by Taylor Buck
“You ever heard of CERTA?” Bennett asked.
“CERTA? No, doesn’t sound familiar.”
They rounded the corner of the garage and a building came at once into view. A large, grey building framed by giant Koa trees sat stoically among the dense jungle surroundings. Concrete, freestanding pillars covered in vines decorated the courtyard and framed the scene like a Greek forum. A Koi pond adorned the pathway to the entrance, which snaked in and out between ivy-covered pillars. A sign stood at the entrance displaying the same insignia shown on the vehicles. The building had long vertical windows with privacy glass that wrapped around the sides of the structure.
“What is this place?” asked Kelly.
“I think it’s safe to rule out ranger station,” said Bennett.
The building was captivating. It looked like a futuristic space station built among ancient Greek relics. It brought back visions of sci-fi stories and adventure novels that Bennett had read as a young boy. Bennett couldn’t help but be transfixed with the architecture. The exterior walls were made up of smooth gray panels. Large Doric pillars were fused into the panels at random giving the appearance like the structure had been built on top of crumbling ruins from the Acropolis. He noticed a heli-pad jutting out from the far end of the building, reaching out into the clearing between the trees like an outstretched arm.
Bennett and Kelly ducked down, still out of view and sneaked around the side of the garage. “Tom, I don’t know what this place is, but we’re clearly trespassing. Do you think we should just go up there?” Kelly asked.
“I don’t know. Honestly, I’d rather slip by unnoticed, if we can. If we head back into the forest we should be able to go around. Hopefully we can find an exit up front. If not, it appears we may be forced to make some new friends.” Bennett flashed his charming smile. “Also, Kelly, it’s Saturday. Not likely anyone is here at all.”
“True.” Kelly nodded, looking back the direction they came from. “It looks like another trail picks up over there.” Kelly pointed to the right of the building. A path wound past a shed and disappeared into the forest. It looked to continue around the east side of the building.
“Good. Let’s make for it,” said Bennett.
Bennett led Kelly past the garage and over to the trail, stopping briefly behind a large set of pillars they used for cover. They ducked their heads to stay low and keep out of sight. Bennett reached the trail and ducked behind a tree, Kelly right behind him. Once they were clearly out of view, they continued along the path camouflaged by the large trees.
“What do you think? Pharmaceutical lab? Corporate retreat? Rehabilitation Center for celebrity junkies?” Kelly asked.
“Could be anything. What a strange location though—It’s out in the middle of nowhere. And it’s clearly hidden from view for a reason,” Bennett said as he stared at the building through the trees.
They followed the path which ran parallel to the building. The trail was just within the tree line and invisible from the windows. Bennett kept glancing over at the building.
“How far are we from the truck now?” Kelly asked.
“About three miles or so.”
“Do you know where we are?” she asked.
“Well, I did. I can’t get a GPS reading at all here though. It’s strange.” Bennett tapped his GPS unit as if it had a wire loose inside that would reconnect and find a signal. “I’ve got a pretty good idea though. We’re actually pretty close to where I spotted the ‘I’iwi yesterday.”
“Really? You saw an ‘I’iwi. Those are harder and harder to…”
“Hold up,” Bennett interrupted her. He broke through the trees and walked right up to the building. He didn’t bother to remain hidden since he hadn’t seen any windows this far down the structure.
“Did you see something?” Kelly asked.
Bennett unstrapped his bag and began assembling his camera, fitting together the body and the lens. He screwed his telephoto lens into place and held the camera up to his eye. The side of the building reached high up to the trees. Kelly could see he was focusing in on a large convex mirror perched high on top of the wall. It looked to possibly be a security camera.
“Tom, are you sure we should be out here in the open?” Kelly asked nervously.
“That mirror is facing down directly into the building. I can see the entire room from here. It must have a skylight on top,” Bennett said.
“Anything good?” asked Kelly.
Bennett focused in on a corner of the room and his attention was immediately drawn to something. Kelly could tell he was concentrated in on something because of the look on his face.
“Ah…Kelly?
Click. Bennett fired off a frame.
“What is it?” Kelly asked with anticipation.
Bennett lowered the camera away from his face and looked down at the screen. Kelly moved in close to see what he had captured. The screen displayed an amazingly detailed photo of the interior of the room. She could see a large, horizontal glass window on the far end with a door next to it. The floor revealed dark, abstract shadows cast down from the trees above. Both sides of the room held four rows of glass paneling that appeared to be smaller rooms. She could see into two of them. As she studied the rooms, she soon realized what Tom was referring to.
“No…way! Are those…?
“Panthers,” Bennett said finishing her question.
RICK DANNER SAT up in his chair slowly and peered up at the monitor displayed above him. The video feed was being pulled from the east-facing exterior surveillance camera. The screen showed a man and a woman standing next to each other. The man was holding something they both huddled around, seemingly interested in. The unexpected company came as a surprise to Danner. There were no guests listed today. The entire facility was on lockdown, and there was no way anyone should have been able to get in.
Not a good day for uninvited guests.
Danner grabbed his shotgun and headed for the door.
