Muldoon turned around, satisfied that they were no longer being chased. Of course you couldn't discount anything with these animals. Especially the raptors, persistent little bastards. If only Hammond had listened to him, his advice that they should all have been destroyed… well with luck it had given up for now at least, put some of the pressure off of them. He looked at the gas tank, was convinced that it would get them a fair distance away from the village, at least to exit to a well traveled road at least. He lowered the brim of his hat, as he watched the rain being wiped off of the windshield, a grim look on his face. "Where did you say Guitierrez was again?" He asked the kid looking at his face in the rearview mirror.
"Up near the barn," the kid said his face still deathly pale. Just great, Muldoon said as he shifted the jeep in gear. If he was really injured, then the doctor would be with him. That meant two additional bodies they had to carry around with them. He really didn't think that the Jeep would hold two more people. But he turned his head and stared at Levine, the gears in his head thinking quickly. There had to be another car, he remembered the Doctor had one and Levine must've…. Shit that was it, he thought as he started the car again. It was a little muddy in places but Muldoon could see from here the track where the mud had been disturbed.
"Going to find your car first," he said as a way of explanation to the others, "We get to your car and then we decide what to do from there." So the track led to the bar, that was clear and plain enough, and now that he wasn't so stressed, the trip went rather fast. He turned the corner, and he smiled. It was a Hummer, the sort they had at expensive rental places. He'd like to see a raptor try to break into that, and it would fit them all. It would be a better choice actually…Muldoon slowed to a stop just to the side of the hummer. For a long moment nobody moved. The hummer was there all right, and he could see Levine's hands holding the keys.
But he wasn't getting out of the car. Everybody's eyes were glued to the windows. The rain was coming down hard, but not hard enough to hide the scene. The door to the bar was ajar, and it was obvious what was keeping it from shutting, even as the wind blew heavily through the village. It was a slumped form; barely recognizable really except for the camouflage clothes it had been wearing. But…. even that would've been okay, he could've told himself the raptor could've gotten it anytime. Surrounding the body, extending halfway to the hummer were small green forms, hopping up and down excitedly. Muldoon remembered the last time he'd seen them. The Compys that had run from Hammond's body as he approached.
Megan Stone was pissed as she stood outside in the freezing rain. She should've never said anything about knowing the man. Well it was easy to put two things together, namely that they were both wearing the same uniform. Her second mistake she knew had been to try to deny that. It really was cold out here, and she had nothing cover herself with, the rain soaking right through her t-shirt. The kid was right behind her, Baxter or something. Holding a Glock to her back, and carrying the backpack as well. Of course, she was the most 'expendable' person in the group, who would give a damn. Who would give…
Levine and Muldoon were watching from the jeep, their weapons drawn. She could feel their eyes on her, judging her. Frankly she couldn't care less what they thought of her, it was their own problem if they had a negative opinion. Still it was very discomforting having those guns at your back, and the hopping lizard-things right in front of you. But there were two of them right now, perhaps enough to frighten the lizards away? She hoped so, especially since she could see what had happened to Jefferson now that she was closer. It was not a pretty sight, and it sent a shiver up her spine, beyond what this driving rain was already doing. She looked away, but the image was already burned into her brain.
She'd never really liked him, although it was hard to say if anyone deserved that fate. What the lizards hadn't gotten, they'd certainly made a fair attempt at. His clothes were riddled with bite marks. There was nothing-recognizable left about his face; they'd gotten almost all of it by now. But somewhere under that corpse lay the satellite phone, the one with re-chargeable batteries. And…she hoped, Jefferson's gun. Still, it wasn't going to be easy just trying to approach it. She saw how the lizards had noticed their presence, were even now reacting to it. The sound of chirping filled her ears, like a chorus on a Sunday morning in the park.
