"What the hell, Wilde!? What did you do to my uniform!?" It was the morning after Nick and Judy's reunion. Hannibal arrived exactly at six to pick them up, just as promised. Now the two foxes were in the hallway in front of Kelly's room. Nick stood before the peeved colonel, wearing the fatigues he had borrowed from the gray fox, with one barely noticeable difference. The sleeves were both torn off at the shoulder. The red fox flashed a shit-eating grin, put one paw on a hip and flexed with his other arm, showing off his bare fur.
"I thought it was obvious. Those sleeves were too stuffy, anyway. They were cramping my style." The younger tod smiled at his senior, hoping against hope that the older soldier wouldn't notice the little blood stains now speckling the uniform. While the hospital staff had been kind enough to wash his clothes, blood just never came out completely. Thankfully most of the little flecks and splatters were hard to spot amongst the digital camouflage. But, the left sleeve was so obviously stained it was completely impossible to miss. So, Nick had decided to use his old fallback of fixing it the best he could then bullshiting his way out of trouble. That meant the sleeves had to go.
Expression stormy, Hannibal walked up the other fox and snatched his nametag from the shirt's breast. Fisting the scrap of cloth in his paw, he pointed a digit at Nick's nervously smiling muzzle.
"This is your BDU now. And you're paying for it." The tone of the veteran's voice brooked no argument. Nick nodded rapidly, ears folded back.
"Of course! That was the plan all along. You didn't really think-?" Hannibal interrupted the tod's panicked rambling by waving a paw in his face.
"Hey, cut the crap. Is your girl ready to go?" Glad to be off the topic of his clothes, Nick tilted his head at the door behind him.
"Yeah, she's ready. Just saying good bye to her brother and sisters." At about five that morning, two rabbits were ushered into their room. One was a familiar tawny female, Carly. The same one they had spoken to in Fru Fru's limo. The other was male a couple of years younger. He was tall for a rabbit, standing a head above his sisters. His fur was gray, but he was covered in black and white spots. One big black spot took up most of the area around his right eye. Nick learned his name was Douglas, but everyone called him Dinky. When the fox joked about his nickname, the rabbit just smiled. "Hey, at least it's better than 'Spot'!" Nick decided he liked Dinky. The tall bunny had a sense of humor.
Nick was only able to talk to Carly and Dinky for a few minutes before he had to leave to track down his fatigues. The impression he got was a good one. At least they didn't seem scared of him. Too much, anyway.
Hannibal pushing past him brought Nick back to the present. The gray fox went for the door, but it opened just before his paw could reach the handle. Judy stood there, wearing a pair of jeans and a green plaid button up shirt that her siblings had brought for her. Susie was standing next to her with a paw on her older sibling's pant leg.
"Hey guys. Just one second." Turning, she knelt before Susie. She reached up to place a paw on the little girl's shoulder. "I have to go now. Remember what we talked about?" The adolescent bunny nodded, face solemn. "Alright. I love you." Judy pulled her in for a quick hug, then stood. Carly walked up, taking the small bunny's paw to guide her away from the door. Judy watched them go for a second, then turned to the foxes standing in the hall. She stepped through the frame and closed the door behind her.
"Good to go?" Hannibal asked. Judy gave him a determined nod.
"Good to go."
A few minutes later the three mammals walked out of the hospital. Hannibal led them through the parking lot, toward an enormous van. In spite of the van being an older model it looked brand new, sporting gleaming chrome trim and a shiny coat of black paint with a stripe of bright red running around the sides. Even the tires looked immaculate.
A brown furred bison with a mohawk was standing in front of the van carefully wiping a smear from the windshield with a rag. He was wearing camouflaged pants and a black singlet. Body thick with muscle, he looked like he could give Chief Bogo a run for his money. He muttered to himself while he cleaned the glass. Judy's hearing made it easy to understand.
"...bastard. Jiminy Cricket messing up my baby, I oughta pop his grasshopper momma right in her fool mouth-!" Wholly absorbed in his task, the huge bull didn't notice the trio of much smaller mammals approach.
"Guys, this is Sergeant B. A. Baracus." An ear twitched at the sound of Hannibal's voice. The burly bovine turned towards the little group, peering down at them with brown eyes that were barely visible through the thick fur on his face. Looking at him from the front, it became obvious that he enjoyed gold. Several gold chains were wrapped around his bulging neck, his left ear had three gold piercings and he had wide gold bands wrapped around his wrists and the bases of his horns. He even had several gold rings on his hoof tipped fingers.
"These must be those super freaks you told us about." Fisting the rag in his hoof, the bison crossed his heavily muscled arms. Glaring down at the pair just behind the gray fox, his eyes zeroed in on Nick. "And you must be the low-down, dirty, slick sunovabitch that took down Murdoc."
