Note:  I do not own Balto or any of the Balto Characters, however I do own Trace, Jack and Hunter.

Death Has a Name part 1

Two dark figures stood on the edge of the woods, looking down at the town of Nome. "Just think, Jaymes. We could have at least two dozen dogs by the end of this week." Whispered one of them. The other, whom seemed to be called Jaymes, replied in his usual low tone. "And no-one even knows where we're gonna be taking them, except us and the boss, ain't that right Barry?"

The one called Barry nodded his head and rubbed his hands together. "I tell ya Jaymes, we're gonna be rich!" He shouted. Jaymes raised a finger to his lips. "Shh! Do you wanna wake up the whole god darn town?!" He whispered harshly. Barry shrugged his shoulders. "I don't care if they hear us shoutin'...They ain't gonna know what we're exactly shouting about...for all they know, we could be winning the lottery." He replied with a small smile.

Jaymes rubbed his chin, eyeing Barry silently. "Riiight." He muttered.

The next day...

A german shepherd by the name of Trace rested her chin on her owner's desk, her leash in her mouth. She whined and pawed at her owner's arm, giving him the puppy dog eyes. "No Trace, no walks today, I have very important paper work that needs to be completed by Thursday." Grumbled her owner, the chief of Police. Trace whined again then barked, not exactly understanding what paper work was. "Leave him alone pup." Said an old bloodhound behind her. "Oh back off Hunter!" Snapped Trace.

Hunter gave a low growl, it wasn't exactly a threat, only a warning. Trace turned her back to Hunter and the chief and trotted upstairs. "No-one wants to play.." She muttered to herself, going into one of the rooms and staring out the window. Bellow she could see normal everyday people going about their businesses. Today was a boring day for Trace, no fun, no cases, no criminals, no-one to play...The endless list seemed to keep on going.

"I'm so bored." She mumbled as she heaved a sigh. Suddenly, something caught her eye down bellow, there was a man running towards their building. Trace quickly jumped down from the window and hurried downstairs, she stopped when she got to the door. She waited for the person to come through the door, and eventually he did. She ran to her place beside the chief and tried to look disciplined and tough.

"What can I do for you Harry?" The chief asked the man. "Sir, there's been reports of a few missing dogs. There's no sign of the missing canines." Reported Harry. Harry was a tall and skinny man, with dark brown hair and green eyes, he wore glasses and he had a badge on him, indicating that he was a police officer. The chief looked up from his paper work and stood up. "Show me where the owners of the missing dogs are, maybe they can give me some answers. Trace, Hunter! Let's go!" He called as he walked outside, following Harry.

"Yes! Finally! A good case to work on!" Yipped Trace, jumping up and down happily as she followed the chief. Hunter rolled his eyes and muttered something under his breath. When they got to the main street, they could see a group worried and sad-looking people. The chief went up to a teenage girl first. "Excuse me young lady, are you one of the people who lost their dog?" He asked. "Yes, I am. My husky has gone missing." She replied. "What is your name?" Asked the chief. "Rosy." Replied the girl.

'Rosy? Where have I heard that name before?...Didn't Kodi once tell me his mother's owner was a girl named Rosy?' Thought Trace, tilting her head slightly. "If she is the same Rosy that Kodi told me about...Then Jenna is the husky that went missing. I have to spread the word to Balto's family." She whispered to herself. Trace ran off down the street, heading toward's Balto's boat. When she got there she jumped up on the deck.

"Balto! Balto!" She barked, hoping the wolf/dog was there. "What is it?" Came a sleepy voice. "It's Jenna, she's gone missing." Explained Trace. "Jenna's gone missing? When?" Asked Balto. "Just last night, and it's not just her, dogs all over Nome have disappeared." She answered, lowering her ears. She hated to deliver terrible news, and it was even more difficult when having to explain to Balto that his love had gone missing. "I must go and see if your other family members are alright, if you wish to come with me then that is fine. However if you're feeling a bit fragile, then you must stay here." Added Trace, starting to head towards the post office.

"Hang on a sec Trace, I'll come with you. Infact, I want to help you find Jenna, and I will not rest until she is safe with me." Said Balto, following Trace. "Very well, we'll go and see Kodi, Dingo and Saba first. Then after we'll go and see Scarlet and Flare." Said Trace, breaking into a run towards the post office, Balto not far behind. When they made it to the post office, Trace entered through the pet door, and listened to a conversation going on between the musher and the owner of the post office.

"My best dogs have been kidnapped, I can't continue on with the job!"

"Why not? Just buy some new mutts until the police find 'em."

"I can't! There are few dogs left in Nome, and the rest are either too old or too young!"

"Well then you can just run to Anchorage, because I will not have the mail delayed just because of some missing canines!"

"I'm afraid I can't deliver the mail without all my dogs. The only dogs I have left are Scoop and Flip, and they're the wheel dogs!"

Trace listened eagerly, trying to find some answers. "Psst, officer Trace!" Came a whispering voice. Trace turned to her right to see Mel. "Mel, what's going on? Where's the team?" She asked. "Oh, it's terrible, just terrible! Kodi, Dusty, Ralph, Kirby, Dingo, Saba...They're all gone!" Answered Mel. Trace sighed and exited through the pet door, where Balto was waiting outside. "Kodi, Dusty, Ralph, Kirby, Dingo and Saba are missing too, this is bigger than I thought." Reported Trace. Balto's ears lowered as he sighed. "No doubt Scarlet and Flare are missing too."

Trace nodded, then an idea came to her mind. "I'm one of the best trackers in Nome, why don't we go look for the missing dogs ourselves?"

"Ourselves? What will Hunter and the chief think of this?" He asked. "Who cares what Hunter and the chief think? I want to find the missing dogs, and you want to find your family right? So let's go find them." She replied. Balto nodded and the two ran off to find the missing dogs.

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So, what did you guys think of this? And what type of animal do you think 'Jack' is going to be?

A) Dog

B) Cat

C) Wolf

D) Bear