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Chapter 14: Adjustments

Rita pushed herself up onto all fours on the cold stone floor. Coughing, she spat a mouthful of blood and then groaned. Her jaw was swollen and painful; although, she didn't think it was broken. You think you can trust someone. She carefully ran her tongue over her teeth: none were missing but she could tell she'd bitten a hole in the tip of her tongue.

The chipmunk was gone. Rita assumed the treacherous bobcat had taken him unless he'd run away. She didn't really care one way or the other right now. She could forget about one littering rodent. The bobcat was another matter. Rita would find her, and when she did, the bobcat would regret what she'd done. She would regret ever being born before Rita was done with her. No one was going to attack her like that and get away with it.

Rita stood. She was a bit shaky on her feet, but she made her way back out the way she'd come. She stopped in front of the cell block with the prisoners being held for littering.

"Did they come this way?" she asked perfunctorily.

"Let me out, and I'll tell you," the Persian shot back.

Rita glared at the flat-faced gray cat, "Tell me, and I won't change your sentence to five

years in prison," she growled.

The cat's orange eyes bulged, "Th-they went by a-about five m-minutes ago."

Rita nodded and turned toward the exit.

"A-aren't you going to let us out?" the cat whined.

"I expect someone will be along. I don't have a key myself," Rita stated as she walked

away.

She found her way outside and looked around. Officer Schulz had driven her from City

Hall, and now she had no one to drive her back. It's only a few blocks. Rita brushed herself off then marched away from the Courthouse with purpose. One rogue officer wouldn't discourage her! She had a mission! The stability of Vulpineva was at stake!

***

After putting the other officers on the hunt for the rogue bobcat, Rita spent the rest of the

day looking through the veteran officers' records to find a replacement chief. The next morning, she had a tuxedo tom, Officer Joel O'Connor, in her office. After a cursory exchange of niceties, Rita got down to business.

"It seems you've been on the force quite a few years, Officer O'Connor," she stated. The black and white cat nodded, "Yes, Your Grace."

"Twelve years to be precise. Several years longer than Officer Schulz even. How would

you assess her years as Chief of Police?"

"She did her job," the cat replied laconically.

"Did you have any complaints?"

"I guess not."

"I assume you were surprised by her sudden treachery then."

The cat frowned, "Whatever you say about Schulz, she stepped up when we were under

attack. I don't believe this suggestion that she's working with the remaining terrorists. Schulz wouldn't do that."

Rita nodded in acknowledgement, "I doubt she's involved with them as well, assuming there are any terrorists left in Maplesburg at all. The truth is simpler if less sensational: her

crime was attacking me. We had a disagreement that turned heated--I suppose I pushed her a little too far--and she struck me. When I recovered, she and one of the prisoners were gone." The cat sighed exasperatedly. "Okay, that sounds like Schulz. Honestly, it's a surprise

her temper didn't get her in trouble sooner. I'm glad you seem okay, Your Grace."

"Except for a bitten tongue, I'm fully recovered, but you see now why Officer Schulz must

be arrested. One simply cannot attack one's superiors with impunity."

The tom dipped his head in acknowledgement, "Of course, Your Grace."

"Of course, this gets to why you're here. We must have a Chief of Police. I've selected

you as Officer Schulz's replacement. Do you have any objections?"

The cat looked pleased though he seemed to be restraining himself, "None, Your

Grace."

"Excellent. The Chief of Police has special responsibilities, many of which I'm sure

you're aware. You are the one officer who reports directly to me, and your job is to make sure the Maplesburg police force operates as I see fit. We'll have further discussion as to the specifics of this after you've gotten accustomed to your new role. However, there are two things I want you to focus on for the time being: arresting Officer Schulz and returning Inspectors Bennett and Brown to me. I assume you know who I'm talking about."

The cat nodded, "The rabbit and tabby from that video, Your Grace, I saw it."

"What did you think?"

The cat seemed caught off guard by the question. He hesitated before responding, "I,

uh, didn't believe a word of it, Your Grace."

Rita rested her elbows on her desk and her jaw in her palms. She stared at the cat

intently for a few seconds. He shifted uncomfortably under her probing gaze, the tip of his slender black tail flicking.

