Pages were heard flipping in the nearly quiet safe house, the board that pieced the investigation altogether still stayed the same, relatively, and Ryder, waiting to hear back from his pups, decided to take on the large stack of books talking about the city that he and the others were currently investigating.

As he kept on reading, he heard footsteps approach him. He turned his head and saw Ramirez leaning on the doorframe, sipping his cup of coffee. "From the looks of it, I take it you didn't get to read much about Boroughton's history?" The agent asked as he set his cup down.

"Not really, but I'm reaching the modern day, somewhat." Ryder answered as he kept reading. "Crime rates skyrocket between dogs and cats of Boroughton. It boggles my mind knowing how...influential these animals can be."

"Don't forget dangerous." Ramirez added as he set down his coffee cup on the nearby table.

"Yeah...that too." Ryder kept his mind pondering on the various things he read about the city. "It's been quiet, you think they made contact with one of the crews out there?" Ryder asked as he set one of the old newspapers down.

"Possibly, Decker decided to go radio silent for a while, he and the pups should fill us in soon. Our insider, however, hasn't been saying anything, if we don't hear back from them soon, then we're going to have to assume the worst." Ramirez answered as Ryder sighed, worrying for his pups as he asked another question towards the agent.

"How long do you think this will take, really?"

Ramirez gave it some time before answering the boy's question, he wasn't sure about the longevity of the case but gave an estimate regardless.

"All depends if we even find Chase and nothing happens to Decker and the rest, all goes well, I'm thinking about a week or two." Ramirez answered as he grabbed his coffee cup, finishing it as he gave the kid a reassuring nod. "Don't worry, Decker knows what he's doing, your pups are in safe paws."

The agent soon left the room, leaving the boy back to learning more about Boroughton, hoping to find something that can help, even in the slightest. After some more digging, he spotted a book titled 'Boroughton's Industrial Age'. Upon opening it up, he was hit with old photographs and summaries describing the many factories that were around the city. The boy kept reading on in his head.

"When Boroughton was sighted as a civilized city after years of it being built from the ground up, many people flocked to it, as well as multiple pets and strays. We knew a high majority of them could talk and handle their own kind of tasks, one way or another. After some time, they helped us out with many things..." Ryder trailed off in his head as his eyes peered off to a small scaled blueprint of one of the factories with text beside it. "Many of these factories had underground access for drainage tunnels due to massive floods that occurred to the city year after year." Something lit up in Ryder's head, he grabbed the book and went to find Rich and Ramirez.

<><><><>

Water was gently poured onto the plants in the greenhouse that Mika inhabited some time ago, as it was a way to calm the nature loving pup down, that near-death incident with Mavis was still affecting her, as it would to anyone else. As time passed while everyone was freshening up, the only thing she wanted to do for the time was tend to her small garden that was slowly showing signs of revitalization.

"Hey, you holding up alright?" The Mountain Dog jolted, dropping her water can from her mouth as she turned to face the dog who checked up on her. "Sorry for startling you."

Mika steadied her breath as she assured the Australian Shepherd that it was alright. "It'th fine...I'm fine." A little smile was seen on the Mountain dog's face as she picked up her water can again, tending to her plants as Delta grabbed one nearby to help her out.

"Don't know if you heard before but good on you for saving Mavis, she's a good friend, a good leader, keeps us all from killing each other, especially between Nashi, Levi and that Shepherd." Delta complimented as he set his water can down, tapping Mika's shoulder to get her attention. "Whatever happened, happened, alright? Don't know why Avery sent you two out on it alone but maybe this whole McAllister thing is affecting him a lot, I think we should keep our ears listening in, just in case something feels wrong."

"Are you 'thaying' that Avery planned it?" Mika asked as she set her water can down, now giving full attention than before.

"I don't know, most likely, it was just really, really bad timing, maybe he made a bad call, I don't know!" Delta cleared his throat, giving a final piece of advice to the Mountian Dog. "Look, if something bad like that happens again, don't hesitate, it'll only get you killed."

<><><><>

Avery panned through various photos and folders he had on basically anyone in the city, albeit, it was Alistair's control over them. The boss of the Den had everything on various public figures, some minor, some major, but Avery and a select few others were the only ones trusted to keep the files close to them. His eyes caught something from the corner, a large, rolled up piece of paper tucked away near his shelf, as he glared into it, he clouded out the sound of his pup tag ringing. Seconds passed as he shook his head, answering the tag rather quickly. "Yeah, what is it?"

"Avery, it's Hendrix."

"Please tell me you got some good news..." Avery hoped as Hendrix took some time to answer.

