loosely based on Griffin. Or entirely. So was she falling for the fictional Griffin as well as the real one?
Heart pounding, she looked away, redirecting her attention to Helen, who took another small bite of her sandwich.
—
It was only seven forty-five on a Tuesday morning and the sun was already cooking the back of Griffin’s neck as he stood with a couple of the guys from the K-9 unit and watched a local high school class file in through the gate of the outer fence. They started walking toward a set of bleachers that faced another fenced-in obstacle course for the dogs. It was “Training Tuesday.” Every Tuesday there was time slotted for demonstrations like this one. It was a way to show off the dogs and shine a positive light on the K-9 unit.
Griffin planned on keeping a tight hold on Jaws today. He’d do the obstacle course with him, but that was it. “You be a good listener out there, boy,” he told the dog at his feet. Jaws looked up with large, dark eyes and wagged his tail. Griffin had a sneaking suspicion that Jaws wouldn’t be a lifer in the K-9 unit like Trooper had been.
The teens sat. They were loud with laughter and chatter. Griffin watched as the boys leaned in to the girls, flirting. The girls would laugh, run a hand through their hair, and the cycle would continue. Life was so simple for teens, he thought, turning as Troy approached with his K-9, Bear.
Jaws’s body went rigid.
“Relax,” Griffin said, using his tone of voice to command the dog. Griffin waited for Jaws to soften before turning to Troy. “Hey, man. Ready for this?”
Troy grinned. “It’s your turn to do the question-and-answer.” He rubbed his hands together excitedly in front of him. Bear went on alert at his master’s hand gesture.
“Bullshit. I did it two weeks ago.”
Troy nodded. “And Carson is out. It’s your turn again, man. I hope you get some real brain-suckers.”
Griffin’s shoulders sagged. He didn’t mind running the obstacle courses, but he hated opening the floor to questions. Not that the questions were ever hard, but they tended to be exhausting. And the naïveté of the questions always sounded like the kids thought he and the guys just sat around doing tricks with the dogs all day. “Fine.” Looking at his watch, Griffin decided he’d take the next ten minutes before the demonstration started to drain a second cup of coffee. He was going to need the extra caffeine to survive the morning.
Ten minutes later, caffeinated and resigned to his fate, he walked in front of the group of students. After a quick introduction, he told the students how the morning was going to work. First, they were going to watch the dogs run a few obstacle courses. Then they’d see how the dogs sniffed out things like drugs and bombs. Lastly, there’d be a Q&A.
A student wearing a yellow ball cap raised his hand. Maybe he’d missed the bit about doing the Q&A at the end of the hour.
Griffin took a breath before responding, coating his voice with a smile. “Yeah, buddy? What’s up?”
“So, what do you actually do with the dogs?”
Griffin kept his smile in place. “Watch and see.” He walked through the gate, entering the fenced-in obstacle course area with Jaws. Troy had taken Bear back to the kennel and was now wearing a padded suit. That was another job that Griffin despised. Role-playing the “bad guy” so that the dogs could practice ripping you to shreds wasn’t as fun as it sounded.
Griffin gave a few commands to Jaws, pretending to be on a scene. Troy stood fifty feet away doing his best to look shady in a bite suit. No matter how hard he tried, though, Troy was too boy-next-door to look the part of a criminal.
Griffin went through the regular skit. He asked Troy what he was doing and why. Troy, in character now, stumbled around, acting drunk. He shoved Griffin and a deep growl rumbled through Jaws’s muzzle.
Jaws was trained not to attack unless ordered, though. Or unless his partner
Heart pounding, she looked away, redirecting her attention to Helen, who took another small bite of her sandwich.
—
It was only seven forty-five on a Tuesday morning and the sun was already cooking the back of Griffin’s neck as he stood with a couple of the guys from the K-9 unit and watched a local high school class file in through the gate of the outer fence. They started walking toward a set of bleachers that faced another fenced-in obstacle course for the dogs. It was “Training Tuesday.” Every Tuesday there was time slotted for demonstrations like this one. It was a way to show off the dogs and shine a positive light on the K-9 unit.
Griffin planned on keeping a tight hold on Jaws today. He’d do the obstacle course with him, but that was it. “You be a good listener out there, boy,” he told the dog at his feet. Jaws looked up with large, dark eyes and wagged his tail. Griffin had a sneaking suspicion that Jaws wouldn’t be a lifer in the K-9 unit like Trooper had been.
The teens sat. They were loud with laughter and chatter. Griffin watched as the boys leaned in to the girls, flirting. The girls would laugh, run a hand through their hair, and the cycle would continue. Life was so simple for teens, he thought, turning as Troy approached with his K-9, Bear.
Jaws’s body went rigid.
“Relax,” Griffin said, using his tone of voice to command the dog. Griffin waited for Jaws to soften before turning to Troy. “Hey, man. Ready for this?”
Troy grinned. “It’s your turn to do the question-and-answer.” He rubbed his hands together excitedly in front of him. Bear went on alert at his master’s hand gesture.
“Bullshit. I did it two weeks ago.”
Troy nodded. “And Carson is out. It’s your turn again, man. I hope you get some real brain-suckers.”
Griffin’s shoulders sagged. He didn’t mind running the obstacle courses, but he hated opening the floor to questions. Not that the questions were ever hard, but they tended to be exhausting. And the naïveté of the questions always sounded like the kids thought he and the guys just sat around doing tricks with the dogs all day. “Fine.” Looking at his watch, Griffin decided he’d take the next ten minutes before the demonstration started to drain a second cup of coffee. He was going to need the extra caffeine to survive the morning.
Ten minutes later, caffeinated and resigned to his fate, he walked in front of the group of students. After a quick introduction, he told the students how the morning was going to work. First, they were going to watch the dogs run a few obstacle courses. Then they’d see how the dogs sniffed out things like drugs and bombs. Lastly, there’d be a Q&A.
A student wearing a yellow ball cap raised his hand. Maybe he’d missed the bit about doing the Q&A at the end of the hour.
Griffin took a breath before responding, coating his voice with a smile. “Yeah, buddy? What’s up?”
“So, what do you actually do with the dogs?”
Griffin kept his smile in place. “Watch and see.” He walked through the gate, entering the fenced-in obstacle course area with Jaws. Troy had taken Bear back to the kennel and was now wearing a padded suit. That was another job that Griffin despised. Role-playing the “bad guy” so that the dogs could practice ripping you to shreds wasn’t as fun as it sounded.
Griffin gave a few commands to Jaws, pretending to be on a scene. Troy stood fifty feet away doing his best to look shady in a bite suit. No matter how hard he tried, though, Troy was too boy-next-door to look the part of a criminal.
Griffin went through the regular skit. He asked Troy what he was doing and why. Troy, in character now, stumbled around, acting drunk. He shoved Griffin and a deep growl rumbled through Jaws’s muzzle.
Jaws was trained not to attack unless ordered, though. Or unless his partner
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