"What if I told you," Rita asked softly, ominously. "That it was true? Absolutely all of it."

The cat swallowed nervously. His tail thrashed wildly behind him. He hesitated for several seconds. "Y-Your Grace," he took a sharp breath, stood straight, and saluted. "Your Grace, my duty is to serve you."

Rita smiled softly, "That it is." She sat up and grinned wider, showing her fangs, "You're free to go, Officer O'Connor. Have a pleasant afternoon."

"You too, Your Grace, thank you."

The cat turned and marched out of her office. Rita suspected he would have rather run. Grinning, she turned back to her computer; she needed to see how Heather was getting on with organizing the first round of her experimental training.

That afternoon after her daily court, Rita visited the red squirrel's office. Things seemed to be proceeding as planned, but she wanted to make sure prey would be assigned to all of the city's predators in time to roll out the program next week.

"We hired an entire team to process forms and assign pairs," Heather informed her when she asked. "We should be ready in time."

Rita smiled, "Thank you, Dear. I hope this hasn't all been too much for you."

"Er, about that, Your Grace," the squirrel replied hesitantly. "It's been a pleasure and an honor to work with you, but I have a lot on my plate right now. There was a lot of damage during the occupation, and we're swamped with reports and struggling to scrape together the funds.

With all that's going on, I thought I should appoint you your own personal secretary. That way Terrance and I can focus on other things."

"As you wish," Rita replied. "I can see you're overwhelmed. Will you still be attending my daily court?"

"Er, yes, one or the other of us will be there."

Rita smiled, "It's been a pleasure to work with the two of you as well, Heather. I'm glad we'll still have at least those two hours together each day. Have you already hired my assistant?"

"Well, uh," the red squirrel smiled embarrassedly. "I offered my niece the job if that's alright. I know it could be considered nepotism, but-"

"Why hire someone you don't know when there's a competent applicant you do?" Rita finished cheerfully. "I'll be excited to meet the young lady. I'm sure, being related to you, she won't be a disappointment."

Heather smiled, "Thank you, Your Grace. I'll let her know. She'll be in tomorrow morning."

"Wonderful. Simply show her to my office, and I'll take it from there." ***

When Rita arrived the next morning, a red squirrel in a sleeveless, black and floral print top was waiting in her office, standing by a smaller desk that had been added on the right side of the room, perpendicular to Rita's own. Rita estimated she was in her early twenties, recently graduated from university. The squirrel smiled nervously and raised her hand in a hesitant wave as Rita entered.

"H-hello, Your Grace."

"Good morning, I assume you're Heather's niece."

"Y-yes, my name's Rose."

Rita smiled reassuringly, "A pleasure to meet you, Rose. Has Heather given you a tour

of the building yet?"

Rose shook her head.

Rita grinned, "Perfect, I was looking forward to performing that duty myself. Leave anything you won't need here, and we'll have a look around to get you acquainted."

The squirrel set her purse, a violet saddlebag she had slung over her shoulder, on her desk and crept over to the door. Rita led the way, but the squirrel scurried past her upon catching a glance of Felicia as they exited the office.

The puma's eyes narrowed dangerously, "Who's this?" she growled.

"This is Rose, my new assistant. I'm just going to show her around," Rita explained. The puma stepped forward to follow.

"We'll be alright on our own," Rita corrected. "We'll be back in a little bit."

First, Rita showed Rose the Council Chamber. They peeked through the door as City

Council was in session and Rita didn't wish to interrupt. Next, they visited Terrance and Heather's offices though, of course, neither was currently present. After that, Rita showed Rose where the closest bathroom and printer were, where to send and receive any mail, and mentioned some of the nearby restaurants in case she wanted to go out for lunch.

"There's one more place I need to show you," Rita concluded as they stepped back into the elevator.

Rita hit B2, and the elevator lurched down, carrying them to the lowest level of City Hall. They stepped out into a pitch black room, and Rita flicked one of the switches to the right, dimly illuminating endless rows of spartan metal bookshelves. The air and concrete floor of the basement were chilly, and the room smelled of musty paper, stagnant air, and ancient dust. Rita led the red squirrel in amongst the forgotten stacks. Their claws scraping against the smooth concrete as they walked disturbed the near perfect silence of the lonely chamber.

