Sunlight filtered in through the window, warming up the room in a way that would've been pleasant, if the sun's rays hadn't managed to hit Tice square in the eyes. He always wondered how a star a half a million miles away always managed to line that shot up perfectly. He grumbled and rolled over and noticed that the source of warmth he had felt next to him all night wasn't there anymore. He groped along the covers blindly until finally he cracked open his eyes to try to find out where Charlie had gone, and saw the ocelot sitting up on the edge of the bed. He stretched and reached a lazy paw out to rub her bare back.
"Morning." He mumbled sleepily. He was about to try to pull her back towards him when he noticed that she tensed up a little at his touch.
"Good morning." Charlie said back. Oh shit Tice thought, feeling his pulse start to quicken. Her tone wasn't exactly cold but it was certainly a little more brisk than what he had expected to wake up next to. He slowly pulled himself into a sitting position, trying to shake off the fuzziness that accompanied a good night's sleep after a night of drinking.
"Hey...you okay?" He asked tentatively.
"I'm fine." Charlie said back shortly. Tice winced and decided he had to bite the bullet on this one. He knew this could've been a bad idea, and now he had to deal with it.
"Charlie...about last night. If you're regretting it, I'm really sorry. We were both drunk, and I should've known better, we were in no condition to be doing...well, that."
Charlie hunched forward and wrapped her arms around her middle. Tice was suddenly very nervous. He obviously didn't know her that well, but he had never seen her look so small and fragile. How bad did I fuck this up? He asked himself.
"Stop that, Tice. I'm the one that came after you, you have nothing to apologize for. And...I don't regret it. Not like that, it's just..."
"Just what?" Tice asked, gently pushing the issue. Charlie sighed and turned towards him, giving him a pained look.
"I'm just...not usually like this okay? I'm not the type of girl who..." She trailed off, looking lost for words. Suddenly, things started to make a little more sense to Tice and he took a shot in the dark.
"The type of girl who takes guys she just met to bed?" He asked as gently as he could. Charlie closed her eyes and put a paw to her head.
"I knew that's what you'd think. I didn't even mean to, I told myself I was just going to use the bathroom but then I saw you and...oh god."
Tice's heart hurt as he saw how distraught she was. He had seriously screwed this up. No matter what Charlie said, he was just as at fault as she was, and now he had to at least try to fix this. He hauled himself up and sat next to her, leaving just a little bit of space between them.
"Charlie...are you saying last night was a mistake? Because if it was, we can just move on from this like it never happened."
As soon as he said it, Tice was sure it was the wrong thing to say. Charlie gave a sad little moan and looked up at him, seeming near tears.
"No, Tice it...it wasn't a mistake. Over the past few days, you've just been so great and I was thinking maybe but...I didn't want it to be like this."
"How did you want it to be?" He asked.
"I don't know. I wanted to get to know you, and for you to know me. But now you probably just think I'm just some tramp."
Tice pulled back, a little shocked.
"I don't think that." He said softly.
"Why shouldn't you?" Charlie said, wheeling on him. "You hardly even know me."
"Well, I'd like to." He said simply, taking a chance and sliding an arm around behind her. She didn't pull away, instead she leaned into his side, even though she still looked miserable.
"How? Tice we're stuck in the middle of a grade-A shit show right now. We could die, Tice. There's a very real chance that we might not see the end of this."
"But what if we did?"
She looked at him, looking lost so he decided to power on.
"Charlie if this wasn't happening, if we made it though this, or if we had just met, two random mammals on the street, what would you want?"
"It's not that simple." Charlie whispered.
"It can be. I mean, all we've got to do is make it to the end of this. So how about I make you a deal. If we see this through, which I'm sure we will, you have to let me take you on a date. A real date, a fancy dinner, a walk in the park, anything you want."
"You'd want that?" She asked shakily, looking doubtful.
"Are you insane? Of course I want that. Charlie, you're amazing. Since you've met me, you've been nothing but caring, and sincere and just...perfect. God, I can't even explain what I'd give to get a date with you. This shit? This is nothing. So do we have a deal?"
Charlie finally gave him a watery smile and swiped the back of her paw across her eyes.
"Okay, Yes, it's a deal. But you'd better make good on it! And this better not be a pity date because you feel bad!" She warned, trying to sound tough.
"Believe me, I will, and it's not." Tice chuckled. "But for now...how do you want to handle this? Do you want to put this on hold?"
Charlie leaned into him, thinking for a moment. Slowly, she reached and took one of his paws.
"No, I don't think that will be necessary, seeing as we might just die anyways." Tice barked a short laugh, silently thrilled that the feline was holding his paw. "But maybe we should try to keep it professional around the rest of the team?"
Tice snorted, shaking his head.
"Sweetheart, we're here with three police officers and two Zootopian Intelligence Agents. I think they might be able to figure it out."
