Dogs of War

by Geonn Cannon

  She brushed at her cheek as she pushed the drawer shut and continued to explore. She and Ari had never planned to have a proper employee-employer situation. When she walked into Willow Investigative Service, which she still thought was an atrocious name, she expected to spend two weeks getting things organized in order to grab a paycheck that would hopefully satisfy her landlady. But the two weeks ended and she couldn't bring herself to leave Ari alone.

  "So I guess, um. We never said if this was going to be long-term."

  "No... and you have the Shepard case that's on-going. If you need some help with the research, or um... God knows you won't be able to find the right files if it goes to court. I could stick around at least for a little while."

  "That could be months."

  Dale shrugged. "Where else do I have to go?"

  "Excellent. Then, uh, I guess we should talk salary."

  Four years passed. Cases came and went, girlfriends came and went. She and Ariadne were close friends but there was always something deeper under the surface. They fought it for the longest time, for reasons she couldn't remember anymore. Things finally changed when they were close to losing everything. Ari was framed for a murder and went on the run, and Dale had gone with her. There was no question in her mind that she would, no alternative beyond running when Ari ran. The first time they made love, they were fugitives. Everything had been taken from them - their jobs were at risk, their homes were too dangerous, and someone was trying to kill them so they would never tell their side of the story - and it didn't matter as long as they had each other.

  It was then that she remembered the two missed messages from Ari. She retrieved her phone and turned it on, ignoring the battery warning as she read them.

  "Oh, Ariadne." She wiped at her cheeks and chuckled. She composed a quick reply: "You're my puppy. Forever. I love you."

  She was still sitting at the desk when there was a soft knock on the door. "Miss Frye?" Gwen said. "Are you awake?"

  "I am. Come in."

  She opened the door and stuck her head inside. "I saw the light was on and thought you would want to know. Dr. Frost called, and Hannah made it through the surgery. She lost quite a bit of blood, but she's going to survive."

  "Oh, thank God. Thank you for letting me know. I assume Mia already knows."

  "The only message Hannah had before passing out was ‘tell Mia to get some sleep.'" Dale laughed and Gwen smiled. "I told her and then ordered her to bed. You should do the same. You've had a rough day."

  "I will. Thanks for letting me know."

  "You're welcome."

  "The other girls are sleeping over at Dr. Frost's, I guess?"

  Gwen shook her head. "They went to Milo's home. As for the boys... I haven't heard from them."

  The tension that had faded from Dale's posture returned. "Do you think they're in trouble?"

  "We've no way of finding out tonight without tipping our hand. If we inquire, and the police are aware they were involved in the catastrophe we caused, we'll be exposing ourselves. I'll be checking the news for updates. For now, sleep."

  "Yes, ma'am."

  "Gwen. It's Gwen. Goodnight, Dale."

  "Night."

  Gwen left, and Dale turned off the lamp. She kept her phone in hand so she would be woken if Ari responded to her text. She crawled under the blankets and rolled on her side, pretending that Ari was lying behind her. She'd spent plenty of nights sleeping alone since they became a couple, what with Ari's evening runs as the wolf. Somehow this night felt different, and it was the first night she would have given anything to feel Ari's arms around her. She held the phone to her chest and closed her eyes, focusing on the relief about Hannah's condition to drift back to sleep.

  #

  Ari woke and stretched her hand across the mattress, momentarily confused to find it empty despite the fact Dale's scent was all around her. Slowly she remembered applying the perfume and opened her eyes to the disappointing sight of an empty bedroom. She'd dreamt of Dale, real moments from their relationship and a few fantasy ones that got thrown in for good measure. She took a moment to adjust back to reality before she got out of bed and took a shower. When she was finished the perfume was still strong enough that she could smell it, but she added another dab behind each ear just to make sure it was there for the entire day.