"This is where they kept the city records before everything went digital," Rita whispered. It only felt natural to whisper as if speaking normally would disturb something in this forgotten room of records, among these yellowing reams of paper cataloging the lives of those long since dead. "I like to come here occasionally for a little peace when I want to collect my thoughts. No one comes down here, so it's completely private."

Rita stopped and turned around to regard the squirrel. The color muted Rose looked back at her nervously in the dim light, apparently too shy to ask Rita why she'd shown her a bunch of obsolete books and binders of neglected forms. The silence as they stared at each other between the shadowed shelves was stifling. Rita could hear the squirrel's heartbeat; she could hear her shallow breaths as they watched each other, waiting for the other to speak, to break the quiet stillness of the sepulchral stacks. Rita's fingers started to itch, and the image of the folding knife in the clutch she was holding solidified in her mind. No one would hear a thing.The scent of Rose's fear was growing stronger, the bitterness cutting through her spicy-sweet squirrel scent and the walnut perfume she was wearing.

"I think we should head back upstairs," Rita whispered.

She stepped past the frightened squirrel and led her back to the elevator. Rita could still hear Rose's heart pounding as they rode the brightly lit elevator back to the second floor.

The remainder of the day was uneventful. Rose got the hang of things quickly, and Rita put her in charge of recording her decisions at court and sending them on to Heather and Ferdinand Gamboa for implementation and reporting. She helped Rita pass downtime by listening to her wistfully describe her beautiful estate and beloved servants. Rose herself hardly spoke but listened to Rita with a studious attentiveness.

At five, Rita saw Rose off with a pleasant smile. "It seems it's time for you to head home. Have a good evening, Dear."

"You too, Your Grace. I, uh, I'll see you tomorrow."

"I've started taking Saturday and Sunday off," Rita corrected. "Enjoy your weekend." Rose nodded and turned toward the door but then turned back, "Your Grace?"

"Yes, Rose?"

"Have you been back to your estate since the attack? It's not that far from here, is it?" "Only about an hour's drive, but I haven't been back yet," Rita answered.

Rose nodded again then made her way out the door.

Rita herself had to stay longer; she had another dinner date with Ferdinand Gamboa that

evening. This was their third such outing, and they were once again dining at the Obsidian Crow. Rita allowed Felicia, Franz, and Miguel to go home and waited to ride to the restaurant with the fluffy black and white cat.

At a quarter after five, the cat walked quickly through the door, flustered and breathless as usual. "G-good evening, Your Grace," he huffed.

"Good evening, Ferdie."

"Are you ready to go, Your Grace?"

Rita slowly nodded once then stood and walked around the desk to hook her arm under the cat's. Rita allowed Ferdinand to lead her to the car and then into the restaurant. They were seated by one of the windows looking out onto the street. Rita ordered the swordfish Ferdie had recommended previously then turned to stare out the window absentmindedly.

As she disinterestedly watched the passing cars and pedestrians, her mind kept drifting back to that morning down in the lower basement of City Hall. She'd intended to kill the squirrel. Heather had treated her like a burden, had tried to delegate her away to some inexperienced whelp, her niece no less! Rita wouldn't be trifled with in such a way! But then she hadn't killed her, and she didn't understand why. It hadn't been a pragmatic decision. It likely would have been some time before anyone thought to search the disused stacks, and Rita could have told any lie about the squirrel going off and not coming back. Moreover, she felt confident the new Chief of Police would obey her in covering up her crime. Rita remembered the sound of the squirrel's breaths and the sharp scent of her fear. She remembered her rising desire to kill. What had stopped her? Rita frowned.

"I-is something the matter, Your Grace?" Ferdie whined in his peevish mewl.

Rita turned back to the black and white cat, "Nothing you need to worry about, Ferdie." "A-are you worried about the disappearance of Officer Schulz?" he pressed.

Rita shook her head, "I assume she'll be found eventually."

"D-do you really think she's in league with the remaining terrorists?" he inquired

peevishly.

