Chapter Six
Dakota
Monday
Were they pedigree paper-holding pups?
No.
And that was good for Dakota’s wallet.
A military working dog, bought from a breeder and trained, was worth upward of $100,000. But a pup from two rescues, Dakota could manage even on his government salary.
The training? Joe would talk Dakota through it via video mentorship for a nominal fee.
And with that understanding, Dakota had told his friend he wanted dibs on a male from the next litter.
When Dakota went to make his selection from amongst seven litter mates, it was a done deal once he locked eyes with the furball in the purple collar. It was love at first sight, completely unconditional. What a sensation to look into Tank’s eyes and feel their connection right from the first.
Curious and intelligent, Dakota found out right away that if he wanted to keep Tank’s puppy teeth from destroying everything in his home, he’d need to teach Tank self-control.
They both loved the tactical training that built Tank’s body and mind.
They worked together every morning and evening when Dakota was in Virginia.
Joe boarded Tank at his training facility when Dakota was off on an assignment.
Tank was spot on with the kinds of tactical skills they trained. Practical-tactical was how Dakota labeled it. Dakota wasn’t jumping out of a helicopter into a hot zone. That was his last life.
Take-downs, alerts, and sniffer training were Tank’s bread and butter.
Yeah, he was good at that work, passing all of his certifications with flying colors.
He just wasn’t Cerberus good, and that was the gold standard.
Tank was Dakota’s family, his partner, and in the field, he’d be his weapon. Dakota absolutely needed Tank to have every advantage so they could both come home safe at the end of the day.
And here they were at the end of a long road, ready to test his skills in the field. It was up to Dakota to do his job as a handler precisely.
And the sooner Tank tested out of the certification program, the sooner he would leave Cerberus Kennels and come back home. For now, Dakota was like a parent with visitation rights.
That’s how he felt as he stood at the back of his vehicle, giving Reaper space to unload Tank.
Magnificent was the word that came to Dakota’s mind every time he saw Tank’s regal posture.
“Hey buddy, look at you all fresh and clean after your mud bath yesterday. You good?” Dakota scrubbed his hands over Tank’s thick fur. “You’re so soft. They must have given you the spa treatment, huh, bud? Did they put on some conditioner to make you pretty?”
Dakota stuck his hand out. “Good to see you again, Reaper. I read in the paper that yesterday was a blockbuster day for the children’s hospital.”
“They got what they needed. As soon as the spring rains let up, they’ll be building the inclusive playground and the trail for the kiddos. Appreciate you playing along.”
“An honor, any time.” Dakota folded his arms over his chest and rocked back on his heels.
“Let me bring you up to speed. My department has a search warrant for passengers on a direct flight from Colombia, looking for counterfeit money. There are a hundred plus on today’s flight, and we don’t want to search every single passenger.
Our reason for pulling someone aside will be Tank’s alert.
” Dakota checked his watch. “Their plane was delayed, so we’re still good with time. Kumar texted they’re a red light away.”
“All right, how do you want to play this?”
“My colleague Kumar Singh will instruct the passengers about their conduct. If they participate, that’s good.
If they don’t, we have the search warrant.
There will be an airport guard to support this effort.
Jasper and Benny will stand off to the side to gather people who have been identified by Tank. ”
“Do you expect more than one?”
“I have no expectations at all. I was called in and contacted you. Thanks for making yourself available at the last minute.”
“That’s what we do,” Reaper said.
“You could, maybe, observe my performance, standing near Jasper. We’ll have the passengers walk by Tank and see if he shows any interest. If so, my colleagues will escort those passengers to a room for a search of their belongings.
We have a holding room and a search room set aside for our operation.
Next, Tank and I will position ourselves at the suitcase chute.
If he’s interested in anything there, we’ll pull the bags. ”
“You do expect something today, correct?”
“There’s a possibility that there is nothing there. Kumar noticed a pattern of counterfeit bills that he was interested in pursuing, and my department knew that I was looking for a field opportunity to test Tank. This is really a fishing expedition.”
