Hey everyone,
WARNING! There is going to be a graphic description of severe violence. WARNING! Sorry, but I felt like I needed to put this down. It might only be a single part of the chapter and I don't think it will even cover a full page, but I still feel like I need to do this. Just like the character development, I really want to put more effort in the action and the fighting scenes of this story. Also, Carmelita's not the only one who Needs to be there.
Sly is too,

Venquine1990

Chapter 20
Barkley Falls At Last

25th of June 2007
Interpol France
Carmelita's POV

I have been waiting, begging for this day to come for so long. Last night I sincerely broke down for the second time in only a few weeks, yet just like last time it gave me a renewed sense of strength, it helped me gain a boost to the emotions that Barkley obviously has been trying to destroy from within me. And nevermore have I ever felt more assured of something as I do now, while I stand in front of the building where I worked and suffered for so long.
"I can't believe that this is going to be my last day here." I think to myself while I stand in front of the van along with Sly, Bentley and Murray. I have no doubt that we are getting a lot of shocked and confused looks from the passerby's, but my attention is only on the huge building in front of me. And whether I like it or not, just staring at it brings back memories, both good and bad. Yet I shake my head to get rid of them before they can distract me.

"Are you alright?" Sly asks me and I mutter: "Sorry, I almost got pulled down memory lane. I mean, sure Barkley made the last two years here a living hell, but – I do have good memories of this place as well. It's just – it's weird that I'm putting an end to them today." Sly looking at me worried, but I smile at him and say: "Don't worry, that's why it's such a good thing that I get to do this. That I get to use this arrest to end my career.
I wouldn't have it any other way, Sly. This feels like a true end of an era for me, like an end of one chapter of my story." Sly nods, but then he pulls me close against himself, just as I notice a large squadron of cars, vans and trucks riding into the street. I notice them all parking all over the street and only then I realize that for the last few minutes there has not been any traffic coming in from either side of the road.

Michael jumps out of one of the larger trucks and he heads my way alongside a group of felines that all have high-class uniforms on them. Sly seems to wait for them to arrive and then he turns to the Lion in the middle of the group and says: "Sir, before we begin, I just want to make one thing clear. I am more than willing to let Carmelita take charge in all this, she deserves it. But the first moment that Barkley tries anything – and I mean anything – with her, my team will protect her.
And we will use violence, though we will only use it to such an extent that it can be cured. However, if Barkley pushes me, then without killing him, I will end his line." My eyes widen at how stern and solemn my beloved Ringtail sounds. And while part of me feels deeply touched and even attracted to this side of him, the Lion, however, doesn't seem half as shocked and he nods as he says: "Thank you for informing us, Lord Cooper.

And thank you for the assurance that you will keep your urge to get revenge for your beloved to a minimum." Then the Lynx woman next to him growls: "It sure makes you a better person than me." To this the Ocelot speaks up and says: "Watch it, Lennes. I get where you're coming from, but I don't think you want to be pulled from another case due to your emotions, do you?" The Lynx shakes her head and says: "No, let's just get this over with." And I really can't agree with her more.
Then, for some reason, Michael hands me a huge speaker phone. I look at him confused and he says: "It's the spices that Helena put in the pasta to protect you and get back at Barkley. I did some research and they work on both digestion and loud voices. The louder your voice when you order him to get out of that building, the less he'll be able to resist. There is still the unfortunate fact that men have a 70% chance of resisting and women only 30%, but – I doubt you'll let that matter."

I grin at him and Bentley asks: "Is that an Interpol phone?" Michael nods and Bentley grins as he says: "Give me two minutes. I'm going to see if I can connect this baby to the music speakers across Barkley's floor. The more we amplify that voice of yours, the better we can finally make Barkley give in. And the better we can do this, the sooner we can let Michael and the High Lords here start the clean-up of this damned Division. No offense, Michael."
But my best friend shakes his head and Sly pulls me close again as he says: "Remember, one wrong move on his part and I won't hold back – much." I feel my blood heating up through my body and try with all I am to just keep my focus on the task at hand. Then Bentley gives me the thumb's up and I take a deep breath in and out. I raise the speaker phone to my face and press the button that activates the device before I loudly demand:

"CHIEF OF POLICE JAMES BARKLEY! This is Inspector Carmelita Montoya Fox in name of Interpol International and the moral side of Interpol France. You are under arrest for illegally growing, mutating and harvesting hypnotic drugs, attempting to use said drugs to commit crimes of sexual nature upon my person, severe emotional and mental abuse, corruption and bribery of various offices within Interpol International and Interpol France.
You have the right to remain silent. You are to leave your Shock Gun on your desk and leave your office. You are to head down and you are to take everyone who has ever worked alongside you on these crimes with you. You are to leave the building and accept that the officers of Interpol International will escort you to holding cells. These are direct orders. You are to follow them or face the consequences of various parties."

