Chapter 20: Stealthy Fill-In

Intensely watching as another cop made his way out the double doors, Ralph saw the cop merely tipping his hat to the sleepy security guard, seeming unconcerned that he was so tired.

Upon peering inside, the mastiff saw the security guard, Koopa, was once again sawing logs and leaning his chair back as far as it would go. Fast asleep, he snored away as he did so...

And leaving the magical button that opened and closed the set of doors unattended.

After making sure the cop who had exited was long gone -and after a little psyching himself up enough- Ralph finally darted out of the bushes and across the street. He moved in at incredible speed despite the tight vest, honestly amazing himself.

Walzing up to the doors, he precatiously peered inside, seeing no other cops were around the doors or enteryway.

Making extra sure the security guard at the desk was still asleep, the mastiff shrunk down as low to ground as he could- doing so nearly impossible in the stupid tight vest. Crawling on his stomach, he somehow slipped noiselessly and quickly through the doors...and just inside the main entryway of the station, he realized how hard his heart was pounding.

When he had passed the security desk completely, Ralph peered cautiously over his shoulder at the security guard, who was still snoozing away. The mastiff couldn't help but sigh in relief.

Nice stealth, Ralphie, he thought proudly. It was almost scarry how quiet he was somehow being; it was definitely a first for the big, clumsy dog.

Daring to stand up a little taller, the mastiff continued on his way through the entryway, looking over his shoulder every few seconds just to make sure the security guard wasn't stirred awake...

That was, of course, until Ralph accidentally bumped into a large, tall potted plant due to not looking where he was going.

Wincing, Ralph flattened his ears as the pot fell teetered on it's rim for a moment before falling over completely on it's side. As it hit the tile floor with a loud, mighty crash, he shrunk that much more as the pot shattered into many different pieces.

"AHH!" The security guard screamed as he jumped up in fright at the sound, more than startled awake. He pushed his hat from off his eyes and habitually leaned forward to push the button to shut the doors magically again.

Turning to see a stone frozen Ralph -who was cowarding like a puppy in the corner as he shook at the realization he had been caught- the guard raised an eyebrow in confusion.

The cop's eyes themselves then seemed to dance back and forth from the shaking mastiff to the double doors for a few terrorizing moments. As he did, he stayed silent- making Ralph hold in a shaky breath.

Reaching a conclusion, Koopa finally got up from his chair and peered curiously at the mastiff. Approaching the nervous dog, the guard knelt down right in front of him- and looked over the vest Ralph was wearing.

To Ralph's complete shock, the man just whistled and shook his head slightly.

"Man, I'm glad I woke up and shut the doors before you got out there, buddy!" The security guard laughed as he ruffled Ralph's head. "Now let's get you back with the pack, uh..." he paused to look at Ralph's vest on the back. "Markowski."

Smiling tiredly, the clueless Koopa quickly grabbed an extra leash off his desk and clipped it in a little hole on Ralph's vest. Yawning, he began to lead the gawking mastiff into the main part of the station.

As he stumbled forward, Ralph eyes only seemed to grow in shock. How he had gotten through all that without being caught, he had no idea. He did, though, silently thank that this security guard was obviously just as clueless as they come; he would've been caught for sure how that not been the case.

As the two made their way through the police station, Ralph's heart began to pound with each lumbering step- although he quickly found there was no need to be so worry.

Each member of the police force they passed was pretty busy- rushing around with a stack of piled high papers, leading a sketchy inmate off to a cell, or conversing with another officer. Phone call after phone call was answered by a secretary-esque woman, who merely nodded Koopa's and Ralph's way before scribbling something down on a notepad.

There wasn't one hiccup, not one double-take, not even one thing said in pasting about Ralph. He sure wasn't used to that.

After a few minutes of strolling by each occupied desk, the mastiff started to relax as reality hit him. He had somehow snuck into the police station- and was now right in the middle of it all!

Play it cool, Ralph, the dog told himself worriedly as they continued to walk on, heading towards the back of the station. Don't freak out and blow your cover.

All at once, the two were met with one particular desk that had the box of donuts on it- and a ton of cops standing lazily nearby. Each policeman -and an occasional policewoman- had a cup of coffee in hand, enjoying their break as they went around and talked about this high-speed chase or that epic drug bust earlier in the day...

Causing Ralph to become more nervous than before. More relaxed cops gathered around meant more examining eyes could fall on him- and the more likely he'd be discovered as a fake.

