Here it is! Thanks for the patience
Chapter 35
Nick POV
"I said give us a MINUTE!"
SLAM!
Click.
I watched Judy slam our office door on Mr. Black, and lock the deadbolt, before she rested her head on the door, and let out a soft cry.
I rushed to her with flat ears, trying to keep myself from tearing up while I lifted her gently shaking body, and raised my chin to let her push her nose into it's place on my neck.
I silently walked over to the couch, and sat down with Judy held tightly to me, unable to think of anything to say.
We hadn't even made it home to celebrate our first Christmas together. As soon as Judy had pulled away from her parents house, Brutus called me, and ordered that I meet his guys at some warehouse in the Rainforest District by 2:00 am.
Judy had been crying ever since, and I'd been doing my best to be strong for her, but seeing her like this for so long had broken me. It didn't matter about the call anymore; it only mattered that I was there for her, and after tonight, that I'd come home to my one and only.
"Carrots…" I spoke softly, my voice cracking while I listened to her sob into my neck, and felt her clutch her paws into my fur.
"No! I'm n-not l-letting y-y-you go-oo!" She shifted herself on my lap to straddle me, and latched herself to me painfully tight while she buried her face in my neck, "I won't! I n-need y-you! Y-you're m-m-my life! I can't l-lose y-y-"
"Honey, you need to breathe!" I lifted her head to hold her cheeks after she choked on her words, and held her breath. I locked my eyes to hers, only to lose my voice from the despair she held in them.
Unable to speak, I pulled her close to me again, and wrapped her in my arms. She returned her short muzzle to my neck, and I held her shaking body, trying to think of anything to do to calm her.
"I can't lose y-you, Nick…I can't... You're g-gonna get killed a-and… Nick I d-don't want to… I c-can't l-live without y-you… please don't g-go…" She begged me quietly, repeating what she'd been saying since I was called.
My resolve to be strong for her shattered after she released a long, soft cry that caused my tears to run down my cheeks, and fall onto her gray fur.
"Judy… please… it'll be okay…" I nosed around her ears, and gave into the intense urge to groom her that I'd been suppressing all day, knowing that doing so at least helped her a little, "I'm not gonna die…"
"But everyone d-dies!" She released another long cry into my neck, her body tensing more with each ragged breath she took, "Everyone th-that's done what y-you are is d-dead! All of th-them! I won't let y-you be n-next!"
Silently, I drew my tongue more firmly around her ears, and picked up my pace when I felt her start to relax.
I knew what I had to tell her, but I didn't want to say it. I had no choice but to answer my call, or not only would I be put in danger, Judy would be, too. I never knew if I was being watched or not, but if I was, I wasn't going to take any chances to risk her life.
I forced myself to stop grooming her, and opened my mouth to speak, only to feel her soft paw hold the end of my muzzle.
"Don't… I know wh-what you're going to say…" She whispered, her voice sounding as if she were in pain. I shut my mouth, and started to groom her again, but had to stop after she lifted her head to lock her eyes with mine.
"I know there isn't a choice… I just d-don't want you to go…" She closed her eyes after another stream of tears began to fall down her cheeks, and held her nose to mine, "I don't want y-you to g-go…"
"I know…" I brushed her soaked cheeks, and found the will to be strong for her after I softly pressed my lips to hers, "I don't want to go, either… but I need you to be strong for me when I do. I can't do this without you..."
She nodded slightly, and took a long, shaky breath, "Okay... I'm s-sorry…"
"Don't be." I kissed her again, and was glad to see her tears had stopped, "I'm scared too… I don't know what's gonna happen… I don't know if those guys already know who I am… But I know that someone has to break the chain of all these deaths, and I don't care what I have to do to make that happen. I made a promise to you." I lifted her chin, and she opened her eyes after giving me a gentle kiss, "And I'm gonna keep it no matter what I have to do. As long as I live, I will always come back to you."
She sighed heavily, and returned her short muzzle into it's place on my neck, "I know you will, my love… I need you to…"
"I will." I soothed her, and started grooming her again, needing to calm myself before I even thought about driving out of the station parking lot, "And I'll be back tomorrow to give you your present, okay?"
She kissed from my neck to my chin, and held her lips to mine in a slow, but deep kiss, "Okay…"
"Then let's get this done." I stood up with her in my arms, and nuzzled gently below her chin before I set her down, "I love you."
"I love you too, Nick… More than anything…" Her voice was just above a whisper. I knew she wasn't feeling that much better about tonight, but at least I'd gotten her to calm down. For now, at least. I didn't know how calm she would be having to sit with Mr. Black all night.
