Guns N' Pizzas
#2 of Project: SENTINEL
A new chapter! Yay! So, I We decided to upload a chapter each week at best, one week and half/two at worst. I apologize in advance should we ever be late in the updating. I also apologize for any grammar mistakes or mistyping; English isn't my first language, and I'm still improving, but I think I'm fairly decent at it. A collab with Rainbows and Twilight! Check the original HERE! This time, we get something more.. laid back, so to speak, and we get two more characters introduced! So, here it is! My second chapter!
Liam breathed in and stepped out of the train, stretching and groaning as the aching muscles loosened. The journey from Animalia to Zootopia was four hours long, and he had been riding a packed wagon.
"That is an experience that won't happen again." The cat promised himself, glaring at the stupid elephant stuffed in a suit, who had been his seatmate throughout the whole trip. "Al? Patch me in?
"What do you need, Lee?" a different voice, tenor in pitch and tinged with a slight British accent, sounded through the cat's earring; a fairly simple, black stud pyramidal in shape and slightly raised, cammed with gold
"Just give me an update on what I'm expecting from this guy." He started to walk through the river of mammals, wanting to get out of the oppressing feeling the crowd gave. "And locate the blasted bag, while you can."
"Your target?" the voice queried, and there was a distinct sound of rustling papers, "Let me see... 33, male, red fox, roughly 1.3 meters in height. He was a con artist so you might want to watch out for that. He currently works for the ZPD and is partners to Judy Hopps, the rookie hero."
"The Night-Howler duo, right? Heard they solved the case by themselves." He breathed a sigh of relief as he entered an open space; Sahara square was bustling with mammals running to and fro. He adjusted his shoulder-bag and turned the black band in his ring to the right once again. "Where did they drop the package, again?"
"Behind the dumpster, at the back of Sahara Boutique." The voice muttered, though it was clearly amused, "It should be taped to the back of it."
"And where the hell is that..?" Liam muttered, fighting the urge to sigh. They were in the middle of July, and the heat was reaching near intolerable levels. Rounding the corner, he looked around trying to see said boutique, to no avail. "A, point me."
There was a series of taps before Alan replied, "Cross the square. When you reach fourth street, hang a left; the boutique should be about 300 meters down the road."
The square, thankfully, was almost empty, save a few animals longing near the fountain, so his walk was quite short to the back alley of "Sahara Boutique". Turning the corner, he snorted as he saw a thin yellow arrow pointing down behind the dumpster; stuck to the wall, was a black, simple case, a pelican 1720, to be precise. Pushing the dumpster away, he opened the case and whistled lowly. "Oh yeah, now we're talking. You got everything, Al?
"I'm pretty sure. I also took the liberty of procuring another... Jewelry set," Alan responded drawling the last two words. "Be careful with it, The earring acts as a short range EMP, and it should hook into your neural net. The ring spritzes fluoroantimonic acid; it's some powerful stuff, it has a pH of -31.3..." The dog trailed off, making the cat raise and eyebrow.
"How... powerful are we talking about?" There was a squeak coming from the jewel. Alan adjusted his position on the chair and made a face. "That is roughly... 100 billion, billion, billion times stronger than gastric acid."
The cat blinked. Twice. Then picked the ring on his finger and put it in the case. "Why do I have such a thing on my finger..?" There was a slight hysterical tinge in his tone.
The shepherd huffed, and Liam could feel his eyes rolling at the question. "Because it melts through just about anything... Except fluoride polymers, like carbon tetrafluoride." The sound of rustling and the consequent crunching of a granola bar was heard from the other side.
The feline looked at the apparently harmless ring. "And that is what my ring is made of... Right?" Another crunch, and then some tapping on the keyboard.
"No, it's made of wood," Alan drawled sarcastically, "It's lined with it, and since I know that you have no idea what I just said, your ring is lined with Teflon." The cat made an "Ooh"- ing sound, slowly nodding his head. "Oh!"
