"Busted!"
Slowly, Tom started coming to. His vision cleared up, and he was startled to find that he was tied to a chair! He turned and saw fifteen dogs next to him staring wide-eyed at someone up ahead. Tom followed their gaze to Wanda and an old man sitting next to her.
"Wanda?" asked Tom in astonishment.
Some of the dogs, seeing that Tom was awake, ran over to him.
"Welcome back, Tom," said Wanda sarcastically. "Sorry I had to knock you out like that, but I hate it when people make such a rude entrance."
"Wh-What are you doing?" asked Tom. The dogs were equally curious.
Wanda looked slightly surprised. "I'm just doing my job. I'm an accountant, remember? Hank here just happens to be my top client."
"Why are you doing this?!" bellowed Talking Dog before anyone could respond.
"I'm glad you asked that," said Hank, who leaned back into his chair. "I suppose you could say I'm not really a dog-person. After a series of jobs, I finally found one I liked…the chief of some of Boston's finest. Not police or firemen, but city dogcatchers."
Nearly all the dogs were either terrified or angered by that comment. Only Goddard remained calm, because as he listened to Hank, he was also secretly using a laser to free Tom from the ropes that held him to the chair.
"I loved my job, but it was what happened at home that drove me out of my mind. You see, my next-door neighbor had this six-month old Saint Bernard puppy that always kept me awake at night for months. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore, so one day I snuck into my neighbor's house and kidnapped the puppy. I didn't get very far before the cops found me and returned the puppy. I was sentenced for six months in the county jail. That was three years ago. When I got out, I vowed to make every dog pay for the punishment and torment that I had gone through."
Many of the dogs by now came to the correct assumption that Hank was crazy. Goddard had now freed Tom's hands from the rope, but still didn't let Hank or Wanda see.
"It took a couple years of planning," continued Hank. "This warehouse was the perfect place to set up my headquarters. I hired ex-cons, the unemployed, and basically anybody who'd want to get paid for catching and taking care of as many dogs in the state of Massachusetts as possible. But then I thought, why just one state? I could go national! So, in order to do that, I'd need to get some financial planning. That's where Wanda came in."
Wanda spoke up. "I provided financial aid to help pay for Hank's transportation needs and supplies. I was vacationing in Boston at the time, and Hank came up to me to explain his proposition. I agreed and sent him the money from my office in Santa Monica. A few days I ago, Hank drove over to talk to me about relocating. When he left, he decided to capture some dogs on his own during the trip back."
Wanda had no way of knowing that Spike, Porkchop, Enrique Jr, Blue, Friskett, Buttons, and Santa's Little Helper were the exact same dogs she was talking about. "I knew that Hank guy looked familiar," thought the seven canines to themselves.
"However, Hank called soon after he left. He wanted me to be present when he came back from his trip. So, I took a plane to Townsville, but flights to Boston were cancelled due to weather conditions. So, I wound up taking the bus with Tom and some of you dogs." She pointed to her canine bus passengers. "I had planned to go alone, so you can imagine my displeasure when I learned that everyone on the bus was going to the same place. Then again, once I learned the dogs could talk, Hank and I could plan on using that to our advantage. Hank and I have been talking about our plans on my cell phone the entire time. When I saw on the TV in Boston that poor Hank here had been identified, I had dashed into the restroom to warn him and decided to drive my car over here before Tom arrived. Then, when I made sure Tom was in his van, I locked the back doors of the van to make sure the dogs didn't leave." Some of the dogs groaned. They should've known Wanda was the one who slammed the van doors shut.
Tom looked startled. "You knew I was coming here?"
Wanda smiled. "I overheard what you said on the bus. You're looking for your poor friend Daniel. Well, it looks like your lead turned out to be a good one."
"Lead?" asked Talking Dog.
"Yes," said Wanda. "Looking at Daniel's identification, I called up Tom and told him that Daniel was being held right here in this building!"
"You!" shouted Tom. Goddard had now freed Tom from the ropes, so Tom flung them aside, raced up to Wanda and slammed his fists into the glass. "You kidnapped Daniel! Why you…"
"Now, now," teased Wanda. "Don't say anything you won't regret in front of the dogs."
"How did you know who I was?" asked Tom, gritting his teeth.
