Chapter 1: Assault
"Here, one ice cream for me and my sweet partner" Nick said with a smile on his face as he handed a cherry ice cream to his work partner, Judy.
"Aww, you don't have to call me cute"
"Everyone knows rabbits are cute and you are one, aren't you ?" Asked Nick wrinkling his eyebrows making Judy laugh, she couldn't say no for her friend.
"Well yes, as always you are right" laughed Judy starting to lick her ice cream. The two of them were now on patrol like every day. It was the middle of summer, so Nick always bought them each a pair of ice cream at the same time every day. The sun was warming the territory by emitting its heat. It was hot and sunny outside, not a single cloud in the sky dared to budge, the sky looked as if it was a pure blue-blue cloth that had just been taken out of the wash. It was pristine blue. Even though they were on patrol they didn't feel it, their day was mostly fun which ended towards evening when they had to finish their shift and disperse to their homes. While on patrol they talked to each other, joked around, sometimes Nick even brought cards and they played them on the cockpit of the car. They only interrupted when they received some radio report on the radio, but that didn't happen very often. They sat in the car packed in the shade of a huge skyscraper that protected them from the glowing sun.
"ah, you know, I didn't know a policeman's job could be so easy and fun" sighed Nick playing with the ice cream stick he had just eaten while Judy still had half of it.
"Well, you've only been here for a week and a half, take it easy. You'll find time for more action," Judy countered.
"Or I'll go to the parking meters" laughed Nick derisively. He stopped laughing when he saw Judy's brow crinkle and become more serious.
"ah Carrots come on, I'm just grinning. I'm not going anywhere" Nick replied.
"Well rather, you have a contract that says you're working with me" countered Judy.
"You've got it all planned out haven't you?"
"As you can see I'm not that stupid a rabbit"
"You're the smartest one I've ever seen. Seriously and I'm not exaggerating here"
"Aww...thank you " replied Judy with a blush on her face.
"By the way, if we're talking about rabbits...have you ever met another fox?" Asked Nick curiously.
"Yes...you won't believe it, but I studied one in my class when I went to primary school"
"wow, really?" Asked Nick curiously, to which Judy nodded with a shake of her head.
"He certainly wasn't as good as me"
"hah, you're right there. I hated him. And by the way he didn't me either. He annoyed me terribly and not just me. I remember having a tug of war with him once..."
"I didn't see that you were so aggressive from a young age"
"Hey, I'm not aggressive!" Replied Judy, to which Nick laughed.
"yeah...sure sure sure..."
"and don't even try to change my mind. Going back...when I met him years later he changed beyond recognition, he's a really good man now, intelligent, sensitive, cultured...a completely different fox."
"you see, you don't have to be afraid of foxes"
"I'm not afraid of them...at least not now" replied Judy.
"ok, fine, tell me..."
"Hello, cobra 05 come in, this is headquarters, come in!" The commander's voice came from the radio. Judy showed her hand for Nick to keep quiet, then picked up the message.
"Dispatch, this is cobra 05, over."
"There are some suspicious people circulating in a bank near the centre, you are to find them and investigate them. They may be in possession of weapons"
"cobra 05, acknowledged, over and out" replied Judy then hung up.
"You wanted action? Well you'll get action" said Judy. She started the car then pulled out onto the road with a squeal of tyres.
"Easy Carrots, it's not your scooter" laughed Nick, which again made Judy slightly nervous.
"Better get our guns ready" replied Judy opening the luggage on the passenger side at him. There was a black suitcase and in it were two pistols, which were already loaded. Nick opened the case and when he saw the contents he opened his mouth in surprise. He took out one gun and looked around at it.
"Just don't put a gun to your head" laughed Judy seeing Nick's excitement at the sight of the gun.
"relax, I know what I'm doing" replied Nick looking at his reflection in the gun. Soon Judy came to an abrupt halt snatching the gun from her partner's paws which surprised him. It also surprised him that they were already standing outside the bank they were supposed to reach.
"Get your gun and let's go," replied Judy. Nick tucked his gun into his waistband and then followed Judy stopping in front of the entrance to the bank. It was one of Zootopia's main banks, which was located in the southern part of the city. The other main banks were in the eastern and western parts of the city.