I brushed her cheeks off gently, and brought my lips to hers for the last time I could tonight, hoping to show her the unending love I held for her through our contact.
She clasped her paws in the fur of my neck, and increased her pressure against my lips as she held her slender body to mine. I knew she was doing exactly what I was through our kiss, and for the first time since I was called, my tail wagged.
We had to break our contact to breathe in each other's breath, and for me to fill my head with the scent of my one and only.
"I love you…" She whispered softly, holding her nose to mine, and tightening her paws in my fur to pull herself tighter against me, "I need you to come back… You're my life, Nick… Please be safe, and please come back to me…"
"I'll do anything to make sure I do." I assured her, meaning exactly what I said, "I love you too, Judy."
She gave me a faint smile that kindled my hope for tonight, and I lifted my chin for her to nuzzle into my neck.
The clock on our office wall caught my eye, and I started grooming her again after I noticed we still had ten minutes before we had to meet Mr. Black in the parking lot. I needed all the help I could get to relax myself, and to get rid of the mountain of anxiety that had been forming all day due to my inability to groom her at her parents house. Adding a phone call from a ruthless criminal on top of that was overwhelming.
Judy needed this too, especially with how much she worried about our assignment. I didn't know how she kept from going crazy. If I had to worry about her going off and not know if she'd come back, I'd have lost it by now.
After a few minutes of my gentle grooming, her paws relaxed their grip in my fur, and began to massage my neck and ears. I slowed the pace of my tongue to be in tune with her breathing, and for the short amount of time I had left with her, nothing could hurt us.
.
"Nick, can you hear me?"
"Loud and clear, Judes." I replied to the tiny voice of Judy in my ear, and started the rusty truck I was sitting in.
Judy and Mr. Black would be following me in an SUV from the Bureau so they could track me, hopefully armed to the teeth. As far as I knew, they would be the only ones going with me.
"Good… just checking…" Judy replied quietly, and my ears fell at her sorrowful tone. She hadn't teared up since I calmed her down in our office, but I knew she was still having trouble keeping herself focused, especially since she'd been checking that I could hear her every five minutes or so.
I sighed heavily, and drove onto the highway, wishing I could at least talk with her privately without Mr. Black recording everything we said to each other. Without any sort of comfort from her voice, the anxiety in my chest became crushing.
I took a sip of coffee, and rubbed my eyes. The warehouse was much closer than EaSeal's, but that meant I had less time to prepare myself, and less time to calm my nerves.
"Your exit is nearing." Mr. Black spoke up out of the silence, "You're to park at the northeast corner of the parking lot. Understood?"
I didn't reply. Mr. Black had taken away my ability to speak freely to Judy, the only thing that could help me relax in some way, besides turning my truck around and going home with my little bunny.
"Understood?" Mr. Black repeated more firmly, and I let out a short growl in reply. Maybe he'd take the hint I didn't want to speak to him.
I heard a scoff in my transmitter, and a loud click that let me know someone had just cut off communications with me. With a sigh, and took my exit off of the highway, feeling more alone than I had in a long time.
Maybe Nick would be there. I was surprised to realize that I hoped he would. I felt safer around him, considering he helped me fight those wolves when I was a complete stranger to him, and brought me to a hospital after my initiation. I knew Judy hated his guts, but I couldn't help but to think of him as a friend.
"Nick?"
"Carrots, hey!" A smile forced its way through my worry. I'd thought Mr. Black had shut off their end of the mic.
"We're in position, and Black stepped outside to set up the computers… we can talk now."
"Oh good…" I sighed in relief, only minutes away from the warehouse, and quickly losing the time I had to talk to her, "How are you doing, Cottontail?"
"I'm… scared, Nick…"
"Me too…" I muttered, taking another sip of coffee, "But I think I'll be okay..."
I heard Judy sigh, "I hope so... Please be safe… and let me know as soon as you can get out of there so we can get you out…"
"I will, don't worry." I softened my voice after hearing a light sniffle on the other side of the line, and pulled into the parking lot of the warehouse, "I love you, Judy. I'm at the warehouse…"
"I love you too, Nicky…" Judy replied weakly, and went silent. It was time to get to work.
I pulled into a parking space at the corner of the parking lot, and waited in the truck. A light rain had started to come down, and the quiet pitter-patter of water droplets landing on the roof of the truck eased my nerves a little.
