Jenna.

“I love a good firefight…” Balto told her and popped up, firing three shots at the guard, striking one twice in his chest. Jenna followed his lead and the last guard dropped.

Just as they were about to stand up, footsteps were heard in the hall and three more guards arrived on the scene, firing at the damaged desk. Balto gritted his teeth and fired off a single shot, missing them all. Jenna fired twice and killed one of them. Balto took another shot and a guard grabbed his throat, screaming for a second before collapsing. Balto pulled out his knife and threw it at the final soldier, striking him in the face.

“Nice throw…” Jenna said, pushing her hair out of her eyes and over her shoulders.

“Thanks. It took a lot of practice…” Balto replied and pulled the knife out of the body, wiping it off before stowing it, “Come on, let’s get my stuff, then find our targets…”

Jenna nodded and stood up, ejecting her empty clip and shoving another magazine into her handgun. Both canines walked down the hallway toward the elevator, casually stepping over the bodies they’d left in their wake. Pressing the button, Balto and Jenna stepped into the elevator and pressed the B1 button. The elevator lurched upward and began to ascend to their chosen floor.

“So how long have you been here?” Balto asked glancing at her.

“About a week or so…” Jenna replied, “It only took me a day to go from researcher to Steele’s girl… He’s surprisingly gentler to me than anyone else… Though I’m sure you haven’t seen his cruelty yet…”

“Actually, I have…” Balto replied, recalling that scientist and his recent beating, “I saw him kill a scientist point-blank for being loyal to his country, and then he beat the living daylights out of me… That guy’s as ruthless as they come…”

“You haven’t seen the half of it…” Jenna said distastefully, “He’s taken the Head of Design’s office for himself. It’s rather large, has a fireplace and loveseat, a large desk, a computer with access to every computer in the facility, it’s pretty much the best room in the building. A couple of days ago, we were cuddling in front of the fire and he had one of his best guards executed just because he walked in on us… But it wasn’t an ordinary execution. He had him hung by his feet and beaten to death by his fellow guards who were shouting “piñata” the whole time!”

“Wait, did you say you and Steele were cuddling?” Balto asked a slight smirk on his face.

“Don’t look too much into it…” Jenna said blandly, “I have no feelings for that bastard. He’s a threat to the country and I’ll be glad to see him die. I swear, if he puts his arm around me one more time, I think I’m gonna throw up!”

Balto laughed at Jenna’s words. After a minute, the elevator doors opened to reveal the empty Armory. Jenna led Balto over to a door that read “High-Security Equipment.” Balto looked at the keycard reader and felt his mouth drop open.

“Ah, forget it Jenna. The door requires a Level 9 Security Card!” Balto said, pointing to the reader.

“Where do you think I got your gun from?” Jenna asked with a smirk. She pulled out a keycard and swiped it through the reader, a satisfying ping emitted a moment later.

Jenna opened the door and led Balto inside. Lying out on a metal examination table was Balto’s confiscated equipment. Smiling, Balto grabbed his lost items and equip them once more. Once he was outfitted again, he stowed his handgun and smirked at Jenna.

“How do I look now?” he asked, causing Jenna to laugh.

“Fit for combat. Now let’s go before someone catches us!” she said and opened the door, walking out into the Armory. As soon as she stepped outside, Jenna heard someone approaching her.

“Hey Jenna…” came the voice of Steele. Jenna gasped and stared at him.

“Oh, hey Steele… You scared me,” she said, closing the door and hearing it lock, Balto now safely trapped inside. Balto saw the door shut and lock in front of him and gasped in surprise, his eyes narrowing. He walked up and pressed his ear to the door so he could hear why Jenna had locked him inside.

“I’ve been looking for you… Say, why were you in that room?” Steele asked. Jenna kept her cool and answered.

“I was making sure all of that agent’s items were accounted for. So far, everything’s there…” Jenna said, playing with her bandanna, “You were looking for me? Why’s that?”

“Why else, Jen?” Steele asked placing a paw around her shoulders, “Why else would I come looking for you?” Jenna fought back a gag and succeeded, forcing a smile as she stared into his malicious blue eyes.

