Hey guys Price here and welcome to Chapter 37 of Zootopian Assassins! I hope you guys enjoy this Chapter because this is the last major flashback to Lance and Laura, which means this is immediately after Lance finds out Laura's pregnant. I have honestly enjoyed writing these two, and will likely incorporate Laura into another fic of mine – not Tooth and Claw, something else – where she shares a similar relationship with Lance. It will be an epic fic, hopefully, and I hope you guys will like it when I make it. Enough of that, do not be afraid to tell me what you do and do not like about this Arc, because I feel like I've made Lance a bit unrealistic even for someone with the ability to emotionally shut down if overwhelmed. I will try to make the next Chapter as emotional as possible because it will be where Lance is at his weakest since Laura died. The reason will be made clear when it rolls around. Anyway, this is getting long enough, I think it's time to get...onto the story!
Lance looked up from his phone as the door opened, Nick and Judy blinking when they saw him sitting in a chair inside their cubicle. Nick in particular looked slightly worried.
"Hey there. We need to talk." Lance said as he pocketed the phone and leaned forward in the chair, grinning under his mask. Nick gulped as he glanced at Judy nervously, who seemed to not notice it.
"Alright. What about?" Judy asked, cheerful as always.
"The side investigation, and what's going to happen when I find them." Lance answered, Judy tensing visibly at the implications of the words.
"You're not going to kill them, Lance." She said matter of factly, the Todd visibly taken by surprise by her words.
"Oh really? You think?" He asked as he stood, Nick seeming to detect where the scene was going. He said nothing, however, clearly wanting to be proven wrong. Lance leaned down as he circled Judy like some kind of shark circling a wounded fish. "And who's going to stop me, hm? You? If you think so, then tell me how. You going to taser me? Gun me down like some kind of rabid criminal?" He asked, his voice taking on a dangerously smooth and velvety tone. Judy visibly shivered at his tone, Lance grinning to himself.
"If I have to, yes." Nick answered suddenly, Lance whipping his head around in surprise. His eyes narrowed as he pointedly turned away from the Todd.
"Well I've got my ex's answer, Judy. What's yours, hm?" He asked, his nose twitching as the fear pheromones reached it from the terrified young Doe. "Come on, don't be so afraid. I'm not going to kill you." He said in false reassurance, Judy taking a deep breath.
"I will employ whatever I have to in order to ensure proper justice is delivered to those responsible for Operator Stone's death, as well as your unborn kit." She answered after a few seconds of hesitation, Lance raising himself back up to a stand as he raised his gaze ever so slightly with a small sigh.
"Very well. I suspect we'll be seeing each other sooner than I had hoped, then." He said after a moment, moving to walk out.
"Lance, if you walk out that door with the intent to kill those in your way, I will stop you." She said in certainty, Lance pausing as he slowly turned to face her.
"Then stop me here. Right now." He said, Judy opening her mouth to say something. Lance raised his paws in front of him, as if begging her to try and cuff him. "You'll be saving lives, Officer Hopps. Isn't that what you're all about at the ZPD?" He asked mockingly, Judy unable to bring herself to cuff him. She didn't let that show, however, and Lance pressed further. "Arrest me now, and be sure to let me know what it's like trying to sleep knowing you let somebody who murdered a pregnant mammal get off with ten years, at most, if they have a good lawyer." He was goading her, and all three of them knew it. Judy averted her gaze and Lance sneered behind his mask. "That's what I thought." He turned and walked out, leaving Judy and Nick alone. After a moment Nick let out a growl and slammed his paws on the desk he stood by.
"We can't let him do it, Judy. We have to stop him, either as cops, or whatever other way we can. He's going to destroy himself like this." He said, Judy sighing.
"I fear he's going to do much worse than destroy himself, Nick. It's obvious he's unstable, even if he hides it perfectly most of the time, but it's also obvious he's become consumed by this. I don't know him like you do, but I fear you may end up having to say goodbye." Judy said, Nick stiffening visibly at the words.