Rita sighed annoyedly. She wished she hadn't bothered with making that suggestion. It

hadn't been necessary to further discredit the bobcat when no one would understand why she had attacked Rita. "She may be," Rita equivocated. "All I truly know is that she attacked me and one of the prisoners, a chipmunk, disappeared with her."

The cat's yellow eyes widened, "Sh-she attacked you, Your Grace!?" he gasped. "Don't concern yourself, Ferdie. As you can see, I'm perfectly well."

"W-why did she-"

"She didn't explain herself beforehand," Rita snapped, cutting him off.

Ferdie looked down at the table nervously, "I-I'm sorry, Your Grace."

Embarrassed by her outburst, Rita put on a soothing tone, "Never mind, Ferdie, I'm the one who should apologize. It's only natural you'd be concerned. Perhaps you could help me in another area."

He looked up curiously, "Your Grace?"

"This may be a bit of an odd question, so I understand if you don't have an answer. But have you ever changed your mind without knowing why?"

The cat looked puzzled, "Changed my mind about what, Your Grace?"

Rita tried to think of how she could describe her situation without needing to murder the cat afterward. She was almost certain he'd fulfill her request to visit her estate, and she didn't want to spoil that fun with a hasty murder of necessity. "I, well, Ms. Fletcher hired a personal assistant for me, a completely inexperienced girl. I was going to terminate her, but then I decided not to. I'm not sure why."

"Are you satisfied with her work?" he asked.

"She's done tolerably well," Rita allowed. "It wasn't really about performance."

"Do you dislike her for some reason?" Ferdie offered.

Rita shook her head, "I have nothing against her personally. It was more that I felt her lack of experience insulting. I'm the Governor of Maplesburg. Should not my staff have previously proven their competence?"

"I would think so," Ferdie agreed. "What do you think stopped you from firing her then? I suppose it wasn't her fault Ms. Fletcher hired her. Did you feel sorry for her?"

Rita frowned disconcertedly. True, it hadn't been Rose's fault Heather had hired her. However, Rita needed Heather too much to kill her instead. Conversely, Rose was of no importance. She was nothing but a squirrel, and Rita had no particular attachment to or use for her. Prey were for killing with few exceptions. Rita tried to think back to those moments in the dark. Had something made her feel sympathy for the squirrel? She was scared. Rita's first instinct was to shove aside the thought; her prey were always afraid. She relished in their fear and desperation and then their hopelessness and despair as the reality of their fate set in. However, the troublesome thought remained. The squirrel had known something was wrong, and she'd been afraid. And Rita had felt bad about that. For some reason, she hadn't wanted her to be scared. She had a reason, but she still didn't understand it.

"I suppose I did feel bad for her," Rita murmured. "As you say, it wasn't her fault. Perhaps that's all it was."

"I understand, Your Grace," Ferdie meowed. "It's not easy to fire someone who you know needs the job. As long as her work is satisfactory, I'd keep her on. Everyone deserves the chance to learn."

Rita nodded, letting the subject drop.

After a few seconds, Ferdinand started a different one, "The first round of the training you devised is still starting next week, right, Your Grace?"

Rita smiled and nodded. She was anticipating seeing how the training would go and had placed a great deal of pressure on City Council to prepare for its implementation as quickly as possible. In a few days, it would be happening. "Do you have your first prey assigned?" she queried.

Ferdie nodded, looking a little embarrassed, "I asked Sarah to sign up with me for the first round. I felt it would be a bit awkward living with a stranger given my, uh, the public nature of my job."

Rita smirked, "Some lucky prey would probably be honored to stay with the famous Ferdinand Gamboa, but I understand wanting to stay with a friend. You told me before the two of you were close."

"How about you, Your Grace?" he asked hurriedly.

"I'm not participating," Rita stated.

The cat blinked, "You're not?"

"I'm much too busy, not to mention living in a hotel room." "I, er, I see, Your Grace," he replied awkwardly.

"You think I should," Rita stated matter-of-factly.

Ferdinand hesitated, "Well, I, I understand that you're living at the hotel, and perhaps there's a security concern. But I think it would be positive if people saw you participating as well, as an example, Your Grace."

