(S-2) Chapter 7 "Chances"
(Disclaimer: Mature Language and intentional misspell for Mika's lisp)
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Acoustic guitar music was playing through the decently sized room as Chase walked inside and glanced at the sight in front of his amber eyes.
He saw a sight to behold, he saw various dog breeds eat together, dance and share laughs with each other.
It was like he was in a totally different place, but the pup had a moment to recuperate and realized that it could just be a facade to others, the Den still held dangerous dogs, more dangerous than the Shepherd himself or the group he was with, most of them had nothing to really lose after all.
The Shepherd realized that this whole get-together could've been that this so-called contractor, Owens, just took somebody out that's been a nuisance to him and decided to have a celebration about it.
Chase sighed as he drank from a small bowl that one of the bartenders gave to him, on the house, of course. The pup zoned out as music began to drown out, causing the pup's ears to ring but that was cut short when a friendly familiar voice called out to him.
"Hey! Isaac!" Mavis greeted as the pup snapped back to reality, looking at the two dogs that approached him.
"Hey, Mavis, Mika." Chase greeted back as he smiled at the two.
"Are you enjoying your time here?" Mavis asked.
"A little, got a free drink from the bartender so there's that, music's pretty good too." Chase replied as the Retriever listened.
The Shepherd let out another sigh.
"I've never really liked these sort of things." Chase stated as Mavis sat next to the Shepherd.
Mavis chuckled at the statement. "Tell me about it."
"So I guess Nashi and the others couldn't make their way here?" Chase asked.
"I guess they had other plans, maybe Avery needed them for something, I don't know." Mavis answered.
"What about you, Mika? How are you holding up after...you know." Chase asked with some worry for the Bernese Mountain Dog, he knew that she had a good heart and it would be very unfortunate if something bad happened to her. Sure, she worked with the McAllister brothers but to Chase, it seemed like she didn't even have a choice, she was just trying to survive. Just like he did all those years ago, so of course he showed some worry for her.
"I'm...I'm doing fine." Mika showed a small assuring smile. "I just wanted to get my mind off of what happened yetherday so I figured I'd come here with Mavith." Mika replied.
"That's good, I know sooner or later you're going have to go back out there and help Avery, at least that's what he said." Chase stated. "Don't worry though, we got your back all the way so for now, just relax." The Shepherd assured.
"I'll try." Mika hoped as her stomach growled.
"How about you fill up your stomach and take a look around, if you don't feel comfortable being here, then we can head back to our room." Mavis suggested.
"O-okay, I'll be back." Mika turned around and headed to the counter that was a decent distance from the trio, Mavis watched as she saw the large dog almost trip on her way their due to her clumsiness.
The Retriever shared a small chuckle with Chase as she stated something out.
"She's too pure for this line of work."
Chase sighed at the statement. "She is...she should really just get out of here before this McAllister problem gets out of hand and I'm pretty sure it will."
"Hey, you don't have to worry about that." Mavis smiled as she grabbed the pup's paw and dragged him towards the crowd. "Today is nothing but a time to relax. German Shepherds know how to relax, right? Always so serious." Mavis wrapped her paws around the back of Chase's neck, moving back and forth to the music and leaning into his ear, letting out a whisper. "Maybe now is a chance to show me that that isn't true."
Chase wasn't too sure on what Mavis was trying to do. "Wh-what're you-?!" The confused Shepherd was cut off.
"Shhh, shhh, just relax and enjoy the moment." Mavis calmed down as she nuzzled the Shepherd.
Chase felt multiple eyes glaring at him, for the most part, he had a feeling deep down that it was a bad thing.
"Uh, Mavis, I think everyone's staring at us." Chase said as the Retriever kept her head resting on the pup's shoulder.
Mavis had her eyes closed as she kept the Shepherd calm.
"Maybe they're just staring at you." Mavis calmly stated.
"Wha-why would they be staring at me?" Chase asked.
Mavis laughed at the question. "Well, you did throw Deacon off the roof of the Stagg Hotel."
Chase didn't buy that, after all it wasn't just him. "It wasn't just me, you and the others helped out."
"Well, they hear differently, I guess they're starting to realize something." Mavis whispered.
"Realize what? I'm just a pup." Chase assured.
"Oh, Isaac, they're realizing that they should be terrified of you." Mavis leaned into the Shepherd for a kiss, surprising Chase to an extent.
As the shock surged through his body, he was brought back to Jake's mountain where he confessed his feelings towards Skye. Is this what Skye felt when he did the same thing? No, it couldn't be because it was different, Skye was someone he knew for years while Mavis was someone he just met a couple of days ago.
