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    Underdogs: The First Stories
    Underdogs: The First Stories
    Underdogs: The First Stories
    Ebook179 pages2 hours

    Underdogs: The First Stories

    By Geonn Cannon

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    About this ebook

    Ariadne Willow is a private investigator with a secret weapon: she's canidae, a person with the ability to change into a wolf at will. Her abilities grant her the ability to get into secure areas without causing alarm, and her heightened senses make tracking people a snap. With the added help of her assistant Dale Frye, there isn't a case Ari can't crack.

    Whether checking on the welfare of a runaway daughter or taking down a trio of canidae jewel thieves, Ari's special abilities get her into places ordinary investigators can't go. Occasionally her canidae side throws her a complication, like suddenly going into heat during a case or leaving her naked with partial amnesia in the middle of a field. Fortunately Ari isn't just a furry face and has a trick or two up her sleeves even when she's human.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSupposed Crimes, LLC
    Release dateNov 29, 2011
    ISBN9781938108990
    Underdogs: The First Stories
    Author

    Geonn Cannon

    Geonn Cannon was born in a barn and raised to know better than that. He was born and raised in Oklahoma where he’s been enslaved by a series of cats, dogs, two birds and one unexpected turtle. He’s spent his entire life creating stories but only became serious about it when he realized it was a talent that could impress girls. Learning to write well was easier than learning to juggle, so a career was underway. His high school years were spent writing stories among a small group of friends and reading whatever books he could get his hands on.Geonn was inspired to create the fictional Squire’s Isle after a 2004 trip to San Juan Island in Washington State. His first novel set on the island, On the Air, was written almost as a side project to another story he wanted to tell. Reception to the story was so strong that the original story was put on the back burner to deal with the world created in On the Air. His second novel set in the same universe, Gemini, was also very well received and went on to win the Golden Crown Literary Society Award for Best Novel, Dramatic/General Fiction. Geonn was the first male author to receive the honor.While some of his novels haven’t focused as heavily on Squire’s Isle, the vast majority of Geonn’s works take place in the same universe and have connections back to the island and its cast of characters (the exception being the Riley Parra series). In addition to writing more novels based on the inhabitants of Squire’s Isle, Geonn hopes to one day move to the real-life equivalent to inspire further stories.Geonn is currently working on a tie-in novel to the television series Stargate SG-1, and a script for a webseries version of Riley Parra.

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      Book preview

      Underdogs - Geonn Cannon

      Underdogs

      The First Stories

      By Geonn Cannon

      #

      Published by Supposed Crimes LLC at Smashwords

      Copyright 2011 Geonn Cannon

      #

      Smashwords Edition, License Notes

      Thank you for downloading this free ebook. You are welcome to share it with your friends. This book may be reproduced, copied and distributed for non-commercial purposes, provided the book remains in its complete original form. If you enjoyed this book, please return to Smashwords.com to discover other works by this author. Thank you for your support.

      Strays

      She was naked again. Of course.

      Ari straightened, groaning as her bones shifted and her muscles popped. She felt like she'd run a marathon, her body soaked with sweat as she opened her eyes and scanned her surroundings. It was night, and the air was cold enough for her to see her breath. She was on a dead-end street with buildings on either side. The closest building had a security light that shone like a miniature sun so she could see that she was alone on the road. The street ended about a dozen yards ahead of her in an explosion of brush and a collapsed chain link fence. It took her a moment to get her bearings and realize where she was, and another few seconds to work out where she needed to go.

      She ran to the end of the street and slipped through an opening in the fence. The ground on the other side was an overgrown baseball field. She crossed the neglected diamond and went to the concrete dugout on the far side of the sandlot. She dropped down into the bunker-like space, kicking aside dry, dead leaves and various debris left behind by high-schoolers.

      Under the bench was an olive drab army duffel, but her hopes were crushed as soon as she saw the condition it was in. The material was soaked, the seams ripped out and claw marks revealing that her stash hadn't gone undisturbed by the local wildlife. She sighed and unzipped it anyway, hoping something might be salvageable within the depths.

      The two T-shirts and her jeans were all ruined, ripped and soaked with urine of some damn canine looking to mark his territory. Fortunately she stocked each of her stashes with two changes of clothing, for occasions just like this. She dug deeper and withdrew the second pair of pants. At the very bottom of the pile, she found that her army jacket had miraculously survived completely unscathed.

      She pulled on the jeans and her jacket, reaching into the pocket to find the cell phone. The battery was almost dead, but she prayed there was enough of a charge left to make one call. She dialed a familiar number and swept her hair out of her face as she looked back out across the baseball field. She wondered how late it was; there were hardly any cars on the road, and the entire world felt empty.