"I suppose I could ask Ms. Fletcher or Rose," Rita suggested. "I'll discuss it with Ms. Fletcher this evening. If she agrees that I should participate, I'll take your advice, thank you, Ferdie."

The cat looked down bashfully, "G-glad to be of service, Your Grace."

Soon, their dinners arrived, and they ate in comfortable silence. Maybe Ferdie wasn't as bad as Rita had always thought. He certainly had his flaws, his grating voice not among the least. However, he was, overall, considerate of others. He clearly cared about the good of Vulpineva.

As Ferdie led her out to collect his car, Rita unhooked her arm from his and instead clasped his hand. Surprised, he stumbled slightly but then gave her hand a squeeze. He didn't say anything as they made the drive back to Rita's hotel, but when they arrived, he turned to regard her cautiously.

"Thank you for coming, Your Grace. We should meet again soon. You're always welcome to visit my home if you'd like."

Rita grinned toothily, "I'll consider that, Ferdie. Have a good night." Rita climbed out of the car and slowly sauntered away toward the entrance to the hotel, silently teasing the infatuated cat.

Edgar was waiting anxiously for her when she arrived back in her room. Rita grinned at her faithful toy.

"Get yourself ready while I call Heather," she instructed.

Edgar nodded vigorously and hopped up from her bed. Rita went to the phone and dialed Heather's cell. No one picked up, so she left a message.

"Hello Heather, I was thinking about the new training, and I've decided perhaps I should participate. If you think it's appropriate, I'd like you to stay with me the first round, and perhaps Rose the second. Let me know what you think." She hung up.

Rita removed her black and red dress then got busy restraining Edgar, first handcuffing him to the bed on his back and then using the spreader bar to contort his long, flexible body into a roll with the bar behind his back and strapped to his ankles. Just as she was collecting the riding crop, the phone rang. Rita left Edgar as he was and took the call.

"Hello?"

"Your Grace? It's Heather."

"Good evening, Heather. I assume you got my message then. What do you think?" "I can if you want me to, Your Grace."

"So you agree with Mr. Gamboa that it's better if I participate to act as an example." "I suppose so, Your Grace, and I can understand why you wouldn't want it to be

someone you didn't know."

"Were you planning to stay with someone else?"

The squirrel gave a little titter, "Heheh, you could say I've been in high demand. I made

the other members of City Council draw straws so that they'd stop pestering me about who got to have me. Terrance is going to be disappointed."

"Oh, well, I'm sorry to usurp him, but there are some benefits of being the Duchess. You really don't mind, yes? I don't need to participate if it's too much trouble."

"Whatever you want to do is fine, Your Grace. If you'd rather only do one round or two, that's fine. I guess I can see how some people would be upset if you didn't participate at all, but I think you could justify it either way."

"I'll see you Sunday morning then. The assignments will all be out by tomorrow, won't they?"

"They will be. Is that all, Your Grace?"

"That's all. Have a good night, Dear."

"Goodnight, Your Grace." The other line hung up.

Rita turned to the bound Edgar, "Heather's going to be staying with us for the next week.

You remember her, don't you? She was here when you arrived." Muffled, "Yes, Your Grace."

Rita skipped over to the bed, grabbed the riding crop, and bounded on top. She strutted over to Edgar and stroked the faux leather end of the riding crop up his forehead. "Do you think she'll want to help me play with my pine marten toy?" she teased.

Edgar squirmed though he couldn't move much, "Y-Your Grace?" he whined.

Rita giggled, "Heeheeheehee, who knows, Edgar? You might have two red-furred mistresses. Wouldn't that be lucky? And if Ellie were to come back," she tickled him under the chin with the riding crop. "Who knows if your heart could even take it?"

Rita stepped over Edgar to straddle him then sat on his haunches, her weight folding him in half even more. He grunted and gasped a shallow breath. Rita stoked his head with the riding crop again.

"You're happy you came back to me, aren't you, Edgar?" she crooned.

He grunted an affirmative, "Mmhm."

Rita slipped down onto his chest, propped her feet on either side of his head, and leaned

back between his bound legs before grabbing his head and pulling his snout into place. Edgar knew what to do from there.