As smart people often say, hawks will not pick hawks' eyes. For those with little intelligence, but the lion's share of other qualities, I will explain: it means that people with mutual interests easily understand each other and try to defend each other, even if it's against the truth.

Humanity has always done terrible things, to people and animals, to themselves and others. And making concessions to your kind in every sense of the word is one of those things. No matter how much one hides it, everyone does it, even the president. And it seems like a good idea to judge everyone for it, but...

But we've never had the right to judge, especially the president, or perhaps the king or minister, or even a dictator. If there is a court above all of them (and it is not always the case), it is the Supreme Court that has the authority. And if there is a need for a judge to judge the Supreme Court, then only Jesus Christ can do so at the Last Judgment. If anyone is higher than God's son, then God is the only one who can be considered higher. And above Him, there is no one.

But why am I doing this? I have no idea, but here's the story I'll tell you...

- - - -

This day was so ordinary that there was almost nothing to say about it. It was clear outside, with no precipitation. It was only +9°C or 48°F, which is pretty warm for the mini-town of Kawagishi in January. The wind blew from the southwest at a speed of about 6 meters per second, which is about 14 mph for those who think in imperial. Tomorrow, the temperature will drop by... wait, am I reading a weather forecast?

Ahem.

Miraitowa and Someity have a day off today. Therefore, Miraitowa couldn't think of anything better than watching TV. He rarely watches TV, if only because he uses a computer instead. But today they promised to show a TV series about technology and all that, which he had long wanted to watch.

And so, he was sitting on his knees at his low table. He was staring at the TV with boredom. There was some kind of talent show like "America's Got Talent", but not in America. Some kind of animal was performing there, called a platypus, but the performance was so boring that Miraitowa was about to teleport himself onto the TV and strangle it.

Someity, on the other hand, was busy with her favourite pastime: drawing. She had a canvas set up in the corner of their shared living room, surrounded by tubes of paint and brushes. Her checkered cape fluttered gently in the breeze from the open window, and she hummed a soft melody as her brush danced across the canvas.
But now the time was almost 3 PM. A clock ident appeared on the TV screen. When the minute hand of the clock reached twelve, the news started.

"Good afternoon, Olympia, Thomas Huber is with you," the news anchor, a bird called swift, announced. "A certain Kim Byung-chul, an Amur tiger from the Asian Province and a policeman, accuses Vučko, the mascot of the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo and the owner of OBC, of corruption. Byung-chul says that he has been compiling evidence for many years and will be ready to show it tomorrow. Well, all I can say now is... we'll see if he catches it... The Big Bad Wolf?!" He turned to the left, annoyed. "Carly, is this your doing? Do you have any idea what that would mean to us? He's the owner of OBC, which OTV1 belongs to! He'll rip our heads off if he hears this!"

Miraitowa froze, holding the TV remote. His expression showed that he was surprised by the news.

"Oh man," Miraitowa mumbled to himself. "Did you hear that, Someity?"

Someity looked up from her canvas, a streak of pink paint frozen in mid-air.

"Did Byung-chul think that our dear Vučko is a thief?" she asked, her brush pausing in confusion.

"Well, whatever it is, tomorrow we have to show this tiger he's innocent," said Miraitowa, standing up.

"That's for sure," Someity nodded.

At that time, on TV, Thomas was trying to take something from Carly.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE'S AN ASSHOLE?" Thomas Huber snapped at her, his feathers ruffled. "HE'S NOT AN ASSHOLE! HE'S THE ONE WHO HAS DONE MORE FOR OLYMPIA THAN YOU MIGHT THINK!" Then Thomas looked at the camera and saw it was recording everything. Then he straightened his feathers and sat down again. "Ahem, we apologize for the inconvenience, but it looks like it's time for us to finish the news for now.... You will see this and other news at 6 PM on OTV1, so stay tuned!"

And so, "tomorrow" has finally arrived. Mirai and Some were on their work again. They were again dressed in police uniforms, and they were deeply in thought. They knew that if Vučko was found guilty, the reputation of the mascot world could be tarnished.

But the other policemen were busy with their own business: Hasan was smoking kretek again, Wangdi was chewing on something, and Kadyr... hmm, what's he doing?

