Francis leant in to the side of the trolley, getting to grips at last with riding around on the back of the erratically moving scooter. He was apprehensive; while he was more open to the idea of being 'helped' by the likes of Dodger than he had been the day before, it was all very alien to him and not at all the sort of life he'd choose to lead. Looking nervously out at the surrounding traffic, he wondered if the urchins would have him riding around on the tops of cars as they tended to. The others were chatting away, oblivious to his uncertainty. Francis didn't much feel like joining in, but nonetheless appreciated the company. Since forcing himself to join in with the ball game the night before, he'd been much more at ease with his canine companions. As he'd made the effort not to be quite so uptight, he found that the young Dodger was not so bad after all.
They all jumped out onto the pavement- some with more grace than others, and looked to Dodger expectantly.
"You've given up shirkin' your responsibilities this time, I hope?" Rita said, shaking herself to disturb the fine layer of dirt that had settled on her fur. She gave Dodger a look that told him quite clearly that a repeat of the previous day's performance would not be appreciated.
Francis squinted to avoid getting dust in his eyes. "Some might say that I would have been capable of competent leadership had those under my command not been so uncooperative," he said with a slight huff to his voice.
"No hard feelings, Francis," Rita smirked, "You were just a little premature with your leadership bid. Just show me that you're better at this than I am and I'll happily take direction."
"All right, we're not gonna get very far if you're just gonna walk everywhere," Dodger said to Francis, "It's about time we taught you the fine art of car surfing."
Francis had had a feeling this was coming, but was nonetheless apprehensive about the prospect. Having already decided to make the effort to try and adjust to this new, alien lifestyle, it was something that he'd just have to accept as part of the experience.
"I've been doin' it since I was six weeks old," Dodger was saying, "There's nothin' to it once you've had a little practice."
They wandered towards a busy road, following the young mutt's lead.
"All right, Francis- up ya get," Dodger called down from the roof, "this one ain't even moving."
With some degree of difficulty, Francis hauled himself up onto the bonnet. He wasn't well used to jumping around, having enjoyed a more sedentary lifestyle prior to his being abandoned, and his mobility and fitness- or lack thereof- reflected this. Already, Dodger was leaping onto the next car along, and Francis scrambled to follow.
"I'm not entirely sure this is a good idea, Dodger," Francis puffed. "How am I to avoid sliding off when they move under my feet? It is enough of a challenge to get around when they're stationery."
Dodger grinned, unconcerned by his friend's qualms. "Just relax. Move with the rhythm and it's easy."
"Don't forget to look where you're goin'," Rita said, jumping up to join them. "But we're not gonna let you get run over or anything, so just try and enjoy yourself. You'll get the hang of it in no time."
Tito was happy sliding around on the windscreen, oblivious to Francis' apprehension. Car surfing had come to him with no trouble at all, despite his little legs, largely because he was almost stupidly fearless, and got a thrill out of the adrenaline rush that came with such a daring mode of transportation.
Francis froze, unable to make the jump. As far as he was concerned, his friends were crazy.
Rita bounded back towards him. "Hey, you want to try holding on to my tail? I promise I won't go too fast."
Nervously looking at the road moving below him, Francis thought that Rita was asking rather a lot.
"C'mon, Frankie!" Tito yelled from the taxi he was jumping around on.
"It's easy, Francis," Dodger called, "even a kid could do it."
"Come on, Francis, it's fun!" Einstein woofed, bounding over the anxious bulldog in merriment.
Francis groaned inwardly, but reluctantly took hold of the tail that was being waved in front of his face.
With little choice but to move forward, Francis jumped onto the next car after Rita. It wasn't far, and the traffic was thankfully still slowly crawling along, but if felt like a mammoth achievement.
"There ya go," Rita said, "first one's the hardest. Now let's catch up with the others."
Francis said nothing, as he had a mouth full of tail, but he gave Rita a meaningful look that he hoped she'd read as 'please don't let me fall to my death'.
