Chapter 6 Biting Felons is Fun
Biting Felons is Fun
At the station, cheers and whistles greeted Chuck and Malachi as they arrived, their captive walking sedately in front of them.
He kept darting nervous glances at the dog trotting alongside him, licking his chops as if waiting for him to step out of line.
Malachi was practically prancing as he strutted next to Chuck.
She’d praised him as the best boy and promised him a steak for dinner tonight for his actions.
Now she turned the prisoner in to booking and answered the summons to the Chief’s office.
Malachi could tell this was important, so he pressed close to her side, lending her support.
It was a new sensation for him. He’d never had anyone depend on him before.
He’d never wanted to support anyone. Fervently, he hoped this dog body wasn’t making him soft.
When the Chief began speaking, he listened closely.
“Sir, Malachi alerted me to the threat. He’s very well trained, and he signaled with confidence.
I confirmed with him and knew time was of the essence.
I released and immediately followed, where we successfully and without further incident subdued the suspect and took him into custody.
” She continued to stare straight ahead and relayed the information with a steady, detached clinical tone.
Malachi pressed in harder and thought to her, I’ve got you, Chuck. He looked suspicious, and I could sense he had bad intent.
“So, your untested partner, fresh out of training, alerted you, and you released him on live television without any confirmation he was correct?” the Chief repeated incredulously.
“Yes, sir. He may be new, but I have a deep bond with him, and I trust him. With my life,” she stated with full confidence.
“Have a seat, Officer Charles. You did good work today.” The Chief was now grinning, and the others in the office broke into applause. The K-9 trainer kneeled next to Malachi and gave him a good rub down.
“Who’s a good boy? Yeah, you are, yeah, you are! I’ve got a whole bowl of those bacon treats for you, buddy.” He laughed as Malachi lay low and moaned in excitement.
Chuck’s quiet laughter reached his ears, and she winked at him.
A few hours later, Chuck was driving her patrol, and Malachi was sitting quietly behind her, licking the rest of the bacon off his lips.
The trainer had been true to his word and rewarded Malachi handsomely for his efforts.
“You know, I don’t understand. You don’t eat dog food, which is fine, saves me money, but you love bacon.
What is that? Don’t get me wrong, I love bacon too.
” She shook her head. “Malachi, one of these days you’re going to have to tell me what’s going on.
I trust you. I hope you trust me. I’ve really enjoyed our time together, and I don’t want that to change. ”
A quick woof in the affirmative made her smile.
He did trust her, but he didn’t want to admit he was a demon.
Malachi wasn’t ashamed, but he didn’t want her to push him away.
He really enjoyed being around Chuck, spending time with her, and helping her.
Hanging with Reena and watching trashy TV on Chuck’s days off was another highlight of his life.
He was living a good, comfortable existence.
Was he constantly corrupting others? Not as much as he used to, but he still got in some corruption here and there.
Just enough to not lose his D-card, and today he even seemed to be getting some of his dark mojo back.
The radio suddenly squawked, signaling Chuck that there was a call for her and Malachi.
“Saved by the radio.” She smirked and picked up her com.
She signaled back to dispatch for information.
After getting the location and details, she confirmed to show her attached to the call, then hit her lights and siren.
“Okay, Mal, this is it, first real call together. You ready, buddy?”
I was born ready, he grinned, then made a happy noise she had no trouble interpreting.
“Okay, there was a robbery, and the suspect fled into a nearby neighborhood. He got out of the car and fled on foot, so we’re going in to find him.
” She pulled up to the scene and saw the lead officer directing the others.
She parked and tapped the release button to let Malachi out of his compartment, then took him to the command post. “Officer Charles, K-9 Malachi ready, sir.”
They were given their lead, and Malachi sniffed the car where the suspect had been.
He closed his eyes and let his senses roam.
Soon, he picked up a whiff of fear, pain, and the stale sweat of terror that marked the man they were looking for.
It was in the opposite direction to their assigned location.
Malachi turned and started towards where he was sure the man was hiding.
“Malachi, heel, that’s not our search grid. That area’s already been cleared,” she called.
He shook his head and narrowed his eyes. He woofed twice. His signal for no. He started again towards that area.
“Officer Charles, get your K-9 under control. That’s not the area you’re assigned,” came the sharp, frustrated order.
She studied Malachi as he stared at her.
Chuck, p-please, he implored, not used to saying that word, but he knew the suspect they were looking for was this way.
She raised her chin. “Sir, Malachi is alerting this way. I believe the suspect could have circled back around. I promise, sir, he’s caught something.”
