Chapter VI:
Zootopia Central Bank. The largest dispensary in the great city. With only half an hour until closing, the initial robbery with eminent. The plan being that the late hour would mean that the number of potential hostages would be reduced to a minimum. Three members of Apex, including Jimmy, the weasel, and Clawsworth the fossa, were concealed in the dark back alley of the bank. Their comrade was a polar bear name Mr Iglacier. All were dressed in dark apparel, and all armed appropriately for the occasion. "Are you sure you want to be a part of this, Jimmy." Said Clawsworth in concern. "This is not going to be something for kids."
"Don't call me a kid, Clawsworth!" Said Jimmy annoyed. "I can take care of myself!" Clawsworth smiled, patting Jimmy on the back. "And this is your chance to prove yourself." He said before checking his watch. "We've only got about another minute." He said, speaking to Jimmy and Iglacier. "We had better get into position."
"You weren't planning on starting without me, now were you?" Said Bianca, stepping out of shadows. "Aha! Slyman!" Iglacier greeted her. "You finally decided to show!" Jimmy gave a high-pitched laugh. "Cutting it a bit close don't you think?" He said. "So, what happened with your police friend?" Bianca frowned. "You were right about him, Jimmy." She said. "He's just a cop. Nothing more." Clawsworth and Iglacier laughed. "Don't you worry about that right now, Slyman." Said Clawsworth. "You don't need him." He threw a second gun to Bianca, which she caught with both hands. She looked coldly at the gun before saying. "No. I most certainly do not."
The four Apex members entered the bank, one after the other and spread out. Inside were three bank clerks, and four customers making their last minute deposits. Raising his gun above his head, Clawsworth fired two warning shots. As one, the clerks and customers all automatically ducked, covering their heads with their arms. "GET DOWN! ON THE GROUND!" Clawsworth ordered, pointing his gun at the bystanders. "HANDS WHERE I CAN SEE THEM!" Several people shrieked. One or two tried to run past the intruders to escape. "Don't even think about it!" Bianca had grabbed one attemptive escapee by the back of his shirt, and threw him to the ground. Unknown to the robbers, one of the clerks, on impulse, had immediately hit the panic button behind the counter, signaling silently that there was a problem. Apex rounded up six of their hostages in the center of the lobby, leaving one clerk to open the large wall vault with Clawsworth pressing his gun into her back. The clerk fumbled with the key pad for a moment, her hands trembling violently, before it opened with a loud click. Iglacier aided Clawsworth in opening the vault door, then grabbed the clerk by her neck, and walked her over to join the other hostages, being carefully guarded by Jimmy and Bianca, who was currently having trouble with one. An elderly beaver had grabbed hold of her gun and was attempting to wrench it from of her hands. "Let go, old man!" Said Bianca, fighting with the beaver. She threw him off of her, who fell to the ground. "Please!" He begged. "Don't hurt us."
"Shut up!" Bianca pointed her gun at the man. "NO!" The beaver's wife had thrown herself on top of her husband. "Please! Not my husband!" She sobbed. Bianca looked oddly at the couple, both attempting to protect the other, sobbing loudly. She slowly lowered her gun. "What am I doing?" She asked quietly. She walked away from the hostages and towards the vault to aid Iglacier and Clawsworth, who were both greedily stuffing several large sacks with money.
Back at the ZPD precinct, Judy was sitting alone in the employees lounge, staring intently into a cup of undrunk coffee. She had been maintaining this position for the past two hours, ever since she had returned from the parking garage. She had not seen or spoken to Nick since had been caught eavesdropping on him and Bianca. She had been contemplating the best method of apologizing without any success. She knew she had crossed a line that night, and had betrayed Nick's trust. But on the other hand, he had hurt her too. He had lied to her, and betrayed her for the sake of some teenage punk. If he didn't trust Judy, and wanted a new partner, that was his prerogative.
