Sofya did her best to look carefully around the neighborhood for any signs of trouble. She ignored the directions on her GPS app and proceeded to Freddy and Michael’s house. She had her reservations about this idea, like Chris, but she agreed with Michael that there was no other choice. The longer they waited to take the ring back, the more power the mayor could amass and the more of an ability he’d have to snuff Freddy out forever. Such a fate would not be in the cards, if she had anything to say about it.
Pulling into the driveway, the four of them quietly got out of the car, peering around to see if anyone was watching them. Once Michael let them all into the house, Freddy ran upstairs and took a long overdue shower.
“I’ll guess I’ll have to clean the mud tracks tomorrow” Michael noted, seeing them staining the floor, as Freddy bolted up the stairs. “There are bigger priorities to deal with right now.”
As Freddy showered himself off, with Chris standing by the bathroom door as a lookout, Michael and Sofya sat uncomfortably next to each other on the couch. Michael sighed, as Sofya stared at him with an irritated expression on her face.
“What’s your big plan now?” she asked curtly.
“I’m thinking!” Michael snapped, before he lost himself in thought.
Sofya waited a minute, before she spoke again.
“You really should have had a plan before we came back here. It’ll only be a few minutes before one of the mayor’s goons shows up to give us trouble.”
“I know! Just give me a minute to think this through.”
“We don’t have a lot of time now. Just verbalize what you’re thinking about or if you won’t, then I will.”
“Ok then, Sofya. Tell me what you’re thinking about. Because I guarantee you that whatever plan you have, I already pondered it over in my head.”
“I’m a witch. Just tell me where he is and I’ll take care of his little cronies.”
“What if he has some sort of magical protection behind him? Don’t you think, by now, that the ring has caught the attention of somebody in the magical world? You’re really going to tell me that, with the ring missing this long, that nobody from the magical world has come here, seeing that this was the last place the ring was before it was returned to the museum?”
“If there was somebody magical guiding the mayor, then I would have felt their presence already. The longer you wait to let me storm in there, though, the more likely it is that it will attract the attention of a magical being. Time is of the essence here.”
“I’m not just going storm into his office and take back the ring.”
“Don’t, then. I will.”
“There will be a dozen of his goons, probably several assassins and many, many police officers there. He practically has an army at his disposal.”
“They are no match for my magic, no matter how many men he has following his orders. I’m telling you, the best idea is, when Freddy is cleaned up and ready to go, we barge down to his office and just take the ring back from him. Don’t wait until the time runs out on this. If you delay too much longer, then the easiest option for dealing with this is closed to us.”
“Freddy could be turned back into a dog.”
“And all you’d have to do is get back the ring, read the inscription and change him back. As long as we have it in our possession, no one else can do anything to him.”
“I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“So, now that you’ve totally shit on my idea, what is your genius plan for getting the ring back? Huh? Tell me Michael.”
“Well, that’s what I was trying to think through, before you interrupted me.”
Sofya grunted, as she sulked into her spot on the couch. Little did they know that they wouldn’t have enough time to even go through with Sofya’s plan, even if they wanted to. In the center of town, at the town hall building, the mayor kept his advisors in his office for the entire night so far. He was freaking out and infuriated by the latest turn of events.
“He just bolted out of here!!!!!!” the mayor yelled. “That fucking son of a bitch bolted out of town and evaded over a dozen police cars!!!!!! How the fuck did he do that?!?!?! How, Marley?!?!?!?! How?!?!?!?!”
“I don’t know, sir” Marley replied.
“Honestly” an advisor said “you’re lucky to be alive. We lost so many officers today, a record number for any small town police department in a single day in history. Freddy Benson has blood on his hands. His anti police rhetoric has gotten innocent officers killed and there's no way he'll ever be a threat to you politically. There’s nowhere he can run off to that he won’t be apprehended by someone. Be patient, sir. You’re going to win the war on this.”
“I want him brought back to me now!!!!!! I can’t wait anymore!!!!!!”
