Chapter 20 – Janus
Sif was crouched down behind some boxes in the spacious warehouse. The electricity had been cut, plunging the large space into near pitch blackness in the hopes of catching him and his partner off guard. Luckily for him, darkness was not a problem for his vision, nor his partner's. What had him concerned was the unknown number of assailants currently in the room with him and the fact that he had lost track of Nick. He knew the mammals they were facing, since he worked for the same mammal as they did. His main concern was for Nick. These mammals, he knew, would not hesitate to take out an officer of the ZPD. In reality, he shouldn't have cared either, but he had come to like Nick and would hate to see him go down this way.
Sif had tried to talk Nick out of moving on the warehouse until other officers could arrive but Nick was adamant about catching them off guard, thinking that the operation they had come across was a smaller cell operating in the city that could hold vital clues in the fight against the drug operation sweeping the city. Nick couldn't have been more wrong. They had unknowingly stumbled into a major drug distribution hub for the Swift Gang and Predico. Nick had moved so fast that Sif didn't have time to stop him or send a warning to his superiors. This was going to end badly, one way or the other.
Carefully peeking around the corner of a crate, Sif quickly cased the immediate area around him. He could see a few mammals taking cover up on the catwalks at the other end of the facility. He still couldn't see Nick and he knew it was only a matter of moments until the gang would discover they had the police severely outnumbered. He had to act fast to save Nick and to save his own neck. Backup would be only a few minutes out, for both sides. He needed to avert the bloodshed that would follow such a venture. Studying a few pallets near his location, he saw what he was looking for. A member of the gang, a small cheetah, was crouched down near his location, waiting for orders to move. It was now or never. Sif moved quickly and quietly, managing to work himself behind the suspect. He had to be quick. If the cheetah was able to get a warning off, they both would be dead. He lunged, grabbing the cheetah in a tight grip, forcing a paw across his muzzle to silence him.
"Don't make a sound and listen to me very carefully and we both may make it out of here alive today," Sif quickly whispered. "There are at least fifteen cruisers on their way here right now. I know the protocol and you need to enact it quickly. There is only one other officer here. I need to get him out and then enact a code red. If you mess this up, if we mess it up, you know Death awaits and he is not forgiving."
Even in the darkness, Sif could see the fear on the young cheetah's face. The cheetah nodded his understanding. Sif let him go as he moved back to take position behind the boxes. He could hear the cheetah giving instructions on his radio and a short time later saw the mammals on the catwalks begin to make their way to the exits. He knew he didn't have much time before this place would be turned to rubble. He had to find Nick and get him out as soon as possible. Keying his radio, he tried to reach him.
"Nick. Nick. Wilde, do you copy? Damnit Nick, you need to get over here, this place is rigged with enough C-4 to level a city block. We need to get out now."
Nothing but silence met his ears from the other end. What the hell was that fox doing? He didn't know how Hopps put up with this week after week since it was wearing on him after just a few days. Looking around, he couldn't believe the situation he found himself in. He knew the risks when he joined and at the time, he thought the rewards would outweigh them. He wasn't complaining too much, there was one very nice upside to all of this. Meeting her had made all the risks he took worth it. The only problem was he couldn't see how this would all end. Pondering to himself, he was amazed how all of this had come about and how fast his life had changed.
He had grown up in a less wealthy part of Zootopia, but mammals there had enough for their needs. Both of his parents worked full-time jobs, his mother was a nurse and his father worked as a technical advisor for a few firms downtown. He was an only kit and kept mostly to himself. All through school, he was seen as an oddity amongst other mammals of his species. While others had a strong pack mentality, he preferred to stay solo. From a young age, he was interested in anything electronic and by the time he could drive, he was helping his father write software programs.
He tried his paw at doing what his father did, but it didn't really excite him. The hours were long and there was not much money to be made. It seemed that he was being taken advantage of, something that rubbed him the wrong way. His skills did not go unnoticed, however, and soon some less than savory mammals came calling. He found that his skills could be utilized in some very lucrative deals. He spent the next few years using his talents to help his 'employers' hack systems and install trojan horses and keyloggers into sensitive data systems. He quickly gained a reputation in the underground as a cyber ghost. He was good, very good, and always covered his tracks so as not to get caught. A few of his activities did come up on the radar of the ZPD and even some federal organizations, but there never was anything there to help them trace it to him.