The door to the lounge swung open and Chief Bogo stormed in. "Ah! Hopps!" He said when he spotted Judy. "I've been looking all over for you! We need all hands on deck! We have a bank robbery in progress. Where's your partner?"
"I have no idea, sir." Said Judy, still staring into her coffee. Bogo sighed deeply before saying. "Look, Hopps. I don't know what is going on between you and Wilde, and quite frankly, I don't care. But right now, you are going to have to put that aside to do your job! Now, find your partner! Meet us at Zootopia Central!" Bogo left the room, slamming the door behind him. For another minute or two, Judy did not move. But deciding that Bogo was right, slid off her chair, and followed him out the door to find Nick.
Bianca had stuffed two sacks of gold and jewels so full, that she was dragging them across the floor of the bank. "I think this should just about do it." She said in a strained voice. "I think we should hit the road while we still have a chance."
"Good idea." Said Clawsworth, throwing another sack over his shoulder. "Go grab Jimmy and we'll cut through the-" Clawsworth paused to the sound of sirens and several cars skidding to a hault. Dropping her sacks, Bianca rushed out of the vault and peered out the window. She withdrew her head and swore. "ZPD!" She announced. "We're surrounded!" Clawsworth roared in anger. "Somebody gave away our position!" He said. Cocking his gun, he walked over to the hostages and pointed it at the hostages, who all whimpered and recoiled. "Whoa whoa! What are you doing?!" Said Bianca. "What does it look like, Slyman?" Said Clawsworth. "Cleaning up the mess!"
"It's a little late for that, don't you think? Just let them go!"
"Since when do you care?!" Clawsworth roared. "You never said anything about killing!" Said Bianca. Clawsworth laughed harshly. "What did you think these guns were for, decoration?!" He proceeded to pull the trigger, still aiming at the hostages. "NO!" Bianca shoved Clawsworth's gun upward. There was a bang as the bullet whizzed out and hit the ceiling. Enraged, Clawsworth struck Bianca with his free hand, sending her to the ground. "Who's side are you on?!" He said. Bianca pulled herself to her feet, massaging her head. "Guys! We have to go!" Said Iglacier. "It's still clear behind the building. We can cut through the back!" Jimmy grabbed the sacks that Bianca had dropped and proceeded towards the back door. With their guns still pointed at the hostages, Clawsworth and Iglacier followed him out the door. "Slyman!" Clawsworth called. Bianca ran after her comrades.
Nick and Judy hadn't exchanged a single word the entire drive to the bank. Now they sat in silence in their cruiser awaiting orders. Nick kept his attention outside of his window, tapping his fingers against his arm rest. Needless to say, the atmosphere was cold and unfriendly. After a long and uncomfortable silence, Nick exhaled. "Alright." He said. "Let's get this over with." He opened the door and slid out of the cruiser. "You coming or not, Carrots?" Judy hopped out on her side. "Look, Nick?" She said. "I think we need to-"
"Not now." Nick interrupted. "We've got work to do." Judy scrunched her nose annoyed, but followed Nick to the bank. Several other officers had already arrived at the scene. "Alright. What have we got?" Judy addressed Officer McHorn. "Hostage situation." McHorn answered. "Four suspects, holding seven hostages at gun point."
"Have we Identified any of the suspects yet?" Nick asked. "None so far." Said McHorn. "But we have strong reason to believe that they are members of that Apex gang that's been giving us so much grief." There was the sound of a single gun shot from inside the bank. Every officer turned as one in the direction of the shot, drawing their own weapons. "HOLD YOUR FIRE!" McHorn ordered. Everyone held their breath, praying. A moment later, seven animals came rushing out of the bank. The police officers rushed over to tend to the hostages. All were shaken up, but appeared to be unharmed. "Does anyone require medical attention?" Judy asked. "Was anyone shot?"
"They were gonna kill us!" Cried one of the bank clerks. "She saved our lives!"
