We’re in Dr. Pao’s living room, and she’s on the sofa across from me wearing the earpiece that Junebug loaned to her. One of her labradoodles is by her side, and she runs her fingers through the dog’s curly hair.
“I don’t remember much,” I say. “Flashes of training, blue uniforms, and a yacht.”
“A yacht?”
Chance perks up behind me. He’s across the room with Junebug, drinking juice and eating snacks.
“I woke up on a sinking ship,” I tell Dr. Pao. “I saw an article in the LA Times yesterday saying a yacht belonging to Helen Horvath sunk last week.”
“Horvath? The rich woman who’s constantly in trouble?” Chance says.
“You’ve heard of her?” I ask.
Junebug shoots Chance a quizzical look. “She’s surprised I’ve heard of Helen Horvath,” Chance explains.
“Everyone’s heard of her,” Junebug says. “She’s rich and beautiful, and people think she’s shady because she gives away a ton of money from her foundation.”
“What’s so shady about that?” Chance asks.
“It’s not the money, it’s who she chooses to give it to,” Dr. Pao says. “Her foundation has been under investigation for a while.”
“I don’t know anything about her or her foundation,” I say. “And I have no idea why I was on her family yacht.”
“Very mysterious,” Dr. Pao says.
Her labradoodle hops off the couch, walking toward Chance and Junebug.
“Oh my god, I’m having a cute attack,” Junebug says, and Chance rolls his eyes.
“Is it okay to play with her?” Junebug asks.
“Her name’s Maddie,” Dr. Pao says. “She’s very friendly, and she loves kids. Wait until you see what kind of tricks she can do.”
The big labradoodle happily eats chips from Junebug’s hand while Chance scratches behind her floppy ears. Maddie seems like she’s in heaven, oblivious to the conversation around her. I try to imagine what it would be like to be a normal dog, to live with that kind of freedom.…
Who am I kidding?
I’m not a normal dog. I have to find out what kind of dog I am so I’ll know what to do next. I turn away from Maddie and the children.
“I need to know about BreedX,” I tell the doctor.
“It was my life’s work and my passion,” she says, her eyes bright. “I wanted to create the greatest pets in history.”
Across the room, Junebug squeals with laughter as Maddie squats down and nudges Junebug onto her back, galloping around and snorting to imitate a horse.
“I told you she knew tricks,” Dr. Pao says.
“I want to try, too!” Chance says, and he trades places with Junebug. He shouts with pleasure as Maddie lifts him into the air and prances around the room.
“You see what I mean about creating great pets?” Dr. Pao says. “But BreedX wasn’t just about fun. We were practical, too. It started with the idea of service animals. Drug-sniffing dogs, guide dogs… Imagine a family pet who could detect if your children were using drugs, who could tell if you were getting sick when your scent changed, who could keep your family safe crossing the street in traffic. All of this without much training, because it would be bred into the dog.”
“One dog could do all of those things?”
“Those capacities already exist in different breeds,” Dr. Pao says. “But I found a way to merge them into one optimized animal. A BreedX dog would have the qualities of a working dog combined with the sociability, loyalty, and friendliness of a family pet.”
“Like Maddie!” Junebug says, pulling the labradoodle onto her lap.
“Exactly,” Dr. Pao says.
“But the article online said you never delivered any dogs,” Chance says.
Dr. Pao’s face goes red with anger. “I couldn’t deliver them because General Rupani stopped me!”
“Who stopped you?” I ask, sitting up and cocking my ears.
“His name is General Rupani. He’s head of a supersecret arm of the military with the codename Maelstrom.”
“Finally!” Chance says, and he leans forward, all attention on the doctor. Junebug shuffles nervously behind him.
“Rupani,” I say, trying to remember the face that goes with the name, but nothing comes to me.
Maddie senses the doctor’s distress and disengages from Junebug, trotting across the room and planting her head on the doctor’s thigh. The doctor runs her fingers through Maddie’s fur.
“Two men in uniforms showed up at our offices,” Dr. Pao says. “They said the military would like to license our technology for a pilot program.”
“But you didn’t go along with it,” I say.
“Absolutely not. My dream was to create next-gen pets, not the next generation of—”
She looks at me, her voice trailing off.
“Of what?” I ask. I sense she’s going to tell us something vital—that I’m close to finding out who, and what, I am.
“I’m sorry,” Dr. Pao says. “I lost control of myself for a moment.”
I whine, frustrated.
A movement outside the window draws my attention. I look at a bank of trees beyond the compound. I watch the branches swaying for a few seconds, and I decide it was just the wind.
I look back at Dr. Pao. She seems tired, her face older than it was a few moments ago.
“I said no to those soldiers,” she says. “But that wasn’t the end of it. I had no idea who I was really dealing with.”
“Maelstrom,” I say.
Dr. Pao’s face goes dark.
“You keep saying that word. What is it?” Chance asks. We’re all listening intently.
Dr. Pao stands up. “I’d like to speak to Wild alone.”
“No way!” Chance says. “I’m never going to find out what that Maelstrom thing is!”
“Give us a couple of minutes,” I urge Chance. He pouts and relays the message to Junebug.
“Bummer,” she says.
The kids leave the room, and Dr. Pao closes the door firmly behind them.
“I haven’t told you the whole story,” she says. “And you need to know.”