Chapter 13:
Jack and Magnus were sitting in a comfortable red waiting room loveseat, inching as far away from each other as long as the leash will allow. Jack pressed himself against the wooden handle on the right side of the sofa, and Magnus was seated tail-tucked on the left side. Neither man nor beast made direct eye contact or motioned near each other. Jack kept staring at the clock slowly ticking on the wall, and Magnus refused to look at anything else but the timber front door. Magnus and Jack were twitching slightly, as if the cool air that blew in from an open window was actually an icy blizzard. The only other beings in the waiting room were four people and three pets, two of which do not have pets.
At the front desk, two female teenage receptionists were typing on two separate computers. Both girls had short black hair, light brown eyes, curved bodies and black nails. They were both in white nurses' outfits and wore small medical hats. The girls were so symmetrical in appearance, that Jack was startled when he approached the desk to sign in. He believed that they stepped into some creepy horror movie or something, but that's just because the closest thing that Jack has seen to equally alike people before was Leo and Luna. Simple Jack didn't know that these twins and the fraternal twins were two completely different things. Magnus didn't even notice the girls; he barely noticed when Jack jerked at his collar to sit on the couch. He just kept staring directly at the door, as if he expected it to dance for him. In the couch across from them, an elderly woman with white hair and reflective glasses was sitting with a little dog wrapped in her arms. She hummed a cheerful tune as the small, cinnamon-furred Chihuahua slept happily in her hands. Next to her was a small boy with brown hair, green eyes, a green hat, and matching green clothes. He was reading a bunch of thick sitting room magazines, flipping quickly through each one before discarding it for the next. On the cushion in between the woman and the boy, there was a small cage with a pair of weasels scurrying around in them. The bigger weasel was dark brown with a coal-black nose and eyes, and the smaller weasel was cream-white with a red nose and red eyes. They squeaked nosily as they wrestled in the tiny wire pen, climbing on the bars and nipping at each other's tails for fun.
The old woman stroked the small dog gently as she glanced at the playmates next to her. "Those are lovely little critters, dearie." Spoke the woman.
The little boy glanced up momentarily before he continued reading the rest of the magazines. "Yeah, they're cool. Eddy and Fifi like to play around with each other too much though, but they make good pets." He eyes the little pooch questionably until it woke up and started to shake in fear; the poor dog was afraid of, well, pretty much anything. "That's a nice pooch there, lady."
"Thank you, sweetheart. Brave's such a good dog, but he's been shivering too much lately. I fear he may be coming down with something." The woman rubs Brave's fur gently as he eyed the cage, shaking vigorously. Eddy and Fifi stopped wrestling with each other, and decided to pick on someone else. After an exchange of winks, they arched their backs, had their fur stand on ends, and gave very loud hisses at Brave. Brave gave a shrilling cry, and the next thing you know, he's cowering inside the hanging chandelier 8 feet off the ground. Everyone stares up at Brave in awe, all except for the weasels, which were rolling on their sides and laughing.
There was a buzz from the answering machine at the twins' desk. The first twin, her nametag said Mackenzie, pushes a red button and the girls listened to the illegible muttering projected from the speaker. After a while, the speaker clicks off and both girls stand up.
The second twin, Madison, is the one to call to the patients. "Everyone, all of your doctors are open and ready for you. Please come up for your room numbers."
Everyone and their pets stand and made their way to the counter. (Brave jumps out the chandelier into the woman's arms after Fifi and Eddy are gone.) Animal and owner line up behind the counter as the twins type up the emailed appointments on the computers. Madison and Mackenzie print up the emailed appointments and direct everyone to a closed door. One girl pushes the door open for the visitors and the other was ready to hand out printed flyers. (I lost track of which twin is who! Sorry…)
"Ok," said the twin holding the papers. "Fifi and Eddy's scheduled blood work will be held in the first room at the right. Shut the door behind you and Dr. Jacobson will be with you shortly." She handed the boy the flyer and made his way through the corridor without a word, the weasels rattling a ruckus in their carrier.
"Dr. Mikener, appointed to Brave, will be in the third door on the left. She will meet your dog momentarily for his vaccinations." The woman thanked her and headed to the medical room, Brave still big eyed and trembling like the scared puppy he is.
