The best plans are the simple ones; the ones that are straightforward, relatively airtight, but leave room for improvisation if something unexpected crops up. But of course, with the best plans, there's no room for anything unexpected, because everything has been considered, prepared, and accounted for.
While their plan was simple, and pretty straightforward, it definitely wasn't the best. Of course, this was realized in retrospect, as things usually are.
BioSyn had hired some big-game hunters, a few paleontologists, and a group of native workers to systematically hunt and capture a male and female dinosaur of various species. It was, as Roland had said, "Ludlow all over again."
At the end of the day, any captured dinosaurs were placed in one of the pens at the main complex, and the crew of twenty or so men went to sleep. The plan was to follow the crew and take pictures of them in action, then sneak over and nab a few photos during the night. Then they'd call the chopper and depart, giving Lex the evidence she needed to sue the asses off of every last exec at BioSyn.
The daytime part of things went pretty well. It was difficult staying out of sight while managing to get close enough for good photos, but they did all right. It was during the night excursion that things started to go south.
They had split up – Roland and Billy taking the worker's quarters, while Tim and Blue went to snap pictures of the caged dinosaurs.
The massive cages and holding pens gleamed menacingly in the moonlight. Or maybe that was just Blue's overactive imagination. Red had been left outside with strict instructions to 'hold'. Blue hated having him out of her sight, even for a minute. Red was clearly worried that she would leave again, because he kept making distressed whining noises in his throat. Blue had promised him that she would return, but she could tell from the look in his eyes that he was still upset.
Now she was in a room, with no raptor protection, and feeling completely exposed. Tim, on the other hand, seemed to be completely at ease; in his element, even. He snuck around, quietly taking pictures. The animals seemed a little uneasy at his presence but seemed to realize he meant no harm. Blue began to move among the caged creatures, sensing their distress.
"It's okay." She murmured soothingly. She reached out to a Stegosaurus, smoothing her hand over its hide and patting it. "It's all going to be okay. We'll get you out of here." The animal seemed to calm under her touch, closing its eyes. The distressed moans it had been making since they'd entered the room ceased, and the dinosaur even leaned into her touch a little.
"Whoa." Tim whispered, letting his breath out in a slow whoosh. "You really have some kind of magic touch."
Blue smiled, blushing a little. "It's just natural for me. I want to help them. It worked on the animals at the wildlife rescue center I used to volunteer at."
"Really?" Tim asked. "You really are a saint."
"I'm no saint." Blue chuckled.
"No, seriously. I've heard about you. Billy and Alan both brag about you – or argue about who is your 'mentor'. You got a full-ride scholarship; and that's not easy in a field like paleontology." Tim said.
Blue blanched upon hearing such praise. "They really say stuff like that about me?" She asked. She was truly surprised. Grant wasn't really one to dispense praise, and while Billy was on the opposite end of the scale and complimented every student constantly, the fact that he was always praising everyone meant that a good word wasn't as prized. But hearing that both men thought of her as a good student – as their student – filled her with joy.
"You have no idea how much it means to me to hear that." Blue confided. "Thank you."
Tim shrugged. "Hey, it took me two days of fleeing dinosaurs for Grant to even admit that I was 'all right', and another year for him to give me legitimate praise."
"How old were you when you came here?" Blue asked.
"Ten." Tim answered. "Lex was twelve, and the biggest computer geek you've ever met. She's still one of the best hackers I know. I never would have thought of her as a CEO, but… y'know how life is."
"I'll bet you never thought you'd be doing something like this." Blue said.
"Coming back here?" Tim gestured around them. "No. Paleontology? Yes. I know it sounds weird, but after all that happened I still loved dinosaurs. I think I even loved them more."
"Same here." Blue agreed.
There was a pause, during which she noticed that Tim was rather handsome, and that maybe he wasn't such an annoying person after all. He gave her a quirky half-smile, like he was going to say something, but then one of the dinosaurs made a loud moan and they were jolted back to the present.
"We should get started." Blue said quickly.
"Of course." Tim nodded.
They began to move around the room.
Blue was quietly taking photos of a pair of Triceratops – without the flash – when she heard the sound of clinking and metal. She turned to look at Tim, who was bent over the lock of a cage holding two Gallimimus.
"What are you doing?" She hissed as she approached him.
