“Do you have one in mind?”
He held up his phone and said, “I’ve already called one and booked a room, if you are up for it. We can pack an overnight bag and dog food for Bernie. Maybe another bathing suit because I don’t think ours ever dried from last night.”
She smiled, got up, packed a small bag, looked around at what had once been a beautiful starter home for her for a time, and said, “You know what? Some turning points in your life are when you know that you need to do something different.”
“I know,” he said, holding out his hand. “This time though you won’t be alone.”
She smiled, took a step toward him, and, just as she went to join her hand with his, Bernie jumped up between both of them and put her front paws on their joined hands and woofed.
He laughed. “She’s right. It’s not just the two of us anymore. It’s the three of us.”
“And,” she said, “I’m really good with that.”
And, together, as a family, they walked downstairs and into their future.
Epilogue
Harley Bertram walked into Badger’s office, where he found Geir and Eric as well. Harley slumped into the chair, only to wince and shifted his position.
“How are the injuries these days?” Eric asked.
“Much better than I expected,” Harley said. He rotated his wrist. “Some of the surgeries did better than others.”
“But you’re handling the hammer just fine,” Geir noted.
“And the keyboards are getting easier too,” he said. “So what’s up? Cade said that you were looking for me.” He turned and faced Badger.
“Got any dog experience?” Badger asked.
He shrugged. “Outside of the fact that I love them, no.”
“No K9 experience in the military?”
“Assisting with the War Dogs, yes,” he said, “but I never trained my own. I worked with the training groups,” he said. “Man, they were good animals.”
“Have you heard about the War Dogs that we’ve been trying to locate and help?” Badger asked him.
He frowned and shook his head. “I don’t know how I missed that,” he said, “because, honest to God, it’s hard to miss anything in this place.”
“True enough,” Cade said, walking into the room with a folder. He tossed it on the conference table in front of Badger. “I’m not sure what we’ll do with this one,” he said.
“I don’t know either,” Badger said. “I read it early this morning.”
“Read what?” Harley asked.
“So this is a male War Dog,” Badger explained. “He was adopted and then sold.”
“Isn’t that against the terms of service of the adoption contract?”
“It absolutely is,” he said, “but the adopters didn’t seem to care.”
“And he was sold to do what?” Harley asked.
“As a security dog,” he said.
“Well, that might not be such a bad life.”
“Maybe, except it looks like he’s in a possible grow op,” Cade added.
“Oh no, not drugs,” Harley said. “They treat the animals really rough.”
“Exactly,” Eric said. “So we want to make sure the dog’s being well treated and, if he’s not, to remove him from the situation.”
“But if they bought and paid for him, they might not take too kindly to that suggestion.”
“He’s the property of the United States government,” Badger stated. “Adoptions are done on the understanding that you are looking after the War Dog but do not get to own one.”
“Right, and if I get any resistance?”
The three men looked at him.
“Ah,” Harley said, “so doesn’t matter what kind of resistance there is, I have a job to do.”
“Exactly,” Badger said. “Unless you got a problem with that.”
“Hell no,” he said. “I’m much better with fewer rules. Whereabouts?”
“Montana,” Cade said. “He’s set up near the Canadian border.”
Harley stilled. “I wouldn’t have thought the drug-running business or the cannabis business was really good up there.”
“Well, that’s why we’ve got a question mark on it,” Badger noted. “I’m not exactly sure what you’ll find there. But he’s supposedly a security dog.”
“And legally sold, as far as the new owners know. That could be a bit tough. Any money to help buy the dog back?”
“Some,” Geir said. “it just depends on what kind of money we’re talking about.”
“Right,” Harley said, as he stood. “And when do I go?”
“The sooner, the better,” Cade stated. “The cops contacted the War Dog department about the dog because another one showed up dead.”
“Another War Dog?” Harley gasped.
“No,” Badge answered. “another dog and they heard about this one, so they were asking whether it was the same one.”
“And the answer, of course, is no.”
Badger continued. “I think they were also warning the War Dog department that the particular dog had been abused.”
“Great,” Harley said under his breath. “Do I get to carry weapons too?”
“What do you want?” Badger asked with interest.
Harley reached out and flexed his hand again and said, “I have a couple of my own.”
“I’ll get the permits,” Badger said, “for travel. I don’t want you to go up against a cartel or some such thing without firepower.”
“The dog hasn’t been there all that long,” Cade said. “You might get it on your side and turn it against its owners.”
“You know what the answer is for that then,” Harley said. “They’ll just end up shooting it.”
“In that case, why don’t you just shoot the gunman,” Cade said in a rough voice. “We’ve seen so many evil assholes in this world,” he said. “I get pissed off when somebody like that hurts an animal. Hell, when anybody hurts an animal.”
“I hear you.” Harley nodded, headed for the door, and said, “I’ll check it out and let you know what I find.” He stopped and looked back and asked, “Did you guys know that I spent ten years in Montana?”
The men looked at him in surprise.
Harley smiled and said, “I guess not.”
“When were you there?” Badger asked.
“I was a foster kid,” he said. “I left because I was getting too attached to the family. It seemed like a good idea at the time. I turned eighteen and joined the navy,” he said. “And my history since then, you all well know.”
“What do you mean, too attached?” Badger asked curiously.
He nodded. “The foster family was okay,” he said, “but their daughter was dynamite.” And, with a wicked grin, he turned and headed out.
Badger called back, “Have you kept in touch with them?”
“No,” he said. “So I guess I will now though.”