Feeling all eyes on him, Nick took a step forward. He managed a strained smile up at his accuser.
"Well, ah, yes. Yes, that was me. If you want me to apologize…" A huge smile spread across the bison's face, the sight of which made the fox trail off in confusion. Baracus leaned back and let out a loud, booming laugh.
"Ha! Apologise?! You kiddin'?!" The bull's grin was so wide it showed off all of his big, square teeth. "I ain't ever seen that crazy fool so pissed off! Its funny as hell!" Leaning down, he gave Nick's shoulder a friendly shove that nearly toppled him over. "You alright, fox!"
Catching himself before he fell, the fox rubbed his shoulder. A more genuine smile spread across his muzzle as he looked up at the friendly soldier.
"Always glad to be of service. Baracus, right? I'm Nick Wilde." Dropping his paw from his shoulder, he used it to indicate his partner. "And this is Judy Hopps." The rabbit, still looking a little bewildered by Baracus' strange behavior, managed a friendly smile and a wave. The bull just grinned back.
"Yeah, Hannibal told us all 'boutcha. Pretty messed up situation, but you're in good company now. We'll take care of you." He continued to grin down at them, voice gruff but genuine. The duo smiled back.
Hannibal, who had been standing off to the side while they talked, clapped his paws. Once all eyes were on him he spoke.
"Alright, now that introductions are out of the way we need to get going. Lots to do!" Baracus reacted first, nodding and walking around to the passenger door.
"You got it boss. C'mon you two, you ride in the back. Careful with the upholstery or I'll have to wreck ya!" The big bison continued to smile while he gave his threat, but Nick and Judy both got the idea that he wasn't kidding. The bull opened the sliding door, motioning for them to get in with the other hoof. Judy hopped up easily, then turned to give Nick a paw up into the big van. The fox scrambled in, careful not to scratch anything. Once they were in Baracus slid the door shut behind them.
The back of the van was roomy, with the walls, ceiling and floor covered in a layer of plush carpet. Everything was done up in a continuous shade of black, making the air feel dark and cool. The two climbed onto a comfortable padded bench that took up the wall across from the door. As they made themselves comfortable Hannibal climbed into the passenger seat, followed by Baracus climbing behind the wheel. The entire van shifted under the bull's enormous bulk. Within a few moments they were heading down the road.
Hannibal leaned over the armrest, twisting around to look at the duo.
"Alright kids, listen up. We have some important ground to cover before your big debut. First, we're going to cover everything you need to know to not make yourselves look like idiots in front of the General. Now, here's what you need to know..."
Hannibal gave Judy and Nick a crash course on military parlance, protocols and procedure. Meanwhile, Baracus drove them north, towards the farthest reaches of the Meadowlands. After an hour they pulled off of the road, the van noticeably rocking back and forth a few times as it trundled over unpaved earth. Eventually they came to a stop at a checkpoint. Baracus rolled down his window with one hoof and started digging in the glove box with the other.
"Identification, please." The guard did not sound like he was asking.
"Yeah, yeah…" The bison muttered to himself as he retrieved a thick envelop, already opened, and handed it to the wolf guarding the checkpoint. He shuffled through the papers and confirmed the van's license plate before handing the envelope back. Baracus and Hannibal both gave a quick, two digit salute as they were waved through.
With her incredible hearing, it was easy for Judy to figure out that they had just driven into a large camp or barracks of some kind. Hundreds of voices all rang out and mingled as thousands of soldiers played, cooked, trained and patrolled. After a few minutes Baracus steered sharply to the right and stopped the van. Everyone got out, with Baracus jogging over to open the sliding door for Judy and Nick.
With a wave of his paw Hannibal directed the duo to follow him. They did so, looking around with interest. They were in the middle of a huge military staging ground. Tents and semipermanent shelters seemed to go on forever.
Alpha Team had their own little corner of the camp to themselves with four tents set in a square, one in each corner. There was a small central area that was dominated by a grill, with a plastic folding table set next to it. Off to one side was a small group of lawn chairs surrounding a plastic kiddie pool. Each chair was sized for a different member of the team. Two of them were occupied.
Hannibal lead the pair towards the chairs. A well-groomed camel in a white button up shirt and khaki slacks turned his head towards them as they approached. His smile was practiced and easy. He raised an arm and waved.
"Boss! And these must be those mammal's you told us about. Nick and Judy, right? Nice to meet you!" His voice was bright and cheery. Once they were close enough he stuck out a hoof for the pair to shake. They did so with a smile, glad to meet such a friendly animal.
