by C. G. Mosley
They eventually slipped out of the doorway at the end of the corridor and into the outdoors. Jonathon motioned for her to stay within the darkness as much as possible. Although he was completely unsure of where she was going, he followed her. She suddenly stopped and crouched down. He copied her movement and crouched down near her side. It was only then that he saw the reason for her abrupt halt. He could see the silhouette of someone walking in their direction and away from the pyramid-shaped structure near the back of the compound. The two of them held their breaths and hoped that they had not been spotted. Jonathon squinted and strained his eyes in a desperate attempt to make out who the person was, but the darkness was too much.
“Do they see us?” Charlie whispered.
Jonathon continued to stare at the mystery person and his heart stopped when he realized that the individual had stopped walking and appeared to be looking at them!
“Crap,” he muttered. “Yeah, they see us.”
Charlie cursed under her breath. “Well, what do we do now?” she asked.
“Nothing, hold tight,” he replied still keeping his undivided attention on the person that seemed to be staring right back at him.
It was then that the strange silhouette began moving straight toward them with cautious steps. Jonathon kept waiting for whoever the person was to call out to them, but it didn’t happen. He was just about to suggest that they take off running when the person finally stepped into the light.
“I know her,” he said, standing up.
Charlie, still unsure about the situation, remained where she was.
“Annie?” Jonathon called out cautiously.
“Jonathon?” she replied. “What are you doing there? Who is that with you?” she asked as she briskly moved to where they were.
“Is anyone coming behind you?” he asked, ignoring her questions.
“No,” she said assuringly. “It’s just me. Do you still not trust me?”
“I’m getting there,” he answered. He then reached down and helped Charlie to her feet. “It’s okay, we don’t have to worry about her.”
When Annie realized it was a pretty blonde woman crouched down in the shadows with him, she flashed a mischievous grin.
“My, my, Jonathon,” she said, almost purring. “I was never able to get you down in the dark with me,” she said.
He thought back to a brief moment many years before when Annie had drunkenly come on to him while they were on Angus Wedgeworth’s ship on their way to the island. He’d rejected her then, and she’d apparently never forgotten it.
“It wasn’t like that,” Charlie snapped, obviously completely oblivious to their past history.
“Sweetie, I’m kidding,” Annie replied. She held out her hand and introduced herself.
“I’m Charlotte Nelson,” she replied. “But call me Charlie.”
Jonathon looked at her. “Why can’t I call you Charlie?”
She smiled at him. “Sorry, it’s been all business with you since we met.”
Annie chimed in. “I’ve heard your name. You’re the new paleontologist.”
Charlie nodded. “That’s right, what do you do here?”
Annie looked at Jonathon, unsure if she should say. Jonathon shrugged.
“You might as well tell her,” he said. “She’s going to find out one way or the other.”
“I’m kind of Eric’s girlfriend,” Annie said sheepishly.
Charlie instantly shot Jonathon a distasteful look. “Are you kidding me? Why are you involving her?”
Jonathon grabbed her by the shoulders. “Relax,” he said calmly. “We’ve got history.”
“Yeah, she was just referring to your uh…history,” Charlie replied, looking past him and to her. “That’s not helping.”
Jonathon looked at Annie and then back to Charlie. “No, there was no romantic relationship between us…ever,” he explained.
Annie nodded. “It’s true. He rejected me.”
Jonathon rolled his eyes. “Look, she found us. So now she is involved whether you want her to be or not.”
“And just how do we know she won’t run and tell her boyfriend that you and I are sneaking around out here?” Charlie asked.
“Because,” Annie interrupted, “any relationship I have with Eric right now is nothing more than a smoke screen to get more information. Jonathon told me a few things yesterday that have opened my eyes up about Eric. I don’t think he’s all bad, but he certainly hasn’t been honest with me. When I get off this island, he and I are through. That is a promise.”
Maybe it was female intuition. Or maybe it was something else. Whatever ‘it’ was made no difference to Jonathon. He could see that Charlie still didn’t trust Annie, but she seemed to be biting her tongue and ready to press on.
“So where were you two sneaking off to in the early morning hours?” Annie asked.
Charlie pushed some wild strands of hair out of her face. “I was taking him to the hangar. I was hoping I could find somewhere to hide him so we can sabotage your boyfriend’s efforts to catch a Sarcosuchus here in a few hours.”
Jonathon looked at her, surprised. “And just when were you going to let me in on this plan?” he asked.
She glared at him, and for the first time, he saw a flash of annoyance. “About the time you completely screwed up my original plan,” she said, holding up her wrist so he could get a good look at her C.I.A. watch. “You’re the one that is adamant that you’ve got other business to attend to and you’ll handle the situation with the Sarcosuchus and juvenile tyrannosaur. You’ve forced me to come up with a plan on the fly, so cut me some slack.”
Jonathon smiled at her. He would’ve laughed, but he was afraid her annoyance would evolve into full-blown rage.
“This spy stuff is a tough gig, isn’t it?” he asked.
Annie looked at both of them, confused. “Did I miss something?”
Jonathon shook his head. “No time…I’ll explain later. Let’s get to the hangar. We have very little time to come up with a plan.”