He had covered his tracks so well that the best in the business couldn't catch him. He never would have guessed that he would be found out by his own father. Unbeknownst to him, his dad had used an old laptop of his to finish up a job at home when he found a few of his less than legal programs. When he had come home, his dad confronted him. It had turned into a shouting match for most of the evening that ended with his father threatening to call the police, his mother in tears, and him leaving to go out on his own. He would be lying if he said it was for the better. Decisions made by emotion were never the best ones, and he found that out the hard way. He survived by doing some work here and there, but the more he did, the deeper he put himself into the criminal world. He lived from job to job for the better part of three years, never once contacting his parents or anyone from his old life. Soon, the only jobs he was hired for were the worst of the worst. Every time, he would justify it to himself that it wasn't really hurting anyone, that what he was doing was nothing but a victimless crime.
It was at his lowest point, when it seemed that he couldn't go on doing what he was doing, they came. A representative in the form of a beautiful lynx approached him when he was in the back corner of an internet café, wanting to hire him out for a small job. He needed the money so he accepted without hesitation. It was a simple job and he finished it in no time at all. But instead of being dropped back off at the café, he was brought to a factory on the outskirts of the city. It was there that he was introduced to the mammal he would come to know as Death. He had heard of some shadow group that was starting to make waves within the city, but like himself, it tended to be nothing but a ghost when you tried to follow it. The offer he was made was something out of a dream. The amount of money they were offering him for what they were asking was too tempting. He would only need to join the academy and become an officer of the ZPD to help them. During his preparation, he became close with the same mammal who came and recruited him. Even though Rebecca Clawson was the new Assistant Mayor, they always seemed to find time to be with each other until he had to leave for the academy.
When he was selected for Precinct One, he couldn't have been happier. He was stationed across the street from her and they were able to see more and more of each other. Even some of the things he had been asked to do didn't bother him anymore. He would do anything for her, even help her in a fake mugging to help his position more at his new job. The job was surprising in and of itself. He was actually starting to enjoy it and everything it stood for, and that is where the problems for him were starting. He was starting to see both sides of the coin flipping in the air, and he was the coin. On one side, he had Rebecca and the group she was working with. On the other side, he had his fellow officers, some of whom he was starting to get close to, risking their lives and some of them giving their lives in fighting the same mammals he worked for. It was beginning to become too much for him, but his choices were very limited and posed risks either way he went. He was at a loss at about what he should do.
The sound of gunfire pulled him from his reminiscing. He could see muzzle flashes illuminating their surrounding areas across the floor.
I think I found Nick, he thought to himself.
Sif had forgotten his position while he was watching the firefight and had unknowingly exposed himself above the boxes he was hiding behind. As the gunfire died down, he was completely unaware that crosshairs were being lined up to a spot just above his right cheek. He was caught completely off guard when his body was slammed into the concrete floor as the top of the box where his head just vacated blew apart in an explosion of shredded cardboard.
Shaking the cobwebs out of his head, he turned around to see the smirking muzzle of Nick looking down at him.
"Hey buddy, can't have you losing your head now can we?"
I about get my head blown off and he's joking. How does she do it?
"Really, jokes, at a time like this? Wilde, we have to get out of here now, this place is rigged to blow."
"We need to get some of this evidence first. This is our first real chance to get a break in this case."
Sif grabbed him by the shoulders. "Nick, we need to leave now. Backup is going to be here shortly and they will get caught in the explosion. Nick, it will kill everyone, the evidence isn't worth it. We need to move now and warn them to stay back."
Sif could see that Nick wasn't going to listen, but he had an idea. "Nick, Hopps will definitely be in the group coming. Do you want her to get hurt?"
That seemed to work. Nick went wide-eyed, thinking for only a moment.
"Ok, but stay down Sif, these guys have our number."
