Release the Hounds (in French Lâchez les chiens) is the fifteenth album of the comic book series XIII. It was published in 2002.
XIII is on a train going to San Diego, but agents of the NSA get on board, join Jessica and try to kill him. XIII jumps on another moving train to escape the NSA agents. Jessica tries to follow him.
Release the Hounds provides examples of:
- Almost Kiss: XIII is going to kiss Maria Isabel de Los Santos, when Jones enters the room.
- Badass in Distress: XIII is going to be shot down by NSA agents at Moon Valley Airport. Jessica has to save him.
- Battle in the Rain: It rains during the Traintop Battle.
- Chick Magnet: Jessica falls for XIII, even if she was ordered to kill him.
- Falling-in-Love Montage: There is a sequence with no dialogue where XIII and Jessica kiss each other, sleep together, drive together in a car, and eat together in a restaurant.
- Fanservice: Both Jessica and XIII spend some time dressed in their undies along a lake because their clothes need to dry.
- Hellish Copter: The police helicopter that XIII and Jessica travel in is shot down by a NSA plane.
- Heroic Sacrifice: At Moon Valley Airport, XIII is going to be shot down by NSA agents. Jessica intervenes to save him, but she is killed in the process.
- Hero Stole My Bike: Hero stole my hot-air balloon.
- High-Heel–Face Turn: Jessica is the only female among the professional killers sent after XIII by Executor and by the NSA. Finally, she becomes allied with XIII after he saved her life twice.
- In Love with the Mark: Jessica falls for XIII, even if she was ordered to kill him.
- Love Redeems: Jessica was a villainess. She falls for XIII. She becomes allied with him. She ends up making an Heroic Sacrifice to help him.
- Low Clearance: An NSA agent is going to shoot XIII down on the top of the train, but the train enters a tunnel and the agent has to dive.
- Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: Jessica betrays both Irina and Frank Giordino. This is partly because Irina threatened to kill her.
- The Mistress: Jessica confesses that she is Frank Giordino's mistress.
- Mugged for Disguise: Happens to the train steward. XIII steals his clothes.
- Only in It for the Money: Jessica works as a professional killer for Executor because she gets a good pay.
- Previously on…: The previous episode is summed up in one page in the beginning.
- Redemption Equals Death: Jessica has a Heel–Face Turn and she is killed by NSA agents soon thereafter at Moon Valley airport.
- Rescue Romance: Jessica falls in love with XIII after he saved her life twice.
- Romantic False Lead:
- Jessica falls in love with XIII. They have sex together on the way to Moon Valley. As she dies quickly, it does not interfere with XIII's relationship with Jones.
- XIII is going to kiss Maria, his ex-wife, when Jones enters the room.
- Save the Villain: XIII saves Jessica twice. When she jumps on a moving train, she slips and she catches to the train with a single hand. She is going to let go, when XIII helps her to climb on the top of the train. Later, he takes her out of a helicopter that is going to be brought down and he saves her from drowning in a lake.
- Secret Underground Passage: There is one between the airport of Puerto Pilar and the presidential palace.
- Sleeping Their Way to the Top: Jessica had a desk job at the CIA. She became Frank Giordino's mistress and got a promotion.
- Soft Water: XIII and Jessica jump from a flying helicopter and survive because they fall into a lake.
- Stern Chase: XIII has to move constantly because NSA agents are after him.
- Temporary Love Interest: XIII has a relationship with Jessica, but she dies quickly after the beginning of the relationship.
- Thriller on the Express: The first part of the album happens in a moving train: XIII is hiding and four NSA agents are after him.
- Traintop Battle: XIII confronts an NSA hitman and Jessica on the top of the train.
- Unconventional Vehicle Chase: XIII uses a hot-air balloon to escape from NSA agents.
- You Have Failed Me: Defied. Jessica knows that Irina will kill her because she did not kill XIII. Therefore, she betrays her and helps XIII.
