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Very nice, my friend.
I'll admit, by the title I thought this would be centered around Kodi being an agent after Balto retires or something, not that they'd work together! Very clever. Balto's kinda getting into the Sam Fisher age range now, huh?

I like the way this is going, and I need more!
Write on!
-LWf

That was unbelievably cool! This just keeps getting better and better! Keep up the good work!

And now for a twist in the plot that'll prove veeeery important later on!
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Once the doors opened once more, Balto and Kodi, guns raised and ready to fire, stepped out into the hallway, each one aiming down the other end of the hall. When they saw the same barrenness as the other halls, Balto nodded to Kodi and followed the markings on the walls to their destination. As they rounded a corner, Balto ran into a guard and stumbled slightly. The guard recovered first and went to shoot Balto, but Kodi reacted faster and pulled his trigger four times, each bullet striking the dog in a different part of his torso. Kodi watched as the guard fell dead to the floor, a shocked look on his face.

“Well done, Kodi…” Balto said, looking from the dead guard to Kodi, giving him a thumbs-up, “First kill… Don’t worry about it though… It was necessary…” Kodi only nodded, still shocked as he looked at the handgun in his slightly trembling hand. Balto patted Kodi on his back before motioning down the hall with his gun.

“Come on, we have to go…” Balto said softly, leading a shell-shocked Kodi onward…




Balto pushed through the large ferns and undergrowth. It had been a few hours since they’d touched down and now it seemed like forever they’d been trekking. Balto checked his SOAW; it had been precisely two hours and eighteen minutes since they’d landed.

“Where the Hell is this place?” Balto asked into the small microphone clipped onto his shirt.

“It should be just a bit farther… In fact Balto, go forward about fifty feet…” Brad said, his voice coming through Balto’s old radio that he wore. Balto pushed forward and through one last large fern until he saw a small military base down in a basin before him, the beige concrete and steel mesh fence standing out from the lush green scenery around it.

“Excellent… I found it Brad… Where are you?” Balto asked, feeling someone tap him on his shoulder and instinctively spun around, pointing his handgun at Brad, “Jeez Brad, you nearly gave me a heart attack!” Brad chuckled and pointed to Balto’s gun.

“You almost made me lose my brains, but there was no harm done there, right?” he asked, chuckling again, “Come on, I can see a break in the guards’ patrol pattern… Follow me…”

Brad led Balto down through the dense jungle until they arrived on the outskirts of the base. Through the wire mesh, Balto could see the guards walking back and forth, M-16’s clutched tightly as they patrolled back and forth around the compound. Brad watched until the guards moved away, leaving a small opening in their patrolling. Brad quickly jumped onto the fence, climbing to the top and using his wire-cutters to snip through the barbed wire at the top before dropping over and hiding behind a stack of crates.

Balto took a deep breath and waited several minutes before the break reappeared again. He then followed Brad’s example, taking his route and climbing over the fence, dropping on the other side and dashing to where Brad was, taking cover next to his mentor. As they hid, a single guard walked by them and caught a quick glimpse of Balto’s jungle camouflage in contrast to the metal crates. He walked over to see what it was and spotted the two agents. Balto noticed him as well and quickly raised his handgun, pulling the trigger and listening to the gunshot echo through his ears and mind, watching the soldier clutch his chest and double-over.

Brad looked over and saw Balto kill the soldier, quickly scrambling over beside Balto and pulling the dead guard out of sight behind the crates. He examined the wound inflicted upon the guard. A direct shot to the dog’s chest. Brad nodded in approval to Balto, impressed with his marksmanship.

“Nice shot Balto… Now let’s try to find a way inside…” he whispered, looking back out over the side of the crates. Balto only stared at his handgun, then to the body, then back to his gun. He still couldn’t believe it. He had actually killed a dog…




The Oil Processing Room wasn’t very far from where Kodi had made his first kill. Just a few minutes down the hall and they found the metal door with the label on it. Balto pulled it open and rushed inside, followed by Kodi, both scanning for enemies. They were on a metal catwalk above huge tankards of oil. A single dog, or more accurately, a wolf, stood on the catwalk a few yards away. As Balto and Kodi got closer, the black and white wolf noticed them and quickly spun around.

“Who the Hell are you two?” he asked furiously, taking a step backward.

“Niju Suarez, I presume…” Balto said, lowering his gun while Kodi kept his on the wolf, “We represent the United States government… We’re here to stop you… Now you can either come quietly or die with a fight…”

Niju, not seeing any way out of this yet, sighed and lowered his arms. He took a few slow strides forward before reaching into his jacket. Balto reacted faster and ran forward, reaching him just as the wolf pulled out a Desert Eagle handgun. Balto kicked it out of his hand, watching it fall into the oil below. Niju then laid punch after punch on Balto, knocking the wolfdog backward. Kodi tried to shoot Niju, but couldn’t pull the trigger. He didn’t want to risk his father’s life.

Balto stumbled backwards and nearly fell, but managed to stay standing. He’s got to have some kind of training… His punches are too strong and finessed to be an amateur fighter’s… he thought to himself, looking up to catch Niju running off down the catwalk to a metal door at the end.

“Get him Kodi!” Balto shouted, dashing off after Niju. Kodi obeyed and fired after the retreating canine, hitting the catwalk and rails around him and throwing sparks up behind the wolf, but never hitting him. Niju pulled the door open and rushed out, shortly followed by Balto. Kodi growled softly and ran off after them, not willing to give up the fight so easily.

Balto ran through the door and found himself outside, on another catwalk on the outer walls of the oil rig. Good God! Balto thought to himself, looking down the catwalk and spotting Niju. He ran off after him, but the wolf stopped and kneed Balto in his stomach. The wolfdog groaned softly in agony and doubled over, falling to the ground. Kodi ran outside and saw what was going on. He raised his handgun and pulled the trigger- only to hear a click of an empty magazine.

Balto grabbed Niju’s leg and pulled, sending him crashing to the catwalk as well. Niju growled and kicked Balto in the head, slowly getting up again. Balto struggled to his feet, but was knocked down when Niju landed a blow on the back of his head. Kodi, unable to watch his father take such a beating, ran up and kicked Niju in his chest. The wolf flew backward, but caught himself in mid-fall, did a back-flip, and landed on his feet. Kodi ran forward again, trying to hit Niju but he blocked every attack.

Niju then dodged and grabbed Kodi’s arm, spinning the husky around and holding him as a shield. Balto got up and pointed his gun at Niju- then gasped sharply as he saw Kodi being held hostage.