Liam picked up an exact copy of his ring, save for two small covered holes on the sides of the silver band. The black band in the middle made a small clicking noise as the mic turned on. Putting it on his middle finger, he stowed the older prototype. Something that handy could always come useful in good hands. Besides, the thing's value reached the hundreds, so destroying it was a waste. "You always know how to make me feel good" The cat couldn't help but smirk at the poorly hidden meaning.
The smirk on the face of the shepherd who was on the other end of the mic was audible, "I take care of my own." He cracked his fingers.
"You should recognize most of the arsenal; you trained with a number of these weapons." Alan continued, "However, there are some fairly new pieces of equipment. That handle is the hilt of a MK-2 prototype High-Frequency sword; upon activation the inconel plated, ceramic blade sweeps from the bottom of the grip; this change in materials from the MK-1 allows the blade to stay sharp basically forever, and the high amounts of energy no longer damages the blade. Fully deployed the blade is about 87 cm in length."
Indeed. Liam was familiar with most of the equipment inside the case. Two guns, an assault rifle, and the prototypical sword. Why he needed so much tack, the cat didn't know; he was protecting a fox for fuck's sake, not the bloody president. But that was beside the point. Considering the amount of equipment allowed in this mission, he would be quite surprised if someone might even consider coming closer to the police officer. Who would even want to attack a cop, anyway?
A S.C.A.R. rifle's polimery case gleamed dimly in the waning sunlight. It was a light model, a Mk 16, mod 0 with a modified STANAG 30 rounds clip. 'This thing can shoot over 6 hundred bullets in a minute with a range of 300 meters or so..'. Picking the magazine, he ejected a single round and turned it in his hand. The rimless, bottleneck cartridge was spotless, and the base shone in the light, exposing the 5.56x45mm engraved on it. 'Such a tiny thing can travel up to 700 meters per second. Should it impact at such speed on flesh, the limb would simply shatter. Fragmentation is a frightful thing..'. His eyes returned on the Pelican 1720 below.
Inside the case, besides the S.C.A.R., were two barrels; A 14 inches and an 18 inches, easily switchable in under two clicks. A simple and yet, beautiful Leupold VX-6 rested near the barrels, while two separate magazines, STANAG 30 rounds 'High reliability', one in simple black, the other one painted red, laid beside other 3 of each type neatly piled up and blocked with a belt. " Alan, there are two types of ammo for the FN, red and black. Why's that?"
"The red castings denote our new armor piercing rounds, the de-crystallized aluminum core is 2x lighter, 4x denser and 3 times stronger than steel," Alan informed. Liam made an acknowledging noise and put the cartridge down.
The cat's next choice was the guns. He had to give it to Alan, he knew what he liked. A Glock 17 Generation 4 9x19mm with a black barrel rested next to a total black Walther P99. The latter had two silencers, and a LLM01, which, Liam guessed, was for the P99, and both were equipped with gray Talon Grips.
The Glock's bullets were painted in blue, causing Liam's eyebrows to rise in confusion. "Al, why the hell are the bullets painted in blue?" He ejected one and frowned when he noticed that the whole thing was painted.
"That would be because they aren't live rounds as it were; that is our prototypical stun round," Alan responded, taking a loud bite on his bar as he did. Liam's ear flickered in annoyance at the sound.
"Would you stop doing that?" He growled, pushing the round in the magazine again. He got a loud crunch directly into the microphone as an answer. Shaking his head to scroll the sound off his ear, he tried to redirect the conversation on the rounds again. "You said stun rounds, expatiate."
"Dendrotoxin." Was the simple answer from the dog. Liam huffed, pushed the Glock in the case and made to check the Walter's magazine, only to find normal, .10-22mm S&W, bullets. "Because that explains a lot, Al."
"It causes unconsciousness upon contact in most mammals; bears, giraffes, rhinos, hippos, and elephants won't be knocked unconscious but will be incapacitated, in panthers, and animals of comparable size it causes edged consciousness. In animals about your size, the toxin causes unconsciousness lasting between five and seven minutes. In small animals, like bunnies, and rodents it causes a coma lasting between three hours to seven days." Alan sighed, crunching his granola.