Crawling on the floor, they made their way through the maze of boxes and pallets towards an exit door. As they moved, their eyes keyed in on small points of light all around them. Currently, the little lights shone green as they moved. Nearing the exit, Nick's ears perked at the muted sound of sirens coming their direction, backup was only a minute or two at best away. Suddenly, the scattered pinpoints of green lights started flashing red. The two officers looked at each other, mere feet from the side door of the building. He really didn't need to say it, but Nick blurted out the warning anyway.
"RUN!"
Earlier That Week
It had been a couple of months since order had been restored at the police precincts around the city and everything was starting to get back to normal for the officers. Snow was gradually falling around the city as the holiday season was in full swing, bringing with it a change in the weather that the climate controlled zones had trouble keeping up with. The change in weather brought with it an increased workload for the officers of the ZPD who had to respond to more traffic calls and home emergencies involving falls and the like. Nick was looking forward to the coming week as this would be the first holiday season he would be spending with Judy. He didn't have any time off saved so she was currently at her parents' celebrating early with her family without him. It did make for long evenings at the end of shifts with her gone. Every time he walked in his front door, the small home seemed so large and empty without her presence there. Sure, they would talk, though muzzletime on the phone was constantly interrupted by her numerous siblings and even her parents, but nothing could replace the physical presence of his Carrots. She had been gone now for almost a week and would not be returning for another three days and those three days seemed to be more like months to him. A little over a year ago, Nick could never have seen his happiness rely so much on one mammal, but that is what she had done to him. The more he thought back on it, the more insane it seemed on how fast everything had happened. This night, like the few before, he found himself trudging up to the front door and shaking the snow out of his paws before entering the dark, cold cottage. Not only was he missing her, but he really didn't have anything to do. Every activity that they would do whether it be sitting down and just watching TV for the evening or going out and doing something as mundane as shopping seemed more a chore by himself. Looking at his watch, he saw that it was already half past seven. A grin formed on his muzzle.
Almost time for her to call.
He grabbed a couple of cold fish sticks out of the fridge and quickly polished them off before his phone would ring at a quarter to eight. Glancing at the clock on the wall, quarter to eight came and went while his phone remained silent.
No big deal, she's not always right on time.
He stared at the clock as the minutes passed and before he knew it, it was eight and still no call. At a quarter after eight, Nick started to worry slightly. It was not like her to be this late without some heads up like a text. At half past eight Nick was starting to worry. An empty pit formed in his chest as a genuine fear started to creep into his mind. Nick was almost mad with himself that he was feeling this way.
She's a grown bunny and she can more that take care of herself. You need to get it together. Why are you reacting like this?
It was a few moments before he realized he was panting and gripping his ears. He hadn't realized how agitated he was. Looking at the clock again, he saw that it was a quarter to nine. Thankfully, it was at that time that he received a notification buzz on his phone. He reached for his phone so quickly that he nearly flung it off the table. His heart was racing as he pulled up his menu noticing he had a text from Judy.
Sorry Nick, I know it's late, lost track of time. Stuck at the neighbor's party with mom and dad and by the way they are going, I'm not getting out of here any time soon. Sorry it is too loud to talk and too cold to go outside. I will have to muzzletime you tomorrow. I really wish I was back there with you. Miss you Nick. Love you.
See, nothing to worry about, she is fine.
He was glad she was ok, but the feeling he had inside didn't change much. But instead of worry, it was a sadness and longing that he wasn't going to be seeing and talking to her tonight. That, and he was facing the rest of the evening alone with nothing to do.
Maybe I should just go to bed. But I don't have to go in until mid-shift tomorrow.
He stared at his phone and the idea suddenly hit him. Tonight would be a perfect bar night with some of the guys, and why not? He had been partnered with Sif for the majority of the time Judy had been away. They both needed a break after the mundane days they had been having. Dialing his phone, he first convinced Sif to meet him at the bar down from the precinct. He seemed hesitant at first, and Nick swore he could hear someone else talking in the background when Sif finally agreed. His next call was to Wolford who accepted quickly and by the sounds of it was already heading out the door before he hung up. Nick grabbed his coat and made off, happy to be able to kill a few hours with some company, rather than alone at home.
As the evening wore on, the three officers were sitting around a small bar table laughing over a few off-color jokes when Wolford spoke up.