“Be lucky you’re not where Adam and Dennis are tonight” another advisor stressed. “They may have permanently lost their ability to walk after tripping on that fallen tree.”
“Like I care about them!!!!!!!!”
“Sir!” an advisor exclaimed, as they bolted into the mayor’s office. “Great news!”
“Finally!!!!! I’ve been waiting to hear some all day!!!! Spill!!!!!”
“Freddy and his cohort of comrades were spotted in town just ten minutes ago!”
“This quick?!?!?! How do you know it was them?!?!?!”
“The license plate number matched up and they spotted Freddy naked in the car!”
“This seems like a trap! Wait a second, Freddy was naked in the car?!”
“Yes sir.”
“He was supposed to be a dog!!!!! Argh!!!!!”
The mayor read the inscription on the back of the ring again. As he watched it glow, his advisor Marley gulped nervously.
“Sir” Marley said “I don’t like you reading that thing so many times. It gives me the creeps.”
“Like I fucking care what you think!!!!!!”
“Sir, if I may” the first advisor said. “The point was for Freddy Benson to be spotted by the police. If you turn him back into a dog again, then the authorities around here can’t find him.”
“What makes you think I want the authorities to find him?!”
“Isn’t that the whole point of calling all these other police departments, demanding he be extradited here?” the second advisor asked.
“It was, until that commie pinko came back into town. He was spotted for sure, right?!”
“Yes sir” the advisor standing at the door replied.
“So I have another idea in mind. Does anybody have that guy Tom’s number?”
“We can get it, sir” Marley replied, as he motioned some advisors to begin digging through their records.
“Good” the mayor said, mischievously clasping his fingers together. “I’m looking forward to telling him that I found his missing dog.”
After Freddy finished taking a shower, he dried himself off and went back into his bedroom. He saw that Chris had his back turned to him, while blocking the door. Freddy let out a little cough to spur Chris to move.
“Sorry boss” Chris said, as he moved away, keeping his back turned, while he let Freddy walk past him.
“It’s fine” Freddy replied. “I’m just going to change, so we can talk about a plan for how to get the ring back from the mayor. I’m looking forward to finally wearing clothes again. I haven’t had them on in me two days now.”
Chris quickly glanced back, as he saw Freddy grabbing some underwear from a drawer. To his shock and horror, he also noticed black fur growing on the backside of his boss.
“Uh, Freddy?” Chris asked.
“What’s up?” Freddy asked, as he put on a pair of briefs.
“Your back.”
“What?”
Freddy felt around to his back, to discover the fur that was rapidly growing back there.
“Oh shit!” he exclaimed.
Looking down at himself, he saw tan fur growing out from his stomach and chest.
“Shit shit shit!” he exclaimed, as he stripped off his briefs and dropped them on the floor.
“That’s not good” Chris commented.
Chris turned around to watch Freddy fall onto his hands and knees, moaning as he turned into a dog. This change was incredibly quick, a blink and you miss it sort of shift. In an instant, the fur on Freddy’s back and front engrossed his entire body and his posture shifted to a four legged stance. His tail grew out, his face became dog like and before Chris knew it, Buddy was standing before him again.
“Oh shit!” Chris exclaimed. “Michael! Sofya!”
“What is it Chris?!” Michael exclaimed nervously, as he and Sofya bolted up the stairs to the bedroom.
“Freddy has dogged out again.”
Sofya gasped, as Michael began to weep. On the floor of the bedroom, whimpering loudly, was Buddy, the German Shepherd dog.
“What are we going to do now?” Sofya asked.
A few hours earlier that evening, Tom was dropped off by the cab he shared with Evan and his grandmother. He ran a number of errands, before he was finally taken home. He went on an hour long shopping spree at the grocery store, went to the pet store to buy Lady some toys and put in a request for an extension on his eviction notice. After all of that was done, he was finally dropped off at his house.
