Chapter 9 - Three Men, a Dog and a Little Lady
"Ms. Carter is going to love this," Reese smiled softly.
"I understand that human males try to compensate for their lack of sexual prowess by acquiring large mechanical items such as motorcycles, cars and…" Bear turned his head slowly around the interior of the helicopter Reese was piloting back to Machine High.
"Bear…." The Coach warned. "Our vehicle was destroyed and this aircraft allowed us to leave the scene before the authorities arrived."
"It's just an observation, Finch. What's next, Reese, something even larger? 747? Aircraft carrier? Perhaps we should have taken that sleek Gulfsteam from the other hangar. I would have enjoyed traveling in such elegant surroundings."
Reese raised an eyebrow. "If this doesn't meet your standards, Bear, I can drop you off right here."
The Coach frowned. "But… we're hundreds of feet in the air, Mr. Reese."
Reese smirked. "We can observe Bear falling to the ground, Finch. Since he's full of…hot air, I'm sure he'll land safely."
Bear growled softly. "Touch-y. Perhaps if Ms. Carter wanted to touch you, Reese, you'd be in a better mood." He tapped his paw on Reese's stomach. "You're getting a little soft there, John." The Security Head turned to the Coach. "Does the Machine also identify 'Paunches' as well as 'Persons' of Interest, Finch? I think Reese's Number, or at least the number of his waistline, is up."
Reese's voice was soft, dangerously soft, as the aircraft suddenly took a sharp turn and began climbing even higher. "You keep it up, Bear, and the Machine will be identifying a 'Pooch' of Interest, but nobody's going to be coming to save you."
"John, please. I'd like us all to land in one piece, safely."
"He started it, Finch," Reese grumbled as Bear's growling became louder.
"Enough!" The Coach's voice suddenly took on the timbre that had 300 pound linebackers quivering in their cleats. "Neither one of you would be worthy of Ms. Carter's attention, much less her affection, with your behavior tonight. You're better men than this – act like it! At least…" his voice softened, "you'll always have her friendship, no matter what."
Reese and Bear exchanged guilty looks. Even though Finch never said why, they knew he had given up the great love of his life, Grace Hendricks, severing all communications with her, years ago.
There was a long silence and then the Cafeteria Lady and the Security Head nodded solemnly at each other.
"Sorry, Finch," Reese said gruffly.
"We'll be good," Bear added, with a soft whimper.
The three friends were lost in their own thoughts as they headed back to Machine High.
As they approached the campus, Finch frowned as he looked at a text on his phone. "We have a text from Ms. Carter, but I'm afraid I don't understand it. It says 'UXO'.
Instantly Reese and Bear were on alert. "UXO is Unexploded Ordinance – a bomb," Reese said. "Do you know where she is?"
"I'm checking now…it appears that her GPS was disabled, earlier this evening…" there was a sharp intake of breath. "She's at Machine High, in the old library. At least there was a signal there for a moment…then it went dead."
"Any other signals, Finch?" Reese asked.
"No GPS…some encrypted signals…smart," the Coach said, grudgingly, "a private communications network…and it appears that all the campus cameras have been disabled."
Bear raised his right paw. "There's a clearing in that copse of trees over there, John."
"Got it," Reese said. Shutting off the aircraft's lights, he smoothly guided the helicopter around the outskirts of campus, bringing it low to the ground.
"If there is a bomb, perhaps it will finally destroy that American made monstrosity Ms. Carter insists on driving," Bear mused.
Reese smiled as he wove the aircraft through the moonlit forest, using the trees to mask their approach. "It is a classic, Bear. The 1958 Ford Thunderbird was the first model line to be declared 'Car of the Year'."
Bear huffed, "As she has told us all, many, many, times, usually after it fails to start. Found On Road Dead, indeed."
"Fix Or Repair Daily," Reese replied.
"For Old Retired Drivers," Bear tapped a claw on his right front paw; instead of an earwig, Finch had implanted a communications device there.