“Now, Mr. American Agent, stow the gun or your son dies right here, right now…” Niju threatened, pulling out a dagger and holding it to Kodi’s neck. Balto reluctantly holstered his pistol and raised his hands.

“Alright, it’s done… Now let him go, Niju…” Balto said calmly.

“Come and get him first…” Niju said, hiding the grin he was wearing. It was obvious he had a plan, but Balto was unable to see it. As Balto came forward, Niju’s hand shot forward and grabbed the wolfdog’s dog-tags, pulling them from around his neck. He growled softly; he’d been aiming for the agent’s neck, but had missed only by an inch.

“He’s all yours, Mr. Agent… presuming the ocean doesn’t claim him first!” Niju shouted, tossing Kodi over the edge of the catwalk. The husky screamed as he fell hundreds of feet down into the black, cold ocean waters.

“Kodiak!” Balto shouted, willingly giving up his chance to complete the mission as he jumped off the edge, diving in after Kodi. Niju laughed and ran off down the catwalk. Despite his stealth suit’s insulation, the water was still freezing cold around Balto’s body. God, Kodi fell into this?! Balto thought, swimming underwater toward his son. He grabbed Kodi’s arms and quickly swam up to the surface. A moment later, the two agents broke the surface, Kodi coughing and sputtering.

“D-dad?” he asked, shivering terribly, “I… r-really messes up, huh?”

“Nonsense, Kodi… You didn’t mess anything up…” Balto said, holding his son close to try and warm him up slightly as they bobbed up and down in the water, Balto pressing his radio again, “This is Agent Balto. The mission is a failure. Repeat, the mission is a failure. Requesting immediate extraction. Over…” Balto looked at Kodi. “Don’t worry Kodi… It’s over now… We’ll be home soon…”




Balto slowly and silently closed the metal door behind him. He glanced back forward, following behind Brad as he walked down the hallway. A guard came around the corner and Brad didn’t hesitate; he drew out his knife and shoved it into the soldier’s chest before tossing him into an adjacent room.

“So Brad, aren’t we supposed to be looking for this guy, Commander Baker?” Balto asked, giving the wolf a confused look, “So shouldn’t we be interrogating these guys instead of slaughtering them?” Brad chuckled and glanced back at the young wolfdog.

“Balto, sometimes being rough and vicious gets the mission done faster…” he explained, opening a door and looking in the room before closing it and carrying on his search, “Besides, no one will miss these guys…”

Balto gave his mentor a strange look, not quite sure he approved of his methods. But the government apparently did so, so it wasn’t his place to question Brad. The two continued to walk on, Brad shooting and killing every guard they came across. Balto preferred to try and interrogate them, always getting to answer either because they refused to talk or because Brad killed them while he held them.

Balto sighed as he walked out of yet another empty room. He gave Brad a shrug and shook his head slowly.

“I have absolutely no idea where this Commander Baker guy is!” Balto said, hearing rushing bootsteps coming toward them. Balto and Brad turned and saw four guards approach them and take aim at them.

“Freeze you two! Don’t move or it’s your funeral!” one guard shouted. Balto and Brad exchanged looks before dropping their guns and raising their hands above their heads…




Balto and Kodi continued to gently bob up and down in the water for several minutes. Nearby, a ship’s horn sliced through the serene silence. 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……”

This just keeps getting better and better! Talk about exciting! Keep up the excellent work!

Very nice! I can imagine that Niju will be re-appearing sometime later, eh?
I really enjoy the constant switching from flashback to real-time; the scenarios are so similar, but I'm sure you planned that. I like it.
Father teaches son while remembering his own first mission.
It makes for excellant characterization.

Keep it coming!
-LWf

Yep. Niju's the main bad guy, so he'll be seen later.
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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-Quaida 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 then closed up the duralumin case and set it down on the floor. Balto walked up to Kodi and placed a hand on his son’s shoulder, giving him a slight smile.

“Dad… If… If I don’t come back- tell Mom that-”

“Stop right there… Kodiak, you’re a very skilled, impressive young agent… Don’t talk like you know you’re going to die…” Balto said, handing Kodi a single bullet, “This bullet I had made special… Use it only when you’re certain you can kill Niju…” Balto took Kodi’s hand and left the bullet in it. Kodi gripped the single brass bullet tightly, eyes shining brightly as he nodded to his father.

“I understand Dad… I won’t fail… I won’t let you down…” Kodi said before saluting Balto. Balto smiled and saluted Kodi back.

Kodi and Kirby nodded to one another before they walked out of sight. Balto sighed heavily and looked around the Operations Room. This was the first time he’d ever been in here out of his stealth suit. Turning back to the large monitor on the wall, Balto watched it, staring at the information displayed on the screen. On the left side of the screen was a vertical gray rectangle, a picture of Kodi in it and stats on Kodi’s current condition, heart-rate, blood pressure, and vital signs.

“Please Kodi… Be safe…” Balto whispered to the display of his son, slowly closing his eyes in silent prayer, then spotted something on the topography map of the region the military base was on, “Colonel, zoom in on those five dots there…”

“Good God…” Colonel McIntyre said as they zoomed in, “Those are anti-aircraft turrets…”

“They won’t have a chance getting in… I’m going…” Balto said, quickly turning to leave.

“Balto, you can’t! You weren’t approved for the mission!”

“I can’t just sit by and watch my son get blown to pieces by the enemy! There has to be something we can do!” Balto argued, walking back up to the colonel, “Anything, Colonel… Isn’t there anything we can do?” Colonel McIntyre thought for a moment, then sighed heavily.

“All we can do is warn the pilot… Other than that, it’s too late for anything else…” McIntyre explained, “We’ll just have to trust their skills and wish them the best of luck…” Balto looked utterly terror-stricken, only able to stare at the large wall monitor in distress and hope for the best…

I'm at the edge of my seat!

Wow, this one seems like my most popular fanfic yet! I'm really proud of it! ^_^ And since I'm wiriting it so quickly, here's yet another update!
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Balto slid out of the air shaft behind Brad, sighing softly. Only ten minutes ago, Brad had picked the lock to his cell and killed the guard watching them before setting Balto free. Everything had just been so tough for Balto so far and he didn’t know how much more he could take. Walking off into a room while Brad inspected some files, Balto smiled as he saw something interesting.