“Son of a bitch” Evan muttered to himself, as Tom and Lady finally left the car.
Tom spent a few minutes unloading his groceries and pet store items from the trunk into the house. When he was done, he gave the driver the ok to take the remaining passengers home.
“You were right, grandma” Evan said quietly, as the driver finally took them home. “We should have just waited for the other cab to arrive. We’d already be home by now if we did.”
When Tom settled in to the house with his bags, he began to prepare a feast for his dog, Lady. He bought two steaks, one for himself and one for her. He used his stove as a makeshift grill and cooked them nearly burnt to a crisp. When he was done cooking, he sat at the kitchen table and motioned for Lady to come over to him.
“Hungry girl? he asked, as Lady slowly approached him. “I made us some steaks. You are a queen and deserve to be treated like one. This meal is fit for a royal like you. Cheers to another month in this house of ours.”
Tom chuckled, as he gave Lady the charred steak. She placed it in her bowl and then chowed down on it aggressively with her sharp teeth. Tom ate his steak with a fork and knife, cutting it down to the bone. When he was done, he handed the remains to Lady.
“Still hungry?”
Lady happily woofed, as Tom gave her the remainder of his steak. She gnawed on it happily, before she was placed back into the basement with her new toys to settle in for the night. During the car ride, he swore he could see some dogs following the cab, but paid them no mind. He knew it was a bad idea to bring her to set during her heat, but he didn’t want to leave her alone in the house either. Even though he got paid for the day, Buddy’s disappearance and Lady’s lusty scent were not encouraging signs for a future in show business.
“I hope Josh can get me more work like this in the future” Tom thought to himself. “I know he kind of screwed me over by taking a commission, but I did get paid and it wasn’t a scam. Plus. it was kind of fun and Buddy seemed to having a good time too, for the most part. I just hope that I can get him back after he ran away from me again, before somebody stole him in the park.”
As he thought about these things, his communication device rang. Tom didn’t recognize the number, but could tell it came from the mayor’s office.
“Son of a bitch” Tom thought to himself, ignoring the call. “I don’t want to talk to those fuckers. Josh never should have gotten those goons of the mayor's an ambulance. They didn’t deserve one. They’re total assholes.”
After the call was dropped, a message appeared on the screen.
“Huh? Tom said aloud, as he read over the message.
“Unknown Number: Tom, it’s the mayor. I know where your dog is. Call me back right away if you want me to tell you the location.”
“Fucking liar” Tom spat out “but it’s worth a shot to ask. If he doesn’t tell me right away, then I’m hanging up on that fucker.”
Tom found the number and called it back in that instant. At the mayor’s office, he angrily fumed to his advisors.
“Why didn’t that fucking deadbeat pick up my call?!?!?!?!?!” the mayor screamed.
“Maybe he didn’t recognize the number” an advisor suggested.
“Or perhaps he’s mad at you and doesn’t want to take your call” another advisor suggested.
“Son of a bitch! Let me text him, just to rule out the possibility of him ignoring me. If he knows that I found his dog, then he’ll be sure to call back. If this is actually his number, then he’ll sure to want to know where the dog is.”
The advisors gulped, as the mayor sent his message. They waited patiently, for only a minute, before the communication device rung with Tom’s name on the display.
“Perfect” the mayor said with glee. “It’s him after all.”
The mayor composed himself, before he picked up the call.
“Tom” he said in a sickly sweet manner. “It’s so good to hear from you.”
“Listen, you fucker!” Tom spat out from his communication device. “I don’t want no cheap talk with your sorry ass! Tell me where my dog is right now, so I can go get him back this instant!”
“Oh Tom, don’t you see why you remain eternally unemployed? Is that any way to talk to another human being, especially one who is trying to help you out?”
“I’m not interested in hearing from you! Good—“
“Michael has your dog.”
“What?”
“You heard me. Michael Scavolini has your dog.”