"All the more reason to stop him, then. I am not losing one of my only real friends like this." Nick said, Judy sighing.
"Nick, you need to realize Lance may not want to be saved. As far as he's concerned, this may be the only thing he has left. He's not thinking straight, and he may not intend to survive this. You need to come to terms with that." Judy said, Nick raising his paws to slam them down again as his face contorted in anger, only to let out a whine as he collapsed into a chair.
"I just don't want to see him get hurt because he's reckless, Judy. We may not be together anymore, but I still worry about him." He said softly, leaning forward and resting his head in his paws. Judy could only stare, unsure how to comfort her mate when she knew things could still get worse. Nick suddenly let out a small laugh, Judy blinking. "God, this is comical. You're supposed to be the one who gets all emotional and worried over somebody you barely know, and I'm supposed to be the one who's the realist and points out all the things you just did." He muttered, shaking his head sadly.
"Pretty certain you were more cynical than realist, but I get your point." Judy said, frowning to herself. Nick rolled his eyes slightly. "And, while I'm certain Lance doesn't want to be saved from this, I never was one to turn away from others in need." She said after a moment, Nick blinking in surprise before smiling thankfully.
"All I ask is that we try, Judy. That's all I ask." He said, Judy nodding.
"And we will try, Nick. I promise you that." She said, taking a deep breath. "But right now, we need to get our stuff ready for the night shift. I never thought I'd be saying this, but we can't take this to Bogo. We're the only two here who would actually try to stop him without killing or, at the very least, crippling him." As the Doe went to work getting everything ready for the mammals who worked nights, Nick hesitated behind her.
"Hey, Judy." He said after a moment, Judy turning in curiosity.
"Yes, Nick?" She asked, tilting her head.
"If it came down to it, would you shoot Lance if you had to?" He asked, Judy hesitating in her answer.
"I don't know. I want to say no, but at the same time I don't know." She answered, Nick nodding after a moment.
"Alright." He said quietly, Judy barely catching it. Her ears fell back when she did, though, realizing he felt guilty about telling Lance that he would if he had to.
'That must have been hard.' She thought to herself, shaking her head. 'And unbelievably hurtful to both of them.'
Lance pushed open the door to exit Precinct One a bit too hard, the glass inside the door shaking and threatening to shatter under the impact when it collided with the wall. He ignored it though, as well as the curious looks from an Ocelot and Honey Badger that passed him.
'Night shift, most likely.' He thought as he descended the stairs, hearing the Ocelot telling the Honey Badger about the white ZPD letters on his tactical vest, likely in response to the Honey Badger suggesting asking for identification or just asking who he was.
Lance made his way to Home, stepping through the doors not too long after leaving Precinct One, and almost immediately ran into Kate. He reflexively sidestepped and spun to better allow her to slip past, stopping when she gripped his upper arm a few inches below the shoulder, turning his head to look at her in confusion. She kept her gaze straight ahead, refusing to meet his gaze.
"We need to talk." She said, Lance opening his mouth to respond when she finally turned to meet his gaze. She looked afraid, and that made him worry. Kate worried only for the Operators under her command, so when she worried over something likely not related, Lance began to worry.
"Of course, Commander." He said, Kate dipping her head slightly as she turned and lead him into the building, towards her office. When they stepped inside she turned and took a deep breath.
"Lance, I need to know something." She said, Lance not liking her tone. It carried a defensive nature, like she really didn't want to be having the current conversation. That said a lot, considering she was always willing to talk about anything.
And that meant anything.
"What would you like to know, Commander?" He asked, Kate hesitating as she opened her mouth. It was clear as a sunny day she was uncomfortable with what she had to say.
"What do you intend to do when you find the mammal responsible for Laura?" She asked, Lance blinking. He'd been expecting something about his threat to Officer Hopps, not something that should be all too obvious.
