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

by Robert Udulutch

  The hyenas were crossing the river.

  The mother rhino shuffled farther back into the little clearing, pushing her baby behind her. The little rhino turned and stared at Spot with scared eyes as it was shoved towards him.

  It’s alright little one, Spot huffed, Don’t worry, help’s on the way.

  He turned and barked loudly into the night, I said help’s on the way, right sis?

  The mother rhino snorted in response, and she backed up a few more steps as the hyenas stepped from the shallow river and formed a growling line on the bank in front of her.

  Smudge heard Spot barking from the valley below. She feigned a jump towards the man and darted off in the opposite direction, zig-zagging down the rocky slope.

  Ayo let out a deep sigh and collapsed against the steep rocks. The crazy black dog tore off down the ridge, making it to the bottom in three huge leaps. As it disappeared into the brush Ayo caught his breath, and listened to the hyenas and painted dogs raising a ruckus in the valley below. They were near the grunting rhino and her wailing calf. Ayo decided he’d had enough encounters with animals for one night and scrambled up and over the ridge. He paused at the top to grab his pack and his bedroll. As he picked thorns from his bleeding arm he turned to scan the moonlit trees along the riverbank, but there was no sign of Fisho. Ayo turned away and headed into the bush.

  The baby was pushed into Spot as the rhino mother took another big step backwards, she swung her sharp horn at the attackers and it rattled and scraped against the thick brush at the opening of their little clearing.

  The lead hyena was trying to find the best route past the horn to the baby when the alpha painted wild dog slammed into it. The hyena was almost twice the alpha’s size and barely wobbled. It snapped as he zipped past and just missed taking away a big chunk from the dog’s hind end. Ten more painted dogs arrived and drove the hyenas back into the shallow river with a wall of aggressive, coordinated growls and barks.

  Spot was only able to get glimpses of the hyenas around the wild dogs and the swaying bulk of the agitated rhino in front of him, but he could tell their snarling leader was not happy. He wasn’t willing to let the impetuous dogs steal their meal. Fenn had taught the pups hyenas were not to be messed with. They were almost always successful in driving the wild dogs from a contested kill, regardless of the pack’s protesting. The confident lead hyena was clearly ready to kick some doggy ass, but Spot didn’t see the same commitment in the other hyenas. They seemed to not like the odds, or the really big horn rattling the brush in front of them. They were looking to cross back over the river but their leader held them fast with a hard look.

  Spot could see the hyena wasn’t going to back down, in fact it appeared to be preparing to attack. He hated the thought of saving the rhino from the poachers only to have her baby killed by the damn hyenas, but he struggled with jeopardizing the wild dogs to protect her. As he looked at the bleating baby rhino he thought Smudge would rip him a new one if he just walked away from that trembling little snout. He looked past the baby and her mother to see the lead hyena lowering its head.

  Spot wondered what was keeping his sister, and more importantly he wondered, Smudge, what would you do?

  But he knew full well what his sister would do. As there was no way for Spot to get around the mama rhino he went over her.

  He sprung onto the baby’s back, took two big hops as he crossed the mother’s back, and launched himself over her horn at the hyena as it shot forward.

  Smudge blasted onto the bank of the river just in time to see her courageous, insane brother sailing over the rhino and pouncing on the big hyena.

  Oh brother, Smudge thought as she added a burst of speed, if Ben could see what you just did…

  The hyena had been focusing on closing the distance to the shorter painted alpha and looked up to see Spot at the last instant. With his paws opened Spot grabbed both of the hyena’s stubby ears when he landed on its back. He yanked hard, and then shoved off and dove away. As he landed in the shallow water a few meters away the hyena got to his feet lighting quick, spun, and let a stream of profane, frustrated barks fly.

  The rest of the hyenas gave up and fled across the river.

  Smudge skidded to a stop in front of the line of painted dogs. The lead hyena had fixed Spot with a venomous stare, but Smudge broke it with a huge bark.

