“Wait!” Luke exclaims. The doctor waits, impatient. More calmly, Luke asks, “Do you know how long it will be until I can talk to him?”
The doctor sighs as he says, “Let him rest for now. You can see him tomorrow afternoon. You can talk to him then.”
“Thank you,” Luke says quietly as the doctor walks away.
…
At two o’clock in the afternoon the next day, Luke is sitting in the corner of Will’s room in the medical bay. Will has casts on his right arm, left leg, and his ribs are bandaged. He also has a bandage on his left wrist. Will is still asleep, and Luke waits patiently. Finally, Will’s eyes open and he slowly turns his head to look at Luke. “Hey, pal,” Will says, his voice still weak.
“Hey,” Luke responds.
“What happened?” Will asks.
Luke sighs as he says, “Well, apparently the Liopleurodon got pissed when we shot at it and it pulled the helicopter into the ocean.”
“Seriously?” Will asks. Luke nods. “Where is it now?”
“Who the hell knows?” Luke responds. “Are you okay?”
Will thinks for a moment before saying, “Well, I’m alive, aren’t I?”
“Yeah, you’re welcome!” Luke jokes. Will smiles. “Do you remember how we first met at University of Montana?”
“Of course I do. I was lugging my suitcase into our dorm and found you already studying. I mean Christ, I know that it was an elite school, but we just had gotten there! Anyways, I started giving you a hard time and…”
“I kicked your ass,” Luke says triumphantly.
Will sighs and continues, “Anyways, after that, we became good friends.”
Luke leans forward and says, “best friends.”
Will smiles and says, “Yeah, we’ve been through a whole lot of crap together. But I’d say that nearly getting ourselves killed by an ancient lizard is definitely one of the dumbest things that we’ve ever done.”
“It sure is.” Luke decides that it is time to tell Will the truth. “I’ve got to tell you something.”
“What is it?” Will asks.
Luke sighs. “Look, there’s no easy way to say this, so I’ll just say it: I think that someone on the team has betrayed us.”
Will looks at Luke, shocked. After a moment, he says, “What exactly do you mean?”
“I think that someone is trying to protect the Liopleurodon. They’ve been sabotaging us. That’s why we have had no success killing the animal. That’s why you’re in the medical bay.”
Will almost laughs as the thought. “Luke, you realize that you’re talking about our friends, right? I mean, we’ve known these guys for years! I know that you’re rivals with Ben and that you’re jealous of Shawn dating Kelsey, but come on! You honestly expect me to believe that one of our teammates tried to kill us?”
“I know that this may be hard to comprehend, but ”
“Hard to comprehend? It’s just plain dumb! There are a thousand other logical explanations that would make a lot more sense than that.”
“Name one.”
Will takes a few minutes to think of something. “I don’t know, maybe Hawkins’s equipment just sucks.”
“Will, come on, we tried to put the Liopleurodon to sleep, and it takes our helicopter out of the sky.”
Will sighs as he says, “Fine. Who do you think it is?”
“I know that is not Hawkins or Kelsey, and I’m guessing that it is not you.”
“That leaves Shawn and Ben.”
Luke nods. “I’m not sure who it is. It could just as easily be either one.”
“Well, then, I guess you should try to find out.”
Chapter 33
Shawn Ryan
At six thirty in the morning, Luke is fast asleep when the phone next to his bed rings. “Hello?”
“Luke, it’s Hawkins,” the Captain’s voice is loud and strong.
“Hawkins?” Luke asks. “Do you have any idea what time it is?”
“I don’t care what time it is!” Hawkins shouts. “Something terrible has just happened, and I need you to come to the USS Jupiter immediately!”
“What happened?” Luke asks, curious.
“I’ll tell you when you get here.”
Luke hears a click, signaling that Hawkins has hung up on him. Luke sighs as he looks at the bleak hotel walls. I just want this to be over.
…
Two hours later, Luke enters the conference room aboard the USS Jupiter. Everyone else is already seated. The only person who is not there is Will, who is asleep in his room in the medical bay.