CHAPTER 19
CERTA FACILITY GROUNDS
15 OCTOBER, 1:00 P.M.
“How many of them are there? Kelly asked.
“It looks like there must be one in each cell. Probably seven or eight. They must be breeding them here,” replied Bennett.
“They’ve got them locked in cages!” Kelly gasped. “And what are those? It looks like tubes, or something attached to them—like they’re hooked up to machines!”
“Well, it’s hard to see what those are exactly,” said Bennett.
“Those cats are big, easily full-grown adults. They don’t belong out here. They need to be let back into the wild—or at the very least, a wildlife refuge in their respective habitat. Not here though!” she said angrily.
Kelly was getting visibly enraged. She didn’t deal well with animal cruelty. She was strongly opposed to abuse and happened to be an activist for animal rights groups.
“Kelly, hold on. We don’t know what they’re doing out here,” said Bennett.
“Tom, we need to call the police. If there were sanctioned wild cats here on the islands, you can be certain I would know about it.” Kelly started to pull her phone out.
“Don’t move!”
Bennett and Kelly swung around and looked in the direction of the voice. A muscular man, dressed in military cargo pants and a dark brown, sweat-drenched tank top was walking slowly toward them—gun pointed straight at Bennett.
“This is private property, and you are trespassing.” The man paced forward slowly, his body tensed. “Now explain to me how you got on the premises.”
Bennett stepped forward to approach him, shuffling in front of Kelly.
“I said to stay where you are!” The man barked at Bennett and brought the gun up to take aim.
“Ok! You got it. We’re not moving.” Be
nnett raised his arms to show he wasn’t carrying any weapons. “Listen, I apologize for trespassing. It was not our intent to intrude on your grounds here. Truth is, we’ve become a bit lost out here and thought this might have been a ranger station. We hopped the fence to look for help.”
“You hopped the fence?” The man asked with a sarcastic tone.
“Well, yeah. We found a tree,” Bennett said to the man—realizing how juvenile it sounded.
The man stared at Bennett, still holding the gun on him. Kelly was boiling with anger. She wanted to lash out at him and expose the fact that they had seen the cats, but Bennett didn’t give her a chance. He looked back at her with a quick glance, as if to tell her he had it under control. Kelly let him have the conversation for the moment. The man didn’t move. He continued to stare at both of them.
“Would you please lower the gun?” Bennett asked calmly. “We really aren’t here to cause any trouble.”
The man kept the gun pointed at Bennett. His eyes went to the camera slung over Bennett’s shoulder.
“You a reporter?” the man asked.
“No. I’m a wildlife photographer. We’re out taking pictures for a project set to be filmed here next year.”
“What about you?” The man looked over at Kelly. “You a photographer too?”
Kelly looked straight back at the man. Bennett could see that Kelly was holding back—her eyes harnessing the fire inside. “I’m a wildlife biologist,” Kelly said in a calm voice.
The man set his gaze back on Bennett. “Let me see your credentials.”
Bennett felt his shirt pockets and patted down his pants, then stopped. He realized he hadn’t brought any ID with him today. Things kept getting worse. What an idiot, he thought to himself. “I don’t have any. You can call the ranger’s office and they will vouch for me.”
The man stared back into Bennett’s eyes, as if trying to read him. Finally, he relented and lowered his rifle. “You need to leave.” He pointed his gun toward the garage. “Come on. I’ll escort you back to your vehicle.”
Kelly spoke up. “That’s really not necessary. We can just hike out on our own.”
The man turned his head and shot Kelly a look. Gripping his gun tight in his hands.
“That’s fine,” Bennett interjected quickly. He looked at Kelly, then back to the man. “We’ll follow you.”
“That way. Toward the garage.” He nodded his head back the way they came.
Bennett and Kelly walked back along the building, toward the garage. The man remained a few paces behind them. Kelly glanced over at Bennett. He was staring straight ahead as they walked. They reached the garage and the man drew a keychain from his belt, waving it in front of a small grey box next to the door. A loud grinding noise rang out as the garage doors withdrew to the ceiling revealing the various vehicles stored behind.
The man pointed to the Range Rover closest to them. “This one. Get in the back.”
Bennett opened the door for Kelly and they both hopped in.
The back of the Range Rover was practically a cage. It had bucket seats, but the entire passenger cabinet was lined with a heavy-duty, black coating. The only things not covered in the black coating were the tinted windows on either side. The driver’s cab was separated from the back with a thick slab of fiberglass, like a police car partition.
Bennett studied the interior of the custom designed Rover. It felt like a prison cell inside.
This is what they use to transport the panthers, he thought.
Once Bennett and Kelly were both seated, the man shut the doors and jumped in the driver’s seat. The Range Rover fired to life. There was a crackling noise, then the man’s voice came over the rear speakers. “Which parking lot did you leave your car?”
“North lot,” Bennett replied.
The man could hear them through an intercom. They watched the man hang up the receiver and shift the vehicle into reverse. The S.U.V. pulled out of the parking garage and headed out on a gravel road. They watched the odd looking building disappear out of site as they turned the corner.
