I don't own anyone here except for OCs

CH20

He didn't get much sleep, receiving a rude awakening by the biting cold of the metal floor.

Tuck must have only gotten about three hours of sleep before he came to violent shivering and his teeth chittering. He slowly sat up, his shivering increasing. The small building must not have had any insulation and was just planted on the ground without a foundation.

He could hear faint whining coming across from him in the darkness, his sister facing the same dilemma.

His eyes still burned with drowsiness and he felt an ache in his stomach. Tired, cold, and hungry at the same time. He still couldn't believe he was in this situation and expected it to be only a nightmare when he woke up, but no, reality had to be a cruel mistress.

Standing on all fours, he began to move back to where he remembered his bowls were. He used his nose to feel for it as he slowly moved against the wall, careful not to trip on it again. His nose hit cold steel before he moved it in the bowl and touched the hard food block. He took a small bite, wincing as he began to chew it. As much as he wanted to spit it out, his protesting stomach stopped the thought and he eventually swallowed it. He cringed at the dry taste but his belly seemed satisfied.

He took a couple of more bites before he was practically full, now about half of the food block. Tuck assumed it must have been packed full of protein among other nutrients. He washed the sour taste down with some water from the other bowl before returning to his spot and sitting.

The cold began to nip at him again, causing him to lay down in a shivering fit. Tears began to well up in his eyes.

I hate this! I… want out… just want to get out!

"Rurf!"

He let out a startled yelp as a warm hand slid under him and began to lift him up. The scent of Ryder eased him, remembering he was in the room with them.

Tuck felt himself go down on something warm, feeling Ryder's jacket.

The cold got to Ryder too, but he couldn't stand hearing the suffering of the pups on the cold floor any longer so he did the only thing he could think of. He laid down with his back against the floor between the two pups so he could place both of them on either side of his chest. He moved Tuck first before moving Ella, their shivering seemed to gradually die down. Soft snoring soon emitted from the twins and even Ryder began to feel himself drift off, though his rest will be short lived.

It must have been a couple of hours before the boy awoke to himself being violently lifted by a gloved fist that gripped the top of his jacket, the twins yelled as they were suddenly knocked off against the floor.

Early morning light flooded the room and the twins jumped up at the scent of fresh spring air, the two immediately ran to the lengths of their chains.

"Let us out!" Tuck demanded.

"You can't keep us in here like this!" Ella yelled.

A tall shadow of the armed man just laughed at them as he yanked Ryder out of the room and slammed the door.

"Don't handle my subjects like that! " A voice barked from outside the door.

"Relax doc, he's just an experiment." The more gruff voice of the armed man responded.

Footsteps could be heard leaving the building, the twins were alone again.

The Sunday morning sun glazed Adventure Bay with it's warmth, promising a laid back and nice day as Sundays were supposed to be. The pups usually didn't receive any calls on the last day of the week and Chase hoped it stayed like that, he had his own personal mission today.

He needed to try to find Ryder, or any trace of where he could be. It'll be quite the challenge to do that without arousing the suspicion of these so called 'Supervisors' and suffering the same fate, but he had to try.

After giving a good excuse to Jake on why he had to leave the Lookout for most of the day, he drove off on his cruiser. Jake warned him to be back before Eight tonight since a long row of violent thunderstorms were supposed to hit the whole bay at that time bringing heavy wind and rain. He already sensed a change in the air pressure, no doubt they were going to have to help out after it blowed over.

Chase made it over the bridge and took a right, the road leading past farmer Al's and up to Jake's Mountain. He made it to the farm and noticed both Al and Yumi loading boxes full of Strawberries and Spring Cabbages into Al's truck. Curious if they needed help, Chase began to tap his brake as he pulled in closer. Farmer Yumi was the first to notice him and she smiled and gave a small wave, Al simply glanced up before returning to work.

"Hey Farmer Yumi, looks like your May harvest is coming in pretty good." Chase complemented as he pulled to a stop beside them. "Do you two need any help?"

Farmer Yumi was about to respond when Al cut her off. "We don't need help from failures!"

Chase stared for a moment with a perplexed look before shock settled in, the farmer's outburst took him completely by surprise.

"Al!" Yumi chastised, almost as if she expected the outburst.

