Hello everyone.
I hope you are staying healthy and well.
The new chapter is here and, again, I apologize for the slow updates. On the positive note, my resolution for 2022 is to write every day, even if only a little bit. This means no more breaks and, hopefully, publishing new chapters faster.
For those of you who expressed worry about the content going dark, we'll be exploring that darkness a little bit more in this chapter. However, worry not dear raeder, as there is fluff on the horizon in the upcoming chapters.
Before we jump to the story itself, I wanted to thank Cimar, the Grand Admiral of WildeHopps Armada with giving this chapter a read and sharing his thoughts. It's always an honor to receive your approval for Zootopia content. :)
I also wanted to express my thanks to my friend Bukoya, whose art and friendship helped me more than once to deal with my mood swings. Thank you so much.
Again, and as always, I thank all of you for your support, kind words, and all of your thoughts and opinions.
A REMINDER - Trisha belongs to Bluelighthouse and him only! She is a guest star in this story with his permission.
That would be all for now, so feel free to dig in.
Chapter 50
Volkov clicked his tongue at the sight of the broken door. He raised a paw to signal Jackie to stop.
"What?" She questioned, pausing behind him. "Oh…" The hole in the door was all the explanation she needed.
The wolf pushed the door with his foot.
With no reaction from the other side, he inched forward with his ears erect and alert.
The fire alarm has already ended, leaving equally disturbing silence in its place.
Jackie swallowed and followed in his footsteps, paying attention to stay as quiet as possible.
The apartment greeted them with little evidence of what happened, at least at first glance. Volkov scanned the area with his eyes and, once he was done with the visible section, moved to another room, and another.
While he was exploring the apartment, Jackie remained in the living room. She crouched by the couch, picking up a smartphone that was left there. She recognized the device.
"Clear," the wolf announced, stepping back into the room.
"Judy was here," Jackie said, raising the phone in her paw. "She must have left in a hurry to leave it behind."
Her companion turned his eyes to the windows and approached one of them.
"What happened in here…" Jackie murmured to herself, turning the phone in her fingers.
"He tried to rape her."
Volkov's blunt response made her head snap towards him. "What?!"
"I could smell fear in the bedroom, lots of fear." He paused briefly. "But that's not the problem."
Jackie snarled, "That piece of shit rapist is the problem!"
The wolf ignored her outburst. "Imagine if you were to hear that someone very close to you got hurt. How would you feel, when facing the culprit?"
She took a deep breath before answering. "I'd slug them really hard. What does that go-"
He cut her off by raising a paw. "No. What kind of emotion would you feel?"
Jackie didn't need time to process the question. "I'd be angry, very angry. Furious."
The wolf nodded. "Exactly. And here," he indicated the apartment in general before tapping his nose, "there's no trace of anger."
The cheetah raised her brows. "I thought that smelling emotions was limited to one's own species?"
"I've received… special training in that area."
"Okay, well… Maybe Nick used some scent mask or something?"
"Maybe…" Volkov muttered, eyeing the open window. He then took out his phone and typed a message. "We'll need to wipe this place."
"Wipe?"
His phone buzzed and the wolf read the message he got. Then he proceeded to the kitchen.
"Hey!" Jackie stood up. "What do you mean wipe?!"
The wolf returned with a box of matches and a bottle of liquid.
"Firefighters are on the way." He turned his head to her. "We need to make sure that no clue remains behind."
She didn't fully get it. However, his voice and the look he gave her discouraged her from asking anything else.
.
.
"Hey, girl. Your shift was over ten minutes ago!"
Samantha Thumpers turned around to see her brown furred colleague behind the bar. It was a quiet evening at 10-7 and the number of guests was smaller than usual.
"Almost done, Trish. Had a little chat with Jeffrey," she replied, approaching the doe and hopping on a bar stool.
Trisha rolled her eyes with a smile. "That old goof is going to visit this place till the end of time."
"Oh come on," Samantha set her tray down, "where else he's supposed to go? It's his life, even if he retired ten years ago."
The brown bunny raised a finger. "Fifteen, Sam. Fifteen."
Samantha took off her apron. "Whatever. He's always a charmer."
"That he is," Trisha chuckled before her signature smirk spread across her lips. "Just like me."
Her colleague rolled her eyes with a smile. "Of course you are. I'll be off." Samantha hopped down to the floor and headed to the door for the staff. "See you tomorrow!"
The brown bunny waved at her with a bright face. "See ya, girl!"
.
.
It took the bunny just a couple of minutes to leave the building and head for the nearest bus stop. Sometimes there was a friendly face from the bar around, who would recognize her and offer a lift. It was one of the perks of the job - you got to be on good terms with most of the uniformed service.
Tonight she was given at least one offer to get her home. However, she felt like having a walk, so that she could enjoy the winter air. Adorning a smile and taking a deep breath, Samantha headed out.
Some distance behind her, an engine rumbled quietly and a car moved from its parking spot.
.
.
Once she closed the door to her apartment, Samantha finally felt exhaustion catching up to her. Even with polite and friendly clientele, being a bartender was a physical, demanding job.
