ahead of us." The tan dog said, getting a nod of agreement from Zero. "I'll bring something up for Duncan in awhile, probably around 10. Lil' guy loves to sleep in." He grinned.
  The two headed down together, each with their own thoughts about Charlie's project, both hungry enough to eat a horse. Zak kept a constant mental reminder to grab something for his nephew, knowing he'd want something as soon as he woke up. Not only that, but he didn't want Duncan to be worried about him, or wonder where he was.

  Joey was sitting in front of the Fleabite entrance, having a cigarette. Business was always slow in the morning, so he figured nobody would mind if he had one. He blew one of his smoke rings in the air, looking at the sky. Nice, clear day, no signs of rain. One of his ears twitched as a small breeze blew into the alleyway. That's when Charlie showed up, and the pure-breed looked at him.
  "Hey boss. What's up?" Joey asked jokingly.
  "Not much, not much." Charlie said. "I got a favor to ask ya Joey."
  "I may help, I may not. It depends." The Doberman said as he finished his cigarette and flicked the butt away, blowing a last smoke ring Charlie's direction. "Whatcha got in mind Charlie?"
  "A small rebuilding project," Charlie scratched the back of his head, "a bit of refurnishing at the apartment." Joey looked interested, so Charlie continued. "We'll be doing some redecorating, trying to bring more dogs in to stay. The more rent we get the more we can do."
  "Hm... Sounds like it'd be something interesting to do. They really don't need me here, not many dogs get a drink this early, so I guess I could take a break." Joey said thoughtfully. "If they need me they can send somebody to come fetch me."
  Charlie gave a nod.
  "How 'bout while we're here we get something to eat?"
  "I'm not really that hungry Ch-." Joey started, as all of a sudden his stomach gave a growl equal to his size. He glanced down at it then back at Charlie, shrugging. "Guess I could snag a bite or two in me."
  A bite or two... Right... Charlie thought as he followed the Doberman in to get some food. You're a huge Doberman, and you think a bite or two will fill you up. You're crazy.
  The noise was very lulled down, everyone in their corners with their friends and family, chatting in low voices so other tables couldn't hear. Another typical morning at the Fleabite. The mutt looked around a bit.
  "Where's the noise?" He asked Joey as they took a seat at a table.
  "Dogs aren't talkative in the morning. They wanna be fed first." Joey answered, stretching his front legs and putting his paws behind his head, leaning his chair back. "Sheesh, I know I sure as heck wouldn't want it loud in the morning. This lull is nice."
  "You're lucky you're with me Charlie, cause you get a discount since I'm an employee. I see that look in your eye that you want my opinion on how the place should look. Well I'm not telling until we eat." Joey said, looking around for a waiter or waitress. Charlie gave a sigh, wanting to at least get some input on how to attract more dogs.
  When the waiter came, they gave their orders and watched him go. They sat quietly, each with their own thoughts. Charlie wondering how much time they had to work with, Joey about how the place should look. The Doberman usually only did the gambling work, but he figured he could try style also. The two dogs soon got their meal and ate fairly quick, then started talking business...

  Andrew wasn't a stay-with-the-parents dog. He liked to be by himself, live alone, and live on the streets, not caring for anybody but himself. He liked hanging with Joey every now and again, but he was a bit of a loner at heart. And he was a lady's man always trying to get the girls. Sometimes he was slapped, other times girls went out with him, some rejected him flat out.
  But there was someone always following him under these circumstances to keep him from making a mistake. Christian J. Sheperd, his unknown uncle. He always followed behind every corner, making sure Andrew didn't make a mistake that would hurt him. He was following him to the usual spot, the Fleabite. He his around a corner and peaked around, seeing Andrew catching Charlie and Joey just leaving.
  He could see them talking, but couldn't hear them. He could see them nodding, a few shakes 'no'  from Andrew, but then eventually a semi-reluctant nod from the young dog as they went off towards the apartment. Now Chris was curious. He followed along, from a decent distance, wondering what was going on.

