Once Nick had been led inside, Bogo led the fox into the recovery room. "Lock him to the wall," he said to Wolfard. Bogo then left, leaving Wolfard.
Nick's retaliation came quickly. Nick charged him, and he turned around, catching him mid-strike. He grunted and tried to yell for Bogo, but Nick knocked the wind out of him with a punch in the gut. He quickly ran for the door but was quickly apprehended by Wolfard. Nick struggled against Wolfard's grip and managed to get the door closed.
"C'mon, buddy. You don't have to do this." Wolfard had his paws on Nick's shoulders and pressed forward, his lips pressed together and his eyes staring at the back of the fox's head. He didn't speak; he just increased his force until Nick's grip on the floor gave way and he slid backward, stopping himself short of falling by regaining his footing. "Wolfard. You don't need to follow his orders. He doesn't know." Wolfard still didn't speak. "You're just following him blindly. You have no reason." Nick did a quick about face and locked paws with Wolfard. Wolfard pushed forward again to compensate, but Nick returned with more force. The two were forced into a standstill, grunting and seething. "You're making her die, you know that?"
The wolf shut his eyes. "No, I'm not. You are. Now let go."
"No, Wolfard. You're letting me go. You're going to let me find her."
"And go where?" He paused for a second, looking Nick in the eyes. "You know as much as I do. She could be dead."
"Or she could be alive." He slipped against the force, falling backward onto the floor. Wolfard flipped him over, pinning him to the ground. "Like you said. I know as much as you do. Why don't you just give me the chance?"
"Because. You're just going to get yourself killed. Now shut up before I tase you."
"Killed, huh?" Nick closed his eyes. "I'm useless either way, you know that?"
"Stop it, Nick."
"No, I won't stop." He strained against Wolfard's weight. "I know you. You're not afraid to go against Bogo. You're just thinking he's making the right choice."
"I said, shut up!" Wolfard yelled. He reached for the taser on his belt. Nick's eyes trained on Wolfard's waist and he was able to pull his arm out and rip it from his paws. The device triggered in the air.
Then Wolfard froze, his body tensing. He fell backward and his limbs began trembling. His face fell into helplessness. "I'm sorry, buddy." Just before he slipped away he took off the wolf's belt and strapped it to himself. "You got in my way." He kept his eyes trained on the wolf, then slipped out of the room, closing the door and leaving the wolf alone.
Nick was careful exiting the room. The lobby still had people—and Nick noticed this, so he crept along the wall and slipped into a door a few feet away from that room. It was an empty janitor's closet, but it gave him a second to collect his thoughts. I don't have long, he thought, thinking about Wolfard. Nick had only used a taser once in his life and the person he had tased had only been paralyzed for about three minutes before he started moving again. It was a risk, especially since he knew Bogo wasn't far and any noise from the room could trigger attention. Somehow his and Wolfard's struggle hadn't attracted any, but he still couldn't take any chances.
Nick inspected the room for something. The only things he found were a bottle of bleach on the top shelf and a half-eaten bar of chocolate. Nothing special, but at least he had Wolfard's belt. He was glad he had the revelation last second to take it. He felt like any enemy, but in reality, he knew the truth. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, he thought. He felt so alone. But he was going to save the love of his life.
Nick took a deep breath and cracked open the door, listening for people. There was still nobody. Within a second he had slipped out and made his way across the lobby. Each step pattered, and Nick adjusted his steps to quiet them. Just before he reached the door, he heard a shout. "Wilde! Get back here!"
Nick didn't bother checking who it was. The gruff voice and its harsh intonation were enough giveaway. He ran, his breaths getting heavier and heavier as he made his way across the parking lot. He patted the belt he wore and found a keyring, which had a car key and a remote attached to it. He pressed a button on it and something chirped from afar. He had to locate the car that was chirping, but soon he found it.
Voices were behind him. He rushed to get the car started, sticking the key into the ignition. Within seconds he peeled from the parking lot and the car revved when he rushed through the parking lot, narrowly missing a pole and veering onto the main street. Gotta go back, he thought. I'll find her.