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fifteen and thought I knew them pretty good till Ares came along. One of the hardest things to teach a dog is to guard someone that is not their master, Apollo never learned it. Well, I should say he didn’t till I taught Ares. Ares had the concept down in three days and I swear Ares taught Apollo what I wanted,” Nathan said.
    “What’s Ares’s momma’s name?” she asked.
    “I can’t remember. I studded Apollo out and got the pick of the litter: Ares,” Nathan said.
    Somewhat offended, she asked, “Don’t you own girl German Shepherds?”
    “I’ve only had one and she was a pain in the butt. I bet she chewed up ten pairs of shoes. She was with me on patrol one day and we got a call that a man had robbed a store and ran up into some woods. I get the call and show up with Pandora. She finds the guy’s trail and fifteen minutes later I’m yelling for him to give up. I’m not going to tell you what he said, but he didn’t give up. I released Pandora and she tore into that man thinking there must have been a prize inside. I gave her the attack command, but she was taking bites on all his arms and legs trying to pull them off. I ran over and gave her the command to stop, but she didn’t. I had to grab her to pull her off then she bit me four times,” Nathan said, shaking his head. “I’m not going to lie; I almost shot her ass right then and there. The sheriff told me she couldn’t be on the force anymore. I bought another puppy and trained them. Pandora stayed on the farm, but she died when Apollo was just a puppy.”
    “Maybe you shouldn’t have named her Pandora,” John said, making Nathan laugh.
    “Why not?” Amanda asked and John said the story of Pandora. “That’s stupid,” she said. “I want a girl dog, but like Ares.”
    “Amanda, it takes long hours teaching a dog what Ares knows, longer if they’re stupid,” Nathan informed her.
    “I don’t care,” she said, undeterred.
    “Okay, we’ll see.” He smiled down at her.
    She hugged his arm that she was holding onto as they followed the road up into the hills overlooking a wildlife refuge. When they were on the ridge, Amanda looked down to the valley. “It’s beautiful,” she said.
    Nathan nodded. “Sure is. Makes me miss home,” he said, walking on. It was almost noon when they came around a curve and saw a group of men about fifty yards away stripping a car that was on the side of the road. “Get behind me, and if shooting starts, run for the woods,” Nathan said in a quiet voice, letting Amanda’s hand go. He kept a steady pace as he walked toward the men.
    The men had stopped as soon as the three came around the corner. Dropping their tools, the three grabbed an assortment of firearms and moved to the back of the stripped car. Nathan counted three and scanned the woods. He glanced down at Ares and he was just looking in the direction of the three men, but not coming to attention. Then Nathan felt the wind on the back of his neck. He sighed as he said a silent apology to Ares.
    Nathan stopped twenty yards away from the group. “Morning, gentlemen,” he said, tilting his head toward them. The one on his right was carrying a pump shotgun and wore a white t-shirt and more gold chains than Mr. T. The one in the middle had a few chains dangling against his bare chest, and he was holding an automatic pistol. On the left was a man dressed in a blue tank top, with a gold rope chain that looked an inch thick. In his hand was what looked like a single shot shotgun that had been sawed off.
    “What chew want,” one mouthed off.
    “Just moving down the road,” Nathan replied. He had his rifle gripped in both hands but not pointed at the three. The three each had their rifles aimed at the ground as they studied Nathan.
    “Put yo gun on the ground and we let you walk away, boy,” Bare Chest popped off.
    “I’m sorry I can’t do that,” Nathan said, slowly reaching up and uncovering his badge. The three saw the badge and got a