by Hammond, T.
Red relayed a chuckle, but refrained from commenting. He can be a lot like a toddler; there are times I wish he would be quiet, but when he’s silent, I suspect he’s getting into trouble – or, in this case, thinking about it.
“Your relationship with your dog has definitely caught my interest,” Colonel Spencer said, gently pressing the hand he still held in a loose grip, to bring my attention back to him.
“The Team will be happy to give you a few examples of what we do for the police department. Have David or Bas mentioned anything about our skills?”
“Both of the men have told me you share a special communication. They were vague, but left me with the impression you can talk to each other?” The question at the end suggested to me that the colonel was trying to be open minded; in fact, he sounded more intrigued, than dismissive.
“We will demonstrate for you later, but for now, simply stretch your imagination enough to believe I can hear his thoughts, and that Red has a higher reasoning ability than your normal German shepherd. Just watch his reactions to me and others. Feel free to interact with him. He’s personable and likes most people.”
Colonel Preston released my hand to crouch down to the dog’s level. “Hey, Red, I understand you feel the same way about Lt. Carpenter as I do.”
My dog, obligingly, supplied a low rumbling growl.
“Good boy. That was pretty much my take on him too,” Red’s new friend chortled (I swear, it’s true, it was a chortle). “When I meet officers like Carpenter, I wonder if the recruiters are too focused on quotas. Are you up for a little harassment?”
I heard Red’s tail tap the floor a few times in excitement. “Teresa, we should keep the colonel. He talks to me and gives chest rubs.”
“He likes the idea,” I translated, just as Red started thumping his foot against the floor in ecstasy. The colonel joined my laughter as Red over-balanced and fell over against my ankle. “Obviously, coordination is not his strong suit,” I teased.
“Don’t go out of your way, Red, but every time you’re close to Lt. Carpenter, try smacking him in the knees with your tail. Nothing hard, just enough he starts to wonder if you’re doing it on purpose.”
“Oh, yeah! We have to keep this guy.” Red said, gleefully.
“Red’s on board, sir,” I laughed.
“On board with what?” David asked, rejoining us.
“A little tail-to-the knees payback on Devon,” I explained. “The colonel came up with a test for our boy, you’ll have to watch and wait. It’s subtle. Should be fun if Red does it right.”
David leaned across me, towards the senior officer, “Let me give you an arm up, Sir. I’m used to men falling at her feet, but I thought you were made of stronger stuff than to prostrate yourself before my woman like this.” David’s tone held the teasing warmth of long friendship. “I’m sadly disappointed in you, Sir.”
I could hear an underlying stress to the colonel’s breathing as he was assisted to a standing position. “Thanks, son,” he said softly, as David stepped back to my side. “I swear this getting old really sucks sometimes.”
“Just so you know, Sir, you can always could depend on Red to assist if you want something. Just let him know what you need and he will try to accommodate you. Red’s a trained service dog for Teresa, not to mention he’s highly intuitive.”
“We were doing some work for the police department last week, and one of the observing officers was feeling uncomfortable being on her feet,” I told him. “She had just gotten her cast removed the day before, so Red knew she was having trouble with her first day on the leg. He stopped what he was doing to go into the other room, he nosed back a rolling chair for her to sit on.”
“Gil wasn’t too happy,’ David mused. “They had to strip Red’s booties and rewrap his feet since he had wandered outside the room.”
“Mustn’t contaminate the police evidence,” I laughed.
“I was intrigued before- now I’m excited. I’d love to hear the stories of what you have been doing together these last few months,” Colonel Spencer said. “I see a lot of stuff in my department, nothing as interesting as a talking dog, mind you; but I’ve seen things that cause me to suspend my biases and be open-minded to the unusual and unexplained.”
“This may test even you, Sir. Most of the unusual phenomena you see still has scientific theory weaved into the mix. We have no idea what we’re dealing with here. We just know it works, it’s measurable, and it’s consistent every time we run field experiments.”
“I look forward to speaking more with you after lunch, Colonel Spencer,” I added. “Some of the tests Gil, our police liaison, has thought up are simply brilliant.”
“Red, we are seating the colonel at Bas’ normal seat. Would you mind escorting him to the table while I do quick introductions with the remainder of the team?” David asked. He guided me over towards the dining area, “Right this way, Beautiful.”
“I would like to present, Teresa March. Teresa, from the left: Lt. Mercer, Lt. Lao, and Lt. Osborn.” David paused between each name, giving me an opportunity to shake hands and welcome each person to the house. “To the far right is Lt. Carpenter.”
“Devon.” I nodded a brief acknowledgement and turned to face David, “I’m starving, let’s all head for the table.”
****************
Ken’s secret-recipe BBQ chicken was a hit. He was a great nurse and personal assistant when I first hired him, about nine months ago. He gets major friend points for putting up with me when I was fresh out of the rehabilitation center and learning to adapt to the whole blind and disoriented life I was now living. After David moved in, and Red and I were working comfortably together, we reviewed our needs and asked Ken to stay on as our cook and houseman. Score for us, because the man has serious kitchen skills. The fact that Ken is dating, and now living with, my best friend, Janey, is just an additional bonus… it’s like we’re keeping him in the family!
