Guest : That they are.

GhostWolf88 : I wasn't sure I was going to include that chapter to begin with, but I wasn't a big tangent from the main plot, so... I'm happy people responded to it positively.

Sapperjoe85 : I'm always a sucker for mismatched couples. Finnick and Joan are not my favourite pairing, but they're up there.

This chapter was almost poster right after chapter 9, cutting Judy's reunion with her parents. It would only have been mentionned in the first part of this chapter (as you will see) in a more lengthy discussion. The same would have gone for Joan and Finnick's date. But then I thought this could make great chapters. I was just afraid Judy's parents chapter would be a bit too tearfilled.

That being said, please enjoy the penultimate chapter of this story.


Chapter 12 - The Inspection

"How was it ?"

Judy was riding shotgun in the MPRD pick up truck. It was around eight o'clock and the sky was leaving behind its pink hue. Joan had picked her up at the metro station, as she was coming back from her trip to bunny-burrow.

"Hard, but mostly okay." She answered.

"Mostly ?"

The bunny played nervously with one of ears. "Ethan is doing better, but his mom kind of hate me now. She didn't want to let me see him."

"Wow… That's harsh."

She nodded. "After I left, while on the train, I was told by Ethan that Katie and her got into a shouting match over the phone… Evan calmed them down. He's way more diplomatic than I ever was."

"I guess becoming a lawyer will suit him fine." Answered the pachyderm. By now, all her coworkers knew everything there was to know about her life, and she knew about most of theirs too. That Joan would remember that showed how much her and the other cared.

"That's true."

"How about your parents ?"

Judy sighed. "Mom is taking it hard, I think she's having a hard time accepting that I can't be like her. Dad is… He feels guilty."

"Guilty ?"

"Yeah… He was the one that was the most adamant on 'not believing too much on my dreams'. I'm not angry at him, but he thinks he could have been more supportive…"

"That's not really his fault the Mammal Inclusion Initiative didn't pass when it should have."

Judy nodded again. "True, but maybe they shouldn't have celebrated."

"They did ?" Joan was wearing an expression close to disgust. Having her parents disagreeing with their child's goal really resonated with her. "That's messed up."

"They did it discreetly, you know. A word here and there, but I know dad drunk himself silly in relief. They only had my safety at heart, but it hurt they put it before my happiness. So how was the date ?"

Joan flushed. "We went to the restaurant Nick recommended us."

"And ?" Judy grinned expectantly.

"He was a gentlemammal and everything. He was wearing a tie. When does Finnick wear a tie, honestly ?"

"When he's with you apparently." Judy grinned.

"Yeah. It was really nice. I was so nervous, I think he was too… There isn't much to tell." The smile she was wearing told Judy otherwise.

The bunny shook her head. "I don't believe that. What did you talk about ?"

"Well… How we both didn't know what we were doing. A bit about his ex-"

The bunny frowned. "That's not very sensible-"

"No, no, I asked him. I told him about mine. It was fine..." She trailed off.

"And then ?"

Joan blushed harder. "I invited him for a last drink."

Judy squealed. "Joooo ! On the first date ?"

"I've been waiting for it for three years, okay ?" She defended herself.

The bunny raised a paw. "I'm still a bunny, it would be hypocritical of me to judge you on that."

They both giggled before Judy asked. "How was it ?" The pachyderm shot her a dubious glance. "I mean, was it nice ? I'm not asking for details."

"It was… amazing. He did things that… Well… It was good."

"Good." Judy repeated.

"Yeah. Really good." Joan was blushing hard now, and Judy decided to let the topic rest.

"I'm happy for you two."

"Thanks."

As they arrived at the MPRD, they noticed a megafauna sized black car, as well as a bull leaning against its hood. He was wearing a black suit with a black shirt and a tie. Everything in his attitude screamed government employee.

"Great." Muttered the female elephant.

"What is it ?"

"Inspection day. It had to be today of all days." Well, at least it didn't happen while Judy was away, but having it take place the day of her return was just plain bad luck.

