"He's what?" Mr. Big asked, leaning forward in his chair in surprise.

"Dead, sir. I was on my way back from a talk with Kitsu and his Family, and when I arrived Sanchez had been shot..." Max looked down at the floor and lashed his tail from side to side in anger. "The one time I leave his side and he gets killed," he muttered.

"What were you doing in the Canyonlands?" the shrew asked.

"I was seeking Kitsu's help, Señor Sanchez wanted to seek asylum in his territory while we waited for the rest of the families to get back on our hearing." The cheetah looked back up to the shrew and sighed. "I'd ask what the verdict was, but it doesn't really matter now."

Mr. Big let out a quiet sigh and leaned back in his seat. "Then why are you here?" he demanded. "You have more urgent matters to attend to."

"I'm here because he wasn't the only one who'd been taken out. The casino was crawling with mammals I've never seen before, and I could tell that there had been a gunfight. ZPD was coming to cordon off the area as I left. I... Came because I needed a safe place." Max gave a hopeful, yet nervous grin to the shrew. "I've nowhere to go but here."

The tiny shrew was quiet for a moment, before looking at Nick and Judy. "You two, I want you to go meet with Ms. Beau. She was close to Mr. Sanchez and will likely want news of this. I will arrange for your meeting to be tomorrow afternoon. Max, you may stay in the Sandcats safehouse here in Tundratown for the time being. I will assign a security detail until things have calmed."

Max looked like he was about to protest for a moment, before nodding gratefully. "Thank you, sir," he said.

Mr. Big just nodded, continuing on. "Nicky, take Judy to a specialty shop and get some supplies before you leave. Sabine has been quiet for some time and I'm unsure of the situation in her territory. Be careful. I do not wish to send the two of you under-prepared."

"Yes, sir!" Nick said, nodding.

"Judy, I know you aren't comfortable with your profession yet but it's important to me that you do your job well. Listen to Nicky. Stay safe."

"Yes, sir." Judy replied, standing up a bit straighter, ears high and attentive.

"Mr. Big, if I may?" Max suddenly spoke up. "I still have my vehicle – it's a bit banged up, but mostly fine. In return for your kindness I can take them to Sabine and back? She owes me a favor and I may be able to use that to your advantage."

"No," Mr. Big didn't even hesitate. "You are going to the safe house. Marcus will drive them."

With a short nod from the feline, the fox and bunny turned and began to walk out of the office, a sense of purpose around them.

~ óÓÒò ~

"I know."

"You know? And you don't care?" Nick gawked at the elegantly dressed skunk.

She rolled her eyes and twirled her glass of moscato before taking a smal sip, looking down at the fox and bunny with a clearly condescending, forced smile.

"I know, and I care, but that's all I have to say on the topic. Sanchez was playing his cards wrong and paid the price for it. There's nothing to be done now, simple as that." Sabine sat back on her chair and crossed one leg over the other, the skunk giving Nick and Judy a bored expression. "But it's quite good that you two came along when you did. It's saved me some trouble." As Sabine spoke, several of her guards moved up behind Nick and Judy, blocking the door. "You see, there's plans for this city that some of the more old-fashioned bosses, like your Mr. Big, simply won't allow. But others, like me? We're a very ambitious bunch. And thanks to some changes happening in the big picture, we can finally put that to use." Sabine snapped her fingers, and both Nick and Judy froze at the sound of weapons being drawn behind them. "Now, because I owe some favors, I won't kill you here and now. However, I can't exactly let you run off and tell your boss, now can I? So here's my proposal for the two of you. Do what my boys say, go along nicely, and you'll both get to walk out of here in one piece once everything is over. Understood?"

Judy felt her paws twitch and there was a scratch at the back of her mind to draw her weapon, but Nick's defeated sigh instructed otherwise. "Fine," the fox said. Then, under his breath, "Not like we have much of a choice." Then, just barely audible for even Judy's hearing: "When we get out of this room, follow me."