"What I do best, Commander." He answered easily, Kate blinking in shock at the answer.
"Which is...?" She asked hesitantly, Lance sighing a small sigh as he lowered his gaze ever so slightly, breaking eye contact an almost unnoticeable amount.
"Kill them, Commander. No quarter." He answered, Kate nodding to herself as she turned and began to walk around her desk, a single digit tracing a line along the wood as she appeared to take on a sullen, almost regretful appearance.
"I suppose I should have expected that answer. You always were the most driven during training." She said quietly, Lance's ears tilting forward in curiosity. He didn't really like where this seemed to be heading.
"Commander?" He asked, narrowing his eyes in a confused manner. Kate raised her gaze, swallowing visibly in a mixture of regret and sorrow.
"As of this moment, I am hereby relieving you of active duty as an Operator for as long as is necessary to let you either cool down or get your revenge in a way that doesn't bring the rest of us down with you." Kate said, Lance stiffening visibly but making no vocal signs he objected to the idea. "We're a team, yes, but this path will not be beneficial to anybody should you be caught. Officially, I can not condone what you claim you will do. Unofficially...have fun, Lance." She said, the Todd nodding as he made to turn and leave. He paused, however, before reaching up and placing a paw over the Operator insignia patch on his shoulder.
"I suppose you'll be wanting this, then." He said, pulling it off and tossing it over his shoulder. Kate caught it, her eyes carrying a sadness she couldn't begin to describe, as he turned slightly and looked at her, awaiting her response. For an Operator, removing the insignia patch was their equivalent of turning in a badge and gun for a regular cop.
"You're quitting." She said, the words more an accusation than a question.
"It's like you said, Commander. If I'm caught, any signs of my affiliation to the Operators puts you all at risk. I can't have that." Lance responded, Kate nodding sadly. "Hey, it'll be fine, Kate. If I don't get caught, I promise I'll come back if I can. You have my word." He reassured, the Wolf nodding.
"I'll hold you to that, then. Good luck, Lance." She said, the Todd nodding.
"I'll probably be coming for weapons when I have an identification. Make it convincing when I do, okay?" He said, Kate nodding.
"We won't hold back." She said as she sat down in resignation, both of them knowing full well she meant the words.
"I'd be worried if you did." Lance remarked as he turned, raising a paw in a farewell wave. "See you around, Kate." With that, he turned and began to make his way to the exit.
Kate sighed sadly to herself as she stared at the insignia patch in her paws, wishing that it hadn't had to come to this.
"Yeah. See you around." She said, hanging her head as she hesitantly reached out and tapped the intercom. "Hassan, Mike, find Squad Two and bring them to my office. I have news." She said, releasing the button and leaning back into her chair.
Lance paused as the intercom came on, hearing the instructions from Kate and increasing his pace when he resumed walking ever so slightly. He made it to the front doors without incident, however, and he breathed a small sigh of relief he hadn't had to fight anyone. He didn't think he was ready for that yet.
Lance stepped through the door of an abandoned building, closing it behind him as he glanced around. He found the light switch after a moment and tried it, frowning when nothing happened.
'Either the generator's out or something's fried. Either way, that means work I don't feel like doing right now.' He thought grumpily as he walked over to a small cabinet on the wall not too far from the door. He opened it and grabbed one of the flashlights inside, flicking the switch and frowning further when nothing happened. He banged it lightly into his paw, then tried the wall when that didn't work. He growled in annoyance that the method of percussive maintenance didn't seem to be working, then tossed it over his shoulder as he grabbed four flares, placing three into an ammo pouch.
"Twist, avert eyes, and strike." He muttered to himself as he twisted the cap of the flare, looked away and closed his eyes, and struck it against the floor. Light burst into the room as it caught, Lance slowly opening his eyes to allow them to adjust. He made his way to the generator room and placed the flare down on the floor next to it as he checked the fuel level. He saw it still had at least half a full tank and screwed the cap back on, then went about trying everything he could to make it work, including trying smacking it in an effort to jumpstart it. Still didn't work.
