The sound of gunfire was everywhere, along with a pained yell every time a round hit. Nick clutched the gun tightly to his chest, staying in his crouch as he barely peeked around the edge of the crate stack he hid behind. The space was already littered with bodies from both sides, a muttered curse snapping from his lips when he saw most of them were his mammals. He drew back into cover as the rounds kept coming, gleeful shouts coming from several of his opponents when they realized his team was on the run. Ears perked to catch any other sound, he slunk slowly forward, stopping when he felt a paw on his arm.
"You sure you wanna do this?" Fin looked up at him, his face set. "There's no going back."
Nick scoffed.
"I don't really have much choice," he risked another glance out, smiling when he saw a member of the other side go down, clutching their stomach. "How much ammo you have left?"
Fin shook his head.
"Not much, just put in the last of it," he glanced at the larger fox's gun. "You?"
"Same boat," Nick said simply. As if things weren't bad enough. Not only were his mammals getting slaughtered, they only had a few rounds left between them. Glancing around, he let a small smile form when he spotted what was left of their team, huddled in a small shack just a few yards away. Only one mammal looked back at him, the others focused on taking out as much of the enemy as they could. Glancing back at Fin, Nick nodded once, then started crawling toward the shack, hugging the ground when a spray of gunfire passed over him, round after round crashing against walls, bringing down any mammal unlucky enough to be caught in the path. Less than a hundred yards now.
"Shit!" Fin bolted past him on all fours when another hail shot up dirt just feet behind them. Nick had to bite his tongue to keep back a quip of how adorable the fennec looked, there were much more important things to worry about right now. Following the smaller fox's lead, he rose back into a crouch, debris just about flying in his wake as he shot across the field, hissing at the sting in his tail as he finally dove through the door, finishing the move off with a smooth roll back to his feet. It was hard to miss the red that had arced in his wake, the smell that filled the tiny hut as the door was shut and locked behind him. Panting, he took in what was left of his crew: a mongoose, a deer, a capybara, him and Fin. Up against three wolves, a sun bear, three caribou, two lions and a cape buffalo. In short, without a miracle, they were fucked.
"What are we gonna do?" Tawny, the mongoose, asked. At twenty-one, she was the youngest of their group, but had already proven to be a great shot and an even better strategist. The deer, a buck named Quinn, checked his ammo supply, then quickly reloaded.
"They've got double the mammals we do," he leaned back against the wall, running a hoof through the messy scruff between his ears. "We're gonna have to take them by surprise if we wanna get out of this."
Katrina, the capybara, nodded in agreement.
"Tawny and Fin are the smallest," she started. "And with their coloring, they'll be harder to spot. If the rest of us can draw the fire, they can sneak past and take them out from behind."
"I don't know," Nick rubbed the back of his neck. "It sounds pretty risky. Besides, we don't have much ammo left."
"Don't we?" Quinn shrugged off the small bag slung over his shoulder and set it in the middle, pulling back the flap to reveal his plunder. "I took them off the mammals that are already down, I'd hate to have them just go to waste."
Nick smiled, his eyes sparking as a plan quickly formed in his mind.
"I say we go with Chip's idea," he nodded at Katrina, flashing a smug smile when she scowled at him, uncovering her chipped tooth. "But I've got a few of my own to add. Bring it in, everyone, this is gonna have to go perfectly if we want it to work…"
Allan scanned the field, his eyes narrowing on the hut where Nick's group had taken cover. It had been a complete surprise when the fox had opted to join the other side, pitting himself against his brothers and sisters in blue. He growled softly, ducking back behind the wall and quickly reloading. The rest of his team did the same, Jeremy Delgato sitting next to him, pushing back some of the hair that had slipped loose from the gelled mess he called a mane.
"I can't believe Nick went against us like this," he muttered, hefting his gun. He tapped the sleek machine restlessly against his shoulder, his other paw tightly gripping the knee of his pants. "I never saw it coming!"
"Neither did I," Allan knelt to peek over the wall again, his tail twitching in agitation when he saw things were still quiet. "Now we've got him backed into a corner with most of his team down, and we both know what that means."
Jeremy nodded, unable to hold back a shudder.
"Don't remind me, I'm still in therapy from the last time."
