

Astro's Adventures. Rampaging Rats

by

Susan Day

SMASHWORDS EDITION

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PUBLISHED BY:

Susan Day on Smashwords

Astro's Adventures. Rampaging Rats

Copyright © 2012 by Susan Day

Smashwords Edition License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author's work.

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Astro's Adventures: Rampaging Rats

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The author would like to thank her accountability partner, Georgina Barrot without whose constant nagging this book, like those that came before it, would never have reached completion. And also, her family for patiently putting up with her creating alternative lives for their beloved pets and then talking about them as if they were real.

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to the members of the Cardinia Dog Group who continue to work for their dogs' rights to run off leash. All the dogs depicted in Astro's Adventures live in the township of Pakenham, Australia. They regularly attend the off leash dog walk that Alfie visits. The dogs mentioned in this part of the story are real and are actually great friends with all the characters in this book; although I'm pretty sure they don't know they're secret operatives.

CHAPTER 1

Commander Rocky looked up from the newspaper.

"Any news about Operative Dingo and the rats at the airport?" he asked Hans.

The Dachshund shuffled about on his chair and without looking away from the computer screen responded. "Um, no Commander. He hasn't reported in for several hours."

"Hmmm," Commander Rocky responded absent-mindedly. "Well, I'm sure rats won't be too much of a problem for a rat terrier."

He turned the page of his newspaper and snapped it straight.

"And after yesterday's hectic adventure, I'm sure we all need a good rest. Finding the Golden Treasure and bringing her back here safely was exhausting to say the least."

Just then Sumo knocked at the Commander's door. "Can I come in?" he asked.

"Of course," responded Commander Rocky. "Pull up a chair and make yourself comfortable."

"I need to speak to you, Commander. I'm getting old and I don't think I can do my job properly like I used to."

Commander Rocky leaned forward and listened more intently. "I see," he whispered.

Deep down he knew this day was approaching; the day Sumo would come into his office and have 'the talk'. Sumo had been with The Organisation for sixteen years. He had once been the best operative on the team. However, over the years Sumo's age had crept up on him and he was getting slower and even the smallest task was difficult for the old dog.

"When the puppies ran away from me and drove the bus out of the car park I knew that my best days were behind me and it was time to retire. I know everything worked out well and they helped save the Golden Treasure but what if they'd had an accident? What if just one of them had got hurt?" Sumo shook his head and sighed heavily.

"No one's blaming you for what happened yesterday," Commander Rocky said gently. "The puppies were very head strong and I'm not sure even I could have stopped them. You did your best and, as you say, the mission was a great success in the end."

The two old companions looked at each other from across the desk. Commander Rocky, seeing Sumo's determined expression remained unchanged, sighed and said. "But if you feel you must leave us, then you have to retire."

Then Commander Rocky smiled. "What will you do with yourself now?"

Sumo looked up and out of the window. "I have a friend who lives in a small hut way out in the bush. He has a veranda to sleep on during the morning. An open fire to curl up in front of when it gets chilly and I believe there are rabbits to chase all day in fields of daisies."

"I will miss your wisdom and your calm presence but I understand." Commander Rocky cleared his throat. He lowered his head and held back a tear.

Sumo stood up to leave and held out his paw to Commander Rocky. "I will miss this place too, as mad and crazy as it is, I will miss it a lot!"

Sumo shook the Commander's paw and then he patted Hans on the back. Hans wiped back his tears and snuffled his nose into a handkerchief.

"Well, I had better get packed and be on my way." Sumo shuffled out of the room. "It's a long trip and it might take this old dog a few days to walk there."

"It sounds like you are going to heaven," smiled Commander Rocky imagining Sumo running after rabbits like a young pup. "Doesn't it Hans?"

Hans nodded in agreement and blew his nose. They both stood and watched Sumo leave the room. They both knew that they might never see him again.

Commander Rocky sighed and sat down slowly to read the paper again. Hans returned to his desk. It was his job to get all the reports completed, duplicated, coded and then hidden in an impregnable vault forty three floors under the office he was sitting in. He picked up the picture frame of his beloved wife, Roxy. Soon they were going to have a family of their own.

He sighed again.

All the other dogs in The Organisation were highly trained operatives who went on dangerous missions. Even the new puppy recruits had been embroiled in the rescue of the Golden Treasure and her safe return to headquarters. All he got to do was the filing. He sighed in resignation.

The phone buzzed; it was the front office.

"Yes?" mumbled Hans.

He cocked his head from side to side.

"What?" he asked. "How?"

"That can't be," he exclaimed. "Here?"

Commander Rocky leaned forward and peered at Hans over his newspaper.

"What is it, Hans?" he barked.

"There's a dog downstairs asking to speak to you," said Hans scratching his head.

"Me?" Commander Rocky muttered to himself. "Here?"

"Yes, Here!" answered Hans in surprise.

Both dogs looked at each other for a moment.

Commander Rocky leapt from his chair and burst through the office door.

"We're a top-secret organisation," he muttered to himself, "Hidden behind secret doors; behind a doggy day care centre. Dogs just don't walk off the street and find us!"

The more he talked the faster he walked until he was running down the stairs to the front office.

Standing in the foyer was a black dog with white and tan markings. He was sitting very still and looked very concerned. As soon as he saw Commander Rocky he jumped up and began to quiver with excitement.

The receptionist looked from the strange dog to Commander Rocky and back again. She pushed her glasses back onto her nose and drew in her breath. Nothing like this had ever happened before. The location of The Organisation was secret; no one was supposed to know where it was.

"Commander Rocky?" The shy dog moved quietly forward.

"Yes?" growled Commander Rocky staring fiercely at the young dog. "Who are you and how did you find us?" he demanded.

The young dog looked at the ground. Hans came tottering down the stairs followed by Stella D'oro.

"I had a dream," the dog explained. He looked up and smiled at Stella D'oro. Even though she was blind she smiled back and nodded.

"A dream?" asked Commander Rocky, "What about?"

"Well," the young dog cleared his throat, "that you and the other dogs would help me find my human boy. Stella D'oro showed me how to get here."

"What??" grumbled Commander Rocky.

"It's true," Stella D'oro said moving forward.

"But why?" demanded Commander Rocky angrily, "You know we are a covert organisation and no one is supposed to know where to find us."

"Yes, but he needs our help," Stella D'oro explained.

She nodded towards the young dog, smiling with encouragement. "Go on. Tell the Commander why you're here."

"Well, my human boy has been taken away and turned into a monster. I don't know what to do and I need some help. All puppies are taught about The Organisation and how it helps and protects us. He is a very nice little boy and I would really like him back," the dog explained.

Commander Rocky cleared his throat, "Yes, but we don't help humans. They have their own people to help them. Why don't you go home and let his parents find him."

"Because this boy different," interrupted Stella D'oro. "This young dog and I used to share a home together. The boy that's gone missing is very dear to me and I sense that something awful has happened to him."

She turned and faced Commander Rocky, "I sent this young dog directions where to find us. I think this is something The Organisation should do."

She stared at him for a second and Commander Rocky had to look away.

Stella D'oro was a small golden Cocker Spaniel and she was blind. But she had special powers that no one understood and no one questioned. These powers had saved many dogs and she was able read minds and see into the future. And while she only looked young it was reported that she was many many years older than any other dog still living. Commander Rocky knew he had no choice.

"Alright," he sighed. "Let's hear what's happened and I'll see what I can do."

He turned to the young dog and asked, "What's your name?"

"Stop It," the young dog replied.

"Pardon?" asked Commander Rocky a bit taken back. "Stop what?"

"Stop It," the young dog nodded eagerly.

Commander Rocky turned his head and leaned forward threateningly.

"What?" he growled. He thought the dog was making fun of him.

The young dog smiled.

"Stop it. That's my name!"

"Really?" questioned Commander Rocky. He stood up straight. "Are you sure?"

Stop It nodded enthusiastically. "Yep, that's what they call me! I hear it all the time; when I'm inside the house; when I'm in the garden; when I'm going for a walk... Stop It, Stop It, Stop it!!"

There was a very heavy pause. Commander Rocky, Hans and the receptionist were all staring at Stop It quite dumbfounded.

Stella D'oro cleared her throat and then suggested, "Well, Commander Rocky, shall we get started?"

"Oh," Stop It pulled a note from the inside of his collar, "I found this when my boy went missing."

He handed the piece of paper to Commander Rocky.

"It's a departure tag from the airport," he looked at it and handed it to Hans. "Get it to forensics for an examination."

Hans carefully took it in his paws and trotted away.

"Oh, and Hans," called out Commander Rocky, "Assemble the Operatives for a briefing."

He turned to Stop It. "Follow me, ummm, Stop It. We'll soon get to the bottom of this."

The Commander then looked at Stella D'oro who was smiling broadly and shook his head in disbelief and thought to himself. 'A dog just shows up at our secret headquarters and wants us to find his boy. We save dogs who are not being looked after, not lost boys!'

Stella D'oro continued to look at him. "Now, now, Commander Rocky," she whispered to him. "You'll have to trust me on this one."

Commander Rocky jumped. He'd forgotten that she could read minds.

CHAPTER 2

The Operatives were assembled in the Conference Room. Operative Alfie was uncharacteristically sitting up straight and wasn't banging on the table looking for biscuits. Operative Indy, the self-defence and commando expert, was sitting with her paws crossed. Operative Digger, the tunnelling expert, was sitting cross legged filing his nails. Operative Astro, the newest recruit, sat waiting patiently.

The doors slid open roughly; one stopped half way and Commander Rocky had to bang his paw on it to make it open all the way. As he walked into the Conference room, he shot a menacing glare at Operative Alfie.

Some time ago Operative Alfie had rammed his head into the doors so hard they bent out of shape. No one had been able to straighten them and they banged and scraped each time they opened and closed. Behind the Commander, Stop It and Stella D'oro followed quietly.

Stop It was flabbergasted. He had heard stories of The Organisation but never believed it could be so enthralling. He began to quiver with excitement. Commander Rocky resumed his position at the head of the table and pointed to a chair next to him. Stop It tried to sit on it but he fidgeted too much and he kept slipping off. Stella D'oro sat on the other side of Commander Rocky.

"You have been called in today, Operatives, to help find this young dog's boy."

The Operatives murmured to themselves. Commander Rocky could see they were puzzled.

"Yes, I know. We are not in the business of saving humans, but Stella D'oro insists on it."

Stella D'oro cleared her throat and nodded to Stop It. "Let our young friend tell them what has happened."

Commander Rocky turned to Stop It.

"This is, hmmm," he leaned in closely to Stop It and whispered, "Are you sure that's your proper name? Your house name?"

Stop It nodded eagerly, "Oh, yes, it's all I ever hear!"

Commander Rocky nodded and sighed.

"Well, this is Stop It and..."

A ripple of laughter went around the room, interrupting the Commander. Rocky stamped his paw on the table and it stopped immediately.

"Yes, it's an unusual name," continued Commander Rocky shrugging his shoulders.

He turned to Stop It.

"Go ahead," Commander Rocky said to him.

Stop It stood up slowly. He was quivering as he began to stutter out his story.

A few days ago, he was playing with his boy in their yard when there was an awful commotion coming from the front of the house. Stop It loved his family very much and wanted to protect them so he rushed around the front of the house barking wildly. Every dog knows that it is very important to protect your family and bark to warn them when something is wrong. When Stop It got to the front of the house there was nothing there. He stayed there for a few more minutes barking at nothing and, feeling that he'd done his job, returned to the back yard. Sadly, he had been tricked. His human boy was missing and there was a huge hole in the back fence.

Immediately Stop It ran through the hole and barked and barked. Behind his back fence was a busy road. He ran up and down the road barking but couldn't figure out which way they went. He put his nose to the ground and could smell cats, rats and airplane fuel but they didn't lead in one single direction.

In desperation he ran down the road. His heart was thumping and the wind stung his eyes. But he didn't stop; he just ran and ran. What else could he have done? He only had one boy and he was very fond of him. If anything happened to him his little doggy heart would be broken.

All the Operatives listened carefully. Operative Digger wiped a tear out of the corner of his eye and Operative Indy glared at him in disdain. She was a hardened operative that had never known a family, but Digger had cherished memories of his first human family and even though they were gone deep down inside he still missed them.

"In the foyer you said your human had been turned into a monster. How do you know this?" asked Stella D'oro patiently prompting Stop It to continue his story.

"Later on that day, I saw it on the television; huge giant monsters crashing and banging around destroying everything in their path. It was very strange because on the front of each one was the emblem of The Organisation," continued Stop It.

Commander Rocky and the Operatives jumped to their feet in shocked outrage. They began talking at once; all except Alfie, he sat still not moving a muscle.

"What?" Commander Rocky exclaimed.

