Chapter 15: Cliff-hanger
"When a good man is hurt, all who would be called good must suffer with him." – Euripides
"I'm still not sure about this…" Zuma whispered as they looked upon the warehouse.
"Neither am I, but I need to hear their answers." Chase said.
"And besides that, we're meeting with the Ace of Spades. He's a legend in the underworld." Silvex added. "It might be useful to put a face to the name."
Chase had asked everyone to meet up and discuss the offer. Chase, Marshall and Silvex were in agreement, but Zuma and Rocky took quite a bit of convincing. Shadex on the other hand, was immediately interested and agreed to come along without hesitation. Shadex was the last of them to agree. About two seconds later, the Labrador called Chase and told him to meet at a certain warehouse downtown. That was the warehouse they were now facing, all of them slightly hesitant to go inside. Eventually, Chase decided that it was his responsibility, so he led the group inside. The moment they entered, the warehouse's lights turned on and revealed a group of people sitting at a container in the middle of the warehouse.
Chase's group walked over to them and sat down in front of them. In the light from the overhead lighting, Chase could easily make them out. There were three in total. One was a blond-haired man wearing a blue suit. He had a scar over his left eye and his hair pulled back into a ponytail. On his left, there was a big black wolf with green eyes. The wolf was much bigger than any dog Chase knew and even the biggest trainees at the K9 academy would pale in comparison. On the man's other side, in stark contrast against the wolf, sat the Labrador from before. He was quite a bit bigger than Zuma like Chase had thought before. It was the Labrador that said the first words to break the silence.
"Hello everyone, thanks for coming!" the Labrador said cheerfully, like he was welcoming them to a workshop or something. "I'm Callum Lynch, but you can call me Cal. The man next to me is Hunter, the giant wolf on his left is Shadow."
"I'm pretty sure that you already know who we are, but I'll introduce us nonetheless." Chase said, remembering how Callum knew exactly who was part of their group. "I'm Chase. The dalmatian here is Marshall, the Labrador on his left is Zuma. On Zuma's left, there's Rocky. And lastly, the two huskies on my right are Silvex and Shadex, I'll let you figure out who's who."
"For the record, I'm Silvex." Silvex said. "But I thought we were supposed to meet the Ace of Spades here, so where is he?"
"He'll be here shortly." Shadow said calmly. Silvex looked like he was about to say something back at the wolf, but something in the wolf's intense stare convinced him not to.
And so, both groups waited in complete silence. They waited for the one called the Ace of Spades, whoever that was. After what seemed like half an hour, a door on the other side of the warehouse finally opened, revealing a German shepherd like Chase. The shepherd walked towards them with certain steps, he essentially oozed confidence. But as the shepherd took a seat in-between Hunter and Shadow, Chase could hear Silvex audibly gasp.
"Hello, Silvs. It's been a while." The Ace of Spades said.
"…Axel…" Silvex whispered under his breath, his voice filled with emotion.
On the other side of town, Captain Xavier was about to make a phone call. That said, this wouldn't be the kind of phone call that a Police Captain makes. His fingers trembled as he pressed his phone's buttons to select the contact. When he found her codename, he swallowed hard before selecting it. He dialled the number and with every beep, his nerves grew. Bloodrazor may have been the most powerful man in Coastal City, but he was nothing compared to her. She was the woman he worked for, who wasn't even half his age. Yet, she still inspired an unmatched level of fear within him. When the dial tone was finally interrupted and a scrambled voice answered, Bloodrazor got even more scared.
"Ma'am, it's Bloodrazor." He said as calmly as possible.
"Hello, Xavier." She responded. Due to the scrambler, it was hard to pick up on the tone in her voice, but Xavier knew that she wasn't happy. "I see you have made quite a mess of things."
"I'm sorry, ma'am." Xavier responded, but she wasn't having any of it.
"Let me see. Since our last communication, you failed to take care of Mr Greene and Silvex, you got yourself kidnapped and then killed a nurse and the operative you hired, the latter in spectacular fashion. Not to mention the mess at the bank."
"I did get the files." Xavier replied. "Shouldn't that count for something?"
"I suppose." The Madam replied. "But Inferno Industries didn't progress our work as far as I had hoped. Regardless, from now on, you'll have to be on your best behaviour."
"Yes, ma'am!" Xavier replied.
"Oh, and one more thing." The Madam said. "We have significantly reduced the Blackstreet mafia's influence in Coastal City, but don't forget that it probably pissed off our old partner. Be wary of him, he can hold a grudge."
The Madam then hung up the phone, leaving Xavier as anxious as before. Xavier knew that the phone she had used would already be destroyed by now, or on the bottom of the river.