Deciding that sleep has higher priority over other things, Samantha opted for going straight to bed. Maybe with an exception of brushing her teeth.
On her way to the bathroom, she noticed the opened window. She often left it like that when she was at work. It helped to vent the apartment and provide better air for sleep. Closing it to not freeze overnight, Samantha did not look below. Even if she did, the doe wouldn't recognize that the car parked in front of the building was identical to the one from the bar.
Five minutes later, plopping her head on the blissfully cold and soft pillow, Samantha quite easily drifted off to sleep.
Several meters away from her bed, a fox shaped shadow stepped forward and the moonlight from the window glinted on the metal of a needle.
.
.
William's eyelids twitched. The buck struggled to open his eyes, the grogginess still unyielding.
CRACK!
He jumped on the spot, eyes wide open. Or… he tried. His paws wouldn't move. His legs wouldn't move. His torso couldn't move. He lowered his hea- His head also couldn't move.
His entire body was firmly strapped to a hard chair.
Will yelped as he struggled in the confines. But he couldn't. He was gagged.
The buck let out a faint whimper as he looked around him. He was in a circle of bright light, surrounded by pure darkness. No noise was reaching his ears. There was no ambience of the city, nor any other signs of civilization.
"Good evening." A voice echoed somewhere in the darkness.
Will's eyes darted from left to right in hope of spotting the speaker.
A figure loomed out of the blackness, enough for the bunny to make out the silhouette. "Newborns are fascinating, don't you think, William?" Nick asked the buck, with a rather indifferent voice.
The bunny swallowed.
And he continued speaking, while walking towards the tied buck. "The very first moment they appear in this world, they are completely defenseless," Nick gently tapped the top of Will's paw with a claw, "at the mercy of others," now a tap to the shoulder as he encircled him, "and clueless what is going to happen to them."
The fox disappeared from the buck's field of vision when he moved behind the bunny. Will pulled at the restraints again in a hopeless attempt of getting free. A muffled whimper escaped his gagged mouth. Then he felt a set of paws on his shoulders.
"And yet," Nick's voice poured straight into Will's ear, "they are so resilient in surviving, in growing…" He went silent at that point.
The buck's eyes darted nervously from one corner to the other, hoping to catch at least a glance of his captor. It was pointless, his head was firmly strapped to the chair. The silence was dragging into a lengthy time, making Will thinking if something happened that caused this pause-
"Did you know?" Nick suddenly went on, almost causing Will to jump. The buck's body jerked from the surprise. "Newborns' bodies adapt and heal with extraordinary speed. For instance," Nick shifted his fingers to place them on the buck's bones, "if they are born with a broken collarbone..." the fox squeezed, making a cold shiver wreck through William's body as he processed what his invisible captor had just said.
The pressure disappeared and the voice moved to Will's right side. "This reminds me…" Nick came into his field of vision, leaning down to pick something from the ground. "I have something I wanted to show you."
The fox left the item in his paw right in front of the chair. "But I will need to grab a couple of things first," Nick stated, casually backing away from William. "Don't touch anything," he pointed a finger at the immobilized bunny, "it's a surprise." The fox faded into the shadow, keeping his arm extended until the claw melded with the darkness as well.
.
.
Volkov answered the moment the phone rang.
"Theo." He listened for a moment and nodded.
They were back in the car and Jackie was watching in the rear mirror how the firefighters rushed into the building. She desperately hoped that there wouldn't be too much damage from the fire they started. "Got it, we'll head there right away." The wolf cut the call.
"Head where?"
"Elm Street. Fast."
Jackie didn't argue. She stepped on it.
.
.
William sat alone in the circle of light, staring at a duffle bag in front of him.
It was a perfectly normal looking bag, one that someone might be using for gym clothes. The buck swallowed dryly, his imagination running a wild guessing game about the contents.
At that point his ears perked up, hearing a scraping noise in the dark. It sounded as if metal was being dragged over a concrete surface. It stopped.
Silence filled his ears again.
This lasted about a minute according to a clock, but a month for the bunny.
Then the familiar sound of footsteps resounded in the air.
The fox appeared in the light again, pushing an office chair in front of him with one paw. The other one was pulling a rectangular metal table on wheels.
"Now, you wouldn't know it, but I'm actually a history enthusiast," Nick said, sitting on the chair and facing the bunny. He picked up the bag and placed it on the table. "See, many mammals like to think that they are so smart, so creative."
William could only watch as Nick's paws unzipped the bag.
"However, the reality is that much of modern innovation that we have is simply unneeded. In some cases," he indicated the bag with a nod of his head, "the classics were already close to perfection. For instance..."
William's eyes followed Nick's paw as it went into the bag and returned holding a small object. It looked like it was made of metal and consisted of a rod with a ring on one end and a pear-shaped body on the other.
"I present to you," the fox held the item right in front of Will, "the Pear of Anguish. Isn't it a beauty?"
The buck swallowed again.
"See, this little gem goes into you," Nick pointed the item at him, "and then you use the mechanism to help it open up, like a flower." His words were followed by a demonstration, as he twisted the ring. It took just several turns to the metal pear to do exactly as explained. "No electricity, no fancy gimmicks, just plain physics. And it's designed in a way to take time with it. It's not on a spring to make a sudden jump. It lets the experience to bloom slowly, inch by inch, turn by turn."