"Who?" Judy urged her to continue. "Who saved you?"
"One of the robbers!" Said the clerk. "A young vixen!" Judy looked at Nick, whose expression was unreadable. "Bianca." He said quietly. "Are the robbers still inside?"
"No sir." Said the clerk. "After the girl stopped her friend from hurting us, they escaped through the back."
"Come on, Nick." Judy beckoned. "If we hurry, we might catch them." Nick and Judy rushed in the direction which the clerk had indicated. Judy could hear the sound of voices in the dark alley. Drawing her gun, Nick right behind her, she crept as quietly as she could towards the noise. By the light of a single lamp, she could make out four figures. "There they are, Nick." Judy whispered. "Let's get them." Judy jumped out from where she was hidden. "Wait, Carrots!" Nick tried to stop her, but. "Police!" Judy shouted. "Drop your weapons!" Iglacier raised his gun and fired three shots, one after the other. Nick and Judy dove in opposite directions. Judy rose her own gun and fired it back. The Apex members scattered. Bianca slid sideways, grabbing one of the sacks of money, and scrambled back to her feet, preparing to make her escape. While the other Apex were distracting Judy, she tried sneaking around, but found her path block by Nick. "Last chance, Bianca!" He said. "Stand down!" Bianca gripped the sack tight in her hands. "I told you to keep out of my way, Nick!" She said. "I warned you!" She swung the sack as hard as she could at Nick, which struck him hard in the head. Nick was knocked back, hit the wall behind him, and crumbled. "Nick!" Judy bent to check on her partner. There was a bloody gash on the side his head, and he didn't move. "Maybe that'll teach you." Said Bianca. "Nice hit, Slyman." Iglacier had shown up behind her. "Let's get out here." He proceeded to run back out the alley and out of sight. Bianca, Clawsworth and Jimmy made to follow Iglacier. Judy grabbed Jimmy from behind as he passed her, and pinned him against the wall. "You're not going anywhere!" She said, pulling out her handcuffs. "Ow! Let go!" Said Jimmy, fighting with Judy to get away. Clawsworth turned to see what was happening with Jimmy. "Let him go!" He shouted, pointing his gun at Judy. Bianca stopped running as she realized what was about to happen. "STOP!" Her yell proved futile. There was a bang, Judy gave a jolt, releasing her grip on Jimmy, who took the opportunity to run after Iglacier. Nick's eyes snapped open at the sound of the gunshot, just in time to see Judy collapse to the ground. "CARROTS!" Nick got back to his feet and over to Judy, bending down next to her. There was a dark red stain across her stomach, and she shook and gagged on her own blood. "JUDY!" Nick called her name. "JUDY! KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN! EYES ON ME!" Bianca found herself frozen where she stood, mouth open and eyes wide. "Come on, Slyman!" Clawsworth put a hand on Bianca's shoulder. "Let's go!" Bianca didn't move, but kept her eyes fixed on Nick, attempting to stop the blood flow. Clawsworth growled, giving up, and ran away from the scene. "Officer down!" Nick spoke into his radio. "Behind Zootopia Central Bank! Get an ambulance over here NOW!" Bianca shook herself awake and bent down next to Nick. "Let me help." She said. She tried to examine Judy's wound, but- "Get away from her!" Nick shoved Bianca away. "Nick!" Bianca urged. "I never mean-" But Nick wasn't listening. Close to hysterics, he kept his attention on Judy. "What have I done?!" Bianca clapped her hands on either side of her mouth. Though she could hear the sound of sirens, and approaching foot steps, Bianca continued to stare helplessly at the dying bunny. "Get down on the ground!" She heard a voice from behind. Next second, Bianca felt herself forced face first into the dirt. Her arms were pulled behind her back as an officer clasped them together . As Bianca was pulled away from the scene, she continued to keep her focus on Nick and Judy, who was now being pulled into an ambulance.