"This is Oxley ?"

"Yeah. And be careful, this guy is an asshole, and a good friend to Ramowitz." For the elephant to use such a word against another mammal really made her wary of him. The both of them left the car, and Judy took out her suitcase from the pick up truck. Just as the fennec fox closed the door, the black bull reached them.

"Good morning." He said in a warm voice. "My name is Andrew Oxley. I'm a government employee, tasked with the inspection of this department." He had delivered his sentence without even a glance toward the vulpine. "You must be Judith Hopps, nice to meet you."

He offered a hoof that she shook. "Nice to meet you too." She answered as an automatism.

"If that's okay with you, I'd like to ask you a few questions concerning your work and life at the Meadowland Park Ranger Department."

She glanced toward the main building and to Nick standing by the doorframe. He was staring at them with a neutral expression, but the twitches in his tails betrayed his anxiety.

"Of course, let me take care of this and I'll be with you right away." She smiled.

The bull curtly nodded. "I'll wait for you inside then."

She made her way toward her room followed by Joan.

"Be careful with this guy." She said, as Judy entered her room, the elephant simply leaning down to talk to her through the open door. "He has a way of twisting your words. And I know he's really narrow minded."

The bunny took out a paper-block and carrot shaped pen from her suitcase. "What do your think his goal would be ?"

"Last time he was here, he spent his time trying to stir the discussion toward Nick. He clearly was trying to dig up crap about him to get him fired. And us too as collateral damage. He also drilled Finnick for hours. And with me, he made enough assumptions that I could guess how much of a bigot he is. I wonder how that guy can have that kind of opinion and still have a job at city hall. He should go easier on you, though."

"Because I'm a meek bunny." She stated with a tinge of bitterness.

"That's probably what he'll think, even though we all know it's not the case." Joan winked. "Let him underestimate you, let him believe what he wants to believe if it's not detrimental. The worst thing you could is to be confrontational."

Judy sighed. The idea wasn't appealing at all, but she'd let him believe anything as long as it would keep them safe.

...

Oxley and Nick were waiting for the two small mammals in front of the building. The red fox still showed a cool exterior, but the twitches in his tail were still giving away his mental state. As she approached him, she could see the hints of disdain in the bulls eyes when they looked toward the small fox. Then and there, she decided she didn't like him. At all.

"Since there isn't any other place that could fit me, we will have our discussion on the ground floor." He said, even before she could greet Nick properly. "I obtained for us to be left alone for as long as we need. Is that okay with you ?"

"It's perfect." She answered following inside, giving a discreet nod to Nick as she passed near him.

She sat on the armchair and the bull chose the sofa. Judy was wondering how the interview would go, focusing herself on not saying anything that Oxley would be able to use against Nick.

"So." He began, putting a recorder on the coffee table. "How is life here ?" Maybe it was because she was already biased, but she was impressed by how condescending that question could sound. Still, he looked completely relaxed, and not at all as hostile as he had been in Nick's presence.

Then an idea popped into her mind. She could let him believe what he wanted about her, but maybe she could let him believe what she wanted.


As Judy followed Oxley outside, to see that all her coworkers were present. Finnick was on Joan's shoulder, and the bull gave them a disgusted look. He then shot a wide and mean grin to Nick. "I'm going to ask you to bring me the computer in the main room, Superintendent Wilde." The fox's name and title sounded like insults in the bull's mouth.

Nick ears flopped. The smile on the bull's face didn't bode well. Whatever Judy had told him, he was pretty sure the bull already knew how to use against the fox. He shot a worried glance to the bunny, which answered with a conniving smile. "Record this." She whispered before calling the bull. "Mr Oxley ?"

"Yes ?" He turned around, halfway to his car. Nick was taking out his phone and started filming. The large mammal didn't have the time to say anything, though, because Judy took her carrot pen out and launched the audio track she had recorded. As it unfolded, she could see the expression of her coworkers change, first from stupor then incomprehension.


