"I've got a bad feeling about this."
"Nick, you've always got a bad feeling these days."
"True. But it's especially bad today."
"So, what? Is there too little foam in your latte, is that it?" Judy rolled her eyes and blew on her thermos of hot cocoa, staring out at the world from the cafe corner she and Nick were sharing. It was, as always, freezing outside and the two had been given no tasks for this week. Given that it had been almost two months since Mr. Big had tasked Nick with training Judy, she was more than grateful. Long days of excercising, sparring, training, and such had left the bunny in dire need of some relaxation. Nick hadn't wanted to admit it, but she could tell that he too was wanting some time to unwind.
"I'm being serious," Nick sighed, rubbing his neck as he stretched it, staring out the window with her. "Something bad's going to happen and I can't tell what it is. But I really, really don't like it."
"It could just be stress," Judy suggested. "I'm not saying you're not feeling anything, but you might be exaggerating it from stress. Or, you might just be really tired."
"Eh... Maybe," Nick muttered, taking a sip of his coffee. "What do you think the families are going to do about the newcomer? The Sandcats have been almost pushed out of their territory. Do you think they'll help?"
"Isn't that their job?" Judy asked.
"More like obligation," Nick replied, shaking his head. "In all honesty they probably want as much power as they can get, and the Sandcats weren't exactly the most well-liked group out there." He paused to take a drink. "But if the new group continues to expand like this, and the families don't group together, it's going to be a problem."
"Right... Because of the ZPD backing. I remember hearing one of the polar bears saying something about it – the ZPD all over the city have been more... Active." Judy furrowed her brow and stared into her drink. "Even in the places with good standing, like here. At first I thought it was just them having too little to do, but thinking about it..."
"They seem a little too active for that," Nick finished. "And they've been getting bolder. Raymond's group actually got stopped last week."
"I didn't hear about that." Judy said, raising her ears in both curiousity and alarm. "What happened?"
"As far as I can tell, there wasn't a good reason... The officer said the tail light was out, but I remember working on that car, everything should be fine." He frowned deeper and took another drink of his latte. "But the cop let them go after a quick look at everything. Raymond doesn't like it though, and I don't either. You were in the ZPD, you know anything he could've been stopped for?"
Judy shook her head, heart still giving a twinge of sadness at the thought of being a ZPD officer, but she quelled it by reminding herself of her new role. "Nothing comes to mind right now, and I would've had to of been there to tell more."
"Dang," Nick muttered, taking a long drink this time. Judy did the same, the two falling into a comfortable silence, broken only by the ambient music of the cafe, patrons, and the occasional burst of cars driving by as someone entered or left.
Judy had just finished her hot chocolate as Nick gave a long slurp on his drink, giving a very satisfied Aaah as he set the cup down. "Well, Carrots, ready to blow this popsicle stand? There's still daylight and I don't want to spend it cooped up somewhere again."
"You read my mind, Slick," Judy replied happily, jumping down from her seat. Nick did the same, tossing his empty cup into the trash as they walked out of the cafe. The rabbit gave a small shiver at the cold air, wrapping the pink scarf she wore tighter around her neck.
"Still not used to it?" Nick asked, somewhat surprised.
"Nope," Judy replied, trying to keep her teeth from jittering together. "I blame the fact that the cafe was warm."
"It's all those heavy clothes you wear," Nick laughed as he got into the driver's side of his car, unlocking the door for Judy. "You can't grow a winter pelt that way, so you're going to be colder when you step out here."
"So I have to suffer to be warm?" Judy asked skeptically.
"Pretty much," Nick grinned, starting the car and pulling out of the parking lot. The two of them sat in silence for a moment before the fox spoke again. "So, where to?"
"A mall?" Judy suggested.
"A mall? Ewww," Nick replied.
"What? I've never been to a mall before!" Judy said, unable to help but grin at Nick's expression, tongue sticking out and nose scrunched up.
"Right, and you don't want to go to one," he said. "Next?"
"A movie?" She suggested.
"What, are we dating now?" Nick laughed.
Judy scoffed. "Hardly," she said.
Nick appeared taken aback. "Carrots, are you saying I'm not good enough for you?" he grinned, breaking the feigned hurt.
"That's exactly what I'm saying," she shot back. Nick slapped his leg and laughed.
"Oh, I've taught you well, young Pawdawan." He laughed harder, shaking his head. "Guess that's what happens when you learn from the master."
"Funny, I thought you were teaching me. Where's the master?" Judy fired off again.
Nick hissed that time, a grin spread across his face. "So savage, Fluff," he chuckled. "Take it easy, will ya? Coffee hasn't kicked in yet."