"Uh… so am I just supposed to wait here?" I asked quietly after a several minutes of looking around the barren parking lot. There wasn't any sign of life, except for the occasional passing car.
"I think so… we got here early." Judy sighed into the mic, and I heard a loud click in my transmitter.
"Step outside the truck, no one can see you inside of it. They're waiting on the roof to make sure it's you." Mr. Black spoke up, sounding bored.
"Why didn't you tell me that earlier?" I rolled my eyes, irritated that I'd just been sitting here for no reason.
"To give me time to locate then in case there was an ambush. Did you put in your Ires?"
"My iris?" I remained in the truck, confused as to what my eye had to do with anything.
"Ugh, at the station, did I not give you a case with a contact lens and instruct you to place it in your dominant eye?" Mr. Black replied gruffly, and I heard a quiet exhale from Judy.
"Oh… yeah I didn't put that in." I chuckled at Mr. Black's frustrated tone, and reached into my pocket to pull out the metallic, black case he'd given me hours ago. I opened it to find a black ring, a bottle of fluid, and a single, clear contact held in place by three tiny, metal arms, "Wait, why isn't there two of them?"
"You don't need two. It's only meant to be a camera, not to improve your vision, but that's beside the point. We're going to do this now. I need you to take the clear bottle of solution, and rinse out your dominant eye thoroughly." Mr. Black ordered.
"Fine…" I agreed reluctantly, wanting to get this over with as soon as possible.
I took the bottle of solution, and emptied it into my right eye. Oddly, after a few seconds, I couldn't feel my eye anymore at all.
"Hey uh… I can't feel my eye anymore."
"Good. Don't worry, you'll regain feeling in a moment. Take the contact, and place it in your eye." Mr. Black continued, and I took the contact as carefully as I could from its case.
Using the rear view mirror, I lead the contact into my eye, careful to avoid stabbing myself with my untrimmed claw.
"Wooooaaahhh…" I closed my left eye to see three, orange dots blinking across my vision, and then rotate themselves to be perfectly level with my head. Then, they disappeared, leaving me with my normal sight.
"Fascinating, isn't it?" Mr. Black spoke up after a few seconds, the frustration in his voice replaced with wonder, "Now, twist the ring apart to get it past your finger pad, and place it on the middle finger of your right paw."
I followed Mr. Black's instructions, and placed the ring on my paw. I felt a slight tingle in my finger, and gasped after feeling a sharp prick beneath the ring.
"Registering" popped up into my vision, distracting me from the pain in my finger. I looked at the word, awestruck with how cool this contact thing was.
"OW! WHAT THE FUCK!?" Searing pain suddenly radiated through my eye, forcing me to close my eyes tight, and hold my palms over my eyelids to stop the pain.
"What's happening!?" Judy screamed into the mic, but I was too busy growling through my pain to respond.
Suddenly, my eye became numb again, leaving me to pant in the truck, and to wipe away my agonized tears.
"Ah, I forgot to mention that the device temporarily bonds itself to your cornea." Mr. Black informed lazily. He'd cut off Judy's mic, but I could still hear her yelling at him in the background, "It's part of your eye now."
"What!? Why didn't you tell me that!?" I yelled, furious that I could have avoided pain.
"You wouldn't have put it in." Mr. Black chuckled, "I have the separate bottle of solution that removes it from your eye, but that's not important right now. That ring on your finger controls the Ires. Firmly tap on it twice with your thumb to enable recording. This will let us see everything you do, and that's all you need to know for now. I'll run you through the device's full capabilities at the station. Now, if you'll please inform your partner-"
Click!
"Nick!? Are you okay!?"
"I'm fine, Cottontail." I spoke quickly to calm Judy down. She'd been yelling non-stop at Mr. Black, "It's not hurting anymore."
"Good… Pull something like that on Nick again and I'll-"
"You'll do nothing." Mr. Black cut Judy off harshly, the anger in his tone forcing a growl out of me, "You'll sit there, and act professional, or you'll fuck up this entire operation with your lack of emotional control. Both of you need to focus, or I'll only be working with one of you. Now, Wilde, step out of the Goddamn truck."
Judy went silent, and without another word, I stepped out of the truck to slam the door with an frustrated snarl.
Who the hell does he think he is!? I thought furiously, leaning against the truck with a long sigh, and shaking my paws to cool myself off. Somehow, I'd get him back for this…
I waited in the rain, and firmly tapped the ring on my paw twice to start recording. Three orange lines spiraled into my vision, and met in the center to merge with a small red dot. Then, the display went clear again, and I looked up to see a fox approaching me.
