Confronted with a three hour train trip, the potential for boredom is nothing short of daunting - even more so if one travels alone. Like most things in life, journeys are best embarked upon with a friend at your side.
Judy met up with Nick at central station as soon as she could. The fox's cool exterior belied anxiety, especially concerning travelling. Having grown up in the country, material needs meant long trips into town or further. Nick had spent the greater majority of his life within the city limits where needs are met by a visit to a convenience store within walking distance.
Judy had learned that Nick possessed a rather unfortunate fear of open spaces and a near unbearable uneasiness that accompanied him whenever travelling longer than an hour or so.
Being an off-peak train on an off-peak day, Nick and Judy had a whole carriage to themselves. In other words, plenty of space to sit in one corner and huddle around a smartphone to watch a movie.
After the tedious process of choosing said movie, they had just enough time to see the latest escapades of Jack Savage, international mammal of mystery - the train whined to a stop just as the credits began to roll.
Judy and Nick had barely stepped down from the train when a white van with "W.E.D." plastered on all four sides slid to a stop right in front of them.
The right-side window rolled open and an arctic vixen poked her head out: "Afternoon, officers. Need a lift? Hop on in!"
The two exchanged glances and boarded the vehicle. The vixen watched them buckle in before she pulled away from the kerb and set a quick pace into town. From her seat, Judy saw Nick eye Lilith from behind for some time.
"Forgive me, I feel like I know you. Did we date or something?" asked Nick awkwardly.
The vixen let out a peachy laugh and muttered something before saying, "No, Officer Wilde. I'm Lilith, Lilith Watterson, we met about a month and a half ago."
Nick gave a quiet sigh. Judy did too, even quieter.
"I came to town to deliver some gear to your partner. Speaking of, how's it holding up, Officer Hopps?" asked Lilith, glancing at Judy through the backing mirror.
"Like a second skin," replied Judy, taking a moment to regard her garments. The self-adjusting composite neoprene bodysuit fit perfectly every time.
"That's great to hear. You two made good time. And that's exactly what we're short on," commented Lilith.
Like many other agricultural centers, the Bunnyburrow township barely reached a mile in length and breadth. The more industry focused sector lay at the North end - Lilith drove the van to a defunct mechanic's workshop sitting right on the edge.
"Wow. I remember delivering produce to this place back in my teens," said Judy as the vehicle pulled into a hastily opening garage.
"Is that so? That local knowledge is coming out already," remarked Lilith, "the owner was after retiring, he just wanted a bit of cash. We provided the cash, and in exchange, got the perfect spot to coordinate expeditions in the area."
The garage door closed behind them as quickly as it had opened, the vehicle stopped and Lilith pulled on the handbrake with a ratcheting clunk. She clambered out, leaving barely any time for her door to open in the first place. Nick had just about gripped the door handle when it slid forcibly open in front of him, leaving him face-to-face with a Lilith who looked a deal more serious before.
"Come on. Let's get you signed in so we can get you on your way!" she said.
Nick and Judy both nodded and followed as Lilith jogged over to a metal desk covered in papers, a WattSec guard standing behind it.
"My apologies for the mess, I barely had time to get this all printed before I came to pick you up." explained Lilith quietly, before saying "just pop a little signature on each of these and you're good to go."
The fox and rabbit stepped forward to regard the documents. What they expected to be a simple register turned out to be the corporate equivalent of a prenup, with a bright blue Watterson Engineering and Development letterhead to boot.
Judy looked up at Nick to silently signal her discontent and to hint that the male approach would be most effective to raise their point. He narrowed his eyes in response, delivering Lilith a level stare.
"Where do you guys get off making members of a rescue team sign an NDA?" dared Nick, casting subtlety aside.
The color (or lack thereof) drained from Lilith's face, "I'm sorry, Officer Wilde. It's a length of red tape I'd avoid if at all possible."
"Well, red tape is what your company is all about, isn't Ms. Watterson?" asked Nick rhetorically, before tacking on the end: "Can't walk a block without seeing one of your stormtroopers marching the sidewalk!"