The secretaries smiled at Jack as he approached. "Mr. Atlas, Dr. Ediug will meet with you at the middle room, all the way at the end. He'll be waiting for Magnus' first checkup."
"Thank you." Jack takes the flyer and starts down the hall, only to stop when the leash won't move with him. Magnus is turned completely away from him, staring at the door with such intense.
"Magnus!" He snaps out of his trance like a deer out of the headlights. He rushes to Jack's side unusually obedient. "You're acting very strange, mutt. And I'm not just saying that because you haven't tried to sink your teeth into me in a while. You trying to act all innocent so the doc won't snip ya? Or…are you waiting for a cute little she-dog back at the park?" Jack teased.
Magnus walked with Jack like a ghost or a zombie; he was a shell of the dog he was a few hours ago, silent and shaking. As they entered the room to Dr. Ediug's office, Jack became a little more concerned about Magnus. He figured there really was something seriously wrong with Magnus. The small, white room had a medium-sized examining table against the wall, two green guest chairs at the opposite corner, and a short wheeled chair in the center. It looked like a regular visit to the doctor for Jack, except with all of the cute doggie pictures hanging from the walls. Gently tugging on his leash, Jack led Magnus to the table and coaxed him onto the flat, metal surface. After Magnus hopped on without so much as a whimper, Jack tied his leash to a nearby coat hanger and sat himself in one of the guest chairs. Jack stares at Magnus, who continues to look at the door down the hall.
Jack shifts uncomfortably in the chair, curious about Magnus' bizarre behavior. What is that mutt up to? One minute he's hyper and trying to bite my head off, and the next second he's worse than a squirrel that's been ran over by a car! It could be because I've been hanging around that begging rascal so long, but I think he's worried about something. But what could a dog be so worried about? I wonder what goes on through his mind when he's all quiet like this…
She's coming. Magnus whines silently. She's coming! I can smell her! Why does Jack have to keep me here? I'm nervous enough as it is with that doctor checking me for anything. Aaaugh! Where is he! I want to leave this torture chamber as soon as physically possible!
As if on cue, a man in a medical lab coat and a clipboard steps in and closes the door behind him. He was a very tall, middle age man with short blonde hair and extremely fair skin. He maneuvers around the room effortlessly while etching away on his clipboard, never looking up for one second. Jack and Magnus watch him trek around the room in silence; Jack stares at him blankly and Magnus is fighting the urge to bite him. Finally, the man stops writing with a loud click from his pen and looks up at the duo.
"Greetings!" shouts the doctor, "My name is Dr. Thaddeus Ediug, and I will be Magnus' veterinarian. Now, Mr. Atlas, I would like for you to fill out some paperwork and sign a few legalization forms. Then I can get started on your dog. They're notarization papers stating that you have given me permission to-"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, stuff you gotta do. Listen, doc, I'll fill this thing out if you hurry up and check up on the mutt. I ain't got all day to waste in here." Jack reluctantly read the boring documents and began writing down his insignia anywhere he can, while Dr. Ediug put on a pair of latex gloves and began to examine Magnus. The blue-furred canine barely noticed Dr. Ediug as he showed a light into his ear.
Jack scratched his head at all of the complicated and personal questions on the sheet, especially at the questions that involved his relationship with Magnus. "Dr. E, what does this mean? 'Pet license number', what?"
Dr. Ediug was going through the back of Magnus' fur with a fine tooth comb, possibly looking for fleas or mites. "His legalization number, Mr. Atlas. You know, from the pound or kennel? The kennel that you adopted this dog from should've provided all of the necessary paperwork for you up front."
"One: I didn't adopt that thing, my girl did. And two: She said the mutt crashed into her one night and she invited it into her home. If there was any paperwork on the fleabag, she did it, not me."
"Who is your girl, Mr. Atlas?"
"Carly. She my girlfriend and the one that's housing that mongrel. I only brought him here because she asked me to, batting her eyes and everything. Pathetic, right?"
"Not at all, Mr. Atlas. I see nothing wrong with doing a young lady a favor." Magnus whined a little as the doctor forced open his mouth to examine his teeth. Dr. Ediug was extremely careful not to pressure him too much, since Magnus' teeth were sharper than any kitchen knife. "Are there any concerns you want to raise about Magnus, like illnesses or unusual behavior?"
