Chapter 2
Death from above
Undisclosed location, uninhabited island mid-pacific: 10:00 February 7th 2011
A large island had been converted into a military base, with enclosures set up to house the dozens of species that they had predicted they would be capturing. Robert at the base of a water fall was looking over the security system for the raptors with Mac.
"The fence and hybrid barbed/razor wire have both been electrified, if they try to climb the fence they're stunned, if they make it to the top they'll be diced" said Mac.
"And if they dig under" asked Robert?
"A reinforced concrete foundation lines the area, and anchors the fence."
"If the grid gets knocked out" asked Robert?
"No grid to knock out, the cage has its own independent generator set up at the Water fall to your left."
"If the generator is downed" asked Robert?
"Dead man switch is activated, the fence will be reinforced with weighted shutters, and Chloroform/tranquilizer gas will be released knocking out the raptors giving the worker decked out in hazmat an estimate 3 hours to fix the problem."
"What about feeding them?"
"Walkway built above the enclosure will allow workers to drop in all the water and food the little monsters can go through in a day."
Robert and Mac locked eyes in a brief staring contest before Robert gave the Raptor pin a quick once over.
"I'm convinced now as for the island's security system."
Mac only sighed as he began explaining the complexity of the islands security system.
Medical center: 10:30 February 7th 2011
Dr. Gerry Harding, the Veterinarian of the failed Jurassic park project, was busy attending to a muzzled and restrained Velociraptor with a bullet holes in its kneecaps.
"Come to observe your handiwork?"
Gerry looked over to see Jack leaning in the doorway.
"No, I need to know what you know about these raptors."
"Aside from the fact that they'll never walk again" said Gerry!
"Are you aware of the original plans for the Raptors genetic structure" asked Jack.
"Why would I was hired on after the dinosaurs were successfully cloned" said Gerry.
"And I quote 'Velociraptor log 1893 august 12th 20% of needed Velociraptor DNA salvage recommended DNA donors Turkey for size, reptiles for scales, vulture for carnivorous digestive track'" read Jack.
"Excuse me" said Gerry?
"The blueprint of the Raptor's DNA, those do not look like Scaly carnivorous turkeys to me! Those look like biological weapons meant to be released into an area and wipe out everything in sight!"
"I can't confirm or deny that, it was not my department. I can tell you how they got into the UN" said Gerry.
"Oh really, do tell" said Jack.
"The blood work performed on the raptors including the one's who you paralyzed showed a high level of hormones, the kind responsible for aging. They were snuck in as eggs via the patented artificial eggshell plastic invented by InGen, hatched, fed homeless people, explaining the dead you found, and grew into fully mature raptors in 2 weeks."
"So someone genetically altered these raptors to grow up fast, lease we won't have to deal with these things much longer."
"What makes you say that?"
"Grow up fast means short life spans to me."
"You're mistaken, the growth of a child to maturity is based on hormonal composition, boosting those levels accelerates their aging rate from infancy to adulthood, from there its normal aging from Adulthood to death."
"Shorter cute and harmless time span, longer mean and vicious life span. This Ahab is a smart monster. What of the bio-terrorist attack on Bio-Syn."
"There wasn't, just the expected biological and chemical composite you'd expect at a gene splicing lab like Bio-Syn."
"Then why, was the guy I toke on at the UN reporting to the guy in the Hazmat?"
"That is for you to figure out."
Suddenly a loud booming voice was heard throughout the island.
"Alpha priority creature attack, all pertinent personnel report to drop ships for briefing" boomed General Cartier over the PA system.
"Got to go" said Jack.
Jack left the medical center on a custom dirt bike with a wheelie bar and arrived at a drop ship at the same time as Robert; they both got on the ship and got dressed in Kevlar uniforms before joining the rest of the team.
"I'm sure you're aware of the Military base Area 51" asked General Cartier?
"Your superiors having us going after little green men now General" asked Jack.
"We should be so lucky" said General Cartier.
Cartier clicked on a TV showing surveillance footage outside Area 51, two guards were patrolling outside when a bird like large animal swooped in and grabbed one of the guards and smashed the other against a wall.
"Wow, what was that" asked Jack.
"I don't remember too many dinosaurs on that island with feathers" said Robert.
"This one isn't from the island" said General Cartier.
With another click an image of a Pteranodon replaced the video.
"While we believe that Ahab used the Pteranodon DNA as a base he since made several modifications that augmented the species natural abilities" said General Cartier.