Chapter 28
The trio snuck into the hangar, and Jonathon got his first moment to really survey the surroundings. The ceiling was illuminated with fluorescent lighting and the concrete floor was almost spotless. Jonathon hated to admit it, but he was actually somewhat impressed with everything Eric Gill had managed to put together over the last seven years. He noticed there were four armored jeeps in the building, one of which had a significant amount of damage.
“I don’t even know if I want to know what happened to that one,” Annie said, pointing toward the mangled vehicle.
“Tyrannosaurus rex got a hold of it,” Jonathon muttered, still staring at the damage.
“How do you know that?” Charlie asked. She strolled over to the jeep.
“Because I saw it happen,” he replied.
Annie wanted to ask more questions but decided she really didn’t want to know.
Charlie also remained silent and unwilling to press him for more information.
Jonathon looked around the room again and noticed an unattached trailer parked near the corner of the room. He walked over to it and peered at the sleeping animal inside.
“This is why the tyrannosaur mangled that jeep,” he muttered softly. “These morons stole their baby.”
“It’s not going to matter much longer,” Charlie said, pulling his arm to guide him away from the trailer. “We’ll set it free tomorrow. Our top priority right now should be figuring out how to keep them from capturing a Sarcosuchus.”
Jonathon nodded. He briefly removed the hat from his head and wiped the sweat from his brow. It was a smothering hot and humid night. “Right,” he said, returning the hat to his head. “We could sabotage the vehicles,” he added, looking around at the fleet again.
Charlie shrugged, showing her displeasure. “You know as well as I do all that would do is prolong the inevitable. They’ll get these vehicles going again as soon as possible and continue on with their plans.”
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“Okay,” Jonathon said. He paused, waiting for her to elaborate.
She sensed it and continued. “I think the best thing to do here is let them think they’ve completed their mission and then sabotage it.”
Jonathon crossed his arms, intrigued. “I’m listening,” he said.
“Their plan is to tranquilize the animal and then tow it on a barge,” Charlie explained. “I think you need to be on that barge.”
Jonathon shook his head. “I told you I’ve got something here I need to do first,” he said.
Charlie sighed and it was clear she was annoyed. “Jonathon, there is no time. This all goes down tomorrow. You help me with this, and I promise I’ll help you with whatever it is that you’ve got to do.”
Jonathon breathed deeply through his nose. He was tired of having this conversation.
“No,” he argued. “You’re not risking your life for me.”
Charlie opened her mouth to speak, but Jonathon snapped at her before she could.
“No,” he spat. “We’re not discussing this further. I’ll help you tomorrow with this, but if I’m going after the croc, I’m going to need some help with the juvenile tyrannosaur.”
“I’m already ahead of you,” she replied, glancing back toward the caged trailer. “Leave the tyrannosaur to me.”
Annie stepped forward. They’d almost forgotten she was there. “And what about me?” she asked.
Jonathon stared at her, confused. “What about you?”
“Well, what do I do?”
Jonathon smirked at her. “You go back to your boyfriend and act like nothing is wrong.”
Annie crossed her arms, obviously not happy with his response. “That’s it?” she asked.
“Actually,” Charlie interrupted. “There is one thing you can do.”
Annie perked up. “What?”
“You can lock Jonathon back up in the breakroom,” she replied.
“Excuse me?” Jonathon muttered.
“I don’t understand,” Annie said. “Why would we want to do that?”
Charlie yawned and rubbed her eyes. “Because right now, he has nowhere else to hide,” she said tiredly. “We lock him back up until everyone leaves…then you come down and let him out.”
Jonathon considered it for a long moment. “I don’t know,” he grumbled.
Charlie looked at him and stepped forward. “You’re the one that said we can trust her,” she said, gesturing toward Annie. “If we’re going to let them think they’ve succeeded before we sabotage their mission, then they can’t be worried about any kind of threat. If they discover that you’re gone in the morning, you can rest assured they’ll be constantly looking over their shoulders for you.”
“I can do it,” Annie added. “She’s right, Jonathon. I let you out after they’re gone, and then you chase them down with whatever vehicle is left here.”
Jonathon took a deep breath and released it slowly. He knew both women were right. Unfortunately, he couldn’t shake the sensation that he was losing control of the situation. It was a feeling he didn’t like.
“Alright,” he agreed finally. “If this is the plan, let’s get going. There isn’t much time left.”
Charlie reached into her pocket and retrieved the key she’d acquired and had subsequently used to release him. She glanced at Annie and rather reluctantly handed it over to her.
“We can trust you to release Jonathon after me and the others are gone…right?” she asked. Her words came out more as a plea than a question.
Annie sighed as if she were growing tired of trying to convince Charlie of her trustworthiness. “Yes,” she replied sternly. She took the key and shoved it into her own pocket. “You can trust me with this.”
Suddenly, the trio heard loud footsteps approaching the entrance.
“Someone is coming,” Jonathon whispered, doing his best to not sound panicked.
“Who would that be?” Charlie asked, directing the question to Annie.
Annie scowled at her, disgusted with the suggestion that she had something to do with it. “I have no idea…and I’m getting a little tired of feeling like an outsider here.”
