11
9 - "Council of war"
It is 2 : 00 pm.
Both men go out of the restaurant.
- At what time do we meet, asks Nicolas ?
- Within half an hour.
- So we have enough time to go to the labs !
- OK, but hurry ! Our bosses loathe late people.
- No problem. But I would like to know what your scientists think of the necklace that I put handed to them.
- All right ! Let's go !
From their arrival in premises, Stephen, the chemist whom they had met the first time, comes towards them.
- Ah, sirs, he says, I waited for you. I have quite a lot of things to be told you and my colleague electronics engineer too. I call him at once.
A few minutes later, a young man arrives. It is not the one that they had seen in the morning but it does not matter.
- All of us are here, says Stephen, who holds in his hand the necklace, from now on freed of its accessories.
« This leather element is intended for a neck more massive than ours.
- That of Velociraptor, for example, asks for Owen ?
- It is completely possible, answers the chemist.
« Look at the clasp ! Once locked, it becomes very difficult to open it. I think that it is made to avoid that dinosaurs loose it.
« The explosive charge, which we removed, is placed so that she must be able to cut both jugular veins all at once. A guarantee not to be a victim of your animal if this one escapes your control.
- And products, asks Nicolas ?
- You know the history of the carrot and the stick ? Hey well, you have a modern version there. On one side a substance which gives you a pleasant sensation of well-being and, on the other one, a molecule which can impose you the martyr, even in small doses.
- If I understand well, says Owen, if I am satisfied with you, I inject you a small quantity of the first one, and if you do not obey me, you receive the second.
- It is completely it ! A way of keeping control. And if you rebel in the point of being dangerous, I blow up your head !
- And all this works how ?
- Ah, it is not anymore within my competence. It is your turn, Kilian !
The questioned man advances.
- All the system is commanded by a small receiver. What surprised me, it is the quality of this material. He is normally intended for the army. The components are high-end. The set is perfectly isolated. It is not afraid either of the cold, or of the warm, or of the humidity, or of the rain.
« In fact, it has to answer a transmitter manipulated by a man. A kind of remote control.
- And we can blur the transmitter, asks Nicolas ?
- It seems difficult, Kilian answers.
The young man takes a small device out of his pocket.
- Take this, he says, it's very artisanal but this little device should be able, if need be, to neutralize the management of the necklace.
« On the other hand, I did not have a lot of time to prepare it to you. This do-it-yourself has a very weak reach, no more than fifteen meters, and interrupts the transmission only during two minutes ! During this short lapse of time, the receiver of the necklace will be totally switched off.
« I am sorry but I cannot do better.
- It is great, says the Frenchman, admiring ! If what I am afraid of becomes real, your small machine could well save lives.
- The last element of the necklace, pursues Kilian, the camera, or rather, the cameras because they are two. They start up manually and work then continuously. Their optics are of excellent quality.
The one is in normal mode, that means that it films in natural lighting, but it is endowed with an amplifier of light which allows it to work at night. The other one is a thermal camera which detects sources of heat. I think that those who imagined this plan want to collect a maximum of informations because they work, both, in immediate transmission and film exactly what their carrier sees.
- Nicolas, we must go there, interrupts Owen. Thank you sirs for these informations !
- You were outstandingly effective, concludes the Frenchman. I take you my hat off !
He slides the small device which Kilian gave him in the pocket of its pants, then follows closely his friend.
Both men go out of the building because the access to the floor of control is made by a side door.
- What do you think of all this, asks Nicolas ?
- I think that those whom you saw on the nearby island are not sure to master their animals. Then, they took their precautions. But they make all this with the aim of a precise action. I think that the park is not going to delay receiving their visit.
- I agree with your analysis.
- There are nevertheless two questions : when are they going to land and by where they are going to arrive ?
- For the first one, I think that we must be able to anticipate the answer. As for the second, certainly not by the port, because it would be too risky. As Trevor will never take the risk of finding himself stuck on a boat under our shootings. He is going to want to choose the good moment and the right place.
- It is almost 2 : 30 pm. Let's go. We shall have the opportunity to pursue our analysis above with our bosses.
As soon as they penetrate into the big control room, they are welcomed by Harvey.
- Ah, sirs, here you are ! And exactly on time ! You know that we are pressed. Then, without further delay, let us return a little to the subject which worries us. We discussed it exactly with my friends.
« If we amount, we have, very close to us, soldiers accompanied by about ten carnivorous dinosaurs, maybe more. They studied the topography through the use of a drone, so now, they know it almost as well as we do. They obviously intend to come here soon. It is unmistakable.
« But, for that, it will be necessary to them to cross the double outer wall, because mister Randanne convinced us that the access by the port was too risky for them.
