(Disclaimer: Mature Language)
There was a silence in the room as Marshall looked at his friend with shock in his eyes.
"K-Katie? What-what're you doing here?" The Dalmatian asked.
Katie walked up to the pup and laid her first aid kit next to him.
"I always come here on occasion to visit my aunt, she barely has family visit her and I'm the only one who stops by from time to time." Katie explained as she took out essential items to help patch up Marshall.
"I didn't know you had family out here." Marshall said as he winced at the pain.
"Yeah...but wh-what are you doing here? Aren't you and the others supposed to be back in Adventure Bay?" Katie asked as she rubbed alcohol on Marshall's wounds to disinfect it.
"Ow! Jeez! We were...we were looking for Chase, all of us were." Marshall winced at the immense pain.
"What about Ryder and the others?" Katie asked as she placed the cloth on the side and began to examine the wounds.
"Sa-safe house." Marshall began to explain. "Shortly after Chase left, we had a ru-run-in with the FBI, apparently they needed to find Chase so Ryder convinced them that we can help." Katie paid full attention to the Dalmatian's explanation.
Katie examined the wounds and realized that they weren't too bad, except for the bite that Chase caused.
"Who did this to you?" Katie asked as she placed some bandages on the scratches that the pup received.
Marshall sighed as he had to tell the truth one way or another.
"The same pup we've been trying to look for..." Marshall answered as he lowered his ears.
"Chase...attacked you?" Katie asked as she gestured for Marshall to see his paw. "Why would he do that?"
"I-I don't know..." Marshall winced at the the pain that he received in his paw.
There was some silence between the two until Katie decided to speak up.
"He told me that he was doing this to protect you and the others..." Katie finished cleaning Marshall's paw. "Had I known he was—."
Marshall cut the girl off. "Wait, he told you? What do you mean he told you?" The Dalmatian asked, trying to piece it together.
"I ran into him the day he left...we took the train here." Katie answered truthfully as she finished wrapping up Marshall's paw.
"Wh-you lied to us? Lied to Ryder? Why?" Marshall asked as Katie stood back, with a guilty look on her face.
Marshall couldn't believe it, he was furious and that's something Marshall is rarely.
"I lied because—."
Marshall cut the girl off yet again. "We could've stopped him from going on this whole charade! Why didn't you tell us?! We're your friends! How come you didn't—?"
"Because I believed in his cause!" Katie yelled out.
"Hi-his cause?!" Marshall yelled back.
"I believed that he could do this, end whatever he was going through because he wanted to keep you all safe!" Katie answered.
"Keep us safe? Keep us safe?! Look what he did to me!" Marshall had tears coming out at this point. "He attacked and almost killed me...the pup I thought of as a brother almost killed me. He was going to do it too, I saw it in his eyes!" Marshall cried out. "Had I just been some random stray that went into the wrong place at the wrong time, he wouldn't have been so merciful!" Marshall lowered his head on the table. "I mean, I tried helping him but he repaid that with a bite and some scratches."
Katie felt bad, she could've prevented this, but she felt that Chase's cause was a better option.
"I've always tried doing things the right way aside from our missions, I screwed up then and I screwed up now!" Tears came down from the Dalmatian's eyes. "I lost our only hope of getting Chase back. I'm such a clumsy, stupid pup!" Katie pulled Marshall into a hug, he needed after what he'd been through. It didn't matter if she lied, the Dalmatian just needed the comfort from a friend.
"I should've just waited! Zuma was right, he was right and I didn't listen because I thought I could fix it on my own." Marshall cried as Katie comforted him.
"It's okay." Katie petted the Dalmatian. "You'll find Chase eventually, he couldn't have gotten far if you call for backup." Katie tried looking on the almost bright side.
"My partner isn't here, he had to head back to the safe house out of town and deliver some intel we found." Marshall started calming down, wiping the tears from his eyes. "He's in charge of this operation while we're here, his superiors are helping us out."