"The Organisation? Monsters? What does this mean?" gasped Operative Astro.

Stop It shrugged his shoulders. "I saw it clearly on the television. All the dogs have seen it. They think The Organisation has turned against the humans. Some of the dogs don't believe it but most are really confused."

While the Organisation had been established to save dogs that had been mistreated, it would never destroy the human world. What would be the point? Who would buy all that delicious dog food and take the dogs to the park? Every dog deserves a good family.

"How do you know your human was one of these monsters?" continued Stella D'oro calmly.

The rest of the Operatives stopped and waited for Stop It's response.

He nervously twitched from one side to the next.

"The tag from the airport luggage I found. That's where the monsters were. I am not really sure if he is a monster but I sort of guessed it. I'm not very smart but I know The Organisation wouldn't hurt humans. It's just not possible."

The others all looked at each other; they were very worried.

"Also," continued Stop It, "When the cameras zoomed close in on one of the monsters you could see the symbol of The Organisation peeling off. Behind it was some sort of label for cat food."

Commander Rocky turned to Operative Indy. "Where's Dingo?" he asked.

"He's chasing rats at the airport," she said slowly. She tilted her head to one side, "I know you said to go and help him but I hate rats and I thought he'd cope."

Commander Rocky turned back to Stop It. "These monsters are they at the City Airport?"

Stop It nodded, "Oh yes, right here in town."

Commander Rocky raised an eyebrow. "Are these monsters shaped like rats by any chance?"

"Oh you've seen them!" exclaimed Stop It, "Yes! Just like rats, giant metal rats!"

CHAPTER 3

Stella D'oro and Commander Rocky were astonished. Operative Dingo had returned from an overseas post and he had called from the City Airport to say there were rats everywhere. Being a rat terrier no one had thought much about it. He loved rats; he spent a lot of time with them. Stop It's story, however, gave Operative Dingo's report a whole new, more ominous meaning.

Commander Rocky took a deep breath and hit a large red button on the table in front of him. Within seconds Hans the dachshund scurried into the room.

"What is it, Sir?" he asked. He looked around the room and could tell something really bad had happened by the shocked looks on the Operatives' faces.

"Hans," said Commander Rocky seriously, "a terrible thing is happening and we're going to have to stop it."

Stop It jumped up, "Yes?"

"No, not you," Commander Rocky snapped. "Hans, call in every member of The Organisation, every cleric, every floor sweeper, we're going to need every dog we can lay our paws on! And, find out why we haven't heard from Operative Dingo."

Hans left the room immediately.

Stella D'oro raised her paws silently. The Operatives immediately stopped muttering to each other and instead, sat down calmly.

Stella turned to Commander Rocky. "What do you make of the cat food labels?" she asked him.

"I'm not sure," he answered, "But if you ask me, it sounds very suspicious!"

Hans came flying back into the room. "Sir, Sir," he bellowed, "The communications are down. We can't get through to any dog; not even Operative Dingo."

"How can that be? We have the most secure, impenetrable communication system in the world. It's ex-NASA!" Commander Rocky exclaimed.

"I don't know," said Hans, "It seems that there is something jamming our system. We can't contact any of the dogs through their microchips and we can't contact our Operatives out in the field including Dingo."

Stella D'oro closed her eyes and sat meditating. She had the ability to speak to animals telepathically. She hummed to increase her concentration and the room went quiet.

"It's all a bit blurry," Stella frowned in concentration, "but I can see Operative Dingo. He's in a lot of trouble. The monsters are destroying the airport. People are running around screaming. It's horrible!" She gasped.

"We have to get there immediately," said Commander Rocky. "And we'll have to get word out that The Organisation is not trying to destroy the human world."

"I will send each of you to a different part of the country and you will tell all of the dogs you meet to spread the word that The Organisation is going to stop these monsters and save the people. We are going to restore the important relationship that has existed for thousands of years between humans and their dogs. We will not let these monsters stop us from getting treats, trips to the park and walkies." Commander Rocky thumped his paws on the table.

"Stella D'oro and I will go and save Operative Dingo and get to the bottom of this disaster," he continued.

The Operatives all nodded and agreed this was a good plan.

"What about me?" asked Stop It. "Can I help?"

Commander Rocky nodded. "The only dogs that can now stop these terrible creatures and get to the bottom of this terrible situation are sitting in the room now. If we can't get in contact with any other dog we're going to need all the help we can get."

Then Commander Rocky looked around the room. The terrible news had shaken him but he was a confident leader and he soon composed himself. He took in a deep breath and then he noticed Alfie.

In all the fuss no one had noticed that he hadn't moved. His biscuits had remained untouched. This was very unusual.

Digger noticed Commander Rocky staring at Alfie. He leaned close to Alfie, shooting a backward glance at Commander Rocky who was now glaring at Alfie. "What are you doing!" he whispered in a stern voice.

Alfie answered him out of the corner of his mouth, "Shhh Digger, I'm winning."

"What are you talking about?" Digger asked nervously.

"Over there, on the wall," Alfie sat ridged as a statue, rolling his eyes to indicate the spot on the wall.

"What?" Digger was really confused.

"The fly," continued Alfie, "Over there on the wall. We're having a staring contest."

He leaned closer to Digger and whispered. "Shhh, I'm winning."

All of a sudden there was a loud thud. Commander Rocky was standing next to the wall with a roll of papers in his paws. The fly flew off, dazed and confused.

Alfie jumped from his trance. "So did I miss anything?" he smiled broadly.

CHAPTER 4

Commander Rocky and Stella D'oro prepared for their mission. They were watching news footage of the carnage at City Airport when Hans entered the room.

He cleared his throat nervously. "Umm, Sir," he spoke to Commander Rocky.

"What?" grumbled Commander Rocky under his breath.

"Do you think I could, umm, perhaps come along? On the mission that is?"

Commander Rocky spun around and answered abruptly. "No."

"Oh, Sir," pleaded the tiny dachshund. "I wouldn't be any trouble and I so want to go out and help save all the other dogs like you and the other Operatives. You are prepared to send Stop It!"

Rocky drew in a deep breath. "Hans," he explained patiently. "I cannot send you for two reasons. One, your deciphering and communication skills are sorely needed here. And two, Roxy, your wife, would kill me. Imagine if something happened to you and she's ready to give pup?"

Commander Rocky patted Hans on the shoulder. "Sorry mate; maybe next time. Here are my written orders for the Operatives. See that they get them and they are explained clearly."

Hans took the envelope but his shoulders sagged.

Stella D'oro smiled and said, "It won't be long now, Hans, and you'll see that Commander Rocky is right."

They both left the room and Hans, although disappointed sensed Commander Rocky had a point. 'Roxy will certainly need me when it is time for the puppies to arrive even though it's weeks away.'

Then he stopped and sniffed at the air. 'Funny,' he thought to himself. 'I'm sure I can smell newly born puppies. Isn't that strange?'

Just then the Operatives burst into the room eager to receive their briefing.

"Take a seat, you lot," directed Hans. "Commander Rocky has given me your orders."

Hans brought up a map on the video screen and began to allocate certain areas to each of the Operatives.

Operative Digger would go to the heart of the city of Sydney. As the biggest city in Australia it was important that they get word to all the dogs there.

"In a couple of days there will be a parade through the streets of Sydney to celebrate the bond humans have with their dogs. It will be your responsibility to attend this parade and join in, Operative Digger. There will be television and newspaper photographers there. This way The Organisation will reach as many dogs as possible," instructed Hans.

"Oh, I can't wait!" exclaimed Operative Digger. "I haven't been to Sydney for years! I'll be able to catch up with all the lads I knew from boarding school!"

And with that, he hopped up and trotted out of the room briskly.

Hans turned to Operative Alfie, "You will go to the suburbs of Melbourne where there are lots of dog parks. It will be your mission to blend in with all the other dogs and spread the word. Is that clear, Alfie?"

"Oh boy! Dog parks are my favourite. I can run and run and run. When can I leave?" Alfie barked excitedly.

"The sooner the better," answered Hans. He had no sooner finished his sentence before the doors banged loudly as Alfie's head passed through them.

Operative Indy stood up straight. She was impatient. She didn't want to be left behind. "Where am I to go?"

"You're off to the rugged north; to the tropical jungles. It'll be rough and dangerous, Operative Indy," warned Hans, "But Commander Rocky seems to think you can manage it."

"Manage it? Manage it? It'll be so easy. Will there be snakes?" she asked Hans.

"Yes, I suppose so," he answered.

"And wild crocodiles?"

"Yes, I would think so."

"And raging buffalo with horns that could split a dog with one swift thrust?"

Hans cleared the lump out of his throat. "Well, I suppose," he voice faulted. He was feeling a little scared now.

"You beauty!" screamed Indy. "I'm off!!"

And with that she strode out of the door, one paw on her hunting bone and the other on her smell grenade. Hans wasn't sure but he thought he could hear an evil chuckle as she left the room.

"Ah, Operative Astro," Hans continued. "You will travel all the way across this great land to the western plains where the sea meets the city. It's spread out so you'll have to travel across the vast fields of flowers, through the salt plains and along some of the most rugged yet beautiful coastline in the world."

"I can't wait," Operative Astro said, smiling as he left the room.

Hans looked at the map. "OK, Stop It," he said, "You'll have to go to the deserts in Central Australia."

Stop It smiled blankly. Hans smiled back.

"You have no idea where that is, do you?" Hans asked still smiling.

Stop It shook his head. "Nope!" he smiled back at Hans and tilted his head to one side. "But I wanna go!"

Hans bit his bottom lip and thought about it for a second. He showed Stop It where they were located on the map and where Central Australia was. He pointed out that there were several cities on the way and a few deserts. He wanted to show Stop It that it was a very long way away from Melbourne.

Stop It tilted his head the other way and lifted up his paw. He squinted and said, "It doesn't look that far. It's only three paw widths away."

Hans looked at him. "I tell you want I'm going to do," he said. "I will make sure operations give you a sat nav; a GPS tracking device. I will program it myself and all you have to do is listen to the nice lady's voice and she will tell you which way to go. How does that sound?"

"Great!" yelped Stop It. "What's a sat nav?"

Hans was about to further but his d- phone went off in his pocket. It was an urgent message from home.

"What could that be about?" he mumbled to himself but then dismissed it from his mind. "Come on, Stop It, let's get you sorted." he called absently over his shoulder as he left the room.

CHAPTER 5

When Commander Rocky and Stella D'oro reached the airport a lot of damage had already been done by the monsters.

The monsters looked like giant rats and they were made out of metal. They had shiny red eyes, ears that twitched and long metal tails that clanged noisily from side to side, sweeping away anything that was in their path. The metal rats growled and snarled fiercely and bared terrible metal teeth.

Each rat had the emblem of The Organisation stuck to its large belly. Some were lifting off and there was something else underneath. Stop It had been right.

They had smashed up the desks, the chairs and the snack machines. People were hiding behind up-turned tables too frightened to leave. The monsters had smashed through doors and windows.

One had fallen over on the escalator and was thrashing about wildly trying to get up. Commander Rocky had an idea. He grabbed a huge banner from a nearby display and ran over to stop the beast from getting up. Quickly he tied its back legs together. Then he ran back and pulled down another banner and tied its front legs together. The monster thrashed about and made an ear-piercing squeal. It wouldn't settle and looked like it was going to tear up the banners with its brute strength. It lifted up its head and gnashed at Commander Rocky. He leapt onto the hand rails to escape its scissor like teeth. The monster then began to bash its head repeatedly on the escalator steps. As well as, the terrible noise it was making, Commander Rocky was sure he could hear a small child crying.

Stella D'oro took herself off to a quiet cupboard under the main switchboard. She sat crossed legged and began to hum to herself. As she did, she lifted an inch off the ground. She was able to take her mind out and float above the carnage of the City Airport. She called to Operative Dingo as she did.

She travelled in spirit through the airport, floating over the shops and restaurants. She flew past the duty free shops calling for Dingo. She was about to give up when she spotted him just near the baggage claim desk.

She called to him again but he wasn't able to hear her. He was sitting cross legged and was making a loud squealing noise. Stella had to almost shout to be heard over it.

"Operative Dingo! Are you hurt in anyway?" She yelled.

He popped his eyes open and looked around.

"Stella D'oro, is that you?" he whispered. "Where are you? I can't see you?"

"I'm floating above you. You won't be able to see me. Are you ok?"

"Yes," answered Operative Dingo, "I was just trying to communicate with these rats but they are not responding like normal rats do. Usually just one squeak and I can get their full attention. This is most unusual."

"They're not real rats," Stella D'oro explained. "They're mechanical monsters."

"That explains a lot!" cried Operative Dingo. "Which reminds me; where has everyone been? I have been asking for help for hours and hours. No one came. What's going on?"