"They said this hentai is uncensored!" Kadyr complained, trying to watch it on his phone. "Why the hell are there pixels over everything important?!"

After that, he just threw his phone away in anger. It hit Ritesh on the head, and the tiger just jumped in fear.

Ritesh hardly ever yelled at anyone or got mad. He was too chicken for that. So, the caracal just calmly walked up and took his phone back. Gandhi didn't even flinch. He was still trembling with fear.

He was shaking until he finally realized his coworkers were staring at him, so he coughed to try and regain his composure.

"Good morning, everyone..." Gandhi began, his voice shaking slightly as he addressed the gathered officers. "We have a serious matter to discuss. As you probably heard yesterday, Vučko has been accused of corruption by our esteemed colleague Kim Byung-chul. So, Officer Kim, is that true?"

Kim looked up from his desk, his eyes narrowing. "I assure you, Chief, the evidence is substantial and irrefutable. I have been following Vučko's activities for quite some time now, and I believe it is in the best interest of Olympia to bring him to justice." His voice was smug, and he smacked his paw on the file in front of him. "I've compiled a file full of his misdeeds. It's all there."

"And what's in it?" Gandhi asked.

"If without any details, then bribes, money laundering, and using his position for personal gain," Kim replied, not bothering to hide his self-satisfaction. "And if with details, then..."

"Wait a minute!" Miraitowa said, interrupting. "Vučko wouldn't do that! He's always so fair and honest." His voice was full of conviction as he stepped towards the tiger.

Everyone immediately paid attention to Mirai.

"What makes you think that?" Kim asked Miraitowa, raising his eyebrow.

"He is the Olympic mascot. And we mascots are above such... such... such..." Miraitowa stuttered, trying to find the right words to express his disbelief. "In general, we would never do that!"

"Why don't you guys ask that wolf and his friends what they think about it?" Nodar suggested with a smirk. "Maybe they've got something to say."

"Why, that's a great idea!" Ritesh said his tail swishing in thought. "Maybe you and Someity, being mascots, can get through to him in a way we can't. You know, appeal to his... sense of Olympic spirit?"

"We will be glad, sir," Someity said with a determined nod."Great, then Officers Kim and Hasan will come with you!"

Miraitowa and Someity exchanged a look of surprise. Miraitowa spoke up first, "But Chief, why do we need them with us?"

"To keep things... neutral," Ritesh said, his eyes darting towards Kim. "And to ensure that all parties are represented."

And so, they were walking through the streets of Kawagishi, talking.

"I don't get why you're getting involved in this mess!" Kim hissed at Mirai. "It's clear that Vučko's guilty!"

"Because there's nothing wrong with him, dammit!" Towa replied, his eyes flashing with rare anger. "He might not be innocent, but you can't just accuse him based on your dislike!"

Hasan was still smoking kretek. Tobacco smoke curled around them.

"For God's sake, can you try not to smoke in our faces for once?!" Mirai snapped at Hasan, as the smoke tickled his nose.

"But did it hurt anyone?" asked the Komodo dragon, in his usual calm but firm tone. "I just don't get what's wrong with my habit."

"Smoking is no good, goddamn it!" Miraitowa said, waving his hand in front of his face to try and get rid of the cigarette smoke. "But never mind that for now. We've got work to do. Kim, what's up with that "bribes" thing?"

Kim smirked. "So, according to my research, Vučko's been taking bribes from different businesses in return for broadcasting deals and ad spots on OBC."

"Then we better head over to their office!" Someity suggested, twitching with excitement. "Maybe the wolf's assistant knows something!"

And they went to OBC headquarters... It was a huge skyscraper as if made of glass. There were not only offices there, but also studios, where various programs were shot, including news...

————

The history of TV goes back to the 19th century. The first cathode ray tube was created by a German scientist named Karl Ferdinand Braun in 1897. He was the one who first thought of using it as a screen.

However, the most significant part of the story is about the invention of Vladimir Zworykin. In 1931, this Russian-American engineer created the iconoscope, which was the first practical TV camera tube. This was a huge step forward from the older mechanical TV systems, which had major limitations. His invention laid the groundwork for modern TV technology.

