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More from The_Watchdog
Story and Watchdog: 
holmgren13
Other characters belong to their respective owners.
Icon by
gunmouth
Chapter 1: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/8939755/
Chapter 2: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/8939769/
Chapter 3: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/8939798/
Chapter 4: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/10115622/
Chapter 5: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/10115644/
Chapter 6: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/10548018/
Chapter 6b: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/10548036/
Epilouge: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/10548042/
Eddy paced the floor of his dirty hotel room pushing his fingers through his hair again and again as he thought nervously about what he was doing. The mutt had pushed one of the two queen beds of the room up against the door to make sure that no one would come in unannounced, and all of the lights were off, but just the thought of what he was doing made him feel so exposed. He walked back to the mini-fridge he had paid for and pulled out a small energy shot, a sandwich wrap, and a juice pouch, tossing them all onto the side-table. The mutt scratched as his naked scar mazed chest and gently stretched out, trying to keep the sleep out of his body. He finally sat down in front of the window, opening the blinds to see the nearby freeway dotted with the occasional late night headlights. Eddy picked up a pair of large binoculars from the floor and put them gently against his eyes, looking down the dark roads as his mind drifted back to the conversation that landed him into this crummy room where he'd been stuck for days.
* * *
Eddy's father, Bryan, had always been prone to drink and have a pack of cigarettes when he was having an important talk, so the bar was the most obvious choice. The smell of sweaty bikers, stale beer, and the choking veil of smoke did nothing to help Eddy's mood, but he listened hard as his father spoke.
Bryan held a bottle of beer in one hand as his other laid almost lazily across the bar table, every once in a while reaching up to pull the cigarette from his lips to blow the smoke off to the side and take a drink. He still wore the pea-coat even indoors, and his sunglasses hid his dead aged eyes, giving him the illusion of normality. The voice that haunted the hero's memories spoke normally and straight, very much to the point. "I know we told you that we were done here, and that we wouldn't come back. Fuck, I don't see why you'd think I'd come back willingly. There's no business to be had anymore." The otter paused for a moment for his son to chime in, but when he was met with an untrusting glare, he continued. "Truth is, your mother and I decided to retire almost a year ago. We've made enough money to easily pay off the police if we ever got found, afford a house out somewhere in Europe, and live comfortably until old age killed us off. Of course, in our line of business, you make lots of friends, and lots of enemies."
"Selling death will do that." Eddy didn't move his eyes away from his dad's as a plate of greasy chili fries were set in front of him.
"Some people would call it that, but you always have two sides to every coin, son." Bryan barely looked like he was paying attention to his own words as he reached over for some food. "Guns are weapons and guns are tools. Are you talking to the police, the revolutionaries, the tyrants, or the peasants? Either way, if no one wanted our product, we'd change. Point is, you make friends and enemies, and some of those enemies couldn't be paid off like most. I had thought we'd made all the proper calls and payoffs..." The otter wiped his mustache with a thin napkin and then took another long drag from his cigarette.
Eddy scratched a bit at his lip, his false mustache uncomfortable enough without all the smells that were sinking into it. "So what happened? Why all of a sudden coming back?"
"Honestly, I was looking for Allen. He's on leave... thought he could help me out. But of course he's gone off somewhere, and I can't find him. I didn't think I'd run into you. Heh, I've heard about you all over the news, Mr Superhero huh?" He grinned and pushed the bridge of his glasses back high onto his nose. "I doubt you'd help us out, after what you've had to go through. Allen basically raised you until he was in the military... at least we didn't send you to an orphanage."
"Oh no, life alone in an empty house with no friends is much better."
"At least you weren't an orphan, huh?" Bryan spit on the floor, granting him an angry glance from the bartender, but not a word of protest. "Look, I only came back for help, and I understand if you want nothing to do with us, but Lynn is... sorry it's been a while. Your mother is in danger."
Eddy's ear twitched, but his eyes remained like stone. "If she'd died I wouldn't have known about it and have lived my life in ignorant bliss."
"I'm sure..." Bryan finished his beer and snapped his finger for the bartender to bring another. "But she is your mother. I am your father. I know you don't want us dead in a gutter."
"... What do you want, dad?"
* * *
Eddy rubbed his eyes, having been watching the traffic so long. He took the other half of his energy shot and took another healthy bite of his sandwich wrap before going back to watching. He remembered everything his father had told him, as if he had been listening in to a mission briefing. His mother had been kidnapped from their tour of the British Isles. The kidnappers were moving her all over the world as they waited for his dad to pay the ransom and show himself. It was an obvious scheme to take the money and kill off both of them, but without calling the bluff, there was no way to keep his mother safe.
Bryan was a man who lived in the shadows, so he knew enough people to get some off-hand information. The kidnappers were keeping a close eye on the otter, but not his family, and they were moving Lynn for a while at least to their old home town. He knew what they were driving, and he knew that his wife was alive, but since he couldn't search them out himself or pay the ransom, he needed someone who could sniff them out for him.
Eddy gritted his teeth as he saw the fifth black van that night driving up the freeway towards the city. The mutt leaned over to his keyboard and entered a set-up command, and he watched carefully as the van passed by the hotel. The windows were all tinted black, but a small flash let him know that his motion sensitive camera had caught their license plate. He checked the photo on his laptop and confirmed that this was finally the van his father had been told about. With a few clicks of the mouse, the mutt had started up Buck's special traffic program, syncing his screen with every traffic camera in the city, letting him trail the van as it drove deeper into the urban jungle. As the computer kept on the van's trail, keeping a recorded file of its whereabouts, the mutt stood and went to the bed where a large duffle bag laid open, filled with his uniform and equipment. Eddy's, mother was being held hostage in that van. Now the Watchdog will find where they were going, and bring her back.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Seriously, does no one but me think it's a bit cliche to choose the abandoned warehouse at the docks as a villainous hideout?" The Watchdog stood perched on a tall fence, the razor wire around him severed and bent aside. He rubbed the eyes of his mask, a major headache building as he thought of the sheer size of the place. He had seen nearly a dozen armed mercenaries leave the van, and now they're spread out through this building waiting for him to charge into their sights. "Why can't these guys go to the library? I KNOW the library."
With his personal complaints finished for now, the hero jumped down to the grounds in front of the warehouse and ran to the building's shadow. His back pressed against the cold stone, he began wondering what Osprey would be saying in the situation. Besides that he should have back up and shouldn't be on the field yet. She'd probably access the situation fully and thoroughly before attempting entry. This was a hostage situation, so the guys with the guns have more than muscle on their side, they also had a shield. Charging in would not only be dumb and ineffective, it could also prove fatal to the hostage. This meant that Watchdog would have to take the stealthier route and take down the perps one at a time until a rescue could be made.
Watchdog felt the outside of the building, the worn cement between the bricks leaving just enough space for the mutt's finger tips to fit between them. He turned and secured his utility belt tightly and swung his duffle bag over his shoulder before removing his electric-shock glove and stretching out his fingers. Carefully, the hero slipped his fingers into the crags of the brick, his callused tips turning white as he pushed himself up the sheer wall with his powerful legs. It took only a short minute to make it to a vent, and Watchdog eagerly placed his full hand against the cool metal. With one more pull and jump, the mutt made it to the roof. He clambered up and shook out his sore hands before replacing his weaponized glove.
With a quick glance around, Watchdog found the main cooling unit. He made his way over and dropped his pack, quickly opening it to fetch out his all-tool. The all-tool pulled out into a plethora of different devices that could hack doors as easily as pull apart locks and saw through steel pipes. He pulled out the flat-head bit and attached the drill attachment, putting it to the air conditioner until he had pulled off enough casing to get to the inner workings of the machine. He also pulled apart the electrical box, needing to gain control without going inside of the warehouse. The hero was busy at work, grinning to himself as he finally found a decent use for his new gift for breaking a silent entry. The large metal case he pulled from his pack apparently has the firepower of more than a dozen smoke grenades, and continued to pour out its chemically induced artificial fog for almost half an hour. He set it inside of the air conditioner, and once he had disconnected the power switch and added his own he was able to let it go. The box popped and began spewing out a thick smoke that smelled strangely like maple syrup. Watchdog flipped on the cooling system and watched the smoke get sucked into the vents.
The Watchdog was now on a timer. as long as the smoke screen was in place, the mutt could secure the halls without worrying about being seen from across the building by a patrolling guard. He walked towards the edge of the warehouse, pulling off his heavy black coat and flipping it inside out. The grey interior of the jacket covered his arms up to his wrists, and after unclipping a duster extension, it fell down to his ankles as well. He removed his mask, flipping it around as well to its grey reverse, and with a grin he jumped off of the side of the building, grabbing at the first window sill he fell past. With the rooms now slowly filling with smoke, the grey clad mutt easily blended into his surroundings. he pulled himself inside, falling to the concrete floor and crouching low, following the back wall deeper into the warehouse.
