(A/N: I do not own Paw Patrol, enjoy!)
Evidence From the Ashes
"Marshall didn't start this fire" Cinder said softly. Claire had just finished laying out the suspected chain of events to Ryder. Cinder had tagged along, against Marshall's advice.
"That isn't what the evidence suggests" Claire replied, "at best, he was there and in cahoots with whoever did start the fire, or at the worst he started it himself."
"To what point or purpose?" Ryder asked.
"That is the part we don't know or understand" Darrell intervened, "we were hoping you might have any ideas."
"I can't think of one good reason for Marshall to start a forest fire" Ryder replied, "he is the champion of fire safety in Adventure Bay and teaches fire safety to anyone who will listen."
"And it isn't in his character to create such a situation for his own glory" Cinder softly added.
"Then how would you interpret these facts?" Claire challenged indignantly.
"I don't know" Cinder softly replied, "but I know Marshall didn't start this fire."
"How can you possibly know that?" Claire huffed in frustration, "you were no where near Marshall or the cabin when the fire started."
Cinder hesitated before softly answering, "Marshall and I share a bond like no other. It is impossible for him to lie to me as I can see through any attempt by him to deceive me. I can see his thoughts and memories as if they were my very own. And I can say with 100% certainly that Marshall did not start this fire."
"You are incapable of being impartial" Claire spat, "and are ignoring the facts in front of you."
"And you are taking the easy route of throwing the facts together how you want to see them instead of finding all the facts" Cinder softly retorted, "the truth will be found out." And with that, Cinder turned and angrily walked out.
Augie made a move to follow her but Darrell tapped him on the shoulder, a silent signal to let her go. Fortunately Claire didn't see the exchange between them.
"Stupid pup, blinded by her love for her brother" Claire angrily spat.
"Whatever the case" Ryder said defensively, "there are too many assumptions in this timeline to support any kind of action beyond keeping Marshall off of the duty roster until this investigation concludes. And the lack of clear motive makes this even more difficult."
"You sound like you don't believe me either" Claire said argumentatively.
"I don't know what to believe" Ryder sidestepped the bait, "but I do know that to justify permanently removing any pup from the Paw Patrol for misconduct, the case must be air tight."
"Then we'll give you an air tight case, Ryder" Claire declared. Ryder looked at the arson team for a moment before leaving them to get back to work.
Marshall intercepted Cinder on her way out. "I thought we agreed to leave the investigation alone" Marshall softly said.
"Yeah, well, I couldn't help myself" Cinder softly flounced, "I can't bear the thought of a Heartland Arson team that I am a part of rail-roading my brother for a crime he didn't commit."
"I'm not a porcelain doll sis" Marshall said comfortingly, giving Cinder and gentle headbutt from the side, "and it sounds like they don't have enough to do that anyway."
"Eavesdropper" Cinder softly accused.
"More like thought-dropper" Marshall softly joked, "and I can't help that you were basically screaming your thoughts and feelings to the world." Marshall held up his paw to forestall a rebuttal from his sister. "I'm not mad or disappointed or even irked. You did what you thought was right so now it is time to move on. Want take a walk?"
"You going to dart me too?" Cinder softly and darkly joked.
"Does stealing kisses from Everest behind your back to set off fireworks in your brain count?" Marshall smoothly replied, eliciting a giggle from Cinder as they walked outside together to find the Husky in question.
Inside the Lookout, the arson team was quietly continuing their work. Claire was working by herself while Darrell and Augie were reviewing Marshall's GPS and biometric data to see if they could pinpoint when he took the darts of if he was never in the equipment room. The problem was that the GPS was not precise enough to rule out the possibility or conversely confirm it.
"Do you get the feeling we are looking in the wrong places?" Augie quietly asked his partner.
"Maybe" Darrell said, gently massaging his temples. "Almost like the evidence is too perfect and has gaps in all the right places to make it ambiguous."
Augie nodded, "I think we need to call it a night; some sleep should help us think clearly."
"Sounds like a good idea" Darrell agreed before walking over to Claire. "I think it is time to call it a night" he quietly said.
