Chapter 11

Recruitment

Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.

- Helen Keller

The Executive Security Recruitment office for the Zootopian Protection Agency inside of City Hall was smaller than what North had expected it to be. The room held a heavy five-foot long wooden desk with a small leather couch along the left side wall for a more comfortable waiting experience.

Two flexible plastic chairs were placed in front of the desk which held a sleek black desktop computer, a few plain white coffee mugs, and a collection of adorable family photos of a cheery family of polar bears. A square landline phone was plugged into an outlet below the desk on the thin blue carpeted floors and the cord trailed up to the phones rightful place beside the computer.

The walls were painted in a comfortable navy blue while a wide full-wall window gave a clear view of the large expansive city nearly twenty stories below. A small ceiling fan hung from the white textured ceiling beside an oval light that gave the room extra light along side the sunlight from the windows and framed awards hung along the walls to showcase the great success of the ZPA.

All of this was packed together with little extra space and North sat patiently alone on one of the slightly oversized plastic chairs in front of the wooden desk, his fingers tapping quietly on his blue jeans. He wore a clean white collared T-shirt with no tie and kept his phone stuffed in his front right pocket, not wanting to be distracted when his interviewer for his security job came into the room.

His blue eyes scanned the tidy and well-organized office, admiring the awards patiently as the five-minute silence continued to hang over the clean space. His tail swung gently behind him and off of the chair as he leaned back against the seat backrest, letting out a small yawn as he glanced up at a small clock that hung behind the desk.

"Ten O'four A.M." North spoke the time out loud to himself as he read the clock, looking back down at Brady's desk for nearly the thousandth time. He began to sink into his own thoughts before the sound of a wooden door creaking opening behind him stole away his attention.

North turned his head and shoulders back towards the door to see a friendly looking Polar Bear with a professional navy blue suit and plain black tie clicked onto his white collared undershirt. He had black shoes shined almost as much as his smile as Brady moved towards North's chair with an extended paw.

North quickly jumped off of his seat and gripped Brady's paw in a firm paw-shake, returning the toothy smile as he raised his head to meet the larger mammal's gaze.

"Hello! You must be North! I'm Brady Bears. I'm sorry for the wait, I had to drop off a bit of paperwork at a co-worker's office." The Polar Bear's deep voice broke the room's earlier vocal silence as he greeted his applicant with a smile.

North shrugged and waved a paw in dismissal, holding his smile as he kept a positive attitude. "Nice to meet finally meet you, Brady! And no worries, I've had to wait in much worse places." He complimented the recruiter's office, taking one more glance around the tidy space as he returned to his chair, hoisting himself back up onto the seat as Brady moved behind his desk.

"I try and keep it as clean as I can." Brady's smile somehow brightened at North's compliment as he sat down in a more comfortable looking chair than North was currently sitting at. "So, you're interested in our job opening?"

North nodded and sat up straight in his chair, keeping a strong posture. "Definitely! I read your email and decided this would be good for me."

Brady returned the nod and removed a yellow folder from a drawer hidden below the desk's frame. He dropped the papers onto the desk, flicking them open and scanning through what seemed to be North's record and background information.

"I see that you were apart of the Military. Uhm, First Marine Regiment in the First Marine Division, correct?" Brady lifted his gaze back up to North with a raised brow, silently asking him if the information was correct.

North nodded, his ears flicking gently as the labels of his past rolled off of the Polar Bear's tongue. "Mhm. 'The First of the First'." North slithered back into the depths of his chair while keeping his upright posture and professional tone. Brady nodded slowly, his eyes lowering back down at the paperwork beside his large paws.

The room was silent for a few distant seconds as he shifted the papers around, visibly scanning the information on each file. North began to tap his fingers along his thigh as a growing curiosity of what was held on those papers slithered through his head.

He shifted his weight on his seat as he noticed the ZPA Recruiter raise a brow and release a small, "Hmm." Brady glanced back up at North, tapping his pointer finger at the piece of paper that now lay on the top of the stack.

"It says here that you served two terms overseas and received a Purple Heart on your second deployment." North's tail twitched as Brady sat back in his chair, a look of interest sticking to the white-furred mammal's muzzle. "Must've been one hell of a time over there. I served one deployment myself, but I never saw a lot of," he raised two fingers in the air and wiggled them to signify quotation marks, "action, as mammals could call it."

North was suddenly interested and nodded in reply. He hadn't talked to many other veterans since he had gotten out of the military and an instant connection flicked on with the Polar Bear.

Brady lifted an open palm in the air, leaning his elbow against his desk as he leaned forward and shrugged curiously. "Just out of curiosity; how were you injured? Now if it's too personal of a question, feel free to pass because I know how some mammals are about talking about their experience in the military."

North had seen this question coming from a mile away. He sighed and slowly shuffled his butt around to a more comfortable position in his chair. "Well. . ." He paused for a moment, inspecting Brady for a few seconds before he shrugged and began to snicker quietly. "I was shot in the," North pointed a finger down below his hips, hesitating for a moment as he formulated the next correct word, "butt. . . While climbing into a Humvee."