"That would cover my so-called mission regarding the ZPD. The non-lethal policy sure is a pain in the ass, sometimes." The cat mused, placing the blue bullet its magazine. Animalia's police department allowed the use of lethal guns as a case of self-defense. There was a lock on the gun's holster that could be unlocked with a special permission granted via radio. The APD will give the green light, and unlock the guns with a single button that will send out a simple electromagnetic pulse. Once the threat is over, all units will return the guns within the day, so the department could lock them once more.
Since Zootopia's a fourth the size of Animalia, both demographically and geographically speaking, the ZPD had an easy time in allowing a non-lethal policy regarding predators and preys. Since his 'mission' was to find any remnants of the Night Howler case, he will have to be in direct contact with both Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps, and that was perfect. He could keep an eye on Nick almost 24/7, thanks to this 'job'. Plus, Alan MAY have had a part in his apartment location so that he was stationed near the fox.
Holstering the Glock in on his right hip and the WP99 in his bag, he picked up a glove that rested near the prototype blade in the case, and noticed two things; The first was a tiny grapple hook on top of the glove and a hollow section on the underside of it. Guessing, he placed the handle of the blade in it, and it fit perfectly. Pleased to find out that he could deploy the sword almost instantly, he closed the Pelican and picked it up. "Now, where's my oh so humble abode, my dear fluffy butt?"
"221B Bakers street." The Shepherd replied dryly, "1955 Cypress Lane, Downtown apartment 312. You should get that tail of yours moving, the next train is leaving soon; and before you leave you might want to reach under the trash can lid; The bag with your ID and wallet should be taped there."
Rolling his eyes, the cat ripped the small white package under the lid and opened it. He almost snorted as he read "Liam T. Reed" printed in the name section. Pocketing the thing, he let out an amused whistle as he opened the wallet. "Oh, You treat me good!" There was a black, shiny, credit card with yellow letters printed on. "Allen Corporation"'s acronym glared at him, like it was asking why he hadn't used the bloody thing already.
He then remembered the words of the canine in his earring and started to run to the station. Missing a few close calls, he dove through the closing doors of the train and sat down on a seat to get his breath under control. He hated with a passion sudden sprints; They left him short of breath, and that was irritating for him, because his body was built on speed, so seeing him pant after a little sprint was a bit embarrassing. He could blame the heat, though.
The warm, orange colors of Sahara Square blurred to the more vibrant clashes of Downtown, and the chatter in the wagon lessened with the more stops they passed. The sun was starting it's waning descend when Liam stepped out of the train and swiftly ascended the escalators. Recalling the words of the Australian shepherd, he smirked at the joke. "You read too much, Al." He murmured. "Next thing I know, you might be cracking dirty jokes", and allowed himself to chuckle this time. "Point me, will ya?"
"You know you love the dirtier side of me. Take Pack street to 72nd and take a left; you should find Cypress Lane next to the downtown park. It's a third floor room with a view - I know how much you enjoy people watching," There was the distinct sound of air being forced through a small orifice as Alan took a drag on his vape.
Liam immediately turned to his right, walking down the street. Downtown was much cooler than Sahara Square and windier; the sudden shifts in the air gave him a bit of a disheveled look. Stopping at a red traffic light, his eyes lazily ran over the street, sifting the crowd, looking at every single animal, distinguishing each characteristic on every mammal that had been seen. "What's the population ratio here?" He mumbled, fumbling with his ring.
"Mm, what?" Alan asked through a mouthful of granola.
"..." The deadpan look on Liam's face melted the next four cars that passed in front of him. Slowly, his paw met his face and started to massage his eyes, as he let out a sigh. "What's the ratio, between Predators and Prey, in Zootopia, you dumb fuzzball." The traffic light hit green, and he made his way to the other side, before turning right. He started to crack his right hand's fingers as rounded the corner.
"Sorry, I was called away." The speedy, steady taps of Liam's pads on the keyboard informed Liam of his research. "Roughly ten percent of Zootopia's population is made of predatory animals like us; that is due to our low fertility rates, among other things." Alan responded.
