School for Assassins: Missions Uncovered - On Hold

Chapter 7: Puppies

                  

Well, the format didn't copy over from my document, so hopefully this chapter isn't difficult to read.

This chapter isn't overly exciting, but I needed to finish this chapter before I could start on a Christmas special.

Above is a picture of the puppy. This chapter was inspired by my new puppy, Hydra. She's a 6 month old, 25 lb black lab mix.

Ely:

            I opened the door on the large, red barn. I turned to wave at Shawn as he watched me step into the building. The inside was heated, and aside from an office with glass walls and a small bathroom on the right, there were a couple of small stalls on the wall to the left and the rest of the area was open. The floor was was dirt, and I rubbed my nose lightly, hoping to get rid of the earthy smell.

            A woman stepped out of the office. Her graying hair went just past her shoulders. She was a bigger lady, and she looked fairly friendly as she walked over to me. "Can I help you?" She asked expectantly. I bit my lip, suddenly finding myself at a loss for words. "Are you my new helper?" She asked. She must have realized I wasn't sure how to respond. I nodded mutely and she smiled at me. "Great! My name is Cheryl. You must be Ely. I've been expecting you." She led me into her office. "Have a seat, and I'll go over your duties."

            I perched myself on the edge of the chair and watched as she stepped around the large desk. She thumbed through some paperwork and said, "Alright, I think I'm going to assign you a puppy to train. The only training the puppy will receive will be either from you or me, so you're expected to come here a couple of times a day. Once your dog is full grown, you'll be allowed to take him or her home with you and you'll be included in the search and rescue roster." She glanced at me over her glasses to make sure I was paying attention. At my nod, she stood up, "Good. Anything else, I'll teach you on the job. Let me show you the puppies we have. Since you're the first person to report for duty, you'll get to pick any of the puppies you want."

            I was a little worried about the responsibility this job would require, but I was excited about the prospect of my own puppy.

            Cheryl led me across the barn and towards the individual stalls. "We have these puppies, or..." She pointed out some all black puppies and then led me to the next stall where there were a couple of smaller pups. "These ones."

            I studied the puppies for a few moments, but my eyes kept drifting back to the other stall, "I think I like the black ones... May I choose one of those?" She gave me a small smile, as if expecting me to say that, and then unlatched the stall they were in.

            "You're welcome to stay in there with them until you've made your choice." She said. She started to walk away before adding, "Bring the puppy to the office when you've made your decision."

            I nodded and turned to look at the puppies. All five were black, and most of them had a huge white patch on their chest. One puppy sat at the back of the stall, it's dark eyes watching me curiously. A couple puppies jumped up and put their paws on me, so I reached down to scratch their ears as I regarded the puppy at the back of the stall. It's chest was almost a solid black with just a small, white patch in the shape of an arrowhead. It had a smidgen of white on its chin as well.

As I moved closer to the puppy, it stood up and I could clearly see that it was a she. "Hey, Girl." I murmured softly as I stretched out my fingers to touch her. She trotted over and delicately sniffed at my fingers before licking them. She seemed to be the smallest puppy in the litter, but she was still a decent size. Her head reached a little above mid-calf on me. For whatever reason, I decided I wanted this puppy. I smiled at her and scritched behind her ears for a few moments as she pushed her head against my legs.

I picked her up gently and headed for the gate. All the other puppies followed me, and I was surprised that they all seemed to understand me when I told them to stay before exiting the stall. I carried the puppy to the office, wishing she wasn't quite so heavy. Cheryl opened the door for me and smiled. "Go ahead and put her down. She's welcome to roam around in here while we fill out the paperwork."

The puppy wasn't insanely heavy, but she was awkward to hold and I was grateful to set her down on the ground. I gave her a small pat on the head as I moved to a chair at the desk. Cheryl opened a drawer and looked through a couple of files before pulling one out and handing it to me. "Does she have a name?" I asked as I flipped through the papers.

Cheryl shrugged, "I've named them, but you aren't obligated to keep the name I've chosen for her." She explained. I sat silently for a moment and she added, "Her name is Hydra. She's the only lab puppy that I've had to work through a fear of water with..."

I tilted my head slightly as I regarded the puppy. As far as names went, I kind of liked it. "I'll stick with the name."

Cheryl gave me a small nod and sat in her chair to rifle through another drawer. She handed me a pen. "Here. Fill out this paperwork. Once you're done, I'll show you a few training things that I've been working on with her, and I'll allow you to take her to your room for a couple of hours." She wanted Hydra to meet my boys? I wasn't sure why, since I was the one who'd be spending my time with her. My confusion must have shown on my face, because she added, "Eventually, she'll be staying in your apartment. I want her to get to know everyone on your team so that she isn't nervous around them."

            Oh. That made sense. I simply nodded and went to work filling out answers.

                                                            ~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~

            An hour later, I stepped into the apartment holding Hydra's leash. I heard something heavy hit the wall as Dominic called out, "For fuck's sake, J! You're injured, not fucking dying! I'm not your maid, and I'm not going to fucking get you a bag of marshmallows!"

            Marshmallows? What on earth was going on here? I shed my jacket and hung it up in the coat closet before venturing further into the living quarters. "But I'm bored!" Jordan's reply came back. He wasn't yelling, but he was still talking loudly.

            I clicked my tongue at Hydra to get her attention, and then headed for the bedroom. "God Damnit, J! You're going to have to explain why there are holes in the walls and ceiling when Shawn gets back."

            I stepped into the bedroom hesitantly, just in time to see Jordan throw something across the room. It stuck in the wall next to the door with a small twang and I glanced at it. "Darts? Really?"

            Jordan made a face at me and muttered, "I'm so bored, Ely! Come entertain me."

            "Not if it involves throwing darts at my head, J." I turned to pluck the dart out of the wall.

            Dominic glanced down at my feet. "I knew you were required to work with the dogs... but are you supposed to bring work home with you?" He asked.

            "Oh. Meet Hydra. I'm training her, so I'm supposed to hang out with her up here for a bit." I casually dropped the leash and Hydra trotted over to Dominic.

            Jordan sat up carefully to get a better look at the puppy and groaned. Dominic shot him a look. "You weren't this big of a baby after you got stabbed yesterday."

            Jordan grunted, "I think I was running high on adrenaline. The pain meds aren't doing anything but making me tired."

            Dominic opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, Shawn strode into the room, "Then maybe you should attempt to take a nap and let Dom go do his assignment." He glanced at the dart in my hand and then at the puppy who was wiggling and squirming around Dominic. "And J... as soon as you're cleared for work again, you're filling all the holes in the walls."

            Jordan groaned, "But..."

            Shawn glared at him, "You made the holes, you fill the holes. I'm going to take a shower, and then we'll do lunch." He sauntered out of the room and down the hallway.