"Why?" Claire asked, "we haven't locked this case shut yet."
"And you won't if you don't get some sleep" Darrell gently chided, "we don't have to solve this case tonight and making a mistake because of lack of sleep will not help. Your mind needs to rest."
"No it doesn't," Claire corrected him, "I am laser focused."
"And that is blinding you" Darrell softly said. Claire's head whipped around to glare at him. "I'm just saying that a little rest will do your sharp brain some good" Darrell said placatingly, "step back, and look at everything in the morning with some fresh eyes."
"Fine" Claire said grumpily, "but I'm not going to bed of my own free will."
"Whatever you have to tell yourself" Darrell said playfuly.
Sleep came quickly to some that night, but not to others. Claire and Darrell were out like lightbulbs the moment that they hit the pillow. Ted stayed up later working just because he was a night owl but was similarly quickly unconscious when he went to bed.
Of the pups around the lookout, most fell asleep quickly. Marshall, Cinder and Everest had the hardest time out of all the Paw Patrol pups trying to sleep. Even though they knew Marshall was innocent, the evidence arrayed against him was daunting. Finally, Everest sang a lullaby that Jake would sing to her when she was anxious as a younger pup. The soothing sound was just the right thing to finally get all of them to sleep.
The only one sleep did not find was Augie. The arson pup just could not find rest. It wasn't anything about the Lookout, his room was simple, but comfortable, just they way he liked it. The bed was the right level of firmness, the pillow perfectly fluffy. There wasn't a single thing he could find fault with as to why he couldn't sleep. Unable to sleep, the jet black Belgian Shepherd softly padded out of his room, out then front doors and into the moonlight.
It was almost a full moon, clearly illuminating the hill that the lookout sat upon. Augie slowly walked around the lookout, contemplating so many things. He wondered about how each of the Paw Patrol pups chose their specialty, about how they managed to form such a tight knit team, how they worked so well together.
As he stopped and sat in front of a particular pup house, he thought about what made these pups tick. Was it the same as what drove him to be a good canine police officer, or something even more? He supposed that part of it was the same, the drive to serve the community and make it a better place. But there was also something different. There was no backup for the Paw Patrol, no cavalry a phone call away if things went sideways. All they had was each other, and they seemed to revel and excell with that. There was a spirit of ingenuity and daring in what they did. They found inventive solutions because that was what the situations that they faced required. There was also a strong sense of integrity and determination in every single one of the pups, as if they would not rest until the truth was found. Augie hoped he had that fire in himself.
Augie's attention was snagged by a little blue light dot hovering half an inch above the ground by his paw. Curious, he swatted at it, causing the light blue orb to disappear and then reappear slightly farther away. His curiosity taking over, Augie moved toward the new light and swipped at it, causing the same reaction. Augie followed the light as it led him away from the lookout towards the tree of the obstacle course. The last light blue orb Augie swiped at disappeared and failed to reappear at the base of the tree.
"Well that was mysteriously anticlimactic" Augie softly said to himself.
"The mysteries of the universe usually are" a voice softly replied from behind him.
Augie spun around to face the stranger but saw nothing. Confused, he turned back towards the tree as was greeted by a sight he did not expect. Before him was a fox, bathed in blue light. As Augie's brain tried to process what his eyes were seeing, he realized that fox was translucent. "Who are you?" Augie asked.
"Why does everyone or everything have to have a name?" The translucent blue fox replied with a roll of his eyes.
"What are you?" Augie inquired. The blue fox merely raised a translucent eyebrow at him. Augie decided to change his questions and instead asked "why am I seeing you?"
"You see me because you are seeking" the blue fox replied cryptically.
"What am I seeking?" Augie asked.
"Wrong question" the fox replied with an amused smirk, "wrong questions get wrong answers, and a seeker already knows what he seeks."
"I seek the truth" Augie replied as he let his mind flow, "which means I must go back to the site of the fire to find answers."
"Seek and you shall find" the translucent fox replied with a nod, "knock and a door will be opened, ask and you shall receive."
