Convenience stores were easy.

Bryant Hooveson made sure his shirt was untucked and hiding the grip of a weapon in the front of his pants. Just go in, wave around his dad's gun, get cash in the bag that was folded neatly in one of the cargo pockets on his shorts, then run out and jump in the truck before the sirens started blaring. He might not have been fast, but he had a lot of stamina, it'd be easy. From outside, he could see through the windows and doors that there were only three other mammals inside; An otter cashier boredly flipping a page of her magazine, a bunny wearing a pair of earbuds near the drinks, and a fox wearing a pair of aviator sunglasses choosing a doughnut from the cabinet.

They'd more than likely just run out at the first sign of danger. Small mammals were like that; They see a gun, they run, his friends had said. Bryant turned to look over his shoulder, where his friends all sat against a truck that sat next to a gas pump. The timber wolf at the wheel waved a paw, egging him on. It would be easy, he had said; In and out, five minutes. He was tall for his age, the otter would be too intimidated to resist and the customers would run away.

Of course, once he was in, it was a whole 'nother story, as his grandpa used to say. The automatic doors slid open, and his hooves bumped against the grip through his shirt with a slightly-muffled clatter as he turned to the cash register to his right. It sounded loud, even though no one in the room reacted, and he flinched, letting his hooves fall to his sides. Instead, Bryant moved as casually as possible down an aisle across from the front counter, ears lowering slightly.

He couldn't do it.

His hooved fingers idly picked up a small pack of multicolored gummy crickets, and he stared at them. He liked gummy snacks; When he had the craving to chew, like he did now, they kept him from grinding his teeth. Of course, he didn't even have two dimes to rub together right now, so he couldn't buy the snacks. Which was why he needed to-

"You know, I never liked crickets." Bryant flinched, his hooved feet clopping on the tile floor. He looked to his right, then his brown eyes fell downwards to a fox. That same fox who had been getting doughnuts. Now, he stood beside Bryant, picking up another packet of gummies. "Didn't really like any kind of natural protein, if I'm honest. Weird texture, y'know?" The fox shuddered, sticking out his tongue. "Bug burgers never did it for me and fish is just so... Fishy. Does that make sense?" The fox looked up questioningly at Bryant, who blinked back.

"Uh. I mean. I'm an herbivore, so..." The predator nodded, putting back the gummy packet and instead picking up a box of dried blueberries.

"Vegetarian by choice, myself. Tell ya what, kid," said the fox, holding out the fruit to Bryant. "I'll buy you a box of these. They're healthier for you than a bag full of sugar, additives and chemicals, and I won't bust you for what you're about to do if you just walk out of here, and tell your friends to drive away. This doesn't have to get ugly." Bryant stiffened, his pulse pounded in his ears as the fox merely smiled, still holding out the box.

"What? I- I'm not-" The fox tilted his paw, the box sliding slightly over to reveal a Zootopian Police Department badge. Bryant's chest began to heave and he started to quiver slightly. "You're a cop!?" he hissed. He didn't look like a cop! He was wearing an untucked Pawaiin shirt and a clashing blue tie! Bryant turned to look over his shoulder, but the cop grasped his wrist, placing the box in his palm.

"Listen to me." While his smile didn't fade, the fox officer's tone was firm. "I've been where you are. Trust me, I know exactly what you're about to do, what they've told you to do. 'It'll be easy', right? 'In and out in five minutes', right?" Bryant could feel his lips quivering and his tail lashed behind him. "It's never that simple, kid. You just walked into a store with two plainclothes cops and security cameras with a gun in your belt, without a mask. I've seen you, and so has my partner." The fox's head twitched to his right, and Bryant turned his head, looking to the bunny. One of her ears was swiveled, pointed right at him, twitching in time with the beat of her mus- No. It wasn't her music.

It was his heartbeat. The same rate as the pulse that was pounding deafeningly in his own ears.

She turned her head to look over her shoulder, one violet eye becoming visible as she fixed Bryant with an unblinking, but sympathetic stare. Her head turned again so that she was looking back at the cabinet full of drinks, and Bryant's knees started to shake. Only now did he recognize them; They'd been all over the news, all over ads and PSAs for the last year and a half. Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde. "P-please," he whispered to Nick, whose smile hadn't faded.