Afraid of that happening, Ralph tried to walk a little faster and pull slightly at the end of the leash, silently pleading that the security guard he was attached to would pick up his nonchalant pace-

"Hey, Koopa!" Another cop standing at the crowed desk called out suddenly, causing the still yawning guard to pause- and Ralph to coward unseen behind him. "Taking that dog to the K-9 Unit?"

Wait..'unit'? The mastiff thought curiously as he peeked from behind the guard. They have a whole unit of K-9s here in Arcadia? Where have I been?

A lethargic smile coming upon his face, Koopa nodded at his fellow workers as he bent down to ruffle Ralph's head.

"Yup! This big guy almost slipped right out the doors!" the guard mentioned, causing the rest of the cops to share a laugh.

"That would've been a shame," one called out as he came over and scratched the mastiff downcasted chin. "He looks like he could be the strongest dog on the force!"

At the cop's warm words of praise, Ralph couldn't help but smile and wag his tail slightly, coming out from his hiding place behind Koopa. Loving the gently scratching he was getting under his chin, the dog decided being called "the strongest dog on the force" was pretty darn good in his book- and was a nice change of pace from being called a bad dog every day of his life.

"Wait!" One female cop's voice broke in abruptly, making the mastiff's tail slow down and smile to disappear. That voice sounded stern as steel- and full of authority.

Peering nervously at the spoken cop, Ralph saw that she wore a serious, sharp scowl- so deep and appalled it looked like she had a cup of freezing cold coffee first thing in the morning. Her long, dark hair was twisted into an equally long braid- somehow making her even more intimidating. In fact, as she stood there with strong crossed arms, Ralph realized she was one of the most intimidating humans he'd ever seen.

And the look in her dark, distrustful eyes cutting into him made Ralph know this intense cop was one of the head cops here in the station- and didn't just let anything sneak past her.

"This dog's not apart of our station! He's a bull mastiff!" The female cop stated ridiculously, uncrossing her arms to gesture toward the accused dog. "I don't even have any of that breed in my unit."

Gulping nervously, Ralph winced slightly in his spot.

This lady sounded like she was the leader of the K-9 unit, who probably knew the animals on the force front and back- and could, of course, spot a fake from a mile away...including a very cubby, outcasted, imposter of bull mastiff.

The fact that the mastiff wasn't apart of the station was news to the security guard at the other end of the leash, who just cluelessly cocked his head down at the dog in question. "Wait...this isn't Markowski, Officer Croft?"

Rolling her eyes sharply, the tense female officer scoffed at the dense guard. "Uh, no. Markowski's a german shepherd, not a bull mastiff, Koopa."

"Then how in the blue blazes did this mastiff get in Markowski's vest?" The guard asked, completely puzzled.

As she left her place by the desk, Ralph couldn't help but back up nervously as the intimidating Officer Croft walk- no, stalked towards him. He didn't like where this was going. At all.

Backing right into Koopa's legs and now nowhere to go, the shaking mastiff had no choice but allow the fierce female cop to run her hand gently yet sternly over his back. Somehow even her hand felt like she was suspicious. "Better question: who in the heck is this dog?"

Oh, no, Ralph panicked in horror as he shrunk back slightly. He'd been caught for sure this time.

Another cop, one with the thinkest crossed arms Ralph had ever seen, laughed mockingly at the serious woman. "Don't you remember, Officer Croft? Markowski got checked out a few days back. He already needed a break for all the trauma he's gone through on the force, especially recently. Poor guy," he mentioned, his joking tone replaced by a solemn one.

"And since one of the other pooches, Kohut, I think it was, had to go have surgery a few days ago," the man continued, "we sent in for a fill-in dog from Sugar Russia to place Kohut's and Markowski's place on the force."

Forcing himself not to gawk at his luck, Ralph gulped. Phew, he sighed in relief. Thank you, Veterinary Places. Turns out you really do serve a purpose after all.

But the law-woman wasn't so persuaded at the other officer's words, raising a sharp eyebrow down at Ralph's vest.

"Of course I remember that; I'm the one who sent in that request!" she growled, shaking her head and crossing her arms over her chest once more. "I just sent it in a few days ago...And that seems too soon for them to have already filled it- without my knowledge, no less..."

Turning towards the smirking male officer behind her, the woman then nodded towards a huge stack of papers on the desk. "Be useful for once and check the papers to see if this dog is checked in, Officer Cage. Something still seems off here. I don't think Sugar Russia would've been this irresponsible and just dropped this dog off without letting me see him first, nor would've put him in one of our removed dog's vests."

As the other cop begrudgingly replied, Ralph tucked his long tail between his strong legs in nervousness.

Crud. He'd been recaught.