'Alright. Must be a wire, fuse, or something else. This day just gets better and better.' He thought gloomily, shaking his head as he stood. He ignited a second flare as the first began to fade, beginning the search for some kind of faulty electronic.
Eventually Lance found a faulty fuse and replaced it with one he managed to find after a few minutes, then tried the generator again. After a few tries – and one instance where percussive maintenance actually worked when he gave it a frustrated kick – it kicked into life and the overhead lights kicked on, Lance standing with a small grin as he tossed the flare away and made his way to the center room. He plopped into a chair with a contented sigh to finally be done working and let the chair spin as he glanced over at the small desk with nothing on it. He turned slightly and pushed, the chair rolling towards the desk and coming to a stop. He raised his feet and propped them on the table as he leaned his head back, closing his eyes as he thought back to a more happy time, right after he'd found out Laura was pregnant; he needed something happy at the moment.
Lance slowly opened his eyes with a quiet grumble as he raised his head in a tired, half awake trance. He was aware of a substantial heat source in front of him, pressed tightly up against his front, and he looked down in a curiosity more caused by his half asleep trance than not actually knowing. He smiled softly when he saw it was Laura, one of his paws wrapped protectively around her middle and the other acting as a pillow for her head which lay a small bit lower than the actual pillow. Another unfortunate side effect of her unnatural shortness – for a Red Fox, anyway, at only three feet ten inches compared to the average four feet five inches – was that she tended to be a bit short of the pillow when they mated. She didn't see to mind the small inconvenience, however, since she usually ended up laying on top of him all night and thus had no need for pillows.
Lance lowered his paw ever so slightly to lay over her stomach, a very small and almost imperceptible growl of possessiveness that also doubled as a vow of protection escaping him as he thought of the unborn kit inside her. After all the years he'd spent with Nick, he'd never really given any thought to kits since he knew it was literally biologically impossible for them to have kits. Real life wasn't one of those weird slash fics with male pregnancies; the mere concept of it made him shiver. Now, though, it was a very real thing, and he didn't know whether to feel ecstatic like he knew he should or afraid that something would go wrong and that something would happen to him, the kit, or Laura and he would lose everything again.
Laura seemed to detect his distressed thoughts like all female mammals seemed able to do – and coincidentally males always seemed incapable of doing without direct visual, auditory, or olfactory confirmation – and stirred, turning her head slightly.
"Hey, you okay?" She asked softly, still half asleep herself.
"Yeah, just thinking. Don't worry about it." He said reassuringly, Laura remaining silent for such a long moment that Lance wondered if she had decided to accept the answer and had gone back to sleep. She rolled over completely and he had his answer.
"Obviously it isn't nothing, because I can sense your distress." She said, Lance sighing.
"I never said it was nothing, Laura, just not to worry about it. I promise, I was just thinking." He said, Laura sighing quietly as she finally nodded.
"Alright. Fine. I'm sorry for pushing." She said, an edge in her voice, and Lance felt momentary alarm course through him. She immediately looked apologetic. "Sorry. I can get snappy when tired." Lance's expression softened in relief, having been worried something was going on.
"It's fine, Laura. I can be the same way some times." He said reassuringly, his mate scoffing.
"You never get that way with me." She accused, Lance looking down at her in surprise.
"Do you want me to?" He asked, Laura pausing in thought.
"I just want you to be yourself without worrying about how others feel. If being snippy when you're tired is part of yourself, then I want to see that part of you. You trust me when you're at your most vulnerable, so why don't you trust me to be able to take a bit of snippiness?" Laura asked, Lance blinking. He chuckled.
"I just don't want to push you away because I say the wrong thing during a sleepiness induced trance. My mind is a weird place, Laura, and it tends to leak when I'm half asleep." Lance said, placing a comforting lick on the top of Laura's head.
