Tired, baggy eyes glared into the ceiling for what seemed like an eternity. A repeated streak of yawns soon escaped the Retriever as she heard one of the crew members shuffle in their sleep, turning her sight to see Delta flop over his bed and hit the ground, waking himself up in the process.
"Huh?! What?" The Australian Shepherd yelled as he frantically scanned the room, "Oh." The dog calmed down as he saw Mavis chuckling at the sight of his clumsiness.
"Keep it down, please!" Levi whined as he held a pillow over his head, trying to suppress the Australian Shepherd from his ears.
"What time is it, Mavis?" Delta asked as he got up out of bed, stretching his legs and letting out a yawn. As he didn't receive an answer, he focused up on Mavis again, noticing the heavy bags on the Retriever's eyes, "Woah. Shit, Mav, were you up all night?"
"Barely. Sleeping troubles again." Mavis answered briefly as the rest of the crew soon awoke from their slumber.
Grumbles of annoyance came from Levi, who tried suppressing more of the sounds as he tried getting a few more seconds of sleep.
"Wake up, Malamute!" Nashi ordered as he punted Levi's bed, grabbing his pillow and blinding the dog with the light from the room.
Levi let out a low growl as he got out of bed, mumbling about the Husky under his breath, "Such a nuisance..."
"H-hey? Where'th Ithaac?" Mika asked as the crew nearly froze in place, scanning the room and realizing that the Shepherd was nowhere to be found.
"Who cares? Probably with Avery, like always." Nashi brushed off as he drank from his water bowl, leaving the rest of the dogs to share concerned looks with each other.
"Your fixation on him is concerning, trying to assume he's the enemy?" Delta asked as he slid a bowl over to Levi and Mika.
"I just know he's hiding something from us." Nashi claimed as Delta sighed at the Husky's determination.
"You think about that towards everyone. Just a few days ago, you were praising the pup!" Delta objected, commencing an argument between the two.
"That was before I had my suspicions! That pup can be an animal and can handle himself, no doubt, but something, I don't know what, is off about him."
"Then go find out whatever bullshit you're interested in by yourself! That Shepherd earned my respect and I'm pretty damn sure he earned everyone else's too!" Delta argued as the crew nodded in agreement, "It's just you and your damn paranoia."
"Maybe it is, but I'm finding out one way or another, hope you enjoy being spun in his web of bullshit." Nashi brushed the crew off as he left the room, leaving them with a more-than-pissed-off mood.
Mavis's collar rang shortly after. Upon picking it up, she heard Avery on the other end, who sounded conflicted. "Mavis, I need you and the others to meet me in my office soon, do whatever you gotta do and meet up after, got it?"
The crew passed glances to one another, not sure on what the Greyhound meant, "Sure thing, Avery, but—." The call was cut off. Thinking the Greyhound was in an impatient and upset mood, the crew shrugged and went on to finish whatever it was they had to do.
As the rain pattered onto the somewhat busy streets of Boroughton, a car slowly stopped onto the sidewalk, crushing the gravel underneath its wheels as the individuals stepped out. Roman stepped out of the driver's seat and quickly jogged over to the passenger side, opening the door for his wife and his friends/associates.
"You sure we'll be safe here?"
Decker nodded in assurance as he knocked on the door a certain number of times.
"Glad to see you all made it back." Rocky smiled as he gave a relieved nod to Skye and Rubble. "Come on, before someone spots you."
Decker lead the way in as Roman and his family followed, examining the condition of the safe house,
"Well, it's certainly...livable." Grace commented as Decker lightly scoffed.
"Beggars can't be choosers, especially considering your positions right now," Decker pointed at the few couches that laid nearby, "Make yourself at home, you'll stay here until I get into contact with one of my supervisors."
"Gotcha, thanks Decker." Roman reached out to let the Australian Shepherd, who recoiled back in response.
"No, I don't do pets, a simple thanks was fine." Decker assured as Rocky approached him, concerned about what he told him last night and what the mixed breed heard over the radio.
"Decker? Can we have that talk now?" Rocky asked, nervous for a response.
"Yeah, follow me." Decker looked back at the Remingtons, who were unpacking their things, "You're only going to be here for a few hours, not too much trouble, I hope."
The Australian mix soon gestured at Rocky to follow him. As they rallied with the rest of the pups, Decker cleared his throat as he pressed his collar, putting it on speaker as Agent Rich responded after some time.
"Decker, how are things being handled with the Remington's?" Rich asked as the pups passed glances with each other, showing their concern for Decker.
"Everything's fine, sir. We got them to the safe house so I need someone to come by and pick them up so you can question them." Decker stated as Rich immediately advised otherwise.