  Fisho flinched in the high branches of the mopane canopy. He dropped the knife and almost fell out of the tree. The old man didn’t understand how a dog could make such a loud noise. Twisting in the branches, he turned to face the river and saw the rhinos and the standoff at the riverbank. As Fisho watched the mixed band of dogs protect the rhino from a hyena he was convinced the weeks in the bush must have drove him milly. Jewel had been right, and he just wanted to go home. He longed to hear her singing again. He wanted to watch her swinging the baby to sleep while his son played with the boys around the fire. They were farmers, and they’d certainly get rain, and the roots would grow bigger than his son’s manhood. Fisho started to climb down but had forgotten about the circle of painted dogs darting around in the spots of moonlight at the base of his tree. He scrambled back up as they barked, and looked up at him over their snarls.

  Spot nodded to the alpha and the row of painted dogs, and joined his sister. The black rhino behind them groaned and stomped the ground hard enough for the line of dogs in front of her to feel their paws’ jump. She stepped forward, grunting at the hyena as her horn appeared between Spot and Smudge.

  The hyena lowered its head, shook away the pain from its tweaked ears, and let a low growl slip past its impressive set of bared teeth. Its eyes darted back and forth across the strange wall of allies lined up in front of it.

  Psst, hey Spot, Smudge said quietly, looking over the big horn bobbing between them, Please tell me you’ve figured out how to speak hyena.

  Chapter 84

  As they crested the top of a bald ridge Spot scanned the thick trees covering the floor of the valley. He was in the front seat of a Range Rover, standing in Hamish’s lap with his front paws up on the dash. He looked back to sign at Ben who was standing behind them and holding onto the roll bar.

  Ben leaned forward and tapped Musa’s shoulder as he said, “Stop here.”

  The big ranger squealed their truck to a halt as the two other Range Rovers following them split and pulled up beside them. Spot yapped for the rest of the dogs to stay in the trucks as he jumped down from Hamish’s lap and ran a few meters ahead. From the wash of the headlights he signed back to Ben before leaving the dirt road and running down the hill.

  “Follow him,” Ben said.

  The trucks weaved around bushes as they moved side by side down the grassy field. At the bottom of the valley Spot stopped in front of a wall of interlocking trees. The team jumped from the vehicles with flashlights and followed single file behind Spot as he disappeared into a narrow trail. The bush quickly closed in around them and the bright moonlight turned to shafts, and then to pinholes. The boerboels and Sholto walked behind Spot as they led the humans deeper into the pitch-black thicket with Sholto and Hamish bringing up the rear.

  As they twisted through the trail a quiet rustling started in the dark ahead of them.

  Musa and Theo drew their pistols and clicked off the safeties.

  Spot stopped and looked back. He yapped, and when Ben pointed his flashlight at him he signed. Ben turned to the men and said, “Spot says to put those away,” He raised his voice so the line of people behind Musa could hear him, “Don’t shoot at anything in here.”

  Musa looked down at Ben with a scowl.

  Ben said, “Seriously, he said no shooting.”

  The soft rustling got closer, and then it came from behind them, and then it came from all around them. Their flashlights were almost useless in the dense brush and Musa and Theo exchanged a look, but holstered their weapons when Hamish nodded.

  They continued down the tight path with the quiet snapping of branches and stirri
ng of leaves moving all around them. Spot left the path and led them through a small opening in the bushes. The humans had to crouch to squeeze through, and Hamish and Musa were almost on their hands and knees before the branches parted again and they entered a small clearing.

  Smudge was there, with a group of wild painted dogs.

  As Spot finished introducing the police dogs to Fenn and her alpha, Smudge signed to Ben.

  “Everything’s fine. Just keep still,” Ben said to the group of gaping humans as he moved in front of them and raised his hands.

  At least a dozen more wild painted dogs circled them in the shadows around the clearing. The group caught flashes of the patchy coats as they darted past their probing flashlights.

  Christa read Hamish’s face and agreed with a nod. There were far too many wild dogs for the slight rustling sounds they produced. The quick animals were virtually silent in the thick, dry brush. They both wondered if these dogs had been so silent before meeting Spot and Smudge.

  The humans watched as one of the larger painted dogs with a radio collar took a few steps towards them and stopped next to Smudge and Spot. She gave Musa a long looking over. Musa recognized her as the lead breeding female of the reserve’s largest pack.