"Then you and the others should find him in no time." Katie carried the pup in her arms. "Come on, it's getting late, you should rest." Katie suggested.
"Wh-what? No...I have to get back to the safe house before my partner gets back, if he finds out I'm gone, it's going to cause more problems!" Marshall exclaimed.
"You can't just head back out there on your own!" Katie argued.
"What am I going to do?" Marshall asked.
"Can you contact them in any way?" Katie suggested.
"I think my tag took a little damage during that fight with Chase but I should be able to." Marshall pressed his pup tag and called Decker.
"Mate, what is it? You alright? Zuma told me what happened." Decker revealed with some worry in his voice.
"I'm okay, I ran into a friend who hel-helped me out, she took me in and I'm resting at her place until morning." Marshall answered.
"Alright, I'll tell Rich to track your location and I'll be there by morning, I'll deal with you then." Decker ended the call which shook Marshall as he heard the anger in the Aussie's voice.
"This isn't going to go well." Marshall sighed as he laid down on a small pillow that Katie gave him.
"Don't worry, I'm with you." Katie smiled as she laid down on a nearby couch with the pup.
"Come on! Come on!" A certain Husky yelled out as the group ran from the hostiles.
The job that Avery wanted Nashi and the others to do wasn't going well, it was a simple recon job but it turned out to be anything besides that.
The trio messed up, due to a falter between them of how their plan should go, they could've left easily but they wanted more than that. They wanted to attempt to cripple one of the McAllister's operations.
The two cut through multiple alleyways, with Delta tossing over garbage cans to slow down their pursuers.
"Where to now, Nash?" Delta asked as he kept an eye out for more hostiles.
"Fuck, let me think." Nashi had to think fast. "The Den is close by, if we keep going we can make it! If they spot us, they can't go anywhere near our turf and they know that." Nashi planned.
"Sounds like a plan, let's move. Come on Levi." Delta gestured for the Malamute to follow.
"Right behind ya." Levi followed as the trio made their way back to the Den.
"Those cunts are over there, get them!" A voice called out as the small group of hostile dogs started to chase them again.
The trio ran as fast as they could've, seeing the Den in the distance, it was right there. As the group ran past the alleyway, Levi ended up tripping and dropping the bag close to the two.
Levi got winded from the fall, Nashi immediately went for the bag and stood by them as Delta went for the Malamute.
"I gotcha, kid, come on!" Delta helped the Malamute up as he got pounced by one of the pursuers.
"Delta!" Levi bit the dog's paw as hard as he can to help his Australian Shepherd friend, tugging at the dog's paw, as Nashi got close and yanked the dog off of Delta. He quickly rammed the dog into one of the dumpsters, momentarily stunning him as the trio made a run for it.
The trio saw it, their ticket to freedom, it was so close and attainable. They just barely reached the front of the Den as Nashi got pounced by one of the dogs.
The dog placed his claws on Nashi's neck as the black Husky just smiled.
"Go ahead, try your luck." Nashi chuckled as the group of pursuers became surrounded.
"You know the rules we got going on, get the fuck out of here before we mess you up bad!" Saxton ordered as the dog got off of Nashi, spitting on the Husky as he got up.
"Son of a-!" Nashi was close to attacking the dog but was stopped by Levi, who nodded his head at the Husky.
"Easy, better to not waste the effort on filth like him." The Husky calmed down as his Malamute friend held him back.
"You pups lucky you made it here, we'll be back, and we'll take back what's rightfully ours!" The dog left as did the small group shortly after.
The group finally left as Saxton opened the small gate for the trio.
"Rains getting worse, head inside and rest up, alright?" Saxton asked as he let out a smile to the trio.
"Thanks for that, Saxton." Delta appreciated.
Saxton nodded as the trio entered the Den, not ready for the ear-blistering rant they were about to receive from Avery.
The trio was exhausted, having to run so far just to snag a score that they didn't have to snag in the first place.
"That...was a close one." Delta let out a breath of relief.
