“You didn’t the other nights you slept with me. Why should this be any different? But you should do what you want, not what you think I want.” God, this was getting harder and harder. He felt like he was navigating a minefield… of a sort.
“Then I stay,” Bazel whispered, and Atlas sighed. This was perfect, and with those few words the minefield ahead of him vanished as if it were an illusion in the fog.
“I’m happy,” Atlas told him quietly, and Bazel shifted closer, sliding a hand across Atlas’s chest. It was so nice to be held and cared for. To have someone be gentle with him. His life tended to be filled with roughness and demands for performance. So to have Bazel just accept him for who he was and to show him simple kindness sent Atlas’s heart soaring with a single simple touch.
“I KNOW YOU’REready, Evie,” Atlas said in his freshly pressed uniform as he got Evie out of the car on her leash. There were other dogs in cages at the training center, some barking, but Evie watched him and didn’t react to them.
A large fenced area had been set up for the training, which was normal for this kind of exercise. They were dealing withaggression here, and sometimes even the most well-trained dog could be unpredictable, so it was best to keep this type of action confined to a specific area. A lot of people liked to think that these dogs were so conditioned that they were perfect and always did what they were told. But no animal was that well trained. They were dogs, after all, not robots, with their own personalities and their own faults, just like everyone else.
Another officer was running through training, and Atlas watched as a man in a padded suit stood at one end of the area while the dog raced across the open space, jumping and taking down the man in a few seconds. The German Shepherd continued attacking, and Atlas knew the instant things went wrong. The handler called the dog back, but he didn’t stop. It wasn’t until he was pulled away that he settled down once more and the man in the suit got himself up off the ground. Only when the dog was secured did he finally remove his head protection.
“Over-aggression isn’t going to help anyone,” a woman snapped from the sidelines. Atlas hadn’t seen her before but knew her reputation from one of his colleagues. What shocked him was how she kept talking to a man next to her, like she was carrying on two conversations at the same time.
She had them run though some other training exercises, and then they exited the training area, the woman in charge again talking to the man next to her.
“We’re ready for you,” Greg, the man in the suit, said, the headgear still off. Atlas had spent time in that suit when he and Evie had done some initial training for the K-9 unit, so he knew how hot and uncomfortable it was.
Atlas waited until the overly aggressive dog was out of the training area and back inside before they entered. He closed the gate, then spent a few minutes on some basic commands and responses. He wanted to make sure that Evie was tuned into him and listening for him. She usually was, but this type of situationwas where he needed to be sure she was a hundred and ten percent clued in on him. Once he was satisfied, Atlas got Evie into position, and the man put on the protective headgear. Then Atlas gave the take down command, and Evie tore off across the area before leaping at the man, throwing all her ninety pounds of momentum against him. The man went down, with Evie latched onto his arm with her teeth. It was just as they had trained it.
“Evie, back off,” he said firmly, and she let go and backed away just as she should have. But damn, she kept the padded man in sight in case he made a move at them. “Come.” Evie trotted over and sat next to him. “That was amazing. Good girl.” He praised her fully before they moved on with the training exercises, which were not just designed to test the dog’s skills, but to help hone them and make sure they stayed sharp as a team. Then they went through some additional attack scenarios with the “victim.”
“Where is the instructor I’ve heard about?” Atlas asked while conferring. “Why isn’t she directing the session?”
All Greg did was shrug. They had worked together a number of times before, and Greg knew his stuff, but he wasn’t the one in charge. “She stands there talking to other people like she’s plotting some sort of coup, and then when we’re done, questions everything.” He rolled his eyes. “Let’s do one final attack. This time I’m going to run, and you have her take me down.”
“Can you do that in that suit?”
“Yeah. Not well, but it will work.” He turned and put on the headgear. Then he began to run, and Atlas gave Evie the command to take him down, which she did.
“That was too easy,” the instructor finally said once he had Evie back with him. Both of them looked at her. It hadn’t been easy at all. Greg was a lot of weight, and Evie had him down quickly.
“What are you saying?” Atlas glared at her. “That was a lot of effort. She threw all her weight into it.” And for someone who spent most of the time carrying on another conversation, how could she be paying that much attention?
“It looked to me like he was ready to go down. Do it again.” They had her attention this time and went through the exercise. Evie did the takedown flawlessly. “Too easy.”
Atlas was losing patience. “Then you get in the suit,” he told her. “You’re supposed to be the instructor. You do it.” He met her steely gaze with one of his own. “I don’t see you doing any sort of instructing.”
She marched over to him like she owned the world. “I watch a training set and give you an evaluation at the end. I don’t know how it was done before, but that is how it works now.”
“Want to bet? It’s your job to do more than just watch. Either get in the suit and see how Evie performs for yourself if you have legitimate questions, or your evaluation has no merit. My department pays for these sessions, and I’ll recommend that we locate another facility. There’s one in Allentown and another down in York. We can use those.” He was not going to let her get away with doing half a job. He deserved better, and so did Evie.
“Is this because I’m a woman? Do you have problems working with women?”
So she was going to play that card. “Nope. It’s because you aren’t doing your job. Now get in the suit.” He added all the command to his voice, and even Evie took notice, watching him as though she were asking if he wanted her to take down the instructor.
She motioned Greg over, and he took off the suit and got her in it. “Same scenario as before,” she snapped, and as soon as she started to run, Atlas told Evie to take her down, which she did at a run, sending the instructor sprawling on the ground as Evie growled over her. It was a gorgeous move. Atlas called her back,gave her extra praise, and put on her leash before taking her to the air-conditioned car. He poured some water for her into a bowl in back and closed the door so she could cool off. Hell, he needed a moment himself.
“Was that too easy?” Atlas asked as he approached the instructor, who was getting herself out of the suit. She hadn’t even bothered to introduce herself.
“That was impressive. She uses her weight well and took me down without getting too aggressive. Great control, and her command responses are very fast.” She seemed impressed. “I have a few notes for you to work on, but your work is very good.”
Atlas knew when he was having smoke blown up his ass, but he said nothing. Yes, all those things she said about Evie were true. She was an amazing dog, but he wasn’t buying her change of tune. “You can expect my formal evaluation by the end of the day.”
“As I suspect you’ll receive mine as well.” He turned to Greg, who stayed maybe ten feet away. “Thank you for everything.”
“You bet. Tell Evie there are no hard feelings,” he added and headed inside, walking a little gingerly. Atlas returned to the car and got in. He drove back toward Carlisle with Evie lying in the back, head down, needing her rest after that workout.
“How did it go?” Carter asked when he returned. “The captain wants to see you and Evie.”
