more before back at the papers, “You’ve been trained by him to handle small arms, heavy arms, as well as basic and advanced land vehicle skills and aquatic vehicles?”

“Yes sir, he taught me all of that… I was never really good with aerial vehicles though…” he admitted with a slightly nervous chuckle, “He also taught me all about stealth, infiltration, hacking, movement techniques, and everything else he knew I’d need to survive if I become an agent…”

“Well, your application is very impressive, as well as your lineage…” Colonel McIntyre said with a grin, stamping the husky’s papers and standing up, holding out his hand, “Welcome to the United States Stealth Agency, Kodiak Harrand…”

“Thank you very much, Colonel McIntyre!” Kodi said with a large smile, shaking the Shepherd’s hand gratefully, “I’ll make sure to not fail, sir! I won’t make you regret this decision!”

“I’m sure you won’t, Kodiak…” McIntyre replied, glancing at someone in the doorframe, grinning and motioning behind Kodi, “And I’d like to show you some others who’d like to congratulate you…” Kodi turned around and saw Balto and Jenna standing in the doorway, smiles of pride on their faces.

“Mom, Dad!” Kodi said happily and walked up to them, hugging them lovingly.

“Congratulations Kodiak!” Jenna said, embracing him back, “I’m so proud of you!”

“I knew you could do it, Kodi!” Balto said cheerfully, smiling widely as he hugged Kodi back, “I always knew you had it in you!”

“It was all thanks to you, Dad…” Kodi replied, beaming at Balto, “I never could have done it without your help… Thanks a lot, Dad!” Colonel McIntyre cleared his throat and held up a manila folder, motioning to Balto and Kodi.

“While I hate to interrupt this joyous moment for you three, but I have something for you, Balto…” he said, placing the folder down on his desk, “We’ve found out where Niju is… After twenty years of searching, the snake finally revealed himself… He’s on an oil rig just off the coast of Venezuela… He’s been stealing the oil for a few days now, but we can’t figure out why…”

“And that’s where I come in, right?” Balto asked, picking up the folder and opening it, beginning to rifle through the documents within, “You want me to go there, find out what he’s up to, and stop him from finishing it, right?”

“Right. Right now, your only mission objective is to find out what he’s up to and stop him from completing his goal, whatever it may be with oil…” Colonel McIntyre finished, looking at Jenna and smiling slightly, “Jenna, your request for entry back into the agency has been sent to processing… Once we get it back with validation from the President or Secretary of Defense, then we may welcome you back into the agency with open arms… We’d be glad to have you back…”

“Thank you, Colonel…” Jenna replied, smiling as she nodded to him, then looked at Balto, giving him a look that said ‘Get your son involved’. Balto finished looking through the folder and nodded to the Shepherd.

“Alright Colonel, I’ll accept this mission… on one condition… I want to take Kodi with me…” he said, getting a surprised look from both McIntyre and Kodi, “It would be a good chance for him to experience what it’s like in the agency and with me there, I’ll be able to keep an eye on him…”

“Approved, Balto… You and Kodi will leave for Venezuela by air tomorrow morning at 0600 hours tomorrow sharp. Dismissed.”

Balto saluted and turned around, walking out with Kodi and Jenna. Almost immediately as soon as they left the colonel’s office, Kodi spoke up.

“Dad, are you sure you want to take me with you on your mission?” Kodi asked, “I mean, I’m still a rookie and I don’t want to be any kind of hindrance to you…” Balto laughed softly and smiled at his son.

“Kodi, you could never be a hindrance to me… I’d be more than happy to take me with you and teach you to use those techniques out on the field…” Balto responded, “Plus it’d be a great chance to see your father in action… Maybe learn a few extra things… Consider this your final test for all you’ve learned…”

“Well, thanks for taking me along with you, Dad…” Kodi replied gratefully, “I’m- a little nervous about this… But I know I’ll do well with you by my side!” Balto smiled widely as the family left the Pentagon behind them. He knew that they had to get home soon. They had a lot of preparations to do.

Once they were back home, Balto took Kodi to their storeroom, unlocking it and leading him inside. Balto grabbed his handgun from the rack and several clips of ammo, putting them in their designated spots on his stealth suit as it hung on the wall. Kodi followed behind his father, watching every movement he made with interest and taking mental notes. Balto then opened up a steel cabinet and handed Kodi a finely-crafted polished wood box. Kodi took it and looked up at Balto.