Jack stopped scribbling in the clipboard and looked hard at Magnus, although Magnus didn't even acknowledge his fiendish glare. "Yeah, how 'bout you introduce him to the Ol' Clip-and-Snip! Or something that will stop that thing from biting!" Jack joked.
Dr. Ediug instantly stopped his examination and gave a hard look at Jack. "Sir! If your dog is attacking people because of some past trauma or the mistakes of a previous owner, you must keep him away from other people before he seriously hurts someone! Whatever possessed you to let him go out of control is beyond-?"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Easy, professor!" Jack defended as he was backed into a corner, literally. "As far as I know, and care, that thing has only had it out for me! It acts all innocent towards my girl, and he won't touch the leg of anyone else. That walking fur ball has had it out for me ever since day 1! Honest!"
The doctor softens up and backed away from Jack. "I apologize. When you're in my field, you see many good animals turn evil because careless owners don't know how to raise them properly. Then it's the animal that has to suffer because of that same carelessness, and then they are leashed unjustly or put down. It's sickening." Dr. Ediug resumes his examination of Magnus, who hasn't moved at all. "So, Mr. Atlas, are you sure you haven't done anything to enrage Magnus?"
"No!" Jack paused. "Well, we did have a rough first encounter. He's normally docile, but only whenever Carly says for him to behave. And he always tries to nip me whenever I so much as hug her!"
While Jack and Dr. Ediug exchanged more questions and answers, Magnus suddenly lifted his head and sniffed the air several times. He relaxed a little and stood strait up, wagging his tail happily and panting. I…I think she's gone! Thank goodness! If she found me, there would've been a lot of trouble for everyone here! I'm sure Jack could've fended them off, but Carly…I would never forgive myself if anything happened to her…By the way, where is Carly? And where am I, again?
Dr. Ediug removes his gloves, shoves them into a hazard bin, and takes the clipboard from Jack. After scrawling down more notes and bulletins, he walks back over to Magnus and reaches for something in his shirt pocket. "Well, Mr. Atlas, it sounds like nothing more than a simple case of territorial dominance. You, Magnus, and Ms. Carly are all a pack to him, and you all have different roles. In the wolf ranking system, it would make the most sense that Magnus sees Carly as the Alpha female; she is the leader of the pack and all others obey her. Magnus would've placed himself as the Beta male, a subordinate of the Alpha and will only listen to the Alpha female, reference Carly."
Jack scratched his head at all of these confusing animal facts and wolf rankings. "So, if he's the Beta and Carly the Alpha female, that that means that I'm the Alpha male! Right?"
Dr. Ediug rolled his eyes. "Well, normally yes, but if what you're saying is true, than no. It seems that Magnus finds you best suited as the Omega male; the weak, pathetic underling who normally gets picked on by the other wolves."
"WHAT?"
"Sorry about that, Mr. Atlas." Dr. Ediug patted Magnus on the head and removed his hand from his pocket, revealing a large dog biscuit in his hands. Magnus avidly gobbled up the treat in one gulp, and licked the doctor's face when he was done. "But Magnus here seems to be a healthy, happy, loyal dog. I see nothing wrong with him, nor any reason to neuter him. I suggest if you put a little more effort into training him, then you two might-?"
Jack suddenly bolted up from his spot. "MIGHT NOTHING! Doc, I want this…beast under control by day's end, and I don't care how expensive, or painful, it will be for the both of us. I'm sure that if I sweet talk my girl the right way, she can handle all of the-AAAH!"
Magnus has snapped out of his tipsy daze and resumed his normal activities; and by this, I mean yapping at Jack and trying to bite at his leg. Jack and Magnus dash around the room like crazy, careful not to break anything or tip over any of the doctor's equipment. Dr. Ediug just stood there and stared in shock at the unusual relationship between man and beast. As a veterinarian, he felt he should call for assistance and a sedative, but instead he just sat in his chair and looked over his charts.