  She found the food Dale had stocked in the fridge, everything safely packaged and delivered, and she felt a tug of gratitude as she prepared her breakfast without fear that someone had messed with it. "Come on, Dale," she whispered. "Where the hell are you?" She called her mother while she was cooking breakfast, but there was no answer. Most likely they were still trying to cover their tracks from the night before. She wondered what the hell Milo Duncan was doing in town. Who were all those other wolves? Who had been shot? All those questions paled in comparison to her concern that her mother was currently in possession of ninety percent of Seattle's wolfsbane. The idea terrified her, but not as much as the idea of leaving it with the hunters did.

  She ate slowly in the hopes Dale would come home for a change of clothes, but Lorne arrived first. He knocked, and hollered through the door before she could have possibly replied. "Willow? You in there?"

  "I'm here. Just a second." She put her dishes in the sink and ran the water over them and reached for her phone before remembering it had been crushed. She wasn't even sure how to get a replacement; Dale handled all that stuff for her.

  "I tried your place and there wasn't an answer. So I looked up your, ah... your girlfriend..."

  "Yeah, just a second." She turned off the light and picked up her jacket. He looked a bit haggard but otherwise none the worse for wear. Physically, at least. There was something off about his demeanor, a sullen and defeated feel to how he barely straightened his posture when she opened the door. "Morning, Detective. How's the arm?"

  He nodded a greeting. "It's doing a little better. Itches. Anyway, come on. We're going to have a babysitter today. He's waiting downstairs."

  "A babysitter?"

  "Huxley thought it was prudent to make sure we didn't have another situation like yesterday. Thought I needed someone to keep an eye on me."

  Ari sighed. "The more the merrier."

  She locked the apartment and followed him downstairs. He had parked on the street and Ari could see someone sitting in the backseat of the car. The babysitter looked up when they came outside, his eyes locking on her as she walked around the car. He wore a blue suit over a black shirt open at the collar, his black-and-silver hair cut short and center-parted. He had sharp features, the sort of perfectly-aligned face that would been perfect for a coin. His mouth remained a solid scratch underneath his nose as Ari got in and fastened her seatbelt. She twisted to look at him and saw he was staring at her.

  "Hi, Butch. I'm Ariadne Willow. Friends call me Ari. You can call me ‘ma'am.'"

  "I'm Mr. Keighley. You look familiar, Ariadne Willow."

  Lorne said, "She's a private investigator. She's worked with me on a few cases."

  Keighley kept his eyes on her. "I didn't ask you, Mr. Lorne, I asked your friend. Have we met before?"

  Ari shook her head. "Doubtful. I'd probably still be getting over the creepy feeling. Who is this guy?"

  "This guy is the one deciding whether or not you get to stay in this group," Keighley said. "Both of you are the last ones standing after a failure of the most epic proportions. Every hunter in this part of the world was crippled last night because you two couldn't do your jobs properly. Huxley thinks you can salvage this disaster by finding the wolfsbane. I'm the one who is going to make sure you succeed."

  "I'm going to call you buckets-of-fun, because that's what you are."

  Lorne said, "Willow... just don't."

  "Fuck that." She twisted in her seat. "I'm not a hunter, okay? I have the genes, but I didn't grow up with this bizarre cult-in-waiting mentality that everyone else seems to have. And to be entirely honest with you, I'm glad the wolfsbane got stolen. I'm glad
it's off the table. It was dirty pool. You want to convince the world wolves are dangerous? Don't stack the deck by making them act dangerous. You don't teach kids that fire is hot by sticking their hands over a candle." She scoffed. "Scratch that. You probably did teach your kids that way."

  Keighley's gaze never wavered. "Are you finished?"

  "Yeah."

  "Then turn around and shut your mouth."

  Ari faced forward and dropped into her seat. Lorne started the car and pulled away from the curb. Ari glanced in the mirror and saw Keighley was still staring at her, though at the moment he only had a view of the back of her head. She resisted the urge to flip him off. It was going to be a long enough day without further antagonizing the man. She would have to choose her battles carefully.