Except for the head the body of the Pteranodon was completely covered in feathers, it gained a feathery tail and its wings lengthened.
"Modifications include an increased carrying capacity, and increased flight time, as of now we're unaware of any more modifications made to the species genetic structure" said General Cartier.
"Any ideal what's in there that Ahab wants" asked Robert?
"At this point it could be anything from the research kept at the base about nuclear weapons to rumors of UFO's" said General Cartier.
"Either way we ain't letting them get to it" said Robert.
"I agree but at the same time it may not be in the base" said Jack.
"Say what" said Robert?
"The last time they went after a big target to cover up robbing a small target, they maybe doing that again here" said Jack.
"Nothing out there for 60 miles and even then we only have Las Vegas" said General Cartier.
"A heavily populated area primed for a bomb or two, and less than an hours drive away from the base."
"Sigh, I'll look into it but I know that there aren't any genetics companies there and bombing don't seem to be these guys M.O.'s."
Robert looked out the window and saw area 51.
"We're here. We going to have to worry about do not cross lines?"
"Your assignment is to study the scene of the attack and track the Terrorists back to their base, don't stick your nose where it's not needed and you won't have to worry about do not cross lines."
"So that's a yes then" said Robert.
The ship landed outside the base and the team was escorted to the guard post.
"Grissom do your thing" said Jack.
A bald man with glasses in blue clothing, identified as Grissom, slipped on a pair of disposable plastic gloves and went into the area.
"Who's he" asked Robert?
"Grissom, he use to work CSI before transfer to S.W.A.T. that man could find a hair in a haystack" said Jack.
"Why he transfer?"
"Had an attitude problem with the lab administrator, it got ugly."
Grissom found a large feather and began visually examining it.
"Fine Granite dust and silicate sand covering the feather."
"Grissom, we are in the desert" said Jack.
"On a Military base" Robert added.
"I know that wise-guys, but stone, such as granite, has a unique structure created from years of the earths plates shifting around. Like a fingerprint, using that we can pin point the exact location of where this granite came from."
"Get it back to the lab we brought with us, I want to hit this bird where it lives" said Jack.
Grissom bagged the feather and vacuum sealed it, he then moved onto the bloodied wall where a soldier was smashed into it.
"Based on the video the bird smashed soldier with left wing, meaning it came south-east of the base."
Inside the drop ship Grissom was running an analysis on the granite powder from the feather using the geological fingerprint system Grissom pin pointed the dust as coming from the New Mexico desert.
"Feather came from Nevada desert, bird would want high vantage point to nest."
Grissom ran a search for mountains in the Nevada desert and found a granite mountain called West Virginia.
"Bingo!"
Outside the drop ship Robert was meticulously ensuring that his guns were in working order while Jack was reviewing information about the original Jurassic Park dinosaurs, specifically the tyrannosaur.
"Are you looking up Ahab's heavy hitters?"
"Are you looking to hit heavy?"
Grissom walked over to Jack and Robert.
"I narrowed down the list to a mountain called West Virginia it's in Nevada few miles away from Vegas."
Jack grabbed a megaphone and tapped it a few times to make sure it was working before speaking into it.
"Alright you grunt's we need this show in the air A.S.A.P. we're going to West Virginia."
West Virginia Mountains: 15:45 February 7th 2011
The drop ship was flying over the West Virginia Mountains while Jack and Robert were giving the men a briefing.
"According to our experts even the strongest Bird of Prey is only capable of lift 75 percent of its weight, which in this case is the average human male" said Jack.
"Thus effective immediately we all will be wearing these specialized Vests, which with it's and anyone of ours combined weights will exceed the lifting capacity of the bird" said Robert.
"But don't think that will mean it won't be able to kill you, autopsy reports state that our target has crushing talons and we already know that beak is a razor sharp serrated weapon. We stay in sight of one another no matter what if that thing gets the drop on us, we drop it Tazer's, rubber bullets, pepper, and tranquilizers understood?"
"YES SIR" said the soldiers collectively!
The grunts replaced the vests they were wearing with the weighted vests, they then clipped on the weapons and landed the ship and moved out.
"I DON'T KNOW WHAT I BEEN TOLD" declared Jack!
"I DON'T KNOW WHAT I BEEN TOLD" repeated the soldiers.
"WE GONNA KICK THAT BIRD'S BUTT" declared Jack!
