Growlithes in the Real World: Part I
By The Jolt Master
Inspired by http://Growlithe_2.tripod.com
Officer John Harrison sat his desk, filling out some reports. While he wasn't an investigator for Los Angeles Police Department, he had been following up on leads regarding a drug and prostitution ring run by a vicious family of Colombians. Their street name was Los Lobos Negros, The Dark Wolves. Their real family name was Villalobos-Rodriguez. They've been selling their "goods and services" for the past 12 years and was getting worse every day. John had seen a lot of people get hurt and killed as a result of this family's viciousness, even a lot of young girls were getting carved up like Thanksgiving turkeys because they weren't bringing in enough money from the johns they service. Now he had something on them. A young girl in custody was going to testify against them and was seeking police protection. It wasn't much, but it was a start to try to bring the Lobos down and end their reign of terror and crime.
As he filled out the reports, Harrison's partner, Striker, slept on the floor near his desk. He was part of the K-9 unit and was assigned to him six months ago. Striker was a peculiar breed of dog known as a "pocket monster" or "pokémon." More specifically, they were called Growlithes. They were only discovered as a new breed of canines about three years ago. Despite the high sexual innuendo about "pocket monsters," they were quickly utilized by the police force. Harrison didn't understand why at the time. They were about the same size or larger than the German Shepherds that were normally used and about as fierce from what he had heard. A year ago, he found out why. While staking out a hostage situation in an apartment complex, he had accompanied Officer Jan Parker and her K-9 partner, Jackson. He had been given some earplugs to use, but he wasn't told why. The humans had their guns drawn and ready as Harrison kicked in the door. The pokémon jumped in, ready for action. The humans stepped inside, looking for the gunman. Jackson barked once, the earplugs muffled it, but they turned to see that the gunman was holding the hostage in front of him as a human shield, gun pointed to the poor woman's temple. She was crying, but obviously terrified. The gunman was screaming to back off or she would die. Harrison stood his ground, gun pointed at him. Parker was doing the same, but she yelled a command to Jackson. Suddenly, this roar came out of Jackson. Both the gunman and the hostage's eyes widened to the size of tea saucers and ran screaming out of the room they were in. The gunman had even dropped his pistol when he took off. Harrison was simply dumbfounded as Parker shouted to go after him. He snapped to and captured the scared gunman, who was breathing hard and repeating how sorry he was about what he did.
The fire incident was quite an eye-opener too, which happened a few weeks after the roaring event. He was with Parker and Jackson again and the three of them were squared off against a trio of armed men who had robbed a bank. The getaway car they were in had crashed in a high-speed pursuit, killing the driver while the others escaped on foot. They were in a dead-end alley and the thieves were cornered. Parker sent Jackson to face them and shouted a command. Harrison figured the roar command again, but this time, Jackson spewed a cone of fire at the gunmen. All three of them screamed and dropped their guns from the extreme heat. One of the men's arms had caught fire, but was able to put it out quickly. Harrison was in awe of what he just saw and that day made an application to have a K-9 partner of his own.
He finished his reports and picked up the file on the young girl connected to the Lobos and started reading it.
| Anne Marie Delane, aged 14, reported missing four months ago to Missing Persons, taken in front of friend's house in broad daylight and hasn't been heard from since. Body shows bruises covering her back, legs and left eye (see attached photos). There is extreme vaginal distress and tearing from being forced to work as a hard-core prostitute. Currently, the parents have been notified, but she has refused to see them for fear of her life and theirs. While she claims to want to help to get the Lobos arrested and convicted, she has been unable or unwilling to provide useful information. |
Walking through the mazes of doors and hallways, they arrived at holding center for runaways and missing people, near Vice and Homicide. As a beat cop, he stood out a bit, but no one seemed too interested in him or his partner. He looked through one of the small square windows and saw her lying on a bed. She was looking right back at him. She was a thin girl, developing as girls her age do, long dark hair, light brown skin, hinting at her Hispanic background. Her brown eyes were fearful, yet he could see that her innocence was gone, no...obliterated. He knocked on the door lightly and she called to come in. The two of them entered and she took a seat at the table, which was placed in the middle of the room. He sat down at the head of the table, so they were sitting next to each other at the corner of the table. Striker sat on his haunches next to him, facing the young girl. The girl's eyes softened a bit at seeing the dog, which technically was still a puppy. He cleared his throat to soften it.
"Hello Anne. How are you?"
"Fine," she stated simply, still looking at Striker.
"I'm Officer John Harrison," he said, glancing at the dog, "and this is my partner, Striker."
"Can I pet him?" she asked immediately.
"Sure," he replied. He looked to his partner and nodded towards the girl. The Growlithe stepped forward and rested his chin on her leg, where she started to pet and scratch his head a bit tentatively at first, but later relaxed. He looked up at her with his big brown eyes. Norman Rockwell couldn't have painted a better picture.
"Anne," he started again, "may I ask you a couple questions about the Lobos?"
She nodded, but still focused on the cute doggie that was on her leg.
