by C. G. Mosley
“It doesn’t make any sense,” he said finally, rising from his seat. He strolled over toward the outside balcony and gripped the metal railing as he peered at the golden sun. It wasn’t easy to see through the mist that always surrounded the island, but he could just make out a golden orb descending behind the horizon of the sea. He turned to face her. “I just remember how holier than thou he acted about this island and how we should respect it and stay away from it,” he said bitterly. “For him to change his mind and return here for a reason like that…” He paused and took a breath. “…I just don’t know.”
Annie stood from her comfortable position and joined him on the balcony. She placed an arm around his waist. She wanted to say something, but frankly, she wasn’t sure what to say.
“So do you believe him?” Eric asked suddenly.
Annie looked over at him, doing her best to look surprised that he’d even ask the question. “Of course I do,” she replied quickly. “If I didn’t believe him, trust me, you’d know it.”
He gazed at her for a long moment, and she could tell he was really taking his time pondering what she’d told him. He finally leaned forward and kissed her on the head. “I believe you,” he said. “I’m just not sure if I’m as quick to believe him as you are.”
Annie breathed in the damp, cool breeze that rolled off the dusk sky and curved her bright red lips into her trademark beautiful smile. “Listen, when you’ve been chased by dinosaurs with someone, you get to know them for who they really are. If Jonathon tells me that’s why they are here, then I have no reason to doubt him. I’ve seen him at his weakest moments and at his strongest.”
Eric took a moment to enjoy the same air Annie had just breathed in. He considered lighting up a cigarette, but decided his lungs were currently enjoying the clean air too much. “Okay,” he said. “But enough about him. I want you to know what’s coming up tomorrow.”
Annie’s interest suddenly spiked. She turned to face him, her back against the railing. Eric took a moment to enjoy the view with her in the forefront. Her long, red hair blew wildly around her face. He couldn’t help himself; he leaned forward to kiss her on the lips.
“What happens tomorrow?” Annie asked, trying to keep him on track.
He smiled at her. “Tomorrow, I finish up scoring the biggest pay day we’ve ever had. I want you to know that it’ll be dangerous. Probably the most dangerous catch we’ve ever done.”
Annie’s smile straightened, and her expression turned to one of concern. “What are you going after that would be that dangerous?”
“Sarcosuchus,” he replied.
She stared at him.
“It’s a large prehistoric crocodile,” he explained.
“Ah,” she replied. “You know those long funny names have never made any sense to me.” She wrapped her arms around his waist again and rested her head against his chest as the last few rays of daylight began to disappear. “If this dinosaur is as dangerous as you say, who in their right mind would want one?”
Eric thought about the mysterious buyer that only went by the name ‘Mr. O.’ “You know, I’m not sure about the guy’s real name, and quite frankly, I don’t care. If he wants to get a giant croc that could potentially swallow him whole, then more power to him. I’m just going to make sure I’ve got my money before I hand the beast over.”
“So I take it you’ll be out and about early in the morning?”
He nodded. “Probably before you get up for sure.”
She made a mental note of it and looked up at him. “Just promise me you’ll be careful.”
He kissed her forehead and held her tightly. “I’m always careful,” he assured her. “But it’s going to be a long day. Don’t wait up for me,” he added.
***
Glenn Hardcastle and George Monroe looked over their vehicles and had been discussing the plan for the following day’s activities. He took great care to check all points where the protective cages attached to all the vehicle frames. George took up his time checking and restocking the vehicles with ammunition for the powerful machine gun turrets mounted on the top of the jeeps. The semi was fitted with the equipment needed to drag the prehistoric croc to the beach, and crews would work to get the barge in position while they were busy catching the beast.
In order to get everything done as efficiently as possible, they were going to have to transport the juvenile tyrannosaur the next morning when they made the trek to the northern corner of the island. The trailer would be dropped near the beach, and they could take the animal to the ship once they had secured Sarcosuchus. They’d spent a great deal of time planning it all out, and now that Charlie Nelson had given her blessing, it was all finally going to be over. Hardcastle thought about it and could not remember a single time that a hunt and catch had ever exhausted him this much before. He’d be so relieved when it was all done and they collected the big payday. His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by echoing footsteps approaching across the hangar floor. He turned to see where George was and noticed him loading ammunition into the cab of the semi-truck.
“Hi, Glenn,” a familiar male voice called about behind him.
He turned to face the man he knew he’d inevitably have to confront eventually. “Hiya, Dave,” he said with a half-smile.
Dave crossed his arms and looked around to see if anyone was paying attention to them. When he was comfortable they were not, he looked back at Glenn who was now leaning against one of the armored jeeps. He noticed that he had a fairly large wrench in his hand.
“I think we need to clear the air about something,” Dave said.
Hardcastle stared at him but said nothing.
“About what happened when we were hunting the young tyrannosaur the other day,” Dave continued.
Hardcastle huffed. “What about it?” he asked.
Dave hardened his expression. “I think you know,” he replied. “You were careless and almost got me killed.” He then glanced down toward the leg he’d injured for extra emphasis.
“Dave, if I was trying to kill you, I’d have succeeded,” Hardcastle said in a low voice.