“Ken, I have to say, this is one of the nicest cucumber salads I’ve had. And, you’re telling me there’s no sugar or salt in it? What do you use for flavor?” That sounded like Lt. Mercer, but I hadn’t heard Lt. Lao speak enough to distinguish between the two women.
“I use the Greek vanilla yoghurt instead of plain, and add lemon juice and dill,” Ken replied. “There’s bound to be sugar in the flavored yoghurt, but it is still a bit healthier than adding extra salt and sugar. With Bas and David preferring less sodium and calories, it’s been a fun challenge to work with more herbs and fruit juices for flavoring foods.”
“Luckily, they’re not total fitness fanatics, so I still get some fat and carbs in my food, but I have noticed my energy levels are increased since we cut back on the sweets and the fat,” I said, forking a spoonful of calorie-laden potato salad in my mouth, although, come to think of it, Ken’s probably done something to it too. Yeah, there was a hint of dill, and… Geez, did he add hard-boiled eggs? I chewed a couple more times. I think there was less potato in my potato salad, and… was that bell pepper?
“Why are you glaring at your fork?” David asked with a laugh in his tone. “Did you just realize Ken changed the recipe?”
I glanced in his direction with squinty-eyes and a (hopefully) threatening glare, “There is a noticeable absence of potatoes, mayo, and pickles in my salad. All my starch and salty goodness are missing. I bet YOU had something to do with this!” I mock accused.
He leaned over and whispered in my ear, “I’ll find a way to make it up to you.”
I winked at him, “I’ll bet you will. But, did you have to mess with my mayo? There’s only half the amount in this.”
I received an answering kiss to the tip of my nose.
“When we were dating, Teresa was always ordering pasta or potatoes. Our girl loves her starches,” an unwelcome voiced piped in from across the table.
Oh, please tell me Devon did not just say, our girl. Really?
“Damn,” Devon said, in irritation. “Teresa, does the dog
have to lay under the table while we eat? I swear if that tail hits me one more time, I’ll be picking dog hair off of my trousers for the next week. And, he keeps sniffing my shoes and pant legs.”
Doggie chuckles erupted from under the table, “He has something that smells interesting on the bottom of his heel; I’m trying to figure out what it is.”
“You probably stepped in something, Devon. Red’s pretty curious, he’s probably trying to identify the smell. But don’t worry, he stopped urinating on people’s shoes a few months back, so I’m sure you’re safe.”
Red said, “Oh, now that wasn’t nice. I’ve never peed in the house.” Chuckles became a full-blown glee in my mind. “You’ll be happy to know he just tucked his feet under his chair. Did you really date this loser? He must have the smell of three other women on him, he’s a hussy-man.”
I choked on my water. Note to self: don’t drink when talking to the dog. David tapped me on the back a couple times, and I signed the conversation quickly. I wasn’t sure of all the ASL hand signs I needed, but the guys were getting real good at piecing together my efforts. Bas’ laughter from across the table let me know that he had been following my hand movements.
“Hissy-man?” David asked quietly in my ear.
“No, that should have been hussy,” I whispered back.
“Red come on out from under the table, leave Devon alone,” I suggested.
“Oww, what’s with the tail? Does he have a steel rod in that thing?” Devon whined.
I reached for my glass of water and took a quick sip, hoping to hide the grin I knew had bloomed over my features.
While Ken chatted with the colonel’s staff at the far end of the table, Colonel Spencer must have leaned slightly towards me from his place on my left, because he sounded closer when he confessed, “I am so intrigued by your Team Red. I can hardly wait to hear more about what you’ve been doing with the police department. I can’t believe the dog really understood my instructions. He’s fascinating.”
“You haven’t even seen him in action yet. He has reasoning skills; pretty advanced ones for an animal. We have seen him do things in tracking that regular dogs just can’t come close to doing.” I spent the next ten minutes relaying some of the intricate tracking procedures that Gil had set up for the dogs. The colonel’s questions were rapid and excited. David joined the conversation to explain some of the Team structure and dynamics, stressing our group’s focus on security.
“Yes, there is a huge potential for exploitation,” Colonel Spencer agreed. “It’s a wise decision to have David or Bas with you when you work. I would love to see what Red can do, but I would prefer to not have Lt. Carpenter and Lt. Lao here. They are assigned to a special project at Fairchild that links with the drone program, but they are not in my confidence otherwise.
“David, are you able to drive me, Lt. Mercer and Lt. Osborn back to the base later this evening if I send Lieutenants Carpenter and Lao away after we are done eating? Given Carpenter’s negative behavior with Teresa and the fact he’s not part of my unit, I would prefer he not be privy to the demonstration. And I suspect he and Lt. Lao are close, and I believe she’ll talk to him later if she stays to see Red work.
