Chapter 37: Incident inside a store

"Unit Seven? Come in Unit Seven."

James stared at the radio on the dash asking for his attention. Eyeing Dahlia as he picked it up, he didn't hesitate in answering. "Unit Seven. Go ahead, Clawhauser." Then to Dahlia next to him, he quickly but quietly asked, "Let's see what it is this time."

"There's an active incident at a corner store, Benjie's General. Nineteenth and south Olive, Microrusia. We need a canine officer over there, and you're the closest."

James' eyes widened as Dahlia hit the lights and surged into traffic. It was never a good sign if they ask for a specific species of officer. It was one thing to need officers of a specific size to respond, but species matching only happened when there was serious trouble going on. "Roger, Clawhauser, we're inbound. ETA several minutes… What's the situation?"

"Not sure. Details are sketchy, but sounds like there's a fight going on. Caller described your prep as a small wolf. Tan fur."

Oh jeez.

"Started auguring with the store owners or something, and it sounds like it's getting close to being violent." Then a moment later. "I've got officers Hopps and Wilde en route as well, but they might take a while to get there."

"You don't think it's him?" James asked Dahlia, almost keying the mic on the radio by mistake. Remembering about the device in his paw, he did quickly transmit over, "Copy. We'll take a look and respond to what we'll find."

"Trigger?" Dahlia looked thoughtful for a moment as she drove. "I doubt it." Her expression then turned worried, betraying her contradiction of her own words. "Well, I hope it's not him."

"It's been two days since he ran away," James reminded her. "He could be anywhere. Doing anything."

Dahlia let out an annoyed sigh. "I'm well aware of that, James. But that's exactly what's off with this. Two whole days? Just to show up arguing with some store owner of some corner store?"

"An Urusian corner store," James quickly added. "If he ran off to Microrusia? After all, where else would he go if he got angry?" He realized that he was still holding onto the radio, and had almost carelessly transmitted their little argument to everyone else. He quickly put it back on its pedestal before he can do just that. "When we were fist tasked with looking into those two suspicious mammals that ended up being Count and Trigger, we were told to look for a deer and a small, tan furred wolf," he said. "Heck, I've seen him be misidentified as a runt far more often than I've seen someone correctly call him a coyote!"

"James," Dahlia warned, "I'm aware of that. But we'll deal with what we find when we get there. Right now, mind on the job. Don't speculate. We're responding to an incident, and one where they specifically asked for a canine officer. That means you."

James crossed his arms like a disgruntled pup. "I know," he grumbled. "Just don't like the sound of it."

"You make it sound like I do," Next to him, Dahlia let out a snort. "I hardly like it either."

The remaining of the short drive was spent in silence, with even updates from Clawhauser being intermittent and not offering much new information. At least when they arrived at their destination, nothing looked out of the ordinary, just a few mammals of various sizes mingling about and looking quite oblivious to anything unusual. That was at least a good sign.

What was not a good sign was the locked front door, despite the neon sign inside the window clearly declaring the store as open. James tried to open the door both ways, just to be sure, but it wasn't budging. Knowing it was risky, he knocked on the glass several times, just in case it might bring someone inside over and open the door for them.

No one showed up.

"So… Break it open or try to go 'round the back?" He peered through the glass to try and see what's inside, but wasn't able to see anything. But the combination of the locked door and the lack of any customers inside was sending him all sorts of wrong signals.

Dahlia was on the radio with Clawhauser, frown on her muzzle as she exchanged the updates with the precinct. "We'll try the back first," she answered, "a locked door is not probable cause for breaking it open. But… Don't wander away from me. We stick together, so what we can until help arrives."

"Locked doors are a health code violation," James pointed out. "And an obvious one. What owner will leave the door locked with the 'open' sign running?" As he followed his partner around the walls of the store, he checked his dart gun, making sure to lower its dosage.

Dahlia shook her head at noticing his actions. "James? There's something seriously wrong here. I want you to have your taser ready, I'll be the one with the dart gun. And just in case?"

James nodded, stowing away his dart gun and drawing out his pistol. Making sure it was loaded, he chambered a round before stowing it back in its holster, and pulled out his taser instead.

"Clawhauser, what's the ETA on backup?"

"Five, ten minutes? They're bogged down in traffic."

They stopped at the bare metal back door to the store. Standing on either side of the frame, Dahlia also knocked on this door. "Police! Open up!"

