shut his communicator off.

“There’re no guards around the outside perimeter of the facility. It’s like the whole place is abandoned…” Balto answered, double checking again for any soldiers.

“Probably all wiped out by Steele’s forces. If anything, Steele’s guards will be on the inside. You should have a straight shot inside if there’re no guards. Good luck Wolf.”

Balto switched off the wireless communicator strapped to his shoulder and stood up. He shook the snow off of his dark green drab suit, standard issue for soldiers. Stowing his gun, Balto grabbed onto the mesh and climbed the fence, cutting through the barbed-wire at the top and dropping down onto the other side.

Cautiously, Balto drew out his handgun again and slowly walked through the snow, his boots making a gentle crunch underneath him that seemed to echo in the stillness of the compound. Balto slowly moved his eyes across his surrounding, searching for anyone, anyone at all. Suddenly, a distant engine caught his attention and Balto quickly dashed toward a structure and pressed his back against it, his dark green clothing blending in with the shadows well enough to hide him from the coming people.

From where Balto was, the engine got louder and louder until he realized it wasn’t one, but three motors! As he remained hidden, three snowmobiles pulled up and parked in front of the building Balto was leaning on. Fortunately, they didn’t see him and opened the doors, pulling their vehicles in and walking out, talking amongst themselves. As they pulled off their helmets, Balto saw that they were none other than Nikki, Kaltag, and Star, three of his four targets.

Balto resisted the urge to jump out and attempt to ice them all there and then; a move he knew would spell his doom very quickly. His eyes narrowed as he carried on watching the three dogs, eavesdropping on their conversation as best he could.

“That ride was the most amazing, the most incredible, the most exciting-” Kaltag started, rambling on.

“That ride was the best!” Star cut in, resulting in a blow to his head, courtesy of Kaltag.

“We’d better get back inside before Steele starts getting mad at us for being out so late. It’s already 6:30 in the morning. We’ve been out all night!” Nikki said. The other two nodded and they began to head toward the central structure, still talking between themselves.

“The central structure, huh?” Balto asked himself in a whisper as he watched the trio waltz off, quickly turning on his communicator, “Colonel, I’ve located the major structure of the facility. Beginning my approach now. Over and out.”

Balto turned off his communicator and followed behind the dogs, stepping in their footprints so to avoid anyone thinking there was anyone else there. He reached the main building just as the three closed the door. However, when Balto tried to open the door, it was locked, a cardkey reader at the side of the door. Silently muttering a curse, Balto pounded on the door and walked around the side of the building.

Balto kept his eyes on the ground, looking for another way in. When he spotted a ventilation grate, a smile slowly inched onto his face. Kneeling down, Balto used his knife to unscrew the hinges and pried the hatch open, crawling inside and into the building. Following the ventilation ducts, Balto came into a rather large hangar filled with crates. A few soldiers patrolled around the large storage area and Balto only just caught a glimpse of the trio before they stepped into an elevator and left his trail cold.

“Great… Might as well start by finding a security room or something…” Balto muttered and continued through the shafts.

Along the way, Balto saw a conference room. Just as he was about to pass it, thinking it was insignificant, a voice rang out that froze him in his tracks.

“What was that?” came an angry, husky-toned voice, “The US government still hasn’t given into our demands?!?!”

Balto stopped and glanced down, spotting an average dog, probably a soldier of some standing, and a black and white dog wearing a black combat suit, a furious and evil look on his face. Balto recognized him immediately: Steele.

“No sir… Not yet… We’ve had no word since yesterday,” the dog wearing a formal military suit said, standing firm and still.

“So they really think I won’t turn their own weapon against them do they? They’ll regret making that assumption…” Steele said, turning back to face a screen on the wall and reading over some data Balto couldn’t see, “Prepare the weapon… We’ll see how they cooperate once we wipe out New York City…”

“Sir, do you think that’s wise? Maybe nuking one of the world’s largest cities isn’t the best idea…” the dog said, somewhat uncertainly.

“Corporal, your orders were given. Now execute them!” Steele said, glaring over his shoulder, “I’ll deal with the after-effects, you just need to prep the gun. I’ll pull the trigger, understood?”

“Y-yes, sir…” the dog said submissively before saluting and walking off, leaving Steele.

