I still like to post this for the new semester even though I already graduated. Seems to be a good habit to keep.
Tuesday,
For the day's visit, Nick, Judy, Jack, and Skye arrived at the prison with different objectives in mind for their clients. The rabbits only needed to continue to coach Giovanni and verify the documents in his parole packet. But the foxes had to prepare for Randall's hearing and be on alert for his words and behavior.
Nick and Skye waited in their assigned room after requesting to speak to the mammals on Badgerson's list: a hippo named Peter, an aardvark named Victor, and a caracal named Uriah. The plan is to conduct individual interviews before having the mammals sign a sworn statement.
The arctic vixen finished reviewing her questions and looked to Nick. "So, who wants to lead?"
"You can. I'll jump in when necessary. I want to focus on the responses."
"You expect them to embellish for Badgerson?"
The tod closed his eyes and nodded. "One hundred percent. I would be genuinely surprised if they didn't."
Skye groaned. "It feels like underwater basket weaving except with tar."
Nick snorted in amusement. "We are studying to be lawyers after all. You'll get better with it."
The foxes heard the door open and turned to see a Cape Buffalo bringing in a hippo, whom they recognized as Peter. At another time, Nick would have remarked if Bogo was a part-time correctional officer.
The Cape Buffalo sat the hippo down. "I will wait outside. Holler if you need me." The guard stepped out, leaving the mammals alone.
Nick and Skye put on their facades and got to work.
"Hello, Peter," The vixen began. "Thank you for agreeing to speak to us. Badgerson said that you could help us with his hearing."
The hippo didn't bother with the pleasantries. "I'm only doing this to make things even with the badger." He narrowed his eyes and raised his cuffed hooves at the foxes. "You make sure that he knows."
The gesture didn't faze the law students.
Nick retained his smirk. "No problem, once we have your statement and signature."
Skye turned on the voice recorder and proceeded with the interview, "Let's begin. Where were you at the time when Sanchez got stabbed?"
"It happened during lunch. I was eating and minding my own business." Bluntness radiated in his voice.
"To the point," She countered, "I appreciate that. Did you see either Badgerson or Sanchez at some point before the incident?"
"I saw Sanchez by himself going to a table. Badgerson came up to say hello and ask about stuff before going off to wherever."
"You never saw those two together?"
"Not in the cafeteria. Maybe at another time, but I couldn't tell you."
"That's alright," Skye glanced at the questions. "To the best of your memories, can you describe what you witnessed?"
"I heard a coyote howl and mammals tussling. Knowing that a fight was going on, I had to see. Unfortunately, everyone else had the same idea. I got there after it ended."
"Could you describe the scene?"
"I only saw Badgerson being taken away while Sanchez was escorted to the clinic. He had a nasty gash on his arm. Nearly lost my lunch."
The foxes had to contain their hopes upon hearing that bit of information.
A hopeful Skye continued with the questions. "Did you see the mammal who harmed Sanchez?"
The hippo shook his head. "It was only Badgerson and Sanchez. If there was another mammal, he must have escaped during the commotion."
The vixen resisted the urge to deflate from the letdown. "Did you ask anyone that was there what happened?"
Peter raised his cuffed hooves. "I ain't getting involved with that."
The urge to visibly deflate grew stronger. "Badgerson said he got placed into solitary because of the incident. Why would the guards do that instead of asking what happened?"
Peter shrugged his shoulders. "How should I know? The guards probably blamed him for injuring Sanchez. Badgerson's constantly been in trouble with the prison since he first arrived. He may have helped me occasionally, but I wouldn't consider him a friend."
"Then would you say there is reasonable doubt that while Badgerson was involved in the incident, he was not the mammal who stabbed Sanchez?"
"Yes, is that all?"
Nick chose that moment to speak. "Almost. We just need you to sign your statement." He waved to the Cape Buffalo watching them through the door window.
The guard entered the room and stood beside Peter.
"Do you have a pen on you?" Nick pointed to the hippo. "My colleague and I were unable to bring one his size with us."