"Eyyy!" The fox greeted me as if he knew me, and I took his outstretched paw after casting out my furious thoughts, "How's the head?"
"Uh, it's good?" I raised an eyebrow, growing nervous at the stranger's knowledge of my injury, "Do I know you?"
"Bro, it's me, Carl." The fox gave me an odd look, "From your initiation?"
"Oh shit, I don't remember half of that." I lied with a grin, and laughed with the muscular fox.
"Damn, same thing happened to me!" He chuckled while tapping the back of his head, and we started to walk together towards the warehouse entrance.
"So do I have to come out here every time I get a call?" I asked, and Carl shook his head.
"Nah, just the first time so I can show you where to go next time. Gotta make sure you ain't got no one followin' you there." He winked at me, and I hid my nervousness behind an understanding nod.
Carl lead me to the side of the warehouse, where an older green muscle car was parked.
"Get in, we got a bit of a drive." Carl unlocked the car for me, and I slid into the passenger seat.
"How do I get my truck back?" I asked after the engine rumbled to life, "Why can't I just drive there?"
"To make sure you weren't followed." Carl repeated, and started driving down the alley to behind the warehouse, "We're gonna leave a different way from where you came, just in case. I'll take you back here later and then next time you're good to just show up at the place."
"Oh. Seems like a huge hassle."
"It is." Carl groaned, "They've been on everyone's ass about bein' careful with what you say, what you do, how you meet, who you meet. I guess they been catchin' spooks in the club or somethin'. Everythin's gettin' locked down."
"Huh…" I muttered, the anxiety steadily growing in my chest, "They got 'em all, right? I don't gotta worry about getting thrown in prison?"
"They always get 'em." Carl assured me with a grin, making my heart drop into my stomach, "But as long as you're quiet, you ain't gotta worry about much. The guys are good to us, we get paid well, shit, they even fix you up if you get busted in a fight."
"What?" I raised an eyebrow, not expecting that criminals would care about anyone, "They fix you up?"
"Well yeah, why wouldn't they? If you're broke, you can't fight, and then they don't get business. That's why they waited so long to give ya a call. What's the point in watchin' a broke ass animal fight?"
I let out a small puff of air, "I never woulda thought."
"Most don't, but it makes sense if you think about it." Carl tapped his head, and pulled onto the highway.
I hoped Judy had heard what Carl had said. Despite knowing I was heading into a potentially deadly situation, my nerves had been calmed slightly knowing that I wouldn't be killed in the ring, or even left to die after. While my cover was still intact, at least.
I looked over at Carl, who had lit a cigarette, and offered another to me.
"Thanks." I took one, and heard a sigh in my transmitter. Judy hated smoking, but I didn't mind it as much as she did. I'd welcome anything to help keep me calm right now.
"You're better at this than I thought, Wilde." Mr. Black spoke up in my ear, sounding pleased, "We may just have a shot at this."
I silently accepted his compliment, a small ray of hope shining through my dark thoughts. This was the first time Mr. Black had said something to me about this case that sounded hopeful.
I looked out the open window, and blew out a puff of smoke, "So what's it like? What do I do?"
"You do rookie stuff." Carl chuckled, "They call ya in to fight other rookies, and some of the big guys spot out the good ones to make it to the big crowds. For now, you just get bet on, and maybe make a grand a fight if you win."
"Nice." I grinned, growing more comfortable with the promise of money, "How many fights do I get?"
"Ha, as many as you want. They ain't gonna call you in much now, but once you get in, you can fight all night. The more you win, the more money you win, and the more you get called back." Carl took a drag off his cigarette, and tossed it out his window, "Competition's heavy this year, there was a ton of you rookies at initiation, so you gonna be fightin' against all them for a spot in the big leagues. An' then you'll be fightin' against the big guys for a shot at the bigger leagues."
I grew curious at Carl's knowing grin, and cocked my head to the side, "Bigger leagues?"
"Can't say much more to you now, only that once you're past the big crowds, you don't just fight for money anymore." Carl motioned with a claw across his throat, and I immediately understood what he meant.
I grunted in reply, and took a long puff on my cigarette, feeling nauseous with worry. I knew I'd be on this case until I was either dead, or I brought it all down, but I didn't know if I'd be able to kill anyone for sport… Or if I'd get killed for sport...
I heard a snicker beside me, and I turned my head to see Carl shaking his head, "Don't worry, once you knock out your first set of teeth, you won't be nervous anymore."
I grinned at him, and took another long drag off my cigarette before tossing it out the window, "Yeah?"
