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“C’mon, Nick, just take a step forward!”
“Not in a million years, Carrots.”
Nick nearly growled when the Officer behind him in line gave him an impatient nudge. He longed to get this stupid blindfold off his face… having excellent night vision, he was not used to darkness completely blocking his eyesight like this.
“Just hold your foot out at a normal walking distance, move it slightly to the right, and the platform will be right there!” Judy shouted.
She was layering her voice with an almost painful amount of encouragement and positivity, and Nick felt a twist of guilt at how hard she was clearly trying for him.
He swallowed, hesitantly lifting his foot. He managed to hover it out in the darkness for a couple seconds, but soon placed it back down. The fur on the back of his neck bristled.
He hated this. Why was the precinct wasting time here, when they could be taking care of actual crimes around the city?
“Listen, Carrots, I think it’ll make things a whoooole lot easier for everyone in this room if I just take the blindfold off—”
“WILDE!” Chief Bogo boomed from another corner of the room. “Enough whining. Listen to your partner, and complete the trust exercise.”
Nick winced, then felt another nudge from the tiger waiting behind him in line. He groaned. This was all so stupid.
He moved his foot out.
“That’s it, Nick! Out and to the right…”
He tried his best to follow her instructions, but when he started to shift his weight forward, his foot met nothing but air. He started to panic.
“It’s fine, it’s a little lower than you’re thinking! Just trust me, don’t—!” she cried, but it was too late.
Seized by terror, he felt all his walls come up. His years in the alleyways, all the backstabbing and doublecrossing….
At the end of the day, you can only rely on yourself.
This surge of instincts caused Nick to reach up and fumble with the blindfold. Unfortunately for him, the step, already in motion, caused him to pitch forward. His foot caught the edge of the narrow platform that apparently did exist, but not enough to hold him.
So, with a yelp, he tumbled down ten feet and onto the definitely-not-soft-enough pad below in a heap.
“NICK!”
His partner was at his side in seconds, pulling him up into a sitting position and looking him over for any injuries. Muttering curses, Nick finally pulled the stupid strip of fabric off his head and rubbed his backside.
“Nothing bruised but my pride, Carrots,” he grumbled, waving away her fussing.
He glared up at the waiting mammals on the elevated platform, half of whom were peeking under their blindfolds in sympathy while the other half were snickering.
Chief Bogo lumbered towards the duo, looking displeased. Though whenever Nick was involved in something, that seemed to be his typical expression.
He pointed at the fox.
“You need to learn to trust your partner, Wilde.”
“Sorry sir, never had to complete a Super Mario course blindfolded before,” he retorted dryly. When he was met with a raised eyebrow, he then muttered under his breath, “I do.”
At least, he thought he did. Judy had saved his life multiple times, and he had done the same for her. He had a hard time thinking of an animal that he was closer to than her. Ever, even.
“Then show it.” Bogo said simply. His voice didn’t sound angry, just expectant. Which, in Nick’s opinion, was worse. Reminded him of his mother when he skipped a day of school.
The fox looked down in shame as the Chief walked away, calling for the next partnership to begin. He felt Judy squeeze his arm, causing him to look up.
“Hey, don’t beat yourself up, Slick,” she said with a soft smile, ever-present compassion shining in her eyes. “It’s just a weird exercise. It’s completely normal to freak out at least a little bit. I definitely would have too if I had been the blindfolded one.”
Despite her efforts to cheer him up, Nick found himself feeling even more guilty. He didn’t deserve a partner like her. Always positive, always reliable. Why did he have to be the one to make things so difficult?
“Sorry, Judy,” he mumbled, keeping his gaze down. “I think I got to work on this whole “trusting” thing… it doesn’t really come natural to me.”
Judy patted his arm, a pleased look on her face. She was always encouraging him to be more vulnerable about how he was feeling with her, and the pats felt like she was telling him “good boy”. Maybe next time he opened up she’d start rewarding him with dog treats or something.
“We will. Together.”
She pulled him to his feet. Nick let out a grunt at the aching in his body, feeling every bit the 32-year-old "senior citizen” the precinct kept telling him he was. They finally started making their way towards the gym’s exit, which Nick was all too excited to leave. The scent of sweat-soaked mats was starting to make him gag.
“We need to start getting ready for our assignment tonight,” she said, pulling out her phone and reading through some notes. “The tip about a Bellwether accomplice said the perp will be in the downtown area around midnight.”
“Right,” Nick said with a sigh, rubbing the back of his neck. “A stakeout in a dark alleyway in the middle of the night. What could go wrong?”
—
Things went wrong rather quickly, as it had turned out.