"Face, this is Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps." Hannibal waved a paw at pair, then waved a paw at the camel in turn. "Nick, Judy, this is Lieutenant Templeton Peck. He's my second in command." Releasing Judy's paw, the lieutenant gave his CO a pointed look. The gray fox smiled sardonically. "He's also Alpha Team's Chief Public Relations Officer and Chief Requisitions Officer," Hannibal added with a touch of sarcasm. The camel beamed, completely ignoring his boss' less than sincere tone.
"That's right. I'm the Face of this outfit and the dromedary you talk to when you need something in a pinch. Speaking of: Miss Hopps, you are out of uniform!" Judy balked a little, glancing down at her plaid shirt and jeans. Crossing her arms in front of herself, she shifted from foot to foot self consciously.
"Well, this is all I could get," she said defensively. Face waved her off, reaching down to grab an olive green satchel from the ground by his chair. His bright blue eyes sparkled as he held it out for Judy to grab.
"Like I said: if you need something, I can get it for you!" bragged the camel. The rabbit carefully took the satchel from his hoof. When she opened the zipper and pulled out what was inside, she was surprised to find it was a long sleeved digital camo shirt. It even looked like her size. Digging into the satchel she found a complete set of BDUs, including boots, pants, and a couple of shirts.
When Judy looked up from the bag, she found Face grinning at her. He was clearly enjoying the surprised look on her face. She swallowed and managed a smile.
"Lieutenant, I don't know how to thank you." The camel waved her off again, pleased.
"Oh, don't worry about it. I'll send you a bill." Face and Judy shared a smile, before the camel's gaze was diverted to Nick. Judy looked over and watched the fox as he stepped around the ungulate's long legs. He stopped once he was standing a respectful distance from the other occupied chair. A ukulele across his lap and wearing a tropical print shirt with matching shorts, the mammal looked a little out of place. In spite of his colorful garb he had only been an unhappy shadow so far, staying quiet with his arms crossed and head turned away.
"Murdoc." Nick's smile and voice were both diplomatic. The wolf snorted, disdain written clearly across his features. He made no other motions to acknowledge the fox. Nick tried again.
"I'm sorry I attacked you. I hope you know why I did it." When his apology went ignored, the fox looked at Hannibal for help. When the colonel noticed his gaze he held his paw out like he was holding a handle. Then he mimed a brief swing and a stab. Nick's eyes slid back to the unresponsive lupine.
"I'm sorry I took your knife, Murdoc." That got a reaction. The wolf's head snapped towards Nick, glaring ferociously.
"I don't care that you took my knife! What I care about is that you tossed her! Just-Just threw her aside like she was garbage! MY DARLA!" Murdoc's tirade ended with him leaning forward, paws clenching the cheap aluminum armrests of his lawnchair. Nick let the wolf's anger wash over him, then tried again.
"I'm sorry I threw your knife," the tod said, trying to impart some sincerity to his words. Murdoc threw his arms up in frustration.
"Why are you telling me!? Darla's the one you have to apologise to!" The wolf grabbed his ukelele and stood, stomping off to his tent. Nick looked at Hannibal for more guidance. The old fox just motioned for him to stay where he was. Then Nick looked at Face. The camel favored the confused fox with a sympathetic smile.
"Don't worry. Just play along and he'll work it out of his system. Then we can all move on." Nick took the advice and waited patiently for Murdoc to return. Less than a minute later the wolf was back, a familiar machete swinging in his paw. He walked right up to Nick and thrust the blade out, holding it parallel to his chest. Nick flinched in surprise and took a step back from the big knife. The fox eyed the crazy wolf carefully. Murdoc did nothing but hold the machete where Nick could see it. The tod stepped up to the blade, eyeing it carefully. The wolf impatiently rolled his eyes.
"Say you're sorry!" he demanded. Nick's eyes jumped from the reflective metal in front of his snout to Murdoc's face, eyebrows raised. Seeing that the wolf was completely serious, he resigned himself. Feeling ridiculous, the fox leaned towards the sharpened edge.
"I'm very sorry for throwing you, uh," Nick floundered, trying to remember what Murdoc had named the blade. He must have taken too long, because the wolf growled at him.
"Darla," Murdoc prompted.
"Darla! You-You're a very nice machete. You certainly never deserved to get thrown away like garbage. I apologise." Nick did his very best to sound sincere. Looking very pleased with himself, Murdoc pulled the blade away. Cradling the machete to his chest like it was a child, the wolf turned and walked off.
"Come, Billy! There is much to do!" Murdoc called over his shoulder as he walked. Hannibal and Judy appeared at his side as Nick stared after the eccentric soldier, completely bemused.
"That, ladies and gentlemammals, is Captain H. M. Murdoc. The best pilot around and a damn fine soldier to boot. Don't let him fool you, he has personally saved my life and the lives of Alpha Team on multiple occasions. Face!" The camel jerked in his chair, gaze snapping to Hannibal.
