“Hey, Chuck,” came a familiar douchey voice. “What’s he doing? Meditating?” It was Jaxon.
Malachi lifted the edge of his upper lip, and a small snarl slipped out. His eyes stayed closed as he frowned. He could sense two dark souls, but one wasn’t their suspect. The scent was wrong. His eyes flew open as he realized who it was, and he took a step back in shock.
“Got him, Mal?” Chuck asked softly.
Yeah, sorry, got distracted. Chuck… you should know, I think…
“Get that dog moving, Chuck!” came the lieutenant’s booming call. Frustration in his tone was clear that Malachi wasn’t scenting the way the other dogs did.
Rolling his eyes, Malachi resolved to talk about it with Chuck later, but for now, he focused on the suspect’s scent and trotted in the direction it was strongest. Confident now that he was on the right track, since the odor led towards the other darker soul, he picked up his pace. Finally, he tracked it to a grove of trees gathered next to a small pond in a nearby park. Several ducks floated serenely on the surface in direct contrast to the nefarious deeds unfolding nearby. Pausing, he alerted Chuck and waited for her command.
Crouching next to him—hand on his collar—she called out to the man to surrender, advising she would release her K-9 if he didn’t comply. A rustle of leaves followed by silence was her only answer. She inhaled and called again, her fingers gripping his shoulder with tension.
This time, a muffled cry belonging to a little girl was followed by a gruff voice advising that if she released the dog, he would kill the child.
Malachi heard the quick catch in Chuck’s throat and felt the brief tremble of her hand before she took a deep breath. He nudged her thigh with his nose.Let me circle behind, I can sneak up on him and take him before he realizes it. I won’t let the child get hurt.He could tell she was about to decline; this would be breaking protocol. He placed a paw on her knee and turned his eyes on her, giving her his best Puss in Boots impression.Chuck, trust me. At least let me look, and I’ll let you know what his position is before I move. If you like what you’re hearing, say… brimstone, and I’ll know you approve. Please, Chuck, let me try!
She hesitated, then nodded once and whispered, “Brimstone? Dammit, Mal, this better not blow up in our faces. I won’t be able to answer any hard questions.” She ruffled his ears and nudged him forward as she called out loud. “Okay, sir, I’ll hold my dog, but please, will you consider letting the girl go? She’s innocent.”
With half an ear tuned to Chuck’s pleas, Malachi used his demonic power to silence his footfalls and trotted a wide circle around the bank of trees, appearing to leave the area. Once he was far enough away, he loped around behind the copse with unnatural speed and closed on the suspect. Moving nearer, he quickly located the man who was squatting behind some overgrowth, peering out furtively. The suspect had his hand over the child’s mouth and was pointing a gun at Chuck.
Malachi’s blood ran colder than the frozen tundra of Hell at the sight. The man was threatening HIS Chuck.Chuck,he sent furiously,this fucker is pointing a gun at you. He doesn’t see me. I can reach his gun arm, but he may fire. When I count to three, throw yourself flat on the ground. I’m not letting you get hurt. This asshole is about to eat dirt. Are we good?
The silence stretched for so long, he began to fear she hadn’t heard him. He strained his neck to see her through the brush, frustrated by the lack of visual. He was just about to return to her when he heard her speaking.
“Hey, George, can I call you George? Do you smell that? It smells like…” She took a deep breath. “Brimstone.”
Hellfire and Dude Bros
With a wicked grin, Malachi snuck a little closer. His heart began beating wildly in his chest with excitement. Not only for the action to come, but also that Chuck trusted him enough to let him act. Taking a deep breath, he charged forward, moving so quietly and quickly that he was a noiseless blur.One, two, three, DUCK!