"You haven't done anything yet. You're not in trouble. You're a good kid, I can tell, just don't do anything that'll ruin your life. Take it from someone who took twenty years to get his life together." Wilde patted Bryant on the arm, taking back his badge, leaving the box of blueberries with Bryant before turning to his partner. "I'll take those, Hopps, why don't you head outsi-"

"What's taking so long, Hooveson?" Bryant flinched, spinning around and nearly whipping Wilde across the face with his tail. The timberwolf driver from outside, whose name Bryant had forgotten while he was completely terrified, was leaning from around the corner of the aisle. "We told you; In, out, five minutes, we split the money. Or are you losing your nerve?" Bryant heard movement behind him, the fox and bunny officers were whispering to each other, but it was fading. What were they doing?

Bryant stammered for a moment, his mouth suddenly dry and his tongue feeling like it was swelling. "I- I don't-" The timberwolf rolled his eyes.

"I knew it. You're a freakin' coward, you know that? Fine, I'll do it myself." The shorter wolf reached behind his back, no doubt gripping his own gun. "I knew you wouldn't be able to do it. If you wanna be a part of us, Hooveson, you have to step up, or you get stepped on." Bryant was shoved by the wolf's shoulder as he turned to head down the aisle towards the cashier, but froze.

"Don't do anything stupid," said Officer Hopps, pointing her probably standard-issue taser at the timberwolf's chest in both paws. "ZPD. Let go of your weapon, and raise your paws slowly." Her voice was firm, her eyes were narrowed, and while the timberwolf balked for just a moment, he snarled at her.

"And what're you gonna do about it, bunny?" Bryant's chest started heaving in terror, and he started backing away and moving around the corner. He could see the wolf's paw gripping the gun on his back a little tighter.

"Probably the smartest thing to do, kid," said Officer Wilde softly as he passed by Bryant, drawing his own taser. "Get out of here, before things start getting bad." The horse didn't need to be told twice, and he began to walk swiftly towards the front door. He noticed that the cashier was gone, and so was the truck his "friends" had come in. His ears perked up as he heard very distant sirens, and the timberwolf's voice was getting more heated.

"You don't scare me, cop!"

"Drop your weapon! I'm not going to warn you again!"

"You can barely hold your taser in your cute, tiny bunny paws, what're you gonna-"

"It's not what she's gonna do, big man," came Wilde's voice suddenly, and Bryant stopped just before the door, slowly turning his head. "Now, come quietly. This doesn't have to-"

"Go to hell, both of you!"

Click.

Bryant spun back around, hooves beating the tile floor as he ran back to the officers. I have to help!

As he drew his father's gun, the grip custom-fitted for hooves, he aimed it in the direction of the timberwolf, whose own gun was pointed directly at Hopps' head. He squeezed the trigger, just as a pair of prongs lodged into his chest. His own shot went wide, making a can of tomato soup explode next to Bryant's head as he fell to the ground.

Bryant's shot hit the wrong target as well, but the front of Nick Wilde's shirt wasn't getting stained with tomatoes.

- - -

"Drop your weapon!"

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean-"

"Drop the gun! Now!"

"Is he okay!? Oh, God, I didn't-"

Judy Hopps stared glassy-eyed at her tablet, where she had the security footage from the HerdWay saved. Even though the video was monochrome, she could see the blood pooling around Nick as he lay motionless on the ground, clutching at his wound. Judy herself was kneeling over him, one tiny paw on the growing blood stain on his stomach, while the other had her taser pointed at Bryant, who could only keep apologizing, but wouldn't drop his gun.

The timberwolf had reached up to yank the prongs out of his chest. Judy had been pointing her already-fired, now-useless taser as the timberwolf scrambled towards the horse. "Come on, Hooveson, we gotta go!" Judy hadn't been able to draw up Nick's taser and quell the bleeding at the same time, and the two boys ran out of the building, the timberwolf leaving his own gun behind.

"Nick!" yelled the bunny on the screen, her paws clutching at him. "Nick, stay with me!" She had pulled out her small radio, screaming into the mouthpiece. "Officer down! Nick, look at me! You can't leave me like this!"

As the sirens in the video got louder, Judy tapped the screen and leaned back, letting out a sigh, closed her eyes, and let her ears droop against her shoulders. "Officer Hopps?"

Flinching, Judy sat up again, looking up at the cheetah who had pulled down his mask. "Is he okay?" she asked immediately, dropping down from her chair.