Everything Bloodrazor was, was because of the Madam. She took Andreas Xavier, the corrupt cop and turned him into the most powerful crime boss in Coastal City. Or rather, she turned him into the spokesperson for the most powerful crime boss. For she was really in charge of Bloodrazor's empire, Bloodrazor was merely the figurehead. That said, Xavier's rank and access had been a great help to their criminal empire.
"How are even alive?!" Silvex yelled at Axel. "I saw your body after that car crash!"
"It was really convincing, wasn't it?" Axel replied. "Trust me, it wasn't easy to pull off. But luckily, my people are very good at what they do."
"Trust?!" Silvex screamed. The husky was overflowing with emotions. "How dare you speak to me about trust, after you faked your death to get away from me?!"
"I'm sorry, Silvex. I truly am." Axel replied. Something in the way he used Silvex' name changed the husky's demeanour. All the anger and rage that the husky had been feeling seemed to have faded away.
"Damnit!" Silvex swore with tears in his eyes. "Why can't I be mad at you?!"
Axel didn't have an answer for this. Neither did anyone else for that matter, so everyone just stayed silent as Silvex sat there, weeping. But even though the husky was sitting alone, the presence of his friends and loved ones, new and old alike, seemed to be quite comforting. Before long, Silvex wiped away his tears and faced his ex' eyes head-on.
"We were told that you had answers?" Silvex asked. He had snapped back into the workaholic detective mode. The Silvex with the vulnerable feelings had disappeared as suddenly as he had appeared.
"Right, we do." In about the same way Silvex had snapped out of his emotions, Axel did too. The way they were talking to each other now, it seemed they were just colleagues, instead of ex-lovers. Oddly enough, this is exactly what made them seem perfect for each other.
"Tell us about Ryder, please!" Chase begged, causing looks of surprise on the faces of both Marshall and Rocky. Both the dally and the mix had been asleep when Chase and the others created the theory that there was something more behind Ryder's death than they knew. A theory that turned out to be at least partly right.
"Of course." Axel replied. "It all started with a meeting that took place two years ago, a little outside of a town called Adventure Bay."
Ryder and the PAW-Patrol had been working non-stop for the past few weeks and it was taking its toll. But Ryder didn't complain, for their work had inspired canines all around the world to join the human's civilisation. Seeing their hard work pay off in such a way made the boy quite proud. In spite of his young age of only ten years old, he had already achieved more than most men would in a lifetime. His initiative to start to PAW-patrol had inspired humans and canines everywhere to create similar organizations. However, despite being the poster child of human and canine collaboration, he had never really met any canine outside of the PAW-Patrol. But that all changed one day when he met a certain German shepherd. A German shepherd known as the Ace of Spades.
Chase, Marshall and Ryder himself had just finished a particularly easy rescue that merely involved a few runaway sheep when the boy received a call from the mayor. She asked him to meet at a certain bench in the park, which Ryder found rather odd. Not only was there something wrong with the visual side of the call, but the mayor's voice also sounded a bit strange. But he went anyway, seeing as she was the mayor after all. He sent Chase and Marshall back to the lookout and went to the meeting alone.
Upon his arrival, he didn't see the mayor anywhere, so he just sat down and waited. Before long, there was movement on his left, but it wasn't the mayor. It was a German shepherd, who seemed to be a little older and larger than Chase.
"Hello, Ryder. I've been looking forward to meeting you." the German shepherd said as he greeted the boy. "I'm the Ace of Spades."
"What's going on? Where is the mayor?" Ryder responded, as he looked upon the shepherd with curiosity and suspicion written all over his face.
"We both know that that phone call was faked and that the mayor isn't coming. She doesn't even know that this meeting is taking place." the shepherd said as he turned to the boy. "The answer to your first question is a little more complicated. I understand you might be wary of my motives and you should. However, the reason that I only gave you my codename is for your protection. But the truth is, I need your help."
"My help? With what?" Ryder asked. Most of his suspicion had faded away, leaving only curiosity.
"Tomorrow at noon, there is going to be a secret meeting between the leadership of two massive criminal organizations." The Ace of Spades explained. "We believe that they will attempt to strike a deal of sorts, though we don't know what it's about."
"Wait, what?" Ryder responded. He had not expected the situation to be this serious. "If that is what's going on, then what use could I be? I'm just the leader of a rescue team, not some kind of spy like you. Who do you work for anyway?"
"Up until a year ago I worked for the Central Intelligence Agency, now I'm doing the same thing as a freelancer." the Ace of Spades responded. "Our mission here is strictly surveillance, and for that, we'll need a guide that knows the area. Can I count on your help?"
"If we let that meeting take place, it can't be good for this town either…" Ryder thought out loud. "Fine, I'm in. But I'm doing this for Adventure Bay, not the CIA or whoever you work for now."