The fox glanced at the bunny's face. "What, scared? Oh, nonono. No worries. I'm not going to use it on you," he gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder and put the item on the table. His paw went into the bag again.
Click.
William blinked when a new source of light appeared in the distance. It was another circle surrounded by darkness. And at the center…
The buck's eyes shot wide open and his entire body froze.
There was a chair in the very middle of the spot of light in front of him. A young bunny was tied to it. A female bunny.
"Now this thing," Nick's voice drew the bunny's attention back, "works with the same principle in mind."
The fox was holding a device that was made of three metal rods, combined with a couple of slim plates. It also had screws involved. "It has several names, depending on the region it was used in. The most common name would be thumbscrew. Some called it thumbkin or pillywinks, and even those names had variations…"
The fox went off with further, casual explanation while William's face was contorted in terror, as his eyes darted back to Samantha on the chair behind Nick. Her chin was resting on her chest, as if she were asleep.
And the fox already had another device in his paws, the other two lined up on the table.
William pulled at the restraints, thrashing in his seat. His gag muffled all the screams the bunny was desperately trying to get out of his mouth.
The fox's fingers caught his cheeks in a vice-like grip. "Lesson's not over, sonny," Nick said with only a slightest hint of annoyance.
William was panting through his nose. His body gave up and he remained still in his seat.
Nick withdrew his hand, shaking his head. "The younger generation… No desire for knowledge, always stuck staring at phone screens, scrolling through words as if they were some spare change."
He put another sinister device on the table. "All right…" he stood up. "If you're not interested in the description, how about the demonstration of the results?" The fox grabbed both the chair and the table. He turned around and headed towards the other mammal, dragging the objects with him.
William's gaze immediately shot towards the doe. His eyes were oozing horror as his captor approached the motionless female.
Nick settled the chair close to the doe and sat down, getting the implements on the table within arm's reach. He then picked up the device he called the thumbscrew.
The immobilized buck could only watch as the fox unscrewed the plates, just enough to have room for flesh between them. His entire body was shivering from the sight of the predator grabbing one of the doe's paws, guiding her thumb into the device.
As the fox was setting things up, William broke into another series of screams. His voice remained muffled, even when his entire body struggled in place. He started with outbursts of howls, carrying a rage twisted expression. That energy was soon spent, as he lowered his voice into powerless cries of a broken mammal. Tears formed in the corners of William's eyes.
"Oh, don't make a scene now," Nick sighed and reached into the bag again. With another click the light surrounding him and the female disappeared.
The buck screamed.
.
.
Jackie stopped the car right in front of the building described by the wolf. As they got out of the vehicle, she eyed what looked like a regular warehouse. The proximity of the river meant that goods could be transported by water. Hence, some places in the city served as loading bays for the barges.
"You sure this is the place?" The cheetah inquired over her shoulder.
"Positive." Volkov approached the car's trunk.
"Ookay," Jackie headed towards the door at the front, right next to the main entrance. She checked the door handle. "Locked. Maybe-"
"Move," the wolf ordered from behind her back.
She turned around to see him wielding a shotgun in both paws. The next instant she removed herself from that spot.
Volkov was at the door in a few quick strides and put the barrel of the gun right next to the handle.
BANG!
The wolf kicked the unresisting door open and went inside.
Jackie looked at the scene and whistled. "That's one way to knock..." The cheetah took a brief glance around, then followed in his pawsteps.
.
.
The darkness was suffocating.
It surrounded the light around William like a strangling paw, waiting for a chance to crush the remaining resistance. But it still wasn't the worst. The real source of torment was the sound.
The faint scraping of metal in even intervals, just enough to change one's grip between the turns of the screws.
Turn. Pause. Turn.
Turn. Pause. Turn.
Turn. Pause. Turn.
It wormed its way into the buck's skull, engraving itself in his brain.
Then it changed.
It was no longer a struggling metallic grind, but a quicker and lighter sound of release.
Silence followed.
An object dropped into the light, landing in front of Will with a thud.
The thumbscrew.
With splotches of red on it.
"Now then," Nicholas stepped into the light, wiping his paws with a rag, "why don't we take a break here. I'd say it's time for dinner." He paused. "All right, maybe late dinner."
William's eyes were fixed on the crimson stained cloth in the predator's paws.
"I'll go with a burger, how about you? A salad will do?" He tapped the bunny on the knee. "Okay, I got you covered."
The fox went past him and silence dominated the air again.
.
.
After leaving the empty hangar, Jackie jumped into the driver's seat, as Volkov sat in the passenger's.
"Okay, one down. Where to next?"
"Sahara Square."
.
.
William couldn't measure in any way how much time has passed since Nick has disappeared. His ankles and wrists ached from how much strain he put on them, trying to break free.
Clang.
The bunny's ears jumped up at the sound. He listened intently, desperate to identify from which direction it came from.
"I'm back!" A loud voice announced somewhere behind him.
The familiar figure of a fox entered his field of vision with a smile.