Charlie laughed back, nodding in agreement as she imagined the officers and agents all setting up a cork board diagram cataloguing the evidence of them two sleeping together.
"Okay you're right. But let's try at least, okay?"
"Yes ma'am." Tice said, teasing smile on his face. Charlie laughed and nudged him playfully.
"Hey...there's no way they can guess what's happening in here now right?" Tice questioned. Charlie looked puzzled.
"No? I mean, the doors closed. I'm pretty sure they're not psychic."
"Good. No witnesses then." Tice said, before gently lifting her chin and kissing her sweetly. She felt a rush go through her as she kissed him back. Live or die, date or no date...there's no way this was a mistake she decided as she leaned into his kiss.
XXXXXXXX
Morning in the safehouse was a slow affair. There were no alarms to go off and nothing to do for the day, so everyone woke up on their own schedule. Luckily, Charlie and Tice were the first ones awake so there was no one to notice Tice quietly slipping downstairs into the shower. As the rest of the crew woke up, Charlie came down and acted casual as if nothing had happened.
The day that followed was a lot of the same. Around mid morning, Tice and Jack managed to wrangle Nick and Wolfard into a workout session in the gym, and the ladies joined in on their own. They had a lunch consisting of what they could find in the cabinets, mostly non perishables and canned goods, but it was enough. They all lounged around after their workout, relaxing on couches and watching mindless TV.
Judy kept fighting to ignore the itch to do something productive. Looking around, she could tell that at least Skye and Jack were feeling it to. The agents had already contacted Stagg that morning, and had apparently gotten a less than thrilling answer; Stay put, stay quiet and wait for orders. Charlie's phone wasn't ringing either, so it was easy to assume that no plan had been formed yet. Dinner rolled around eventually, and the team sat down to have a pasta feast that Skye and Nick managed to scrape together. They seated themselves around the kitchen island on high chairs and stools, talking as they ate.
"Hey so I had a thought." Nick said, holding his fork in the air.
"Let's hear it." Jack said around a mouthful of pasta, earning a disapproving look from Skye.
"Well...we're after Black Knight right? I mean, we keep calling them 'The Organization' or 'The Task Force', but they do have a name. And we could be described as a task force too, right?"
"Where are you going with this?" Judy said skeptically.
"I'm saying, we need a name." Nick said with a grin.
This got a few groans from around the table, Jack and Skye both rolling their eyes.
"Nick, that's like...some action movie stuff." Skye said, putting down her fork. "We don't really use names for our task forces. If anything we just use designations, like Bravo and Delta." Skye explained.
"Well why can't we?" Nick pleaded. "I mean, someone could write a book about this someday, we could all be in a movie! They'll end up picking something dumb to call us. I'm saying we get ahead of the curve and pick our own. And I suggest...Team Foxtrot."
Everyone held their breath for a moment before bursting out in laughter. Nick looked aghast at the reaction, yelling over the laughs to defend himself.
"What? It's a good name!"
"Nick, there's two foxes here out of seven members." Judy laughed.
"Well what do you suggest?" He asked petulantly.
"I'm not suggesting anything!"Judy shot back.
"We could be like...the opposite of Black Knight." Wolfard thought out loud. "Like...White...something? What's the opposite of a Knight?"
"Day?" Jack said drily. This got more eye rolls from around the table.
"Well, historically a black Knight was something to be feared. In all the old stories, a black knight was always the evil, cruel enforcer of some mad king." Charlie said.
"Well that's fitting. Who was the good guy?" Wolfard asked.
"Well...I guess technically it would be a kind of white knight. But a knight that fought for good wasn't ever called that. They were usually called a paladin."
No one answered for a second as they chewed on that thought. Jack nodded his head, giving an approving look.
"That...actually isn't that bad."
"It does have a ring to it." Tice agreed. Nick suddenly slapped a paw down on the table.
"That settles it! Task Force Paladin. I like it." He said, grinning wildly. "I suggest we make t-shirts as soon as we secure the merchandising rights. I actually know a guy who can screen print shirts for cheap."
"Yeah, I'm sure you do, Slick." Judy said, getting a laugh out of the crew. The conversation moved on, but Judy kept rolling the name around her head. Task Force Paladin...it does have a nice ring to it.
As dinner finished up, Tice took over washing the dishes with Wolfard while everyone else wandered back to the living room. The mood was relaxed, with not much to do for the night. Skye and Jack were the first two to drop off, somewhere around eight at night. It was definitely early for bed, but with nothing better to do, it didn't really make sense to stay up. Wolfard followed suit about an hour later and Judy and Nick were only up a few minutes after him. Finally, that left only the youngest, Tice and Charlie. They both resisted the urge to rush up to bed until they were sure everyone else was soundly asleep, but eventually they practically chased eachother up the stairs. After a repeat of last night's activities, Charlie was definitely happy with her decision to not put what they had on hold. She fell soundly asleep soon after, curled around Tice's sleeping form.
