Guns And Dogs (25 page)

If Reynolds was impressed by the unorthodox AL technology, he didn’t show it. “Alright, so what are they doing now?”

“They’re inside the library,” Johnny said as he looked at his scanner, which was tracking Bloodboy’s heat signature. The holographic dogs had been deactivated and both Jessie and Studs had returned. Jessie had suffered a nasty bruise on her muzzle.

“Ohh geez,” Reynolds said. “Better send in a negotiator to stall them, then.” He motioned towards one of his men to locate someone to send to the library.

“No!” Argos said. “They’re not going to negotiate.” He paused and wondered if this cop had even heard of the Columbine Massacre in 1999. Or any of the other tragic school shootings where the attacker had committed suicide after inflicting a shooting attack. “They’re going there to end their lives.”

“How could you know that?” Reynolds repeated. This time condescendingly.

“Because it’s a recurring theme.” Argos turned towards Johnny. “Anything new to report?”

Johnny shook his head. “No. But I have a plan to get those two out of there.”

Argos wanted them alive too. They could tell them more about Grendis. Perhaps the Lycarian had briefed them on another one of his plans. It was a long shot but worth the gamble.

“You ready to seal the deal?” Bloodboy asked Diablo. His friend nodded. Bloodboy couldn’t tell if his only friend was scared, but that was irrelevant. For the most part they’d failed to inflict maximum causalities. Except for the wounded teacher and the fleeing janitor they’d shot at outside the library, their mission had been a debacle. Now that was irrelevant. Besides, they didn’t want to spend the rest of their lives in prison.

Bloodboy felt his leg tingling again. The pain had numbed, but that too was irrelevant.

“I’m ready,” Diablo replied before dropping his F-2000 and drawing his semiautomatic pistol. “I’ve been ready for this day since we met Grendis.”

“Piss on Grendis,” Bloodboy said. “He never gave a rat’s fart about us, only wanted to use us to get to Edward Castle.” He paused for a moment and drew his own handgun.

Before they could carry out their plan, they heard a loud noise. It sounded like a jet engine. The library shook violently before one of the windows to their right exploded, sending shards of glass flying. The force from the explosion hurled Bloodboy and Diablo backwards. They were dazed for a few moments and couldn’t see Johnny Veto crawling off the hood of a flying 1968 Camaro and leaping into the library. Bloodboy looked around in the dusty library and heard a crunching sound as if someone was walking on broken glass; next to him, Diablo was still unconscious. A large shaft of light had spilled through a section of the library where a huge chunk of the wall had blown out. He heard a loud humming noise coming from a flying Camaro hovering outside the collapsed wall. It looked like the same one he had seen in the school parking lot. Was he hallucinating?

He also saw the same two dogs that had bitten him earlier. They growled at him again before he spat out a string of bloody spit which slithered down his chin. He tightened his grip on his handgun and was about to place it under his jaw when someone kicked it out of his hand.

Bloodboy looked up and saw a young man standing above him. For a moment he thought he’d recognized his face from somewhere. “You really shouldn’t be doing things like that,” he said. “Life is precious.”

“What do you know of my pain?” Bloodboy said. He felt like a loser. First for what he and Diablo had to endure at this school, then failing in their mission. He couldn’t even snuff himself with a gun pointed under his chin.

The young man looked at him solemnly. “Trust me, I know,” he said. “I know.”

Inside his scout ship, Grendis’ agendum lay in ruins.

From Earth’s orbit, he watched and waited for updates from his teenage charges from across the globe. None came. Meanwhile, Crewt’s fleet closed in on Earth. In one-half hour, the Fleet Marshal would hail him for a final pre-attack update. How could he tell his superior he had failed while so close to victory? Grendis thought hard. This whole mission had suffered multiple setbacks. First Mentis, then Tir Morol, and now this. If he did not find and eliminate Edward Castle, he would be executed himself. Worse, his family would bear his disgrace for three generations. He sat inside his craft and fought down a rush of panic that threatened to engulf him. He had one last chance to redeem himself. Before any chance of glory extinguished for good.

He checked his tracking sensors for any information that could help pinpoint Edward Castle’s location. When he found what he sought, Grendis set a course for Arizona.