"Good, the meeting takes place to the north of town at noon tomorrow." The Ace of Spades said as he jumped off the bench. "Meet us there two hours early."
"Alright, I'll brief my team and we'll meet you there tomorrow." Ryder said as he was about to call the PAW-Patrol, before the Ace stopped him.
"No, don't call them." the Ace of Spades said. "Involving you is bad enough, I don't want to risk compromising this operation. Besides, we're dealing here with criminals the likes you've never seen before. Do you really want to expose your entire PAW-Patrol to a mission like this?"
"You're right." Ryder responded as he put away his communicator. "They are very talented, but I won't risk any of them in such a volatile situation. You mentioned that you had some kind of team with you?"
"Yes, I did bring my team. It consists out of four of the best and brightest people and canines that I could find." The Ace responded. "There's the Operative Hunter, Captain Callum Lynch, the wolf known as Shadow and lastly me. It's getting late, you'd better get back." The Ace of Spades said as he turned away from Ryder. Ryder then noticed a cell phone that the shepherd left behind. "And don't forget to tell your team to have the day off. We'll meet at the coordinates that are saved in the phone at 11:00 sharp."
"Understood, I'll see you tomorrow then." Ryder said as he too got up. When he didn't get a response, he looked at where the Ace of Spades was supposed to be standing, only to see an empty sidewalk.
"Well, tomorrow will be interesting." He said out loud before he got on his ATV and drove towards the lookout.
The next day, Ryder woke up after a near sleepless night. He didn't like having to lie to his pups, even if it was for their own safety. Ryder managed to keep the meeting to himself, despite the many questions from the other PAW-Patrol members. They were all curious about what the mayor wanted so suddenly, but he managed to distract them with treats and a surprise movie night. The next morning, they had forgotten all about it. Like the Ace of Spades suggested, Ryder gave all the members a well-deserved day off. He told them that he was going to go hiking on the cliff and that he wanted to do it on his own.
Ryder had disabled his ATV's GPS system, so that no one could track him, before showing up to the meeting site half an hour early. As he arrived, he was amazed by the interesting team the Ace of Spades had assembled. Not only was there a man amongst them, there was also a pretty big wolf. The other two present were a Labrador that was substantially bigger than Zuma, as well as the Ace of Spades himself. You would think that next to a man and a giant wolf, the shepherd would look small and insignificant, but nothing could be farther from the truth. Even with his somewhat small posture, the Ace of Spades was clearly the leader of this group.
When the Ace noticed him, he started introducing his teammates. First, there was the Labrador. His fur was as dark as Zuma's, but his eyes were dark blue like the sky during twilight. He was also wearing an entirely black attack suit, equipped with a silenced handgun and a silenced sniper rifle on his back. Ryder learned his name to be Callum Lynch.
Next was Hunter, the man that was sitting against a nearby tree. He was wearing a classic camouflaged military jacket, along with a vest in the same colours. He was equipped with a large calibre handgun and a sniper rifle of the same calibre, not to mention all the knives he had sheathed all over his body. Ryder counted 17 in total.
Shadow, the entirely black wolf with green eyes, had his equipment in the same colour as Callum, but the only gun he had was a small calibre wrist gun attached to his paw, with extra magazines of ammo. He did have a large sword on his back, which looked sharper than anything Ryder had ever seen.
Lastly, Ryder looked at the gear the Ace of Spades was wearing, which may have been the most impressive yet. Like Callum, he had a rifle on his back, but it seemed to be a weird combination between sniper and machine gun, along with a lot of extra magazines. He also had extendable blades on his paws both equipped with a small calibre wrist gun like Shadow's.
Callum then walked to Ryder and handed him two things: a vest and an earwig. Before Ryder could ask about it, the Ace handed him a map with a location marked on it, and the intention was clear. Without saying another word, the five of them departed for the meeting that was the whole point of them being there. Despite the insane level of skill these operatives possessed, none of them knew a shadow was silently crawling through the bushes behind them.
The meeting point was a terrace, surrounded by the forest, and bordering on a cliff. There were two dirt roads leading to it, which made it the perfect meeting place for such a sensitive negotiation. Ryder knew this area very well, it was where he would usually go hike. He led the team there quickly whilst avoiding both the roads.
They arrived before their adversaries did, which granted them the chance to hide and lie in wait. Across from the cliff, there were a series of bushes and a bunch of trees which would offer the perfect hiding place. The entire team hid there, with the exception of Hunter. Hunter climbed up a nearby hill and positioned himself with his sniper rifle.
The group didn't have to wait very long, for the first car arrived from the left road ahead of schedule. The very same minute, a second car arrived from the opposite direction. Both cars looked to be wildly expensive, despite the fact that they were now covered in dirt. When the second car came to a standstill and turned off its engine, both parties got out and met at the centre of the terrace. Callum was hidden on Ryder's immediate right. The Labrador quietly whispered to Ryder, identifying the strangers.
