by Roland Smith
Why didn’t he tell me about this?
The second door opened and the scent of urine punched Butch in the nose like a fist. Because of the secrecy of the project, Strand had no keepers to help him clean. Blackwood scowled and his eyes watered. Yvonne didn’t seem to notice the stinging scent at all.
No doubt due to hanging with the hatchlings 24/7, Butch thought. Probably smells like perfume to her.
“Strand’s husbandry skills need a little help,” he said.
“I want you to talk to him about it first thing tomorrow morning, Butch,” Blackwood said. “This is not acceptable. Show him how it’s done. I won’t have any of our animals living in squalor.”
Butch had no problem showing people the proper way to clean a cage, even Geekenstein. What he didn’t like was the idea of doing it while Yvonne and Blackwood were on a private jet sipping champagne on their way to Paris. He had to give Blackwood some credit, though. He took good care of his animals before they were sacrificed for his collection.
“I’ll take care of it,” Butch said.
Yvonne switched on the light in the animal room. There was only one resident now. Chupacabra versions One through Four had died of natural causes. Versions Five through Eight had been euthanized due to uncontrolled aggression. Butch had personally shot number Eight a second before it tore Geekenstein’s throat out. All nine of the chupacabras had been genetically engineered from bits and pieces of other animals and incubated in jaguar wombs. It had taken Geekenstein and Blackwood nearly a decade to come up with one that might work.
Apparently, they had taken care of the aggression problem in chupacabra version 9.0 by implanting electrodes in its brain. Its every move, and mood, could be modified with the remote control Yvonne was now booting up. The remote looked like the controls used to direct unmanned drones. It had a five-inch high-definition monitor so Yvonne could see what the chupacabra was seeing.
“What’s the range?” Blackwood asked.
“We haven’t used it beyond the boundaries of the Ark,” Yvonne answered. “Presumably miles, but we won’t know for certain until we take Nine into the field for a complete environmental test.” She looked at Blackwood and smiled again. “I’m ready.”
Blackwood smiled back at her. “Let’s see what our little friend can do.”
They followed her down an aisle of small stainless steel cages. At the end was a much larger cage. Scattered around the concrete floor of the cage were a dozen doggy chew toys, each without a single tooth mark on them.
Guess Nine isn’t into chew toys, Butch thought. Unless they’re made out of flesh.
Inside the stainless steel cage was a wooden den box. Lying on top of the den box was an animal about the size of a coyote. It had dark brown fur, unusually long canine teeth, and disturbing orange catlike eyes. Running down its spine were knobby bones, as if its skeleton was trying to burst from the skin surrounding it. The muscular hind legs were longer than the front legs and built for speed. The front legs were designed for maneuverability. They were topped by three long claws that looked like they could gut an elephant. Nine was wearing a thick leather harness. Attached to the harness was the tiny camera Butch had stolen from the Coelacanth.
As always when looking at Nine, or when Nine was looking at him, the hair on the back of Butch’s neck stood on end. Behind the blazing orange, the animal’s eyes radiated an icy calm intelligence. They didn’t just see, they evaluated.
Yvonne showed Nine the controller. The beast didn’t seem overly impressed. Butch hoped the batteries were fully charged.
Attached to the outside of the cage was a stainless steel crate. Yvonne opened the sliding door between them.
“Crate,” she said.
Nine didn’t move.
“Crate,” she repeated, and hit a button on the controller.
Nine jumped up from the top of the den as if he were on fire, hit the cement floor running, and disappeared into the metal crate on the other side of the slider with a loud bang.
“Better living through electrodes,” Yvonne said with a smile.
She slid the door closed, unbolted the crate from the big cage, and looked at Butch.
“What?” Butch said, although he knew what she wanted.
“Just pick it up,” Noah said. “We have a kid to catch.”
Butch picked up the crate. He estimated the chupacabra weighed about forty pounds. It could kill Luther in two seconds flat. He wondered if Yvonne or Noah would allow that to happen, and he didn’t care one way or the other.