"I got some nice stuff for us," Nick said as he laid the items in his paws on the mobile table. "Just let me set this up."
In just a moment, the two mammals were sitting on the opposite sides of the table. Nick was unwrapping the food he brought. The fox placed a half unpacked burger in front of William.
"Don't worry, it's a veggie burger. Now," he placed a glass before the immobilized bunny and poured some liquid into it from a dark bottle, "how about a drink?" The fox also poured himself some.
"Mmmff!"
Nick paused and looked at the drinks. He picked up his glass and took a sip. "You're right, it's a tad bit cold. Oh well, not much one can do during winter."
The fox nodded at William before gulping down the content of his glass.
The bunny could only watch as his captor devoured the burger.
Finally, Nick wiped his muzzle with a napkin and put the packaging into a bag. "That's much better. I didn't even realize I was that hungry. Anyway…"
The fox pushed the table away and it rolled into the surrounding darkness. Then he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.
"Do you know the core nature of sin?" Nick looked Will in the eye.
The bunny simply stared at him in return.
"Fear." The fox stood up. "Some might argue that the pleasure, the temptation is what sin is about, but that's just shallow thinking." He raised a finger. "See, we commit sins when we desperately need something. We crave for it, yearn for it, want to feel it… And yet, we often learn how foolish it has been only after realizing just how much we have been scared of losing it." Nick paused, pinning the bunny down with his gaze just as much as the restraints. "Oh yes… That agonizing fear that we will forever lose that chance to feel that way again, to taste it," his claws slowly reached for the bunny's face, pausing a mere inch from his fur, "to touch the forbidden…"
William could only stare when his captor paused and hung his head.
"I am a sinner, as well…" the fox picked up. "Fear kept me from doing the right thing. I have been a coward. I should've killed you the moment I met you. That alone, even without its own context, merits becoming a sinner."
The bunny whimpered when Nick's head shot up and he grasped his wrists. "For now, I will create a very personal purgatory. The very place where all due punishment is delivered. And you," the fox moved both paws to cup Will's face, "you will be its cornerstone."
.
.
"Just two more places to go." Volkov checked a note in his phone.
Jackie clicked her tongue. "So far we only had flukes. What's even the guarantee that he'll be in any of those places?!"
"We check those two, then we can start worrying."
"Argh! Damn it!" The cheetah officer wished she could push the gas pedal even harder.
.
.
William was struggling to keep his breathing stable. A pointless task. Even with Nick disappearing from his direct view, the bunny couldn't compose himself. No… The fox going back into the surrounding darkness only heightened his sense of dread.
What was he doing?
Why did he leave in the direction of the doe?
Why was it so silent?
That's when he heard footsteps
"Willy, boy." The fox came into the light and approached the immobilized bunny. "Time to pay for your sins."
.
.
"Shit!" Jackie kicked an empty paint can.
The storage unit was unquestionably lacking in any foxes or bunnies.
Volkov remained calm, as he grabbed the cheetah's arm. "Move, one more place."
Jackie jerked her arm free with a growl, but did march out of the unit.
.
.
"Mmmffmmf!"
The fox ignored William's muffled voice. "I want you to listen very carefully to what I have to say, because I will not repeat myself." Nick produced a watch in his fingers. Then, he unfastened the restriction on Will's right wrist. Before the bunny could even think of moving his forearm, Nick caught his paw in an iron grip.
"What I have here is a pulse meter," he explained while wrapping the object around the captive's wrist. "It will measure your heart rate in real time and display it on this little screen." He tapped the flat surface on the top. "It also has a sensor," the fox's claw pointed at the bunny's face, "which will immediately set off an alarm, should you try taking it off."
Nick straightened up and took a step back.
"With this, you are half ready."
"Mmf?" William frowned.
The fox grabbed the chair Will was bound to and pulled. The heavy object resisted, as the vulpine forced it to turn around on the concrete floor.
"We're going to play 'Kill The Bunny', and you will be the main player." He turned around and began walking away from the chair. "The rules are simple - the game ends when a bunny dies. I encourage you to focus on the use of 'a' instead of 'the'," Nick continued his lecture, while his paw went into the pocket of his pants. He took out something that looked like a remote.
Lights flooded a new portion of the space they were in.
William initially squinted his eyes, but he soon recognized a large cage. It was large enough to freely hold several elephants. And in the middle of it…
"Mmmmmfff! Mmm!" he screamed in the confines.
Samantha was tied to a chair, with her head hanging down. She didn't even flinch when the light appeared, which suggested that she wasn't even conscious.
The buck moved his hatred filled eyes toward Nic-
He was mere inches away from his face. "Let us see just how much you are willing to pay."
Without any kind of a warning, the fox's paws started unbinding Will's arms. Once they were free, Nick swiftly stepped back and headed towards the doe.
At the same time the bunny let out another muffled scream, flailing his arms in the direction of his captor. However, after a couple of seconds he seemed to calm down a bit. His paws went for the rest of the restraints and he began freeing the rest of his body. The head, torso, legs, ankles… When his body became fully liberated, his fingers also went for the gag on his mouth.
"The rules are simple."
The fox's voice made him freeze and look ahead.
