Dogs of War

by Geonn Cannon

  Mia went in first to make sure no one was setting a trap for them, and a quick scan and sniff told her the offices were empty and unmolested. Owen eyed the office door and smirked when he read the name through the graffiti. "You really named your agency Bitches?"

  "Yep." Dale booted up her computer. "It tells people right away that we're not messing around and we don't play with kid gloves. We can be just as tough as a male investigator. Tougher, if necessary." She opened a search program and entered Lorne's name. "He's unlisted, but that shouldn't be too tough for me. Mia, should you turn around...?"

  "Not in my jurisdiction. What do I care?"

  Dale entered her password and searched again. "Here we go. He doesn't live far from here."

  Milo said, "So we go over there and ask this guy very nicely to let our friend go?"

  "I doubt he's keeping Ari at his place." She had typed in another query. "Wow, Keighley is, like, cartoon duck rich. He lives on Mercer Island. I'm going to see what Street View can tell us about his house." She worked the keyboard again. Milo came around behind her seat and watched as the screen transformed into a bird's-eye view of a property shaped vaguely like Idaho turned on its side.

  "Wow. This is kind of creepy. You can zoom in that close on anyone's property?"

  "Yep. And yeah, creepy is a good word. But when we're abusing it for our own purposes, I like to call it morally ambiguous." Dale zoomed in closer. "If we were on the street, all we'd see is this little outbuilding by the street. The rest is at the end of a curved driveway and blocked behind tall hedges. But now we can see the main house here, and then what looks like a guesthouse with an attached garage. If I were him, I'd be keeping Ari there. Less chance of her overhearing something she shouldn't, plus it would be better for him to have her isolated. Unfortunately the hedges mean we only have one way in or out, and he'll probably have that covered with hunters. If only we had a wheelbarrow, that would be something..."

  Owen missed the reference. "I don't know what a wheelbarrow has to do with anything, but we have something better. We have a trio of wolves." Dale looked at him and he shrugged. "People can't climb through those hedges, but wolves can. We can provide enough of a distraction that you can get in and grab Ariadne."

  Dale said, "It's a big risk."

  "Like you said. We've done enough sitting around. It's time to put our money where our mouth is. We're not going to just start attacking people without provocation, we're getting back one of our own. If the hunters have to bleed, well... that's their choice."

  Dale stood up. "Okay. But we're losing the advantage of darkness. It's going to be dawn before we get to the house so we'll be doing all this in broad daylight. Not ideal, but I'm not going to let Ari wait until tonight."

  Mia said, "She's waited long enough. Let's go get her out of that place."

  #

  Based on her hunger and exhaustion, Ari figured it was around dawn when the door finally opened again. She refused to sleep just in case her captors took advantage of her unconsciousness, but it was getting harder to keep her eyes open. Keighley entered carrying a dog dish and dressed in a new charcoal-gray suit. She could smell his aftershave, but it had little to do with her enhanced sense of smell; he was practically swimming in it. He waved the bowl and Ari smelled the freshly-cooked hamburger meat wafting from inside. Despite herself her mouth watered at the possibility of eating even as she knew she wouldn't risk swallowing anything a hunter gave her.

  "Brought you a little breakfast."

  "In a dog dish. Looks like I inspired you."

  "Well, you're in a cage. The motif needs to be carried through to the end." He bent down and put the bowl outside the cage, then took a seat in the chair Lorne had left behind. "Detective Lorne tells me he requested you transform for him. You refused."

  Ari shrugged. "Not really an exhibitionist when it comes to that sort of thing."

  "To be honest, I'd like to see the transition myself. Believe it or not, I've never seen a person change into a wolf."

  "It's not pretty. Bones break, sometimes there's blood... it's not something a father would want to see his daughter suffer through. Not that you're in the running for any father of the year awards or anything, I still think I'll just save you the nightmares."

  "Suit yourself." He stretched out a foot and nudged the bowl. "That's some ground beef with a little gravy poured over it. Num-num."

  "Yeah? And how much wolfsbane did you put in there?"

