The PAW Patrol was renowned for their adaptive abilities in the field, six tenacious puppies with a tool for seemingly any occasion. For anything they lacked, a new dog would be discovered to fill the gap, thus birthing the rather large spiderweb of expanded PAW Patrol members. With so many fluffy, colorful faces to meet their need, it seemed unlikely the PAW Patrol would ever run into a situation they couldn't overcome, until the mission of the broken vault.
"Thanks for hurrying, pups," Ryder said, walking with his arms behind his back before the massive screen. "There's been an incident at the Adventure Bay bank, seems someone tried to get into the vault."
"A bank robbery?" said Chase, the German shepherd. "Isn't that kinda old school?"
The Dalmation sitting at the side gave him an unamused look, "oh what, they should've shot up the place instead? Would that be more interesting for you?"
"Chill, Marshall. I'm just saying, who robs banks anymore?"
"It is a little strange, since most things are digital now, especially with everyone buying stuff from Evcon." Ryder couldn't help but shrug, "to be honest I'm surprised myself."
A cockapoo in avian gear spoke up, "so what, Humdinger at it again?"
Ryder shook his head, turning to the mission screen. "We can't be so sure exactly, no one apparently got a good luck at the guy and there's no recordings of him anywhere."
Chase nodded, kneading his paws. "So how much money did he take?"
"Uhh none, the robbery never succeeded. Someone saw him and he bolted."
"Well... if nothing was stolen then what're we being called for?"
"The guy got away," said their leader. "And he was smart enough to disable the cameras somehow."
Chase snickered under his breath, "well that eliminates Humdinger; guy's an idiot."
"Chase..."
"Just saying."
Waving off the chatter, Ryder accessed his handheld and brought their emblems to the screen, selecting each animal he'd need for the mission. "Chase, you're a police officer so naturally you're coming with me."
"Chase is on the case!" the shepherd struck a pose, making the other's roll their eyes. The shepherd always went along, annoyingly often; an efficient tool in missions but rather disheartening to the few dogs that never got picked for the action.
"Rocky, you're the attentive type," Ryder looked to the grey mixed breed wearing green. "Your... direct abilities might not be used here, but I know you're good at catching little things and details."
The mix straightened up, pulling a wide smile. "Green means go!"
"Alright, PAW Patrol is on a roll!"
For such textbook introduction to their missions, no one had reason to suspect that today would be different. The two dogs jumped down the tower's slide and landed on their kennels, transforming them into vehicle configurations, while Ryder revved his AV and took to the streets of Adventure Bay with his dogs behind him. Off they went like soldiers into the night, speeding away to what they believed was just another mission like all the others.
"We'll have to take a different route, pups," Ryder said into the radio, steering into the humble town of the bay. Passing by the lively markets and flower-glistening parks, people waved to them as they passed, some even cheering for their presence and raising their mugs of coffee. Everywhere they stepped, they were celebrated for being there; Ryder used to soak it up with a big smile but now their cheering just mildly annoyed him.
"What, construction again?" Chase said into his microphone, always driving directly behind his leader.
"No, more protesters," he said, gently stopping at an intersection. "They're blocking route six, we'll have to go around."
The shepherd looked down the horizon, squinting his eyes at faint shadows marching at a circle. "They're becoming numerous, it was only a few people last week. I think I see a whole caravan down there now."
Rocky spoke up, "look, I'm gonna say it: I don't think Evcon Industries is all that bad. Their products are pretty cool, all that smart technology and stuff, it literally responds to your voice! Entire appliances, working all on their own. You gonna get any of that for the tower?"
"I'm... not sure," Ryder stared up at the red light, pretending not to see the car beside him waving cheerfully. "Maybe an automatic treat dispenser or... something to work on my projects."
"Are you kidding, do you know what scary crap they make in there?" Chase said, sounding offended. "I saw a billboard yesterday for an AI that can literally write music from nothing."
"Music? That's cool!" Rocky chirped, missing the tone being conveyed.
"No, not cool, Rocky. You have people who spend their whole lives mastering art and writing, and now suddenly there's a robot that can do it all in four seconds. No wonder there's protesters, I'd be mad too. Heck, I even heard a rumor that they're making robot dogs in there, they're already replacing us!"
"No one's replacing anyone, Chase," Ryder said, turning a hard right to detour around the protesting rally. "And robot pets aren't necessarily a new thing, it's just fancy tech that isn't going anywhere. There's not much we can do at this point," he said, trying to find his own opinion on the matter. "If you want to voice your opinion then go write a blog or something. Plenty of people are already throwing their wallets at Evcon and they aren't breaking the law."
