Hitmammals Chapter 1
Written by Eng050599
The following day, Nick and Judy found themselves parked across the street from Fitwick's arcade once again. The previous visits had been a revelation to the pair, and both knew that this locale would become a mainstay of their lives for the foreseeable future. They had completed their morning patrol of the downtown core, but aside from a few speeding tickets, it had been an uneventful morning.
Although both partners knew that an uneventful morning was technically a good thing, it also meant that the hours had progressed slowly, and they couldn't hide their impatience as they waited to clock out for lunch.
"Are you sure you want to do this again, Nick?" Judy asked as she unbuckled her seat belt and prepared to exit the cruiser. "You didn't seem as impressed with yesterday's trip."
Nick looked over to his partner and rolled his eyes before replying. "Carrots, yesterday was ninety nine percent you. I barely got to be a sidekick," he said as he likewise undid his seat belt and reached for the radio. "Today, I'm picking the scene, and I think we'll both enjoy it."
Clicking on the transmit button, Nick raised the pickup to his mouth. "Dispatch, this is three two seven, are you there Clawhauser?"
The cheetah's enthusiastic voice came over the speakers a few moments later, "Right here, Nick. What do you have?"
"Nothing exciting, Hopps and I are just going 10-7." Nick said in reply, formally taking the two of them out of service for lunch.
"Roger, three two seven. Enjoy!" Clawhauser said before the radio went silent.
Looking back to Judy, Nick smiled and nodded his head towards the arcade. "Shall we go and have another glance through the looking glass?" He then opened the door and hopped out of the cruiser.
Judy did likewise, and the two officers jogged across the street before entering into the arcade, just as a pair of beavers with stunned expressions on their faces were leaving.
As before, the PIXAR was set up and ready to use, with no other mammals present at this time. Nick and Judy looked to each other and they shared a knowing smile as they made their way onto the padded recliners and placed the helmets over their heads.
"So are you going to tell me what we're doing today, or is this going to be a surprise, Slick." Judy asked, feeling her body relax as the PIXAR came online.
"I thought we'd explore the darker side of things today, Fluff," Nick said as he entered in the variables for today's experience. "I already got to play the role of a killer, but I think we should both get to experience being on the other side of the law."
He finished entering the variables for the simulation and then relaxed in his chair. Just as his eyelids were getting heavy, he told his partner what he had selected.
"Today, Carrots, we're going to be hitmammals."
The rat was walking down the rodent-sized sidewalk in Tundratown, his attention predominantly focused on the phone in his paws. On the screen was the face of adult wolf, his grey muzzle fixed in a serious expression.
"You're sure that your information is good? The shipment had better be coming in when you say it is." The wolf's voice was clear through the earbuds the rat was wearing, and there was no mistaking the underlying threat conveyed in the undertone.
The rat sighed and nodded his head in reply. "The info's good, Alex. I saw the manifest on the boss' desk this morning. Just remember our deal. I walk away scott free, and no one ever finds out that the intel came from me." He stopped walking for a moment as his brows furrowed in thought. "Do you have the account set up? I'm going to need to skip town pretty quick if this goes south."
The wolf waved a paw dismissively. "It's all set up; you'll get access once the raid's happened, and we can confirm the hardware's actually there. We've even arranged for a car to pick you up and get you to the airport under an assumed name." The wolf allowed a small smile to creep onto his muzzle. "Don't worry, Jimmy, by this time tomorrow, you'll be sipping drinks on a beach far, far from Zootopia, and Mr. Big's goons."
Jimmy gave a sigh of relief and reached into his pocket to retrieve a small cigarette. He awkwardly lit it with one paw, while he continued to look at his phone. After taking his first drag, he nodded his head. "Good, just let me know when you're pickin' me up."
"I will," Alex replied. "Just keep your head down, and this will be over before you know it. The ZPD has been trying to nail Big's operations for years, and if this arms shipment pans out, you may have provided the key to bringing him down."