"All the communications are down," explained Stella D'oro. "We couldn't reach you either."

"But how?" questioned Operative Dingo. "I thought it was ex-NASA?"

"We're not sure, but we think it has something to do with this disaster," Stella D'oro said. "Have you noticed anything suspicious?"

Operative Dingo stopped and thought about it for a second. Then he screwed up his face. "What apart from giant rats destroying an airport with The Organisation's logo on the front of their tummies? No, apart from that, everything else seems normal!"

"Point taken," sighed Stella D'oro. "Commander Rocky needs you at the escalators. Run quickly!"

And with that Operative Dingo sped off darting between crashing walls and falling advertising banners. When he found Commander Rocky he was lying on his stomach under the escalators. He wasn't moving.

"Oh, Commander Rocky!" cried Operative Dingo, "You're dead! I'm too late. Too late!" And with that he began to sob uncontrollably.

"Shhh!" growled Commander Rocky, "I'm listening!"

Operative Dingo being a well-bred rat terrier was a little taken back. "Oh, I see," he stood up straight and composed himself. He was the one with giant bat-like ears who could send and receive ultrasonic noises. "Can I help?" he suggested.

Commander Rocky sat up and brushed the dust from his black coat. "Let me explain," he said, "When I was tying up that monster up there on the escalator I could hear a child crying. We're not only here to stop these monsters but a dog came to the Doggy Day care centre and requested we find his human boy."

"But we don't find humans," stated Dingo.

"I know, but Stella D'oro insisted. As it happens, there seems to be a link between the missing boy and these monsters but I'm not sure what."

Operative Dingo jumped up on top of the monster and tore off the emblem of The Organisation. "Wow! Look at this," he declared.

Commander Rocky jumped up next to him. The beast had stopped thrashing about and was lying still. Under the logo was a picture of a fluffy white cat enjoying its dinner. It said, 'A Happy Cat is a Tidem's Cat!'

Operative Dingo and Commander Rocky looked at each other puzzled.

"The whole machine seems to be made from cat food tins," said Commander Rocky. "Look, the body is several tins stitched together."

"And the arms and legs are tins too," said Dingo exploring the limp beast.

"Stop!" yelled Commander Rocky, "Can you hear that?"

Sure enough there was the faint sound of a child crying.

Dingo twisted his head around to one side, adjusting his big ears to get a better idea of where it was coming from.

"Commander Rocky," he said gingerly, "I think it's coming from inside the monster?"

"What?" asked Commander Rocky, "A child's trapped inside? You don't think they're eating children do you?"

"I don't know but I think we better get the child out," suggested Operative Dingo.

"You've got rat like teeth," said Commander Rocky. "Gnaw your way through but be careful. If this is our missing child I don't want him going home with dog bites."

Just then a deep voice boomed throughout the airport. "Listen up all you people. We, the dogs of the world, are sick of your walkies and your horrid liver treats. We have had enough! We are going to destroy your world and take over! Long live freedom! Long live Dog Domination!!" The voice let out a hideous, loud, evil cry that filled the airport and made everyone stop in their tracks.

Commander Rocky, Operative Dingo and Stella D'oro all gasped. The announcement would surely destroy the relationship between dogs and people that had lasted thousands of years. What could they do now?

CHAPTER 6

Cleverly disguised as a French artist, Operative Digger travelled to Sydney by train. He then headed immediately for King's Cross. His first stop was Club Canine, where he hoped to run into some of his contacts from the old days.

Operative Digger slipped down a cobblestone alleyway and approached a grey metal door. He gently gave it the secret knock and held his breath. It creaked opened and a large dark face peeked through the gap.

"Who is it," the dark face grumbled.

"Tell Franz, it's Digger-rific," Digger nodded knowingly.

The door shut quickly but only seconds later it flew open and Operative Digger found himself in the embrace of a large Saint Bernard.

"Oh, Diggies! How we have missed you at da cross!"

Digger loosened himself from the large dog's grip and patted him on the arms.

"Yes, it has been sometime," smiled Digger.

"What are you doing here? Have you come back to us for good, my Diggies?" the Saint Bernard asked coyly.

"No, I'm on a mission," declared Digger soberly. "It's important Franz that I get a float in the Doggy Day parade. I have a message to get out to all the dogs of Sydney. I'm afraid I'm going to need your help."

"Of course! Of course!" cried Franz. "Anythings for our little Digger-rific!"

He leaned closer to Digger. "Is it about that unfortunate business at City Airport?" he whispered.

Operative Digger nodded.

"Many of our friends here at da cross where destined to go to the Check Out: Dat terrible place where doggies are sent but never return. They have not forgotten how The Organisation saved them. You need not worry, my Diggs, you have lots of friends here," Franz reassured Digger.

Then he turned to the large dark Newfoundland that was blocking the doorway. "Shoo, shoo, you brute. Go and tell da others that Diggies is back and we are going to help hims with his little mission."

He turned back to Operative Digger, "Now, my little friend. Come inside and tell me what exactly it is that you wants from us." He clapped his large paws together. "Oh, exciting! A secret mission! Da boys will be soooo excited!"

Operative Digger sat down on the edge of the leopard patterned couch. He looked down at it and smiled. 'Some things never change,' he thought to himself. On the trip up he had made notes and diagrams and he needed Franz to understand exactly what he needed him to do. Franz was a large gentle dog with a heart the size of Australia but he was not so great on details.

Franz sat next down next to Operative Digger. "We need a float, Franz," Digger started slowly. "A large impressive one: One that will grab the attention of the media. We need television cameras and press photographers to take pictures so that the message is spread as far as possible."

"Hmm, I see," he mumbled to himself. "I think I have the perfects ideas for youse! I will call in a few favours, 'specially for you, my Diggs."

He pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialled it quickly.

"Yes! Hellos my darlinks! Franz here. I'll need the builder dogs to come to my club now. Tell dem it's urgent."

He snapped the phone shut. "Dare, I'll make da fruit punches while we wait and you can tell me all about your little plans. I thinks we should have two cherries on tops to celebrate your home comings, Diggs!"

It didn't take long for Operative Digger to explain to Franz what had happened.

"And dey are still there, fighting dese terrible monsters?" Franz asked.

Just then there was a loud rap on the door.

"Comes in if you're good looking!" cooed Franz.

The builders came in. They were a rough looking bunch of Kelpies. One by one they shook Digger's paw. They had calloused paws from working hard and were very strong.

Operative Digger gave them his notes. They checked a few details but seemed to understand the task at hand very well.

"Come on then," barked the largest dog. "Let's get started. We've only got till morning. The parade's tomorrow."

"I'll go with them and help out," said Operative Digger. "We're going to need all the help we can get."

"Yes. Yes," agreed Franz. "We will all go and help. I'm sure it will be lots of fun too!"

Outside in the street at every corner and on every post, Operative Digger lifted his leg. Franz was a bit upset by this.

"Diggies," he whispered. "Is it necessary for you to relieve yourself all over da town? It is a bit rude don't you thinks?"

"Have to," quipped Digger. "With all communications down all we have left is the old fashioned pee-mail. I'm afraid I have to get the message out however I can."

He ran ahead and lifted his leg on the letterbox knowing any dog that passed would smell it and understand its meaning straight away.

"Oh, I see," Franz thought about it for a minute. "Then I shalls help you, Diggies!"

And with that he trotted up and down the street lifting his leg on all the buildings and shops he could.

The workshop was only a few streets away so it didn't take long to get there. It was a big empty warehouse. Quickly the builders got to work assembling wooden frames over the axles of an old truck.

Operative Digger went from side to side and from corner to corner inspecting their work. The builders were very fast and whipped up the frame and the sides in just a matter of hours. The next thing Digger knew ladders were being dragged towards the float and they were splashing undercoat up and down the sides.

Franz was having a great time. He was wearing a large pair of white overalls which were covered in paint already. He was a heavy dog so the building crew wouldn't let him climb the ladders. Instead, he was given the task of painting the wheels and the underside of the float.

"Doesn't it look fabulous?" Franz waved a paint brush in the air. "Diggies have you decided which shade of pink you want the float?"

"I might leave that to you," Digger conceded. "You were always better with tones and shades than I was."

Operative Digger quickly hopped up a ladder to inspect the statues being created on top of the float. There were two dogs; one larger than the other. The larger one represented The Organisation the other, all the dogs of the world. The larger dog had its arm around the smaller one and its other paw had the thumbs up sign. Around the float the following message was being painted:

The Organisation is every dog's best friend; making sure you get lots of treats, runs in the park and a warm bed to sleep in at night.

"It's wonderful," cried Digger. "You guys are pure genius!"

He called out to Franz. "Hey Franz, what do you think of the message?"

Franz came out of the office brandishing colour charts. He put his paws on his head and yelped loudly.

"Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness! It is fabulous, Diggies! I love it! But isn't The Organisation supposed to be secret from da humans?"

"Yes, but this writing is in code. Only dogs will be able to read it and understand it," answered Operative Digger. "When the humans see it all they will see is, Feed Your Dog Destiny Canned Food!"

Franz waved the colour charts back at Operative Digger. "Youse are too clevers for me, Diggies! Now, I have to choose a colour. There's so many shades of pink to choose from! Who'd have thought it would be so tricky?"

Operative Digger smiled and nodded and he had good reason to. The float looked wonderful and it would surely attracted lots of attention. He hopped down and began to take photographs with his d-phone.

"Diggies!" exclaimed Franz. "At last I've found just the right colour! See dis. What do youse think?"

"It's nice," said Operative Digger thoughtfully. "I like it."

Then he posted the images he had just taken of the float to facebook and dogtree with this message: To all the dogs of Australia, The Organisation is here to help you and will always honour the wonderful relationship you have with your owners.

With The Organisation's communication network down, using a social media site was the only way Operative Digger could get a message back to Hans at headquarters. It was a great idea. Within ten minutes, Digger's post had 4 comments and 32 likes.

CHAPTER 7

Operative Indy had the longest journey of them all. She hitched a ride on the back of a large interstate truck that ran at 12 hour intervals. It was an excellent choice. Cattle dogs, such as Indy, were often kept in steel crates under trucks and were a common sight all over the Australian landscape. The truck rumbled and jerked along the road, shaking the small blue heeler from side to side.

'Why do I always end up in some sort of box?' Indy muttered to herself. She remembered the humiliation of being dressed as a cat and stuffed in a cat carrier on their last assignment.

Nonetheless, she used the opportunity to practise being able to mentally take herself away and learn to be calm. It was important in her line of work that she learns not to let pain or discomfort distract her from what she was required to do.

When the truck pulled to a jarring halt, Operative Indy leapt out; a quick roll in the dirt to clean her fur and she trotted off into the bush. She set herself a steady pace and didn't stop until night fall. She was in Northern Queensland but had a long journey in front of her. She had already spent three days in the truck and there was another two days ahead of her. She had to cover these last days on foot because of the rough terrain.

"This is much better than sitting around in an office," Indy smiled to herself and whacked a yellow bellied brown snake on the head with her hunting bone. It slithered away dazed and dizzy.

Meanwhile on a country train on the other side of the city, Operative Astro sat dressed in a suit with a large black hat pulled over this head and a brief case tucked between his legs. He was very uncomfortable but passing himself as a business man was a clever way to travel across the country and not be detected.

The journey had gone very smoothly until a small child who had been asleep sat up and rubbed its eyes. It squinted and yawned and then it saw Astro. It stared curiously at him and Astro looked away. He didn't want to draw attention to himself but the child wouldn't stop. In the end, it moved closer to him and stood in front of him motionless apart from the gentle rocking of the train.

"You're a very hairy man," the child declared rudely.

Astro shot a sideways glance to see if anyone was looking. Then he slowly lifted up his top lip and revealed his large, white sharp teeth. Then he let out a low deep growl. The child promptly fainted. People went to his aid and Astro was able to slip away unnoticed. Thankfully the train slowed and he got off at the next station.

Making his way through the city of Perth was difficult. It was a hectic afternoon and the streets were cluttered with pedestrians, traffic and the usual hustle and bustle. Operative Astro ducked and wove his way to the taxi rank. As he darted past an electrical store something caught his eye and he stopped and took two paces back. They were showing the carnage and wreckage from Melbourne's City Airport. People were standing there watching and shaking their heads in disbelief.

"I knew dogs would turn," one man said.

"I can't believe it," an old woman said. "My Daisy is as good as gold."

"Just you wait," nodded another woman. "You can see the amount of trouble they're causing. I'm just glad I own cats!"

Operative Astro shuddered. It looked bad; really bad. He was about to resume his mission when something caught his eye on the television screen. In the background he could see one of the giant rat monsters lying on its back on an escalator. He wasn't sure but he thought he could see Operative Dingo biting and tearing at it. Then the camera shot away to another scene of terror.

