Let Slip the Pups of War: Spot and Smudge - Book Three

by Robert Udulutch

  Katia had moved to her apartment’s office and was sitting on her desk with one leg over the other, swinging a foot as she tapped the tablet in her lap. “I’ve read this twice and I still don’t know what the fuck it means, Marty,” Katia said.

  Marty was in his office in Pembury. His tie was undone and there was visible stubble on his chin but Semion thought he still looked like a male model trying to look tired. Seeing him side by side with his beautiful daughter on the monitor Semion thought he could be watching a television drama.

  “It means we’re still fucked,” Marty said, “We’ve had no appreciable hits. There is some residual infection in the population, but just traces. Nothing indicating any level of successful acceleration.”

  “What about the Dorschstein farm?” Katia asked.

  “Nothing new. We’ve been all over it, twice” Marty said, “The feds burnt what was left to the ground and neutralized the ground water and the well. They even torched the twin’s subdivision to glass. Gotta give them credit, they suck at preventing a mess but they’re damn good at cleaning one up.”

  “Maybe your test doesn’t work,” Semion said, tossing the ball for the dogs who ran off camera, “What if your science is flawed and you’re missing something?”

  “And what if there isn’t a successfully accelerated person in Pembury?” Marty said, looking a little annoyed, “After all the testing we’ve done, and DARPA did, I doubt an accidental infection would ever yield a viable acceleration. What if this is all just a clever FBI trap?”

  “Clever and FBI don’t often go hand in hand,” Katia said, “Aren’t there other ways to tell if someone has been accelerated, other than your DNA test?”

  “Not reliably,” Marty said, “The whole point of the compound is to allow someone to hide in plain sight.”

  “And what if the subject didn’t know they’d been accelerated?” Semion asked.

  Marty stared at the screen for a moment. “Interesting question. I hadn’t considered that,” he said, “They may not even know their abilities, unless they were put into a stress situation.”

  “Where are we with the family?” Semion asked, tugging on the ball held by one of the dogs. Even his massive hand looked small in the creature’s wide jaws.

  “Same status,” Marty said, “They haven’t altered their routine in any way. The girl is still working here at the clinic. The boy has returned from our shit show in Canada with the uncle. The dad goes to the office, works out at the gym, comes home on time. The kids go to school while mom works from home most days. Hell, grandma sends cookies here to the office. Nothing out of the ordinary. I don’t think they had anything to do with whatever it was that happened up north.”

  “So my top man and Jia just disappeared, along with a bunch of local hired guns?” Semion said as he came closer to the camera and his red face filled the screen. He said, “And how do you explain what happened to Mina and Larry and those other shitheads there in Pembury? Good thing you’re not in charge. Stick to science, Marty. I’m hoping it’s what you’re best at. I’m wagering millions to find that out, aren’t I?”

  Katia loved watching her father dig into people, and she really liked watching that pompous pretty boy squirm. Normally she would have stirred the pot but it was late and she needed a shower. Marty needed no reminding that he’d better be able to produce when the time came or he’d find out what it felt like to be one of those poor black and bloated twins.

  “The family’s not oblivious, they’re really smart,” Katia said, “Or really well protected, or both. Is the girl accelerated?”

  “As I indicated,” Marty said, realizing that the normally cruel, sexy bitch had given him a pass tonight, “The first run was inconclusive so we need to recalibrate and rerun the samples. She’s extremely bright, and very fit, and so is her brother. Maybe they are accelerated. The whole damn family has a certain confidence, but I could just be projecting.”

  Katia slid off her desk and went to the glass wall behind her. Semion could see the impatience in his daughter’s walk as she crossed to the window and looked out at the Manhattan skyline.

  With her back to them she said, “Why don’t we just grab the entire family if we’re pretty sure at least one of them has been accelerated?” She turned and added with a little smile, “I can just push them and see which ones give a positive response.”

