Judy undid her seatbelt and slid to the floor, turning and reaching under the seat for whatever case Mike had been referring to. Nick had taken the folders from her and was waiting patiently as she finally managed to grab a hold of the handle and drag the small case out. It was a simple silver case, with black rubber on the edges, and two latches to keep it shut. Opening it revealed what looked like a small sidearm, an M9, but with an elongated barrel and a small folding grip.
She froze for a moment, her police training telling her to avoid this for a slew of reasons. But then something rammed into the side of their car, sending her sideways to the ground, and she realized that this was no time to worry about these things. Pushing herself back to her knees, Judy reached into the case and drew out the weapon and one of the extended magazines beside it, before reaching up to hand it over to Mike.
"Thanks, rabbit," the cheetah said, taking the items with one hand paw, bringing it out of her sight. "Nick, start thinking of places to lose them at."
"Way ahead of you," Nick calmly replied. "Wait three streets then take a sharp left."
"Got it. Both of you hunker down, if they decide to shoot then the windows might break. If that happens, then I need you to-" Mike was cut off as another vehicle rammed into the side of their car, making the feline flinch and shout something Judy didn't catch. Mike tried to turn the vehicle away from the car that had just hit them, but their vehicle was again rammed from the side and forced back.
Judy looked out the windows from her seat, dismayed at seeing a black car with heavily tinted windows on either side, each ramming the car against the other. "Mike, you better do something!" Nick shouted, undoing his seatbelt and crawling into the front seat. Judy looked at where Nick had been sitting and grabbed the folders he had left behind, taking them to the small gun case and, after removing the two spare magazines inside, set them down and latched it shut before jumping back into her seat.
"I know!" The cheetah yelled back, words muffled by the sounds of the car being rammed and the gun he held in his mouth, using his free paw to load it.
"Nick," Judy said, watching the fox whip his head around to face her. "Folders in the case, here's the rest of the ammo," she said, passing to him the two magazines for Mike's gun.
"Thanks, Fluff," Nick replied, taking them and setting them in the middle. "Keep your head down, okay? I don't know what training you got, but I don't think they covered this. Mike, next left!"
"No, they didn't," Judy muttered, sitting on the floor so as to stay hidden, one arm covering the case protectively.
From the front seat, a loud clack was heard, and Mike let out an "Aha!" of success, before saying "Brace yourselves!"
A moment later, Judy could feel the car decelerate, and both their attackers tore ahead of them. With his tires screaming in protest, Mike turned the wheel to the left, almost throwing Judy against the door as he slammed his foot to the pedal again. Everyone was tense for a moment before Mike let out a sigh of relief. "Think we lost them?" Nick asked.
As if to answer his question, there was a heavy thud from the back of the vehicle, and Judy was tossed into the back of Nick's seat. She brushed an ear from her eyes and gave a frustrated huff at the car behind them, which was trying its best to catch up and push the side of their car again.
"Right!" Nick shouted, and again, Judy was tossed to the opposite side of the car as Mike made a quick turn.
"Watch it!" Judy snapped, finally letting her frustration get to her. "I'm not a ragdoll!"
"Well if you want to stay alive you'll have to deal with this, or buckle up!" Mike shouted back. "Nick, take this." Judy looked up in time to see Max passing Nick a small, silver pistol. "If they start shooting and I can't get a shot, you better be able to."
"Mikey, boy, do you forget who I am?" Nick replied in an oddly cheerful and smug tone.
"Not the time, Wilde!" Mike snapped. The car behind them rammed the back of the vehicle again, pressing Judy against Mike's seat as she let out a "woah!" at the unexpected jolt. Mike let out a frustrated snarl and tapped the brakes, making the car behind them ram into them once more. This time, though, Judy was prepared and didn't fall over. Taking the small opportunity, she tossed the case onto the seat and fastened a seatbelt over it, before sitting beside it and strapping herself in. Now at least she couldn't fall over.
"Take the next left!" Nick said. Mike was about to respond, when the glass of the back window shattered, accompanied by the loud crack of gunfire from the car behind them. Judy ducked down instantly, as did everyone else, as the front windshield began to spiderweb horribly from the shots.
"I can't see," Mike hissed, taking a foot up and kicking at the glass. "Wilde, help me out, will you?"
"Sure – Judy, take this, aim for their tires!" Nick reached behind his seat and passed Judy Mike's small pistol, not even waiting for her response before he turned back and undid his seatbelt. The fox scrambled on top of the dashboard and started kicking at the glass with Mike, until the windshield gave way and fell from its frame, Nick swiping at it to send it to the street.
