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.