Jimmy, snorted in derision. "Yeah, yeah, send the medal in the mail. Just make sure the money's there when I need it," he said and disconnected the call.
Pocketing his phone, Jimmy took another pull from his cigarette, and continued on his way. His apartment was just around the corner, and once there, he could hole up until everything went down.
"I'm taking a big risk in selling out the boss," he thought to himself as he reached the next intersection, and checked to see if there was any traffic...or larger mammals to be concerned with.
Being a rodent outside of districts like Little Rodentia meant there was always the chance that you'd end up being inadvertently crushed by some inattentive mammal, but it was a necessary part of life for the majority of small mammals in Zootopia. Jobs inside Little Rodentia were few and far between, outside of the service industry, and Jimmy had bigger aspirations in mind. He had been a courier for the Big family for almost five years, and he had made a good living from it, but he had climbed as high as he was ever going to get in the organization, and he knew it.
"It's time to light some fires, and move on to something new," he thought as he dashed across the intersection. The information on the arms shipment has just been another piece of information he had been tasked with delivering, but this time, the file had been left open when he arrived. Normally, all the material he was given was in a sealed envelope, or nothing more than a micro-USB drive. He had been able to glean the important details in an instant before snapping the folder shut, and going about his usual deliveries.
What it had also sparked was the memory of a certain detective at the ZPD, who had been trying to get Jimmy to roll over on the Big family for months. He hadn't been willing to offer much in return for Jimmy's help, as the rat rarely was let in on any of the details of the Big's operations, but that had all changed when he picked up the folder.
Alex had been more than willing to sweeten the pot for something like a shipment of unregistered handguns concealed inside various children's toys; supposedly bound for Zootopia General hospital as a charitable donation to the pediatrics ward.
He had almost made it across the intersection, when he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. He had barely registered the presence of another mammal, when he was lifted into the air by a firm set of paws and unceremoniously tossed into the back of an eerily silent sedan, that had glided up behind him without him registering its presence. Even as he flew through the air, he twisted to look at his assailant, and the blood froze in his veins when he saw the red furred face of Nicholas Wilde, one of Mr. Big's enforcers, and quite often, the last mammal that anyone saw if they made the mistake of crossing Mr. Big.
...as Jimmy had just done.
These thoughts filled his head as he was caught by another mammal inside the vehicle, and the rat twisted his head to confirm his worse fears. As expected, the gloved paws belonged to Judy Hopps, and Jimmy knew that he had truly made his last mistake. The two partners were rarely tasked with settling petty disputes, and the rabbit gazed down at Jimmy with a cold detachment in her eyes. He recognized the look, and it made him shudder involuntarily. 'Mercy', wasn't in the vocabulary of Ms. Hopps after all.
She maintained the firm grip on Jimmy until Nick hopped back into the car, and took a seat beside her. Only then did she release the rat, seating him firmly between the two.
Jimmy, glanced between the two of them, his mind trying to find some way to escape from this predicament. The two enforcers were wearing identical black suits, and neither one of them said a word as the car started moving.
"L...Look I can explain everything," Jimmy began impotently, but his jaws clacked shut when Nick's eyes locked onto his own.
Nick said nothing initially, and merely reached over and removed Jimmy's smartphone from his pocket before reaching beside the seat, and revealing what Jimmy recognized as a signal blocking bag, which his phone was quickly deposited into.
Once that was done, Nick spoke directly to the rat. "Oh really, Jimmy?" The fox asked, the sarcasm rolling off of his tongue like silk. "You have a good excuse for betraying your employer, and trying to sell him out to the ZPD? That has to be a good story, and I'd just love to hear it."
"I didn't do it! I swear it on my mother's grave," Jimmy stammered, the fact that the enforcers knew about him dealing with the ZDP was an impossibility. He had only reached out to them this morning, and he had been careful to use a burner phone, as well as only make calls when he was away from any of Mr. Big's operations.