Augie tilted his head sideways as multiple meanings of those phrases crossed his mind. He was about to ask the fox another question when he heard the sound of a pup house door opening behind him. Turning, he saw Chase walking towards him. Augie turned back to the translucent fox but he was gone.
"Who are you talking to?" Chase sleepily asked as he got closer.
"Myself I guess" Augie said, unwilling to talk about what he had seen and unsure if it had even been real.
"We all need to do that to clear out heads from time to time" Chase said as he sat down next to Augie, "I'm assuming you couldn't sleep?"
"That would be correct" Augie replied, "though I may have sorted it out now."
"That's good" Chase said with a yawn, "I'm going to go back to bed then, goodnight."
"Goodnight Chase" Augie said as he walked back towards the door of the lookout. As he approached, he noticed a control panel off to the side that was slightly askew. Augie made a mental note to check it in the morning.
Augie had barely made it through the door when he was accosted by another pup, a female Rhodesian Ridgeback. "Hi there, looking for a midnight snack?" She warmly greeted him.
"Well, I wasn't" Augie said, "but that does sound nice."
"Follow me then" the she-pup said. "I'm Texas by the way."
"Nice to meet you, my name is Augie" Augie returned the introduction, "what is your job on the Paw Patrol?"
"Oh I'm not a member" Texas replied, "they saved me a week or so ago and have let me stay here until I decide what I want to do, whether that is move on or stay in Adventure Bay."
"That seems quite nice of them" Augie admitted.
"You have no idea how nice it is to just be allowed to make my own decisions" Texas said with a happy sigh as she got both of them a quick snack in the kitchen.
"Thank you" Augie said as he accepted the bowl of treats.
"I don't usually snack" Texas said as they crunched down, "but I'm a light sleeper and Rubble occasionally gets treats in the middle of the night. When he does that, I can't get to sleep again without getting some for myself. Now, it is almost like a habit, I sleep so much better when I have a midnight snack."
"If it works for you, that is what matters" Augie replied. They chatted a little more before they went back to their respective beds. Augie felt a sense of peace wash over him as he laid down and quickly fell asleep.
In the morning, Claire, Darrell and Ted were surprised by what awaited them. "Good morning team" Augie greeted them cheerful, "I had some ideas last night we need to run down. First, Ted, there is a maintenance panel for the main door to the Lookout that appears to have been tampered with, can you investigate that?"
Before Ted could repy, Augie had already moved on, "Darrell, can you cross reference some things on the main security tapes for the front door with specific activity? I'm looking for times when the door opened in the middle of the night and it wasn't Rubble coming or going from getting a midnight snack. It might help if you cross that with time when Chase was active at night?"
"Ummm, sure?" Darrell said in confusion.
"Where are you going?" Claire asked as Augie headed for the door.
"Back to the scene" Augie replied over his shoulder, "I have a feeling that there might be more evidence." And with that, he disappeared out the door.
"What do you make of that?" Claire asked.
"Midnight inspiration" Darrell said with a shrug, "probably had a midnight snack and it jump-started his brain or something."
"How is he going to get to the scene?" Claire posed the question.
Augie was wondering that himself as he sat outside the main door of the lookout. In his exuberance, he had forgotten that little detail. As his over-active mind grappled with that problem, a solution magically presented itself.
Chase groaned as he stretched. The crick in his back was predicably back and was being predicably stubborn. Chase sighed because he knew how to prevent the crick, but he still wasn't quite in the right headspace after his conversation with Cinder to spend the night with Skye cuddled up next to him yet. It wasn't that he thought Skye wouldn't forgive him, she already had said she forgave him, but Chase wasn't ready to just let it go.
"You are making this too hard on yourself" a voice gently whispered from behind the German Shepherd.
"It feels impossibly hard" Chase said, leaning his head to the side. He felt the comforting touch of soft short fur on the side of his head as his head rested against a shoulder without questioning how that shoulder had come to be in his pup house.