As she took a hesitant step forward, some of the lizards back away, but others in the small group just stayed where they were, watching, tilting their heads a bit. It gave her the creeps, like they were not scared. But she looked at them, then back at the body, noticing how no large wound was on Fred's face, only those that could be attributable to the Compy's. So he'd underestimated them, and he'd been on his own. But….Stone heard the sound of Baxter stepping forward, as he followed her. The poor man had almost made it out, she mused to herself. Cornered in an enclosed space, he probably had no chance. A few seconds later she was standing above his corpse, looking back at Baxter, the Glock still firmly leveled on her.
She'd thought long and hard before going on this expedition, it had never been a frivolous spur-of the moment thing for her. No, she'd talked at length with Rossiter about it, about being one of the teams that could mobilize if any intelligence was heard. Her boss has been very reluctant to let her go, after all she was his personal assistant and had very capably managed his affairs for years. It had taken some persuasion; Meagan had seen that this sort of opportunity would advance her career, if she managed to come out of it intact. She wasn't the porcelain secretary that Rossiter had imagined her as, even in his own private thoughts. No, this was for herself, so that she could make something of her life.
She knelt down slowly, watching the lizards back off. She knew what they were of course; the team had spent many hours in preparation for such a mission as this. From reading stolen courtroom material and interviewing witnesses, it had become clear that there had been some escapes from the park, and perhaps the offshore profuction facility as well. It was just unclear how Biosyn was going to handle that, as there seemed to be no efficient way of capturing them, without drawing the attention of the government. It was determined that the Ismaloya Mountains where this village was situated would be a probable location, as it had likely been the first region of dissemination for escaped animals.
She turned the body in her hands, grimacing in distaste as she did so. She tried to touch as little of his exposed skin as possible, preferring to push him by the uniform. Great deal on those uniforms by the way, Rossiter had been the one to think of buying Army surplus, one of the few good ideas from that man. The satphone was right there, it hadn't gotten wet from the rain due to the fact that Jefferson's body had fallen right on it. Well at least that was one fortunate outcome from it. She looked at the flickering light, meaning the battery was on its last life. Dumbass didn't even bother to turn off the phone? A faint grin appeared on her face, as she smiled.
Baxter wasn't amused, not in the slightest. This girl was still kneeling down by the corpse, the phone by her hand. Claimed she needed to do it right there, since it would be impossible for her to carry the phone over to the car without getting it wet. Such a load of bullshit, but Baxter went along with it. Mostly because he still felt the weight of the eggs in his backpack. It would all pay off in the end, he thought to himself, he just had to know how to play his cards. If he could pull this off, he wouldn't have any loans to worry about ever. What unnerved him was the green lizards, hopping up and down, sort of distracted him from paying attention to the girl.
Damn, he wished he could hear what she was saying, According for her she was calling for a rescue airlift for an injured man, she'd no doubt heard the noise about Marty's injury in the car. But Baxter had his doubts; there was always a chance that she was talking in code to her bosses, again not that he cared. But if he wanted to get close enough to hear, he would have to get closer to the lizards, and the yawning mouth of the bar. Of course that was it, the Lizards had come out of the bar, which was what had given him bad vibes earlier. Must've been one of those damn lizards in there with him that first time.
The Glock felt heavy as he kept his arm outstretched, and he moved it to his other hand. Sure he was a righty, but it didn't matter how you pulled the trigger didn't it? Only thing he was sure he was going to shoot though was one of those damn lizards, if they got too close to his leg. He noticed several of them backing away from him as he waved his gun at them. [I]Yeah that's right you bastards better run[/I], he thought to himself his confidence artificially inflated. Maybe if the girl was taking too long he would just go over there and grab the phone. Might look bad in front of other people but according to the experts in the jeep, or at least Mr. Game Warden, it was too risky to chance otherwise.
"I don't like this," Levine muttered to himself as he stepped out of the car, holding his car keys in hand. The idea was that they go into separate cars on their way up to the barn, one person alone and three people in the second car. How else otherwise were they going to secure the safety of the driver in the one that the woman was in? Though Levine was still troubled, even if the woman was a Biosyn agent. Holding a gun to a defenceless woman caused all sorts of conflicts in his mind, even though he knew she was trying to exploit the animals. He still had his watch and had timed her call. Too long, he thought to himself. There was no way a rescue call was taking that long.
