what I mean - keep those jaws away from them," she said. He knew she was referring to his tactic of snapping at other dogs in order to trip them up and give him an advantage. She herself had fallen victim to this trick once before, and didn't want that to be repeated. Steele pouted at her resistance - after all, it would give them an advantage - but he didn't want to think about what she might do if he went against her.

The team came up alongside them, but slowed a bit so they could remain level with them. Even though they could have kept going, the lead of the other team instead decided to stick around and chat with Sonya. Steele paid no attention to the conversation; all that mattered to him was that the other team was not taking advantage of all of their speed - a mistake he would make them pay for.

Strewn along the ice were small bits of debris - ice, pebbles and other items pushed around by the gales of winter storms. Sled dogs had to be careful of these because they could be accidentally kicked into another teammate - or a rival team. Seeing them gave him a clever idea. Carefully adjusting his stride, he started to kick whatever he could off to the side. At first all he got was some snow spray, but then he hit the moneyshot - a good-sized piece of ice flew back and hit one of the wheel dogs right between his eyes. The projectile's impact made him lose focus, upsetting their balance and causing them to lose speed. In the distance, they could hear him cursing at another teammate for kicking it up, and the resulting argument persisted as they continued to lag behind.

Sonya looked back, bewildered, but Steele just shrugged his shoulders. "I guess you were right - their boost wouldn't last," he mused, keeping his expression neutral. She gave him a few more curious looks before turning back to the road. It was only when she stopped looking that he broke into a wild grin.

----------

Pulling into Ruby was a welcome sight for the teams, and whenever the sled dogs met, the topic was always the same - the mysterious sabotage of the supplies the previous night. Theories and rumours bounced off each other, some becoming quite ridiculous. No matter what variation you listened to, the same two questions remained: who did it, and whether or not it was connected to the attack on the first day of the race. Because of the multiple rumours going back and forth, everyone was on edge. Dogs watched over their supplies like hawks, making sure no one got too close. Even Sonya's team was taking extra care with their gear. With everyone so tense, Steele knew it would only take a little nudge to set everyone off. All he had to do was cry wolf and everyone would panic, scurrying around like ants. 'Oh that would be fun,' he thought, imagining dogs running into each other, screaming like little pups. They'd probably turn on each other too, accusing each other of being the culprit. It would be chaos and anarchy, and all he would have to do is sit back and enjoy the show.

As tempting as it was, now was not the time for him to start a riot, as he had a slightly more pressing need. Once no one was looking, he darted off and around a building. It had been a long day of running, and he needed something like a tree - really badly.

"Well, well, what's this?" a voice called. "Sneaking off again, are you Steele?"

Steele only wanted to relieve himself, but the tan Chinook was intent on keeping him from that. "Buzz off Kaltag," he replied. "It's a free country - I can go where I want."

"Wow, you're still acting like you own whatever town you're in - it's a wonder I didn't notice this earlier," Kaltag mused, eyeing Steele suspiciously. "But this time, you've been going off on your own quite a bit, and often when something else happens."

"What about 'buzz off' do you not understand?" Steele snapped, his posture becoming more aggressive.

"Alright, I'll go - when you tell me why you're sneaking off like this."

"Oh for goodness sakes, can't a dog take a leak around here, or is that a crime too?"

"I don't know - you're getting awfully defensive-"

"You'd be snippy too if you had to go as much as I do," he grumbled. "If sneaking off is so suspicious, then what about you? What are you doing wandering around yourself?"

"Hey, I was just asking a question – there's no need to turn nasty on me," Kaltag said, his expression still neutral.

"Well you have your answer, so why don't you buzz off and tell your mangy wolfdog friend!" he snapped.

"Alright, I'll go… but I don't want to hear any more lip about him from you," Kaltag retorted. "You'd better smarten yourself up soon, or you might be getting another visit from me… and I won't be as nice as I am now."

"Oh, so that's it now - you're Balto's personal goon! Well why don't you tell that snivelling, cowardly excuse for a mutt that if he wants to take me on, he should do it himself, like a real dog!" Steele challenged, stepping towards Kaltag so that their heads were almost pressed up against each other.

"You shut up! Balto's twice the dog you'll ever be!" he exclaimed, the hair on the back of his neck starting to stand on end.

"Ha! I'll believe it when I see it," Steele continued, deciding to shift gears. "You're just so eager to defend your buddy because you don't want to admit the truth - you're nothing without him."

"What?" Only now did Kaltag's stoic expression break, and Steele knew he'd finally found the right hot button.

"I may not have been in the race last year, but I still know how it ended. You blew it Kaltag," he told. "You blew an easy race, and you know why? Because you're useless!"

"Why you-"

"Yeah, you're useless without me! You always were and you always will be," he continued, hoping to provoke him. "What happened last year just proves that it was always me that won those races, not you and not the team!"

"That's not true - you wouldn't have won those races without our help," Kaltag said, shaking his head, his voice wavering as he tried to maintain his calm. It was as though a smothering cloud was cast over him, making him replay his defeat over again. He remembered how crushed the team was… all because of a bad call he made. Through it all, he imagined Steele laughing at him, mocking him as he always did when he was in Nome.

"I have to admit, Balto's probably trying to be the nice guy by saying that it's all a team effort… but that's because he doesn't want to tell you the harsh truth. He knows it too, he just doesn't want to say it."

"You're lying - he's better than that!"

"You're going to lose Kaltag, and it will be because of you. Mark my words, I'll be the one crossing the finish first, and then they'll see who the real champion is. They'll see that I'm not some has-been; that I'm still the greatest sled dog in Alaska. Even my old owner will see that and when he does, he will take me back. Everything will be back to the way it was, just you wait," he continued, before turning away from him. "And when that happens, not even the wolfdog will be able to save you." With that, he slapped his tail across Kaltag's muzzle, in one of the most humiliating gestures one dog could do to another. And that is what set him off.

With a roar, Kaltag jumped and sank his fangs into Steele's hindquarters. He was going to make Steele pay for everything he put him through, especially for abandoning them on the serum run. He didn't care what anyone would think of him right now – the idea of having Steele return filled him with so much fear that he was driven to do anything to stop it. He would never go back to those days where he was nothing more than expendable to his lead.

Steele anticipated this, and when he felt the sting, he kicked out and caught Kaltag right in the chest. The Chinook coughed after being knocked off, allowing Steele to wheel around and strike back. The blows soon devolved into an all out brawl between them. Snarling, biting and growling filled the alley as the two dogs rolled around, each trying to gain the upper hand.

Despite his strength as a sled dog, Kaltag was not much in the fighting department. Steele easily outweighed him, plus the husky was much more cunning, able to put two strikes in for each one of his. The only thing keeping him going was his unfiltered rage, and after Steele kicked him off once again, the two dogs faced each other down, fire burning in their eyes. Kaltag would make the next move, but as Steele braced himself to meet his charge, a brown blur darted in between them, halting Kaltag's advance.

"ENOUGH!" he bellowed, stopping both fighters in their tracks, and even scaring a few birds off the roofs of some buildings. It was Balto, his jaw locked and ready to break this fight apart. "What is going on here?"

"Kaltag's nuts! I was just minding my business when he jumped me!" Steele exclaimed.

"Liar! You started it and you know it!" Kaltag retorted.

"I don't care who started it, I'm ending it!" Balto exclaimed, fire in his eyes as he turned his attention to his teammate. "C'mon Kal, we're leaving."

"But - he-" Kaltag's protest was cut off by a stern look from Balto, and that's when he knew the fight was lost. His face fell as he held his