“Very well, we’re going,” Nora said. “Come on, Jack.” They got up and were escorted indignantly out of the building.
“I feel like we just got thrown out of the bar,” Jack said.
“I don’t get it,” Nora said. “That was plain rude.”
“You don’t think they know who you are?”
“What difference would it make?”
“You’re a geneticist who creates cryptids. Luan’s a geneticist who creates cryptids. For all they know, we came here to steal her patents,” Jack said.
“That’s absurd.”
“Is it? They stole Lennie, didn’t they?”
“You’re right. What do we do now?” Nora asked.
“I don’t know. Go back to the hotel?”
Nora saw a small crowd milling in front of a cylindrically shaped kiosk. “Wonder what’s the big attraction?” She walked over with Jack to take a look.
Everyone was chattering in Chinese and pointing at a poster of a massive dragonhead and the words CRYPTID KINGDOM arched over a park entrance.
“I say we forget all the runaround and go there and get Lennie,” Jack said.
“Like they’re just going to let us waltz in there and take him,” Nora said.
“Well, I doubt it will be that easy. You never know, we might even find Luan Chang there. What you’ve told me of her, I think she might give us a sympathetic ear when she learns how Lennie was abducted from us.”
“I’m beginning to have my doubts,” Nora said.
20
GLASS FROG
Lucas Finder was duly impressed when Luan showed him around the utility corridor system beneath the soon to be opened theme park. As he had been the project manager of the defunct Cryptid Zoo, he was familiar with many of the functions, such as the AVAC, the automatic vacuum collection process that would transfer trash through pneumatic tubes and deposit the rubbish to a compactor to later be trucked to a landfill.
Luan proved to be extremely knowledgeable, especially when explaining the vast electrical grid that would power the park as they rode by the bank of generators.
Finder was surprised to see shops and eateries that he would expect to see in a shopping mall complex providing services to the 300 employees, many of whom lived in the underground premises and worked in various park operations such as merchandising, maintenance, and food service, as well as cashiers, rider operators, lifeguards, and highly-trained animal keepers.
“Turn left here,” Luan instructed the mini tram driver. Once they had gone fifty feet, she told him to stop. She glanced over at Finder seated next to her. “What do you think?” she asked and pointed to a large caged area.
Finder gazed through the tall bars. Five animals stared back at him. “What are they, mules?”
“Look again,” Luan said.
He leaned across the side of the tram to get a better look. “Wait a minute. Their bodies are like dogs. But they have the heads of—”
“Donkeys,” Luan interjected. “They are Lutoulangs. Donkey-headed wolves.”
“That’s crazy. Those are actually Chinese cryptids?”
“They are.”
A Lutoulang brayed and the other four joined in.
Luan told the driver to continue on.
While they were driving along, Finder could hear animals bleating from a dark side passage. “What’s that, sheep or another one of your exhibits?”
“Live food,” Luan said.
“Oh, yeah I forgot. I imagine most are carnivorous.”
“With great appetites.”
The driver slowed the mini tram and stopped in front of a set of glass doors.
“Let me take you through our laboratory,” Luan said.
“I’d like that.” Finder exited first then held his hand out for Luan to take as she came down the three steps. They went through the pneumatic doors and entered the large laboratory.
Finder recognized most of the test instruments and lab equipment, as they were similar to what Dr. Joel McCabe and Professor Nora Howard had used in their facility when they were conducting their research and experiments at Cryptid Zoo.
Luan stopped at a workbench where two technicians were working. She greeted them in Chinese and they smiled back at her. Finder could tell by the way they beamed they were genuinely fond of Luan. She directed Finder to an enclosed glass terrarium.
He looked inside and saw two snakeheads attached to a single body coiled on the pebbles at the bottom of the tank. “What am I looking at?”
“That is a Feiyi.”
“Does it have any significance?”
“Not really, though some think it is a bad omen.”
Finder moved across the table and looked inside another vivarium. “I take it this is another variation of the Feiyi?”
“You like it?” Luan said.
“Very creative.” The snake inside the glass container had a single head with two adjoining bodies.
“Would you like a coffee?” Luan asked.
“Sounds good.”
Finder followed Luan down a corridor and into her office. He glanced around the walls adorned with framed medical certificates and plaques chronicling Luan’s academic achievements. “Wow, I had no idea.”
“When a father wished you had been a boy, you must learn not to disappoint him.”
Finder smiled but felt a little sad for Luan.
“Please, be comfortable,” Luan said. She motioned to a cozy leather couch. A glass container was on a coffee table.
Finder went over and sat down while Luan started a Keurig machine. He looked inside the small terrarium. He saw movement but wasn’t quite sure what he was seeing, so he kept staring.
Luan brought over two cups of coffee and placed them on the table.
“Is this an optical illusion?” he asked.
“No, your eyes aren’t playing tricks.” Luan reached in a small box and took out a single plastic glove. She slipped the latex on over her hand, stretched it over her fingers, and snapped it back. She raised the lid on the terrarium, reached inside, and withdrew her hand with the palm up.