Judy rolled her eyes and prepared another response just as Nick's phone went off. The fox picked it up, and his smile dipped a bit as he checked the screen. He put the device to his ear a moment later and Judy tried to listen in, but the voice was too faint for even her to hear. From the sound of it, though, it was their boss. "Yes, sir. We're still in the district, yes. What? Okay, we'll be there soon."
He hung up and set his phone down, slamming on the brakes and spinning the car around, almost throwing Judy against her door and earning an angry honk from some unseen driver. "Sorry, Carrots, change of plans. We're needed back home, sounds like something bad happened."
Judy adjusted in her seat as Nick sped up, pressing her into it. "What happened?" She asked, looking out the window as the world sped by a bit too fast.
"Mr. Big didn't say, but it's bad. He sounded hurt." Nick's face became serious as he stared at the road, pressing even more on the gas. Judy nodded and fell silent, wanting him to focus on the road more than anything.
Not five minutes later and they had pulled into the parking garage of the Big estate, and were sprinting inside. When they entered, the halls seemed unusually empty. On Nick's unspoken command – a gesture - both of them drew from their concealed holsters, Judy's P99 held low as she ran beside Nick, who was holding his modified P30L up as they ran. The two checked each hallway on the way to their destination – Mr. Big's office – and found each empty. But when they rounded the corner to the office they needed, they found the reason why.
The hallway was a mess. The rug had been bundled and torn up at one end, claw marks had appeared on the walls, pictures were either at an angle or on the floor, and one light was shattered. At the far end was a massing of polar bears, each one already having aimed at Nick and Judy the moment they rounded the corner. Upon realizing who it was, the two were waved over and into the office. Mr Big sat on his chair, seemingly a bit ruffled but otherwise normal. "Fillis, you take some of the boys and make sure the house is empty now. If you find anyone here who shouldn't be, get rid of 'em." the shrew ordered. A large polar bear with near-silver fur nodded and waved for several other bears to join him as they shuffled off down the hallway, shutting the door behind them.
Nick and Judy turned to their boss, both silent but brimming with curiousity and concern. Mr. Big sat back in his chair and brushed at his suit with a disapproving expression. "I'm glad you two got here so quickly," he said. "As you can see, there's been an... Incident. Boris was returning from an errand and was giving me a report, when..." The shrew paused, moving a tiny paw around as he searched for the words. "He attacked. There wasn't so much as a shatter of glass, but his eyes went wide, and he fell to all fours and acted... Primitive. He wounded Ellis before Koslov and the others sedated him in the hallway."
"He just attacked?" Nick asked. "He's always had a short temper, but that's... Not like him."
"No, it wasn't," the shrew agreed. "I've called you two here because of his errand. He was to meet with a member of the Sandcats and tell us of their situation now. We've known it was getting worse but how bad exactly was unknown. I want you two to go over his report and-"
The door to the office burst open, and as Nick and Judy turned a well-dressed cheetah was thrown into the room. He grunted in pain and grabbed his arm, looking up at the room with wide, scared and pained eyes. It took a moment for Judy to recognize him as Max. He no longer wore the usual tan suit of the Sandcats, but was in a navy blue one instead, which was torn and ripped in places. There was a notable gash in his forehead, which was oozing red that leaked down his face, matting down the fur in some places. He let out another gasp and held up his paws as one Kenny grabbed the back of his shirt and hauled him to his knees, the other paw holding a gun to his head.
"Max," Mr. Big said with a disapproving tone. "What are you doing here? There was no word of you coming and given our circumstances you-"
"I came because I need your help," the feline interrupted. Kenny snorted and shoved his weapon against the back of his head, making the cheetah wince. Mr. Big waved a paw and Kenny relaxed slightly.
"This is not the time for you to be asking for help. If you wanted an audience you should have asked. This is the one warning I will give you – get out. I will speak with Mister Sanchez about this." The shrew waved his paw away and Kenny turned, taking Max with him as he hauled the cheetah to his feet and out the door. Max opened his mouth in protest before shooting a pleading look at Nick and Judy, making the bunny snap from her silence.
"Kenny, wait!" She turned to ensure the polar bear had paused before turning to her boss, ignoring Nick's sudden stiffness. "Mr. Big, what if he knows something about what happened to Boris? Isn't it worth listening to him at least?"
Mr. Big sat back in his chair, eyes hidden behind his eyebrows as he stared at Judy. From the way Nick had reacted, she began to regret her decision, until the shrew sighed and nodded. "Bring him back." Kenny snorted a second time and nodded, turning and shoving Max back into the room. The cheetah, with grateful look towards Judy, stood in the center of the room again. "I give you ten minutes to tell us why you're here," Mr. Big said.
Max nodded and took a hesitant breath. "I came because of Sanchez, sir. He's... He's dead."