Just as in the front, they were answered with silence. Except that this time, as she cautiously tried the door, this one opened with a slow creek. At which point, both of them were instantly hit with the strong stench of spilled gasoline.

"Accident?" James muttered. "Or possible arson?"

"The former, I hope," Dahlia answered, but was already pawing for her radio, asking for backup in the form of a firetruck to show up as soon as it can. "We need to make sure no one's inside, then secure the building and not let anyone in."

James followed her in, ears swiveling towards the sound of… His heart sank as he recognized the sound of someone crying quietly somewhere inside the store.

Dahlia evidently heard it too. "Stay with me. Let's find who needs help, keep both eyes wide open if the one causing this is still in here." She went to behind the counter to where she instantly spotted the terrified rabbits hiding inside a cupboard beneath the register. There was no mistaking where the crying was coming from. With James covering her back, she keeled down in front of them, reaching out to them slowly. "Hey, it's okay now. We're here. You're safe now." She hesitated as they shrank away from her reach, trying to hide further into the counter.

Most of their eyes were fixed on her partner.

"James? Anything?" Dahlia could hear someone moving from within the aisles. Reaching for her radio, she tried a different approach with the terrified mammals trying to hide from her. "Dispatch, what's the ETA on Hopps and Wilde? Got a family of rabbits here who could use a friendly face."

"Fangmeyer? There's been an accident, and they're the closest one to respond. I'll send 'em your way as soon as they get backed up, but it will take a bit more time. Where's the family you said?"

"They're inside the store. Can use a more familiar face to help get them out." Keying the radio off, she stood up again. As much as she hated the idea of it, but these bunnies would be okay for now hiding where they were. At least until Judy can arrive and help them out to safety. "James? Anything?"

"Yeah, I found him. It's-" Before he can even finish explaining what he found, he called out in authority towards someone between the isles. "Police! Hold it right there and paws in the air!"

Dart gun at the ready, Dahlia ran to her partner's side, immediately aiming towards the same direction that he was pointing his own taser at.

Between the isles, holding onto a lit road flare in one paw, and a large, bloody, knife with the other, a tan furred wolf was glaring at the two officers. Between his feet sat a half-empty jug of gasoline.

While at a distance he could have been easily mistaken for, at this distance it was obvious to both James and Dahlia that this wasn't who they feared he might be.

This wasn't Trigger.

But whatever relief came with this discovery was hindered by the knowledge that there was still the family in hiding, and this guy looked like he meant business and was ready for a fight. For James especially, another sickening realization came to him as he glanced over the wolf.

This guy was young. Just a teenager. And in addition to the flare and knife, the belt of his pants revealed a grip of a pistol.

James let out a low growl. "Pup, I said paws in the air! No sudden moves!"

The wolf glared at the two officers. "Either one of you try to shoot me, and the whole place goes up in flames," he warned. "I've covered in petrol. You try to taze me, you'll light both me and yourself on fire before you know it. And you? Try and dart me if you want, but by the time it knocks me out, I'll have this whole place burning. And don't try and howl. It won't work on me."

James gripped his taser tighter. "Kid? What have you done?" Why did he target this corner store of all places?

"What needs to be done!" he scoffed, gripping the flare tighter. "Don't you dare tell me you don't know what happened to Bana City!"

"We're well aware about what happened to Bana City," James confirmed. "But that doesn't explain what you're doing here right now. Why are you threatening to burn this store and everyone in here? You locked the front door, but not the back. Why?"

Th flare wavered slightly. "Back door..? So that's how you two got in. I saw you try the front and leave. B- It doesn't matter now." The wolf held the flare up.

Her dart gun aimed right at the center of his chest, Dahlia felt unnerved at knowing that he wasn't bluffing. If she darted him right now, he would still have time to ignite the store. Best they can do is keep him talking. And get those rabbits out. "Why are you wanting to kill a family of rabbits?" she asked. "Kid… what's your name? Why are you doing this?" Slowly, she dared to lower the dart gun a little to try and get him to be less on the edge. "How old are you, even?"

"B-Brian," the wolf answered. "Just Brian." Then a moment's later… "Seventeen. Eighteen in a week."

Dahlia slowly moved close to her partner. "I don't know how long backup will arrive," she said quietly, staring down at Brian as he glared at her. "I'm going to get those rabbits out of here."