“Hey Brad! I think I may have found him!” Balto shouted to his teammate and mentor. Brad rushed in and found Balto holding his handgun to a soldier’s head. “Now, tell my teammate what you just told me…”

“C-Commander Baker’s in the Mapping Room!” the guard said, then looked at Brad, “Y-you! What’re you doing here? I thought the Commander-”

Brad’s eyes widened slightly and his hand shot up, putting a round through the guard’s head. The dog fell against the wall and slid down to the floor. Balto stared at the body of his hostage, then shot a glare at Brad.

“What the Hell was that all about?!” Balto asked in a near shout, now very irritated with Brad’s actions and methods, “You’ve interrogated no one, killed everyone we’ve come across, and even killed the one guy who had information for us! I don’t know what methods you use, but they’re insane!”

“Balto, listen to me… I’ve never interrogated one guard in my six years of being an agent… and I’ve accomplished every single mission I’ve gone on…” Brad said, growling lowly at Balto, “If you don’t like my methods, then that’s your problem, but for now we have to work together just to stay alive, because if we fail this mission, we die, understood?” Balto opened his mouth to protest some more, but sighed heavily and dropped his arms.

“Alright… I’m sorry Brad… I didn’t mean to yell… I’m just- a little irritated, is all… and stressed! This is my first mission and I guess I’m a little nervous right now…” Balto admitted, ears lowering against his forehead.

“It’s alright Balto… I understand that feeling… Everyone’s been a rookie at one time or another…” Brad said, patting the wolfdog’s shoulders, “Now c’mon, let’s go find that Mapping Room…”

Balto smiled slightly at Brad. The wolf opened the door and Balto walked out, gun raised as he sweeped the halls for soldiers. He motioned to Brad and both agents set off down the hallways. After searching for close to an hour, they finally found a room marked Mapping Room. Balto nodded to Brad and the wolf swiftly kicked the door down, walking in coolly and spotting the Golden Retriever who was their objective. He gave them a shocked look and took a few steps back.

“Who’re you two?” the Commander asked, back now pressed to the far wall, “How did you get in here?”

“Just remain calm… We’re not going to kill you, and we won’t harm you so long as you comply with us…” Brad said, looking to Balto and motioning to a folder on the table, “Balto, grab his files… I’ll arrest Baker…” Baker turned around and put his hands behind his back, willingly giving himself up as Brad latched handcuffs on his wrists.

“Alright, let’s get outta here…” Balto said, “More guards might show up… We’d better hurry out of here…”

“Relax, Balto…” Brad said, taking the lead and walking Baker out with them, hands firmly gripping the Retriever’s green military uniform, “Our extraction point is in the port city of Puerto Vallarta…”

“Alright, so how are we going to get there?” Balto asked, “I don’t think we can walk through a Mexican jungle…” Brad laughed as they walked out into the bright sunlight, a jeep parked off to the side of the base.

“THAT is how we’re getting out of here…” Brad replied, tossing Commander Baker forcefully into the back before climbing into the driver’s side, Balto taking the passenger seat beside him.

Brad turned the key in the ignition and the car started up, flooring the gas pedal and shooting off, turning around the base, searching for the gate to get out. The guards instantly noticed them and began opening fire. Balto fired back, managing to kill two guards before his gun ran out of bullets. As Balto reloaded, Brad began firing back, shooting down four guards and laughing as he drove.

“Ah, I love this!” Brad said to Balto, “It’s such a thrill!”

Balto merely nodded in response, not really paying attention as he jammed a fresh magazine into his Beretta as Brad circled around the base again, both agents firing at the guards this time. Concrete splintered where they shot, a few guards getting hit, but many of their shots missing their targets. Finally, Brad found the mesh gates, shut and chained up. He grinned and drove straight for them.

“Uh, Brad?” Balto asked, staring straight ahead as a blockade of guards formed before the gate.

“Trust me, Balto…” Brad replied, “That, and get your head down!” Balto and Brad ducked as a hailstorm of bullets ripped through the windshield, the jeep still going and plowing through the soldiers, ramming the gate and breaking it open as they sped off down the dirt road, destined for Puerto Vallarta…



Kodi sat in silence as the jet soared over the Atlantic Ocean. His gaze stayed out the window as his stomach twisted about inside of him. He thought he’d been nervous on his first mission, but this fear was nearly unbearable. At least on his first mission he’d had his father to help him through it. While he trusted Kirby’s skills, he knew his father was the best in the business and that was like a safety net for him. Now Kodi felt like he was walking the high-wire with no protection.

Kirby noticed his teammate’s nervousness and tension and patted Kodi’s shoulder. Kodi looked over at him and gave him a weak smile.

“Hey Kodi, you doing alright?” Kirby asked. Kodi only nodded slowly before saying,

“Yeah, I’m fine… It’s… nothing, really…” Kodi looked back out the window. Below them, the coast of Morocco was beginning to come into view. With a heavy sigh, Kodi resigned himself to the fact that they’d be there soon… and he may not be coming back home this time…

“Well Kodi, we’re almost there…” Kirby said, taking out his handgun, a Glock, and checking to make sure it was loaded, “Don’t worry… I’m sure your Dad’s taught you enough to complete this mission… Should be nothing more than any other standard assassination/infiltration missions…”

“Yeah, it should be…” Kodi replied, glancing down and watching the ground below pass by them. Roughly ten minutes later, the beginnings of the enormous Sahara Desert began to come into view. He sighed heavily, taking out his Beretta and staring down at it. It only took them another thirty minutes before they came into the vicinity of the compound. Kodi looked out at the dark night. Due to the time exchange, it was already night there.

“Ten minutes to your D.O.P. Get ready agents…” the captain said over the intercom. Kodi grabbed his parachute and clutched it tightly, taking a deep breath. The two agents sat in silence, awaiting the green light to get going on their mission.

“Five minutes to drop-off… Get suited up, make sure you have all your equipment…” Kodi and Kirby stood up, slipping their parachutes on and checking everything was stowed safely on them. They exchanged a quick smile before waiting for the next order from the captain.

“Two minutes to drop-off… Opening the rear of the plane…” the captain said through the intercom and a moment later, the rear hatch of the plane lowered to a platform for the agents.

“You ready for this Kodi?” Kirby asked, grinning from ear to ear. Kodi nodded, grinning back at his teammate.

“Always ready… Let’s do this!” Kodi replied.

“Sixty seconds to drop-off… Stand by to- Oh, sh*t!” the captain said and then the plane shook violently, nearly throwing the two agents off their feet. Another violent shudder of the plane sent them down, both dogs struggling to get up.