  “We may have to, but not yet,” Semion said, “I want Gloria to locate all of the missing FBI files first and I want her to confirm that operations have been pulled from Pembury and New York. I also want our assets in place. If we go in prematurely and make a mess of things again doors would slam closed. Pembury isn’t the backwoods of Canada.”

  Katia came around her desk and said, “As much as I would love to put our full trust in Gloria, we need to move forward as if that flaky bitch can’t get us any of those things. We also need to be prepared to go silent and move quickly through phase two once we have our subject.”

  “And that,” Semion said, “Is why my daughter is in charge. You are absolutely correct my dear. What are the next steps, Marty?”

  The doctor thought for a second and said, “I’ll get Johann up here and we’ll start over on the DNA testing for the town, from baseline up. All new samples. Johann will also biopsy the Cooper boys again to make sure our testing methodology is sound. They have remained viable much longer than any other subjects, if you can call their state viable. We haven’t gotten to the bottom of that yet but he’s working on it. The black site will also get outfitted with a duplicate set of the sequencing and duplication equipment. Once we have the accelerated subject we can hit the ground running.”

  Semion looked to Katia and she flashed him their subtle sign indicating she agreed.

  “Get to work,” Semion said as he tossed the ball for the dogs again, “I will arrange for the firepower and see you in a few days.”

  Chapter 18

  Kelcy had finally crashed after two solid days of reviewing Barton’s files. Spot gave her cheek a quick lick before he carefully stepped over her and got off the couch. He put her tablet down on the coffee table, and as he covered the snoring teen with a blanket he heard the start of a quiet conversation coming from Ben’s back bedroom.

  Spot trotted down the hall and softly nudged the door closed behind him before jumping onto the bed and sitting down next to Ben.

  He looked down at Ben’s tablet and saw a girl was staring back at them.

  “And who’s that with you?” the girl asked.

  “Colleen this is Spot, and down at the foot of the bed is his useless sister, Smudge.” Ben toggled to the opposite facing camera for a second so the girl could see the snoozing black dog.

  A stiff northerly wind had blown the snow clouds away just before midnight, allowing the bright moon to poke through the gently swaying trees outside of Ben’s window. The pool of light illuminated Smudge, and gave Ben’s handsome young face a nice glow on the girl’s tablet.

  She smiled and said, “They’re adorable.”

  Ben guessed Colleen was in her bedroom. It was dimly lit, but over her shoulder he could make out a headboard with dozens of pictures stuck to it. He recognized her face in most of them. She was smiling with friends, hugging a little white dog, holding a trophy up with a knot of other cheerleaders, and wearing a party dress as she stood next to a tall boy in a tux.

  There was a long pause as the two kids looked at each other.

  “Is it cold where you are?” she asked.

  “Yeah,” Ben said, “I’m a little south of Boston. We just got more snow.”

  “Yeah,” Colleen said, “Here too. The twin cities is freezing.”

  Colleen tipped her tablet screen down when there was a noise in the background and all Ben and Spot saw was black.

  They heard her say, “No, just a friend from school Aunt Karen. I’m fine. It’s okay, go back to bed.” The room tipped and moved, and they heard shuffling and the click of a light switch. The screen lightened and Colleen
appeared again with a shower curtain behind her.

  “Sorry about that,” she said.

  “It’s okay,” Ben said, “Just promise me you won’t flush.”

  Colleen laughed and Ben saw her face light up. He hadn’t gotten a good look at her in the dim light of her bedroom but now when she covered her mouth to stifle her giggle he could see she was cute. She had long blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail and light blue eyes, and freckles dotted her nose and cheeks. When she moved her hand away her braces lit up in the light of the bathroom. She started to say something but put her hand over her mouth again. She was still laughing and waved her other hand for him to wait a second.

  “Take your time,” Ben said, “And if you pee a little you’re in a good spot.”

  A tear streamed from the corner of her eye and she waved again for him to stop. She put both hands over her mouth and squeezed her eyes shut as her shoulders bounced.

  “Shush,” she was finally able to whisper, but then went right back to giggling. She stayed that way for a long while, and eventually Ben noticed her tears were flowing freely. She opened her eyes and he saw her laughing had turned into crying. She put her hand out, holding up a finger for him to wait.