Liam's eyebrows furrowed slightly at the information. The ratio was rather disproportionate; Animalia was three times the size of Zootopia, and roughly ten times its population but the odds were much more even than this. Perhaps it was because of this low ratio that Zootopia refused to enforce the electric collars for predators. Unfortunately, that was not the case for Animalia. Every predator that enters the city, and leaves his or her home, will have to wear a shock collar that will release an electric current that causes direct muscle lock. Liam had seen his fair share of predators whine and wail as the collars were activated because of some prick prey that had decided to mess with them and instigate a reaction. "How far until the park, Al?"
"Click-five," was the curt response, as Alan leaned back in his ergonomic gamer chair, "I'm thinking hibachi for dinner, what's your opinion" It was a common thing between the two to just talk when the "threat level" as the pair called it was green.
"You know that it's not called hibachi. What're you gonna cook?. Talking about dinner, find me something good nearby, so I can get something to eat. I'm too lazy right now to go somewhere else." Downtown park appeared ahead, and he started to wrack his brain to find Cypress Lane. He wanted a shower and fast.
"Scallops and egg fried rice... Or I might have some seared tuna." There was the sound of rustling coming from the earring, followed by a small thump. "Turn right on Park, it will bring you to the complex."
Liam felt his eyes automatically raise to the sky, and he dangerously avoided collision with a rhino. The mammal threw him a glare, which he ignored, lest he might splatter the dumb mammal's brain on the sidewalk. He felt dirty at the moment, and that was something intolerable. It was so likely for Alan to have tuna just to tease him about his feline nature. It was not his fault that he becomes stupid when he eats tuna. Who could blame him, anyway? The thing was divine blessed. "How... unsurprising, really."
"What, the tuna..?" Alan dragged out the last word as realization struck, "Take a right, here, it should put you about 100 meters from your apartments."
"Why, thank you kindly, fuzzbutt." Taking said right, Liam took his first sight of where he was going to live for quite a bit of time. 'Probably for a long bit of time.' He really didn't want to lose time talking to someone, but, alas, the landlord must be informed of who he was and where he was going to sleep. Entering the building, he immediately noticed the gangly looking leopard closing a door to Liam's left side.
The cat coughed, attracting the male's attention. "Who're you? We've got no rooms to spare, so you better go somewhere else." With that said, the leopard turned around and started to make way to the stairs. Liam's eyes narrowed a bit in irritation and coughed once more to attract the feline's attention. The other turned around with an irritated look and opened his mouth to speak, but Liam beat him to it.
"I believe there is a room booked for a Liam Reed if I'm not mistaken." He drawled, taking pleasure in the leopard's widening eyes and consequent apologies. He extended his hand, and a single red card was dropped in it, the number 314 written in a dull gold. Not sparing a glance at the still apologizing leopard, Liam trotted up the stairs, reaching the 3rd floor, and made way to his number.
Opening the door, he was pleasantly surprised to find out that the whole apartment was actually spacious. Putting the case on the table, he looked around; a quick tour of the complex later, Liam was quite satisfied with it. It had everything a man could want or need to live, plus, a balcony! And a study next to his bedroom.
Outside, the first drops from a cloud started to fall.
Liam breathed in, held it in for a few seconds, before exhaling loudly. Glancing at the case, he picked it up and transferred it to the bottom of the wardrobe in his bedroom. You never knew when someone might barge in and spot your personal stash of weapons.
"I would suggest you introduce yourself tonight... unless, of course, you are planning to do that after saving him from whatever he needs body guarding from..." There was a tapping sound before music began playing softly in the background.
"Alan, my dear puppy, must I teach you everything?" The cat chided jokingly, tapping his ring to create static in the microphone. Venturing into the living room, he reached inside his white shoulder-bag and retrieved his phone. Tapping the password away, he dialed the number filed by Alan to the nearest pizzeria. "If you want to win a man's friendship, you must aim for his stomach."
"Or his cock" Alan quipped.
Liam choked on his own spit. He hated when the dog made these quips out of the blue. They caught him unprepared most of the time. Keyword being most.
