Chess slowly moved around the table, putting a paw on Ashton’s shoulder. “But they are hard to reach. They all mostly stay holed up in their homes until one of their family gets hurt.”
  Ashton tilted his head a bit. “So?”
  “So, maybe you can get someone they don’t know in your group to get close to one of them.” Chess said, smiling wide. “Maybe little Matthew!”
  Ashton thought about it for a moment before perking up and grinning. “Chess, you’re a genius!” He looked to his left and growled. “I’ll get you away from me yet you old dog, when I have them dead!” He quickly took a last mouthful of food before turning and leaving fast, wanting to get back to Bane with the idea.
  Watching the dark hound go, Chess chuckled, starting to blow out the candles. “Now that I’ve made my move, let’s see how the pieces fall.” He muttered as he blew the last one out, prepared to leave the place. “It’s time for the white side to make a move.”

  Matthew was sitting alone in the Fleabite, staring into the glass he had been given. He gruffly asked only for water, but hadn’t taken a sip yet. He wasn’t there for luxury; he was on the hunt for someone specific. He was looking for his, and he hated to think about it like this, younger half-brother, Duncan, so he could find him and make his father pay for leaving him alone.
  He watched Duncan soon walk in, surrounded by a group of friends. He still hung out with his Uncle Zak, but he had gotten a name for himself in the Fleabite and the surrounding blocks, not only for toughing up but also for being so understanding to everyone he listened to, and he still acted like the playful pup he always liked. Matt cursed mentally when he saw Duncan wasn’t alone, and couldn’t think of a way to get him by himself.
  He quickly looked down when Duncan happened to glance over, looking curious at the new dog that he noticed. He had never seen him there before, and he looked upset somehow. He watched out of the corner of his eye as Matt stood up and left, wondering where he was off to. The mutt went back to Bane and Ashton, only to report that Duncan couldn’t be killed because he had too many dogs around him. Bane got frustrated, telling him he needed to do it soon before they missed their chance.
  That’s how it went for the next few days, Bane’s frustration growing each day. Soon he got angry enough to pin Matt to the wall, telling him that he either killed Duncan or he didn’t come back, or if he did there would be severe consequences. The mix seemed unfazed, but he turned and left to seek an opportunity for his strike. Once more he went to the Fleabite, and again he saw Duncan, this time accompanied by his Uncle, and was unable to do a thing about it.
  Recalling, vaguely, what Bane had threatened if he returned without killing the younger mix breed, he only sighed and left, leaving his water like he always did. Duncan watched him leave, and turned to his Uncle Zak, who was drinking with his friends.
  “Hey, Uncle Zak?” He said softly, still having a slight puppy squeak to his voice.
  Looking at his nephew, the tan Doberman smiled and ruffled his head fur. “Whatcha need Nephew?”
  “I’m feeling a bit cramped in here today, so I’m going to head to the beach for a while, get some fresh air. I’ll see you at home.” Duncan said, smiling and giving an affectionate lick to the older hound’s muzzle.
  “See you Duncan, be safe!” Zak said, raising his full beer glass before chugging it all down as Duncan left, the hound smiling at his uncle’s silly actions. Though he was smiling and laughing it up with his friends, in the back of the mix-breed’s mind he was worried.