"Not impossibly hard" Marshall said soothingly as he tilted his head down to rest on top of Chase's head, gently comforting him. "You made a mistake, you let all the negative thoughts that you fight so hard to suppress control your actions."
"What are you talking about?" Chase said, trying to lift his head off of Marshall's shoulder.
Marshall forced Chase's head to stay where it was as he quietly responded "you never feel like you are good enough Chase. You carry so much self doubt about youe abilities and I see you force it down more often than I think you even consciously realize."
"Look who is talking" Chase replied with a dab of snark in his voice; but the aggressive snarkiness was overshadowed by the defeat Chase felt because he knew Marshall was right as he closed his eyes.
Marshall closed his eyes too. There had been a time when Marshall's own self-doubt had been so crippling that he had run away. The Dalmatian was just as guilty as Chase in having to fight that battle every single day.
"Everywhere I turn, I hurt someone…" Marshall softly sang. "...but there is nothing I can say to change the things I've done…I'd do anything within my power, I'd give everything I've got, but the path I seek is hidden from me now…"
As Marshall continued singing, Chase let the words fill his heart, resonating with everything he was feeling.
"There's no way out of this dark place, no hope, no future…" Marshall sang soulfully, "...I know I can't be free, but can't see another way, I can't face another day…" Chase let his feelings out, the built up stress and anguish forming tears in his brown eyes as Marshall hummed the vulnerable melody.
"You always know how to reach me" Chase whispered brokenly.
"And I will always be here for you" Marshall whispered back, "no matter what." The brothers wrapped their paws around each other in a fierce hug before walking out of Chase's pup house together.
Augie's spirit lifted when he saw Chase walking out of his pup house, but almost immediately fell back down when he saw Marshall walk out behind him. Both pups stopped when they saw Augie.
"Hi, I'm Marshall" Marshall greeted him warmly as he started walking over, "who are you?"
"My name is Augie" Augie replied slightly hesitantly, making Marshall cock his head to the side.
"Is everything alright, do you need help with something?" Marshall asked, immediately on alert for a possible emergency.
"I, uh, actually do need help" Augie admitted, "but unfortunately you can't help me Marshall."
"You never know" Marshall replied, his voice ringing with excitement and determination, "no mission is too big, no pup to small!"
"Marshall…" Chase said softly, making the Dalmatian look at him. The two locked eyes for a brief second before realization dawned on Marshall's eyes. To Augie, it looked like someone had deflated the Dalmatian as Marshall's tail and head dropped. "Oh, right, I'll leave you two to it then" Marshall said softly as he walked inside the lookout alone.
Chase watched his brother go with sadness in his eyes. "Sorry about that" he said once the door shut behind Marshall, "how can I help you?"
"Can you give me a ride to the scene?" Augie asked hopefully.
"Sure, let's go" Chase replied. Turning, he barked as he leaped upwards. Augie's eyes sparkled in amazement as he watched Chase's pup house transform into his police cruiser just in time for Chase to land and start the engine which came to life with a hungry growl.
"Wow, that is so amazing!" Augie said in shock.
"This is just the start" Chase said with pride, "jump on up."
Without hesitation, Augie jumped up behind Chase. Chase let out a howl as he pressed down on the accelerator, causing his cruiser to leap forward with it's customary agility as Chase guided it down the driveway.
Augie was beside himself in happiness, his ears flapping in the wind as Chase drove as fast as the speed limit allowed. Whizzing through Adventure Bay, Chase turned sharply to take them out of town towards the scene of the fire.
"Can we start where Marshall's ambulance was?" Augie asked once they were out of town.
"Sure thing, Augie" Chase replied. "Now that we are out of town, want to see what my baby can do?"
"Can we?" Augie asked excitedly.
Chase's reply was to activate his lights and sirens and jam his paw down. Augie felt the G-Forces pin him to his seat as the cruiser took off like a jet. Seeing the dirt road off to the left, Chase threw the controls over, drifting his cruiser onto the trail.
Barely slowing down, Chase skillfully navigated the winding trail until they came to a clearing. Chase brought them skidding to a stop, perfectly positioned one vehicle width to the side of the indentations marking where Marshall's fire truck had sat.