“Let me see those key cards,” Marty said. They were gathered around the laundry room door.
“They haven’t been programed,” Grace said. “They don’t work.”
“They didn’t work on Noah’s private elevator,” Marty said. “That doesn’t mean they won’t work on the doors down here.”
Grace slipped the lanyard over her head and gave them to him.
Marty slid the first card through the slot. Nothing happened.
“I told you,” Grace said.
“If one of these other two don’t work, we’re going to be heading up through the chutes,” Marty said. “How’s that sound?”
Grace didn’t even want to think about it. The slide down had been terrifying. Climbing back up would be worse. The sides of the chute had been like glass. She’d thought she was hurtling down a bottomless pit.
Marty swiped the second card and there was an audible click. He smiled.
“Lucky,” Grace said.
“I’d rather be lucky than smart any day.” He looked at the Gizmo to see if anyone was in the corridor. It was empty. He opened the door.
“What’s the plan?” Grace asked.
“Dylan has never seen a dinosaur,” Marty said. “If you can believe that. I thought we’d show him a couple. And if we bump into Luther on the way, I thought it might be good to save him from getting killed by a chupacabra if we get the chance.”
“I see you haven’t changed a bit since I saw you last.”
“Why change perfection?”
Grace gave him an eye roll as they stepped out into the corridor.
“What room are the hatchlings in?” Dylan asked.
“Level Two,” Grace said. “Lab 251. But before we try the elevator I want to go into the keeper area and see if the phone works. We’re going to need help. I want to call Wolfe.”
“He’s at the CIA headquarters in McLean, Virginia,” Marty said. “A lot of good that’s going to do us.”
“He’ll send people over from Cryptos.”
“She’s right,” Dylan said. “We need to call.”
“We need to find Luther before that chupacabra thing does,” Marty said.
“I want to find Luther, too,” Grace said quietly. “But we need to do this smart. There is only one phone on this level. Except for Butch and Yvonne, Noah doesn’t even allow people to carry cell phones.”
“Kind of paranoid,” Marty said.
“You don’t know the half of it.”
“Let’s make it quick,” Marty said.
Grace led them down the corridor. Marty had to swipe all four keys before he found one that worked on the keeper area door. Grace picked up the phone on the head keeper’s desk. There was no dial tone. She slammed it back into the cradle in frustration.
“No dial tone?” Marty asked. “Big surprise. No point in cutting the cell and satellite signals, then leaving the landline active. We’re on our own. Let’s go.”
“Wait a second,” Dylan said.
“What?” Marty replied impatiently.
“How do the keepers and staff stay in touch with each other without phones?”
“Two-way radios.” Grace pointed at a row of chargers and radios behind the head keeper’s desk. “They check them out in the morning and check them in before they leave.”
“Noah’s a nutcase,” Marty said.
“I think we should split up,” Dylan said.
“Why?” Grace exclaimed.
&n
bsp; “So we can cover more ground.”
“Forget it,” Marty said. “We have three key cards — four if we count yours. ” He took Grace’s key off the lanyard and handed it to her. “Put that in your pocket so we don’t get mixed up. ” He looked back at Dylan. “We don’t know what doors these other three keys open. We don’t even know if they’ll work on the elevator.”
“I’m not going to use the elevator.”
“What are you talking about?” Grace asked.
Dylan walked over and plucked three radios from the chargers. He tossed one to her, one to Marty, then pointed at a vent in the ceiling over the head keeper’s desk. “I’m going to take a more direct route to Luther. The ventilation ducts all have to be connected. We’ll stay in touch with the radios.”
“I don’t know,” Grace said, looking up at the narrow vent.
“I’m only a little bit bigger than Luther. I’ve been in some pretty tight spots, so I know I’m not claustrophobic.”
“If you drop into a room, you’ll be stuck there,” Grace said. “You can’t get out without a key card.”