"Oh? Weird how?" The Vixen asked, clearly curious.
"Well, I once described in vivid detail what it felt like to have a buzzsaw start cutting into you from your shoulder after I dreamed it. Another time I dreamed about participating in a mass slaughter in Iraq despite never having been there and being able to describe the surroundings good enough to find out the village was Haditha. Those are two of my more memorable dreams my mind conjured up." Lance answered after a moment of thought, Laura looking understandably disturbed by the answer.
"So you had a dream involving a buzzsaw and another dream involving the Haditha killings?" She asked, Lance nodding in answer. "Wow."
"Yeah. A bit freaky, my imagination." Lance remarked, pulling Laura up a bit so she could rest her head on the pillow. She gripped his arm and raised herself up as he closed his eyes to go back to sleep. Lance opened his eyes back up, his curiosity piqued.
"Say, you don't have any plans for later today, do you?" She asked, Lance tilting his head
"...Well I guess I do now." He answered with a chuckle as Laura moved to lay on top of him in a rather familiar position for both of them.
Two days later, Lance flipped a knife absentmindedly into the air, catching it easily. Laura watched him in obvious nervousness from the other side of the room, not really liking the carelessness he seemed to show flipping the knife up into the air. A knock came from the door to the room they shared, Lance stopping his knife tossing to look at the door in a mixture of surprise and curiosity. He stood and opened it, for once completely surprised to see who was on the other side.
"Oh, excuse me, I must have the wrong room. I'm looking for Operator Squad Two's quarters." The Ocelot on the other side said, Lance tilting his head ever so slightly.
"What's your name?" He asked, the Ocelot blinking.
"Uh, Recon, sir-" Lance cut the Ocelot off with a snap of his digits, the younger Feline blinking in confusion.
"Do you know what rank I am?" Lance asked as he silently gestured for Laura to approach, the Feline not even having to hesitate to think.
"The only Operator with a rank known to the others is the Commander. I just assumed you were a higher rank since you have more experience." He answered, Lance nodding in acceptance of the answer.
"Alright, that makes sense." He said as Laura stuck her head out into view in curiosity. Recon locked up in surprise as his eyes widened noticeably. Lance arched an eyebrow questioningly. "Something the matter, Recon?" He asked, the Ocelot opening his muzzle to speak, closed it, then opened it again.
"I thought it was against fraternization policy to become attached to your fellow Operators is all." He answered, Lance turning his head to look at Laura with amusement, then faced Recon again.
"That's technically at the ZPD. The only rules we live by here are respect and to never give quarter to those who would ask for it, especially when we're called in to get a job done." Lance responded, Recon blinking.
"No quarter...?" He asked hesitantly, Lance tilting his head.
"Don't they teach you anything in training? Operators are a last resort, lethal force group only. We don't aim for the legs or paws, we aim for the chest or head." Lance answered, Recon faltering visibly before nodding.
"Understood. Can you point me in the right direction for Operator Squad Two's quarters?" The Ocelot asked, Lance sighing as he jerked his thumb to the right.
"Follow this hallway, skip the first two intersections, then turn left on the third. After that, keep going until you reach the end. Turn right and you'll find Squad Two's quarters." He said, the Ocelot nodding as he turned and began walking. Lance closed the door and turned to face Laura. "They're gonna try and Buddy you two." He remarked, Laura nodding.
"I got as much, since we specialize in roughly the same thing." She replied, Lance sitting back down. He went back to tossing the knife into the air, Laura watching him with a mixture of interest and fear.
Two days later, Lance stood in the armory staring at his outfit, his head tilted in thought as he looked it over. He reached out and picked up one of the hard plastic shin guards, running his paw over it; feeling for cracks and other imperfections in the mold. He repeated this motion with the other shin guard, then the forearm guards. With a satisfied hum, he stepped back to admire the outfit. He stared into the mask, the thought of what he must look like to his victims as he stalked towards them suddenly taking residence in his mind. He shook it away with a small growl, finding I more annoying than worrying he allowed the thought to even fester.