"Commander Rocky must be there with Dingo," he thought out loud to himself. "They are trying to stop those terrible creatures. I must do something to help them but what?" He scratched his hairy head for a few seconds. "I know!"

He moved carefully behind the crowd and in a strange voice said, "Oh dogs are great animals. There must be more to this than meets the eye?"

Then he stepped to the side as the people turned to see who was talking. Standing behind someone else he said, "It's a trick. Dogs have been man's best friend for thousands of years!" And again, he stepped away without being seen. But the people heard him and some were nodding in agreement. They knew what he said was true but the images were so compelling it was hard not to believe what they were seeing.

'This is about all I can do here,' he thought and he went on his way. He hailed a taxi and ordered the driver to take him to the local airport.

Meanwhile back in Melbourne, Operative Alfie had no trouble finding open parks where dogs were playing; there were thousands. His approach was simple and effective. He would wait until the owners were distracted and a group of dogs were playing together. Then he'd launch himself into the fray and jump about wildly.

"Hey you guys! Guess what?" Alfie barked at them. "I'm a secret agent and I've got some great news for you!"

Then he'd see a stick and pick it up and run away with it. Looking back over his shoulder, he called, "C'mon, c'mon, chase me!!"

All the dogs set off after him. Their owners just saw them barking and chasing a large black dog but that's because they didn't understand what the dogs were saying.

"Who are you?"

"Are you really a spy?

"Where are you going with my stick?"

Alfie stopped and turned around. "I'm Operative Alfie from The Organisation," he introduced himself proudly. He dropped into a play bow and barked. "Listen up. You've probably heard about the giant rats at the City Airport but I'm here to tell you it's a setup, a trick, it's all a big lie! Someone or something is trying to make us dogs look bad!"

The dogs all gasped in horror. "I knew it," snuffled a little Pekinese.

"Yes," continued Alfie, "The Organisation is there now stopping those terrible rats and finding out who is really behind this."

"Buts so manys peoples believes what dey sees on the television," whined a Schnauzer.

"Yes, what are we to do?" croaked a Bulldog.

"Two things, canines ," commanded Operative Alfie his chest puffed out in pride. "Firstly, you are all commissioned by The Organisation as special sub-agents to go around and tell all the other dogs what you know."

The other dogs yelped with excitement. They liked the sound of being asked to work for The Organisation.

"Secondly, be extra good to your owners," said Alfie. "There will be no chasing the cat."

"Oh!" moaned a Golden Retriever.

"And no chewing up slippers or any other kind of footwear."

"Oh no!" complained a tiny Chihuahua.

"And," Alfie leaned forward for added emphasis. "There will be no peeing on the rug, the mat or anywhere inside!"

All the dogs let out an exclamation of disappointment!

"I know," Alfie nodded in agreement, "It's tough but it has to be done. It's for the good of all of us. We just can't have people believing that dogs are turning against them."

"How longs does we have to endure dese awful hardships?" grumbled the Schnauzer.

"Not long," reassured Alfie, "Probably until the day after tomorrow." He nodded thoughtfully.

And while it really wasn't a very long time, for an animal that ages seven years for every one of ours, it was the equivalent of months.

Operative Alfie had noticed that the dogs' owners were looking curiously towards them. The dogs were all standing around a big black dog that didn't seem to have an owner and were barking at him one at a time. It must have looked very odd indeed.

"Now, let's get back to some games!" Operative Alfie took them on a merry chase ten times around the park. Only one dog was able to keep up with him and Alfie suspected she was a greyhound. All the other dogs collapsed on the grass with their tongues lolling from the side of their mouths.

'Mission accomplished!' smiled Alfie to himself and with that he slipped quietly behind a tree and made his way to the next park.

Once there, he waited until the owners were distracted and the dogs were playing together. Then he again launched himself into the fray and jumped about wildly.

CHAPTER 8

As Operative Dingo chewed and gnawed on the giant rat, Commander Rocky had an idea.

"There are television cameras everywhere," he told Dingo. "I'm going to show them that The Organisation is not behind this."

He ran off and found the nearest giant rat. It was yelling and growling and waving its arms around madly. Commander Rocky stood in front of it and barked loudly. It stopped and looked at him and then roared louder again.

"Follow me," barked Commander Rocky and he ran off. The giant monster lunged forward, bending down to try and grab him with its huge claws.

Commander Rocky darted out of its way and ran down the passage way. "This way," he coaxed it under his breath. He jumped from side to side to get its attention. It got madder and madder and louder and louder; swaying its huge body backwards and forwards and baring its sharp metal teeth.

He looked over his shoulder. He had nearly lured the monster to the top of the escalators. He called down to Operative Dingo, "Get out of the way!" Then he dashed forward and barked at the monster. It lurched forward and grabbed at him. He wasn't quick enough to get out of its way and Commander Rocky lost a large tuft of black fur from his behind.

"Phew. That was close!" he muttered under his breath. "Now, to say good-bye to you!"

He dashed between its metal legs and jumped up with his front paws and pushed the metal giant down the escalator. It tripped and stumbled and let out an ear-splitting screech as it crashed forward. The whole building shook as it smashed down next to the other monster. Unable to get up, the monster thrashed its arms and legs in the air. It had very sharp claws and it was very difficult to get close.

Commander Rocky tore down another banner and quickly wove it around the creature's arms then its legs. It looked like a trussed pig, unable to get up. It stopped moving and slowly went limp.

Commander Rocky jumped onto its chest and pawed madly at the label. Sure enough it scraped off quickly and underneath was evidence that it had been made of cat food tins.

"Dingo!" bellowed Commander Rocky, "Where are you?"

Operative Dingo crept out from under a fallen soft drink machine. "Just here," he said a little shaken. In all of his years of service, he had never seen anything like that before!

"Look. This one's the same," Commander Rocky pointed out. They both stood on top of the monster. In all the noise they could hear another child crying. The dogs looked at each other. Operative Dingo tilted his head from side to side.

"It's a different child," he said, "About three months older and possibly a girl this time."

Commander Rocky looked at him in surprise. "You can tell all that from here?"

"They don't call me 'bat-ears' for nothing!" Operative Dingo nodded.

"I'm going to get to one of the camera crews over here. Continue to free the children," Commander Rocky ordered.

CHAPTER 9

Stop It was having a wonderful time. He made his way in the general direction of Central Australia. Trotting along at a steady pace he had found the main highway. Making sure he was headed in the right direction, he stopped on the side of the road to see if any travellers had left some food scraps in the rubbish bins. He was starving and scraps would be better than nothing at this stage of his journey.

He was just about to take a bite of a half-eaten hamburger when an elderly couple pulled up beside him. They had mistaken him for a lost dog and kindly picked him up and put him in the back of their car. They were going on a caravan holiday around Australia and they thought that having a dog might be a good way of alerting them if any intruders came by.

Stop It sat in the middle of the backseat watching the scenery go past. He had been given his own drinking bowl, an empty ice cream tub, and every now and then the old lady would reach behind, scratch his ear and give him a dog biscuit.

"You're not lost any more," she cooed.

"Now, don't you go spoiling him already," said her husband. "He doesn't even have a name yet!"

'Yes, I do,' Stop It thought to himself.

"Oh, now there's a thought. What shall we call him?"

"What about Harold?" the old man suggested.

"No!" responded his wife.

'Certainly not!' thought Stop It.

"Rover?" asked the old man.

"No! No!" responded his wife.

'No! No! No!' thought Stop It.

"That's too old fashioned. Let's call him 'Andy!" the wife exclaimed loudly.

'Andy?' Stop It thought to himself, 'Why does that sound so familiar?' He shrugged his shoulders and accepted another biscuit.

"Andy it is!" the old man laughed. Then he hit a button on his sat nav, "Alice Springs in ten hours and 43 minutes," it chirped.

Stop It let out a bark of approval; got another scratch behind the ear and another biscuit then curled himself up and went to sleep.

'This secret agent business is a toddle,' he thought to himself and he peacefully drifted off to dream about juicy hamburgers, soft comfortable beds and a little boy playing happily in a sandpit.

CHAPTER 10

Operative Indy pulled up alongside a long rusty gate. She opened it and made her way across the cattle grate, carefully closing the gate behind her. She trotted over to the dam and took a long drink; it had been a very long journey but she was very happy with herself. She always felt a great sense of achievement when she had pushed her body to the limit. A magpie swooped low then sat and watched her from a gumtree. In the distance she could see cattle and beyond them the blue hills of the forests. She breathed the fresh air in deeply. 'Home at last,' she muttered to herself.

The driveway of the house was another two miles long but Indy didn't feel that she needed to rush. In the distance she heard the low rumble of a tractor engine. A cloud of dust told her exactly where it was.

"Well, better get to work straight away," she said, ducking under the fence and heading towards it.

The tractor was huge. Its wheels were as big as most cars. Behind it was a long trailer with bales of hay stacked up high. The farm dogs were standing on the bales barking as the farm hands as they tossed the hay to the cattle.

"Get and eat up that hay," one dog barked.

"Yeah! Get it into ya!" added another.

"Don't just stand there, eat it all up!" yelped a young kelpie pup.

Indy charged up and jumped right up there with them.

"Hi mates!" she yelped at the farm dogs.

"Howdy!" they barked back.

"I'm Operative Indy from The Organisation. I have a message for the dogs in the North end and I need your help."

The farm dogs continued to bark at the cattle.

"What's the message then?" they asked in between barks.

Operative Indy told them the purpose of their mission. They nodded appreciatively.

"Thanks for coming all this way to tell us," a large brown kelpie said. "We'll make sure that word gets around."

He looked at a small brown cattle dog, "Scruff! Get on up to the farms in the valley and let 'em know the good news!"

Scruff jumped off the back of the trailer and ran across the dusty field.

"Be all over the valley before sundown," the large brown kelpie reassured Indy. "It's nearly knock off time, why don't you come back to the shed with us and we'll share our tucker with you?"

"That's mighty friendly," answered Indy, "But I have a lot of ground to cover. Can you tell me how to get to the North Road?"

"Sure. Just head off to the group of gumtrees over there and head North East for a couple of miles; shouldn't take you too long. You know it's pretty dangerous up there for a dog: Lots of snakes, crocodiles and trucks travelling at hundreds of miles per hour."

Operative Indy smiled, "I know. I can't wait!" And with that she tore off towards the North Road.

Meanwhile on the other side of the country, Operative Astro arrived at the local airport. He walked from hanger to hanger until he came to the one he was looking for. It was right at the end of the runway. It was run down and the walls were rusty pieces of tin held together by wire. He looked into the dark hanger and sniffed the air.

"You can't hide in there," he barked loudly. "I can smell you amongst the plane fuel, oily rags and rubber!"

A croaky old voice came from the dark. "Astro! You old dog! How long has it been?"

Astro smiled and went forward to meet his old friend. "Red Baron! You haven't changed a bit!" declared Astro.

"You mean I've always looked 100 years old?" the old dog laughed.

The Red Baron was a dark red Mastiff. He and Astro had known each other for many years. Astro and the Red Baron had been neighbours when Astro had been a pup. His family were in the Air Force and were moved around from place to place.

They both laughed and embraced each other.

"Tell me? What are you doing here?" asked the Red Baron.

Astro told him how he had become an Operative and how he had saved dogs from the Check Out. How an evil cat called Speed Bump Charlie had kidnapped a blind dog called Stella D'oro and how he had to infiltrate a cat show to save her. He told Red Baron about the Doggy Day care places opening all over the country and now, his latest mission, to save the special relationship that existed between people and their dogs.

The Red Baron shook his head, looking impressed. He nodded and said, "Good for you! What a great adventure you've had. Mind you, I always felt you were a bit spoilt but look how well you've turned out."

Then he leaned closer to Astro. "Tell me. Is Commander Rocky as scary as legend has him?"

"Yes," sighed Astro. "But he has a good heart."

"That's good to know. Well, how can I help?"

Operative Astro looked around the shed. It was just as he had hoped.

"Does your owner still do the sign writing with the plane?" Astro asked.

"Yes, all the time," responded the Red Baron.

"Do you think we could get him to write a coded message in the sky that only dogs could read?"

Red Baron scratched his head. "I guess so," he said. "All we have to do is fill in an order form and leave it on the top of the pile of work. He doesn't check them properly; just grabs the top one and jumps into his plane."

"Awesome!" exclaimed Astro.

He and the Red Baron worked through the afternoon trying to work out the shortest but most effective message they could. It would have to reach thousands of dogs across Western Australia.

After hours of scribbling and scrunching up pieces of paper, Red Baron jumped up. "I've got it!" he exclaimed and he showed Astro what he had created.