"This girl's life depends on you." Nick reached into the darkness at the edge of the light surrounding the doe. His paw returned, holding a gas canister. The fox opened it. "If you break the rules, she dies." As he was speaking, the fox was circling around the doe, pouring gasoline onto the concrete floor. He was slowly making a spiral. "If you try to take off the gag, she dies. If you try to take off the pulse meter, she dies. If you do not listen to me carefully, she dies." Nick finished his walk by dosing the doe's legs with the remaining liquid.
"However, the nature of the purgatory demands a chance at redemption."
"Mmmff!" William screamed into the gag and rushed forward.
The fox raised the remote and hit a button. Another light turned on, revealing a small table close to the buck. There was a pistol on it.
"One bullet," Nick announced from his spot next to the unconscious girl. "That's all that is needed."
Without any further prompt, Will jumped towards the table and grabbed the gun.
"Of course," the fox reached into his pocket once more, "if you're contemplating shooting me…"
The fox took out a syringe and removed the needle cap. Before Will could react in any way, Nick injected the contents of the syringe into Samantha's arm. "My corpse will not inform you where the antidote is."
The air got strangled with silence. The two mammals simply stared at one another.
"So," Nick spoke first, "what's the answer? It's actually quite simple." The vulpine's finger pointed at the fuming bunny. "You can walk away. Right now. I will not harm you. I will not chase you. However, she will stay. On the other paw, I will release this girl once I hear a very long 'beeeeep'."
He noticed the confused expression on Will's face. "I need to see a flatline on that watch."
The buck swallowed and stared at the beeping device on his wrist.
"Life for a life. You destroyed one, so now you will give one in return. However, since I'm not some sick psychopath, I will let you choose."
William could only stare wide-eyed at his captor.
Nick replied with a hollow expression on his face, "You or her."
With the gun with one bullet in sight, it didn't take much to get the hint. William took a shaky step towards the table. Then another one. With feet of lead, the buck managed to reach his destination. Staring at the weapon before him, he failed to notice the quickened beat of his heart, as reported by the pulse meter.
"I don't have all day." Nick took out a zippo lighter from his pocket, flipping it open.
William's eyes widened.
The fox used his thumb to ignite the flame.
BANG!
This noise from one side of the darkness was followed by a couple of voices.
"Nicholas!"
"Nick!"
Volkov and Jackie took only a moment to analyze the scene before them.
"Holy shi- Nick! Stop whatever you're doing" The cheetah officer rushed forward, only to be stopped by the wolf's paw.
"Don't," he ordered. "Watch your step."
Jackie was about to snap back at him, when she realized that her ankle was touching something.
There was a trip line.
"Wha-" Too late. The line snapped.
Next thing she knew, Volkov was grabbing her head and pulling her to the ground. There was a whooshing sound above them.
She rolled to her back to see a length of a bar, roughly on the level of her torso. It dawned on her that should it hit her, it could have meant broken ribs. Or worse.
Jackie barely whispered, "Oh slow hell…" The realization that her fellow officer, a friend, almost had her hospitalized, or worse, took her breath away.
"Do not interfere!" Nick declared in a strong voice.
Instead of jumping to his feet, Volkov took his time getting up. He was holding up both paws in the air in a sign of peace. When he spoke, it was with a soft and careful voice. "Nicholas, your mother is worried sick…"
The fox ignored him. "Where were we?" His attention was focused on the buck before him. The lighter's flame flickered in the air.
"Mmmff!" William frantically waved his arms in front of him.
Nicholas dropped the lighter.
"MMMMHH!"
Flames arose instantly from the spot where the spiral started. From there the fire trail began, eating up the spilled gasoline.
"Nick! No!" Jackie jumped forward, banging at the metal bars separating them.
Volkov was busy looking for any way past the barrier.
"Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock…" The fox's voice was as cold as the concrete under his feet.
The flame already created a circle around the tied doe.
William screamed into the gag, but he did not move. His eyes fell on the weapon in his paw. The buck's face contorted with a panicked grimace. At that point his fingers began trembling. Almost immediately the shaking grew so much that he almost dropped the gun. Will grabbed the quivering arm by the wrist.
Swallowing hard, he turned his eyes to the unconscious girl.
Beep...Beep.. .Beepbeepbeepbeep.
Squeezing the trembling paw even tighter, the bunny guided the barrel of the gun to his chin.
Nick's expression remained emotionless. "Atta boy."
.
.
Jackie watched this scene and her knuckles whitened as she gripped the bars. "STOP IT! YOU HEAR ME, NICK?! CUT THE CRAP!"
"Save your breath. He's not going to listen." The wolf kept searching the bars with his paws.
"I ain't gonna sit here and watch him murder mammals!" Jackie yelled back at him, banging at the metal.
.
.
William squeezed his eyes shut. His lower lip began trembling. With a hammering heart and numbness in his paws… the bunny pulled the trigger.
click
After a silent second William's eyes flew wide open. The fire and the fox were still in front of him. He didn't feel a gaping hole in his skull. The bunny grit his teeth and forced his finger to bend once again.
click
Again.
click
William whimpered.
clickclickclickclick
He eyed the gun, looking for any clue. His fingers scrambled for the lock and the magazine fell through his trembling paw onto the floor.