The lieutenant didn’t look pleased, but he studied the dog, who was now using his alert signals towards the area they claimed was clear. He gave one short nod and clenched his jaw. “He better be right.”
Chuck reassured him. “He will be.” She turned back to Malachi and repeated quietly, “You better be.”
Malachi snorted and trotted forward, traveling about a block and a half down before turning to the left, then going another block. Without warning, he dropped to his belly and let out a low growl.
Chuck called out her identity and ordered the suspect to present and surrender. There was no response. She repeated it, adding that she had a K-9 she would release. Still no response. She glanced down at Malachi and shrugged before quietly radioing her position.
He knew the guy was there; he could hear his heart beating rapidly. He nodded at Chuck and gave a quiet woof. Yes, he was still there.
She smiled grimly. “Malachi, retrieve.”
He grinned, showing every fang in his mouth.
Launching hard, he bolted towards a dilapidated storage shed that was leaning haphazardly to one side, looking like a wayward house for orphaned snakes and spiders.
Wood splintered, flying everywhere as he barreled through the door.
He snagged the pants legs of the terrified criminal who was screaming in abject fear.
Huffing with laughter, he dragged the man to Chuck, who was standing right outside, waiting to cuff him.
As she called to release and knelt to secure the suspect, Malachi developed a sinking feeling, deep in the pit of his stomach. She had her eyes on the man on the ground in front of her, and the other officers were closing in. A low whimper escaped his throat before he could help it.
Her eyes darted to him as her hands stilled. “What? What do you know, Mal?” she whispered.
Head whipping side to side, Malachi shifted uneasily from paw to paw before his senses locked in. There was another man—possibly a partner—sneaking up on Chuck from her blind side. A matte black gun loomed in his hand, and he raised it above her bent back while she kneeled by the prone suspect.
Without waiting for the command, Malachi leapt.
Snatching the man by the throat, he slammed him to the ground and shook him just hard enough to incapacitate but not kill.
He knew from training that killing was a big no-no, but it took every ounce of strength in him to not close his fangs through the tender flesh of the man’s neck.
The smallest amount of blood oozed into his mouth, and he nearly moaned in pleasure, but the sight of Chuck’s shocked expression had him slowly easing back.
“Mal,” Chuck choked out, her voice quivering slightly.
“Good boy!” Her shoulders shook as she radioed again, alerting them to the additional suspect her partner had subdued.
She didn’t mention that he’d saved her life, but he saw it in her gaze.
Shaken but grateful, she reached out and gripped his shoulder. “Thanks, Malachi.”
A swarm of officers reached them then, yanking the two men from the ground. Someone bagged and tagged the weapon of the sneak attack partner, while another officer roughly dragged him to his feet.
“Boy, you just couldn’t resist racking up the felonies today, could you?
” the officer growled in a fair impression of what Malachi would have done in his demon form.
“Armed robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, and now attempted murder of a peace officer? You’re never going to see fresh air again. ”
Malachi added a snarling bark to emphasize the other officer’s point. That’s right, you boil on a lower demon’s ass! You’re lucky I didn’t kill you for trying to hurt Chuck! She’s mine!
“Chuck!” came a relieved voice, which then firmed. “Get your partner under control.”
At the scene lieutenant’s words, Malachi snapped his jaws closed and dropped the defensive position he’d been holding in front of her.
He realized he was blocking the other officers from checking on her.
Moving next to Chuck, he nuzzled her neck.
You’re okay, right? he whimpered, unable to stem the wave of concern for her well-being from flooding through him.
“I’m okay, buddy.” She ruffled his fur. “Good job.” She threw her arms around his neck. “Thanks for saving my ass there, Mal, you get extra bacon for that one.”
Back at the station, Chuck was filing her reports, and Malachi was getting even more bacon treats.
“Damn, Chuck, that mutt of yours really came in handy today, huh? Now aren’t you glad I pointed him out?” Jaxon chuckled as he perched his hip on the corner of her desk. “Good job, Malachi. Thanks for looking out for our girl.”
Eyeing the smarmy officer with disdain, Malachi thought about barfing on his shoes again for the mutt comment. His stomach was a little queasy from the number of bacon treats he’d inhaled. But the idiot did truly seem thankful, so he decided to just roll his eyes instead.
“Did he just…” Jaxon stared hard at Malachi.
“Hmm?” Chuck murmured distractedly.
Shaking his head and pinching the bridge of his nose, Jaxon closed his eyes briefly, then muttered, “Nothing… just been a long day.”