“Hmm, I don’t know… So, you came looking for me because you were lonely?” she asked, playing her part as his girlfriend, no matter how much she hated it.

“You bet… I figured out the perfect way for us to celebrate once the government gives into our demands…” Steele said softly, pulling her closer to him, “It’s a surprise though, I want you to be shocked when you find out what it is…”

“The suspense is killing me…” Jenna said, doing her best to hide the sarcasm in her voice, “So the US hasn’t given into your demands yet? Have you received any reply yet?”

“No, not yet… But trust me Jen, we will soon enough. Now that we have their agent, it’s just a matter of time… About that, I was just about to go check on him.”

“I already did, Steele… He’s still out like a light…” Jenna said softly back, placing a paw on his chest, “You really did a number on him… Now I can see how you’re so strong… Being in the army must’ve done that to you…”

“You’d be surprised, baby… Well, I suppose no sense on checking on him if you just did… No way the fool would wake up that quickly… I’m gonna go check on the weapon’s progress. You know where that is, right?”

“Yeah, I know. See you later, big guy…” Jenna said flirtatiously.

Steele chuckled softly and walked off, taking the elevator back up. Jenna smiled at him as he walked away, then opened the door when he was gone, causing Balto to tumble out on top of her, the two agents hitting the ground. Balto stared down at Jenna, who lay beneath him, and laughed.

“We really need to stop meeting like this…” he replied and got up, offering his hand to help her up.

“Yeah, it’s getting a bit painful…” Jenna replied and took his hand, standing up with his help, “I swear, I’m gonna be sick…”

“Sounded like you really like him, eh Jen?” Balto asked, grinning playfully at her.

“You wanna go back in that room, hot shot?” Jenna asked, grinning back. The two laughed and looked around.

“So, where do we need to head now?” Balto asked, looking back at his teammate.

“Well, from here, we take an indoor bridge across to another complex. That’s where the weapon is being held…” Jenna explained, looking at Balto as she spoke.

“What is this weapon anyway?” Balto asked, wondering what could be so deadly that it could threaten the whole United States from Alaska.

“Not sure… I never got into the area where it was being held… You need Security Level 10 to get into where the weapon is being worked on, so I haven’t the slightest clue…” Jenna replied, wondering the exact same thing.

“Alright, the bridge it is… Hang on; let me report back to Colonel McIntyre first…”

Chapter 3

            Balto flipped on his communicator and walked a few steps away from Jenna so he could speak in private. He waited a few seconds to make sure he’d be received by the military’s radio.

“This is Wolf. Can anyone hear me?” Balto whispered into his mini microphone.

“Loud and clear Wolf. What’s your mission status thus far?”

“I’ve successfully escaped and retrieved my lost equipment. I had help from my partner, Husky.”

“Ah, so you two did meet up after all. So, how’re things going for you two?”

“We’re pretty good as a team, but why didn’t you tell me that Husky was a female?”

“She personally asked for gender discretion.”

“Why would she ask for that?”

“Probably because most people would figure female agents wouldn’t be as good as male agents. It’s not all that uncommon, you know. Anyhoo, she asked that her gender not be discussed and that she’d accept any gender for a partner. Turns out, you filled her very vague description perfectly, so you two were partnered up. Any problems with that?”

“Well, no. She’s an excellent gunfighter and fairly good at close-quarters combat, but what if she starts getting attached to the enemy?”

“I wouldn’t worry about that. Wolf, do you know what her first words were once I finished briefing her?”

“No, I can’t say I do.”

“She said “When do I get to shoot him?” I wouldn’t be afraid of her getting too close to him; she’s trained for this kind of stuff.”

“Alright. But first, I want to make sure I’ve got the right girl as my partner… She’s a crimson and cream Husky, right?”

“Right. Hence her codename.”

“Alright. Continuing with the mission now. Wolf out.”

Balto turned off his communicator and sighed softly. He’d never worked with a female partner before and had no idea on how this was going to turn out. As soon as he turned around, he heard the elevator open and out walked Star. He took a quick look at the two and drew out twin Single Action Army revolvers before they could raise their guns. Fortunately, they weren’t trying to raise their guns and instead dove behind