  "Hey guys, three dozy mutts coming in!" Charlie called when he came inside the apartment. Zak and Zero were just finishing breakfast. "Who's ready to work?" He asked, grinning.
  "I am." Zero said, smiling.
  "I will be in a moment. Gotta go get Duncan up so he can eat and know what's going on." Zak said, picking up a plate of food and balancing it on his head as he went upstairs. Joey shook his head, smiling slightly.
  "I'm glad that Zak is being a good parental figure to Duncan. He's had a lot more confidence while around his Uncle." The Doberman said, twitching his stub. "Duncan's slowly starting to become braver, and Zak's drinking less." Charlie nodded in agreement.
  "So... Where are we gonna start first dad?" Andrew asked boredly, leaning against a wall and yawning. It was obvious that this was the last place he wanted to be.
  "Well when Zak gets back down we're going to put up a nice big sign that I had made awhile ago. The only problem was that I could never get anyone to help me get it up. But now that we got some dim, doofus muscle-dogs around this'll be a cinch." Charlie said, then seeing Joey's eyes narrow and crossing his front paws over his chest. "Kidding Joey..."
  Andrew rolled his eyes a bit.
  "So at least you have a plan." He said, stretching then rolling his shoulders until they cracked. "Not the best in the world but whatever." Charlie rolled his eyes back.
  Disrespectful mutt...He thought. They all took a seat to wait for Zak to come back down, all silent. It was quite awhile before the tan Doberman was back, his nephew riding as usual on his back, tail wagging. The duo smiled at the others.
  "Alright, ready to go." Zak said, wagging his stub. Duncan, in his usual puppy playfulness, reached back and batted his Uncle's stub-tail as it wagged. "I got Rollie up also, he should be down in a moment. He's not really a breakfast guy so we don't need to wait for him to eat."
  Just as he finished, the Rottwieler-Golden Retriver mix came down, yawning. He looked around, blinking slowly.
  "So... When're we gonna start?" He asked, sitting and scratching behind his ear with a hind paw. Charlie looked around at everyone.
  "You guys ready?" And this got him several versions of yes from everybody besides Andrew, who gave a 'whatever' as his answer. Charlie rolled his eyes at his son then headed outside, being followed by everybody. The mutt attempted to pull his sign from behind a dumpster, but since it was huge he could only move it little by little. The two Dobermans went up and started to help him, muscles showing through their thin fur as they pulled (Duncan perched on Zak's head while he worked).
  It moved a bit faster, and soon the three dogs had it out. They leaned it against the side of the building. They were all panting, but grinning.
  "Zero, you go get the ropes from the shed." Charlie said, Zero giving a mock salute then going off to the shed. "Rollie, check the roof, see if there is anything we can use as a support up there." Rollie nodded and headed back inside, starting to go upstairs. "The rest of you, I hope you're ready to pull."

  On the roof, the dog on top had woken up and was listening to Charlie barking orders at the others so they could start. When he heard Charlie tell Rollie to head to the roof, he went back to hiding in the corner. He wasn't ready to be seen yet. He saw the mix go and look all around, and eventually finding something.
  "Hey Charlie, I think I found a nice spot to tie the rope around." Rollie said, looking over his shoulder at a pipe.
  "Come back down and get the rope, you'll throw it down to us. Looks long enough for us to pull down here while it goes up there." The mutt called back, then Rollie ran back down.
  What are they up to...? The dog on the roof wondered.
  "Lupus." The dog's ears perked and he looked over at a wide pipe with a reflective surface. "Lupus, come over here." Lupus, a semi-unusual Siberian Husky due to his amber eyes, walked over to it, and saw Annabelle.
  "What is it Annabelle?" He asked, seeming suspicious. He had already gotten a few missions before that had given him bad points, so he knew to be cautious. "What's the mission of the day?"
  "No mission Lupus, but I need you to keep an eye on what Charles and the others are doing. I have a feeling that something bad might happenm so stay up here and keep your eyes and ears open." The pink Whippet angel said. "And be careful yourself."
  "Gotcha." Lupus said, watching the