Chapter 2 - The Poison and the Politician
"Titan!" I dropped to my knees, abandoning my weapon on the ground beside him.
His eyes were glazed over, his heavy chest heaving in rapid, shallow bursts. Blood and white foam were bubbling at the corner of his mouth. The snake's first strike had hit the leather collar, but a second fang had grazed the exposed skin of his lower jaw just below the throat strap. The deadly neurotoxin was already surging through his vascular system, closing his airway.
"Out of the way!" A hand grabbed my shoulder, violently shoving me backward.
It was the man in the tailored coat. Thomas Sterling—a prominent real estate developer and current candidate for city council. He snatched the crying girl out of my arms, pulling her tightly against his chest while pointing a finger directly into my face.
"You let your wild beast loose on my daughter!" Sterling roared, his face turning purple with rage. "Look at her! She’s hyperventilating! She’s covered in mud and blood!"
"Sir, look at the ground!" I shouted, pointing a trembling hand at the headless snake still twitching near the frisbee. "Your daughter was a fraction of a second away from a fatal bite to the face! My dog took the venom for her!"
Sterling didn't even glance at the dead reptile. He swept his arm toward the surrounding crowd, where twenty people were still holding up smartphones, recording every second.
"I don't care about your bullshit excuses, Officer!" Sterling spat, his voice trembling with political theater. "I saw a vicious attack dog flatten a little girl! My attorneys will have your badge by midnight, and that dangerous animal will be put down before the weekend!"
"He's dying right now!" I yelled, lifting Titan’s limp, ninety-pound frame into my arms. The dog felt terrifyingly heavy, his head flopping uselessly against my chest. "Get out of my way!"
I broke into a dead sprint toward my squad cruiser, pushing past the stunned onlookers who were finally beginning to realize what they had just witnessed. Rain began to mix with the frost, slicking the grass beneath my boots. Every second counted. Centennial Park was at least fifteen minutes from the regional emergency veterinary trauma center, and Titan’s breathing was growing fainter by the mile.
I threw the rear door open, laid Titan gently onto the reinforced back seat, and slammed the door shut. I leaped into the driver’s seat, threw the transmission into drive, and flicked on the red-and-blue lights and siren.
As the engine roared and the tires screeched against the asphalt, my radio crackled with heavy static.
"Unit 214, dispatch," a tense voice chimed over the dashboard speaker. "Officer Vance, break your radio silence immediately."
I hit the push-to-talk button on the steering wheel. "Dispatch, I am en route to Northwest Animal Trauma! Titan has sustained a venomous snake bite in the line of duty! I need them to prepare intravenous antivenom immediately!"
A long pause stretched over the radio frequency. When dispatch came back, it wasn't the regular dispatcher’s voice. It was Captain Harrison—my precinct commander.
"Marcus," Harrison said, his tone cold, flat, and stripped of all camaraderie. "Reroute your vehicle back to the central precinct immediately. Do not proceed to the hospital."
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I stared at the radio, my hands tightening on the steering wheel until my knuckles turned white. "Captain, did you hear me? He took a neurotoxic bite saving a child! He has minutes to live!"
"Thomas Sterling has already contacted the Chief of Police and the Mayor," Harrison replied sternly. "Animal Control has been dispatched under a mandatory seizure order. You will bring that canine to the precinct garage and hand over your credentials, Vance. That is a direct order."
