Alexander Wilde had just graduated law school and was already working at a defense firm under a big shot firm called "Beaxrs Brothers". The name alone brought back memories of his childhood. It didn't help that aside from Boris Beaxrs, the other two in charge were named Nicholas Bearxs and Daniel Beaxrs. It was actually Boris who got him the job. They had known each other from childhood as Boris was close with his vixen cousins and they used to be childhood friends with the Wilde siblings.

For the time being Alex was a legal assistant, between bringing them important case files and occasionally coffee, he was tasked with watching how court cases were conducted. That is until one day a phone call came in. A case none of the Beaxrs brothers wanted. He had no idea why but he felt compelled to take the case, even when the three advised him against it. The fee was even met in full but they still didn't want him to. They dangled his career over his head, an empty bluff of a threat to try to make him drop the case. The problem was though that his ancestor's blood called him to action and anyone who knew of his ancestor would know stubbornness that strong cannot be ignored. Hesitantly, they gave him the advice to speak to the client.

So, he met with the client and her manager/interpreter. A beautiful white mink with shimmering ocean blue eyes. Her manager explained the case to him as he translated what she was telling him. It seemed to be a legal battle over a contractual error. Copies of an English and a French version of the contract were laid before him.

"Ve are hoping you can shed some light on our current situation Monsieur Lawyer," her manager stated.

"Certainly. Let us consider the contracts first. When you were signing, were you in fact aware that there are differences between the French and English copies?" - Alexander offered, rubbing his ear nervously as he tried to muddle through the french copy with his rusty high-school French… or all that he could remember of it, anyway.

"As far as Monsieur Moreau, ze Mademoiselle's agent, informed us zere vas no difference," the manager informed.

"Ah. So, the onus of attention will be on this Mr. Moreau, then. Have you seen the English version back then? Read through it? How did you sign it?" - Alex inquired in return, trying to tie the pieces together. Manager here knew english enough to speak it. Stands to reason he would be able to spot the rather tangible differences between the contracts. And he's not likely to be in on the scheme, as he`d be the prime suspect right now.

"Zis is ze first time ve have seen ze English version since ze contractual meeting. Monsieur Moreau assured us it vas simply a notarized copy for his English associates to keep. Ve had no idea it contained such drastic differences." the manager answered.

"Who recommended the notary? Do you know the name of the notary? Can they be summoned to court to testify about the contract in question?" - asked Alexander pensively, as he perused the notarial seal on the contracts. It looked off to him.

"Zey vere already notarized. Zat is vhat Monsieur Moreau informed us. Indeed ve believed so, ze notary seals vere placed on zem vhen zey vere prezented at ze beginning of ze contractual meeting," he answered.

"I`ll have to doublecheck this, but as far as I can tell, this notarization is bogus. There is no mention of bilingual contract being notarized around the date you signed this in the archives, and this seal… My opinion is this notarization is counterfeited. Of course, on it`s own it means nothing, because the crux of THEIR argument is that you falsified your French copy when you began having cold feet about the original contract laid out and signed in English." - Alex offered pensively - "If only we had some proof they were the ones who presented the French copy and claimed it to be notarized copy…."

"I have an audio recording of ze contractual meeting, might zat vork in zis situation? I am certain ze French copy vas mentioned in ze meeting," the manager suggested.

Alex chuckled, rubbing his hands together - "Hah!... Well, that does make the case, indeed. Between the two of you testifying to the events of contract signing and the audio recording that we will present AFTER they try to refute your testimony, we should have enough legal ammo to nail them with a contractual fraud. They are not aware the recording exists, I hope?"

"I do not believe so, I record all of zese meetings, in most cases ze studios are unaware of zis. Usually, zey are for my own professional records," he replied.

"Ah. Got burned like this before, or you're just naturally cautious?" - Alex murmured - "No matter, no matter. What does matter is that we do have a case. I`d ask for a copy of the record, if possible, or a transcript if it`s not feasible to copy it. I do need to know what exactly was said to be certain the recording will be presented at the most opportune moment."

"But of course, Monsieur. I had prepared a copy of ze recording ahead of time. I zought it might come in handy to do so," the manager answered, handing an unlabeled compact minidisk to Alex.

The mink got up from the couch she'd been sitting on and snatched the minidisk from Alex, replacing it with the one from her walkman. She then offered Alex a meek smile and stated something in French he didn't quite catch.

"Ze mademoiselle expresses her apologies, monsieur. Ze minidisk I gave you contains her selection of music. Ze one she handed you contains ze recording in question," he stated, looking very sheepish.

"I have to get some things ready but I'll call you before the trial," Alex stated confidently.

"Merci beaucoup," she stated.

"Oui, the mademoiselle and I are both very grateful to you monsieur," the manage stated.

"I appreciate it but save your thanks until after the trial, there's a chance with all this we may still lose. But you have my word, I will represent you as my clients even if this does become a losing battle," Alex stated, "But I'm very confident that the outcome will be in our favor."