The Shepherd wanted to pull away but couldn't, rather, he allowed Mavis to embrace the moment.
After some time, Mavis released the Shepherd, noticing the confused look on him.
"I told you...they should be terrified of you." Mavis smiled at the Shepherd, who looked down on the ground then back at the Retriever.
Chase kept his eyes on the Retriever as he began to drown out the noise of his surroundings, he looked over and started to slowly panic as the lights turned out, leaving the Shepherd in darkness.
"What's wrong, Chase?" The pup turned as the light dimmed from his pup tag, looking at who asked him the question and he noticed that it was Skye, replacing Mavis, who was just with the Shepherd.
Everything went quiet, the Shepherd placed his paw on the Cockapoos face, caressing it as a smile formed on his face.
"You swore to me." The Cockapoo stated.
"Skye, I did-I didn't have a choice." Chase said as the Cockapoo slowly disappeared right before his eyes.
"You've lied to me and so many others." Chase looked around and noticed that he was in a hallway, with a door at the end of it.
"Chase! Help us!" A pair of voices called out, pleading for the Shepherd to help.
"No, no, no..." Chase realized who the voices were.
The Shepherd ran towards the door, hearing the cries of pain from his former friends.
"Diaz! Isaac!" Chase called out as the pup desperately tried opening the door as he heard the two cry in pain. "Please no!"
The pup was panting heavily as he realized that it was just another terrible ptsd episode. He looked around and saw everything was back to normal, the dogs enjoying their time and thankfully didn't see the pup during his episode, but Mavis did.
"Isaac? Are you alright?" Mavis asked with worry in her eyes.
"I'm sorry, I jus-I just..." Chase couldn't get his mind straight. "I gotta go."
With that, the Shepherd left the Retriever and Mika, leaving them on their own.
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With Zuma and Rubble finishing up their part of the investigation fast, Marshall and Decker made their way to one of the many safe houses located in Boroughton. Luckily, the one they were residing in was close to downtown.
As Marshall was resting in one of the beds in the safe house, Decker went for a quick walk around the area, hopefully trying to find something on Chase or the McAllister Brothers while he was out there.
Sadly, the Australian Mix didn't find anything to help him out. As he entered the safe house, he noticed Marshall resting and like he did to Agent Rich, he decided to spook him.
The Australian mix grabbed one of the bowls and started banging it on the table, making the Dalmatian jolt upwards like a cat.
The usually-optimistic Dalmatian shot a glare towards Decker.
"What was that for?" Marshall asked in a grouchy tone.
"Ha, just messing with you." Decker smiled as he helped the pup up. "Need you awake anyway, we're gonna see if we can get more clues on the whereabouts of your friend."
Marshall took the Australian Mix's paw and got back on his paws, going for the food and water bowl in the process.
"So...if we do get lucky and find anything on Chase...or the McAllister brothers...what happens next?" Marshall asked between chews and licks from his water bowl.
"Well, assuming we don't get killed halfway through, our inside dog will tell us when the go-ahead is clear and then that's when we move in." Decker answered.
"Where is this 'inside dog'?" Marshall asked.
"Currently inside the Den right now, maintaining their undercover position, they occasionally report back to us when possible." Decker answered.
"What if they get caught?" Marshall asked yet again.
"Then we're going back a couple steps and almost starting over." Decker answered.
"Let's hope that it doesn't happen." Marshall hoped.
The Dalmatian finished up his meal and shook his body, refreshed and ready to head out into the streets of Boroughton.
"Alrighty, let's head on out, mate." Decker led on as the two exited the safe house. "I took a walk about an hour ago but ended up finding nothing, but it got me thinking." Marshall looked at the Australian Mix. "Best way to get some more info on this case is to check the Stagg hotel and see if they had that incident caught on tape." Decker briefed the Dalmatian, who nodded at the Australian Mix in agreement. "Keep an eye and ear out for anything while we're getting there."
"Got it." Marshall nodded as the two started making their way to the Stagg hotel.
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Chase passed through the small crowds, occasionally bumping into some dogs here and there but the pup just needed to be alone, he needed some time to think about what just happened.
As the pup finally made it to the room that he and the others were residing in, he didn't notice the Great Dane waiting for him as he closed the door, lowering his head near the handle of the door and letting out a long sigh.
"Enjoying your time, pup?" Ajax asked as Chase's ears heightened at the sound of the Great Dane's southern accent.