Outside of the pet clinic, River was in another bush beside the main entrance. Like a ninja in the dead of night, Mr. River maintained absolute silence as he made his way to the clinic's front door, wary for anyone to spot him and blow his cover. As River carefully climbed up the side of the building and landing on the roof with cat-like reflexes, the phone in his back pocket started to vibrate. Thankful that he remembered to silence the phone before moving on, River flipped it open fluidly and whispered a hello.
River talked while peeking through a skylight on the roof. "Agent River here."
"River, It's Cavern"
River literally twitched like crazy and almost freaked out right there! If River has had any possible reason to worry about something or to be scared to death, this was a pretty damn good cause. What unholy act Boulder or River (Mostly Boulder) has done to make Ms. Cavern call his cell directly, he sure wished he checked the caller I.D. before answering; he also hoped she was in a (rare) good mood.
"Yes Madame Cavern Agent River reporting for duty Madame Cavern I am here to serve you Madame Cavern what can I do for you Madame Cavern? Gasp, gasp, gasp, cough!" Whenever she contacted him, River had a hard time remembering not to speak fast and exhale at the same time.
There was an icy chuckle at the other end of the line. "Easy, River. You and your teammate are in no trouble whatsoever. I just thought I would call and…gather information on what you have on The Target so far."
Without hesitation, River quickly gave Ms. Cavern any available information on Magnus and his status. Where he lived, what people he's come in contact with, how he reacts with them, everything. River was just about to brief her on Magnus' current location, when Ms. Cavern ordered him to stop.
Like a child caught in the act, River was very picky about his next sentence. "Is there s-something wrong, Ms. Cavern?"
Cavern's voice has about as much life and emotion in it as a cemetery in the arctic. "There is no need for me to receive information on The Target's current whereabouts. I took the liberty of finding that out for myself. It wasn't hard, even though The Target did try to pinpoint me on multiple occasions. Heh, it's as if it can track me like a metal detector or something."
Yeah, mainly because there IS metal where your heart should be…"You did? I mean, yes, of course. As you can well imagine, ma'am, finding Magnus is the easiest part of the mission. Retrieving him has proven to be quite more challenging."
There was an unnerving silence on the other line. River did not dare breathe before Ms. Cavern said anything. "What did you say, River?"
"I-I said that retrieving him will be a little-?"
"Did you just give it a name?"
River's throat was clogged with his heart; he barely made a word as she continued. "Since when does that thing have the privilege to a name? Since when it is alright with you to give it an identity? Why would you even consider giving that thing a name for itself?"
River was shivering on the roof. "I…I'm sorry ma'am…I-I didn't…I mean…"
"As far as we care, River, that thing is nothing more than a target. That thing, wagging its tail without a care in the world, is a faceless beast in the crowd that did nothing to deserve a name. The only reason why anyone should care to give it a name is because it has earned its title! Until then, it should not have a name! IT. IS. NAMELESS! Understand?"
River has crawled into a fetal position on the top of the building. "It…I….I didn't name him-it ma'am! It was the girl, Carly, and her boyfriend! Honest!"
There was another eerie pause on the line. "Really? Very well, River. I apologize for snapping at you. Do you accept my apology, Mr. River?"
"Yes! Yes, I do!"
"Good." There was one final pause as River steadied his heartbeat. "River, as soon as Boulder recovers from his…accident, maintain visual and radio silence. Observation only. If you do manage to separate The Target from the secondary targets, bring him back immediately. Until then, observe until further orders. Understand?"
"Yes, Ms. Cavern!"
"Excellent. Cavern out." There was a loud click on the line, and a dead dial tone followed quickly.
River was left quivering on the roof, twitching lightly and staring with hollow eyes at absolutely nothing. He tried to move, but all he can do was shift his arms, dropping his phone and hug his legs close to his body. River could hear the phone as it clattered off the roof and feel into the bush at the bottom, as well as his own heavy breathing. His chest painfully rose and fell as River struggled to take in fresh air, to calm himself down. He was almost too scared to progress, even though he was sitting on a roof in the middle of the day. The sun was high, but River couldn't feel its warmth or see its solar rays. Whenever Ms. Cavern yelled at anyone, there was no such thing as warm or heat anymore. All he can feel was the dark, sub-zero chills Cavern's words had burned onto his skin. River promised himself to get back in the game soon, to continue and complete the mission; he just…needed a minute.