As Alex drove back to the firm, he listened to the minidisk in his car's sound system. He would have to bring in a French-English translator to the court and swear them in as a witness. Other than that, though, he did have the ace up his sleeve with that recording. Now to arrange everything. With that, he stepped on the throttle but kept within legal limits.

Once back at the firm, he worked like a madman, rushing to get the things he needed ready. He only parted from his desk twice. First, to ask if his employers knew a competent translator who would be willing to take the stand and second to call it a day. The next day Boris left a list of court-certified French-English translators on his desk as he came in.

"I still don't think takin' this case is gonna' be good for ya', Alex but you've made up your mind. So this is a list of all the court-certified translators I could find," Boris sighed, giving Alex a regretful smile.

"Thanks Boris, I dunno' why you're against me taking this case but I'm glad you're helping me," he replied.

"I have my reasons, Alex, but I am trying to look out for ya'. Mail came before ya' got in. Your court case is in a month, make sure ya' have everything ready," Boris explained.

"How's Velvet doing?" Alex asked.

"She's pregnant," Boris answered with a sigh.

"Is she sleeping around on you?" Alex asked.

"No, it's mine. I just didn't think a polar bear and a reindeer could," Boris replied.

"Neither did I, my friend. Life's full of surprises," Alex chuckled.

"Heard anything from your brother Nick?" Boris asked.

"No. We know he's alive, Fennick keeps us up to date, but he never calls or writes. Sometimes I wonder if he avoids us because he's ashamed of himself or if it's because he feels like he can't even trust his own family," Alex stated with a somber sigh.

For the month leading up to the trial, Alex continued to meet up with his clients. In his mind, his interactions with Lucielle became more confusing and awkward as time went on. He found himself becoming more flustered around her and hoped to wrap up the job quickly. He found working with the manager much easier especially since she was still struggling to learn English.

"Of course I find her attractive, it's her job to be as attractive as possible. And it's MY job to not let such things get in the way of the trial," he growled to himself on his car ride home one evening, "Keep it in your pants, Alex! And keep all this under wraps, not a word or a sign to the clients!" At that he found his tail and gave it a sharp yank while at a red light.

The day of the trial, he met with his clients outside the courtroom. In all this time, they had still not seen hide nor hair of Mr. Moreau.

"It seems ve could not get in touch vis Monsieur Moreau. I apologize, Monsieur Wilde," the manager stated.

"It's quite alright. I`ve actually mailed the Gendarmerie Nationale a request for all the information they can share about Mr. Moreau, and to be honest? Attending the court today would definitely not be in his best interests and he knows it. But, knowing his identity a little bit better thanks to help from across the pond, I`m rather enthused about our chances." Alex replied.

In the courtroom the plaintiff's lawyer was given opening statements and pointed out the plaintiff's case exactly how it had been told to Alex with very few deviations. The plaintiff's lawyer seemed to have at least some inkling of what was really going on. Alex listened intently, though to anyone else he seemed to not be paying attention. Finally, he was given his chance to speak on behalf of his clients.

"Your Honor, I present to the court, the French copy of the contract in question," he stated.

"The forgery contract you mean? This is a court, Mr. Wilde, not a show and tell," the plaintiff's lawyer quipped, "Surely you don't intend to claim this mockery is genuine?"

"Oh, I am well aware that this contract is forged. The real question is, who forged it? My clients or yours? Here's my evidence on the matter." he replied and pressed the playback button on a minidisk player.

At that the plaintiffs' and defendants' voices emanated from the player for the courtroom to hear. It was a playback of the contractual meeting.

"I object, your honor! There is no reason to believe this recording is any more authentic than the forgery we've just seen!" offered the opposing attorney quickly.

Considering the papers before him quietly, judge shook his head, "It is authentic," he proffered finally, "Defense has submitted the testimony of an expert analysis conducted upon this recording. I have an affidavit before me signed by the manufacturers of the dictaphone that the recording was created as a singular piece and burned on the singular use minidisk. Furthermore, the data of recording matches the day of signing the contract. So unless you`d like to claim that the defendants hatched the plan to defraud you on the same day and procured a selection of voice actors indistinguishable from people they only met that very same day…" He left the rest unsaid - the sheer contrivance of the proffered scene making it clear that recording was, for all intents and purposes genuine.

"As you can see, Your Honor, the plaintiffs not only acknowledged the existence of a French copy in the contractual meeting, they allowed my clients to keep that copy. The very same copy they now say is a fake," Alex stated with some professional confidence.

"Objection! Even if Mr. Wilde is unaware of it, the contract he has presented is still a fake. It cannot be legally admissible," the plaintiff's lawyer argued.

"You would have had a point if I presented this contract as the terms of contract on my client`s side. However… I am not presenting it as such. I am presenting this contract and this recording as evidence of the fraud on the part of plaintiffs'," Alex retorted calmly, "It is the defense's opinion that the contract in question was never enacted to begin with, due to the fraudulent nature of signing it, and therefore, no case for breaching it could legally exist."