“Sorry everyone, I’m just running a little late,” Luke says. Hawkins glares at him, so he says nothing else as he takes his seat.
Hawkins, clearly drunk, waits a moment before saying, “Now that you are all here, I just wanted you all to know that a yacht was attacked yesterday!” Everyone remains silent, so Hawkins continues shouting, “Twelve passengers and crewmen were killed by the Liopleurodon! That’s as many as those who have been killed in the past two months! This is completely unacceptable! And do you know what the worst part is? This could have all been avoided!” Hawkins continues. He slams his fist and shouts, “I am sick of keeping it secret, I know that someone on this team is a saboteur!”
Shawn tries to keep his head down, and Ben appears shocked. Shawn thinks, Great, they know! But maybe I can make Ben or Jones appear more suspicious.
“Would any of you like to confess?” Hawkins asks. No one says a word. “Very well, you should know that we are embarking in one hour. I’ve had it with all of the deaths, and we are going to track down the Liopleurodon and blow its head off if it’s the last thing I do. I want you all to go to the rooms that you stayed in when we were last at sea. I’ll let you know when our sonar detects the Liopleurodon.” Hawkins then turns around and leaves the conference room.
After an awkward moment, Luke gets up to leave as well. I can’t believe that another twelve people died! It’s about time that I find out who the traitor is and expose him once and for all!
As everyone else gets up to go, Shawn thinks, twelve more people were killed. That brings the body count up to twenty-four victims. That’s two dozen innocent lives… lost. I never meant for so many to die. But the world should not lose the greatest predator it has ever known!
…
Several hours later, Ben is in his room, reading a paper that a colleague asked him to review. It is about the evolution of snakes; more specifically, about the theory that serpents evolved from ancient marine reptiles known as mosasaurs. It reads:
During the middle of the Cretaceous period, about eighty-nine million years ago, a new species of sea reptile evolved. Known as mosasaurs, they quickly rose to the top of the food chain. While these sixty- foot-long marine predators are no longer around today, they have a descendent that we all know and fear. Mosasaurs share a frightening number of skeletal similarities with snakes, including expandable jaws that allow them to swallow their prey whole.
Ben is interrupted when someone knocks on his door. “It’s open,” Ben says.
Luke slowly opens the metal door and says, “I hope I’m not disturbing you.”
“No, not really,” Ben says. He tosses the paper aside as he says, “Nothing that I didn’t already know.”
Luke gives a light laugh as he sits. “Can I ask you a couple of questions?” Ben nods, so Luke continues. “Ben, do you have a background in electrical engineering? I mean, do you have any idea how to work with electronics?”
Ben thinks for a moment. Instead of answering Luke’s question, he asks his own. “Luke, what would my motive possibly be for risking the lives of my friends and putting so much effort into saving the final individual of an ancient species?”
Luke is clearly caught off guard. “Well, you never agreed with me on just about anything, and –”
“Luke, our debates were nothing personal. It is just that I felt that you did not have enough evidence to support your ideas. Obviously, whe
n Nathan Noodie discovered the eighty-foot-long Liopleurodon in the Arctic, you were proven correct, but that’s beside the point.”
Luke smiles as he thinks, Ben clearly does not like to be proven wrong.
“If you don’t believe in my innocence, then try to remember what my first reaction was when Hawkins showed us the animal at the Naval Base. I had agreed with you that the Liopleurodon should be killed before it could hurt anyone. I did feel, however, that if the body could remain intact, it would make for some excellent research. Anyways, everyone agreed that the Liopleurodon should be killed. Everyone except for Shawn.”
Luke instantly sees what Ben is trying to say. Shawn said that it should be released. That it didn’t matter if it killed people, since there are too many humans on the planet anyway. Luke looks at the ground and frowns. It was so obvious. He looks up at Ben and says, “That makes sense, but when I confronted Kelsey about Shawn, she said that he didn’t think that it was necessary to try to kill it, that it would take a vast amount of money and resources. It doesn’t make any sense for him to sabotage our equipment, since we would simply try again, which would take more resources. Unless, Shawn’s trying to prove a point. But that doesn’t make sense either.” He thinks for a moment. “Unless he lied to Kelsey.”