His thoughts were brought back to the moment when the artificial sounds of a rewinding tape came from his right. Looking over he saw Judy holding a carrot-shaped pen in her paw. When she released the button, he recognized his own voice projected through the tiny speakers. "...I saw the manifest on the boss' desk this morning. Just remember our deal. I walk away scott free, and no one ever finds out that the intel came from me."
Judy clicked her tongue at the rat. "What would your mother say about you being a liar, Jimmy?" She leaned back into her seat, and looked over at the rat. "The file was a test, and you failed, Jimmy. There's not going to be any guns, and the ZPD is going to have yet another embarrassing failure on their paws...all thanks to you."
Jimmy didn't have a chance to reply before he felt something press against the side of his neck, followed by a hiss and stinging sensation. His paw flew up to the wound, as he looked over to see Nick holding up some kind of autoinjector. Jimmy's eyes widened in shock as he realized that his life could probably be measured in seconds now.
He pulled his paw back into view, but saw no blood. "What did you do?" He asked, fear radiating from his words.
Nick's smile was anything but kind as he placed the injector off to the side. "You seemed a bit down, Jimmy, so I decided to lighten things up for you by giving you some extra air."
The rat shook his head, not understanding the implications, but inside of him, the tiny bubbles of air Nick had introduced into his bloodstream were even now blocking off arteries, veins, and capillaries all over Jimmy's body. He was still processing the information when the right side of his face sagged. He started to slump over, only to be held up by Judy.
"Uh oh, Jimmy," Judy said theatrically. "All those years of smoking seem to have caught up with you. I think you're having a stroke." The doe reached out to check the rat's pulse, a cruel smile plastered on her face.
Jimmy tried to speak, but his tongue was leaden in his mouth, only an unintelligible moan escaped his muzzle.
Nick brought up his paw, and patted the rat on the back. "Now don't you worry, Jimbo. Your death means all your debts are paid. Mr. Big will look out for your family, and your sins will not taint them."
Jimmy was about to reply, when a crushing, burning sensation wrapped around his chest like a vice, and he gasped in pain.
"Your night just keeps getting worse, Jimmy," Judy said, noting the rodent's distress. "I think you're having a heart attack."
The two hitmammals might have said more, but Jimmy could no longer hear it. His vision was fading to blackness, and the sensation of the car coming to a stop was the last thing his mind registered before plunging into oblivion.
Nick and Judy made a quick vehicle transfer to another unremarkable sedan, waving their driver off, and taking control of the new vehicle under their own paws. They returned to the intersection where they had first picked up poor Jimmy. Knowing that this precise location was just outside of any surveillance cameras made it a perfect spot for a snatch and grab, but also made it ideal for a body dump...at least for a body that you wanted found, anyways.
Being careful to keep the car in the ruts worn in the snow by the other cars, they briefly came to a halt at the empty intersection before carefully lowering Jimmy's body onto the very same crosswalk that he had been taking, after returning his phone and ensuring that there were no telltale bits of fur to give away their presence. To all appearances, he had simply collapsed on his way home, and no one would be the wiser. His body would freeze in short order, and the tissue damage from that would mask any trace of foul play.
Jimmy had never been one to live a healthy lifestyle, and the drugs that had been planted in his apartment would only reinforce the thought that he had simply died due to a stroke and or cardiac arrest. Both mammals could already see the coroner's report in their minds.
"Cause of Death: TIA and Myocardial Infarction"
As they drove away, Judy dialed a number from memory using the touch-pad on the main console. It was picked up on the second ring, and a quiet yet gravely voice could be heard on the other end.
"Has the message been delivered, my child?" Mr. Big asked, not one to waste time when dealing with these matters.
"It has, sir. There were no complications, and the bait was taken without any issue." Glancing to the clock on the dash as she drove, she continued. "I think the package will be noticed in about two to three hours, but word of it won't interfere with the second delivery."