"A-Ajax? What-what're you doing here?" Chase asked.
"I'll answer that just as soon as you answer mine." Ajax assured.
"Ho-how will I know if-?" Ajax got to the pup's face.
"Answer the damn question, pup!" Ajax warned.
There was a slight pause of silence. "I'm doing fine." Chase stated as he glared at the Great Dane.
"Fine? I wouldn't say that. First, you come back, then you throw Deacon off a rooftop just a few days later?" Ajax questioned as he smiled at the pup.
"It wasn't just me." Chase assured.
"I know, but that's not what I'm here to talk about." Ajax started circling the Shepherd, albeit while limping. "Avery and I have been having a problem with a certain Border Collie, I don't know, we don't trust him." Ajax shot a look at the Shepherd, who let out a sigh.
"So you want me to take care of him, right?" Chase asked.
"Yeah, you don't have a choice here though." Ajax stated.
"Guess that's one way of looking at it." Chase looked to his side.
Ajax made the Shepherd face him. "You got another way of looking at it? I'm all out over here." The two were now neck and neck, ready to draw first blood, that was, until there was a knock at the small door.
"Hey, Mavis? Anyone in there? I need to talk to Isaac." It was Avery calling out to the Shepherd, who opened the door as he still kept an eye on Ajax in case the Great Dane struck at him. "Ah, hey Isaac, I need to talk to you for a min-oh hey, Ajax." Avery went inside as he closed the door. "What're you...what're you doing here?" Avery asked.
"Just telling Chase about our little 'Spencer' problem." Ajax answered.
"Aw, come on, Ajax! Spencer's a good earner! You can't just...kill him because of some feeling you have in the back of your head!" Avery defended.
"Too late, I already gave Chase the go-ahead and he's going to do it regardless of what you say." Ajax walked past the two and was about to leave. "Because if he doesn't, he's going to have a problem, more than what he already has." Ajax stated as he finally left the two.
"Fucking punk..." Avery stated as the Great Dane finally left the two alone. "Anyway, Chase, just forget what he says. Spencer is too much of a valuable asset to me, he helps me allocate and transfer some 'recreational' goods around this part of Boroughton. Get to his little makeshift shack and inform him about the job, be careful though, Ajax has been trying to get rid of him for sometime and he caught wind of it so there's a bit of paranoia." Avery lightly stated that last part.
Chase gave the Greyhound a look. "A bit?"
"Ok, a lot." Avery admitted. "He's in an alleyway around Wolfenheim street, if I remember correctly, it's near a restaurant called 'The Gatherer's Garden'. Find it and you'll find Spencer no problem."
"Got it." Chase nodded as he left the room, hearing Avery remind him shortly after.
"Don't worry about Ajax! I'll see if I can talk things through with him!" Avery hoped.
"Thanks!" Chase smiled as he turned to look at the Greyhound, but as he turned back to know where he was going, he bumped into the two dogs that he left a while back when he had his little ptsd moment.
"Isaac! Are you alright? You had me worried back at Owens for a minute." Mavis worried for the Shepherd.
"Ye-yeah, I'm fine. Look, I appreciate the concern but I have to go, Avery's orders." Chase stated as bid a quick farewell to the two dogs.
"But what about-?" Mavis was cut off.
"It's something urgent, I'll be back later, alright?" Chase tried letting the Retriever's worries not get the best of her, and to his knowledge, he did.
The Shepherd left the two as Mavis lowered her ears, wishing that she could just stay with the Shepherd and talk to him.
"That took a turn for the worst." Mika stated as she placed her paw on the Retriever's back. "Don't worry, he'll come back."
"I hope he does, I wanna know what caused him to freak out so much back at Owen's place." Mavis stated.
Mika almost had no clue on what to say against that, rather than say nothing, the Bernese Mountain dog stood up for the Shepherd's ignorance.
"Give him some time, he'll warm up to you." Mika tried cheering up. "Maybe having thith happen all of a thudden freaked him out." Mika protested.
"Probably, I hope it wasn't just me." Mavis lied down on the ground.
"Don't thay that! You're an amazing dog! I've only known you for a while but in that time, you took me in and thtood up for me, I think Ithaac can thee that you're an awethome dog!" Mika defended as Mavis smiled at the expressive manner of the Mountain dog.
"I hope so." Mavis stood back up and went inside her room along with Mika, waiting for Chase to eventually come back.
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"Hey, come on, pick up the pace!" Marshall heard the Australian accented dog call out to him from a short distance.
