second-in-command.’ Lara scanned the assembled team. ‘Someone fast.’ Lara looked at George crawling towards the meeting at top tortoise speed.
So he’s ruled out
, she thought.
You could burgle all the houses in town before George caught up!
‘Someone brave,’ barked Lara, eyeing the cats. Apart from Connie, the felines were a very sorry bunch.
‘And clever,’ woofed Lara, shaking her head as she spied Archie, still working out how he could put his paw up if he wasn’t there.
‘And finally, I need a deputy who’s full of energy. Being a spy pet is
very
physically demanding!’ Danny dog nearly wagged himself off his feet.
Plenty of bounce
, Lara thought,
but, like Archie, not much intelligence.
But Lara refused to lose hope just yet – she eyed the assembled animals. ‘So,’ she barked,
‘I asked you to nominate one volunteer from the dogs, one from the cats and one from the “any other animal” category. Ready?’
A chorus of woofs, miaows, squawks and squeaks confirmed that they were.
Lara looked left. She tried to be as dramatic as the talent shows she’d seen on TV. ‘Doggy candidate, please step forward.’
There was an awkward silence and, to Lara’s amazement, Archie stepped forward. ‘They’ve nominated me, boss,’ he woofed.
‘They have?’ woofed Lara, sounding shocked. ‘I mean, yes, they clearly have,’ she corrected herself, feeling a bit bad as Archie’s tail momentarily stopped its eager wagging. She had to at least give him a chance.
‘Not that high on the clever chart,’ admitted the serious-looking Labrador. ‘But reliable, fast and willing to obey.’ Lara sighed. She decided to put Archie to the test right away. She picked up a ball in her front paws and shaped to throw it. Archie stood alert, his eye fixed on the ball, his tongue lolloping sideways. ‘Do you think you can follow orders, Archie?’
‘Yes, boss,’ he wagged, his eyes fixed on the ball.
‘Do not … I repeat DO NOT chase the ball, Archie.’
‘Yes, boss,’ he wagged, hypnotized as Lara moved the ball left and right in front of his face. ‘No chasing, boss.’
Lara tossed the ball into the grass and Archie sped off. He sniffed out the ball and brought it back, dropping it at Lara’s feet. ‘Again, boss!’ he panted in excitement.
Lara slapped her paw across her face, slightly ashamed to be a dog.
Lara turned to her right. ‘Moggies,’ she said, hoping that Connie would step forward. ‘A nomination, please.’ Lara knew the cats had discussed this at great length.
Connie is the best all-rounder. But Socks is a clever cat. Very intelligent and desperate to be chosen.
Phew
, thought Lara as the tortoiseshell, Connie, stepped forward. ‘That would be me, Lara,’ she miaowed proudly. Lara grinned a relieved doggy grin. Connie was rather battle-worn, with a torn ear from a fight. But her white patches were always immaculate, signs that she took great pride in herself and that her personal standards were high.
‘And is there a nomination from the “any other animals” section of the team?’ Lara knew this would be interesting. Although the hamsters and guinea pigs could understand each other, there was a language barrier between the parrots and the gerbils. And Seth, the ferret, had a very strong northern accent that none of them could understand. Lara was still trying to work out what ‘ecky thump’ actually meant. The animals looked at each other and then down at their paws. Lara breathed a sigh of relief.
No one – phew!
Putting Seth in charge of anything filled her with dread.
The slightest bit of stress and he’d just head for the nearest trouser leg
, she thought.
Yep, this was obviously going to be Connie’s gig. No one else could really fill the Spy Dog shoes. Or paws.
2. Second-in-Command
Shakespeare woke with a start, his green eyes instantly wide and his claws extended. He scanned the room and his heart gradually stopped pounding. When you’d spent weeks
So he’s ruled out
, she thought.
You could burgle all the houses in town before George caught up!
‘Someone brave,’ barked Lara, eyeing the cats. Apart from Connie, the felines were a very sorry bunch.
‘And clever,’ woofed Lara, shaking her head as she spied Archie, still working out how he could put his paw up if he wasn’t there.
‘And finally, I need a deputy who’s full of energy. Being a spy pet is
very
physically demanding!’ Danny dog nearly wagged himself off his feet.
Plenty of bounce
, Lara thought,
but, like Archie, not much intelligence.
But Lara refused to lose hope just yet – she eyed the assembled animals. ‘So,’ she barked,
‘I asked you to nominate one volunteer from the dogs, one from the cats and one from the “any other animal” category. Ready?’
A chorus of woofs, miaows, squawks and squeaks confirmed that they were.
Lara looked left. She tried to be as dramatic as the talent shows she’d seen on TV. ‘Doggy candidate, please step forward.’
There was an awkward silence and, to Lara’s amazement, Archie stepped forward. ‘They’ve nominated me, boss,’ he woofed.
‘They have?’ woofed Lara, sounding shocked. ‘I mean, yes, they clearly have,’ she corrected herself, feeling a bit bad as Archie’s tail momentarily stopped its eager wagging. She had to at least give him a chance.
‘Not that high on the clever chart,’ admitted the serious-looking Labrador. ‘But reliable, fast and willing to obey.’ Lara sighed. She decided to put Archie to the test right away. She picked up a ball in her front paws and shaped to throw it. Archie stood alert, his eye fixed on the ball, his tongue lolloping sideways. ‘Do you think you can follow orders, Archie?’
‘Yes, boss,’ he wagged, his eyes fixed on the ball.
‘Do not … I repeat DO NOT chase the ball, Archie.’
‘Yes, boss,’ he wagged, hypnotized as Lara moved the ball left and right in front of his face. ‘No chasing, boss.’
Lara tossed the ball into the grass and Archie sped off. He sniffed out the ball and brought it back, dropping it at Lara’s feet. ‘Again, boss!’ he panted in excitement.
Lara slapped her paw across her face, slightly ashamed to be a dog.
Lara turned to her right. ‘Moggies,’ she said, hoping that Connie would step forward. ‘A nomination, please.’ Lara knew the cats had discussed this at great length.
Connie is the best all-rounder. But Socks is a clever cat. Very intelligent and desperate to be chosen.
Phew
, thought Lara as the tortoiseshell, Connie, stepped forward. ‘That would be me, Lara,’ she miaowed proudly. Lara grinned a relieved doggy grin. Connie was rather battle-worn, with a torn ear from a fight. But her white patches were always immaculate, signs that she took great pride in herself and that her personal standards were high.
‘And is there a nomination from the “any other animals” section of the team?’ Lara knew this would be interesting. Although the hamsters and guinea pigs could understand each other, there was a language barrier between the parrots and the gerbils. And Seth, the ferret, had a very strong northern accent that none of them could understand. Lara was still trying to work out what ‘ecky thump’ actually meant. The animals looked at each other and then down at their paws. Lara breathed a sigh of relief.
No one – phew!
Putting Seth in charge of anything filled her with dread.
The slightest bit of stress and he’d just head for the nearest trouser leg
, she thought.
Yep, this was obviously going to be Connie’s gig. No one else could really fill the Spy Dog shoes. Or paws.
2. Second-in-Command
Shakespeare woke with a start, his green eyes instantly wide and his claws extended. He scanned the room and his heart gradually stopped pounding. When you’d spent weeks
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