"The guy on our left is Andreas Xavier. He's a corrupt cop and is in the running for Captain of his own precinct. He's from Coastal City." Callum whispered "The guy with the eyepatch that is standing next to him is Marcus Black, the leader of the Blackstreet mafia."
"And the other group?" Ryder whispered back. "Who are they?"
"That's Bastion." The Ace of Spades whispered. "Although I doubt that Bastion's leader is amongst them. That guy they left by the car, he's one of their operatives. I thought I killed him last year, but I guess that bullet didn't take."
"What are they meeting about?" Ryder whispered to the Ace, but it was the Labrador that answered.
"They're talking about the BlueWater group!" the Labrador whispered nervously. When Ryder looked at Callum, he noticed that the Labrador was nervously looking at the Ace. When Ryder looked at the Ace as well, he saw that the shepherd's expression had changed. For some reason, the shepherd looked very concerned, though his expression disappeared when the shepherd caught Ryder staring at him.
"Do you guys hear that?" Shadow's voice suddenly asked.
"I don't hear any-" Ryder then started to hear it too.
"It's a chopper!" Callum whispered panickily.
"Keep calm, Callum." the Ace whispered back. Despite his words, Ryder could see that the Ace was getting restless. The same was true for the criminals in front of them, who all pulled out their guns. But instead of looking for the source of the sound, both groups had their guns aimed at each other.
"Hunter, do you have a shot?" the Ace whispered into his mic. Ryder couldn't hear what answer Hunter gave, but he could guess based on the Ace's next words. "Then take it."
That's when all hell broke loose. Both groups opened fire at each other and ran for cover, while Callum, Shadow and the Ace of Spades joined the fray. Hunter remained where he was and shot one enemy after another from his sniper position. Ryder stayed put as well since he didn't have any kind of weapon on him. But then he saw motion at the edge of the field. He could barely see the corrupt cop, Andreas Xavier, disappear into the bushes. Ryder tried to grab the attention of his teammates, but they were all too busy fighting. Ryder took a few deep breaths before he stormed out of his hiding place and ran after Xavier, who was headed straight for the cliff.
Ryder caught up to Xavier at the edge of the cliff, where the cop had turned around and was now aiming a gun at Ryder. Ryder could see the surprise at Xavier's face when he saw his pursuer was an unarmed kid, but it didn't cause the corrupt cop to lower his gun. Just then, Ryder remembered what the Ace of Spades had told him the day before about these criminals being like nothing they had ever seen before. Ryder realized that he way out of his league.
"Come here, I'm taking you, hostage." Xavier said as he walked over to Ryder and put his gun to the boy's head. "You'll be my ticket out of here."
Xavier then took off Ryder's bulletproof vest and put it on himself. The cop then grabbed onto Ryder's jacket and dragged him away from the cliff towards the bushes. Ryder tried to struggle, but the threat of the gun at his head was just too much. He only hoped that the others would realize that he was missing and come to look for him before the corrupt cop would inevitably kill him.
Looking ahead at the bushes, both Xavier and Ryder saw something white leaping for them. The first thing Ryder thought was that he had been saved, before realizing that none of his allies had white fur. The white cloud hit Xavier straight in the head, knocking both him and Ryder back towards the edge of the cliff. Xavier fell down due to the weight on his chest, but Ryder was knocked back further. The boy ended up dangerously close to the edge, but Xavier's strong grip on his jacket held him back. Ryder didn't realize how close he was to the cliff, only that Xavier was almost strangling him with his own jacket, so he struggled. He tried to get Xavier to release him, by kicking and punching Xavier as much as he could. He eventually planted both of his feet against Xavier's body and he ejected himself from the struggle. Xavier, meanwhile, was struggling with the white ball of fur standing on top of him, which Ryder only now realized to be Cali. But as Ryder managed to get himself away from Xavier, he suddenly felt the ground disappear from under him, and he fell. Only now did Ryder realize how close he had been to the cliff, now that he was hanging off the ledge. The only thing holding him back was Xavier's hand on his jacket. Xavier and Cali both stopped their fight to try and pull Ryder back up to safety. But it didn't work, for Ryder's jacket ripped right as he reached the top of the cliff. For one heartfelt moment, it seemed as if they could've saved Ryder, but then he lost his grip and plunged down the cliff, leaving an exhausted Xavier and Cali with nothing but a torn jacket as they heard the sickening sound of Ryder's body hitting the road underneath the cliff.
Xavier dropped the jacket and ran off, after which Cali took the jacket and ran off as well in a different direction.
M: I've been having fun with the titles, sorry about this one ;)