Johnny grimaced. “What do you mean the timeline isn’t fixed?”

Patrice’s voice spoke through his transmitter. “That’s what I’m trying to tell you, Johnny. TimeBoss says Edward Castle never becomes President.”

“But we got the two shooters,” Johnny replied, watching the two boys, Bloodboy and Diablo being loaded into a Police Prisoner Transport by members of the SWAT team. “Unless, there’s another sleeper agent nearby.” That thought made him feel like he’d swallowed a large rock.

“I’ll keep checking,” Patrice replied. “The timelines are erratic; but if anything comes up I’ll contact you. And if you need to reach me, text me.”

Argos was nearby and had caught the bulk of the conversation. “We’d better locate Edward Castle now. Have Patrice hack into the school’s database and get back to me which class Edward Castle would be in now.”

Johnny sent a priority text to Patrice’s phone. “We’re coming too,” he added. Both Jessie and Studs eyed Argos while wagging their tails alertly.

“I appreciate the backup. But we don’t want to spook the sleeper agent, if that’s who is assigned to take out Castle.” He paused a moment. “Besides, I need you to stay in touch with Patrice and relay me any relevant information should an exorbitant timeline shift occur.”

Johnny looked at him and nodded. “Be careful, Argos.”

His friend smiled. “Aren’t I always?”

Grendis landed his scout craft behind a thick copse of trees near a strange playing field with white markings. He grabbed his scanner and programmed it to alert him when he was near Edward Castle. The device would use the boy’s image on file to guide Grendis towards him.

Time was of the essence. He couldn’t risk waiting for Castle to be alone before killing him. He would have to shoot him point blank and take his chances of being seen in broad daylight. Besides, if he were successful executing his plan he wouldn’t have to worry about getting caught—Earth’s future would be irrevocably damaged.

In the distance, he could see the high school’s redbrick buildings. Groups of students were leaving and funneling into groups on another playing field. He picked up his pace and ran towards them.

Argos had little time to waste, the future of his planet depended on it. Pushing the menacing image of the invading Lycarian space fleet aside, he circled the school and found a group of teachers organizing students into groups on a soccer field. He checked his scanner’s display. Johnny had forwarded him more information, via Patrice, on Edward Castle. The boy was in band class taught by a Mr. Wellington. He ran up to one of the female teachers who was herding a line of students away from the school. “Where can I find Mr. Wellington’s class?” he asked. “I’m with a Government agency, here to ensure student safety.” He flashed his AL badge quickly before she could get a close look.

The woman stopped directing traffic and looked at him strangely. “What’s this all about? Can’t you see I’m busy?” she said condescendingly.

Argos couldn’t believe her tone. He grabbed her by the shoulders. “There’s another shooter out there lady, and If I don’t get to Edward Castle first he and possibly other students will be killed.”

The female teacher looked like she was about to vomit before collecting her composure. “Over there,” she said, pointing towards a group of bleachers overlooking the football field. “They’ll be the first group on the other side of those bleachers.”

Argos ran while she was mid-sentence.

Grendis madly waved his scanner in front of every student he came across. They eyed him strangely as he cut through, shoving his way through their clustered numbers.

A tall male teacher with a scraggly beard intercepted him and put a hand on Grendis’ arm. “What do you think you’re doing, buddy? You’re not a teacher.”

Grendis head-butted the man like a ram, sending the teacher sprawling backward, knocking him unconscious. Some of the students looked at him as if he’d gone crazy. He waved his scanner at the two closest to him and his pulse quickened when his scanner began beeping wildly.

He had found Edward Castle.

Argos’ scanning device picked up a Lycarian life signature and he turned into a square formation of students where the reading was coming from. He apologized loudly as he worked his way through the students. Then he saw a man lying on the ground, his forehead split open and bleeding while two students were knelt next to him, one cradling his head.

A small clearing had formed where another man waved a scanner wildly at a small group of bewildered students. Argos knew that scanner wasn’t standard issue from any known Earth agency.