"That was so awesome!" Augie bubbled, "you are so lucky to have a vehicle like this!"
"If we have time before you leave, I'll teach you to drive it" Chase said as he hopped down.
"You mean it?" Augie said as he jumped down as well.
"Of course" Chase replied as they walked over to the indentation.
"Ok, so this is where the ambulance was" Augie said as he put away all of his excitement and got to work. Something didn't look quite right though. "Why is there this big rectangular flat part in the center?"
"So you saw how my vehicle transformed, right?" Chase asked, to which Augie nodded. "Well, Marshall's pup house is both his fire truck and his ambulance." Augie's eyes widened in surprise as Chase continued, "when he and Everest arrived, it was in fire truck configuration. When he came out, he had to transform it into his ambulance before loading himself and Everest into the back, which is why there is the indentation there."
"Interesting" Augie said thoughtfully, "do you know if he can access the medicine safe while it is in fire truck mode?"
"I don't" Chase replied, "I know he can't access most of his medical gear while configured as a fire truck, but I couldn't tell you specifics, sorry. We can ask Ryder or Rocky when we get back though."
"Ok, not a big deal right now," Augie replied, "let's retrace their steps then."
The two pups walked the trail, which was hardly recognizable. What had been a green, lush forest was now burned to a black crisp.
"Is Marshall always so excited to help as he was this morning?" Augie asked as they walked.
"Always" Chase replied, "believe it or not, this morning was fairly tame as far as offers to help go."
"I find that hard to believe" Augie said suspiciously.
"Well, there was no crash as he started helping before you answered, no running around, no bouncing around, no dashing off to the elevator and crashing into everyone" Chase listed off typical things with a smile.
"That all happens normally?" Augie replied in disbelief.
"Oh yes" Chase said with a smile, "Marshall is usually overflowing with energy."
"Has that ever been a problem?" Augie asked.
Chase hesitated a moment before answering "that depends on who you ask and your definition."
"You and your definition" Augie replied.
Chase hesitated again before answering, "when we were younger, it bothered me a lot. Marshall and I didn't start out as close as we are now. When Ryder, Marshall and I founded the Paw Patrol, it bothered me a lot. I couldn't figure out how he could be perfectly in control one moment, and then falling down his ladder the next moment. And I told him that he needed to get himself under control or someone was going to get seriously hurt because of his clumsyness."
"How did that go?" Augie asked earnestly.
"Not well" Chase admitted sadly, "we fought about it, Marshall insisted he was doing his best, that he always put his best into every rescue, and that every single person he rescued was the most important. I replied with some very hurtful things, called him a fraud and a disgrace, and he ended up running off crying." Augie's eyes were wide as Chase continued. "So I went and told Ryder what had happened and that he needed to kick Marshall off of the Paw Patrol."
"What happened next?" Augie asked with baited breath.
"Ryder handed me my tail" Chase replied sheepishly, "and not even in an angry way. He simply asked me if I had ever thought about having to give my life to save someone. I was a young puppy, the thought had never even crossed my mind. Then Ryder explained to me what Marshall had meant, that in every rescue, Marshall's concern was always for those he was rescuing and the rest of his team. And that was when he told me that Marshall was always ready to give his life for someone else if that was what it took to save them.
"I was still trying to wrap my head around that when he led me to where Marshall was, under one of the big trees. When I heard Marshall crying, it was like someone has punched me in the gut. Then, Ryder said, 'Marshall, someone needs help, get your truck and bring it here!' In an instant, Marshall stopped crying, barked an acknowledgement and ran past us to his truck. While he was doing that, Ryder told me that Marshall was going to rescue me from the tree and I was to do my best to throw him off and fall and land separate from him or under him. I nodded and Ryder put me up in the tree.
"Marshall came back with his truck, sirens blaring and everything as of this was real. Ryder directed him to rescue me from the tree. He backed his truck up into position, put the ladder up and was on his way up to me. When I looked in his eyes, I couldn't even tell that less than a minute before, he had been sobbing his heart out over what I said. And then he said to me 'Hi, my name is Marshall and I'm a fire and rescue pup, I promise to get you down safely, ok?' I was so stunned that I forgot to do what Ryder asked and Marshall brought me down without any fuss.