Nashi let out a a chuckle along with his breath. "Tell me about it, I thought Levi was done for when he tripped."
Levi rolled his eyes, smiling at the Husky as he let out an answer.
"I might be a pup but I can handle myself." Levi assured.
"Damn right! I knew that for a fact when you yanked that stupid mutt off of me." Delta wrapped one of his paws around the Malamute's neck, proud of his assistance in the job.
"Thanks but I'm getting tired, we've been running for awhile." Levi yawned on cue.
"Well, can't rest yet, we gotta get this stuff to Avery first." Delta advised as Levi let out a small sigh. "We really should've taken my route, wouldn't have gotten chased from those bastards." Delta reminded the Husky.
"Alright, I get it, lay off, will you?" Nashi asked with some frustration in his voice.
Delta rolled his eyes at the Husky's arrogance as the trio made their to the Greyhound's office, noticing that he was nowhere to be found yet the door to his office was open.
"Huh, he's probably already with someone right now, come on." Delta tilted his head as the trio moved on.
They entered the room and saw Mavis inside, looking around for the Greyhound.
"Mavis? What're you doing here? Where's Avery?" Delta asked as he closed the door behind him and the others.
"I was looking for him myself but I guess he's doing something right now, usually his door would be locked." Mavis answered as she eyed the bag. "What's that?" The Retriever asked.
"Just a score we snagged from the McAllister brothers." Nashi replied as he laid the stacks of ration cards on the table.
"What?! Avery told you to-!" Mavis stopped talking as she heard the Greyhound's voice get closer as the door opened.
"Yeah, don't worry about the McAllisters, we'll handle them soon eno-." Avery cut himself off. "I'll call you back." Avery ended the call as he saw the stacks of ration cards on his table. "Why is there a big stash of ration cards on the table?" The Greyhound asked.
"It's a little complica-." Nashi cut the Australian Shepherd off.
"We rolled up to that McAllister operation and stole the goods." Nashi answered without seeing the problem.
"And you brought that shit here?" Avery asked.
"Boss, who else are we gonna trust with this?" Nashi replied with another question.
"But the McAllister brothers know you stole it, right?" Avery asked yet again
"Well, they wouldn't have if we would've went with my plan!" Delta exclaimed.
"Yeah but if we went with your plan, we'd still be talking about it." Nashi sarcastically smiled.
"Fuck off, Nashi!" Delta spat.
"Excuse m-?!" Nashi was cut off by the Italian Greyhound.
"Both of you shut the fuck up, alright?!" Avery was fuming. "I told you to fucking scout the place out, not steal their shit! Now I gotta worry about this and that southern asshole Ajax on my ass! Why the fuck did you not follow my orders like I told you too?!" Avery glared over to Mavis. "Can I speak to you outside for a minute?" Mavis nodded as she followed behind the Greyhound.
Avery slammed the door behind him as he gave an order to Mavis, somewhat of a permanent one.
"Look, those two can't work together. Levi doesn't seem to give two shits about who's side he's on and without you leading them, it's just chaos. I want you to always be with them, Mika or no Mika, I don't fucking care! Just make sure those two idiots don't fuck up another job again!" Avery ordered.
"Y-you got it, Avery." Mavis obeyed as the Greyhound went inside, lowering her ears after realizing that Mika will have to be on her own more frequently. She let out a sigh as she went back into the room.
Saxton kept an eye out for anymore of those McAllister goons in case they wanted to snoop around, it was the Bulldog's normal routine to guard the entrance. Other dogs took the role also but Saxton was the most trusted with his tasks. As the Bulldog was about to change shifts with another dog, he noticed something approaching him, limping and stumbling over in the process.
"Hey! Who's there? You better get out of here if you know what's good for you!" Saxton warned as the figure did no such thing and kept approaching him. "Goddamnit." The Bulldog approached the figure and as the light shine across it's body, he realized that it was Chase. "Oh shit, you're that kid that Avery let in. What the hell happened?" Saxton asked.