"The paperwork does show that we have a replacement for him sent for him," Officer Cage mentioned as he thumbed lightly through the paperwork. "No time limit on when the replacement was going to get here, though, Lara."

Abandoning looking through the papers, Officer Cage shrugged off the K-9 leader's concerns.

"This has to be their replacement, Lara," the thick-armed cop smirked confidently at Officer Croft. "Why else would this dog be here for? Sounds like you were just sleeping on the job and missed Sugar Russia dropping him off here."

Her eyes still narrowed in such an assumption, Officer Croft huffed. "Nothing gets past me, Johnny! How dare you make such an accusation!"

Thinking over the matter at hand, though, she slowly turned back towards Ralph, who could do nothing but wagged his tail as unsuspiciously as he could.

Please, oh please believe it, he begged silently, putting on his best begging face he could muster. Please fall over my crazy, unbelievable luck.

Sighing loudly, the female cop finally gave in- just slightly. She rolled her eyes in annoyance in being proved wrong... and even more annoyed at being accused of being lazy. Officer Croft may be a lot of things- but she knew wasn't lazy.

"Even though the paper's aren't saying this is the dog... Officer Cage must be right. This must be the fill-in," she stubbornly mumbled in agreement- but still not seeming to be completely convinced as she scratched her head in confusion. "Odd I didn't see the Sugar Russia unit drop him off, though...and why they put this pooch in Markowski's too-small vest is beyond me..."

Turning sharply towards Koopa, she suddenly pointed a finger at him, making him stand up straighter in rapt attention.

"Check to see who overstep their postion and signed off on this pup being okayed onto my force," she hissed to him, beyond aggravated as the cop spoken to nodded nervously.

Peering back down at the fake cop dog, Offier Croft narrowed her eyes at him- causing him to gulp- and silently continue in his plea.

So...he was 'on' the force- but would this stubborn woman let him work on the force?

"We'll try the mastiff out and see how he does," she mumbled to no one in particular, somehow seeming to read Ralph's mind. "I just sure hope he last longer that the previous dogs did..."

The female officer finally nodded back at the security guard as she took another donut. "You better get him back to the K-9 Unit quickly. We're going to need all the help we can get with those mutated scorpions running around town."

Begining to lumber away, the think-skin woman eyed Ralph one last time...and thankfully disappeared around a corner, causing Ralph's heart to settle down in it's pounding. In fact, he swore it completely stopped for a minute before it rapidly began to beat in sheer shock.

For the second time in the past ten minutes, the mastiff couldn't help but gawk wide eyed. He couldn't believe his luck!

"It will be interesting to see how he does with the mutated scorptions," Offier Cage mentioned as raised his eyesbrows, slight fear on his face. "Although, coming from Sugar Russia, he's probably had to deal with his fair share of them..."

But the mastiff's ears bearly even acknowledged what was said. He just wagged his tail happily and in pure, unbelievable relief.

As Koopa was about to continue on his way leading Ralph, Offier Cage caused him to pause.

"Wait! Let's all welcome the fill-in mutt to the force!" He smiled as he rushed over and knelt down, snatching Ralph's head increbly softly. "I wonder what his name is..."

His tail seeming to taking a mind of its own, Ralph's entire behind wiggled in delight as the other cops approached him. They, too, welcome the newst memebet of the team with kind words of encouragement.

"He's so huge! I bet he can crush a mutated scorpion with one quick, hard stomp of one of his front paws!"

"Bull mastiff are smart breeds...I bet he'll get adjusted to being on this force pretty fast!"

"Yeah, and this big guy seemd like a gentle giant, too! He's going to be such a great addition to the unit!"

"I'll be curious to see how Calhoun does with this new dog on the force...Although, I can't imagine anyone not getting along with this guy! He's so friendly!"

The kind words and gentle pats got even better when others cops around other desks left their places and came over to pat Ralph all over, gushing over how big and strong...and ironically happy he seemed to be.

A few dozen hands began petting him all at once, which would've overwhelmed any other pooch...but not Ralph. He had never gotten so much good attention before- and he absolutely loved each pat, each word he was getting.

Soaking it all in, the mastiff's tail only seemed to wag faster- something he only remembered it doing a handful of times in his whole life. His insides twisting and turning in pure happiness with each gentle hand patting his head, his tongue couldn't help but hang out the side of his mouth as he smiled- a real, genuine smile.

Completely forgetting how tight the vest was (or even the life-changing deal he had agreed to earlier), Ralph decided being a fill-in K-9 pooch was easily the best decision he could've made.