Jack, Nick, and Judy were about to part ways when Meredith came running into the lobby where they had been standing to say their goodbyes for the evening. Nick was the first to notice his daughter and the panicked state she was in. "Meredith, what's wrong." Concern obvious in his voice as he ran over to her. "What happened?" Looking behind her expecting to see the skunk limping along behind her.

Meredith took a moment to catch her breath as her father gripped her shoulders. "Someone darted him … they … they took him." Jack and Judy's ears were strait and attentive as they heard what Meredith had said.

Jack was the first to speak up, "Do you have any idea who they were?" His question cold and direct in tone.

Meredith looked at the white bunny for a moment. "I … I don't know."

Jack took a step closer. "Anything, a word, a name?" He pressed the point home, "time is of the essence Meredith. If they came from the General, and they bring him home, he will not be alive longer than twenty-four hours. You must think."

Meredith's ears laid back. She was used to stressful situations in the ER, life and death decisions that needed to be made quickly and smartly. This was different though. Someone she cared about was violently abducted in front of her. It's one thing to treat injuries after the violence had occurred but it was quite another thing to see or be involved in something happening. Though in that moment she realized two things. The first was that there was strength in caring for someone, the other was that she cared for him. "I think he said Elizabeth." He ears had straitened and she felt clearer headed.

Jack frowned. "His sister."

"That's … that's just cruel." Judy said as she came up next to her daughter's side. "How could his own sister do this?"

"By convincing her that her brother has betrayed their country, which he did." Jack said matter of factly as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. "Actual, this is Jack, you have the tracker?" He waited for a response and was surprised when he was told that they still had the tracker online, and that it was currently moving slowly up the riverways of the city. He would have questioned it if the direction wasn't upriver. "Though using her has been to our advantage. She neglected to look for my tracker."

Nick walked up behind his girls had placed a paw on both of their shoulders. "Or that's what they want you to think. How are they moving him?"

"Via the waterways. Upriver I might add." Jack said slightly smugly.

"Well, if I wanted to get out of the city, I wouldn't take the waterway." Nick said. "Use the underpass. Now after the night howler incident all those years ago they did change around some of the exits, but there is still the maintenance route that leads to a back-access road out into the country. Just two gates secured by a couple of locks."

Judy eyed Nick over her shoulder. "Once a hustler always a hustler hmm?" Though she couldn't hide the slight smirk on her muzzle.

"Mom, Dad, can we concentrate. Leon …" Meredith said in a half-exasperated way.

Jack was back on the phone as the conversation continued without him a slight angry twitch in his eye as he listened to what the mammal on the other end of the line had to say before he hung up. "The tracker was found on a child's remote control boat." Looking to Nick. "I can't believe I'm saying this yet again in my career but we are going with your plan. Car's outside get what you need. Meredith I'm sorry but you're going … "

"Fuck off Jack I'm coming. At least you'll have a medic on your team for once." Meredith walked strait outside towards the SUV that was sitting out front that matched the one she had seen earlier.

"You told her about that?" Jack looked at Judy incredulously.

"What? We actually talk to our daughter about what happened in our lives, and that was kind of a bad idea not to have a medic." Judy smiled and made her way off to the armory.

"Look on the bright side Savage, now you got two of the family females along." Chuckling as he quickly followed Judy.

Jack for his part stood in the lobby for a moment longer shaking his head as he rubbed a paw over his temple. "Great."

*oOo*

A yellow van with ladders on the roof, with ZPW printed on the sides drove through the Ficus Underpass but then took a turn onto a roadway labeled as ZPW use only. The chains on the gates had already been cut and the gates opened as they drove through. In the front seat a male white tailed dear in a yellow jump suit and reflective vest.

Once they were into the ZPW property the road got bumpy as it transitioned from the smooth pavement to dirt roads. Leon had started to come around but kept quite and measured his breathing. It was made harder because his pain medication was starting to wear off.

"Brother," Elizabeth was seated across from him in the back of the van, "I know you've been awake for at least ten minutes."

Leon flicked his eyes open to look directly at his sister. There was at least two other mammals in the van one he could see to the right and one to the left. "So, extractions now Elizabeth?"

"No Leon, just you." Her expression went from serious to one of sadness. "You should have checked in, you should have come home once you had the chance. Now, you have been talking to the ZIA and the ZPD." Then her expression changed to anger. "You are a traitor Leon. The General was right. I didn't want to believe him, but you made it easy. You know what the penalty for treason is." The side of her muzzle curled in anger.

"Elizabeth, I can't live like that any more. Silent obedience, fixing the issues that the general has, protecting random pet projects, well I thought they were random. Liz, … " He leaned back as his sister quickly moved forward.

"Don't call me Liz, don't call me sister. You are no longer my brother. You are nothing Leon. We are nothing without our country, and you no longer have a country." Elizabeth stood up to walk to the front of the van, her anger obvious to Leon. Her tell was the slight bounce of her tail.