"I'm just being honest, sir. You'll never see me endorsing any of that AI stuff."
They pulled into the Adventure Bay bank, a rather plain building sitting on a far end of the territory. They parked their vehicles and got to work; Ryder pulled his helmet off and went to the doors while the puppies followed. The atmosphere was strangely calm for a bank that almost suffered a severe breach of security; even the patrons were still there, boredly waiting in lines to cash checks or make other legal arrangements.
Mayor Goodway, the charismatic yet mildly incompetent face of Adventure Bay, was waiting for them with fidgeting, sweaty hands. "Oh thank goodness you're here!" she nearly ran over someone magnetizing over to Ryder. The puppies were milliseconds from entering a flight response from the freight train of a human sprinting at them, each praying no one saw their fur spike up.
"They really got away without stealing anything?" Ryder crossed his arms.
"Fortunately, yes, this whole thing could've been a lot worse," she twiddled her fingers, looking anxiously around. "He got in through the staff entrance, somehow disabled both the alarm and cameras."
"How'd you catch him then?"
"There's a sensor that tells staff whenever the vault is open or closed, they can see it on the computers. Out of nowhere, it starts going haywire!" Goodway made a shaking gesture with her arms. "Darn thing can't decide if it's open or closed, beeping and flashing like headless chickens! So someone went to check it out and ended up spotting the guy messing with the vault access computer. He ran out pretty quick."
Chase walked up, making sure his fur was groomed down. "Did anyone see what he looked like?"
"It was a man in black, wore a mask."
"Alright, Chase, Rocky, go check out the vault," Ryder gestured for his dogs. "I'll stick around the lobby and talk to the rest of the staff."
"Do whatever you can," said the mayor. "But that wall tablet is a little confusing."
"Sir yes sir!" the shepherd puppy saluted, then darted off as fast as his little body could take him, Rocky in tow.
Their cheerful demeanors immediately fell the second line of sight was broken, and the two slowed their pace to a relaxing walk down the government hallway. The puppies wandered across the flattened carpet with bored expressions, looking up at the many office doors lining the pale walls.
Chase triple-checked if his radio was still on before speaking, "mask, wearing all black. Great," he said sarcastically. "Best description in the fucking universe."
"Well first of all, language," Rocky shot him a look. "Secondly, give her a break. She doesn't usually deal with crimes like this."
"Are there no other police in Adventure Bay? Like, are we the only ones?" the shepherd continued ranting. "Remember that tanker that crashed on the bridge? Cap'n Turbot could've called anyone, but he called us. I'm happy to help but like... aren't you worried? If there's like a whole-ass bomb threat or something, what are we supposed to do?"
"Pray that never happens?"
"I'm just saying, Rocks," Chase said with a sigh. "I want more than anything to make the world a better place, I'm just not sure how I'm supposed to do it with what little I have."
"What little you have?" the mixed breed echoed his words with a skeptical look. "Didn't you jump over like... a forty-foot gap in Adventure City?"
Chase sped up slightly as they approached the vault doors, "okay that was adrenaline, pure adrenaline. Doubt I could ever make a jump like that again. Alright, what're we working with here?"
They came before the steel gates to riches, the solid doors to mountains of money and solutions to all problems in the world. The vault held the name well, surrounded by solid concrete wall and firmly locked with hydraulic pistons. There was no simple lock or keypad, but a shiny, advanced computer tablet on the wall.
Standing on his hindlegs and taking a closer look at the flat machine, Chase studied its flashy touchscreen and icons. He spotted a familiar logo engraved on the lower corner, and a scowl peeled across his face. "Well no wonder it's confusing, it's Evcon tech. God this trash is everywhere..."
"Wow, even the bank bought stuff from them," Rocky said, breathing out his awe. "They've probably made millions off of Adventure Bay by now."
Griping as he struggled to work the overcomplicated technology, Chase fiddled with the touchscreen. "Are basic locks not enough anymore? And why is this screen so glitchy?"
"Let me see," the eco-dog walked up and took his own look at the device. Something was clearly wrong with it, the overly malfunctioning screen likely wasn't an intended feature. He tapped his paw on a few apps, but nothing responded to him. "It's broken. Whatever that guy tried to do, it didn't work but certainly screwed up the hardware."
"Can you fix it?"
"Uhh... I'm not sure," Rocky flicked his gaze back to his pup-pack, still strapped on his back housing every tool he knew. "It's like... internally broken. All the physical components are fine, but whatever server runs this thing is going nuts." He lowered himself to the floor, "I can't fix this, it's outside my skill range."
"Well we can't leave the bank with a broken door," Chase said, looking back in the direction they came. "Maybe Ryder knows."