XXXXXXXX
Night had long since come when Charlie rolled over to find her bed empty. She sat up sleepily and looked around the room; there was no sign of Tice anywhere. She grabbed her phone off the night stand and saw that it was just after midnight. She blinked at it, puzzled. She knew she had fallen alseep next to Tice only hours before, but now he was gone. Suddenly, a pit opened in her stomach. Good going Charlie, you scared him off She cursed quietly at herself. She had thought their talk had gone well this morning, despite her being an emotional basket case , but now Tice didn't even want to share a bed with her. She steeled her nerves as she pushed off of the bed and started to get dressed. She knew Tice had to be somewhere in the house, and she wasn't going to give up that easy. She'd find him and at least ask him if she could make this right.
She didn't have to search long as she opened the door to her bedroom. She found that below the balcony, the living room was bathed in a soft light. She could make out Tice's shirtless torso, facing away from her on the couch. She sighed and padded softly down the stairs. She walked up behind Tice, but stopped short once she could see beyond him. Laid out on the table in front of him was what looked like all his combat gear. He seemed hard at work, scrubbing at a piece of his rifle which he had completely dissembled and laid out neatly. This was not what Charlie had been expecting, and she wasn't sure how to go about this.
"Tice?" She asked softly from behind him. The coyote jumped slightly and his paws halted for a second before he went back to cleaning.
"Hey Charlie." He said. Charlie stepped forward, concerned. Tice sounded off, his voice thick and heavy with emotion. She stepped up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Are you okay? You were sleeping with me and then...I mean if you don't want to, that's fine."
"It's not that. I had a...a nightmare. This usually helps after. It's fine, I just needed a minute, I'll be back up later."
A nightmare? Charlie thought. What kind of nightmare could freak a guy like Tice out? She walked around to the other side of the couch and eased down next to him. Instantly, she could tell something was seriously wrong. It wasn't just Tice's voice that was off, it was his eyes too. The bright, energetic spark that she had gotten used to was gone. His eyes looked dark, hollow, haunted. She recognized that look, and suddenly everything clicked. Tice's nightmare, the gear laid out. She knew what Tice's nightmare was.
"Tice? What happened?" She asked, placing a paw on his thigh. He shrugged, still working on his rifle. She leaned forward and put her paws over his, stopping him. "Tice." She said in a serious tone. He let her stop him, but he pulled his paws back and stared at her.
"Charlie, you wouldn't understand it. It's my shit to deal with. Believe me, go back to bed and I'll be there in a while."
"I might understand more than you think." She said.
"No, you won't!" Tice growled, showing his anger for the first time. Instantly his eyes flashed regretfully. "Oh my god, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you." Charlie waved off his apology and stared at him, waiting for him to continue. Finally, he spoke as if the words were getting dragged out of him.
"Charlie, you just can't understand. You haven't been through...what I have. I'm sorry."
There was a long, painful silence. Tice turned away, staring at the far wall as he tried to blink his tears away. They weren't all from the dream, some of his tears were from the shame he felt. He should be stronger than this, he was supposed to be. And now his problems were affecting Charlie. He couldn't believe how determined the universe seemed to be on fucking him over. He hadn't had a nightmare about the blast in months and now he has one tonight, next to her?
"I wasn't always an intelligence officer."
The words took a minute to register in Tice's brain, he was so lost in his own thoughts. Finally he turned back to look at Charlie as she kept talking, her voice sounding far off.
"I wasn't the first female infantry officer or the first predator, but I was one of the first few to be both. Public Relations loved it. My first assignment, they actually tried to send a combat camera crew out with me. Thank god they didn't."
Tice was startled at her words. She had never mentioned being infantry before, but now that he thought about it, it made sense. She was in amazing shape, and had that calm, confident, almost cocky demeanor of an infantry officer.
"My first mission, I took a platoon out. It was supposed to be a routine assignment, we were running a security patrol in the Al-Ampar Province of Dyria. Myself and fourty mammals. My soldiers, every single one. They trusted me..."
Tice's stomach dropped. He had heard this story before, a hundred times from a hundred different leaders. It never ended well. He was sure this would be the same as he saw tears glimmering in her eyes.
"They told us there was a minimal insurgent presence in the area, we shouldn't expect any contact. Maybe if I had been looking, expecting something...I don't know. Either way, we walked right into a fucking ambush. We passed through a ravine and they opened fire from both sides. I left the wire that day with fourty soldiers. I came back in with twenty-three."
The words were like a hammer blow to Tice. Seventeen soldiers lost. In this modern era, to lose that many in a single firefight was beyond catastrophic. Instantly, Tice felt horrible, gnawing guilt. I told her she wouldn't understand he lamented.