"Yeah, a contact of mine is going to scope out some of their places apart from the docks, when she has all the intel she needs, I'll let you know, alright?"

"Yeah, you're not out of the woods yet though. Do me a favor, stay home or go on a trip, a long one. Once those McAllisters find out you helped us rather than them, you're going to need to disappear." Avery advised as Hendrix gave a quick, defensive response.

"I can't just leave my owners, Avery." The Terrier stated over the call.

Avery sighed, knowing that he would have to let Hendrix know the best way to approach this problem. "You want my advice then? Leave anyway." Avery continued on. "The longer you stay there, the more danger you'll put them in. They find out what kind of shit you're in, they'll disown you in a flash, do it before they do it to you." Hendrix stood silent on the call, knowing that the Greyhound was right for the most part, the call soon ended, leaving Avery sighing in frustration. "Fuckin' idiot..."

<><><><>

"It's a good theory, kid, but most likely not probable." Rich shot down Ryder's idea as he proceeded to try to coax the two agents into trusting his theory.

"If they're using an old building as a hideout then they definitely smuggle things through those tunnels, there's no way they can do all that in the open!" Ryder explained.

"You'd be surprised. Anyway, those tunnels would require a ton of blowtorches to cut a path just around the block." Ramirez sided, bringing Ryder's hopes down even more. "Another thing, if they WERE smuggling things, it wouldn't be possible."

"How so?" Ryder asked.

"The strays around the city had...issues, factions, more like, territory control and all that..."

<><><><>

Paws pressed on to the alleyway that was currently hiding some inhabitants, at least until a voice called out to them.

"Hey! Everyone round up! We got a job to do!" Valentine yelled out as various stray cats popped out of hiding to regroup with their leader.

"V-Val? Where've you been? It's been days!" One of the strays wondered as Valentine rolled her eyes.

"Ease up, would ya? It's only been two." Valentine answered. "Look, forget about it, we got a scope out to do."

"Robbery? Count me in."

"We're not scoping it out for ourselves, it's for a friend of mine." Valentine rallied the strays. "Now, I don't know if any of you are okay with this, but we're scoping out a McAllister spot, preferably, a few."

"The McAllisters?!"

"She's crazy!"

"That's suicide, Val!"

"Alright, enough!" Valentine yelled as the commotion soon stopped. "I know it's dangerous and I know those dogs are ruthless bastards but my friend is counting on us to help him out."

"Who's this friend anyway? Must be some enemy of the McAllisters if he wants us to do something like this for him." One of the strays asked as Val sighed.

The question was quickly answered with a simple answer, with the Tuxedo cat's composure slowly cracking. "It's need-to-know basis."

"Well, we're about to head out there with you, so WE need to know." The stray countered as Valentine turned her head to give the stray a menacing glare.

"Look, we're going to scope out this place and that's final! Let's go!" Valentine ordered as a handful of strays followed behind her while the rest stayed behind. "Alright, this shouldn't be too hard, just stay by me and we should—. Hey, watch it!" Valentine hissed as she stumbled from the dog that she bumped into on her way out.

The dog yelped in response as it frantically looked around, letting out rapid breaths as it quickly ran away from the group.

"What was that all about?" One of Val's crew mates asked.

"Who cares, come on, let's go." Val ordered as the trio moved on, crossing the street and into a nearby alleyway.

"So, Val, I know you brushed it off earlier, but really, we should know who we're doing this for." One of the crew mates asked as Val sighed in annoyance.

"What part of "need-to-know" basis don't you understand? Let's leave at that and pick up the pace!"

<><><><>

Nearly an hour passed as the trio made it to their intended destination. Being the agile felines that they are, Val and her small team hopped up to a fire escape that led up to the roof, overlooking the front of the hideout.

"You brought the binoculars, right??" Val asked as she kept her eye on the front of the hideout, soon being handed her item of question. "Alrighty then, let's see what we got here..." As her eyes scanned across the front of the hideout, "Some of them are unloading some crates...some are lounging around..." The Tuxedo cat's fur jolted a bit as she saw an Irish Wolfhound exit the building, a calm yet intimidating appearance. "Who the hell is this? Any of you got a clue?" Valentine asked as she set the binoculars down, looking back at her crew mates.

"Could be one of the bosses? Keep checking it out." Valentine nodded as she grabbed her binoculars.

"Gideon, we finished loading up everything, you sure it's a good idea to be moving...this when everyone is out to get us?" One of the workers asked as Gideon raised his brow at her.