"What? Those mutts let that man die yesterday, I ain't about to take help from them." Al barked as he continued loading, now angrily throwing the boxes in the back of the truck.

"Al, be careful!" Yumi nearly screamed at the sight of her crops being slammed around. She shook her head and walked over to the confused police pup. "I'm sorry about him, he's just been worked up over the news from yesterday. A lot of people are."

"Yeah I know." Chase lowered his head and ears. "We got a lot of hate mail through our pup tags last night to the point where we had to cut off our online mail boxes, especially Skye."

"Oh no, I'm sorry you guys have to go through all this, but just keep your heads up." Yumi encouraged. "You're the only heroes that this place has and a lot of people here take you guys for granted." She finished as she gave Chase an ear rub.

Chase perked up, her words and the physical contact raising his mood. "Thanks Farmer Yumi, even though some people might not like us now, the PAW Patrol will still help anyone in need in Adventure Bay."

Yumi nodded in approval while Al just grunted and continued to work.

"Hey before you leave." Yumi ran to the back of the truck and grabbed several boxes before returning to Chase and presenting them. "You guys like strawberries, right?"

"Oh we love them! And Skye will surely appreciate it!" Chase replied in excitement, his tail now wagging.

"No problem, Chase." Yumi placed the boxes in the back of his cruiser.

Chase made sure to thank her before they said their goodbyes and he left. She smiled as she watched him leave, but Al kept a hard glare on him.

He wandered just what the man's deal was. His attitude seemed to be a physical manifestation of the nasty comments they get on the media and he just didn't understand it. He wouldn't doubt it was a VERY bad thing that happened yesterday, his pursuit into the complex led to Skye passing out on a serious call which caused someone to lose their life. But the public reaction just seemed overblown to him with some of the most nastiest messages and comments he ever received. He half expected some hate and criticism over their failure but not to this extent.

Even now, several cars honked at him as he cruised down the road and he noticed the drivers staring daggers at him. Maybe he should have always expected people would have reacted like that to one of their failures, given how they've never once failed a rescue.

The thoughts circled in the police pup's head until he arrived at the steep ledge where the accident had occurred. He slowed to a creep and came to a stop where a section of the metal railing that separated the road from the cliff had been torn off. In it's place were concrete barriers with reflective lights on top, he assumed it was Rubble's doing even though he hadn't seen the bulldog use these.

"Ruff! Cones!" He ordered before traffic cones shot out of the rear compartment of his vehicle and blocked the road of traffic. He drove further down the road and did the same with his remaining cones, effectively blocking traffic to the investigation area before returning to the spot of the accident.

He turned his cruiser off and got out of it, preparing his detective side. The first thing he noticed were the tire marks on the road where the large truck took a sharp turn. Chase followed them to the barriers and peered over what was left of the metal rails. The wreckage was gone, completely cleaned with nothing but rocks in a gorge. He'd like to think it was Rocky and Rubble that did it but as large as that truck was plus Everest's snowcat it would probably take them two a couple of days, not to mention the recovery of the body.

Chase shuttered at the thought of that. From what he heard, the driver was smashed to a bloody pulp except for the left arm. He imagined it would be hell for the pups to clean that gore up.

Chase turned his attention back to the road and began to sniff the asphalt as he strolled along the perimeter, using his eyes and nose to find any clues of Ryder or the guys who took him might have left behind. Remembering what the other pups said, they were guys in tan suits that drove black cars.

After half an hour, he was about to give up when he noticed a fresh tire track from a heavy vehicle he didn't recognize. He followed it until it faded about half the distance of the road, where it turned slightly to the barriers. The tracks were wider than the truck's, or any of their vehicles. He could still smell the grinding rubber which told him it was pretty recent, maybe from last night or earlier this morning.

He eventually got back in his cruiser and collected his cones. He came up with the conclusion that someone else cleaned the accident up before the PAW Patrol could, which begged the question; who would do that? Unfortunately, it was a dead end for now and there were no other clues.

Chase grumbled to himself as he continued down the road, his next task was to patrol the roads around Adventure Bay in order to spot any vehicles that matched the description of the strange cars. It also gave him time to clear his head.