"Look around Nick, they could be anywhere. " Judy replied, at which she began to move slowly inside the building.
"And where are you going?" Asked Nick.
"I'll patrol the inside of the building, you stay here. If something starts happening and you hear it, come here" Judy communicated. Nick didn't have much to say as he was still studying and had to follow Judy's instructions. As per her command he stayed outside and watched everyone who walked on the pavement, entered or exited the tank. He had to focus his senses so as not to let anyone pass who looked strange or suspicious. He stood upright on the concrete steps of the bank and watched closely, anyone who walked past him. He felt a little strange in this situation - usually it was others who looked at him, the fox, closely, as if they wanted to read as much as possible from his clothes, his facial expression. Now it was he who looked at others, wanting to see in others' eyes his intentions and aims. No one looked suspicious to him or someone who could pose a potential threat.
"Drop the gun!" A sudden shout rang out inside the bank. It drew the attention of Nick, who, unable to see around the bank, approached the exit leaning out from behind a concrete column so he could see what was going on inside.
"Shit..." Thought Nick as he saw two masked men with guns. He finished leaning out, then removed his receiver from his belt.
"Central, report here cobra 05, send reinforcements to the south main bank, we have some armed men here..." Interrupted Nick ,when he heard the start of a series of shots rushing rounds from a distance.
"Cobra 05 this is HQ. Reinforcements dispatched" the man replied over the radio. Nick put the receiver in his pocket and began to think about what he should do in this situation. If Judy was next to him it would be much easier, but her absence confused him.
"'I have to help for Judy' thought Nick. On the one hand he was afraid to go inside, even though with Judy he was brave and confident so hearing the sound of gunfire he was afraid to go into action, but he had no choice. He had to do it. Taking advantage of the fact that he saw no one at the exit, he took out his pistol then entered the benefit leading to the main hall. Leaning against the left wall, Nick went deeper and deeper until he reached the main entrance. He heard gunshots from the left. He took advantage of this and ran to the other side of the wall. He leaned out of it and saw two men in black masks who were slowly retreating towards the emergency exit.
"Freeze! Police!" Shouted Nick leaning out of the corridor. He hid immediately by a leaning bench that lay in the middle of the room. His ears resting against the bench felt the vibrations as several bullets flew over his head or hit the bench. Nick leaned out every few seconds firing missed shots at his opponents, only to hide behind the bench again moments later and wait out the series.
"I can't let them get away...but how!" Thought a frustrated Nick. The situation was beyond him, but he tried to keep a cool head wondering what his partner would do. Leaning out from the bench, he saw the thieves fleeing through the emergency exit. Nick instinctively jumped out from behind the bench, started running towards the fugitives who, despite their baggage of money, were not free.
"Stop! Police!" Shouted Nick dismissing several warning shots, but all that answered him were the shots of the attackers. Soon they reached the emergency exit, under which a white van was already waiting, into which the two men boarded. Nick took no further action to pursue; instead of running on, he stopped and aimed for the tyres to damage the vehicle. Before the car drove off, the fox hit one of the rear tyres, he heard the sound of a burst tyre. There was nothing more he could do. By the time he would have reached the police car, they would have been terribly far away. Fortunately Nick could already hear the sound of a dozen police car sirens, this also reassured Nick, although now a second question was growing - where was Judy?
Nick, still with the gun in his hand, returned to the main, dilapidated hall, where smashed benches, pieces of glass and dirt from shot arrows stood in the middle. Around the walls stood several civilians who, still in shock, were covering their heads with their hands.
"Relax citizens, situation...contained." communicated Nick with his eyes searching for the rabbit.
"Judy!" Shouted Nick, but no one answered him. This puzzled the fox a little, who decided to look around the grounds. He strolled between the benches checking for any injured victims. He was a little surprised that there was no Judy anywhere, having gone inside the bank first herself. Nick sensed that she had to be here somewhere, and he was right. His heart stopped when he noticed Judy lying in a pool of blood around her.
"Judy!"
Welcome everyone to my new story! I hope you enjoy it, have a great read!