"Very good. The two of you have my gratitude yet again," the shrew said, and there was an odd kindness to his old voice. "I have another favor to ask of you two, if I may?"
"Of course sir, whatever you need," Nick replied without hesitation. He had been a part of Mr. Big's operation since he was sixteen, and had been the one to recruit Judy into the family when her skills had been overlooked by the ZPD. Nick had noticed the droopy eared doe at a coffee shop in Sahara Square, nursing a not even touched carrot smoothie, and their relationship began there. It wasn't long before Judy joined her friend, then soon after boyfriend, in Mr Big's service. Both mammals owed everything they had to the shrew, and would have given him their lives if he had asked...which fortunately, he never had.
"I'd like you to be there when the second package is delivered," Mr. Big said, and there was no hiding the amusement in his voice.
"Really, sir?" Judy asked, her curiosity plainly evident in her expression. "Wouldn't Nick and I's presence create more suspicion on the part of the ZPD?"
There was a soft chuckle on the other end of the line before Mr. Big answered. "Not at all, my child. You see, this delivery is for a very new charity, the Wilde-Hopps Children's Benefit Fund, of which you two are the founding members."
Nick and Judy shared a look between the two of them. "Ummm, sir," Nick began, "Is it a good idea to have our names so prominently associated with this?" In reality both he and Judy were significant patrons to quite a number of charities in Zootopia, but they prefered to keep their contributions quiet...given their actual occupations. They may have worked for the mob, but they weren't heartless, and Judy had never truly given up her goal of making the world a better place. It just, morphed, a bit.
"In this case, it's very much important to my plans, Nicholas," Mr. Big said confidently. "By having you attached to the charity, it makes the presence of two rather tiresome officers almost a certainty."
Understanding flashed across both mammals faces, and smiles began to spread across their muzzles. "I take it you mean that your second favorite rabbit and fox couple will be taking part in the delivery, sir?" Nick said, not even trying to hide his amusement at the thought of once again humiliating the pair.
"I do, Nicholas, and I would very much like for you to be there to greet them," Mr. Big said. "Be sure to call me once the delivery is complete, and be safe."
"Of course sir, have a good night," Judy said before disconnecting the call. Looking over to Nick she shrugged at the new task before them. "Well, I guess we'll grab some coffee and then help bagging the toys until the guests of honor arrive."
Nick chuckled at the thought of two hitmammals preparing gifts for sick kits, but nodded his head. "Sounds good, partner. We've got three hours before the raid is scheduled to happen."
"Good, and you're paying, Slick," Judy said as she turned into the parking lot of a local diner.
Nick gave a bark of laughter at the comment. "Carrots, we have a joint account. It all comes from the same place."
"It's the principle of the thing, Nick," Judy said, batting her eyes at her partner. "You need to treat your girl to something special every now and then you know?"
"Do I know that?" Nick asked, placing a paw over his chest before leaning over and cupping Judy's cheek. "Why yes, yes I do."
The two moved together, sharing a quick kiss before exiting the car and making their way into the diner.
"Okay mammals, SHUT IT!" The commanding voice came from the front of the bullpen, and the mammals quickly quieted down and took their seats. The cape buffalo at the podium had an ever-present scowl on his muzzle as he looked over his officers. They were all good mammals, but this case had been a fiasco from day one, and now they had finally gotten a break that could crack the case wide open. They couldn't waste this opportunity with locker room banter.
"Early today, Detective Wolfowitz received a tip about an arms shipment moving through one of Mr. Big's warehouses." He pointed to the board behind him where the known member of the Big crime syndicate were pictured. The arctic shrew was at the top of the pyramid, with the less notorious members all interconnected with pieces of string. It was a labyrinthine maze that the ZPD had been trying to untangle for years without success.