Terrified though he was, Francis found himself running across the traffic, leaping dangerously between cars and somehow just managing to keep up with his crazy friends. Focussing on hanging on to Rita for guidance rather than fixating on the daredevil stunts that he has undertaking was helpful, but he soon tired and had to slam on the brakes to avoid being dragged into a mishap.
"Geez, Frankie!" Rita scowled, "I am attached to that tail, ya know."
Francis dropped Rita's tail and panted, getting his breath back. For someone who wasn't all that fit to begin with, being restricted to breathing only through one's nose was presenting a challenge. He'd also managed to pull out a load of hairs from the tail, which he didn't imagine would be much appreciated.
Rita slid back down onto the pavement to inspect the damage to her tail, and Francis happily followed. That was quite enough for a first attempt.
"Hey, Francis, not bad for your first try," Dodger said, setting down on the concrete beside them. "That should be far enough."
"Just try not to pull so much fur out next time," said Rita, a little irritably. At least the tail-holding had done the intended job.
"Your main problem, Francis," Dodger said, "is that you're way too tense, try loosenin' up a little. Feel the beat and move with it. Once you got the rhythm down you won't even have to think what you're doin'."
Francis wasn't totally convinced. This 'rhythm' that Dodger kept talking about seemed like a load of nonsense to him.
"It'll come to you," Rita added, seeing the look on Francis' face. She hadn't expected him to so willingly go along with their attempts to help him, not after the resistance he'd given in the past, but it seemed that he was trying now, and Rita was sure that would be all the difference. "Don't worry," she said with a wink, "you did good."
"Can we go and find some food now?" asked Einstein, "I'm starving."
Dodger grinned. "Sure," he said, "think you're up for the challenge, Francis?"
Francis nodded, unsure though he was. After the less than successful outing the day before, he was happy to follow Dodger's lead in knowledge that it was his best chance of eating well.
They headed off, sticking to the pavement for the time being for Francis' benefit, with Dodger taking the lead and Tito leaping around under his feet. Somehow Dodger managed to avoid tripping over the little dog, keeping up a confident strut the whole time. He sniffed the air as he went and followed a delicious scent until they came near to a taco joint.
Einstein drooled hungrily. The scent of meat cooking was all but irresistible. Even Francis, who had previously been firmly opposed to stealing, was seeing the merits of taking advantage of such tasty offerings rather than picking through trash.
Dodger looked Francis over. He really wasn't built for stealth; he was wide-set, too broad to sneak through the many human legs unnoticed; he had next to no muzzle, which meant he'd be unable to snatch much without pushing his whole head forward- now that Dodger really thought about it, picking pockets would be near impossible for Francis. Sending him in there to swipe tacos could only end in disaster, and Dodger was not fool enough to risk it. Surely though, he could still be of some use though. Francis was conspicuous enough, perhaps he could create a diversion somehow.
"Okay, Francis, do ya feel up to making a scene, gettin' a crowd goin' so we can get in and take some tacos? Make out you're hurt or something." Dodger said, hoping that Francis' ease in being near to humans would see him hold his nerves where a lot of street dogs would scarper.
Francis surveyed the scene. It was busy, and it would be a challenge to build an audience, but it seemed to him a task preferable to actually getting in and stealing. He suddenly felt something near excitement; it would be a chance to put his acting knowledge to use.
"No rush, just go when you're ready," said Rita quietly. Already she had crouched in anticipation, poised to run in at the right moment.
Francis nodded and continued studying the humans he had to impress and working out his plan of attack. Ignoring Tito's egging him on behind him, he moved forward, ready to put on a show. He came near to the tables, limping with more and more exaggeration in each step. He groaned, his eyes rolled and he stumbled to the ground. Gasping people soon surrounded him, concerned for the poor, apparently dying dog.