"I punched in Daniel's ID on a search engine, and you came up almost instantly. Seems you were taking a little vacation when I gave you the lead. Sorry about that. You see, dogs," Wanda turned to the canines. "Tom's not really an electrician from, where was it? Pasadena, yes. He's really…"
"You're gonna pay for this!" screamed Tom at Wanda. "Do you hear me?"
"Yes," grinned Wanda. "You certainly didn't act this way on the way over here. Isn't it funny how we both ended up riding the same bus over here? Of course, I didn't know you were Tom until I heard you say you were looking for your friend, Daniel, in Cape Cod."
"But why are you doing all this with Hank? Why?" asked Tom. "You can't just hold these dogs up forever!"
Hank stood up. "That's why when we get enough of them, we'll hold them for ransom and retire on the money. That's why I'm doing all this."
"And Wanda?" asked a stupefied Tom.
"I could use some of the money myself," said Wanda. "Besides, Hank and I have become really good friends." To prove her point, she leaned over and gave Hank a quick kiss on the mouth. You could tell the dogs were thoroughly disgusted by that action.
"You're both crazy!" yelled Tom. "You'll never get away with this!"
"Spare me the overused clichés," yawned Wanda. "Once we're done hauling these dogs out of here, we're thinking of hauling you off the side of that cliff outside."
Tom wisely swallowed his fear and asked, "How many other dogs are there?"
"I'll show you," said Hank. He pushed a button on the wall. Immediately, the wall in both rooms opened up to reveal the vast room down below that housed the 100+ caged canines. Even through the transparent fiberglass, you could here the barks and howls from all the dogs in there. The sound pierced the hearts of all the dogs that stood with Tom. This place was bigger than any pet store or animal shelter. None of them had ever seen anything like this. This wasn't like a prison. These dogs didn't do anything wrong. It was more like a concentration camp, only they were being kept alive.
The cartoon canines felt lumps in their throats. Even Gir and Goddard were taken aback by the sight.
"And now," said Hank. "Once I lock you dogs up, we'll be ready to relocate to a different location!"
The dogs were getting worried now. Their hopes for getting out of here were becoming dimmer by the second.
"And how are you gonna do that when the cops are searching the entire cape?" asked Tom.
"Once again, I'm glad you asked that," said Hank. "We will transport the canines to the nearest port, where they'll be shipped out to someplace far away. There's already a ship waiting three miles away. Once we're back on solid ground, we'll set up a new base of operation and publicly express our demands."
"Well, I think I've heard enough," said Tom. He glanced down and looked at his watch. "I really hate to tell you both this, but…"
"But what?" asked Hank.
Tom looked out towards one of the large windows on the other side of the warehouse. A smile graced his face as a pair of headlights could be seen growing bigger outside. He turned to Hank and Wanda and said, "I think the tables are gonna be turning for you two right about now."
Before Hank or Wanda could respond, there was an enormous "CRASH" from down below. Everyone, except Tom, turned and gasped. A large, metal and glass cube had smashed through a window and part of the wall! It slowed to a stop as the dogs saw that it was long, had wheels, and people were inside it.
With a start, everyone realized it was a bus! And not just any bus, but a Greyhound bus! It ran into a few cages, but fortunately, they were unoccupied. The windshield was totaled, the front fender was dented, and debris was scattered everywhere. Outside, Tom was glad to see police car lights off in the distance.
The bus door opened and a bewildered driver stumbled out. The dogs were stunned to see that it was none other than Pam herself! And right behind her was Danny!
"How the heck did they get here?" asked Cat.
Before anyone could answer, there was a commotion going on in the warehouse. Amazingly, right after the bus crashed into the room, all the cages flew open! Dogs were running around everywhere!
No one knew how that happened. The dogs later learned that the German Shepard had found the control room at last and disabled the lock command for all the cages.
Everyone, including Tom, stared at the freed canines down below, until Spike suddenly yelled, "Hey, they're getting away!" Everyone turned in time to see Hank and Wanda running out of the room.
As the sound of a helicopter could be heard overhead, Tom grabbed the chair and smashed it with all his might into the glass separating the two rooms. The glass cracked in a spiderweb design. Tom swung back, but was surprised to see Friskett leap through the window, shattering it into a million pieces. As Friskett raced after them, Tom said, "C'mon!" He kicked in the door, and exited the room with the dogs.