It was empty.
Realization hit the young buck, shifting the confused expression on his face into one of pure horror. His eyes jerked towards the fox to seek answer, to-
Two emeralds were staring back at him with nothing but void.
A couple of tears escaped William's eyes. He let out an unintelligible scream, throwing himself forward.
Nick simply stood there, watching the charging buck. William jumped at him, ignoring the blazing floor between them. The fox backhanded him as if he was swatting a fly. The buck was thrown backwards, and he landed on the concrete with a grunt.
But the bunny jumped back to his feet and lunged forward once more. This time he went at a different angle, aiming for the chair with the girl.
Just a meter shy from his target, Will was punched to the ground.
His body hit the spilled gasoline and his jumper caught on fire. Screaming through the gag, the buck initially tried to put out the flame with his paws. He quickly realized how futile his efforts were and he pawed at the burning piece of clothing to pull it off.
That action saved his fur, though he still received several burns. None of that seemed to matter to him, when the bunny rushed towards the doe.
Nick stepped in between them once again.
Will let out another muffled scream, as he marked a move to the right. Right after that he jumped to the le-
Nick's fist landed on his stomach.
The buck gurgled, dropping to his knees. The fox moved too fast for him to react in any way.
At the same time, the flames were just one circle away from teaching the tied girl's feet.
"DAMMIT, NICK!,"
The fox completely ignored Jackie's desperate screaming and sent the bunny tumbling back with a kick.
After landing on the floor once again, Will struggled to lift his upper body on shaky arms.
Nick kicked them from under him.
The buck's face ended up square on the concrete. He squealed through the gag.
"I lied."
William heard a voice right above him. Rolling his head to the side, he saw the fox crouching right next to him.
"She will die," Nick stated with an emotionless voice, staring at his bloodied face. "All because of you."
Tears began flowing from the beaten prey. He laid there, crying in front of a hollow gaze. William made an effort to lift his head and mumble something, even with the gag.
Nick hit the side of his head.
The buck dropped motionless onto the floor.
"NO!" Jackie banged at the bars with all her strength.
"There has to be a different entrance, follow me." Volkov gave his orders in a seemingly calm voice and rushed outside.
Jackie cursed under her nose. She could stay and watch, or go and actually try doing something. The cheetah spun around and followed the wolf.
Once outside, she felt an object being pushed into her paw. A flashlight.
"Go right. I take the left."
Jackie didn't argue and rushed to the designated corner of the building.
.
.
Nick sauntered back to the tied girl, using swift jumps to avoid the flame circles. What went unnoticed by others, was the fact that the flame stopped at a certain point on the floor.
The fox arrived at the chair and reached behind the doe. His paw returned holding a fire extinguisher. Removing the safety pin and pressing the handle, Nick began methodically putting out the fire. From the side it was giving off a vibe as if it was being done by a machine.
He didn't manage to complete the job, when a loud crack erupted from the darkness. Volkov and Jackie managed to find a door on the side of the building and jumped inside. They were right on time to see the fox extinguish the last remaining flames.
The cheetah rushed forward. "Ni-
She was stopped by the wolf's arm.
"Are you in control?" Volkov asked the mammal in front of them in a cautious manner.
He got no answer, only a stare.
Jackie shot him a confused glare. "What are you on about?" She pressed forward, ignoring the arm in front of her. "Nick, have you los-"
The wolf grabbed her shoulder, stopping her. "That's not Nicholas."
Jackie couldn't be more dumbfounded. "Wh-"
"That's a hurtful thing to say, master."
The cheetah almost jumped hearing that voice. It certainly belonged to the fox before them, but, at the same time, it did not sound like Nick. It didn't have any melody or color. It could have been a message read by a machine.
"It's been over a decade since I last heard this voice," Volkov continued talking while taking a step forward. "If you truly still consider me your master, answer my questions."
"I see no reason not to do so."
The wolf took another step. "Was your intention to harm the girl?"
"No."
"What did you plan to do once he wakes up?" Volkov nodded at the bunny on the floor.
"Acquire acid to destroy his face, cut off his dominant arm. Make him live the rest of his life as a disfigured cripple."
Jackie shuddered at those words. They were delivered without a shred of hesitation, as if the fox recited his breakfast plans. "What is this…"
But Volkov simply closed the remaining distance and surprised the cheetah once again.
He opened his arms and hugged the fox closely to his chest.
"She's safe. Vivian is looking after her," he muttered with a soft voice. "You don't need to do anything, my son. Judy is safe."
The fox in his embrace blinked slowly. "She is… secure?"
Volkov nodded. "Judy is in good paws. She will need care and affection. Vengeance is not going to help her, Nicholas."
"Care…" the vulpine repeated.
"That's right. Can you do that for her? Can you care for her?"
"I… I…"
"And there's Jackie," the wolf said, turning his eyes towards her. "She was also worried about you."
The cheetah officer quirked an eyebrow at this turn of events, not exactly sure if she followed the script.
Volkov beckoned her with a nod of his head.
As she gingerly approached them, he kept talking while petting the fox on the back.