"Ryder immediately tossed me back up in the tree and told Marshall to do it again. Marshall came right back up the ladder and said the exact same words to me. This time, I actually struggled and managed to get Marshall to fall down the ladder. He bounced down with me on top of him until we got to the base. I was perfectly fine because Marshall had cushioned me the whole way down.
"Without a word, Ryder tossed me back up the tree. Marshall was back up the ladder right behind me, saying those same words, 'Hi, my name is Marshall and I'm a fire and rescue pup, I promise to get you down safely, ok?' This time, I fought him even harder and we fell off the side of the ladder. But Marshall maneuvered both of us so I landed on top of him again without so much as a speck of grass on me.
"As Ryder tossed me up the tree again, I was getting irritated that I was being used like a fetch toy and that I kept landing on Marshall so I resolved not to let it happen again. Marshall had barely reached me and started to say those same words over again when I leaped as hard and far as I could to the side to get away from him."
"Did it work?" Augie asked, spellbound by the story.
"Not even close" Chase replied, "I was smirking in triumph when Marshall grabbed a hold of me, pulling me into his paws and then curling up in a protective ball around me. We hit the ground hard and bounced several times, but Marshall never let go. When we finally stopped, and Marshall released me, once again he was underneath me and I was unharmed.
"I was staring at him in surprise when he said 'I promise to get you down safely.' In that moment, I finally understood the depth Marshall's commitment and it shook me to my core. I broke down, crying and apologizing to Marshall for doubting him and all the mean things I said. Marshall, of course, forgave me on the spot and hugged me like I was the most precious thing in the world to him. Ryder joined us in the hug and told us what good pups we were. And then he told Marshall he did great in the training exercise. I'll never forget the wide-eyed innocence in Marshall's eyes when he asked 'what training exercise?'"
"He had been treating the whole timing like it was real" Augie inferred.
Chase nodded, "Ryder didn't tell him to do anything other than save me, so Marshall did just that and gave it his all every single time." Chase paused to catch his breath, "I don't think Marshall is capable of doing it any way other than his best."
Augie was pondering that thought when they reached where Marshall and Everest had been tranquilized, the indentations were still present in the dirt and ash. Augie looked back the way that they had come, "that is not a short walk, and not the easiest either."
"Now imagine making it while carrying another pup about the same size as you, and surrounded by fire" Chase said.
Augie shivered as he imagined just that. Then he noticed something odd. "There are three indentations here" he pointed out. Sure enough, one indentation was larger, about the size of Marshall and Everest combined, with eight legs, as if two pups had fallen at the same time on top of each other, and a third indentation a foot or two away about Marshall's size.
"That is weird" Chase replied as he examined it too.
"Do you have a camera?" Augie asked.
"Ruff, Evidence Camera!" Chase barked in reply.
Augie jumped back in surprise as the camera rapidly extended out of his pup pack. "Is there anything your gear can't do?" Augie asked as Chase snapped the pictures.
"With the right set of gear, hopefully not" Chase said with a smile.
Augie cocked his head as he studied the indentations. He laid out Marshall and Everest in his mind, and then remembered that they both had been tranquilized on their right hind quarter. Turning around, he walked in the direction that those darts would have come from.
"What are you looking for?" Chase asked as he followed.
"I don't know" Augie replied as he scanned the ash and burnt out trees. Then his eyes caught a glimmer of something shiny. "Look, there" he called to Chase. There were two pieces of metal in what looked like the remains of a thick bush. Snapping a picture first, Chase gently blew the ash away, revealing two identical metal cylinders.
"Is that what I think it is?" Augie asked as he visually examined the cylinders.
"If you are thinking shell casings of some type, then quite possibly" Chase replied. "Ruff, evidence grabber!" Two grabbing arms, both with gloves and and a one holding a sealable evidence bag, extended from his pup pack.