Allan chuckled, sitting back down and adjusting his gloves. One of the caribou, a rookie named Stetson, waved them over to where the rest of their group was seated, paying full attention as Bogo waved a hoof over a map of the field he'd drawn in the dirt, outlining their next plan of attack. It was going to be a typical T.U.S.K takedown: split the team down the middle, half in front, half in back. In this situation, it would be the last thing Wilde would expect them to do. He'd just started to separate the group when a cry rang out, Stetson slumping forward with a red stain spreading across his back. The rest of them ducked for cover, several cringing at the shouts coming their way; Allan risked a glanced over the wall, his jaw dropping when he saw the line of mammals running headlong across the field, leaping over anything that stood in their way. A loud grunt next to him had him whirling, red running past Jeremy's paw as he pressed it to his shoulder. Seconds later, another stream flowed from the side of his head, and he quickly went limp.
No, he dove behind the wall as they got closer, watching as, one by one, the rest of his team was taken out. Aside from him, Bogo was the only one still standing. He opened his mouth to call to the buffalo, when there were three shots in quick succession, the Chief falling forward with a grunt, crimson soaking into the dark fabric of his shirt. Where the hell had those shots come from? No, it wasn't supposed to happen this way!
"You really should've planned that better."
He froze at the voice, his eyes darting up to see Nick standing over him, his usually smirking face now locked in a cold, blank stare.
"I just can't believe…you went against us like this…" Allan gulped, licking lips that had suddenly gone dry. "After everything…we've been through…"
"Shut your trap," Nick ordered flatly. The vulpine pressed his gun hard against Allan's head. "Why would I stay on a team that barely accepts me? I thought you were smarter than that, Tails."
He knelt down, the barest hint of that smirk coming to his lips as he tipped Allan's chin back with the muzzle of his gun.
"You should've known the start that things would go this way," he shook his head, getting slowly back to his feet. "After all, once a shifty fox, always a shifty fox. So long, Tails."
He barely met the wolf's terrified stare before pulling the trigger, the pain nearly blinding as he finally slumped over.
Nick burst into a fit of laughter.
"I tried to tell you, buddy," he set his empty gun down on the low wall. "No one beats me at this!"
Allan rolled his eyes, sitting back up as he did his best to wipe the paint from his fur.
"Yeah, yeah, I know, we should've listened to you," he flashed a smile, then winced. "You didn't have to go for a headshot, though!"
"I know," Nick held out a paw, helping the wolf to his feet. "But I had to make sure you wouldn't underestimate me again!"
"And trust me, we won't," Jeremy shook his head, leaning over the wall to spit out some of the paint that had gotten in his mouth. "Ugh, I'm never gonna get that taste out!"
"Here," Adonis tossed over a water bottle from the cooler tucked in an alcove. It had taken them all weeks to build the field, and even he hadn't been able to resist the urge to play when they'd finished it that morning. The paintball setup served a duel purpose: having been built just outside the police academy grounds, it would be a perfect way to test cadets in high stress situations, as well as devise new strategies for breechings and other procedures. It was also a great way to blow off steam, while helping officers either maintain or improve their marksmammalship. Jeremy took a swig, swishing it around before spitting over the wall again.
"Good thing I just bought a new tube of toothpaste this morning," he wiped his mouth with the back of his paw. "I'm probably gonna use up the whole thing later."
Nick chuckled.
"Should've sided with me, then," Nick strolled over to Fin, the two foxes sharing a high four. "I can't believe you guys never caught on!"
Jeremy flipped the fox off before trying to rinse out his mouth again. Adonis grabbed a water bottle for himself before pulling the cooler out, setting it in the middle of the space as the rest of the players picked themselves up. Both sides had started with fifteen mammals, Nick surprising everyone when he'd chosen almost all greenhorns for his team, along with his friend, Fin. Stephanie plopped next to Allan, downing half of her water before dumping the rest over her head.
"Did we have to do this now, though?" she complained. "You know I hate the heat!"
"You didn't have to come, Stripes," Allan nudged her, laughing when she shoved him back.
"And let you boys have all the fun? Not on your life," she smirked at Nick. "Besides, I had to see for myself if shorty here wasn't just playing himself up again."