He grinned as he thought of the humorous way his injury could be taken and was happy to see Brady smile and begin to chuckle. The larger mammal sat back in his chair, a smile on his muzzle as he nodded slowly. "Well, I'm glad it wasn't anywhere else!"

Brady held his smile as he looked back down at his paperwork and began to pile up the papers neatly into one stack, sliding them back into the folder and into the drawer beneath the desk. "Anyways, I'm sure you're wondering about our shifts, who you'd be security for, where you'll be stationed at, etcetera etcetera." He waved his paw in the air to finish his sentence and returned his gaze back across his desk to North.

North nodded once more. "Mhm! That's what I'm lookin' to find out." He watched as Brady grabbed a thin white packet from the drawer and slid it across the table towards him. North shuffled to the front of his seat and grabbed the paper and noticed that it was a calendar schedule. Certain days held certain events, while some were highlighted yellow to stand out.

"That front page is a schedule for Mayor Black and a few of his separate executive staff members. With all of the violence and protests occurring right out of city hall, the ZPA has been hired to provide security for those executive staff going out in public for large meetings or speeches. And, as of a few days ago, we are beginning to post security around City Hall on the daily. More details on that will be explained when we've given you some training can tell you exactly where you'll be put to guard."

North inspected the schedule as Brady explained it, his eyes constantly attracted to the highlighted events. After a few moments of scanning, he realized the highlighted events were for larger public meetings.

"Those events you see highlighted on the schedule are ones that will require a larger force of guards. Most of those events are either public speeches with multiple office holders or are in high protest areas." Brady had pulled out his own schedule, inspecting it for a few moments before pulling out another white sheet of paper. "Training days are also on that schedule." He slid the new piece of paper across the desk for North to grab before leaning back in his seat.

"This is the information you'll need to get into our ZPA Station only five blocks west from here, you can't miss it. Once you've gotten inside and we've completed our recruit training, you'll be given your ID which will allow you easy access into the building whenever you'd like."

North nodded slowly in understanding as he studied the paper. It held the station's address, a code for the doors, and a map of the building. He raised his brows, impressed. The map showed that the building held an indoor firing range and training course. An armory was beside the locker rooms and a plethora of offices cluttered the building. Overall, the station seemed very large and he began to wonder why he hadn't noticed it before.

"Most likely, with your background, you'll be placed as security for Mayor Black. He seems to be the largest target for protests and violence when he goes out to speak or visit public places." Brady tapped his fingers on the wooden frame of his desk, sitting patiently as North finished inspecting the papers he had been given. "Though we will be able to switch who provides security for who. It honestly comes down to the days you're assigned to work."

North continued to nod, his tail beginning to flick in growing interest and anticipation as Brady described the job in more detail. He was one-hundred percent 'down' for providing security for the Mayor, especially if it means possibly getting back at the protestors that had stuck him in the hospital and ruined his previous job. "That sounds good to me. I currently have all the time in the world to work, so schedule me where you need me."

Brady smiled and nodded in return, shoving more papers back into his drawer and organizing them quickly. "Fantastic! We'll be sure to give you all of the hours that you ask for. The first training 'slash' meeting day is on this upcoming Monday. Will you be able to make it? We should be able to give you everything you need then."

North paused for a moment, pulling out his nearly empty schedule from out of his head before he quickly remembered that the class reunion was next Saturday, which was still a full week away. "That should work! I don't have plans for most of this week."

"Great!" Brady smiled and stood up from his chair, his large paw sticking out with his arm to suggest a paw-shake and the end of the interview. "Do you have any more questions?"

North shook his head and returned the Polar Bear's contagious smile. "Nope. If I do come up with any, I'm sure they'll be answered at that meeting." He stuck out his smaller paw to accept the paw-shake.

"Alright, well it was good meeting you, North." Brady firmly shook North's paw before standing up straight with his toothy smile and delighted expression. "Glad to have you on the team."

"Likewise, Brady! And, glad to be on the team." North pulled his paw back and rolled his papers neatly together into a long cylindrical shape. He turned to leave the office, nodding his head in farewell. "Have a good one."

Brady nodded back in return while he sat back down in his chair and gave his new guard a polite wave. "You too!"

North exited the office, opening and closing the door quietly as to not disturb the workflow in any of the surrounding offices. Though, he couldn't help but release a satisfied fist pump and a silent, "Yes!", into the air. He held a cheerful grin on his muzzle as he strutted down the hallway of offices and towards the elevator on the far interior wall.

Damn straight! I forgot how great it feels to get a job.

. . .

Early Monday Morning

"Clear!" The call echoed throughout the suddenly quiet house after the ear-piercing cracks of gunfire had filled it only moments earlier.

North heard David's call out from the dusty room behind him. The sun was just rising and the sharp morning air molded together with the land's natural heat, making him begin to sweat even more as his adrenaline slithered through his veins. His tail hung tightly behind him, hovering over the dirt covered wooden floors as he crept closer to the narrowly open door in front of him.

