-Manny-
.
Manny was now glad that he had been drugged with tranquilisers and Nighthowler on the night he was taken. On seeing the depraved prison these two mammals ran in the name of sport, he was thankful that he didn't remember being under its spiked foot, minus the few errant traces that lingered in his mind. That didn't, however, make him any less furious at them for doing this to him and his friends. They would pay.
He'd been locking up Finnick's van when his phone rang, the others calling to say that Nick had been taken. It had been thanks to this call that he had the phone out when the suspiciously large car raced passed. A quick snap of the licence plate and then a trip to the jam cams and they found the processing area. That had only angered the department more, seeing the torture devices and cages abandoned, the enemy one step ahead as always. But by this point Finnick had a hunch, knowing some regulars who frequented a club he served nearby. The ZPD said they didn't have the evidence to take them in so Manny went on a private investigation, with support from Judy and Finnick. He had donned his disguise and, thanks to a hidden camera and microphone, found a particularly ugly hyena that Finnick referred to as 'the creep'. A few cringe worthy conversations later and Manny was into the fight club. A circumstantial meeting, a quick word with the owner and he found Nick, locked in a cage and cowering with fear.
.
That Nick, nor the Nick Manny knew before, ran in front of him now. Racing on all fours, screaming and shouting, high on Nighthowlers. The Ox and Hippo had wanted a mad fighting machine and they had got it. Manny just needed to keep up and make sure that no-one got hurt. His lungs burned and legs ached as he followed them on through the dark tunnel. Ducking and weaving past pipes and ledges, he saw the lumbering shape of the two bulky mammals split up ahead, with Nick following the one to the right. Without hesitation, Manny followed him. He was there, first and foremost, to save his friend whether that be from his enemy or from himself. Besides, he had no weapons and chief Bogo had brought the entire ZPD down to handle this, himself and his most merciless driver included.
.
Manny burst into an open room and was half blinded by the high afternoon sun. The pervasive damp and mildew of the tunnel was replaced by the sharp sting of salt air, factory fumes and river mud. The smell of the docks. His eyes adjusting, he began to make sense of his surroundings. In the distance, the towers of the city overlooked the brown mud of the river estuary while in the foreground a flat concrete plain, surface scored with rails, filled his vision. Dotted across the place were old rail wagons, gantry cranes, repair pits and all the other paraphernalia you expected of a rail yard. A sharp cry pricked his ears and Manny turned his head to see shadows flicking rapidly behind a set of rusting diesel locomotives. Running, Manny reached one of the beached giants and clambered up onto its flat roof in order to survey the area.
Through the maze of Maroon behemoths, the Hippo was running witless and terrified, trailing blood from his ankles. He stopped to catch his breath, panting heavily before limping on. A low growl, deep and guttural, caught his attention, his ears pricking up and scanning around desperate to find its source. Then there came the red flash, racing along the crumbling floor and swiping past the Hippo before diving under another train. The Hippo screamed and began running again, a thin line of blood following him. Manny had no idea what was going on, whether he should help or stay back, but quickly remembered that he had Judy's number.
"Judy?" he said, without hesitation when his called was picked up.
"Manny?" came the rabbits reply, scared and desperate. "Is…"
"Nick's OK but his captor may not be if we wait any longer. Come down to the rail depot near the bay." Manny hung up almost instantly and turned back to the fight.
The Fight was moving off to the south and Manny began following it. Leaping from train roof to train roof, trying to gauge the situation. The Hippo, finding a large block of crumbling concrete, strained to lift it above his head and hold it in position. Wide eyed and panting desperately, he began turning around to survey the area and spot his attacker as he trembled with exhaustion. Nick, however, had other ideas as he darted from beneath one of the locomotives towards him. Almost running on four legs, he curved around towards the Hippo who in response readied his improvised but deadly weapon. However, before he could fling it, Nick reversed direction and began spiralling towards him anticlockwise. The Hippo pulled back the block over his head and turned, finding Nick and preparing to fling it once more. Nick changed direction again, clockwise and far faster than the Hippo could turn. Cutting behind the mammal's legs, he held out a sheet of metal and slashed as he went past. The Hippo screamed as the cut on the back of his legs were made deeper, burrowing towards the Achilles tendons. The pain caused his grip on the concrete to loosen and it slipped out of his hand. The impact on his head was certainly humiliating, but the sick thud and scream that accompanied it hitting his foot made it clear that the second impact was the painful one. The Hippo stumbled and fell, crawling on the floor as Nick swooped in for attack after attack.