A short, tiny scuffing sound told him he had a visitor.
Red arms wrapped around his waist as he felt a heat source rest against his back, Lance turning easily and facing Laura.
"Hey." She greeted softly, Lance smiling at her.
"Hey." He echoed, just as softly, as he placed a soft kiss on top of her head.
"There a reason you're in here?" Laura asked, Lance shrugging in answer.
"Just looking over my stuff, really. More bored than anything." He said, a small grin forming on Laura's muzzle at the words.
"Well, lucky for you I know the perfect way to stave off boredom." She said, pulling away slightly as her eyes half lidded.
"Sounds like a plan, then." Lance remarked as Laura turned and walked away, Lance following her. He stopped and turned to look into the armory at the feeling of being watched, noticing Recon watching him for the first time from a corner chair. He frowned to himself as he turned and resumed following Laura.
He had a bad feeling about the Feline, though he couldn't figure out what it was or what caused it.
Lance opened his eyes, gaze resting on the wall in front of him from her it had shifted forward during his musings. He rolled his neck, hearing it crack and pop loudly as he let out all the kinks. He adjusted his position slightly and closed his eyes as he reached up and pulled the ballistic mask off, setting it on the table in front of him. He let sleep take him.
Several months later, in early October, Lance sat cross legged at a table, staring at the mammal in front of him. Over the past few months he had carefully built as much of a web of informants as he could. He had eventually found somebody who could help him find the mammal he was searching for.
"Alright, so what do you have?" Lance asked, the White Tailed Deer reaching into a bag and pulling a small manilla folder out. She set it down and Lance picked it up, opening it and blinking. He let out a small chuckle when he realized what the photos meant. Lance stood. "Oh, she thought she could keep this from me forever, didn't she? She thought she could just string me along for a long, long time until she didn't need me." He said to himself, gesturing the other mammal could leave. The Deer nodded and stood, leaving the room quickly.
'Well, guess it's time to go for the weapons, then. I'm gonna need them.' He thought as he tucked the folder under an arm and began walking. 'Maybe I'll let Nick know I've found them, just to prove a point when he finds them.'
"Yeah, I like that idea." He said quietly, grinning to himself as he began walking. He eventually reached his hideout and tossed the manilla folder into the trash, not needing it any longer, and pulled his phone from a pocket. He glanced up at the clock, then nodded to himself when he saw it was about time for nick to get off. He tapped the number, hoping it was still the same as before.
A click.
"Hello?" Nick's voice asked, Lance taking a deep breath as he suddenly felt nervousness hit him like a freight train.
"Hey, Nick. I found the mammal I've been looking for." He said, the line going silent for a long moment.
"Alright, give me your location and we can meet up, take them in." Nick said finally, Lance scoffing.
"I'm not stupid, Nick. You already know where I'm at; triangulation only takes a few seconds. Meet me here. I won't leave." Lance said, hanging up and throwing the phone down. He stomped it, crushing the phone and the SD card, just to be safe.
Now all he had to do was wait to see if Nick would take him down, help him, or if Lance would have to plow his way through him.
And that does it for Chapter 37 of Zootopian Assassins! I hope you guys have enjoyed this Chapter, even if it did jump an extreme amount of time near the end. Next Chapter showcases Nick and Lance having a small little confrontation, as well as Lance showing just how and why he earned the name Personnel for his Operator callsign. More specifically, he'll be showing the other Operators how he earned the name. Please do not be afraid to nitpick me, I promise you guys any advice you can give will make me a better writer, allowing me to give you guys better content and lets you guys stop having to see the mistakes I make. I welcome helpful criticism like a starving man welcomes a feast, or like an anime fan welcomes Season 2 of Shingeki no Kyojin. Anyway, this is getting long enough as it is, I will see you guys...next update. Word Count: 5,119