Judy looked down and stared at the gun in her paws – a black polymer body with a silver slide, boxy design, and an uneasy feeling of its lethality just from holding it. She would've sat there and stared at it all day if it weren't for a second burst of bullets behind them, some tearing through her seat dangerously close to her ears.
"Judy, you can't just sit there!" Nick shouted. With a shake of her head, Judy undid her seatbelt and turned around, folding her ears against her head as she reached up and over the back seat. The gun was bulky in her paws, almost too big, and with Mike's decision to begin weaving along the (thankfully) near-empty road was making it difficult to aim. But she did her best, bringing the center sight onto the front left tire of the car and squeezing the trigger. Unfortunately, due to her inexperience and the conditions, she missed her first shot. This meant that the car she was aiming at now knew what she was doing and began to do its own weaving to keep her from hitting them.
Judy quickly settled for a second shot, this one narrowly missing its target. As she was lining up for a third shot, the saw an otter in a blue and black suit lean out of the window, brandishing a small firearm of his own. Judy ducked down just in time to avoid the hail of bullets he fired at her, crawling over the case to the far side of the car before popping up and taking a random shot. The otter ducked back into the car, buying Judy just enough time to aim for the front left tire and fire.
This time, she hit her mark – the tire exploded from the shot and began to tear itself apart, the car behind them letting out a squeal as the driver hit the brakes and tried to keep the car from wrecking – tried, until they drove into a stop sign, smoke pouring from the engine block and several mammals quickly crawling out.
Judy let out a relieved breath and sank back down into her seat, eyes shut and head pressed against the cushioning behind her. When she felt someone staring at her she poked open and eye and raised her eyebrow curiously, as Nick was giving her a slightly impressed look. "Didn't think you could do it; good job, Carrots."
"You should give me more credit," Judy replied with a small laugh.
"You gotta earn it," Nick replied with a smirk.
"Alright, yeah, good job," Mike interrupted. "But if you two are done flirting, then-"
"Watch out!" Nick shouted, cutting him off. Judy barely had time to register the car's sudden shift before it had happened. The next thing she knew, the street they had been facing was replaced with yet another black car, and Judy could make out the wrecked car in the distance.
"Mike, get us out of here!" Judy shouted.
"Already on it!" The cheetah yelled, some panic in his voice as he turned around to look out the back window. He slammed the car into reverse before once again hitting the gas, sending them backwards down the street. The other black car kept with them, bumper to bumper, pushing them even faster along the road. "One of you, shoot the tires out when I turn," Mike instructed.
"Hey Fluff, you want to earn some of that credit?" Nick asked.
"I don't have a shot from back here," she replied.
"Fair point," Nick muttered. "Pass me the gun." Judy reached over from her seat and gave Nick the pistol, the fox giving it a very brief check before standing up in his seat. "Alright Mike, on your- AH!"
The fox recoiled at the same time as a gunshot rang out, ducking down and clutching at his paw. Judy leaned in between the front seats worriedly, looking at Nick. The fox was clutching at his paw, the gun out of sight, hissing in pain. "Nick, are you okay?" Judy asked, mind running through possibilities of what had just happened.
"Nngh, yeah," the replied. "They hit the gun, not me."
"Nick, get in the back seat," Mike ordered. He ducked down just as another shot rang out, the cushioning of his headrest flying over the back of the car. Nick did as he was told, stepping between the seats and crouching on the floor beside Judy, clutching his paw.
"Let me see," Judy said, reaching for his paw. Nick recoiled at her action, shaking his head.
"It's fine, just shaken. It's like hitting something really, really hard," he explained. He slowly took his paws apart, holding them up to inspect them, and to show Judy. "See? Fine. But I'm flattered by your worry, Fluff."
Before Judy could respond, Mike let out a shout. Judy snapped her head up to look at the cheetah, wincing and covering her ears as he began to pull the trigger on his gun. A steady stream of bangs erupted from the gun as brass bounced off of the ceiling and cascaded to the floor. Judy didn't hear if the windshield of the opposing car had shattered, but the vehicle had begun to slow down and was turning away from Mike's... However, it was still pushing against his vehicle, forcing it to go backwards faster than it was able – as was evident from the high-pitched whine coming from the engine.
That was, at least, until Mike jerked the wheel to one side and spun his car around, letting the other car speed ahead without them – and right into a power pole. Mike didn't even glance at it as he sped past, breathing heavily and looking over his shoulder at Nick and Judy. "You two alright?" he asked.
The bunny and fox looked to one another, nodding before turning to look back at the cheetah. "Yeah," Judy breathed. "We're okay. Just... Get us home, please?"
Still breathing heavily, Mike nodded and turned his attention back to the road. "Right. We'll be there soon."