“What the Hell’s going on?!” Kirby asked into the intercom, eyes narrowed as the plane continued to shake back and forth.

“We’re being shot at! Anti-aircraft turrets!” the captain said, “We’re gonna have to- *****! They’ve hit our right engine!” As soon as the captain said that, the plane began to list to the right, sending Kodi and Kirby crashing into the right wall of the plane.

“Mayday! Mayday! Aircraft O-870 has been hit! Repeat, we’ve been hit! We’re going down!” the captain said, forgetting to turn off the intercom system. Kodi and Kirby exchanged worried looks before Kodi looked to the open back of the plane.

“C’mon, we’ve gotta jump now!” Kodi said, both agents getting to their feet and running to the back of the plane. The desert was far below them and the compound wasn’t even in sight. “On three… One…”

“Three!” Kirby shouted and grabbed Kodi’s arm, jumping out while taking his teammate with him. A couple seconds later, the plane was hit again and burst into flame, exploding into a giant fireball before completely exploding into thousands of pieces. The two agents watched as their transport was obliterated as they fell down and down and down toward the desert sands below.

Back in Washington D.C., Balto sat staring at the giant monitor, a blank expression on his face. Colonel McIntyre sat down beside Balto and patted his friend on the back. He sighed softly and gave the wolfdog a soft, empathetic look.

“Don’t worry about your son, Balto… He’s a very capable agent… He completed all of his testing with flying colors and he did learn from the best of the business…” McIntyre said with a slight smile, “I’m sure he’ll be fine… Trust in him…”

“I do, Colonel… It’s just… I would’ve felt so much better if I had gone instead of him…” Balto said softly. Colonel McIntyre gave him a very confused look.

“Balto, I had originally offered this mission to you, but you turned it down immediately and gave it to Kodi…” he explained to the wolfdog, “Don’t you remember? If you would’ve felt better if you had gone, then why didn’t you go?”

“Because if I had gone, Kodi would have died anyway…” Balto answered, getting an even more confused look from Colonel McIntyre.

A sudden series of beeps was heard from the monitor. Balto and Colonel McIntyre quickly looked to it to find out what was going on. The plane had a mile to go before it reached its destination, but the homing signal on it was gone; no longer on the map, and Kodi’s and Kirby’s heart-rate was going up.

“What’s going on?” Colonel McIntyre asked, “The plane’s gone, but the agents’ vitals are still online… What’s happening?”

“I’ll tell you what’s going on…” Balto said, leaning forward and resting his head on his hands, “The plane’s been destroyed by those anti-aircraft turrets… The pilots are dead… However, Kodi and Kirby jumped in time… They’re still alive, but they’re falling 30,000 feet down to the ground…”




Kodi hit the ground with a soft thud. He ran forward a few steps to avoid his parachute falling on top of him. Quickly removing his parachute’s harness, he slipped out of it and pulled out his silenced Beretta, sweeping the desert for any enemies. A few meters away, Kirby touched down and removed his parachute, drawing his firearm as well. Kodi quickly ran up beside him and checked his SOAW. They were close to a mile away from the compound, which was to the east of them.

“We need to head east… It’s right over there…” Kodi said, pointing to the buildings off in the distance.

“Right…” Kirby said, looking to Kodi, “But we’d better be careful… We don’t know if anyone saw us come down or if there’s any guards out here…” Kodi nodded and the two set off, their black stealth suits helping to mask their approach in the night’s dark shadows.

The desert sands didn’t hinder them much. In fact, Kodi barely noticed a difference as he ran across it. Is this what it would be like for me if I had just signed up with the army instead of the agency? he asked himself in thought as they carried on running. After twenty minutes or so, the two teammates finally reached the steel mesh fence surrounding the compound. Kodi looked at the various sized buildings inside the fence, wondering just where Niju would be. He turned his radio on and Kirby did the same as he began to cut a hole in the fence.

“This is Agent Kodi... Can anybody hear me? Over…” Kodi said into his radio, waiting to hear a response. Balto’s ears shot up when he heard his son’s voice echo through the Operations Room from the speakers around the room. Frantically, Balto snatched up his headset and put it on.

“Agent Kodi? This is Balto… Where are you son?” Balto asked, looking to the map, “Press the red button on your SOAW…” Kodi did as he was told and a red dot appeared on the map in the Operations Room. “Ok Kodi, you’re at the outskirts of the compound… How are you getting in?”

“Kirby’s cutting a hole underneath the fence…” Kodi replied, looking to the large Malamute as he cut through the wire mesh, “Dad, can you tell me how many buildings there are here?”

“There’s four buildings in there, Kodi… And from what we can see, all of them have large heat signatures coming from them… We can’t tell you which has the missiles, since it looks like every building is full of enemy soldiers…” Balto explained, then sighed softly, “Kodi, please be careful… These dogs are ruthless and won’t hesitate to shoot you, so you have to do the same… Kodi, if you see an enemy, don’t think, just shoot… ok?” There was a long pause before Kodi finally said,

“Ok Dad… I’ve got it… We’re in now, I’ll keep my radio on, but I might not be able to reply… Agent Kodi, out…”

Kodi let his hand fall from the radio clipped to his chest down to his side. He gripped his handgun tighter, ready to do whatever necessary to complete the mission. Kirby finished cutting a hole in the bottom of the fence and replaced his wire cutters into his belt, crawling underneath it. Kodi followed his teammate and both dove behind a stack of metal crates, looking out at the many soldiers patrolling around. Spotlights on top of the buildings were manned and sweeping the area.

“*****… Security’s pretty tight around here…” Kirby said in a whisper.

“Well that’s what happens when an American transport plane gets shot down right above your head…” Kodi whispered back, both agents chuckling slightly, “Looks like there’s a door into that tall building over there…” Kodi pointed to the tallest of the four buildings, a lone door on the side of it.

“Yeah, I see it…” Kirby said, nodding slowly, “Alright… Let’s go!” With that, the two agents dashed behind another stack of crates, gradually making their way across the sand toward the structure.

I agree with you there DakotaWereWolf! I'm at the edge and ready to fall off. Now, all i need is a box of popcorn and some soda and I'll be ready for more!

I'm so confused!
How did the guard know Brad? Why did Balto turn down the mission? What does he know?!
It's easy to see how this is your most popular story! It rocks!!

