Balto: How the Mighty Rise Again(part 3)

Samson and Jenna padded through the alleyways of Nome. Samson was looking for the area where Balto had been shot. After an hour of searching, he found it. The snow was red with blood from the wound.

"Shit!" Samson exclaimed. "Well if we find him, stuffed up with cotton, surrounded by celebrating humans, we'll know what happened.

Jenna was angry. "So you're just giving up?"

Samson sighed. "There isn't much I can do. If it makes you feel any better, I'll probably get a beating from my boss for this."

"Who do you work for?" Jenna asked.

Samson struggled to find the words. "I work for…legitimate businesses."

Jenna gasped. "You work for the mafia?"

Samson nodded. "Don't worry. You're mate had nothing to do with our dealings."

"Except now he's…missing. Or dead."

"I know. Look Miss, just go back home. I'll find him."

Jenna opened her mouth to protest, but Samson stopped her.

"I promise."

She turned and ran home.

There was an old post office in Nome. It had been turned into the government building of Nome. The Mayor and his associates used it as their town meeting place.

The mayor had just dismissed a town meeting. He headed for the door. Two men stood in his way.

"Excuse me Mr. Mayor. We are from the AHA. We are here about a wolf problem.

"What's wrong?" The Mayor asked.

"Wolves have killed two humans this month. They have killed countless of our hunting dogs.""What are you suggesting?"

The hunter smiled. "We want free ability to hunt wolves."

The mayor shook his head. "Forget it. I won't allow the extermination of a species."

The man was still smiling. "I expected you'd say that. Mr. Mayor, what would you say is the thing bringing tourists to Nome?"

The Mayor thought for a second. Then he shook his head. "I don't know."

"Balto!" The man exclaimed, as if it was the obvious answer. "Balto, the hero of Nome, the thing that has put Nome on the map. Now you don't know but Silver, the prized dog from Anchorage, was recently killed."

The mayor gasped. "Really?"

The man nodded grimly. "And you know who did it?"The mayor shook his head. "Who?"

The man leaned in close. "Balto."

The mayor shook his head in disbelief. "I've met the little dog. He's not a killer."

"I might remind you, Mr. Mayor, he is a wolf dog. Not just a dog.""So?"

"Obviously his wolf tendencies have kicked in. He must be terminated."

The mayor nodded. "Possibly. But what about our town's popularity? You said it yourself. We would lose all of it."

The man grinned again. "That's why I suggest he be terminated…quietly.""What do you mean?" The mayor asked.

"Well, nobody else needs to know this about Balto. Our hunters know, but that's it."

"How will you catch him?"

"With him." The hunter gestured to a huge malamute in the corner of the room. He was black and brown. He growled when the man gestured to him.

"This is Killer. He is our number one hunting dog. He specializes in hunting wolves."

Balto awoke to unfamiliar surroundings. There was barely any light. He squinted in the darkness.

"Anybody home?" He called.

There was a padding sound. He could see the glowing eyes. Wolves.

"Nice to see you have woken up. You were half frozen when we found you."

"Who are you?" Balto asked.

"My name is Koto. I am the leader of the South end pack." The wolf replied.

Balto groaned. He was feeling pain in his back leg.

"Where are we?"

"In a hole." He gestured to the small amount of light shining in. "The underground is the only place where we can hide from the humans."

Balto winced as he got up. The pain in his leg had gotten worse.

"You wouldn't happen to know how to get this bullet out of my leg?"The wolf didn't speak. He was staring at Balto. "You saw a friend of ours tonight."

Balto nodded slowly. "Yeah. Why?"

The wolf shrugged. "When you meet with criminals, it makes us suspicious."

Balto got painfully to his feet. "You think I'm friends with that bastard?"

"You tell me. Are you?"

"Hell no!" Balto shouted.

The wolf put up his paws. "No need to get angry. Just asking a question. Geeze."

Balto calmed down. "How close am I to Nome?"

"About two minutes. We're right on the outskirts. Going somewhere?"

"Yeah. I need to see my mate. What time is it?"

"Dog time, human time, or wolf time?" Koto asked, grinning.

"Pick one."

"Okay. It's 7:00 AM human time."

Balto padded to the holes entrance. "I've got to go."

"Hey Balto!" Koto shouted.

Balto turned. "What?"

"We have our eye on you. Don't do anything stupid."

Balto nodded, then ran out into the sunlight. The sun had just come up.

"Weirdo." Balto whispered once he was out of earshot.

He padded stealthily into town. He suddenly felt a tugging on his tail.

He turned. "Good morning Star."

"Balto! We got dogs all over town looking for you! Someone is after you."

Balto nodded. "There rarely isn't."

Star shook his head. "None like this. He's a professional. He's Killer."

"What's his name?" Balto asked.

Star frowned. "I just told you. He's Killer."

Balto shook his head. "I know he's a killer! Tell me his name!"

Star shushed him. "There are too many other dog's here. They'll hear you!"Balto whispered through gritted teeth. "What the hell is his name?"

"His-name-is-Killer!" Star snapped back.

"Oh. Sorry about that."

"Listen some cat is looking for you."

"Samson." Balto whispered. "Where is he?"

"Jenna's house."

Balto chuckled humorlessly. "They let the cat stay with them. All I got was a rifle in the face! I have to go." He turned and sprinted off in the direction of Jenna's.

