Agent Beck Pt.7

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Mission 7: Dog Show Beast

“Woof, Woof!”

“Bark!” 

“Wow, Beck, all the animals love you. What’s your secret?” Amy, a fellow pet groomer, complemented. ‘Why am I a pet groomer employee?’ Well, today I am on a mission at an annual dog show in Los Angeles. We got word from an undercover agent about a special dog that is wearing a very powerful stone collar. This stone is known throughout history as Metamorphosis. A stone that allows its user to transform into a true beast. Usually a dog should not have the power to activate the stone, but if a human touches it, then that’s a different story. 

Which explains why at every dog show held a second-runner up dog would somehow win first place because the original dog would go missing by the third round. I received the information from our informant, that our target dog is Bruno the canine and the owner is Rico Sanchez. I Googled Mr. Sanchez and saw this man was the owner of several pet stores and all his shops were in the red zone. He needed money and winning these competitions would be a huge help for his company. How he came upon the stone is a mystery but I am sure he bought it off the black market. Like usual, had no idea the stone was real and when he did, used it for his own greed.

“What can I say, it’s like I can just understand them (which is true, I do have lion DNA in me).” I spoke. She assigned me the rest of the dogs for the night but as I worked through each dog, there was no Rico.

“Where is our legendary winner?” I asked.

“Oh, you mean Rico? Yeah, the owner has his own groomer. You will see him later on.” Amy answered.

“Yeah, but I heard this year he might not win with Lady Eve entering the competition with Rocky.” another employee added. “The great poodle has never lost yet.”. I rubbed my chin and knew if this employee was right, then I knew who the next target would be. I take a break and head backstage. I look around for the owners' doors and when I find them, I tap on Lady Eve's door. 

“Hello…” I quickly mist her with sleeping powder and carry her back into the room. I see Rocky in his cage and walk over to him. I let him sniff my hand to calm him down and then place a nano-chip in his neck. The chip would dissolve in twenty-four hours, so it was harmless. I just needed it to help detect when Rocky and Lady Eve would be in danger. I leave the room and head back to the salon. 

The show begins and I finally see the cheating owner and his dog walk out. He was quite nerdy-looking even with the rich-threads on. I smell Amy coming towards me. 

“You know the salon is closed now, you can watch the show in the stands; if you like.” she mentioned. I nodded and headed out of the door. I looked at the ceiling and saw a hidden railing.

“Now, that’s a spot with a view.” I mumbled. I change into my spy wear and use my grappling hook to swing up to the railing. I touch base and watch the show from there. Bruno was quite skilled with the courses, but Rocky was a tad bit better. Bruno lacked focus and would often take his time with each obstacle while Rocky was good with his speed and timing. I peer closer at Bruno and see a red rock on his collar. It was smaller than what the agency sent. It was supposed to be the size of a hand. Which means Rico must have chipped a piece off. 

“Fuck, if he chipped a piece off, then it’s a possibility the stone could go haywire.” I mumbled. 

“It’s time for a brief intermission and then the final course before judging!” the intercom spoke. I see all the pet owners go to the back and I secretly follow them. I keep a close eye on Rico and when he turns a corner, I watch him release Bruno. Bruno runs away and I watch Rico slip into the dressing room. 

I picked the lock to his room and when I stepped inside, he was on the ground unconscious. I hover over him and saw a red glow coming from his shirt. I opened it and saw the stone. I touched the stone and was shocked by the intense heat. It was like he was using the stone as a telepathic signal to the other piece of the chipped stone. Which meant if i tried to wake him up, he might die from the shock. If his consciousness was somewhere else, then that could only mean, he was inside Bruno's head.

Beep! I looked at my dog tracker in Rocky and saw his blood pressure was high, which meant he was in protection mode. I dash out of the room at high speed and find Rocky barking at Bruno. Lady Eve was holding her bleeding hand which meant Bruno must have bitten her and now Rocky is ready to defend. Bruno's collar begins to glow a bright red and then Bruno morphs into a huge dog beast and is able to stand on two feet. Rocky moans in fear and when Bruno tries to attack. I throw a table at him. He slams into the walls and I run over to Lady Eve. 

“Get out of here now!” I yelled. She nods without question and motions for Rocky to follow. 

“Stop this now Rico! I know that is you inside your dog's head.” I stated. I hear a subtle laugh as he begins to get up.

“I don’t know who you are, but you will regret getting involved in my business.” Rico growled. He cracks his neck and throws the table back. I reveal my claws and slice through it. Rico looks back with shock.

“Trust me I don’t give a damn about you cheating at every dog show, but it becomes my business when you play with ancient stones and use them for evil. Even if it’s a lame evil, I still have to stop you.” I commented.

“Lame! I’ll show you lame, boy!” He charges at me and I move swiftly to the left. I grab his tail and spin him around. I released him into the lockers and he held his head in pain. This man had no idea who he was dealing with, so knocking him out would be easy. I knew knocking him out would make his physical body wake up. Then I can remove the stone from Bruno's collar. I charge at him and he tries to move out the way but I grab his arm and flip him over me. I pin him to the ground and see a fire extinguisher hanging next to me on the wall. I grab it and slam it into his head. Within a second, he was out. A red light consumes him and Bruno is back. While asleep I snap his collar off and put the fragment in a bag. 

“This feels a little too easy.” I mumbled. I can still feel the heat radiating from the bag. I hurried back to Rico’s room to snatch the stone from his neck before he woke up. I bust through the door and find the beast that was Bruno is now Rico's actual form. 

“Fuck! I knew there was a consequence to the stone being broken.” I needed to get that stone from around his neck. Rico looks in his mirror and howls in horror. He spots me and growls. 

“You did this to me!” he yells while running towards me. I quickly jump out of the way and I hear tons of people coming down the hall. I needed to keep him away from the people. I dash in the opposite direction and he chases me. I find an emergency exit and we end up behind the studio. Finally I could use my guns. I turned my gun towards him, but I forgot I was running from him, so he slammed into me. I lost my guns and now I was mad. I toss him off me with ease and he lands on his feet. I crack my knuckles and tell him to ‘bring it’. We run towards each other and I catch his punch and deliver a knee to the stomach. He coughs up blood and I smirk with appreciation.

“What the hell are you!?” he screamed in fear. My eyes glow as I jump up and kick him in the face. He lands in the trash bin as I walk closer.

“They call me Agent Beck…remember it next time you plan on using a stone for selfish needs.” I deliver a hard blow to his chin and he is out. I swipe the stone from him and he transforms back to normal. I put the stone in my bag and ran to my car. I pulled off back to HQ labs so they could put the stone back together. Ring! 

“Go for Beck!” I answered.

“Please tell me you got the stone before the final round?” BEAST asked.

“We’re all good, on my way back to HQ. Will arrive in one day's top.” I replied.

“I knew you were the right person to send in…”

“...to help save your bet for tonight on Rocky.” I finished while laughing. “Boss, I think you have a gambling problem.” I added.

“You say that now, but how do you think your car gets repaired every time a monster destroys it?” he countered. As a response all I did was laugh.

Agent Beck out.

Next Mission: Mission 8 Date Night.