"Yeah Bro." Carl flashed his pointed teeth in a smile, and lit himself another cigarette, "'Cause then you get money."
Judy POV
I sat beside Mr. Black in front of two computer screens that monitored Nick's position, and projected the video feed from his Ires.
I had to admit, it was interesting to see things how Nick did. He seemed taller from his point of view than how I saw him, and I wondered if he even noticed his long muzzle in the corner of his vision, or if his mind just ignored it.
I sat back in my chair, and covered my mouth from the sickening thought that crossed my mind. Could that camera ever really come off…?
My privacy with Nick was sacred to me, and if I couldn't even be natural with him at our home without being watched, I didn't know what I'd do. To feel our fur meshed together was something I depended on to feel safe. I needed that time to be as close to him as I could, and to share my love with him. I couldn't even sleep without being so close to him anymore, and if that time with him was taken away from me…
"Mr. Black…"
The grey fox looked over to me, emotionless as usual, "Hm?"
"Does that camera actually come off...?" I asked carefully, debating on if I should punch him in the face if he had tricked Nick and I out of our much needed intimacy.
A faint grin rose on his lips, "Of course. I'll run him through the process once he returns to the station."
I narrowed my eyes slightly, and matched his cold gaze, "And Nick is the only one that can turn it on and off? In case he forgets to remove it?"
The knowing glint in his eyes irritated me, but I kept my mouth shut to hear his answer, "Yes. You needn't worry about your privacy. No one would want to watch that, anyway."
I burned on the inside, and clicked my mic off to keep from distracting Nick, "Hm. I figured you of all animals would understand mine and Nick's need for privacy."
"What's that supposed to mean?" He turned to face me, and clicked his mic off as well.
"You know exactly what I mean." I returned harshly, "You call us disgusting, I can only imagine what you must've thought about you and Jack-"
"Quiet." He hissed, obviously struggling to keep his fangs concealed. Instinctively, I placed a paw on my sidearm, growing concerned for my safety. I didn't know this fox well enough to know if he would attack me or not, and I wouldn't be caught off guard.
However, the amount of pain in his eyes shocked me, and I immediately regretted what I'd said. I removed my paw from my weapon, feeling horrible for crossing so far over the line. No matter how much I hated him, it was wrong to bring up his lost partner.
I looked away from his furious glare, and released a heavy sigh, "I'm sorry… I didn't mean that…"
I sensed Mr. Black's gaze shift away from me, and I glanced over to see him resting his head in his paws, his ears flat. He remained still, except for the slight tapping of his finger against his gray muzzle.
I turned away again, and looked at my screen to check on Nick. He'd been quietly talking with Carl while they drove, but nothing worth our attention had been said.
"I thought we were disgusting, too…" Mr. Black said quietly, pulling my attention away from the screen in front of me, "I don't know how or why it happened… different species shouldn't mate… but it worked for us…"
I remained in a silent state of shock, and continued to listen to him, questioning why the grey fox would open up to me about his past.
"We weren't like you and Wilde… We didn't have your kind of trust… We fought all the time… physically, too, until we'd end up bleeding on the floor together, but… somehow it worked for us… even if we were an abomination to our own two species'…" He grunted softly, and sat up in his chair, expressionless once again, "I'm hard on you two to keep you on edge, and I will continue to do so. If you're alert, you both stay alive, and I'm sure you know how imperative that is for this mission, and for your personal life, Miss Hopps."
I looked at him, unable to think of anything to say. I hadn't expected any sort of honesty from him, let alone anything having to do with his own gruesome experiences. It felt as if I were talking to a different animal.
After a second, he turned away from me, and didn't say another word. He flicked on our mics again, seemingly doing his best to avoid looking at me. Was he embarrassed by opening up to me?
I studied him for a moment more, and shook my head slightly to return my focus to Nick. I'd bring up my talk with Mr. Black to him when he came home. Maybe Nick and I could think of a way to get the grey fox to stop being so mean to us all the time. I could understand why Mr. Black would want to keep us on edge, but being hard on us was completely different than being mean to us.
With a sigh, I cleared my thoughts, and focused on my screen to see Nick light yet another cigarette.
I frowned, and made a plan to make Nick brush his teeth as soon as he got home. I wasn't mad at him, though. I knew that if he was stressed enough to smoke, he was in desperate need of something to calm him down.
"I know where they're going." Mr. Black spoke up beside me, pointing to a screen that registered Nick's position, "They're almost there."
