War Dog

Chapter 15

Crouching against the road on all fours, my eyes flicker across the street. I had my mic around my neck and the specialised hybrid earbuds for comms and ear protection. The modified doggles fit snug to my face. The technology still in its infancy was high tech. The discreet earbuds using the latest in sound detection technology. Anything over a specific decibel and the noise cancellation kicked in making them virtually sound proof. Similar technology on the glass of the doggles. Anything over a set lumens and the glasses would darken immediately. 

Highly advantageous to protecting sensitive hybrids senses. They took some time to adjust back to normal allowing me to see and hear again, but better than being blinded and deafened. I also had a mask, currently hanging around my neck that could muffle smells and poisons, similar to a gas mask, but more discreet, less effective. Only really used after somethings gone wrong in order to keep my mouth free to attack.

"Wolf, where you at?" Ghost's voice crackled over the comms. I hit the button on the side of my neck. "In position."

 I continued crouching, the shade of the nearby building blocking the artificial light from the roof above, leaving the glass on my doggles completely clear and see through. The noise coming through the overhead speakers emulating a busy square in a bustling city. The training room had had people through it all day with different things and scents leaving residue smells every where. The modified sprinkler system spewed different scents and smells every couple of minutes. Todays training was primarily to work with Ghost through comms to triangulate in on our quarry. My ears flicked, pointing towards the direction of a sound that didn't match up with the bustle of street life. I crept closer, ready to pounce or leap into action. 

The scuffling I heard came from a couple of blocks away. I continued to creep, following the sound as it began to move away. Picking up the pace I clicked my comms on. "In pursuit."

"Copy."

The scent of the person left behind told me that today they had bought in one of the soldiers. The smell of their boot polish, the hair gel, hints of gunpowder residue. And underneath all of that, human. Grinning wolfishly, I leapt up to the top of the roof of the closest building, the leap childs play with these miniature buildings. I moved across the roofs followings the scent of the human easily now. They began to move faster as if they could sense me on their trail. Their aim would be to try and lose me however they could. My aim was to lead them directly to Ghost. At the moment, they were moving in the correct direction, but that could easily change at any given moment.

Lazily roving over the roof tops, I gained on the soldier. I saw the top of their head as they darted through the empty streets, looking behind him as if I was on his tail. If only he had looked up, he might have seen me watching him like a hawk. My grin widened as I recognised who it was though. Mike. Not SAS, but he had been close. A wash out. A damn good guard here at the base too. The only reason I had rejected him as a potential handler was his ego. Entirely too egotistical for my liking. Admittedly, I also wanted to get away from this base. I didn't want to get stuck here as a glorified guard dog. So I refused him. He'd always been graceful about it at least despite the sting he'd felt.

Now, I crept behind him. There it was. He took a hard left, taking off down a street I didn't want him going down. I took off across the roofs and pounced down directly in front of him. His high pitched scream of surprise the reward for my efforts as he backpeddled, arms flailing to turn himself as he ran in the other direction. 

"Wolf, what did you do to that poor soldier?" Ghost growled in my ear. I suspected I could hear the faintest hint of amusement to his tone.

"Nothin' I swear Ghost. Didn't even touch the man. But he's coming straight for you now." I leapt back up to the top of the roofs and ran across them to catch up to Mike now flying down the streets. He was zig zagging, taking lefts and rights at random. He still wasn't looking up. Ok, so maybe there was more than one reason why I had decided he wasn't the right handler for me.