.
The Hippo, by pure luck, had found an engine with an open door and leapt inside in order to seek shelter from the vengeful vulpine. Nick, meanwhile, jumped onto the engine hood in front of the cabin and, now brandishing a long iron pipe, began ramming the windshield.
"Nick?" Manny shouted.
The Fox paid him not attention, doubling up his efforts to smash through the tough tempered glass. With his clothes torn and teeth bared, he looked like a savage from the dark days of Bellweather, but Manny knew that his friend was in there.
"Judy is coming," Manny shouted, hoping it would catch his ears.
He paused for a second, looking at Manny as he caught his breath, before turning back again to the window. Manny dropped down to the floor and raced over so he was next to his friend.
"Calm down a bit Nick, this will be over soon, just wait."
"No Manny. He deserves to pay!" Nick screamed back, a particularly powerful thrust pushing the pipe through the windscreen and past the cowering Hippos throat, missing by no more than a few centimetres.
"You'll injure him," Manny shouted, pleading with Nick not to abandon reason.
"I'LL KILL HIM!" screamed back the fox that had once been Nick.
Manny backed off, as he saw the Fox merciless thrust the pipe again and again, each time almost glancing the cowering lump of flesh inside the train. "I know you're still in there Nick. Don't let the Nighthowler control you," he said, not pleading anymore but asserting.
"How do you know!" screamed back the Fox. "How do you know if I'm still here, after what this monster has done to me and you!"
"Because you could have hit him ten times by now…"
Nick paused, before pulling back the iron pipe and glancing between Manny and his victim. His fur was chaos, matted and filthy. His chest heaved in and out while his legs trembled with exhaustion. His eyes were dull and focussed on some spot far behind Manny. But somehow, he knew that Nick had returned.
"I… I…" he began stammering, doubling over as the adrenaline cut off and the cramps came to the forefront.
"I know…" Manny said with a smirk, grabbing a small epipen from his pocket, "Nighthowler antidote."
Nick just nodded as Manny pushed the thin needle into Nick's twitching arm and letting the calming fluid flow into his veins. After the initial wince in pain, a tiny smile grew across Nicks face as the sound of sirens came into earshot.
"You stopped me doing something really stupid there," Nick said, his characteristic sarcastic tone returning.
Manny supported Nick, whose legs buckled as they gave in, and the two stared in silence, smiling at their victory, until the peace was shattered by the crushing of glass and a small gasping scream. Looking down, they spotted the Hippo outside of the cabin trying to escape. Their eyes met, for a second, before they resumed the chase.
.
The Hippo had had more time to recover his breath and the benefit of adrenaline, while Nick was physically exhausted and Manny unable to muster the speed. However, legging it through the narrow corridors of forgotten railway heritage, the two canids began closing the gap. Second by second, meter by meter, they closed in on the Hippo until he turned sharply to the left and a rhythmic thrumming started. Turning the corner, Manny saw the Hippo in a small motorised handcart, barely big enough to hold him in, speeding away while taunting them. He was left breathless; all that pain he and Nick went through for nothing. That was until a sharp horn shocked him upright. Looking over, his shoulder, he saw Nick start up an identical cart.
"Room for one more," he shouted, to which Manny responded by leaping onto the back as they sped off in pursuit.
.
-Bogo-
.
The hulking buffalo listened carefully to his phone, nodding gently as he took in the information that was streaming in. There was a soft grunt, here and there, before he hung up and placed the device on his dashboard. The squad car was parked in an alleyway, sheltered beneath the shadows as it waited for prey to come past. But for now, it stayed still, its inside filled with a stifling, awkward silence.
Bogo grunted, and broke the silence in a soft but angry voice. "From what I gather, this is one of the vilest cases to of ever hit our fair city. To be fair, we suspected something like this already, but from the reports given none of us could have ever suspected such evil with so many victims and such wide support."