"Anyways, they considered court-martial after. Some of the Command thought it was gross negligence on my part, they were calling for me to resign my commission. Eventually they cleared me of that, but they still decided to remove me from my unit. They moved me to intelligence, found the most hopeless cold case they could and stuck me there. And that's how I wound up here."
"Charlie, I am so sorry." Tice said as she wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. "I had no idea."
"And now you do. That's my nightmare Tice. Now, tell me yours."
She knew that was a little bit of a dirty trick, trying to guilt trip him into it. But she also knew there was no other way to get him to let her in. Tice still looked pained for a minute before he took a shuddering breath and started to talk.
"It...its always the same. I'm back in Yakistan, riding in the lead vehicle of the convoy. Then, the blast goes off. I never see it coming the first time, I never remember it, but then everything resets. And this time I know it's coming and I try to stop the convoy, I try to yank the wheel, I scream in my driver's face and nothing happens. We hit the IED, the blast goes off, and it starts all over again."
"And that's what messes you up so bad?" Charlie asked. Tice shook his head miserably.
"No, it's not that. The dream itself doesn't get me but It just always makes me think...I should've seen it Charlie. There's always some kind of sign right? That's what they teach at combat training, one plus one equals IED. There had to have been something, an ant trail, a triggermammal off in the distance. There's got to be something I missed. And that makes that shit my fault."
"It's not your fault Tice." Charlie interrupted. Tice ignored her.
"All of them, my entire squad, my friends, gone in a fucking second because I failed them. And yet, here I am. How the fuck does that make sense? I get them all killed, practically signed their fucking death warrants, and here I still am. What a fucking waste."
Tice jumped as Charlie actually shoved him. For a second she actually looked like she might hit him, but then she just shoved him again, looking like she was near tears.
"Don't you say that! Don't you ever fucking say that to me again Tice. You are not a waste. You know what this is Tice, you can't go down that hole."
Tice was thrown more by her suddenly harsh tone than her shove. Her eyes burned holes into him.
"I know. I took the same classes as you, they call it Survivor's Guilt, they call it PTSD, they'll jam you full of pills and put you on a couch to talk with the Doc and none of it makes a god damn difference. I still feel the same."
"I feel it too Tice." Charlie wailed. "Every day, I think about the mammals I lost that day. But you can't let it consume you."
"How do you deal with it?" Tice asked.
"One day at a time. And the most important thing is to not let yourself feel like a waste, like you don't deserve it. Live for them, do good things for them."
Tice laughed drily, looking miserable.
"Well I already fucked that up. When Panthera came to me in the hospital, I was already so deep in that hole. I was half dead, burned, and drugged halfway to the moon. The doctors had just told me I was the only survivor. And right then, I wished I had died too. Then, he came in and cleared the room out and gave me his pitch. God, he made it sound so fucking noble. He said we'd be doing good, for the whole world. And look where that got me. If my squad dying that day was supposed to give me a chance to do good then I went and threw it right back in their faces."
"Tice that doesn't have to be your only chance! This, us, this whole mission we're on, this is your chance. You're still good Tice, Black Knight doesn't define you. You're still living and you have so much good to give this world. But you won't see it if you sit here and feel sorry for yourself!"
Her words struck a chord with him. Even from the bottom of his personal pit of hate and self-pity, he knew that she was right. He just needed to see it and to keep moving towards that.
"You're right. I know you're right, Charlie. It's just hard, you know?"
"God, I do know." She said, sounding relieved. She eased across the couch and wrapped her arms around the coyote's thick neck. "I know you're still upset but...can you come back upstairs with me? I don't want you to be alone."
"Yeah. You still remember how to put one of these together?" He said, pulling back and gesturing towards his rifle.
"Please. I could do this blindfolded." Charlie said, leaning forward to start piecing together the rifle's reciever. Tice smiled and started to fit the pieces of the bolt back together. As he picked up one of the smaller pieces, he paused as he cut his finger on a metal burr. That's not supposed to be sharp he thought, holding up the piece. It was his firing pin, possibly the smallest single piece required to make the rifle function. He squinted at the piece in the faint light, and felt his stomach turn.
He dropped the piece back on the table and scrambled across to the other side, reaching for his pistol.
"Tice! What the hell are you doing?" Charlie, called out, startled by his outburst. Charlie dissembled the weapon in seconds and turned towards her, shouting as he held up the weapon's tiny firing pin.
"My firing pins have been ground down. These guns are useless! Wake everyone up, we have a serious problem!"
Before she could respond, the lights throughout the house suddenly flickered off. Tice dropped to the floor, frantically whispering to Charlie.
"Go! Get to the basement! We need to see if any of our guns still work." Charlie dashed away and moments later Judy and Nick came rushing down from the bedrooms.
"We heard you yelling, what's happening?" Judy asked, fully awake in an instant.
"Get to the basement with Charlie, we need to check our weapons, I think we're under attack!" Tice yelled back as he looked out the huge picture window.