The chase seemed inevitable, though they probably could have prepared for it better, in hindsight.
When they had spotted the goat with a satchel full of old Night Howler bullets striking a deal with another cloaked figure, Nick and Judy had silently approached in the cover of darkness. But whoever the cloaked smuggler was must have had good hearing, since they instantly perked up, then darted down the alleyway without warning.
“So much for the stakeout…” Nick sighed, whipping out his tranq gun as he and Judy quickly dashed after the goat, who had caught on and started to similarly make a break for it.
The goat made a sharp turn around a building, so sharp that Nick slid on the wet pavement as he attempted to catch up to her. Judy slipped as well, falling behind, but he could hear her get up so he continued forward.
What followed could’ve been blamed on a couple different things, he reasoned. Maybe it was his unsteadiness on the wet ground, or how he had blindly turned the corner without checking first. Or maybe it simply was because the universe hated him today.
Either way, he felt annoyance more than anything when his collar was suddenly yanked back and a strong arm pinned his own arms behind his back in an iron grip. He felt the sting of a blade placed beneath his jaw, and the shock caused his tranq gun to involuntarily slip from his paws.
“Nick!” Judy cried as she caught up, screeching to a halt as she made it around the corner. Her large eyes grew even bigger when she saw the knife, her ears flying up in shock. But instead of gaping at the scene like any average animal might in this situation, she took a powerful stance and pointed a steady tranq gun.
“Let him go,” she commanded, her voice strong and authoritative.
“Not until you let Bellwether go,” the goat snarled, dragging Nick backwards a ways to put distance between them. “I’m taking him captive until I get confirmation she has been released from prison.”
Nick watched as Judy bit her lip, not really appearing to be in the mood to negotiate. They both knew releasing Bellwether was not on the table, and Nick hated that he had become a bargaining chip.
Though the goat was about his size, it was clear she was much stronger than him. But perhaps he could slip out of her hold if he just…
His shift in movement led to the goat arm crushing him even harder, squeezing his arms and eliciting a pained yip out of him. The knife dug deeper, biting his skin beneath the fur.
“Nick! Stay still…” Judy called over, still holding the dart gun up. She remained composed, though Nick knew her well enough to see the panic in her eyes.
The fact that Judy hadn’t shot the goat yet meant she couldn’t get a clear shot with Nick in the way, which he could understand. The way the perp was holding him, he was a fox-shaped shield.
“I haven’t got all day, fluff! Put the gun down, and I want a live video call showing Bellwether walking out of the jail!”
“We’re not going to be able to get her out that quickly, Goat Cheese,” Nick grunted. “But we can reunite you behind bars, if you like. I think tonight is prison Bingo night, you’ll love it—”
“Shut up, fox!”
He cringed as he felt a drop of warm liquid run down his neck, the knife digging deeper. His doubts that the goat was bluffing were beginning to drain. He was actually in serious danger, and running out of time.
He stared at his partner. He was at a total loss of what to do. But in reading Judy, he could tell she was starting to form a plan. Her nose was twitching, her pupils shifting slightly around, deep in thought. Taking in the situation.
What was her next step, he wondered? Was she going to feign a fake call to the prison? Try to tackle the goat?
They locked eyes.
“Do you trust me?” she mouthed to him, so subtly he barely managed to catch the shape of the words. Whatever he thought she was going to say, it was definitely not that.
He blinked. Did he? He thought back to the disastrous exercise that morning. He thought of her careful instructions, her encouraging tone. She would never let him down.
He just needed to let her in.
Nick casually smiled back as his response, trying to somehow send a message with his eyes that there was no one in the world he would rather entrust his life to.
She mouthed something else, something he didn’t quite catch. But after a moment of looking at her big, sad eyes, he understood what she was trying to say.
“I’m sorry.”
Then she fired the dart gun, and shot Nick in the abdomen.
Even after mentally preparing himself for whatever she was going to do next, he was too confused to cry out as the needle pierced his skin. The drug worked fast, and his muscles relaxed almost immediately, his weight slumping entirely into the goat that was clutching him.
Still, he didn’t panic. He let himself go limp, trusting his partner knew what she was doing.
“What the hell?? Why did you do that?” the criminal shouted as Nick sank into her.
Judy dropped her gun. “I’m on your side, I’ve been a rat for Bellwether at the ZPD. Let’s take him captive and get out of here before other cops show up.”
The rabbit pointed to her cheek, brushing her fur up to reveal her scar. “The fox clawed me once, see? I’m done with preds.”
