what about the species war? What if innocent predators end up prisoners or worse?"- Look killing a group of terrorists is something I can live with, but letting innocent predators suffer is not something I am willing to do, even if that means I have to die for disobeying the boss.
-"The cure for the serum will soon be found by our diligent scientist, as soon as they have it they will try it on the captive predators back in Cliffside. The missing mammals will eventually return to their homes and the new victims of the serum will be quickly healed, now we can't take recognition for all those good deeds, it might tarnish our hard earned reputation. No Nick, we will need a hero to take all the credit, a natural born leader in fact, one that will lead Zootopia to a new age of species equality after the city is torn with the pred-prey tensions that plagued it in the past."-
I laugh in disbelief, the boss can be quite the puppet master when he puts his mind into it –"You will place a mayor in the town hall that answers to the family, you will actually rule Zootopia!"-
-"Dear Nick, we both know the mayor is merely a patsy pretending to control this town. It is families like ours that actually bring order and peace to the citizens that only want to go on with their lives and not worry about getting killed on the street by unorganized crime. And that my friend is where you and your future wife will come in, before this plotter achieves its goal the city will merge into chaos, the police will be too busy with riots to worry about a few mobsters disappearing, capishe?"- The last word makes clear the true cruelty of his intentions, there will be no mercy for the other families -"That will be the perfect time for both of you to take over the Savannah and destroy our competition."-
It takes all my courage to stand up to the boss, I am too aware of the trapdoor below my feet and the possibility of becoming another popsicle below the frozen ground. But this is something I have to do, forgive me Judy, I hope my foolishness doesn't drag you along with me. –"Sir, is this plan of yours, it could hurt many innocents if we get sloppy"-
-"Would that be a problem Nick?"- He asks me unfazed.
-"Yes sir it would, I am loyal to you and you know it, but I cannot help you if you hurt someone that has nothing to do with these wars"- I stare straight into his eyes, clutching my paws together so I can hide their trembling.
The smile in his tiny snout is sad but also genuine –"I knew I made the right call when I named you and Judy rulers of the Savannah, loyalty is good but is useless without some principles to back it up. I give you my word that no innocents will be hurt, the speciest war will be hard on them but that is not something we have caused, it has existed for a long time now. Do not blame the family or yourselves for the wave of hatred that will sweep over Zootopia, it would have happened sooner or later, if anything this plan might help contain it."-
I bow my head at the boss and kiss his ring, I am on the threshold outside of his office and before I can close the door I hear him chuckling behind me –"By the way Nick, spring weddings are cliché, now autumn ones on the other hand can be quite lovely."-
Aw right, on top of bringing the rival families down now I have a forced wedding to worry about, because of course I have plenty of time to spare and nothing else on my plate right now. We are in the beginning of summer, the cold winds in the Tundratown manage to hide that fact, that means we have a few months to wiggle ourselves out of it.
By the time I reach my room a new day is dawning, the bunny in my bed refused to go asleep so she stayed in our plush bed looking at the door until I came in. She didn't waste any time grilling me about my meeting with the boss, I told her everything, included the fact that I stood up to him in behalf of us both. She knows that could have caused both our deaths, but she told me she agreed with me wholeheartedly, she even made a pact with me in our bed. No matter what would happen to us, no matter what was at stake, we would never hurt an innocent mammal. It was a line we would never cross, even if that meant we might die because of it.
I undress and lie beside her, soft fluffy warm fur caresses my torso, I find peace beside her I have never experienced before. Maybe autumn is not a season I should dread, maybe taking a bow to stay by her side for the rest of my (probably short) life is something I should be looking forward to instead of fear.
I close my eyes and we both quickly fall asleep, Judy cuddles beside me, my paws embrace her gently as to not hurt her bruised torso. Tomorrow we will strike against the other families, but today we'll finally get some rest.