I know that I left it slightly open at the end, yet I just turn the speaker phone off and turn to Bentley. The Turtle already has his screen up and there is a satisfied grin on his face. "He's definitely trying to resist, but he's already put down his Shock Gun. He's also being more or less dragged along by the others on your floor. Looks like your orders and the spices are working better on them than on him. Our plan seems to be working."
Yet then the Lion asks: "Wait, spices?" And Murray explains: "When we found out about the spices on Sunday, we had Carmelita's sister Helena nick them out of Officer Jason's locker. But she's protective and she really wanted to make sure we would have an easy time catching Barkley. Plus, we found out about the spices, because Barkley wanted to use them on Carmelita today, by mixing them with the pasta and stealing her food at home.

Helena just decided to give him a taste of his own medicine, especially because she felt sure it could help us in our need to take down Barkley easier." The Lion nods and the cat with them asks: "How many spices did your sister use for this plan, Inspector Fox?" And I calmly answer: "About 40% of what she found in Jason's locker. She cut it down to powder and mixed it with the water in which the pasta was boiled."
The felines nod and then the double doors open. And while Barkley might have been dragged along at first, he is now at the front of the line of Officers and Inspectors that are marching out. There is already a raging look of fury on his face and this actually intensifies when he sees me, probably because Sly is still holding onto my side. He wants to start yelling, but I activate the speaker phone again before he can and I warn him.

"James Barkley, before you even speak up, let me be perfectly clear. You are to choose your words carefully as any word that will further your sentence or worsen your situation will result in a reaction from one of the parties you see before you. In this regard you have the liberty of being allowed to choose between three options. My Shock Gun, Sly's Cane and, if you continue your illegal actions, the rest of the Cooper Gang – or the just care of Interpol International.
Make – your – choice – and choose wisely." The Badger seems to develop a tic underneath his left eye, yet then he starts to almost leer as he grins and sneers: "You really think that that wimp is a match for me, Fox? Just because you can't fight or even resist whatever the fuck he does, doesn't apply to me, you –." Yet before he can actually make Sly snap, I interrupt him and ask: "Is Sly your choice, James Barkley? You are to tell me."

"You bet it, you –." But while I had been holding up my arm this whole time to keep Sly from interrupting before the time was right, a quick look at the Lion next to us and the sight of his nod makes me lower my arm as soon as Barkley speaks up. And a second later Sly is already halfway across the road, his cane out and a feral look of intense rage on his face. Again I feel my body reacting and desire for the ringtail rising up in me.
Sly rushes at the badger, who stumbles back shocked and Sly uses his cane as a vaulting pole. Yet while it looks like he's going to kick Barkley across the face, suddenly the golden tip of the cane hits the mutt square in the face. The badger falls down, but before he is entirely down, Sly makes his next move. And Sly's yell of protective rage is overshadowed by Barkley screaming out in pain as the golden point of the cane cuts off his manhood and rips apart his jeans.
Instantly everyone else who came with Barkley back up in fear and terror and Barkley writhes on the ground in agony. Yet even through his whimpering and his tears, he glares at Sly and snarls: "You'll be arrested for this." But Sly just calmly lays the cane in the back of his neck as he says: "You made your choice. Also, I already made the deal with the High Lords that I would punish you and end your line – without killing you.

And next to that, no one who is here does not already realize what you were going to say about my girlfriend. So anyone with a heart, a conscience and a brain will realize that what I did was in defense of my partner. And finally, you're lucky I'm not my father; he would not have even considered making this deal." And with that he turns his back on the badger and walks back to us. Yet as he walks, he also says: "I advise the rest of you to think your choices through. Choose – wisely." And he growls at the end of this.
I look from him and his approaching form to the writhing form of Barkley on the ground. And while Barkley's lower half is bleeding quite badly, I can already tell that it's not bad enough he might die of blood loss or even lose consciousness over it. Still, I can't help but stare as, even when Barkley made me feel at my worst, I never imagined doing this to the horrible being. Then suddenly a gently finger lifts up my chin.

