Another One Bites the Dust (6 page)

Layne stared at my hand in disdain, and turned his head as best he could given what little room he had to move.

I laughed for a good five minutes before I sobered and said, “Actually, I really do need some help.  You remember Apollo?  I was wondering if you had a way to contact his breeders.  I’m interested in purchasing a family protection dog.”

“Yeah, I remember him, dumbass.  He was my dog!  I’m still in contact with Apollo’s trainers.  I think the owner of K9 Protection is still Taylor Soloman.  I have his email right here.”  Layne said as he read me out the email address.

I typed out a basic email explaining what I wanted, and then hit send hoping that this was still the correct email for the man.  The more I thought about it, the more right I felt that this was the answer to all of Payton’s problems.  Since she was so dead set about not having any help, and doing things on her own, I knew that this would be okay in her eyes.

My phone pinged fifteen minutes later, and I pulled up the email.

Max,

I’m so happy to hear from you.  I was so saddened to hear of Apollo’s death.  The important thing I tried to make understood throughout the company was that he died doing what he was trained and loved to do.  As for your inquiry, I think we have just the dog for your fiancé.  Since you will not be here to take over the dogs handling, I’ll have one of our female handlers teach her exactly what she needs to know.  The training will take around two weeks.  We will make sure that the dog is compatible with Payton, that she will know just what kind of weapon she will have with the dog.  The dog I’m thinking will be a perfect fit is actually Apollo’s great grandson.  He has an excellent bloodline, as you know.  I’ve attached a photo of him.  His name is Alpha.  He weighs in at eighty-nine pounds even.  He’s a year and a half old, and has tested well with kids.  He also has a deep love of women.  We tried to pair him with a male owner, and he was having none of it.  I’m not saying that he wasn’t good with him, but that he goes above and beyond for a female.  As for payment, that can be negotiated.  As soon as we make sure the fit is right, and that Payton is able to handle Alpha, then we will discuss payment.  I’ll have Claudia hand deliver Alpha next week.  Make sure Payton knows to expect her.

Best Regards,

Sol

I was pleasantly surprised to see that he remembered me so well.  Years ago, I’d gone with Layne to pick up Apollo.  We’d both had to go through a week training course before he would relinquish the dog into our custody. 

For the next three years, we worked with Apollo.  He was one of our team.  The day he died, it was as if we’d lost one of our own.  He’d done a sweep of the building and found explosives lining the interior.  There was so much C-4 in that building that when it blew, it knocked every building in a two block radius.  Apollo was too close to the blast, and was killed when a building collapsed, crushing him underneath.  We worked for hours freeing him, and he had a funeral just as any soldier would.  We never got another protection dog, and most likely it was because Apollo just couldn’t be replaced.

ɸ

Fourteen and a half hours after leaving the Gregg County Airport, we arrived at COB Speicher during one hell of a sandstorm.  It took another hour of waiting it out before it passed.  By the time I stepped foot off the ramp, I was already ready to leave.  This place sucked.  I forgot, or blocked out, how much I hated it.

I followed Layne into the belly of the base.  We walked into a meeting room, and there, surrounding the tables, were a number of men and one very pissed off looking woman surrounding the conference table.  Layne took his seat at the front of the table, and I made my way to the back wall and leaned against it.  I didn’t want to sit with my back to the door, and the only seat left was doing exactly that.

The woman had a silent snarl on her face, and I wondered what I’d done to piss her off; it’s not as if I’d ever seen her before.  The other four men looked to be reserving judgment until I’d proven myself in some way.  They all looked alike.  All had a beard, dark colored hair, and deeply tanned skin.  The only difference was, was the amount of bulk they sported, but even that wouldn’t have been noticeable if you weren’t looking closely.  Which I assumed was their objective.

“Alright, ladies.  You all know why we’re here,” Layne said when I interrupted him.

“Actually, I don’t.  Why don’t you enlighten me?”  I said briskly.

“We don’t really want you here.  We could have done this on our own.  The only reason you’re here is that Layne here said you could help.  Why don’t you shut up and listen to him.”  The she-devil said.

