Wolfie Steel: Private Eye

Written by Wolfie Steel

Part 1.

My job working for Senior Doberman as his chief bodyguard and head of security is challenging and it does keep me supplied with quite a bit of money, but for some time now I have been feeling that I need something more. My relationship with Calvin had lasted for many truly wonderful years, until the day that he was brutally taken from me, two shots from a snipers rifle left Calvin dead and me with a steel plate in my right leg, which has given me a pronounced limp, even now I have a chuckle at the irony, Steel by name with a steel leg.

The steel plate in my leg caused me to hire a much younger guy to look after the bodyguard needs of Senior Doberman, though I do still go with him for the real important meetings. My steel leg however does not stop me from branching off down another alleyway, that of being a private eye. In truth this is kind of my first day, it has taken me twelve solid months to gain my PI’s licence, but with the death of Calvin, at least it gave me something to keep my mind occupied.

So here I am a wolf with a steel leg about to take his first rocky steps into the world of the private eye. I have decided to run my venture from the basement of my home which still resides on the estate of Senior Doberman, the great dog has been nothing but supportive and unlike my previous boss, Vinnie Van Daz, he has allowed me to set myself up, in fact he actually encouraged me, so I have the skills, I have the base of operations, all I need now is someone to field all of my calls, of course I also need calls to field, so first things first, I have a date with a computer and a printer.

I sit here in my basement working on the flyers to promote my new business, while the printer is printing the many copies that I need I work on my crude website, hey I’m no web designer and there is no way in hell that I will go cap in hand to Senior Doberman, I mean sure, I know full well that he would task one of his top paid designers to set me up an all singing and all dancing website, but I am happy to just set up a simple website with the knowledge that I have gained in my time working for Linkin.

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Finally at five minutes to midnight I’m done, I click the submit button and wait for it to go live. I slowly and tiredly make my way up to my bedroom, which now only houses me, I make the same lonely journey every night, on my journey I walk passed two picture portraits, the first being my first mate Tony, the second being Calvin, each time I pass them it pulls at my heart strings. Of course the house isn’t completely empty of life, my adopted sons Mickey and Leo are still here with me and I love them both dearly, but there is still that hole in my heart that no one has as yet been able to fill.

I walk passed Mickey and Leo’s room and I can hear them playing on one of their many game consoles, though I still think of them as my boys, they are in fact fully grown young men, and they are both in the employ of Senior Doberman. I poke my head around the door and bid them both goodnight, I see Mickey reach for the remote control so that he can turn the sound of the game down to a low level to allow me to sleep, they truly are incredible guys, so respectful and gentle, and yet both of them can break bones and take heads off if needed, and right here and right now I couldn’t be more proud of them.

I head into my bedroom and gently flop down to the bed, too tired to even change into my night clothes. I drift off into a lonely sleep and it’s not long before the nightmare of Calvin’s death begins to replay in my mind, I toss and I turn and in my mind I yell out to Calvin to try and save his life, but as always I’m too late, I see the bullet wound in Calvin’s head and then I feel the searing pain of a bullet as it lodges into my leg, in this nightmare though there is something different, distant voices, and somebody shaking me, suddenly I shoot bolt upright, eyes as wide as saucers, I’m panting and shivering, then I see what must have been the cause of the voices and the shaking, Mickey and Leo, both are standing there with worried looks on their faces.

After a few minutes I manage to get myself under control and Mickey sits next to me on the bed.

“You’re still having that nightmare about dad’s death aren’t you dad?”

I can no longer deny it and I begin to cry uncontrollably. Mickey looks at Leo and a secret message seems to pass between them, as Leo turns and heads out of my room. I hear the front door close and the sound of Leo’s booted paws running down the gravelled driveway, five minutes later I hear those same booted paws returning, but this time they are not alone.

Leo comes back into the house with Senior Doberman right behind him; Linkin just stands there and shakes his head as he begins to speak.

“Wolfie, its time that you let go of your past, sitting there crying is not going to bring Tony or Calvin back, I want you to stand up and raise your index claw to the world, show the world that Wolfie Steel does not quit. Now for tonight and for tonight only, I will sleep with you but only so that you can rest, and then in the morning, you are going to go to the local newspaper office and put the ad for your PI business into the newspaper, bury your muzzle into your new venture and in no time flat the old Wolfie Steel will be back. Don’t forget, I have seen you at your best, even after Tony’s death”

With that said Linkin tells the boys to head off to their own bed, once they are gone Linkin gets into the other side of my bed and continues.

“Now get your butt into bed and sleep, and that Wolfie is an order”

I really don’t feel like sleeping, but at the end of the day Linkin is still my boss, so what he says goes. I shakily climb back into bed and turn out the bedside light and drift into a deep sleep.

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How long I was out for god only knows, but I’m suddenly awoken by the fact that I’m being pulled out of bed, my eyes open and begin to focus, its Linkin doing the pulling.

“Get your arse downstairs, get yourself some breakfast then shower and change and then you have a date with the newspaper office”

I let out a sly chuckle as thoughts of my time at the Elite training camp come back, Linkin is worse than any drill instructor, but he does have a point, I need to get back into the loop and fast.

I get up out of bed and head downstairs, as I pass Linkin I give his muzzle a quick kiss, through all of my trials and hurt, he has been there, god damn it if he was single I would so be making a play for him, but that is never going to happen, so I have to make do with a stolen kiss.

Linkin sits at the kitchen table with me, enjoying the breakfast that I had made us both. As we eat he looks out of the kitchen window and sees that it is raining hard.

“Well Wolfie, you sure picked a great day to start your PI business, oh and just for the record I will say nothing about that sneaky kiss, but next time, just ask”

I let out a deep rumbling chuckle and blush madly.

“Well Linkin, at least it shows that I can still surprise you, and besides, it was a thank you for last night, you were right when you said that I should bury my muzzle into my new business, so that is exactly what I’m gonna do”

Linkin looks into my eyes and then lets out a gasp.

“Oh my god, you’re back, the old Wolfie Steel is fighting back, I have stared into your eyes on many occasions and what I see now is the same fire and determination that I have always seen. It amazes the crap out of me how you can relight that fire every time it gets extinguished, now go shower and change and start living your life again”

I quickly grab the breakfast things that Linkin and I had used and load them into the dishwasher, with that chore done I head off to the shower. While in the shower I go through everything that I have to do to make sure that I’m ready for any clients that I get, thoughts of love don’t even play a part, it’s time that I reinvent myself, call it a new life server if you will, Wolfie Steel 2.0.

After my shower and change I head out to my truck, I then head out towards the local newspaper office, the rain is still lashing down, but right here and right now, nothing can dampen my spirit.