      Her call was answered on the sixth ring with a muffled sound that might have been a greeting from the woman on the other end.

      Ari said, Dale. It's me. I need a pick up.

      Wh'r.

      The baseball field stash.

      There was another muffled groan and then a sigh of acceptance. A'right. It'll be a while. Thirty minutes, mebbe. Got clothes?

      Barely, Ari said.

      I'll hurry, Dale said, already sounding more awake.

      Ari hung up the phone and looked at the clock before sticking it into her pocket. Only a little past four in the morning. She decided to stay in the dugout a while longer before she went out to wait for Dale, and she took the opportunity to take stock of her injuries. Other than the typical lingering soreness after a transformation, she could feel three stinging lines running down her back. Scrapes, not very deep, probably just needed to be washed and bandaged. Her shoulder felt a little more tender than usual, and she rolled it slowly to check the range of motion. She closed her eyes and tried to remember the events of the night like a regular person would try to remember a dream.

      She remembered running down the center of a street, loping easily along the pavement. A tall security fence. Crawling underneath it... that would be where the scrapes on her back came from. And... ah, yes. Twal. That was what the Doberman guard dog called himself in her mind, the mocking noise that overwhelmed her thinking as he strutted around the corner of the building and found her in his territory. Twal, twal, twal.

      Ari had been told by several people that she was gorgeous in her canidae form. She retained her chestnut-colored hair and blue eyes. She didn't think it was fair that she had to deal with leering males of two different species.

      Twal had been torn between his training and his animalistic instincts. Wanting to run her off while but also aroused by her mere presence. Ari let him get close enough to strike, and he had yelped as she pounced on him. After that, training took precedence. Protect the home. The scuffle was where her injured shoulder came from. She squeezed it with her hand as a pair of headlights swept across the dugout.

      Ari climbed out into the night, assuming Dale had taken advantage of the empty streets to speed to her rescue. When she realized the new arrival was a police car, she was already exposed and it was far too late for her to run. She muttered a curse under her breath and held her hands out, palm-up, as she cautiously approached the cruiser.

      The driver's side door opened and the cop stepped out. The door mounted spotlight rendered whoever it was into a vague silhouette against the slightly brighter night sky and Ari squinted into the light. I can explain?

      The cop sighed. Ariadne.

      Ari closed her eyes and dropped her hands. Officer Rios. You're back on the night shift.

      The cop shut off the spotlight and Ari blinked away her sudden blindness. Diana Rios stepped forward and said, It had been just long enough that I got the call and didn't immediately think you were involved. It never even crossed my mind when I heard a security alarm had been tripped and someone was seen fleeing into this field that my old friend might be sneaking around causing trouble again.

      Old friend? Ari said. Come on, we're more than that, right?

      Diana ignored her. You didn't happen to be over by Bird Maintenance about an hour ago, were you? She nodded toward the dead-end road nearby.

      You know, I was walking down that way not long ago. I saw a couple of dogs roughing each other up. They're probably what caused the alarm to go off.

      Diana nodded slowly. Sure, Ari. She turned on her flashlight and ran it down Ari's baggy army jacket and the ratty jeans. Interesting outfit.

      You know me. Cutting edge of fashion.

      Interesting time for a walk, too.

      Ari sighed. What do you want me to say, Diana?

      I want you to reassure me that you're not getting into trouble. But I also don't want you to tell me anymore lies, so I guess I don't want anything. She hesitated and then nodded toward the car. You need a ride?

      Ari started to answer, but Dale chose that moment to pull into the gravel parking lot of the baseball field. Ari pointed at the car and said, My chariot awaits.

      It's no use telling you to stay out of trouble, so I'll just ask that you try to keep out of it when I'm on duty.

      I'll do my best, Diana.

      Officer Rios, she corrected. You gave up first-name privileges when you spent the night under false pretenses.

      My pretenses were good, Ari said. I just took the opportunity to kill two birds with one stone.

      Yeah, the other bird being that you hacked into my computer and looked at sensitive information. I could have gotten fired for that.

      Ari smiled. Good thing the first bird made you really, really like me.

      Even in the darkness, Ari knew that Diana was rolling her eyes and trying not to blush at the same time. Go. Get in your friend's car. Drive away. Let me forget I ever saw you tonight.

      Thanks, Officer Rios.

      Diana got back into her car, and Ari jogged across the field to where Dale had parked. Dale was wearing her horn-rimmed glasses instead of contacts, her red hair tucked under a baseball cap. She was still in her pink pajamas. Her face looked puffy with sleep as she unlocked the door so Ari could climb into the passenger seat.