“Neither can Luther,” Dylan said. “And he can’t tell you where he is because he doesn’t have a radio. He could be in the room right across from here and you wouldn’t know it. He wouldn’t pound on the door because he’d be afraid of who might answer. I think Blackwood and Butch were making sure the doors were locked so Luther wouldn’t have a way out. I don’t know much about this kind of thing, and I know you’re in a hurry to find Luther, but I’d slow it down a little bit if I were you.”
Grace looked at Marty.
“What do you have in mind?” Marty said.
“Blackwood and Butch have already been through this level. I don’t think they’re coming back. You need to unlock every door you can and prop it open so Luther has a way out. You also need to unhook the latches on the vents so he can get into the room. It will take time, but it will give Luther an escape route.”
“How are you going to find him in the vents?” Grace asked.
Dylan went over to the toolroom and pulled out a step-ladder and a flashlight. He set up the ladder, scrambled up to the vent, opened it, and put his hand inside. When he took it out, it was covered with dust.
“I’ll follow his trail.”
“What if you run into the chupacabra?” Grace asked. Dylan seemed like a nice boy. It would be a shame if he got mauled in the ductwork so soon after they’d met.
“I kind of hope I do before it runs into Luther. He doesn’t know it’s coming after him. I do, so I’ll have a better chance.” Dylan snapped his dusty fingers. “Here’s another thing you can do. Turn the lights on in the rooms you’ve opened. That way I’ll know which room to drop into if the chupacabra is on my tail. The vents are about eight feet off the ground. I doubt the chupacabra can jump eight feet straight up. If I can trap it in one of these rooms, Butch and Blackwood will have to open the door to get it out. It might slow them down long enough for us to find Luther and get out of here.”
“I’m glad they talked you into coming with them,” Grace said.
Dylan blushed, climbed down from the ladder, and changed the subject. “When Blackwood and Butch came into the laundry room, did you notice if they were wearing two-way radios?”
“I know they have radios,” Grace said. “I heard them talking to each other when I was in Noah’s office.”
“Did you happen to notice what channel they were talking on?” Dylan asked.
“No,” Grace said, now wishing she had grabbed the radio before she jumped down the chute.
Dylan walked over to the row of radios in their chargers. “These are all set on channel twelve. We’ll just have to pick a number and hope Butch and Noah aren’t on the same channel. We’ll start with channel nine. If you hear anyone on nine, switch to channel three.” He climbed back up the ladder.
“You sure you don’t want me to do the crawling?” Marty asked.
Dylan shook his head and wriggled into the vent until his sneakers disappeared.
“Kind of reminds me of that anaconda eating the rabbit this afternoon,” Marty said.
Grace shuddered. “Let’s go open some doors.”
Yvonne followed Noah and Butch into Lab 222 on the second level, enjoying herself immensely. She was away from the hatchlings; she was about to show off her stuff for Noah Blackwood; she would be on her way to Paris in a few hours; and she was ordering the big jerk, Butch McCall, around. Life could not have been better.
Butch set the crate on a bench beneath the vent Luther had slithered into.
“You’ll have to get Nine out of the crate,” Yvonne said.
Butch pulled a large caliber pistol out of the back of his pants.
She gave him a derisive laugh. “You won’t need that,” she said. “I have complete control over Nine. You’re safe, Butch.”
“That’s what Geekenst —” He gave Noah a nervous glance. “I mean Strand, said just before Eight went for his throat. He was pretty happy when I put a bullet in the chupacabra’s brainpan.”
“That bullet cost me millions of dollars and delayed Release and Catch by eight months and counting,” Noah said angrily. “Your bullet is still costing me money.”
Yvonne maintained her amused smile. Butch was so predictable. She knew he would pull his pistol out. Shaping behavior was all about knowing what the animal was going to do before the animal knew it was going to do it.
“You’ll need both hands anyway,” she said pleasantly.
“For what?” Butch asked.
“To give Nine a boost. You’ll need to lift the crate up to the vent.”