James nodded. "Go for it." As Dahlia left his side, he pointed his taser at the wolf's head. "But don't you move, Brian," he warned. "You still haven't answered the question. Why?" It was a huge risk, his partner leaving him alone with this guy. But they needed to evacuate the rabbits, and didn't have time to wait for others to arrive. His radio sputtered as Dahlia and Clawhauser exchanged communication, the tiger urging the dispatcher to find someone, anyone, who can show up right away.

"They're Urusian," Brian scoffed. "This store is Urian. Didn't you notice the large flag out front?"

"Of course we noticed," James said calmly. "This part of the city is Microrusia. Almost everyone living here come from Urusia. But they had nothing to do with Bana."

"Oh, didn't they?" Brian snarled. "How would you know? Have a thing for Urusians?"

James shook his head. "I'm Animalian for generations, so I didn't have a side in this conflict," he explained. "But I have a friend who's Ocelotian, if you care to know."

Brian's eyes widened in shock, only to narrow immediately in anger. "Don't lie to me! A likely story you just made up!" His teeth showed as he growled in anger at the officer. "They killed my mother! I'm Ocelotian! Was on vacation with my friends when Bana City was hit! That's why I'm going to burn this place down! Let all the Urusians feel what they did to me!"

"You're not going to do that," James said. "Don't destroy you're life over this. You said they killed your mother? What about your father?"

Brian shrugged. "Don't know. Left mom before I was born. It was always just the two of us."

An unintentional sigh of frustration left Jame's muzzle. "And your friends you were with? What about them? And what about your pack? The pack always takes care of each other."

"They're not going to want to have anything to do with me. Not anymore."

"Brian..." James bit back a retort that he knew he would regret. "If you don't have your immediate family anymore, you still got the pack. They'll take you in. But that won't be able to happen unless you hand over that flare and turn yourself in."

Brian gave him an odd look and shook his head. "You just don't get it, do you?"

"Brian-"

"In a week, I'm an adult! I'll be forced to join the army and go to be shot by some Urusian I can't see! Just like thousands of others like me!" Brian swung the flare around as he spread his arms in a show of how frustrated he was. James winced at the sudden motion, but refrained from releasing the taser. "I'm already dead! Pack or no pack, it doesn't matter! Best thing I can do is take out some Urusians on my way out! Let them see that their stunt with Bana City isn't going to let them win!"

"This store didn't attack Bana City," James said with a low growl of his own. "Now stop moving! Don't you see that what you're doing here is only going to help the Urusians, not make it worse for them! They're going to use actions like yours to justify what they did."

"This is nothing compared to what they did!" Brian complained. "They killed a whole city! My mother..!"

James held out a paw to slow the wolf down. "Easy, Brian. That's not what I was implying."

"Then what did you really mean?"

"Everyone knows that what happened to Bana was a terror attack," James said slowly and carefully. "From what I've heard on the news, it was so bad that it even split Urusia itself in half. A large part of Urusia's populace just wants to end the war now, from a position of weakness, because they are so disgusted with what it was decided was necessary to win. From the very beginning, Urusia was the one complaining that it was fighting cleanly and fairly. That drones were supposed to save civilians from dying needlessly. How do you think it makes them look like when they used a droned-up bomber that went and attacked a city? And we all know it wasn't just some computer code that did the thinking. Something like that required a lot of people who all agreed to commit pure terror. And for once in this war, the whole world is united on who was in the wrong and who is in the right…" James shook his head when he finished his explanation. "Brian, all you're doing right now is sinking to their level. Please, turn yourself in. Let it go and you won't spend too long in jail. Everyone will understand that you're in pain, and you'll be tried lighter for it. You didn't harm anyone innocent yet, so please don't start now."

Brian waved his bloody knife. James' stomach sank as his eyes tracked a drop of the still fresh liquid drop to the floor. "Too late for that. Could have shot him too, but… Would have made too much noise. Brought more cops in and sooner. And the last thing I need is for your media to brush this off as yet another shooting like they always do. That's why I have petrol all over the floor. I drop this flare, and we're all goners… Shame you're here. You didn't do anything."

"Brian, don't do this. Those rabbits you cornered also didn't do anything." Speaking of more cops, where were they? And how long was it until Dahlia will come back?

"They put up the Urusian flag. Shows which side their on."