« Did I summarize well the situation ?
- Completely, answers Owen. But there is an additional element to be added to the folder.
He then explains in detail the study of the necklace that will certainly be worn by dinosaurs.
- It would tend to prove, says Sir Humfrey, that they equipped themselves with a security system.
- They have not too much the choice. Even if their bipeds are entailed well, they certainly never really fought. As a result, they may have unpredictable reactions such as flight or panic and even turn against their masters.
- It is maybe an opportunity for us, adds Toshiro.
- Maybe, says Nicolas, but nothing is less certain. By the way, how many people can we mobilize in the event of an attack, without stopping the surveillance of the installations ?
- Ten, maybe fifteen, but hardly more, answers Owen.
- I am well afraid that it will not be sufficient, retorts the Frenchman.
- Why not, asks Sir Humfrey ?
- Let us recapitulate, they have at least about ten drawn up dinosaurs, maybe even a dozen. These animals are fast and merciless. In addition, they have the initiative. They are exactly going to choose, be sure of it, the moment and the place. If we fight in these conditions, only one man against one of their dinosaurs, we have no chance.
- What do you propose, asks Jacqueline?
- Mr Harper, pursues Nicolas, is very influential in the military circles of his country. If he could find a unity in laborer not very far from here and repatriate it on this island, it would increase our chances.
- I go to see what I can make, answers the interested.
« Do not move ! Some phone calls to be crossed and I would quickly have an answer.
Immediately, he seizes his mobile phone and goes out of the room.
- My friend is right, says Owen during this time there. If we could benefit from substantial reinforcements, it would increase our chances to push away the invader.
- Would you be afraid, mister Grady, asks Sir Humfrey ?
- Not at all ! But I have not a temperament of goat which goes to the slaughterhouse. I know well the small theropodes which Nicolas saw. They attack very fast, without leaving you the slightest luck and withdraw immediately. In addition, they are intelligent and able to act collectively.
« In addition, I think that those which arrive at us have capacities superior to the "standard" representative of their species.
Harvey Harper returns in the room, the smile on the lips.
- Good news, Ladies and Gentlemen ! There is a unity of marines in operation not very far from here. I had to fight hard, but I obtained the provision of about sixty men. They will be there tomorrow.
- Great, says Owen, thank you ! Time is short. Faster they will be here and better we can prepare them for what waits for them.
- Because we speak about timing, says Toshiro, there is something unknown, and of size. We do not still know when will take place the attack.
Since a little while, Nicolas does not listen to them any more. He looks insistently at an animation which scrolls on a small side screen of the main wall.
- What is this image, does he ask finally Marvin, who sits not far from him ?
- It is a meteo animation. The white spot represents the next disturbance.
- And it comes towards us?
- Yes ! Doubtless. It is the hurricane which should cross us above in three days, during the night. It is necessary to expect pouring rains, thunderstorms and violent winds.
- And the forecast is reliable ?
- Completely. It emanates from Meteorological Offices of Costa Rica. It is updated every six hours.
- What means that those who want to land here have the same information ?
- Very probably. It is the more precise for this geographical zone.
- Thank you, Marvin, you have just answered mister Nakagoski's question.
« They will attack at night, in three days, at the height of the hurricane which arrives at us, says sudden Nicolas, so covering the hubbub of the discussions.
- Very well, says Harvey, we have now all the elements, except the entry point. Because they will have to cross our fences and, to my knowledge, their animals do not know to climb.
- I think that the time has come to speak to you about the commando squad which is going to accompany the saurians, pursues Owen.
« It is constituted, on one hand by young head burnt persons, ready for anything and perfectly trained, the colonel watches personally and submits his men to a merciless training, and on the other hand, a kind of praetorian guard, which never leaves him, compound of individuals as old as him.
« Nicolas spoke to you about those that he was next on the boat.
« Ignacio, the thrower of knives, ideal for the work silently, the nightmare of the sentinels.
« Luigi, the specialist of the interrogations.
« And Jurgen, the right arm with the absolute loyalty, which thinks as Trevor, acts as Trevor, fights as Trevor, the ideal assistant.
- But there are others, pursues Nicolas : Buddy Blackwater, an Australian. He is an old a little bit plump man, who never participates in the actions. His speciality is the logistics. Jurgen describes him the mission and he prepares all that is needed : foods, ammunitions, explosives, means of transportation, routes, … He leaves nothing at random. The people baptized him mister ten percent, because he overestimates systematically the ten percent quantities. Most of his colleagues do not know why.
« But I met one day one of his friends who told me his story. For an operation, he had calculated exactly all the necessity, not to overload the soldiers because they should move on a long distance.