I look up from where Barkley is lying on the ground and straight into Sly's eyes and loving smile. "Your turn, beautiful. Finish the job, just like you always do." I look from him to those around me. Michael, Bentley, Murray, the high-class felines, several of the gorillas who had aided me back in Venice and even various others all nod encouragingly. Then suddenly a window loudly slides open above me and a female voice shouts:
"YOU DO YOUR JOB, INSPECTOR! SHOW THAT NO GOOD MUTT WHAT A REAL OFFICER OF THE LAW LOOKS LIKE!" And while a lot of those around me are shocked, more and more of the citizens living in the streets around us come to either lean out of their windows or stand on their balconies. A lot of the men scream either insults at Barkley or words of praise at Sly, while most of the women around me cheer me on and shout words of encouragement.
Tears sting my eyes and my heart feels like it is about to burst from all of the positive emotions I feel coming from all around me. "The people. The people of Paris. The people I worked so hard to protect. They're – they're all behind me. Just like my friends, my family – and my Ringtail." I blink once to get rid of the tears and with my head held high, my back straight and my shoulders firm, I march over to where Barkley is still a whimpering mess.

"James Barkley, I said it once and I'll say it again. You're under arrest. You have the right to remain silent, everything you say can and will be used against you in an official court of law. You will be allowed to hire an official lawyer or call upon one if you already have one in service. But due to your crimes being against another officer and Interpol in general, you will not be allowed to make use of the official Division Lawyer. If you refuse to hire one, the state will do so in your stead."
I hear Barkley growling while he whimpers. But while I'm sure that there are people who would expect me to kick him between the legs, shoot him near his lower torso with my Shock Gun or force him to walk in such a way it will worsen the pain he's in, I refuse this. Instead, I aim my Shock Gun at those behind Barkley, as a warning for them to not try anything while I move to stand behind the whimpering being.

I pull my last pair of cuffs from my pocket and, just out of a short spurt of vengeance, slap them close on his wrists with more force than I normally would. And, just because I feel like it, I also make sure that they are a single slot tighter than would be considered comfortable. I pull the badger on his feet and, with one hand on his shoulder and the other holding my Shock Gun aimed at his lower back, I make him cross the street.
The gorillas that I worked with in Venice seem to feel the need to wait until I am halfway down the street and then they rush in, their usual huge muscle only looking weak in comparison to the huge rifle guns that they are carrying on them, both in their arms and on their backs. "Well done, Inspector. We will take it from here. You are a contribution to your kind and our organization." I smile at the lot of them and let them take Barkley from me.

"MY UNCLE WILL HEAR OF THIS!" The man tries, yet Michael steps up and says: "Your uncle, Rogers and Burns have all already been arrested and put in containment cells until they can be questioned. Where do you think I got this whole squadron from, Chief?" Barkley seems stunned at this and then the gorilla escorting him grabs him by the scruff of his neck and lifts him up. A moment later he disappears behind the closing door of one of the trucks.
And as the door closes, I feel like a weight the size of Murray is lifted off my shoulders. I try not to show this as I continue walking, but Sly still notices. And when I get back to him, he pulls me close against his form, his whole body wrapping itself around me as he whispers: "I'm here, gorgeous. I've got you. You were brilliant, Carmelita. Brilliant as always. It's okay, it's over now. Let's go home." And while tears renew themselves, I nod silently.

Bentley quickly informs Michael, who nods and gives me a warm smile. "I'll see you soon." His face seems to be telling me and I weakly grin back at him as Sly helps me into the van. Murray and Bentley follow behind and Murray starts up the van as soon as we've all sat down. And while Sly was in the front passenger seat on the ride here, he now seats himself next to me instead and I crawl into his lap one more time.
And as the van drives away from the building where I spent the last several years of my life, I break down. The tears that I felt stinging my eyes earlier now stream down my face and my whole body shakes as I emotionally let go of everything I have been holding back all these years. Sly doesn't try to shush me, but he comfortingly holds both my hands in his right and runs his left up and down my back in reassuring circles.