The Cape Buffalo reached into his pocket and brought out a pen. He set it in front of Peter while Skye slid forward the document. The hippo grabbed the pen and signed his name before the Cape Buffalo retrieved it.
Skye put on a faux smile. "Thank you for your time, Peter." She then looked up at the guard with a more genuine smile. "And thank you also. Could you please have them send in the next mammal?"
The guard nodded and wrapped his arm around that of Peter's.
The hippo stood up, not taking eyes off the foxes. "Remember; tell Randall we're even now."
Nick and Skye only responded with a nod as the two mammals left the room.
Once alone, the vixen let out a huge exhale. "For a mammal wanting to return a favor, he sure did the bare minimum. Did you manage to glean anything from that?"
"A couple, but none of them are positive."
She groaned and plumped her head on the table. "Get it over with."
"If the other two owe Randall favors, chances are they'll say anything to get him off their tails. Second, even if they did tell us something useful, we still have to take it with a grain of salt because of the snitches' label. Third, we're more likely to get better evidence from the security cameras, even if Randall says they could be unreliable."
Skye raised her head. "You're right. I hated all of it." She made herself more presentable for the arrival of the next inmate. "But it's better than nothing. Do you want to lead the next interview or keep watching?"
Nick put on a smirk as his eyes became half-lidded. "I'll keep watching. You are doing an excellent job, so why stop?"
Skye only responded with an unamused look before the door opened again. A leopard entered with an aardvark, whom they recognized as Victor.
The correctional officer sat the inmate down and motioned with his head to the door. "I'll be watching through the door. You only need to signal."
"Thank you," Nick said.
The leopard left the mammals alone, but the foxes could see the feline's head through the window.
Skye turned on the voice recorder and began the interview, "Thank you for meeting with us, Victor. Badgerson mentioned your name and said you could help us."
Victor raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?" The mammal was more pleasant than Peter, making the aardvark an improvement over the hippo. "What for?"
"His disciplinary hearing over the stabbing of Sanchez. Our job is to raise enough doubt that Badgerson harmed Sanchez."
The aardvark became less confident. "I'm not sure how much I can be of help. I only saw the aftermath."
"Any information is helpful." Skye went to the first question. "Where were you at the time of the incident?"
"The cafeteria. Like everyone else."
"Did you see either Badgerson or Sanchez at any point before the stabbing?"
"Nope, I was eating my food and talking with my friends."
"That's okay. Could you, to the best of your memories, describe the scene?"
Victor raised his head slightly to recall the memories for a moment before answering. "I heard a howl and a loud bang. I ignored it because I didn't want to get involved. Not until mammals started running over to the noise. When I got there, the guards had already stopped whatever was happening. I did see them taking Badgerson and Sanchez away. The coyote had blood running down his arm. Poor mammal."
Frustration slowly set into Skye when hearing that the aardvark's testimony nearly matched Peter's. "Were those two the only mammals you saw being led away?"
"Yes."
"Then would you say that another mammal could have been involved but got away to avoid getting caught?"
Victor had a thoughtful look. "It's possible."
"Did you ask anyone else about what happened?"
He vehemently shook his head. "I wouldn't even if I could. Could have been gang-related, and I am not about to get myself shanked over being nosy."
The vixen's frustration grew. "Badgerson got placed into solitary as a result, and he believes it to be unfair. Do you agree with him?"
"For him? I'm not surprised. He and the guards have never been the best of terms. I'm more surprised Badgerson hasn't burned those bridges entirely. One thing about the mammal, he likes to make friends and acquaintances. Were he not a badger, the inmates would threaten him about minding his business. But since he is a badger, they would rather not mess with him."
"The species' reputation precedes him," Skye went to the last question. "Given what you know, would you say that there is reasonable doubt over Badgerson stabbing Sanchez?"
"Yes."
Skye then ended the recording. "Thank you for your time and assistance, Victor." The vixen brought out a document and a pen and slid the items forward. "Just sign the paper regarding your statement, and you may leave."
The aardvark obliged.
Meanwhile, Nick motioned to the leopard to come in. The guard entered and stood beside Victor, ready to escort him once the interview was complete.