Finder leaned forward and saw her holding a tiny frog. But not like any frog he had ever seen before. This amphibian’s skin was completely see-through. He could see every organ inside its body—oh my God look at its tiny heart beating—even its brain.
“I have been working on a serum that physicians might one day be able to inject in a patient which will render the human skin and surrounding tissues transparent,” Luan said. “It would eliminate the need for X-rays. One shot and a doctor could immediately see inside a patient and determine the problem.”
“That’s truly remarkable.”
“Thank you.” The glass frog seemed content to remain on Luan’s palm. She sipped her coffee and spoke of her other accomplishments in the lab.
Finder listened tentatively, enchanted by this amazing woman.
21
STEAM BATH
A limousine picked Finder up from the park just after nightfall and took him back to Chang Empire Building. He had hoped to spend more time with Luan but she had much to prepare before tomorrow’s opening day. Finder had kindly offered his assistance, as he was familiar with the process having done it himself for Cryptid Zoo, but Luan had graciously declined his offer.
He wondered if she was worried he might be a jinx.
Kang Wu was waiting for him when he came into the lobby. Finder didn’t particularly care for the man. Wu seemed a little shifty, like someone you might not trust to be alone in your home.
“Mr. Chang has requested you join him,” Wu said.
“For what? Dinner?”
“No. It is not good to eat.”
“Really. What then?”
“I am to prepare you for the steam bath.”
“Okay,” Finder said, feeling that was kind of weird. He followed Wu to the elevators. They stepped into the car and rode the lift up to the penthouse floor. Instead of opening on Chang’s suite, the doors parted
, revealing a large exercise area equipped with treadmills, stationary bikes, a weight room with cardio machines, a squash court, and even a lap pool.
“This way,” Wu said. The aide instructed Finder to follow him over to a booth. “You will find towels and a decanter. Drink all the water. Then take a shower. After, you can go in the steam room.”
“Gotcha,” Finder said. He waited until Wu was gone before entering the changing room. He undressed and hung his clothes on the hooks. He tucked his socks inside his shoes and placed them on the small bench. He entered a glass shower stall and spent a good five minutes washing his body with soap and a coarse sponge.
He grabbed a towel off the rack, dried himself off, and then wrapped the towel around his waist. He drank all of the water from the decanter. He stepped out of the changing room, barefoot, and walked over to the door leading into the steam room.
Finder felt the humidity as soon as he opened the door and stepped on the wooden slats. He opened another door and entered the mist-filled Turkish bath.
Henry Chang sat on a bench, his hair damp and his bare chest and arms glistening from his sweat. For a man in his early sixties, he looked exceptionally fit and probably kept to a rigid schedule using his personal gym on a regular basis.
“Ah, Lucas. Glad you could come,” Chang said, as if Finder had just happened along. Henry Chang was a man who demanded punctuality and tolerated nothing less.
“Thank you for inviting me,” Finder said. He sat down on the bench, keeping a couple of feet between them.
Chang picked up a metal ladle. He poured water over a mound of hot lava rocks causing a burst of steam to engulf the small room. Finder could feel his pores opening up and the sweat seeping out.
“Think of this like a confessionary,” Chang said. “A person absolves his sins with a priest. I indulge and purify my body with a steam bath.”
“Good way to rid yourself of what ails you,” Finder said.
“Exactly.” Chang lifted his feet up on the bench, and leaned back against the wall with his knees slightly spread.
Finder had to avert his eyes from looking at the billionaire’s exposed genitalia.
“So tell me. How do you like working for Carter Wilde?” Chang asked, adjusting his towel, sparing Finder the view. “You’ve been in his employment for some time, is that correct?”
“Five years.” Finder knew it was a baited question. The worst thing a person could do was bad-mouth his boss. Because sure as hell, whatever you said, it always came back to bite you in the ass. He could feel Chang’s gaze upon him, expecting a proper answer.
“It is not without its challenges,” Finder said, trying to stay objective.
Chang let out a blustering laugh. “You mean that damn zoo of his. What a catastrophe that was! I understand that you tried to warn him.”
“I did. But he wouldn’t listen.” Having said that, Finder knew he had let Chang trawl him in. He better tread softly or there would be consequences.
“Well, I know he can be a difficult man at times,” Chang said. “I hope our partnering wasn’t a mistake.”
“Sir?”
“I am offering Carter a piece of the Cryptid Kingdom franchise in return for Dr. McCabe’s services. I know that is risky, considering the doctor’s history and unpredictability. Which is why I am only giving Carter twenty percent.”
“I’m sorry,” Finder said. “I wasn’t aware Mr. Wilde made such an arrangement.” It wasn’t the first time his boss had made changes to a deal without consulting his Chief Operating Officer first. And why accept such a petty share; it was embarrassing.
“I have big plans to build parks such as this all over the world,” Chang said, reaching for the ladle. He poured more water onto the lava rocks, generating a cloud of steam.
Finder was so flabbergasted he didn’t know what to say.
The steam room door opened.
Carter Wilde and Dr. McCabe stepped in, naked except for the towels wrapped around their waists. They sat on the bench directly opposite Chang and Finder in the cloying mist.
“We were just talking about you, Carter,” Chang said.