« But things did not happened, according to the plan. At the time of beating a retreat, one of the fighter groups was taken to task by regular troops. The commitment lasted longer that what would have be needed, to the point that the soldiers of Trevor soon found themselves without ammunitions. Two men were captured. A few days later, they were shot. The event was relieved longly by the televisions of the whole world.
« From this day, nothing has been as before for Buddy and he swore himself that such misadventure would not reproduce any more.
« I must tell you that one of the two shot soldiers was his son. He never really recovered from it.
" There is also Kim Li Jié, a Frenchman like me, who has been born in the 13eme district of Paris, the " Chinese district " if you prefer. He has been my friend. His speciality is the do-it-yourself. It is capable of making everything from anything or almost. How many times he saved his group by realizing improbable and unpredictable objects.
« And then, there are again three others.
« The first one is a woman. She is called Margarita Verhoffer. She is German and, originally, she was a make-up woman. She is the one today who is capable of making you any head according to needs. Make-up, disguises, nothing has secret for her. I think that she will not be present on this mission, because her talents will not be probably necessary here.
« And then, there is The Mole, so named because he wears glasses and almost never sets foot outdoors.
« He is the specialist in computing. I am persuaded that he conceived the drone and the necklaces about which we have spoken. He has to be on the island, certainly in the PC of transmission that I saw, behind his dear screens.
« And, finally, cherry on the cake, there is Ernst Blummenfeld, a Dutch. He is half crazy but it is necessary the being to make what he is doing. His domain, they are explosives. It is a real passion. He is able to juggle time-grenades by counting the seconds and throwing them at the right time and in the right place. Oh, of course ! He misses some fingers to him but it did not affect his enthusiasm.
« His mission will be to open the way to make the commando squad penetrate into the park ! He makes what he wants with his infernal machines. You want to destroy a building ? No problem ! You want to open a breach in a wall ? It's as if it was made !
« When he has time, he has a very personal technique of intervention. He begins by placing an insufficient but known load of which he analyzes the effects. It allows him to determine very exactly the quantity of explosives and the number of necessary charges to obtain the desired effect.
« I think that it is what he will make here. Thus it is necessary to expect a first false attack, a kind of test, if you want, which will take place twenty four or forty eight hours before the real one.
- Thus, if I understand well, recapitulates Toshiro, we have to wait for the test in one or two days and the real action two days later, am I right ?
- We do not think like that, Mr. Nakagoshi, because the hurricane can go faster or slower than expected. We are going to follow the evolution of the real time weather report.
« For us, the arrival of the hurricane is the D-day, whatever it is. And we know that our "boyfriends" will make certainly an attempt for D - 2.
- Sorry, says Jacqueline, but I do not see good to what is of use this kind of repetition in … D - 2.
- It has several usings, pursues Owen. First of all to make sure that, during the real intervention, the breach will be opened well, with the good dimensions. Then, it will allow the opposite camp to estimate our capacity of reaction in normal conditions, I mean when we can implement our maximal capacity of action : helicopters, vehicles, and the rest.
- Sorry, interrupts Sir Humfrey, but the explosive will serve to blow up the concrete wall. But what about the reinforced fence ?
- Very most probably, they will attack with laser beam. It will take only a few minutes.
- Last question, pursues Toshiro. According to you, where are they going to attack ?
- Their island is in the South of ours, specifies Owen. Thus they will fetch in this zone a point where the beach will be close to our outer wall, to avoid a tiring walking in the virgin forest. The first point of attack will aim at misleading us and will certainly be taken away enough from the real objective that they will have settled. But, in any case, their impact point will be at the opposite of our installations.
- It will oblige us, specifies Nicolas, to make a long travel and, considering the weather conditions, it will eliminate all our heavy equipment, helicopters and tanks.
« They want a fight, men against animals. Then, they take all their precautions to avoid the interferences, especially if these risk to serve them.
- Ladies and Gentlemen, interrupts Harvey, it is now 3 : 30 pm. We are going to leave. I believe that we examined the question from all sides. The place, the moment, the means, everything was discussed.
« Mister Grady and you, mister Randanne, a lot of work waits for you. We count on you to make every effort to protect our park. It is necessary to block the road to these "war animals", men and dinosaurs.
« I shall watch, personally, that the promised reinforcements are forwarded to you in due course.
« For the rest, I think of being made the spokesman of our common thought : you have carte blanche but, please, do not fail ! It would be catastrophic.
- You can trust us, says Owen !
- We understood well the stake, adds Nicolas. If they came to take over, it would give a reality to their project of fighting animals. The worst would come.
« We shall not let them this opportunity ! »
