Paws for Effect -

Chapter 13 -- The Better to Smell You With, My Dear

*****

Max and Chris slowly turned around. Standing in front of them were two armed guards with three guard dogs, bearing their sharp teeth and growly.

"Couldn't stay away, detective?" One of the guards laughed acidly. He must've recognised Max. "And you brought your partner," he glared at Chris. "Well, you've done us a favour. We were planning on hunting you down to put an end to your little investigation of our operation, but you've come to us so we can just take care of business here."

"Where's Xander?" Chris asked, his gun pointed towards the men, keeping it steady in between both so both were in his eye-line. Max stood tense at his partner's feet, keeping his eyes on the other dogs and was ready to pounce should any of them attack.

The guards laughed. "Yeah, like we're going to tell you," the other one chuckled. "Now, why don't you come quietly with us and we won't beat you senseless. If you're a good boy we might turn you into a pretty breed of dog like a poodle or something," he laughed.

Max growled at the guard's threat of turning his partner into a dog.

"Easy, boy," one of the guards warned. "We've got three vicious dogs here. Once I give the go ahead, they'll be mauling on your flesh. So be a good doggy and settle down."

Max quietened down, but didn't get complacent. Anything could happen in a split second. He swallowed his pride at being called a "good doggy". He had to remember his training and not see red from the smallest infractions or insults. It was tough given his current situation, but his own safety and that of Chris depended on not getting too headstrong or losing the run of their emotions.

"Now, as I was saying, come with us and no one gets hurt," the first guard explained, his voice measured.

"Tell us where Xander is. You can walk away from here, unscathed. You don't need to be in this mess when it goes down. This is your out. You don't need to be dealing with the cartel anymore. Just give us the location of Xander."

"You really think you're going to bring us down? He's a cocky mother-fucker," the second guard turned to the first. "There's nothing going to stop us. Not some two-bit detective, not your doggy friend there, not the police, nothing," he spat.

The tension in the corridor was building. Max could feel the heat radiating from Chris. He could see the same was true of the two guards, their foreheads sweaty. Even the three dogs were growing restless, uneasy with the interaction that was going on between the men. Everyone wanted to avoid a showdown, but no one was willing to stand down. There was only one party walking away from this. Max only hoped it was Chris and him.

"We're getting impatient. Move it or this is gonna get dirty," one of the men yelled.

"I'm afraid we can't do that," Chris was firm.

"Well then, you've made your choice. We're gonna have to do this the hard way. Boys," and with that the man whistled, setting the dogs off as they tore forward. The men fired at Max and Chris.

Max and Chris dodged the bullets, hiding behind an inlet to a room. The bullets ricocheted off the walls, flying past.

There wasn't much time to relax as the three dogs approached. Chris leaned around the corner and fired tasers at the dogs, hitting two. They dropped to the ground, shaking before becoming paralysed. The third dog rushed towards then and collided with Max, barking and lunging for the jugular. Max tussled with the other dog, flighting off the chomping jaw that was trying to sink its teeth into his flesh. They rolled around each other, a tangle of fur and gnashing teeth and claws. The other men stopped firing, afraid of hitting their dog.

The barks and growls were harsh, filling the corridor with painful sounds. Chris tried to take aim of the other dog but he was afraid of hitting Max. It was tough seeing his partner fighting it out. As powerful and aggressive as Max was fighting off the other dog, he still made Chris anxious. The tussle was pure physicality. A fist fight between men was one thing. The blunt force of a punch could do damage, sure, but when there were sharp claws and even sharper teeth and fangs, it made the situation even more violent. Chris had often seen Max in a physical altercation when they were on a case. He'd been able to hold his own. As a dog though, it seemed so unpredictable.

On and on the dogs grappled, trying to one up the other. That was until Max found his way on top of the other dog, pressing his weight down. He chomped into the other dog's side, causing it to yelp and grow still in pain. That gave Chris the chance to shoot a taser at the dog and in the ensuing silence he quickly turned and tasered the two men, who stood in shock at the altercation, before they had had a chance to raise their guns in retaliation. They both fell to the ground, shaking and paralysed.

Chris turned to Max, lowering his gun. He breathed a sigh of relief as his partner trotted over, brushing against his leg. "Well, done, buddy," he patted Max's head.

Max panted, his tongue lolling as he tried to regain his breath and energy after his physical fight. It had really taken it out of him. Exerting his dog muscles like that for the first time was exhausting. Plus, he was mentally shaken from nearly having his ass handed to him on a plate by the other dog.

"Time to call for back up. Now that we're in and have proof of what's going on, they'll have to come," Chris took photos and pictures of the corridor, the guards and dogs lying on the ground. Then he called into the station and told them to have squads of men come to their exact location. They'd come, but would they arrive in time before Xander or any of his men noticed they'd broken in?

As if to answer their question, an alarm went off, ringing throughout the compound.

"Shit," Chris looked at Max. "Guess we have to catch Xander before he escapes. But how are we going to find him in this maze?"

Max searched his mind for a solution. Anything that could help. They didn't have time to ponder. Time was of the utmost importance now. Then it hit Max. When he had been caged in the compound, Xander had pet his head multiple times. He'd rubbed his hand all over Max; all that sweat and cologne emitting out of the man's pours, wafting its way up his snout. If he had been a man in that moment, he'd have had no way of coming close to putting that scent to memory. But he was dog, his smell was powerful.

Max closed his eyes, tapping into his deep sense of smell, into the powerful memories he had associated with certain scents. Memories flickered in his mind's eye. The flowers in Thiago and his back garden, the earth of the hole under the wire fence they'd used to escape, Xander's scent! There it was. He set it to memory at the front of his mind and it came alive before him. Xander had walked these hallways recently. His musk lingered faintly in the air but it was there.

Pointing his snout down the corridor, Max barked and started running, following the scent.

"Ok, by your lead," Chris yelled, following his canine partner to locations unknown.