Hey all. As you have undoubtedly noticed I'm not writing so fast lately. I'm sorry about that, but I've been otherwise occupied lately. I'm (yet again) determined to finish this story soon, maybe this time I'll actually manage to do that :D. Cheers!

Chapter 17

Two of the life rafts were already on their way to the Cathalina when the bow canon of the container ship was set ablaze. The devastation was so close that Ian cursed out loud.

"If we stay any longer, we're next. Where is that guy?"

"Maybe he didn't make it." Stan outed downhearted.

"Maybe..."

Ian checked his watch. He had done so multiple times now. The hour Owen had set for his solo mission had already passed ten minutes ago, yet the two men were reluctant in leaving their mutual friend behind. But eventually, the man operating the life boat reckoned that sticking was no longer an option.

"We can't wait any longer guys. I'm sorry."

He and a few others were the last to leave. The previous two boats had already set course for the frigate, and it was time to follow their example while they still could. Upon descending, they passed slowly by the floor below them. There, Stan caught sight of the missing ranger.

"Wait. There he is!" Stan cried. "Owen! This way!"

He was running like the wind. When Stan called out his name, he changed his direction towards them, simultaneously revealing the reason for his hurry. Two Ukrainians emerged from around the corner, emptying their rifles however they were not firing at Owen. Even further back, two raptors also appeared, and they were overly hungry.

One of the InGen'ers aboard aimed his rifle to provide cover fire, but Ian slapped it away.

"You might hit Owen instead." he explained.

"Hurry up man! Jump!" Stan encouraged.

It was an excessive message to pass on. Owen had already figured that if he wanted to join their ride, he had to leap over the side of the boat. Once he reached the side of the ship, the boat was already far below him. He agilely swung himself over the railing, causing him to end up among his friends. He landed harder than he had expected and groaned as his knees caught a heavier blow than was desired. A few seconds after him, the soldiers appeared over the railing as well, yet they hadn't been fast enough. Before they got themselves over the fence, they were snatched and drawn out of side. Their voices were quickly smothered and their bones emitted a dreadful noise as they broke under the unnatural, Jurassic force.

A short moment of silence passed by. Perhaps the two Ukrainians that had died just now had been their enemies, that didn't make their death less terrifying.

"That was a close one." Ian said eventually breaking the silence.

He patted Owen on the shoulder and the ranger made a confirming sound in between his puffing.

"I see… you brought… a friend." he joked, pointing at Ivan, who was tied up with an ridiculous amount of rope.

"Yea, well. He did save me once. It would've been rude not to return the favour." Ian said.

Ivan mumbled something incomprehensible yet with an unmistakeable taste of hostility in it. Owen wanted to answer, but he was interrupted by a metallic creaking noise.

"What is that?!" someone called.

The giant crane lifted a strange steel thing high above the deck of the ship. Ian recognized it as one of the transports. This wasn't good. This thought strengthened once he distinguished Pavel among the crew that manned it.

"We have to go. Fast!"

Ian made his way towards the control panel and urged the helmsman to maximize their speed. He estimated how long they had before Pavel's pursuit vessel would have been lowered into the water. He didn't like what he came up with, but knew better than to share this bad news already. There was still the hope that it would be blown to bits by the frigate, even though it grew thinner by the second.

.

"Make sure you get to them as fast as possible. The closer we are to them, the less likely the marine will blow our guts in the air with their artillery. Got that?"

The crane began to lower the craft on the leeward side of the canon range to avoid them being a sitting duck for the frigate. Meanwhile, Pavel advised his captain. Once the addressed man confirmed this information, he went back to basking in the foresight of his plan.

Soon he would have his revenge. The idea of being able to dispatch of those annoying pests pleased him. Most of all, Ian Malcolm. The man's black outfit and gloating stance had been a dead giveaway of his presence on the last lifeboat, even from afar.

Pavel drew a grin. How he would enjoy shooting that man. But as much as he wanted to pull the trigger himself, he was aware of the situation and was realistic enough to acknowledge he might not be given that luxury.