-LWf

I think this fanfic is due for another update.
_____________________________________________________________


Niju sat at a desk he’d taken for himself, looking over various files and reports. The only light in the room was the one above his head, illuminating little other than the desk and himself. He sighed softly, pushing a few files off to the side and holding up a silvery chain with a small metal rectangle at the bottom of it. He slowly traced his fingers across the lines of text on the rectangle. It read:

Name: Balto Harrand
Age: 47
Blood Type: O+
D.O.B.: 03/15/79

The door to his office opened up and a Border Collie walked in, dressed in a high-ranking military uniform. Niju quickly placed Balto’s dog-tags back in his pocket and folded his hands across his desk.

“Lieutenant Drawn, good to see you…” Niju said, giving the Collie a slight smile, “Is there something I can do for you?”

“The reports you requested are back… It took me twenty days, but I finally found out all I could on that guy for you…” Drawn said, handing Niju a folder filled with papers and a few photographs, “And also, the meeting for the dealing of those missiles is still on for 9 PM tomorrow night…”

“Perfect… Everything’s going smoothly then?” Niju asked, taking the folder from the dog and giving him a pleased look, “No problems of any kind?”

“Well, there was an American transport aircraft that tried to fly over us about half an hour ago… We presumed it was going to drop troops inside the base to stop us…” Drawn began, then smiled cruelly, “But it was shot down a mile from the establishments… We have nothing to worry about…”

“Excellent work, Lieutenant… You’re dismissed…” Niju said and waited for his lieutenant to walk out before opening the folder and spreading the documents out on the desk, reading them intently, “Yes… This is perfect…” Niju then pressed the button on the short-wave radio on his desk. “Lieutenant, can you hear me?”

“Yes sir… Loud and clear…” came the voice of Drawn, “I’m going to go ahead and guess that there is something I can do for you after all?”

“Yes there is, Lieutenant Drawn…” Niju said, “I need you to gather up my Spec-Ops soldiers and get them ready to leave ASAP… I have a mission for them…” Niju leaned back in his chair, eyes still locked on the documents before him. He pulled the dog-tags out of his pocket again and held them up before him, watching them as they swayed back and forth in midair.




Colonel McIntyre walked back into the Operations Room, two mugs of freshly brewed coffee in his hands. He walked up beside Balto and placed a mug before him, taking a seat beside his friend and sighing softly. Balto had his face buried in his hands, not moving a muscle.

“Balto, I can’t begin to even imagine how worried you are right now…” the Shepherd said, trying to cheer his friend up, even if it was only slightly, “But believe me, I’ve seen what you’ve gone through in your life… You’ve told me pretty much everything… You’ve fought a regiment of terrorist-soldiers, you took down a weapon capable of destroying countries, and you’re the best d*mn agent we have! Any dog would kill to just be taught what you know! Kodi got all that knowledge from you… He’ll do fine… Trust me…”

Balto still made no effort to move. Colonel McIntyre sighed heavily and stood up. Turning on his heels, he walked out of the Operations Room and motioned to someone down the hall to come inside. A moment later, Jenna walked into the Operations Room, sitting down beside her distraught husband and gently wrapping her arms around him.

“Balto? Are you doing alright?” Jenna asked softly, getting no response, “I know how worried you are about Kodiak… I’m just as worried about him too… I know what you’re afraid of, because I’m afraid of losing him too… But Balto, you trained him… You; the best agent of the United States of America… If anyone could have prepared him for this mission, it’s you… He looks up to you, Balto… What do you think he’d say if he saw his father like this?” After a few more moments, Balto slowly sat upright again, staring into Jenna’s amber eyes.

“Jenna, I’m just… I’m so worried that something will go wrong and then he’ll think I let him down or he let me down… I’m afraid that I’ll let him down if everything I taught him backfires…” Balto admitted slowly and softly, shaking his head, “How am I supposed to look Kodi in the eye if everything I taught him, all I made him think I was goes up in smoke?” Jenna placed a hand on Balto’s shoulder.

“Don’t think like that… Kodi won’t fail… He’s a very capable young dog… He’s learned from the best of the best, he’s been on missions with you… He knows what to do and how to do it… Plus, it’s not like he’s alone out there… Believe in him, Balto…” Jenna said softly, “I know what you’ve been through Balto… Don’t worry about him…” Balto slowly stood up and shook his head.

“No Jenna… You don’t know what I’ve been through…” Balto said softly before turning and walking off…




The two agents and their captive objective pulled into Puerto Vallarta after three hours of driving. Balto smiled slightly as he looked around the town. Brad pulled the jeep up to a small, four-floor hotel and turned the vehicle off.

“Well, we’re here…” Brad said to Balto, giving him a slight smile, “Great job on your first mission, Balto… You’re shaping up to be a great agent after all… Our extraction will be here tomorrow, so for today we can relax… Have fun…”

“Thanks Brad… I couldn’t have done any of this without you…” Balto said, returning his mentor’s smile, “I’ll be honest with you… At first, I thought you were nuts the way you trained me constantly and made me do nearly-impossible things… But now that I look at myself, I know karate, Tai-Kwon-Do, kick-boxing, judo, four different languages, how to shoot like a pro, operate aerial and aquatic vehicles, and so much more! I guess I’m just trying to say- thanks for everything…”

“No problem at all, Balto… You’ve been a great student…” Brad replied, patting Balto on his shoulder, “Now come on, let’s check-in and get this guy locked up in my room…”

Brad and Balto got out of the jeep, Brad grabbing Commander Baker and pulling him into the hotel behind Balto. They checked in and went up to their rooms, both on the fourth floor. Balto had a room just down the hall from Brad, but it didn’t make much of a difference. Brad locked Baker in his room and handed Balto a black briefcase.

“Balto, would you mind holding this for me for a bit?” Brad asked, tapping on its surface, “But please, do not look inside it, alright?”

“Got it, Brad!” Balto said, taking the briefcase into his room and tossing it onto the table. He stood at his window, looking out over the harbor. His mind raced with thoughts, recalling what that soldier had said when he saw Brad. “Y-you! What’re you doing here? I thought the Commander-”

“Something’s up between Brad and the Commander…” Balto said to himself, then decided to go ask Baker himself what was going on. Balto walked into Brad’s room using the spare key Brad had given to him and approached the handcuffed dog. “Alright, start talking… How do you know Brad?”

“Brad? Your teammate?” Baker asked, giving Balto a confused look, “I… I honestly don’t know him…”Balto sighed and stood up. He had been about to leave when Brad’s cell phone rang on the table. Balto walked over to it and read the Caller I.D. It was from someone Balto had never heard of. He let it end before picking it up and listening to the voice message.