As for Olympia, TV came along in 1975 and radio in 1974. Of course, things were different back then, and so were the owners. Vučko took over their place right after the Sarajevo Olympics in 1984. Maybe it was for the best because, before that, TV was way too serious and dull. You heard right – until this year, TV was only used to broadcast news and important messages, and of course, games. I'm not sure why that was the case – were they scared animals would go nuts from all the shows? Or were they just clueless about what else to do with it?

But anyway, there's been a lot more entertainment since then. Every year, there seems to be more and more. In addition to OTV1, other channels have popped up. And nowadays, TV is a big part of the lives of a lot of animals in Olympia.

One thing is unclear: is Vučko really like that?

- - - -

And so, they reached the office of the wolf's deputy, a polecat named Klement Nováček.

"Say, Mr. Nováček," Miraitowa began as they entered the plush office, "Is it true Vučko's been taking bribes from different businesses in return for better broadcasting deals and ad spots on OBC?"

"Oh my..." Klement's fur bristled as he looked up from his paperwork. "I knew, of course, that there would be allegations like that, of course... but we at OBC, of course, and we, of course, have nothing to do with such, of course. Vučko is an honest wolf, of course."

Klement's constant "of course" made Miraitowa almost nuts. He was fine with most accents and tics, but that one was like nails on a chalkboard.

"So you think your boss is a saint, huh?" Kim said, taking a step closer to Nováček. "Let me tell you something — I've got proof that suggests otherwise."

"Uh... L-like what?" Klement's eyes widened, his tail dropping between his legs.

"Like, money laundering!" Kim's eyes were shining and he slammed his paw on the desk, making Klement's papers jump. "Some little birdie told me he has an underground brothel for all the rich people. Oh, and he hires those prostitutes too. And from what I can tell, he's making some serious cash off it!"

"Oh, what are you!" Klement squeaked in horror. "I, of course, know what you mean, of course, but first of all, of course, you're wrong, of course. And secondly, of course, if there's any truth to it, of course, it's just a misunderstanding, of course."

"What do you mean, sir?" Hasan said almost in a low voice.

"Well, of course, I mean, it's not what it seems," the polecat stuttered, trying to regain his composure. "Vučko is a philanthropist, of course, he supports many charities, of course, and sometimes, of course, people who are grateful for his help, of course, want to give him something in return, of course. Maybe it's just a way of showing their appreciation, of course. But an underground brothel? Preposterous!"

"Well, since he's so philanthropic," Kim said with a hint of smugness, "why the heck didn't he just build himself a normal house? I don't think the guy who gives money to others would live in a freaking mansion!"

"What's wrong with the mansion?" you might ask.

Well, to quote Duke Philip of Edinburgh's impressions after visiting the Duke of York's (his son's, by the way) home: "The house looks like a prostitute's bedroom."

So, meet the typical home of a nouveau riche, a complex, vain person who is overly concerned about his "status in society." A man whose financial capabilities have noticeably outstripped those of a designer, in other words, a greedy man. This particular instance resembles a mixture of the Winter Palace, the Ceausescu mansion, and Putin's very palace that the late Navalny spoke about a long time ago.

It was supposed to be in the middle of town, on the hippest and most prestigious street. But lately, land in downtown Olympia has been skyrocketing in price. There aren't any empty lots left, and the planning boards would be green with envy over the bold design choices. So it ended up being built at the edge of one of the mini-towns, between a parking lot, a thermal power plant, and (would you believe it?) a strip of hookers.

First, let's take a look at this garden. Oh, and at a ton of fountains with sculptures, too. The garden's so well-maintained that you could probably eat off the grass. And those little paths that wind around the bushes and trees are so clean, you could say they're washed with champagne every morning! And bees are buzzing around those flowers, collecting pollen to make honey, which then goes into Vučko's morning cup of tea. The wolf, by the way, isn't too big on honey, but he has to keep up appearances, right?

And what's inside? Well, let's look at the living room, for example. It has everything that people like him need: more riot of colours, gilded roses, candlesticks, crystal tableware, mahogany, Swarovski diamonds, cupids, money toads and statuettes of naked women... with his head, suddenly. Above the sofa, the most valuable thing there is — a full-length portrait of the owner in a uniform, painted by Someity, of course.