“So what exactly is this place?” Kelly asked loudly. Bennett turned and looked at her as if to say don’t push it. The man driving didn’t respond. He ignored Kelly’s question and kept driving down the road. “Oh-Kay, nevermind,” she said sarcastically.
The gravel turned to dirt and they were soon cruising along a narrow road through the forest. The trees passed by quickly on both sides of the car, just a foot or so away on either side. Bennett peered up through the skylight. Overhead, the trees provided a heavy canopy cover too. The road was seemingly undetectable from aircraft. After a few minutes, they reached the entryway to the compound—a large metal gate flanked on either side by long rows of shock fence. The S.U.V. paused only briefly while the gate swung open. After the vehicle had cleared the gate, it continued down a new road, also camouflaged from above. Bennett and Kelly sat in the back of the Range Rover for a ten-minute trip through an unmarked access road until it eventually spit them out on the forest reserve highway—which was really just a wider dirt road. The turnoff was unmarked and brilliantly placed behind two staggered Koa trees. It was virtually undetectable to passers-by.
Once on the highway, they reached the parking lot in a matter of minutes. The man pulled in next to Bennett’s truck and turned off the engine. He stepped out and opened Kelly’s side door. She stepped out of the car and Bennett followed behind. As she stepped out, she happened to look into the open driver’s door and notice something trapped at the base of the seat, by the floor mat. A square-shaped, transparent keychain with hexagonal gold circuitry. It was the same keychain the man had used to open the garage doors. It must have fallen down there. Her eyes shot discreetly to the man’s belt.
His keychain was still there. That must be an extra.
“One more thing,” the man said and walked around the door, his gun held at his side. “I’m gonna need that camera.” He eyed the camera bag Bennett had slung over his shoulder.
Bennett looked at the camera bag and then stared back at the man. “You can’t have my camera.”
“I’m going to ask you one more time. Give me the camera.” Danner tensed up and approached Bennett.
“I can’t do that. I need this camera for my work here. I’m not going to give it up.”
The men locked eyes—each holding his ground. Danner was clearly the more formidable opponent, but Bennett wasn’t one to back out of a fight. He was a well-conditioned athlete and knew how to hold his own if it came to it. It was clear that something was about to take place if no one intervened.
Kelly sensed the tension.
The man tightened his grip on the rifle.
“Tom! Give him the camera. We don’t need it,” she said.
Kelly acted quickly, unfastening the camera bag and pulling out the camera. Bennett looked at her with a curious expression and grabbed for Kelly’s hand.
“Kelly!”
It was too late. Kelly threw the camera into the air toward the man. Danner was caught off guard by Kelly’s actions. He quickly pulled the rifle in across his arms, cradling it, and attempted to catch the camera as it cartwheeled through the air. The camera hit the gun awkwardly, clanging off the metal barrel and falling down to the rocks below. Danner bent over quickly to retrieve the camera. As he looked away, Kelly reached in the cab and grabbed the keychain from under the seat. She swiftly slipped it in her pocket and repositioned herself next to Bennett. Danner grabbed the camera and picked it up off the ground. He brushed it off and flicked the power button on. The camera didn’t respond. He tried it again. Nothing.
“Nice work. You busted it,” Danner said and looked at Kelly with a snarky grin.
He flicked open the card slot and pulled out the memory stick. Then he let the card fall loosely from his fingers down to the
gravel below. He lifted his boot up and brought it down swiftly on the card, smashing it into small pieces.
“You’re welcome to have it back now,” Danner said and handed the camera back to Bennett.
Bennett inspected the camera. The body was visibly damaged, but intact. The lens, however, was completely shattered. Had Bennett not seen Kelly snatch the keychain, he would have been fuming mad. However, he recognized what Kelly had done and he went along with it. The camera could be replaced. Bennett placed the camera back into his bag. The man was already getting into his Range Rover.
“I don’t think I have to mention not to ever come back.” The man looked back toward Bennett and Kelly. “But If I see you again…” he paused. “I won’t be so hospitable.”
He shut his door, backed up the Rover, and peeled out of the parking lot. The Range Rover turned the corner and drove out of sight. Bennett threw his bag in the back of his truck.
“What the…? Tom, what just happened?” Kelly asked wide-eyed.
Bennett opened his door. “Let’s go. We’ll talk in the car.”
Kelly opened her door hesitantly and got in. They backed out of the parking lot and pulled out onto the highway. They flew down the road spewing mud on both sides. Bennett shot a quick glance in the rearview mirror and shifted gears. Kelly looked over at Bennett.
“Tom. I’m so sorry I broke your camera. I didn’t really think about it—I just threw it. I wanted to get that key card. Now…” Kelly paused. “Our proof of those panthers… we won’t be able to show anything. Especially now that the camera is destroyed.” Kelly went on. “I can’t believe he…” Kelly noticed a smile forming across Bennett’s mouth.
“What—what is it?” Kelly asked.
Bennett looked over at Kelly with the sly grin still on his face. “Whatever it was, we may still have a chance of knowing.”