It took Creed a while to assess Rou and decide she’d be happiest with a job to perform, rather than simply being a beloved family member who goofed off in the backyard and went on hiking adventures.
Sweet little princess that she was, her soft, concerned eyes stared at a person with compassion—was that the right word? Yeah, there was a nurturing quality about Rou. Like when Auralia had her monthly cramps, Rou would always jump onto the bed or couch and, landing lightly, she’d use soft paws as she moved up to curl up against Auralia’s stomach. Warm and kind, lying there very still, Auralia could nap comfortably.
Rou had the same presence that Creed felt around his mémère, his mother’s mother. Mémère had a deep caring for her loved ones, but made no attempt to fix a mood—witness a mood,hold space for a mood, sure. But it was a rare man or beast who had the fortitude to sit with someone’s discomfort as a buttress instead of a remedy.
When Creed had his days made dark with remembrances, he liked Rou’s quiet company.
Yes, Rou had a sixth sense, going where needed and doing what was required.
And while she was a softy, she was as brave as the tactical Malinois and German shepherds on the team, training alongside them. Her K9 teammates - massive war dogs - treated her as one of them. But at eighteen months, the Cerberus K9s clearly saw Rou as the puppy she was, and they took on an important role in guiding and training her.
Of course, Rou’s task list didn’t include tactical takedowns; she was purely a sniffer dog—explosives, human live find, and human remains.
Like the German shepherd and Malinois, did Rou train to jump out of helicopters and dangle from a harness on Creed’s backpack? Absolutely. Team Charlie’s job was to go into areas devastated by natural disasters and man-made events like the explosion in Lebanon that trapped Remi. Under those circumstances, with blocked roads and hazardous terrain, often the only way in was by air.
Did Rou love parachuting?
She put up with it.
What she didn’t like was the sound of helicopters.
So Cerberus fitted her with doggy noise-canceling headphones. Problem solved.
Rou loved to wear her badass tactical gear. When she was dressed out, Rou would swagger about, even if it was just a working dog vest like the one Creed was pulling from his day pack.
Creed crouched beside Rou as he snapped her vest into place, adjusting it so that the Iniquus patch and “Working K9 Do Not Touch or Distract” patch were properly in place. This tactical vest would protect against most stab strikes, but would do nothing about gunshots.
Of course, there was no reason to expect that today, other than a delivery of bullet-resistant vests to Auralia at the bed and breakfast last night.
Though Creed still wanted to check in with Gator about the why of that gift, it made some sense that it was a joke referencing the brouhaha that happened in this very dell after Auralia opened the Price-Morrison can of worms. Once the Marines had escorted Auralia and Doli to safety, there were a few skirmishes in the dell that had landed folks in the hospital.
This property was part of a retreat owned by a corporation that rented the outdoor amphitheater space for local events. Concerned that Morrison was expected on the stage today, the corporation that owned the property reached out to Iniquus.
That corporation had an ongoing Iniquus security contract. However, since no part of that contract included crowd control, Iniquus was asked to be a presence that day but was instructed to remain hands-off with the people.
The Strike Force team was basically at the event to convey a sense of decorum.
They were window dressing.
Easy day.
Responsibility for the attendees, along with newly elected Representative Braxton and the long-standing Mayor Early, both of whom were slated to speak, landed squarely on the shoulders of the sheriff’s department.
It didn’t look like the sheriff felt there was a significant threat, because she only sent two deputies to an event that was anticipated to have a three-hundred-headcount.
Creed observed that both attending deputies seemed to have reached the point in their careers where they didn’t really give a crap—not about their own bodies and health, and not about their public duties. Right now, they could be found lounging against the oak tree, gabbing it up. But what did Creed know? Maybe they’d been here for hours, readying the site and making their plans, and this was their coffee break before the flocks landed.
Or maybe they’d decided they could lean on both the tree and on the team from Iniquus.
Rou was here to practice working in a crowd and building her attention span as she sniffed the eventgoers as they passed by the sheriff’s deputies checking bags.
There was a big sign out front that told folks to leave their weapons locked in their cars; this was a weapons-free site.
Rou stuck out her pink tongue as she watched Auralia walking toward them. The closer she got, the more Rou wriggled and squirmed.
Creed reached out and rubbed Rou’s ear between his thumb and fingers the way she liked.
She was velvety soft on her ears, and the action slowed Creed’s breathing and quieted the blood thrumming through his veins.