"Could you please have them bring in the last mammal?" Nick asked.
The leopard nodded, and once Victor set the pen down, the feline lifted the aardvark by the arm, and the two mammals exited the room.
After the door closed, Skye kept the pen on the table and stored the paper in her briefcase. "That went mildly better but still unhelpful."
"If you mean Badgerson not stabbing Sanchez, I say we're making progress. If you mean finding the mammal who did the stabbing, I agree. But I wouldn't jump to conclusions just yet. We only interviewed two mammals, so their testimonies could be coincidental."
The vixen finally took the respite to vent. "You're right, but it doesn't make it any less frustrating. I want justice for Sanchez too. Poor mammal was terrified. Worried that the perpetrator might finish the job."
Nick put a comforting paw on her. "Unfortunately, that's not our job here, and we're already at our limit for the semester. We can raise the issue with Mr. Alces after our hearing."
Skye remained unhappy with their choices but accepted their limitations. "Okay."
It would be another few minutes before their last mammal arrived, and the foxes made the preparations. They also agreed to maintain their roles for the upcoming interview.
A lion entered the room with Uriah, the caracal. The large feline sat the inmate down and looked at the foxes. "You know the drill." While pointing at the door and before taking his spot.
Skye put on her usual smile. "Thank you for agreeing to meet with us, Uriah. Your information could be helpful in Badgerson's hearing."
The caracal smiled. "My pleasure. Anything to help a friend."
The vixen turned to her questions. "Where were you at the time of the stabbing?"
"It happened during lunch. I was sitting alone because I wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone at that particular time."
"Did you see Badgerson or Sanchez at any point before the incident?"
"I saw Sanchez walk past me, but not Badgerson. He was probably talking with one of his many friends or acquaintances."
"To the best of your recollection, could you describe the scene when it happened?"
"I was eating and thinking about stuff when a howl rang out. At first, I thought it was a dumb wolf asking for trouble. Knowing the outcome, I closed my eyes and covered my ears to wait out the noise. But when I didn't hear the other wolves howling, I became suspicious. I opened my eyes slightly to see nearly everyone in the cafeteria gathering in a corner and guards rushing to the scene. I realized it must be important if it got that much attention, so I ran over. There, the guards took Badgerson and Sanchez away. The coyote, in particular, had blood on his arm and shirt. Not going to lie. I was slightly disappointed that I missed out on the action."
His answer of not seeing much barely disappointed Skye anymore. "Were they the only mammals to be taken away?"
Uriah had a confused look. "Yes, do you think there was someone else involved?"
"We can't rule out that theory. It's why we're asking. Someone could have harmed Sanchez, and Badgerson was too focused on stopping the bleeding when the perpetrator escaped."
The caracal had an astonished look. "Oh. I didn't ask about it because I didn't want to be that mammal to squeal."
"Understandable. Badgerson was taken into solitary because the guards believed he committed the act and that it was unfair. Would you say that is an appropriate punishment?"
Uriah laughed. "The guards will put mammals in solitary for just about any reason. If anything, Badgerson should have known better and stayed out of it. Now he's got himself locked in there." He shook his head. "I swear for all his efforts, he still gets in his own way."
Nick couldn't help chuckling as Uriah's statement reminded him of Judy. "I can relate. Then would you say there is enough doubt that Badgerson didn't stab Sanchez despite getting involved?"
"To my knowledge, yes."
Skye closed her notepad. "Thank you for your time and assistance, Uriah."
"It's been my pleasure."
The arctic vixen slid a document. "Just sign this for your statement, and you can leave."
Uriah grabbed the pen on the table and began signing the document.
Nick signaled for the lion to come in, and the feline obliged. The correctional officer stood by Uriah, waiting for the inmate to finish.
The caracal set the pen down and pushed it and the document back to the foxes. "Here you go. I hope this helps."
Skye accepted the items. "Much appreciated."
With that, the lion tapped on Uriah's shoulder, and the two exited the room where Skye's façade immediately fell.
"Alright, this is definitely a pattern. There is no way that no one could have seen the incident before the guards came."