"And which side are you on?" While he didn't intend for the question to have the affect it did, James felt a moment of satisfaction as he saw Brian's glare falter with uncertainty. "Brian? You're not the only one who lost family. Use your anger to do the right thing, not the wrong one."

The young wolf glared at the officer with renewed anger. "Don't you start again! You're the one who tried to use a 'Ocelotian friend' on me!"

"I do have an Ocelotian friend!"

"Like hell you do!"

This was not going in the direction James wanted it to. The moment Brian got too angry to talk, it was all over. "Brian? I'm not lying about it. When we got the call over the radio that a tanned-fur wolf got into a fight at a store? I thought you might be him!"

Brian shrugged. "Well, I'm not him, so lucky you, I guess." Still holding the glare threateningly, he gave an odd grin. "What's his name?"

James felt bile rise up in him. "Greg…"

"Uh uh, sure."

What else was he to do? Not only using Trigger's call-sign dangerous for several reasons, James didn't actually know Trigger's real name.

"How do you know him, anyways? Zootopia cops don't just randomly know Ocelotians." Brian warned.

"He isn't originally Ocelotian. He was born and grew up here in Zootopia," At least this part was easy to answer as it really wasn't a lie. As he answered the question, James quickly reviewed everything he ever found out or was told about Trigger. "Moved there a decade ago. To Bana City, specifically. Only came back shortly after the war started."

"So a deserter?" Good thing that Brian looked like he was starting to buy the story.

"No. He's working with us for your military. That's how we know each other."

Brian looked confused, as his eyes narrowed in disbelief. "What would he ever do here? We're at war with Urusia!"

"ZPD is helping out at the docks where Urusia is smuggling war equipment on cargo ships," James answered, nervously worrying that he might reveal far more than he was allowed to. If the chest camera feed on his uniform was ever released as part of a court case, this could be a lot of trouble for him. But far more importantly right now, he needed to keep Brian from deciding to drop that flare he was holding… Then remembering something random he saw, James quickly added, "you might have seen something about that in the news.

"Is he a wolf? Where's his pack?"

"Coyote, not wolf," James corrected. "Doesn't have a pack. Just his family. Or… had."

"Coyotes aren't Ocelotian!" Brian warned again. "They're Animalian, as we're all always reminded!"

"I told you, he was born here, not there," James said calmly. "Would I make that part up if it wasn't real?"

To his relief, Brian looked uncertain enough to be believing him, if only partially. "Where is he now? You said he's from Bana? Where is he after the attack?"

As much as James was getting irritated with the twenty questions, he didn't dare show it. The more he kept Brian asking, the more time ticked by before help will arrive. Still, it didn't stop him from several times nervously looking between the lit flare and the puddle of fuel on the ground, wondering by which miracle prevented the fumes from lighting up yet and engulfing them both. "I… We don't know where he is. After he found out that he lost his family, he ran away and cut off all contact. No phone, no emails. Nothing. It's why I was afraid you might be him when we got the call. You… You do look a lot like him. Just a lot younger."

Movement from behind Brian almost caused James to falter, but he maintained a steady grip on the taser as Dahlia silently moved from the other side of the isle to be behind Brian, dart gun at the ready. If she was back, then it meant that the rabbits were safe outside somewhere. But was there anyone else still in the store? Where did the blood on the knife come from? James still needed more time for help to arrive, more help than Dahlia can provide on her own.

Unfortunately for them both, Brian must have felt her motion behind him, and he turned his head to look behind him, letting out a growl of anger at seeing the second cop flanking him. "I said no tricks!" He held out the flare parallel to the ground, looking ready to drop it, his attention fixed to the large tiger behind him. "Stop moving! Final warning!"

Dahlia glared back at him. "More cops are headed this away," she warned. "Those rabbits you trapped are no longer in here. The back door is left open to let the fumes out. We're the only ones left in here. Give up, kid. It's over. Don't end your life here."

"No…" Brian shook his head as his voice wavered. "Wh- Why'd you let them go?"

Perhaps it was Dahlia's doing that was the sole reason that they weren't already all burning, but James still knew that if she darted the wolf, he still had time to do what he came here for. And if he tased him, it was almost guaranteed that the electrical shock would do what the flare was threatening to start at any moment. So deep feeling of regret pooling in his gut, and with Brian's attention turned away from him, he quickly swapped to his remaining tool left available, holstering the taser and pulling out his pistol.