Layne silenced her with a sharp command, and I couldn’t help but chuckle at her chastised look.  “We have a man in lockdown.  The past two weeks we’ve been hearing chatter through the locals that there’s an attack planned on COB Speicher.  From what we can surmise, they want the base back, and us out.  Preferably dead.  The young man in custody has some serious training.  When PFC Torres found him, he came in without a fight.  It’s been sixteen days now, and everyone has tried to break him and couldn’t.  That’s where you come in.  We need what he has.”

“Why would you need to have me recalled?  Why not just call me, I would have come.”  I asked perplexed.

“We tried.  Apparently, the brass no longer wants civilians that aren’t in a contract with the government working on anything that has to do with National Security, and that takes months of fucking paperwork, and we don’t have that time to waste.”  Layne explained.

I nodded in understanding.  The government was really starting to crack down on certain matters.  That’s the whole reason most of the men from our team got out when they did.  They were tired of the bureaucracy bullshit.  “Alright.  What am I allowed to do to him?” 

The she-devil snorted in derision, and I continued to ignore her.  The men however seemed to think it was humorous and a few chuckles rent the air.  It was a legitimate question though.  Everything depended on how fast the information needed to be obtained.  Over the years, I’ve honed my skills, and planned going in how far I was willing to go.

“Whatever it takes.”  Layne said simply.

“He won’t be able to get it done.  Then what are you going to do?”  SD scoffed.

“O’Hare, you have a lot to learn.”  Layne chided.

“He hasn’t even been in the military for over a fucking year.  He’s rusty and out of practice.  What can he do-” O’Hare was saying before I lost the control on my patience and reacted.

O’Hare was sitting across the room from me, sitting behind the table with her arms crossed over her chest.  I didn’t let that stop me though.  One second I was leaning against the wall and the next I had O’Hare pinned to the chair.  Around the room, I could feel the men tense.  They reacted, but it was too slow.  I already had O’Hare in a position that didn’t bode well for her future if she decided to fuck with me anymore.

“Let me tell you something, little girl.  I’m in better shape now that I was when I was eighteen and finished with boot camp.  I could kill you right now, get away, and none of these men could do a single fucking thing to stop me.  I’m not fucking you, and you’re not my sister, so I don’t have to deal with your shit.  Why don’t you check that attitude of yours, because I’m extremely tired of hearing the trash that is spewing from your mouth.  Are we clear?”  I asked.

She reared back her head, and I knew what was about to come.  Letting go of her left hand and transferring it to my right, I swung my hand up and turned her face before she could spit at me.  I just laughed.  Obviously, she thought I was joking, but I wasn’t. 

“That’s enough,” Layne said.  “O’Hare, I think it would be best if you sat this one out.  It’s obvious to me that you can no longer keep detached from this project.”

I let her go, and returned to my position across the room, resuming my relaxed position.  This time I crossed my feet though, showing her that I didn’t see her as a threat in the slightest.  O’Hare continued to argue, but got nowhere.  She stormed from the conference room in a flurry, and I was grateful that I didn’t have to deal with her anymore.  There was nothing worse than having someone on your team you couldn’t trust.

“Thank you, Baby Jesus.”  The man with the lightest of bulk said.

There was a round of agreement that followed in that statements wake, and I cracked a smile for the first time since I left Payton standing on the tarmac.

Chapter 3

You can trust your dog to guard your house, but never trust your dog to guard your sandwich.

-T-shirt

Payton

“Who did you say you were again?”  I asked with a large amount of confusion.

“My name is Claudia.  I’m here to start training you with Alpha.”  She said gesturing to the massive German Shepherd that was sitting fancily at her side.

I hunkered down, ass to the back of my legs, and regarded the beautiful boy.  He was pure black.  Not a hint of brown shown over his entire coat, and he was gorgeous.  Normally when you think of German Shepherds you think about the brown and black coat, but this big boy only had the coarse hair, pointy ears, and long nose that was synonymous with Germans, but with a pure midnight coat.

  He looked at me with an intelligence that quite frankly freaked me out a little.  “I’m sorry to say that I didn’t order a dog.  Not that he’s not pretty stinkin’ awesome, but I would hate to take him when he’s not really mine.”

My moral code at times can be iffy, but I draw the line at stealing someone else’s badass dog.  The longer I stared, the larger he seemed to get.