The corridors all seemed empty for a while, but Watchdog finally found some of the patrolling guard. The first two were traveling in a pair, a smart move, and he made the assumption that they would all travel with at least one partner. The hero backed up against a wall, letting the smoke hide him directly in front of the mercenaries.
"I don't like this, man... It's like we're being hunted or some shit." Through the thick smoke, Watchdog was able to just make out their movement, but their heavy steps hinted at heavy body armor, and their upward held arms told him that they were armed, possibly with assault weapons.
"Hey, we knew this was coming, just keep your eyes open and your mouth shut. I can't hear anything with you yappin all the damn time."
"Pff, like what, you can hear their breathing through the mist? Shut up man, I wouldn't even be here if it weren't for you."
"Me? Me!? You're the one who wanted to be all mister Bad-ass. Don't jump all over me just because I had the balls to actually go out and do something while you just sat around getting fat!"
The two continued to argue as they walked, but the whole conversation was strange. Had they been hired on with what seemed like little to no experience in the field? What kind of joke was this? The pair of thugs was about to pass by the Watchdog crouched in the smoke, when- "Bzzzz~ ... Bzzzz~ ..."
"Your phone going off? Dude, we're not supposed to have our phones, even on silent. You're gonna get us kicked out before we even get a a decent pay-off."
"It's not mine, man. Check yours. I left my phone in the lockers."
"So did I! I wouldn't risk it going off in front of the boss!"
"Well whose fuckin phone is going off then?"
Watchdog felt like an idiot, his belt vibrating madly as his phone blinked into his side. He was forced into action, the mutt jumping up and launching his disk at the first goon, running along the wall behind the second, striking his head with his elbow! The two were out cold in only a moment, and the Watchdog quickly pulled out his phone which showed Buck's picture across the front. He flicked out the phone and whispered as nonchalantly as he could, "Hello?"
"Eddy? It's Buck, just checking up on you and stuff. You haven't been in for a few days, is everything okay?"
"Uh, yeah yeah, everything... oh hold on a sec." The mutt covered the microphone and quickly kicked out at the head of the goon who had tried reaching for his radio. He heard the goon groan into unconsciousness as a tooth or two rolled down the hall. "Sorry, I'm back. Yeah, everything's fine and dandy."
"Oh, good good. Where are you at? You know, Ospery wants to make sure you're taking it easy. She wants you back on the field as soon a possible, so she's wanting you to heal up while you can."
"Yeeeeah, yeah I'm... I'm relaxing."
"You sound kind of out of breath. Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yep, yes, just came up a big flight of stairs is all." Watchdog was moving quickly through the halls, whispering as he dodged passed pairs of patrolling guards.
"So, uh, where ARE you, anyways?"
"Uh... visiting my parents." It wasn't that much of a lie at least. "Listen, I should really get going, I uh..."
"Your parents? I don't think I've ever seen your parents, Eddy. Are they out of town?"
"Uh, yeah. Out of town... Listen, Buck, I really-"
"Why are you whispering? I can barely hear you."
Eddy's mind was racing already while trying to avoid guards while talking, he bit his lip and crouched behind some empty crates. "I'm in a library."
"... In a library? I thought you were at your parents?"
"Fuck... I mean my parent's library."
"Your parents own a library..."
"No, not... Ugh, not a library the building, the library the room. Where you keep books and smoke pipes or whatever." Watchdog slipped just behind a few guards, who turned, pointing their rifles back as they tried to find out where the presence behind them had gone.
"Oh... so why are you whispering? I mean, if it's their house, who cares?"
"Old habits die hard, look Buck I really need to go."
"Oh, okay, sorry. You should really spend time with your parents if you don't see them often, I just got curious. If you need anything, just give me a ring."
"I will I will... Oh wait, Buck?"
"Yeah, still here."
"Uh, if I don't... Let's see, best way to do this... If I don't call you back in an hour, or text you back with 'W.D.' at the end of the message, use my G.P.S. to get a location and send someone over."
"That doesn't sound very safe, Eddy. Where are you?"
"Going to see my mother right now. Buck, I'll explain more later, bye." Eddy clicked off his phone and slipped it back into his belt before pulling out a small moist cloth from an airtight pouch near his boot. He grabbed a straggling guard and held the cloth strongly over his nose and mouth until the body went limp. He stashed the body along the side of the wall and continued his hunt, still working deeper into the warehouse, where he was sure his mother would be held.
It took the hero less than half an hour to take down the rest of the patrols. Whoever paid these guys paid too much. Even in the thick smoke that had filled the warehouse they should have at least came up with some kind of plan to protect all sides of a group, making sure they couldn't be sneaked up on, but no, each of them just kept on walking hoping they'd run into... something. With all of the unconscious bodies stashed in the smoke, Watchdog made his way to the center of the building.
Up along the catwalk there was an office room that overlooked the rest of the warehouse. Watchdog was careful to climb up to the walkway and make his way towards it. He found himself on a long walkway that crossed the warehouse floor to the front of the office where there was a large window, and as he saw a shadow move beyond the slightly fogged glass he stopped and carefully pulled out a pair of binoculars. He adjusted the view until he could barely make out three standing shadows and one sitting. He continued to watch and wait, but with as little as he could see, the hero couldn't make a decisive course of action. It was a risky move, but he had to get a closer look at the situation. The mutt ran quietly across the catwalk straight towards the window, keeping low in the smoke, hoping he'd stay well hidden. He jumped onto the handrail and then hoisted himself as quietly as he could on top of the office. He listened and leaned down to peek into the window.
Inside the small room were three guards walking around, all three looking well armed. The way they were moving was much different than those out on the patrol. They seemed more sure, and much more professional. Two of them looked to have riffles, while one only seemed to have a handgun on his hip. It was all still very foggy with the bad window, but it looked very clear inside. Perhaps they covered the vents before the smoke got in too thick. The one in the chair was a tall female. A german shepard. She was bleeding and blindfolded and no doubt tied to the chair she was in.
"Mom..." Watchdog looked around to form a plan, and when he spotted a phone right by the front window, he felt himself starting to grin. Being as quiet as he could, Watchdog jumped back to the catwalk and walked to the other side of the building, pulling his phone out once more.
"Beep beep... ... ... Beep be- Buck here."
"Hey hey, Buck. Told you I'd call back, so re-start that hour. hour from now if i don't call blah blah."
"Uh huh, Eddy, do you want to tell me what's really going on?"
Eddy chuckled, still speaking in a soft whisper. "I told you, I'm going to see my mother. Now look, you trust me, right?"
"Define trust."
"Oh, ouch... the truth hurts man. Well, do you believe that I would only ask you to help me if I felt I needed your help, and that whatever I do, I do with the intention of doing good?"
"Sure, I guess..."
"Awesome. I need you to do this for me, and I need to you do it exactly as I say, when I say, and then not report it until I'm back."
There a moment of silence on the line. "I can't promise to not report."
"Fine, then give me some time before you do, please? "
"There's nothing I can say to stop you anyways, I just hope you know what you're doing, including slashing Osprey's trust in you. I hope it's worth it."
"It is... just trust me. Now Buck, I need you to find my location via GPS of my phone. Find out what building I'm in, and then find the main office phone number."
"Please hold..."
"Well, I mean you don't have to do it RIGHT n-"
"Got it, do you need it?"
".... Damn you're good." Watchdog shook out his hand and kneeled. "Okay, when I say 'go', I need you to hang up with me and call that number. When someone answers, just say that you called the wrong number and hang up, don't even let them say anything."
"You called me in to make a crank call? You're insane."
"You can't tell me that you never wanted to do it." Eddy grinned when he heard the silence of Buck's thoughts. "You ready? Get ready. And.... go."
The hero slipped his phone into his belt and set himself up to sprint, standing forward on his toes, hands on the catwalk. He waited, and for a moment was wondering if Buck had found the wrong number before it started ringing. The masked-mutt watched the foggy window, noting how the guards reacted with their weapons as they turned towards the sudden ring. He noted where they were standing as the middle guard, one of the men with rifles, began to walk towards the phone. As he walked, Watchdog began to run, again keeping low in the smoke. He picked up speed as the guard reached out to pick up the receiver, as just as the guard answered the unknown caller, the hero jumped and readied himself for the impact.
Watchdog kicked out the window, the glass shattering as his boot pushed through to the guard's head, knocking the man unconscious almost instantly. The hero was ready for the guns inside, rolling across the glass covered floor with his shield between him and the larger rifle-wielding man. The impact of the gun was more than the hero had thought, and the loud racking told him why. The guard was shooting off a shotgun, not a rifle, and the second shot actually knocked the hero off balance for a second. Seeing the second guard finally pulling his own weapon from its holster, Watchdog couldn't delay any further, lowering his shield only to aim and launch it at the shotgun, knocking it clear out of the guard's hand. With one threat temporarily neutralized, the hero turned and grabbed for his belt, quickly throwing a half-dozen shuriken. The blades expanded and spun quickly through the air before cutting across the man's hand, sinking into his side, shoulder, and the wall next to him. He cried out in pain and dropped his gun. Again, a temporary fix.