"The shipment is coming in on three tractor trailers that, according to the manifests, contain childrens toys for the…" he paused briefly as he double checked the name of the organization before poignantly looking towards the rabbit and arctic fox officers sharing a seat in the front row. "...Wilde-Hopps Children's Benefit Fund."
Jack and Skye's eyes widened at the pronouncement, and the reason for their presence in this raid was now clear.
"I've given you two almost six months to bring down those two killers, and you've found nothing!" Bogo stated angrily, motioning to another board covered with the images of mammals that the two were suspected of assassinating. "If we can't pin the murders on them, maybe you two screwups can at least make trafficking weapons stick. You're to move in with the T.U.S.K. squad, secure the shipments, and collar those two, or I'll have both your shields."
"Yes, Sir!" both mammals said simultaneously. They had been outmaneuvered by the hitmammals at every step of their investigations, but this was an internal leak from Mr. Big's operation, and it could very well prove to be their undoing.
Bogo nodded, but continued to glare at the two for a moment before shifting his gaze to one of the rhinos in the room.
"McHorn! Go over the assault plan," he said, and yielded the podium to the larger mammal.
McHorn turned on the projector, and a schematic of the warehouse appeared on the screen. "The building is a standard industrial warehouse in Tundratown's dock district. There are a total of eight entry points, so we'll have teams Alpha through Hotel split into fivemammal squads and…"
The plan quickly came together, and within the hour a team of close to sixty mammals was en route to the warehouse in a convoy of ZPD Light Attack Vehicles. The search warrant had been obtained, and they would be making a breach entry from all sides. Leading the way with flashbangs and ultrasonic screamers. Both Jack and Skye had managed to find tactical uniforms, but were visibly uncomfortable with the amount of gear they were carrying.
There were no small mammals in T.U.S.K., and although this didn't appear likely to change in the near future, the ZPD had at least made some effort to prepare for their arrival by acquiring appropriately sized gear.
The rabbit and fox were both armed with a semi-automatic tranq rifle clipped to their chests, and loaded with medium-dose darts. Their armored vests also contained multiple pouches, keeping the magazines of heavy and light dose darts at the ready, as well as a variable charge taser holstered at their hips. They, along with the other mammals with keen hearing were also wearing ear protection under their helmets, knowing full well that their entrance would be loud in the extreme.
As soon as the vehicles came to a halt, the rear hatch opened, and the squad hustled out into the cold air. The sun was just setting, but they still had enough daylight to work with. The climate control systems had been altered to cease the nearly constant snowfall in the district for the raid, and the final flakes were settling onto the ground. They converged around each of the entrances, noticing that even the loading dock doors were closed.
Each squad had a large mammal holding a mobile ram, and that officer took position in front of each of the doors, the remaining member of the squad lining up against the wall by the door.
"Alpha, in position," McHorn called out over the radio, and the other squads signalled their readiness in order.
"Bravo, in position."
"Charlie, ready to rock!"
"Delta, in position."
"Echo, in position. One mammal visible through the window, but our position isn't compromised yet." Came Wolford's voice over the comms.
"Foxtrot, good to go!"
"Golf, in position."
"Hotel, in position."
Bogo's voice came over the radio once the final squad had checked in. "This is command. Breach! Breach! Breach!"
McHorn swung the ram back and brought it forward with every ounce of force he could muster. The reinforced door crumpled at the impact and was violently wrenched off of its hinges, the door itself flying several meters into the warehouse. Officer Snarlov, the first mammal in line, quickly pulled the pins on the flashbang and ultrasound grenades before tossing them into through the now gaping doorway.
"Fire in the hole!" the white wolf cried out, while similar yells could be heard from around the building.
With a staccato series of bangs, the flashbangs went off in quick succession, but the ZPD officers were shielded from the effects by the walls of the building. The ultrasonic screamers had just started going off, each one emitting a deafening shriek that would stun many keen-eared species.
