Page 38 of Shielding Instinct

To the side was a cart that held five neatly stacked surfboards, painted in the vibrant colors of island flowers. Sitting against the side in the shade of the equipment was an islander who looked perfectly at ease watching the waves roll in.

Hawkeye found Reaper sitting on the rock outcropping near where the waves broke in a plume of frothy white. Cooper lay on the sand at his feet.

Big old bear that he was, Cooper’s coat was caramel with black tips. It was ideal for camouflage. On the dark rocks, he was all but invisible.

Cooper found Hawkeye first; the sudden pink of a tongue helped Hawkeye home in.

Standing and stretching, Cooper meandered to the water’s edge in front of Hawkeye, his tail wagging with slow contentment.

It seemed to be a good day all around.

“Glad you’re here,” Reaper said as Hawkeye waded onto the shoreline. “Everything go okay this morning for Petra?”

“The doctor said go on about life with sunglasses on. Go back if she wasn’t a hundred percent before she gets back on a plane.”

“I guess that’s the best one could hope for. Glad to hear it.” Reaper turned to the team. “Rest time’s over. I want to get the dogs on the boards and be out of here before low tide makes things tricky.” He lifted the plastic phone holder to read the time.

Every Iniquus operator was contractually obligated to keep their phone within arm’s reach at all times.

If they were in a body of water—from pool to lake, from ocean to sea—the phone went with them.

Even in the absence of connectivity, they still had the use of apps and, to a limited extent, satellite. They still had beacons to help Iniquus find them and bring them home.

Reaper lifted a hand to the guy at the surf cart. “T.J., we’re ready for you now.”

“This is fantastic,” TJ called out. ‘I’ve never seen a dog use one of our surfboards before.” The guy couldn’t have been more than a teenager. His long limbs were smooth and thin.

As TJ approached with a board, Hawkeye said, “This tide is a lot stronger than I thought it would be.”

“Christmas Winds. They ease up around mid-January.” T.J. held the boards upright and stared past it. “This is stronger today than normal, I think.” He grinned as he handed the board over to Hawkeye. “But it makes for good waves.”

Hawkeye turned his attention to Halo, reaching a fist out for a return bump. “How’d Cooper do this morning?”

“Ash ran right into the waves like you did just now, whooping it up. Hoover raced in after him like it was nothing at all. The dogs watched for a half-second to make sure all was good, then they got up to some good shenanigans for about an hour. They all had some fresh water, a bit of a laydown, and here you are. Perfect timing. Petra’s good?”

“Running theory that she touched her motion sickness patch, then rubbed her eye.”

“Wait.” Ash came over. “Say what now?”

“Petra was wearing a motion sickness patch on the plane yesterday. We think she touched it in her sleep, then rubbed her eye. On contact, the medication can blow out a pupil like that. No way to prove that right or wrong. But nothing else is making any sense to the people who should know.”

“Where is she now?” Levi asked.

“She was signed up for a tour that took her to the tidepool. She said she felt fine. Last night, the doctor didn’t put any restrictions or offer any cautions. This morning, the ophthalmologist asked her to keep sunglasses on today. Other than that, everyone’s kind of thrown up their hands.”

“How’s she taking all this in? I mean—thinking back on the scene—the consensus was, ‘child, you’re about to die.’” Reaper said.

“She’s FBI. I think she’s already put it in her rearview.” Hawkeye smoothed a hand over the citrus orange and lemon surfboard TJ had brought him. It had been a long time since he’d been surfing. It was hard to find a good wave on the East Coast.

“All right, listen up,” Reaper said, and the men formed a semi-circle around him. “From training in the Cerberus pool, the dogs already know how to get on and off the boards in deep water. They’ve practiced holding steady on the board’s surface on waving water. This experience in the sea is still going to be new for them. Tiny advances. We’re building confidence through success. If you push your dog, you’re going to develop anxiety, and we cannot have a Cerberus K9 who is anxious around water. It comes into play too often on our missions. You know your dog. If things feel tight. Stop. Go grab a ball and do some fetch in the water to get them happy again.”

Hawkeye cast his gaze around until he found a towel with a neat pile of hot pink tennis balls and the atlatls they used to toss the ball further.

Reaper flicked a finger toward the water. “Ash how about you go ahead out with Hoover and the board and do a little surfing. Lots of high-pitched praise for Hoover. Though he doesn’t need it, we want the other dogs to see what Hoover is doing and that it comes with a prize.”

Ash tucked his board under his arm and ran down to the surf with a whistle for Hoover.

“Ash is going to put Hoover on in knee-deep water. I don’t want the water coming over your dog’s chest. See how Ash presses the back of the board down in the water? That keeps it from nosing out in a wave.”

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