"I shouldn't be surprised" Augie said as he watched Chase carefully grab the shell casings and place them in the bag, "but I am still amazed."
"Then let's see what else we can find" Chase said with a smile as the claws sealed the bag and retracted into his pup pack.
As they nosed around, Augie could have swore he smelled something familiar. But the arson canine couldnt quite place from where he had smelled it before. He also a feeling that there was something here that he wasn't seeing, something important.
Augie jumped up on a trio of rocks and looked around in frustration. He felt like he was seeking and not finding. As he looked down to jump down and keep searching, his eyes widened in shock.
Chase saw Augie freeze and walked over to him. "Are you ok Augie?" Chase asked. Augie just pointed down between the rocks. Cautiously, wary that there might be an angry snake or something else between the rocks, Chase peeked at where Augie was pointing. There, between Augie's jet black paws in a cleft of the rock, lay two objects Chase immediately recognized.
"Don't move" Chase said as he snapped a few pictures to document the evidence. Then, using his evidence claws, Chase reached a into the crevice and pulled out the first object. "Jackpot" he breathed as his evidence claws deposited the metal and glass items into another evidence bag.
"The missing tranquilizer darts" Augie reverently said as Chase collected the second dart.
"And they appear to be in great condition" Chase added as his evidence claws sealed the second dart into the bag, sealed it and locked it away.
"We need to get these back to Ted to analyze" Augie said urgently. "Who is Ted?" Chase asked as Augie jumped down.
"Our technical analysis team leader" Augie replied as they walked, "he is going to have a field day with these."
The drive back was quiet. Both pups were wondering what the evidence that they had collected would tell them.
"Ryder!" Chase called when they got back to the Lookout and had jumped down from Chase's cruiser, "we need you to pull some evidence from my pup pack."
"Chase, there you are" Ryder said with relief as he walked outside, "you missed breakfast, I have been wondering where you were."
"Helping Augie" Chase replied with a wag of his tail, "we found two of Marshall's tranquilizer darts and their casings."
"I thought you were off the case?" Ryder said slowly, "and where did you find those?"
"He was under my supervision, it's fine Ryder" Augie said reassuringly, "and we found them near where Everest was tranquilized."
"Ok, let me get the evidence key" Ryder said, "but I'm going to open it in front of Claire so she can see that nothing has been tampered with."
As the trio walked into the work room, Claire greeted them with an icy stare. "Augie, what is this?" She asked pointedly.
"We found some evidence" Augie said, "Chase collected it under my supervision and now Ryder is going to extract it from his pup pack."
"Augie, we can't use it then" Claire said in frustration, "it may be contaminated or comprised."
"Before you toss it" Ryder said patiently, "Chase's pack follows all rules of evidence custody and the evidence is never touched by a living being until extracted from the pup pack."
"Show us" Darrell said, coming over.
"Ruff, evidence grabber!" Chase barked. Using a box of whiteboard markers as a substitute, Chase collected the "evidence" and it was sealed away in his pup pack.
"Now, how do we get it out?" Darrell asked curiously.
"With this special key" Ryder said, producing a plastic card with a chip on it. Sliding the key card into a slot on Chase's pack, Ryder tapped a code into an unseen keypad on the back of the pup pack. With a click, the pup pack opened and revealed the three evidence bags, complete with evidence custody logs and a flashdrive with the evidence photos.
"That is nifty" Darrell said as he lifted the bags out. "But what are they?"
"Whiteboard markers" Augie said with a laugh.
"I meant the other bags, partner" Darrell said with a laugh of his own.
"One is shell casings we found" Augie said, "not sure if they are relevant or not. But the other bag is the more interesting one."
"Well, don't keep us in suspense then" Claire said as she examined the second bag.
"Careful, those are very sharp" Ryder cautioned her.
"And how would you know?" Claire asked suspiciously.
"I can see from here what that is" Ryder replied, "those are two of Marshall's tranquilizer darts. The tip is sharp enough to pierce the hide of a bear and deliver enough tranquilizer to knock them in less than five seconds and keep the bear unconscious for four hours."
