Nothing to fear

Chapter 2

Nick Wilde slid through a pile of garbage and other substances that he didn't really want to think about as he rounded the corner into the alley, his target barely twenty yards ahead of him, the suspect's loose shirt and jacket both flapping in the wind of the cougar's passing. Throwing his balance off a little, the fox reached up and tripped the push-to-talk button on his radio. "He's... almost at... the end... of the alley!" Nick said between breaths before dropping his arm back down. His eyes widened slightly as the large cat slowed a little and pulled something out from the back of his pants before skidding to a stop and pointing it at the fox.

With a grunt Nick dived forward as his right paw coming up with his tranquilizer pistol. The of the blast was deafening in the confines of the alley and the fox felt something pass through his ears with a WHIZZZZ! before it impacted with the rear portion of his protective vest. Without even thinking Nick's finger squeezed the trigger twice, the darts he fired in return striking the cougar in the shoulder and chest just as Judy Hopps came running around the far corner and put two more darts into the feline's back.

Before the suspect could rack the slide of the shotgun and draw a bead on the prone fox the potent darts took hold, the mix of soporifics working just a few fractions of a second slower than the nerve conduct. The cougar was drifting off into a deep sleep before he was even aware of the impact from the darts. Despite the two hits from the front and two more from the bunny, Judy held her stance, her own tranq pistol steadied in a two-paw grip.

"Nick"

"Clear!" the fox called out as he got to his feet, his own nonlethal weapon staying trained on the cougar until he drew close enough to the suspect to kick the shotgun away. When he nudged the cat there was no response, the maw of the larger mammal open with his tongue lolling out and his eyes closed to mere slits. He would remain so for several hours, plenty of time for the mammal to be transported to the ZPD lockup for processing. By the time Judy drew near, still being cautious which was the way it should be, Nick had high-strength alloy cuffs on the cougar's wrists. "Call for pick up," the fox said as he dropped back on his rump and caught his breath while he picked up the scattergun and emptied the shells from the tube and made sure the chamber was clear. "Fangmeyer can carry his fuzzy butt to the cruiser!"

As the bunny made the call Nick pulled a plastic evidence bag from one of the pockets built into his vest and deposited the shells into it before using a thick plastic zip-tie to secure the suspect's weapon so it couldn't be reloaded or used without a bit of work and a pair of snips. "He's on the way with McHorn." Judy said as she dropped down and began to go through the cougar's pockets. "What is it with these guys and shotguns?" the bunny groused a moment before she found a little baggie of white and black speckled tablets.

"What's with them pointing them at me?" Nick griped as he set the confiscated weapon and ammunition to the side and pulled off his vest to inspect the furrow in the outer fabric that revealed the ballistic material beneath. "Huh. If not for the vest that would have been a kidney at best."

"Or your spine...or, oh, dead at worst," Judy said with a frown. She began to pout angrily as she stared at the cougar. "Well, there's a day off and four days of desk duty while our weapons are confiscated and compared to the darts and we get to enjoy administrative leave."

Nick grinned as he put his vest back on. "Maybe, but a break after tagging this guy is fine with me. And that's one less dealer we have to worry about."

That brought the bunny out of her moment of irritation. "Maybe. So, what is this stuff? They went over the popular street drugs in the Academy, but I've never seen anything like this."

Nick glanced at the little bag, his grin fading into a frown of disgust. "Hallu." He felt the urge to plant his foot repeatedly into the perp's side then realized that it would be more trouble than it was worth no matter how satisfying it would feel. "I'm just cheesed he was trying to sell it to those cubs back there."

Judy blinked, one ear dropping in curiosity. "What? What's Hallu?"

"Refined ergot," Fangmeyer said as he trotted up with McHorn behind him, the rhino like a self propelled mountain. The alley wasn't all that big but with the white furred wolf and the rhino it seemed claustrophobically tight. "You know, the mold that grows on rye and wheat smut. Works as a powerful hallucinogenic. Cheap and popular with a lot of mammals that want a quick high."

"And dangerous," McHorn rumbled as he tucked the cougar up under his left arm as if he weighed no more than a sack of groceries. "If it's not refined properly it can cause serious brain damage and death. I've seen mammals that got bad batches and I'm not sure which is worse." The rhino punched a dumpster and put a sizeable dent into the side and stirred a cloud of flies out of the garbage container. "I hate Hallu! And I hate the mammals that push the stuff!"

"Hey, if you want to accidently bounce his head off that dumpster, I won't complain," Nick said as his normally smarmy grin slowly returned. "He shot at me so I'm feeling a bit less than generous right about now."

Fangmeyer replaced his radio's mike back on the clip at his left shoulder after calling into dispatch that the suspect had been apprehended and cocked a lopsided grin at the fox. "What is it with you and bad mammals packing shotguns?"

"They're just jealous of my awesomeness," Nick replied as he stood and placed his paws on his hips in a heroic pose, the sunglasses that hadn't once moved during the chase catching the afternoon sunlight.

Judy couldn't help but giggle, knowing the fox had taken stock of the angle of the light so he looked like some kind of TV character and often pulled jokes like that after a chase or takedown. It was a defense mechanism against the terror of just moments before and had the added benefit of making those around him laugh and release residual tension.

"You know, I'd be more convinced if you didn't have... whatever that is smeared all over you," the wolf said as he gestured at Nick's uniform pants and feet. "Whew! Should I tell you what it smells like?" Fangmeyer asked as he waved a paw in front of his nose.

"Oh, I know what it smells like," Nick said still maintaining the pose. "But it does not detract from my complete awesomeness."

"Awesome or not," Judy began as she drew near then stopped, her nose wrinkling as she stuck out her tongue in distaste, "you really do smell. Let's get back so you can shower up."

"Awesome trumps smell," Nick persisted as they exited the alley, the perp's shotgun hoisted onto his shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah," the bunny said. "Whatever. Hey! Fangmeyer? I'll trade you a week's worth of night shifts if you let him ride in your cruiser!"

"No."

"Two weeks."

"No."

"Two weeks and a box of Darby's Donuts?"

"Nope. I'm immune to you wiles and bribes, little bunny," the wolf said loftily.

"Darn it," Judy griped. "We'll never get that smell out of the cruiser..."

"Seriously, Carrots?" the fox asked with a smirk

Amethyst eyes turned towards the fox and glinted mischievously. "Keep it up and I'll make you ride in the trunk."

The third chapter will be posted soon