Watchdog turned back to the shotgun guard, for the first time even noticing that he was a well-built short haired cat, probably ex-military. The cat swung his fist, but the mutt just backed away slightly to avoid the strike. He then countered by lunging forward with his palm out, striking the cat on the forehead, making the guard cross-eyed for a moment. In that moment, Watchdog jumped and kicked him hard across the jaw, hearing a bone chilling crack. The cat was down and out, and before even turning around the hero kicked up his shield from the ground. He could hear the second guard, another cat this one with a half chewed off ear, already trying to run. Watchdog turned his eyes and quickly threw the shield. His well practiced throw hit the feline in the head, sandwiching his face with the wall, making his legs twitch as he slumped to the ground.
Watchdog waited and looked around the room. There was no motion but from the abused prisoner. Before reuniting with his mother, Watchdog re-armed his wrist launcher, picking up his shield and replacing it on his forearm. He finally turned to the prisoner, the middle-aged german shepard woman, her hair a complete mess and tossed over her sweat sticky face. Blood had dried black under her nose, and her cheek was swollen, her plain red blouse ripped badly showing the raw skin around her arms.
The hero's hand reached out very slowly towards the woman, who pulled away from his touch as his finger reached her cheek. He looked worried, but slowly he looked more confused. Finally, the Watchdog pulled the blindfold from one of her eyes. He stared down into the dark chocolate iris of the bound woman.
"... Where is she?" He pulled the blindfold fully off and backed away slowly. The mutt looked from window to window, reaching behind himself to pull out his doggy-paddle. "Where is she!?" He looked towards the woman, who looked around worriedly but didn't speak. "My mother's eyes are blue. Where is..."
The masked mutt quickly turned towards the door to the office. The knob of the door slowly turned, and when it opened he was finally face-to-face with the person he had been searching for. Lynn's footsteps seemed to echo in the small room, the hard soles of her black military boots grinding dust into the floor with each slow methodical step. Her slacks and long coat were the same dead black of her boots, the royal blue buttoned shirt and gold jewelry striking color into her icy eyes. Her hair fell very neatly to her shoulders, very light strikes of grey through their natural deep brown, the only indication of her age. In her gloved hand, she held a military club that tapped absently at her leg. Her smile was well practiced, which gave no warmth to her expression. "Edward."
"Mother." Watchdog slowly adjusted his stance, making sure he was able to dash at or away from the woman at the first sign of trouble.
"You've really grown, haven't you? I still remember you clinging to my leg when the other children were poking fun at your haircut. Now look at you."
"I had to grow up without anyone to protect me anymore."
"Your tone makes it sound so bad. You got strong, didn't you? You always had your finances in order, didn't you?"
"Oh of course. It's just mental scarring, I'm sure more than a little psychological strain, and I can't forget the difficulty of going on field trips when I have no parent or guardian to sign my permission slip. You know I missed my chance to go to the Chicago Aquarium? But hey, let's not get so caught up in me, mother, how are you? You're looking wonderfully healthy and calm for someone who's supposed to have been kidnapped, wouldn't you say?" Watchdog was gripping the paddle in his hand tighter than he though, his knuckles white under his weaponized glove.
Lynn chuckled, walking slowly to the woman who could have been a distant twin. "Come now, Edward, in my business getting kidnapped is a risk I've been exposed to many times. I've learned long ago how to deal with the situation, I'd never need your help with something so trivial." She pulled the ropes around the woman's wrists, letting her stand before pushing an envelop from her inner coat pocket into the double's shaking hands. The woman ran out of the room, and Eddy's mother turned back to him before sitting. "A few thousand dollars can buy most anyone, Edward. Remember that. I needed a way to test your family devotion, and your new skills." Lynn leaned forward in the chair, resting her elbows on the table, her fingers linked in front of her as she looked over her hands to Eddy's masked expression.
"I would have done the same for anyone, Mom."
"Don't try to pull off a distance in your emotions, Edward. You've always been the emotionally attached type. Now..." Lynn stood up and walked back towards the door. "The men you took down on your way in were all wanting to join my business."
"I thought you retired."
"You also thought I was kidnapped. Pay attention." She stopped in front of the door, her smile lost, her words straight forward and unemotional. "They were weak, untrained, unprofessional. I had hoped that they would give you a bit more of a challenge, but your ease in disposing of them just shows me how strong and efficient you really have become. I want to offer you the position they were all fighting for, Edward. I want you to be on my team by my side. I want you to fight for me, and to represent me."
Eddy was a bit taken back when he heard the proposal. In the back of his mind, the hero had sensed a trap, but he couldn't risk his family. Evil or not. "You want me to be a death merchant with you? You're serious?"
Her eyes didn't falter, her stance stiff and confident. "If you wish to call it that, then yes. I would pay you well, and you would have the benefit of working with me and your father. You'd be doing half the strenuous work you do now with ten times the payoff."
Eddy never looked away from his mother's eyes, and his lips drew back in a soft snarl. "You're mad if you think I'd join you. I remember what you do. You sell weapons to mad killers, and you dispose of anyone that gets in your way. You kill women and children to hold a veil of fear across the eyes of your foes, and you show absolutely no mercy. You're a selfish and evil bitch who doesn't feel anything for her own family, never mind anyone else."
His mother's gaze hardened, but her expression never changed. "Greater men have lost their lives for such remarks, Edward. Don't push your luck just because you're my son."
"You've been pushing your own luck, coming back here. I want you to leave, I want you out of my life forever, and take that monster of a husband of yours with you!" The Watchdog was beginning to yell, his fist shaking as he felt his anger rising.
Finally, Lynn changed her expression. She smiled, amused. "So you won't join me?"
"No!"
"And I know better than to try changing your mind. You were always stubborn." She turned her back to the hero walking very slowly for the door. "But I won't leave. I've decided to come home for a reason. You've drawn enough attention here to create a real business through the underbelly of this normally boring city. Masked thieves and vigilantes, murderers and gang lords, every one of them trying to build enough muscle to take down the great Watchdog. Each one of them more than a potential customer. I've decided to feed this beast until it becomes a glutton for my wares, and perhaps someday..." She turned with her sickening smile, looking right into Eddy's eyes. "They'll begin the war of heroes and villains, turning this whole country, or this whole world into a war-zone full of pain, death, and good business."
"I won't let you..." The Watchdog gripped his weapon and barked out, "I won't let you!" He lifted the weapon over his head and made a dash for his mother, his enemy.
He couldn't remember if he heard the cracking glass and the explosive crack of a rifle, or felt the handle of his paddle rip in half first. The weapon flew from his hand in pieces, and without thinking the hero was on his knee holding his shield towards the windows covering his face. Bullets flew around him to keep him distracted for the half moment it took for the rifle to shoot again into his armored vest, knocking him to the ground. Before he was on the ground, his shield was torn from his wrist in another shot, and his chest was battered and bashed in by a small storm of bullets. As soon as it had started, the firing stopped, and the Watchdog cringed from the floor, barely able to see straight, trying to will his body into allowing him to breathe in, his whole torso feeling on fire after the shots.
The sound of boots cracking and scraping against glass forced the hero to focus towards the front of the small office. At least a dozen men stood in the doorway, within the windows, and now in the room. They were all dressed in full black, their faces covered in masks that filtered their breath and enhanced their vision. Each one of them had a gun aimed at the Watchdog, and the hero knew that he was only alive because that was the plan. Two of the men who were at the door split up to make room for their leader. The mutt coughed, trying to turn to his front so that he could try to get up.
"I told you he wouldn't join us, babe."
"I know, Bryan. You were right."
"You know I love it when you say that."
Eddy could hear his parents kissing and cringed, using the wall to help hold himself up as he stood. He spoke with a raspy voice through a cough. "Get a room..."
The otter grinned and turned to face his son. His dark coat was gone, replaced with a very simple black undershirt, his belt holding a plethora of equipment in pouches, and two pistols hanging under his arms. "I didn't bring you up to be rude, son."
"Don't call me your son, you monster." Eddy fought to stand straight, a bit of blood drooling from his lip to land on the floor in front of him.