"Yeah let's go get him."
They promptly went and fetched their leader, who attempting to restore camera footage to no avail. Mayor Goodway tagged along when they were brought back to the door.
Ryder hunched over and scanned the odd screen. "You may have to get a new one installed."
"Like hell I will," Goodway said crossly. "That was four hundred dollars!"
"What!?" Chase spiked his fur, flattening his ears in revulsion. "What door lock is that much?!"
"Because it's not just a door lock!" she said pridefully. "It scans eye colors, fingerprints, motion tracks, you name it!"
"Fingerprints?" Ryder raised an eyebrow, one hand on his hip. "Would it have captured the thief's?"
"Wouldn't have mattered if he was wearing gloves," Chase spoke up.
Goodway wagged her finger at the puppy, "no see, that's what you think! But no, this thing can actually scan through gloves, it was a whole selling point."
"Oh," the shepherd muttered in defeat. "Great..."
Ryder looked at the wall tablet with narrowed eyes, "wait, so there's literally a perfect DNA sample in that thing's memory right now?"
"Yes, there should be," said the mayor. "I was hoping you'd have a way of fixing it. In case you couldn't tell by its screen being on the fritz, it's busted."
Rocky nudged her with his paw, "not broken. We just need to undo whatever the guy did to it, reset it's router somehow."
"Well I can't just unplug it, it's sort of embedded into the wall."
"And I doubt the several people out there would appreciate us turning off the power," Ryder said, grumbling. "Chase, think your spy gear has anything that could hack this thing?"
"Unfortunately sir, I don't think so," Chase licked his paw a few times. "Unless a zipline could magically fix it."
A dead end, and the PAW Patrol hated dead ends. Nervous of his own reputation in front of the mayor, Ryder cleared his throat and forced a smile. "Have no fear, Mayor Goodway, we'll... find a way."
"Well don't burn daylight," came the woman's agitated tone. "There are people out there who need to make transactions, my reputation is on the line here! You've solved nearly hundreds of things, there's no reason you can't solve this one too! Now do call me when you fix it." She clapped her hands together and walked off, leaving the three standing alone.
"Ugh, great," Ryder said, sneering under his breath. "She could've been nicer about it. What are we supposed to do, we've never seen anything like this before."
"Maybe we should call for help," Rocky wagged his tail slightly. "I'm sure one of our friends has skills in this department."
"That... would be worth a shot," the leader put a hand to his chin. "But who?"
The list of extended PAW Patrol members was considerably sizeable; dogs all over the world carried connections to them, and it wouldn't be the first time they've called for help. The only problem with such an action was actually figuring out who could do what, and despite the impressing quantity, Ryder couldn't visualize any of them being of help here.
"Didn't we have a robo-dog? Why don't we just turn him on again?" Chase tilted his head, remembering a certain playful machine they kept around for a while.
Rocky quickly shot him a glare, "oh no, never. Not again, not after what happened."
"I thought you liked AI."
"I do, but like, there's a line," the mix said, shaking his head. "All that thing did was cause problems."
"I agree with Rocky," Ryder was trying to fiddle with the screen to no result. "But I also simultaneously agree with Chase, there's not a whole lot we can do here, we need help from elsewhere." Staring at the glitched wall tablet as if willing it into fixing itself, Ryder tapped his fingers on his arms, struggling for answers.
The grey puppy looked back to the tablet as well, his gaze resting on the engraved logo. "Well... if I wanted to know how to fix something, I'd ask the person who built it."
Ryder sighed, "Justin Martyr."
The name sent a wave through the three, rather violently with Chase. "Wha- sir... I must protest," the shepherd came to the boy's pant leg. "Sir, we can do without them, we're just making ourselves look incompetent!"
"He... would have the answer," Rocky dared himself to say, wincing slightly at Chase's darting glare.
"It's not incompetence, Chase," said Ryder, already running Rocky's plan through his mind. "True leaders know when to ask for help, and right now, he's the only person who would know."
"Sir, please don't tell me we're actually walking into that place."
"Do you have a better idea?" the boy straightened up. "Because if you do, feel free to share at any time. Both of you, back to your vehicles."
Mayor Goodway was struggling to fend off enraged customers demanding to know why the vault was suddenly unusable. She was helplessly on the front lines, flooding with relief upon spotting the pups run by and Ryder walking up.
"Did you fix it?" she asked, a world of desperation in her voice.
"No, but we know someone who can," Ryder said, walking past her nonchalantly.
The mayor boiled with fear seeing her only safety net actively leaving the building. "Wha- where are you going!?"
Calling over his shoulder, the boy uttered the company name with annoyed disdain. "Evcon Industries."
