"We're back, bitc–!"
"Language."
"You never let me have any fun," Nick laughed. "You ready, Carrots?"
"Hit it."
With a somewhat evil grin, Nick switched the radio to a rock and roll station that was blaring one of the latest hits, and with a flick of his wrist, turned the music up until the thumping beat filled the SUV. The sly fox then leaned back easily in the passenger seat, his movements fluent as he adjusted the sunglasses he was wearing down his face just enough for him to peer out over the top of the shades, adding a bit of allure to his already angled facial features.
"Your turn, Darling," he grinned.
Judy, comfortably seated in the driver's seat, shifted the vehicle into reverse. With a screech of tires and a wicked look of satisfaction, the bunny swiftly pulled the car from its parking spot and then laughed.
"Oh, how I missed this," she chuckled before throwing the SUV into drive and pressing down on the accelerant.
With a smell of burning rubber and screeching tires that surely left marks in the ZPD parking lot, the two were off, police siren wailing as they swerved in and out of traffic. This being the couple's first big case in quite some time, the pair was more than excited to be back in the swing of things.
"Alright, so here's the deal," Nick hollered over the road noise, music, and siren. "String of bank robberies over the last few weeks–all Downtown. Some officers were positioned to keep an eye on things, but they still have no idea who's doing it or why. From the looks of it, though, there's a pattern."
"And this bank is next?"
"Yep, pretty top priority bank too."
"Keeping it nonlethal?"
"Sounds good to me. Going off of previous robberies, I'd say this thing is most likely gonna happen at about noon."
"So, two minutes from now?"
"Yep."
"And we're nowhere near the bank, which is all the way across town, right?"
"Yep."
"We'll make it."
Her foot now practically pressed to the floor, Judy easily blew through two red lights in a matter of seconds. Nick grasped onto the dashboard as Judy swerved the large SUV through heavy afternoon traffic.
"Watch it, Carrots!" the fox shouted as Judy just barely missed a delivery truck that was attempting to park in front of a bakery. "I didn't exactly take you for a reckless driver."
"We've been partners for years," Judy scoffed. "Don't act like this is a surprise."
"You're right, I think your obsession with romance novels is the real surprise."
"Oh, please, as if your obsession with cartoons isn't!"
"It's not an obsession, Fluff, it's a passion!"
Nick's reply sent Judy into a fit of giggles, which consequently led to Nick entering into a bout of laughter. Though neither would admit it, they had missed this; missed the cases that were just the two of them having fun, no strings attached. The last time they had this type of fun, it had been–well, it had been before they had started dating, another thing neither would admit. It wasn't that dating or children had caused the fun to vanish, it had simply caused complications, as it should. The complications were and continued to be entertaining, sure, but sometimes, old fashioned joy was enough.
Judy brought the SUV to an ear-splitting stop in front of the to-be-victimized bank, but from the signs of broken glass and mammals shouting, the victimizing had already begun. The two quickly exited the vehicle, tranquilizer guns pulled from their belts as they did so, and stealthily made their way up onto the sidewalk in front of the bank.
"I'll take the back," Judy told Nick, who nodded.
"Watch yourself, Carrots."
"You watch yourself, I've still got it."
"Oh, yeah? I don't know, with all of that extra weight from the kids–"
"My aim is still excellent, so I'd quit walking on thin ice, Nicholas," Judy practically hissed, confidence in every syllable.
"Ah, you didn't have to 'Nicholas' me, I was joking!" Nick chuckled quietly.
Shaking her head, but smiling at Nick's antics, Judy crept around the side of the large stone building. Nick, who took one last look in Judy's direction to ensure all was well, holstered his tranquilizer gun and walked into the front of the bank with a sway in his step.
"Stop right there!"
Completely sanguine, Nick did as the voice said, casually putting his paws in the air for added pleasure.
The front office of the bank was completely trashed, with various papers, writing utensils, and office supplies scattered across the carpeted floor. In one corner off to Nick's right, about a dozen mammals (some employees, others customers) were all down on the floor, huddled against one another. Fear was plastered on all of their faces, and Nick immediately saw why. The owner of the voice that had commanded Nick's cease in movements was a badger with a permanent snarl set into his features, and he was holding what appeared to be a fully loaded automatic assault rifle. Nick swallowed hard at the sight of the gun, not expecting to see such a heavy-hitting weapon anywhere near this case and knowing that Judy was still unaware of the danger. With only tranquilizers on both of them, the case statistics just went down in the officers' favor.