Knowing the effects wouldn't last long, the ZPD quickly moved into the building. Jack and Skye coming in right after Wolford, taking up a diamond formation with McHorn bringing up the rear. Jack scanned to the left, and took note of several mammals stumbling through the residual smoke.
"Tango left" he called out over the radio, and he fixed his rifle on the targets. "ZPD! EVERYONE ON THE GROUND, NOW!" he yelled into the chaos, his cries echoed by the other officers.
Surprisingly the various mammals all complied once the effects of the grenades had receded, and they had a chance to process the situation. The ZPD, moved in from all sides, only pausing to bind the various mammal's arms with zipcuffs. It was at the center of the warehouse, that Jack and Skye found their prey, and both mammals smiled when they saw Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps on their knees, paws behind their heads, under the watchful gaze of Detective Wolfowitz.
The wolf had already relieved the pair of their IDs and was idly flipping through their contents. He looked up at the approach of the fox and rabbit officers, and he made a sweeping motion with his paws.
"Here you are, officers," he said, pointing to the pair of assassins. "I figured you'd want to be the ones to cuff these two."
"Oh, this has been a loooong time coming," Jack said as he released his rifle, letting it dangle from his combat harness. The buck went so far as to theatrically crack his knuckles as he made his way over to the two hitmammals.
Judy looked up as he approached. "Awww, Jackie Boy, it's been too long. Are you still holding a flame for me sweetheart?"
Jack laughed at the comment, and moved behind the other rabbit, quickly zipcuffing both paws behind her back."You wish, Hopps. You two finally screwed up, and seeing the two of you go down is going to be sweet." He looked over to see that Skye was similarly engaged with Nick Wilde, and the pair shared a glance at their successful collar.
Sky took that moment to speak up. "Nicholas Wilde, Judith Hopps, you are under arrest. You have the right to remain silent. You have…" the vixen's words were cut off, as Nick cleared his throat.
"On what charge are you arresting us, Officer?" he asked innocently, the familiar smirk quickly spreading across his muzzle.
"Arms smuggling, wise ass," Jack said, walking over and roughly cuffing the fox on the side of the head.
"Hey there, police brutality!" Judy called out, and Jack rolled his eyes at the doe in response. "And we have no idea what you're talking about, Officer. This is a children's charity that my mate and I set up. There's nothing here but toys...that you monsters are destroying!" she added, noticing that the ZPD had started emptying the container trucks, and were busily opening the various crates, and tearing apart the stuffed toys inside.
"What do you think you're doing!" Nick cried out, and Jack was surprised to hear real shock in the fox's voice. "Those toys are for the kits at Zootopia General!" Nick looked back over his shoulder, and called out to another mammal. "Are you seeing this Fabienne?"
A sense of dread came over Jack and Skye at the name, and they both turned to look in the same direction as their prisoner. The sight of a very familiar snow leopard, and what was probably her filming crew seated on the floor with their paws zipcuffed behind their backs sent a chill down both mammal's spines.
"Oh, crap," was all Skye said, as the implications came crashing down around her. Quickly reaching for her radio she keyed in the private command frequency. "Chief Bogo, you need to get in here ASAP, sir."
There was a loud snort over the comms as the chief replied. "Winters, what are you going on about? The building's been sealed off, and no one managed to escape. Did you apprehend Hopps and Wilde?"
"Yes sir, we did, but there's a situation," she said calmly. "It would appear that there was a ZNN crew filming when we breached the property, and both Hopps and Wilde are quite adamant that there are no firearms in the building."
The chief clued into the situation instantly. "It was a set up. Damn their hides!" The radio cut off for a moment, and Skye saw several of the squad leaders suddenly clutch their earpieces in pain. Both Jack and Skye could see both confusion and anger cloud the faces of their superiors, but they quickly moved and began gathering the detainees in the center of the warehouse. Unless Skye was mistaken, they would be letting all of them go rather shortly.