"Have you been able to tell the detectives who kidnapped you or who was responsible for making you do all those bad things with strange men?"
"You mean have sex with those bastards?"
He narrowed his eyes a bit. This wasn't going to be fun. He nodded affirmatively.
"Those bastards who used everything within arm's reach to stick into me, thinking that I was enjoying myself when I wanted to scream to stop. And when I did, I was slapped and beaten?! Are those the bastards you're talking about?"
She looked like she might start crying, but right now, the steely look in her eye was a bit unnerving, especially for a 14-year-old girl. He replied quietly.
"Who did it you? What's his name?"
She stopped right there, then look down at Striker. He whimpered a little, as if on cue. She softened again. Her voice was quiet.
"Pero or Pierro, I don't remember..."
"żEl Perro?" <"The Dog?">
She nodded quickly. He pulled a photograph out of her file and showed her. The photograph showed a Hispanic man, about 35-40, heavy set with short black hair and a long scar on his left cheek. She glanced up and nodded, identifying the man. Harrison looked at the picture Dario "El Perro" Villalobos and unconsciously wished he could add another scar, to make his face even. He put it away before the vengeful thought could even enter his mind. He leaned forward a bit, tentatively taking her hand. She took her hand away quickly. It was apparent now that the scars were going to be very deep for a very long time. He prayed that she'll have the courage to testify when he caught the sorry bastard who did this to her.
"We're going to catch him, Anne," he said softly, "and he will pay dearly for what he did. To you and to all those other girls too."
She furrowed her brows hard at him, trying to hold back her tears, trying desperately to be brave. Striker then jumped and placed his front paws on the chair, between her legs. He then nuzzled her, growling softly. This was too much for her and she wrapped her arms around him and cried heavily into his chest of white fur. Harrison took a quiet, deep breath, balling his fist up tightly. Now, more than ever, he wanted to crack some skulls.
Later on, he spoke with Detective Werden and explained what he had found out. He was plenty pissed about the whole thing because it was his case. The lengthy argument finally settled and Harrison apologized. Werden did too, eventually, but that happened after he left, contacted Anne's parents to come and get their daughter. When he came back, he had calmed down some. Striker wasn't too happy to see him, but remained quiet, growling softly.
"If you ever do that again, I'll have your ass busted down to a cadet, Harrison!"
"We're on the same team here, detective," he replied calmly. "Who cares about how the information was obtained? We've got it and now we can go and nail El Perro."
"Yeah, yeah...and if we're lucky, the D.A. might be able to convince him to turn against his family. I know the drill. But you do **not** pull a stunt like that again. Not without consulting with me first. You got that?"
He nodded quietly. Striker looked up at Harrison, then back at Werden and growled his discontent with the detective. Harrison shushed him and scratched his head to calm him down. Werden looked at the Growlithe a bit warily and then left the room. He called over his shoulder.
"Come on. Let's go ignore some red lights."
Harrison perked up a bit and smiled at his partner. Striker seemed to smile too as they left to go bust El Perro.
Forty-five minutes later, the police had surrounded an abandoned warehouse in the Mission District, near the L.A. River. SWAT teams were called in, but Harrison was fully suited in body armor and protective headgear. The headgear was specially modified to dampen the roar effect, should he command Striker to use it. Werden was barking orders to the beat cops and the SWAT commander.
"Okay, listen up! I want the SWAT team to charge the front door and take prisoners. I want Dario Villalobos alive. These men, and him especially, are extremely dangerous. Do NOT underestimate their resourcefulness. That's how they've stayed out of prison for this long. Okay, Harrison. Pick three guys. You guys and your dog are coming with me to the side door. The rest of you, I want this freaking rat-hole sealed tight with no escapes, got it?"
There was a general agreement mixed in with the determination to take them down. The stern faces of justice looked to the warehouse and hoped to do their part well. Well enough to stay alive and keep their comrades alive. The group of six headed quickly for the side entrance, guns drawn in case they're found out before they can get the jump on the bad guys. They reached their destination and waited. With a loud crash, the front door was kicked in. There were a few yells and gunfire rang out. Werden kicked in the door and his group charged in with Harrison and Striker taking point. Striker saw a lone guard as the man whirled around and the pokémon pounced on him, taking his wrist into his teeth and crushing it. The man screamed as Harrison jumped at him and struck him across the face. The guard was out cold. Harrison wrestled Striker off the unconscious man, quickly praising him for his work. It was relatively quiet on this side of the warehouse, so Harrison simply gestured to one of the other officers to disarm and cuff him, to help maintain the relative silence. The rest proceeded to hunt down more. The Growlithe seemed to hear or smell something, so the humans followed him. As they approached a door, vaguely human noises could be heard, along with some gruff laughter. Suddenly, a little girl screamed in terror. Without hesitation, Harrison kicked in the door and the five of them invaded the makeshift office/bedroom. Commands to freeze were barked at the seven armed men in the room. Harrison glanced to his right and the image he saw would haunt him to his dying day. A large partially dressed man was forcing himself on a little girl. She couldn't have been older than twelve and her efforts to fight him off were futile. Harrison gritted his teeth and looked back at the other men who didn't look like they were going to listen to the officers. He acted quickly, tapping a catch button on his helmet to drop shields over his ears.
