No one had touched the Doberman in eleven days.

At 0200 hours on Thursday morning, a heavy fog rolled over the naval base, cloaking the rehabilitation kennels in a thick, ghostly mist.

Inside Kennel 14, Ranger suddenly raised his head, a dark, dangerous rumble vibrating deep within his chest. His ears pinned back, and his body coiled like a steel spring.

Outside the rear perimeter fence, three men in unmarked tactical uniforms silently cut through the chain-link barrier. They carried tranquilizer rifles and heavy capture nets—a rogue extraction team dispatched by Colonel Drake to steal Ranger under the cover of darkness before Admiral Holloway’s protection order could be finalized.

"Keep it quiet," the lead operative whispered. "Put two darts in the dog, load him into the van, and burn the kennel block down to cover the trace."

They crept toward the side entrance of the building. But as the lead operative reached for the door handle, a dark figure stepped out from the fog, blocking the doorway.

It was Nora.

She was no longer wearing her soft blue nursing scrubs. She wore dark tactical trousers, a fitted black compression shirt, and combat boots. Her hair was pulled back into a tight braid, and her eyes burned with the cold, lethal focus of a top-tier special operator.

"You're trespassing on a secure military facility," Nora said, her voice dropping into an octave that chilled the men to the bone.

The lead operative snorted, raising his tranquilizer rifle. "Get out of the way, lady. We have orders from high up."

"So do I," another voice called out from the darkness behind them.

Marcus Vance stepped out from the shadows of the motor pool, holding a high-caliber sidearm pointed directly at the team leader’s chest. Beside him stood Rear Admiral James Holloway, flanked by two heavily armed Base Security MPs.

"Colonel Drake’s authority has just been suspended pending court-martial charges for treason and grand larceny," Admiral Holloway declared, his voice cutting through the damp night air. "Drop your weapons immediately."

Panicking, the rogue lead operative swung his rifle toward the Admiral.

Before the man could pull the trigger, a loud crash shattered the reinforced glass of Kennel 14. Ranger burst through the window, a terrifying shadow of black and tan flying through the air. The massive Doberman hit the operative at full speed, sinking his jaws into the man’s tactical vest and slamming him hard onto the damp pavement.

The other two saboteurs dropped their weapons and threw their hands up, cowering under the terrifying snarls of the legendary war dog.

Nora stepped forward and gave a sharp, two-tone whistle.

Instantly, Ranger released the operative and fell back, taking his position at Nora’s left heel. His chest heaved, his teeth glinted in the moonlight, but his obedience to Nora was absolute.

Marcus walked up beside Nora, holstering his weapon. He looked down at the subdued mercenaries, then turned to Nora with an admiring grin.