Without warning, a massive explosion aboard The Russian Jewel undid the crane of its foothold and the assault raft fell the last distance onto the water. Luckily, it was made to take a punch and it stayed intact. This could not be said for the container ship. As a catastrophic result of the loss of balance, the huge metal tower tipped over and fell onto the bridge hut, making it explode in the process. The soldiers watched in awe as they knew Spartak, their commander, was up there.

Pavel on the other hand wasn't having any of it.

"What are you guys staring at. Get a move on!"

"But sir. What about-.."

"Sad as it is, we can't do anything for commander Spartak anymore." he preached with a sorrowful voice. "The only way to we can honour him is to avenge his death. And for that we need to get after those escapees! Agreed?!"

The men cheered in unison. Pavel grinned satisfied. His speech was a nice piece of theatre. He didn't care the least about Spartak being killed. That man had only been here for the money anyway. All the businessman was truly interested in, was payback. And sooner rather than later, he would be raining down hell on those meddling InGen dogs. He could hardly wait, and his smirk became even wider.

.

On the other side of The Russian Jewel, the escapees were also spooked by the explosion. Once the crane crashed into the bridge hut, everyone figured it was over. Pavel's entire lead crew had been there and it was unlikely anyone had survived. Moreover, the crane had held Pavel´s last means of pursuit, which surely had perished in that fall too. At least so they thought for a few minutes.

It wasn't until the rattling craft appeared around the bow of the container ship that the men realized they weren't safe yet. At their current speed, Pavel and his men would be able to intercept them before the Cathalina could present any backup. They had to think of something to slow them down or accelerate themselves.

"Is there deadweight we can toss overboard?" Owen asked.

The rest looked around, although Ian had already thought of this for worst case scenarios. He shook his head, indicating they needed an alternative.

"Maybe we leave something to entangle in their engine?"

"Such as?" Ian replied sceptical.

"Do you have a better idea?!" Owen bit back.

"Gentlemen, arguing brings us nowhere." Arie soothed.

"They're closing in!" someone shouted.

All faces anxiously gazed at the speeding craft in the distance. It was catching up at a steady pace. The few guns they had were no match for the amount of firearms their foe possessed.

"Can't the Navy shoot them?" another wondered.

"No, their boat is too agile. It won't work." he was answered.

But the danger was coming from more than one side. All of the crew were so occupied with their pursuers that they failed to notice that Ivan had been silently cutting the rope on a protruding screw. Before anyone realized he had freed himself, Ivan leaped onto the steersman, causing the lifeboat to suddenly change its course.

Although surprised, the men quickly regained their footing and tried to subdue the attacker. This was hard since Ivan's combat training and experience exceeded theirs.

Pavel witnesses the scene at a distance. He snorted displeased. His plan to just open fire at the lifeboat was now done for. He may have been able to talk his men into abandoning Spartak, he could hardly convince them to fire at one of their own. Again Ivan had ruined his plans. He had a good mind to kill his former friend along with the rest that had been such a pain to him these past few days.

Ivan had meanwhile been driven into a corner. He defended himself with a knife he had won from the helmsman. Then, something happened none had foreseen.

An unexpected collision with a massive body in the water made the boat sway hard to the left. As a result, Ivan had to correct his foothold, but this was prevent by the slightly upstanding edge of the boat. He tumbled over and plunged head first into the sea.

"Oh my god." Ian exclaimed.

As they were still moving at considerable velocity, Ivan was quickly a few metres behind them. When he came back to the surface, he too realized in what a dreadful position he had ended up. His instincts told him to swim as fast as he could. He had to follow up on the life raft. Even though he would likely have been better off going for his fellow soldiers, it became clear that it had not mattered what choice he had made. He didn't even know what was happening until the gaping jaws of the Mosasaurus locked themselves around the relatively tiny man and left a pool of blood in the previously clear blue sea.

End of chapter.