Nick gave the vixen a look. "You heard them, Skye. They don't want to squeal. But in the interest of our case, Badgerson's mammals came through for proclaiming his innocence." His look then softened. "Let's take a break before checking the security cameras. I have my doubts that Badgerson says they're unreliable."
After interviewing Randall's mammals, the foxes took a ten-minute break before requesting to see the security cameras. A grizzly bear arrived to escort them, and the mammals remained quiet until arriving at the room. Inside were multiple television screens that showed various locations around the prison. Judging from the still screens, it appeared that the cameras did not move. That factor could complicate things for Nick and Skye.
A raccoon and a red panda sat at the terminals to monitor the footage. The door closing behind the bear and the law students weren't enough to grab their attention, so Nick took the lead.
"Excuse me?"
The mammals turned around to see the foxes and the bear. Nick and Skye stepped forward to introduce themselves.
The red fox put on his professional smile and raised his badge. "Hello, my colleague and I are law students volunteering for the Prison Assistance Program. We are requesting to view some footage to aid us in a disciplinary hearing."
The raccoon left his chair and approached the students. He leaned in and took a moment to verify their identification. Satisfied, the raccoon nodded and returned to his seat. "Alright, which day and location?"
Skye answered. "Cafeteria. Lunch Hour. September 15."
The raccoon and the red panda swiveled back to the screens and began searching through the archives. It took a few minutes, but the mammals successfully brought up the angles of the area. Four cameras covered the entire cafeteria and were high quality. Already encouraging signs for the foxes.
The red panda held his paw on the controls. "We'll play the video, and you tell us when to stop."
The foxes nodded and watched the footage. The two scanned the screens for any sign of Badgerson or Sanchez. The coyote was the first to be spotted by Skye. She gave Nick a nudge and silently pointed out Sanchez walking alone and carrying a tray of food on the screen. The tod nodded and tracked the coyote. Badgerson had to have gone in a similar direction for the incident to have occurred.
As suspected, the foxes found the badger walking in the same direction as Sanchez. Randall then disappeared from one screen and appeared in another. Very little happened until the badger disappeared from that screen also. When Nick and Skye searched, Randall could not be found, and neither was Sanchez.
Amid their search, the foxes saw everyone else looking in one direction before scrambling out of their seats. Nick and Skye knew then that the stabbing had occurred. Seeing the guards transporting Badgerson and Sanchez away confirmed it. But despite seeing the footage, it neither helped nor hurt the badger's case.
Skye was trying not to let her frustration boil over. "Is that all the cameras for the cafeteria?"
"Correct," The raccoon said. "You would think for being a common area and being a prison run by City Hall that they would have better equipment. But nope! Budget cuts and that nonsense."
The red panda saw the foxes' disappointment. "I take it by your response that this has been unhelpful."
Nick lowered his head and massaged his temple. "Understatement," The tod looked back up. "But we appreciate your help and not prying about the mammal in question."
The red panda gave a sympathetic smile. "Sorry, we couldn't be of more assistance."
Skye returned the gesture. "No hard feelings."
Judy and Jack made plans to visit the locations where Giovanni frequented to verify his behavior. The gopher had given the rabbits a list of names to assist them. Their first stop was the prison commissary where Giovanni worked and to find a Mr. Rupert Salire. A deer escorted the rabbits through the staff-only entrance and led them to a kangaroo, who was currently holding and looking at a clipboard.
Assuming the marsupial was Rupert, Judy initiated the conversation. "Hello?"
The mammal looked up from the clipboard and saw the deer. The kangaroo was about to respond when the guard pointed down. The marsupial looked in the direction and saw Judy and Jack standing in front of the deer.
"Need something?" A male voice came out.
Judy stepped forward with a smile. "Are you Mr. Rupert Sailire?"
The kangaroo nodded in acknowledgment.
Having found the mammal, she proceeded. "My name is Judy Hopps," She pointed to Jack, "And this is my colleague Jack Savage." The buck smiled and waved. Judy continued. "We're representing an inmate named Giovanni Meyers before the parole board."