"Setting them free, what does it look like I'm doing?" Tim asked.
"What? Are you insane?" Blue asked. "You can't do that!"
The lock slid open and Tim moved aside. He grabbed Blue's arm and moved her out of the way as well. "Looks like I just did." He said.
Blue watched in half amazement, half horror, as the Gallimimus slowly nudged the door open. Upon realizing that they were free, they bolted out, past the two gaping humans, and out into the night.
Tim grinned. "Now tell me that wasn't cool."
Blue turned to him, eyes blazing. "You are twice the idiot that I thought you were!" She whisper-shouted. "Do you have any idea what you could have done? You could've been hurt! They could've made tons of noise! They could have gone right where the BioSyn team could see them! You could've–"
Tim covered her mouth with his hand. Blue bit it, making him let go with a muffled "Ouch!"
"You're an idiot and a half." Blue stated.
Tim glared at her. "Okay; first of all, there was no need to bite me. Second of all, what's the harm? Don't you want to set these animals free? They're miserable in here, Blue. I know that you can see that. Sure, we're getting evidence to take these bastards down but what are they going to do in the meantime? Isn't that the whole reason that you left Red here?"
Blue couldn't hide her guilt or shame. Tim nodded. "You forced him to stay here, didn't you. You abandoned him so that the scientists and the big wigs in Washington wouldn't get to him."
"I didn't have a choice!" Blue whispered fiercely. "And it's eaten me up every day since!"
"Then help these guys like you helped Red! Free them!" Tim insisted.
"But they could go crazy!" Bleu protested.
"Crazy?" Tim snorted. "They're going crazy in these pigpens, Blue. They just want out. Look; all we have to do is take pictures, maybe a video, and then set them free. We have evidence. Billy and Roland are getting the pictures of the plans and paperwork and crap right now. It's fine."
Blue glared at him, but the points he'd made were tugging on her. She'd hated to leave Red on the island, but it was best for him. These dinosaurs were absolutely miserable here; she could sense it. Anyone with eyes and a brain could sense it. And it wouldn't ruin the lawsuit at all. In fact, they might be saving the creatures from experiments or mishandling or other harm.
"Fine." Blue snapped. "But if this goes horribly wrong, I will sic Red onto you."
Tim grinned at her. "Let's get to work then."
They did, indeed, take a video, as well as a couple dozen pictures. It only took a few minutes, and then it was on to picking the locks. That took a bit longer.
They had just freed one Stegosaurus and were moving onto the next one when Blue felt the alarm bells go off in her head. She froze, frowning.
"Everything okay?" Tim asked. He peered into her face, concerned. "Blue?"
Blue looked around. When had she gotten this particular feeling before?
::::::::::::::::::::::
Hold. Hold. Hold.
Blue will come.
Hold.
Blue left last time. She left for a very long time.
But she will come.
Blue said hold.
Smell… he can smell Blue, and the one they call Tim, nearby. Lots of prey smells, too. There is lots of prey nearby. All the prey are distressed and upset. Blue and Tim are calm.
He smells something else. Like him, but not like him. Same as he is, but not him. Similar. Dangerous… dangerous to Blue.
Blue said hold.
But Blue is not safe.
He goes to find her.
:::::::::::::::::::::::
"Blue… you gotta answer me." Tim said. He sounded worried.
"Shhh." Blue said. She thought hard, but nothing was coming. Taking a deep breath, she relaxed, allowing the feeling to overwhelm her. As she did so, a memory came floating back. She wanted to snatch at it but held back. Instead she waited, letting it drift to the forefront of her mind. It flashed through her and for a moment, she was transported back in time, back to when she was sixteen.
A hotel room. Looking out the window. Trees… jungle… movement…
A raptor in the shadow of the jungle near the complex.
That was the time she'd last had that feeling – seeing the predator, for just an instant, and not even getting a full glimpse, not even realizing what it was, but knowing enough to realize that something was wrong. She'd gone to Nathan, and the raptors had attacked.
There was danger, here, and now, and it was coming.
"We have to get out. Something's wrong."
Tim frowned. "What kind of wrong?"
::::::::::::::::::::::
The claw in the lock moved almost delicately, with more precision then one would expect of an animal, no matter how intelligent.
Just one more twist and…
Free!