“Brad, this is Vladimir Tachlinkov…” the message began, “Listen, the boat will arrive tomorrow at noon… Be ready for it then…”

Balto looked at the phone in confusion. Brad had introduced him to all of his friends, but none of them had been named Vladimir or any name of that kind. Now feeling slightly suspicious, Balto turned and headed back for his room…




Kodi slipped inside the building first, handgun raised and searching for enemies. Kirby walked in behind him, covering Kodi’s back as the two agents slowly proceeded forward down the hallway. A guard came around a nearby corner and Kodi grabbed the dog’s shirt, slamming him into the wall before taking hold of him. Kirby then moved forward and pressed his gun to the soldier’s forehead.

“Alright, listen up since I’ll only ask this once…” Kirby said in a hushed tone, “Where are the missiles and where is Niju Suarez?”

“W-who are you guys?” the dog asked, shaking slightly in fright, “I… I don’t know what you’re talking about- honestly! Please, I’m just a dog! Have mercy, have mercy!” Kirby rolled his eyes and pulled the hammer back on his pistol, causing the guard to yelp slightly. “Alright, alright! The missiles are being stored in the underground armory beneath the Headquarters! I don’t know where Niju is, I swear! Please, just don’t kill me!”

Not wanting to listen to this dog ramble on anymore, Kirby gave Kodi a nod and the husky delivered a swift hit to the back of the guard’s head, knocking him out cold and tossing his body into a nearby vacant room. Kodi took up the guard’s M-16 and checked to make sure it was ready to fight. He then slung it over his shoulder and took out his Beretta again.

“Well done Kodi! We found out where those bombs are thanks to you!” Kirby said with a smile. Kodi chuckled slightly and held up his hand.

“No, I don’t get all the credit… You’re the one who had the gun to his head… I just held him!” Kodi responded, “If anyone, you deserve the credit for that one!” As the two agents walked down the hall debating who deserved the credit, another soldier came down the hall behind them and spotted them.

“Hey! You two! Freeze!” the guard shouted. Kodi and Kirby turned around, exchanged a grin, and both fired round after round into the dog until he hit the tiled floor, the white tiles soon becoming stained red with the dog’s blood.

“Sh*t… Not good…” Kodi said, “Someone’s bound to notice the blood, even if we remove the body!”

“I’ve got an idea… You get rid of the body and I’ll handle the blood!” Kirby said, running to the nearby utility closet as Kodi tossed the body in there, watching Kirby take out a mop and bleach. Kirby mopped up the blood and then poured bleach onto the remaining splotches of blood that remained, hiding any traces of a kill there.

“Great thinking Kirb…” Kodi said, nodding in approval, “I wouldn’t have even begun to think of doing something like that! That’s one thing my Dad never taught me… How’d you learn it?”

“Just a little something I thought up on one mission that happened to work… Hold this for me, will ya?” Kirby answered, placing the mop in the hands of the body in the closet, “Now, let’s keep going… We should see if we can find out where this Niju guy is…”

“Right,” Kodi replied, motioning down the hallway as the two set off once again. The rest of the building seemed surprisingly empty. A couple guards here and there, but nothing the two agents couldn’t handle. After roughly an hour of searching the first floor and not finding anything, they took a short break at the elevators.

“This is insane… We’ve searched this whole floor and there’s absolutely nothing to be found!” Kodi said pacing slowly back and forth in front of the elevators, “We’ll have to start searching the other floors now, I guess…”

“But you know what else has been bugging me for a while? The lack of defense…” Kirby said, taking a short gulp of water from his canteen, “Have you noticed that we’ve only fought 5- maybe 6 guards at the most in here? Aside from those patrollers outside, there’s been little to no guards and no alarms or security cameras…”

“No wonder this place was abandoned…” Kodi said with a soft chuckle, pressing his back against the wall and slowly sliding down until he was in a sitting position, “I’m gonna contact HQ and let them know of our status… My Dad’s probably stopped breathing with anticipation by now…” Kodi chuckled again and pressed the contact button on his radio. “This is Agent Kodi to HQ. Does anybody read me? Over…”

“This is Colonel McIntyre. We read you, Agent Kodi… Over…” came the colonel’s voice through Kodi and Kirby’s headset, “What is your present status? Over.”

“We’ve infiltrated the compound and are currently searching for the missiles as well as the main objective… Over…” Kodi replied, checking his SOAW for the time.

“We’ve learned the location of the missiles, but we just need to find that location now… Over…” Kirby added after Kodi finished.

“Understood agents… Keep up the good work and don’t let your guard down at any moment… Over…”

“Um, Colonel? Is my father there? Over…” Kodi asked, hoping that Balto was there.

“I’m sorry Kodi, but Balto walked out a while ago… He should be back shortly…” Colonel McIntyre replied, “But I think I have someone who you’ll like to talk to just as much…”

“Kodiak? Kodi, are you alright?” came the voice of Jenna. Kodi smiled as he heard his mother’s voice.

“Yeah Mom… I’m doing fine… Kirby’s alright too… We’re doing really well out here…” Kodi replied, a slight bit of resentment in his voice as a horrible thought crossed his mind, “… Mom? Can you answer something truthfully for me?”

“Of course Kodi! Anything you want to know…” she responded softly, “What is it Kodi? You sound a little sadder…” Kodi took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

“Dad… He… He never wanted me to become an agent, did he?” Kodi asked, his voice somewhat quieter than normal, “He didn’t think I could do it, did he? That’s why he took me with him to Venezuela, isn’t it? Because he though I couldn’t do it on my own so he had to protect me, isn’t it?”

“Kodiak! That’s not true! Your father took you with him because he trusted you and he wanted you to fulfill your dream!” Jenna said back in a shocked tone, appalled by what Kodi had thought, “Your father trained you to become an agent because it was what you wanted!”

“But you didn’t answer my question, Mom!” Kodi nearly shouted back, sitting forward quickly again, eyes narrowed slightly now, “He did it because I wanted it… Did he want me to become an agent?” There was a long moment of silence before Jenna spoke again.

“No Kodi… He didn’t want you to become an agent…” Jenna admitted softly, “He was afraid you’d get hurt while on a mission… He was just afraid, Kodi…” There was another long moment of silence as Kodi closed his eyes and leaned back against the wall again. All this time he’d thought his father had wanted him to be an agent beside him, but it turned out that Balto had never wanted that at all. “… Kodi?...”