“What the— you really expect me to believe that??” she snarled, though Nick felt her grip on him loosen as she leaned forward to try to see the scar. The change in position, plus the fact that Nick was slowly sinking to the ground, made it so the knife finally went slack beneath his jaw.
Judy smirked. “No. I just needed to get you to move.”
Nick heard two more whistles, two thunks as darts met fur, and he felt the goat collapse from under him.
Things at this point started to blur dramatically, and one moment to the next Nick found himself laying on the wet pavement, staring up at the street lamps. His body was numb, and he felt nausea roll through him in an unpleasant wave. His vision was starting to go dim, though he fought to stay awake.
Two tear-filled, violet-colored eyes were suddenly inches above his own.
“Nick! Nick, I’m so sorry. It was the only thing I could think to do. I’ll explain everything, I swear…”
“C’lm down, C’rrots…” he slurred, trying and failing to lift an arm to wipe away her tears. “So ’motional. It’s just a tranq. I’ll sleep it off.”
Soft paws slipped under his head and placed him on a little lap, Judy’s upside down face continuing to hover over his.
“Thanks for trusting me,” she whispered.
“You w’d’ve shot me ev’n if I hadn’t trus.. trusted you.”
“Dumb fox,” she giggled through tears, brushing a paw through his fur. Her smile faded, though, when she brushed it over his neck. Even through the blur, he could see her white paw pad coming away red.
At this point he felt his eyes completely shut, though Judy’s touch never left him. She shouted something into her radio. He faintly heard sirens in the distance, growing louder. Then hands grabbing him, putting stinging pressure on his neck. Then they lifted him up, muffled voices above him…
He finally fell under, with the last thing he registered being Judy’s paw squeezing his.
—
“…should be waking soon….”
“…mild dosage, no need to worry….”
Nick’s ears twitched as he began to register the voices, though it felt like everything was underwater. An annoying beeping sound began to quicken in frequency, and the voices instantly halted.
“Nick? You with us?” Judy’s voice whispered, a familiar paw on his cheek.
“Mmgh… 5 more minutes…” he mumbled, flailing out a paw and patting Judy’s head like a snooze button.
Judy pushed his paw away with a groan, though it sounded more relieved than annoyed. Nick finally managed to blink open his eyes, and he took in his surroundings.
He was in a small hospital room, leaning back on a reclining chair and still in his uniform. He wiggled his right paw to find a heart monitor on his finger.
He groaned. “Seriously, Carrots? A hospital?”
They never brought tranq’d perps to a hospital unless it looked like they were having a bad reaction to the drug. It always wore off with no side effects, so there was never a need.
“We just wanted to be careful. They wanted to bring you here to monitor you,” Judy said, rubbing his arm. She then reached up and brushed a hand along his neck.
“Plus, we had to patch you up a little anyways.”
Nick blinked, then used his free paw to reach up and feel a soft bandage taped to this throat. Now that he was becoming more aware of his body, he realized the skin underneath was stinging a bit.
The cheetah nurse Judy had apparently been conversing with nodded, looking at the heart monitor.
“Vitals look good. You’re lucky for your partner's quick thinking, Officer Wilde. A moment longer and the knife might’ve caused irreparable damage.”
Nick turned to look at his partner, about to express gratitude, but she was looking down, appearing ashamed.
“I…. I couldn’t get to her with you in the way,” she murmured. “The way she was holding you, I knew I wouldn’t be able to get a good angle. And I saw the knife digging deeper, and knew you were running out of time… I doubted we’d be able to get in contact with the prison quick enough to satisfy her. I needed to do something that would shock her, make her loosen the knife, get you out of the way… oh god, Nick. I’m so sorry.”
“No, no, don’t be sorry,” he said, sitting up and grabbing her paw. “You asked me to trust you, and I did.”
He then shrugged with a smirk. “You’re technically the Senior Officer, anyways. Which also means you are going to be the one doing the paperwork while I get a nice, loooong medical leave.”
Judy chuckled through the tears that had sprung up, punching him gently in the arm. “In your dreams, Slick. Bogo still has a list of partner exercises he’s assigned us to do by next week.”
Nick groaned as she laughed, leaning back in his chair.
The nurse continued her check up, deeming him well enough for a discharge as soon as he felt awake enough. Once his vision had cleared and his head stopped spinning, he managed to shakily get to his feet.
Judy helped him out of the equipment and let him lean on her as they exited the hospital, a police escort waiting to take them to their homes.
“I’m proud of you, Nick,” she whispered, squeezing his arm.
He chuckled, his heart warming despite himself. “Thanks, fluff. Though next time, you get to be the blindfolded one.”
“Sure, foxy boy. Whatever you say.”