"Say Wilde, Delgato told me you are quite the performer. I never knew you could sing!"
The smirk on Nick's face disappeared in an instant as a mix of embarrassment and anger graced his face as he stared at Sif.
"Oh, have you not seen the video yet?" Sif questioned as he reached for his phone. His paw was stopped by a red paw as he reached into his pocket.
"No, no. You are not going to play that here. In fact, I'm going to put in a request at work that playing that video will be considered harassment," Nick growled out as a blush creeped up his face, hidden by his fur.
Wolford and Sif just fell apart laughing while Nick stewed. Wolford wiped a tear from his eye.
"It's ok Nick. I mean there is nothing to be embarrassed about. You have some serious talent and it was a great gesture to Hopps. I'm sure she loved it."
Sif chimed in, "There is no shame in doing something for those we care about. Sure, we might never let you live it down, but who cares? You did it for her so you should never have any regrets. You are lucky to have someone, though seriously, I have no idea what Hopps sees in you," Sif just smirked as he took another swig of his beer.
Nick was hunched over with his head in his paws, thoroughly embarrassed. "I am going to make it my life's mission to kill both of you from embarrassment when you start seeing someone."
Wolford laughed. "Well, prepare to wait awhile on that one for me, the only thing in my life at the moment is the job."
Sif was rather quiet. Both the fox and wolf stared at him noticing him avoid their gazes. Nick's jaw dropped open.
"When? Who is she Sif? Come on, you can't dish out like you have been and not tell us about this."
Sif suddenly looked a little scared. "No guys. It's no one, really."
It might as well have been a confession as now both Nick and Wolford inched closer. They were not going to let this go and Sif saw this.
"Ok, I'll tell you on one condition. It stays between the three of us because I don't want it to hurt my position and I don't want it to hurt hers either."
Nick just scoffed. "Of course, besides, how bad could it be. I mean, I'm dating my partner so I don't think you have much to worry about."
"It's Assistant Mayor Rebecca Clawson."
Pulling a pin out of live grenade and setting it on the table would have been less shocking to the other two officers at the table. Silence reigned until a low whistle came from Wolford.
"Dang Sif. How did a blue collar stiff such as yourself ever catch the eye of not only a politician, but a dang fine looking one at that?"
It was Sif's turn to be embarrassed. Nick still hadn't said anything and instead went back to finishing off his drink, never taking his eyes off of his temporary partner.
As the time passed and it turned over to a new day, the three officers said their goodbyes and turned to leave. Sif was halted by a paw on his shoulder.
"Hey buddy, believe me when I say that as you love someone, it doesn't matter what others think. Go for it with everything you have and don't let what others say determine what makes you happy. In fact, if you want, I'm sure Judy would love it if you and the Assistant Mayor would want to go out on a double date. Don't hide it. We almost made that mistake and trust me, it will only lead to nothing good. Anyway, see you later today." Nick gave Sif a quick salute and walked out towards home.
It was Friday afternoon as Nick was driving the cruiser towards the Zootopia docks to finish the last leg of the day's patrol with Sif. Judy arrived back to the city earlier that morning, but because of his schedule, he was already at work when her train arrived from the burrow. She was working a short shift today to catch up on some paperwork and get up to speed on some new cases. She would be getting off at normal time so they would be clocking out at the same time. Each of them had the next three days off for the holidays and both looked forward to spending the time together. But before he got ahead of himself, he needed to finish his patrol by checking the docks and surrounding areas. Looking at the clock, they only had another hour and a half to burn as they entered the warehouse district of the docks.
Nick had slowed down as Sif scanned the alleys and warehouse fronts for signs of anything out of place. It was fitting that they couldn't find a single mammal stirring in this location. Their entire day had consisted of driving around and sitting at the radar gun with no reward. So it came as a startling surprise to Nick when Sif nearly yelled for him to stop the car. Pulling to a stop, Nick saw what Sif saw. A plain moving truck was sitting outside a half open warehouse storage door. Nick pulled into and alleyway to help conceal the car so they could monitor the situation. After a few moments, they noticed a few wolves unloading crates and taking them into the building.
