Chapter 4

5am, the darkness of night slowly retreats, illuminating the horizon in shades of red.

On the south side of Sahara Square, two officers pursue a thief. "10-30, Burglary in progress! Officers Wolford and Pennington in pursuit!" a male light grey wolf in a Zpd uniform shouts into his radio, as he pulls himself over a short fence and lands awkwardly. Right behind him is Pennington, a female black wolf in a matching uniform. She jumps up grabbing the top of the fence and vaults over gracefully landing in her feet. "C'mon, slowpoke!" Pennington teases as she passes Wolford.

"Suspect is an adolescent zebra, wearing jeans and dark hoodie, running south on Madison St." She shouts into her radio.

As she enters an intersection-they had lost sight of their quarry two blocks ago. But, for a wolf, your eyes are not the only way to see where someone went.

She sniffs the air, trying to find a clue as to the direction he fled in.

Wolford catches up "Got anything?" He begins to sniff, sampling the air.

Pennington starts to move in a circle around the intersection. "Not yet." she says, fear of failure starting to rise in her chest. There have been a lot of petty crimes in this area, and this kid has ties to a local gang. Perhaps he can be squeezed for information.

Wolford pauses in the intersection closing his eyes, he takes several slow deep breaths. Letting the smells pass through his canine olfactory, in his mind he can see the last several hours of activity stitched together by the flow of odors. "He went this way!" Wolford begins running down the cross street "suspect is fleeing down South 3rd St." Pennington says into her radio as she begins running after Wolford.

One block down 3rd St. a 15 year old male zebra hides, crouched behind a dumpster trying to catch his breath. "Damn these cops," he whispers as his nostrils flair greedily sucking in oxygen to fuel equine muscles. "Fuck" he mutters as he sees the cops running down his street. He turns to run, and trips over a coyote sleeping in a dirty torn sleeping bag, his fur the color of rust. "Fucking bum, get outta my way!" the zebra shouts as he regains his balance and continues running.

Wolford is the first to see his target, just a few hundred feet away, but he doesn't see the coyote, just starting to stir from being stepped on by the zebra. Wolford trips, losing his balance and tumbles down onto the coyote "Ahh, I didn't do nothing!" The coyote screams, as Wolford lands on him and starts pulling himself to his feet.

Pennington grabs Wolfords arm and helps him to his feet "C'mon he's getting away!" She says.

Wolford pulls his attention away from the drunk coyote and continues pursuit. He snorts to clear his nose of the coyotes stench of cheap booze and something resembling burnt cotton.

The zebra runs through a busy intersection, nearly getting hit by a large motorist. Looking for a path of escape he pushes through mammals and runs into an adjacent alley. Blocking his path of escape is an 8 foot fence. He turns, regretting his choice of alley and sees two wolves enter the alley, tranq guns in hand aimed at him. "Freeze, police!" the officers yell. "C'mon son, it's over." Wolford says calmly. The zebra sighs "ok", the officers relax their stance and Wolford takes a step towards the zebra.

The zebra pulls a weapon out of his waste band, and both officers fire at him. Darts striking him in the chest and neck, the zebra pulls his trigger and the loud crack of a gunshot is heard. Mammals in the alley scream. Wolford, and Pennington flinch. Wolford overcomes his moment of hesitation and closes the gap, tackling the zebra to the ground as the sedatives do their work, but too slowly and the zebra fires again.

Wolford pins the zebra, and kicks away the gun "a gun?! That was a close call." He checks the zebra's pulse. Two darts for a mammal this size is very close to a dangerous amount. Wolford rolls the zebra over and cuffs him. "Call for a bus Pennington... Pennington?!" He looks over his shoulder and sees his black wolf partner writhing on the ground, clutching her throat. "Shit! Pennington!" He clamors to his feet and runs over to her, blood beginning to pool at her back. "Officer Down! I need an ambulance at 4th and Maple!" She looks up at him, with wide eyes full of terror, steaming tears, as she gasps for breath. "Pennington, let me see... Carla! I need to see!" He pulls her hands back and blood pumps out through a hole in her neck. She exhales sharply and spits blood out of her mouth. "Shit, shit, shit!" He releases her hands, and she grabs at her neck trying desperately to stop her blood from pumping out of her. He fumbles on the claps of a pouch on his duty belt, his fingers slick with blood. He pulls out hemostatic gauze and presses it to her neck. "Stay with me, Carla, you're gonna be ok!" He pleads. His hands soaked through with blood. She tries to speak, but just coughs up blood and chokes. The skin visible in her ears grows pale. "Officer down!" He screams again.

Dispatch replies "ambulance on the way, ETA 15 minutes".

Wolford's eyes fill with tears, as he watches the fear in the female's eyes fade, her breathing becomes more rapid and more labored. "You're going to be ok." his voice cracks from grief. She gurgles, attempting to speak, her hands grasp at Wolford as he continues to put pressure. "Carla, c'mon, Carla!" Her eyes trailoff, her grip release, and she is still. "Carla?!" Wolford shouts, he touches her face.

The look of pain is gone, just glassy expressionless eyes stare into empty space someplace behind him. Sadness and despair are replaced with rage as Wolford looks up at the unconscious zebra.

He stands, facing his unconscious enemy. Two darts are acceptable, 3 is dangerous, 4 would certainly be fatal. The fur on his hands is soaked with blood, he draws his tranq pistol and feels the tackiness of the blood sticking to the polymer grip. He breaths deeply, shaking with fury.

As quickly as the rage overtook him, sadness pulls him back into its embrace. He feels the strength leave his hands, he relaxes his grip letting his pistol clang on the pavement. He shakes the thoughts of vengeance from his mind and focuses back on his lifeless partner. Crumpling back to his knees, he takes her hands in his and howls in anguish at his friend and partners passing.