"Where?" I leaned back in my seat to view Mr. Black's screen, and he pointed to the top of a large building shown from the satellite that tracked Nick.
"Another warehouse on the other end of the Rainforest district. They once used a metal factory for rookies, until you so carelessly shut it down before you knew what you'd gotten into."
I held my tongue at his criticism, disappointed that the agent had already returned to his usual demeanor, and turned back to my screen, "Nick, get ready, you're almost there."
I watched Nick glance at Carl through his camera, and then look into the side mirror to wink at me through his own eyes.
A faint smile rose on my lips through my growing anxiety, and I looked into his green eyes while he stared in the mirror, knowing he was doing so to make me feel better.
"Damn… I feel weird…" Nick muttered, and sat back in his seat to wave his paws on front of his face. He looked back up at the mirror, and after he leaned in closely, I realized his pupils were much smaller than they normally were.
"Pffff!" Carl burst out beside Nick, and Nick slowly looked over to the laughing fox, whose pupils were just as small as Nick's, "How many of those did you smoke!?"
"Uh… I don't know like…" Nick held up an empty cigarette pack, and Carl practically collapsed onto the steering wheel in laughter, causing me to panic when the car Nick rode in swerved dangerously on the highway.
"Hahaha! I only gave you one to make you chill! Not the whole fuckin' thing!" Carl took the empty pack from a chuckling Nick, and tossed it out his window.
"I am chilllll…" Nick giggled to himself, moving his paws in front of face again.
I opened my mouth to speak, but Mr. Black quickly shut off our mics again, and scooted over to monitor my screen with me, "Don't speak to him, he could respond out of cover."
"Then what do we do?" I asked through clenched teeth, doing my best to conceal my fury that Carl had drugged Nick, "What if Nick says something while he's like this?"
"He'll be killed."
I slumped back in my seat, and covered my mouth, the fear I'd been suppressing now taking over my every thought. I watched Nick giggle at his reflection in the mirror on the passenger seat sun visor, and felt hot tears start to flow down my cheeks. With Nick being so out of it, I didn't even know if he remembered what he was doing, and when he unbuckled his seatbelt to hang his head out of the car window, I couldn't hold my sorrow back any longer.
"Hm." Mr. Black looked at me after my foot started to thump rapidly on the seat, and scooted away to stare at his own screen, "Getting upset does nothing to help him. Relax. Wilde may be under the influence of whatever he was given, but I wouldn't be too worried about it. Carl obviously has trust in him, which is a huge advantage for Nick, considering it took so little time for Nick to establish a kind of friendship between the two of them."
"But none of th-that matters if Nick says something!" I was doing my best to keep calm, but it was getting harder by the second, "Then he'll just be killed like the rest! Like everyone else…"
Mr. Black looked at me for a moment, and then back to Nick's camera monitor. I looked to him for an answer, but he remained silent, and with a heavy sigh, I turned back to Nick's camera screen.
"I lied."
"What?" I asked the grey fox, confused about what he could've lied to me about.
"Not everyone died. There were a few that made it."
I opened my eyes wide in disbelief, unsure of how to react. I'd been living through my own personal hell thinking that the love of my life would end up being taken from me, and there was nothing I could do to stop it, all because Mr. Black had lied to me.
"Why would you lie to us like that…?" I asked quietly, questioning everything the agent had ever told Nick and I, and clenching my fists as tight as I could.
"To keep you on edge." Mr. Black replied with an irritating grin, "Before you lash out at me, think for a moment. Did I not get you to train harder, work harder, and strive to be prepared for anything?"
He did, but that in no way excused the constant torture I'd had to go through. So, I clenched my left fist, and struck his cheek as hard as I could.
"You asshole!" I screamed at him, all the pent up rage I'd held for him coursing through my body, "Why would you make us suffer like that!? What did we ever do to you to deserve that!?"
He laughed at me, straightened himself up in his seat, and looked at me with a vicious light in his eyes, "You didn't do anything. I needed to make sure you could handle the pressure."
"Ugh!" I swung at him again, only to find my paw trapped within his, and his bared fangs an inch away from my muzzle. Terror instantly flooded my senses after he shoved me against the back of the seat with his forearm, and I froze in front of the snarling fox.
"Try that one more time, and I'll have you blacklisted in a Tundra Town prison." I frantically struggled to get out of his grasp, but he increased his pressure to hold me still, crushing my paw within his, "How else was I supposed to find out who I was working with? You aren't an agent, you aren't trained for this, and you both are severely lacking in professionalism. I had no choice but to break you."