Chase grunted and winced as the Bulldog helped him up. "Am-ambush, just let me in so I can see Avery."
"Right, head on inside." Saxton agreed and kept a watchful eye as the Shepherd went inside and started heading towards Avery's office.
The Shepherd felt a sharp pain in his head as he heard an immense ringing, shortly coughing up a storm as he stumbled over again.
As his ringing ears were slowly beginning to fade away, he heard Avery yelling from his office.
"From now on, Mavis is gonna be leading you three like she has before, I can't fully trust you two to take a lead on a job because you'll just end up fucking it up!"
Chase heard the angry Greyhound and stumbled towards the door, leaning against it as he knocked, waiting for a response.
"Who the fuck is that? Giuro su Cristo se è l'Ajax..." Avery questioned as he went and opened the door, revealing the injured Shepherd falling to the floor and dropping the bag. "Holy shit, Isaac? What the hell happened to you?" Avery asked as he and Mavis helped the Shepherd up, placing the bag aside. "Did Spencer do this to you, so fucking help me, I will skin that-!" Chase spoke up, cutting the Greyhound off.
"It wa-wasn't...Spencer." Chase winced. "Remember those strays, Mav? They watched the drop and ambushed me with more numbers than last time but I managed."
"Barely!" Mavis stated the obvious as she examined the pup's injuries.
"I'll take him to Cody. You four just stay here."Avery ordered as he helped the pup.
"I'll come too!" Mavis tried helping the Shepherd.
"Fine, you three better be gone before I get back, I should have another job by tomorrow afternoon, if you don't fuck it up, then maybe I'll forgive and forget that tonight ever happened." Avery ordered as he, Mavis, and Chase headed out.
Nashi and the other two watched as they left, soon realizing that they were gone, Nashi spoke up.
"That went well." Nashi stated.
"Are you kidding me, right now?" Delta questioned the Husky. "We're up shits creek right now because of what you wanted to do, you stupid fucking mutt!" Delta yelled out.
Nashi was taken back by this. "Wh-what I wanted to do?! You're the one who came up with the idea!" Nashi shot back.
The two were getting closer to each other, signifying that eventually, they were going to attack one another. Levi wasn't a fan of seeing stuff like this happen so he got between the two.
"Come on...just take it easy, alright?" Levi tried defusing as he sighed at the bickering.
"No, this mongrel always tries to find a way to blame me! You got a problem with me, Delta?" Nashi asked.
"I want you to stop acting like you can do everything your way! That's not how these jobs work! You need to think about it, I know you can't with that tiny mind of yours!" Delta answered.
"Motherfu-!" Nashi tried attacking the Australian Shepherd but couldn't due to Levi trying his best to hold them back.
"Hey! Easy! Both of you calm down!" Levi shouted. "You two are always at each other's throats! Look on the bright side for once, please?" Levi began to explain. "Avery might be mad at us now, but think about it like this. We just give him the cards, and take a small percentage of it and bam! Problem solved!" Levi smiled as he clapped his paws together.
"The point isn't just Avery, you need to stop looking at the 'bright side' of everything Levi." Delta suggested.
"What can I say? I'm an optimist." Levi shrugged.
"No, you're a fucking idiot for thinking that the plan is even going to work well with Avery." Nashi cursed.
Levi rolled his eyes at the Husky. "It's called enduring and surviving...asshole." Levi released the two dogs from holding them back. "Seriously, you are a buzzkill sometimes." Levi stated as Delta let out a small chuckle.
"Come on, let's get out of here before Avery flips out again." Delta suggested as the two followed shorty after.
The trio finally made it to Cody's place, a small office where injuries would get patched up, like an infirmary but a lot smaller.
Avery banged on the door as he called out Cody's name.
"Cody! Open up, it's Avery!" The Greyhound yelled out.
"I heard ya, I heard ya, hold on." Cody's voice responded as the door was unlocked. "Avery, Mavis, who's this?" Cody asked.