  Smudge woke up. She’d heard the tone in the girl’s breathing change and she walked to the top of the bed, sat next to Ben, and looked down at the sobbing girl.

  “It’s okay, Colleen,” Ben said as he rubbed Smudge’s concerned face, “We’re in no rush, and conveniently you’ve got tissue handy.”

  She smiled through her tears, and after another minute she said, “I am so sorry, Ben. It feels like I haven’t laughed in a long time but it’s only been a week.” She pulled up a long trail of toilet paper and dabbed her eyes as she sniffled, “You must think I’m a total D-queen.”

  Colleen stood up and leaned over the screen. Her body blocked the camera for a moment and when she sat back down said, “Dear God, I look like a horror show.”

  He noticed she had been wearing a little eye liner that now streaked from the corner of her eyes to her ears. “It’s alright,” Ben said, “I like Egyptian women.”

  She laughed and said, “How old are you again?”

  “Old enough to know, young enough to do something about it,” Ben said. It was the first thing that jumped into his head. He regretted saying it, and cursed Hamish.

  Spot looked at him, shook his head, and went to curl up on the foot of the bed.

  “Oh my,” Colleen said, smiling again and wiping her eyes, “I like you, Ben Hogan. You’re cute.”

  She held up a finger again and left the bathroom. A moment later she came back and sat down, and showed him a black digital camera. It was a nicer SLR type, and he and Smudge recognized it immediately. Last time they saw the camera it was covered in blood from Colleen’s mom and dad.

  “Captain Pinard seems like a nice woman,” Colleen said as she stared down at the camera, “She’s been so sweet. She calls me almost every day.”

  “Blu, we call her Blu,” Ben said, “Yeah, she’s the best. She’s super smart. Big, tough, but nice too. One of the few people who puts my Uncle Hamish in his place, aside from my Mimi, of course.”

  “It was smart what you did, giving her your info in case I wanted it,” Colleen said, “She said you’d be cool with talking to me.”

  “Certainly,” Ben said.

  Smudge dropped down next to him, putting her chin on his lap and watching the sad girl on the screen.

  There was another long pause as the kids sat quietly and stared at each other.

  Colleen let out a long breath. She smiled and said, “So what’s it like up there?”

  “It’s amazing,” Ben said, “Quebec is the most beautiful place I’ve been to in all my years of traveling. The snow and the mountains go on forever. There aren’t many people, and the ones that are there are just the coolest. They speak both French and English, and they all swear a lot.”

  “Sounds like my kind of place,” Colleen said. She picked at the buttons on the camera and asked, “Did you listen to it?”

  “Yeah, I did,” Ben said, “Unc and I were trying to figure out what happened that night. We looked through your mom’s pictures…and then we listened to the video. Sorry.”

  “No, don’t be.” Colleen said, looking up, “If you hadn’t found this, and taken such good care of it, and gotten it back to me…”

  She started to tear up again, and struggled to keep her voice down between heaving breaths, “We had a fight before they had to catch their flight. I was a horrible fucktard to her. What my mom said on that video, it means so much to me. It’s so, her. How strong she was. I’ll treasure that forever, and I have you to thank.” She started to sob silently, and dropped her head into her hands.

  Ben and Smudge watched the poor girl’s shoulders shaking.

  Smudge signed to him.

  “I liked your prom dress,” Ben said.

  “Thanks,” Colleen said, sniffling as she raised her head, “I liked it too. It was the last thing my mom and I bought together. She pinned it and stabbed me in the butt. I still have the holes.”

  “I’ll take your word for it.” Ben said.

  Colleen smiled again, and said, “Dilly was a jerk that night. You know, how boys can get.”

  “Your boyfriend?” Ben asked.

  “Was,” she said, “Kinda wish I still had one now. Mom was so awesome when I got home. She could tell just by looking at me. She always could.”

  Ben and Smudge nodded. He said, “Yeah, my mum and my Mimi are that way, too.”