And look at the size of that billiard room! You could hold a damn Victory Day parade in there! And it's not just a billiard table, there's also a bar, bowling alley, cinema, casino, and even something called an aqua disco in This Country. The wallpaper patterns don't match, but that's the least of the problems — you can't even see them because of all the paintings.

Now let's go to the bathroom. It's like a mini-spa. The tub is made of the purest marble, the kind that even Cleopatra would envy, and filled with water so hot you could boil an egg in it. The towels are softer than a kitten's fur and smell like a field of lavender on a summer's day. There's also a golden toilet, goddammit, A GOLDEN TOILET! Yes, while half of the population is in the trash looking for something to eat, he has a golden toilet!

But now we finally enter the bedroom. This room is like in his favourite porn movie, you know, where there's a model with an amalgam, but with a bunch of tiger skins on the floor.

The value in the real estate market is near zero. The average salary in Olympia is not even enough for a silver bathroom watch, and rich people prefer to build their own similar houses... but less rich-looking. All that remains is to wait for the revolution to finally descend, and his mansion will turn into an orphanage. Although who needs it anyway?

But okay, we talked a lot about his house. How is Klement hanging here?

"Well, of course, his mansion, of course, look rich, of course, but let's not forget, of course, that he is still a good guy, of course," Klement protested, sweat beads forming on his furry forehead.

"You're sure about that, though?" Kim asked, his voice dripping with scepticism and his eyes drilling into Klement's desperately hopeful expression.

"Of course!" the polecat adjusted his glasses, his eyes darting around the room nervously. "Vučko has a heart of gold, of course!"

"And he's not using his role to benefit himself?" Miraitowa pressed.

"Of course!"

"And you're not lying?"

"Why would I?" Klement sniffed, his little paws clutching at his chest. "I'm the most honest polecat there is!" He grinned so widely it looked like his cheeks were going to split.

Officers looked at each other.

"You know what? We believe you, Nováček," Miraitowa said, his tone surprisingly gentle. "All good things to you and the company!"

The polecat was all smiles until the guests finally left but now look at him. His expression has changed completely.

Now he was sure they were gone. So he went to worker's offices. When he kicked the door down, all the beasts looked at him in surprise.

"WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT?!" Klement bellowed, slamming the door behind him. His usual "of course" had been replaced with a snarl that sent a chill down the spines of his employees. "GET BACK TO WORK, BOOBIES, AND DONTCHA TRY TO LET THE INFO ABOUT THE CEO SLIP! YOU'LL BE SORRY IF THE WORD GETS OUT!"

But our crew was already at Vuc's place. And guess what? This time, it wasn't even the butler who let them in!

"What a meeting!" Vučko said, walking through the door in his silk robe. "Let me guess, are you here to ask about those charges? Well, I've got some evidence to prove I'm innocent! For starters, I have no clue why I'd break the law. Secondly, if I did do something wrong, I'd be smart enough to cover my tracks. And thirdly, I've had a sore throat this whole time. Yeah, even wolves get sick sometimes!"

Kim was about to say something when Miraitowa cut him off with a quick move.

"That sounds like a great excuse, Vučko!" Miraitowa said with a slight smile. "And we're really happy to hear that. Thanks for clarifying that!"

"Oh, you're welcome!"

That's it. Now the mascots can be sure their reputation will be clean. Kim, on the other hand, wasn't so happy. He understood very well that the wolf wasn't someone to trust. But the others didn't give a shit.

Although... here it is, the scene after work when Gandhi finally got proof that Vučko is not so corrupt at all, and when Kim was yet again caught with his paw in the cookie jar.

Here they are, peacefully drinking a latte, walking down the street.

"Listen, bro, I've been thinking..." Someity began as they walked back home, the sun setting over Olympia's skyline. "Why did we even decide that Vučko is innocent?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, like..." Someity paused, "Kim's evidence did sound... reliable. I mean, he always was like that, he's not the most trustworthy of us... and I do start to think that maybe... he is a..."

Miraitowa just put his hand on her shoulder.

"I know what you're thinking," he said calmly. "But let me tell you this: mascots like us need to protect mascots like him. Even if he's guilty, it's our responsibility to show our support for one another, especially in public. For now, let's just hope he isn't like that."

And they went again.

Meanwhile, Vučko's on the phone.

"Hi, Klem!.. Oh, I'm good, don't