The bunny drew a breath and shot Oxley the most blasé look she could muster. "Can we cut to the chase, please ? Arthur didn't send either of us here to waste time."

Oxley lifted a surprised brow at that. "You know Arthur Ramowitz ?"

"To get a job here I'd probably have to either know him, someone at city hall, or Mr Wilde, don't I ? What do you think is more likely ?" She asked, crossing her legs.

"I think Arthur should have told me. This scheming idiot will get me fired someday" He muttered. "So, what do you have ?" His gaze on her was still suspicious. He wasn't buying it. Yet.

She gave an exaggerated sigh, hoping the little experience in drama from her younger years would pay off. "Have you looked around ?"

"You arrived before I could really get my nose everywhere." Judy could tell the bull was still wary of her. He didn't outright accuse her of lying, but the trust still wasn't there.

"Did you notice anything ?"

The bull chuckled. "Apart from four predators too many, nothing wrong." He stated, studying her reaction. Judy shot him a coy smile. "The place has known better days, but I have to admit it's in a better shape than it was during my last visit…"

"You haven't really been paying attention then. It looks fine, but there's still a lot to do." Her tone was conspiring.

She felt him gauge her. She was trying to be antagonistic in a way that said "let's cut the bullshit." instead of "Get out of my fluff."

"Heh, that's true… So, what was I supposed to notice ?"

The bunny shifted in the armchair. She tried to make it look as she was trying to find a more comfortable position, but in truth, she was uncomfortable. She was weaving a web of lie, and she didn't know where it would lead. "Let's just say that as an intendant, I have other things to see than how the repairs are going."

"What do you mean ?"

Judy's brain was firing at full speed. What would a dishonest mammal use Nick's position for ? "Have you looked into the bookkeeping ?" It was a shot in the dark, but embezzlement was as good an offense as any.

A grin spread itself on the bull's features. "I knew it ! This fox is using his position to cover things up ! I can't wait to dig into the paperwork. Once a criminal, always a criminal, am I right ?"

"Whatever N- Mr Wilde has done in his life, he has never been convicted for anything." Stated Judy matter of factly. That could have sounded like she tried to to point out his honesty, but she tried to make her tone suggest that it would harder to pin any crime on him.

At that, Oxley waved his hoof dismissively. "Of course. He was always a small-time crook, why would the police take an interest in him ? But now, he has put his dirty paws on one of the city's department ! Who knows what he's going to try and do with it ? And what was city-hall thinking by entrusting it to him ! To a fox, of all mammals !" His powerful fist struck the sofa's armrest.

Judy nodded knowingly. The bull was really letting himself get carried away, which was a good thing. He was eating it all, hook, line an sinker, blinded by his own bias. She knew there had been a time (very long ago) when she too shared his opinion on foxes, and wondered if she would act the same in his place.

The bull leaned forward and grabbed his recorder, turning it off. "You realise that we're going to have to do this interview all over again, right ? I can't appear that we know each other."

"Do we know each other ? No. No we don't." Judy grinned, the fake smile coming way too easy to her liking.

The buffalo nodded and slumped back on the sofa with a content sigh.

"You know what they said to me ? 'Oxley, you're paranoid. Just because he's a fox doesn't mean he has to be a criminal.'" He said, mimicking a high pitched voice. "All this would never have happened when Bellwether was in charge !" The bull suddenly fell mute and scruted the bunny's reaction. The topic of Bellwether was always a bit touchy, even in the most conservative circles.

"Maybe you should lower you voice a bit." She said, successfully turning her scandalized expression in one of worry.

"You're right. It's just… It's good to vent. The government has been taken over by all this 'progressivism' and 'tolerance' speeches, that we're losing tracks of what's truly important. In my own department, I'm being treated as an outcast. Where's the justice in that ?" He chuckled darkly. "But we're getting off topic. Is there anything else I should know ?"

The bunny shook her head. "Not that I know of. I'm still a rookie, I don't have N- Mr Wilde's complete trust yet."

"And what about your colleagues ? Anything to report ?"