“You gotta be kidding me.”
Yvonne shook her head. “Nine can’t get up to the vent by himself. I’ll need both hands for the controller. If you’re afraid, maybe Dr. Blackwood could —”
Butch opened the crate door right where it sat. Yvonne had not anticipated this. She jumped back as Nine skittered out onto the slick bench, snarling. Butch had holstered his gun and stood his ground.
“Didn’t mean to startle you,” he said with a smile — or what passed for one through his black beard.
Noah appeared to be amused as well, although he did take a half step away from the bench, out of reach of Nine’s claws, which were clacking on the cold stainless steel.
“I’d be focusing on the little monster rather than looking at us,” Butch said. “You have complete control? Show us what you got.”
Yvonne had badly underestimated Butch McCall. Not only had he just proven that he wasn’t a coward, he had taken complete control of the situation by giving her complete control of the situation. It was brilliant and dangerous. Nine’s fiery, malevolent eyes were fixed on her as if she were the only person in the room. She felt sweat trickling down beneath her arms.
“Funny thing about animals,” Butch continued. “Even genetically engineered animals like this mutant. They remember the people who hurt them. Years ago, we had a lion escape here at the Ark. We had it cornered in the concession area. Me, seven keepers, and one veterinarian. He went directly for the vet because the vet was the one who had given him all the painful shots over the years. Mauled the man pretty bad. Never even looked at me or the keepers.”
Yvonne listened, but didn’t dare take her eyes off Nine. With a few button strokes she could make him move forward, backward, sideways; jump; sleep, wake, or attack; but she wasn’t sure she could type in the right combination before Nine tore her head off.
“I’d put the little fella to sleep if I were you,” Butch said. “And I’d do it pretty quick. Looks like he’s just about made up his mind about something, and I don’t think it has anything to do with me or Dr. Blackwood. When he’s asleep I’ll give him that boost you were talking about. We’ll lock the vent behind him in case he gets any ideas about doubling back to kill you. After he’s secure, you can send him on his way. It’s up to you, though. You’re the one in control.”
Yvonne quickly typed in a command, th
en hit the send button. Nine’s orange eyes went wide, then rolled up into his head. A second later he was slumped on the bench, sound asleep.
“Impressive,” Noah said.
She wasn’t sure if he was referring to Butch, her, or the slumbering Nine. She suspected it was Butch he was impressed with, and wondered if she was still going to Paris in the morning.
Butch jumped up on the bench with more agility than she would have guessed. He grabbed Nine by the scruff of the neck, stuffed him through the vent opening, then closed and latched the grate.
“You should be safe now,” he said, jumping down.
Yvonne wanted to say something that would undo all the damage Butch had just caused her, but it was obvious words wouldn’t be enough. The only way to fix this was by action. She woke Nine up. Noah stepped closer so he could see the controller’s monitor. Butch remained on the other side of the bench as if he couldn’t care less.
There wasn’t much to see. The infrared camera showed a long, dust-covered tunnel.
“I assume there’s GPS?” Noah asked.
“Of course, but we’ll need points of reference to make sense of where he is.”
Noah unclipped the two-way radio from his belt. “Are you getting the video feed?”
“Yeah,” Paul’s voice crackled back. “There’s nothing else to watch. That little juvenile delinquent just took out the last camera. We’re blind.”
“We’ll have your delinquent soon,” Noah said. “Keep track of the feed. I’ll be in touch.”
“Is that some kind of animal up there?” Paul asked.
“You don’t need to know.” Noah clipped the radio back on his belt.
“Who was that?” Yvonne asked. She thought she and Butch were the only two staff members in on this.
“You don’t need to know,” Noah said.
She glanced at Butch. He was smiling. He knew who Noah had been talking to.
Noah pointed at the monitor. “Is it going to just sit there?”
Yvonne typed in a command, then shouted up at the vent, “Hunt!” When possible, she liked to pair verbal commands with the electronic commands.
The chupacabra started to move.