Rupert became surprised at hearing of the gopher's parole. "Well I'll be. Old Johnny might be getting out early?"
Jack affirmed with a nod. "Correct. My colleague and I are visiting locations where our client has frequented and looking to get letters of support. And judging by your reaction, is it fair to assume that he performed an excellent job here?"
The marsupial smiled. "He has. Give me a moment to finish this task, and we can discuss this further in the office."
The rabbits agreed and waited. Once the task was complete, Rupert motioned for the mammals to follow. The other prisoners who worked in the commissary spared them a glance before returning to their duties. The four soon arrived at a room where Rupert used the keys to open the door and let the rabbits in. The deer remained outside because of confidentiality.
The marsupial took his seat. "So, what exactly do you need from me for Johnny's parole?"
Judy raised a finger. "A commendable behavior report on Mr. Meyers' time working in the commissary."
"I can help with that. Do you have the behavior report?"
Jack opened his bag and brought out a folded blank report. "Here you go."
Rupert accepted the document and took a pen from his uniform. "Thank you." He began filling out the report. "While I hate to lose a good employee, I hope the board does grant Johnny an early release. He and I talked a lot while working. Our stories and plans for the future. He would also let me vent to him whenever inmates gave me trouble."
His words encouraged Judy to share her and Jack's experiences with the gopher. "He seemed genuine when we first met and put his trust in us."
The marsupial grinned, keeping his eyes on the document. "Sounds like him. He mentioned applying for it, but I guess the news caused him to be so preoccupied with preparing for it that he forgot to tell me. But I could hardly blame him. You don't want to brag about early release only to be denied and then humiliated by the guards and inmates, or worse."
"Giovanni's cautiously optimistic," Jack said. "He had to remind us not to get too carried away. Still, we and anyone close to him hope for the best."
The conversation then went silent as the kangaroo focused on the report. Fifteen minutes later, Rupert reviewed the information and returned the complete report.
"Here you go. Give my regards to Giovanni when you see him again."
Jack smiled and accepted the document. "We will. Thanks again for your assistance."
Rupert went to open the door for the rabbits. "My pleasure."
Judy and Jack took their leave and joined the deer guard, who escorted them out of the commissary.
There, Judy requested for her and Jack to see their next mammal. "Could you please take us to see Miss Lumi Frigus next?"
The deer quietly nodded.
The mammals arrived at a classroom, and the deer first entered to obtain permission for Judy and Jack. Moments later, the guard opened the door and motioned them inside before taking his place outside.
Judy and Jack saw that the room was for mammals of medium and small size. The layout was standard: rows of desks before a whiteboard, an overhead projector with the pulldown screen in front of the whiteboard, a television and DVD set in one corner, and a teacher's desk and two chairs in the other.
A single mammal occupied the desk: a female snow leopard in a brown suit. The predator saw her visitors and waved them over.
"You must be the law students who wish to speak to me. Come, take a seat. Do you need help getting up?"
Jack raised his bag. "You can help lift our belongings."
The snow leopard nodded and went to retrieve their briefcases. As Lumi carried them to her desk, the rabbits hopped onto the chairs. The snow leopard set their belongings on the desk before returning to her seat.
"I'm Lumi Frigus. General Educator. How can I help you two?"
Jack provided the necessary information. "Miss Frigus, one of your students, Giovanni Meyers, has been granted a parole hearing and selected my colleague and me to represent him before the board. Our current task is to collect good behavior reports from mammals that he associated with while incarcerated. The goal is to help build his case in being granted early release."
Lumi gasped when hearing the information. The rabbits can see the predator becoming emotional but remained silent.
"You don't know how happy this makes me! I always hope that one day every student who comes to my classroom will be given a second chance and that I've done my job to prepare them. I only wished Giovanni himself had told me, but I can understand his reasons to keep quiet. Of course, I will fill out a good behavior report for him!"
Judy wasted no time giving the educator a blank copy. "Here you go!"
Lumi happily took the document and wasted no time filling it out. "You'll have to forgive my behavior moments ago. All inmates who attend my classes, including Mr. Meyers, have made the decision to reform themselves, so knowing that one less student could be attending because of early release fills me with great satisfaction."