"That's brilliant!" Astro agreed. "It'll get the message to all the dogs but their owners won't have an idea what it means. So they won't get suspicious and start asking questions about The Organisation. It's brilliant!"

They put the message on top of the pile so that Red Baron's owner would pick it up and then write it in the sky.

"Let's grab a bite to eat!" suggested Red Baron. "There's a café at the airport that lets us dogs feed at the back for free. Well, as long as you don't mind scraps and left overs!"

"Sounds delicious!" Astro smacked his lips together.

CHAPTER 11

As soon as the Operatives and Stop It left on their missions Hans sat down to read the text message that he had received earlier. He read it once; twice and then a third time before he fainted. It took two of the computer controllers and the receptionist to revive him. When he came to, he clutched at his head and gasped, "Twelve!!"

Then he fainted again.

The receptionist picked up his phone and read the message aloud: Come home quickly. Twelve puppies have just been delivered by your wife, Roxy!

"Twelve? That's a lot," she said.

"What are we going to do," asked one of the controllers.

The receptionist was a level headed Labrador who had had to deal with many a family drama having fifteen brothers and sisters of her own. "We'll have to send him home," she said. "Someone get me the smelling salts and my knitting needles."

"Why do you want your knitting needles?" asked the other attendant in amazement.

"To knit booties, of course," She barked. "Now, what are twelve puppies multiplied by four paws each?" She stopped and counted in her head. "Oh my, that is a lot of booties!" She thought for a second and yelled after the controller, "And grab twenty balls of wool as well!"

Meanwhile, at the City Airport things were going to plan. While Commander Rocky and Operative Dingo had been busy catching and tying up the monster rats Stella D'oro had been meditating. She was able to take herself out of her body and float above the mayhem. Hovering above the chaos, she looked around intently to find out who was behind this pandemonium and why. There was so much yelling and shouting that she was finding it difficult to listen.

She could see Dingo and Commander Rocky trying to free the children. As far as she could tell, each one of the giant rats had a child inside it working the controls. However, the children's feet and hands were bound to the controls and something else was moving them. 'But who could do this to these poor children?' she thought to herself. Then she heard a familiar snigger.

She centred her thoughts on where it was coming from. She looked around the airport until she noticed several tails sticking out of the photo booth; one had stripes and was slightly singed on the end. She took herself closer and listened.

"Hey Boss. Pick up that drinks machine again!" an evil voice sniggered.

"Yeah! Yeah!" another one added, "Look, there's a person hiding under that desk. Let's get him."

"Just hang on a sec, you moggies. I'm in control here so I decide who gets trampled and when and where!"

Stella D'oro gasped. "I know that voice! It's Speed Bump Charlie!"

She moved in closer and peered into the booth. It was Speed Bump Charlie and he was with his gang of black cats. They were all squeezed into the photo booth laughing at a video monitor. In his paws, Speed Bump Charlie held the remote that controlled the giant rats. On the video Stella could see images of the destruction of the City Airport. As Speed Bump Charlie flicked a switch, the image changed.

'He's controlling the giant rats from that remote,' thought Stella. 'He is making each one destroy everything in its path!'

"Hey!" yelled Speed Bump Charlie. "What's going on? There's that Commander dog again!"

He pointed to the monitor where they could see Commander Rocky barking and lunging at a giant rat. They watched as he darted from side to side.

"Get him, Boss!" screeched one of the black cats.

"Yeah! Crush him like a sardine can!" squealed another.

Speed Bump Charlie put down the remote and rubbed his paws together. "Step back, boys. This time we're going to get serious and... it's personal."

He spat onto his paws and rubbed them together then wiped his ears. The black cats shrieked with joy. He quickly hit the buttons on the device and the giant rat roared and screeched louder than before. Jerking the joy stick in the middle of the remote, Speed Bump Charlie caused the monster to plunge towards Commander Rocky.

As they watched Commander Rocky tricked them into making the monster fall down and get captured. The cats all wailed and cried in anguish.

"Shut up!! Shut ya rollicking!" screamed Speed Bump Charlie. "I'll make sure the other rats get that stupid Rocky and any other dog that's trying to stop my plans."

And with that he snapped back a panel on the side of the remote. A large red button slowly slid out. The black cats all gasped and nudged each other. Sniggering with evil joy, Speed Bump Charlie punched it hard with his paw.

A small microphone shot out from the top. Speed Bump Charlie cleared his throat and yelled in to it. The feedback shot back and made all the cats reel back in shock. "I'll show those stupid dogs," he whispered under his breath. "This is my revenge for ruining all my other plans, getting me thrown on an interstate truck and for singeing my tail!"

He growled. "Your time is nearly up people of the world! Prepare to die. Die! Die! Die! We dogs are going to destroy all of you and take over!!" He threw his head back and let out a menacing laugh. The black cats all joined in and the microphone echoed their laughter all over the building.

CHAPTER 12

Back in Sydney, Operative Digger was watching the final touches being added to the float. Franz had picked a very bright shade of pink which would certainly attract a lot of interest from the media. The message that reassured all the dogs that The Organisation was not turning against people was repeated around the float.

Franz came rushing up to Operative Digger. "Comes quickly, Diggs, da news is awful; really awful!"

They ran over to the television and watched live footage of dogs being chased out of their homes by their owners.

"What is happening?" cried Franz wringing his paws in distress. "It's awful. Look at those poor dogs. They have no homes, no treats and no walkies! What will happen to them?"

Operative Digger shook his head in dismay. "I can't believe it! People believe what they are seeing at Melbourne City Airport. They think dogs are turning against them; against their owners. How could they believe anything so crazy?"

They heard Speed Bump Charlie's message being repeated.

"Oh knows!" Franz began to sniffle a little and wiped his nose on a large purple handkerchief. The other dogs came around to watch the news. They were all really worried. Some of them had homes to go to. What would happen to them if their owners didn't want them anymore? They all looked to Operative Digger for help.

He turned to them and spoke with a lot of authority for a small dog. "Let's get the float outside. It's finished now and we will need the room. When you're done, get onto facebook and dogtree. Tell all of your friends that they can come here for now. Franz, is that OK with you?"

Franz nodded in agreement and snuffled, "Of courses, of courses, my Diggs."

"Good. I know things look bad now canines, but once this terrible business is sorted out and the giant rats are stopped things will go back to normal I promise. In the meantime, we can provide shelter and food to all the dogs in Sydney who have been thrown out of their homes."

In a flurry of fur, all of the dogs did as Operative Digger had asked and prepared the shed to take all the abandoned dogs.

Back at headquarters, Hans had returned and, with the other dogs, were watching the same broadcast. Hans checked his d-phone and saw Operative Digger's post.

"That's a brilliant idea! Any abandoned dogs can come here," he showed the others and they quickly jumped up and spread the word around Melbourne. Within an hour, sad and confused dogs started walking through the doors of the doggy day care centre.

In Western Australia Operative Astro and Red Baron saw the same news footage through the back window of the café. They looked at each other. Astro checked his d-phone. "The Organisation is announcing safe places for dogs to go to if their owners evict them."

He scrolled through the lists. "As far as I can tell there isn't one here in Perth."

"Then we shall use the hangers at the airport," said Red Baron. "Come on, for the most part they are empty. Put the address on your page and tell them all. We will look after them, Astro."

Astro flicked and tapped the screen. "Done," he announced.

Stop It's new family had stopped at a roadhouse to buy refreshments. The old man was taking Stop It for a short walk to stretch both their legs. He heard two truck drivers discussing the problem in Melbourne.

"It's gotta be a fit up," one of the men said. "Of course dogs love their families."

"Look for yourself," said the other pointing to a small television in the cabin of his truck.

The old man walked up behind them and watched the news broadcast. He looked down at Stop It and shook his head.

"Well I don't believe it for one second," he said and the truck drivers turned around and looked at him, and then down at Stop It.

"Nah, neither do we," said one and he patted Stop It on the top of his head. "Look at that face. How could anything so innocent and loyal turn against the hand that feeds it?"

Stop It smiled and licked the man's hand. He saw some other dogs sniffing around a rubbish bin. As his new owner discussed the predicament with the truck drivers, he went over and met them.

"Hey you guys," Stop It said, "I'm from The Organisation and they've sent me to tell you that the Organisation is not turning dogs against their owners."

The dogs didn't seem to pay much attention to him so Stop It barked at them loudly.

"Yeah, yeah, we heard ya," an old white bulldog said. "Can't ya see we're busy? It's been a long ride in the truck and we're starving!"

"Yep, Yep, starving!" the other dogs agreed.

"Well, Great! Make sure you tell all the other dogs wherever you go!" Stop It urged them.

"Will do!" the white bulldog said and Stop It's new owner whistled him to come back. He was holding a bowl of water. "Have a drink, mate, then we'll be on our way again."

When he got back into the car, Stop It barked to have the window open. He stuck his head out and let the warm air rush over his head, in his ears, up his nose and out his ears again. Every time he saw another dog he barked his message to them. It didn't matter if they were on the side of the road hitchhiking, working livestock in the paddocks or passing in another car; every dog on the central highway got the same important message that day.

CHAPTER 13

Operative Indy had been travelling through the centre of Northern Australia. In such a remote and desolate place there was little if any internet or mobile phone coverage. So she was unaware of what was happening across the country. Regardless, she was surprised how quickly word was getting around. Australia has something called the Bush Telegraph. It's a term that explains how information is passed by word of mouth throughout remote areas. It's a remarkable and quick method of spreading the latest news.

Operative Indy found some hunters camping on a crocodile infested river. She approached the dogs that were on guard in front of the tents. She went to explain who she was but they already knew. This happened more and more often. The dogs she had spoken to when she first arrived had sent word that The Organisation was not turning dogs against their owners and the Bush Telegraph had done the rest.

Operative Indy sat in front of the camp fire and nodded. "So you all know?" she asked a black and white cattle dog called Jess.

"Yup!" Jess answered.

"And none of you are worried about what your owners might do?"

"Nope!" Jess answered.

Indy let out a long sigh. She was wondering what to do next. Should she just keep going to make sure that the message had reached every dog or return to the City Airport where she might be needed. It was a tough decision. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. She was about to ask Jess what her thoughts were when a sudden rush of water engulfed the campfire.

"Crocodile!!" All the dogs barked in startled alarm. "Get it!!"

The hunters came out of their tents clutching guns and shovels.

Indy grabbed her hunting bone and leapt into action. She jumped on top of the crocodile's head and thumped it repeatedly. It wailed and shook itself trying to dislodge her. The other dogs barked and rushed and bit the crocodile's feet. The men yelled at the dogs to watch out and to be careful. Truth is a dog bred in these parts loves to fight and wrestle anything from crocodiles to buffalo. They were a tough breed and Indy fitted in very well.

The crocodile tried to roll over. It couldn't shake Indy loose so it tried to roll on its back and throw her off.

Seeing what it was about to do, she urgently barked at the other dogs, "Grab its feet!"

They all rushed in and hung on to its claws and feet. The cattle dogs snarled and bit down harder. The crocodile roared in pain and became stronger in its efforts to free itself. The men stood and watched. They knew there was little they could do. If they shot the croc there was the danger of hitting one of the dogs. They stood there helpless but amazed at the bravery of their dogs.

"Pull it up onto the sand," ordered Operative Indy. "Then one of you grab its tail. I've got an idea."

The dogs did as she asked. "Great!" yelled Indy. "Now, pull... each of you pull this monster in a different direction. And when I say 'clear!' let go and run for you lives!"

All the dogs pulled a claw, a foot and a tail until the crocodile was stretched out. It was angrier than before and thrashed its head up, opening its huge jaw and revealing rows of sharp, jagged teeth. Indy saw her opportunity and threw the stink grenade down its throat.

"CLEAR!!" she shouted.

All the dogs bolted up the sand and into the bush. The men stood and watched unsure of what to do. They looked from the dogs to the crocodile then back to the dogs again. The crocodile went to lunge and attack them but then it stopped. It began to cough and smoke came out of the side of its mouth. It coughed again; this time a bit louder and more smoke came out. Then the smoke reached the nostrils of one of the men.

"Aggg! It's a stink grenade!" And with that, they bolted away from the crocodile and into the bush.

From a safe distance, men and dogs watched as the crocodile tried to dislodge the stink grenade from its throat. It scratched at its huge head and rolled its snout in the sand. It coughed and gagged but Indy's throw had been too precise.

Then, much to the surprise of the crocodile, the grenade exploded with only a small 'pop'. However, this was not the sort of bomb that exploded and caused lots of damage. This grenade simply released the rest of its contents which was the most awful, sickening, throat wrenching stench you've ever had the misfortune to have thrust up your nostrils.