“What? No. You’re lying. He told me himself that he never had it. I humiliated myself by accusing him of stealing Buddy and having a restraining over filed against him. I refuse to believe that he has it. No. The cops never saw him there. You're lying. I don’t believe you.”
“Don’t believe me? Go over there and look for yourself.”
“Fine, you fucker! I’m going over there right now! But if I find that my dog Buddy is not there, then I will block your number permanently!!!!”
“What are you going to do if you do find him there?”
“Huh?”
“I said, what will you do if you find out your dog Buddy is where I say he is?”
“I, uh, I’ll thank you, I guess.”
“Why don’t come by the office, if you find the dog? At the very least, I’d appreciate an in person thank you.”
“I can do it over the phone! Why would I want to do it in person?!”
“Hmm, you’re tricky to persuade, aren’t you Tom?”
“Fuck you! I bet you Buddy isn’t over there!”
“Wouldn’t want to place bets on that, would you?”
“No!”
“Why? You’re not confident that I’m wrong?”
“No! Because I have no money!!!!! It’s all your fault that I’m broke!!!!!”
“I wouldn’t say that. I’d say your lack of manners and social skills—“
“Fuck you!!!!!”
“Ok, Tom, fine. I’ll tell you what. I will make you a deal.”
“What kind of deal?”
“A deal that would require you to sell Buddy to me.”
“No!!! Uh uh, no!!!! Fuck you asshole!!!!”
“How does $100,000 sound?”
“What?!?! Get the fuck out of here!!!!”
“I’m serious.”
“This is a trap and I’m not falling for it!!!!”
“You don’t have to come to me, Tom. Just get the dog from Michael and I will pay you $100,000 to give it to one of my advisors at your house. You could do so much with that money and it’s a lot more than you’d get for him otherwise.”
“He’s not for sale!!!!”
“$200,000.”
“Sir” Marley said nervously.
The mayor waved his hand in Marley’s face, before Tom spoke up.
“No, fucker!!! What part of ‘he’s not for sale’ don’t you understand?!?!?!”
“$300,000.”
“What?! Is this some kind of joke?!”
“What do you want for him? I’ll pay you any price.”
“This sounds like Michael when he wanted to buy that ring from me!!!! No!!! He’s not for sale!!!!”
“$500,000.”
“Sir” Marley said, as the mayor dismissed his concerns.
“I’ll tell you what, fucker!” Tom said angrily. “If you give me $1 million for giving you Buddy, then I will hand him over to you!”
“Deal” the mayor replied confidently.
“What?!”
“You heard me. I said deal. Get me the dog from Michael and I will pay you $1 million to sell him to me as soon as he’s in your possession. Cash or wire, your choice of how you want to be paid.”
“Are you fucking serious?!?!?!”
“Dead serious” the mayor replied with a dark tone in his voice.
“How do you even know that Michael has my dog?!?!?!”
“Just go over there and get me the fucking dog, you stupid moron!!!!!!”
The mayor banging his hands on his desk, startling the assembled advisors in his office.
“You sound pretty confident that Michael has Buddy!”
“Of course I’m confident that he has him!!!!!! Just go over there and—“
“Fine, fucker!!!! For a $1 million, I will go over there and get Buddy back. If Michael actually has him, like you say he does, then I’ll sell him to you for that price! No tricks! But if he doesn’t have my dog, then I’m suing you for harassment!”
“Whatever, you fu—“
“This better not be a trap, Mr. Mayor!!!! Goodbye!!!”
Tom angrily ended the call and stormed out of his house. At the mayor’s office, the advisors nervously watched, as their boss let out a maniacal laugh.
“It’s only a matter of time now!” the mayor exclaimed happily. “It’s only a matter of time before Freddy Benson is my personal possession!”
Back at Freddy and Michael’s house, Chris, Sofya and Michael freaked out at seeing Buddy standing before them again.
“Argh!” Michael shrieked. “The mayor read the inscription again!”
“That he did” Sofya replied, as she bent down to look at Buddy.
Buddy whined, as Sofya stared into her eyes.