  Keighley shook his head. "Not a bit. Trust me, when we want you to lose your head, we'll let you know." He stood up. "Eat, don't eat, doesn't really matter to me. Eventually you're going to want to get out of here. You won't get far, but you'll get farther if you're fed and rested. So come on, Ariadne. Eat. Take a nap. We've got time before you put on your big show."

  Ari said, "Have you ever actually seen a canidae dosed with wolfsbane?"

  "Yes, as a matter of fact, I have. There were tests to determine the proper strength. I witnessed some of the trials."

  "Then you know there are moments of lucidity before we go crazy. I was exposed. I know what it feels like to slip. So trust me when I say that if you try to use me against Dale, or my mother, or anyone, I'll have the presence of mind just long enough to kill myself before I harm either of them."

  "Big words from the dog in a cage." He walked to the door. "We'll see just how much presence of mind you have when the time comes. And we'll see how easily you lose that mind when you wake up with your girlfriend's blood in your mouth. Have a nice day, sweetheart. Daddy's got some business he needs to take care of. Wolf manoth is just getting started."

  Chapter Twelve

  7:55am

  Dale used her own car to drive over the bridge to the island, figuring that Keighley already knew who she was and how she was involved in the canidae world anyway. It was still pre-dawn when she parked down the street from Keighley's house and used her phone to access the map of the area again. She held the phone so Mia, Milo, and Owen could see the screen. "Mia, Owen. You're going to come in from the north, through these trees. If you run into any obstacles..."

  "We run into obstacles all the time," Owen said. "We end up on a lot of private estates back home. Fences, walls, we can get around it."

  Mia said, "And if there's automated security systems we can usually tell. There's a hum, or an electrical stink. We'll only trigger the ones we want to trigger."

  "Okay. Just remember to be safe." She checked her watch and looked at the sky. "We only have about five minutes before the sun is completely up. The clouds will give us some shadow, but we're going to be doing a lot of this out in the open. Everyone still on board?"

  Milo said, "Ariadne would do it for us."

  Dale nodded. "Okay. Mia and Owen, you get onto the property and raise the alarm. While they're chasing you, Milo and I will rush the front gates." She pointed to the guest house on the screen. "Ari is probably being held there away from the main house. We'll need the guards as far away from that place as possible. So when you come in..."

  Owen leaned over the seat and pointed. "We'll come onto the property there. We'll cut across the lawn to make sure we're seen, then cut back across to the south. You cut across the drive, east to west, right up to the house, Bob's your uncle. Then we get the hell out of Dodge as quick as we can, leave them kicking the bushes for us while you make a quick getaway with Ariadne. We meet up on the south side of the bridge and head back to Milo's place for tea and strumpets."

  "Knock on wood," Dale said. "Okay. We have the plan. Mia, Owen, you're up. We'll wait until we hear your signal before we make our move. Make sure it's noticeable."

  Owen grinned as he settled into the backseat. "Don't worry. You won't be able to miss it." They began undressing in the backseat of the car so they could transform.

  Milo chuckled and bowed her head, scratching her eyebrow with her index finger. She glanced at Dale, looked into the backseat, and laughed louder. "I was just thinking that your reputation will be forever ruin
ed if someone comes by on their way to church and sees these two stripping down in the backseat of your car."

  "You don't know me," Dale said. "This could be my Sunday ritual."

  Owen coughed out a laugh, but the sound transformed into a choked growl before it was finished. Dale closed her eyes and gripped the steering wheel tightly as Mia followed with a drawn-out groan. Dale flinched at every snap and crack, turning to look at the shrubbery through the window until the sounds faded and she knew there were two wolves in the backseat. She twisted and reached back to open the door for them, and the two wolves piled out. They were both gorgeous wolves, Owen's fur slightly darker than Mia's, and they had the same golden eyes when they turned to look back at the car.

  "Have fun and be safe."

  Owen chuffed, nudged the door shut with his head, and then turned to follow Mia down the street at a fast trot. Dale settled back in her seat and took off her cap to run her fingers through her hair.

  "You really don't like it, do you?" Dale glanced at her. "The transformation."