"Where does that smell come from?" gasped one of the cattle dogs holding both paws over his nose.

"Alfie," said Indy. They looked at her puzzled.

"What is he? A horse? A hippopotamus? Dead?" they all asked.

She shrugged her shoulders. "He's an Operative. You'd have to meet him to understand."

The crocodile passed out from the dreadful smell. There are some terrible smells in rivers and creeks of rotten carcasses and festering mangroves but nothing, nothing could compete with the rancid scent of Alfie's armpits.

The men pulled out the remains of the grenade and rolled the croc back into the river. It bubbled up and regained conscientiousness. It floated in a haze before returning to the depths of the river never to be seen of again.

"Let's get out of here," one of the men suggested and within a few minutes the camp was packed up and they were heading down the road. Operative Indy decided she would ride with them until she reached the next town or saw another crocodile. At that moment she was undecided.

CHAPTER 14

Operative Alfie was also unaware of the shocking announcement made by Speed Bump Charlie not because he was out of range but because he had forgotten to turn his d-phone on.

Regardless, he was doing his duty to get to as many parks as he could. So far, he had visited twenty parks and talked to over one hundred dogs and it wasn't even lunch time. He sat down on the side of the road and sniffed the air. Behind him a sign read: Welcome to Pakenham. Turn left to see our town's vast shopping precinct. Turn right to visit our world famous off leash Dog Park.

Alfie instinctively turned right but not because he had read the sign. Alfie's fabulous sense of smell had picked out the smell of other dogs and the even more enticing smell of treats. He smacked his long tongue around his mouth and trotted happily towards these delicious scents.

He headed up a tree lined path. He could hear the dogs barking to each other to come and play. Their owners were walking together along the path. Luckily for Alfie the path ran beside a creek which had lots of trees and bushes on either side. Alfie was able to run through the bushes and join the group of dogs unnoticed by their owners.

He barked a big friendly 'hello' and was immediately answered by the 'yip' 'yip' of a small Jack Russell.

"Hi! I'm Alfie," Operative Alfie introduced himself politely.

"Jack's the name and chasing those darned birds is my game!" And with that the little dog shot across the park barking repeatedly at a large water bird. He hardly seemed to touch the ground because he was so fast. Alfie nodded his head in approval.

A handsome Border collie ran over to Alfie and dropped to the ground. "Hi Ya! I'm Robbie!" It said. "Wanna play? Wanna play?"

"I'm Alfie and I'm here on a secret mission!"

"Really? That's fabulous," Robbie ran up and sniffed Alfie's face. "What's a secret mission?"

Operative Alfie told Robbie why he had come to see them, and that the dogs mustn't think The Organisation is turning dogs against their owners.

"Hey you guys!" Robbie barked loudly at the other dogs, "Come over here and listen to this!"

So as not to raise the suspicion of the owners, Alfie picked up a stick and called over his shoulders. "Chase me and let's act normal!"

Robbie barked and chased Alfie. A small, solid English Staffordshire Terrier came running up and tried to pull the stick right out of Alfie's mouth.

"Beauty's my name!" she growled. "Now give me that stick!" She yipped and barked at him with her course voice.

An old Border collie came bounding up. "I'm Brian and I'm here to make sure you all behave!" he barked repeatedly. "Behave! Behave! Behave!"

A tall dog with stripes bound into the group. "Sabra's the name. Ignore Brian he thinks he's in the police force or something like that. Let's run!" And she took off after Beauty.

A large black dog followed her, hobbling slowly and panting heavily. "I'm Cass. Who are you?"

Alfie dropped the stick and told them why he was at the dog park. Most of the dogs stopped to listen except Brian who hadn't stop barking.

A whippet came up behind them. His name was Sooty. "Oh, that nonsense," he remarked. "Our owners are far too well trained to take any notice of that rubbish. My owner just tuts and shakes her head. She says it's a load of rubbish and you can't believe anything you see on television anymore."

"Yeah, Yeah," Beauty panted, "Load of cods wallop, that's what my owner says, whatever that means. Can I have the stick now? Can I? Can I?"

"A load of what?" asked Robbie quite confused.

"It's just a saying," remarked Sabra, "Just another of those silly things people say that make no sense at all!"

Just then a fight broke out between a large brown curly haired dog and a small terrier. They growled and snapped at each other. The large dog barked and jumped on top of the smaller dog. He yipped and rolled over to get away but the larger dog was too quick. The tussle went on for a few minutes but no one seemed to care.

"Hmmmm? Shouldn't we go over and stop them?" asked Alfie.

The others shook their heads. "Nah, that's Abby and Max. They're house brother and sister. They do this all the time. It'll be over soon."

And with that, Max, the terrier, jumped to one side and announced, "Rabbits! Rabbits! I can smell rabbits!"

"Where? Where?" Abby replied dashing from side to side. She turned sharply in a circle.

"Here! Over here!" and with that he dashed into the bush with Abby running behind him barking madly.

Sooty let out a loud sigh. "Oh, I'd better go and make sure they don't get into any trouble," he said and he happily trotted after them. "Nice to meet you Alfie," he called back over his shoulder.

By that time another Border collie and a small black dog came up to the group. "Hi, I'm Sparkle," the Border collie said, "and this is Flash from Warragul. But he's as deaf as a post and half blind."

Alfie introduced himself to them and went on explaining why he had joined them. But just as he was about to finish, he overheard Jack's owner say, "Hey, who owns that big dog over there; the one playing with our dogs?"

The people all stopped and stared. To create a diversion, Operative Alfie picked up a large stick again and ran off with it. All the dogs took off in pursuit except for Flash from Warragul. He had been sniffing the ground and missed most of what was going on. The flurry of wind from the dogs rushing past him was scary so he decided it would be best to trot back to his owner.

Operative Alfie ran through lots of puddles; turned around sharply and took off after some magpies. All the dogs were in pursuit. Alfie was a fast runner and not many could keep up with him. Sabra and Beauty were nearly as fast but pretty soon all the dogs were panting and some had collapsed on the grass for a rest.

"Don't forget to tell all the other dogs what I told you," Alfie reminded them.

"We won't! Thanks Operative Alfie!" Sabra turned and saluted. Beauty had taken the stick and yelled at the others to chase her. The others all waved good bye and chased her. Most didn't really care about the stick they just like to run free with the wind rushing into their ears and up their noses!

Alfie turned to leave when he saw a very small dog hiding between its owner's legs.

'I better make sure that he gets the message too. He looks really worried. I wonder what he's heard. He looks terrified already,' thought Alfie to himself.

The little dog was terrified but not because he was afraid of being homeless, sadly this was his normal state. He let out a deafening squeal when he saw Alfie approaching.

"You, you get away!" he screeched. "I'm bigger than I look and I'm not afraid of you!"

Alfie moved closer. "You're not very big at all. You could fit in my mouth!"

"Could not! I'm a killer," snapped the little dog. "Now get away, get right away from me!"

Alfie shrugged his shoulders. "Well, my name is Operative Alfie and..."

"Alfie? Alfie?" squealed the little dog. "That's my name." He trotted over to Alfie and began to sniff his feet. "This will not do! This will not do! How can we have the same name? What a predicament! A terrible predicament!"

Operative Alfie smiled at the nervous dog. "Well, it is very nice to meet you Little Alfie. Can I share a message with you from The Organisation?"

"Hmmm," Little Alfie had to think about it for a second. "OK," he said suspiciously. "Will it hurt me?"

"No," answered Operative Alfie.

"Will it bite me hard!" yelped Little Alfie.

"Nope," answered Operative Alfie.

"OK, tell me what it is," said Little Alfie still frowning.

Operative Alfie whispered his message to the little trembling dog who licked his lips and nodded. "Yes. Yes. I understand. Nothing to worry about; no need to worry; got it!"

Operative Alfie said good bye and waved to the other dogs. They didn't see him leave because they were too busy chasing Beauty who had dropped the stick and had picked up a six foot tree branch instead.

'What lucky dogs to have an off leash area to run in every day,' thought Alfie to himself. Then he noticed a group of school children playing games on a field nearby. They were facing the other way, cheering their friends on. Their school bags, complete with lunches, were resting next to the fence.

"Oh Look, lunch!" Alfie cried and he trotted calmly over and pulled all fourteen backpacks under the fence and demolished their contents. Then he dashed off licking vegemite and peanut butter from his lips.

CHAPTER 15

Back in Sydney, it was time for Operative Digger's float to join the parade. They pushed it out into the street and squeezed it between two other floats quickly so no one noticed. All the homeless dogs and the builder dogs walked beside it cheering and waving to the crowd. Franz walked up front and blew kisses at all the people. Operative Digger put on his disguise and kept out of the way. He didn't want to be recognised.

Pretty soon there were photographers and cameramen surrounding the float. Their cameras flashed and images of the giant pink float with two dogs on top were being beamed around the country on the six o'clock news. Almost simultaneously, four million dogs gave a sigh of relief.

The parade lasted for several hours. It finished with a big party in the town hall. Franz was organising who could go straight to the party and who would have to take the float back to the workshop.

Operative Digger approached him quietly. "Franz?" he said.

"Oh mys, Diggs! I didn't recognise you in your funny costume!" Franz clapped his paws together and laughed. "Come on ins to the party, Diggs. It's time we celebrated your successful float!"

"I'm sorry, Franz, but I have to return to Melbourne and help get those giant rats under control," Digger answered.

"Oh, nos! That is terrible! But you will miss out at the party, Diggs!" Franz pleaded.

"I know but I have to go," Digger was resolute. He saluted Franz and waved good bye to the other dogs and within a second he had disappeared completely from sight.

"Oh what a dog is that Digger-rific!" sighed Franz. "I will misses him! Nows everybody get into my line and I will let you in! Come on! Come on!"

In the meantime, Stop It had done a fabulous job spreading the message across Central Australia. He had met all sorts of dogs on holiday with their owners. His adopted family had decided to head further north to see the land the Aborigines said had been created by the Rainbow Serpent. Stop It wasn't sure he wanted to meet a coloured snake but he knew he had to be brave and that suffering was an essential part of being a secret operative. He sat back in the car and ate four more biscuits before nodding off to sleep again.

In Perth, Red Baron and Operative Astro returned to the airport hangar where lots of dogs had gathered. They made them as comfortable as they could but they still had work to do. As Red Baron's owner arrived he was a little taken back by all the dogs hanging around his plane.

"What's going on here?" he asked scratching his head. "Where did you lot come from?"

The dogs just sat and then lay down quietly. Red Baron's owner wasn't sure what to do. He saw a large pile of orders waiting for him and he didn't have much time to prepare the plane and get them done.

"Alright, you can all stay here," he said. "I'll have to worry about what to do with you when I get back."

He filled the plane with fuel and checked the oil and tyres. "She's ready to go, Baron, let's go!"

Red Baron trotted up to him with Operative Astro. "Oh, you wanna bring a mate with you this time?" said his owner. "OK then, but he has to wear goggles and a seat belt!"

Red Baron barked his approval and he and Astro climbed into the small plane. Operative Astro was very excited. He had never been in a small plane before. He strapped himself in and pulled down his goggles. Red Baron turned and gave him the thumbs up! The plane shuddered into life and slowly rolled out of the hangar and onto the run way. Astro could hear Baron's owner speaking to someone on a radio but it crackled and stopped. He was so excited about the flight and getting his message to all the dogs of Perth.

The plane taxied out and rumbled along. It got faster and faster and so did Astro's heart beat! He held his breath when he felt the wheels lift off the ground and he closed his eyes when he felt the plane dip and lunge into the sky. When he opened them he saw the ground reeling away. 'Oh, what have I done?' Astro asked himself. He saw Red Baron with his head hanging out of the window having a great time. It made Astro chuckle.

Once they had reached the right altitude, Red Baron's owner pulled on a long lever and then steered the plane into place. He re-read the message and shrugged his shoulders. He read: Fido, Marry Me You Fool! But the dogs of Perth would know that it really meant: The Organisation supports People owning Dogs!

As the plane lurched and twisted, Operative Astro got the ride of his life! He enjoyed it a lot but definitely felt a bit sick by the time it ended. Red Baron turned to him and pointed out of the window. As the plane made ready for its descent, Astro saw his message written across the sky. The green letters were a mile long each and the whole message was at least ten miles long. He smiled and Red Baron patted him on the shoulder. "Job well done," he yelled through the rushing wind.

CHAPTER 16

Operative Indy's fame spread far along the North coast of Australia. She didn't have to worry about getting her message to all the dogs. Once word had got around about her saving the camp from the crocodile, welcome parties ran out of farms, stations and towns to greet her. She was hailed as the hero from the south. She sat on the back of an interstate truck and posted her victory onto facebook. She ran through the messages already posted and saw Digger's float and Astro's sky writing.