"I've heard that you are quite good friends. It makes me happy to know that you have started making any connections at all." Once again, he beckoned her to come closer. Jackie decided to follow the invitation and took another step.
Volkov nodded at her progress. "It's good to have mammals who worry about us. Isn't that right, Jackie? Just let him know how much worry he brought you."
She eyed him for a silent second before replying. "Yeah, totally. Cried to a pillow all afternoon. But seriously," the cheetah added after seeing Volkov's gaze, "don't you run around making us worry, got it?
Nicholas blinked again, as if waking from a long sleep. "Judy… is safe?"
"Yes." Volkov nodded solemnly.
Slowly, the fox slumped to his knees. "Judy is safe…" he mumbled.
Seeing his reaction and docile behavior, Volkov let out a breath of relief. "Now then…" the wolf said, heading for the bunny.
.
.
The drowning darkness suddenly disappeared and his body jerked, as he began coughing violently. While he was still unconscious Volkov removed the gag from his mouth. When he finally managed to get his body under control, William looked up.
Three mammals were staring down at him. A wolf was crouching right next to him, while officer Spotters and Wilde were standing beside him.
"Slow hell, what did you give him?" Jackie leaned down a bit.
"Smelling salts," the wolf replied, hiding a small object in the inner pocket of his jacket.
"You carry it next to a bazooka and keys to a tank?"
The wolf ignored her comment and smiled at William. It didn't help in any way to make his face look friendly. Not with the scars and the eye patch.
"Listen closely," said wolf addressed the bunny on the floor. "You will be taken to precinct one and arrested for assaulting a fellow officer. You will answer all of their questions." He raised a finger. "The most important part: you will not say a word about anything that has transpired here this night."
Will stared at him, wide-eyed. Then, he blinked, and his ears jerked up. "Where is she?!" It was practically a desperate cry.
Volkov pointed to the side with his eyes.
The bunny's head snapped in that direction. There he saw her - a female bunny on the floor. He tell without doubt that this was Samantha.
"Sam!" He immediately jumped in her direction.
A paw came down on his head, slamming his face into the concrete.
Will cried out in pain.
Jackie stepped forward, but Nick raised his arm to stop her and shook his head.
The paw moved to yank Will by the neck. He was thrown onto the hard surface again, just inches from the doe.
"Pay attention." The wolf commanded, his voice like cold steel.
Volkov pressed the bunny against the floor, making him stare directly at the face of the laying girl.
"Look at her." Another command. "She's alive."
William looked through the veil of pain. His eyes widened. It was true! She was breathing regularly, as if asleep.
"Know this," the wolf continued, "the current situation is possible only because this fox has decided to spare her."
At this point William openly cried, seeing the peaceful face before him.
"However," the wolf's voice made the buck flinch, "I am not as foolish."
Will stirred under the paw. "P-Please! I'll do whatever you want, just don't… Don't hurt her! I wa-
"Silence."
The buck's jaw immediately shut.
"You didn't see anything or anyone tonight. You didn't meet anyone. You were hiding and Nicholas Wilde tracked you down." At this point Volkov pushed the bunny's head an inch towards the doe. "You will be under surveillance. If any information leaves your brain, she dies - slowly and painfully." It wasn't a threat, it was an announcement.
William swallowed, staring at his ex girlfriend's face.
The wolf leaned down enough to mutter into his ear. "Is that clear?"
"Y-yes. Yes!" Will exclaimed almost immediately.
Jackie watched this scene with a mixture of anger and horror. On one paw, she was still furious about what this mammal did to her friend. On the other, even with all that anger, she wasn't ready to dismiss what she saw tonight. And witnessing the scene with the wolf, she had no doubt that he would act on his threat.
The cheetah was biting her thumb as she steered her gaze towards Nick. The fox was watching Volkov's actions without a blink. It was disturbing to see her colleague and friend so chill about threatening and killing mammals. However, she wasn't given time to dwell on it, as the wolf hauled the unresisting bunny to his feet.
"Time to go." He pushed the buck right into Jackie's paws.
She grabbed the battered prey by an arm, as he stumbled towards her. Truth be told, the feline struggled not to crush the bone under her fingers.
"I will make sure that this lady will be kept safe. You two deliver him to the hoofs of your chief. I'm sure he'll be thrilled to hear what his officer has done."
Jackie eyed him with narrowed eyes. The way he phrased the first sentence… The cheetah gave William a brief glance, but the bunny didn't seem to notice.
She cleared her throat, drawing the attention of both predators. "Why don't I take him to the precinct while you two escort the girl home, hm?"
Volkov stared at her for a moment. "Nicholas, could you take him to the car outside the front entrance?" The wolf fished out keys from the pocket of his jacket and tossed them to the fox. "And don't kill him, he'll have his use later."
Nick caught the keys and huffed, "I know already…"
Jackie didn't know what exactly these two were talking about, but she decided that the best course of action would be to wait for whatever the wolf had to say.
Once the bloodied bunny got dragged out by the fox, the cheetah folded her arms and gave Volkov a glare. "All right, let's hear it."