"You do as you're told, nothing more." Gideon answered calmly. "If trouble comes knocking, then you kill any arsehole trying to intervene, you and the others can do that, right?" The Irish Wolfhound asked as he turned his head to face the dog.

"Su-sure, not a problem, sir!" The female stammered in fear.

"Good, Sean & I already have enough problems with this Maurice cunt..." Gideon gave it some thought as he let out a small chuckle. "Tell you what...uummm...?"

"Piper, sir."

"Piper, you show some spine to those who try messing with us, I'll see to it that Maurice's position is...handed over to you. How does that sound, lad?" Gideon asked as Piper's ears perked up.

"I'll do my best, it would be nice to head on out of here, these strays may be part of your crew but they tend to slack a lot." Piper stated.

"Give me some time and I'll straighten this lot, they tend to forget who they work for." Gideon narrowed his eyes to the various dogs that showed no effort to do anything at all.

Back on the rooftop, Valentine kept her eye on the Irish Wolfhound, with her other crew mates trying to peer in along with her. "Shit...I think that's one of the McAllisters." Valentine scanned the fences and noticed the barbed wire on top. "No way in through there." The Tuxedo cat grunted in frustration as she set her binoculars down, improvising a new plan for her and her crew. "Alright, there's no way we're heading in there with one of the leaders showing up, we're going to have to wait it out."

"What if he never leaves?" One of Val's crew mates asked.

"Don't worry, he should leave soon, most likely it's just an occasion—." The crew's fur jolted up as they heard a loud bang coming from the hideout, causing Valentine to knock the binoculars off of the roof "Shit!"

Piper heard the binoculars crash to the ground, scaring her a bit. She walked towards where they were, looking up at the roof for a sign of anything unusual, her head tilted as she put together what the item was.

"Something the matter, Piper?" Gideon asked as he saw Piper's fur stand up,

"Maybe, sir, take a look at this." Piper pointed to the damaged binoculars as Gideon squinted his eyes, a low grumble coming from him as he realized what was happening. "Someone's watching us, sir, should I let the crew know?"

"Quietly, head out and grab some of the others and find whoever's spying on us, do I make myself clear?" Gideon asked as Piper quickly nodded.

"We'll handle it, sir!" Piper ran out of sight, quickly whistling at two workers to follow her lead, leaving the Irish Wolfhound to scan a small radius of the area.

"You think they caught that?" One of Val's crew mates asked as they slowly peeled out of cover, hoping to not be seen by anyone.

"Probably, it doesn't seem so, we should be fine." Valentine said, relieved as she and the other cats snuck out of the area. "We got what we needed but we're gonna need a bit more info, let's head out and come back later tonight." Val's two crew mates nodded in agreement as they headed towards the fire escape and down to the ground, as the last of their small group met with the ground again, they heard voices coming towards them. "Damn, everyone hide!"

Within an instant, Val hid behind one of the dumpsters as her crew mates hid close by, hearing the voices get louder within the second. "If there is someone spying on us, Piper, why not inform everyone?" Val's ears twitched as she tried listening to the conversation.

"Gideon wanted to keep this on the low, it's better that way." Piper answered with a stern attitude as she stopped her associates, her nose twitching as she sniffed the air, getting an unusual scent mixing with the garbage around the area. Letting out a small growl, she informed the three crew mates. "Fan out and check the area, they're still here!"

The Tuxedo cat's heart started pacing faster as she heard the order, unsheathing her claws, the cat was ready for anything.

"I know you're still lurkin'! Come on out and we'll have a discussion! A nice, peaceful one!" Piper yelled out as the anxiety between the cats were rising. "This is a small, small alley, won't be long 'til we find ya!"

Val heard the voice come closer to where she was hiding, tension nearly hitting it's limit...

"You really should've thought of a better place to hide...cat!" Piper peeked inside the dumpster and was met with a slice to her nose, knocking her back on the ground as her crew looked towards her. "Get him!"

"Let go! Get the fuck off me, you mutts!"

"Let go of him!" Val heard her other crew mate jump in to assist the other. Frozen with fear as she heard her crew mates struggle against the dogs, the Tuxedo cat placed her paw on her chest, feeling her heart beat at immense speeds, she's had problems before on jobs but none such as this.

After some time, the scuffle between the crew ended, with the dogs pinning down the cats. "Ain't no way two little scrawny bastards wanted to spy on a McAllister operation, who else is here?" Piper asked as she lowered her head down to one of the cats.

"T-there's n-no one else, I swear!" One of Val's crew mates stated.