Bryan chuckled. "You can deny it all you want, but nothing can change the fact that my blood flows through your veins. And so does hers." Bryan turned towards his wife, and then back to Eddy. "You already made your decision. You're not going to join us. With any normal recruits, you'd be dead already. I ordered my men to keep you alive just in case we could change your mind, even though I know that it's not going to happen. Maybe I'm becoming too soft in my old age." The otter drew out one of his guns, a large black blade protruding from under the barrel. Without giving his son time to say anything, Bryan shot the mutt three times in his armored chest plate, knocking him back onto the ground. He grinned as the boy coughed up more blood from the heavy trauma continuously pounding his chest. "I keep asking myself why I'm doing this to you. I would save my time and my bullets if I just spent one round in that thick skull of yours." Bryan shot Eddy's back as the mutt crawled away, punching him back into the ground. The mutt groaned as he began to crawl again, but his dad just pushed his glasses up with the blade of his smoking gun. "I thought that maybe it was because I didn't want to kill you, but honestly I've thought about it, and I don't think I would have issues with it." Another shot to the back made the Watchdog cough and curl up slightly, cringing in pain. "Now I think I've decided. I'm only doing all of this for the sake of your friends. I don't want any of them to get hurt, you know? Maybe if they see what they're up against, and that I have no problem hurting my own son for my personal benefit, they won't try to-"
The otter was cut off as Eddy spun quickly around, throwing the large piece of his paddle that he had crawled over to. The thick heavy piece of paddle flew quickly towards his mother, but Bryan was too fast. He drew his second gun, slicing through the thrown weapon as it flew past him, sending it away from his wife. Eddy grinned, his teeth bloody as he pushed himself up to his feet. "Sorry, you were just getting really talkative again. You know I hate listening to you just talk and talk and talk. If you have a point, just skip to it. It's worse than the gun shots."
Eddy's father held his guns to his sides, his lips pulling back slowly into a snarling growl. "Take Lynn out of here, keep her covered. I'm going to stick around with my son a while more."
The german shepard rolled her eyes and turned on her heels, walking slowly to the door with an uncaring wave of her hand. "Just don't kill him. I don't need the bad karma."
"As you wish."
The men in black filed out of the room one by one both in front and behind Lynn. Watchdog didn't let his eyes stray from his father, but he could tell that some of the men were staying right by the office, keeping an eye on things through the windows. There was no way of escaping, and no way he could beat his dad in a fight with him as beat up as he was. He was going to be beaten up and struck down no matter what he did, so he might as well show his old man that the pup could bite, and bite hard.
Eddy and Bryan Holmgren stood face to face in silence for what seemed like hours before the otter finally made the first move. He walked slowly towards the Watchdog, making the mutt take a step back. The hero gritted his teeth and pushed forward, swinging a fist at his dad's face. The otter would have laughed if he were in a better mood, holding out an easy hand to block the attack before he kicked hard into his son's side, then spun quickly to slap the hard heel of his boot to his skull.
Watchdog stumbled to the ground, but quickly got back to his feet. He shook out his head before seeing his dad walking still towards him with speed and purpose. The mutt swung again, putting more weight into each hit, knowing it would take everything he had to do anything beyond annoy the assassin. The otter was dodging the hits, simply backing away from each strike as it came as if he were playing around. It made Watchdog more angry than scared, hating that his dad wouldn't even be happy with just taking him down. He had to humiliate him on top of it all. Finally, the otter blocked another attack, but before the hero could react with a counter the older man struck him across the face with the butt of his gun and forward kicked his chest, sending the mutt stumbling back against the wall of the office. Bryan shot the hero again three times in the chest, making the mutt fall to his knees again.
Watchdog was having trouble breathing, and he knew that he was loosing badly. He had to find a way to cheat, a way to catch his dad off guard. The otter was used to fighting soldiers. He fought people with guns, people who fought and juggled their lives regularly, but he wasn't used to fighting super heroes. As Watchdog pushed himself up, he dropped two large metal balls to the floor, making his dad look down quickly in confusion.
The gas pellets filled half of the room with the smoke that had been blocked by the clogged vents. Eddy was in his element. As black clad soldiers watched from outside, the confusion only grew. The sound of stomping, swinging fists, punched walls, and the flash of a few gunshots all cut through the haze, but no one could tell who was hitting who. In an instant, Eddy tackled his father, pushing him back out of the smoke and lifting him off of the floor, jumping across the desk and into the office chair, shattering it under his dad. Pinning the otter down, who showed signs of finally being struck across the face, Eddy aimed his fists down at his head. Bryan quickly turned his head to dodge the strike. With dexterous hands he swiped his bladed gun across Eddy's face, the tip of the blade cutting deep across his right cheek and and just past his ear. The moment Watchdog pulled back to avoid the blade, the otter lunged with his second, stabbing the boy in his shoulder in between the thick plating of the armor. Leaving his gun, Bryan grabbed at the armored vest, pulling himself up to smash his head into Eddy's, pushing the mutt back enough to roll away and stand, now with only one weapon.
"Ah! Hah, well, you're at least not a total waste of space, boy. But your dad is too high above you to be taken down by a little bag of tricks."
Eddy didn't respond as he stood back up with the help of the desk. He pulled the gun out of his shoulder and tossed it aside. He felt the searing pain, and the drops of blood slipping down to soak his clothes. As his father talked, the mutt let his jacket slip from his shoulders to pool on the floor, and he unclasped the sides of his vest, dropping the heavy apparel to the floor with a loud thud. Under his grey insignia he could feel his ribs badly bruised from the constant shots, his whole torso tender from the constant abuse.
As the vest dropped, Bryan grinned. "You really are a foolish boy, aren't you? That vest was the only reason you survived so long, and now you drop it." The otter raised his gun. "I thought I raised you better than that." Click. ... Nothing.
Eddy grinned as he pulled off his mask as well, not needing the protection against his own family. "You didn't raise me at all, but at least I know how many bullets you've shot off. Must be going senile in your age." With the extra weight of his vest and jacket gone, Eddy dashed forward with new speed. He saw the glint of his dad's bladed gun lifting and knew he was being attacked, but instead of dodging and being forced onto the defensive or taking the blade to his side where he might harm an internal organ, Eddy caught the blade, letting it cut into his palm as he pulled it away and grabbed the back of his dad's neck. He smashed his skull against his dad's face two, three, four times before letting him fall back, his gun forgotten and released to be tossed aside. The hero turned his hand to grip at his dad's throat, pushing him against the far wall, lifting him just off of the ground, letting the otter struggle for breath. Eddy pushed with all of the strength he had, grabbing one of his dad's wrists so that he could only try to pull the mutt's much larger hand with one of his own, trying to catch his breath. Bryan kicked at Eddy's wounded torso, but Eddy shrugged it off. "Y-... you lost, dad...Ng!"
As Eddy was putting his full weight into strangling his own father, the otter was trying desperately to pull he mutt's hand away to breathe. As his face was turning red, he did his best to grin. "R-remember, son..." He coughed and gasped weakly through the hero's grip. "Remember... I-If you're not cheating..."
The thought was cut off as a roaring shot filled the room, Eddy's back, butt, and legs being filled with small shots of lead. His whole vision was blurred with pain and shock, and he had lost his grip. Bryan pushed his son away and didn't pause before chasing after him. The otter jumped, stepping up Eddy's leg before flipping back, cracking the mutt's jaw with his boot as he jumped high into the air. As Eddy was knocked back tumbling across the ground, his father landed gracefully on one knee. There was a moment of stillness, and then Eddy coughed, struggling to open his eyes.
Bryan stood and brushed off his shoulder, his winded voice finishing his statement. "You're not trying. You taught me that one." The otter walked past Eddy's barely moving body, stepping heavily on the mutt's cut hand as he went to join his wife, who was holding a smoking shotgun.
Lynn dropped the gun to the floor and used a single finger to pull her hair away from her eyes. "You were taking too long."
"Well, your son is very stubborn. He must have gotten it from you."
"Oh shut up. You're done anyways, so we can keep on moving."
Eddy bit his tongue lightly as he pushed himself up onto his forearms. His father walked to the wall and leaned back against it, pulling a pack of smokes from his belt, lighting it and taking a long steady drag before exhaling through his nose. "Yes, I still haven't been able to find Allen. He hasn't reported back to his unit, so he's either hiding..."
"Or waiting for us to find him."
"Correct. I gave him a written invitation, unlike the stubborn pup on the floor. I'm sure he'll be much more willing to to take our offer." As Bryan talked, Eddy glared up from the floor, growling softly. Allen wouldn't. His brother was in the League, and he trusted him with his whole being.
"Well, let's not waste time on Edward then. Hopefully his new family of miscreants won't be bugging us too much after seeing how hopeless it all is."
"Indeed." Bryan grinned as his wife walked quickly over to her son. "Besides, Allen was always my favorite."
Watchdog watched as his mother approached, her heavy boot drawing back before flying towards his face. He didn't feel the strike, and only remembered the darkness afterwards. The voices he heard in his dreams were all yelling and frantic, angered and worried, but he couldn't answer them. His thoughts strayed from his parents, and he felt his whole body stiffen as he thought of what Osprey would have to say about all of this...
holmgren13Other characters belong to their respective owners.