  "I don't... hate it. I just know how much it hurts Ari. I know there's nothing I can do about it, so hearing those sounds really grates on me. But I can cope. It's just nails on a blackboard."

  Milo hissed and hunched her shoulders. "Ah, why'd you have to go and say that? Damn it, made me imagine it." She shuddered and checked the dashboard clock. "Almost sunrise."

  "Yep." Dale drummed her fingers on the steering wheel and sucked her bottom lip into her mouth. "Do you think it's disgusting? Me and Ari?"

  Milo started to answer, stopped, and then sighed. "Last summer when my granddad told me this plan, when he said it involved me marrying a human?"

  Dale cringed at the memory but she nodded.

  "I was utterly disgusted at the thought. I've been with normal people before, don't get me wrong, but the idea of any kind of relationship, even one just for show, I couldn't bear the idea. It would be like getting married to a man."

  "Ew, do women still do that?"

  "In some parts of the world, I hear," Milo said with a smile. "But then I met you and thought, well. All right. She's hot. I guess I can make do with that for a little while at least. But then I met Ari, and I saw you together, and I... I realized it could work. A wolf and a normal person could work. So I put my nose to the grindstone because I thought it was what my people needed to survive. But I got to know you and I realized it's not as easy as it looks." She rubbed her lips together. "I don't know if I'm totally in favor of mixed relationships. But I do know that you and Ariadne belong together no matter what you happen to be on a DNA level."

  Dale smiled. "Thank you."

  Milo reached over and rubbed Dale's shoulder. "We'll get her back, Dale."

  "Your lips to God's ears," Dale whispered.

  It was then that they heard a loud bark echo from down the street. They both turned toward the sound as it was followed by a chorus of other barks that rose in number and volume until it sounded like a pet shop was being raided.

  "I think that's our cue," Milo said.

  Dale started the car.

  #

  8:01am

  Ari had spent the past hour theorizing her escape. She wasn't a big physics fan, but she assumed she could put her feet against the front of the cage, push while holding onto the sides, and tilt the cage so that it was standing on its door. Then she could crouch on the door and lift the sides while standing. Her full weight combined with the upward momentum wouldn't break the padlock, but there was a chance it could snap the weak metal hinges that held the cage in place. She was about to put her plan into action when the door opened and Lorne walked in, followed by Keighley. During the brief moment the door was open she could hear barking outside.

  "Hey, sounds like the gang's all here."

  "Don't worry about them. They'll be put down as humanely as possible. Unfortunately, one of my security cameras picked up your girlfriend outside in a car. Detective Lorne convinced me that we don't kill humans, even when they're working with wolves the way your little lady seems to be. There are some lines we don't cross. But we can find loopholes." He held up two objects that Ari hadn't noticed when he came in. "Not your run of the mill smoke grenades," he said. "We've been working on these for a while. What better way to thwart a rescue attempt than by having the damsel in distress kill her saviors?"

  "You son of a bitch..."

  Ari tried to retreat as Keighley pulled the pin on the grenades and lobbed them toward the cage. One landed on top and Ari pushed her fingers through the bars to knock it onto the ground. It bounced on the concrete as it began to spew a thick cloud of sickly-sweet white smoke. Ari pulled her shirt up over her nose and sucked in as much clean air as she could before the smoke enveloped her. She heard the latch on the cage being unlocked and threw herself forward through the now-open door. Keighley was anticipating the escape attempt and grabbed the collar of her shirt, hauling her up and out before dumping her on the floor. She could hear Lorne coughing as the smoke filled the room.

  "This is a very concentrated dose, Ariadne. I know you threatened to kill yourself if we tried this, but I think that was just a bluff. Wolves don't kill themselves. A wolf will chew off their own leg to get out of a trap. And despite my genetic contribution, you are a wolf, darling. You'll do whatever it takes to survive, up to and including killing those foolish girls who are on their way to save you."

  Ari got to her feet but Keighley struck her with something heavy that sent her sprawling. She smelled the blood before she felt it trickling down her face, angry that he had hit her. Furious, even, that he had drawn blood. The smell overwhelmed the smoke and she began taking deep breaths, her back arching as she dragged her fingernails across the concrete. Her nostrils flared with each exhale and with a suddenness that surprised her even in her current state, the bone beneath her face cracked down the center.