"What's going on?" Jack called from the balcony. Tice was about to answer before he cut himself off and threw himself to the floor. He tried to scream a warning but no one heard as the window suddenly exploded in a hail of gunfire. The rounds came with a staccato thunder roll that lasted nearly ten seconds, shattering the entire window and spraying lead around the room. Jack and Skye threw themselves to the floor on the balcony as Nick and Judy dove down the stairs into the basement. Finally, the gunfire ended and Tice yelled out from his cover in the living room.
"Everybody stay behind cover! It's fucking Warhammer and he's not alone!"
Judy racked her brain as she sprinted down the stairs into the basement. She felt icy fear in her heart when she remembered the name Warhammer scrawled in red ink over a photo of a massive, cruel looking grizzly bear. She tumbled off the stairs and clicked on her phone light to find Charlie already in the makeshift armory, dissambling weapons by the light of her own phone. She spun around to face her, her scared face lit up from below.
"All of our guns are sabotaged! Grab whatever you can for a weapon!"
Sabotaged? Judy thought numbly. How the hell could this happen? She heard a noise from upstairs and turned on a heel to run back up.
"Carrots, What are you doing!" Nick yelled behind her, but she ignored it. She ran to the top step and crouched there, staring into the faint light of the still living room. She could see Tice, taking cover behind the kitchen island, but none of her other friends. She considered running out to find them when another blast of gunfire made her jump down a few steps. She scrambled back up to see that the front door was now riddled with holes and hanging on by busted hinges. The door flew into the living room, kicked in from the outside. And then, Judy saw Warhammer.
The bear was absolutely massive, probably the largest she had ever seen. He practically had to bend over double just to fit through the doorway. As he stepped in, he looked like something from a nightmare, huge, black and wreathed in gunsmoke. He stood up to his full height and Judy sucked in a breath. While Tice's armor had been sleek and light, the bear looked like a walking tank. Kevlar and metal plates interlocked all over his body, and his face mask was a cruel, metal plate with an aerated metal box over his snout. Judy couldn't even see his eyes staring out of the eye-slits of his mask. And cradled in his arms was a bulky, belt-fed machinegun, like something from a war documentary.
One look was enough for Judy and she turned and darted back down the stairs. She frantically scrambled for a hiding spot, tripping over workout equipment, before Nick reached and grabbed her, pulling her behind a weight rack.
"Judy! What were you thinking?" Nick hissed, before another long burst of gunfire tore through the house.
Upstairs, Tice flinched and made himself small behind the kitchen island as 7.62 caliber bullets smashed into the floor, walls and ceilings. Finally the burst ended, and there was nothing but the sound of shell casings and links falling to the floor.
"Dagger!" Warhammer called out. The metal muzzle over his mouth made his cruel, gravelly voice even more eerie. "I know you're in here Dagger. Make this easy and come on out!"
Tice stayed down behind the island, trying not to panic. Even with all his training, he had no idea how to get out of this situation. He looked around for something, anything, and scooped up a kitchen knife that fallen onto the floor next to him. The knife felt pitiful and useless in his paws as the bear took two thundering steps into the house.
"Come on, Dagger. What, you think these mammals are gonna help you? Even if they did, you couldn't take me down. And why would they? You manage to trick them into thinking you're friends? Did you tell them how many mammals you've killed?" He paused dramatically, before calling out in a taunting voice. "Did you tell them that you lost count?"
Tice grimaced behind his cover as the bear waited to see if his taunt would draw the coyote out. When it didn't work, he took a few more steps into the room. Tice was truly terrified now, just a few more steps and the bear would see him around the edge of the island. He had to do something soon.
"Their deaths are gonna be on you, you know. You dragged them all into this, and we can't let them go now. All because you couldn't just stay gone. Those cops, the ZIA assholes, even that little bitch from the MMF, they're all gonna die, because of you."
That was finally enough for Tice. The thought of Charlie in danger steeled his nerves and he gripped the handle of his kitchen knife as he sprung up and threw himself over the island. The bear was quick for his size, but not quick enough. As he let loose with the machinegun, Tice jumped, pushing off of the barrel and diving upwards. He knew he only had one chance, so he made it count. He gripped the knife with both paws as he slammed the blade through the eye-slit of the bear's mask.
Warhammer roared in pain, stumbling back as he dropped his machinegun. Tice braced against the bear's chest and pushed off with his legs, diving away before the bear could shred him with a swipe of his massive paw.
"God damn it! I'll kill you, you little bastard!" Warhammer screamed as he scrambled for his weapon. Tice beat him to it, grabbing it and sliding away. He couldn't handle the gun nearly as well as the bear could, but he had enough strength to briefly aim it and fire a burst at the charging grizzly. Even at this range, his armor absorbed the rounds, but they still drove the bear back, forcing him against the wall. Tice's arms practically gave out from holding the heavy weapon and he dropped it to the side as Warhammer wedged himself out the door, wheezing and leaving a trail of blood.