"You were brilliant, Carmelita. You were absolutely brilliant. I have never seen you like that before. You were truly the most incredible I have ever seen you be. Your strength and the way you held yourself. I truly couldn't keep my eyes off of you. You mesmerized me and just enchanted me, gorgeous. I couldn't even feel any of the rage that Barkley made me feel, you were just that powerful, that incredible."
Sly tells me while we're driving and I can clearly hear the love and pride in his voice. Bentley nods and says: "I agree with Sly, Carmelita. I had my worries about you, but you proved I had nothing to worry about. You really brought your career as an Inspector to the perfect end with this arrest. Now Interpol has a new chance to become the law enforcement organization that the world needs it to be. And that's all thanks to you, Carmelita. You made that first step for them."

By this point I don't feel like I am crying over everything I have been through anymore, but because of how touched I am over what they are telling me. And Murray makes it so that I just can't stop crying. "Your parents will be so proud when they hear what you did and said, Carmelita. How you stayed professional regardless of how much you deserved to just rage and vent. How you really, truly proved that you are better than that mutt."
Then suddenly Sly lifts me up in his arms and he mutters: "Exactly. Now come on, beautiful. You deserve a well-earned massage to get rid of all that tension I can feel in your back." And only then I realize that we've actually stopped driving. Bentley opens the door to the side of the van and Murray opens the entrance to the hide out in the wall. I am just glad that Sly is carrying me as I don't believe that I have any strength in my legs left to stand on.

Bentley's POV

I have always held a great deal of respect for Carmelita. Sure in the first few years I feared her as she was always relentlessly going after my brother and never seemed to give his side of the story the time of day. But the more she helped us and proved herself, the more I started to see what Sly saw in her, even if it was never to the extend that he did. But these last few days I've really felt like I got to see the real Carmelita Montoya Fox.
And both over the last 24 to 36 hours that I saw her, at Sly's birthday party and while she was performing her test the other day, I felt like she was slowly easing her way into my heart. And by the time that I saw her and Sly in bed together, I realized that Carmelita had become like a little sister to me, even if the fox herself is three years older than me. And the pride I felt for her with how she handled herself against Barkley today definitely confirmed that.

Yet while Sly, Murray and I complimented her the whole ride back to the hide out, my mind was also re-analyzing the whole event and I came to a realization. One that I really want to share with her family as I am sure that they will be even more proud of this than just of what took place today. Murray and I are ahead of Sly as we walk down the stairs and Sly is, naturally, holding Carmelita close against his form.
There are still a few tears gently running down her face, but I see that the fox is slowly regaining herself and her composure. Sly and I smile at each other and we reach the basement of the hide out where everyone is waiting. And just like when she met us at Urmila's, little Angela runs at Murray with a happy yell of delight. Murray also laughs as he easily picks up the little leopard girl and lets her sit on his round belly while he walks over to the rest.

"Everything went ecstatic, guys. I'm going to let Murray and Bentley tell you all about it, while I give our beautiful vixen over here a well-deserved massage to congratulate her on how well she did." Sly says as he passes us and before anyone else can say anything or ask any questions, he's disappeared around the corner and into the hallway. Instantly everyone turns to us and I wheel my chair into the space between one of our old couches and our new chair.
"So, going by the grins on your faces and the fact that Carmelita looked so satisfied and tired out at the same time, I am going to go out on a limb and say that the whole thing went well?" Cheren grins at us and Murray tries to suppress a snort. I shake my head at him and think: "Get your mind out of the gutter." But I don't say this as Angela is in the room with us, even if the girl has left Murray to head into the right back corner with a box of Lego blocks at her disposal.

I wait until the girl is completely engrossed in her building and then turn to her mother and the rest. "Okay, trust me when I say that Carmelita was incredible. When we arrived, she was the only reason I didn't just pull out my dart gun, equip it with my explosive darts and aim it at the building. And yes, I know that there might be innocent casualties, but I just kept thinking of what Barkley had planned, what Jason could have done."
The others nod in understanding at this and Murray rubs the back of his head and says: "To be honest, the only thing that kept me from using my Aboriginal Ball form was that I didn't have the Master with me to levitate me high enough that I could cause the damage I wanted to. I think I'm just going to vent some more later." The others nod again and Helena whispers in my ear: "We've been taking turns venting in the Hazard room, so that we don't alert little Angela."