“Ladies, we don’t have time for this!” Jonathon snapped as the footsteps drew closer. “Does anyone know of another way out of here?”
Both women shook their heads and turned toward the back of the hangar.
“There has to be a back door or something,” Charlie said, and she began to sprint away.
Jonathon and Annie followed her just as the door opened behind them. The three of them hid behind the mangled jeep in the rear corner of the building. Fluorescent lights began to come alive above their heads, and now Jonathon could feel his pulse quicken. He got down low, almost on his belly, and peered underneath the jeep to see if he could get a look at who the visitor was. The boots looked familiar; he thought it was George. Just then, he felt a tug on his shirt sleeve. It was Annie. She was pointing toward Charlie, and Jonathon noticed she had indeed found a back door. The only problem was that the door was in the center of the back wall and there was nothing hiding it.
Jonathon looked for George again and found him shuffling around through some boxes near the front door of the hangar. If they were quick, it was possible they could make it; but he felt that the risk was just too great.
Charlie motioned at him, trying desperately to get his attention. She glanced to the door and her demeanor seemed to suggest to him that she was going to make a run for it. He quickly shook his head to make it clear to her that she should wait. In response, she just smiled at him and began removing her shoes, another clear indicator she was going to try it despite him. Annie just glanced at her and then back to him, visibly confused on what to do. He could see the terror in her eyes and he wondered how Eric would react if he found out she’d been conspiring with them. He knew he had to think fast, otherwise Charlie was about to make a huge mistake that could potentially foil their entire mission. It was at that moment that an idea came to him.
Charlie was beginning to crawl toward the rear of the mangled jeep when Jonathon grabbed her by the ankle and dragged her back. She scowled at him, and for a moment, he wondered if she would spit venom. He waved her off and pointed toward the trailer attached to the other jeep near them. She glanced at the trailer and then back to him. He could tell she immediately picked up on his idea, and after mulling it over for a short moment, she nodded in agreement.
Jonathon scanned the environment again for George’s whereabouts. He was now filling a large can with fuel, still completely oblivious to their presence. Jonathon belly crawled to the trailer and peered up at the large black eyes looking back at him. He wasn’t real sure how aggressive a juvenile tyrannosaur would be, but judging by the animal’s size, and more importantly, the size of its teeth, he didn’t feel that anyone’s life would be in any significant danger. He carefully and quietly removed the pin that held the door shut. He then slowly opened the door widely so it would be very obvious to the animal that freedom was in front of it. The baby tyrannosaur cocked its head to the side and took a cautious step forward. It looked at the opened door, and then it peered at Jonathon, Annie, and Charlie. Jonathon resisted the urge to call the animal much in the same way he’d always called his dog Rex when he wanted him. All they could do was wait for the animal to make its way out of the cage and prey that it got far away from them before George noticed. After what seemed like an eternity, the dinosaur finally crept timidly out of the cage and onto the smooth concrete floor. It sniffed at Jonathon, and for a brief moment, he thought the animal was going to bite off his nose. However, somehow, he remained as still as a statue, and before long, the animal had calmly strolled out into the middle of the hangar. It sniffed and pawed at everything in its immediate vicinity, investigating everything and leaving nothing to chance.
Jonathon motioned for Annie and Charlie to get ready. The two of them crawled to the rear of the mangled vehicle and crouched down, ready to sprint toward the door the m
oment George’s attention was captured.
George had just finished pouring fuel into the first jeep when he heard the strange pitter-patter sound the juvenile tyrannosaur’s feet made as it searched for a way out. He calmly put the can down and walked around the front of the large semi-truck that was parked in the center of the hangar. It was then that he caught a glimpse of the young tyrannosaur’s tail as it disappeared behind a large crate on the opposite side of the hangar from Jonathon.
“Hey, stop!” he cried out instinctively. He chased after the animal and, with his back completely to them, Jonathon motioned for the women to go. They did so, and in what appeared to be one choreographed motion, the three of them opened and slipped through the back door all at once. Jonathon carefully shut the door behind them.
Once outside, they all breathed a sigh of relief. Charlie smiled widely. She’d enjoyed it, and it made Annie want to smack her.
“Okay, no more talk,” Jonathon said. “We all know what to do, now let’s execute the plan!”
Charlie nodded and said, “See you tomorrow.” With that, she vanished in the shadows.
Jonathon motioned for Annie to follow him, and the two of them began the short trek back toward his makeshift prison. He moved quickly and Annie was on his heels. She kept up and kept quiet for the duration of the short walk back. When they finally arrived, Jonathon began to pull the door shut. Just before he closed it completely, he glanced up and met Annie’s eyes.
She shook her head. “Not you too,” she whispered.
Jonathon smiled. “I trust you,” he said. “See you in a couple of hours.”
He shut the door the rest of the way and heard Annie promptly lock it. Once he came to the total realization that he was completely alone yet again, he decided to lie on the couch and get a power nap. After all, he was pretty certain he’d need it. Once he’d settled down for the nap, he closed his eyes and, to his surprise, falling asleep suddenly became easy again.