What else was taking too long? That question lodged itself in his head as he furrowed his brow. There seemed to be something else he was missing, that didn't really make sense. The Compys might be backing away because there were now two people directly near them, with two others in the car. But they were not scared of the humans, staring at them curiously, even as the girl had walked past. There was a simplicity about this that he found extremely troubling, most troubling indeed. He got his keys out, stood right beside the front door and unlocked it. Just as he was about to get in he realized what it was that had been eluding him. It stopped him cold.
Something he'd dismissed in the back of his mind while they were driving. Watching the pouring ran go by, trickling down the windshield. He'd been so self-absorbed in the problem of the Biosyn agent that he had completely forgotten it. The back door to the bar, it had been flapping open in the breeze. And before he had just put it to the back of his mind, something inconsequential and unimportant. Until now at least... Levine backed out, noticed the kid was distracted with the Compys, and the woman was leaning against the exterior of the bar. The Compys that was it…they hadn't reacted in that way when he and Thorne had approached them on the island. There must be some other factor. He realized what this was as he looked up, the shout forming on his lips as he ran forward.
"Yes, Mr. Rossiter I have the situation under control," Meagan was saying as she stared out at the pouring rain."The package we were meant to pick up was a bit…. Unexpected," That had been the least of it to her mind. "If you want to do a pickup I suggest you bring more people, send another chopper in with guns. It's a large carnivore, I'm gussing at least eight or nine feet tall." The Carnotaur was still what they needed, what they'd come here for initially. Attempting to capture or kill a live raptor was too dangerous, and would require organized tactics. A Compy would be nice, but would barely be worth the effort probably. "I do have something to show for it," she said to reassure her boss. "Eggs, authentic dinosaur eggs. You can choose to hatch one, sacrifice the other one for testing."
She noticed Levine was agitated for some reason, moving away from the Hummer as he approached the kid. She wasn't sure what he was anxious about, but she didn't care. "There should be a clearing for a helicopter a bit down the road," she continued, knowing that a direct landing in the village might be tricky with that Carnotaur rampaging somewhere in the jungle. "I can arrange a pickup within an hour or two…" She bit her lip and looked back at the jeep, still remembering the barn opening. "Bring a stretcher as well, we may have at least one injured party." She clicked the phone off for now; satisfied that she'd gotten her message across. Rossiter had sounded very pleased, very much so indeed. Her promotion was all but assured.
She was going to be grateful when they got back to a city. She could get out of these grimy clothes and back to her normal clothes. Should still be in that hotel in San Jose'. After all these guys were deluding themselves if they thought she was going to just sit there and go peacefully. She'd been sort of disappointed that Jefferson's gun had apparently gone missing but…James was still out there. Even Rossiter never discounted James when it came to resiliency or sneakiness. The man could be a damn cockroach at times, even if he was apparently as annoying. She looked up, seeing the two men approaching her slowly. It was going to be something stupid about handing the phone over wasn't it? She sighed and rolled her eyes.
"Don't move!" Levine shouted, and she noticed Muldoon was now out of the car. What the hell….she turned around slowly, realizing this wasn't something ordinary. Out of that black portal of darkness a reptilian head emerged, its jaws bared in a sinister imitation of a smile. The Raptor sniffed the corpse once, and lifted it's head to stare at them. It snarled once, and stepped forward. Meagan took a step back, shocked by seeing it in full for the first time up close. The Jeep ride had been bad enough, and she knew by reading the courtroom logs just how deadly these could be. She wished she had a gun right now, as the animal stepped forward again, not completely out of the bar.