I definitely agree with this idea and Marcus asks: "So Carmelita kept you from risking the operation and then what?" Instantly the grins on our faces are back and Murray says: "Carmelita really only needed to keep us back for about two or three minutes. Then International showed up and Sly made a deal with them. He would leave most of the whole thing to them, but if Barkley tried anything, he would – well – ehm."
Murray has trouble thinking up the right words and he keeps looking behind him while he tries to think. Instantly I come to the Hippo's aid and say: "Sly promised he wouldn't end Barkley, but that he would make his family need to rely on that uncle of his to continue the family line, so to say." Carmen looks horrified at this, while the others just look shocked. Yet Cheren leans back in his chair and mutters: "Heh, great minds think alike."

"Cheren!" Carmen hisses at her son, but Cheren just retorts: "I don't tolerate rapists, mama, especially not when they target my family or use illegal means to aid in their illegal works and actions. I've been working together with various officers of Interpol to get a law through for some time now. One that forces male prisoners who are arrested for rape to be castrated." This actually shocks all of us, yet Cheren seems not to care.
I shake my head and say: "Anyway, the High Lord who was in charge of the whole operation alongside Michael agreed with Sly's terms as long as Sly would make sure that the injury would remain treatable. Oooh, crud. You might encounter him when you resign tomorrow, Carmen." The woman grimaces at this and yet then she says: "I was already expecting that, Bentley, though it wasn't for these reasons."

I understand where she's coming from and then I start to grin as I say: "Anyway, you should have seen that girl of yours. She was right there, in front of the building where she had been suffering for two years and you wouldn't even know it if you had looked her in the face. She had this really professional and strong look on her face and just, somehow, managed to keep her cool. Even when she was given the speaker phone and explained about Michael's research.
Apparently the spices react better to loud voices, so I connected the speaker phone to the music speakers on Barkley's floor. And even when she was ordering Barkley to leave his Shock Gun and come outside, Carmelita just stayed professional. She only mentioned his charges and nothing more." The others are just as impressed about this as I felt when it happened and Marcus mutters: "I'm sure I wouldn't have been able to do that if I were her."

His family show their agreement to this and I say: "So I was watching Barkley on my screen and while he tried to resist it at first and he was being dragged along, he did indeed keep his Shock Gun in his office, as Carmelita told him. He was also at the front of the line of officers who had been ordered to come down and he definitely tried to insult her as soon as he saw her. But Carmelita didn't give him a chance. Instead she used the speaker phone to interrupt him.
She told him he could pick between her Shock Gun, Sly's Cane and just calmly accepting his fate with Interpol International." Then Murray laughs and says: "And that dumb beast actually had the guts to pick Sly of all three options. And even when Carmelita gave him the chance to change his mind, while she was holding up her arm to hold Sly back, he just kept showing his arrogance. He even tried to insult both of them, but Carmelita didn't let him.
She let Sly go and he first made it look like he was going to kick him as he used his cane like a vaulting pole. But Sly only made it look this way and instead he struck Barkley straight across the face with his cane. And before Barkley could do more than fall down, Sly's cane did exactly as Bentley just said. That piece of Barkley is now lying somewhere in front of Interpol France. And after that, he just turned around and walked back to us."

Shock and awe are on everyone's faces as they hear this and Cheren mutters: "I definitely agree with Sly's methods, but I'm surprised he didn't go beyond that. I don't think I would have been able to restrain myself if I had Barkley writhing on the floor in front of me." This really makes me grin and Helena giggles: "Carmelita did that for Sly, didn't she?" But I shake my head and while this shocks and surprises the others, I say:
"She didn't – and with that she got back at Barkley in a way that is just so much better than if she had. Trust me, if she had ranted at him, shot at him or lectured him, she would not have been as successful in her revenge as she was. But she remained professional, she cuffed him and she handed him over to the gorillas of Venice. She even walked him in such a way, walking didn't hurt him more than he was already hurting. And she stayed professional all the way through."
The others all look quite shocked and then Helena mutters: "That – is just brilliant. Because she stayed professional, because she didn't let her emotions show and because she just handed him over to those gorillas, she made it look like just another arrest, just another case on her record. In her need to keep her composure, she hit Barkley where it would hurt the most; that good for nothing ego of his." And everyone looks happily surprised at this as Marcus mutters: "That's my girl."

Awesome, just awesome.
And for those of you wondering – NO, Murray did NOT drive over Barkley's manhood after it had been cut off. He wouldn't even think of dirtying his van's tires like that. He'd think it beneath the brilliance that is his van. I did toy with the thought for a moment, but I figured that Sly had done enough in that regard. And I'm sure that you're all expecting more of Barkley's bashing and to see him injured, but I have other plans.
You'll see,

Venquine1990