A Noble Heart

Hey everyone, this is the next chapter of 'All Dogs Go to Heaven'. I hope you enjoy it.

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Chapter seven

Randi was beside himself, more than he ever had before. He had just witnessed the murder of another dog, committed by none other than his boss and his crew. Randi was so shaken up and disturbed by what he witnessed he barely noticed his boss telling everyone what a good job they did and they returned to the casino.

Randi waited until he was back inside his room, where he locked himself inside and started to hyperventilate. When he heard that the casino business with shady people often leads to stuff like this, he thought that it was just a figure of speech; not actually killing! Randi was regretting everything he had ever done as he rolled around on his bed, guilt, shock and fear coursing through his body. What if the gang realized he wasn't really Spike? Would the same thing that happened to Charlie happen to him?! Randi yanked his fur and tried calm down but as the hours went by the more his negative emotions took over.

Finally, Randi couldn't take it anymore. He didn't want to be Spike anymore, he want to be Randi again. He would officially drop the 'bad dog' act, march up to Carface and beg for mercy as much as he possibly could. He could even handle being in the pound for what he did to justify his actions right now.

Just then he heard someone coming and Randi knew what he had to do. He dove through the junk to find his collar, finding it just in time as he put it on and got into his begging position as the door opened and Randi cried "Boss, I confess, I'm not who you think I am!"

"I sure do."

Randi's eyes popped open in surprise. It was Charlie! Alive and well and wearing a golden watch around his neck. The look on Charlie's face would be enough to kill someone out of sheer anger if it could while Randi was too overcome with joy to realize how peeved Charlie was. "Oh thank the dog gods! I'm saved! I'm saved! I don't have to go to the pound after all! You managed to survive!"

"No thanks to you." Charlie replied

"I'm sorry, I am so very sorry!" Randi pleaded "I tried to get to you sooner but I got lost and there was this lady dog and the dog catcher and the pier and the car... I had nothing to do with this, I swear!"

"You know what I think you deserve?" Charlie asked "Let's see, the pound would be too soft a punishment for everything I've been thought. So how about...this!"

At 'this', Charlie punched Randi right in the face, knocking him out cold.

When Randi woke up he heard voices and quickly realized something wasn't right. He tried to move his legs but they were bound together and tried to speak but his snout was tied shut. Charlie had bound and gagged him while he was out like a light and stuffed him inside a sack! Randi knew he was in deep trouble, luckily he had his collar on so he could prove he didn't belong with the junkyard or casino dogs... But now he had another problem.

After recovering from the news that his pal was alright, Itchy told Charlie all about the little monster Carface kept and Charlie got an idea about what to do to get even with his boss "We'll be heading back to the casino, as soon as I take care of Carface's pet."

As Randi wriggled inside the sack, Charlie grabbed the sack and dragged it over to a barrel of water as he said "Since your boss tried to kill me, it's only fitting that I take out my anger on one of his own men, namely his favorite. And your it." he dropped the sack inside the barrel and said "Let's see if you can get out of this mess Spike."

The moment he heard that name, Itchy suddenly tensed and as Charlie was about to force the sack to stay underwater with his paws, the dachshund cried "No Charlie stop!"

Before Charlie knew it, Itchy had rammed himself into the barrel, knocking it over. Both dogs lost their balance and fell over while the barrel tilted over and broke, saving Randi from drowning. Itchy ran over to the sack and opened it as Charlie got back on his feet and snapped "Hey, what gives Itchy? What's wrong with you?"

"There's been a big mistake Charlie." Itchy said as he pulled Randi out of the sack "You see this guy, he's not really Spike, he's actually a domestic house dog named Randi! He was just pretending to be his brother in Carface's gang because the dogs mixed them up."

"Wait a minute... you mean to tell me... this guy is really an imposter while the real golden child is doing time in the pound?" Charlie asked in shock and surprise.

"You... you tried to murder me!" Randi snapped in shock and fear once Itchy removed his binds and gag from his mouth "I told you I had nothing to do with Carface's plan, all knew was that it was a going away party, and I thought it was an actual party! I practically saw my life in front of my eyes! I'm practically traumatized! I'm going to have nightmares like this for the rest of my life! I-"

He was interrupted when he heard Charlie laughing his head off as he watched in anger and said "It's not funny! I was serious about seeing my life flash before my eyes. I want to go back home and be with my human family again!"

"That's not what's so funny." Charlie said once he calmed down enough to talk "What's funny, is that the moment Carface finds out you've been lying to him the entire time you were employed, you'll be six feet under before you can even call for help!"

"You... you mean if I tell him I'm not Spike... He'll kill me?!" Randi asked in shock, shaking from horror.

Charlie could tell Randi was about ready to lose his head in a sheer panic again so he slung his arm over the dog and said "Okay, okay. Let's start over. First, I'm sorry about the whole getting even misunderstanding thing. Second, if you want to live to see another day, then you gotta keep your act going for as long as you can."

"But... but I don't know if I can." Randi asked "Not after everything I've seen and been though."

"Just buck up and you'll be fine." Charlie said "Or... even better, you can come to work for me instead. We'll fake your death, you drop the 'Spike' act and you can work together with me to take him down a peg."

"What about Anne-Marie?" Randi asked, suddenly remembering the girl he met not too long ago.

"Who's that?" Charlie asked.

"She's this human girl who can talk to animals," Randi explained. As he told them about the girl, the part about her being able to talk to animals still rang around in Charlie's head as dollar signs appeared over his head. Putting on a big smile he turned his attention to Randi and said "Say pal, how would you like to be her knight in shining armor?"

"What?" Randi asked

"It's simple, we go and rescue her from her prison and work our way up there." Charlie said "You do care about her don't you? You don't want that poor little child to suffer under the clutches of that tyrant Carface do you?"

Randi thought about it and he said "Yes, I want to help her."

"Then stick with me Remy, and we'll bust her out of there in no time." Charlie said.

"My name is Randi, not Remy." Randi said.

"Whatever." Charlie said "Now let's go, we're wasting time standing around here."