"Well Nick, it doesn't look like anything much is going on. Just some mammals unloading a shipment. Let's get going so we can go clock out."
Nick sighed. He realized that in a way, he was hoping something would happen to end the boredom of the day. He was about to start the cruiser back up when he saw one of the wolves drop the crate he was carrying. The crate broke open spilling the contents onto the concrete. Nick grabbed his binoculars from under the seat to get a better look. After a moment, he lowered them, his face in a state of shock.
"Wilde, what is it?" Sif questioned.
"Nighthowlers. They are unloading crates of Nighthowlers." Nick turned to Sif. "This has to be a manufacturing location for that Predico drug. That is an entire truck's worth of flowers. This is it, this is the break we have been looking for." Nick was undoing his seatbelt and grabbing for his gear.
"Nick," Sif protested, "We can't just go running in. We have no idea how many mammals are in there, we don't know what type of weapons they have. We need to call it in and get reinforcements, we need a plan, we need…"
"We need to go survey what is going on and two can infiltrate easier than twenty. If the ZPD comes in with sirens blaring and lights flashing, we are going to lose any intel and leads that are sitting in that warehouse because they will destroy everything. We have never found a scrap of evidence once they scrub a place, so go ahead and call it in. I'm moving in so follow and back me up or stay here and watch the perimeter and fill in the others when they arrive but either way, I'm moving out. I'm going to see if I can get some ID's on the mammals inside and get a look at the operation then I am going to make my way back out again. In and out without tipping them off."
Nick made his way out of the cruiser, using the sides of the other buildings to work his way closer to the target. Sif watched for a few moments, stunned at what is partner was doing. Picking up the radio, he called in for backup and left the cruiser to the protests coming back over the speakers. Before moving in to pull Nick out of what he knew would be a death trap, he quickly sent a message to notify the powers that be of the impending ZPD sweep of the warehouse. Unfortunately, he knew what these mammals would do if they were in fact members of the Swift Gang working for his boss.
Damnit, I really wish they would tell us the locations of these places. It would make it easier to avoid crap like this, he cursed to himself as he made his way into the warehouse behind Nick.
In and out. That is what he said, just in and out, not tipping them off. No, that would be too easy. Leaving me alone, getting into a firefight and almost having my head blown off, and now we are going to get blown sky high along with half of the neighborhood. I can't believe this is how it is going to end.
"RUN!"
It was the only sound reverberating in Sif's ears as the two officers ran for all they were worth towards the exit as the lights flashed faster and faster. All he could see was the back of Nick in front of him as they ran, noticing that Nick was yelling into his shoulder receiver, the words muffled in his ears. The door was thrown open when he felt it, the air being sucked out of the room as a warm force pushed at his back. They were too late.
I'm sorry Rebecca.
Judy was riding passenger in a cruiser tearing down the side streets toward the docks. The call had come in that a possible Predico facility had been found and backup was being requested. She had been listening to the car number and knew that it was the cruiser Nick was assigned to. She was getting anxious and nervous as now the cruiser wasn't responding to radio checks. She was worried that something had happened to him. She really couldn't see where they were, considering that she was with Francine and the cruiser was way too large for the rabbit. Each time Francine took the corner, Judy had to hang on to the belt so she wouldn't be thrown into the door or the elephant's lap.
It seemed to be taking forever as the radio chatter picked up the closer they came to their destination. Bogo was in his own vehicle, making his way from the precinct to personally come and oversee the impromptu operation. From what she could discern, at least a dozen units were answering the call along with the Tundra Town SWAT. Looking out the window, she could just make out the change in scenery giving her an idea of where they were. They were still a few minutes out when every second was starting to feel like an eternity.
I leave him alone and look what he gets himself into. I swear if the job doesn't kill me, worrying about what this fox does will.
"We are two minutes out." Judy was snapped out of her thoughts. "Sounds like we will be one of the first on scene so we are going to stop short and form a blockade on the entrance road to keep anyone from leaving the area. We will have to wait for the others before advancing," Francine said without taking her eyes off the road.
Francine took another sharp turn onto the road leading down to the warehouses at the docks when a panicked voice burst onto the radio.