She shook her head. "They've shown nothing but professionalism when they were near me. I can't say I know them well, though… Given you've already inspected this place before, I'd wager you know them even better than I do."

The bull shook his head in turn. "Trust me, I don't. Their hostility toward me was very thinly veiled. At least, their commitment to their leader is admirable. It's more than I expected from predators."

"What about Joan ? She seems nice."

Oxley snorted. "The elephant ? Really naive if you ask me. Wilde got her wrapped around his finger. Last time I was here, she couldn't shut up about how he had changed her life for the better and that she owed him everything. But that's not the worst about her." He added in a lower conspiring tone.

"Please do tell."

"I believe she's having an affair with the fennec." He whispered.

Judy had to bite the inside of her cheek to not give herself away. "No way."

"I know, this sounds crazy. How depraved is that ? I don't know what they did to this poor girl, but it breaks my heart to see her getting taken advantage of in such a way. And a predator with a prey." He shuddered. "Different species is bad enough, but this… Pred on prey… It's straight up disgusting."

She was squeezing her fists so hard, her knuckles started to ache. She slowly exhaled, not wanting to blow up in the bull's face yet. "I think we can stop there." She said, forcing out a smile. "As for my interview, I guess you will think of something to write down. Let me just give it glance, for my peace of mind."

"Of course. You've been a great help Mrs Hopps. I'll ask Mr Wilde to give me access to the computer and bring it down here, since I can't fit in his office."

"Will you be able to use it given your size difference ?" She asked, hopping down from her armchair.

"Don't worry, I have a screen, keyboard and mouse my own size in my car. Given the wide array of places I have to inspect, I have to come prepared."


"Why would you replay that to them ?" He asked in a panicked voice once the recording reached the end. "Why would you record it ?"

"Because, Mr. Oxley, I'm not one of Ramowitz friends. In fact, the reason why he hired me was because I was a hick bunny from hicksville, right in her middle-life crisis. He hired me because he thought I would be a thorn in Nick's side. You, on the other paw, know him very well, and you said some pretty incriminating words about predators in general, and foxes in particular. I'd be really curious to know what city hall has to say about this."

The bull took a step forward, pointing a threatening finger toward the bunny. "You lied to a government employee, do you think you can get away with it ? I know people ! This isn't going to go like you think !"

The bunny took a step forward in turn. "Did I lie to you ? All I did was ask question that you were way too happy to answer."

Several expression passed on Oxley's feature. The most prominent one was anger.

"Now, this is how it's going to go. You're going to finish this inspection, and do it thoroughly, after which you're going to hand an impartial report to your superiors, one that will not fail to mention the sorry state Ramowitz had left it at the time of his departure. Then, you're going to convince them you don't want to be in charge of the inspection of this department anymore."

"This is called a hustle, sweetheart." Said Nick at her side, sharing the same smug grin.

Anger turned to rage as the bull step forward. As he did so, the bunny didn't move an inch, an expression of defiance on her face. "Listen here, you little pieces of-"

Herbert sidestepped and grabbed the bull by the shoulder, stopping him and making him turn to face him. His eyes met the prey's and he slowly shook his head.

"Get out of my way, predator, or I'll put you into the ground." Seethed Oxley, trying to shove him away.

The bear didn't budge and instead started growling, the sound gradually getting louder. The bear suddenly looked taller and way more threatening. His glare turned to ice, and even Joan started to look and feel smaller. The smaller mammals, for their part, had trouble staying in place, their instinct screaming at them to flee.

"Please. Do try." His voice was a low rumble, one that chilled them to the bone.

The black bull lost his composure and started trembling. "You- you can't threaten me like this !" He protested in a voice a pitch higher than usual.

"I am not threatening you. You are threatening her. And it's been caught on camera." He said, pointing a Nick, which was still holding his phone in a slightly trembling paw. "Now I suggest you do as she said. She's offering you an out, although she has no reason to."

Defeated, Oxley slumped his shoulder and did as he was told.