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“You are heading out in the next hour,” Honey said. “Max is going to stay here to work with Reaper on two specific required skills needed before he’ll be allowed to join a mission. The first is snake aversion training.”
Nutsbe wheeled out from behind his desk and over toward them.
Halo glanced briefly down to see that Nutsbe had bilateral, below-knee amputations. Iniquus hiring veterans recalibrated after sustaining permanent injuries, made Iniquus a shining beacon in a world that often chewed up its elite warriors—using and abusing their bodies for their countries’ well-being, then failing to live up to the promises made in terms of physical and mental health. “We heard Max had a bit of a run-in with a rattle snake,” Nutsbe said with a shake of his head. “That’s a crazy story.”
“I didn’t even know there was such a thing on the East Coast.” Halo glanced down at Max, and Max, in turn, put his paw on Halo’s boot as if they were companionably holding hands. “Ryder warned me about copperheads in Virginia.”
“There are others—water moccasins are also called cotton mouths,” Honey said. “But the venomous snakes in this area pose the same dangers as snakes Max can run into worldwide. We want the dogs to stay away from all snakes no matter where your missions take you.” His gaze caught Halo’s and held. “You saw for yourself how the trajectory for Mrs. Haze’s survival hinged solely on how Max got his mouth around that rattler. A few inches further down the snake’s body, you would have been racing Max down to the vans and off to the nearest emergency vet to get the antivenom. A danger to Max. A danger to you. A serious danger to our lost subject, too. Max was minutes from finding Mrs. Haze. The rest of the team worked their search grids at a distance so their dogs wouldn’t have picked up that scent cone. The survival time frame was so narrow—from the find until the onset of the storm—Mrs. Haze would have died but for the well-placed bite.” Honey held Halo’s gaze. “Close call, brother.”
“Agreed. Snake aversion is a must for all those reasons.” Halo dropped his hand to Max’s head and scritched behind his ears. Too, damned close a call. “What’s the other skill?”
“He needs to be toilet trained,” Nutsbe said with a grin.
Halo stilled. “Come again?”
“Max has to be comfortable using all manner of toilets,” Nutsbe said, “from the tiny cabinets on transportation to various kinds of sanitation found around the world—Japanese high-tech to holes in the floor to porta-potties.”
“All right, this is a new one on me.” Halo’s lips pulled into a bemused smile. “Can I ask why?”
“If, for example, you’re on an unplanned mode of transportation,” Nutsbe said, “the client decides to go on a boat ride, take a last-minute plane, or jump on a train—trying to get away from some center destruction. Even when everyone’s go-go-go, your K9 will need to relieve himself. Better to just go hit the head.”
Halo crossed his arms over his chest, leaning back in the black captain's chair. He could quickly see the benefit of toilet training, though it had never occurred to him before. Halo had always worked with combat K9; they relieved themselves wherever.
“Or let’s say you’re working a close protection assignment,” Honey said. “You use the bathroom when your client uses the bathroom. Your K9 does, too, on command. You can’t ask your client to go outside for a dog’s bathroom breaks, especially in poor weather or dangerous surroundings. And you certainly can’t leave your client’s side to care for your dog.”
“I get it.” It was genius, actually.
“Max will stay here with Reaper,” Honey repeated. “We’re putting you on a plane to Helsinki. Once I give you this bag, you’ll head to men’s barracks, grab what you need—passport etcetera. Plan to be there for a week. A car will take you straight from here to the airport. Last minute, but our team member, Margot, tested positive for COVID-19 and is sequestered until she’s clear and feeling a hundred percent capable of serving in her security role. She was one of a two-person team on Mrs. Sutton’s Finland security team.” Honey rapped his knuckle onto the surface of the table. “Now, a male guarding a civilian female takes some finesse. You have to keep her safe while navigating her environment. This often means she goes into women-only areas—again, bathrooms. Max will eventually be trained to accompany a female into the bathroom with a two-way radio collar, but that’s not the situation now.”
“I’ve been on security detail for various female elected officials,” Halo said. “I’m comfortable with the assignment.” What Halo wasn’t comfortable with was leaving Max behind. From the time he and Max decided to be partners, Halo was never gone from him for more than a few hours.
Found by the side of the road and turned in to the authorities, Max had just arrived at the no-kill shelter where Halo was accompanying a friend, picking up the litter of kittens she was fostering.
When Halo walked by, Max uncurled from the back of his crate, stood, and locked eyes on him.
They’d stared at each other for a long moment, sizing each other up—Max, a four-month-old big-pawed, gangly-legged, flea-bitten, under-fed Malinois, and Halo an oversized Australian Commando in his last year of service to his government. “If we’re doing this, mate. We’re doing it. We’re going all in, both of us, yeah? You up for the challenge?”
Max held eye contact without a waver—not aggression but a connection.
“Teammates?” Halo asked.
Max bowed low, his tail sweeping through the air, his gaze still locked on Halo’s as if he thought that should he blink or look away, even for a moment, his opportunity would pass him by.
The attendant approached, and Halo pointed his finger at the cage. “That’s my dog. Let’s get the paperwork together so I can take him home.”
The woman walked up and unlocked the door. “You don’t want to spend some time with him first? Make sure it’s a good match? This little guy is going to grow up to be a powerhouse.”
“We’ve already got it figured out between us.” Halo hadn’t had thought one of getting a dog that day, but when the cage door swung open, Max leaped the four feet right into Halo’s arms and bloody well straight into his heart.
It was going to feel odd to him, but both Max and he would be focused on learning new things and focused on the job in front of them.
Honey pulled the go bag closer. “Reaper uses a dog-to-dog mentor program. He’ll line all the K9s up to use the toilet and let Max watch. The hardest thing is teaching the dogs to balance on the slick surface and managing the different flushing toggles. If Max is catching on, I’ll bring him over to Estonia with me so you can assess the use of K9s in Estonia. It’s not part of our plan to use them next month for the meeting, but it’s important that you can work through the planning stages with the tactical teams so everyone is working toward best outcomes.”
“Agreed. Go back to the toggles. Because the dogs flush, too?”
“And put the seat down.” Honey unzipped the bag and drew out a shirt and a handheld apparatus that was similar to a cell phone. “You’ll arrive in Helsinki tonight and get yourself to the hotel. Thorn will get you up to speed. You’ll get some sleep. In the morning, it will be your watch. You have a day in an office setting with meetings, and then you will escort Mrs. Sutton on the ferry from Helsinki across the Baltic to Tallinn, Estonia, to connect with her husband and take them to the airport.”
“All right.”