Dave shook his head and smiled. “I never said you tried to kill me,” he snapped. “I said you could’ve killed me.”
Hardcastle bit his lip and looked away.
Dave continued. “I don’t believe you went out there with intentions of getting me killed,” he explained. “But I don’t think you put much effort into keeping me safe either.”
Hardcastle returned his gaze to Dave. “I led the charge to go and find you, Dave,” he said. “Believe what you want to believe, but as I said, if I wanted you dead, you’d be dead.”
Dave nodded. “Alright, well the point of this conversation is this: I’m keeping my mouth shut to Eric about everything.”
“Well, thank God,” Hardcastle said sarcastically. “I can’t tell you how worried I’ve been that you’d tattle on me, Dave.”
“And,” Dave continued, “I’m going along tomorrow, and just know that if things go bad, I won’t make any effort to save you.”
Hardcastle laughed and turned way. “Duly noted,” he said. “What makes you think I’d need your help anyway?”
“You’re the dinosaur wrangler,” Dave replied. “You’ll be in harm’s way when I will not. This animal is unlike any other we’ve tried to trap before. I’d be at least a little concerned if I were you.”
“Well, thank God you’re not me,” Hardcastle quipped. “Will there be anything else you’d like to add?”
Dave stood still and thought a minute. “No, I think that’s it,” he said finally.
“Good,” Hardcastle replied. “Then get out of my hangar,” he growled, pointing toward the exit with the wrench.
Dave spun on his heel and exited the building without another word.
Chapter 27
Jonathon had been in another deep sleep when he felt someone aggressively shaking him.
“Wake up…wake up…” a female voice called out to
him over and over again.
He’d been sleeping on the small couch in the corner of the break room. He rolled over and looked up through tired eyes to see the small blonde woman he’d seen at the river when Silas and his father were taken.
“Do I know you?” he asked groggily.
The woman looked around as if she was making sure no one was listening. She seemed very anxious. “No, but be glad you do now,” she said, now tugging on his arm to get him up. “We’ve got to hurry before I’m spotted.”
“Did you slide the note under the door?” Jonathon asked.
“Yes,” she said quickly. “I’m getting you out of here.” She again took a moment to look toward the door as if she was expecting someone to burst through it at any moment.
“Who are you?” he asked. He didn’t know how much time they had, but he wanted a few answers before he darted out the door with a complete stranger.
She glanced at him, sensing his skepticism. “Look, we don’t have time for this,” she explained. “But I’ll try to do this as quickly as I can.”
“I’d appreciate that,” Jonathon replied.
“My name is Charlotte Nelson. I’m a paleontologist, and I was just hired as a consultant for Eric Gill’s little operation here on the island,” she said. “I’ve been giving him advice on how to catch a large Sarcosuchus on the other end of the island. He collects these animals and sells them for a fee,” she explained.
Jonathon held up a hand. “I know all about Eric’s little operation,” he said. “What I’d like to know is why you’re helping me. If you’re working for him, then how can you be on my side?”
She seemed to ignore the question. “Well, do you know who Mr. Gill is selling all of these animals to?”
Jonathon rubbed the back of his neck and stood from the couch. “Kind of,” he replied. “I suspect he’s selling them to a lot of wealthy and shady characters all over the globe.”
Charlie nodded. “Yeah, and did you know his current customer is an international terrorist?”
Jonathon’s mouth dropped open and his eyes widened. “A terrorist?” He let the words sink in a moment and slowly it began to make a lot of sense. He was fully aware of what sort of terror Sarcosuchus was capable of…much less a full-grown tyrannosaur. “Oh my God,” he said softly. “The buyer wants to use these animals as weapons?”
Charlie nodded. “I know factually that the buyer is going to take the Sarcosuchus and release it in the Lake of Banyoles near Barcelona, Spain. The lake is over a mile long and about a half-mile wide. Large enough for the animal to thrive there. What’s worse than that is that the lake borders the small town of Porueres. I don’t think I have to explain to you why that is a terrifying thought.”
Jonathon pulled his hat off his head and fanned himself with it. “Why would he do such a thing? And isn’t that location somewhat random?”
Charlie licked her lips and looked around again, still visibly worried about someone discovering them. “It’s not random at all,” she said. “Where are the summer Olympics being held this year?”
Jonathon thought about it. “Spain,” he said, thinking. “Oh my God…Barcelona, Spain!”
She nodded. “That’s right, and guess where the rowing competitions will be held?”
“Oh my God,” Jonathon said again in disbelief. “He’d have a spotlight in front of the entire nation. It would create massive panic.”
“Yes, and that mass panic and hysteria would have a domino effect. Believe me, this would only be the beginning. Don’t forget about the juvenile tyrannosaur. There is no telling what sort of plans he has in store for it too.”
Jonathon stared at her in a trance for a few moments. He could feel that perspiration had formed on his forehead. He even felt a little dizzy. This had to almost be the worst-case scenario of all of the possibilities he thought were plausible. Then another thought suddenly occurred to him.
“How do you possibly know all of this?” he asked.
She sighed and again looked around. “Because the Central Intelligence Agency recruited me for this mission,” she said very matter-of-factly.