"Kill those morherfuckers!" Tice heard him yell, and he threw himself back behind the cover of the island, holding his breath. Within seconds, he heard four sets of footsteps enter and could see the beams of flashlights bouncing around the room. Luckily for him, three mammals ran right past him, but unluckily, two went for the basement while a third ran up the stairs, which meant there was one somewhere in the room with him, and three heading towards his defenseless friends. He prayed silently that they would be able to handle themselves. He almost broke cover and ran for the basement as he heard the sounds of a scuffle from below, but he stopped when he heard the smash of glass from above him.
Tice couldn't see it, but on the balcony, a sheep with a shotgun had been checking the rooms. He kicked in the door of the first one and found it to be empty. He repeated the kick on the second door, and this time found a wolf with an empty bottle waiting for him. Wolfard smashed the bottle across the sheep's face, driving him backwards. He roared in his face as he stabbed the broken remainder of the bottle into the sheep's neck before pushing him backwards over the railing.
Tice jumped as the body of the sheep slammed onto the island right next to him. Instantly, the mammal in the living room opened fire on the balcony. Tice didn't waste any time before jumping up and grabbing the shotgun, firing over the counter and taking out the assailant in the living room. Before his gunshot even stopped echoing, he heard another burst of gunfire from the basement.
"Charlie!" He screamed, fearing for her life.
XXXXXXXX
Judy and Nick crouched together as Warhammer was calling out, taunting Tice. The house was deadly silent besides the bear's words and thundering footsteps and Judy was almost scared to breathe. Then, she heard roaring and the sounds of a scuffle before the bear screamed something she couldn't make out. Then, she saw the beams of flashlights crazily bouncing down the steps. She shrank back against Nick behind their now flimsy seeming cover.
The mammals slowed as they reached the bottom stair, fanning out. They were calling out to eachother in Spanish, and Judy couldn't understand what they were saying, but then she was blinded by a flashlight just inches away from her face.
She screamed as a paw grabbed her roughly by the ears and dragged her out from behind cover. She heard a voice yelling in Spanish and felt cold steel pressed against her head. She instinctively kicked both feet as hard as she could towards the sound of the voice, making solid contact, but all she got out of it was a blow in return to her stomach that knocked the wind out of her. She hung limply, dazed, until she heard a faint whoosh of air, followed by a meaty sounding thump and a yelp.
"Get the fuck away from her!" She heard Nick scream. She rolled over and saw him standing over her, a weightlifting bar held in both paws. The mammal who grabbed her rolled and tried to bring his weapon around to aim at Nick, but he kicked it out if the way before swinging the bar down again viciously. This time, there was no scream as the bar struck home.
"Charlie!" Nick yelled, looking across the room. Judy looked in the faint light and saw the ocelot tied up with a bobcat, fighting over his weapon. Nick took a step in that direction to help, but Charlie suddenly overpowered the bobcat and tore the weapon from his paws. She butt stroked him across the jaw before stepping back and firing a burst into his chest, dropping him on the spot.
"Charlie!" The three mammals all clearly heard Tice call from upstairs. Judy jumped as the bar slipped from Nick's now limp paw and fell to the floor with a clang. She turned back to Nick and saw that he was now staring down at the mammal on the ground at his feet. Judy couldn't see what he had done from her angle, but the end of the bar was stained with blood. Strangely though, Nick didn't look horrified or distraught like she would expect, he just looked exhausted. Then, the trance was broken as Charlie ran up, scooping the dead mammal's weapon out of his paws and pushing it into Nick's chest.
"Here, take it! We might need it." She turned away and ran straight into Tice, who charged her with a running hug.
"Charlie!" He yelled, his voice muffled as he buried his face in her neck. "I heard the shooting and I thought-"
"I'm okay Tice, but we need to go!" She said after hugging him back.
"You're right, help me bag up our gear!"
He rushed over to the table and started pushing the team's body armor and other equipment into the bags. Almost as an afterthought, he threw in their now useless weapons.
"Nick..." Judy said, reaching out and taking his paw.
"I'm fine Jude, are you?" Nick said sounding sincere. Judy never got to answer as Tice rushed up, dumping bags in each of their arms.
"Sorry guys, but you've got to do this later, we need to move!" He pushed them towards the stairs and ran back to grab more bags of gear with Charlie. The four hustled up the stairs, Judy staring at the two mangled mammals in the living room. They ran out the front door and saw Jack and Wolfard already throwing their luggage into the back of the running van.
"Is the van good? Did they slash the tires?" Tice asked Jack as he started loading along side him.
"It looks like they tried, but we're still good. This thing's a ZIA custom job, it's tougher than it looks."
"Good, any sign of Warhammer?"