It was the Lycarian. He was reaching for his weapon when Argos barreled into him and slammed him to the ground. He began pummeling Grendis’ disguised human face. Punches that would create cuts in any other person’s face failed to appear on Grendis. He threw Argos off, as if he weighed nothing, and snarled. In the commotion, Grendis had dropped his weapon. As Argos lunged for it, Grendis elbowed him in the nose and grabbed his wrists.

Argos felt his nose ripple with a burning sensation, but he was still in the fight. Grendis was stronger than he was, but Argos had utilized the element of surprise against his foe. They continued grappling with one another before a young boy leapt on top of Grendis’ back and punched him in the side of the face.

Grendis howled in pain. Some of the students backed away as the three participants struggled for supremacy. The boy kept pounding at Grendis and with the momentum gained from his unexpected ally Argos managed to break free of Grendis’ grip and drew his own weapon. He fired it point blank into Grendis’ chest. It was set for stun and Grendis shook it off. Argos fired another round and it phased Grendis again who hurled a fist at Argos and knocked the AL agent to the ground. Argos kept his grip on his weapon and set it for heavy stun. He fired another salvo at Grendis, who collapsed.

Most of the students had cleared away from the fight, and Argos didn’t like the fact that he had used a classified weapon in front of a large crowd. Its use in public was bound to create rumors that would spread like wildfire. But with time, those rumors would be chalked up as another conspiracy theory, and pass into urban legend.

He looked at the young man who would one day become President. “Thanks for the assistance, Son.”

“That guy was one helluva fighter. Wasn’t he?” the young man said. “But I’ve been getting boxing lessons after school. I may become a prize fighter.”

Intrigued by this teen’s personality Argos smiled. “What’s your name son?”

The young man extended his hand and Argos shook it. “I’m Edward Castle, but most of the kids call me Eddie.”

Argos chuckled. “Eddie, I think you’ve got quite a bright future ahead of you.”

“You think so, huh?”

Argos nodded. “Young man, I
know
so.”

Once Grendis was in custody, Director Mitchell convinced the Pentagon that Penal One was not the place for the Lycarian. The decision was met with harsh criticism but having worked alongside Mitchell for many years, Argos Better knew his boss had a chicanery plan in store to use against the Lycarians. Grendis remained inside AL headquarters under heavy guard until further notice. Now all they could do was wait for the Lycarian fleet to arrive.

Taking a break inside the cafeteria, Argos drank his coffee, and Johnny sipped on an energy drink, while Jessie and Studs were resting peacefully next to a vending machine. That was when Johnny popped Argos the question: “You never told me the rest of the story. I know it must be painful for you but I’d like to know the rest of it.”

Argos shook his head solemnly. “Yes, I suppose I owe you the rest of the tale, don’t I partner?” He sighed. “Well we’d left off right after poor Rusty had given his life to save Murdoc in the hangar fire. Well this is what happened next.”

After Rusty’s burial, Argos felt like a ship without a rudder, drifting listlessly across a vast sea of uncertainty, and had asked for a leave of absence from AL. One day Scott visited him and Randal at the kennel.

“I know how much Rusty meant to you,” Scott said, staring at Argos whose head rested against his arms atop his desk, “but you can’t torture yourself. We really need you back at AL. Everyone’s been asking me when you’re coming back.”

“Thanks Scott,” Argos said, “but me and my pop have had this same conversation at least a dozen times.” In the background, Randal nodded at Scott while he looked over some of the emails Better Kennels had been receiving from potential customers.

It was at that moment Jessie and Studs padded into the room. As soon as they saw Scott they barked playfully at him and he kneeled and patted each dog’s head lovingly. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen these guys before.”

“Those puppies are Rusty and Mandy’s,” Randal said proudly. “She had a bunch of winners two week ago, but that pair are the pick of the litter.”

Scott smiled and turned towards the dolorous Argos. “What if I told you that we could keep Rusty’s spirit alive during our AL missions?”

Argos slowly lifted his head from his desk and shot Scott a disconcerted glance. “What do you mean?”

Scott smiled. “What if we brought these two pups onboard? Have them trained like Rusty and made ‘em a part of the team. We’d be keeping Rusty’s memory alive. And this pair look like they’re up for the challenge.”