Chapter 17
East Dock
Dodgson jumped down onto the deserted East Dock of Isla Nublar, and looked around coldly. The dock was nothing short of ruined; the thick paneling that made up the flooring had long since began to rot, so that in some places the metallic skeleton showed through in gaping holes. The waves were crashing and booming against the hull of the ship, which sat rocking quietly in the afternoon sun. The air was warm and saturated with moisture, making it feel as though breathing through a sponge.
Edgar appeared at Dodgson's shoulder, concern and worry etched onto his young face. Dodgson had no patience for his troubled conscience, least of all right now. They were here, finally, and they were going to make history.
The trees were quiet, except for the light swish of the leaves as they danced in the light breeze coursing in from the ocean. Dodgson made a quick check for any sign of recent disturbance on the ground in the surrounding area, just in case his latest satellite updates weren't recent enough. From what his intelligence told him, the animals here were extremely active, and a few species migrated periodically. He checked for any spoor, crushed leaves, severed fauna in the underbrush at the perimeter of the jungle.
Nothing. The ground looked as if nothing had visited this area of the coastline in several months. But he did see a brief cut in the underbrush a few hundred meters away, a small gap. It was in an area just beyond the dock, where the beach began. Listening hard, he heard the trickle of water. It must be a stream, he thought. The ground that ran alongside it however was disturbed.
From what he could see it looked as if the foliage had been trampled, repeatedly, until it formed a permanent floor. Also, the area of sand in front of the gap was a shade darker than the surrounding sand, as if it had been overturned at some point.
A game trail.
So at least some of the animals came by this area sometimes, for water.
If that was the case then he didn't want to spend too much time messing around here at the dock. If they were lucky they could get to every nesting site on the island within five hours. And then they could leave this godforsaken island behind, and never mention it again.
Behind him he could hear the workmen on the boat unfastening supplies from the hold, and the whine of the on-board crane as it was maneuvered into position. He turned to Edgar, and nodded in the direction of the cabin.
"Go and get that large case I showed you, the silver one," he said to Edgar, and then turned and walked briskly back onto the deck of the ship. He walked past several workmen who were struggling with a barrel full of cables and wiring, and another man panting as he half-dragged, half-carried a portable generator towards the ramp leading to the dock. Dodgson approached the Jeep Wrangler at the rear of the deck, and began unclipping the steel wires that had been used to lift it back at Puerto Cortez. He lifted the clasp on each one, and freed the wires, allowing them to fly upwards, separating them from the steel base.
He ran his hands over the newly painted surface of the Jeep, thinking hard. He had covered all of the loose ends, he had planned it all. It was a perfect plan, a great plan. Get to Nublar by one, around four hours to get all the animals if all went well, back to the boat by half five, back to port by seven, back to Palo Alto by ten. Done, nobody had to know. And then, Biosyn could make their "discovery" public, and make millions. Nobody would be any the wiser.
A few minutes later Dodgson was edging the Jeep down the ramp from the boat that led to the dock, tapping the brakes carefully. The front tires touched the rotting wood, and squealed slightly as they slipped on the metal ramp. He leveled out slowly, making sure that the dock would hold the Wrangler's weight before he put all four wheels on the ground. The wood sank a few centimeters, and groaned slightly.
But it held.
Slowly, he touched the accelerator, and drove out onto the dock, dodging a large hole in the floor where the ocean showed through, and foam spitting over the edge and soaking the wood.
He pulled up next to several workmen who were unraveling a long cord of wiring cable, looking slightly lost. The portable generator was chugging away, and several other men were dragging up portable halogen lights to illuminate the jungle. Dodgson had told them that they would be fine as long as they kept the lights trained on the jungle periphery and that none of them stray too far. That the dinosaurs wouldn't attack a group as large as theirs, as long as they kept their wits about them. Whether that was true or not, he didn't know. And in truth, he didn't care. All of these men were disposable in the light of what was at stake.
Edgar appeared at the passenger door, dragging a reflective silver suitcase the size of a car engine. He was panting slightly from the effort, and was eying the case with hesitant curiosity.
"What's in this thing?" he said breathlessly, "cinderblocks? It weighs a ton."
"Put it on the hood and I'll show you," said Dodgson coldly, and opened the driver side door.
Edgar puffed and heaved as he slowly lifted the case onto the hood of the Jeep, sagging as he rested it down. Dodgson watched him coldly, not offering to help.
"So," panted Edgar, "what's in this thing?"
"This," said Dodgson, taking out a small key the size of his pinky finger and inserting it into the padlock on the case, "contains our method for acquiring our quarry."
"This is going to help us get dinosaur eggs?"
"Eggs? Oh no, we're not going after eggs. We're going after live young."
"…You want to catch baby dinosaurs?" said Edgar incredulously.
