Chapter Nine
Zane
Laura screams.
Blake dives behind the counter.
The bells on the front door jingle.
Batman’s mouth crushes the forearm with the gun.
A screech of pain fills the pizzeria.
The gun drops to the ground as the force of Batman’s attack spins the man around, dropping him to his knees, then he falls face down onto the floor. Batman drags his sorry ass in short bursts. The man begs him to let go.
I kick the gun away, then approach him. As I kneel on his neck and pat him down for other weapons, I tell him, “Motherfucker, if you’d hurt my dog, I would’ve beat you stupid before I arrested you.”
“I was scared, man. I’m sorry. Get him off me. Let me go.”
I stand and stare down at him. “He’s pissed you shot at him. I think I’ll let him teach you not to fuck with K9’s.” Then I look over at Blake. “Are you alright, man?”
He answers as he peeks over the top of the counter. “Yeah. I’m good. Batman okay?”
“He’s having the time of his life right now.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Laura crawl out from under the table. “Is it safe to come out?”
“Just stay right there, babe.” I look at Blake. “I need to secure him. I’ve got a pair of handcuffs in the truck.”
Laura pipes up, “I have a pair of handcuffs right here.” She leans back into the booth and grabs a big purse.
I smirk at Blake and he shakes his head, then I tell him. “Call 911. Tell them who you are, where you are, and what happened. Tell them, Batman and I were here, off-duty. One bad guy is in custody, but one got away, and we are tracking him down. Send backup.”
“Got it. My phone is in my office.” He turns and goes to make the call.
Laura hands me the cuffs and shrugs. “You never know when you might need them.”
I shake my head as I kneel on the man’s back and pull his free arm to cuff. “We will discuss this new development when I get back. Batman, release!” I give him the command, but he is a tad reluctant. “Batman, let go, buddy. I got him. Release!”
He drops the arm, and as I pull it behind the man’s back to secure it with Laura’s handcuffs, I tell him, “Good boy, down.”
He lays down on the floor. Eyes keen on what I’m doing. Ready to help if I need him.
Blake comes back in and says, “They are on their way.” He hands me an extension cord. “I thought you could use this on his legs.”
I smile. “Yes, I can! Good thinking.” I take the cord, wrap in around his ankles, and hogtie his hands to his feet.
Then I walk over to Batman and hook his leash on his collar. “That a boy! That’s my man. Good job. You bit the bad guy.” His tongue hangs out, and his happy face smiles up at me. I look over at Blake and Laura. “One down. One to go.” I walk Batman over to the front door and tell my K9. “Batman, find the bad guy. Seek.”
He’s all business when I open the door. His nose goes to the ground to track the dude that got away. I glance a look back at Laura before I walk through. She is staring at me with a look of admiration that says she is in total awe of what I do.
Once Batman and I are in the parking lot, we are hot on the teen’s heels. He’s got a good head start, but Batman has a strong track to follow and his nose has never let me down. He is 100% accurate on sniffing scents. Whether it’s drugs or humans. The dog has a great nose.
I let Batman have his head, trusting him to do his job, and he takes off running. At this pace, we’ll catch up to the dude soon. He didn’t look like he was in good enough shape to run fast or far, but it is hard to judge adrenaline.
We cross the street, run through the common area between two apartment buildings, cross another street, run through a second common area between another two apartment buildings. Then he heads for an apartment stairwell.
Damn, I hope he doesn’t go up and hide in an apartment. We can’t go in without backup and that will take a while.
Luckily though, he doesn’t. He runs right through.
When we come out the other side, I spot the teen on the other end of the common area, talking to a group of people. I give Batman his head again, and we run right at them. He freaks and takes off.
I shout, "STOP OR I WILL RELEASE THE DOG AND THE DOG WILL BITE."
The crowd scatters. The chase is back on, and I have to give adrenaline its due. It is a powerful drug.
We chase him for a block and a half and come out in a strip mall. I shout again. "STOP OR I WILL RELEASE THE DOG! YOU WILL BE BIT!”
He darts into an alley and I lose sight of him.