      Ari waited until Diana's car had turned around and left the lot before she spoke. All right. Tell me what I did tonight. She could feel Dale's spidey-sense tingling, so she said, I'll remember it all eventually, I just need a little help right now, okay? I'm fine. No more blackouts.

      Dale said, You're sure?

      Positive, Ari said. The blackouts were the worst part of going canidae. Long stretches where the animal part of her brain completely took over and she wasn't aware of what she was doing or who she really was. They were rare, but troubling.

      Dale finally said, You dropped off a listening device in the offices of Bird Maintenance, the owner and operator being Mr. Anthony Bird. She glanced at Ari's blank expression and elaborated. Anthony Bird, who fired our client Jessica French for unspecified reasons two weeks ago. We're going to listen in on his search for a replacement and determine whether or not--

      He fired her because she was pregnant. Right, I remember now. She rubbed her shoulder. Wish I'd known he had a guard dog.

      Dale said, Did you have a tussle?

      He was more horny than vicious. A couple of good tackles and he decided I was too much woman for him.

      Dale smirked. A lesson we've all learned in our time.

      Ari chuckled and sank down in her seat. Wake me when we get back to the office.

      #

      The fogged glass of their office door had the word BITCHES written in large black letters that arched over the smaller word 'investigations.' Dale turned on the light behind the reception desk and Ari went into her office. She unbuttoned her army jacket and took a spare blouse out of the wardrobe in the far corner. Dale followed her into the office and said, Need a rubdown?

      Ah, I'm fine.

      I saw you wincing in the car. Go on, sit on the floor.

      Ari sighed and gave in. She dropped the shirt and followed Dale to the couch. She sat cross-legged on the floor, and Dale sat behind her. Ari closed her eyes as Dale began to massage the tight muscles of her shoulders. You got a trio of nasty scrapes back here.

      Sliding under the fence, Ari said. It's mainly the usual aches and pains.

      Dale worked the muscles with her thumbs and Ari sagged forward. Transforming was a torturous procedure; it was like having her entire skeletal system placed in a vice and squeezed into a different arrangement. Her shoulder blades expanded out and then inward, her ribs contracted, her hips twisted, and every bone in her feet twisted into a longer and thinner arrangement. Her muscles followed the new arrangement like rubber bands tied to chopsticks, pulled right up to the breaking point before they relaxed. The sides of her jaw would break and constrict around her tongue, expanding her lower skull into a snout.

      Changing back into a human was the same pain, only in reverse. Her body accepted the new arrangement and almost seemed to resent being forced back to the way it had been born. So every switch left her feeling like she'd gone twenty rounds with a heavyweight boxer. Having a licensed masseuse as her receptionist helped immensely.

      Was Lisa mad? Ari asked without opening her eyes.

      I don't know, Dale said. It's a few hours later in Chicago, so she might be up. You could call and ask her.

      Ah, shit, Ari said. I'm sorry.

      Don't be. It actually wasn't your fault.

      Ari scoffed. Sure. The four AM wake-up calls were a big hit with her. She was convinced we were sleeping together.

      Dale said, She would know the signs.

      Hm?

      She was fucking her boss.

      Ari winced. You're kidding.

      When I kid, I make myself look better. If I was kidding, I would have said that I kicked her out because I realized we weren't going anywhere. She worked the muscles of Ari's back and then reached for the end table and applied a dollop of oil. Ari groaned as the oil warmed against her skin, and then Dale's palm worked it into her tired muscles. "I didn't even figure it out myself. I work with a private eye, and I had to be told my girl was sleeping around."

      Pretty pathetic.

      Dale said, No, that's not the pathetic thing. I told her it wasn't a big deal. I offered to share.

      Ari laughed. You did not.

      I really liked her.

      The sadness in Dale's voice hit Ari hard. I'm sorry, D.

      It's all right. Thanks to you, I know there's always one woman who'll need me in the middle of the night.

      You deserve better than that.

      If we all got what we deserved, we'd all be movie stars. She patted Dale's back and said, You're all done, unless you want me to bandage up those scrapes.

      Ari grunted as she pushed herself up. No, thanks. She picked up her shirt and pulled it on, buttoning it before she turned to face Dale. I think I'll just crash on the couch. You go on home.

      Dale shook her head. I'm already up for the day. I'll just leave early this afternoon. She hooked her finger toward her desk. I'll keep an ear on the listening device to see if Mr. Bird incriminates himself before breakfast.

      Thanks, Dale. And hey, don't worry about Lisa. You deserve someone who'll be happy with you and no one else.

      Thanks. Sleep well, boss.

      Dale shut off the light as she left the office, and Ari dropped onto the couch and crossed her arm over her face. She was asleep before Dale got her computer booted up for the day.

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