Judy couldn't agree more. "His early release would also make my colleague and I happy as well. We hope that his and our efforts will convince the board."
Being the cautious one, Jack added to the positivity without raising their hopes too much. "But even if Mr. Meyers gets denied in the end, the fact that he was granted the opportunity in the first place should be a positive sign. If not now, then down the road."
The snow leopard nodded as she continued writing. "I understand. But you can't fault one for getting excited after hearing positive news. I'm sure the other inmates attending would be happy to hear of Meyers' release."
The rabbits let the educator continue with the task. Once Lumi finished filling out the report, she returned it to Judy and Jack.
"I wrote a glowing review of Meyers during his time in my classes. I hope it doesn't go to waste."
Judy took the document and placed it in her bag. "As do we. Thank you for your support."
"Good luck to the both of you."
The snow leopard resumed working on her lesson plans as the rabbits gathered their belongings and took their leave. Judy knocked on the door to alert the deer outside, and the mammal obliged.
Outside, Jack made their last request. "We have one more mammal to visit. A Mr. Cornelius Somnus who works in the prison library."
The deer acknowledged their request and escorted them to the location. Just as before, the guard remained outside while the rabbits proceeded to the front desk. There, they only saw a sign and a service bell. Knowing there was no time to waste, Judy set her bag down and hopped up to ring the bell a few times.
As soon as her feet touched the floor, a male voice rang out. "Just a minute!"
The rabbits complied until their ears picked up the sound of flapping and nearly jumped when a figure overshadowed them before settling on the front desk. Before Judy and Jack was a bat in a blue suit and wearing glasses.
The flying mammal smiled. "Sorry for the entrance! Being such a large place, I prefer to fly."
Judy was in awe at the librarian's species, especially the enormous size. "I never expected a bat to be a prison librarian."
The bat raised a talon. "Officially, I'm a flying fox, but because of the prejudice against actual foxes, I refer to myself as a megabat." He resumed the closed-wing posture. "But enough of that, the name's Cornelius, and welcome to the prison library! How can I assist you?"
Jack took the lead with the request. "Hello, I'm Jack Savage," The buck pointed to Judy, who waved. "And this is my colleague Judy Hopps. We are law students representing Giovanni Meyers, who has a parole hearing scheduled at the end of the week. Judy and I are currently visiting locations where Mr. Meyers frequented and collecting good behavior reports."
Cornelius beamed from hearing the information. "That's wonderful to hear! I've seen the gopher come in here during recreational time. I would try to glance at the books to make sure nothing nefarious was brewing, but the books he read never rose to that level. Although, the parole hearing does explain the recent visits. Mr. Meyers was reading out of the legal text and dictionaries." The bat paused to shake his head. "Anyways, I'm distracting from the reason for your visit. I would be more than happy to fill out a behavior form."
Judy jumped up to place the form on the desk. "Don't worry about wasting time. We want an honest assessment of Mr. Meyers."
Cornelius walked over to grab a pen and began filling out the form. The rabbits remained silent as the flying mammal completed the task. About twenty minutes later, Cornelius finished and took a moment to review the assessment before feeling satisfied and returning the document.
"Done. It's not much, but as far as good behavior is concerned, it should suffice."
Judy jumped again to retrieve the form. "As long as there is no embellishment, we can work with your contribution. That's our job as law students."
Cornelius chuckled. "Yes, yes it is. Is there anything else you need from me?"
Jack shook his head. "Nope, that will be all. Thank you for your time, Cornelius."
"You're welcome." With that, he spread his wings and began flapping to lift himself into the air. Judy and Jack watched the mammal fly off in a direction, assuming to take care of a task.
The rabbits looked at each other and chuckled. Satisfied with their tasks and enjoying the display from Cornelius, the two took their leave and returned to the room where they waited to meet with Giovanni and discuss the next steps.
The gopher was brought in and could see the smile on his attorneys' faces. He waited to be seated and for the guard to leave before speaking. "All went well?"