"Fine then, Agent Forest." A growl in his voice. "You know that it will be you that will have to pull the trigger. Can you do it?" The malice in his voice was not true. His heart felt pain as she turned to glare at him. Though some of that pain was soothed when there was a flash in her eyes, not of that anger she was expressing it was regret. Then she continued to the front seat and with her patented pout move she dropped herself into the front seat. He even had to suppress the chuckle.

Once she was in front Leon took a moment to glance at the other two silent members of the team. They were blacked out, from head to foot. They both had dart guns pointed directly at him. At least that meant for the time being they wanted him alive. After reviewing the guards, he made as if he was rubbing his wrists to get a better look at the cuffs he had been put into. That motion did get the attention. That showed experience in the guards. They knew what he was doing so he slowly placed his paws back by his side. He had already seen what he needed.

The bumping around of the van came to a stop with one last set of bumps, one as each axel went over the transition from dirt road to paved road. The van turned left onto the highway in the north bound direction until the driver brought the van to a stop. As they turned the headlights shined on a loan white rabbit with black stripes on his face extending from the back of his head. He stood with paws in the pant pockets of his black suit.

"Shhhit." Elizabeth looked at the bunny through the windshield. "You said he only had the one tracker on him."

"We did mam." The operative to Leon's left said confidently.

"Then how the hell did they find us. Run him over." She said to the driver.

The engine revved as the driver hit the gas. The engine shuddered as a puff of steam came out of the front of the engine, followed shortly by the repour of a rifle shot. Elizabeth slammed the dash as she reached for a rifle behind the seat.

"I wouldn't do that Liz." Ignoring the glare from her. "That was a long-distance shot, hence why the engine was dead before we hard the gun. You'll be dead the instant you climb out of the van." There was a knock on the back of the van. Sometimes full confidence and no knowledge worked best, especially in situations like this. "That would be the tach squad that comes with the bunny." Looking at the two with the dart guns. "Probably best to drop those and just head on out the back."

Another set of knocks followed by Nicks voice. "Come out with your paws up." After a few moments delay with no motion of mammals coming out of the van, there was the sound of another high caliber round connecting with the van engine and then the repour a short moment after that.

The two mammals in the back slowly exited the back of the van, the dart guns having been left behind. As they did so they were taken into custody by one of three rhino ZPD officers. The deer was also taken into custody as he existed the drivers side door. Elizabeth however took a moment before she admitted she had failed and slowly got out of the van. Though she was met by the white bunny who had been standing in front of the van a few moments before.

"Elizabeth Forest, good to finally meet you in person," Jack said as he stood just outside of arms reach. Paws still in his suit pockets.

"Fuck you rabbit." Growling at the rabbit.

"Now now Elizabeth. That is really unnecessary." Taking a paw out of his pocket bringing out a pair of paw cuffs. "Put these on." Tossing the cuffs to her expecting her to catch them but they just fell to the ground after bouncing off her chest.

"Put them on yourself." Scowling at the rabbit.

"Well you know I would, but I don't trust you." Smiling as he watched Leon climb out of the back of the van. "Leon, if you don't mind your sister is not cooperating."

"He is not my brother. I have no brother." She spat out the words.

Rubbing his wrists where his own cuffs had been as he walked over to his sister. "Liz, this is a no win scenario." Moving slowly towards her. "Your agents are already detained, and your plan has fallen apart. This time you are lucky enough that your death is not advantageous." Approaching her slowly from the side. He knew his sister could be unpredictable when she needed to be. Once he got close enough he kneeled down and picked up the cuffs that lay on the ground in front of her, watching her closely as he did.

Elizabeth watched him as he closed in and picked up the cuffs. When he finally stood in front of her she stared at him directly in his eyes. Watching him with hate in her eyes. "You betrayed us all brother." Whispering as her paw reached behind her in as quick a motion as she could she pulled a knife that had been holstered behind her. Swinging it towards him before she felt a sharp pain through her chest. It was an odd sensation, like when you fell on your back and knocked the breath out of your lungs.

"NOOO!" Covering his sister from any second shot as she crumpled to the ground, his arms slowing her fall. "Liz." His paw moving to her left breast to hold over where the hole in her shirt was, where her life blood soaked her. "Liz, it wasn't supposed to … " Tears welled in his eyes, the pain from his own wounds almost welcome.

Jack was yelling into a headset that was in his ear. "Stand down … stand down for fucks sake."

Elizabeth looked up at her brother with a smirk. "Well … at least you … " Elizabeth coughed with a wince of pain, a trickle of blood from the corner of her muzzle barely noticeable against her black fur.

"Shut up stinky." A single tear dropping from his eye onto his sister's cheek. "I never wanted this."

"You should have come home Leon." Coughing again.

Instead of arguing he put his forehead to hers. "I know Liz, I know."

Meredith came running up to the pair, a small bag in her paw. Her other paw pulling against the shoulder strap of the protective vest her mother and father had insisted she wear. The entire drive out here, at the direction of her father, she had fitted over it. How her parents wore these things every day for eight plus hours at a time was astonishing to her.