"Brian? Give me the flare, and turn yourself in," he begged, one paw gripped around the pistol while the other reached out slowly. "If you really wanted to burn this place down with all of us in it, you would already have. You're not a bad person, Brian. Just confused, angry, and scared. Turn yourself in. Please, I'm begging you!"

But Brian wasn't listening. "You want Urusia to win!" he snarled at Dahlia, visibly shaking with a combination of grief and anger. "You- they killed my mother, and you want to let them get away with it!"

Dahlia backed off a step or two. "That is not what we wa-"

Not letting her finish what she wanted to say, Brian let out a ferocious roar as he threw himself at her, knife plunging down in her direction. Her own roar of pain matched his as they both hit the ground, dart released only to miss and embed itself into a box.

James stared in horror, both at the inability to intervene, scrambling to get a line of sight that didn't leave Dahlia on the opposite side of him and Brian. In the confined space of the shopping isle, it was impossible. Fumbling for his baton with his spare hand, Jame's eyes widened in horror as the unattended flare dropped to the ground. Frantically, he ran over and kicked away from the puddle of fuel, not daring to find out what will happen if the two would connect.

"Brian! Get down on the ground!" James barely registered yelling the command as he used both paws to tightly grip his pistol, aiming the sights squarely at the back of the wolf. "I said get down!"

Despite the commands, Dahlia and Brian struggled against each other, competely oblivious to his presence. But the officer's superior size and strength were the deciding factor as she was able to toss him away from her. As soon as he was off, her own yelling joined James'. "Get down on the ground! Paws over your head!"

Instead of listening, Brian's gaze halted on the flare still rolling slowly on the tiled ground. His own yell of an answer gave away what he was planning to do even as he scrambled to move. Just two words to let them know that his mind was made up.

"Screw you!"

He lunged for the flare.

"Brian! No!" Loud and repeated banging filled the store as James fired his pistol at the wolf. With Dahlia off to the side, he had a clear line of sight, and more importantly, the resolve to make sure that Brian will not be able to reach that flare.

There was no cries of pain as Brian was hit repeatedly, dropping to the ground in a heavy thud.

James panted heavily as he stopped shooting, heart pounding in his chest, staring at horror at the sight of the wolf he just killed. A part of his brain remembered his training as he pawed at the radio clipped to his shoulder. "Shots fired! Shots fired! Suspect down! Susp-"

"James!" Dahlia cut him off with her own shout of warning. "He's going for his gun!"

More shots immediately left James' pistol. He didn't realize that he dumped the entire magazine until the pistol started to click in his grip. But by then, the task was done.

Brian lay still on the ground, a pool of his blood slowly starting to leak through his tattered and shot clothing.

Recalling the flare, James walked over and picked it up, pausing to check on Brian's pulse. There wasn't any. Feeling sick, he took a moment to secure Brian's gun. He didn't remember reloading his own weapon, but he was holding it still, ready to use it again if needed, but with the danger over, he holstered it back in its place.

Flare? In his paw. Pistol? Also secured. He turned to his partner. "D-Dahlia?"

"I'm fine, James," she grunted in pain. "I think. Shit- he got my shoulder good. Large knife..." Sure enough, she had one of her own paws tightly pressed against where the knife went in, her own blood seeping through her fingers. "James? Talk to me. How are you?"

"I-" He blinked in confusion, feeling sick. "I don't know. I…" He stared at the body next to them in horror and disgust. "I never had to shoot anyone before," he confessed. "All these years…" His ears twitched in agitation, both from his own stress, and as his radio yelled at him for immediate updates.

Grimacing in pain, Dahlia sat up and leaned against the shelves behind her. "I'll get the radio," she let him know. "Just stay here. Take a minute…" She winced again in pain. "Damn, Mike's really not going to like finding out about this." She gave him an odd look. "Don't drop that flare. Better yet? Toss it outside. There's still fuel all over here…" He nodded feebly. "And James?" He glanced at her, not hiding the anguish he was now feeling. "I'm sorry."

"F-for what?"

"When he charged at me? I could have stopped him. You wouldn't have had to kill him."

James bit his lower lip. "No! Dahlia, that's not-"

Outside sirens rapidly filled the store, distracting the two officers. Dahlia grabbed her own radio as she started to exchange information with Clawhauser.

Seconds later, Nick and Judy ran over to the front door, tugging and pushing at it, not realizing that it was locked.