Chief Bogo was nearby, but he didn't approach, leaving Officer Wilde's partner to speak. He did watch unblinkingly, standing at full attention as he listened.

The surgeon nodded, smiling a little bit as he kneeled to get more eye-level with her. "He'll be fine. The bullet was a through-and-through, didn't hit anything important, but he did lose a lot of blood. He'll be out of action for a little while."

Relief washed over the bunny, and she let out a sigh. Her shoulders, which she hadn't noticed had bunched up, relaxed, though the resulting cramp was unpleasant. "Is he accepting visitors?" said Bogo's deep bass, and the surgeon straightened up, looking to the cape buffalo.

"He's sedated right now. I'll contact you when he's awake." With that, Bogo nodded, and the surgeon strode away. Judy looked down at her tablet at the still image of Nick laying in a pool of his own blood. Bogo reached down, placing a massive cloven hand over the screen.

"Hopps." Judy swallowed, tears forming in her eyes as she turned to look up at Bogo, who had kneeled, but was still very tall. "Go home. Get cleaned up. He's going to make it." Chief Bogo's voice was soft, and his eyes sympathetic. "You did well today, but right now there's nothing anyone can do. We'll catch them, but I want you of sound mind. Understand?" It was rare for Bogo to show this much compassion, when he normally wore a solid stone mask of indifference. The brief moments like this made the buffalo seem more like... A person. "Take tomorrow off. That's an order."

Judy swallowed again, rubbing her twitching nose and sniffling. "Yes, sir. Thank you. Y-you have my number if... If anything comes-" Her voice cracked for a moment, but she shook her head. Bogo took the tablet from her, and she started walking down the hall.

Several more officers were waiting in the lobby of the hospital, and she was immediately bombarded with questions. All she say was that Nick would be fine, and she was ordered to go home. Wolford, a dark grey timberwolf, offered to drive her. She accepted, suddenly feeling too tired to argue.

"How're you holding up?" asked Wolford, looking over to her in the passenger seat. Judy merely grunted, head resting against the door. He nodded, letting out a sigh. "I understand. It's part of the job, Hopps, but... It's hard when we lose partners."

"I haven't lost him," muttered Judy, her eyes closing.

"I know. I'm just saying for the future, is all. Next time one or both of you might not be so lucky." Judy lifted her head, turning to Wolford with a frown. He graciously shut his muzzle and kept his eyes on the road. After a few more minutes, he changed the subject. "So, uh... You and Wilde moved in together?"

"It's a cost- and energy-saving measure," she recited tonelessly, having repeated this excuse over and over for the last four months. "We did it so that we don't have to walk as far or get up as early."

"And yet you and Wilde always get to work an hour before rollcall to fill out paperwork or exercise in the gym together?" Wolford was smiling slyly, his teeth glinting in the light of the Savannah Central sun.

"Last I checked, it wasn't any of your business, Wolford." Judy sat up again, fixing her fellow officer with a narrowed glare. He twitched, turning to the road and shrinking a little in his seat. "Officer Wilde, my partner and best friend, almost died today. I'm not in the mood for Twenty Questions, I just wanna go home!" Her voice echoed in the tiny space, and Wolford let out a soft whine. With a huff, she flopped back into her seat, crossing her arms. Silence fell over them both, and Wolford, though he looked over every now and then, said nothing else for the remainder of the drive.

Once they arrived at her apartment building, Judy unbuckled her seat belt, but paused halfway through opening the door. "Look, Wolford..."

"No, it's... It's fine, Hopps, I-" He scratched the back of his neck, staring down at his steering wheel. "...I shouldn't have pried. It's none of my business. Nick's a great guy, a good cop. If it were Fangmeyer, I... You're trying to cope, I understand." Judy nodded, and jumped down from the seat. Moving around the wolf's vehicle, she paused as he rolled down his window, leaning out of it. "Listen. We're gonna catch the guy who hurt him, alright?"

Judy swallowed. Her throat was dry. She nodded after a moment, and Wolford lifted a paw to wave before driving off. "No..." Judy turned away, pulling out her smartphone and looking down at the display, where Bryant Hooveson's face was her background. "I'm gonna catch the guy." She swiped her screen, and the face of the timberwolf from the store was visible now. "And the guy who hurt Nick."