Clearly the leader, the badger stood in the center of the bank, gun draped over his shoulder as if the world belonged to him. Behind the counter, three more badgers worked to stuff money into several knapsacks. From what Nick could tell, they still had a lot more money to collect if they were planning on empting the bank, so time was one thing he had on his side.
"No mask. We're the cocky type, I see," Nick smirked casually.
"Shut it!"
"Tsk, tsk, such a temper. I guess the belief that you can't have all power and be all good is true, considering you clearly have all the power right now."
"And you best keep that in mind if you want to stay alive."
"If you were going to kill me, you already would have. Come on, you know I'm a cop."
"Calling me a coward?"
"If that's the word you prefer, then–"
Nick was interrupted by the sound of the rifle firing several times as the badger shot at the ceiling. The group of mammals in the corner cowered and whimpered in fear. Even Nick had bent down slightly in fright of being shot at.
"Oh, too far, Nick," the fox muttered to himself as he straightened back up.
Judy, who had successfully made her way to the back entrance of the building and hacked into the bank's security system to unlock the door, had now already entered the building. Moments later, she was primed and ready to silently take out the badger that was nearest to her. Completely alone and clearly nervous as well as distracted with the task to gather money, the badger was an easy target, but the bunny was interrupted by the sound of a rifle unloading a clip within seconds. Judy quickly retreated, firmly pressing her back against the nearest wall as she hid from the sound. Her breathing became rapid at the shocking realization that there was a deadly gun being used just in the other room, and that it has just been fired – hopefully at no one, especially not at Nick. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, Judy quickly reassured herself that Nick wasn't stupid, he could handle the situation... well, maybe. No matter the case, she needed to do her job. The bunny then turned the corner slowly, took aim, and silently took down the badger she had been eying earlier. Judy then crept slowly toward the now unconscious badger, checked his breathing, took his weapon – a pistol – and surveyed the area. With no one else nearby, Judy unhooked her ZPD communicator from her belt and called for backup.
"I have a question for you."
"Shut your mouth fox!"
"Aw, come on, just one little question?"
"Do you ever stop talking?"
"Ha, my wife asks the same thing."
The badger fidgeted slightly at the word "wife," which Nick quickly took advantage of. He was going to back a lie with several truths.
"Oh, I'm sorry, did I not mention I have a wife? Four kids too, all adorable. Any of you have kids?" Nick asked the group of cowering mammals.
A few nodded shakily.
"Yeah, kids are great. Always keeping you on your toes," Nick chuckled, almost to himself. "Do you have any kids?"
The badger scoffed at the question as if it were the stupidest thing to be asked. The question went unanswered, the badger growing increasingly uncomfortable. Nick nodded his head in understanding.
"Hey, I get it. Having a family is rough, especially when you can only provide by stealing from banks."
"Shut up!"
Judy froze over the second badger, also now unconscious. She had been unloading the badger's gun, also a pistol, when a ferocious shout had startled her.
"Don't do anything stupid, Nick," she muttered as she continued on.
It didn't take her long to locate the final badger behind the counter. She took aim quickly and fired a silent tranquilizer dart that caught the mammal just beneath his jaw.
From his position at the front of the bank, Nick saw the third badger take a tranquilizer dart to the neck and quickly drop to the floor. He could also hear police sirens wailing far away; Judy must have called for back-up. From the corner of his eye, Nick caught a glimpse of the bunny moving behind the counter.
Big mistake.
The lead badger (who was still protected with the rifle) caught Nick's glance and turned quickly, just nearly missing a look at Judy, but that didn't stop him from noticing a lack in movement from his own crew.
"Guys?" he called out, somewhat anxiously.
When no reply came, the badger began moving toward the counter, his gun at the ready.
The next few seconds were filled with silent chaos as several things happened all at once. First, Nick quickly pulled his tranquilizer gun from his belt, aimed, fired, and missed the badger by just a few millimeters, sending the dart into the wood of the counter. Heart racing, Nick then attempted to reload his gun, leaving him defenseless as the badger turned and aimed his rifle right at the fox. Finally, Judy quickly stood up from behind the counter and also took aim with her tranquilizer gun. All was silent with the exception of police sirens, now very close, crying in the road outside, until–
"Nick!"
Judy's scream directed Nick's attention to first the rifle about to kill him and then to her, and then one rapid thought crossed his mind before guns finally fired: "she's aiming at me."
"Judy–"
Judy's gun fired, then the rifle, and Nick hit the floor with a loud thud.