He released my aching paw, and I recoiled away from the grey fox, my panicked heartbeat the only thing I could hear. I held my paw close to me, struggling to calm my gasping breaths while the grey fox stared at me with an emotionless expression.
I glanced at Nick's camera screen, desperately wishing he was here to protect me, but quickly shifted my eyes back to Mr. Black after I heard a long sigh, fearing to see his sharp fangs near my face again.
"You don't need to fear me, I was merely defending myself." He said lazily, checking both screens after Carl told Nick they had made it to the warehouse in our headsets, "You also need to keep in mind that even if I lied, Nick is still in a predominantly fatal situation."
He returned his cold gaze to me, and I held my knees tighter to my bosom, "Collect yourself, and get back to work. I apologize for my actions, but we will work through this later, as we will be stuck working together for quite a while longer."
I didn't believe a word he said, but he was right about us needing to focus on Nick, who was stumbling his way into the warehouse with Carl, laughing together like two crazed foxes.
Cautiously, I scooted over to my monitor, refusing to even glance at the grey fox next to me. I instinctively jumped when he reached between us to grab his coffee, and scooted farther away, not willing to take any chances with him.
I massaged my paw, fighting the fear that seated itself in my stomach. I was going to tell Nick about all of this as soon as I could. After tonight, I would never work alone with Mr. Black again.
Suddenly, music blasted my eardrums, and I looked at Nick's monitor to see him and Carl walk into a crowded warehouse.
"Welcome to the club!" Carl laughed, and punched Nick in the shoulder, who stumbled away with a snicker, and followed Carl through the crowd with his paws on the criminal's shoulders as if they were great friends.
"So… So what do I do!? Do I just run in there or…?" I was concerned to hear how excited Nick sounded about fighting.
"Nah, you'll get called out to keep the bettin' on schedule." Carl explained, and turned to speak with a bear that I assumed was another delinquent friend of his.
"Cool… cool…" Nick nodded, and I watched him look around the crowded room, until he stopped on a familiar looking hyena and a wolf swinging at each other in a circle of cheering predators, "Ooooo! Nick! Hey Nick!"
My fox started to make his way to the ring, and I had to look away after the hyena landed a violent punch into the wolf's jaw that forced his opponent to slump to the ground.
"Yeaaaahhh!" I shook my head when Nick jumped to celebrate his idiot friend's victory, and sighed heavily when the other Nick noticed my fox cheering in the crowd.
"Buddy!" The hyena stuffed the wad cash a jaguar handed had him into his pocket, and lifted my fox in an embrace that made Nick wheeze, "I missed ya!"
I let out a groan. Nothing good ever happened when those two were together, and it got even worse when Carl was added into the mix.
"Oh shit, your eyes!" The other Nick put his face close to my fox's, and looked directly into the camera, causing panic to rise throughout my body, "Ha! What you give him, Carl!?"
"One of these." My Nick turned his head to look at Carl, who pulled out a long cigarette and handed it to the hyena with a wink, "Got a ton of the good shit, an' he smoked like a whole fuckin' pack!"
My fox giggled like a young kit, "I feel… super good about this…"
"Shit I wanna feel good too." The hyena grinned at my fox, "Let's go out back! How much I owe ya, Carl?"
"Ten." Carl took the bill the other Nick handed him, and my fox followed the other two, fiddling with his paws while they headed out of the warehouse.
"This can't be happening… is this even legal for him to do…?" I muttered to myself, in shock that Nick was so willing to do drugs with his so-called friends. Then again, he didn't smoke them knowingly, and I couldn't be upset with him over it. He wasn't himself right now, and I knew he hated anything to do with the stuff.
"He has to do anything to blend in." Mr. Black's voice startled me, and I locked my eyes to Nick's screen, not wanting to look at the grey fox, "And he's doing astonishingly well. He may very well be the next one to make it through, unfortunately."
I didn't want to say a word to Mr. Black, but I needed to know what could happen to Nick, "Unfortunately…? What happened to the ones that made it…?"
Mr. Black pointed to Nick's screen, which showed him outside with the other Nick and Carl, smoking and drinking together like best of friends, "They started to enjoy it. They betrayed us, and disappeared without a trace, courtesy of the high level bosses that run that criminal empire."
"Nick would never do that." I said firmly, dread starting to crawl up my spine when I realized that him not enjoying it meant that he would be one of the victims.