  Fenn turned and licked Smudge, and hip checked Spot. She yapped quietly to the rest of the domesticated dogs, and then barked one sharp bark. Her pack of painted dogs vanished with just a whisper of leaves into the forest behind her. Fenn stared at the big head ranger for another lingering moment before she turned and disappeared as well.

  “Eish, what the fuck was that?” Musa whispered.

  Spot signed and Ben said, “Some new friends of the pups. She remembered you, Musa. You might want to be gentler when handling dogs after darting them, especially when they’re still awake enough to feel how their being treated.” Ben picked up a long knife from the leaves in front of Spot. He raised his flashlight as he said, “And they helped the pups capture him.”

  The rest of the team turned their flashlights up to follow Ben’s.

  Illuminated at the top of the tree was a scruffy looking old man. He was clinging to the branches and looking down into the lights with eyes as big as saucers.

  As the team stared up at the treed poacher Spot turned to Smudge, who was still gore-streaked from their earlier meal with the painted dogs, and said, You’d better go wash that blood off your snout before Mimi gets a look at you.

  Chapter 85

  “We have a saying,” Mimi said as she slid her backside onto the low paddock wall and set down a big thermos, “What’s for you won’t go by you.”

  Faith nodded as she peeled the lid off a plastic bowl and offered Mimi an oatmeal coconut bar. She continued down the wall with the bowl as she said, “We have a similar proverb. The vervets can’t change your future so don’t listen to them.” She held the bowl out for Ben and touched the smiling boy on his chin as he reached in and pulled out a bar.

  Faith stopped at Fisho and held out the bowl to the old poacher.

  He just looked at her.

  Faith smiled, shook the bowl and said, “Go on, if you leave them for us gogos they’ll chuck us in that pen next to those chubby rhinos.”

  The rhino couple Kelcy had saved were in the paddock behind them, snorting happily and using their snouts to root through a pile of hay. They had responded well to the treatments. Their hides were healing and they had stopped drooling foam. Smudge and Vuur had just led them back into the paddock after taking them down to the watering hole for a roll in the mud.

  Fisho returned Faith’s smile and drew out two of the bars. He handed one to Fulfort and said, “We Kaonde say fate is a thrown knife. You catch it by the blade, or by the handle.”

  Fulfort gave his father a look and Fisho said, “We’re talking about our future, son. These fine ladies are trying to tell us our fate is not known to us. So far, we’ve not been shot like every other domkop who’s poached on their lands. Our actions from this point forward still matter.”

  Mimi nodded, and raised her bar to the skinny dark man.

  Below the paddock wall Kelcy was guiding Jock around in tight circles on a fresh bed of straw. As the animal’s huge foot pads tamped down the soft grass Tian, Nikki, and a few of the rangers spread more at its feet.

  “That looks pretty good, Kels,” Dan said as he waved to his daughter on the back of the huge beast, “Thanks honey.”

  “Thank Jock,” Kelcy said as she used her feet to turn the elephant and guide him back up the hill.

  “Thanks Jock!” everyone yelled, waving at her and the big bull elephant.

  Kelcy tapped on the back of Jock’s ears with her feet and he raised his trunk and let out a loud trumpet blast.

  Nikki watched the teen ride her waddling elephant up the hill. She nodded towards the poachers sitting on the wall next to Mimi, Faith, and Ben, and said quietly, “Is that such a good idea?”

  “They’re not going anywhere,” Tian said, “Smudge and Vuur are up there, and Hamish wants the poachers to see us train. He did not say why, but I can guess.”

  “Yeah, me too,” Dan said. He waved to Ben and started to loosen up as he stepped into the ring. He said, “They’re already pretty freaked out. Now we just need them to clearly see what they’re up against, and send them home to scare the hell out of their pals.”

  “And their bosses,” Nikki said as she twisted back and forth at the waist, “Show them we’ve come here to chew gum and kick ass...”

  “And we’re all out of gum,” Tian finished for her.

  Nikki and Dan stopped stretching and looked at the Chinese man.

  “Roddy Piper?” Tian said. He rolled his shoulders and made a pair of fists, which caused his traps to bulge and his huge biceps to jump into balls. He exhaled, and said, “Best line ever.”