"He took off in his own van when he saw us come outside with his goon's weapons."
Tice grimaced, looking around at the dark trees surrounding them warily.
"We need to move, he could be anywhere setting up a machinegun nest."
"You're right. Everyone get in!" Jack yelled as they threw the last bag of gear in. The team piled into the back of the van and Skye was peeling out down the mountain road before the back doors even shut.
"Is everyone okay? Anyone wounded?" Skye called out from the front seat. Everyone replied that they were all good. Judy looked over at Nick, worried that he might not actually be okay, but he still looked unfazed by what happened in the basement.
"What the fuck happened? I thought that place was supposed to be secure?" Wolfard yelled, staring back at the safehouse through the van's back windows.
"It was. I think that this just confirms what Stagg said. The ZIA has a pretty significant leak." Jack said, pulling out his phone. Nick eyed it from the backseat before suddenly lunging out and grabbing his shoulder.
"Jack, wait! Who are you calling?" He asked anxiously.
"Director Stagg, we need to update him on the situation." Jack said, sounding puzzled.
"I don't know about that Jack. Remember, wasn't this place supposed to be secret to everyone besides Stagg and Fettersworth? And our guns, those two were supposed to be the only ones who touched them." He finished, explaining his reasoning.
"Oh god." Judy whispered, terrified at the implication.
"There's no way!" Jack shot back. "The Director's been with the ZIA over thirty years, he's a legend. He taught me everything I know. There's no way he'd turn on us."
"It might not be him, it could be Fettersworth." Nick said patiently, "But it all makes too much sense. They send us out into the middle of nowhere, with minimal communications, no back-up and disabled weapons. Someone set us up, and calling Stagg might just give us away."
Jack and Skye shared a worried look. Neither could deny that what Nick was saying made a lot of sense, but the thought of their own agency betraying them was horrifying.
"So...where do we go now?" Judy asked from the back as their van skidded off the thin mountain road and back out onto the main highway they had driven out on. Skye sighed, drumming her fingers along the wheel.
"That's a good question, Jude. I just don't know, the plan Stagg gave us didn't have a back-up location...not that I guess we could trust that now anyways."
"Well where are we?" Wolfard asked. Jack pulled out his phone and pulled up the GPS application.
"We're in Bluehill county, about a few miles outside of Lonepine. Maybe an hour away from some lake called...Hank's Lake? No, Hart's Lake."
Judy's ears shot straight up at the mention of Hart's Lake. Suddenly she remembered Lonepine county, she had spent weeks here every summer.
"I think I know a place we can go." Judy said, leaning forward to give Skye directions.
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The van sat and ticked as the engine cooled in the parking lot of the old fishing shack on the edge of Hart's Lake. Even this late in the season, the little bait and tackle shop would be busy during the day, with vacationing mammals stopping by to pick up a tub of night crawlers before they hit the lake. But tonight, at almost one o'clock in the morning, the place was deserted. Judy stared out the windshield at the calm water. The last time she had even thought about this lake had been the dream she'd had, waking up next to Nick after the night she encountered Victor Blackmoore. Despite everything, she couldn't help but find the still, dark water oddly comforting.
"This is a terrible idea." Nick said, breaking her out of her trance. She tried to hide her frustration at hearing the same thing from him for about the tenth time. He had been arguing against the idea since she had first voiced it nearly an hour ago, and her patience was wearing thin.
"I'm aware Nick, you've said that before. Do you really have a better idea? Every motel and bed breakfast around here will already be long closed. I don't feel like sleeping in the van, do you?"
"What if they know the place exists? If they have access to the ZIA's resources they could find out your family owns a cabin out here."
"Nick my great-grandfather bought the plot in cash almost a hundred years ago. Pop-Pop built the cabin himself and Dad hasn't filled out a building permit for anything on the property since we started using it. This place is totally unknown, and my parents never use it this late in the season. There's always food and the water and heat should still work, we'll stay there tonight and figure out a plan in the morning."
Nick grumbled, crossing his arms. For the life of her, Judy couldn't understand why he was so against using the cabin, but she finally felt like she had won him over. She realized that the rest of the team were all awkwardly watching them, waiting to see if their little spat was over. Judt leaned forward to talk to Skye.
"Head on up this road for another few miles. Keep an eye out for a sign with a big carrot on the right side, that'll be our cabin."
Skye started up the van and took off up the road, following her directions around the edge of the lake. Everyone was quiet, most of the mammals feeling tired and drained from the action back at the safehouse, and Tice and Wolfard had actually managed to fall asleep. Judy couldn't help but notice that Tice had passed out leaning to the side with his head on Charlie's shoulder and she seemed to be making no effort to move him.
"Is this it?" Skye called back, slowing down as she approached a dirt turn-off with a homemade looking sign showing a big, orange carrot.
