A weary German Shepherd stood facing the little town known as Nome. He held his noble head proud as he inspected Nome, eyes on every moving subject he could see. The traveler walked slowly forward into Nome with a mission to be done and blood to be paid.

He was once one of the best units on the police force in Oregon. A respectful character that did not hold glory for his own and when he spoke, everyone listened. When he lead, they followed with their hearts true. He was on good terms with everyone or so he thought. Rosco, an old comrade of his crossed the line never to return. He told Rosco that he never wanted to see his face again but that was before Rosco pulled the last straw. He had a sister by the name of Ruger that held the traitor’s attention. Ruger was found murdered with Rosco’s collar in her jaws as if she had ripped it off of him during the struggle. Being loyal to his family, he took up the hunt and promised his sister, Rosco would be brought to his judgment. He once was a by the book police dog but now has become a rogue lawdog, helping the innocent no matter how many laws he would break by the canine code.

The German Shepherd had not eaten for days and his strength was running ragged. He followed his nose to some trashcans in an alley that the interesting scents led him to. He knocked one over and searched through the trash and found something to eat. While he was feasting, he didn’t hear the steps of an approaching stranger. "And who might you be that sifts through the trash of my owner?" The German Shepherd raised his head to look up into the face of a husky. His blue eyes searching for answers. He rose to his full height and found he was about the same height of him. "I asked who you were." He reminded him of his question.

"Sorry as my manners aren’t at their best. My name is Chex and I traveled here to Nome from Portland on a mission." He spoke.

The husky nodded. The two were quiet as they studied each other. He seemed like a good character. He was about to ask something. "Danny!" The husky turned his head to where his name was called from. "I guess it’s a good day to you then. See ya later Chex." Danny spoke.

Chex bowed his head. "Good day Danny." Danny nodded before he turned away. Chex bent his head down to eat some more.

"Would you like to eat some real food?" Chex raised his head to see Danny standing there again.

"I don’t think I should bother you any more." Chex answered but his stomach betrayed him.

"Come on it sounds like you need something." Chex gave him an I don’t know expression. "Come on. I’m sure my owner won’t mind." Danny assured him. Chex sighed.

"Alright. Lead on." Danny smiled then started to walk toward a backyard gate with Chex following. He lifted the latch up with his nose and the gate creaked open. "You first." Chex spoke. Danny chuckled before he slipped through the opening. Chex followed right in like his shadow. Danny barked a mighty hello to his owner who was standing on the back porch facing the gate.

He looked a little surprised at the German Shepherd’s appearance. "Who is this Danny boy?" He asked his dog as he stroked the top of Danny’s head and roughing up his neck fur. Danny gave him a grin. Chex raised his head and wagged his tail hoping to give a cheerful appearance even though he was feeling less then cheery. "Well come on in boy and we’ll see if we can get some meat on your bones." Danny shot him a "Told you so" glance and Chex couldn’t resist a small chuckle.

***

"Was that so difficult?" Danny asked after dinner as well as after Chex got brushed and checked over for injuries.

Chex raised his head up at Danny and gave a playful scowl. Danny smirked. "No I guess not…" Chex replied quietly. Danny was about to turn away. "Thank you Danny." Chex spoke before putting his head back down on his paws.

Danny gave a smile. "You’re welcome." Danny watched Chex for a couple of moments before speaking again. "Sleep well Chex. You got a big day tomorrow." Chex was about to ask what he meant but Danny had already laid down to drift off to sleep.

***

The German Shepherd ate a large breakfast and was taking a quick doze. Danny had disappeared after breakfast and Chex just didn’t have the energy to follow after him. Danny’s owner had already gone off to work at the small local bank. Chex sighed as he rested on the porch. He would have felt completely relaxed but he wasn’t at his best in health and his mission was burning in his mind. A yap awoke him from his daze. He lifted his head to see a puppy coming toward him. Chex didn’t stand, as the pup was no danger to him. The pup stopped at the steps and put her front feet on the step, a step closer to him. In the back of Chex’s mind he was wondering what the hell made this pup want to approach a rugged looking stranger like him. He tilted his head a bit to study her. She was an Australian Shepherd, he could tell at once even though her tail wasn’t docked. "Must be a stray." He thought to himself. "Hi! My name’s Minx. What’s yours?"