"Striker! Roar attack!!"
With that, Striker breathed in strongly and let loose a piercing roar at the gunmen. Some of them got some shots off, but then the screams of terror began as fear set in and they tried to escape. Werden and one of the officers moved quickly to tackle the runners while the other officer lay on the floor, clutching his bloody shoulder. Striker charged and brought down a couple of them to help out. Harrison turned his attention back to the large man, who had already grabbed a gun and took a shot at him. The shot glances off the shoulder of his body armor. His eyes widen at almost being hit as he quickly aims and squeezes the trigger. The first shot entered his forehead, pushing out the back half of his brain through the hole the bullet created when it exited the skull. The second shot hit him in the chest, through his heart. The large man's brain only registered that his heart had exploded a split second before he hit the floor, then all was black. Blood poured out of his head quickly, forming a crimson halo. The little girl just screamed at the top of her lungs and shook uncontrollably. Her eyes had swallowed too much horror and cared little for her state of undress. Harrison went to her and tried to calm her down, telling her over and over that she was safe and that she can leave. Striker leapt up to the bed and looked at her. Almost immediately, she stopped, but her breathing was hurried and shallow from fear. Harrison quickly covered her up with the blood stained bed sheet. She held it softly to herself, not taking her eyes of his partner. Striker went up and nuzzled her head and she simply cried as she wrapped her free arm around his neck. The pokémon sniffed a couple times, then his head turned to see the body on the floor. Did he understand what happened or what he did to her? Harrison couldn't be sure, but at that moment, Striker moved away from her, got off the bed and sat on his haunches. The look in his eye wasn't right. Some spark that was there before seemed to be gone. The girl seemed to have come back to reality for a moment and Harrison was able to get her and the wounded officer out the door with the help of the remaining officer. Now, just Werden and he remained. Harrison quickly radioed to the others outside that officers were coming with the girl and needed medical attention and clothing. The humans looked the Growlithe and could almost feel the depression he was feeling. Unfortunately, they had a job to do and the three of them continued their hunt for El Perro, while a blazing gun battle could be heard through the thin walls.
Striker led the way, sniffing out El Perro. Werden made a quiet call on his radio to get some backup to their location. The ETA would be five minutes, but the trio would proceed with the capture. They approached a closed door and Striker's ears perked up and gave a little growl. Suddenly, shots rang out and the door was punctured with silver dollar sized bullet holes. Werden yelled in pain and hit the floor. A yell came from behind the door.
"Tengo una chica aquí y la mataré si usted intenta cualquier cosa!"
<"I've got a girl here and I'll kill her if you try anything at all!">
Harrison had flattened himself against the nearest wall, narrowly missing being hit. With that, he thrust a boot to the doorknob, busting the door open. Before he could even react, the man fired another shot and popped him in an unprotected part of the collarbone, cracking it two. Harrison hit the floor, bleeding profusely. He groaned in pain as he looked at El Perro's scarred face as he laughed. From the floor, he could see that Striker was facing off with El Perro. The Growlithe seemed to understand that he had a gun, so he stood his ground, growling fiercely. El Perro laughed some more and pushed his hostage into a nearby wall. The prostitution ringleader took aim to shoot the pokémon, grinning evilly at him.
"Ahora... usted muere, usted estúpido pequeńo mutante."
<"Now...you die, you stupid little mutant.">
"Striker," Harrison said weakly. The Growlithe's right ear turned to better hear his partner. "Fire..attack."
Striker took in a heavy breath and expelled a cone of blazing fire and heat. The man screamed in terror and pain as his body became consumed with flame. The gun went off a couple times, barely missing the pokémon as he leapt to protect the screaming girl from the burning man's flailing arms. Layers of skin burned away from El Perro's face, eventually exposing parts of his skull, as if a large animal had gashed his face open with a massive claw. The flaming body eventually collapsed and continued to burn. The girl clutched the Growlithe strongly. Striker started barking loudly, obviously seeing that he wasn't going anywhere. Harrison painfully reached for his radio and depressed the talk button.
"Two officers...down...listen for...Striker's barking."
Two months later, Harrison was sitting at his desk. His partner was resting on the floor near his chair. As he busily worked on his report on the El Perro raid, where the officer was deemed an instrumental hero in finding him and stopping his prostitution ring, an unmarked manila envelope arrived at his desk. After a few moments, he finished his report and then sorted through the incoming mail. He eyed the unmarked envelope curiously and then opened it. It was a simple letter.
| Officer John Harrison- Several months ago, you and your police department attacked my operations, arrested and killed a number of my employees, including my nephew, Dario. I have been grieving with my sister these past two months and now, I am ready to seek retribution against you and your friends in the police force.
-- Vicente Villalobos |
"Captain...Captain! We've got trouble!"
TO BE CONTINUED...Part II