Icon by
gunmouthChapter 1: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/8939755/
Chapter 2: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/8939769/
Chapter 3: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/8939798/
Chapter 4: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/10115622/
Chapter 5: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/10115644/
Chapter 6: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/10548018/
Chapter 6b: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/10548036/
Epilouge: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/10548042/
Eddy paced the floor of his dirty hotel room pushing his fingers through his hair again and again as he thought nervously about what he was doing. The mutt had pushed one of the two queen beds of the room up against the door to make sure that no one would come in unannounced, and all of the lights were off, but just the thought of what he was doing made him feel so exposed. He walked back to the mini-fridge he had paid for and pulled out a small energy shot, a sandwich wrap, and a juice pouch, tossing them all onto the side-table. The mutt scratched as his naked scar mazed chest and gently stretched out, trying to keep the sleep out of his body. He finally sat down in front of the window, opening the blinds to see the nearby freeway dotted with the occasional late night headlights. Eddy picked up a pair of large binoculars from the floor and put them gently against his eyes, looking down the dark roads as his mind drifted back to the conversation that landed him into this crummy room where he'd been stuck for days.
* * *
Eddy's father, Bryan, had always been prone to drink and have a pack of cigarettes when he was having an important talk, so the bar was the most obvious choice. The smell of sweaty bikers, stale beer, and the choking veil of smoke did nothing to help Eddy's mood, but he listened hard as his father spoke.
Bryan held a bottle of beer in one hand as his other laid almost lazily across the bar table, every once in a while reaching up to pull the cigarette from his lips to blow the smoke off to the side and take a drink. He still wore the pea-coat even indoors, and his sunglasses hid his dead aged eyes, giving him the illusion of normality. The voice that haunted the hero's memories spoke normally and straight, very much to the point. "I know we told you that we were done here, and that we wouldn't come back. Fuck, I don't see why you'd think I'd come back willingly. There's no business to be had anymore." The otter paused for a moment for his son to chime in, but when he was met with an untrusting glare, he continued. "Truth is, your mother and I decided to retire almost a year ago. We've made enough money to easily pay off the police if we ever got found, afford a house out somewhere in Europe, and live comfortably until old age killed us off. Of course, in our line of business, you make lots of friends, and lots of enemies."
"Selling death will do that." Eddy didn't move his eyes away from his dad's as a plate of greasy chili fries were set in front of him.
"Some people would call it that, but you always have two sides to every coin, son." Bryan barely looked like he was paying attention to his own words as he reached over for some food. "Guns are weapons and guns are tools. Are you talking to the police, the revolutionaries, the tyrants, or the peasants? Either way, if no one wanted our product, we'd change. Point is, you make friends and enemies, and some of those enemies couldn't be paid off like most. I had thought we'd made all the proper calls and payoffs..." The otter wiped his mustache with a thin napkin and then took another long drag from his cigarette.
Eddy scratched a bit at his lip, his false mustache uncomfortable enough without all the smells that were sinking into it. "So what happened? Why all of a sudden coming back?"
"Honestly, I was looking for Allen. He's on leave... thought he could help me out. But of course he's gone off somewhere, and I can't find him. I didn't think I'd run into you. Heh, I've heard about you all over the news, Mr Superhero huh?" He grinned and pushed the bridge of his glasses back high onto his nose. "I doubt you'd help us out, after what you've had to go through. Allen basically raised you until he was in the military... at least we didn't send you to an orphanage."
"Oh no, life alone in an empty house with no friends is much better."
"At least you weren't an orphan, huh?" Bryan spit on the floor, granting him an angry glance from the bartender, but not a word of protest. "Look, I only came back for help, and I understand if you want nothing to do with us, but Lynn is... sorry it's been a while. Your mother is in danger."
Eddy's ear twitched, but his eyes remained like stone. "If she'd died I wouldn't have known about it and have lived my life in ignorant bliss."
"I'm sure..." Bryan finished his beer and snapped his finger for the bartender to bring another. "But she is your mother. I am your father. I know you don't want us dead in a gutter."
"... What do you want, dad?"
* * *
Eddy rubbed his eyes, having been watching the traffic so long. He took the other half of his energy shot and took another healthy bite of his sandwich wrap before going back to watching. He remembered everything his father had told him, as if he had been listening in to a mission briefing. His mother had been kidnapped from their tour of the British Isles. The kidnappers were moving her all over the world as they waited for his dad to pay the ransom and show himself. It was an obvious scheme to take the money and kill off both of them, but without calling the bluff, there was no way to keep his mother safe.
Bryan was a man who lived in the shadows, so he knew enough people to get some off-hand information. The kidnappers were keeping a close eye on the otter, but not his family, and they were moving Lynn for a while at least to their old home town. He knew what they were driving, and he knew that his wife was alive, but since he couldn't search them out himself or pay the ransom, he needed someone who could sniff them out for him.
Eddy gritted his teeth as he saw the fifth black van that night driving up the freeway towards the city. The mutt leaned over to his keyboard and entered a set-up command, and he watched carefully as the van passed by the hotel. The windows were all tinted black, but a small flash let him know that his motion sensitive camera had caught their license plate. He checked the photo on his laptop and confirmed that this was finally the van his father had been told about. With a few clicks of the mouse, the mutt had started up Buck's special traffic program, syncing his screen with every traffic camera in the city, letting him trail the van as it drove deeper into the urban jungle. As the computer kept on the van's trail, keeping a recorded file of its whereabouts, the mutt stood and went to the bed where a large duffle bag laid open, filled with his uniform and equipment. Eddy's, mother was being held hostage in that van. Now the Watchdog will find where they were going, and bring her back.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Seriously, does no one but me think it's a bit cliche to choose the abandoned warehouse at the docks as a villainous hideout?" The Watchdog stood perched on a tall fence, the razor wire around him severed and bent aside. He rubbed the eyes of his mask, a major headache building as he thought of the sheer size of the place. He had seen nearly a dozen armed mercenaries leave the van, and now they're spread out through this building waiting for him to charge into their sights. "Why can't these guys go to the library? I KNOW the library."
With his personal complaints finished for now, the hero jumped down to the grounds in front of the warehouse and ran to the building's shadow. His back pressed against the cold stone, he began wondering what Osprey would be saying in the situation. Besides that he should have back up and shouldn't be on the field yet. She'd probably access the situation fully and thoroughly before attempting entry. This was a hostage situation, so the guys with the guns have more than muscle on their side, they also had a shield. Charging in would not only be dumb and ineffective, it could also prove fatal to the hostage. This meant that Watchdog would have to take the stealthier route and take down the perps one at a time until a rescue could be made.
Watchdog felt the outside of the building, the worn cement between the bricks leaving just enough space for the mutt's finger tips to fit between them. He turned and secured his utility belt tightly and swung his duffle bag over his shoulder before removing his electric-shock glove and stretching out his fingers. Carefully, the hero slipped his fingers into the crags of the brick, his callused tips turning white as he pushed himself up the sheer wall with his powerful legs. It took only a short minute to make it to a vent, and Watchdog eagerly placed his full hand against the cool metal. With one more pull and jump, the mutt made it to the roof. He clambered up and shook out his sore hands before replacing his weaponized glove.
With a quick glance around, Watchdog found the main cooling unit. He made his way over and dropped his pack, quickly opening it to fetch out his all-tool. The all-tool pulled out into a plethora of different devices that could hack doors as easily as pull apart locks and saw through steel pipes. He pulled out the flat-head bit and attached the drill attachment, putting it to the air conditioner until he had pulled off enough casing to get to the inner workings of the machine. He also pulled apart the electrical box, needing to gain control without going inside of the warehouse. The hero was busy at work, grinning to himself as he finally found a decent use for his new gift for breaking a silent entry. The large metal case he pulled from his pack apparently has the firepower of more than a dozen smoke grenades, and continued to pour out its chemically induced artificial fog for almost half an hour. He set it inside of the air conditioner, and once he had disconnected the power switch and added his own he was able to let it go. The box popped and began spewing out a thick smoke that smelled strangely like maple syrup. Watchdog flipped on the cooling system and watched the smoke get sucked into the vents.
The Watchdog was now on a timer. as long as the smoke screen was in place, the mutt could secure the halls without worrying about being seen from across the building by a patrolling guard. He walked towards the edge of the warehouse, pulling off his heavy black coat and flipping it inside out. The grey interior of the jacket covered his arms up to his wrists, and after unclipping a duster extension, it fell down to his ankles as well. He removed his mask, flipping it around as well to its grey reverse, and with a grin he jumped off of the side of the building, grabbing at the first window sill he fell past. With the rooms now slowly filling with smoke, the grey clad mutt easily blended into his surroundings. he pulled himself inside, falling to the concrete floor and crouching low, following the back wall deeper into the warehouse.
