PAW Patrol: Lockdown

Chapter 4- Crossing Lines

Rocky was placed into Marshall's EMT care for his wounds. There were no severe injuries, but he was riddled with bruises and minor cuts that stung like saltwater on a paper cut. Medically, he was fine, but the scars would haunt him forever. Ryder decided on the spot that Rocky could maybe sit out the next few missions, maybe even take a vacation for a month or two. Skye had given the best report she possibly could and soon retired to her kennel.

As night fell, the rest of the pups made their way to their own havens, wanting to rid of the frightful day. Now it was about two in the morning, and the cool night had blanketed Adventure Bay. There was one dog, however, who couldn't sleep and laid awake with questions and confusion. Chase repeatedly paced around his room, head low to the ground as he struggled to make sense of recent events. He felt responsible for Rocky's trauma, as leader of the team he should've had some sort of say in the ACG's actions. But none of those tactical dogs even took him seriously, let alone Rocky. Who were they? How long would they be here? Chase stopped walking and picked his head up, staring ahead at his wall. Captain Cyrus had mentioned they were not from Adventure Bay, but foreigners from elsewhere coming in. At that moment, he had an idea.

He turned around and went to one of his storage compartments. Pushing aside pup treat wrappers and an empty bowl, he opened the compartment up to reveal piles of old tech. Most of it consisted of dusty wires and outdated electric equipment that didn't do the job anymore, but there was something underneath it all that may just see one more purpose. After gripping the forgotten wires in his teeth and tossing them out, an old Pup Pad was finally revealed.

The Pup Pad currently held by Ryder had many before it. As technology advanced, the handheld would receive updates, or a whole new model itself would be mailed in. Regardless, each replaced Pup Pad was tossed away into the garbage, although this particular one Chase preferred to keep in storage. He flicked the switch, and the screen flicked to life, bathing Chase and his kennel soft light. Many of the apps on the pad were gone, lost after the system transfer, but there was one thing that always remained intact: Calling.

All of the contacts were wiped, but you could still contact other locations across the land by entering an exact code, usually a twelve-digit number. Chase took a deep breath and selected the feature, and was met with a blank white screen where contacts would usually list off. Ignoring the vast emptiness of a disconnected Pup-pad, Chase moved his paw and selected "LIN Call." The abbreviation "LIN" stood for "Lookout Identification Number." The puppy took his time inputting each number, as using the touch screen with paws was rather difficult. Every now and then, crickets would sound out in the night, making his ears flick up. When the full ID was typed, Chase activated the call. The Pup-pad instantly began buzzing away, reawakening its old workings to carry out its new command. His heart began to dip slightly, as Chase took a quick peek out of his kennel. As usual, all the other pups were sound asleep.

Suddenly, a green light flicked on the pad, and the screen buzzed to life with a confused Husky staring through it.

"Who is this?" the dog spoke, "your number is decommissioned, why are you calling me?"

"Everest, it's me," Chase reassured, then waved his paw in front of the screen.

"Chase? I can't see you," Everest tilted her head, "your screen is just black."

The Shepherd raised an eyebrow in confusion, then realized the pad's screen was probably in severe disrepair, "I think my camera is broken,"

"Why are you calling me on a discontinued Pup Pad?"

"Because I need your help," Chase explained, "I need information, and I don't need anyone tracing this call."

"Why would someone trace our call?" Everest's ears went back,