  #

  Dale was able to borrow some of Gwen's clothes so she didn't have to look like a thrift-shop refugee, but the result was an ensemble that made her feel like she was going to a job interview or maybe standing trial. She ate a banana for breakfast since it had the smallest chance of dripping or staining the borrowed blouse. Gwen was on the phone the entire time they were at the house, pacing through the living room as she discussed the wolfsbane with various canidae across the city. Watching her work, Dale realized that Ari hadn't been taking the burden entirely upon herself. She'd shared part of it with her mother. In keeping that collaboration secret, she'd been protecting Dale from shouldering any of the stress on her own. "I'm struggling to protect every wolf in Seattle from this drug, and oh, I'm working with my mother whom I haven't seen or spoken to since I ran away from home, but seriously, don't worry." She would have worried. She would have been a nervous wreck, and Ari's choice, however misguided, had been made to protect her.

  Mia finally joined them, her hair still wet from the shower, and Gwen told them Dr. Frost was waiting for them. The plan was to visit Hannah, then reconnect with the rest of the pack at Milo's house. They listened to the radio in the car and other than a brief mention of a car accident where gunfire was exchanged, there was very little discussion of the accident. As far as they could tell the press was considering the entire mess a road rage incident. The police would likely be another matter.

  Dr. Frost most likely hadn't slept, but he still seemed perky and wide awake when he let them into the house. He had changed clothes but they already looked slept-in due to the rolled-up sleeves and the three buttons open at the collar. He led them through the house to the recovery room, knocked softly, and held the door open for Mia. "She needs her rest, but she insisted that she had to see you before she would sleep. Try to keep it as brief as possible."

  Mia nodded. "Thank you."

  Dale stepped back. "I'll be in the living room."

  Frost held up a hand to stop her. "No, she specified that she wanted to see both of you."

  Mia said, "Yeah. Trust me, she'll want to thank you in person."

  "Okay..." Dale went into the room behind Mia, feeling awkward and out of place as she shut the door behind them.

  Hannah was lying on the bed under the window, sheet pulled up to her stomach. She wore a tank top that had obviously been donated from Dr. Frost, the scooped neck showing off even more of the tattoos that ran up and down her arms. Dale had briefly seen the extent of her artwork when she stripped down to transform, but for obvious reasons hadn't let her gaze linger. Mia knelt next to the bed and took Hannah's right hand in both of hers, and Hannah's eyes fluttered open. The corners of her lips curled up in an automatic smile that made the lines around her eyes wrinkle.

  "There's my worry-wolf."

  Mia took Hannah's hands in hers and kissed her knuckles. "I think I earned it this time. You scared the daylights out of me, woman."

  "I was a little scared myself there." Her voice was rough and weak. "Tell me you got some sleep last night."

  "Fifteen minutes or so," Mia said.

  "I guess that's good enough." She looked at Dale and smiled. "Ah. My hero."

  Dale smiled nervously. "Hi. I'd ask how you're feeling, but..."

  "I feel alive," Hannah said. "That bullet hit me, and I went down, and I... accepted it. Milo and Gwen, they were wolves. Mia and Paige had their arms full, and I would have bitten their heads off if they got sloppy with the wolfsbane just because of me. So I went down and I knew deep down I was gone. And then a human with nothing to gain jumped down and grabbed me. You saved my life. I can't repay you enough for that."

  Dale shrugged. "This is my war, too. The hunters are attacking Ari's people, then... then it's my war, too."

  Hannah shifted with a grunt, moved the blanket, and lifted the shirt. She lightly tapped the gauze over her wound, a shockingly small square of white just below her ribs. "When this heals, there's going to be a scar. I'm going to tattoo your name over it so I'll always remember you."

  "I think your partner might have issues with you tatting another woman's name on your chest."

  Hannah laughed, then winced at the pain. "Ow. If she has a problem with it, she can just deal."

  "No problem whatsoever. I think it's perfect." Mia bent down to kiss the skin right next to the bandage, and Hannah stroked the back of Mia's head with such tenderness that Dale felt like an utter intruder. She backed up a step toward the door.

  Hannah said, "I know you have to go, but I'm glad you stopped by."

  "No," Mia said. "I'm staying right here."

  Hannah said, "Why, so you can watch me sleep?"

  "Yes. Exactly that, yes."