He drove with his attention on the road and the cars that passed. Driving had a way of doing that to him, it was calm, relaxing, and gave him a lot of fresh air. This was helpful to him personally since he was a cop, it allowed him to properly observe the road and the environment without any distractions.

The last mountain breeze hit him before he ventured back to the common woodlands of the bay. So far no vehicle peaked his interest, until he looked in his rear view mirror.

His keen eyes noticed a slick black car tailing him about a few hundred meters back. He looked back to the road but made sure to keep glancing down at his mirror in order to not lose the car.

The vehicle kept moving closer until it was right behind him, almost touching his cruiser's rear end. Chase thought it was going to pass him but the vehicle just stayed right there, like a giant alligator ready to strike his little cruiser.

Most people in Adventure Bay didn't dare drive on the police pup like this, these guys had some real guts. Chase shot an annoyed scowl over his shoulder and motioned for them to pass him.

They did after a minute or so, but stopped in the opposite lane right beside the cruiser. Apparently they didn't give a damn about oncoming traffic.

Chase looked over at the vehicle, it towered over his and he could almost feel the cold stare he was getting from the tinted black window. He felt a shiver go up his spine, were these the people that took Ryder? Was he next?

The car passed in front of him. His fear was replaced by determination as he realized he had a chance to find out who these people are with a legal reason to pull them over; those window tints are too dark.

He flipped on his lights and sounded his siren. The black car immediately lurched forward, it's engine roared as it sped away from Chase.

Chase narrowed his eyes. Now you're speeding and fleeing from a police officer? Three strikes you're out! Chase hit his accelerator and practically launched after the fleeing vehicle.

"Ruff! Megaphone!" Chase barked before his pup pack retrieved his megaphone. "Pull over!"

The car only seemed to go faster at his order which infuriated the pup. Chase was now nearing the max speed his cruiser was capable of, but the car still continued to gain distance.

"No you don't!" Chase growled as he pressed the accelerator down to the floor. He began to catch up, his heart racing as he will soon get some answers. Any doubt Chase had of this being the same car of the guys that took Ryder was gone.

Chase gritted his teeth as he zoned in on the car, he just needed a way to make them stop. As much as he wanted to run them off the road, it'd probably be better for public interest to block their path somehow. He doubted his little cruiser had that power anyway.

He moved over to the opposite lane and was almost beside the runaways, when his fierce eyes he had on the car suddenly widened. The car effortlessly zoomed forward before he could act, like it was taunting him.

"No no no…"

Chase couldn't do anything as he was already at max speed. He suddenly swerved to the other lane at the sight of an barreling truck, it was enough velocity to knock him off the road. He cursed himself for forgetting he was in the wrong lane.

When he pulled back on the road the car had disappeared from view. Chase felt the sting of disappointment before it was replaced by hopelessness. He was so close to catching him, or maybe not. Maybe they were toying with him.

He picked his head up and slowed to a steady speed and followed the road, hoping he could find any trace of the car. He passed the park which was the only significant place at this part of the bay, the rest was just thick woodland. The road eventually led him around a rocky slope and through some more forest, then he was back at the park again.

He was going in circles.

Where the hell could they have gone!?

Chase must have asked himself that a dozen times now as he made his way to the plaza, hoping Mr. Porter's cafe didn't close early today. It was 5:00 now and a large row of cumulus clouds already bubbled up on the horizon, an anvil began to form on the top.

He kept circling the section of highway the car vanished in for most of the day. He would stop and search the ground for any tracks or anything that could have came off the vehicle during it's getaway, then he scanned the woods. Not a single clue during those several hours and it frustrated him to his core. Even worse, some of the electronics in his cruiser would fizzle out on and off during the patrols on the road, and his pup tag was unresponsive. Though he thought it strange at first, he assumed it was just a dead zone as he gave up and made his way back to town.

In the plaza of Adventure Bay, most of the shops and businesses had already closed to prepare for the storm. Mr. Porter's was still open to his luck.

There were a few townsfolk enjoying an early dinner on the outdoor tables when he pulled up. Soon, every one of them were giving him heated stares. A couple of them sat up and walked off when he approached the cafe. Chase just rolled his eyes and ignored them, hopefully Mr. Porter didn't think ill of him.

