Page 25 of Seamus: Unconventional
Light’s ID shows, then a list of all the K-9s here. I shake it out of my head. “What the hell, Light? They’re all right here. Do we look like we’re zipped up the back?”
Myers barks out a laugh that gets everyone’s attention. “Stationed in Germany, I had a second that was Scottish. He’d say that about officers he didn’t agree with. Said it was astraightjacket,ordoes he normally present as an eejit,reference to idiot saying.”
I nod, surprised he’s heard it before but more so that I said it out loud. “I grew up there but had extensive linguistic training.”
He’s nodding before I finish so I don’t finish. “I noticed the lack of accent and multiple languages of the partners. Germany assignments were JSO Transport.” Service to joint bases for elite but he’s American with an east coast accent.
I put him at Maryland but have heard inflections of the west coast.“It’s not on your bio.” Respect for my new colleague grows.
He nods with a slight smile. “Delta isn’t on yours or theirs, yet, here we are.” Classified isn’t owned by any of us. Others would say it but we don’t own it out loud, we always acknowledge if it comes up, but even that’s vague.
I did give them more than I should right up front so this is my own fault.I bow my head for that one. “Touché.”
“The chip K-9s are all JSO?” The elite of elite aren’t known to all, even transport officers, apparently.
I nod once but don’t add anything because, like me and my partners, the elite of the elite worked only classified jobs.
He doesn’t ask but Tony, the engineer, is nosy.“You told us about the CIA.” It’s a question that is looking for more.
I nod but it’s grudgingly. “I didn’t sign my name to anything with those fuckers attached to it. I was easy to lose because of dual citizenship. Good old-fashioned greed put us in their hands.” I point to Shadow and Sarge paying attention to this conversation. “What power does a K-9 have? If they bark enough, they get labeled as no longer an asset, some are put down right away. If they’re lucky, they get sold on the black market to private firms. If they’re not, they’re dog fighting until they stop making money, then they get shot. Private firms work the K-9s with no safety protocols. They’re bought and paid for tools with thousands of replacement tools coming up right behind them.” Shadow throws ‘preach’ and ‘brother’ signs out making me smile.
Tony doesn’t like that. “How can you laugh? They chip, enhance, use AI shit in their brain, they even chipped you.” His anger feels good.
I nod. “He sentPreach Brotherthrough the chip. It’s not funny but Shadow is. When I’m asked, I throw it all out and leave it there on the table so everyone sees what that missing defense money pays for. The military learned how to make money without it being seen. Privatizing everything is a good way to keep those businesses running. The military train, keep soldiers busy, working, then the tools are sold for profit…where does the profit go? Since government isn’t a business, who exactly is pocketing profits? The unknown seller will find more fucked up ways to make money with little output using less of those military workers. Bet they make good profits off officers like us, the Fords, K-9s, cyborgs, just to name a small piece of it. Not one of us signed up for what they did to us, but we’re here and working to use what we do have to fight for the civilians that didn’t get the training. We fight to keep the promises for the vets that don’t get our benefits and we fight for those oaths we gave when we joined. Cort was surprised they can shoot, he’d be floored seeing the AI enhancements working procedure and protocols with no handler. They’re not only assets; they’re part of the program and coding with their adjustments logged for future AI planning with favorable outcomes.”
“That’s fuckin’ sick.” Tony gets it now.
“Yeah. Most people don’t use or know AI for more than funny pictures, better marketing or easier programming. There’s a whole world out there that most don’t see or won’t look at, so the implications and dangers of it is unrecognized. We fight for them too.”
They throw a military cheer out and the partners all bark once. I smile. I’ll keep saying it until everyone starts asking those questions that need answers. My partners have rights here in Badass and we’re making sure they have a future. Not all K-9 soldiers get that. Hell, not all humans do. We can and will fight for them.
Sarge, Ranger, Gonzo, Bobo and Duke vie for spots close to me. I lean forward to pet them all, then laugh when Shadow jumps in the seat beside me and leans down to help. My idea of petting is the cranial scratch that they all seem to love right between their ears. Shadow’s big jaw opens and his cranial scratch looks similar to a zombie dog chomping on Sarge’s head. The crew laughs. I shake my head. He’s such a bloody child sometimes. Light is right with the clown label.
We get a basic ‘whywe’re on the job’overview from IT. Corrupt PD isn’t new to Badass but this is K-9 related. Officer is dead and her K-9 won’t let anyone close. A detective is sheltering the K-9 and has had two attempts made to get through him to the K-9. Why we need so many K-9 partners isn’t explained, but Light wants to fuck with the PD. The hunted K-9 under protection looks similar to Fairy and Duke, big shepherds but not giant and both tan and black with black eyes and boots. I throw a whatever out and get tentative decoy scenarios around the station. I’ll get the plan when we know what’s happening. Light wants intel so he can add little shit that makes everything look natural. Telling him K-9s planning what looks natural isn’t natural gets lost on him so I just say, whatever.
Finally, the engineer turns. “Pres, Honor Ops on.”
I’m up with partners sitting at attention around me. Shadow got in Tony’s space and glared until he moved back.
Kristos watches it all with a smile until we get everyone settled. “I love that one. I’d do the same thing as a Lead.”
I can see that and nod. “You missed him trying for a part in a zombie dog chomping movie. He thinks head chomping for the cranial scratch I do is acceptable. He doesn’t get the need for fingers for that one.”
Every human on the flight is laughing. I shrug. Kristos tells us basically the same as what we had, it’s not a Badass PD but FBI asked for assistance. They don’t have evidence of foul play, explanation of security concerns or the PDs claim that there’s a dognapping that requires multiple SWAT attempts. It all sounds like the contractor corruption in the military that I just talked about.
“So you don’t know what we’re walking into either?” I ask because that’s what it sounds like he just said.I hear chuckling but don’t look back, I watch Kristos smile.
“Nope. You know what I do so far. It’s not elder bikers that don’t venture out of their yard for more than scare tactics.”
I shake my head. “And they wanted to steal my partner.” The Aryan idiots in Oklahoma really came to steal the K-9s. Who the hell does shit like that without a plan? I don’t know who ran the Club before it was Badass but I would put money down on the next fight being within a week. No one is taking a loss like that without blowback.
He shrugs. “He wasn’t there.”
True enough. I let it go. “No objective?”
His eye color always swirling makes it hard to tell if he rolls them. “Find out what the fuck is going on and why a K-9 is being held or protected.”
Seriously? “Roger, Boss. I’ll see what’s up with the Officer down while I’m there.”
