Nick pulled himself back onto his paws panting. He drew his service pistol and checked the ambulance. Judy lay serene and unaware of her surroundings. The monitor sounded its monotone song of heartbeats. Harmen was pinned between her and the wall. The wheel-lock on the ambulance floor broke in the crash forcing Harmen to use himself as an airbag for her. He breathlessly gave Nick a thumb's up.
Nick's ears twitched. Someone was coming. He gestured to Harmen to keep quiet and pointed to his over-sized handgun. The cheetah lifted it easily with one of his large paws. He flinched and grabbed his ribs with his free paw but held his aim on the door. It pulled open to reveal the ambulance driver. Harmen lowered his gun relaxing but Nick held his aim.
"What happened back here?" The driver asked confused and frightened.
"No time get back in the cab and start driving." Nick told him.
"What about the other car?"
"You don't want to know, now get-"
The ambulance engine roared to life. Nick looked back at Harmen, the cheetah's face confirmed how much trouble they were in. The ambulance accelerated forward violently nearly throwing Nick out the open doors. Harmen held Judy in place crying out in pain.
"Close the doors!" he shouted desperately.
Nick caught hold of the rear door nearest him and hauled it back until it latched. The other door swung wildly out of his reach. Grabbing hold of anything he could Nick quickly crossed the swaying ambulance. He caught hold of the door and heaved. The ambulance swerved sharply into the next lane pulling the door wide open with Nick still attached. He held on for dear life to the door hanging two feet from the hard asphalt moving 90 mph slower than himself. The ambulance swung violently again this time pulling the door back. Nick grabbed the firsthand hold he could and slammed the door closed with all his might. He looked back at Harmen who was laying on the floor gasping in pain.
Nick dropped down next to him, "How bad is it?"
"Hurts like hell." Harmen wheezed, "But I think I'll live."
"Sorry to drag you into this." Nick offered.
"I already told you I volunteered." Harmen dismissed.
The ambulance severed to right without warning longer and harder than before.
"I don't think we're on the freeway anymore." Nick commented.
"I must have blacked out for a minute why's John driving like a lunatic?"
"Who?" Nick asked, "Oh, the driver, no we've been hijacked."
"Great," Harmen groaned, "Any bright ideas?"
"Sand and Trunkaby know we're in trouble so help can't be too far away not that it would take long to kill us."
"Charming." Harmen grumbled.
"Who said we'll let them?" Nick said grimly.
"I take it you have a plan."
"Let's call it a mission statement at this point." Nick admitted before explaining his idea, "Think it will work?"
"I think we-"
The ambulance screeched to a halt throwing Nick against Harmen. He cried out in pain.
The rear doors flung back pulled open by a bear with a sawed-off shotgun. Maroni stood behind him bleeding from his shoulder and shaking with rage.
"Drop that pea shooter." The bear growled pointing the shotgun. A blast from this range would kill everyone inside
Nick slowly lowered his service pistol to the ground and slid it away from him. He carefully covered as much of Harmen as he could from view with his body.
"Paws in the air!" The bear growled.
Nick obliged, not even bothering to make a snarky comment at the fuming rabbit literally hopping into the ambulance. Maroni grabbed Nick's service pistol pointing it wildly left and right.
"I have been working for years! YEARS! To build my families empire and bring it here!"
"Shame you won't get to see it." Nick smirked.
Maroni struck him upside the muzzle with his pistol. "You think I won't shoot you where you stand?"
Nick spat blood from his muzzle, "Because I'm the only one that can talk."
Maroni glared at him, "What do you mean?"
Nick gestured to Judy, "Hopps is in a coma and you killed the EMT, so I'm all that's left."
Maroni aimed the shaking gun at Judy, "Where are the pictures?"
Nick forced himself to laugh, "The pictures are in ZPD custody along with a lot of other evidence. It's as gone as our informant I'm sure."
Maroni swore explosively waiving the gun erratically. Nick knew a cornered animal when he saw one and tried to turn the advantage.
"ZPD will be here in minutes. You won't have time to kill us and still escape."
"This family never runs! We take our vengeance no matter the cost!" A bullet punched the floor inches from Nicks paw. Judy's ear twitched from the sound. Maroni stopped surprised, he nudged her arm with the gun. The heat of the weapon made her face scrunch up with pain but she remained motionless. An evil grin spread over Maroni's face. He gestured to the bear and leaned in to whisper in Judy's ear.
"Your dear fox is going to eat you."
Police sirens cut through the air distracting the mobsters. Nick made his move then lunging at Maroni. Two shots rang out immediately. Nick was thrown back still holding Maroni. Harmen was holding his chest wheezing heavily. His rib had pierced his skin. Nick struggled against Maroni using his size to hold the injured rabbit down. He didn't know where the gun was just that Maroni had dropped it. Nick tried to punch him but the rabbit seemed to have two heads suddenly. The whole Ambulance started spinning and turning red. Nick realized what had hit him.
"Nighthowlers!" was all he managed to shout out, his mind was fading fast.
Harmen pressed himself against the back wall and kicked Judy's stretcher as hard as he could. Judy rolled away from them and was dragged out by Sand and Trunkaby.
"Close the Doors!" Nick couldn't if he had said it or someone else.
Thud
Thud
Three animals were confined. The small one hit him in the muzzle. He jumped back growling. The small one pointed something big and metal at him and shouted. He didn't care. The small one shook the metal at him again. He jumped at the small one.
The small one was bad.
The small one hurt his family.
The small one must die.
He tore at the small one savagely. It screamed and struck him but could not stop him. He bit down hard.
The small one stopped.
He sat back disgusted and enraged. The big one was alive but hurt. He should kill it too.
"Nicholas Percival Wilde!
He shrank back. Mother?
"You stop that right now!"
Doors closed. Trapped. Windows gone!
Nick launched himself at the broken windows. He should have been cut to ribbons on the glass but was saved by his TUSK gear. Halfway through he became stuck. Trunkaby tried to grab him but he was rabid with nighthowler. He desperately clawed at the door trying to free when he yelped and tried to turn back around to attack something. His movements slowed then finally he was silent and unconscious. Harmen pushed the door open holding a syringe and pale as a ghost. The cheetah stared at nothing and passed out as well.