Butting the door open with her head, she turned back to her sisters and brothers. She rasped out a command. "Come."
The others followed, pouring out into the night. She sniffed the air.
The ones who had trapped them were near.
It was time to hunt. Not for food, but for revenge. They were a new pack, trying to take over. There was only room for one pack, and that was hers.
It was time to hunt, and time to kill.
::::::::::::::::::::::::
"Ah!" Blue gave a little squeal as something butted her in the back. She turned. "Red!" She said, relieved.
"Is that what you were sensing?" Tim asked.
"No." Blue shook her head. "No, Red wouldn't make me so nervous. I'm comfortable with him. I don't recognize him as a threat or even a predator. This is different." She noticed his incredulous expression. "Tim, I'm serious, we have to leave. Now."
Tim looked like he was about to say something but, again, he was interrupted. This time, but something landing on top of the cage they were standing at. They looked up.
A raptor, claws, teeth and eyes all gleaming, stared down at them in malicious glee.
"Run?" Tim suggested.
Blue nodded in agreement. "Run!"
The two of them took off. The raptor pounced, but Red was there instead of juicy human, and he threw the raptor off of him like it was a rag doll. The creature crashed into the side of an empty cage and slumped to the ground, unconscious. Red then ran after Blue and Tim, quickly catching up to them. At first the raptor was content to just keep pace with them, but then suddenly he became more urgent. He kept butting his head against Blue, trying to nudge her along. When that didn't make her move any faster, he picked her up by the back of her shirt and began to run at full speed.
"What the hell?" Tim gasped out, struggling to keep up. The raptor was leaving him in the dust, heading for the complex.
There was a mighty roar, and the entire BioSyn team, along with Billy and Roland, burst out of the complex. They were quickly followed by a humongous T-Rex.
"Oh for fuck's sake." Tim groaned. "Why can't things ever go according to plan, just once?"
"You idiots!" Billy was shouting. "You stole a fucking baby fucking T fucking Rex! What the fuck were you fucking thinking?"
Roland muttered something that looked suspiciously like déjà vu, but no one could hear him over the deafening roars of the massive creature behind them. Red caught up to the two men as they huddled in the shadows of the complex and dropped Blue, recognizing them as a part of her pack. Tim managed to catch up a minute afterwards.
"The raptors are out – I think they picked the lock on their holding cell." Tim told them in between gulps of air. "You?"
"They stole a T-Rex baby." Billy huffed out.
"So basically we're screwed." Blue said, clinging to Red instinctively.
"Where's the baby?" Roland asked. "They'll come for the baby; we have to free it, wherever it is, so that the mother can take it home."
"It's probably in a cage like the others." Tim said. "But we can't go there; that's where the raptors are."
"We can't leave the baby in a cage!" Blue protested.
"You got any other ideas?" Tim asked. "Because I don't know about you, but I don't like the idea of getting my liver chomped on by an eight-foot lizard!"
"Dinosaurs are related to birds, you moron!" Blue shouted, frustrated and willing to vent her anger on whatever she could.
They watched from the shadows as the T-Rex chased after the men. There were a few raptors about as well. The screams and cries for help and God and Mommy were sickening.
"It's like the nightclub…" Blue whispered.
"I never saw these many victims." Tim whispered.
"I have." Blue and Roland said at the same time, in the same dull, bitter tone.
Tim wrapped his arm around Blue's shoulder. She found that she didn't mind it. Red growled slightly and bared his teeth a little, but when he saw Blue's reaction he relaxed.
Tim is Blue's mate. That is okay, then. He is allowed to touch her like that.
If Blue could read her raptor's thoughts, she would have smacked him.
"She's not going to stop until she finds her baby." Roland warned.
"And those raptors aren't going to stop until they get revenge." Billy said. "Trust me; I know. If you're in their territory, or taken something of theirs, or violated one of their 'pack rules'… you are dead meat."
Blue remembered the egg thing and shuddered at the thought of being tracked by raptors for days. She was certain that she would go mad.
Roland stood up, moving from his crouching position to face the others. "Look; we have to salvage what lives we can." He explained. "And the best way to do that is to free the baby. That way we'll at least have the T-Rex taken care of."
"What about the raptors?" Blue asked.