"A friend of mine, patch him up, will you?" Avery asked as he helped Chase inside.
"I don't know this pup from anywhere, you never mentioned him before so why should I help him? I bet he can't even pay for the treatment." Cody stated as he got a look at the Shepherd.
Avery sighed as he approached the Shih Tzu breed, pinning him down and glaring him in the eyes. Avery didn't have to utter a word to intimidate Cody, the Shih Tzu gulped as he came to his senses.
"A-as of m-matter of fact, I can tr-treat him right now! Just set him o-over there." Cody pointed to the small bed.
Mavis nodded as she set Chase down on the bed, not noticing the blood staining her fur.
"He'll patch you up, kid, we'll swing by tomorrow morning and see how you're doing. Mav, get some rest for tomorrow, no matter what the job is, I still need you on this." Avery ordered as Mavis nodded.
"I got it, Avery but I'm going to stay with Isaac." Mavis suggested.
"Alright, that's fine." Avery showed a small smile as he was about to leave the room. "Look, don't worry about Mika, she seems like a tough dog but whatever the case is, she can stay at my office while you and the others are on your jobs." Avery soothed the Retriever's worries by some degree.
"Thanks, Avery." Mavis smiled as she stood near Chase.
"Anytime." Avery left the room, leaving Mavis and Chase with the doctor of the Den.
The room was quiet as Cody examined the pup's wounds.
"Huh, nothing too bad but nothing too good." Cody stated as he examined some more of the Shepherd's wounds. "How'd this happen?"
"Some strays we ran into a while back, I guess they found him but he took them down." Mavis answered.
"You took them down on your own? For a pup, that's commendable!" Cody praised as he patched up the pup's scratches. "Alright, the easy part is done but I might need your help holding him down in case he starts reacting to the pain." Cody called over to Mavis, who immediately went over to Chase's side. "Alright, Isaac, is it? I'm going to clean the bite on your paw, this is going to sting like hell so just...try to relax." Cody poured the alcohol on Chase's paw, causing the pup to jolt up and yell in pain.
"Ah! Jeez! That hurts!" Chase yelled out as he felt Mavis'a paw clutch his shoulder.
"Just a little bit more, ok?" Cody assured as he got ready to pour the last bit.
"Alright, do it." Chase calmed down as the Shih Tzu poured some more alcohol on the pup's wound, soon cleaning it up and wrapping it up.
"That wasn't so hard, now was it?" Cody rhetorically asked. "Now, just stay off the paw and let it heal, it should be in no time that you'll be able to use it again, another thing is to get some rest in case you took some head injuries." Cody smiled.
Chase panted from the pain as he let out a response.
"Thanks, Cody." Chase thanked as he and Mavis left the room.
"Anytime, tell Avery that we're even now." Cody told the two as they left. The Shih Tzu sighed as he tossed the bloody rags away, soon realizing one thing.
"He didn't pay..."
Chase arrived at the room that he and the others shared. With help from Mavis, he made it there, no problem. The Shepherd lied down on his bed, with Mavis accompanying him.
Chase didn't say a word as he let out a deep sigh. First, the Shepherd couldn't live with the guilt of leaving his friends and now he hurt one of them.
Mavis noticed the Shepherd's depressed manner and as she tried comforting him, she heard the fabric ripping from his bed as she saw his claws digging deep into it. Glancing at his eyes, she noticed that he was just angry but at what? It couldn't be her so the Retriever couldn't question it and she didn't want to push him.
Chase's ears began ringing again as he kept thinking back to attacking Marshall, just seeing his dear friend, injured and bloody, messed up his mental state.
"Friends forever!"
"Forever and ever!"
Chase lowered his head on the pillow, trying to forget that tonight ever happened but how could he?
"Friends forever and I hurt you, something I promised I would never do...but I guess I'm just full of empty promises..." Chase thought to himself as he finally closed his eyes to drift off into sleep.