"Yeah, Boss?" Hannibal pointed towards where Murdoc had occupied a small clearing between some of the tents. The crazy wolf was swinging his machete around, shouting about radioactive turtles and their terrible movies.
"Grab Murdoc before he hurts himself and get moving. We have thirty hours to set up our surprise for the General. I'd hate to disappoint her." The camel nodded, jumping from his chair to carry out his orders.
"On it!" Face said as he ran by. Hannibal turned towards where Baracus was hanging out by his van, polishing some chrome trim with a rag.
"B. A.! You're with Face!" the fox shouted. The bull tucked the rag into a back pocket and turned to follow after the camel, raising a hoof in Hannibal's direction to confirm he heard. The colonel turned away, beckoning Nick and Judy to follow.
"C'mon, you two. We're gonna grab some things from my tent and head down to the Track. Hope you're ready to work hard." The two made agreeing sounds, but both were too distracted by what had just happened to muster a lot of enthusiasm. Judy looked up at Nick as they walked, violet eyes wide with confusion.
"Who's Billy?"
An hour later found the trio at the Track, which turned out to be a series of training fields built for the soldiers to keep in shape while they were garrisoned. Since the Zootopia Disaster Response was supposed to be a temporary operation the fields weren't very developed. Really, they were just a series of areas that were roped off and marked for certain uses. This one for weight training, this one for calisthenics, this one for unarmed combat practice, etc.
Hannibal had lead them straight to the field marked for target practice. It was the best equipped by far, but it was still just a long string of tables on one side and a series of metal targets on the other.
The colonel's intent was to get Judy and Nick comfortable with firearms and figure out the limits of Nick's preternatural vision. It didn't take long to figure out that the red fox could hit whatever he wanted on that particular range with whatever gun he wanted. Pistols and rifles were easy, while submachine guns took a few tries to get right as their bullets were way less accurate. Still, it wasn't long before Nick was hitting the bull's eye every time.
Annoyingly, the soldiers around them noticed. It wouldn't be so bad, except that some of these mammals then demanded Nick compete with them in an effort to prove who the best really was. Hannibal, sensing opportunity, agreed on the red fox's behalf, but only if Nick could use their equipment. They readily agreed and Nick went off to try every type of firearm that he could get his paws on.
Meanwhile, Hannibal was now free to share some of his considerable wisdom on the subject of projectile weapons with his rabbit charge. Judy was too small to use anything that might be considered a rifle, so they focused on the use of pistols. Her stance was perfect and her aim was decent. The colonel showed her a few tips and tricks for improving her aim, then he started working on her ability to shoot accurately while on the move. It was extremely important that she develop the ability quickly, as it was essential to their plan that she perform well in this regard.
An hour later and Hannibal decided that Judy was doing well enough to get by. They gathered his equipment and went to retrieve Nick, only to find their way blocked by a substantial crowd of excited soldiers.
Now the two stood outside of the group, both laden with satchels containing the guns and remaining ammo that the colonel had brought with them to the range.
Judy, wearing the fatigues gifted to her by Face and a set of earmuffs to protect her sensitive hearing, looked up at the backs of the mammals that made up the crowd. They were larger mammals like lions, zebra and buffalo. There was even a hippo. She turned to face Hannibal, who glanced down at her in response. He read her annoyed expression perfectly.
"He's in the middle of that, isn't he?" The question was rhetorical. The rabbit still nodded. Hannibal reached out and took the bag Judy was carrying, motioning towards the crowd with his other paw. "Go get him." Nodding her acknowledgement, Judy darted into the crowd. Years of living in the crowded Zootopia served her well, the lithe rabbit slipping between the larger mammals with an ease that she couldn't have imagined when she first arrived in the city.
Within a few moments the bunny had passed through the crowd. She walked out from between two lynxes, violet eyes landing on a familiar shade of red. Nick was turned away from her, facing down range. There was a black 9mm pistol on a table in front of him, barrel pointed down range. The fox suddenly raised his left paw, three shiny brass cartridges held between his knuckles. The crowd hushed and Judy paused on her way towards him. The red furred arm cocked back, then swept forward, flinging the three pieces of ammo downrange. As soon as his left paw was free it darted downwards. Snatching the pistol from the table, Nick raised the piece and took aim at the flying ammunition.
The pistol kicked with a bang and then the cartridges went off with a rapid series of pops. It was so fast that it almost seemed to happen all at once.
Nick's head jerked back slightly, a single spent casing landing at his feet. His left paw slowly placed the pistol back on the table. The crowd took a collective breath and Judy gasped as the fox turned toward them. Nick grinned triumphantly, a shiny copper slug clenched between his incisors. Judy watched, stunned, as Nick reached up with his left paw and grabbed the bullet from between his teeth. He held it aloft so everyone could see.
"Ha! Pay up!"