  The sparing ring was setup in an abandoned boma from the ranch’s days as a hotel. The dirt floor was ringed by large logs used for seating around the center fire pit. Kelcy and Jock had moved the logs back and Musa’s men had filled in the fire pit, and then laid down a foot of elephant-trampled packed straw.

  The training ring was Hamish’s idea. He was impressed with how quickly Tian, Nikki, Dan, and Christa jelled as a policing team. In their new roles they were very effective, as were the dogs. Musa’s men were also a tight knit group, but Hamish wanted to accelerate the two teams coming together. He was also on a mission to significantly raise the skills of Musa’s men. The anti-poaching rangers were passionate about the animals and were experts on the reserve’s bush. But as Theo accurately observed, his men sometimes hammered away at the process of policing as though they were all standing in a circle trying to bang in the same nail.

  Every morning Tian and Nikki worked with a group of the men on hand-to-hand tactics. In the afternoons Hamish and Christa rotated them to the tented camp and taught them long and close range weapons proficiency, and how to work with the police dogs. When the mixed teams were out patrolling the reserve Musa’s men showed Hamish’s team the secrets of the Kwazulu-Natal bush, and the many tricks poachers used.

  Dan waved Musa’s men into the ring and they went through the day’s lessons, first as a series of slow motion exercises. As Tian and Nikki switched them to nearly full speed, knifes were knocked from hands, guns were flung from the ring, and men quickly tapped out before real pain was inflicted. Still, most of them walked out of the ring rubbing an elbow or limping a little. The rangers had progressed quickly in the weeks since the training had begun, and once they grasped the basics the sparing had sped up and turned deadly serious.

  One of the better students, Theo’s young nephew Pili, executed a flawless Kimura arm bar on Dan. He tossed the larger man to the straw, used his legs to tie Dan up, and with his free hand drew his pistol and pointed it at another ranger standing as a target at the edge of the ring. As the man raised his hands and smiled Tian clapped once, their symbol for a job well done. The rest of the men clapped once in response. Pili smiled a big smile and off
ered his victim a hand up from the straw. Dan had become the default punching bag as Nikki and Tian taught the men the different attacks and submissions.

  At first the rangers were skeptical of the need for this training. Even Musa thought it was just easier to shoot at the poachers from a distance and beat any usable info out of them before they died. His men were surly and unconvinced as Tian and Nikki covered the sparing rules and etiquette on that first day. Hamish caught Musa rolling his eyes and sharing a smile with a ranger as Tian demonstrated the basic moves in slow motion.

  Nikki had seen it as well. She caught Hamish’s nod, and quickly suggested Musa should demonstrate a few of the more common knife attacks he’d seen poachers use. She positioned the huge Zulu man in front of the smaller Tian and slapped a wooden knife in his massive hand. Four minutes and twenty submissions later, Musa crawled from the ring and collapsed over one of the logs. Later that evening as Musa’s wife rubbed his brawny shoulders in a hot bath he said, “Ah my vrou, I tell you for certain it is not a good time for a man to choose poaching as a profession.”

  Tian was lying on his back in the straw with Dan on top of him. Their arms and legs were tied up in a complex knot with Tian’s shin under Dan’s chin. The circle of rangers watched, nodding as Nikki tapped on Tian’s legs and arms, pointing out critical positioning.

  “This is the gogoplata,” Nikki said, “It’s an advanced move and requires flexibility, but it’s a good choke for you guys as most of your opponents will be thin men. It’s nearly impossible to escape if done correctly, and it’s another move that lets you free up one of your hands to deal with more than one attacker, use your radio, stuff like that. It also leaves the guy available to answer questions, after he wakes up with one hell of a headache.”

  Dan was panting, and struggling to get free. He pounded on Tian’s legs and tried to get a grip on his feet or hands. Tian easily brushed away Dan’s pawing, and from his position on his back said calmly, “This hold also works on dogs, and should be effective on most similar sized quadraped animals as well.” He flexed his core and tightened the choke. As Dan’s tugging and slapping became more desperate Tian said, “It can keep you from getting bit.”