Chapter 2 - A Command from the Dead
Brooks caught Viper's trailing leash before the dog reached the moving truck. The animal fought him, not to attack a person but to get to the covered cargo bed.
"He isn't being aggressive," Marcus said. "He's alerting."
Holt snapped, "You got a degree in dog behavior, civilian?"
"No. I trained him for three years."
The words froze the group. Captain Lena Ortiz, who supervised the K9 unit, stepped out of the crowd. "Your name?"
"Marcus Vance. Former Staff Sergeant. His first handler."
Brooks looked from Marcus to Viper. "They said his first handler abandoned him."
Marcus felt that land harder than any punch. "Who said that?"
Ortiz glanced at the truck. "Answer later. Brooks, hold him. Driver, engine off."
The driver hesitated. His company badge read NORTHGATE DEFENSE. Behind the windshield sat another man in a pressed shirt, talking urgently into his phone.
Viper pawed the ground three times. Marcus's stomach turned. Three taps meant a concealed threat. He had taught Viper that signal when the dog was young enough to chew through combat boots.
"Nobody goes near that cargo," Marcus said.
The man in the pressed shirt climbed out. "This equipment was cleared yesterday. You're delaying a federal evaluation."
"And you're standing inside my safety perimeter," Ortiz replied. She ordered everyone behind the painted line and called the explosives team.
Viper stopped fighting only when Marcus touched his shoulder. Brooks stared at them. "He hasn't let anyone do that without a command. Not once."
Marcus bent toward the Shepherd. "Good boy. I heard you."
The dog kept his eyes on the truck. Marcus noticed a strip of red tape on its rear latch, wrapped in the shape of a crooked X.
He had seen that X on another cargo truck, on another day, beneath a white-hot sky. It belonged to the convoy that killed his best friend.
"Captain," Marcus said, his mouth suddenly dry, "who approved this shipment?"
May you like
Before Ortiz could answer, the man in the pressed shirt smiled without warmth.
"Colonel Rusk," he said. "And he remembers you."
