Chapter Fifteen- The Deadly Silence

"This is Raptor One actual to Team 1, we officially have eyes" a voice came through Officer Leonard Grizzoli's radio before the lion grabbed it "10-4 Raptor One, you see anything yet?" The lion asked as the sound of helicopter rotors got a bit further "negative, no hostiles in sight" Grizzoli nodded at this.

It had not even been ten minutes since the Teams went in and he was already paranoid, Grizzoli was beside Fangmeyer and Nick as they combed and cleared the streets in silence, complete silence.

"Anyone think it's too quiet . . . ? or is it just me?" Fangmeyer whispered "no, definitely not just you Fang" Grizzoli answered "Stay frosty then and check those corners, those bastards can be anywhere" Price said as the four teams of mammals snuck their way past alleyways and dead end streets.

As they continued though, the silence persisted, there were no gunshots, no talking, no nothing, just quietness. Grizzoli could see how much it put his team on edge, their fur was standing up, their eyes weary of anything that moved, they knew something was coming . . . Just not when.

The silence was interrupted though "go this way, there's a shortcut that'll get us closer to the church" Nick said, pointing his thumb at an alleyway that was quite thin. "I dunno if I'll fit through that" Mchorn said with a hint of worry "go in sideways then" Nick said taking the lead and going in first.

The alleyway was decrepit and damp . . . puddles covered the bare concrete floor that rippled as drops of water fell on them. Soon whatever sounds they were making created echoes, as if they were in a cave.

As the four teams squeezed their way through the network of small alleyways, with the rhino and elephant just barely fitting through, they were ready to fire at anything they came across, even though Grizzoli knew that Nick knew what he was doing, he still had some doubt in it, the fox couldn't possibly know EVERY nook and cranny of the entirety of Happytown.

After what felt like thirty minutes the teams finally saw an exit, upon leaving the crammed alleyway, the mammals took a collective sigh of relief, but Grizzoli realized they were still nowhere near the church yet. But a voice came from the radio that interrupted them "Checkpoint One to Team 1, come in."

Grizzoli grabbed his radio and spoke into it "Team 1 to Checkpoint, we're about six blocks in . . . No contact" Grizzoli said as a sigh came from the other end.

"Shit . . . Keep your eyes out Team 1" Grizzoli nodded to the radio.

"10-4 Checkpoint, we'll keep in contact" Grizzoli said, putting the radio away.

He looked up and saw the Church tower above the tall buildings surrounding them . . . Just barely but it gave him some sense of direction "c'mon, let's keep moving" Charlie whispered from the middle.

The SWAT and SAS teams continued and so did that deadly silence "I'm REALLY not liking this" Nick said, gritting his teeth "you're definitely not alone, mate, this silence'll kill us if we're not careful" Gonzolez said with audible suspicion.

There were no further comments on that though, nothing but concentration and paranoia as they combed through the abandoned alleyways and roads of Happytown with their weapons raised.

Eventually the alleys began to lessen in numbers, until there were only a few in the midst of the large brick foundations of building and apartment complexes above them, and then they saw the first road.

"Why the hell haven't we seen a street until now?" Delgato asked rather impatiently "because we've been taking the alleyways, they're much safer and quicker, they always were" Nick explained as the four teams stood at a dead end of what used to be a city road.

The street was empty though, aside from a few abandoned cars and vans, it was completely desolate, and it seemed obvious that nobody liked it, Grizzoli watched as Nick took the lead once more.

The four teams walked down the city street with extreme caution "it's too damn quiet, what the hell is going on?" Grizzoli whispered as he looked around "this might be an ambush" he heard Delgato whisper back "no, it's not an ambush, they wouldn't wait this long" Price said abruptly, aiming his M16 back and forth.

"Then what is it then?" Fangmeyer asked a bit impatiently "I don't know, just be ready" the grizzly said in response.

As they walked, Grizzoli could see old abandoned stores with broken windows, open doors and rotting wood. He knew it was an ambush just waiting to happen, it put him on edge so much that he was ready to shoot at any second, his paw pad resting against the trigger.

"I really don't like how empty this place is these days . . . It's just beyond creepy" Delgato said from the back, starting a conversation "I never went here, thank god . . . I couldn't imagine how much of a shithole this place was back then, and still do" Ivory said beside Mchorn.

There was a small laugh from Nick "shithole is not even close to describing it . . . It was hell on earth, a ghetto . . . The German kind" Nick said coldly.

"This place looked exactly like the Soviet Union, just like Mosow . . . The apartments, the courtyards, everything, I'm surprised there's no statues of Lenin" Price said as they passed a large apartment complex, Grizzoli looked at Price after this "when'd you go to the USSR?" he asked "a long time ago, this place was always nothing but an example of how pathetic this country's government was" they all fell silent after that.

"I just don't like the atmosphere of it all, the abandoned buildings are just so eerie" Redbone added "those bastards can be hiding anywhere then" Nick said looking up.

Then the silence returned . . . It was almost deafening now . . . Grizzoli wanted to end it again "how far away are we from the church?" He asked as they made it towards the end of another street "we're close, a lot of roads went to that church . . . These included" Nick informed as they continued.

"Any idea what could be in that basement?" Fangmeyer asked "could be anything, explosives, weapons, money, we won't know 'till we see it for ourselves" Diego said, speaking the truth, they were interrupted by Price's voice.

"This is Bravo Six to Raptor One, how copy?" The bear asked the radio.

"This is Raptor One, we're just fine up here" the pilot said on the other end.

"No sight of any hostiles yet"

"Hard copy, stay in the air as long as you can"

"10-4, the first objective isn't far from your position, the AO looks clear"

Price put the radio back and moved towards the front "let's get our asses moving then, Wilde, pick up the pace" Grizzoli watched Nick nod at this and walk faster.

. . .

Nick Wilde adjusted his shoulders and pressed onward, he knew this city better than the pads of his paw, he was determined to lead his fellow officers right to where they wanted to be. Not only did he now take it personally but he wanted Rouen dead as much as the next officer, he wanted payback, and he wanted it now.

Though he kept telling himself not to get too ahead, because he knew that'd kill him for sure, he needed to stick with his fellow officers and now friends, Grizzoli, Fangmeyer, Delgato and Frost.

But he was also interested in the SAS teams that were brought in . . . They seemed like interesting characters to him, but he also wanted to learn much more about Officer Price, there was something very . . . Off . . . About him that made Nick suspicious, he just didn't know what that was.

He looked at the bear in question, he still had a cigar in his mouth, he was now holding his M60 instead of the M16 like before, he didn't even hear him switch weapons.

"Why'd you take the M60?" He asked as the two walked in front, Price let out a chuckle "why not? It's reliable, packs more than enough punch and well . . . I know how to use this thing better than most weapons" the grizzly explained.

Nick grew more interested "we called it 'the beast' back in Vietnam, this thing could mow down the VC like no tomorrow" he said with a rather fond smile, or was it a grin? He wasn't sure.

Nick laughed a little even though he knew he shouldn't "you're a Vietnam veteran?" The bear nodded "five tours in that shithole with the ZMC and MACV SOG, I joined the ZPD after we pulled out in '75" Nick laughed a bit more "and you're still at it?" He asked as he saw the grizzly grin.

"Criminals and thugs are a lot less ruthless than the Vietcong and a whole lot less trained too, we're fighting an army of fanatics, not soldiers" Nick smiled back "guess you can count us lucky then . . . Since we have the SAS with us" he said amusedly.

"Never get overconfident, Wilde, we're still outnumbered" Price reminded as Nick nodded "right . . . The church should be just up ahead" Nick said as Price looked behind them.