"Yes, I do. That's what that's for," said Dodgson, pointing to a small trailer a few feet away, being wheeled towards them by another pair of workmen. It was the kind of trailer that would usually be pulled by a vehicle like an ATV, for storing supplies. But this one had been slightly enlarged, to around six feet wide and eight feet long. It was a dark grey colour, and looked as if it was made from carbon fiber. Smooth honeycomb struts ran up the sides at two feet intervals for extra strength. There were no windows, and the door was small, with a heavy latch under the handle.
"What the hell is that?" said Edgar, shaking his head.
"It's our mobile nursery," said Dodgson curtly, walking over to it. He pulled down the handle, and wrenched the door open. The door swung outwards silently, and clanged against the outer surface loudly. He stepped up into the dark interior, and waited for Edgar to climb in beside him.
Inside there was barely enough room to stand. There was a central corridor running the length of the trailer, which was around a foot and a half wide. Lining the walls were at least a dozen cages, made of thick bars of steel.
"So we're going to go out into the frickin' jungle, wrangle a bunch of baby dinosaurs and stuff them into these cages?" said Edgar with a small laugh.
"That's exactly what we're going to do."
"That's fucking crazy, man."
"Yes," said Dodgson, jumping back down and walking back to the Jeep, "it is."
"That's all very well and good when you say it like that," said Edgar, following Dodgson at a trot, "but don't you think that the parents of these baby dinosaurs might get a tiny bit pissed when we run off with their kids?"
"Ah," said Dodgson coldly, "but that's what the suitcase is for."
He tapped the case lightly, and opened the lid. Edgar came forward, a quizzical expression on his face, and looked inside.
Most of the interior of the case was taken up by black packing foam, which was shaped around several strange objects.
Dodgson reached down, and picked the first object up. It was round, and looked like a sphere which had been squashed into a disc shape. It's brightly reflective outer surface gleamed in the sunlight. The second object was a smaller box the size of a cigarette packet, with the same reflective metallic coating. The third object looked similar to a handgun, but it was bulkier, and had a large round shape protruding at the end of the barrel.
"What is all this?" asked Edgar.
"A little something that we acquired from our defense contractors. They've been working on this in Nevada for the better part of eight years."
"And what is it?" repeated Edgar.
"Our method of catching the infants, and disabling the parents," said Dodgson. He picked up the gun-like object, and slotted the sphere into place on top of the barrel.
"This," he said, pointing to the sphere, "is a special capacitor, which – when coupled with this gun – is capable of firing a specified electrical charge via a laser targeting system. When you squeeze the trigger, an infrared light will be pointed at the target, which gives of a specific signal, whose electromagnetic properties will attract the charge, allowing the electricity to jump from the capacitor to the target."
Edgar raised his eyebrows, and smiled in a confused fashion. "A lightning gun?" he asked with a disbelieving smile.
"In a manner of speaking," said Dodgson, picking up the smaller box. "The charge will run through the target, and temporarily disable its nervous system. There's enough capacity in this thing to take down a herd of Elephants when it's set to maximum."
"So, it's like a TASER gun?"
"Yeah, but it's been souped to shit," said Dodgson.
He took a cable from his jacket pocket, which was also coated in the same shiny material as the other pieces. He plugged it into the grip of the gun, and inserted the other end of the wire into the smaller box.
"This," he said, holding up the smaller box, "is the power source. It's a self contained nuclear reactor, which is designed to run without maintenance indefinitely."
"Nuclear?" said Edgar in alarm, taking a step back.
"It's perfectly safe," said Dodgson calmly, "the metallic coating covering this gear is designed to absorb solar radiation, to stop the radioactive fuel elements from heating up."
"Why do you need nuclear power for this?" said Edgar uncertainly.
"Because to take down an animal this size of some of the dinosaurs on this island, you need hundreds of thousands of volts. To get a mobile way of powering such a device, you need a CND."
"CND?"
"Compact nuclear device."
"Won't a charge that large kill the infants?"
"Certainly, yes. It could easily kill you as well, so try not to shoot yourself with it, least of all while it's on the maximum setting. But that's what this dial is for," said Dodgson quietly, indicating a knob at the back of the gun.
"You can adjust the charge delivered, so put it on minimum charge to disable the infants. Then I'll grab it, and put it into one of the cages while you fend off the adults."
"And if this doesn't work?"
"It will."
"And if it doesn't?"
"Jack, stop being an asshole," said Dodgson irritably, putting the pieces back into the foam casing, and slamming the lid of the suitcase down.
"It will work," he muttered to himself as he stowed the case in the back seat of the Jeep.
"Now," Dodgson said, jumping into the driver's seat and starting the engine, "if we're done with 20 questions, get in the fucking car."