“Sounds good. I knew you’d be in a suit with a badge on your hip. I hope you appreciate that I left my tactical at home.”
“You clean up good. Did Kate pick out the tie?”
Reaper adjusted his charcoal gray tie. “Yeah, she said the blaze orange one I got for Christmas was a joke.”
“Kate’s good?” Dakota asked. “The kids?”
“I’m living the life.” Reaper lifted his chin to indicate Jasper pulling into the lot, with Kumar riding shotgun.
The men parked and walked over. “Ready?” Kumar called.
“Where’s Benny?” Dakota asked as he whistled Tank back to his side.
“He stayed back at the office. He had some things to finish up. I told him to take off early. He’s really not looking good.”
“Time, gentlemen,” Kumar said.
They took Reaper’s vehicle. If there were any arrests, he’d bring Jasper back to pick up his car.
Walking into the terminal—four men in suits, glorious Tank in his tactical vest with “Working Do Not Distract” patches—turned heads and made worried eyes search the area. Surely these vacation-goers didn’t want to be caught up in an arrest situation.
By the time they had badged through security and taken the tram to the right gate, the plane had landed.
Airport security had moved retractable belt stanchions into place to herd passengers forward.
And here they came, business class first.
Dakota showed Tank his tug towel and then said, “Work time. Scent chemicals.”
Kumar directed the passengers to walk forward one at a time, stand for the count of three, then move on to baggage claim and customs.
Dakota stood to the side with Tank on a loose lead, watching people trickle by.
Tank’s nose was chuffing the air, looking for the scent that would get him play time with his favorite toy.
It was the typical medium-sized plane that brought people up from Colombia.
There were a hundred and fifty-two on this flight.
A group in red-and-white uniforms from WorldCares was coming through the door.
This was the group that Kumar had targeted, and it was up to Dakota not to signal that information to Tank in any way.
Dakota eased his body, maintained his breath, and started reciting soccer stats, focusing on forming a mental image of the numbers.
The group moving past looked exhausted.
One. Two passed.
Then, sure enough, Tank sat.
Jasper walked the man to the side.
Dakota reset Tank to continue his task. There would be no tug-of-war until Dakota was sure that there was counterfeit money present. Tank knew this. He was right back to work.
Four people walked by.
Tank sat again.
There was consternation in the group as they gathered against the opposite wall out of the way.
“What’s happening here?” the man asked as he was sent to stand near Jasper.
“We’ll explain in a minute,” Jasper said. “Raisin?”
Dakota redirected Tank to his task, and one more person from WorldCares was a hit.
The rest of the plane was clean.
Without speaking to his team, Dakota signaled to the airport security officer that he was ready. The officer escorted Dakota and Tank straight to the proper baggage belt.
Reaper trailed behind.
The moving bags really jazzed Tank, but he didn’t pick out a single scent. The group pulled their detained friends' gear off, and the security officer went over to ask for those bags, since they could only pass through security with their own belongings.
One of the people, obviously in distress, was on the phone explaining with broad gestures what had happened to them.
Dakota’s phone pinged, and he followed the map to meet up with his colleagues.
Reaper was watching his every move as they stopped in the doorway to assess before entering. The three WorldCares responders sat on metal seats. On the table were two bands of hundred-dollar bills, and some loose hundreds spread out along the edge.
“Scent chemical,” Dakota commanded and walked Tank into the room. Tank indicated on both banded stacks of bills and four of the single hundred-dollar bills.
Jasper put one through the identification machine, and it lit up as a counterfeit.
Dakota took Tank into the hall before they played their reward game of tug, with scritches and high-pitched praise.
“I’m interested to know why you didn’t give Tank an immediate reward once you saw the machine light,” Reaper said, his shoulder pressed to the wall.
From his crouch on the floor, rubbing Tank’s belly, Dakota looked over his shoulder.
“Did you see their faces? I wasn’t doing a victory dance in front of those men.
Is it wrong to ask Tank to wait thirty seconds when we’re not in training to show some humanity?
” Dakota heard how that sounded, so he added, “Serious question here, Reaper. I don’t want to mess up Tank’s training. ”