He nudged the door open to the cafe and strolled on in to the air conditioned shop. He had to stop and take in the delicious scents filling his nostrils; freshly baked pastries, bacon, bread, and donuts. He savored it for a few seconds before looking around awkwardly to see if anyone was gawking. No other customers were present, only Mr. Porter stood behind the counter with his back turned to the pup, looking as if he was stocking some goodies. The middle aged man glanced over his shoulder.

This was it, Chase thought. He's gonna kick me out of his establishment.

The man's eyes lightened and his lips curved into a small smile before he waved. "Hey Chase, in for some dinner before the storm hits?"

Chase returned the smile, not expecting the Mr. Porter's greeting. "Actually… yeah, and I was hoping to take some food back to the Lookout for the others."

"No problem buddy, just pick what you want and I'll pack some variety bags." He said generously.

"Thanks, Mr. Porter." Chase thanked him and followed the bacon scent to some neatly wrapped bags. They were still warm when he picked them up.

"Ahh, I knew you'd go after that. Those are my new bacon pup rolls made with a new recipe." Said Mr. Porter with a knowing smirk.

"Well it does smell good, that's for sure." Chase remarked as he took one of the bags and made for one of the tables.

As he sat down, he felt a tinge of guilt as the extra food was meant for his daily drop off for the Ruff Ruff Pack. He hoped they would be satisfied with those and the strawberries, considering he gave them extra yesterday. He'd have to make it up to his fellow pups one day.

Mr. Porter walked over and placed the bags next to the table as Chase ate, before he took a seat across from the police pup.

"Mhmf!… This is really good, Mr. Porter!" Chase complemented after he swallowed a chunk of his roll.

Mr. Porter gave a nod of satisfaction. "I figured you all could use a nice treat after… you know, everything that's going on."

"Heh, I thought you were going to throw me out of the place for a second." Chase remarked.

Mr. Porter gave him a strange look. "Now why and the world would I do that?"

Chase shook his head. "I don't know, just seems like everyone hates us now for that mess up yesterday."

"Oh you don't pay any mind to them." The man stated. "And if they don't like me serving the PAW Patrol, they can go to the market and get their own food."

Chase chuckled. "Thanks Mr. Porter."

"No need to." Mr. Porter waved him off. "But I do want to ask you something if you don't mind."

Chase perked his ears up before he swallowed another morsel. "Shoot."

"…Did you by chance, go on a chase today?"

"…"

Chase stopped chewing, and looked straight ahead. That question was very specific.

"…Yeah, why?" Chase eventually countered, breaking his awkward silence.

"I glanced outside at your car. Your tires look a little more slick than they usually are, I just figured you were out on patrol and caught someone… or you were road racing." The man let a snicker slide when he was finished.

Chase shook his head rapidly. "No, no, I'd never do that. And yeah, I did go after a renegade in a sports car."

Chase couldn't shake the need to hide details from the man, though he didn't understand why he asked something like that since tires certainly didn't go slick after one chase. Something immediately felt off with the man.

"Oh, did you now?" Mr. Porter was visibly interested.

"Yeah I tried to pull the dude over for speeding but he made me chase him on the roads near the park instead, I'd like to know what he did to his car to make it go so fast."

Chase caught a glimpse of a troubled look on the man's face before it instantly went away.

"Oh man, well maybe next time you'll have your friends with you so you can catch him." Mr. Porter finished.

"Yeah… I hope so."

After finishing his meal in silence, he proceeded to grab one of the bags while Mr. Porter helped him with the rest. One of the most common things that were packed were donuts of various kinds. The man claimed that people didn't eat them as much as usual so he was left with a surplus, though he was persistent in getting rid of them. Chase didn't complain one bit.

The police pup waved goodbye to one of his few human friends before he drove off, catching Mr. Porter with a seemingly concerned gaze before he disappeared in his cafe. The plaza trip went better than Chase expected, but Mr. Porter's question filled him with worry. His tires weren't slick so how did he figure he chased someone? Was Mr. Porter in with the supervisors too? Could he not trust anyone in Adventure Bay?

A distant flash above the encroaching clouds took his mind from the troubled thoughts and he sped up, hoping he could drop the food off and be back home before the storm hit.