Silently, James walked over and shoved it open, letting the two smaller officers in. He lazily tossed the still lit flare out to the sidewalk, barely paying attention to where it rolled off to.

"I heard there were shots fired-" Judy started, stopping when James silently pointed at the isle where he left his partner and the now dead wolf.

"We found a group of rabbits," he said, finding his voice again as he followed the two back inside. On the street, more cop cars arrived, pulling over to the curb. "Fangmeyer moved them somewhere safer. Ask her where, she knows." The radio on his radio was still going back and forth between various officers, Clawhauser, and Dahlia, so a part of him felt grateful that, even with a deep gash in her shoulder, she was still being useful. Stumbling over a discarded box of food, he let out a growl of frustration. "I'm grabbing a first aid kit! Be right back!" he announced, turning around and rushing out of the store.

Blinking at the bright light of the outside sky, he ignored the other officers barraging him with questions, heading over to their cruiser and silently pulling out the bright red kit and holding it tight to his chest as he rushed back to the store. Numbly, he made his way back to his partner. While Judy wasn't in the isle, Nick was crouched over Brian's body, covering it up with a an unfolded metallic thermal blanket. Dahlia was quietly filling him in on the events that just transpired.

"You doing okay, wolfy? I'm good here, but Fangs can use your help!" Trust Nick be all casual at the situation, even as his muzzle sported a completely serious expression.

James hesitated at the sight, reminded of another tan furred canine who was wrapped up by a similar blanket. Blinking away the random thought, he went over to his partner. Unzipping and rummaging though the first aid kit, he pulled out bandages and gauze. "Radio said there's an ambulance already on its way, but I don't want to wait," he explained to Dahlia as he reached over to pry off her paw from her wound.

Instead, she used her free paw to grab his wrist and prevent him from intervening. "James?" She gave him a funny look, due to trying to smile at him through the pain. "I know you're trying to help, but unless you really know what you're doing, I'd rather wait for professionals."

"-What? But-!"

Even Nick turned his head to give her a nervous glance.

"I'm talking to you! I'm not even bleeding all that bad! The last thing I need right now is for you to come in and destroy my shoulder even more. Remember your first aid training – when there's a group of mammals needing help, you ignore the ones crying for help, because it means they're in a better state than the ones who are silent." She flashed him another pained grin. "You know? All right, come here. Since you brought that first aid over, help me wrap the wound up."

Gratefully, James did exactly that. The task allowed him to keep his mind off the the body being covered up by Nick, even as his nose failed to block the terrible stench of metallic blood mixed with the oddly sweet but sharp odor of fuel.

"Hey, James?" Dahlia must have noticed that he was not quite all there.

He looked at her, not daring himself to say anything.

Dahlia sat up higher, groaning at the motion, but also brushing off his attempts to help her. "You did good. You kept him talking while I was able to get the rabbits out."

James blinked, feeling terrible. "But… It wasn't enough." Oddly, his confession to how he felt seemed to help a little, as though admitting his failure was allowing entry for someone to scold him for failing at his job. Instead, as Dahlia stared at him with sorrow in her eyes, he felt a paw grasp his shoulder. Turning his head, he found himself exchanging gazes with Nick.

"You can't save everyone," Nick said carefully. "But you allowed everyone else to get out safe. I think you did enough."

"-Wilde…" Truth be told, it felt nice to hear the words. But James couldn't help but also feel that Nick not having been there also meant that the fox wasn't able to judge his actions properly either.

"If you think you did something wrong, think of it this way," Nick continued, completely serious. "By the time you arrived, this place was covered in fuel. Heck, it still is, even with it evaporating out as fast as it is. The guy also made sure to drench himself with it as well, to make sure that you won't be able to take him down..." He glanced down momentarily at the covered body. "Well, not with a tazer. But the point is, if you had done something wrong, firefighters would be pulling whatever would remain of your body out of this place." He jerked his head in Dahlia's direction. "Hers too. And those rabbits you saved. And? This guy's too. Everyone except for him who are still alive because of you."

Dahlia grunted in approval. "Listen to him. As soon as Bogo arrives and we deal with him, I need to call Mike and let him know. What do you think he would prefer? Me calling him to let him know that I had a knife go into my shoulder? Or Bogo letting him know that his wife wasn't coming home?" Her voice faltered. "To let Ethan know that he no longer has a mother?"