Judge blinked. "An… interesting assertion, Mr. Wilde. So, your line of defence is that the contract in question is illegal and therefore could not be enforced?" he inquired curiously.

Alex tossed back cheerfully, "Indeed, your honor. Furthermore, I would also announce an intent to counter sue for contractual fraud and malicious litigation."

"What nonsense. Fine, so your agent mistranslated the contract and faked notary seal on it for whatever reasons. That does not invalidate the original contract in the slightest," scoffed his opponent, "To be frank, who forged this document is of no importance to the case in question - we're discussing failure to deliver on contracted services, not the dubious relationship between the model and her agent."

Alex chuckled and wagged his finger, "Ah ah ah, I'm not done yet. You see, there is one more piece of evidence to submit. The identity of the elusive Mr. Moreau. You see, I`ve sent an inquiry to France to locate him. And here's the response of Gendarmerie Départementale Général de Brigade Île-de-France François de Loup - 'Monsieur Moreau, also known as Monsieur Beaumond, also known as Monsieur Savage is currently wanted by Gendarmerie Nationale du France in connection to a series of frauds and kidnappings. His entity of Monsieur Moreau at the time in question had been registered as an agent, proprietor, and sole owner of a talent scouting agency 'La Voyeur', which is, in turn, had been registered as a deferred agency of 'Azure Sunset Studios'. While largely irrelevant, I find the name of the agency created by Mr. Moreau, aka Mr. Beaumont, aka Mr. Savage to be rather… telling. "

"Objection! Again, the criminal history of agent has nothing to do with the contract! The defendant could read in English, and the defendant signed the contract in English. Therefore we maintain that Azure Sunset Studios has observed all the requirements for contract establishment and is entitled to hold defendant liable for noncompliance with the terms!" replied other lawyer heatedly, "For crying out loud, what do WE care what frogeaters do across the pond!?"

Judge slammed his gavel on the table. "I warn the plaintiffs to watch their language and dispense with ethnic slurs. One more occurrence of this, and I will have you escorted out of the court by bailiffs, is that clear!?" he admonished sharply. The lawyer in question had good graces to look sheepish.

"My sincere apologies, your honor. I'm simply frustrated by the filibusting tactics the defence seems to employ," he proffered glibly.

Alex shook his head bemusedly, proffering - "Filibustering, is that it? Very well, I will be brief then. As the recording just proved, the forgery had been created and presented to the defendant by Mr. Moreau during his stint as an agent and proprietor of 'La Voyeur', which had been endowed with right and obligation to act on behalf of Azure Sunset Studios in France. Therefore, the forgery had been offered on behalf of Azure Sunset Studios, thus invalidating the contract in question. If Azure Sunset Studios believes they have had sustained any losses, they are entirely within their right to sue the guilty party. Aka, Mr. Moreau. As for my client, as I`ve just proved she had been presented a forgery of a translation by people acting on the plaintiff's' behalf, which absolves her from any obligation to discharge the fraudulent contract in question."

Silence descended upon the court. The opponent opened his mouth. Closed it. Opened it again. Closed it again. Slumped. Sharp gavel strike gave an end to this painfully awkward scene.

"The decision is reached," pronounced judge severely, "As the defendant had proven she had been deceived about the terms of contract at it's signing by the means of a fraudulent translation, the defendant is therefore found not guilty of contract breach on the grounds of contract being illegal. Case dismissed."

As Alex left the courthouse with his clients he quietly revelled in his first victory as a lawyer. A small smile spread across his muzzle.

"Ve are very grateful to you, Monsieur Wilde," the manager stated.

"In that case, how about a celebratory dinner and we can discuss your options to prevent something like this from happening again," Alex suggested.

"Did you have a place in mind?" the manager asked.

"A place called the Singing Chateau, my sister owns it," Alex replied.

"Oui monsieur!" Lucielle exclaimed.

"It seems ze Mademoiselle has made up our minds, ve vill join you at zis Singing Chateau for dinner tonight," the manager chuckled, shaking paws with Alex.

Sure enough, that night at dinner, Alex outlined all of the possible contingencies and how to properly counter them during a contractual meeting before they can become an issue. He got the sense that the manager and Ms. Vison were concluding their association after tonight though.

"If I'm not being too forward, what do you both plan to do now?" he asked.

"Ze Madmoiselle vill be pursuing her true passion, in ze field of medicine here in Zootopia. As for me, I vill be returning to France, I have anozer client lined up. I vill miss ze Madmoiselle, she has been a dear friend, but c'est la vie," the manager explained.

"Are you going to be alright? You hardly know the language," Alex asked.

"Oui monsieur, I am learning very fast," she struggled to state. In spite of her struggle to speak in English, she smiled confidently at him.

As time went on, Alex continued to be friends with Lucielle and eventually their relationship evolved into something more. That is a story for another day, though.