Good Pup's
Logan stood in an empty half-acre lot on the wrong side of town. He wasn't alone either, he counted 9 other people slowly walking around the garbage-laced plot of land. Most of them trying to do as little work as possible, in as much time as possible. Two people carrying a single half-full garbage bag between them, acting as if it was filled with rocks instead of leaves and paper fliers.
Others were standing around talking about what other people should do to quicken the pace of the project so they could stop wasting their time and get home to join an important guild meeting to talk about the latest Destiny 2 DLC coming out later this month.
(I bet half the shiny coins in my Niffler pouch, not one person here would be caught dead in this part of town at night. Well besides her, that is.) Logan turned his eyes to a figure that every person here looked at every couple of minutes. Red hair in a high ponytail showing off her slender neck, a teal tank top that bared her shoulders and stopped just under her perky size C breasts. Bare mid-drift with a pair of OD green low-rise pants that showcased her slender legs and brown hiking boots.
She had a stunning smile on her lips as she gently planted flowers and vegetable start's. Logan walked over to her. "I really hope that this place will be looked after once it is all setup. It could really help people to get at least some healthy food." Pam dusted her hands and stood up. "My understanding is that someone had a talk with the local gangs and had this place put under protection. A safe place where every gang will enforce rules of equal share for equal work."
"Logan, could you please help me pull this rickety fence down? I would like to plant some strawberries and raspberries along the property line."
"Sure, just show me where you want me to start." Logan smiled at her.
Once they got over to the fence, Pam looked to make sure no one was close enough to overhear their conversation. "I got some more news about the night Luisa was poisoned." Logan pulled a rotted piece of wood off a rotting fence wall with a crack, revealing an old chain link fence.
"The person who claimed to have seen Luisa last was never actually there at the office. He said that just before he left for work, he got a call about receiving an audition slot for American Idol."
Logan Laughed, "Are we talking about the purple Mohawk dude?"
"Yup, that's the one. He said that his dream since he was 9 was to be a superstar on TV. He said he told Marcus that morning about skipping work, but Marcus recommended he say he was there, and Luisa was fine at the time he left."
"Hmm, the kid knows you have had difficulty with Marcus. Interesting that he is using him as a defense. Well, Marcus is also a moron that thinks he is god's gift to women everywhere so I can actually see him saying this. I think I may need to sneak a peek into some heads, their suspicious behavior fits my criteria to snoop around without feeling guilty about it." Logan pulled down another board and put it in a pile.
Once there was a pile big enough, Logan picked it up and he and Pam walked to the dumpster to toss them in. There was a sound of chain link rattling and suddenly loud barking. The people working all panicked and started to run and scream as two dogs burst into the lot.
Pitbulls are a misunderstood breed. Logan can empathize. You put any creature in a hostile environment, and they will develop a defense mechanism. But that doesn't make them bad. Take right now, for instance, a tribe of two legs is trying to move into their territory. A good beatdown now will show them that they are the ones in charge here, not them. Unless of course, they are stronger, then we will let them be in charge and maybe join their pack.
All the screaming and running right now is exciting, the fear in the wind the dogs smell, tells them the two legs are weak. Their running makes them excited to chase after the weak running things. Logan stepped forward and quickly looked the dogs over. A male-female pairing, the female shows signs of over-breeding, so his first guess is that they are used to make money by selling off pups. The male is a white color if you look under all the dirt and scabs. Its outer condition shows it is not an indoor dog, and probably doesn't even have a clean doghouse. The heavy chain collar is tight enough to be uncomfortable. Overall, Logan is not happy with the way these animals have been treated.
Logan steps forward and grabs the white one by the scruff of its neck and carefully tosses it a few feet in front of him and then he squatted down to be eye level with it. The Brown female is suddenly bound up with some vines that grip it to hold it down without hurting her as Pam steps forward as well. The dogs relax and Pam releases the female before anyone sees the vines around her.
Logan let out a warning growl and the white one quickly showed its belly in submission. Perfectly relaxed that he found someone stronger than himself. Pam reaches out for the female of the pair and scratches her neck looking to make sure there isn't a collar hidden by the dirty fur. Logan scratches the white dog's belly, and it starts kicking its leg in satisfaction. He gets the dog to sit for him while he gets a couple of fingers on the heavy chain collar and snaps it like it was made of sewing thread. Looking over the neglected and abused dogs Pam heads for the fence and pulls it back enough so she can walk through it. Logan doesn't need his telepathy to feel the outrage coming off Pam, so he quickly follows her into the dog's yard.
He sees a dirt yard that is obviously neglected. A half-buried 55-gallon drum looks like the only shelter for the two dogs. A broken chain that looks like it did its time as a tow chain before being put on the dogs. A water bucket sits under the faucet half full of mud and mold, two dirty old butter bowls appear to be the food bowls for the two dogs.
Pam just walked up to the heavy security screen door and used her knuckles to knock on it. "Anyone home?" Logan steps up behind her and places his hand on her shoulder. "Gently Pam, you are too worked up over something easily handled."
Pam steps back down from the top steps creating a little distance and takes a deep breath. An elderly voice comes from within the home. "Get off my porch! What do you want?" Logan clears his throat, "Good morning mam, are these you two dogs out here?" The woman approaches the screen enough for the two to make out a woman wearing glasses looking to be in her late fifties and rather worn down looking. "Those stupid fucking MUTTS... What have they done now, and who are you two?"
"We are part of the group working next door to set up a community garden for the neighborhood in honor of a friend who died recently. The pups came over to play and I couldn't help but notice they were rather neglected. So, my friend here and I wanted to make sure you were okay and not in any distress yourself." Logan said with a smile.
"Those fucking dogs are useless, can't even keep damn hippies like you two out of my yard. Now throw them back over the fence and stay off my property. My grandson is a big man in the Shark gang that runs this city. Mess with me and his men will destroy your precious garden."
Logan took a deep breath, and his eyes glowed for just a second. "No problem mam, we will be happy to take the poor dogs off your hands since you can't care for them properly any longer due to your advanced age. You feel no need to replace them either I am sure, as their food is so expensive nowadays.
Yes, any pet would take time away from you perfecting your cookie baking for the kids in the area. You just love to bake and since you can't eat them all yourself, you're happy to give them out for free to the good kids of the neighborhood.
Your offer to help look after the garden once we are gone is also very much appreciated. You have yourself a wonderful day now. I will have someone come over and help clean up the yard, so you won't even remember having dogs after a few weeks."
Logan steps off the porch and looks around again. "Actually Pam, what say we take care of this stuff now instead of sending the others over?" Before Pam could reply, Logan grabbed the half-buried barrel and pulled it out of the ground, and shook the dirt out of it. As he starts gathering up the chain and placing it in the barrel Pam says "Sure!" and walks over to the so-called water dish and pours it out also placing it in the barrel. They both grab a food bowl each and Logan picks up the barrel and heads back to the hole in the chain link fence. Pam looks at the lady in the house and dismisses her plan to kill her as Logan already did a better job of handling things.
Pam follows Logan thinking. (You are a good man Logan, and you are one lucky lady that he was here with me.) She gave a last glance at the woman behind the screen.