While chanting the morale boosting song the soldiers spent several hours hiking through the mountains (with the intentionally added weight no less) while Robert interrupted Jack to address a concern of his.
"Jack something doesn't make since. How did that bird sneak up on the base? Radar should have warned them long before it got there."
"I don't know, Must have flown under the radar or something."
"How did it know to do that?"
"Same way they were controlling the raptors at the UN I guess."
"Excuse me?"
"We both fought against these beasts before, they were untypically calm during the UN invasion. I believe something was holding them back."
"What could hold back a pack of raptors?"
"I don't know, yet. But I intend to find out. And if we can find out we might be able to use it against Ahab."
All of a sudden screeching filled the air, the soldiers pointed their guns in all directions.
"Hold your fire until you see the reds of its eyes" said Robert!
The bird as it had become so popularly referred to pounced on the cliff and screeched at the team.
"HOZE EM" yelled Robert!
The men opened fire on the bird with rubber bullets and pepper balls; the bird blocked them with its wing then used it to sweep dust from the cliff into the teams faces blinding them for a moment, the bird topped off the attack by grabbing one of the soldiers however because of the extra weight dropped him down into the mountain and forced off via a few dozen pepper balls to the hand.
"Every one ok" asked Jack as he rubbed dust out of his eyes?
When Jack heard one yes short from the soldiers he did a quick head count and saw that there was a blood spatter on the rock wall below the cliffs.
"Sigh, Rest in Peace old friend."
Robert called Mac in the drop ship.
"Mac we need you to do a sweep of the mountains for any more birds plus the one we just dropped" said Robert into a radio.
"Yes sir" said Mac through the radio.
The bird came out of the gorge and flew around for another attack.
"Robert get the men to safety and wait for Mac, I'm going to take this bird down."
Jack toke a Grappling hook from the bag of climbing gear and threw it at the Bird, it hooked around the bird's neck while Jack held onto the other end. The bird dragged Jack off the edge of the cliffs as it tried to fly away, but Jacks weight pulled it down and despite its best efforts was forced into the gorge once again.
"Alright bird-brain why don't you stay down here while my friends come and get us" said Jack?
The bird clung onto the wall of the gorge and began climbing out; dragging Jack along for the ride as he defiantly clung onto the rope.
"You aren't getting away from me that easily bird Brain!"
As the Bird climbed out Robert saw it, he also saw Jack stubbornly hanging on to it by climbing rope attached to his vest.
"Damn it somebody shoot that thing" ordered Robert!
"We don't have anything that can go that far sir" said one of the solders.
"Damn I.O.A. bureaucrats, Mac you have new orders the bird has Jack go and save his sorry rear end" said Robert into the radio!
"Yes sir" Said Mac!
Robert saw some rocks toppling off the side of the cliff above him; he looked up to see another bird getting ready to start a land slide.
"Move, we got another bird" ordered Robert!
While the bulk of team was dealing with the second bird, Jack was being dragged over the cliffs by the first which finally reached the top, above him the drop ship was in position and it fired rubber bullets from a Vulcan machine gun mounted on the bottom of the Drop Ship, this only served to irritate the bird and it tried to fly off.
"Here we go again" said Jack.
The Bird attempted to gain height however with Jack continuing to weigh it down it only got two stories, it none the less continued to drag him along in what can only be described as a land based version of Para-sailing.
"Hey Mac I think I just invented a new extreme sport: bird sailing" said Jack into the radio.
"Shall I take down your partner sir" asked Mac?
"That would be the kind thing to do Mac."
"Yes sir."
Mac once again using the Vulcan Machine gun open fire on the Bird, the bird agilely avoided the gun by diving upward and gripping onto the top of the ship.
"This doesn't look good" said Mac.
The Bird reached out and ripped the gun off of the drop ship and smashed it into the cockpit causing it to crash before the bird leaped off.
"I'm ok" radioed Mac.
"Good call base, the bird's cutting through some backwater town and is heading for Vegas" said Jack.
"Yes sir."
Virginia Gorge: 16:45 February 7th 2011
A bird was lying down flat on its back its arms bent into odd angles with several tranquilizer darts in its torso. Dr. Gerry Harding was trying to reset the bird's broken wings.
"Honestly Robert, you're as bad as Jack it will be a miracle if this animal flies again!"
"Lease we won't have to worry about it flying away" said Robert.
Grissom came in with a written message and gave it to Robert.
"We have a priority one, Jack's chasing the bird into Vegas and it already destroyed a drop ship."