  Dale said, "I don't think anyone will blame her if she sticks around. Besides, if we need backup later on, it'll be nice to have someone in the reserves."

  Mia kissed Hannah's lips and stood up. "I'm going to walk her out and explain to Gwen I'm staying. I'll be right back."

  "I'll be here."

  They left the room and Mia gripped Dale's arm to keep her from walking down the hall. "I have a confession to make. When Milo first mentioned you and Ariadne, we all made a lot of jokes. We called you a hood. Milo insisted it was different but we wouldn't listen. We couldn't fathom one of us actually falling in love with a human, and we looked down on Ariadne for it without even knowing the situation. I understand now, and I couldn't be sorrier for treating you so poorly."

  "It's fine."

  "It's not. You may not feel it necessary to offer forgiveness, but it's definitely necessary for me to show remorse."

  Dale nodded. "Thank you."

  Mia, absolved, let go of Dale's arm and led her outside. She told Gwen that she planned to stay, which Gwen accepted without surprise or argument. "The boys have finally turned up. I sent them to Milo's house and we'll meet up with them there."

  "Sounds good. Tell everyone to be safe. I'm here if you need me."

  "Go... be with your partner," Gwen said.

  They waited until she was inside before Gwen started the car and drove away from the house.

  "Have you given any thought about what to do with the wolfsbane?" Dale asked.

  Gwen shook her head. "It's far too dangerous to risk it falling into the wrong hands. By the same measure, it's too risky to destroy it since we don't know what effect it will have on the drugs. If we burn everything we may just release a cloud that will expose every canidae in the Seattle area. It would be a massacre."

  Dale nodded. "If you come up with someone and you need a human, let me know."

  Gwen looked at her. "You would take that risk for us?"

  "I keep saying this... you're Ari's people. That makes you my family, too."

  Gwen kept her eyes on the road for a long moment. "We don't have the kind of relationship where I think this would matter to her, but regardless... if Ari ever wishes for my blessing to be with you, assure her that she has it."

  Dale smiled. "Thanks. Who knew all it would take is running into a gunfight and offering to deal with hazardous waste to get my girlfriend's mother to like me?"

  Gwen actually laughed; Dale was surprised to find she and Ari had a very similar laugh and it warmed her to
the woman. She knew how much bad blood there was between the Willow women, but she couldn't help but admit she sort of liked Gwen.

  "Yes, I'd say you have the whole in-law thing down pat, Dale."

  They arrived at Milo's house seconds after another car pulled into the driveway, and Dale was relieved to see Owen, Tarun, and Benji had all made it through the evening unscathed. The boys waited as Gwen parked, still standing next to their car as Paige and Milo came out of the house.

  Gwen greeted the men in the driveway. "Where were you last night?"

  Tarun said, "A black man and an Indian man with unusual accents were involved in a car accident seconds before all hell broke loose, all a few blocks away from the Space Needle. Where do you think we were last night? Cops finally let us go this morning when everything checked out. Thanks for that, Miss Willow."

  "Of course, Tarun."

  Owen had kissed Paige when she came down the drive, and he slipped his arm around his waist. "How did everything else go? Hannah's okay, right? She's out of the woods?"

  Gwen nodded. "She'll need some time to recover, but she's in one piece. The biggest issue right now is what we do with our spoils. I'm not exactly keen on holding five coolers full of wolfsbane in my garage indefinitely. But let's talk about it inside."

  The group filed into the house and Gwen waited until they had taken their seats in the living room before she spoke. "First things first. Boys, you weren't present last night so you missed one rather large development. As far as we're concerned, Dale Frye is as much a canidae as the rest of us. She put herself in harm's way to save one of us when she could have just as easily kept herself safe. I'll not hear one word of her being ‘other,' even as a joke. Am I understood?"

  The men nodded. Benji said, "She saved Hannah's life. Far as I'm concerned that makes her a member of the pack for life. Welcome." He held out his fist and Dale bumped her knuckles against it.

  "Now that we have that settled... we can't discount the hunters as a threat just because we took their secret weapon. We have no way of knowing how much wolfsbane was already distributed through the city. There's still a threat out there."