"If we can get everyone off of their territory, which is inland, I think that they'll let us go. They think that we're encroaching on their territory. If we leave after they've killed some of us, they'll think they've frightened us off and will leave."
Billy nodded. "I think it's our best bet."
"Right then." Roland slung off his backpack and pulled out the weapons, handing them off. "Let's go."
The five of them slowly made their way back to the holding pens, sticking to the shadows and moving only on Roland's signals. They managed to make it here without incident, and slipped silently among the cages. Roland appeared to be listening quite hard for something. After a minute, the sound of a distressed, almost mewling sound reached their ears. Roland's eyes lit up.
"That's the baby." He whispered, his voice so low that it was merely a rustle on the wind.
Blue wondered how he knew so much about T-Rex parenting habits. The group approached the largest cage in the area. It was covered by a tarp, so they couldn't see what was inside, but it was definitely where the sound was coming from.
Roland threw off the cover and they all sucked in a breath.
A baby T-Rex, only half the size of Blue, was curled in the corner of the cage. Its large eyes brimmed with tears, and it continued to mewl pitifully for its mother. Upon seeing the new faces, it rose to its feet and made its way cautiously over to them, sniffing. Once it realized that not one of the newcomers was its mother, it let out a high-pitched cry.
"Shh." Blue said soothingly. The baby, amazingly, turned to her. She gingerly reached out her hand, palm up and flat so that it couldn't bite her fingers off. The baby smelled her carefully, then made the mewling sound again.
"Now, now, baby, none of that." Blue said gently. "We're going to set you free and Mama's going to come get you. Isn't that right? Mama's going to come; yes she is. She loves her baby very much."
The baby listened to her words, soaking them in. Blue doubted that it understood her, but the soothing tone of her voice must have helped it because it stood, silent, resting its head against the cage bars so that Blue could stroke it.
"That's a good baby. You're such a good baby." Blue crooned.
Tim and Billy got to work on the lock, which was more complicated then the ones holding the herbivores.
"If this is the kind of lock that the raptors picked, then I am officially dumber then a dinosaur." Billy muttered.
"Speaking of raptors…" Roland said, his mouth barely moving.
Everyone looked at him. Roland moved his head, just barely, out into the darkness. "There are some headed this way."
"What do we do?" Blue hissed.
"You almost done?" Roland asked the two men. Billy shook his head while Tim ignored them all, focusing on the lock. "Right." Roland nodded. "I'll be right back."
"Where are you going?" Blue whispered frantically.
"To settle an old score." Roland replied.
Red looked at Blue. He sensed the raptors as well, and knew they were dangerous. Blue shook her head. "Stay, Red." She paused. "I think this is something Roland needs to do on his own."
Tim fist pumped. "Yes! Success!" He whispered.
There was the sound of gunshots coming from the direction Roland had gone, followed by the distinctive cry of raptors. Chills shot down Blue's spine like daggers of ice.
"Come on, baby." She said, trying to keep her voice steady. "Let's go find Mama."
The baby T-Rex followed the sound of Blue's voice, out of the cage and down a few feet. Blue drew in a shaky breath. "Okay, so now we can–"
The unmistakable sound of pain and fear, tinged with Roland's distinctive tone, signaled a new raptor victim. They all turned towards the sound. Blue wrapped her arms around Red's neck.
"Oh my God…" She whispered.
"Poor guy." Billy whispered.
"Fuck." Tim swore.
They had lost an ally, a guide, and a good man.
"Please let him be dead please let him be dead please let him be dead…" Blue whispered. Raptors were known to eat their still-screaming, struggling victims alive.
Tim was the first to snap out of it. "I hate to break the moment of respectful silence, but we have to get moving and get this baby back before everyone dies, including ourselves."
The baby in question had started moving around on its own and was a good few feet away from the group. It looked around and, seeing no familiar figure of Mama, began to mewl and cry once more.
"Ah, shit." Tim muttered.
"You have got to watch your language." Blue reprimanded him.
"It relieves stress!" Tim argued.
This time it was Blue who was cut off from saying anything as the mother T-Rex, footsteps causing miniature earthquakes, appeared on the horizon.
"Run!" Billy shouted.
The title of this chapter is part of a Firefly quote; the entire quote is said by one of the characters in this chapter. I would be absolutely tickled pink if you guys found it!