On the other side of the car, a figure cloaked in black slowly nodded as it took in the information. Its paw gently moved forward, tapping the steering wheel slightly and fidgeting as his internal driver chomped at the metaphoric bit. The silhouette of its head nodded slowly, as it took in the information being re-laid back to them.
Bogo, turning towards his driver and sighed before continuing, "I remember when we were in the force together. You were our deadliest driver. No villain, no crook, no-one could escape your pursuit. I suppose its part destiny, part family legacy…"
The shaded figure chuckled, fidgeting in his seat some more. Bogo elicited a small smile too, reminiscing about days long past, before resuming his speech.
"But of course, you were too deadly. You captured crooks but the collateral damage was always intense, we were lucky no one was killed. I know you always felt bitter about it, being kept back. But I, and even you, could see it was for the greater good. No villain was worth the risk of using you, but unlike my predecessor, I could always imagine one turning up."
The figure turned slightly, cheek muscles pulling back to create a warm smile of gratitude.
"So we trained you," Bogo continued, "and kept you in practice. We never tamed you but you were always ready, a weapon of last resort. And with what these people have been doing… a few mailboxes smashed to pieces is a price worth paying for justice…"
Bogo sat back in his seat and glanced over, flicking at the radio. A few lines of static cut into the quiet… and then Clawhausers voice breaking through.
"We have a miscreant, similar to wanted person Conner Oxley, racing down sturgeon drive towards the Mayor Shirely Nagsworth memorial highway in a blue sedan, all officers to pursue and capture, over."
Their car roared to life, its wheels spinning and kicking up a cloud of dust and debris behind it. Bogo was thrust into his seat and thrown against the door as they hair pinned to the right and began racing after a blue car in the distance, sirens blaring. The car in front put on its own spurt of speed before clipping the curb in a sharp left-hand turn. As it turned, it tipped sideways from the force of the manoeuver before the two left hand wheels crashed back down into the road surface with a solid thud. They hopped several times as the suspension released the pent up energy and then the vehicle was hidden behind the corner, racing away. The police cruiser following behind turned too and its wheels locked up as the driver turned the wheel and pulled back the handbreak with all his energy. The handbrake turn drifting the car around the bend, clouds of dust kicked up in its wake, before the vehicle orientated itself back in line with the suspect. The accelerator hammered down and there was a flurry a quick gear changes. As rubber burned and the gap between predator and prey closed they continued the chase without mercy.
Bogo stood in his seat, subconsciously checking his seatbelt. Never a major fan of high speed chases, sweat beaded down his head as the car weaved from side to side. The sirens got most pedestrians well out of the way but there were always those too unlucky or too stupid. There was one up in front now, disorientated by the first car and oblivious to theirs. The driver swung to the right, glancing the mammals tail as they cut across an empty curb and back onto the road behind the target. Steadying himself after the rough landing, Bogo, looking slightly shaken and pressed into his seat, relaxed somewhat and turned to his driver.
"All these years… you still have it," he said with a reassuring grin with uncharacteristic hints of respect and admiration.
Benjamin Clawhauser looked back and smiled, "Oh, you know I have chief. Mind if I put on a pursuit song? I have an old gazelle mix CD from the good old days."
"Yes you may," Bogo said wearily, before stifling a chuckle and smiling.
"OMG, this is so Awesome!" Ben cooed, as he placed a CD in while weaving through the thickening traffic, chasing the careering vehicle ahead. As the music started playing, the cheetah jiggled in his seat to the fast paced tune as they cut across another curb, car jumping into the air before crashing back down with a squeal. Ben was squealing too, until the pop tunes of gazelle suddenly stopped, and were replaced with warbling violins. They rose up in tone and volume in three steps before descending. A lighter set of sweeping viola's cut in, before the distinctive trombone tune began. Clawhauser sat eyes agape, and looked over at Bogo.
"However much I like Gazelle," Bogo began as he smiled, "I felt that ride of the Valkyries was more appropriate for the occasion. I may of… taped over your CD with a five-hour loop."
Clawhauser stood silent, before turning back towards their target and screaming with fury. The engine seemed to find another set of cylinders and fired them as they raced further forwards. Weaving past lamps and fleeing pedestrians, the usually jovial cheetah leaned over, with a hunting face like a predator of old. Bogo merely cowered into his seat with terror.
"No hard feelings… I'd like to come out of this alive…" he pleaded.