“What are you giving me this for, Dad?” Kodi asked, shaking the box slightly and listening to the soft rattling within.

“Consider it a gift for getting accepted into the agency, son…” Balto said, closing the cabinet and grabbing his grappling gun, “Go ahead, open it up!” Kodi lifted the latch and raised the cover, gasping slightly at the sight within.

Inside was a brand-new 9mm Beretta 92 handgun, polished, primed, and ready for action. Taking it out and holding it up, Kodi examined every inch of the pistol. The grip had been checkered to make it easier to grip, the clip eject button had been positioned so he wouldn’t accidentally hit it, the thumb safety was slightly larger for easier usage, and the slide had been reinforced and smoothened to make it easier to pull back. Kodi stopped his gaping at his gift to look back to Balto with utter shock on his face.

“Dad… This is… I can’t believe… How did you get this?!” Kodi asked, obviously awestruck by the gun in his hand, “This handgun’s been modified and customized in, like, eight different ways!”

“When you’re a top-ranking government agent, you tend to meet a lot of people…” Balto answered with a smile, “I have a friend who heads a weapons factory… I got him to make me that at a major discount… You’ll need that for tomorrow…”

“Ah, thanks so much, Dad!” Kodi said, holding it up and aiming at the wall, visioning enemy troops before him, “Hey Dad, what do you think is gonna happen while we’re out there?”

“Probably nothing more than standard routine infiltration/assassination missions…” Balto answered, finishing attaching equipment to his stealth suit, “This mission shouldn’t last longer than a half day, a day at the most, so we won’t need to pack many supplies… Oh, by the way son, tomorrow before we get on that plane, we have to meet Colonel McIntyre at the Pentagon… He’s going to give you your standard agent gear…”

“Awesome! This is gonna be so great!” Kodi said, glancing back at the three radios on the table, “Hey, these look pretty cool… What are they?” Balto looked up and pointed to them.

“Those are long-range wireless radio units… Their battery life is five days at the most before they’ll need recharging… They keep us linked to Operation Control and Headquarters while we’re off on missions…” Balto answered, walking over to Kodi, “Each one is labeled. One for me, one for your mother, and one for you…”

“Wow… All this stuff is so cool…” Kodi said, walking around and looking at the various weapons and equipment on the walls and racks, admiring his father’s black stealth suit, “I still can’t believe I’m actually an agent… I can’t thank you enough, Dad!”

“I know Kodi… I’m glad I helped you get what you wanted so much…” Balto replied, leading Kodi back out of the storeroom and locking it up before turning to Kodi, “But remember Kodi: this isn’t a video game or a movie… This is real life, real missions, real guns, and above all, real danger… Don’t get careless or arrogant out there, because one mistake could wind up costing you your life, ok son?”

“Yeah, ok Dad… I understand…” Kodi said, then smiled and saluted Balto, “… or should I call you Agent Balto now?” Balto laughed and rubbed Kodi’s head.

“You can still call me Dad… Don’t worry about calling me ‘Agent Balto’ or ‘sir’…” the wolfdog said before walking off, “Remember to get a good night’s sleep tonight Kodi… That could be a very valuable thing for you, especially on your first mission…”

Kodi nodded and watched his father walk off. His face then broke out into a wide smile as he followed Balto down the hallway, anxious and nervous for tomorrow to come.

The Pentagon, April 9th 2026, 0530 hours.

            The sun still had yet to rise over the capital of the United States of America. However, despite the lack of sunlight, activity had already begun to bound about in the Pentagon. Inside the building, a skilled team of dogs sat at many various computer terminals, staring up at a large map of the world. It zoomed into Venezuela, then to a point about 100 miles off the coast. An oil rig could be seen as a vague dot amongst the deep blue of the ocean as Balto, Kodi, and Colonel McIntyre stared at it.

“That is your mission location, Agent Balto and Agent Kodi… It’s a rather large oil rig, 100 miles off the coast of Venezuela…” the colonel explained, “It’s recently been taken over by an unknown group of mercenaries, most likely the exact same group as the ones who were dealing with Niju in the past… They’ve been there for a while now, but no one’s bothered to try and take it back…”

“Why not, sir?” Kodi asked, looking to the dog before back to the large screen on the wall.

“Because the soldiers that are on Niju’s side are well-armed and from the reports we’ve received, they’re also very