From the oil rig, a large freighter left, sailing northward until it vanished from sight. Then everything was quiet and calm again for a while. Balto sighed softly, the cold beginning to get to him and Kodi.

“D-dad? A-are we g-gonna d-die?” Kodi asked, giving his father a scared look. Balto slowly shook his head.

“No Kodi… W-we’ll be just f-fine…” Balto replied, his teeth chattering slightly. No sooner had Balto said those words than the roar of a helicopter above them was heard, loud and clear. A searchlight was shone down on the two agents and Balto waved up to it. A rope ladder was thrown down to them and Balto ushered Kodi up it, climbing up after his son did. Inside the helicopter, two American soldiers wrapped blankets around Balto and Kodi.

“Are you two alright?” they asked as the helicopter flew off.

“Yeah…” Balto said softly, beginning to warm up once again, looking over at Kodi who had fallen asleep, his hand reaching for where his dog-tags had previously been, a grim expression settling over his face, “We’re fine……”

Chapter 3

The Pentagon, May 23rd 2026, 1425 hours.

            Balto and Kodi stood in Colonel McIntyre’s office, staring at the German Shepherd as he sorted out some files before setting them aside and looking at Balto.

“Balto, I know you’ve always hated failing missions… and I know you want a chance to redeem yourself, like you always do…” he said calmly, “Which is why I’m giving you this… I think you’ll find it very interesting…” Colonel McIntyre pushed a manila folder toward Balto. The wolfdog hesitated for a moment before picking it up and looking through the files.

“What am I looking at, Colonel?” Balto asked, not quite believing what he saw.

“That, Balto, is an abandoned military compound out in the Sahara Desert…” McIntyre explained, “Except it’s not so abandoned anymore… Recently, satellites have picked up heat signatures coming from it and, when analyzed, they registered as human bio-signs… They’re the remaining forces of the Falcons… and Niju’s there…”

“Why would Niju be out in the Sahara Desert?” Balto asked, picking up a file and scanning it over before looking over another one, “What does he have to gain there? Surely he must be up to something, correct?”

“He is, Balto… He is…” Colonel McIntyre said, folding his hands on top of his desk, “Haven’t you ever wondered what a wolf with a small force of military-trained mercenaries wants with all that oil?”

“I have…” Kodi said suddenly, “I’m guessing you found out why, huh? Why’d he take all that oil?”

“Surely it’s not to avoid the outrageous gas prices for cars…” Balto said sarcastically, handing a couple files to Kodi to let him look over them, “So why’d he take that oil? What’s he fueling?”

“Missiles. He’s constructed about 1,000 of those missiles I told you he stole the blueprints for…” the Shepherd explained, rising to his feet and holding his hands behind his back casually, “He’s using that oil as fuel for them… He now has 1,000 fully functioning short-range ballistic missiles… and he’s stashed them out there in the Sahara…”

“Why would he be doing that? I mean, they’re short-range missiles, so what?” Balto asked, closing the folder and handing it to his son, “He can’t do much damage from the Sahara… Besides, he doesn’t have anything to fire them with…”

“No, but what else would someone do with missiles when they can’t fire them?” Balto thought for a moment, then got a serious look as the realization dawned on him.

“Sell them… He’s going to sell those missiles…”

“Right… From a journal one of our international agent allies managed to snag, he’s meeting with officials from al-Qaeda to sell them the missiles… If they get their hands on them, then the war over there could go from bad, to loss…” Colonel McIntyre stated, “It’s very important this mission… We need someone to get those blueprints back, destroy the missiles and the base, and eliminate Niju Suarez… Balto, we need you to go…”

Balto stood still, showing no emotions for a while. He thought to himself for a long while before sighing and looking at Kodi. He then looked back to Colonel McIntyre and shook his head.

“No sir… I’m sorry, but I can’t take this mission… for personal reasons…” Balto said, motioning to Kodi, “Give it to Kodi… He’s more than qualified and ready for it…” Kodi and Colonel McIntyre gave him a look of utter disbelief and shock.

“Balto… this mission is of the highest priority… We even got the President’s approval on it before it even got to my desk!” McIntyre exclaimed, “Why would you merely turn this down?! This mission could determine the fate of the entire United States of America!”