  Matt flicked his tail against the sand, sending it flying behind him and blowing away a bit in the wind. He had nowhere to go now, and he didn’t know if he wanted to even go anywhere. He was wondering if just laying there for the rest of his life would be preferable when Duncan saw him and ran down the slight incline to the beach. The dual-colored-eyed canine didn’t hear him, flinching a bit when Duncan spoke to him.
  “Hey buddy, are you alright?”
  “I’m fine…” Matt said, looking back. He kept his cool, but his mind went haywire: there was Duncan, all alone. This was his chance, but he didn’t feel like moving when he saw the concern in his eyes. He had never seen anyone look at him that way.
  “Are you sure? I’ve seen you at the ‘Bite a lot, and you never drink anything, you’re always just kinda staring blankly my way.” The young mix said, sitting in front of the dog.
  Matt had thoughts of pouncing and drowning Duncan right there in the ocean, but his legs wouldn’t obey him. His inner, and he thought lost, innocence was resisting the urge, wanting more to get to know him. “I’m fine, really I just have things on my mind…”
  Duncan nodded sympathetically. “Yeah, I know how hard it is, especially with what’s going on with my family lately.”
  “What’s been going on?”
  “My sister was attacked, and so was her boyfriend, some bad dogs are trying to get us.” Duncan explained. “It scares me, to tell you the truth. I even had to build up bravery to come find you and make sure you’re okay.”
  “I see…” Matt looked over Duncan’s head towards the horizon.
  “Say…” Feeling a kinship of sorts with Matt, Duncan had a few ideas. “What’s your name?”
  “I’m Matthew…” The elder canine tilted his head. “Why do you ask?”
  “Well I wanna play with my new friend.” The young, long-haired mutt said with a smile. “I’m Duncan.”
  “Sorry pup, I don’t play.” Matt said flatly.
  “Everyone plays. Did you ever play as a kid? You seem very serious.”
  “Never had the chance, never going to.”
  “Well do you have anything better to do?”
  Matt paused and looked at Duncan again. He had asked the armor piercing question: was there really anything better to do? He could kill him right now and be done with it, or he could crawl back to Bane and get killed. No other option felt right to him, so neither was better. “… Okay Duncan, we’ll play…”
  Duncan let out a happy bark and gave his tail a playful, quick chase. Matt blinked a moment before a smile crept on his face. The red-eyed dog doing this amused him a bit. Suddenly he was pounced and before he could react, aggressively or otherwise, he felt his nose licked.
  “You’re it!” Duncan barked, jumping off him and running down the shoreline. Matt had quick memory flashes in his brain, when Carface took him out, of puppies having fun, watching them play tag when he couldn’t.
  With a warm smile on his face, something he had not known since he was much younger, he rolled onto his paws and took off to catch Duncan.

  “… It seems like the mighty Rook has fallen out of my favor.” Chess muttered to himself from his vantage point, seeing Duncan and Matthew laughing with each other. “He’s a clever Pawn to say the least. Although he may not have even been my piece in the first place, just a missing white Carface painted black to cheat the game.”
  Turning, he started to leave. “However I still have pieces in my arsenal, my own Rook I can bend with ease… It’s time to move, Ashton, and take one of their Pawns!”

  “Duncan…” Matt panted as he stopped; looking at the incline Duncan was heading up he remembered something. “I can’t go with you…”
  Pausing, the puppy-like mutt looked back at him curiously. “Why not Matt? Didn’t you want to meet my family?’
  “I did… I do…” He seemed nervous. “I just can’t…”
  Coming back, Duncan gave his new friend an encouraging nuzzle on the neck. “You can tell me…”
  Matt bit his lip a bit, having gotten over his dislike of being touched, before he spit it out. “I have bad people watching me. There’s a tracker in my collar, it seems like it can easily be taken off but it’s deep in the collar but I can’t take it off.”
  Duncan looked it over and seemed worried. “That’s not good…”
  “What isn’t good?” They heard above them, looking up. Zak was standing there, a bit on guard due to the newcomer by his nephew.
  “My friend Matt here has a tracker in his collar and can’t get away from some mean guys.” Duncan explained as the tan Doberman came down. Matt was staring at him, feeling an aggression spike in his heart. He had seen a picture of his father, Joey, from Carface, and Zak looked almost identical to him. He looked strange with his different markings, so it couldn’t be his father, but was probably a relation.
  “Let’s see what we got.” Zak said as he got close, taking a look at the collar. Matt fought down the urge to slash at him, surprisingly winning the inner confrontation. The two younger dogs could smell the alcohol around the Doberman, but he seemed unfazed by it, not even seeming drunk. “Yeah, I can even see hard metal lines