"Roger that, I'll send Arthur and Contreras to pick you all up. Mavis finally linked back up with us last night, she sent us a lot of valuable intel that Ramirez is going through right now. We'll talk more when you and others get here." Agent Rich explained as the Paw Patrol pups tilted their heads upon hearing Mavis's name.
"Copy." The call ended, a sigh releasing from the Australian Mix's mouth as he quickly rubbed his eyes.
"You alright, Decker?" Rocky asked as the pups stepped a bit closer.
"I'm right as rain, mate. It's just that what we did, relaying all that McAllister intel, may have just been pointless." Decker answered as he trotted over to the wiretap device, "You heard anything interesting yesterday? Something Rich and Ramirez might wanna listen to?"
"Yeah, I caught something last night. Those McAllister's are messed up beyond belief," Rocky turned his head at the rest of the pups as they were walking to the wiretap, "Something we never had to handle in Adventure Bay."
Decker hopped up on the chair, reminding Rocky and the pups about what he told them a while ago, "I told you before, this ain't all sunshine and rainbows." The audio began to come through as the dogs listened.
As the scene was being played and tunneling through the pup's ears, many of them were disturbed by the audio — Rubble covering his ears, Zuma holding Rocky's paw as the mixed breed could feel him shaking a tad bit, and, Skye, slowly running her paw through Marshall's fur, keeping him stable as the audio was close to being done.
"Two days is all he has, if that pup he's looking for doesn't end up in his paws, we'll go with your plan to attack the Den full force..."
Decker's ears perked up at that last piece of dialogue, along with the pups, who eased up and recovered themselves as the audio stopped. "Shit, two days? Fuck..." The Australian Mix hopped off the chair, calling out to Roman as he quickly turned his head towards Rocky, "Mate, help Roman unhook the wiretap, Rich is gonna want to hear this when we get over there." The Mix nodded as the Remington soon approached the desk, giving the eco-pup a pat on his head as they began to unhook everything.
Marshall noticed the Australian nervously scratching his paw, "Decker, what's the matter?"
"Two fuckin' days? They're not going to have enough time to handle the McAllister's in two days!" Decker yelled out as the Dalmatian stepped back, slightly wincing at the yelling Mix.
"So...what's the plan then, Decker?" Skye asked, worried that the Australian may be stressing out about the whole ordeal a bit too much.
Decker calmed down, slowly breathing in and out as he soon answered the Cockapoo's question, "I'm gonna have to tell Rich everything and pray that he takes it lightly..."
The Shepherd's tail slowly dragged itself back and forth, collecting dust as his back was facing the Greyhound, the two still not contempt with their decisions.
"Chase, I know you don't want to tell them but they deserve to know if they're gonna trust us." Avery stated as Chase laid his head to the side, huffing out air as he stood quiet, "I'm telling them that we're working with the fucking FBI, who do you think they're going to be more pissed off at, huh?"
Chase lowly growled as he snapped his head towards the Greyhound, "I know! I know I have to tell them! I just don't know how!" The Shepherd stood up, hanging his head low, "They won't trust me, I've been lying to them this entire time."
"You had to, if you went out and started letting every dog know who you really were? You wouldn't have lasted a day here." Avery wrapped his paw around the Shepherd's shoulder, "I'll stand by you 110%, they will too if you just be honest with them."
"Honesty isn't really my strong suit nowadays." Chase added as he glanced towards the ground, the disappointed look still occupying his face.
The fur of the two dogs stood up as they heard the trio of knocks coming from the door, along with a feminine voice to accompany it.
"Avery! It's us! We got food for you and Isaac!" Mavis called out on the other side of the door.
"Give me a second!" Avery advised as he looked towards the Shepherd, "Then make it your strong suit, just this time if you have to."
Chase stammered with his words as Avery headed towards the door, the pup panicked as he breathed in and out, rubbing his head as he ran multiple situations in his mind rapidly, hoping to cling onto one of them in hopes it'll help.
As the crew made their way in, the two dogs were greeted by Mavis, who was carrying a bag with her mouth. She set it down as she waved at the Shepherd, who gently smiled in response before turning his head away from the group. Her wagging tail came to a halt as she saw the pup face away from the group. "Hey, Avery? Is Isaac alright?"
The Greyhound turned his head back to glance at the Shepherd, "Yeah, he's alright, just a bit tired. Nothing food won't fix." Avery stated as he noticed the large Husky missing from the group, "Where's Nashi?"
The Retriever nervously chuckled as she stammered with her words, "He-uh...he still has...con-concerns about Isaac. Can you tell him to back off? He won't listen to any of us."