Red rested his chin on my knee. “Lao is one of the three women I smell on Devon,” he confirmed.
“It seems Red agrees with you, sir.” I sighed, “I’d rather not have Devon here either. The relationship is long over for me, but he appears to be carrying some residual antipathy.”
“It’s no problem for one of us to drive you to the Base when we have finished up here,” David told him.
“Okay, then, let’s dump the ballast, and get the show on the road,” the colonel said.
Chapter Six
Bas tells me that Devon actually pouted when Colonel Spencer told him he would not be needed for the rest of the day. Lt. Lao was asked to transcribe the notes from the meeting in the cave and have them typed up for the colonel so he could review them when he returned tonight. The colonel’s group had a five o’clock, excuse me, an oh-five hundred, departure time in the morning. It was a legitimate excuse to get rid of them, giving the colonel time to review and make changes and additions to the notes Lao had taken from the drone presentation.
Colonel Spencer, and Lieutenants Mercer and Osborn accompanied the departing officers to the vehicle to get their personal items; our team chatted briefly while we waited. Talk turned to Devon and his odd behavior before lunch. Bas and David were more pissed off at my ex’s bad manners than I was. “He’s not worth worrying about,” I stated firmly.
“The guy’s an idiot,” David said, laying a tender kiss against my forehead. The soft exhalation of breathe tickled the fine hair at my temple. “He showed a complete lack of respect for you.”
“Funny, I don’t remember him being that much of an ass when he and I were dating. We dated for four or five weeks before things ever got serious. It had been pretty casual up to that point.”
Bas sneered disdainfully, “He acted like it was a great love affair.”
Shaking my head resolutely, “He was no one special in my life. Lighten up, guys, it’s not as if my heart was broken.”
“What’s broken?” Ken asked as he walked through the room toward the kitchen, obviously having missed the whole conversation. “Shall I grab a roll of duct tape?”
“Duct tape can’t fix stupid,” Bas growled.
“Maybe not,” Red replied, “but it can hold it down and muffle the screams.”
Oh. My. God! Where does the dog come up with this stuff? I was laughing so hard, it took me a couple of tries to pass on Red’s comment to the rest of the group. Oh Man, he gets an extra dog cookie for that one.
As if reading my mind, David laughingly told Red to go get himself a treat from the pantry.
“Score!” I heard my dog say, before he took off to get his reward.
There was a brief knock at the door, as the colonel and his trusted staff returned. Ken took care of coats, purses, briefcases, and whatever else the group brought back with them. We were definitely going to need to give Ken a nice Christmas bonus this year.
We decided to assemble in the dining room again, now that Ken had cleared away the lunch clutter, it was a perfect place to chat. I was loving the enormous table that now took up a hefty portion of the dining area. It was David who decided to change out my four-person set when he moved in; I thought his choice of a ten seat table set was a bit much, but I was seeing the wisdom of his forethought as we always seemed to entertain large groups of people.
Ken had placed a couple carafes of coffee out, along with an assortment of cookies. I had my mug and a few peanut butter cookies on my plate when David started explaining about our work with the Spokane police department.
“The incident that prompted Captain Blair’s appearance this morning occurred a few months ago when we were completing some tests at the police department to prove Red and Teresa’s abilities. There was a breach of security and we were secretly filmed by the captain’s brother, who was working for the SPD at the time.”
“Luckily, Red caught Officer Blair sending the photos and video, but we hadn’t been able to trace who he sent the files to,” Bas added.
“How did Red find out what was going on with the taping?” Lt. Mercer asked, clearly not believing that the dog could communicate. Boy, was she in for a shock later.
“It was purely accidental,” Bas replied. “Red happened to catch sight of the photos on the officer’s computer screen. Since we were assured beforehand that the tests would not be monitored on the department’s camera feed, we were suspicious that pictures had been taken.”
“The incident made us aware of how vulnerable Teresa and Red could be when they are working. Red is usually focused on the evidence that is presented for his examination, and Teresa, being blind, is not able to watch her surroundings to see if their activities are being monitored.” David wrapped a large hand around mine, where it laid on the tabletop. “If the wrong peo
ple discovered what these two can do together, it would put them at risk. Teresa doesn’t just hear Red’s thoughts, she has the ability to ask the right questions and guide him through the tracking process. Working for the police department, or even in a recovery capability such as disaster areas, Red’s nose is invaluable. As a team, we have untapped capabilities for infiltration; we could gather some serious intel.”
“Gil tells us that Red’s reasoning skills far surpass a regular canine,” I added. “Even if he was given instructions to look for one thing, he’s smart enough to reprioritize and to deviate from the assignment if he sees something unexpected.”
“Now, who is Gil?” Colonel Spencer, asked. “You mentioned him earlier. Does he work for the police?”
“Yes. In fact, it was Detective Gil Westfield, that coined the name Team Red,” David said. “Gil is ex-military, with canine handling experience. He’s the one that set up the tests we have run so far. We have run tests side-by-side with police K-9’s as well as independently, with just Red.”