James still wanted Nick to be wrong. He wanted to yell at the smaller officer that he had everything backwards. But not only he he not see glaring issues with Nick's proposed alternative situation, but also hearing Dahlia lose her composure over thinking about her family caused him to snap out of his own emotions to reach out to her, grasping her larger paw with his and gripping it tightly.

Not to mention the thoughts now traveling to his own family that will be waiting for him to come home soon.

Dahlia smiled reassuringly at his gesture.

"He... This was suicide by cop, wasn't it?" James asked quietly. "He wasn't going to allow himself to leave this place alive?"

Nick shook his head silently, but it was Dahlia's answer that mattered far more.

"You already know the answer to that. There was no stopping him."

He glanced down at the covered body again. "When we got the call, I thought he might be, you know… might be Trigger," he confessed. Dahlia already knew, but there was a good chance that Nick didn't. "When I saw that Brian wasn't, at first I was glad. But he's so young… Probably would have been better if he was Trigger. Not him…. Just a kid." He felt Dahlia, still holding paws with him, grip his harder.

Nick peeked around the isle to outside the store. "Chief's arrived," he announced, standing up. "I'll go check up on my partner." Silently, he left James and Dahlia alone, but they weren't alone for long as the buffalo showed up.

"Fangmeyer? Wolford?" He held out a waiting hand. "Body cam cards. Both of you." Bogo only gave the covered body the briefest of glances before returning his attention to the two officers.

Doing as they were told, the chief accepted the memory cards of their body cameras before promptly leaving again. Dahlia and James waited in silence, but almost as soon as Chief Bogo left, that a group of EMTs arrived, several of them pushing a gurney and lifting the body up into it. Two others got to work on Dahlia's shoulder while the last one focused his attention on James.

He tried to brush off the zebra who kept prodding at him and shining a light in his eyes. "I'm fine!" He grumbled again and tried to forcefully push the light away from his face. "I didn't get hit or anything! I'm fine!"

"But you didn't answer my question either," the zebra EMT pointed out.

James finally looked at her. "What question?"

"If you were feeling anything unusual or painful?"

James glanced at the ground. "Not physically," he admitted.

The zebra gave him a grin. "That, I'm afraid, is a problem outside of my area of expertise," she said. "What you can do is accompany your fellow officer to the ambulance. We're taking her to the hospital."

James nodded. "Right…" Numbly, he stood up and walked next to Dahlia, still grasping her paw. With the other EMTs loading her into the ambulance, he sat down on its back bumper as long as they didn't tell him to get off. He did stare silently as they rolled the body out of the store and loaded it into the very same ambulance.

"We'll take your partner to the hospital, then drop the body off at the morgue," one of the other EMTs explained. "I don't know about you, but I'm being told you don't need our help."

James glanced over at Dahlia. With IVs inserted into her, and no doubt a few painkillers, she looked to be in far less pain than before. Not to mention close to dozing off. "I guess not. Should I go with her or…" he fell silent as Chief Bogo walked over to them.

"I'm going to have officer Wilde drive you back to the station," Bogo informed, jerking his head in Nick's direction. "I still need Hopps to finish up with those rabbits. And I need you to get started on the report for what happened. Don't be surprised if you'll be asked to conduct an interview by IA." He held out the memory cards for the body cams he took from James and Dahlia. "But from what I've seen here? You did well." He shot Dahlia a glare though. "Not sure what made you think leaving your partner was a good idea, but you did get those rabbits out, so I won't double guessing your judgment just yet. As for the shooting? Unless something new and unexpected comes up, it was entirely justified. He threatened the two of you, the store, anyone else still inside, and based on one of the rabbits, already demonstrated the will and ability to do harm."

"Right…" James let out another numb nod, earning a frown from Bogo.

"We'll see what to do after this," he added. "Expect a lot of office work. Fangmeyer still needs to go to the hospital, and we don't know what will come out of that. I don't think I'll be splitting the two of you though, but it will mean that you will need to wait for her to get better before returning to regular patrolling." He gave Wolford a long stare. "I'm going to place both of you on mandatory therapy. Probably with Crenspaw, as she works with a lot of officers already. I don't know how long you will be attending, it will be up to you. It's… After an officer involved shooting, it's always better to start early and end it if its not needed rather than the other way around. I also don't want you to deal directly with the press. That's also standard, but just a reminder. If you get contacted by a reporter or even just a member of the public, point them to the precinct press secretary."