Bogo was quick to take in the scene when he entered. A single glance at the officers going through the piles of toys told him that they had been well and truly played. He could feel the vein in his temple throbbing with each beat of his heart at the realization that, once again Mr. Big's goons had played the ZPD for chumps, and that this would be a PR nightmare once the ZNN segment aired.
"The mayor is going to be right up my tail on this one," he thought, the realization causing another spike in his blood pressure.
He first sought out McHorn, who was in the process of questioning Ms. Growley and her crew.
"So you were invited here to interview Mr. Wilde and Ms. Hopps about their new charity?" the rino asked, as he continuously scribbled in his notebook.
"Yes that's right. We were just wrapping up the interview where you all barged in." The snow leopard gave her head a sharp shake. "My ears are still ringing from the hell that you put us through. What were you thinking?"
Bogo took that as an excuse to barge into the conversation. "Ms. Growley, we had solid intelligence that this warehouse was involved in criminal activity. I'm sorry that you were involved in a police matter, but this is still an ongoing investigation. I'm afraid that I'll be needing to seize the recordings of the interview as evidence until we can clear up this unfortunate event."
Fabienne cocked her head in confusion. "What recordings? The interview was airing live."
A short distance away, Skye overheard the reporter's comments and she once again groaned at just how sideways this entire operation had gone.
Not only had they failed to obtain any evidence against the two assassins kneeling in front of her, but the ZPD had on camera raided a children's charity, and in front of said news crew, proceeded to destroy a shipment of toys destined for sick kits.
The only thing that they had accomplished was to make saints out of the two enforcers, and looking down at them, Skye caught Nick's eye. The red todd had a smirk on his muzzle when he spoke, and it was a phrase that he had used against the vixen many times over the past few months.
"It's called a hustle, sweetheart."
AN: Hello everyone, this is eng050599 and I hope you've enjoyed this contribution to the What If collaborative effort. Hitmammals was quite different from my usual work on Lost Causes and Broken Dreams, but it was nice to switch things up...and actually make use of Nick and Judy as opposed to the OCs that I'm used to.
Now as the readers of my other stories probably know, I'm a scientist IRL, and I like to try and explain some of the underlying science that gets used in anything I write, and although there nowhere near as much of it as in Lost Causes, there's still more than enough for a bit of an abbreviated Science Time!
Embolisms: The fear of SCUBA divers everywhere, an embolism is the blockage of a blood vessel by anything ranging from a blood clot to an air bubble. In this chapter an air embolism was used to kill poor Jimmy, but they are also a risk factor during surgery, or when diving. The air bubble becomes lodged in the vessel and cuts off circulation for anything further along. If this happens in the brain, or heart, the tissue becomes started for oxygen and starts dying. The effect of this can be as described in the story, a stroke or a heart attack.
Freezing Tissue: When tissue freezes slowly, as would be the case for Jimmy's body, ice crystals form throughout the corpse. These cause cells to lyse (break open), damage organs, and basically destroy or mask much of the physical evidence for an attack of this kind. Normally, freezing a body takes hours in the outside environment, but a rat is much smaller than a human, and in an environment like Tundratown, would probably freeze within a hour.
That should draw things to a close for this chapter. I'd like to thank Cimar of Turalis WildeHopps for letting me take part in this gigantic project, and also for editing the chapters.
For those of you who are interested in looking at my main story, Lost Causes and Broken Dreams, I'll just include the usual disclaimer; it's not a happy story. In fact, it's downright heartrending at times. It's a medical drama centered around a medical clinic that specializes in interspecies couples and the hybrids that can sometime develop. Genetics isn't kind however, and all too often tragedy is all that these couples can look forward to.
It's available on FanFiction and Archive of Our Own under the same username, eng050599.
Also, if anyone ever has questions relating to science, feel free to message me directly. I can't promise to be able to answer every question, but I will at least try.