Lilith clenched her manicured fists and spat "It's not my company and if I had any say in the matter, I wouldn't be caught dead within a hundred kilometers of those goons!"
The guard beside them shuffled uncomfortably. Judy gently pawed Nick out of the way, placing herself between the two canids.
"No offense," remarked Judy to the WattSec officer, "I know it's nothing personal."
"Earlier today, Nick said something that really stuck with me; there are lives at stake here. It's clear -at least it is to me - that while it's not ideal, this little length of red tape is a necessary evil to ensure those lives are saved."
Judy leant forward and signed the paper. Nick followed suit.
"The embarkation depot is on the far side of the compound," Lilith explained quietly.
Judy and Nick nodded and walked away. Lilith turned to regard them as they left.
"For what it's worth," started Lilith, "I hope this doesn't bite us in the ass."
With the briefest of glances Nick said, "For your sake? Me too."
As if to break the tension, a PA announcement blared: "All staff, recovery team Mil Escort and Field Mechanic are expected in T minus thirty seconds. Ornithopter inbound, clear the helipad."
"We can't do anything until they're here," remarked Judy, adding "let's watch the descent."
Nick nodded and the two stood by a window and peered out. Almost immediately they saw it, the D-18A "Peregrine" Ornithopter. Data from the XD-18's deployment in November proved more than enough to get the first production models airborne within a month.
Resembling a robotic bird of prey, the D-18 series are ornithopters - aircraft with mechanical, flapping wings as opposed to fixed wings and jets or props. Rare and unconventional, just like everything else made by Watterson Advanced Mechatronics.
Now roughly 50 feet from the ground, the vessel's wings drew back and took on a wide, parabolic shape, cupping the air like a parachute for the final descent. Landing gear fashioned like birds' legs reached out and kissed the ground as the ornithopter finally landed.
"Damn," muttered Nick, taking it in.
"Isaac would have loved to see this, get some pictures to take back to him!" said Judy.
Nick replied, "That's nothing. He got to ride in one."
"What did he think?"
"You can ask him yourself in a minute…"
Judy went dead silent. She took a second or two to avoid overreacting but at any rate, that's never long enough.
"No, Nick. Tell me you didn't!" cried Judy.
Nick sighed, saying "Come on, what now?"
"Don't play stupid with me, dipstick. what makes you think bringing an unstable teenager who actively supported a terrorist organization a good idea?"
"First of all, he's just a little different, not unstable. Secondly, he turns twenty in like, a month. Lastly and most pertinently, there was about a metric shitload of undue influence at the time," explained Nick, very matter-of-factly.
Judy took a moment, took a breath and lastly took a brief glance around the room before looking back up at Nick. His face seemed to silently say "trust me, I know what I'm doing."
"Okay, You make some good points. Just be aware that if anything happens to him, his Mom will skin you alive," she replied.
Judy spotted the briefest of shudders as Nick replied "Yeah, I'll admit I mighta jumped the gun, I didn't think he'd actually be able to come. Needless to say, I'm gonna watch him like a hawk the entire trip."
'Just as well,' thought Judy as the two turned back to the window to watch the boy disembark from the peculiar vehicle that sat in the courtyard beyond.
The side doors slid open with a hiss and two figures very disparate in height emerged. A six foot timberwolf storming forward with a 3 foot feline following as close as he could. Both carried great eagerness, if for very different reasons.
The marching timberwolf came decked out in full woodland camouflage, a handgun on his hip and a carbine clipped to his chest. His excitable tag-along wore black jeans and a faux leather jacket with an oversized rucksack hanging off his back.
"Major Pearce!" greeted Nick happily as the timberwolf entered the building, noticing his particularly salty grimace he asked "everything alright there?"
The Major glanced toward Nick and spat through gritted teeth, "Peachy. I'm very glad to have met our painfully talkative replacement field mechanic and spend twenty minutes cramped in a small space getting to know him better."
Pearce skulked onward toward the embarkation depot. Right behind him, the young cat entered whilst excitably explaining … Something.
"... Using a composite membrane that's strong enough to withstand the exertion of flight but flexible enough to flap for thrust and twist to make maneuvers! It's self healing and can shrug off a .223 caliber round at three hundred meters or more!"
