"Well?"

"I didn't hear any barking."

"Maybe the dog had a vet appointment."

Tom clearly looked troubled, though. He didn't like the missing dog. Things like that made him nervous.

"Maybe we should wait..."

"What? No way! This is perfect. He's gone, man. The dog's probably gone, too. Even if he isn't-"

"You know what a dog like that can do to someone, Jim?" Tom was getting defensive, which meant angry. "Big dogs have big teeth."

"Whatever. You don't want to come, fine. Get out. Me and Gene can do this just fine ourselves." He started the van.

Tom was obviously indecisive, but he didn't get out of the van. Greed won out over nervousness, and when the van pulled into the driveway only a few minutes later, he was the first one to get out.

"Go to the back, Jim. See if there's a door open. We'll check the windows."

"What if the dog's in the back yard?" Jim didn't really like the idea of a big dog, either.

"You're the one that didn't want to wait." Besides, if the dog was in the back yard, he wasn't going to cause them any trouble, unless there was a dog door. Tom hoped the dog was in the back yard.

Grumbling, Jim went around back, and the other two men started checking the side of the house for any unlocked windows.

.................

Inside the house, Jaffer had decided something was not as it should be. He'd heard the van pull up, and had gone to the door once more, waiting for another knock. But it hadn't come. His sharp ears had heard conversation, though, and he knew someone was outside. And it wasn't his Jack. He went over to the couch and looked at Sam, but she'd fallen asleep, victim to the potent painkiller she'd taken right before Jack had left.

He whuffled her cheek, gently, but she didn't wake up, although her hand did come up and move his cold nose away with a loving pat. She wasn't awake, but she wasn't completely out of it, either.

Something made a noise in the bedroom, and Jaffer trotted down the hall to see what was going on, but when he entered the room, he didn't see anything. He left the bedroom and went back into the living room, the hackles on his neck starting to come up slowly. He wasn't positive something was wrong, but things were definitely not normal. And Jaffer was edgy.

..................

"Here, doggie..."

The man named Jim looked over the back gate uneasily, but he didn't see any dog. Not a little dog and certainly not the big one they'd seen prancing around the front yard with the guy that lived here. He jumped the fence, and headed for the deck, noticing that that was where the door opened out to. Up the steps and onto the deck, he moved to the door and tried it, but it was locked. No big surprise. He went back to the side of the house where he met up with his partners once more. They'd tried all the windows, but none were open or unlocked.

"Any sign of the dog?"

"Nope."

"How do you want to do this?"

"We'll jimmy the front door. That way we can look like movers or something if someone happens past."

They all nodded, and headed back to the front door, gathering around as Tom pulled out a crowbar and jammed it in between the door and the lock. It was a simple matter for a strong man like him to gain enough leverage to pop the lock, and the door swung open. Jim gave his partner a pat on the back, and then headed into the house, and found his path barred by Jaffer.

The black lab had followed the progress of the men as they'd made their way around the house. His sharp ears hadn't missed their voices at the side of the house, even though he couldn't see them, and by now he was pretty sure they didn't belong. People who belonged came through the front door with Jack. Or at least smelled of Jack – or Sam. These men smelled of nervousness, and that made Jaffer suspicious.

By the time the men had ended back up at the front door, the lab's hackles were up completely, making him look even bigger than he already was, and there was a continuous growl rumbling deep in his chest. This wasn't the cute growl that Sam had heard earlier, when she'd asked him about keeping her on the couch. He was serious, now, and the tail wasn't wagging.

"Oh, shit..."

Jim froze. His friends bumped into him as they headed into the house, unaware that he'd stopped.

"What-?"

"Hey-"

Both of them fell silent as they saw Jaffer, his head low, his brown eyes watching all three of them, and a very large set of canines showing as his lips pulled back to warn them that they were not welcomed here.

"Good doggie..."

Oh, no. He was not a good doggie. Jaffer's growl deepened as he smelled their fear. No one that belonged had ever been afraid. They most certainly didn't belong. Not in his house.

"Gimme that crowbar..." Jim reached back for the metal rod, and Tom handed it to him. The man brandished it, hoping to scare Jaffer, but the dog had no fear of a stick. He'd never been beaten with one before, and the only sticks he'd ever seen were to be chased and chewed on. But he didn't like the way it was swung at him like that, and his growl turned more menacing.

.............................

Something was nagging at Jack. He didn't know what it was, exactly, but something was wrong. It was like when you thought maybe you'd left the burner on before leaving for vacation and it bothered you the entire trip so you didn't have fun and you just knew you were going to come home and find the house was burned to the ground because you hadn't gone back and checked it out. That was what it was like, but Jack knew he hadn't left a burner on, and he didn't know what was bothering him.

He was sitting at a red light, waiting for it to turn, and was scowling so fiercely that he was drawing attention from the person in the car next to him. But he didn't notice this. He was trying to figure out what was bugging him. Something he'd seen, obviously, hadn't been right, and his instincts were telling him that he needed to take care of it. But he didn't know what it was. Or if it would wait until he ran his errands.

A horn blew, startling him, and he realized the light had turned and the people in the car behind him had grown tired of waiting. Jack went through the light and took a right. He'd learned a long time ago to trust his instincts, and he wasn't about to start ignoring them now. He headed for home.