The corridors all seemed empty for a while, but Watchdog finally found some of the patrolling guard. The first two were traveling in a pair, a smart move, and he made the assumption that they would all travel with at least one partner. The hero backed up against a wall, letting the smoke hide him directly in front of the mercenaries.
"I don't like this, man... It's like we're being hunted or some shit." Through the thick smoke, Watchdog was able to just make out their movement, but their heavy steps hinted at heavy body armor, and their upward held arms told him that they were armed, possibly with assault weapons.
"Hey, we knew this was coming, just keep your eyes open and your mouth shut. I can't hear anything with you yappin all the damn time."
"Pff, like what, you can hear their breathing through the mist? Shut up man, I wouldn't even be here if it weren't for you."
"Me? Me!? You're the one who wanted to be all mister Bad-ass. Don't jump all over me just because I had the balls to actually go out and do something while you just sat around getting fat!"
The two continued to argue as they walked, but the whole conversation was strange. Had they been hired on with what seemed like little to no experience in the field? What kind of joke was this? The pair of thugs was about to pass by the Watchdog crouched in the smoke, when- "Bzzzz~ ... Bzzzz~ ..."
"Your phone going off? Dude, we're not supposed to have our phones, even on silent. You're gonna get us kicked out before we even get a a decent pay-off."
"It's not mine, man. Check yours. I left my phone in the lockers."
"So did I! I wouldn't risk it going off in front of the boss!"
"Well whose fuckin phone is going off then?"
Watchdog felt like an idiot, his belt vibrating madly as his phone blinked into his side. He was forced into action, the mutt jumping up and launching his disk at the first goon, running along the wall behind the second, striking his head with his elbow! The two were out cold in only a moment, and the Watchdog quickly pulled out his phone which showed Buck's picture across the front. He flicked out the phone and whispered as nonchalantly as he could, "Hello?"
"Eddy? It's Buck, just checking up on you and stuff. You haven't been in for a few days, is everything okay?"
"Uh, yeah yeah, everything... oh hold on a sec." The mutt covered the microphone and quickly kicked out at the head of the goon who had tried reaching for his radio. He heard the goon groan into unconsciousness as a tooth or two rolled down the hall. "Sorry, I'm back. Yeah, everything's fine and dandy."
"Oh, good good. Where are you at? You know, Ospery wants to make sure you're taking it easy. She wants you back on the field as soon a possible, so she's wanting you to heal up while you can."
"Yeeeeah, yeah I'm... I'm relaxing."
"You sound kind of out of breath. Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yep, yes, just came up a big flight of stairs is all." Watchdog was moving quickly through the halls, whispering as he dodged passed pairs of patrolling guards.
"So, uh, where ARE you, anyways?"
"Uh... visiting my parents." It wasn't that much of a lie at least. "Listen, I should really get going, I uh..."
"Your parents? I don't think I've ever seen your parents, Eddy. Are they out of town?"
"Uh, yeah. Out of town... Listen, Buck, I really-"
"Why are you whispering? I can barely hear you."
Eddy's mind was racing already while trying to avoid guards while talking, he bit his lip and crouched behind some empty crates. "I'm in a library."
"... In a library? I thought you were at your parents?"
"Fuck... I mean my parent's library."
"Your parents own a library..."
"No, not... Ugh, not a library the building, the library the room. Where you keep books and smoke pipes or whatever." Watchdog slipped just behind a few guards, who turned, pointing their rifles back as they tried to find out where the presence behind them had gone.
"Oh... so why are you whispering? I mean, if it's their house, who cares?"
"Old habits die hard, look Buck I really need to go."
"Oh, okay, sorry. You should really spend time with your parents if you don't see them often, I just got curious. If you need anything, just give me a ring."
"I will I will... Oh wait, Buck?"
"Yeah, still here."
"Uh, if I don't... Let's see, best way to do this... If I don't call you back in an hour, or text you back with 'W.D.' at the end of the message, use my G.P.S. to get a location and send someone over."
"That doesn't sound very safe, Eddy. Where are you?"
"Going to see my mother right now. Buck, I'll explain more later, bye." Eddy clicked off his phone and slipped it back into his belt before pulling out a small moist cloth from an airtight pouch near his boot. He grabbed a straggling guard and held the cloth strongly over his nose and mouth until the body went limp. He stashed the body along the side of the wall and continued his hunt, still working deeper into the warehouse, where he was sure his mother would be held.
It took the hero less than half an hour to take down the rest of the patrols. Whoever paid these guys paid too much. Even in the thick smoke that had filled the warehouse they should have at least came up with some kind of plan to protect all sides of a group, making sure they couldn't be sneaked up on, but no, each of them just kept on walking hoping they'd run into... something. With all of the unconscious bodies stashed in the smoke, Watchdog made his way to the center of the building.
Up along the catwalk there was an office room that overlooked the rest of the warehouse. Watchdog was careful to climb up to the walkway and make his way towards it. He found himself on a long walkway that crossed the warehouse floor to the front of the office where there was a large window, and as he saw a shadow move beyond the slightly fogged glass he stopped and carefully pulled out a pair of binoculars. He adjusted the view until he could barely make out three standing shadows and one sitting. He continued to watch and wait, but with as little as he could see, the hero couldn't make a decisive course of action. It was a risky move, but he had to get a closer look at the situation. The mutt ran quietly across the catwalk straight towards the window, keeping low in the smoke, hoping he'd stay well hidden. He jumped onto the handrail and then hoisted himself as quietly as he could on top of the office. He listened and leaned down to peek into the window.
Inside the small room were three guards walking around, all three looking well armed. The way they were moving was much different than those out on the patrol. They seemed more sure, and much more professional. Two of them looked to have riffles, while one only seemed to have a handgun on his hip. It was all still very foggy with the bad window, but it looked very clear inside. Perhaps they covered the vents before the smoke got in too thick. The one in the chair was a tall female. A german shepard. She was bleeding and blindfolded and no doubt tied to the chair she was in.
"Mom..." Watchdog looked around to form a plan, and when he spotted a phone right by the front window, he felt himself starting to grin. Being as quiet as he could, Watchdog jumped back to the catwalk and walked to the other side of the building, pulling his phone out once more.
"Beep beep... ... ... Beep be- Buck here."
"Hey hey, Buck. Told you I'd call back, so re-start that hour. hour from now if i don't call blah blah."
"Uh huh, Eddy, do you want to tell me what's really going on?"
Eddy chuckled, still speaking in a soft whisper. "I told you, I'm going to see my mother. Now look, you trust me, right?"
"Define trust."
"Oh, ouch... the truth hurts man. Well, do you believe that I would only ask you to help me if I felt I needed your help, and that whatever I do, I do with the intention of doing good?"
"Sure, I guess..."
"Awesome. I need you to do this for me, and I need to you do it exactly as I say, when I say, and then not report it until I'm back."
There a moment of silence on the line. "I can't promise to not report."
"Fine, then give me some time before you do, please? "
"There's nothing I can say to stop you anyways, I just hope you know what you're doing, including slashing Osprey's trust in you. I hope it's worth it."
"It is... just trust me. Now Buck, I need you to find my location via GPS of my phone. Find out what building I'm in, and then find the main office phone number."
"Please hold..."
"Well, I mean you don't have to do it RIGHT n-"
"Got it, do you need it?"
".... Damn you're good." Watchdog shook out his hand and kneeled. "Okay, when I say 'go', I need you to hang up with me and call that number. When someone answers, just say that you called the wrong number and hang up, don't even let them say anything."
"You called me in to make a crank call? You're insane."
"You can't tell me that you never wanted to do it." Eddy grinned when he heard the silence of Buck's thoughts. "You ready? Get ready. And.... go."
The hero slipped his phone into his belt and set himself up to sprint, standing forward on his toes, hands on the catwalk. He waited, and for a moment was wondering if Buck had found the wrong number before it started ringing. The masked-mutt watched the foggy window, noting how the guards reacted with their weapons as they turned towards the sudden ring. He noted where they were standing as the middle guard, one of the men with rifles, began to walk towards the phone. As he walked, Watchdog began to run, again keeping low in the smoke. He picked up speed as the guard reached out to pick up the receiver, as just as the guard answered the unknown caller, the hero jumped and readied himself for the impact.
Watchdog kicked out the window, the glass shattering as his boot pushed through to the guard's head, knocking the man unconscious almost instantly. The hero was ready for the guns inside, rolling across the glass covered floor with his shield between him and the larger rifle-wielding man. The impact of the gun was more than the hero had thought, and the loud racking told him why. The guard was shooting off a shotgun, not a rifle, and the second shot actually knocked the hero off balance for a second. Seeing the second guard finally pulling his own weapon from its holster, Watchdog couldn't delay any further, lowering his shield only to aim and launch it at the shotgun, knocking it clear out of the guard's hand. With one threat temporarily neutralized, the hero turned and grabbed for his belt, quickly throwing a half-dozen shuriken. The blades expanded and spun quickly through the air before cutting across the man's hand, sinking into his side, shoulder, and the wall next to him. He cried out in pain and dropped his gun. Again, a temporary fix.
