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“Daddy, when are you going to get the puppies back?” Junior asked, his voice trembling.

Mike wrapped his arms around the boy and lifted him from the ground. “Soon, bud. We’ll get them back safe and sound.” He carried him to his room and tucked him into his bed. Axe was already sitting with his chin resting on the mattress.

“Can Axe help you find them?” Junior asked.

“Yes, bud, he and I will have to go away for a few days to get them. Are you going to be OK without him?”

The boy nodded. “I’ll look after mommy.”

Mike leaned forward and kissed him on his forehead. “I know you will, bud.”

He patted Axe as he left the room.

“How’s he taking it?” asked Deb as Mike joined the rest of the team in the dining room. Deb, Ernie, Rick, and Ali were sitting around the dining room table, eating pizza and drinking coffee. Deb had already briefed them on the information on Kane.

“As well as can be expected,” said Mike.

“In his little mind, there is no doubt,” added Ali. “His dad and Axe will find the puppies and bring them home.”

“Yeah, and that’s exactly what’s going to happen,” said Rick. “You, me, and Axe are going to shoot up to Victoria tomorrow. We’ll track down this turd, Kane. Give him an ass kicking and bring the pups home.”

“You sure Jenny is going to be OK with that?” asked Mike as there was a knock at the front door.

TJ entered with a large backpack on his shoulder. “I grabbed a surveillance pack from work. Should have everything you need. Have you booked flights?”

“We will once we’ve got a plan,” said Mike.

“Bro, we have a plan, and yes, Jenny is on board,” said Rick. “She knows we won’t rest till we get those pups back. Axe is our brother, and he’d give his life for us. Tomorrow, we fly up to Seattle and hire a car. Then we punch over to Victoria and put the bar under surveillance. Deb, what was it called?”

“The Grey Beaver.”

Rick shook his head. “Seriously, outlaw bikers are hanging out in a place called the Grey Beaver? It sounds like something you’d find in an old folks’ home.”

“You know what they say, esse,” said Ernie. “Grey Beaver is better than No Beaver.”

Even TJ managed a chuckle.

“In all seriousness,” said Mike. “That does sound like a solid way forward. Best case, Kane frequents the bar. Worst case, someone there knows him. Either way, we’ve got a lead.”

“Yeah,” added TJ. “And as soon as you’ve got a solid connection, you contact me, and we coordinate a follow-up team integrated with local law enforcement.”

“Unless an opportunity arises to deal with the threat and grab the pups,” added Rick.

“You’re both accomplished SEALs; you can make that decision on the ground,” said TJ.

“I’ll be able to provide limited support,” added Deb. “As you’d expect, we don’t do a lot of business in Canada.”

“I’m hoping we won’t need your sort of support, Deb,” said Mike. “This should be a simple job. Identify Kane, find the pups, and look for an opportunity to render them back to CONUS. We should be gone a maximum of 48 hours.”

“Try not to get into too much trouble,” said Ali. “Remember, you’re both fathers now, act accordingly.”

Chapter Thirteen

“Excuse me, what kind of service dog is that?” asked the middle-aged Caucasian woman sitting across the aircraft aisle from Mike. Axe was lying at Mike’s feet, wearing service dog credentials, as they taxied toward the Seattle domestic terminal early the next morning.

“Ma’am, he’s a Belgian Malinois,” Mike replied.

“Yes, I can see that. But what service does he provide?”