"..enforcements stay back, I rep…t, stay back. Building is wir..d and go… to blow."
Judy's ears shot up high and straight. It sounded like he was running for his life and was in serious trouble. She turned towards Francine who had glanced down with a serious look at the bunny.
Did he say the building was going to blow?
The cruiser came to an abrupt stop a few hundred yards from the target building as Judy hopped out to grab her gear. Her paws had just hit the concrete when she was knocked down by a shockwave that came from the warehouse down the street. Looking up, slightly dazed, her heart dropped into her stomach as she saw a fireball bloom into a mushroom above the buildings, debris scattering and falling around the blast area. Entire portions of the building were collapsed while the majority burned in dark, acrid smoke. Judy was laying on the street next to the cruiser, propped up by her paws just staring at the carnage, a small tear forming in her eye. A buzzing on her shoulder radio snapped her out of her daze.
"Nick, Sif, do you copy, over."
Glancing towards the cruiser, she saw Francine radioing the officers.
"Wilde, Pawtorias, do you copy, over."
Nothing but static was the response over the radio. Every second that passed caused Judy's heart to break further.
"Nick, Sif, do…..you copy," Francine's voice cracked.
Judy had pulled her legs into her chest, softly sobbing at the static that was the response. Two other units had pulled up within moments of the blast. The officers had stayed inside the vehicles looking at the scene developing in front of them. They started coordinating with the other units that were inbound and notifying the Chief of what had just transpired. As static continued to be the only response received from the two officers, it seemed that a search and recovery operation would be needed now, more than a search and rescue.
Judy could only stare at the glow of the fire now burning the shattered shell of a building, watching the hypnotic smoke as it rose higher into the air, creating a gloomy haze over the dock area. The com channel had been left open by Francine, who was now sitting back down in the cruiser with her door open, a look of shock and disbelief gracing her large, gray face. Sirens could be heard in the distance from the other units responding as Judy wiped her eyes. As the static played on the radio, her sadness was slowly turning into shock as she could only stare at the devastation laying before her and the part of knowing that Nick, her Nick was somewhere in the middle of all of it.
Judy was so entranced at the scene that she didn't hear the paw falls coming up behind her. She only turned around when she heard ragged, gruff voices talking.
"Wow, she really does care about your scruffy butt, doesn't she? I mean, crying over you, what is she thinking?"
"Oh come on now Sif, don't be too hard on the cute little fwuffy bunny. I mean, look at all this, who wouldn't be upset if they thought they lost this?"
Judy slowly turned her head as she stood up. Standing behind her with singed fur, scrapes and bruises were Nick and Sif. Each one helping the other to stand. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Nick was here, he was alive, and of course, he and now Sif were cracking jokes.
Staring in front of him, all he could see was Nick running as fast as he could, lowering his shoulder at the exit door and seeing it fly open, almost off the hinges at the force the fox levied against it. Sif thought they were going to make it when he felt it: the warmth radiating around him, the slight force starting to push at his back. They were too late, this was going to be the end and the only thought that went through his mind was that of Rebecca and how he had screwed up, how he never said goodbye and how he would never get to see her beautiful face again.
Sif was in the frame of the door, the sun shining brightly, indifferent to the carnage that was mere moments from occurring, almost mocking the wolf. He felt a pull forward as he closed his eyes, ready to embrace the inevitable. But it wasn't a blast forcing him out, it was the paw of the fox in front of him, grabbing him by the front of his vest and throwing him into the dumpster just outside the door. Everything happened in an instant, but to him, it seemed all to go in slow motion. He was lifted off his paw, whether by the strength of the fox, the explosion, or a little of both, and thrown unceremoniously into a steaming pile of garbage. As he fell into the container, Nick was right behind him, slamming down on top of him and the garbage pile. At the same time, he felt his stomach drop as the container they were in was also lifted off the ground, and thrown across the alley into the wall of another building. Luckily for the two officers, the container fell on its side, the metal walls protecting them from the blast wave and subsequent fireball that followed. What seemed to have taken at least a minute had happened within a matter of seconds. As they both lay, dazed and covered with rancid garbage, they could hear debris falling onto the container, mostly small pieces of debris, but here and there a few larger chunks.
