Chapter 5 - THE UNCOMMANDED SALUTE
Rachel Reed stood completely alone at center court, ten feet in front of Lieutenant Carter, her posture as straight and unyielding as a steel pillar.
As the leading row of the working-dog column reached a point exactly twelve feet from where Rachel stood, something extraordinary happened.
Rachel didn't say a word. She didn't utter a verbal command, blow a whistle, or make a hand signal. She simply raised her chin half an inch and held her hands loosely at her sides.
Instantly, all fifty military working dogs stopped in perfect unison.
Without a single handler pulling a leash or shouting an order, every German Shepherd, Belgian Malinois, and Labrador dropped their hips to the floor and sat. They formed three flawless, perfectly aligned tactical rows facing Rachel Reed, their heads held high, their eyes locked onto her face with absolute, unwavering devotion and submission.
At that exact microsecond, Titan dropped his heavy hips beside Mason, sitting in the exact same pristine, tactical pose, matching the alignment of the fifty war dogs before them.
Chief Ramirez took three quick, crisp steps out from behind his recruitment booth. He snapped his boots together with a sharp crack, threw his shoulders back, and raised his right hand into a crisp, immaculate military salute directly toward Rachel Reed.
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Lieutenant Carter stared at the scene, completely stunned, his mouth slightly open, the microphone buzzing softly in his trembling grip.
In the bleachers, hundreds of high school students slowly lowered their smartphones, their laughter entirely dead, replaced by utter disbelief and overwhelming awe.