She didn't hesitate, but turned and ran. If she could make it to the Hummer and shut the door she could stand a chance. However the raptor was too close, and she was relatively far away. She could hear the men shouting something, but she couldn't quite make it out. Her ears were filled with the sound of its screeches, as it ran after her. Levine and Baxter were backing up as well, their faces pale. She was almost at it, well the kid had a gun, he could take a shot at the animal, and she hoped he could. If not…she didn't dare to look back, because she knew how close the animal was. She could feel it's hot breath on her back, the spittle from its slavering jaws as they snapped shut.
Baxter was completely and utterly bewildered. The raptor was charging at him straight on and he was expected to get a good shot. At least that's what the man was screaming in his ear, to shoot it. Didn't get to ask him a second time because then the man was running back to the car, probably to get the gun. But he didn't have a good shot that was the problem; the raptor was right beside the woman. He couldn't hit one without hitting the other at this point. He took a deep breath and aimed down the sights, ready to hit the target. It was going to be a tricky shot but he could do it if he tried… He was so concentrated; he didn't notice her barreling into him in her panic sending them both sprawling on the floor.
The gun was knocked from his hand, landing a few feet apart from them. But he could see the raptor tugging on her boot trying to drag her backwards. Her face looked desperate, he could see the fear there, plain and naked fear. He could just reach the gun…just a few more…. But then he felt a weight on his backpack. The girl was trying to grab his backpack, get any form of purchase to help herself up. It was keeping him from grabbing the gun, he was never going to be able to grab it, and Levine couldn't come back in time he could see that. He would become a second victim, torn apart by the raptors claws.
Meagan wasn't particularly conscious of having grabbed the backpack in the first place. She was just desperate; to get up, get out of there. She suddenly found in that instant that she didn't really care about the eggs, at least not right now. She was too young to die; there was so much she still had to live for… "Shoot it!" She yelled to the men standing by the jeep, her voice choked with a sobbing gasp. She was not purposely trying to drag the kid along with her, in fact something in the back of her mind was telling her to help him up. Getting killed wasn't worth it, this wasn't what she'd signed up to do… She saw the kid reaching for the gun, but not quite there yet. He turned around, and she saw a strange determination on his face, that scared her.
She was still being tugged backwards, but somehow she still heard his words, so slow and low on purpose so the others couldn't hear. "I'm keeping the money for myself bitch," she blinked not understanding for a brief second. Right now, Meagan would've consented to anything, if someone could just save her life. She started to say okay, he could keep the money, every cent. To hell with the money, all she wanted to do was get out of Costa Rica and never look back. She let go, trying to get a purchase on the ground instead. So she wasn't looking when the kick came. It was a strong blow to her shoulder, the sheer unexpectedness of it adding to the pain and shock.
Utterly taken by surprise, Meagan Stone fell back onto the mud. "You bastard…" she began, feeling hot tears run down her face. She started to get up, but then felt a large weight descend on her. The animal was on top of her and the world began to move in slow motion. Its hot breath was coming down right on her head, and her terror was extreme. She tried again for purchase, but the slippery mud refused to let her up. She felt a searing pain suddenly, and her hands went limp. Her face fell against the muddy ground, and she briefly wondered why she couldn't move her body. She could see the kid standing up now, the other man tugging at him to move. It didn't really matter now did it?
She smiled faintly, thinking about the people she left behind, wondering if anyone would ever know… The only good thing about having her spine severed was that she felt no pain as the bones of her neck crunched loudly.
And then Blackness.
Nothing.
Levine had to drag Baxter away from the scene, as the Raptor's attention focused on its kill. The kid seemed in a daze, the Glock in one hand, and the Sat phone in the other. Muldoon was already at the jeep, and he ushered Baxter into the backseat. Grimly he looked at the Warden, and saw the man pursing his lips. Telling him, nothing they could do. Only thing possible was get out before the raptor's attention was diverted. He climbed into the Jeep himself, staring out the passenger window as Muldoon started the car. "Drive like hell," he said as if detached, it was that he knew he couldn't be seeing this… "Drive like hell." They had to pick up Marty, get him away from this hellhole.
Before they were all dead.