“Mom… When Dad gets back, tell him…” Kodi said softly, his voice quivering slightly, “… Tell him to contact me… Tell him I need him to talk to him… Kodi out…” Not paying attention to his mother’s protests to stay on, Kodi turned his radio off, Jenna’s voice vanishing into nothing. Kodi slowly stood up and drew his Beretta, pulling the slide back and prepping it for combat, giving Kirby a dead-serious look.

“Come on… We’ve got a mission to complete…” he said neutrally before pushing the elevator button.

Oh Bajeezezez... I smell a rat.
Very nice installment, my friend. I esspecially liked the dialogue between Balto and Jenna in this one. Very good. Also, I'm really starting to like this Colonel. He's pretty cool.

-LWf

Balto walked into the Operations Room thirty minutes after Kodi had hung up on Jenna and the others in the Operations Room. As he stepped inside, the first thing he noticed was Jenna, slumped in her chair with her face in her hands and Colonel McIntyre with a distraught, stressed look on his face. Balto gave them a quizzical look and strode up to them, sitting down beside Jenna and looking up at McIntyre.

“What’s going on? What happened?” he asked coolly, looking back to Jenna again and placing a hand gently on her shoulder.

“Balto… While you were out, your son contacted us… He and Kirby are doing fine on their mission… Both are in good health…” the Shepherd started, then took a deep breath, “But Kodi’s distressed… He has an issue he wants to talk to you about immediately… He told us to tell you to call him back as soon as you returned…”

Balto looked from the Colonel to Jenna, then to the monitor on the wall. He stared at the profile picture of his son for a moment before taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. He replaced his headset on and turned the Operations Room radio on, punching in the communication code to Kodi and Kirby and waiting for them to pick up…




By nightfall, Balto had already sent in a request for information on Vladimir Tachlinkov to the United States government, which was then routed to the FBI. He now sat at a small internet café, Brad’s briefcase beside him and a computer before him. Going through every disc inside the black case, Balto searched his mentor’s files, not finding much of anything. The documents inside were even less helpful, not pointing him in any direction he had anticipated.

“Maybe I was wrong about Brad…” Balto said softly to himself as he ejected the current disc and placed the next one in, waiting for it to load up, “Maybe he isn’t doing anything illegal…”

Balto was just beginning to feel horrible for accusing Brad, his own mentor, the one who’d taught him everything he’d known about being a government agent from Day 1, when his cell phone rang. Balto quickly snatched it up and checked the Caller ID: it was his friend, Jason McIntyre from the military.

“Hey Jas, what’s up?” Balto asked, watching as the files on the disc opened up in a menu on the screen before him.

“Balto, about that request for a background check on a Vladimir Tachlinkov… Well, we’ve gotten the results back… and I don’t think you’ll be very happy with them…” Jason said slowly. Balto’s ears perked up as he heard this, still scrolling through the files.

“What is it? What’s up with Vlad?” Balto asked, suddenly stumbling across a file he found interesting. It was named ‘Top Secret’.

“Well, apparently Vladimir Tachlinkov leads a resistance force over in Russia… They’ve been bent on taking down the United States for a long time, but they’ve mostly been an underground organization… Hiding from us…” McIntyre explained, “Whoever you found is dealing with him is definitely bad news… I’d suggest taking care of things- personally…”

Balto double-clicked on the file and opened it. Inside were plans given to him from a Russian computer server. Opening each one, Balto discovered that each file was the mission that he’d just gone on with Brad. Commander Baker had top-secret military strategies for the United States and Brad had been given the orders to execute the Commander from a dog named Vladimir Tachlinkov.

“Balto? Are you still there?”

“Yeah, I’m still here… Listen, I’m gonna have to go…” Balto said slowly, “I’ll be home tomorrow…”

“Alright pal… Say, what’s the status on your teammate, Brad?” Jason McIntyre asked. Balto stared at the screen of his computer for a while before simply replying,

“He’s not gonna be coming home… Brad was killed in the field…”

With that, Balto hung up and ejected the disc from the computer, packing everything back into the briefcase before rushing off back to the hotel…




The silenced gunshot tore through the still air and another soldier dropped dead where he stood. Kodi walked up to the body, an emotionless expression on his face as he hid the body away from sight. Kirby stared at the husky in awe, amazed at how fierce he’d gotten since he’d called HQ.

“Kodi, are you alright?” Kirby asked softly, looking at the body of the guard and trying to think of an appropriate way to put things, “You seem… tense… Is something wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong… Everything’s fine…” Kodi muttered, not looking at his teammate as he spoke, proceeding down the hallways while loading a fresh magazine into his handgun, “Let’s keep going… The less time we waste, the better…”

Kirby stared after Kodi for a moment in shock before slowly following behind him. Something was bothering Kodi, that was for sure, but what it was precisely remained enigmatic. A few minutes later, the two agents came across a storeroom, silently stepping inside and locking the door behind them. Kodi and Kirby began stocking up on water and ammunition, grabbing a quick snack while they rested.

“Kodi, you’re not tellin’ me the truth…” Kirby said eventually, “Something’s bothering you- bad… What is it? What’s got you so fussed up?” Kodi growled softly and shook his head slowly.

“It’s nothing to worry about, Kirby…” the young husky replied blandly, “It’s a personal problem… A matter between me and-”

Before Kodi could finish his sentence, a beeping was heard in each agents’ headset. They turned on their radios and Kodi pressed the button to talk.

“Agent Kodi, what is it Colonel?”

“Kodi... It’s Balto…” said the voice of Kodi’s father, “Son, what’s wrong? Your mother’s upset and the Colonel looks like he’s about to have a stroke… What’s the matter?” Kodi closed his eyes again and took a deep breath.

“Dad… You said you’d always be honest with me… So can you be honest and answer my question truthfully?” Kodi asked softly, waiting for a response from his father. Balto leaned forward in his chair, staring at the display for Kodi.

“Of course Kodi… Anything you want…” he replied softly, “What did you want to ask me son?”

“Did you ever want me to become an agent?” Kodi asked, his voice beginning to tremble slightly. Balto froze, letting his mind take in what Kodi had just asked him.

“What?”

“Did you ever want me to become an agent?” Kodi asked again, clearly upset, “You said you’d always be honest with me, so tell me… Did you really, honestly want me to become an agent like you?” Balto’s heart seed to stop as he simply stared off into space. He went to go say that Kodi was wrong, but sighed instead.