The rest of the dogs looked on in awe. This was more than Dodger could have expected- Francis had all of those moron humans totally fooled. Pulling their eyes away from the impressive scene, they moved in quietly. Einstein, the least stealthy of the four, easily grabbed a taco that was comfortably within his reach on the nearest table. The other three crept in further, every now and then glancing over to the scene that Francis had created. Tito found himself in a spot of trouble when he jumped onto a table to get at a morsel, which was big enough that he fell over it as he made to get down. Hearing the crash of Tito falling onto the chair, Rita swiftly glided over to him, wanting to get him out of there before he messed up the whole operation. With her mouth full of taco, Rita could only manage a few quiet grunts to encourage Tito to clamber onto her back. She ran past Dodger, who was going back for seconds.
With Dodger making a second retreat, Rita shouted out to Francis, calling him back. Needing no more encouragement, the bulldog made a hasty exit, leaving the concerned onlookers baffled. He has met with loud and enthusiastic cheers from his comrades.
"I think ya earned this, Francis," Dodger said with a smirk, nudging his second taco towards the bulldog. "Best take these outta the way, won't be long before they'll be on our tails."
It wasn't far to a building site where the dogs settled in the shelter of a huge concrete pipe. Tito slid down from Rita's back, leaving behind him a mess of meat, cheese and salsa over her neck and in her long fur.
"Where'd ya learn to do that, Francis?" Rita said, shaking some of the debris from her ears, "I've never seen anything like that!"
"You really got somethin' there, Francis," said Dodger, still overwhelmed by the surprise talent of his new recruit. If they could all keep working together like they'd just done, they might really be on to something good. "How was it?"
"That was… exhilarating. They all believed it." Francis was beaming. "It was almost as though I were a true thespian."
"They were eatin' out of your paw, man!" Tito exclaimed, still buzzing from the thrill of the taco heist.
Everyone happily tucked in. With his taco polished off, Einstein greedily eyed the scraps in Rita's fur.
"Go ahead, just watch the drool," Rita said, her mouth half-full. Very soon she had all four of them licking the meat from her fur. Finally cleaned up, she sprawled out, relaxed, content and better fed than she'd been in a while.
With full bellies, the four of them lazed around under the shade of the pipe.
"I've not eaten so well in ages," Rita smiled, kicking her legs in the air as she rolled onto her back- by now she was all cleaned up thanks to her hungry companions, "we make quite the team, huh?"
"The very best," Dodger said, stretching out.
As the afternoon rolled around, thoughts turned to bringing back some loot for Fagin, and Dodger led the gang onwards as they began the search. Pleased as he was with his earlier achievements, Francis came along happily, and the mood was light and carefree.
Dodger threw himself into his role as leader, something that was all new to him, yet somehow felt right. It was very different to the position he'd had with just Rita and Einstein around- there had never been much need to give a lot of direction when it was just the three of them. Thoughts that had previously played on his mind, of perhaps leaving Fagin and striking out on his own, were far away. He was happily caught up in enjoying his larger circle of friends. Dodger still managed to flirt with passing girls while playing up to the admiration of his friends, with Tito more than happy to join him- and at one point Rita even took advantage of their distraction to relieved one pretty young dog of her lunch. They passed the day away, together collecting enough bits and bobs to keep Fagin happy, and intermittently engaging in games of chase through the traffic- which Francis still opted to sit out. They had a brief run-in with a dog catcher, but Dodger easily kept the two 'learner' street dogs out of harm's way. The sense of responsibility gave the young mutt a new purpose, and suddenly nothing was more important to him than to do justice to his new role. It felt like he was building something strong, something that had real meaning to him, a true family of his own… perhaps filling the hole that had been left in him when his mother walked out all those months ago.
Having made their way back to Fagin's scooter- with even Francis tentatively taking up the pursuit of car surfing, they waited together for their master's return, relaxing and laughing in the late afternoon sun. A corner had been turned, and for the first time since Fagin brought Francis and Tito home, they were a functioning unit- and one that Dodger knew could become a force to be reckoned with, the best band of street dogs you could hope to find.
"This is the life, hey Dodgie?" Rita said, rolling onto her side and playfully prodding the mutt with her paw.
"Sure is, gorgeous," Dodger replied with a wink. "Everything we need, right here."