"It's Nashi, I doubt he'll listen but let's talk about this after we're done eating. Clear up our minds." Avery smiled as Mika pulled out the food that was for the two.
"We know it's too early for steak but we got you that and some kibble, although I highly recommend you eat the kibble." Mavis advised as she placed the bowls in front of her.
"I don't got long left in me anyway, hand over the steak." Avery chuckled as Mavis slid the bowl towards him, "Isaac, come on, come get your food."
Chase turned around, catching the sliding bowl from Mavis as he gave her a thanking nod, "You know, you didn't have to get this for us."
Avery chuckled after he swallowed some bites from his steak, "My ass, they definitely had too, I'm starving and I know you are too!"
Mavis and the others let out slight chuckles here and there as they laid back in the office, waiting for the two to finish eating their food.
"Hey, boss, I know I shouldn't be saying this but something has to be done with Nashi." Delta stated as his ears lowered down a bit, as did the other dogs.
"Yeah, I like Nashi, not as much as you dogs, but he's been going overboard lately." Levi added as Avery finished up his steak rather quickly.
"Look. This whole McAllister operation has been affecting him, you know his history with them. The Husky's just anxious to get the job done." Avery turned towards Chase, "But his...his concerns about Isaac are partially true, if he goes overboard then he ca-."
"Wait, wait! You're saying Nashi was right?" Mavis asked as the crew all faced the Shepherd, emotions mixed as they hoped that the Greyhound was just kidding around.
"I..." Avery stopped as he motioned for the Shepherd to continue for him.
Chase zipped his eyes across each of the crew members, seeing their concerns as the Shepherd tried to calm down and explain. He lowered his head in shame as he spoke to everyone in the room, "I'm sorry...I can't, n-not now." The Shepherd walked off as Avery tried reaching out but held back, thinking that Shepherd would be overwhelmed than he already was.
"Don't bother asking because I won't tell you..." Avery advised as he didn't want to hear the questions from the crew, "It's something he has to tell you yourselves." The Greyhound assured as he saw the Shepherd approach the door.
As Chase opened the door, he was face to face with Nashi, who hesitated for a bit but immediately rushed at the Shepherd.
"You're dead, you piece of shit!" Nashi yelled as he pushed Chase back into the office and pinned him against the wall.
Chase, who took no hesitation, head butted the dog and slashed at his face quickly, pushing him back and gaining distance as Avery came in to break it up.
"Nashi, calm the fuck down!" Avery barked as he motioned towards Delta and Levi to keep him calm.
"The fuck's gotten into you?!" Delta yelled as they kept the Husky restrained.
"Chase, you alright?" Avery asked as his fur soon tensed up upon the slip of the Shepherd's name.
The crew froze.
"What?" Delta asked as Levi and him lessened their restraint on the Husky as they had their attention on the Shepherd.
"What'd you just call him...?" Mavis asked as she lowered her ears towards Chase. "Why'd you call him Chase?!"
"That's his name, you idiot! That bastard lied to all of us!" Nashi pointed as the Shepherd lowered his head.
Mavis continued to look at the Shepherd, with the look of betrayal being used to feed the facade of her actual purpose. To prevent any more accidents between the crew, she ultimately decided to side with the Shepherd, even if it meant she was conflicted again, "Look, let's just give Isa-...Chase a minute to explain." Mavis defended as she saw Delta and Nashi disregard her plea, "He didn't do anything wrong!" Mavis defended as Nashi intervened.
"Yeah? Look at my face—!" Nashi argued.
"Fuck your face, you shouldn't have attacked him like that!" Mavis countered as Nashi approached her and the Shepherd.
"Move." Nashi ordered as he stepped towards the two.
"Back up..." Mavis warned as Delta and Levi regretted letting their grip on the Husky go.
"Calm down..."
"Or what?" Nashi asked as he was mere inches away from the Shepherd.
"Back the fuck up!" The Retriever yelled as she shoved the Husky away, seeing him snap and bare his teeth at her.
"Calm down!" Mika yelled as Mavis stood her ground.
"Nashi!" Delta yelled as he and Levi stepped closer to the trio.
"You gonna attack me?" Mavis asked as she unsheathed her claws, ready to defend herself and Chase against the Husky.
"Enough!" Avery silenced the room as he sat down, his angered presence showing dominance over the group. "You will sit down, you will listen to what Chase and I have to tell you and you will do it all without making a sound! Do I make myself clear?"
The crew agreed even if they started having doubts towards the Shepherd and their boss.
Chase let in a deep breath as the tension lowered to a reasonable level. He looked towards his Greyhound friend, who gave him a smile and an assuring nod. The pup look towards the crew and began to explain...