Paws For Effect Ch 12

Chapter 12 -- No Country For Old Dogs

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"Ready?" Chris asked Max, who nodded; steely determination in his eyes. The pair had mapped out their game plan at the station. It was just the two of them; they had been unable to convince the chief or any of the other members of the force to join them. In fact, they had lost count of the amount of jeers and laughs that had been thrown their way. It was also decided it was safer not to bring all the other human dogs with them. They would wait in the park until Max's return. If he didn't, they'd end up stray dogs. Max didn't linger too much on that thought.

After extensively discussing the compound, security, guards, dogs, what they would do once they were inside, their planned route inside the maze of a building, and what Xander looked like, they had driven out to the cartel's location under the dead of night and had staked out until the rotation of guards. They had cut a hole in the wire fence and were waiting in the shadows for the guards to change.

"Ok, let's go," Chris hopped up, unscrewed a vent using a small drill. He propped it open, letting Max leap in before he crawled in himself. He let the vent cover down gently so it was back in its original position, which would avoid any suspicion from the unknowing eye.

The pair crawled through the network of vents, being careful not to make too much noise or fall through any of the air ducts. They had studied the building's blueprint by hacking into the files of the original construction company that had developed the site. With the general location of the building known, it had been easy to triangulate the specific building and access the details they needed.

They just had to get as close to where Max believed Xander was hiding out. On and on they crawled through the metal vents. Max's limbs were getting tired. He wasn't used to exerting his dog muscles in this position. Heck, even Chris was feeling the cramped space getting to him.

Max took one last turn and stopped above an air duct. He nodded his head and turned around, looking at Chris.

"Yes, that should be it," Chris whispered. They had carefully planned their route and if Max's deductions were correct then they were above Xander's hiding place within the compound. It was just a matter of jumping down and taking the ring leader by force.

Max breathed deeply. This was it. The moment of truth. His time to bring down Xander and finally bring this awful saga to an end. He counted to three in his head and beat his paws onto the air duct, busting it open and leaping down into the room. Chris quickly jumped down after him.

"Alright, hands up-" Chris yelled, pointing a gun around before he had had a chance to take in his surroundings.

The pair looked around in confusion. They were standing in what looked to be supply room. It was filled with cleaning equipment: mops, brushes, large plastic tubs with "bleach" or "cleaning agent" written on them.

Chris lowered his gun. "We must be in the wrong place."

Max looked up at him, an eyebrow raised -- well, where his eyebrow would've been had he not been a dog. No shit, his expression said.

"Don't give me that look. You know what I mean. We mapped it out, this should've been where Xander was camping out," Chris said in an animated whisper.

Max grumbled, holding in bark so as not to draw any attention to the supply room. Who knew what was on the other side of the door. They had thought that they would be looking Xander in the eyes right now. Instead, they had no idea where they were. A feeling of disorientation by the sudden loss of direction fell on them.

"What do we do?" Chris asked.

Max sighed and pointed his snout towards the door. They had little choice. They could be stepping out into a bunch of guards, or a bunch of dogs, who knew? But they were lost and climbing back into the vents when they had no sense of direction would only get them more lost.

"Ok, let's go," Chris held up his gun again, walking to the door. Max was on guard too, readying his hind legs to pounce and his teeth bared should he need to attack.

Chris tried the door -- unlocked. He turned the knob and swung it open to an empty hallway. He looked both ways, it was all clear.

The pair heaved a sigh of relief but remained on their heels as they made their way out. They stalked down the pristine white hallways -- Chris quietly treading in his leather boots, Max padding lightly beside him on all fours. They were an unlikely looking pair for anyone not in the know, but their years of experience made them fall into line beside each other, both on the look-out for anyone ahead or behind them, both protecting the other.

Max remembered the familiar sheen look of the compound. He shivered, not from the cold but from being back here. It was a place of bad memories. It was hard to believe he was back here, let alone the fact that he had volunteered to come back here, and had actually broken his way back into the place he had escaped from.

But it didn't matter; he shook his head. He knew why he was here. He couldn't shy away from the unpleasantness or get scared now. He was a detective, or used to be anyway. He was meant to put himself on the line for the greater good. It was a risk, of course. A risk he knew the chief always reprimanded Chris and him for. But, it was all part of finally bringing down Xander and the cartel. Plus, there was a personal aspect to it too. He wanted to be himself again. He wanted to stand on two feet, shake hands with Chris about a job well done. He wanted to hug and kiss Thiago again. Yes, this mission was personal, and he wouldn't fail.

Max let those thoughts push him forward and motivate him. There was no time to be frightened and act like a cowardly old dog. Chris and he turned corners and passed empty rooms. They hadn't spotted anyone. It was eerily quiet. Max was about to give a concerned growl to Chris that something didn't feel right when he heard a click behind them.

"Don't move," a voice ordered.