After a few minutes, Nick poked his head out of the top of the container to determine if it was safe to start moving. Once he decided it was, the two extricated themselves only to be surrounded by what could best be described as a hellscape. Looking at each other, they didn't look much better. Their fur was singed and charred from the heat blast and both looked like they had been in the ring with a rhino and lost. Sif grabbed for his mic only to find a frayed cord in his paw.
"Well, so much for radioing in. We had better make our way out of here and let them know we are ok."
Nick could only laugh as the two helped each other hobble around the burning wreckage and chunks of stone and mortar. Because of the blast, they had to walk a long way around, almost to the water's edge before finding a path that was clear enough to safely pass. Upon making their way around, they saw a few of the ZPD parked and a familiar gray furred officer sitting in the road next to one of the cruisers. Sif and Nick just glanced at each other as they shuffled up to the sitting officer.
It's happened, I've finally snapped. I am seeing my dead boyfriend and his partner in front of me because my brain has finally called it quits.
Walking slowly up to the two, she could smell the burned fur, but just to be sure…
"OW! Hey, what are you playing at Carrots. I was just blown up and you have to sock me in the arm?"
Nick looked at her face, a mixture of sadness, relief, and rage.
"Ok, ok, I probably deserve that one, but to our defense, our radio is fried so we couldn't let you know we were ok."
Her expression never changed as she stared into his eyes. Nick was taken back at the pain he saw when he realized how all of it must have been for her. He started to feel horrible, until she shot a punch into his other arm.
"Ok, the first one I understand, but what was that for?" Nick questioned before being pulled down by the smaller rabbit into a vice-like hug.
Nick went to his knee and wrapped his paws around her. Feeling her starting to sob, he started stroking the back of her head and ears.
"It's ok, Fluff. We got out. We're fine."
Sif felt his conscience start to battle him once again at the scene before him. He knew he had a job to do and he was playing his part well, but more and more the pull of doing the right thing, being the officer that he had become was starting to overshadow his real duty, that of being an inside source for the nameless organization he was a part of. He had been given everything he had desired, and hadn't had second thoughts about anything he did, until that red fox came into the picture. They had hit it off fast and became quick friends. Now that he thought about it, he had a few officers he would count among his friends. And Nick hadn't even given it a second thought when he pushed him out of the way of a bullet, even though it could have hit him just as easily…or save him from the explosion, risking his own life for his.
Even though we were in that situation because he wouldn't listen to reason. Dumb fox.
No, this was becoming more than he had bargained for. Unfortunately, he was stuck. There was no backing out of what he had agreed to, unless he wanted his battered body found floating in a river, and that is if he was lucky. He could turn himself in, receive a life sentence only to be found murdered in his cell by the same group of mammals. No, he would have to find a way to change his fortune, find an opportunity to help himself and those around him. Besides, he couldn't leave Rebecca to the whims of the group. Even though she was a ranking member of the group, he could tell in his talks with her that her heart really wasn't all in for the goals of the group, she just wanted a fast track to positions of power and, like himself, had been caught up in something that seemed too good to be true.
But all of that would have to wait as now he had this immediate mess to deal with. It seemed that the explosion had done the job. By the looks of the building, nothing substantial would have survived, something that he had the displeasure of experiencing first paw. Turning around at the sound of car rolling up behind them, he now had another problem. Chief Bogo was stepping out of his car, looking right at him and the other two officers huddled on the ground. Sif just let out a sigh, knowing that it would be better to just confront the Chief and get the unpleasantness of another opportunity missed out of the way.
Nick could hear the Chief's voice and tried to remove Judy's death grip on his neck, to little success.
"Carrots, we need to go talk to the Chief. Judy, you need to let go. Will you let go if I promise that I will not leave your side for the rest of the week and weekend?"
That seemed to do it. Reluctantly, she released her grip, allowing Nick to go with Sif to explain what happened to the Chief. She remained standing next to Francine's cruiser.
"First question for both of you, are you both ok?"
Both Nick and Sif answered yes at the same time.
"Good, have the medics check you over to make sure. Second, did you find anything that can help us in this case?"
