Silent Enemy

Chapter 1: Long Odds

                                                                                

"Come on, say it."

"No"

"Come on Carrots."

"No way Nick, it wasn't a fair bet."

The vulpine snorted, as he turned his gaze toward his partner. For the past hour, the pair had been cruising the streets of downtown Zootopia as they went about their patrol. It had been a quite night and for the past hour, a steady rain had fallen. Comfortably ensconced in their cruiser, they had avoided the worst of the weather. If it weren't for the all-encompassing boredom, it would have been a pleasant night.

Nick raised his eyebrows at the doe, as one ear flicked over his shoulder. Judy clenched her teeth and sucked in a breath.

"Fine. Laverne," she said through a grimace.

Nick smirked in his oh so frustrating way, and took a sip of his coffee. He nodded.

Pulling over to the side of the street, she turned to look at the vexing vulpine.

"Nick, what are you thinking," Judy hissed.

Nick adopted a shocked expression, putting a paw to his chest as if to say, "What me?"

Judy's ears fell behind her back as her head slumped into the steering wheel.

"I was just thinking that your middle name is just too cu..."

Judy cut him off by raising a warning finger, "Don't..."

Nick protested, "Hey, I didn't say anything about YOU being cute. I was just going to say that your middle NAME was cute."

Judy bumped her head against the wheel again.

"Dumb fox," she muttered under breath.

Nick snickered as he took another sip of his drink. He didn't plan on pushing his partner any more for the time being. Any good hustler could tell you that the important thing wasn't how often you could pull one over a mark, it was how much mileage you could get out of them. He chuckled again, unable to help himself, and said "Judith Laverne Hopps."

Judy sighed in frustration. In the one and a half years since the fox had become her partner, she had learned to deal with his constant teases and needling. In truth, she found those traits rather endearing, but tonight she couldn't stay engaged in their usual banter. The conversation they had earlier in the day as they headed into work was still troubling her. The boring patrol hadn't helped, as the rain and long periods of silence lent themselves a little too well towards the type of introspection she was trying to avoid. She found herself wishing for something to happen, just to let her work out some of her frustration.

As if on cue, their cruisers' radio chirped.

"Dispatch to cruiser 113, please respond"

Clawhauser's voice came like a ray of sunshine to the gloomy rabbit, as she leaned over to collect the remote speaker from the cruiser's console.

"Officer Hopps, what's the situation, over."

"We just received a report of a 10-91 over off Chestnut and Stork. Please respond."

Judy frowned, "Copy. Officers Hopps and Wilde en route."

She turned to her partner, whose ears had fallen all the way back on his head. He reached a hand up to scratch the spot behind his head between his ears, and swallowed.

"Uh carrots, isn't that what I think it is?"

Judy nodded, "Predator gone savage."

Nick swallowed again. Reaching back beneath the seat of their cruiser, he retrieved the elephant grade tranquilizer guns. Meanwhile Judy sped the Cruiser towards their destination, turning on the siren and light bar on top their cruiser. A predator gone savage, she thought, her anxiety making itself known as a fluttering in her chest, and ice in her bowels. To think that only a moment ago, she had been wishing for something exciting to happen. "Dumb Bunny," she muttered under her breath.