Judy pushed forward the commendable behavior reports. "Your mammals came through and were genuinely happy to hear about your possible early release."
"No surprise there. They helped shape who I am today. What's next on the agenda for today?"
"Unfortunately," Jack said. "Judy and I will be leaving soon with our allotted time almost finished. But tomorrow and Thursday we will practice how to present the information and another round of mock questions to refine your answers."
"Sounds good to me."
With their tasks for the day complete, Nick and Skye sat in the room, waiting for the guard to bring Randall in. This gave the foxes the chance to prepare for the badger's honeyed words.
Skye was conflicted, and it visibly showed. "Part of me wishes that I didn't know about Randall's past. It will be hard for me to be impartial."
"You can let me do the talking if you feel that way. But if he does direct anything at you, play along."
The vixen rolled her eyes. "I can handle myself, you know!"
The tod smirked and raised an eyebrow. "And where was that confidence moments ago?"
Skye only gave a deadpanned look.
But then his look did soften. "You know I'm just trying to help."
So did Skye's. "I know."
The door opening caught the foxes' attention. Nick and Skye saw a hyena guard bring in Randall and immediately noticed the inmate's scowl.
"What happened to you?" Nick remarked.
Randall motioned his head to the hyena. "They searched me before being brought here. It was humiliating."
The guard did not take too kindly to the accusation. "Take it easy, prisoner! We've done this many times before!" Once the badger was seated, the hyena stood outside and watched them.
Randall wasted no time asking for progress. "So, how did it go?"
Skye brought out the three statements from the badger's list. "Your mammals have testified to your innocence in the stabbing."
Nick was the one to bear the bad news. "But we struck out with the cameras. They didn't capture any angles on that day. Whoever stabbed Sanchez must have known about the blind spots beforehand."
Randall scoffed. "No surprise there. It's one of the changes I fight for while in here. The current set would allow inmates or guards to get away with things, especially the guards. But I'm digressing. Did you have a chance to talk to Sanchez?"
Nick shook his head. "He still won't talk, but I'll keep reaching out to him."
"It's all I ask." Randall took a moment to calm down. "What now?"
"Now," Skye said. "We need to prepare your statement before the board."
Randall waved a paw. "No need. I already have one. I've taken the liberty to include the relevant information to increase my chances of getting the punishment overturned."
The arctic vixen appreciated the badger being proactive. "While that is great and all, I suggest we look over it and give a second opinion."
Randall became indignant. "Hey, I spent four years studying law in the prison library! Do you not trust me?"
Nick quickly jumped in. "Mr. Bagderson, we believe that it is in your best interest to review all material relevant to the disciplinary hearing regardless of your knowledge."
The room was quiet except for the heavy breathing from the badger. Soon the breathing slowed, and the inmate's body relaxed. "Sorry, getting emotional here. Being locked up in solitary will do that to you. I need to be more composed, but it's hard to fault the emotions running over after everything I've had to endure. After all, my future is in your paws."
Skye felt relieved that Badgerson didn't press the issue further. "We understand. But again, it is important that you let us speak on your behalf. And only speaking when giving a statement or answering any of the board's questions."
"Right. Right. Do we have time to work on it today or do we need to meet tomorrow?"
Nick raised two fingers. "Tomorrow. Interviewing your mammals and seeing the camera footage took most of the morning and early afternoon. It would be better for us to meet then where we can spend all day going over it and practicing how to say it."
"Good idea. I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Yes," Nick said. "We'll see you then." He waved for the hyena, who came in to take Randall back to his cell.
Skye clenched her fists after the mammals were gone. "Wow, he wasted no time trying to butter us up. We've only been his representatives for two days. I feel for the previous lawyer who had to spend a longer time with him."
"Count it the first of many mammals that will try to make our jobs difficult."
"The scary part is that Randall may not be even the worst."
"Still a good bar to start on."
The door opened at that moment, and Mr. Alces stood in the doorway. "Have you finished your tasks? The group is leaving soon."
Nick stood up and gathered his belongings, and Skye followed suit. "Yes, we have, Mr. Alces."
Much thanks to ZAA for their assistance
