“Run Echo Pattern.”
I blinked.
“Here?”
“Yes.”
My pulse quickened.
Echo Pattern was not a simple obedience drill. It was a multi-command sequence using hand signals, silence, scent markers, and moving formations. I had practiced it hundreds of times at the training facility, but never in a crowded gym with every eye fixed on me.
I looked at her.
She gave one nod.
Trust.
I turned to the dogs.
My mouth had gone dry.
Titan remained at my left.
The lead Malinois watched me, waiting.
I raised two fingers.
“Echo.”
The first row stood.
I flicked my wrist.
They split left and right.
No barking.
No hesitation.
I touched the pouch to Titan’s nose, then pointed toward the far bleachers where Master Sergeant Vale had placed hidden scent markers before the event began.
“Find.”
Titan moved like a shadow.
Three dogs followed.
Then another group crossed behind them, forming a moving barrier between the students and the active search team.
Gasps rose from the bleachers.
I stopped speaking after that.
Hand signal.
Pause.
Two taps against my leg.
Open palm.
The dogs responded.
They flowed around chairs, tables, displays, and recruitment booths without disturbing a single object.
One Labrador stopped near the Army table and sat.
A German Shepherd sat near the bleachers.
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