[Does he really want the kid to talk about it? Would he dare suggest the kid try out for the Juarez Police Department or whatever? He wouldn't dare. Freddy has LAPD in his blood. Had...oh. That's what he meant. Freddy snorts.]
No fucking way, man. Shaved heads are a dime a dozen, on the force, on the streets, in the jails.
[Flap flap of his hand.] It takes a super cool guy with super confidence to wear it like I do.
[Smart bear can match a smart fox. Sometimes. Now that he has this cool guy's hair at hand he combs it back. It's long, not as long as it got in the City. But still quite a bit to hold.]
I think the close cut would make you look a little severe.
[A cop's haircut after all.]
Well, your twenty one with all that going on just goes to show you're made of different stuff then this guy.
[He might be a sort of fox beast but when that paw rubs his scalp he can't help but want to purrrrrr...]
A little? I'm already severe.
[Freddy says, knowing full well on first sight most people wouldn't think so. He's a shorter guy after all with a big roman nose and a somewhat dopey face. That is, when he doesn't have to assert any command presence. Freddy could put that on at the drop of a dime.]
[Rub, rub. Even though he knows that his hair won't stay back without a comb and some hair product he still combs, combs. It's soothing to the touch and to this severe fox face.]
Sure are. Right out killer.
[In the best way for him. Somewhat dopey. But it's a look all his own. Changeable from very friendly to authoritative badge wearing asshole. Somehow alluring to the old crook.]
Don't you dare tell your mother that. I mean, so she didn't do that to you at twenty one but for a long ass time.
[Mister Dog is stopping to sniff a fence post. Larry sees the cat before he does. This walk to Marisol's is not that far. Even though he's trying to hurry the dog along they easily could have been there by now.]
How do you think he keeps that much piss in him to go everywhere but not when we need to let him out?
[Freddy shakes his head, freckled fingers flapping with some small amount of aggravation. See the longer Mister Dog takes the harder it'll be for Mister White to let go. SIGH.]
[One more leash tug and he's moving once again. Larry has it wrapped around his wrist and he holds the rest of it. Mister Dog likes to wander a little. He's gotta be kept close.]
I guess so. Gotta always have it his way or the highway.
[It's been sometime since he's said something like that. The phrase feels weird on his tongue. Maybe too soon. Larry sighs a little bit.]
We'll just say we found him again while out. Anything more seems too fucking long.
Who says we have to say anything? We could tie him to a mail box or something. Right in plain sight.
[Right? Right?? What's wrong with being a coward about it, Dimmy. Also those words don't really affect the kid as much as they do the old man. Hell Freddy doesn't even make the connection, too busy preparing to separate from the dog. Again.]
He's not gonna like it. I mean, shit. That's just abandoning him. Let's do this right.
[Mister Dog and his feelings seem to be having a more solid grip on Mr. White then the past. His dark tail is thumping up against the old man's pant leg.]
...I think he'd mess up the mailbox something fierce.
What like rip it out of the street? He's not that strong.
[Actually with the right motivation he could be. He's built stocky and tough, kind of like this old man he knows. Fff. Freddy shakes his head then flaps a hand.]
Whatever you say.
[How far do they have to go again? Just get this over with. Maybe he can get a donut afterward.]
[That's a solid yes, kid. Larry slows and what do you know? Mister Dog found a place to piss. Children are playing across the street but the houses have bars on the windows it's not so Norman Rockwell painting here.]
I just think we came all this way to hand him over. That's not a hand over. For all we know, he could up and leave the second we're out of sight too.
[Ahem. By now he's aware the dog bias is not subtle. Someone deserves a donut for it.]
[Freddy declares ever so casually because it's a matter of fact and he's not afraid to say it hah. Just another block or two, he's sure, then the final test. Except what's that happened up ahead around the corner? In an alley? Some shouting, some fighting. All in Spanish. And someone's dog getting yanked back and forth between mi amor and novia. Lover's spat.]
[Because denying it at this point is useless. This has nothing to do with Freddy's keen detection skills. He pulls Mister Dog along again. He didn't need to go that bad. Again.]
What are the chances this would happen with a dog that's actually pretty cool?
[Rhetorical question. Larry frowns and looks to the noise. Tsk. It's loud and dramatic. Not violent yet.]
I don't know there are a lot of dogs in the world, this guy happens to look like...
[Freddy waves a hand over Mister Dog to indicate, well, the way he looks. Big brown and kind of spotty with a broad head and big face. Just the kind of dog Lawrence Dimick would like, a truck.]
You'd sing a different fuckin' tune if he was a poodle.
[Right? Don't deny it, Dimmy. Freddy shakes his head. Hey what's going on up there? Looks like the (20-something year old) brat. Yanking the dog back and forth makes it whine and snap at the girl because she must be the reason his owner is being mean to him right?? No blood or anything but it only increases the yelling and screaming and slapping from her claw-like nails.]
No you knock it off you piece of shit you're just like your damn dog ey!
[Yep. Getting violent. Look at her unafraid of the beast though, she gives the man a hard hammer fist to the arm, stepping on the dog's foot in the process. Now the other guy's trying to slap her away too.]
...........
[Domestic violence farm. Freddy hooks a finger in Mister Dog's collar to turn him on around back in the direction from where they came.]
[Mister Dog startles a little. Oh. It's him. He makes a small noise and shoves his head against Freddy's arm thinking he'll get pets.]
Let's go and get the fuck out of here.
[Meaning he's not trying to chicken out, kid. See? Conviction.]
It's the blue one up ahead right?
[Larry tries to block out the squabble. He's already in one mess. Does he need to go and stick his fucking foot into another? The young lady looks like she can hold her own well.]
I don't remember this neighborhood being this shitty...
[Are you even paying attention, Dimmy? Freddy's leading Mister Dog in the opposite direction. Away from those two and their house of whatever and bullshit domestic violence farm multiple collar scum sucking asshole rodeo.]
Who cares.
[They're not staying and neither is Mister Dog. He keeps his hand on the beast's collar solid.]
[That final step he takes pulling the leash in the opposite direction of Freddy and dog that makes it apparent. The sun shines through the clouds and fuck, it's like there's some sort of a halo around Freddy's noggin.]
I sure don't.
[Ain't hard to come on in the same way. Not hard at all. Except from behind them, from the blue house up ahead someone shouts.]
[Is that a foreign language? Sounds like! So Freddy, the white dude who knows "Where's the library?" and "You're under arrest." in Spanish ignores it.]
Cool. Let's keep going.
[His grip on Mister Dog's collar loosens up just so their pace can quicken but in a smooth and casual manner.]
[Freddy huffs under his breath really more for the frustration of not making a clean getaway. But he keeps on walking with Larry, well aware Marisol's boy is gaining speed. Time it just right, Newendyke, time it just--]
Get the dog.
[Because the kid's letting go and whipping around to land his freckled fist into the punk's skull. It's a hard one. The kind mama tells you to knock a brother out.]
[They've had a rather clumsy history of clean getaways. This might end up being messy. Larry's got the leash and he has it coiled several times to keep Mister Dog very much heeled. He is starting to up the pace and turns just enough to catch the way that freckled fist flies like a well aimed arrow.
His jaw drops and his heart leaps.]
Goddamn.
[The punk ass kid looks like he's got a hard case of whiplash, at least he will when he picks himself up off of the ground.]
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