Chapter 3 - THE BREAKOUT IN THE DEAD OF NIGHTThe administrative offices of the Cumberland County Animal Center were pitch black by 2:00 AM, illuminated only by the pale, eerie glow of emergency exit signs and the flashing red light of a security camera mounted in the corner.
Daniel sat at his desk, staring blankly at the seizure warrant Agent Vance had forced him to sign under threat of shutting down the shelter permanently. Cooper had been locked inside the high-security quarantine ward at the back of the building, heavily sedated—or so Vance’s men claimed—awaiting federal transport at dawn.
The Harrison family had been forced to leave hours earlier, escorted home by local deputies under strict orders not to contact the shelter or speak to the press. But Daniel knew the truth, and he knew human corruption when he smelled it.
A financial ledger inside a child's toy? It was insane. Vance was lying. The federal agent wasn't looking for money laundering; he was looking to silence the only witness to whatever happened the night Cooper was stolen from the Harrison yard.
Suddenly, a faint click echoed from the hallway.
Daniel grabbed a heavy iron flashlight from his desk and crept silently toward the door. As he pushed it open into the dim corridor, a small shadow darted out from behind the laundry cart.
"Shh! Don't shoot!"
Daniel gasped, lowering his flashlight just in time to see twelve-year-old Mia crawling out from beneath a coat rack, her face streaked with dirt and tear tracks, holding a pair of heavy wire cutters.
"Mia?! What in the world are you doing here? How did you get past the deputies?" Daniel hissed, grabbing her shoulders.
"My dad distracted them at the county line," she whispered fiercely, her eyes burning with a desperate, unyielding courage that completely defied her age. "They aren't taking Cooper, Mr. Daniel. Vance isn't a federal agent. I heard him talking on his cell phone in the parking lot. He called someone named 'Boss' and said the 'package' was secured and they were going to put the dog down at an undisclosed facility before morning because the dog bit him when he tried to take the doll."
Daniel’s blood ran cold. He didn't doubt it for a second. "If we break him out, we become fugitives. Do you understand what that means, Mia? They will hunt us."
"Let them," Mia said coldly, holding up the wire cutters. "Cooper protected me for two years when I was gone. It's my turn to protect him."
Working with frantic, silent speed, Daniel and Mia navigated the dark corridors of the shelter, bypassing the main alarm system using Daniel's master override code. When they reached the quarantine ward, the heavy steel door was chained and padlocked.
Vance hadn't just secured the dog; he had locked him away like a dangerous criminal.
Mia immediately stepped up to the chain, but before she could apply the cutters, a low, agonizing whine echoed from inside the room. It wasn't Cooper’s normal deep bark. It was a choked, breathless gasp.
Daniel slammed his weight against the heavy steel door, throwing it open.
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The scene inside made Daniel’s stomach heave. Cooper was lying flat on his side on the cold tile floor. His golden coat was soaked in sweat, his breathing was shallow and erratic, and a pool of dark, unnatural blood was forming beneath his front paw. A discarded, empty syringe rolled across the floor near an open window.
Vance hadn't just sedated him. Someone had poisoned him.
