Animal Whisperer: Take Back My Life and Love Chapter 125: The Animal Bureaucracy

After the two sat down, Captain Simmons reached into his briefcase, rummaging through it with a mysterious air before pulling out several pieces of exquisitely wrapped chocolate. He stuffed them into Nancy’s hands. "Here, kid, have some snacks to hold you over."

Nancy stared at the chocolate in her hands, utterly confused.

Captain Simmons let out a forced cough and lowered his voice, looking a bit sheepish. "Well... my blood sugar is a bit high, and the wife keeps me on a tight leash. No sweets allowed. I occasionally hide a few in my briefcase to satisfy a craving at the office. Keep it between us, okay?"

He gave her a quick wink, as if they were sharing a top-secret classified document.

He then returned the Tabby to Nancy. If she wasn't mistaken, there was a fleeting look of reluctance in his eyes as he let the cat go. He carefully picked a few stray hairs off his uniform and gave Nancy a warm smile. "It’s fine. Animals are much more straightforward than people. They’re cuter and much easier to get along with."

Straightening his posture, he resumed his serious persona. He studied the siblings sitting side-by-side with genuine admiration in his eyes. "I’d heard from Sam that he’d recruited a special consultant who could communicate with animals, but I didn't expect you to be so young and capable!"

Sitting nearby, Jack’s pupils constricted when he heard the Captain refer to Nancy as an "expert." His pen pressed down so hard it tore through the paper. Captain Simmons was known for being a hard-driving perfectionist; Jack had rarely seen him act so fatherly toward anyone.

The Captain glanced over with an amused look at the cockatiel, who was still persistently chanting, "Bonus! Bonus!"

"I heard that from identifying the killer to making the arrests, you two and these little heroes did all the heavy lifting."

The moment he said this, the other officers in the room perked up, eager to back him up.

"It was more than just heavy lifting, Captain! You have no idea—the elders in Aqua Village were a nightmare. They were sheltering the suspects and trying to frame us! If it weren't for the Tabby and his 'Cat Squad' saving the day, we’d still be stuck there!"

"And Master Crow! The sparrow intelligence network he set up is incredible. They led us straight to the targets every time. It’s more efficient than the city’s surveillance system!"

"Those two little squirrels are social geniuses. They managed to turn every animal in that village into an undercover informant for us!"

"And the real stroke of brilliance was that little water snake! It actually knew how to crack the mechanism on the secret chamber. Who would have thought? A perfect field agent!"

The deputy team leader looked at Captain Simmons with sincere conviction. "The bottom line, Captain, is that Detective Nancy and her animal task force carried us today. If the department needs to cut back on our bonuses to give more to these little heroes, we’re all for it. We heard the zoo is having a tough time financially..."

The rest of the team nodded in unison, looking at Captain Simmons expectantly for his reaction.

Simmons tapped his fingers lightly on the table, looking at the eager young faces before him and then at the "animal veterans" beside them. After a long moment of silence, a meaningful smile spread across his face. "The bonuses... that’s an easy fix."

"However, regarding the future of this zoo, I have a much more long-term 'idea' in mind..."

Nancy and Simon both straightened up, focusing on the Captain. Even Jack, who had been brooding over his paperwork, snapped his head up to listen. The room went silent as all eyes fixed on Captain Simmons.

Nancy blinked, her curiosity piqued. "A... long-term idea?"

"Yes." Simmons smiled steadily, tapping the cockatiel lightly on the head. "I was thinking, we can't just treat these heroes like gig workers, paying them on a per-case basis. We need a permanent structure. What do you think if we modeled a system after our own merit-based ranks and created a promotion track for them?"

Nancy was completely stunned, her mouth hanging open slightly. Her first thought was, Promotion? For the Tabby and Master Crow? How... how would they even get promoted? She couldn't quite visualize a haughty cat attending a staff meeting or Master Crow delivering a quarterly report.

Simmons laughed at her reaction. "Not that kind of promotion. Simply put: you perform well, you get rewarded, and once you’ve accumulated enough merit, your status and benefits are upgraded."

He began to sketch out his grand vision.

"For example, if an animal assists in solving a case, they are designated as a 'Junior Hero' of the department, receiving a per-case bonus and an honorary certificate."

"If they solve three cases, or play a pivotal role in a major investigation, they are promoted to 'Official Off-Book Detective.' At that level, they receive a monthly expert stipend, high-quality food rations, and regular medical check-ups covered by the department."

Nancy’s eyes widened, her breath catching in her throat. This was far beyond anything she had dared to hope for. "An off-book detective? And... and then what?" Her heart began to race.

Captain Simmons gave her a knowing look and dropped the real bombshell.