Claire immediately moved her fingers away from the tips of the darts. "How does the dart know how much to deliver?"
"Marshall sets the dose with his pack before it fires the darts" Ryder replied, "but he hasn't fired any darts in months; I get a notification when his pack fires a tranquilizer dart. I have no idea how those got out in the forest."
"Do you get a notification when his pup pack gets re-stocked on darts?" Claire asked.
"No, not unless there are none left to stock it with" Ryder replied.
"Ted?" Augie called.
"I haven't finished looking at the maintenance panel" Ted said as he walked over.
"That can wait" Augie said, slightly impatiently, "can you see if these have been tampered with at all?"
"Sure, that shouldn't take long" Ted said as he carefully took the bags.
Claire nodded a dismissal to Ryder and Chase, who then turned and left. "What are you playing at Augie?" she asked when they had gone.
"I'm not playing at anything" Augie replied, "this could be a huge break in the case."
"Conveniently given to us by the Paw Patrol, who we are investigating!" Claire spat back.
"We are investigating Marshall" Augie evenly replied, "not the whole team. And I watched everything Chase did, nothing was tampered with before getting bagged. He even took photos of everything."
"And the evidence logs are immaculate" Darrell cut in, "what are you worried about?"
"Don't you think this is a little suspiciously convenient that they can provide us with everything we need?" Claire asked
"Not really" Darrell replied, "it is no different than in Heartland, but with less paperwork and hurdles. Remember, they have to do everything themselves. The only reason we are here is because Ryder and Chase can't investigate Marshall due to conflict of interest, not because they are not capable of doing so."
Augie kept his mouth shut, while he had so many things to say, now was not the right time.
Claire huffed, she wanted to keep arguing but didn't have any legitimate complaints. "I just want to keep everything above board" she said as she turned back to what she had been working on.
"We all do, Claire," Darrell said, "but that is why Ted is here, to tell us if something has been tampered with."
"This is too easy" Ted's voice said from his work corner.
"Tampered with?" Claire asked as they gathered around the technical guru.
"Quite the opposite" Ted replied, "I looked at the technical drawings for the darts. Not only have they not been tampered with, but those shell casings beling to the darts. I can tell you with 100% certainty that those darts were fired."
"From what though?" Augie asked.
"The darts are designed to fit into a standard 7.62mm hunting rifle" Ted replied, "you only need Marshall's pup pack if you want to program a dosage. Not only that, given that there is no fluid left in the darts, they delivered their full dose and were not programmed for a dog. And for the piece de resistance, the seals on both darts are intact."
"Which means what?" Claire asked in exasperation.
"That the mixture inside was 100% tranquilizer fluid, no antidote" Ted explained, "there were also traces of blood on the tips. I digitized those samples and sent them to the hospital already."
"That was very quick" Claire said suspiciously.
"Ryder has given me full read-only access to the entire Paw Patrol network" Ted said with a shrug, "I have everything at my finger tips, and it is so neatly kept that I don't even have to search hard to find what I need."
"That doesn't strike you as odd?" Claire asked plaintively.
"Ryder gave me the access as soon as I got here" Ted replied, "not in response to this in particular. They are cooperating fully and there is no indication that anything has been tampered with. I even crossed random events and records against each other in case this is a deep cover up."
"And?" Claire asked hopefully.
"Everything checks out, meaning everything is legitimate" Ted stated.
Claire gave a big sigh and sat down with her head in her hands. "What's wrong Claire?" Darrell gently asked.
"I want this case to be over quickly" Claire admitted. "We have an arsonist loose in Heartland that we need to catch. But we can't do that if we are chasing another one here in Adventure Bay."
"We'll get them both, Claire" Augie said reassuringly.
"But will it be before anyone else gets hurt?" Claire asked. No one had an answer to that question.
A/N Song Credits: "No Way Out" by Phil Collins
A/N: Special thanks to PawPatrolAllStars for the time and talent of his character Texas
A/N: Soecial thanks to 18 For the idea for this chapter.