At last the weight of his rucksack proved too much and the young tom toppled onto his back like a furry turtle. Though funny to watch, Nick cared too much to leave him like that.
"Glad you could make it, Izzy," Nick said, lending his paw, "enjoy the flight?"
The sight of Nick gave the youngster a second wind, jumping up and wrapping his arms around the fox, "Thanks for inviting me, it's great seeing you bro."
As he let go he caught sight of Judy standing behind Nick. He took an awkward step closer and shook paws with her, saying "Hello Ms Hopps."
"Hey Isaac how've you been keeping? How's Mom?" asked Judy kindly.
"Good and she's good too - or she's okay I guess. Same old troubles. We better get moving or Major Grumpy'll have more to complain about besides me talking his ears off!" remarked Isaac.
Isaac trotted away, dragging his weighted rucksack behind him. With a glance between them, Nick and Judy followed not too far behind, turning a corner to see a grunty looking SUV with a multipurpose trailer attached. Unlike everything associated with W.E.D, the SUV bore a matte gray finish and a rust red motif of a flaming eagle in various spots.
Pearce turned to Isaac, "You can drive, right? You said it was a manual transmission before we landed."
"Absolutely! It's a Basilisk, same make as my coupe back home, very similar controls," said Isaac, nodding happily.
"Alright, that's all I needed to know so shut up. You've got the wheel, I'll navigate," ordered the Major, before turning to Nick and Judy, "that leaves you two in the back, pile up your gear and I'll stow it. Cat, get in and spin her up."
"Works for me," said Nick.
Judy answered: "Consider it done!"
With a sharp salute Isaac called out "Sir, yes sir!"
Pearce had the vehicle expertly packed in moments, being seated and buckled in by the time Isaac turned the key and brought the engine to life. With a wave from the site foremammal, the cat rolled the vehicle out of the garage and onto the road, heading West out of the township.
A radio in the center console began to emit Lilith's voice "Good luck and God's speed. On behalf of all our staff, welcome to the Phoenix Cooperative."
The Phoenix Cooperative. Judy said it over and over in her head. She figured it to be some kind of play on words - she'd never heard the term 'phoenix' before. She resolved to Zoogle it later.
"That is good news. Thank you, Lilith. Goodbye," said Walden Watterson, laying the phone down.
"Care to enlighten us on the current situation?" asked a feminine voice emanating from a nearby laptop.
Walden turned to face the screen and regarded it. He'd answered this video call moments ago. Policy required him to transmit his image, while the caller only ever showed a black screen that read "Phoenix Committee" followed by a moniker that represented whomever happened to be speaking.
"It's just as I said, the recovery team is on the move."
The earlier voice, known only as Amerikaner, replied dryly "That is little consolation. Under better circumstances, the actual recovery would have been underway by now."
"Please elaborate," said Walden.
The on-screen name changed to Britannien and a far poncier voice came through: "Last we had checked, you were not a member of the Phoenix Committee. You answer to us, and we have every right to voice our displeasure over your nepotistic delegation!"
Walden discreetly clenched one fist beneath his desk as he replied "If you have something to say, just say it."
"Lilith is naive, inexperienced and lacks your stubborn, arrogant will. She is simply too weak for this level of responsibility," explained Amerikaner.
"All that aside, she's bolder than I would have been in her situation. She has done brilliantly with what little she had," said Walden in justification.
With stern intonation Amerikaner stated "Let's not mince words: You've put us in a very precarious situation by entrusting a matter of such import to Lilith. When push comes to shove, it's up to you to do what must be done."
"Tis' just as well Osterreich is unable to be present! Kanada isn't here to protect you anymore!" Britannien scolded.
A few quiet moments passed and the 'video' call ended without apparent cue. Walden sat in silence, letting his thoughts wash back and forth while he zoned out.
The Phoenix cooperative began with a few clever folks who needed a financial leg-up from an investor or two - how in the name of the good God did Walden Watterson, CEO of multi-billion dollar corporation Watterson Engineering and Development end up in subjection to a trio of paleo-theological egomaniacs?
'Because there used to be four of them,' he thought to himself.