Captain Canine: The First Avenger

Chapter 2

It takes an hour ride in a Range Rover, a four hour flight by helicopter, and another two hour car ride to get to the Factory, stationed in Laredo, Texas, close to the Mexico border. The Factory is a massive warehouse type building, standing at five stories tall and longer than three football fields. Tall five foot windows sit between the first and second floor, and fifteen feet garage doors line the base of the building. The Range Rover lets Hunter, Willow, and her assistant Mr. Coulson at one of the garage doors. With a buzz and crank, the garage door splits down the middle and opens at a snail's pace. Hunter cringes at the noise of the turning and grinding gears. A human employee on the other side is at the door controls. The worker is wearing an orange vest over his green long sleeve shirt and blue jeans and a white hard hat. Hunter saw another worker wearing the same outfit on his way in and assumes it's the standard Factory work attire. A small, white dog with a black patch of fur around his eye walks up next to the human, wearing the dog fit of the same attire, a long sleeve shirt, an orange vest, blue jeans, and a white hard hat. The hard hat on this dog had small slits on its side, allowing the dog's ears to slip through and not be damaged.

Hunter enters the garage to a sight of technological wonderment. The noise of slicing and banging metal, the smell of grease, sparks, and plastic in the air let's one know of the magnitude of what's being created. An unfinished helicopter sits in the middle of the garage with two dogs and a human welding it together.  Hunter finds it interesting how the dogs are using dogpacks, a design similar to his own but more efficient and compact. His packs were bulky and finicky.

"You must be Hunter Ryder." The male human worker holds his clipboard close to his body as he talks, "We got word of your arrival and have set up everything in advance."

"Umm, thank you." Hunter is too distracted by the sight of the dog packs in use. One of the dogs, a female Australian shepherd, finishes welding and barks out a power drill. She moves to the cockpit and begins screwing in bolts.

"What are they using to work around here, the dogs?" Hunter asks.

The worker looks at the dogs at work, "All dog workers here have you, Hunter Ryder, to thank for the packs they use to work alongside their humans. The Factory team caught word of your dog pack device and improved it, and then we distributed it to all our work dogs, at least the ones who talk."

A sense of pride begins swelling up in Hunter's chest. A few years ago, he had been struggling to get his invention recognized throughout the engineering community, and now it has. Still, with this sense of pride comes a sense of guilt. He knows it was Willow who told the UDCFR about his invention. She was the one who gave the Lookout report to the UDCFR. The recognition Hunter craves from the world didn't feel earned. It was as if Willow did the work in giving him a shot while he went off to his dream college. He should thank Willow for all she did for him.

The group walks into the next garage over, revealing an empty garage, clean as a whistle. The floor smells and shines from a recent waxing. The metal walls are white like snow, and the windows are invisible. On the opposite side of the garage door is an office with a window and a door. Through the window, Hunter can see the whole office and how clean and tidy it is. The only furniture in the pale office is a whiteboard on the wall.

"This will be your garage, Hunter." The worker raises one hand towards the garage.

"An entire garage?!" With a large enough space such as a garage, Hunter marvels and wonders about all the creations he can put together.

"It will be your job to keep it as tidy while getting things done. You will also be responsible for the team assigned under you, starting with Walter."

The sound of Willow's voice brings Hunter back into reality. The bull terrier steps forward and nods his head.

"Walter is an inventory manager. He will help you with getting you materials and vehicles we have on site."

Walter doesn't say anything, with a nervous expression. Hunter gets the sense that Walter wants to leave and do his job, which Hunter doesn't mind. He himself is itching to begin manufacturing and inventing.

"When do I begin?"

"This is a repair bay. Your main focus is to repair damaged, faulty, or destroyed resources. Most of the time, we don't have anything needing repairs, so you will spend your free time doing whatever you can to further develop our dog employees of the UDCFR."

Hunter is fine with the setup. He thanks the worker and begins to walk towards the office. The first order of business is to set up his workspace with everything he needs to create.

"When your employee team arrives, I will monitor you as you lead them."

The Doberman stops and turns towards Willow, "You won't be telling me how to lead?"

"The best way to learn is from experience and mistakes."

"And the best way to ruin a first impression."

Willow almost cracks a smile, "Could be. I have faith you won't mess up."

Willow and Mr. Coulson leave without another word. Something mysterious surrounds Willow. Hunter begins to wonder if she even is working for the UDCFR, or is just a good, tough cookie Samaritan. Either way, Hunter will one day find his answers. But even then, it might not be enough to satisfy the strange feelings in his heart for her.

"Make me a list, and I'll get you any supply you need to be ready." Walter says with a light-hearted Russian accent. Hunter tells him what he needs, and Walter heads off, leaving Hunter alone to his ever multiplying and conflicting thoughts.