Chex raised an eyebrow. She sure was a friendly thing. "My name’s Chex."

"Is that the name your mom gave you or your owner?"

"My mother gave me this name. My old owner called me Sarge." The pup nodded and took a minute to analyze the information the German Shepherd had given her. Chex decided to take this time to ask what she was doing here. "What are you doing out here by yourself kid?"

"I’m a stray…" She was about to continue before someone finished the sentence for her, "And what makes you think she’s by herself?" A sweet southern accented voice called. Chex looked to the left where the pup had come from to see a nice looking female. She walked closer. Chex bowed his head to hopefully be gentleman like. "Hi Mom!" Mom? Chex studied her. These two were completely different breeds, how could that be? "Adopted?" He thought.

"Hello I’m Holly. It seems Minx has introduced herself already." She spoke with a smirk on her face.

"Yeah the kid sure has a friendly way." Chex replied. Holly giggled lightly.

"Mom, this is Chex. Wasn’t Danny talking about him earlier?"

Danny was talking about him? Chex growled on the inside. "Yes Danny was talking about you to the gang. In fact he sent us to get you." Holly explained. She chuckled. "Don’t worry he didn’t say anything bad about you, that’s not how Danny is." Chex blinked. "Damn…she’s good. But how she know?" He thought. "If you’re wondering how I knew what you were thinking, it’s pretty basic." Chex snapped his attention back to Holly.

"Well…if Danny sent you to come get me…" Chex rose to his feet slowly. "Then we should get going." He spoke. Holly smiled as Minx hopped around the two.

"Come on! Come on!" Minx spoke quickly before darting off in front. Chex watched her for a bit.

"Makes you wonder if you ever had that much energy when you were a pup." Chex spoke and Holly broke into laughter.

"Yes I wonder the same thing." She replied as the two followed the Australian Shepherd pup. As they walked through town, Chex couldn’t help but scan the area with his eyes. Even though weary and his ribs showed slightly, he could still hold his own in a fight but not as long as he would if he was in top condition. Holly seemed to notice his alertness for she spoke, "Relax Chex, no one’s going to jump out on you." She laughed lightly as he shrugged. She wasn’t going to prod him for answers as she knew when he met the rest of the gang, questions would be flying.

"I have two questions, Miss Holly…" Chex didn’t look at her as they continued on their way. His eyes were on Minx, as the little pup bounded to say hello to anyone she could.

"Go on." She said. This time he looked at her, his gold hazel eyes showing nothing for her to try and figure out.

"What’s that collar with that ring that Danny wears? I would have asked earlier but he took off before I had the chance."

Holly smiled. "Danny’s the lead dog of one of the mail teams. He and his team deliver mail to the surrounding towns."

Chex thought a bit of this new found information. "Must be a pretty busy dog." He spoke with a slight smile.

Holly chuckled. "Yes he is but he can always find time to spend with his friends." She waited for his next question.

"Why does Minx call you Mom?" He asked in a cautious tone in case it would set off something. Holly smiled a little smile at him to let him know he was not walking on thin ice. Chex relaxed a little and she could see that.

"The reason Minx calls me Mom is that when she was younger, something happened to her that separated her from her parents. She doesn’t remember what happened. I found her in the snow near freezing. My home became her home and in doing so, I’ve become her mother and she has become my adopted daughter." It was then that Holly looked away from the German Shepherd to Minx, a smile still on her face as the pup pranced in front of them as if she was leading a parade.

Chex looked forward and watching the pup, he couldn’t help but smirk.

Minx looked back at them and smiled. "What are you guys talking about?"

Holly shook her head. "No need to worry Minx." Minx turned her head to look forward again. Chex kept looking about as they