“No Kodi… I honestly didn’t…” Balto answered softly, closing his brown and gold eyes, “But it’s not because I didn’t love you or because I didn’t want you to get what you wanted… It was because I was afraid for you, Kodi… I didn’t want you to get hurt- or worse! Please Kodi… I was just looking out for you…”

Kodi felt like his heart was in a vise. All this time he’d believed that his father had been thrilled by the idea of having his son in the same business as him, looking up to him, but apparently, he’d been wrong- dead wrong. Kodi quivered slightly as he choked back a sob, on the verge of tears from having his father lie to him for eight years.

“Kodi?”

“So I was wrong…” Kodi said softly, the sorrow and emotional pain now apart of his voice, “I thought you loved the thought of training me, that you loved having your son follow in your footsteps… But no, you didn’t… You didn’t want this from the start! You lied to me!”

“No, Kodi, I didn’t lie to you…”

“You lied to me Dad! You lied to me for eight years!” Kodi nearly shouted back, tears coursing down his magenta and cream colored muzzle, “I can’t believe you! All this time I looked up to you, I thought of you as a hero and I wanted to be just like you! You didn’t want me to even think of becoming an agent though!”

“Kodi, listen to me-” Balto said, nearly growling.

“No Dad, you listen to me!” Kodi shouted back, “I don’t want to hear about what you tried to do anymore! This is the way things are and this is the way they’ll be, whether you want it like this or not! It’s my life Dad, and I’ll do whatever I want!”

“Kodiak…” Balto pleaded softly, hoping his son would listen to him.

“Goodbye, Dad…” Kodi said bitterly, eyes narrowed furiously, “I don’t care if I never see you again…” And with that, Kodi turned off his radio and sobbed, burying his face in his arms.

Balto stared at the picture of his son on the wall monitor, seemingly frozen still from his son’s words. Balto had never felt such a deep pain before. Without a single word, Balto stood up and stared down at the table. Jenna stood up and placed a hand gently on Balto’s shoulder, her eyes red from crying.

“Balto, you know he didn’t mean that…” she said softly.

“Yes he did Jenna… He meant every single word of it…” Balto said coolly, turning and walking out of the Operations Room, hands clenched tightly into fists.

Kirby could see that Kodi was deeply upset from the recent conversation with his father. With a heavy sigh, he reloaded his handgun and slowly rose to his feet again. He walked over to his teammate and patted him on the shoulder.

“I’m gonna go look around, ok Kodi?” he said softly, “If you need me, just contact me… You should rest for a bit… You need it…” Without another word, Kirby walked out of the Storage Room and out of sight. Kodi continued to sit against the wall, sobbing softly to himself as all he thought and hoped came crashing down around him.









Chapter 4




Kodi finally stopped his crying after half an hour of thinking to himself and making decisions. Now he decided that this was no longer to please his father. This was his duty now; to protect and serve his country with faith and honor. Kodi checked the ammo in his handgun before standing, gathering up his stuff and walking out into the hallway. He didn’t know where Kirby went, but he was determined to search this building first of all. Pressing the button on his headset, he opened communication between only him and Kirby.

“Kirby, it’s Kodi… where are you?” he asked, his voice now calmer again.

“I moved onto the Barracks Building… Are you still in the Weapons Building?” Kirby asked through the headset.

“Yeah, I’m still in the Weapons Building… I’m gonna finish searching here first before I regroup with you…” he explained, continuing down the hallway, “Contact one another if anything comes up, alright?”

“Sounds good to me, Kodi… Good luck…” Kirby said before Kodi released the button on his headset, gripping his handgun tighter as he walked onward down the halls, steel-like gaze waving back and forth down the plain, barren hallways as he slowly proceeded; the only sound being made was the clacking of his boots on the white-tiled floor.

Halfway down the next hallway, Kodi heard boots approaching him from the opposite direction. Looking around for a place to hide, he quickly kicked off of one of the white walls until he was hanging above the hallway, back pressed against the ceiling and staring down at the floor beneath him. A few moments later, a guard dressed in gray urban camouflage walked beneath him, an AK-47 clutched tightly in his hands. Kodi dropped down behind him and grabbed the soldier’s neck, slamming him into one wall and then the other.

Kodi then kicked the dog’s leg out from underneath him and jammed his handgun into the soldier’s head. The guard yelped slightly as he fell down to his knees and dropped his rifle, frozen with shock and fear.

“Now, if you want to keep your life, answer my question and answer it truthfully… Because if I find out you’re lying, I’ll come back and finish what I started…” Kodi whispered viciously, the depth of his anger apparent, “Where is Niju?”

“I-I don’t know! Honestly, I don’t know! He keeps to himself somewhere… Only the top-ranking soldiers know where he is!” he answered with a soft whimper, yelping again as Kodi tightened his grip on the dog’s neck and began to squeeze the trigger, “Wait! I do know where the Lieutenant is though!” Kodi stopped, eyebrows raised in interest. Another commanding officer? Perhaps he knew where Niju was stashed…

“A Lieutenant?” Kodi asked, his hostage nodding furiously in his grip, “Alright, I’ll go see this guy… Where is he located? Here?”

“Y-yeah… He’s on the top floor in Weapons Research and Development!” the guard said, his voice shaking slightly, “I told you what you want, please don’t kill me!” Kodi ejected his current clip and checked the bullets. A full 15 shots. He replaced the clip with a different one, and then shot the guard, watching him fall to the floor. Kodi then ejected his sedative bullets and replaced them with the full clip again, dragging the guard out of sight and hiding him in the Storage Room and taking his AK-47.

“Alright… Top floor it is…” Kodi said to himself, looking up at the ceiling as he walked back down the hallways to the elevators, pressing the button on his headset as he walked on, “Kirby, I’ve found the location of one of their commanding officers… He’s very close to me… I’m gonna interrogate him and see if he knows anything about where Niju is…”

“Way to go Kodi! Do you need any help with him?” Kirby asked, his voice coming from the earpiece on Kodi’s headset. Even though Kodi knew Kirby couldn’t see him, he nodded as he said,

“Negative… I can deal with him… After all, he’s just one dog…” Kodi said, grinning slightly, “How hard could one dog be?”

I don't like where this is going, man... I'm freakin' out, man...
This just keeps getting better. One story being told inside another, and they're both strikingly, terribbly similar. (There's an English term for that, but I can't think of it.)
Any way, my favorite part (or rather quote) this time was Balto's answer to McIntyre's last question about Brad. Ownage.

-LWf

Good stuff man, very good. You've improved since the first Espionage story. Your characters are more dynamic and your storytelling is more bold. There's alot of meat on the bones of this story. Keep it up and don't stop pushing the envelope!