  "Detective Lorne, I believe that sound means you're about to get the show you asked for."

  His voice was nothing to her now that the transformation was underway. Bones popped and her spine pulled up into an arch, her face stretching as the skin hardened into a pelt so it wouldn't tear. She heard Lorne say something but the words were lost as she pulled her knees up close to her side. She thrashed her head as fur erupted along the full length of her body, her clothes ripping as became something else. She threw her head back and howled through the pain before spinning to face her captors.

  She felt rage. She saw the men who had hurt her, one who had hurt her mother, and she smelled her own blood as it continued to drip from her fur. Now it was matting the fur on the side of her face, running down to the side of her mouth where she could almost taste it. She wanted more blood, but not her own. She bared her fangs and lowered her head as she stalked forward.

  Lorne was pale, his beard standing out against his ashen skin like soot, and he fled almost immediately. He left the door open so that the wolfsbane smoke could start clearing out, and she saw Keighley smile.

  "Give my regards to Miss Frye, if you would. It was so nice to finally meet you, Ariadne." He turned and followed Lorne out of the room. Ari let out a growl as her claws scratched the pavement to gain purchase. She ran out of her prison and into a narrow hallway, following the cloud of Lorne and Keighley's mingled scents toward the exit. They had left the door open and Ari ran into the clear fresh air. She could only see red, could only think of biting and tearing and killing and tasting fresh blood on her tongue. She lifted her head and gave a low howl.

  A familiar car sped across the grass, bouncing over the edge of the driveway. It fishtailed slightly when it hit the grass but the driver kept it under control. Ari was distracted by the vehicle's appearance, for the moment forgetting her pursuit of Keighley and Lorne. She paused with the car looming a few feet away, and both doors flew open. The girl who got out from behind the wheel was familiar to her, strawberry pink skin and red hair and a green hat. The girl in the passenger seat was familiar as well, but Ari could only think of a
ttacking.

  "Ari!"

  "Dale, don't!" the other familiar woman shouted.

  The pink girl ran at Ari, and Ari bared her fangs before deciding on the convenient target rather than one she would have to chase. She dropped her shoulders and pounced with teeth flashing at the pink girl running toward her.

  #

  8:05am

  Dale had never been frightened of Ari's wolf. She understood that when the wolf brain kicked in, the thing that made Ari human went to sleep and all that remained was the wild animal. She knew that wolves rarely attacked humans without provocation and she had extrapolated that knowledge to Ari's wolf. It was the reason she never panicked when Ari transformed during the night. Waking up with the wolf was no different than waking up with a large dog. She'd never had the misfortune of seeing the wolf without Ari's controlling influence, had never experienced what the beast was like when all humanity was stripped away.

  She cursed her own stupidity as she realized her emotions had gotten the better of her. By then it was too late, and the wolf had chosen her as its prey. She dug her heels into the grass to stop her forward momentum and brought her arms up in an X in front of her face as Ari hit her and knocked her to the ground. Milo's sneakers skidded on the dew-wet grass and she used the car to keep from falling over as she raced to Dale's aid.

  Dale pressed the juncture of her crossed arms against Ari's throat and pushed up, but the wolf was unbelievably strong. It bared its teeth, snapping and growling as it tried to close its jaws around her face. Dale, eyes wide and panicking, pulled her arms together to make a tighter X that would cut off Ari's windpipe. Milo grabbed Ari from behind and pulled her up and off, falling on her back in the grass with both arms wrapped tightly around Ari's waist in a full nelson.

  Ari scrambled and kicked free, twisting her head back and forth in an attempt to bite the attacker underneath her. Dale rolled onto her hands and knees as Ari bucked out of Milo's grip, spun, and dug her teeth into Milo's right arm. Milo howled in pain, blood splattering on her chest as Ari let her go and turned on her main prey. She lowered her head when she saw Dale on all fours, taking it as a challenge. Dale met Ari's eye and held her gaze.