"That buck is weak, susceptible to manipulation. We need insurance," he nodded towards the unconscious doe, "and she will do just fine."
Jackie ground her teeth. "You know I'm not going to let you do this."
"I do not need your consent."
The feline officer felt a growing desire to growl. She forced it back, thinking how else she could tackle this situation. Surprisingly, a rather simple idea came to her mind. She looked the wolf in the eye. "I will tell Vivian."
.
.
William could barely walk, which meant that Nick had to drag the stumbling bunny the whole way. Once they arrived at the vehicle, the fox easily hoisted the unresisted buck with one hand and tossed him onto the passenger seat.
The buck let out a painful groan.
Nick buckled the seatbelt without any consideration for the bunny's wounds.
William winced while he got restrained by the belt. Even so, he turned his head to look at the fox. "Wilde… I…"
His words were cut short when a paw clasped around his mouth.
"Shut it." Nick muttered. It took a ridiculous amount of self control not to growl. "You have no idea just how much I want you dead right now."
William stared at the fox wide-eyed. Even with just the car's light he could see the savage eyes of this predator. The edges of his whites were beginning to run red from the increased blood flow.
"You've hurt her. You've placed your filthy paws on her." His voice began to quiver.
The buck felt cold sweat running down his spine. He let out a muffled whimper when the tips of Nick's claws sunk into the skin of his face. The fox's paw was trembling.
The vulpine breathed with difficulty, barely on the edge of sanity. "You're not a corpse only because killing you would be too easy." He leaned towards Will's face. "Not one word. Not even one more word from you, or I'll rip your jaw out." He slowly took his paw away, leaving droplets of blood where his claws pierced his skin.
William stared at him with pure dread. His mouth opened a little, but almost immediately his muscles clenched to shut it tightly. Without another word, William Twicks hung his head.
.
.
Volkov was silent for a moment, before he burst out with laughter. "Good, good! You're learning. Very good."
The cheetah didn't share his humor. "Is this funny for you?"
The wolf calmed down, but did maintain a smile. "Hardly, but I do not see why I can't express joy when I see kids grow." He waved off her attempt to speak. "We're short on time, so let me lay it out for you. While this girl will be a useful safety measure to ensure Willam Twicks' proper behavior, she will be treated as an honorable guest of my organization. After all, she needs protection."
Jackie narrowed her eyes. "If you're going to start making sense, feel free."
Volkov shook his head with a sigh. "And you were doing so well…" He stared at her. "Why do you think that buck did all that to Judy Hopps? And, please, no emotional outbursts. I expect a logical answer."
The cheetah considered his words. She would be the first to admit that she wasn't the sharpest tool in the drawer, but still didn't consider herself an idiot. Jackie stared at him, then her gaze moved to the doe on the ground. The recent events nudged her brain with additional facts to think through.
"She's obviously someone important to him. Either she told him to do it or..." she pondered out loud.
"Samantha Thumpers. Ex-girlfriend of one William Twicks," Volkov introduced her. "They were the happiest of couples, but one day… she simply broke off their relationship. Shortly after, he began approaching Judy Hopps. Coincidence?"
"You're saying he was faking it from the beginning?"
"Judging from how emotionally he reacted to this girl being held prisoner… My guess is that someone blackmailed him into doing this."
Jackie looked down on the unconscious female. She didn't consider that option before. It certainly was plausible, but she could feel her mind resisting this possibility. If it were to be true, then maybe, just maybe, William deserved at least a little fraction of pity. She chased away the thought and refocused on the present. "And what exactly do you want to do with her?"
"Offer some hospitality, of course," he replied swiftly. "She will stay with us, until we can establish that she is safe and not posing any threat herself,"
Jackie bit her lip. While she hated that someone got dragged into this mess, she had to consider the proper path. "What guarantee do I have that you won't harm her?"
For a moment, Volkov had a look of someone who was about to sigh. It disappeared immediately, replaced with a neutral expression. "If this girl were to be controlled by someone hostile, that William boy just might have a slip of a tongue about what happened here tonight. It is just a possibility and probably wouldn't be taken too seriously without solid proof. However, rumors are a nasty thing. They could soil Nicholas' good name and, in turn, harm Vivian." He gave her a stern look. "Think of me what you want, but I will never allow anything that could hurt her. Therefore," he gestured towards the doe, "I will use this girl to protect her."
Jackie huffed, "Then you're no different from scum who kidnaps mammals."
Volkov sighed. "Let me make it simple for you. I will keep that girl at our facility, where she will not be harmed, either by us or the mammal behind that William boy. To clarify it further, harming this girl won't benefit me in any way. I am not a psychopath who draws pleasure from inflicting pain, so maybe we can finally get on the road before Nicholas loses his temper out there?"
The cheetah felt a desire to oppose him, but she couldn't exactly fault him for this approach. Plus, if they were to consider the blackmailer on the loose, there was no telling what would be the possible backlash against the doe. Out of the two evils, Jackie reluctantly decided to side with the one she knew.
"Fine…" she conceded.
"Splendid! Let us move on." Volkov gleamed at her before crouching and scooping the motionless doe in his arms.
Jackie shook her head with a sigh, but marched right after him.