Balto grinned to himself. Time to complete part of his mission. Just as he reached for his gun, the door opened again and Nikki, Kaltag, and Star walked in with a scientist, a weak-looking Border Collie. They tossed him to the floor and looked up at Steele.

“This one refuses to continue his work, boss…” Nikki explained, causing a sigh to come from Steele, “Even after we let him work to save his skin.”

“He is the most ungrateful, the most self-absorbed, the most selfish-”

“He doesn’t care!” Star said and was once more bopped by Kaltag.

The scientist whimpered and was grabbed by Kaltag. The poor dog was lifted off his feet by the tan husky and held in mid-air. Steele glanced over his shoulder at the dog.

“So, you don’t want to work anymore?” Steele asked calmly, “Why not?”

“B-because I just can’t do it anymore!” the Collie stuttered, “I w-won’t help b-build a w-weapon that will be used to destroy my own c-country!”

“Very well… You don’t have to work anymore…” Steele said, a grin coming over his face, giving Balto a bad feeling, “How about a vacation, doctor?”

“A v-vacation? Really? You m-mean you’ll l-let me go?” the scientist asked, a grin coming across his face, “Oh thank you sir! Where will I be going?”

“Hell,” Steele said coldly and quickly spun around, drawing his handgun he had stowed in a holster on his belt and firing a round at the dog. The Collie gasped, spasmed, and went limp in Kaltag’s grip.

“Whoa!” Nikki said surprised as he inspected the perfect heart-shot on the scientist, “That was a bull’s eye!”

“That was the most accurate, the most dead-on, the most centered-” Kaltag started, shaking the dead dog in his hand.

“You got him!” Star piped in and pulled back as Kaltag went to hit him, only ending up running into the wall and falling to the ground.

“Dispose of his body. But first, show him to the other scientists. Tell them, “This is what’ll happen if they refuse to work.” Then just toss him out into the snow…” Steele said, walking out of the room, the trio following behind him.

“Wow… I guess in-tell was right about Steele’s personality…” Balto whispered and turned on his communicator, “Colonel, are you there?”

“Yes Wolf, I’m here. I’m talking to you from a base on the mainland of Alaska right now, so everyone can hear you. What’s wrong Wolf?”

“I just saw Sergeant Steele. Apparently, the stories are true. He’s cruel to everyone except those other three you told me to take out. I just saw him take out a scientist point-blank for refusing to work on this weapon we were talking about…”

“Yes, that sounds like Steele… Have you seen our other agent yet?”

“No, not yet. The only person here that doesn’t seem completely controlled by Steele is me.”

“Well, if you’re looking, our plan with Husky was to get close to Steele, earn his trust, and then wait for you to show up for you both to wipe him out and quell this treat. Look for someone close to Steele, but not entirely controlled by him.”

“Alright, got it. Wolf out.”

Balto flipped his communicator off and carried on crawling through the vent until a creak caused him to stop. He felt the steel plating beneath him begin to sink and he got a look of surprise. Suddenly, it gave way and Balto came crashing to the oak table in the conference room Steele had been in a moment before. He groaned and rolled to the floor, quickly getting up.

“Hey! What’s with all the noise?” came a voice from the hallway.

Balto gasped softly and glanced around rapidly. He spotted a locker and an up to it, opened it, and closed himself inside. Through the small grates at the top, Balto watched, keeping his breathing as quiet as possible. The door opened and a guard stepped into the conference room, pointing his rifle around. He saw the broken metal panel on the table and glanced up, spotting the open air vent.

“See? I told the mechanic that it needed fixing!” the guard exclaimed, walking over to the locker Balto was in, “I’m gonna grab my cell phone and laugh at that guy’s face!”

The moment, the guard opened the locker, Balto punched him, sending the dog backwards and onto the floor. Balto jumped out and pulled the guard to his feet, punching him again and tossing him across the table and into the wall. The guard exhaled and stopped moving, out cold from Balto’s assault. The wolfdog picked up the soldier and shoved him into the locker, closing it and making sure it was locked before drawing his pistol and walking out of the conference room.

Someone close to Steele… Balto thought as he walked down the hallway. As he rounded a corner, he saw a guard a foot away with his back to him. Quickly drawing