Watchdog turned back to the shotgun guard, for the first time even noticing that he was a well-built short haired cat, probably ex-military. The cat swung his fist, but the mutt just backed away slightly to avoid the strike. He then countered by lunging forward with his palm out, striking the cat on the forehead, making the guard cross-eyed for a moment. In that moment, Watchdog jumped and kicked him hard across the jaw, hearing a bone chilling crack. The cat was down and out, and before even turning around the hero kicked up his shield from the ground. He could hear the second guard, another cat this one with a half chewed off ear, already trying to run. Watchdog turned his eyes and quickly threw the shield. His well practiced throw hit the feline in the head, sandwiching his face with the wall, making his legs twitch as he slumped to the ground.
Watchdog waited and looked around the room. There was no motion but from the abused prisoner. Before reuniting with his mother, Watchdog re-armed his wrist launcher, picking up his shield and replacing it on his forearm. He finally turned to the prisoner, the middle-aged german shepard woman, her hair a complete mess and tossed over her sweat sticky face. Blood had dried black under her nose, and her cheek was swollen, her plain red blouse ripped badly showing the raw skin around her arms.
The hero's hand reached out very slowly towards the woman, who pulled away from his touch as his finger reached her cheek. He looked worried, but slowly he looked more confused. Finally, the Watchdog pulled the blindfold from one of her eyes. He stared down into the dark chocolate iris of the bound woman.
"... Where is she?" He pulled the blindfold fully off and backed away slowly. The mutt looked from window to window, reaching behind himself to pull out his doggy-paddle. "Where is she!?" He looked towards the woman, who looked around worriedly but didn't speak. "My mother's eyes are blue. Where is..."
The masked mutt quickly turned towards the door to the office. The knob of the door slowly turned, and when it opened he was finally face-to-face with the person he had been searching for. Lynn's footsteps seemed to echo in the small room, the hard soles of her black military boots grinding dust into the floor with each slow methodical step. Her slacks and long coat were the same dead black of her boots, the royal blue buttoned shirt and gold jewelry striking color into her icy eyes. Her hair fell very neatly to her shoulders, very light strikes of grey through their natural deep brown, the only indication of her age. In her gloved hand, she held a military club that tapped absently at her leg. Her smile was well practiced, which gave no warmth to her expression. "Edward."
"Mother." Watchdog slowly adjusted his stance, making sure he was able to dash at or away from the woman at the first sign of trouble.
"You've really grown, haven't you? I still remember you clinging to my leg when the other children were poking fun at your haircut. Now look at you."
"I had to grow up without anyone to protect me anymore."
"Your tone makes it sound so bad. You got strong, didn't you? You always had your finances in order, didn't you?"
"Oh of course. It's just mental scarring, I'm sure more than a little psychological strain, and I can't forget the difficulty of going on field trips when I have no parent or guardian to sign my permission slip. You know I missed my chance to go to the Chicago Aquarium? But hey, let's not get so caught up in me, mother, how are you? You're looking wonderfully healthy and calm for someone who's supposed to have been kidnapped, wouldn't you say?" Watchdog was gripping the paddle in his hand tighter than he though, his knuckles white under his weaponized glove.
Lynn chuckled, walking slowly to the woman who could have been a distant twin. "Come now, Edward, in my business getting kidnapped is a risk I've been exposed to many times. I've learned long ago how to deal with the situation, I'd never need your help with something so trivial." She pulled the ropes around the woman's wrists, letting her stand before pushing an envelop from her inner coat pocket into the double's shaking hands. The woman ran out of the room, and Eddy's mother turned back to him before sitting. "A few thousand dollars can buy most anyone, Edward. Remember that. I needed a way to test your family devotion, and your new skills." Lynn leaned forward in the chair, resting her elbows on the table, her fingers linked in front of her as she looked over her hands to Eddy's masked expression.
"I would have done the same for anyone, Mom."
"Don't try to pull off a distance in your emotions, Edward. You've always been the emotionally attached type. Now..." Lynn stood up and walked back towards the door. "The men you took down on your way in were all wanting to join my business."
"I thought you retired."
"You also thought I was kidnapped. Pay attention." She stopped in front of the door, her smile lost, her words straight forward and unemotional. "They were weak, untrained, unprofessional. I had hoped that they would give you a bit more of a challenge, but your ease in disposing of them just shows me how strong and efficient you really have become. I want to offer you the position they were all fighting for, Edward. I want you to be on my team by my side. I want you to fight for me, and to represent me."
Eddy was a bit taken back when he heard the proposal. In the back of his mind, the hero had sensed a trap, but he couldn't risk his family. Evil or not. "You want me to be a death merchant with you? You're serious?"
Her eyes didn't falter, her stance stiff and confident. "If you wish to call it that, then yes. I would pay you well, and you would have the benefit of working with me and your father. You'd be doing half the strenuous work you do now with ten times the payoff."
Eddy never looked away from his mother's eyes, and his lips drew back in a soft snarl. "You're mad if you think I'd join you. I remember what you do. You sell weapons to mad killers, and you dispose of anyone that gets in your way. You kill women and children to hold a veil of fear across the eyes of your foes, and you show absolutely no mercy. You're a selfish and evil bitch who doesn't feel anything for her own family, never mind anyone else."
His mother's gaze hardened, but her expression never changed. "Greater men have lost their lives for such remarks, Edward. Don't push your luck just because you're my son."
"You've been pushing your own luck, coming back here. I want you to leave, I want you out of my life forever, and take that monster of a husband of yours with you!" The Watchdog was beginning to yell, his fist shaking as he felt his anger rising.
Finally, Lynn changed her expression. She smiled, amused. "So you won't join me?"
"No!"
"And I know better than to try changing your mind. You were always stubborn." She turned her back to the hero walking very slowly for the door. "But I won't leave. I've decided to come home for a reason. You've drawn enough attention here to create a real business through the underbelly of this normally boring city. Masked thieves and vigilantes, murderers and gang lords, every one of them trying to build enough muscle to take down the great Watchdog. Each one of them more than a potential customer. I've decided to feed this beast until it becomes a glutton for my wares, and perhaps someday..." She turned with her sickening smile, looking right into Eddy's eyes. "They'll begin the war of heroes and villains, turning this whole country, or this whole world into a war-zone full of pain, death, and good business."
"I won't let you..." The Watchdog gripped his weapon and barked out, "I won't let you!" He lifted the weapon over his head and made a dash for his mother, his enemy.
He couldn't remember if he heard the cracking glass and the explosive crack of a rifle, or felt the handle of his paddle rip in half first. The weapon flew from his hand in pieces, and without thinking the hero was on his knee holding his shield towards the windows covering his face. Bullets flew around him to keep him distracted for the half moment it took for the rifle to shoot again into his armored vest, knocking him to the ground. Before he was on the ground, his shield was torn from his wrist in another shot, and his chest was battered and bashed in by a small storm of bullets. As soon as it had started, the firing stopped, and the Watchdog cringed from the floor, barely able to see straight, trying to will his body into allowing him to breathe in, his whole torso feeling on fire after the shots.
The sound of boots cracking and scraping against glass forced the hero to focus towards the front of the small office. At least a dozen men stood in the doorway, within the windows, and now in the room. They were all dressed in full black, their faces covered in masks that filtered their breath and enhanced their vision. Each one of them had a gun aimed at the Watchdog, and the hero knew that he was only alive because that was the plan. Two of the men who were at the door split up to make room for their leader. The mutt coughed, trying to turn to his front so that he could try to get up.
"I told you he wouldn't join us, babe."
"I know, Bryan. You were right."
"You know I love it when you say that."
Eddy could hear his parents kissing and cringed, using the wall to help hold himself up as he stood. He spoke with a raspy voice through a cough. "Get a room..."
The otter grinned and turned to face his son. His dark coat was gone, replaced with a very simple black undershirt, his belt holding a plethora of equipment in pouches, and two pistols hanging under his arms. "I didn't bring you up to be rude, son."
"Don't call me your son, you monster." Eddy fought to stand straight, a bit of blood drooling from his lip to land on the floor in front of him.