Neither said anything, causing Bogo to pinch the bridge of his snout.
"Why can't we ever catch a break, and seriously, what is it with them blowing up buildings? You both have this weekend off anyway, so I don't want to see you until Monday. But I expect a complete writeup from both of you on my desk by end of day Monday into how this fiasco happened. Dismissed."
Sif just shook his head, looking at Nick. "I don't know how you get away with half of the things you do Wilde. But, almost being turned into kibble is enough excitement for me for a lifetime, so if you don't mind, I'll take the cruiser back to the station and I guess I will see you on Monday for some fun paperwork." He looked over Nick's shoulder at Judy who was impatiently tapping her hind paw. "I think I'll leave you to it then." He smirked and left.
Seeing Judy stare him down caused Nick to gulp and his ears to fall. "I am going to hold you to your word Mr. Wilde. Now let's get going. You have an entire weekend to make all of this up to me."
Nick gave a nervous smile. Why did he feel safer in the burning building? "Yes Ma'am," was his only reply.
The text had come in as a surprise but they had reacted quickly to it. The ZPD was starting to become more than a nuisance. It seems that through blind luck, they were disrupting operations. They had lost yet another facility and a lot of product this time. But, the warning was sufficient and all evidence had been destroyed, they even managed to not lose a single worker, but from the chatter he was hearing, the police hadn't lost anyone either. He was grateful that his informant was safe, but was it too much to ask for the other officer to blown sky high?
With a growl, he slammed his computer shut. It would only be a matter of hours before this was all over the evening news, but he had faith in the connections at the stations to bury this quickly. Just another drug lab accident and the police could be seen as heroes for stopping it. Anything to push mammals away from the truth. He would need to go over where the other labs were and re-evaluate their locations. He had toyed with the idea of using smaller operations in greater numbers and constantly moving them to avoid prying eyes. It had risks, more operations meant more probability of the cops stumbling into one, but it seemed they were doing that anyway. A smaller unit would be easier to scrub completely in a shorter amount of time. He would send the word out tomorrow, having his eye on a few locations.
He sat back in his chair, letting out a long breath that he had been holding, looking at the dossier of one of his police insiders, he had to grin. Sif had definitely been worth the investment. The wolf had gone above and beyond what was required of him—notifying them of the impending raid, communicating with the others while under cover to ensure everything was done right, surviving, and still keeping his cover and role as an officer of the ZPD without any cause for questions. He saw a lot of potential in the boy. It didn't hurt that he had an angle on him as well. As long as he and Clawson were an item, he had more pull on each of them than they would ever know. Maybe, when they were ready to bring everything together, just maybe this young wolf could have a place by his side. But like all others, he would need to be tested. Just what that would be, he did not know yet. But like everything else, he knew the opportunity would present itself in due time.
As for the police, well, he had been cooking up a little surprise for them. It had been amusing to him to watch them scurry like rats when their computer systems went down, laughed at how easily they could be breached. The information gathered had been priceless, and the continued access had helped them avoid many situations like they had today.
Alas, nothing is perfect.
He picked up a small vial of fine, blue powder, pinched between his massive pads. He stared at it for some time, curiosity etching every line in his face. His chemists had done wonders in creating this little beauty. A concentrated dose of the nighthowler serum in a fine powdered form. This small vial could infect a dozen animals in a room due to the ability of the powder to aerosol quickly. It was almost like a talc powder. The best part was, the original antidote wouldn't work on this. The concentration was too high to be neutralized by what was currently available. He laughed as he spoke aloud to no one.
"Oh the poor ZPD. Getting so much bad press for their bumbling of this new drug. So many addicted, so much product freely flowing. Now what will the adoring public have to say when two of their own are affected by the same drug they have failed to stop. What will they think when the first rabbit officer and the first fox officer brutally kill each other? The public is going to tear the heads of the departments apart." His laugh reverberated off of the walls. Eyeing the vial in his paws once again, he growled out, "This is the pebble that will start a mighty avalanche."
A/N: Over 100k words for the story and over 4200 views. Thank you to everyone who is reading and following and a thank you to those who are helping expand this story. I hope to be able to work on a few chapters this week so we can get to the real action of the story.