As she approached the pair she took a look over what she could see, but she needed to see more. "Leon." Pulling a flashlight out of the bag she carried. When she got no response from the male. "Leon," still no response she growled and punched his arm, unintentionally on one of his own injuries. "Leon damn it. Hold this," She held out the flashlight.

Leon winced when his shoulder was punched, gently releasing his sister with the paw he didn't currently hold onto her chest to staunch the flow of blood as his sisters gaze sleepily flicked to the other female. He took the flashlight and held it in the position she forced him to. Once she could see she forced his other paw away from holding pressure on his sisters chest and started to cut away her shirt with a pair of scissors and she chuckled as she did. "Leon."

"W .. what?" Looking down at the exposed flack vest, he had been in such a panic he hadn't realized that he had been pushing on a armored vest. He watched as Meredith looked under Elizabeth, sweeping along with her paw and finding no blood which meant no exit of the bullet.

"Snap out of it Leon, I need you with me here." Taking gauze and trauma packs to stop the bleeding. "That bullet is going to need to be removed." She looked up to Jack standing over them. "Get that helicopter down here, I need to get her into surgery as soon as possible," she said in a commanding voice. When the rabbit nodded without arguing she continued on, pulling out a stethoscope she listened to Elizabeth's chest, "collapsed lung." She mused to herself and went to the bag to rummage around what was within it.

"Why is she?" Looking at Meredith.

"She's lost a lot of blood Leon, and a collapsed lung. She's probably going into shock." The sound of a helicopter coming closer could be heard in the distance. "Get that vest off of her would you Leon. Do it quickly." She found what she was looking for and pulled an IV kit out as well as a four inch long plastic cylinder. Quickly setting up the IV. "Elizabeth, I'm Doctor Meredith. I'm going to be placing an IV so little pinch ok." Without waiting for a response, she pushed the IV in place with practiced paws and then secure it to the female skunk's arm. "Ok good, now a little bit of pain med and anxiety med ok." Again, without waiting she attached a syringe to the access and pushed medication through the IV. After that she picked up the plastic cylinder she had put aside before.

"Usually we'd shave the site and sterilize but, no time for that. Ok Elizabeth, your lung has collapsed, that's why you are having trouble breathing. We need to relieve the pressure building up." She said looking in her eyes as she explained. Pulling a long needle out of the plastic case, she noticed Leon still, and watching. "Damn it Leon get with the program, vest now." That snapped him back to reality and he quickly removed the vest by unstrapping the Velcro and pealing the vest off of his sister leaving her in a shirt, cut wide open, and sports bra under the vest. "Light, here." Pointing to Elizabeth's side, she moved closer once the light was in place. Her paw running along the skunk's side counting ribs until she found the spot she wanted. "Ok bit of a pinch Liz, on one … two …" Before she even hit three she pushed the needle in between her ribs. "Three," a rush of air could be heard through the other end of the needle. At the same time Elizabeth gasped in air and her eyes opened as both her lungs filled.

The chopper was landing at that point and two otters came running with a hand stretcher. "Well Doc, never thought I'd see you in the field, and with our mystery skunk too." Chuck and his partner placed the stretcher down beside Elizabeth. "What we got?"

"No time, I'm coming with." Meredith let the medics move Elizabeth from where she lay to the stretcher. "Leon, I'll take care of her." Patting his shoulder before she stood up and ran with the medics back to their helicopter.

Leon was left sitting where he had been watching his sister being loaded in a helicopter and then taken off to he didn't know which hospital. Jack stood next to him, his ears flopping in the downwash of the helio as it took off. In any other situation he might have found that funny. Then he felt the rabbit's paw on his shoulder. "I never would have thought I'd see the day that would have you"

Leon stood up, rage in his eyes after what he had just witnessed. He'd seen things like this before, even caused a few of them in his time. "That was my sister Jack. You … you're damn sniper."

"Leon, she had a knife." Looking down at the knife that still layed on the ground, amidst the medical supplies that had been scattered, along with Elizabeth's vest, a hole in the chest where the snipers round had punched through.

At that moment, just before he could throw a anger filled punch at the rabbit he felt a paw on his arm that had begun to raise. The same orange fur as the woman that quite possibly would save his sisters life. "Hay pal, my Daughter has her. If there is any chance you know she will make sure your sister lives through this." Turning to face Nick, Leon nodded at the Tod, and clasped his paw over the other male's.

"Thanks Nick." Unable to manage a smile but he relaxed.

"All right bud, and here I thought bunnies were emotional." Nodding his head towards the cruisers. "Paper work can wait, I need a drink and you look thirsty."

"Yah, I think I could go for that." Leon started walking with Nick back towards the cruisers where Judy was making sure the others were properly secured.

"Good, cus after that Jack is buying." He said with a sly smirk. That actually got Leon to crack a smirk.

Leon watched as the flashing strobe of the helicopter got further and further away. Nick was right, she was a good doctor, his sister would be fine. Well she would be fine in a few months or however long it took. She would probably still want to kill him, but he could live with that as long as she was alive. There was nothing more he could do, for now.