“Do you think that he would go that far?” Ben asks. “You know, at one point, he was our friend. Would he go so far as to lie and deceive us?”
“Lie and deceive us? Ben, he tried to kill me!”
“You know, Shawn and Kelsey are dating. She could be helping him.”
Luke thinks for a moment about that disturbing thought. Could the woman he loves, really be manipulating events which caused the deaths of two dozen people? “No, I know Kelsey. She’s not helping him.” He turns to Ben and says, “We need to convince the others. We need to try to figure out his real motive.”
As Luke begins to leave, Ben says, “I’ll investigate. But how do you plan to get to Shawn?”
Luke turns around and says, “I’ve had enough of his scheming. It’s time to use a little muscle.”
…
Luke knocks on Shawn’s door. When Shawn opens up, the smile on his face fades. Great, I was hoping that it would be Kelsey. Actually, I’d be happy with anyone knocking on my door other than Luke. “What do you want?”
As Luke stares at Shawn, he says, “I know that you’re the traitor that Hawkins was talking about. You’re the one who has been sabotaging our plans. You’re the one who tried to kill Will and me.”
Shawn stares at Luke with pure hatred, but says nothing. Luke continues, “I’m not certain why you did what you did, but I know one thing for sure. You’re sick and twisted, and in your sick, twisted mind, you felt that saving the Liopleurodon was the right thing to do.”
Shawn turns around and takes a few short steps. He calmly says, “I admit that I freed the Liopleurodon. I sabotaged the tracking device, and switched the drugs so my pet would be safe… but I am not sick! I realized how important saving the Liopleurodon is, and I am willing to do whatever it takes to ensure its survival.”
Luke rolls his eyes. Christ, I believe in protecting the environment, but Shawn has to realize that the Liopleurodon has a negative influence on the ecosystem. In any event, the Liopleurodon will die eventually; and the species will simply become extinct… again. I’ve got to say something. “Shawn –”
Shawn puts up his finger and says, “Please, Luke, don’t interrupt me. As I was saying, while I do admit to everything, I cannot allow Kelsey to know. If she found out, we’d never get married.” He turns to Luke, and walks to him until they are only inches apart. “You won’t take her away from me. You’ll never stand in my way again.”
“What?” Luke asks as Shawn punches him in the side of the head. Luke is in shock from his former friend’s behavior. Stunned, he takes a step back. By the time Luke refocuses, Shawn throws a hook to the other side of his head. Instinctively, Luke ducks, and Shawn’s fist punches a metal bookcase instead.
Shawn yells out in pain, and Luke takes advantage of this. Looking for a target, he finds that Shawn’s ribs are open to attack. Luke body punches Shawn, who bends over in agony. Luke quickly strikes again, upper cutting Shawn underneath
his chin.
Shawn’s head is thrown backwards, and Luke then delivers a straight punch with his powerful right arm to his enemy’s chin. Shawn spins one hundred and eighty degrees, and is forced to grab a hold of a chair to avoid landing on his face. Shawn spits blood from his mouth before saying, “Okay, I give up.” He turns towards Luke and repeats, “I give up.”
Luke smiles, as he has never won a fight before. Those boxing lessons that my dad made me take as a kid finally
paid off!
Luke grabs Shawn and pulls him to his feet. Leading him out of the room, Luke says, “Come on, you’re coming with me.”
…
Luke takes Shawn to Will’s room in the medical bay. Just waking up, Will turns his head towards his friend and asks, “What’s going on, Luke?”
“I found the traitor,” Luke responds as he forces Shawn into a chair.
Surprised, Will looks at Shawn and asks, “Shawn, really?”