Jenna got up early to search the town for Balto. She had barely gotten to sleep until 3:30 in the morning. She had woken up an hour later. She stumbled through town drearily.

"Excuse me Ma'am. You don't look so good."

She turned to see a large malamute. He was black and brown. He had a lazy grin on his face. "Please, allow me to walk you home."Jenna yawned. "Thank you, but I'll manage."

The dog shook his head. "No please, I insist."

Jenna hesitated, then nodded. "Okay."

Balto entered the house through the open back window. He crept past the family and padded up the stairs.

"Samson!" He whispered. "Where are you?"

"Balto? You there?"

Balto turned to see Samson. "Where's Jenna?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing!" Samson hissed.

Balto slapped himself on the head. "Shit!"

"Every time you're here, she's not! Every time she's here, you're not!"

"You think I need to be told that?" Balto snapped back.

"Sorry! Jesus!"

Balto sighed. "Sorry. I'm not myself. I'm snapping away at everybody now."

Samson looked uncomfortable. "I guess you found out about Chiffre."

Balto's eyes widened. "You knew?"Samson nodded slowly. "It wasn't my choice. Ricardo thought it would get in your way."

"He still expects me to kill Chiffre?"

Samson nodded.

"I tried to kill him.""You did? Well boss will be pleased to hear that."

Balto groaned and leaned against a wall. "Samson, you got a family?"

Samson paused, startled by the question. "Yeah. I have a mate and five kittens."

Balto shook his head. "You shouldn't be mixed up in the mafia."

"Well boss saved my life once. I joined because I owed it to him."

Balto held up a paw. "Shh! I think I hear something."

Jenna and the malamute had arrived.

"Thanks again for walking me home."

The dog bowed. "No problem miss."

"Well I'll be on my way…" Jenna padded towards the house.'

"Hang on a minute there doll face." The dog called.

Jenna turned, slightly nervous. "What?"

"I have to ask you a couple questions."

"Could you come back later? I'm kind of tired."

The dog chuckled. "I think we'll talk now."

From behind a trash can Balto watched the exchange. He was curious to see what was going on. Samson was behind him.

"I'm looking for a guy. I think you know him."

Jenna looked around for other dogs. "Who…who is he?"

"He's a half breed. Bad seed. Terrible seed." The dog paused. "Did you just hear that?" He looked around. "Sounded like growling."

Jenna shook her head hurriedly. "I didn't hear anything."

The dog eyed her suspiciously. "You feeling alright?"

"Like I told you, I'm feeling tired. Would you please come back later?"The dog shook his head. "As I was saying, this hybrid killed someone. And the government sent me to look for him. His name's Balto. Know him?"

Jenna looked around again. "Uh no. Never heard of him. Can I go now?"

She walked towards the door. Suddenly the dog lunged at her. He caught her by the bandana and pulled her towards him. "Not so fast kiddo."

Behind the garbage can Balto let out a low growl. Samson held onto his tail.

"Don't do anything rash." He whispered.

"I think you know exactly where he is!" The dog snarled. "You can't protect him! If you tell me where he is I'll make sure his death is painless!"

"Go away!" Jenna cried back. She tried to get out of his grip.

The dog growled angrily, then raised his paw. He struck Jenna across her face. She was crying now. He raised his paw again.

"Let's try this again. Where is he!"

"Here!"

The dog turned to see who had spoken, and before he could react the stranger had bashed him in the face. He was thrown to the ground.

"You keep your paws off her!" Balto snarled. He turned to Jenna. "Good to see you again Jen."

She happily padded towards him. Suddenly something slammed into his side. He was thrown against the trash cans.

The big dog put his paws around his throat. "So you're the little prick I'm supposed to kill! Well I'm going to make this quite painful!"

Balto gagged as the dog's grip increased on his neck.

"Hey dumbass! Learn some respect!"

The dog turned around to see who was there. Balto took this opportunity to deliver a kick to the stomach. The dog rolled off him.

Three cats padded over to the dog. The dog chuckled when he saw them. "Ricardo! What the hell are you doing here?"

Ricardo chuckled sarcastically. "I was here to check on my friend here." He gestured to Balto. "Didn't expect him to be attacked by a rat like you."

The dog got to his feet. "You're friends with this prick?"

"You got a freakin problem with that?!" Ricardo roared.

The dog began to answer, but then frowned and ran off into town.

Balto got up groaning. "Can somebody please get this damn bullet out of my leg!"

"Fernando! Get the damn bullet out of his leg!"

The cat hesitated, then went over to Balto. "This is going to hurt a lot." He said emotionlessly.

"What?" Balto asked. Fernando suddenly dug his claw into the wound. Balto howled in pain. Fernando pulled a small gray object out of Balto's leg.

Balto kept howling. Fernando clamped his paw over Balto's muzzle. "Shut up! Jesus!"

Balto got up. "What are you doing here?"

Ricardo put on a fake look of shock. "What? No thank you?"

"Thank you! Now what are you doing here?"

Ricardo looked around nervously. "We should talk inside."

The rest of the cats padded into the house. Balto was about to follow."Ahem?"

Balto turned. "Jenna! You…I haven't seen you in so long…I…"

They nuzzled. He heard a voice behind them.

"Hey Romeo! We're inside!"

Balto and Jenna turned and padded into the house.