"Go; you're only getting in my way."
"Leave the medical equipment and a taser we'll send a drop ship to pick you and your friend up" said Robert.
Robert and the soldiers left in a drop ship and flew over the Nevada desert into Vegas.
"Jack you there" asked Robert into a radio?
"Little busy here Robert!"
"Would you mind explaining why in the all-get-out you're chasing that thing into Las Vegas?"
"I'm not chasing I'm being dragged along for the ride look out your window!"
Robert and the soldiers looked out the window and saw the bird with a fairly large dust cloud behind it.
"Oh yah I see yah, I think?"
"Ah Robert, HEEELLLLPP!"
"Right, Take aim at that bird and if someone says it's out of range I'll smack them!"
The Back of the drop ship opened up with several snipers secured to the ship toke aim at the bird, the soldiers began firing at the bird with an array of weapons with little luck.
"Damien you twit, hold the bloody ship still" yelled Grissom!
"I am the bird keeps moving" yelled the Pilot identified as Damien back.
"Then move with it" said Grissom!
"Make up your mind" yelled Damien Back!
"Do all of you have these shouting matches" asked Robert?
The bird successfully flew into the city and stopped, and clung to, the Golden Nugget Hotel, the momentum from the trip caused Jack smash through the front doors directly landing on the lobby in his underwear.
"Favorite pair of boots sole-less, pants ripped off, vest destroyed, and half the Nevada desert in my draws ok now it's personal."
Jack used a combat knife to cut himself loose from the bird, the bird reached into the lobby and tried to grab Jack with it's talons, Jack grabbed his Tazer from his hostler and fired it at the wing causing the bird to recoil in pain and yank out it's arm taking the taser with it.
"What's the matter bird-brain? I thought there were sparks between us" Mocked Jack!
The Bird poked its head into the lobby and snapped at Jack.
"Yah know, you look like you could use some spice in your life" said Jack.
Jack fired a dozen pepper balls into the mouth of the bird, it screeched in pain as the spice toke effect and ducked out trying to cool off by drinking from the fountain in front of the building.
"Grenade him" ordered Robert!
Grissom dropped a live tranquilizer grenade into the mouth of the bird, the bird expelled the gas threw its mouth and filled it's lungs with tranquilizer.
"That should do it, hey Jack you splattered all over the wall in there" asked Robert?
"Your sympathy is overwhelming, yah I'm alright now if you don't mind I need a shower, followed by some new cloths."
Damien landed the drop ship by the unconscious bird; Robert walked out and immediately noticed what resembled a giant ear bud in the bird's ear.
"What do we have here" said Robert?
Task Force Island Base: February 8th 8:00 2011
During the Night the team flew back to the island base, Half of it was spent securing the captured creatures in the medical ward, the other half was spent taking apart the ear bud to determine what it was for, this early evening meeting was called to discuss the findings.
"So then General, what's going on" asked Jack?
"After Mac disassembled the ear bud we determined that it contains a set of pre-recorded instructions observe."
General Cartier clicked a remote and a woman's voice started playing from a speaker.
"Higher, lower, right, left, attack, retreat" said the Woman's voice.
"What's that about" asked Robert?
"A remote controlled set of commands, at first we couldn't figure out what they meant then we did a bit of research and determined that this is the voice of a recently killed Las Vegas hypnotist named Careen Maguire" said General Cartier.
"I'm not following" said Jack?
"It would appear that our enemy has found a way to control the creatures via some sort of hypnosis."
"It would explain why the raptors were so calm during the UN attack" said Jack.
"And how they guided the bird brain to Area 51 under the radar" said Robert.
"What are the circumstances of the death" asked Dr. Harding?
"Assassination via gunshot to the head, we suspect that Ahab recruited her to create a hypnosis program for the dinosaurs to which could be used to remote control the creatures. Once that was done she was assassinated along with a dozen other equally skilled hypnotists and logs about the subject roasted during the ground" said General Cartier.
"All during the original attack on Area 51" asked Jack.
"And during your stunt at the Golden Nugget" said General Cartier.
"So all this just to keep our attention away from the assassinations, lease with this we can hijack their remote controlled monsters" said Jack.
"No we can't, instead of Conventional radio signals this device uses magnetic signals, which I'm told can't be intercepted, we're trying to contact experts on the subject of communication via magnetic pulses" said General Cartier.
"So we learned how they were controlling them, but can't use it in anyway" said Jack.
"Not yet anyway" said Robert.