  The tall sable haired woman, Claudia, smiled a breathtaking smile and then said, “Max said you would do this.  Sol told me that Max arranged for the dog, and to get him here as soon as possible.  You were in luck, I was doing a police training seminar in Lubbock with Alpha, and could just zip right on over within a couple hours.  I was supposed to deliver him next week, but we didn’t see any point in boarding him on a plane just to be shipped right back the next week.”

“Oh, my God.  I’m going to kick his ass.  Do you know how to get to Iraq?”  I asked facetiously. 

The man was relentless.  He’d been gone for two and a half days, and already he’d called me more than he had in the past month when he was here.  He’d asked multiple times how I’d been sleeping, but I never told him the whole truth.  Yes, I slept, but not very well.  I’d gotten a little over eight hours total in the last seventy two hours, which was not conducive with work, or functioning for that matter. 

He’d asked me repeatedly to move into his place, but I was adamant that I stick it out, get over the hang-up I had with being alone.  Somehow, he knew that I was lying though; he knew I wasn’t sleeping.

  Answering the phone at three in the morning, bright eyed and panting probably didn’t help my case.  Around three this morning I’d woken up from the same recurring nightmare.  The one where I was laying on the concrete, face down, with the two men standing over me.  They took turns kicking me.  I’d started out in a tight ball, but after a few minutes, I no longer had the strength to protect myself.  My scream of pain when one of them stomped down on my hip was what woke me from sleep.  Instead of the futile effort of going back to sleep, I started my morning workout of Insanity three hours early.

When Max called, I’d just finished the workout and was lying on the floor in a heap.  He was lucky my phone was on the floor playing the latest John Corey book on audio; otherwise, I wouldn’t have had the strength to get up and get it.  He never did mention why he was calling so late, well late for me since it was four in the morning.  My only guess was that he’d somehow knew I wasn’t sleeping.  Which explained the dog now exploring my apartment.  The man just couldn’t mind his own damn business. 

Then a thought struck me.  “Wait a minute.  What do you mean when you say you were doing police training?”

She gave me another bright smile.  “Alpha is a protection dog.  He’s trained to protect his trainer, or in your case owner.  He will protect you from anything you could possibly imagine.  Burglaries, muggings, fires.  You name it; he will protect you from it.  He’s also a trained service dog.  Which means you can take him anywhere you want.  Max took the liberty of having you certified as needing a service dog as well.  You should have something in the mail within the next couple of days.  You can even take him to work with you.”

I rolled my eyes heavenward.  That man.  He was such a shit, as well as stubborn and annoying.  He was perfect.  “I’m not sure what hospital policy is, but I’m pretty sure they won’t let me bring my dog to work with me.  Probably against public health standards or something.  Don’t you actually have to have a medical condition to use a service dog?”

She regarded me with sadness in her eyes.  “Honey, you have three locks on your door.  From what I can see you have alarms on the window, although kind of flimsy, but they’ll work.  You have a baseball bat leaning in the corner, a stun gun on the coffee table, and a Taser on the mantle.  You obviously have had some sort of attack at some point in time, and you’re scared shitless.  A, you need an alarm.  B, you probably have PTSD, but you’re stubborn and refuse to go talk with someone, and that in itself is a medical condition, which enables you to have a service dog.  C, the hospital you work at can’t refuse to let you have the dog.  It’s against the law.”

What the h-e-double hockey sticks?  “Wow.  I can’t believe you saw all that with less than two minutes in my apartment.  FYI, alarms cost out the ass, and I don’t have the money to buy one.”

I wasn’t touching the PTSD comment with a ten-foot pole.  I’d heard it time and time again from my parents, brother, and friends.  I didn’t want to talk to some random stranger about my fucked up head either.

She nodded in understanding.  “Very true.  I’ve had to be very observant in my life.  Let’s just say when I wasn’t, I got hurt.  Now, seeing as Alpha has made himself at home on your couch let me go over some of the commands with you.  What you can ask him to do, and a little about his history.  We’ll do this a little bit over the next few days until you can do it without my help.  I understand you work tonight, so we can work for an hour or so today, and I’ll take Alpha back to the hotel with me until tomorrow afternoon.  After that, he can stay here, even if you have to work.”