"Found Outside Rotting Dump," Reese smirked as they touched down on the scrubby grass.
"Fumes and Odors Readily Detectable," Bear's nose crinkled as he leapt out of the helicopter.
"Fast Only Rolling Downhill," Reese added as he grabbed the bag of weapons.
Their voices were light, but Finch knew that the banter between the two former spies meant this was deadly serious.
Bear raced through the trees, while the humans followed.
Several minutes later, they heard a series of low growls and yips. Reese broke out into a full run.
He paused at the edge of the trees, just barely hearing a low rustle in the clump of bushes lining a narrow pathway.
Bear slunk out from under a row of hedges. "There's activity in the old library. Men, equipment. I saw blood on the front stairs, John, and a silver earring."
Reese forced himself to stay calm. "Did you see Joss?"
"No. I recognized at least one man as being on Simmons' Teacher's Union staff. He did not see me, but I know he'll recognize us, if we try to get closer. There's no cover and they have the building surrounded."
Reese cocked his weapon. "We have to find her. I'm go-"
"I believe we can assist you with that, gentlemen." Charlie Burton said, as he emerged from the shadows with Antonia by his side.
The two men turned at the sound of the English teacher's voice. "Jocelyn came to see us this evening. She discovered that Quinn and Simmons are robbing Machine High. At this very moment, the school's coffers are being drained."
"I wasn't aware that you were so well acquainted with Ms. Carter, Mr. Burton, that she would take you into her confidence," Finch said cautiously as he emerged from the forest and joined them.
"We're –we knew Jocelyn when she was a child. I spent many years teaching the children of some of the most ruthless criminals in the city. I still have some connections there that Jocelyn asked me to contact tonight. Through them I was able to find out that our School Board Head will be leaving the country in a few hours."
The English teacher scratched Antonia behind her ears. "Ms. Marconi has refused to attend any Teacher's Union functions –" his eyes twinkled at her exaggerated yawn – "and I doubt that either Quinn or Simmons have ever taken more than five seconds to look at her."
"They think we all look – and sound - alike," Antonia said, her muzzle twitching, then she winked at Bear.
Mr. Burton smiled at Reese, Finch and Bear's expressions at his companion being able to speak. "They certainly don't know that she can talk."
Bear and Antonia nodded formally at each other, then the Malinois tapped the communications device in his paw twice, activating a translator. "Ms. Marconi, decorum has increased markedly in the Humanities building since your arrival," the Security Head said approvingly.
"I believe in order, Mr. DeHond, or at least my order," Antonia replied.
The Mob Enforcer rolled in a patch of dirt. "I'll just be a stray dog looking for some food. If she's in that building, I'll find her."
Bear's eyes glowed with admiration. "You are quite a woman."
"I'm a lady," Antonia shot back, then her voice became low and deadly. "If they've harmed one hair on Jossy's head, I'll kill them all."
She sprinted off into the darkness, with Bear following close behind her.
Reese turned to Finch. "We need to search the other buildings, but there are over two dozen here on campus."
Machine High was a hodgepodge of old and new buildings, several with basements and out of the way mechanical rooms. Like many institutions, significant parts of the school were lit round the clock, including vestibules, hallways and gathering spaces like the cafeteria and the chapel.
"I believe that I can help with that, Mr. Reese. There's an initiative to monitor and control Machine High buildings' environmentals remotely. It's just a prototype, but I might be able to determine if there's been any sudden increase in utility usage in a specific space."
"Feed me the information, Finch." As he strode forward, the English teacher caught his arm. "Mr. Reese, I'd like to accompany you. I'm – Jocelyn is very important to me."
Reese looked into the man's eyes, then nodded. "Follow me."
A/N: Three Men and a Little Lady (1990) was the sequel to Three Men and a Baby (1987)
The fun that Reese and Bear had with the name FORD was something I remembered from my childhood.
Next, Must (Not) See TV. The next chapter will be posted on Wednesday.