'That's awesome!' she thought to herself. 'I had better head home now.'

Just then she noticed a car and caravan approaching quickly along the dusty road. It pulled over at a petrol station and out of the window she saw the head of a young dog she knew.

"Stop It" she yelled! Fortunately for Operative Indy, the truck driver thought she was talking to him and he slammed on the brakes. The truck slid through the dust and came to a stop sideways. Seizing her opportunity, she hopped down and ran towards the car. She barked at Stop It.

"Hey! It's me! Operative Indy!" she announced.

Stop It gave out a yelp of joy and jumped out of the car to greet her.

"Operative Indy! Boy am I glad to see you!" gasped Stop It. "How did your mission go? Have you finished yet?"

"It went very well, Stop It," Indy replied. "What about you? How did you get a lift? Who are these people?"

Stop It told Indy the whole story of how he got adopted and driven in the back of the car all the way to Central Australia. How they'd decided to see the North before heading home and how he had managed to tell all the dogs he saw about the message. Operative Indy tilted her head to one side and smiled.

"You've done well for a newbie," she said and she slapped Stop It hard on the shoulders. Just then she noticed a glimmering figure of a dog trotting along the horizon some miles off. She stopped and stared. Stop It looked at her and then into the distance. He squinted but couldn't make out what type of dog it was.

"Who is it?" he asked curiously.

"A dingo!" exclaimed Indy.

Stop It jumped back. "Oh! No! A dingo! Should I call for help?"

Indy ignored him and began to creep slowly forward. By this time, the dingo had seen them both and had changed direction.

"He's coming straight for us!" cried Stop It.

Indy smiled and stroked her hunting bone. "So he is!" she muttered to herself.

Stop It looked around wildly. Should he go and get help? Yell out? Run to the truck stop and warn everyone? He turned back and was alarmed to see the dingo was now only a few feet away from Indy.

He was a little relieved to notice that it wasn't paying any attention to him but that all its concentration was focused on poor Indy. He knew that Indy was tough but he was worried what a wild dingo might do to her.

The dingo lowered its head and set its ears forward. It walked around an old tree. Its eyes never left Indy. She stopped and stared directly at it. She wasn't backing off, just waiting or maybe even wishing that it would rush at her.

Stop It was slowly backing away. His mouth had gone dry and his legs were shaking uncontrollably.

Indy took one step forward. The dingo froze and stared at her.

"Blinky?" she whispered. "Is it you?"

The dingo let out a long laugh and howled with excitement. "Indy! It is you! How have you been? What are you doing all the way up here in the North end? I haven't seen you in yonks!"

Indy and Blinky rushed at each other and embraced. They wrestled a little and there was a lot of back slapping and arm punching. Stop It just stared with his eyes wide open and his jaw dropped in the orange sand.

"I had heard something about a little Bluey taking on a crocodile and I had to come and see it for myself," Blinky chuckled. "I thought to myself, 'I wonder if that's our Indy?' I should have known it was!"

Indy laughed, "You should have seen it! It was awesome! I don't think they'll be seeing that croc for a while!"

"Hey, is it true about The Organisation?" asked Blinky. "About those machines attacking the people?"

"Things sure do travel fast up here," smiled Indy. "Yes and that's what we're both doing." She nodded towards Stop It who smiled nervously.

Blinky trotted over and grabbed Stop It's paw tightly. "Nice to meet you!" He shook it vigorously and Stop It grimaced in pain.

"Nice to meet you too," Stop It choked in a squeaky voice.

"Is he OK?" Blinky looked back at Indy.

She laughed. "Yeah, not used to meeting dingos I expect. He's been a house dog all his life. This is his first mission."

"Oh!" Blinky laughed. "Well, by all accounts you've done a great job." He slapped Stop It on the back knocking him to the ground.

"Up ya get!" Blinky hoisted Stop It quickly back onto his feet and set him up right. "Well, it was great to see you again, Indy, but I have lunch to catch and then I'm back off to the Centre for a swim with my mob."

Blinky and Indy embraced again. "Take care and keep in touch!" said Indy as Blinky trotted off into the desert. Blinky saluted casually as he moved out of view. "Keep up the good work!" he called back. "Both of you!"

Indy turned to Stop It. "Who'd have thought we'd run into Blinky? What a surprise!"

Stop It nodded. "Have you known him long?"

"He's an operative from way back. Been on heaps of adventures with us in the old days," She said nodding.

"Why doesn't he work for The Organisation now?" asked Stop It.

"He's a wild dog and enjoys his freedom. Besides he doesn't have a microchip so it's a bit tricky getting hold of him. Mind you, he always seems to find us," she said scratching her chin with her paw thoughtfully.

She turned to Stop It. "Now, how are we going to get home?"

"The people I came with are heading back now. You'll have to come with us," said Stop It. "But how?"

"Just leave that to me," grinned Operative Indy. "Start running around me in circles barking," she instructed Stop It.

Stop It did as he was asked and Indy began to whine and limp. Stop It's new family came rushing out of the petrol station.

"Oh, no," cried the old woman. "A sick and injured dog."

"Now, be careful," warned the old man. "Sick dogs can bite."

Operative Indy slowed her pace and dropped her head. Stop It continued to bark at her. She coughed and collapsed in the dry dirt.

"Are you OK?" barked Stop It.

Indy winked at him. "Just go along with me," she whispered out of the corner of her mouth.

"Andy seems to like this dog," cried the old woman. "We had better get her to a vet."

"There isn't a vet within miles of here!" exclaimed the old man.

"Then we'll find one on our way home!" declared the old woman.

Operative Indy was hoisted into the back of the car along with Stop It. She curled up on the seat and rested. Stop It sat up straight and gave one bark to thank the old couple. A few hours later they stopped for a toilet break. Indy hopped out of the car and went into the bush. She trotted happily back to the car when she'd finished and sat in the back seat. The old couple looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders. "Rest must have done her good," the old woman said. They smiled at each other and re-programmed the sat nav. "Take us home!" the old man cried and with that the car jolted back onto the highway and they headed south.

CHAPTER 17

One by one the Operatives returned home. Operatives Astro and Digger returned by train from Perth and Sydney while Operative Indy and the new recruit, Stop It, travelled home in the back of a car. Once Alfie had visited the last park in Melbourne, he trotted down the highway and caught a lift on the back of a ute. They all went to the City Airport to help Commander Rocky, Stella D'oro and Operative Dingo. Nothing prepared them for what they saw when they got there.

Emergency crews were putting out fires and helping people to safety. Fire engines and ambulances were being guided into no-go zones by police officers. Inside everything was smashed and crushed. Smoke billowed from the building and in some places flames could be seen.

In the centre of the airport was a large pile of metal monsters. Each one had been tricked into following Commander Rocky and each one had tripped and fallen down the escalators. Operative Dingo had managed to free all of the children. Doctors were looking after them. Thankfully they only had a few scratches and they were soon reunited with their worried parents.

The news cameras had filmed Commander Rocky tricking the giant rats and already questions were being asked.

A news reporter was filming just inside the doors. She concluded her report with the following. "If dogs had created these terrible monsters why were they now destroying them? Was it proof that dogs had lost their minds? Or were the monsters being used to trick both people and dogs? If so, what kind of evil genius was behind this? Anna Robertson reporting for Channel 31 News."

Stella D'oro hadn't been able to gain control over the minds of any of the cats. She had tried very hard but they were too excited and she couldn't make sense of anything they were thinking. When the other four operatives entered the building, however, she sensed their presence and spoke to them all. 'Go to the photo booth, Operatives, you are needed there.'

They all stopped and looked at each other. All but Stop It. He had not had the dream about Stella D'oro and her magical powers that the others had had when they rescued her and Commander Rocky. When Operative Indy yelled, "C'mon. It's up here," He had no idea what she was talking about.

Stella D'oro came out of her hiding place and joined the Operatives. She had warned Commander Rocky to keep the last giant rat busy until they were in place. If he toppled it before they got there, Speed Bump Charlie and his gang would run away.

Quietly and slowly the Operatives circled the photo booth. Outside it five dogs stood very still waiting for the command. Inside the booth they could hear Speed Bump Charlie scowling and growling. He was furious Commander Rocky had managed to trick him into bringing his monsters down.

"Just you wait, dog, I'll get you!" he hissed.

"Yeah, you tell 'em. Let's crush him like a tin can!" snarled a black cat.

"And stomp on him until he's meat paste!" sneered another. They all laughed and howled.

A television crew was rushing down the passage way when the camera man noticed all the dogs.

"Hey wait up," he called to his mates. "Have a look at this."

They all stopped in their tracks and stared. In the middle of all the chaos, five dogs stood around a photo booth; all seemed to be frozen, anticipating; waiting for something to happen. The camera man scratched his head but he kept his camera rolling.

Stop It looked around and saw the children being reunited with their families. "My boy! Where is my boy?" he cried and he rushed towards them. He ran from family to family sniffing them and jumping around. The parents were cuddling their children tightly. They were so relieved to have them back. Stop It couldn't find his boy anywhere. He ran from the ambulances to the airport. He ran to Operative Dingo.

"Operative Dingo, I can't find my boy!" he cried. "He must be here somewhere?"

Operative Dingo had managed to chew through the tin of the monsters and had released the children. "I'm sorry. I've gotten nearly all of them out. If your boy's not here, he must be in the last one. Commander Rocky's just dealing with it now." Dingo pointed to the top of the escalators. "Up there," he said.

Stop It didn't hesitate. He jumped over the crumbled metal bodies of the monsters and leapt to the top of the escalators. He saw Commander Rocky with a chair in one paw and a broom in the other. He was lunging forward with the chair and poking the giant rat with the broom.

'What's he doing that for?' Stop It thought to himself. 'He should be getting it to fall down the escalators like the others.'

Stop It jumped up and down and barked madly. The giant rat turned around and roared at him.

"Come on, you big brute! Come and get me!" Stop It yelled and he ran around in circles.

'Oh, no!' thought Commander Rocky. 'We'll never catch Speed Bump Charlie if Stop It topples that rat over now!'

Just then Stella D'oro took a deep breath and took her mind to where Commander Rocky was teasing the last giant robot. All the operatives were in place. "Bring it down," she commanded.

At the same time, Stop It was barking wildly at the giant rat. Stop It ran to the top of the escalator and rushed back between the rat's legs. Commander Rocky came up behind him.

"Watch out," the Commander yelled. But the giant rat turned around and grabbed Stop It in its sharp claws. Stop It let out a piercing scream as the rat tossed him around from side to side.

Inside the photo booth the cats laughed and hissed loudly. Operative Indy flinched. She couldn't wait any longer. Astro held up a paw to stop her. "Be patient," he whispered.

Commander Rocky cursed the giant rat. He poked it with the broom but it just threw its head back and screeched. He rushed up and tried to bite it but that didn't work either. It just thrashed and waved Stop It around like a rag doll.

Outside the photo booth, the Operatives were growing impatient.

"What's going on?" asked Operative Digger. "Why is it taking so long?"

Stella D'oro held up her paw, signalling to them to be quiet. She closed her eyes and focused on Commander Rocky. When she saw Stop It being crushed in the claw of the monster, she let out a short gasp. They turned to look at her.

"Operative Astro, Commander Rocky needs your help. Go now, quickly!" she barked.

Astro didn't need to ask why. He could see the urgency in Stella D'oro's face. He dashed away.

The camera man watched Astro leave then spun back on the photo booth. "Get someone to follow that dog," he yelled.

"Which one?" cried a reporter looking round frantically.

"The grey shaggy one!" the camera man roared.

Astro ran up alongside Commander Rocky. "Oh dear," he gasped when he saw poor Stop It in the monster's claw.

"What are we going to do?" he called to Commander Rocky above all the noise.

"If we trip it over Stop It will be crushed. We have to get it to let him go," said Commander Rocky. Then he added, "But I'm not sure how."

Astro spun around and ran back to the row of shops. When he had been on his overseas trip with his owner he remembered her stopping at a delicatessen and buying some stinky cheese. He found the shop and climbed through the broken door. On the shelves were rows and rows of cheese from cheddars to Gouda to brie.

Grabbing armfuls of it, he climbed back through the wreckage of the shop and ran towards the giant rat. Commander Rocky saw him coming and barked, "It's a robot. It's not going to like cheese!"

"Once a rat, always a rat!" he replied and began throwing the cheese at the monster. At first it ducked and weaved but it didn't let Stop It go. Instead, it roared louder and louder until the Operatives couldn't hear themselves think.

"It's not working," yelled Commander Rocky.

"Let me try this," answered Astro.

Astro knew that the cats were controlling the rats so he changed his plan. He first thought the giant rat might want to eat the cheese and put Stop It down to pick it up. This hadn't worked but he knew that there weren't many cats that could resist a game of chasing a ball.