"Not yet, no. This was not what I meant by the agents that enjoyed it." Mr. Black pointed at the screen again, "Mister Wilde has just started. He's having fun right now because he's smoked an entire pack of whatever Carl put in those cigarettes, not because he has a taste for blood." I looked at Mr. Black, and he put down his drink from taking a long sip, "Those agents started to enjoy the killing, and because they killed for the club, they were forgiven, and given sanctuary to get away from the Bureau."
"How could anyone enjoy that…?" I asked in horror, and Mr. Black chuckled at me.
"Some animals just have it in them." He sent an odd look at Nick's screen, and went silent.
I ignored Mr. Black again, annoyed that he would even think about Nick like that. I knew Nick better than any other animal, and the countless nightmares he's had to suffer through from the night of our first date proved to me he wasn't a killer, even if he was gifted in combat. He was the sweetest animal I'd ever known, and I refused to believe the fox I wanted to spend my life with could ever stoop so low.
Mr. Black took another sip of his coffee, and I focused back on Nick's screen.
"Hey I uh… gotta pee so where is uh… the bathroom thingy…" Nick asked Carl, bending over to shape out a toilet bowl with unsteady paws.
"Inside, all the way to the left from that door." Carl replied, and took another hit off of whatever he and the other Nick were smoking.
My Nick turned around after making finger guns at a chuckling Carl, and stumbled back inside the warehouse.
I watched him make his way through the crowd, mumbling to himself. Soon, he reached the bathroom door, and locked it behind him.
I turned away from the screen after Nick started to use the bathroom, as did Mr. Black. It wasn't anything I hadn't seen before, but it was embarrassing to know he was being recorded.
"I feel… really good about this, Cottontail…"
I looked back to the screen to see Nick looking in the mirror at himself, and was deeply relieved he remembered about what he was doing.
"That's… good." I replied after clicking on my mic, and smiled when his tail went wild after I spoke, "You doing okay? You can't say anything about what you're doing, remember?"
"Yeessss." Nick rolled his eyes, and smiled in the mirror, "I remember, my cute, worried bunny."
I felt my face run hot after Mr. Black let out an amused puff of air, "Nick-"
"Oops! Sorryyyyy!" He giggled, and made me chuckle at his goofy expression, "I didn't… mean to call you cute in public… I'm feelin' like, really weird… but good weird, you know? Like… like a balloon or something… I love you sooo much though… like you don't even know, Judes…"
Mr. Black was silently laughing to himself now, causing my ears to turn bright red. Still, a smile forced its way out of me, and a small amount of joy made my heart jump at his words, "I love you too, you big dummy."
Nick snickered, and looked into the mirror with half-lidded eyes, "I can't wait to get you home and-"
Bang Bang Bang!
Nick jumped after the bathroom door shook beneath someone's loud knocking, and turned to face the door.
"Yo, Nick! You up!" I heard Carl call through the door, and my heart dropped into my stomach.
"Oooo some moooney." Nick danced a little, and my worry became overwhelming.
"Nick you can't fight like this! You can't even fight right now, you're injured!" I said quickly to stop Nick from walking out the door, feeling as if I was going to throw up where I sat. I turned to Mr. Black, "What do we do!? How do we get him out!?"
"Don't worry, my beautiful bunny!" Nick whispered excitedly into the mirror, and gave me a shaky thumbs up, "I feel really good about this!"
"That's 'cause you're high out of your mind!" I pulled my ears, unable to hold back the tears that had welled in my eyes any longer, "We need to get you out of there! You can't fight Nick, you'll get killed out there!"
"I'll be okaayyy." Nick smiled, but failed in his attempt to calm me down in any way, "I gotta… I gotta go, I love you!" He kissed the mirror, and I spun around to face Mr. Black after I watched my fox walk out the bathroom door, and meet his two idiot friends.
"What do we do!? How do we get him out!?"
"What do you mean?" Mr. Black chuckled, and took another long sip of coffee.
"His extraction! Where is his EXTRACTION!?" I stood up quickly on the seat, panic coursing through me once again at the thought of watching my soul mate get hurt again, or worse...
I struggled to gasp in air while I watched Nick get lead to the ring of predators, despair taking over my every thought as flashes of him bleeding in my arms ran through my head. I needed to do something fast!
I paced on the seat, my mind racing as I tried to think of anything to do to get Nick out of there before it was too late. I couldn't let anything happen to him!
I can't lose him!
Mr. Black gazed at me coldly, a faint grin on his thin lips, before he calmly took another sip of coffee, and set his cup gently in the cup holder.
"Miss Hopps…" He shook his head, seemingly amused by my panic, "Agents don't get extractions."