"Good work out there, Savage!" My personal computer genius, a lemur named Lexie, spins in her chair and smiles at me, then returns to her computer screen. She rarely glanced away from her computer screen. Unless pizza or sleep distracted her.
I shrug. "Thanks. Shiara was cocky. Thought a wolf could overpower ME. Have you seen Darcy?"
She shrugs. "No. I'd check in the arena. She said she needed to blow off some steam."
I freeze. Oh no. She knows. I shake myself and head farther down into the compound.
I should probably introduce myself. My name is Savage. Jack Savage. I'm a espionage agent under the employ of ZSS, Zootopia's Secret Services. When I joined up, I was the only rabbit operative. A decade later, and I still am.
Lexie's part of my team. She's the brains. Gareth is the weapons and gadget expert and designer. Darcy and I are the field agents.
I hear grunts and the snack of fur against cloth. I take a breath, and push the door open.
Darcy's pounding away on the bag, alternating randomly in between licking it and hammering with her fists. She's impressive. Tall, with a sandy coat and dark eyes. The differences in between this lioness and I are palpable.
I cough politely, announcing my presence, and she turns to face me, pulling her gloves off.
"You're dropping your left guard when you fully extend your right leg." Letting her know of her bad habits will save her in the long run, so she understands.
"You're quitting?" That's what she doesn't understand. She thinks quitting is betrayal. Of her, of the team, of the Service.
I shake my head. "The technical term is 'reassignment.' I have to, Darce."
She snorts. "Quitting is quitting. Your just gonna leave us here to train the next newbie? After everything?"
Lions are naturally loyal. Rabbits are not. It doesn't mean that I'm going to betray everyone, or that she'll always stay true to the Service. But for her, what I'm doing is despicable.
"I requested reassignment after Jahab. I wanted to live a quieter life for a while, so Headbase offered me a place in the heart of Zootopia, training them up for a year. Today was going to be my last mission. It's only going to be a year."
Her eyes are still furious as she turns back to the bag, slips her paws into her gloves, and starts hammering a little picture of a white rabbit with uncommon black half stripes on his cheeks, forehead, and arms. "It won't be the same." Darcy mutters.
I sigh. I know she's right. I know that when I come back, Darcy'll have a million fights with enemy operatives over me. Lexie won't talk to me for the first week. Gareth will refuse to play chess.
But it's worth it. I need time to recover, breath, relax. I've hit enough cash to go on a real vacation, but that isn't really my thing.
I turn and leave the room. We won't change the others mind.