The cat glared at his ring, the words mulling over his head for a bit, before nodding. "Yeah, that too."
A quick glance at his watch told him that it was 10 minutes to 8P M. He decided that he had been dirty too much for his liking,; he undressed, entered the bathroom, stepped in the tub and turned the warm water on.
He couldn't help but sigh in pleasure.
The magical thing about taking a shower is the feeling of the daily stress slip off of you. Warmness seeps into your muscles, and you actually feel them relax. Your thoughts dull to a whispered lullaby and your hands knead just in the right places to release tension. And of course, the bonus of not smelling like rubbish.
It felt like an instant, but twenty to thirty minutes had already passed.
Steam cascaded from the bathroom as Liam stepped out while he dried his fur. He didn't want to appear like a puffball, but he didn't want to comb it too much either. Pushing the bedroom door open, he picked up his spare clothes and dressed himself. A simple sleeveless black hoodie and gray cargo pants was his choice of clothes. He picked up his jewelry and put it on, feeling Alan mutter about his food. "How's the food coming along, Al?"
"Food is coming along quite well, I had to recalibrate my stovetop after I realized that it was set to broil... burnt a few scallops there; also had to make Lo Mien as I used the last of my rice a few nights ago." Alan replied, leaning back in his ergonomic gaming, sitting-on-one's-ass-all-day, chair, "How is your dinner coming along? I would say that home cooking is the way to many a man's hearts but yours leaves a lot to be desired. As an aside the jewelry is now waterproof; I know that you requested that for the next version."
Liam huffed in amusement at the dog's information on the jewelry. Sure, tell the fact after he took the damn shower. As for the first question.. "Well, I just got here at 8 PM or so, dirty, tired and with nothing to cook. Did you find me a good pizzeria like the good puppy I know you are?"
"Well there is one that goes by Hyloba... Apparently it's supposed to be pretty good." He could feel the happy wagging of the other male's tail. Shaking his head, he fished his phone out of his bag and unlocked the device.
"For how long are you going to keep eating those things? You know I hate it when you munch on purpose in the mic. Patch me the number, will ya?"
The question was purposefully ignored as a number automatically composed itself on the phone. "Well, let's see if your search's gone go-" The sound of a car stopping, its door opening and closing and a loud yelp came from the slightly open window. Reaching the glass, he looked below, and smirked at an orange flame disappear inside the building.
"Hyloba's Quicktime, if it's later than twenty-five minutes, pizza's free" A roughish voice with a bit of forced politeness answered on the phone, and Liam felt a smug smirk tug at his lips as he headed, slowly, to the door on the other side of the apartment.
"Hello, I would like to order two simple Margherita's at 1955 Cypress Lane, Downtown apartment 312. I would like to have them as soon as possible, I'm willing to pay more." He closed the call as soon as 'Yes' left the mammal's mouth, opened the door, stepped outside, and smiled amiably at the slightly drenched, eyebrow raised, red fox.
"Well, hello there! I'm Liam Reed, your new neighbor. May I ask who you are?" He inquired - politely- to the vulpine, extending his hand in a handshake, which was replied with a slight, polite smile.
"Nicholas Wilde" was the short answer. Apparently, the day had been tiring for him, and the disheveled look clearly spoke volumes of it.
"Nice to meet you, Nicholas. Hey, I was expecting a friend of mine to have dinner with, but he called me just a minute ago, and told me that he'll be coming next week because work messed his schedule up." He let go of Nick's hand and pointed at his apartment, shrugging. "The thing is, I already ordered two pizzas, and I know that I can't eat both. Do you want one? My treat."
Nick mulled over the words for about thirty seconds, before shrugging and gesturing to the open door of his apartment. "Sure, let me change into something more comfortable. I'll knock when I'm done."
The cat nodded and re-entered in his lodging, closing the door with a twirl of his tail and overall feeling smug.
"Time to work, fluffbutt."
Is it good? Is it bad? T** hank you for your patience in reading this, I appreciate it!**
Also, I do not own Zootopia, just my own OC's!