CLARK stands with BAILEY, an aging Golden Retriever, next to a metal wash basin set just outside the house. CLARK taps his foot impatiently and points to the basin.
CLARK
C’mon boy, you know I don’t like it any more
than you do. The sooner you get in, the sooner
we can both get on with life.
BAILEY gives a half-hearted growl, but allows himself to be lifted into the basin full of suds. CLARK kneels down next to him and begins working the lather through the dog’s fur.
CLARK
Sorry I haven’t been around much this weekend, boy.
Things have gotten pretty interesting.
BAILEY
Arf!
BAILEY turns to look at his owner. CLARK smiles.
CLARK
Well, since you asked. My friend Simon and I
have been playing secret agent. Crazy, right?
Mild-mannered veterinarian by day, top intelligence
man for the Resistance by night!
CLARK chuckles. BAILEY gives a long-suffering whine as CLARK dumps a handful of water on his head.
CLARK
Oh, come off it. Some people have it worse, you know.
The kid Alex who works at the HPG station with Simon,
for one. He got arrested the day after Simon’s and my
little, ah, adventure. As soon as Simon told me about it,
we resolved to go find him and learn more. The Word of
Blake IntSec people weren’t too talkative.
BAILEY
Grrrrrr.
CLARK
Yeah, I hate ‘em, too. It turned out Alex was under
arrest for something totally different. Some documents
had gone missing from secure storage at the station, and
Alex was the only one on the record to have signed in
after-hours. Poor kid. His family is all somewhere
off in the Free Rasalhague Republic, so he had no one to
bail him out. I felt bad for giving him a hard time, and I think
Simon felt a little guilty, so we put up the cash to a bail
bonds guy who was waiting at the jail. Smart business!
BAILEY
Arf! Arf!
CLARK
Yeah, yeah, time for your least favorite part.
CLARK ambles back to the house and turns on an exterior spigot connected to a hose. He takes the running hose over and begins to rinse the suds of off BAILEY.
CLARK
We bailed Alex out, and he asked for a ride
to a storage place, so he could help a friend move.
When we got there, he started unloading documents
and giving them to a guy who drove off without a word.
Huh. Guess he was guilty after all! He thanked us again,
and warned Simon that he had left some documents in his
inbox to create a false trail. Uh-oh.
BAILEY
Arf! Arf arf arf! Grrrrr...
CLARK
Yeah, that’s gratitude for ya, right? Simon and I
headed over the HPG station, but the cops were already
there. We watched the place and hoped, ‘cause what else
could we do? After they finished and we got a tasty lunch, we
headed back inside to survey the damage.
Guess what we found?
BAILEY
Grrrrrr.
CLARK
No, it was still there! And these docs were weird.
Plans for Capellan HPG stations, something about
a bio-weapon being experimented with up in Montana...
I don’t like it, not one bit.
CLARK turns the water off, much to BAILEY’s relief. The dog shakes out his fur, spraying water everywhere. CLARK was standing at a safe distance, and just watches with a small grin. He picks up an old towel and throws it over the retriever, rubbing his fur vigorously to dry it.
CLARK
Now, it turns out Alex and I weren’t the only
ones working with the Resistance. Simon is, too!
I’m kinda relieved, since I think he might be getting
suspicious of me otherwise. I’ve got half a mind
to go investigate this Montana facility, but I
don’t think Simon would go for it. Come to that,
it probably wouldn’t work anyway. How are
a vet and an HPG tech supposed to get into a secure
Word of Blake military lab?
BAILEY
Arooooo!
CLARK
Yeah, you’re probably right.
Now dry and clean, BAILEY accompanies CLARK into the small house.
These are great!
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