"On my way!" The Dalmatian yelled back as he caught back up with the Australian mix, tripping in the process.
Decker laughed at the mishap of the Dalmatian.
"Get up, mate, we're here." Decker helped the Dally up.
"Woah..." Marshall looked in awe at the sight of the hotel, it looked amazing, the Dalmatian had never seen anything like it. "You sure this was where the incident happened?" Marshall asked.
"No doubt about it, mate, come on." Decker gestured for the Dalmatian to follow him inside. "Another thing, let me do the talking, these people are definitely gonna be a bit jumpy after what happened."
The Dalmatian nodded as the two entered, Marshall glanced and took in the scenery of the hotel, red carpet with elegantly designed walls and expensive looking chandeliers, so much more caught the Dalmatian's sight but he had to focus on the investigation.
"Excuse me, sir?" Decker called out to one of the workers.
"Huh? Woah! What're you mutts doing here? Security!" The worker yelled out.
"Stick a cork in it, mate, we're not like the dogs that came in here the other day." Decker showed his badge. "Agent Decker, FBI, my partner and I want to know more about what happened when those dogs came in here."
The worker took a glance at the badge and soon calmed down, realizing that Decker was right.
"Well, I wasn't there that day but some of the kitchen staff saw it happen, apparently the dogs ran into the kitchen." The worker stated.
Decker nodded at the statement. "Mind taking us there?"
The worker agreed as the two followed shortly after. As the two followed the worker, he started stating more information to the two.
"Security caught the whole thing, the kitchen staff that they heard the group arguing before they took off to the roof." The worker stated.
"That's where he went splat, right?" Decker asked as the worker nodded, answering the question.
"Alright, we're here. Oz! Nicky! Come over here for a minute!" The worker called out to the two staff workers.
"What is it, Price?" Oz asked as he looked at the two dogs. "Don't tell me we're gonna have more problems."
Price waved his arms in a defusing manner. "No! No such thing! These two are investigating the incident that happened here, they want to know more about what happened and since you two were there when it happened, I figured you would explain some details I missed." Price guessed.
"Sure, no problem, if these two can stop more problems like that happening, I'd be glad to help." Oz assured.
"Same here." Nick sided.
"Alright. So, we weren't thinking much of it that day until we saw the group come sprinting into the kitchen, with that Shiba Inu pushing one of the small carts towards one of them, hitting them. They soon stopped at the other side of the kitchen and started saying stuff like 'We don't have nothing to talk about!' I guess they just wanted to talk to him but he wasn't having it." Oz explained.
"After that, they took off to the roof and then a couple of minutes later, well, you can guess what happened." Nick added.
"My guess is that he owed them something and they got tired of waiting so they chased after him." Oz theorized.
"Possibly. Price, why don't you take them to the security room and have them check the footage, see if they can get more clues." Nick suggested.
"Got it, come on, you two." Price signaled for them to follow.
After some trekking through the magnificent hotel, the trio finally made it to the security room.
"Hey, Shane. We got some dogs here who need some help, they're with the FBI." Price stated to the security guard.
"FBI, huh? What did those dogs have to do with the FBI? Whatever the matter is, I'll help out." Shane sided.
"Do you have the footage of the incident that happened here a couple of days ago?" Decker asked.
"Yep, just give me one second." Shane nodded as he placed the hard drive from that day onto a nearby tv to play the footage.
As Decker and the others watched the footage, Shane explained what was happening.
"So right here is a couple of minutes before things went crazy, the front of the hotel had three dogs here and then fast forward..." Shane let the clip forward up a bit. "One of the dogs from the group shows up, the German Shepherd to be exact. Can't really hear what was happening but they were talking, no problem, then boom. The other dog just runs inside and the group chases him." Shame explained.
Marshall was a bit skeptical, he couldn't be too sure that the Shepherd in the footage was actually Chase or not.
"After that, they ran into the hotel lobby, with the Shepherd chasing the dog and the others following him soon after." Shane stated.
"Wait! Go back a bit, as the Shepherd came into the frame." Decker ordered.
Shane played back the footage and showed the lobby seconds before the chase began.
"Alright, slow it up a bit and stop when I tell you." Decker ordered as he eyed the Shepherd. The footage played and all of a sudden. "Stop!" The footage stopped and Decker examined the frame, along with Marshall. "Mates, we need some time alone, that's a culprit and we need to call it in." Decker stated.
"Got it, come on Price." Shane left the room along with the worker.
As the two left the room, Decker sighed as he looked at the frame yet again, cursing out a single word.
"Shit..."
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