His jaws latched onto the man’s wrist and clamped down. As expected, the man screamed and tried to fire the gun, but Malachi didn’t want to chance Chuck getting hit, so he used his power to jam the trigger. Screaming even louder now, George let go of the little girl and tried to pry Malachi’s jaws from his wrist. Snarls erupted from Malachi’s throat as he warned the man to stop fighting. Briefly, he let his eyes flash red with Hellfire, which had the desired effect of freezing the suspect so Malachi could slam him to the ground. He lay across the man’s chest and growled in his face.Try it. Try to get up motherfucker, I’ll eat your soul and drink theblood from your carcass.
A small whimper caught Malachi’s attention, and from the corner of his eye, he saw the little girl covering her eyes with fear. Quickly, he called to Chuck,suspect secured, get the kid!
A rustle in the branches announced Chuck as she burst through, squatting quickly to check on the child. She gave continuous reassurances to the little one, promising her it was now safe. Radioing her position in, they were quickly surrounded by other officers who took charge of the girl and cuffed the now sobbing but compliant George.
“Demon!” the man shrieked, pointing a bleeding, trembling finger. “El Diablo!” He backed up and begged the officers to take him away.
Malachi simply sat and tilted his head in average dog fashion, letting his tongue hang out like he was just the neighbor’s pet. He did his best to look as innocuous as possible. Panting, he released a friendly bark and did a silly dance in front of the child. As expected, she giggled and threw her arms around his neck. He licked her face and let her hold him tightly.
“Yeah, that’s a devil, alright!” chuckled one of the officers, dragging George to the waiting car. “Watch out, big spooky puppy coming in hot!” The other officer laughed and grabbed the man’s other arm to assist in removing him from the scene.
The scene lieutenant eyed Malachi with a narrowed gaze, slowly shaking his head. “Damn fine officer you got there, Charles. Keep him healthy.” He spun on his heel and hurried away.
Soon, another officer collected the child to reunite her with her family. Finally, it was just Chuck and Malachi at her vehicle. Chuck was absently rubbing his ears and staring up at the single small fluffy cloud gently floating past in the otherwise clear sky. She sighed and shook her head before dropping to a knee by him. Her aura was such a confusing mix of colors and was so tangled, he gave up trying to decipher it.
“Malachi, you did a good thing today. I don’t know how you managed that, but I’m impressed and grateful. Also,”—she blew out a heavy breath laced with worry—“I’m in a lot of trouble. My body camera will pick up that I let you off-leash and go against protocol. I would do it again, without a doubt, to save that kiddo, but I have a feeling that might have just ended our partnership.”
A loud whine slipped from his throat before he could stop it.No! Chuck, I’m sorry! I didn’t want you to get in trouble! I just wanted to help!
“I know, Mal. I know. But what’s done is done. Don’t worry, I personally adopted you, so I’m pretty sure I can keep you. But your days as a K-9 may be limited. I just don’t know.” Her troubled gaze met his, and her lower lip trembled. “Dammit, I’m so sorry. I know you’ve enjoyed this. And we could’ve made such a difference!”
Malachi growled then. No one was taking him from his Chuck.Fuck that!He told her. Laughing as she blinked in surprise, he stuck his nose on her body camera then shot a bolt of Hellfire into it, melting the inner workings and destroying the recordings.I got you, babe,he thought to himself as he chuckled in his head.
Chuck gasped, “What did you do? Malachi?” She grabbed the camera and unhooked it from her vest. Holding it in front of her, she dropped it as the heat from the melted glass and plastic scorched her fingers. She blew on them and eyed him warily. “Shit, Malachi, I appreciate the gesture, but how in the hell did you do that?”
Lowering his head, he replied,I’m sorry, Chuck, I didn’t mean to hurt you. I just don’t want you to get in trouble. I… I don’t know how I did that. I was worried about you, and it happened. I’m scared, Chuck. What if someone takes me away from you? You’re my only chance to find out what happened to me. The only one who would help me. And I like you; I care about you.For good measure, he covered his eyes with his paws and moanedmiserably. To his utter surprise, mixed with a bit of horror, he realized it was true. Hedidcare about her and wasn’t sure how he was going to balance it with trying to corrupt her soul.
