Page 7 of Phoenix

It’s a dirt road, no pavement or gravel, with trees and shrubs lining both sides. I can hear Arya’s bark in the distance, but I can’t get a visual on her at all.

“Arya, here! Come on, girl!”

“Fuck, bro!” the passenger complains in gasping breaths. “I can't run anymore.”

“You’re running until I find out if your fucking friend hurt my dog. Arya! Here!” I shout, hoping she comes running to me or makes a sound.

We round a curve in the path and I hear a yelp. A yelp that can only come from a dog. I take off, passenger still in my grip, into a full-on sprint and that’s when I see Arya with her jaws locked around the driver’s calf while he’s still trying to run, dragging her along.

“Get on the ground! Get on the ground now! I’m not pulling her off until you’re on your face!” I pull my radio down again to update dispatch. “I’ve got eyes on the driver. I’m chasing him now. I’ve got the other suspect with me.”

“Get the fucking dog off me!” the driver shouts, still on his feet.

“On the ground. Hands on your head! I’ll get her off when you’re on the ground.”

I pull the passenger closer to where the driver and Arya are stopped, and force him to the ground. “On your knees and don’t fucking move.”

He complies immediately, no doubt exhausted from the run.

I pull my Taser out of its holster, aiming it at the driver who is still on his feet. “Get on the ground or I will tase the shit out of you.”

That seems to scare him enough to finally surrender. He moves to sit flat on his ass in the dirt, so I keep my promise.

“Arya, leave him. Arya, here.” I point to the ground beside me and she releases his leg and comes to me, tail wagging and lays exactly where I’ve told her to.

“Dispatch, I’ve got both suspects detained, but I need a unit here right now.”

The driver moves around a bit, prompting another reaction from me. “On your face, hands on your head! Now!” He flops back down with a grunt.

Arya reacts to this and stands, so I have to command her to stay down as well.

I take a moment to catch my breath. My chest is heaving and sweat is pouring off my face. This didn’t have to escalate the way it did. A simple traffic stop turned into this. Let’s hope they had a good, goddamn reason to run.

It doesn’t take long for backup to arrive, and when both suspects are placed into the rear seats of the cars, I take a moment to praise Arya.

“Good girl. You did your job, huh?” She wiggles and spins in circles, so happy she did a good job. I pat her side and scrub my hands along her fur. “You’re the best.”

Thirty minutes later, I’m standing at the counter in the station, Arya resting at my feet, writing out my report. Turns out the stellar young men I arrested this afternoon both had outstanding warrants for failure to appear, multiple prior charges, two large bags of methamphetamine, and a firearm in their vehicle. Morons. Simple morons.

“Hey.” I hear someone say from my right. I turn to see a fellow officer, Davis, giving Arya a scratch on the head. “Heard you had a big bust today.”

“Decent, yeah. Arya took one down for me.”

“She’s a better cop than you are.”

“Easy. Don’t make me kick your ass right here in front of everyone.”

“Pipe dream, my man, that’s a pipe dream. We know I could take you.” He laughs then continues, “So hey, Maureen has this friend, Karen, she is looking to set up. Interested? She’s cute. A little—” he twirls his finger by his temple to indicate she’s crazy, “but she’s hot. That’s your general preference isn’t it? Crazy but willing?”

“Nah, I think I’m good on that one, man. Last time your wife set me up, the girl tried to bite my dick off. Literally. Off. She said it looked tasty. I appreciated the compliment, but the delivery could have used a bit of work.” I shudder dramatically at the memory.

“No fucking way did she do that. Tanya? She’s a sweetheart. She sends the twins birthday gifts every year. You’re telling me she’s dick biter?” He’s laughing hysterically.

“She was scary, man. I had to make up some bullshit about getting called into work to make her leave.” I sign off on the reports and stack them together to turn in.

“I’ll never be able to look her in the eye again.”

I laugh at his statement. “So, thank you, but no. I’m good on the setup.”

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