A/N: Now we have come to the point when I use the song that became the inspiration for the whole story - Alistaja by Ruoska.

\m/ Joka vihaa rakastaa, joka rakkautta vihaa! \m/

\m/

It took the fox only two seconds and exactly four shots to turn the innards of the assailants into vapor. His talents were not even needed with such low-level thugs who could only pose a threat to him if they were numbered in hundreds. Still, unlike his certain brothers, Nick much preferred to deal with others by use of his guns, not his brute strength. Why would he even carry them in the first place?

All in all, the tod was proud of his work. This could be counted as work, couldn't it? After all, despite being a bit late, he did perform the duty of a deputy sheriff outstandingly. He even came prepared. Although, that probably was due to liberties granted to the members of Alistaja project.

The twenty participants, of which only eighteen remained, were not just physically augmented. They were, to a certain extent, through the genious and dedication of an individual only known as Combat Engineer, combined with machines that possessed rudimentary artificial intelligence.

The machine within Alistaja was supposed to do two things. First, support him with its computing abilities. Second, act as a guide and safeguard for the Alistaja. The machines were programmed to allow the participants of the program to act only within the allowed pattern. This became known as Alistaja Protocol. There was a drawback to this method, though no one thought of it this way until the day of the programs exposure and dismissal. The protocol was meant as an integral part of the machine, which in turn was meant as an integral part of participants. It was impossible to reprogram them.

Some idiot at first suggested to simply do away with the "waste" from the project, but quickly changed his mind when facing eighteen barrels of order-crafted boltguns. After all, Nick and his brother Finnick (the smallest of them all, but one should never point it out to him) were known to be the best experts in covert operations and information gathering.

Later, smarter mammals came to understand that it would be easier to allow the Alistaja to function in accordance to their programs, rather than try restricting them. After all, aside from the battle crazed Twelve and Six, Alistaja just wished to experience normal life.

This though didn't mean that the bastards who made sure this life was one of poverty and misery would get away with it. As you might know, revenge is a dish best served cold.

\m/

When Judy reached the end of the staircase, she was greeted with a horrendous sight likes of which she has seen only on the photos. The bunny has seen dead bodies, some even torn and mutilated in car crashes, but this was worse. Each corpse had an exact same size hole in their abdomen, made by an explosive type of bolt. Their innards were burnt and the wounds were cauterized by high temperature of the explosion. Poor idiots didn't even have time to understand how they died, though the bunnies carried painful expressions, probably from how loud the shots were. But this scene couldn't hold her attention for more than a single perfunctory glance.

The intruder, standing in the center of the room, that was truly the object of her curiosity. But, if she wished to see a being clad in metal, with red lasers in place of eyes, the bunny was sorely disappointed. The fox was… the fox was nothing unusual. Maybe, if she was truthful with herself, he was somewhat more appealing to the eye than any other fox she has met before, during and after her career in Zootopia. Especially that sure smile that he wore, despite killing other living beings in cold blood. At least, thought the cynical Judy-on-Duty part of the bunny, this wouldn't require too much paperwork to deal with. Alistaja protocol was something that would not allow the individual use of lethal weaponry without reason. And since they all possessed inbuilt cameras, the video of the incident would be a solid enough evidence for her innocence.

- Ma'am. You alright? Any need of medical assistance? - While she was observing the fox, he apparently was doing the same to her. Thankfully Judy wasn't even grazed, having been extremely careful during the siege.

- I am fine, no help needed. And you are? - The tod has already hidden his bolt-throwers, so Judy followed suit. She was in no immediate threat, and it was unwise to held onto a potentially lethal weaponry in the presence of Alistaja. They were made to retaliate in case of any potential threat and use any means necessary to ensure their continued functioning , including being the first one's to open lethal fire.

- Nick Wilde, ma'am. I came here for the deputy sheriff position interview. Alas, a string of unfortunate events left me with a much later train to take and no means of connection to notify you of my late arrival. I beg your pardon for inconveniencing you. - The fox looked around while Judy stared at the fox, her jaw dropping nearly to the floor. An Alistaja was applying for a deputy sheriff position under some country bumpkin? Weren't they, like, super important and expensive investment for the government, despite all the negative reaction to the project and its closure?

- If you are fine, I will be leaving then, sheriff ma'am. Wouldn't want to make a fuss with the local press. Good evening. - With this, the tod turned around, ready to leave.

- Why? - The question made the fox stop and turn his head to look back at the bunny.

- I beg your pardon, could you…

- Why did you want this position? - Judy felt conflicted. Alistaja were something that her full being stood against. Machines created of mammals with a single purpose to kill. Yet, they were restricted in the way they could react. And she really needed a deputy with the particular set of skill the Alistaja in front of her had. What to do, how to choose? Deciding to trust her gut feeling on this one, Judy asked the first thing that came to her mind.

Nick was pretty sure he knew the right answer to the question. He could easily access thousands of essays on why mammals wanted jobs, leaf through them all, select the best worded bits and then build his speech based on them in just two seconds. He could send mammals into tears with his passionate speeches before, why not use this tallent now? He could.

- I am penniless. And this was the first place that overlooked the fact I was a red fox in his thirties without any previous documented place of work. I also thought it was the best position to use my skills and have fun living in calm and relaxed way. I like learning new things, after all, so this dull and crime free carrot-farming heaven was supposed to become mine. - Nick would want to know for years, what compelled him to answer this little bunny honestly, but each time he would ask himself that question, he would immediately dismiss it as unimportant. After all, he couldn't complain of the results of his decision.

The bunny sighed and rubbed her forehead while trying to hide her smile at the las sentence.

- Fine, I think we can overlook the fact you were late for the interview, I am still in the office after all. And we don't have much time to conduct it anyway, so I will just take a wild chance here and hire you for the probation period, as was previously agreed. I'll just need to register you. What is your Alistaja designation number?

\m/

A/N: As for the number that Nick has, it's quite simple for those who knows their WH40k Horus Heresy (aka WH30k) lore and the Adeptus Astartes Legions primarchs. He will have the number of the Legion, the primarch of which he represents. And for those who just might want to take part in the guessing, it's a number from 1 to 20.

Howleys and voitele alistaja, robosapiens!