He had one piece of cheese left; a large wheel of Edam. Its red wax cover provided a perfect smooth surface for rolling. He picked it up with both paws and rolled it in front of the giant rat. It stopped and watched the red object rolling along the floor. Commander Rocky ran in front of it and rolled the cheese back to Astro. Backwards and forwards they rolled the cheese while the rat's head twitched from side to side.

"Quicker!" yelled Astro and they sped up the game.

On the other end of the controls, Speed Bump Charlie couldn't help himself. He made the giant rat run towards the red spinning ball. Commander Rocky and Astro carefully moved it so the giant rat was heading straight for the top of the escalators. They had to be careful. If it stumbled before letting go of Stop It he would certainly be crushed when it fell.

"Be careful," warned Commander Rocky.

Astro stopped the rolling cheese and jerked his arms forward. He tossed it from paw to paw.

"Here kitty, kitty, kitty," he called.

Unable to control his natural instincts any longer, Speed Bump Charlie pressed a mechanism on his joy stick. It caused the giant metal rat to open its claws letting go of Stop It. It then lunged towards the rolling cheese. A second later, Operative Astro rolled the cheese towards the escalator and Commander Rocky threw a chair under the legs of the monster. It let out an unnatural hellishly roar and fell head first into the pile of crushed metal that had once been its gang.

Commander Rocky and Astro let out a cheer but inside the photo booth everything went terribly quiet. Stella D'oro, Indy, Digger and Alfie all held their breath.

"Tricked again! I can't believe it," Speed Bump Charlie screeched. The other cats hissed and meowed loudly sharing Charlie's desperate frustration.

"What'll we do now, boss?" one of the cats asked.

"Let's get out of here before they find us," yelled Speed Bump Charlie. He picked up the remote control and smashed it to the ground. He then jumped up and down on it several times.

This was the cue the Operatives were waiting for. As the cats leapt out from behind the curtain, each one of the dogs jumped up and caught a cat. All except Speed Bump Charlie. The four dogs held a cat each which meant there was no one to catch him. The cats squirmed and thrashed but the dogs were too strong and they were held firmly.

"What about Speed Bump?" asked Digger desperately.

"Don't you worry, Diggs," yelled Alfie. "I'll get him!"

He sprang off quickly with a cat slung limply under one arm. Speed Bump Charlie was quick even though he had many injuries. He had spent his whole life on the run and he was used to out running dogs and people. Thankfully, Operative Alfie was quicker. He soon came up alongside the bedraggled cat and scooped him up with his other arm.

Speed Bump Charlie hissed and spat at Alfie. "Let me go, you enormous brute!" he growled.

Alfie laughed with satisfaction. "Not this time, Speed Bump! This time you're going to jail!"

The camera crew that had been sent to follow Astro had filmed the whole thing. Operative Dingo quickly gnawed on the chest of the giant rat and stepped back to allow ambulance officers to release the child.

Stop It lay limp on the floor. Commander Rocky and Astro ran to his side. They put their paws gently on him.

"Will he be alright?" whispered Astro.

"I don't know," sighed Commander Rocky. "He was a brave dog. How unfortunate he had such a silly name."

Astro nodded in agreement. They rubbed and patted Stop It trying to bring some life back into him. He lay on the hard floor. There were gashes in his fur where the giant claws had gripped him and blood was trickling out of them. Commander Rocky touched his nose. "It's warm," he said. "That's not a good sign."

Operative Astro wiped back a tear and sniffed loudly.

Just then the child who had been trapped inside the last giant rat was freed. He was a bit older than the others and when he saw Stop It lying on the floor he yelled out.

"Andy! Andy! It's you!" The small boy wrestled his way out of the arms of the ambulance officer and ran towards the injured dog.

Commander Rocky and Astro stood back and watched. All along Stop It had been right. His boy had been kidnapped by Speed Bump Charlie. The giant rats were too big for the cats to operate so they used children because their arms and legs were longer and could reach the levers and pedals.

The boy began to sob. "Oh, Andy! Please get better, please!"

He laid his head on the dog's body and began to cry. As he did, Astro noticed Stop It's tail begin to wag slowly. It increased and was soon happily thumping on the floor. Stop It lifted up his head and licked the boy's ear.

The boy let out a cry of joy and wrung his arms around his pet dog. "Oh! I'm so pleased you are alive!" he cried. "Let's get you out of this terrible place. Come on, Andy!"

The boy and the limping dog made their way outside and were greeted by two relieved parents.

Commander Rocky and Astro looked at each other.

"I thought Stop It was a silly name," said Commander Rocky shrugging his shoulders.

Astro agreed, "Poor Dog! He was obviously confused."

Just then they noticed the other Operatives handing Speed Bump Charlie to the authorities. With his plans in tatters once again, Speed Bump Charlie and his gang of black cats, were thrown into the back of a police van and driven away. The Operatives stood side by side smiling at each other.

A group of news reporters came rushing up to the dogs.

"Tell us what happened! You were all amazing! Who are you?"

They all stopped and looked at each other. The Organisation was secret and no people were allowed to know anything about it. Commander Rocky stepped forward and barked nonsense at the reporter. The other dogs began to sniff the ground and Alfie lifted his leg on a sign post. The reporter was taken back and confused.

"What's going on?" she asked. "Inside you fought those terrible monsters; you freed the children and you stopped that evil cat from ruining the bond that has existed between mankind and dogs. Look at you all! Now you're just acting like dogs!" She scratched her head with her microphone.

Just then the microchips inside each of the dogs were reactivated. They all received the same message: Twelve puppies!!

The Operatives stopped and looked at Commander Rocky. They didn't know what it meant. Stella D'oro laughed. "Hans and Roxy are now the proud parents of twelve puppies!" she explained.

"Oh!" laughed Astro.

"At least our communication system is working again," smiled Digger.

"It must have been re-set when Speed Bump Charlie broke the controls," figured Indy.

Dogalogue

Back at headquarters, the Operatives were sharing the stories of their adventures with each other. Digger told of the fabulous pink float and how the builder dogs worked so hard to get it ready. Indy told them the story about how she saved the camp from the terrible crocodile. They all thought she was possibly the bravest dog they had ever met and were so glad she was working for The Organisation and not against it.

Astro told them about his old friend Red Baron and how they had managed to get the message written across the sky and how he had flown in an airplane. He didn't mention how ill he'd felt afterwards.

Alfie told them all about the parks and dogs he had met and what a wonderful time he'd had running with them all.

Dingo told them about the giant rats and the poor children locked inside. He told them how Commander Rocky had lured them to the edge of the escalators and how Speed Bump Charlie and his gang had fallen for the same trick over and over again. While they chatted away, Stella D'oro sat listening quietly in the corner.

"What happened to Stop It? I mean Andy?" asked Dingo.

"He wanted to stay and protect his family," explained Astro. "Now that they are all back together he doesn't want to leave them."

"That's completely understandable," sighed Digger. "A good family is certainly a dog's best friend."

They all nodded in agreement.

All of a sudden there was a loud noise of banging and yelping outside in the corridor. Everyone jumped up to see what it was. Stella D'oro didn't. While she was quietly meditating she had heard them arriving in the car park.

"Come on! Hurry up! Ahhh!! Don't chew that! You, number 4, whatever your name is, stop it right now!"

They all recognised Hans' voice. Astro went to the door and opened it but before he knew what was happening twelve tiny yappy puppies flew through the door like wild animals! They bounced and jumped and nipped and barked! What a noise and commotion they caused!

Two attached themselves to each of Alfie's ears and were swinging from side to side. Another two had pulled Digger's beret from his head and were playing tug of war. Astro had a puppy hanging from his tail and another two tugging on his back legs. One had jumped onto Dingo's back and as much as he tried to wriggle it free it hung on tightly. Two were sitting watching Stella D'oro. She didn't need to speak to them because she could talk to their minds. She was telling them a story about The Organisation and how it saves dogs - and people too sometimes.

The Operatives tried to calm the puppies down, pull free from them and gain some sort of control over them. It didn't work. As forceful as they became, the sillier the puppies were.

Operative Indy let out a loud bark, "Right, all puppies come over here and line up!"

Without a second thought, all of the puppies skittled towards her and formed a single line.

"Now!!" bellowed Indy. "I am Operative Indy and I have travelled the length and breadth of this vast country. I threw a stink bomb down the throat of a dog-eatin' crocodile. I rode on the back of trucks and utes for miles and miles and miles! And, do you know what? I do not want tiny yappy puppies swinging off me! Is that understood?"

The puppies were scared. They all nodded in agreement and one bit his lip to stop from crying. All the Operatives felt bad too. The puppies had been annoying but they all felt Indy was being too harsh.

"Now," Indy bellowed again! She leant down nose to nose to all the puppies. She bared all her teeth as if she was going to bite each one. All of the puppies were trembling. All accept one. He was smaller than the others and had the same brown markings as his father.

"'scuse me, Mz Indy, but can I play with your bone?" the small puppy lisped.

The Operatives and the remaining eleven puppies stared in disbelief at the unabashed nerve of the small pup.

Operative Indy stood up straight and rubbed her hunting bone. How many cats and snakes had she knocked on the head with it she pondered to herself? She quickly drew it out of her belt and raised it up high.

Everyone in the room gasped.

Indy lowered the bone and handed it to the puppy. "Be careful! You're not to hurt anyone with it."

His eyes widened with joy as he tried to balance the heavy bone in his paws.

"Now, do the rest of you want to go outside and play?"

All the puppies danced and yelped in excitement. Indy ushered them outside to the playground. The Operatives went outside with them and enjoyed playing on the see saw, agility equipment and in the sandpit.

Upstairs in the office, Commander Rocky was finishing off the paperwork. Hans having left his puppies in the capable paws of the Operatives was helping him. As they were sorting through emails, reports and files, Hans noticed an unusual package sitting on the corner of his desk.

"I don't remember seeing this before," he mused to himself. Absentmindedly he opened it. He let out a terrible scream and jumped back. Commander Rocky was used to working with the sensitive dachshund so he didn't pay him much attention.

"C, c, c mander?" squeaked Hans. Inside the package was a small brown box. It had no markings on it and no details of who had sent it.

"Hmmm?" queried Commander Rocky without looking up.

"D, d, d, do you believe in g, g, g, ghosts?" the little dog's voice was quivering. He was standing with the open box in his paws.

"What?" asked Commander Rocky. He spun round and saw the ghost of an old dog. It was about six feet high and although he could see straight through it. He recognised the dog immediately.

Hans staggered backwards into Commander Rocky. The ghost towered above them. They could see parts of its skeleton poking through its skin. Its fur hung down in strips and it only had one eye. Where the other eye should have been, a dark haunting hole gaped.

"Hans," whispered Commander Rocky, "I think we're going to have to assemble the team."

Hans stuttered back, "Yea, Yea, Yeah I agree." He slid sideways out of the door and ran to alert the Operatives, leaving Rocky alone to face the gruesome ghoul.

Commander Rocky cleared his throat and spoke bravely. "So, Major Dakota, we meet again!"

The ghost quivered and then broke out in a wide grin. "Yes," it hissed at Commander Rocky.

"What do you want?" Commander Rocky asked.

"Me?" the ghost laughed menacingly. It leaned its worm-ridden head closer and breathed a dank grey fog.

"Why Commander Rocky, I want you!"

And with that it reached out, grabbed Commander Rocky by the paw and they both disappeared in a puff of smoke.

The End... for now

Find out what happens to Commander Rocky in Major Dakota's Ghost!

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Titles in the Astro's Adventures series:

The Great Escape http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/76524

Golden Treasure https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/85532

Rampaging Rats https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/238862

Major Dakota's Ghost https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/300649

The Gypsy Curse https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/307863

Christmas Calamity https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/386547

Other titles written by Susan Day:

Understanding Your Dog http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/72942

Whispering Castle https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/76991

The Christmas Mouse https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/81084

Thank you for reading the third book in the series, Astro's Adventures. The dogs and cats in this book are based on real ones. I am also a dog trainer and a canine behaviourist. I share my house with Rocky, Stella D'oro, Digger and Alfie. I also share my home with Speed Bump Charlie; yes, that's his real name! The other dogs are owned by family members and friends. All the dogs play together on a regular basis.

I conduct workshops for children to teach them how I created characters from ordinary dogs and cats. I encourage them to write their own stories which they can upload on Astro's website. There are also children's activities to download. You are more than welcome to use these free services by going to: www.astrosadventures.com

You are welcome to connect with me online and on facebook. I keep an online diary of my writing where I share ideas and tips for writing. Please join me at www.susandayauthor.com

Yours in Paws,

Susan Day