Another numb nod was all James managed to do.

"Do… you disagree?" Bogo sounded genuinely confused, also looking at Dahlia for her reaction.

"Well, no," James stammered, "it's just that… I know you hold officers to really high standards. Why do I feel like I'm letting you down because I don't think I'll be able to… just go back to work? After this, I mean…"

Bogo let out an amused grunt. "On the contrary, I'd be very worried if you were ready to just return to work. Justified or not, you just took a life. For any sane person, that is a very hard road to take, and it's only natural that you will struggle with it. That's why I'll be seeing how soon I can schedule you two to therapy. Fangmeyer? What about you?"

Dahlia gave a droopy grin, which faded rather quickly. "I… feel mostly fine, sir. Mostly worried for James. Don't think I'm taking this as hard as he is. But I wasn't the one to take the shots. Whatever you need, I want to be able to help."

Bogo nodded, glancing at the EMTs milling around the ambulance. "Looks like they're about to finish and send you off." He looked up, scanning the area around them. "Wilde! Over here!" Moment later, Nick jogged over. "Wilde? Take Wolford back to the station. Wait for Hopps to return there. Officers? Unless any one of you will need anything from me, I'll see this scene cleared out."

Dahlia raised her free paw. "Sir? I would like to call my family, if it's all right with you. They'll need to know."

"Do it," Bogo said with a nod. "Leave out specific details, but you can call them. Wolford? You as well, can help to talk to someone close to you. Officers? Take care of yourselves."

Standing up, James followed Nick silently, sliding into the passenger side seat of the car, barely even noticing that it was configured several times too small for him. While it was an easy fix to get more comfortable, it was also… too much work at the moment. Instead, he hunched over and stared at the ambulance through the window. Dahlia was on her phone, looking rather annoyed with the conversation she was having, but between the window and the back of the ambulance being closed at that moment, he didn't catch the actual words.

"-olford? James? Buddy?" Nick finished adjusting the driver seat and was now attempting to grab his attention. "You with me?"

"Yeah, what is it, Nick?"

"How you holding up?"

James frowned, staring outside rather than at Nick. "I don't know. I feel like… Like I did what I needed to do, but at the same time, I feel like I completely fucked up. He was just a kid, you know? Just lost his family. Like a younger, dumber Trigger, almost..." He groaned, rubbing his eyes. "Hell, I thought at first he was Trigger!"

"Yeah, I heard that inside," Nick reminded him.

"Where were you, anyways?" James suddenly demanded, tone getting angry. "You were several minutes away!"

"We were several minutes away," Nick corrected him. "That whole incident took no more than five. But… Look, that accident we were responding to? It wasn't really one." He gave a slight shrug. "We had Count with us. Needed to transfer him off to another unit before we were able to head over. Chief didn't want to risk bringing Count over to an active crime scene like that. So we got delayed."

James hated to admit that he wasn't comfortable with the idea of Count being there too. "So you had Count, huh? ...Do you think Trigger's capable of doing something like this? Of locking up innocents in a store and threaten to blow them up?"

"Strikes?" Nick shook his head. "No, I doubt it." He visibility struggled with himself. "Can he? All right, he can. But if I had to stake money on it, like I used to back in my conning days, then I would say that no, he isn't the type of person to do something like that."

"No signs of Trigger today, were there?"

"No, I'm afraid not." Nick reached over and gave James a reassuring shake to the shoulder. "Tell you what? Let's drive back, I'll brew you up a nice cup of tea, and we'll wait for Carrots to get back."

"You? Tea? No!" James shook his head. "Knowing you, you'll pour and entire pound of sugar into that one cup. Or hot sauce. Or both!"

Nick grinned, shrugging innocently. "Hey, if you still have the common sense to decline, then you're not that out of it!"

Despite just joking moments ago, James' mood soured with that latest jab. "Yeah…" He reached into his pocket and pulled out his own phone.

"Tell you what?" Nick tried again. "When Carrots will get back, we'll all drive over to the hospital and pay Stipes a visit. That sound better?"

James was already scrolling through his contacts, but didn't miss the latest offer. "Sure. If Bogo will allow it, I'm down for that. I'm sure Dahlia won't mind."

"Besides," Nick pointed out, "if we don't, Carrots will murder us."

James was genuinely not sure if Nick was actually serious or not.