  “So why were you in Canada?” Colleen asked.

  “Oh, my uncle has a ranch up there where they train dogs,” Ben said, “He has sled dogs and police dogs. I went for a few weeks to help him get them ready for graduation.”

  “That’s so cool,” she said, “I have a dog, Peety. He’s awesome but my Aunt’s allergic so he’s at Angela’s, um, one of my friends.”

  “Your Aunt’s staying with you?” Ben asked.

  “Yeah,” she said, “Not really sure what’s going to happen yet. She’s kinda freaked out. She doesn’t have any kids and lives in a small apartment south of Milwaukee. I guess I’ll end up down there, without Peety.” She looked misty again and said, “Tell me about these dogs you trained.”

  “They’re awesome,” Ben said, “Unc trains the top of the top, and I’m not just saying that. The dogs are super super smart. The Norwegian elkhound sled dogs could pull you up the side of Everest and get you back down again, and the police dogs are boerboels from South Africa. They can sniff out bombs, poachers, lost cats, bodies…sorry.”

  Spot looked at Ben from the foot of the bed, and shook his head again.

  “It’s okay,” Colleen said, “I want to hear all about up there. Go on.”

  “Well the ranch is super cool. It was this old logging camp in the mountains that’s been added onto. It’s now a huge house, and there’s a big barn, and lots of dog sleds. It’s near a huge national forest with lots of cool animals. It’s where people go to hike, and fish…and ski of course. I also helped Unc with the relocated wolves there.”

  Spot glared at Ben, and then looked out the window, shaking his head again. Even Smudge looked up at him.

  As soon as Ben said it he wanted to smack himself.

  “Your uncle brought the wolves there?” Coleen asked, her face clouding.

  “Yes,” Ben said quickly, “But not those wolves. Colleen, listen to me carefully, please. I spent a lot of time with those wolves. They are our friends. They aren’t the ones responsible for your parents.”

  “How can you possibly know that, Ben?” she said, starting to cry.

  Ben wasn’t sure how to dig himself out of this hole. He was supposed to be comforting this poor girl whose mother and father had been torn to pieces by Jia’s infected rogue wolves. Wolves who would have never been infected if Ben hadn’t gone to Canada. She should be a happy teen arguing with her mother about letting Dilly get to second base,
not an orphan crying on a toilet at midnight with a stranger. He smacked his head when she wasn’t looking.

  Spot signed to him, and Ben nodded.

  He said, “Colleen, my Uncle is ancient. He’s lived there forever and he’s been working with canines his whole life. He knows wolves better than anyone in Canada. We were there, right after. It was a pair of rogue wolves who had been tormented and released by some stupid, bad men. They were dangerous animals, and they were sick. It was a freak accident.”

  Colleen looked at Ben through red eyes. She stared at him for a long while, and then nodded. “I got it,” she said, “I’m sorry to be such a bitch. You’re just trying to help.”

  “A bitch? Are you kidding?” Ben said, “I’d be plenty pissed in your shoes. I’d probably wanna rip someone’s face off.”

  Spot dropped onto the bed, and put his paws over his face. Smudge reached around Ben’s back and pinched him hard on the hip.

  “I am pissed, Ben,” Colleen said, nodding and straightening up, “I just want to hit someone most of the time. Blu wouldn’t give me any real details. I know she and my aunt are just trying to protect me, but I want to know what happened. What’s the deal with those bad men, and their sick wolves?”

  Ben looked at Spot for a moment and then said, “You want the ‘we just met so I’ll be delicate’ version or the ‘fuck those assholes’, real version?”

  “Fuck those assholes, please,” Colleen said, smiling.

  “You promise not to repeat this?” Ben asked, “I never told you any of this.”

  “Agreed,” she said, holding up her pinky.

  “The bad wolves are dead. My uncle and I killed them. We killed the bad men, too. They hurt a lot of people, including your parents. We stopped them, with help from our amazing dogs and an awesome wolf mother, and they won’t hurt anyone ever again.”