Judy gave no sign of having heard the fox, instead staring at the mob boss before them as she grinned and resumed speaking. "Good, good. Listen to them carefully; I'd love to stay and take care of this myself, but I have a very important guest arriving soon." The skunk gave a small smirk and rose from her seat, exiting the room through a door to their left, several bodyguards following her. A wolf, elk, and another skunk. The rest gave Nick and Judy a little shove, pushing them to a door on the right. She couldn't help but notice the way Nick's ears drooped slightly at where they were going, and her own ears fell. That wasn't a good sign.

~ óÓÒò ~

Nick slammed the door shut behind Judy, the two of them collapsing on the other side of the door and panting, out of breath. As the bunny began to pick herself up from the floor, Nick pushed himself off the ground and began to push on the nearby bookshelf, sending it over the floor as Judy stepped away. "That should buy us some time," he panted, gesturing for Judy to follow him as he led her through the small house. They ended up in a guest bedroom, the fox grabbing a barely-living lavender plant and waving it around before reaching under the small bed with a grunt, hissing as he floundered around before crawling under himself. It wasn't long before there was a click, followed by a rolling sound. "Come on, Fluff," he said, disappearing under the bed.

Judy quietly looked under the bed and saw a small, square hole in the ground, Nick poking his head out from it. She quickly slid under the bed and into the hole with him, watching as the fox pulled the rolling cover back into place, pressing against it until it clicked again, sealing them inside. He then brushed past her and flicked an unseen switch, illuminating the small space.

It was a room, little larger than a walk-in closet for a smaller mammal, with a small box labeled 'Food' and a cot in one corner, a radio and stack of books in the other. "What is this?" she asked, walking over to the bed and sitting on it as Nick brushed dust from the books.

"An old panic room. My dad had this installed when I was little. Meant to expand on it, but never did." The fox picked up a book and brushed it off, coughing and setting it back down as dust flew from the cover. "What a mess," he muttered, walking to the bed, taking the pillow and patting the dust from it. He moved back past Judy and flipped another switch, a small whirring noise sounding as a vent turned on, circulating air through the room for them.

"This room, or our situation?" Judy asked in a half-hearted attempt at humor.

"Both," Nick replied with a single chuckle. "We should be able to hole up here, though. At least, for a little while."

"Good," Judy sighed, leaning back and pressing her head against the concrete wall. "I don't think I could run much more today."

"Me neither," Nick yawned. "Are you alright?"

"Just a few scratches," Judy mumbled, sitting back up and checking over herself. Her suit was torn in some places, and dirty, but her undersuit was relatively unharmed. "You?"

Nick was quiet for a moment, looking himself over before replying "Same. Guess we got lucky that Sabine's lackeys are such bad shots, huh?"

"Mhm," Judy responded, voice muffled by her yawn as she leaned against the wall again. Her eyelids were growing quite heavy, and she felt the need to sleep.

It was quiet for a moment, and Judy very nearly fell asleep, until Nick spoke. "Why don't I stay up to watch things? Make sure-" a yawn. "-no one finds us."

"Can you stay up that long?" Judy asked.

Nick took a moment to respond, letting out another yawn before he did so. "Yeah, I should be fine."

"You're a bad liar," Judy snickered, opening her eyes and sitting up once more. Nick was leaned over on the edge of the bed, eyes shut. "Let's both sleep. I doubt anyone will find us."

"In the same bed?"

"It's not like we're naked," Judy pointed out. "We're both exhausted, there's one bed, and it's a hidden room."

"I don't know, Carrots, I-"

Judy cut him off by laying on the bed and tugging him down with her. "You're a very dumb fox, you know that? Just sleep."

Nick opened his mouth to argue, but instead just muttered "Then let me stay against the wall."

Judy obliged and got up, letting Nick shift to the other side of the bed before she laid down again. "Goodnight, Nick," she yawned out, shutting her eyes and curling up into a ball. Nick's response was a nearly unintelligible "G'night", followed by soft snores.

It didn't take long for Judy to follow suit.

~ óÓÒò ~

Kept you waiting, huh? Please R&R if you have the time, feedback helps me get the ideas going and makes me want to write more. Plus, I'll never improve without it. Sorry I took so long, but life has been crazy as of late. This chapter was actually ready to go for a while but I just didn't upload it, and then I forgot, then needed to revise it, and... Yeah.
Sorry.