Bryan chuckled. "You can deny it all you want, but nothing can change the fact that my blood flows through your veins. And so does hers." Bryan turned towards his wife, and then back to Eddy. "You already made your decision. You're not going to join us. With any normal recruits, you'd be dead already. I ordered my men to keep you alive just in case we could change your mind, even though I know that it's not going to happen. Maybe I'm becoming too soft in my old age." The otter drew out one of his guns, a large black blade protruding from under the barrel. Without giving his son time to say anything, Bryan shot the mutt three times in his armored chest plate, knocking him back onto the ground. He grinned as the boy coughed up more blood from the heavy trauma continuously pounding his chest. "I keep asking myself why I'm doing this to you. I would save my time and my bullets if I just spent one round in that thick skull of yours." Bryan shot Eddy's back as the mutt crawled away, punching him back into the ground. The mutt groaned as he began to crawl again, but his dad just pushed his glasses up with the blade of his smoking gun. "I thought that maybe it was because I didn't want to kill you, but honestly I've thought about it, and I don't think I would have issues with it." Another shot to the back made the Watchdog cough and curl up slightly, cringing in pain. "Now I think I've decided. I'm only doing all of this for the sake of your friends. I don't want any of them to get hurt, you know? Maybe if they see what they're up against, and that I have no problem hurting my own son for my personal benefit, they won't try to-"
The otter was cut off as Eddy spun quickly around, throwing the large piece of his paddle that he had crawled over to. The thick heavy piece of paddle flew quickly towards his mother, but Bryan was too fast. He drew his second gun, slicing through the thrown weapon as it flew past him, sending it away from his wife. Eddy grinned, his teeth bloody as he pushed himself up to his feet. "Sorry, you were just getting really talkative again. You know I hate listening to you just talk and talk and talk. If you have a point, just skip to it. It's worse than the gun shots."
Eddy's father held his guns to his sides, his lips pulling back slowly into a snarling growl. "Take Lynn out of here, keep her covered. I'm going to stick around with my son a while more."
The german shepard rolled her eyes and turned on her heels, walking slowly to the door with an uncaring wave of her hand. "Just don't kill him. I don't need the bad karma."
"As you wish."
The men in black filed out of the room one by one both in front and behind Lynn. Watchdog didn't let his eyes stray from his father, but he could tell that some of the men were staying right by the office, keeping an eye on things through the windows. There was no way of escaping, and no way he could beat his dad in a fight with him as beat up as he was. He was going to be beaten up and struck down no matter what he did, so he might as well show his old man that the pup could bite, and bite hard.
Eddy and Bryan Holmgren stood face to face in silence for what seemed like hours before the otter finally made the first move. He walked slowly towards the Watchdog, making the mutt take a step back. The hero gritted his teeth and pushed forward, swinging a fist at his dad's face. The otter would have laughed if he were in a better mood, holding out an easy hand to block the attack before he kicked hard into his son's side, then spun quickly to slap the hard heel of his boot to his skull.
Watchdog stumbled to the ground, but quickly got back to his feet. He shook out his head before seeing his dad walking still towards him with speed and purpose. The mutt swung again, putting more weight into each hit, knowing it would take everything he had to do anything beyond annoy the assassin. The otter was dodging the hits, simply backing away from each strike as it came as if he were playing around. It made Watchdog more angry than scared, hating that his dad wouldn't even be happy with just taking him down. He had to humiliate him on top of it all. Finally, the otter blocked another attack, but before the hero could react with a counter the older man struck him across the face with the butt of his gun and forward kicked his chest, sending the mutt stumbling back against the wall of the office. Bryan shot the hero again three times in the chest, making the mutt fall to his knees again.
Watchdog was having trouble breathing, and he knew that he was loosing badly. He had to find a way to cheat, a way to catch his dad off guard. The otter was used to fighting soldiers. He fought people with guns, people who fought and juggled their lives regularly, but he wasn't used to fighting super heroes. As Watchdog pushed himself up, he dropped two large metal balls to the floor, making his dad look down quickly in confusion.
The gas pellets filled half of the room with the smoke that had been blocked by the clogged vents. Eddy was in his element. As black clad soldiers watched from outside, the confusion only grew. The sound of stomping, swinging fists, punched walls, and the flash of a few gunshots all cut through the haze, but no one could tell who was hitting who. In an instant, Eddy tackled his father, pushing him back out of the smoke and lifting him off of the floor, jumping across the desk and into the office chair, shattering it under his dad. Pinning the otter down, who showed signs of finally being struck across the face, Eddy aimed his fists down at his head. Bryan quickly turned his head to dodge the strike. With dexterous hands he swiped his bladed gun across Eddy's face, the tip of the blade cutting deep across his right cheek and and just past his ear. The moment Watchdog pulled back to avoid the blade, the otter lunged with his second, stabbing the boy in his shoulder in between the thick plating of the armor. Leaving his gun, Bryan grabbed at the armored vest, pulling himself up to smash his head into Eddy's, pushing the mutt back enough to roll away and stand, now with only one weapon.
"Ah! Hah, well, you're at least not a total waste of space, boy. But your dad is too high above you to be taken down by a little bag of tricks."
Eddy didn't respond as he stood back up with the help of the desk. He pulled the gun out of his shoulder and tossed it aside. He felt the searing pain, and the drops of blood slipping down to soak his clothes. As his father talked, the mutt let his jacket slip from his shoulders to pool on the floor, and he unclasped the sides of his vest, dropping the heavy apparel to the floor with a loud thud. Under his grey insignia he could feel his ribs badly bruised from the constant shots, his whole torso tender from the constant abuse.
As the vest dropped, Bryan grinned. "You really are a foolish boy, aren't you? That vest was the only reason you survived so long, and now you drop it." The otter raised his gun. "I thought I raised you better than that." Click. ... Nothing.
Eddy grinned as he pulled off his mask as well, not needing the protection against his own family. "You didn't raise me at all, but at least I know how many bullets you've shot off. Must be going senile in your age." With the extra weight of his vest and jacket gone, Eddy dashed forward with new speed. He saw the glint of his dad's bladed gun lifting and knew he was being attacked, but instead of dodging and being forced onto the defensive or taking the blade to his side where he might harm an internal organ, Eddy caught the blade, letting it cut into his palm as he pulled it away and grabbed the back of his dad's neck. He smashed his skull against his dad's face two, three, four times before letting him fall back, his gun forgotten and released to be tossed aside. The hero turned his hand to grip at his dad's throat, pushing him against the far wall, lifting him just off of the ground, letting the otter struggle for breath. Eddy pushed with all of the strength he had, grabbing one of his dad's wrists so that he could only try to pull the mutt's much larger hand with one of his own, trying to catch his breath. Bryan kicked at Eddy's wounded torso, but Eddy shrugged it off. "Y-... you lost, dad...Ng!"
As Eddy was putting his full weight into strangling his own father, the otter was trying desperately to pull he mutt's hand away to breathe. As his face was turning red, he did his best to grin. "R-remember, son..." He coughed and gasped weakly through the hero's grip. "Remember... I-If you're not cheating..."
The thought was cut off as a roaring shot filled the room, Eddy's back, butt, and legs being filled with small shots of lead. His whole vision was blurred with pain and shock, and he had lost his grip. Bryan pushed his son away and didn't pause before chasing after him. The otter jumped, stepping up Eddy's leg before flipping back, cracking the mutt's jaw with his boot as he jumped high into the air. As Eddy was knocked back tumbling across the ground, his father landed gracefully on one knee. There was a moment of stillness, and then Eddy coughed, struggling to open his eyes.
Bryan stood and brushed off his shoulder, his winded voice finishing his statement. "You're not trying. You taught me that one." The otter walked past Eddy's barely moving body, stepping heavily on the mutt's cut hand as he went to join his wife, who was holding a smoking shotgun.
Lynn dropped the gun to the floor and used a single finger to pull her hair away from her eyes. "You were taking too long."
"Well, your son is very stubborn. He must have gotten it from you."
"Oh shut up. You're done anyways, so we can keep on moving."
Eddy bit his tongue lightly as he pushed himself up onto his forearms. His father walked to the wall and leaned back against it, pulling a pack of smokes from his belt, lighting it and taking a long steady drag before exhaling through his nose. "Yes, I still haven't been able to find Allen. He hasn't reported back to his unit, so he's either hiding..."
"Or waiting for us to find him."
"Correct. I gave him a written invitation, unlike the stubborn pup on the floor. I'm sure he'll be much more willing to to take our offer." As Bryan talked, Eddy glared up from the floor, growling softly. Allen wouldn't. His brother was in the League, and he trusted him with his whole being.
"Well, let's not waste time on Edward then. Hopefully his new family of miscreants won't be bugging us too much after seeing how hopeless it all is."
"Indeed." Bryan grinned as his wife walked quickly over to her son. "Besides, Allen was always my favorite."
Watchdog watched as his mother approached, her heavy boot drawing back before flying towards his face. He didn't feel the strike, and only remembered the darkness afterwards. The voices he heard in his dreams were all yelling and frantic, angered and worried, but he couldn't answer them. His thoughts strayed from his parents, and he felt his whole body stiffen as he thought of what Osprey would have to say about all of this...
Category Story / Comics
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File Size 330.6 kB
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