Title: Help wanted   Alex passed the half-open door and glanced inside. Walter was sitting at the desk in the study a pile of household bills at his side. Alex sighed inwardly. He volunteered at the local hospital, but that was only one day a week and brought no income into the house. The one time he had tried to discuss getting a job, Walter had gently but firmly convinced Alex his company, not his money, was what mattered to him. Alex hadn’t mentioned it again.   Alex stared at the sheet of paper in front of him and sighed at his resume.   Key skills: Assassination, covert surveillance, seduction – men and women, breaking and entering, fluent Russian.   Screwing the sheet of paper into a ball, he tossed it into the trash, grabbed his jacket and went out for a walk.   ********************   The local park was crowded, and Alex heard a shout above the background noise. The woman’s desperate cries of ‘Samson! Heel!’ went unheeded by the  huge hound Alex could see running in excited circles around her.   Alex was a little intimidated by the black and tan dog, ears flapping, barking loudly, but he walked across the grass and shouted crossly: ‘SAMSON HEEL NOW!!’ No-one was more surprised than he that the dog put its head and tail down and trotted slowly towards, not the owner, but Alex. Reaching him, the dog nuzzled Alex’s hand, whimpering softly. Quietly, he reassured the panting dog. ‘Good boy. Stay.’   Silently, the young woman handed Alex the leash and he clipped it to the dog’s collar and handed it to her. ‘Thank you so much! I know I don’t really have time for him, but he’s company in the evenings, and a deterrent to burglars.’ The woman looked at her watch and sighed. ‘I’m gonna be late for work if I don’t get home right now. Thanks again…um?’   ‘Alex. No problem. Bye.’   Alex detoured on his way home, stopping at a print shop.   *******************   Fox jogged through the park and slowed as he ran past the tree behind which was the water fountain he used every day. Attached to the tree was a small yellow flyer. Fox always paid attention to them – usually lost dogs or pleas for help to find items lost in the park – in case he could help, but this one caught his attention.   ‘AK Dog Walking Service. Reasonable rates. References available. Call…’   The words didn’t catch Fox’s attention. The cell phone number on the flyer did. Dropping onto the bench beside the tree, Fox pulled out his phone and dialed.   ‘AK Dog Walking Service.’   ‘Alex, what the Hell is this?’   ‘Fox?’   ‘Yeah. What are you doing setting up a business?’   ‘Um Fox, could we talk about this later please? I’ve had so many calls I don’t want to miss one.’   Shaking his head, Fox hung up.   *******************   Alex walked into the den and waited until Walter finished signing a cheque. ‘Um…Walter…’   Walter looked up. ‘Alex?’   Biting his lip, Alex stuck out his hand and Walter took the yellow A5 flyer from his shaking hand.   Walter read the few words several times, then looked up. ‘Aren’t there people already doing this?’   Alex nodded. ‘Yes. But they come with vans and they don’t take account of the individual dog’s fitness or let them sniff things. They just walk.’   Walter decided not to ask any complex questions. ‘Have you had any calls?’   Alex nodded, relaxing a little. ‘Six. I said you would call them tonight.’   ‘Me? I’m the ‘reference’?’   ‘Yes. Is that okay?’   ‘Wasn’t the time to ask me that before you showered the city with flyers?’   Alex shuffled his feet, his hands wringing behind his back.   Walter got up. ‘Alex if you’re doing this for the wrong reasons…’   ‘You mean if I’m doing it for the money?’   ‘Yes. You have to do a job, any job, because you want to and it suits you. Does this suit you?’   Alex nodded, smiling just a little. ‘Yeah. Some of the people I got calls from have the dogs as a deterrent from burglary, and they don’t have time to give the dogs the exercise they need so they get…you know, bouncy.’   Walter remembered his own childhood experiences with bored and frustrated dogs.   ‘We don’t need the money Alex.’   Alex shrugged. ‘I know. I’m not charging much.’   ‘You’re undercutting the existing operators?’   Alex paused, realizing what he’d said. ‘I don’t offer such a good service.’   ‘Yes you do Alex.’ Walter said firmly, lifting Alex’s chin. ‘I’m sure you’ll be a great dog walker.’   Alex smiled. ‘Samson is the biggest. He’s a Great Dane. The others are smaller, so they won’t walk as far or as fast. I figured I’d pick Samson up and walk him round to collect the others. That way he gets a good walk before we start properly.   Walter nodded. ‘You’ve really planned this, haven’t you Alex?’   Alex blushed slightly. ‘Will you give me a good reference?’   Walter laughed. ‘The best Alex.’   Alex smiled, picked up his flyer and walked out. Walking into the living room, he sat on the couch. Nicolai and Natasha jumped up, smelled a strange and unusual smell on Alex’s jeans, and punished him by digging their claws into his dog-scented thighs. Alex yelped and tried to push the cats off. Determined to rid the human of the nasty scent, both cats crouched down, rubbing themselves firmly on the denim. Alex gave up and leaned back, letting them rub him, wondering how they would react when he smelled of not one but six dogs.   End of Part One Home Send me feedback on this fic Return to the X-Files Fic Index Return to the West Wing Fic Index