Finder immediately cringed.
“Is that right,” Wilde replied.
It was impossible for Finder to read his boss’s face in the thick fog.
As the rocks sizzled, the air began to clear.
Finder saw something that sent him for a loop.
He couldn’t help but stare at the ugly scar tissue on the right side of Wilde’s chest and ribcage. Sitting next to him, McCabe had a similar scar but it was on his left side and a mirror image.
His first assumption was the scars were terrible burns possibly from a fire but then the stark realization suddenly hit him. It explained why Carter Wilde had put up with Dr. McCabe’s shenanigans for the past few years. Even when the doctor purposely set out to deliberately ruin Wilde by sabotaging the zoo because of a dispute and causing such a stir at the ribbon-cutting ceremony at Wilde’s new high-rise.
The scars were a result of conjoined twins being separated.
Carter Wilde and Dr. Joel McCabe were brothers.
22
XIANGLIU
Mason was frazzled from lack of sleep and rising three hours prior to the park’s opening time so he could assist in transporting the creatures to their exhibits. He had waited up till after midnight worrying about Ramsey and wondering where his friend was before resigning himself to the fact that maybe he had met someone and spent the night elsewhere.
Even so, it wasn’t like Ramsey not to show up and help with the Xing-Xings, which were his main responsibility, along with the raptors.
Mason voiced his concern with Song earlier that morning. After they had secured the creatures, Mason had ridden around with Song, asking other workers if they knew where the ‘redheaded man’ might be, as that is how they all knew Ramsey. No one had seen him.
“I swear, Ramsey shows up, I’m going to brain him,” Mason said. He spotted a worker running towards them. He was waving his arms and yelling to Song in Chinese.
Song immediately braked the electric cart. She talked to the man in a quick exchange, each treading on the other’s words. She ended the conversation by stomping on the accelerator and driving down the tunnel.
“There a problem?” Mason asked.
“Yes! A big one!” Song replied.
They traveled down a passageway and came to an open freight elevator. Every exhibit building on the surface had a service elevator for transporting the animals, along with a spiral staircase. Song and Mason jumped out of the cart and were about to step into the elevator when Mason grabbed Song by the arm. “Jesus, what happened in here?”
The walls were splattered with blood. He saw a framed poster of a dragon with nine heads, which reminded him of the mythical Greek Gorgon, Medusa, that had deadly serpents for hair.
“Seriously? There’s a dragon up there?”
“Yes,” Song said. “Xiangliu.” Her enunciation of the dragon’s name reminded Mason of how the Chinese actors would always stress the word ‘Godzilla’ in the movies.
“Many believe Xiangliu was responsible for the Great Flood of China.”
“Damn,” Mason said.
“Whenever warriors fought the Xiangliu, the dragon’s blood would ruin the land and the farmers’ animals would die.”
“You really believe that?” Mason asked.
“I do,” Song replied adamantly.
“Then why in the world create such a creature?”
“We should use the stairs,” Song said, ignoring the question.
Mason took a quick glance inside the elevator. He spotted a crimson pool in the corner of the floor. “Good idea.”
They raced up the spiral staircase to the access door identified as DRAGON PAGODA. As soon as Song pushed open the door, Mason heard a chorus of angry roars and a man’s horrendous screams.
Mason followed Song into the giant antechamber, half of which was a gigantic cage. The massive cage d
oor was standing open.
He felt like he had just walked onto the set of a Ray Harryhausen special effects movie. The dragon was way bigger than he had anticipated and stood well over ten feet tall at the shoulders. It had scaly emerald skin, a barrel chest, thick legs with sharp talon feet, and a long tapered tail.
Its nine heads undulated in different directions on their six-foot long necks as though suffering from a bad case of cerebral palsy. One of the heads had grabbed an animal keeper in its teeth and was dangling him off the floor. The other heads were taking turns, nipping at the man’s body and legs, causing him to scream each time a chunk of flesh was ripped out.
A man was lying on the floor in a large puddle of blood in front of the elevator doors. Mason thought the man was dead but then he saw his hand move.
Six animal keepers advanced, jabbing the dragon with electrode prods. Mason could hear the electrical sparks firing with each contact. But instead of subduing the dragon, the short jolts only made it more furious.
A head swooped down and picked a man off the floor with its sharp teeth. It flung the man in the air. Two heads converged, each grabbing him by a leg, and pulled away.
Mason saw Song turn her face when the man split apart down the middle, his bowels and intestines slopping out onto the floor in a steamy pile.
One of the heads miscalculated and bit into another head’s neck. A gush of blood shot about the room, drenching the men. Two more heads attacked the spewing wound, eventually decapitating the flailing head, which toppled onto the floor.
“What are we supposed to do?” Mason shouted to Song, just as a man in a white lab coat and six soldiers in drab green uniforms entered the room from the front entrance.
“Who is he?” Mason asked Song.
“That is Dr. Zhang.”
Mason couldn’t help notice the disdain in her voice. “Something tells me you don’t like him very much.”
The multi-headed dragon let out a cacophony of bellowing roars.
Cryptid Kingdom (Cryptid Zoo Book 6) Page 7