Nick just shrugged, sitting on the wall next to them. Like everyone else, he was dressed in imitation T.U.S.K gear, the armor and vest only half as thick since no one on the field would be taking bullets or tranq darts. He tugged at his one of his gloves, black and fingerless like Allan's, then let his paws dangle as he rested his elbows on his knees. His tail, which had started lightly wagging, went back to hanging limp beside him. No one had to ask what had come over him, they all knew by now. It was two months since he'd last seen Judy, and once the last couple weeks of his vacation were up, no one doubted he'd ask for another partner, if not a complete transfer.
He'd told them all what had happened when he'd woken up in the hospital: how Josh and Tybalt had been pairing up the teens they'd kidnapped, gassing their cells with an aphrodisiac to force them to have sex. According to Josh, it was because he was sick of being treated as an outsider and a freak because he was half predator, half prey, and he wanted others to realize just how damaging their intolerant attitudes were. Upon learning that truth, the girls had all been given pregnancy tests, half of them coming out positive. Not surprisingly, most of them had opted to abort, but a few had decided to keep the babies, though Nick hadn't given any time to trying to figure out why. What was important was they were all safe, though it had taken longer than he'd thought to convince some of their parents to not have the boys arrested for rape, and also the girls in some cases.
And now both mammals behind the whole thing were dead, and so far there hadn't been any sign that other mammals were planning to pull the same scheme. What had come around was a divide similar to the one that had erupted while Bellweather was in power, though thankfully, much more peaceful. Apparently hybrids were more common in the city than most mammals thought, though most were between fairly similar species: lions and tigers, moose and deer, brown and black bears like Tybalt's parents. There were also a few stranger ones: camels and llamas, zebras and donkeys, foxes and coyotes. But one thing almost all those couples had in common was they were either prey with prey or predator with predator. Pairings like Agents Savage and Winters were nearly unheard of, to the point where Josh had been one of only about ten such offspring in the whole of Zootopia and the surrounding districts.
That was where most of the civil unrest came from, the idea of predators and prey having children together. And as much as Nick hated to admit it, he'd be lying if he said he couldn't see where they were coming from. Most hybrids were at least the result of cats with cats or bears with bears, but lions with antelopes, wolves with deer, weasels with rabbits? How were genes like that even supposed to mix? How was it possible that they even could? But as rare as they were, there was no denying they were out there, and also that no matter who their parents were, all hybrids were given a pretty raw deal, most of the time treated even worse than foxes and other mammals still were.
Looks like you got your wish after all, Josh, he leaned back and stared at the sky, clear and perfectly blue. Hybrids are finally getting attention, and it looks like things are gonna go just like you wanted.
His ears barely perked as he felt his phone vibrate, tucked securely in the interior pocket of his vest. He pulled it out, swallowing when he saw the text message.
'I got a new number, Slick, and I'll do that again every time you block it. You need to stop running from me!'
"She's right, you know," Adonis sat down next to him. Nick hadn't noticed until then that they were the only two left on the field, everyone else having already headed inside to clean themselves up. "I'll admit I don't know exactly what's going on between you and Hopps, but I will say it's not like you to run away like this."
He held up a hoof to keep Nick from protesting.
"I'm saying this as your friend right now, Wilde, not your boss," he brought his hoof down. "You two share a dynamic I rarely see, and avoiding her is not going to do anything except drive you both insane."
He fixed the fox with a cold stare.
"You promised that you'd never leave her side, that you'd always be there for her, and the last few months you've been doing everything you can to break that promise. That is not the Nick Wilde I know," he went on. "And it's not the one Hopps does, either."
He put a hoof on Nick's shoulder, his gaze softening when the fox finally looked back at him.
"I can't force you to talk to her, but I think that's exactly what you both need," he pulled his hoof away and stood up. "At least think about it before you make your decision, that's all I'm asking."
He shut the cooler and hoisted it on his shoulder, glancing at Nick one last time.
"I just hope you make the right choice."
He left, Nick sitting frozen until he heard the distant clank of a metal door closing. When he was sure he was alone, he woke up his phone, tracing his claws over the message; once he unlocked it, he knew there were only two ways that things could go.
And it didn't take long to pick the direction.
'Just had a lot of shit to work out, Carrots. Where did you want to meet?'