Chapter 12: Remain Calm

Normally the front of the ZPD had a handful of marked vehicles parked up front, occasionally one would turn its strobes on as it headed out to a call where time was a factor, but this normally involved one or two vehicles. Any one standing in front of or near the massive police precinct however was in for quite the show this evening. The doors to the front of the building suddenly burst open as a handful of officers poured out, all scrambling to get to their assigned vehicles. The side of the building was also a swarm of activity as a series of bright red lights began to flash just above the garage exit. This was a signal system designed to tell anyone near the garage to stand clear and remain on the sidewalks, the reason for the lights became clear as several ZPD vehicles began to shoot out of the underground facility. One of the vehicles was going so fast it went airborne.

As their vehicle landed with a shower of sparks on the street Nick cursed loudly, "Carrots!" He yelled out a little angry at his rabbit partner who had fire in her eyes as she began to weave in and out of traffic.

Minutes earlier the pair had been standing in the large entrance atrium listening to a mass tone out about a possible night howler related incident. Before the tone out for the attack at the mall had even finished Judy had bolted towards the garage with her partner close behind her. Both were determined to get back to a vehicle and get to the mall as quickly as they could. Nick seemed to know full well that by the time they got there the scene would be secured and the incident most likely over. Judy however seemed to be either oblivious to the fact or chose to ignore it as she burst into the garage and shouted for a set of keys.

"Slow the hell down!" Nick had to shout over the roar of the engine and the sounds of horns coming from the traffic outside.

Judy had a look of determination that the fox recognized, it was the kind of look that fools wore when they refused to give up, and it was dangerous. Judy's eyes continued to dart around the streets, making sure there were no obstacles in their path as she began to push the engine to the limits that would make Flash proud. Her eyes went up to the rear view mirror and noticed that the other ZPD vehicles had fallen so far behind that they were just a series of blue and red lights several blocks back. 'Slow pokes…we need to get there now!' Judy thought as she gripped the steering wheel and weaved past a large semi-truck with pictures of smiling fruit on the side.

"Red light." Nick said nervously as the ZPD vehicle closed in on an intersection with a large red circle above it, indicating all traffic should stop. "Red light!" Nick said again.

"Don't worry, it's about to turn!" Judy shouted back as they came ever closer to the light which still shown red.

"Judy…at least slow down! Remember training!" Nick pleaded as he grabbed the ceiling strap above his seat.

The light was almost right above them when it suddenly changed to a bright green, clearing the intersection for them to continue. Judy smirked as she heard a sigh of relief from her partner. "Told you!" She said smugly as they blew through the intersection and towards a large neon sign indicating they were about to enter the frigid region of Tundra Town.

"Ice roads Hopps!" Nick shouted as he felt the ZPD vehicle swerve slightly on the Icey roads as they entered a large tunnel that would lead them to the snowy region. To ensure that Tundra town remained at a constant cool there were only a handful of tunnels that would lead into the region. Each of them was like a giant freezer and the roads were considered slightly dangerous because they were constantly slick with a slush that formed, never truly freezing over but never completely just covered in water. It made for interesting driving conditions for most travelers but nothing too dangerous at the right speeds, these were not the speeds that Judy was driving at however.

"I got it!" Judy barked back as she tried to compensate. Her adrenaline was high, her heart racing. She felt a sudden thrill as she realized just how fast they were going. She stole a glance at Nick who was focused on the road. She licked her lips slightly, enjoying how she could push him to this limit slightly. She didn't exactly know what was coming over her, but she liked it.

They might actually get there before EMS, they may be able to figure out who did this, and they may even catch them in the act! Images of an arrest flashed in Judy's mind as she gritted her teeth. There was an unidentifiable mammal in cuffs. Citizens cheering. Nick smiling at her as he pulled her into a warm embrace and kissed her lovingly. She had to stop all this, she had to catch the ones responsible, and she wanted that kiss!

"Too fast too fast!" She heard Nick shout which shot her back at the task at hand.

He was right.

Judy tried to spin the wheel and bring them back on course, all this did was whip the direction of the vehicle so suddenly they hit one of the walls of the tunnel with the vehicles tail and began to spin out uncontrollably. Fortunately for them the tunnel came to a sudden end and opened up on a large snowy field which was meant to give mammals entering the region a view of the frozen skyscrapers and mountains just beyond, tonight though it was what saved Judy and Nick from a fiery collision into a building as their vehicle spun off the road and crashed into the snow.

There was a loud boom as the airbags deployed and Judy felt her face get smacked by the sudden deployed bag. Her head went back and hit the seat behind her and caused her to lose consciousness for only a second. When she came to there was a smoke in the car. Judy's nose twitched and she sniffed for threats quickly. There was no smell of fire and she figured the smoke was from the sudden airbag deployment. She slowly looked over at Nick who was resting against his own airbag, not moving.

"Nick?" Judy coughed out in a sudden panic as what had just happened came over her. To her relief she saw the fox move slowly, obviously a little dazed from the crash, letting out a series of pained groans.

"I'm ok Hopps…" Nick muttered, there was pain in his voice, and something else that made Judy worry.

"Nick I'm so sorry, I just…I don't know what came over me!" She began to explain as her mind replayed the events that had led them here, suddenly realizing she had put them in this mess.

She could hear sirens nearby and saw flashes of blue and red speed out of the tunnel. Some of the lights began to head deeper into Tundra town while a handful broke off and sped in Judy and Nick's direction. Judy began to shift slightly and winced as she felt a sharp pain in her side. Her head was also throbbing and as she reached up to check for injuries she felt a warm thick liquid rolling down her left ear which had no feeling in it at all.

"Hopps! Wilde!" Voices could be heard outside in the snow. Judy slowly turned herself so she could look out the window. She saw a series of flashlights bouncing in the snow towards them as their fellow officers barreled through the white powder.

"Were okay!" She shouted out and coughed, tasting copper. "We are okay..." She mumbled as felt a little woozy. She realized that she was starting to go into shock as her senses began to numb. She did her best to remain calm and not panic in hopes of keeping herself from passing out. She quickly turned to Nick who still hadn't moved from his position. "Nick...Nick?" she muttered as she fought to stay conscious. It didn't work. She felt the world start to spin and heard muffled voices as everything faded into black.


Hey everyone!

Happy to report that we made it through the Hurricane. We were very lucky that it was downgraded before it hit our region. Still have a curfew in effect till the roads get cleared.

Thank you all for the well wishes and positive vibes!

Sorry for the short chapter, but thats just how it came out.

I hope to have a longer one posted soon!

Warning: the following chapter has adult material and is one of the reasons the story has been rated M.

Feel free to skip chapter 13. Everyone else enjoy.