"Yeah this is it." Judy answered, and Skye turned down the road. The headlights jumped crazily as the van bumped over the uneven drive. After a minute, Judy saw the headlights strike the familiar front porch of her family's cabin.
Cabin might not be the exact best word to describe the place, but it's what Judy's family had always called it. It was constructed out of rough, hand-cut logs like a usual cabin, but boasted two floors and a wrap around porch. For most mammals, it would have made for a comfortable, good sized home, but for a family as large as the Hopps, it was big enough for her parents to take most of their younger children out for vacations in the summer. Judy felt a little better when she saw the familiar cabin, getting up quickly when the van ground to a halt.
"Let's take our luggage, but leave the gear bags in the van. They won't do us much good in a fight anyways." Jack said as he unbuckled. The team piled out of the back of the van, suitcases in hand. Judy walked across the gravel drive, noticing that as she expected, there was no other cars in the drive. They would have the place to themselves. She hopped up the front porch and stepped over to a wooden eagle next to the door, intricately carved out of an old stump. She tipped the carving over and retrieved the key from underneath, unlocking the front door.
"Wow. High-tech security." Nick snorted behind her and Judy shot him a glare. She padded through the front door and flicked on the light switch. Instantly, the front room was bathed in the orange glow of old-fashioned incandescent bulbs hanging from the ceiling. The front door opened into the kitchen and dining room, the long table empty and bare. Beyond the kitchen, the living room was still dark, and the hallways leading out of both sides towards the bedrooms were darker still.
Judy walked forward and dropped her bag on the table while the rest of the team filed in behind her. Tice and Jack were talking animatedly about what had gone down at the safehouse and what they should do next, but Judy suddenly didn't have the energy to participate in the conversation. Right about now, all she wanted to do was curl up with Nick and sleep for the rest of the night, even if he was being grumpy. Then, her ears perked as Tice went stiff and stopped talking to Jack. She watched as he swung his head around, sniffing the air.
"Well I guess we'd better just get some rest." He said, keeping his voice as casual as possible. His face, however, was anything but casual. He was giving Jack a look that said something was very wrong, and he reached up with one finger to tap his nose, indicating he could smell something.
"Yeah I guess you're right. Should we eat something first?" Jack said back just as casual, as he padded around the edge of the table. By now, the whole team had sensed the change in the mood, and they were all watching Tice carefully. Judy was terrified as the coyote crept towards the doorless archway into the dark living room. She had been wrong, this place wasn't safe and now they weren't alone.
"Yeah you go ahead man." Tice said, flattening against the wall next to the arch. He jerked a thumb over his shoulder, mouthing the words In there. He held up a paw with three digits, dropping them one at a time before throwing himself around the corner. Jack rushed after him, preparing to rush into the fray with him as the whole team got ready to back the two up. There was the sound of a brief scuffle and the sound of fists hitting flesh before Tice backed up into the pool of light spilling into the living room from the kitchen. In his paws was an ancient looking, too-small double barrel shotgun.
"Get on the fucking ground! Paws where I can see them!" He barked, brandishing the weapon. As he held it awkwardly in his large paws, Judy recognized the gun. It was the same old shotgun her dad had kept around, supposedly for the purpose of keeping crows off the produce, though he never actually shot anything besides old beer cans.
What the heck? She thought, before a noise from the living room caught her attention. It was the rhythmic thumping of small paws moving very fast. Then, there was a high-pitched, crazed sounding screech as a grey and pink blur flew out of the darkness, striking Tice with a metallic sounding clang. The two toppled over into the kitchen with Tice's assailant on top off him, the shotgun spilling from his grip. Judy lurched forward, ready to fight when she heard a very familiar voice.
"Get the hell away from my Stuart!" The pudgy rabbit cried, managing to look fierce in a pink nightgown as she grabbed the front of Tice's shirt with one paw and brandished a cast iron frying pan with the other.
"Mom?!" Judy yelled, staring in shock as Bonnie Hopps threatened a trained, deadly military operative with a cooking implement. Bonnie looked up in surprise at Judy, before her eyes narrowed and she stopped wielding the frying pan with such malice.
"Judy!" She said. "Well, you could've damn well told us you were coming!"
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Author's Notes
Yeah that's right y'all. It's gon' be a meet the folks chapter.
That's for next chapter though. So I hope I didn't overload anyone with this chapter. I know I'm spending a lot of time with my OC characters, but I wanted to build those two up a little bit. I hope I didn't get too deep and lose anyone there, that topic is just something I've had in mind for those two but especially Tice.
But, Task Force Paladin has a name now, so that's exciting!
So for military stuff, Leaving the wire is a term that basically means going outside of your base or the area that you control, typically on patrol. And, Survivor's Guilt is a very real condition that a lot of combat veterans suffer from. I'm not an expert on that, so if you want to know more just give it a google.
As always, thank you so much for reading, hope you enjoyed!