“I know, Colonel… But with all due respect, sir, there’s a more important reason than the sake of my country for me to deny your request and refuse this mission…” Balto said coolly, “Kodiak is more than able to do it… and I’ll even be apart of his support team back here… If you don’t believe me, give him a partner. Would that make you feel any better?” Colonel McIntyre said nothing for a few moments, then sighed heavily and sat down once again.

“Balto, I… I don’t… Alright… Kodiak, you’re now assigned to this mission…” Colonel McIntyre stated, writing something down on a notepad, “I’ll get you a partner ASAP. You’ll be required to report back here in three days, at 0700 hours sharp…”

“Understood sir!” Kodi said, saluting his commanding officer before walking out of the room with the folder on his latest and most important mission he’d probably ever receive. Once Kodi was out of the room, Colonel McIntyre looked at Balto and spoke right away.

“Balto, out of all the years that I’ve known you, you’ve never once declined a mission before. What’s going on, why have you finally decided to turn one down, and one that could mean life or death for thousands of soldiers and hundreds of thousands of citizens?!” Colonel McIntyre asked, not bothering to hide the utter shock in his voice at all. Balto merely sighed softly and shook his head slowly.

“Colonel, please understand… I have a good reason for doing this…” Balto said calmly, his eyes showing that he knew what he was doing, “You’re my friend, Colonel… Please, trust me on this…” McIntyre sighed and nodded slowly.

“Alright Balto… I trust you… After all, you haven’t been wrong yet…” he replied, “You’ll be on Kodiak’s support team then… Dismissed…” Balto saluted and turned on his heels, walking out of the room and down the hallway until he met up with Kodi. Neither of them said a word as they walked out of the Pentagon.

The Pentagon, May 26th 2026, 0700 hours.

            Balto and Kodi walked into the Operations Room, right on schedule. The best team the government could assemble sat in their designated places, ready to begin. Colonel McIntyre was talking to another dog, a larger built brown malamute. The dog tapped McIntyre on his shoulder and pointed past him at Balto and Kodi. The colonel turned and smiled at the two agents.

“Agents Balto and Kodiak! You’re right on time!” Colonel McIntyre said, shaking hands with the two of them, “Agent Kodi, I’d like you to meet your partner, Agent Kirby.”

“Pleased to meet you, Kirby…” Kodi said, shaking his teammate’s hand and giving him a smile.

“Hey, you’re Balto’s son?! You’re so lucky! Your father’s, like, a living legend!” Kirby exclaimed as he shook Kodi’s hand, beaming at Balto, “Oh my… It’s really him! The great Balto!”

“I’m flattered…” Balto said coolly, then looked to the Colonel, “McIntyre, we’ll need to begin ASAP to give our agents optimum time out in the field…”

“Yes, they should… Good call, Balto…” he replied, nodding to Kodi and Kirby, “Your jet is waiting at the airport. Hurry, you’ll need all the time you can get… Oh, but first, here’s s\some equipment we deem necessary for this mission…”

Colonel McIntyre opened up a duralumin briefcase and pulled out two white capsules, giving one to each agent before giving them a blue one each as well.

“Those white pills are potassium-cyanide capsules… They’ll send you into a state of false-death should you get captured or need to use them at any time… They’ll shut your vitals down temporarily. The blue capsule is used to revitalize you…” Colonel McIntyre explained, “But be warned: if you remain in that state for over half an hour, you won’t be able to come back and your vitals won’t be resuscitated, even by that blue capsule… It’s up to your teammate to give you their blue capsule if you use your white one…”

Kodi and Kirby stowed their capsules away in pouches on their belts. Colonel McIntyre turned back to the duralumin case and took out two magazines of bullets, giving one to each agent.

“Those are non-lethal bullets. They’re made of a synthetic material that evaporates on contact with its target, releasing a fast-acting sedative into whatever it hits… You only have ten though, so use them sparingly…” he explained, giving them the magazines before giving them two grenades each, “Those are flash grenades. I’m sure you know what those do… Useful for escapes and whatnot…”

Colonel McIntyre