Jonathon did a double take. “Wait…did you just say you’re in the C.I.A.?”
She shook her head and chuckled. “No, I said the C.I.A. recruited me. I’m a paleontologist that just happened to get an unexpected visit from Eric Gill some time back. I thought the guy was nuts. A month later, a well-dressed man showed up at my office. He was handsome, and I thought maybe my luck was changing with men, but naturally, all he wanted to talk about was Eric. He wanted to know everything about what his visit was about.”
“And you told him?” Jonathon asked in awe.
She looked at him like he’d grown another head. “Well, yeah,” she replied. “When the C.I.A. shows up at your door, it’s a little intimidating.”
“So you spilled the beans and now here you are,” he said, clearly still letting it all process.
“Well, actually, they told me to contact them if I ever heard from him again,” she explained. “And well, I heard from him again…and next thing I know, I’m getting a good talking to about how this is my duty as an American. I’m hearing all sorts of horror stories about a specific Middle Eastern terrorist group that was interested in any sort of weapon they could get their hands on. Including dinosaurs.”
Jonathon returned his hat to his head and took a deep breath. He truly felt lightheaded and the last thing he wanted to do was pass out. He walked briskly over to the sink, leaned forward, and put his mouth under the faucet. Charlie watched him drink a lot more water than she would’ve initially imagined. When he finally felt better, Jonathon turned around to face her again and wiped the moisture away from his mouth with his shirt sleeve.
“Well, how did they act when you told them all about the dinosaurs?” he asked.
“Oh that was the strangest thing of all,” she said. “They barely acknowledged it. It was almost like they already knew about it. They seemed to be more concerned with the potential consequences of the animals reaching the mainland.”
Jonathon pondered her statement; he clearly had more questions. Charlie decided her time was up.
“Okay, that’s all I can tell you now,” she said. “We’ve got to go immediately.”
“Go where?”
“I’ve got to go with them to catch the Sarcosuchus. What I need—excuse me, what I’d like for you to do is to go down to the beach while everyone is gone and call for help,” she said.
“I don’t understand; why can’t you just call for help right here?”
She held up her wrist and showed him what appeared to be a normal wristwatch. She pushed a small button on the side, and the face of the watch flipped up to reveal what looked like a tiny phone or radio of some sort. He grabbed her arm and looked at the watch up close.
“You’re just a regular James Bond,” he said in amazement.
“I know, right?” She pulled her arm back and closed the face. “I’d love to be able to call them right here, but it’s not going to work. This mist screws up the signal. They told me this was a possibility and if it happened to get to the clearest area I could find and walk around until I found a signal. I’ve got to find somewhere with few trees and as much open space as possible. The only area I can think of that would be remotely safe would be the beach.”
She began to unstrap the watch and hand it to him. “Here, take this and call them. You don’t have to say anything. You need only to press the orange button three times. That part is important…don’t screw it up!”
“Three times?” he said, wondering about the odd number to himself.
“I don’t make the rules, but if you screw it up and punch the orange button anything other than three times, you’re going to really make things difficult for us. So please be careful with that part.” She handed the watch out to him.
Jonathon held up a hand and refused it. “I can’t,” he said. “There is something else I’ve got to take care of first.”
<
br /> She looked at him, confused. “What are you talking about? I watched your friends die. I don’t think there is anything good planned for you here. You need to leave.”
He shook his head. “I’m sorry, it’s important.”
She cocked her head slightly to the side and squinted at him. She was clearly bewildered by his decision. “You’re telling me you’re just going to sit back and let them take a tyrannosaur and prehistoric super croc to the mainland? You’ve got an opportunity here to stop something catastrophic from happening and you’re not going to take it?”
Jonathon crossed his arms and shook his head. He smiled. “I never said I was going to sit back and do nothing,” he said. “I’m telling you I’ve got something else I need to do. But before I do it, I’m going to stop this from happening.”
“So call the C.I.A.,” she pleaded.
“I can’t call the C.I.A. until I’ve completed what I need to do,” he said. “I’ve got one chance at it and I’m not going to blow it.”
“Well, what is it exactly that you just have to do?” she asked.
Jonathon stared into her blue eyes for a long moment. He wanted to tell her because she’d already shared so much with him. But truthfully, he didn’t think she was ready to hear about the fountain of youth. The only reason she’d accepted the dinosaurs so easily was probably because the C.I.A. had her doing a mission for them. She was laser focused on her objective, he could certainly see that.
“I promise I’ll tell you what I had to do once it’s done, but until then, I need you to hold off calling the C.I.A.”
Charlie opened her mouth to argue further but quickly decided it was a futile effort. She refastened the wristwatch and turned to head out the door. Jonathon quickly followed.
As they snuck down the hallway, Jonathon could see from a doorway at the end of the hallway that it was still dark outside.
“What time is it exactly?” he asked.
“You mean after I repeatedly waved my watch around in your face, you never took a moment to check the time?” she asked, and she looked at the timepiece, herself obviously unsure of the time. “It’s a quarter till five,” she whispered. “I’ve got to be in the hangar at 7:00 a.m. to ride out with these lunatics.”
