Nick watched carefully out the back window of the ambulance. Trunkaby and Sand's Police cruiser was the only vehicle following them. Fitting Skye, Bonnie, Stu, his Mother, and the triplets should have been too tight a squeeze but a car built to elephantine proportions leaves a lot of room for a couple of Foxes and Bunnies.
Judy's nose twitched in her sleep when they hit a large pothole the attending nurse adjusted her IV drip. She had been kept in a medically induced coma since the last attempt on her life so she could recover better. The doctors were unwilling to wake her up for fear of seizures causing irreparable harm to her body. Nick tried not to think about how scared that made him feel.
"That's some heavy duty gear you have on." The cheetah commented, "haven't seen firepower like that since Desert Star."
"You were in the army?" Nick asked curiously.
"Chester Harmen, Combat Medic to the Sixth Infantry rifle company, two tours."
Nick remembered seeing footage of the conflict on the news as a kit. It had freighted him to realize the cruelty mammals were capable of. Finnick's family had escaped from there before the worst of the fighting when he was young, but he would never talk about it.
"I feel safer already." Nick said gratefully.
"You should I volunteered for this." The cheetah joked.
Nick glanced at him quizzically, "You volunteered?"
"Sure did. They asked for someone who works well under pressure which is managements way of saying potentially unsafe conditions."
"There's an understatement."
Harmen agreed, "Most of them get a bit skittish when we transport prison inmates for surgeries. But once you've operated under fire… not much shakes you."
"Is that what they told you?" Nick asked.
"Yeah, I knew it was a lie though; no surgeons were scheduled out for inmates today."
"Makes sense ZPD has a tight leash on things right now but it will all be over in a few hours."
"They found her attackers?" Harmen asked
"I can't comment on an ongoing investigation," Nick told him.
"I get it loose lips sink ships."
Nick decided he liked this mammal, "Once I get the all clear I'll tell you the whole story over a drink."
Harmen laughed, "I'll hold you to it."
Nick's radio squawked to life, "Wilde! Pick up your radio."
Nick jumped at Bogo's voice and snatched up the radio from is hook on his chest.
"I'm here Chief." He answered quickly.
"Maroni escaped! Officers Red and Fisk just reported in pursuit of their vehicle. He's headed straight for you."
"I got it Chief. Sand, Trunkaby did you get that?"
"Do you think he knows where we are?"
"Our fearless medics figured it out I'd bet my paycheck he knows."
"We hear you loud and clear going for lights and sirens. Let's outrun this tiny little SOB."
"This is officer Brown and Black we'll meet you at the next freeway entrance."
"Acknowledged," Sand answered over the line, "we will be moving loud and fast."
Nick turned to Harmen, "So much for our relaxing drive.
Ambulance and police sirens blended together as they cut through traffic even faster. Nick checked his gun again and scanned behind them more intensely.
"Hey Wilde you should take the lead. We'll cover from behind." Sand called over the radio.
"No, stay in the lead." Nick told her, "Brown and Black will take the rear position but if things get hot I want you to get them out of here."
"We can't leave you!" Sand shouted.
"You can't endanger civilians either." Nick argued, "We'll be fine I promise."
"I don't like it." Sand insisted obstinately, "You and Hopps are our friends."
"Trust me I don't either." Nick said noticing a black car approaching way too fast, "But it looks like we don't have much choice."
The black car roared up on them like a mad bull. Motorists scattered away from it to avoid being rammed. He couldn't see the who was in the car but even flash would have figured it out by now.
"He's going to ram us!" Nick shouted.
"Grab hold of something she's strapped down." He yelled back.
The ambulance jerked violently throwing Nick back, shrieking metal drowned out the wail of the sirens. The ambulance pushed forward with the driver somehow keeping it under control. Maroni's car backed up and rammed again. Gunfire shattered the rear windows raining glass down on everything.
"Stay down!" Nick shouted.
He shoved the barrel of his gun out the broken window and fired rapidly. The kick from the oversized gun would have dislocated his shoulder were it not for the TUSK jacket he was wearing. The large bullets tore through Maroni's car. The first shot punched into the engine with the second and third blasting the windshield to nothing. The fourth shot struck the driver. He slumped forward and the car roared into them.
Both vehicles spun wildly out of control. Nick dropped his gun holding on to the wall for his life. Judy lay still strapped down to the gurney. The ambulance shuddered to a halt sideways in its lane. Nick drew his service pistol and looked through on of the bullet holes in the door. Maroni's car was smoking heavily 10 yards behind them. Nothing moved but the swerving traffic.