Luke nods and says, “Yeah, Ben and I found evidence that he released the Liopleurodon, sabotaged the tracking device, and switched drugs in the tranquilizer dart. I already contacted the others. They’re coming so everyone can know what Shawn
has done.”
…
Fifteen minutes later, Ben, Kelsey, and Hawkins all enter Will’s room. Ben and Kelsey both sit on different corners of Will’s bed, and Hawkins stands in the corner of the room.
Luke stands and walks towards the center of the room. He takes a moment to look at his team. They have stood by him since the beginning. He briefly looks at Shawn. I can’t believe that he betrayed us. I can’t believe what he has done to Kelsey.
Luke knows that he has to try to convince Hawkins. The captain is the only member of the team who has any authority. Luke may be aware of the trouble that Shawn caused, but only Hawkins can have him arrested and handed over to the authorities.
Luke locks eyes with Ben, who nods. Ben has spent the last hour investigating Shawn. He’s told Luke everything that he knows. Luke hopes that it is enough to convince the others.
Kelsey looks at her boyfriend, whose hands are cuffed together. He does not return her gaze.
“Thank you all for coming on such short notice,” Luke says. “Earlier today, Captain Hawkins told us that there is a saboteur in the group. This traitor is the person who released the Liopleurodon, sabotaged the tracking device, and switched the drugs that were shot into the Liopleurodon. Will and I were nearly killed. I have discovered that Shawn is the traitor.
“Allow me to start at the beginning of this crazy experience: when Hawkins showed us the Liopleurodon in the Naval Base. I had said that the Liopleurodon should be killed before it could hurt anyone. The only person who did not agree was Shawn. Shawn had said that the Liopleurodon should be released back into the ocean. He said that it doesn’t matter if people die as a result. And I quote: ‘Say the Liopleurodon kills someone here, another person there. There are already too many of us as there is! This animal is the last of its kind, let it go.’”
Hawkins remembers Shawn saying that, and nods. Shawn glares at Luke. Luke makes brief eye contact with Ben before he continues, “The five of us were supposed to go home that night, but a hotel bill reveals that Shawn remained in California. Also, a friend of mine was able to hack into Shawn’s bank account. The night that Shawn remained in California, he took thirty-five thousand dollars from his savings –”
“That was just a coincidence!” Shawn exclaims. “I had spent the night having fun.”
“I don’t believe you,” Luke says.
“Oh yeah, well is it a coincidence that you happened to see the Liopleurodon in its glacier when you were a child?!”
Stunned, Luke says nothing. Shawn smiles; he knows that he is tu
rning the table on Luke. “I’ve got people of my own.”
Luke hears whispering among his friends. Kelsey asks, “Is that how you became interested in Liopleurodons?”
Luke does not know how to respond. “Well, that’s what began a scientific interest, but it doesn’t mean in any way that I wanted to free it.”
Shawn continues smiling. Finally, Ben says, “Shawn, this wouldn’t be the first time that you reacted violently when an animal’s welfare was threatened. Your high school record shows that you got into lots of fights when innocent animals were to be harmed.”
Shawn stares at Ben. Ben continues, “You were even expelled from Wilson High School when you mercilessly beat another student for shooting at rabbits with a BB gun. We also know that you belong to an extremist animal-rights group, in fact, so extreme that your group was thrown out of Greenpeace. From what I heard, this group advocates saving animal lives over people. Is that correct?”
“How the hell do you know that?” Shawn asks.
Ben sighs as he says, “It was one of the things that came up when I researched you.”
Everyone is shocked. “You researched him?” Will asks.
Ben turns to the group and says, “I researched all of you, when we began this wild goose chase, two months ago.” He turns to Hawkins and says, “You, Captain Hawkins, were the hardest to get information on, but after a while I found what I was looking for.”
“How much do you know?” Kelsey asks.
Ben turns to her and says, “In the fifth grade, your report card consisted of four ‘A’s, two ‘B’s, and one ‘C’. Your second dog’s name was Princess, and in 1996, your mother was falsely diagnosed with cancer.”
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