His paw-steps made each floorboard creak on the second level of the house as he neared his target entry position to the room. His weapon held forward and his eyes trained along the top to keep a steady aim. He took a deep breath before he reached the door, slamming it open and swinging his newly given M16A4 around to the left side of the seemingly desolate room.

There was a cheap couch leaning against a wall with a small window above it that allowed small rays of hazy light to filter into the musty room. A rug was laid out across the floor and another cushioned chair was pressed against the same corner of the area.

After seeing no movement and no hostile mammals on the left side of the room, he quickly rotated his body and weapon to the right side of the room.

North felt relief flood through his body as he saw no signs of activity on the opposite side. A wooden table and a tiny wooden chair occupied that territory, but no one visible was around. His ears twitched and his tail stiffened as he noticed a 'closet' of some sorts along the right side wall where there were no windows. Instead of a door leading into the closet, it was a heavy red rug connected with nails to the door frame above.

North paused for a moment, listening for any unusual sounds before proceeding to shuffle towards the closet. His heart began to pound against his chest, threatening to break through his body armor the closer he got to the closet entrance. His ears perked as he heard the beginning of what sounded like a growl from within the closet and he quickly tightened his grip on his weapon and kept it aimed at where he believed a hostile would emerge from behind the rug.

Suddenly, the rug-door was swept aside and a skinny coyote pounced out from inside the closet, his teeth bared and his eyes burning with an angry and vengeful blood lust as he lifted a dirty AK47 up to his hips. North felt his adrenaline spike as loud screech-like growl emitted from the mammal's throat as he charged at North who flicked the barrel of his M16A4 instinctively towards the desert tan coyote.

In the next split second, North didn't have time to think. His training kicked in and his panic enveloped his body. His finger slammed down on the trigger twice, double tap, sending two bullets blasting out from his weapon with a loud crack-crack! The growl came to a sudden halt and he watched in shocked horror as the coyote's head exploded against the wall behind him, the closet's rug-door catching chunks of the smaller mammal's skull as they spread across the small room.

A gross, slobbery, splattering sound echoed with the sound of gun fire in the space as the now headless body of the hostile coyote crumbled to the floor. Blood began to pool out of the base of the corpses neck and crimson stained the wall behind where the mammal had been charging forward. The muscle had been torn and remained wrangled along the dripping spine while the rest of the head was scattered throughout the room. A pinkish red mist hung around the body as dust collected bits of blood from the body and drifted along the room.

North stood in utter shock and disbelief at what he had just witnessed and achieved. He could feel blood, the enemy's blood, dripping down his face and the top of his uniform. His weapon was still aimed upwards at where the coyote had been before his bullets had torn off its head.

He heard quickened footsteps pounded outside of his room as David quickly jumped into action at the sound of gunfire. His own M16A4 at the ready as he bounced into the room. North didn't move as his eyes were locked on the headless, blood drenched corpse of his victim lay in front of him. His ears perked as he heard David step up behind him, a small whistle emitting from the Timber Wolf's lips as he noticed the ruined body below him.

"Damn, North. You blew his fuckin' head off!"

North only nodded, wishing and praying that the image of the coyote's skull exploding would disappear and be gone forever. He lowered his weapon, flicking on the safety as he managed for force himself to look away from his first kill.

I killed him. . .

"Hey, North. It was either you or him. I know that's in basically every action movie ever, but it's true."

I'm glad it was him. . . "I know."

"Just. . . Damn dude. I'd quit staring at it if I were you. That shit'll give you nightmares."

North's eyes fluttered open to stare at the familiar white ceiling of his apartment. His vision still blurry from morning dreariness. He shuddered as the images of the nightmare he had just experienced clung to the front of his brain. He wasn't as sweaty as usual, which he noticed first as he clothes didn't feel damp or uncomfortably moist.

His head tilted to stare at his alarm clock. He winced as he did his best to focus on the red numbers across from him, raising a brow in quiet satisfaction and distaste as he noticed the time.

6:45 A.M.! I woke up five minutes early. . . Fuck it, I'm getting up.

After pushing his horrifying memory aside as best he could, he propped himself up and out of bed, sliding off of the mattress with a long yawn.

"What a great way to start off a day of shooting guns and training. . ." North groaned sarcastically as he stumbled towards his dresser, talking to himself as to almost keep his sanity.

"Be optimistic. Today will be great. . ."

North sighed quietly.

"Hopefully."

That is Chapter 11! Hopefully, this is the LAST of the boring stuff that I have to type! The rest will be exciting security guard stuff and his class reunion will also be a fun experience that will be coming up shortly! Thanks again and I appreciate any ideas for my story! Sorry if this chapter was kind of short. I wanted to save bits of North's training for the NEXT chapter, though I won't bore you with the whole endeavor as I want to get straight into the excitement of his job.

Thanks to those who have given me OCs (Mentioned in the last chapter)!

Have a great day!