Friskett was frantically running down the hall. Hank was a bigger concern to him than Wanda was. He looked into a room and saw him. He was trying to hide behind a desk with a computer on it. The glowing screen showed Friskett's growling face. He crouched down, preparing to leap. Not knowing what else to do, Hank reached out and opened up the scanner as Friskett flew at him. With a flash of light, Friskett dove into the scanner and abruptly disappeared. Hank looked around for a moment, wondering where the dog had gone. Then he heard Wanda's voice outside and ran out.
Meanwhile, in Mainframe, Friskett reappeared in a flash of light. He found himself standing in front of Dot's Diner! Opening the door was a sad, depressed Enzo. He still had no clue where Friskett had gone. Friskett barked, and Enzo lifted his head.
"Friskett!" he shouted, as his dog slammed into him and licked his face. "Where in the net have you been?! We've been searching all over for you!"
Friskett cocked his head and whined. He was a little unsure himself.
"C'mon, let's go tell Dot you're back!" And with that, Friskett walked with Enzo back into the diner.
Back at the warehouse, Tom and the dogs ran down the hall. In their hurry, they forgot which way was out! Some of Hank's henchmen were running too. Everyone that ran into the dogs was attacked or pushed to the side.
Finally, a squad of policemen appeared at the end of the hall. They escorted Tom and the dogs outside.
Once outside, everyone was surprised by the scene. Police cars and cops were everywhere! Fire trucks, ambulances, news vans, and animal control vehicles were scattered all around. Police tape bordered the area. Even a few helicopters with searchlights were flying overhead! Many of Hank's henchmen were being led away in handcuffs.
"Where's Hank and Wanda?!" asked T.D. to Tom.
Before he could answer, Spike yelled, "Hey! Look what the dog dragged in!"
Everyone turned and saw the German Shepard savagely dragging Wanda out of the building. Wanda was trying to fight him off, but the German Shepard's jaws were clamped down tightly on Wanda's arm. Tom, with an odd smile on his face, ran to the scene with a couple officers.
Wanda still wasn't calming down. The dogs saw Tom reach for something in his pocket and feared the worst. But, to their astonishment, Tom pulled out a set of handcuffs! He placed the cuffs on Wanda's wrists as he read Wanda her rights. The dogs were stunned.
"You…you're a cop??!!" they asked.
"An undercover cop, actually," admitted Tom. "Wanda nearly gave my real profession away back there." Tom handed her to the other officers, who led her away. "Sorry I didn't tell you guys earlier." The German Shepard suddenly came up and licked Tom's hand. Tom crouched down and scratched behind the dog's ears as it licked his face. "Besides, I had a lot on my mind."
"Ahhh," said T.D., who finally figured it out. He turned to the German Shepard and said, "Let me guess. Daniel, right?"
The German Shepard turned and barked with agreement.
"Yeah," said Tom. "I should've said earlier that Daniel was my dog. But he's not just my dog." Tom reached into his pocket and showed them a police badge with Daniel's name on it. "He's also my partner."
"Or at least one of them," said an African-American cop who walked up to Tom.
"Hey, Toby," said Tom as they shook hands.
"Well, it's about time you got back here," said Toby. "This search party just wouldn't be the same without you. And by the looks of things, it's about to wrap up."
Everyone turned and saw the Greyhound being towed back from the building. The last of the dogs were being brought out from the building as well. Pam and Danny were standing nearby. They saw the dogs and waved at them.
Before the dogs could head on over to them, a cop ran out of the building saying, "It's coming down! It's coming down!" Naturally, everyone thought the building was going to collapse, so they evacuated the area immediately.
"What about Hank?" asked Tom to the running cop.
"I tried to get him, but he just ran deeper into the building!" heaved the cop.
As everyone ran, a deep rumbling could be heard and felt, which caused everyone to run faster.
Finally, it collapsed. Not the building, but the entire section of the cliff that the building was on! Apparently, the weight of the building had taken its toll on the weak rock. The building fell straight down for a while, before it tilted over and hit the waves far below upside-down.
Everyone stood and stared at the nothing that remained. Pam and Danny walked over to the dogs and were marveling with everybody at how close everyone had come to going down with Hank into the depths of the sea below.
(How did Pam and Danny get here? Find out next, in….the final chapter!)