“What are we going to do with him?” Chris asked, as Sofya stood back up.
“Beats me.”
“We can’t keep him here” Michael said. “What if Tom comes back?”
“I’ll deal with him” Chris replied. “Sofya, you just work on finding a way of changing him back.”
“It’s risky” she replied. “I’m not that confident yet that the animal spell won’t do long term damage to Freddy.”
“Then we don’t use magic” Michael said, as he bent down and pet Buddy. “It’s not worth it for you to make a mistake and force us to deal with long term damage to Freddy. Let’s see if we can find a way to get the mayor to give us back the ring right now.”
As they were talking about a plan, they foolishly left the bedroom door open for someone to see them. Running down the street with Buddy’s collar and leash in his hand, cleaned when he came home from the park, Tom stormed over Michael’s house. He believed that the mayor was full of shit. However, with such a large amount of money on the line and his seemingly strong sense of confidence, Tom was ready to eliminate the possibility.
Tom made his way down the block and up to the front door. Before he knocked loudly, he peered inside from the window on the door. The sight inside shocked his conscious and made him internally rage. Standing at the top of the stairs, with Michael, Chris and Sofya watching him, was his dog, Buddy.
“That fucker!!!!!!!!!!” Tom yelled, as he banged on the door aggressively.
“Holy shit!” Michael exclaimed, as he jumped up in the air.
“What was that?” Chris asked, as Buddy leaped up and yelped.
“Trouble” Sofya replied, as she made her way down the stairs.
“Sofya” Michael called to her. “Wait.”
Sofya ignored him, as she opened the front door. Standing in front of her, his face red as a tomato, was Tom. He was tightly holding Buddy’s collar and leash in one hand and a strong fist in the other.
“You lying motherfucker!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Tom boomed at the top of his lungs.
“Tom” Michael called down to him nervously. “I can explain this.”
Sofya tried to block Tom’s path inside, but he pushed her on to the floor with a strength she was not prepared for. Angrily bolting his way upstairs, Chris tried to block Tom's path at the top, before even he was pushed onto the ground with a strong force.
“You lied to me Michael!!!!!!!!” Tom yelled in his face. “You told me you didn’t steal my dog Buddy!!!! You lied to me all this time!!!!!! How could you?!?!?!?!?!”
"Tom” Michael replied, with tears flowing down his cheeks. “Let me explain.”
“No!!!!!!!”
Tom grabbed Buddy by the scruff of his neck, who growled in his direction. Tom attached Buddy's collar to his neck, choking him when he was tugged on the leash.
“You told me you didn’t steal my dog and you lied to me, Michael!!!!! I thought you were a good guy! I thought I could trust you! I was beginning to warm up to you and you fucking lied to my face!!!!!!!!!”
“It’s not what it looks like, Tom, I swear!”
“Save your excuses, ass fucker! I bet you stole Buddy all the other times he went missing, didn’t you?! I bet you had him all those times the police came by here and they just couldn’t find him, like the incompetent fucking morons they are!!!! You and your husband are scum and you’re lucky I’m not calling the police on your sorry ass right now!!!!”
“Tom, wait!”
Tom forcefully pushed Michael to the floor, landing on his ass with a loud thud. Buddy barked loudly, as Tom tugged him down the stairs.
“Oh no you don’t!” Sofya growled loudly, as she pointed her finger in Tom’s direction.
When she tried to fire off her magic, however, she felt a jolt explode inside of her. Shrieking in pain, she fell to the floor, while Tom dragged Buddy out of the house. Buddy tried to go back inside, but Tom wouldn’t allow him to. Before Buddy could reunite with Michael, Tom slammed the door of his house behind him. Running down the stairs, Chris helped Sofya up back onto her feet.
“Are you alright?” he asked, as Michael ran down to check up on her.
Sofya shook her said, before she gave an ominous reply.
“He’s here” she replied nervously. “He’s back.”
At the mayor’s office…..