"Sounds like a lot of bullshit." Piper lifted up the cat's head. "Whoever's hiding out there, you got until the count of three to show yourself before I kill your pathetic friends here!"

"Wa-wasting your time, filthy fuckin' mongrels!"

"There's no one else here, just let him go!"

Piper chuckled as she placed her claws on the cat's neck. "Three..."

As the sweat seeped into her fur, Valentine frantically looked around, still not sure on her decision, she knew she had to make one before things got worse...

<><><><>

Ears twitched at the sound of keys jingling from the outside, within moments as the door opened, Hendrix saw his owners as well as his mate come through the door. Greeting them rather quickly as he pulled his mate aside, guiding her to another part of the large house, leaving their owners perplexed.

"What was that all about?" Roman asked to his wife as he shut the door behind them.

"I have no clue, we'll ask about it later, come on, I'm ready to sleep for the next two days." Gracie answered as she groggily walked towards the stairs, waiting for her husband to follow soon after.

Clara grew worrisome as she followed her mate to a secluded spot of the house. "Hendrix, what's going on?" She felt her mate's paws hold hers as he began to explain.

"Honey, listen to me carefully, Harper got us into some bad shit, I'm tryin—."

"What do you mean, what'd he do?"

"He traded some things with the McAllister's and now I gotta fix it for him, if I don't, you all are gonna get hurt." Hendrix placed his paws on his mate's muzzle. "Listen to me, I'm not gonna let that happen."

"Wh-why don't we tell Roman a-and Gracie?" Clara asked as she tried keeping her composure.

"We can't, they find out about this and they will disown us to save their own skin. Some friends of mine are helping us out, they should contact me sometime soon, everything's going to be okay but if something happens, you take Harper and you leave Boroughton." Hendrix advised as he hugged his mate, brushing her fur as he calmed her down. Shortly after, a ring was heard from Hendrix's pup tag, releasing his embrace on his mate, he answered the call, hoping to hear good news. "Val? Everything went well? You got the info Avery needs?"

"Yeah, got it, piece of cake, where do you want to meet?" The Tuxedo cat asked as Hendrix let out a sigh of relief, smiling at his wife as he answered the question shortly after.

"Meet at my place, I'll let Avery know as soon as possible, you and your friends should leave as well, Val."

"Don't worry about us, I'll be there soon." Valentine sternly responded.

"Got it, thanks again for this, Val."

"Anytime..." Valentine advised as the call soon ended, the Tuxedo cat shoving away the paw that held her tag. "There, happy now?"

"Lass, I'm rarely happy." Gideon scrunched his eyes as he looked back at the cat. "And, now? You're little buddy Hendrix already wants to break the deal we had?!" The Wolfhound yelled as he toppled the Cat over in her restraints.

"Hey, hey! Val, come on, stay with us now!" One of the other cat's begged as Gideon turned his head to face him.

"You're lucky I need to head back, I would've had fun dealing with you cunts." Gideon eyed Piper, "Make sure they suffer, you got it? I gotta call this in to Sean."

<><><><>

"Calm down, Gideon!" The sudden sound of the Irish's voice sent the pup falling over his chair.

"Dammit..." Rocky grunted in pain as he heard yelling through the earpiece he was just wearing moments ago. "No, no, no..." The Eco-pup couldn't afford to mess things up now.

"Ah shite, mate, what the hell happened?" Decker came running in, quickly helping Rocky fix up the wiretap and clear up the audio.

After some static, the audio started to come out clear to the two dogs. "—That's the second time I walked in here and you tried getting your member wet with some trash! Quit fucking about and get your sorry ass down to Hendrix's place! The group of cats we captured squealed, said that Hendrix tried pulling one over on us. Get some dogs and head down there, now!" Sean yelled as Decker and Rocky heard Maurice collide with something in the background. "You come back empty-pawed and I'll make sure you'll never get to 'entertain' yourself ever again!"

Decker saved the recording on the wiretap and nodded at Rocky to follow him, with the eco-pup calling out to everyone to rally them up. "Alright, mates, things are kicking into high gear again. Skye, Rubble, you're with me."

The two pups nodded as they went to grab their gear, with one of the other pups asking Decker a question. "What about us?"

Decker strapped on his gear as he gave the pup a quick response. "Stay here and be ready just in case things go south, if it does, call Rich and tell them to investigate the Remington's."

"Got it, be safe out there, all of you." Rocky shared a worried look to the trio as they geared up.

"We got it, mate, keep your ear on that wiretap while we're gone too!" Decker advised as the trio made their way out of the safe house and towards the High-End District to prevent anything drastic from happening to the Remingtons.

<><><><>