"How the hell do you cordon off the sky?" Matt wondered aloud tensely, inadvertent as he mimicked Nick Cutter's quote from all those years ago.
Cutter had been the leader; the founder of the investigation, and the first believer that something drastic had to be done. He'd been murdered by his psychotic estranged wife, but not before he'd greatly influenced the development of the mission, and provided future ground to work on. They'd had new leaders since; new rules, new issues. But, ultimately, Cutter's name lived on in the heart and soul of the team, remembered as the real hero.
"Well, we could..." Connor began enthusiastically by his side, but Matt shot him a glare, and he fell silent, gazing up at the fluffy white clouds above them. It was hard to believe anything up there could be evil.
Over the system, Abby spoke stroppily into her microphone; she evidently hadn't forgiven them just yet, "That may just have been a rhetorical question, Connor."
Connor fiddled with his earpiece. He may have been a genius in some aspects of life, but in others he was a hopeless beginner, "What?"
"Don't start again, you two, please; we're barely past breakfast, and you're already at eachother's throats!" Matt reprimanded, changing the subject hastily as Abby gave a distinctly disgruntled sigh, "It's good to have you back, Jess."
"It's good to be back," she agreed cheerfully. They'd all noticed a difference in her behaviour already; yes, she'd always been an upbeat kind of girl, but now all the more so. She seemed calm and content; free from the usual stress that came naturally with this job, yet also with a new maturity never seen before, and a spring to her step. It was sweet to witness, and oddly infectious.
"I have to say, Lester wasn't so great at the whole co-ordinating responses and understanding intel thing."
"Excuse me, Mr Anderson." Lester spoke swiftly in his dry, outspoken snarl, yet a hint of humour emerged, "Can we remember where we are, please, and what is deemed appropriate?"
"How's Becker?"
"Good," Jess responded lightly as Abby queried of no-one in particular, "He was up on crutches yesterday. He's still tired, and weak, but he's doing well."
"I'm not sure how long I can struggle on without his dulcet tones," Matt chuckled.
"So, are you and Becker, like, going out now?"
"Connor!" both Lester and Abby groaned, their joint exasperation ending out reasonably fierce.
"You could put it like that," Jess appeared rather fond of the concept, her voice growing warmer, "Although it's more comparable to staying in at the moment..."
"Work!" Lester demanded, and the line fell silent once again, all leisurely discussions disintegrating instantly at the consideration of the consequences of disobeying.
XxXxX
"Matt!" Connor called across the landscape nervously as he glanced up from the suspected footprint he was examining, and realised he was completely alone. Matt didn't reply, only confirming Connor's dreaded theory. However much more confident he'd become with time and experience, he still preferred to leave the real work to the professionals.
Normally Becker would've escorted them, but as he was still on sick leave, a cover soldier had been sketched into the plan, only he wasn't exactly very efficient. So he'd followed Matt on the trail of an anomaly, while Connor had stayed behind to check out the wilderness. Big mistake.
"Jess?" Connor heard his voice rise a few octaves as fear gripped him. He was out of the area limit for the radio system, meaning he had no contact with the ARC, or with any other officers out on the field. In other words, he was alone, and with only an out-of-charge mobile phone and a squished chocolate bar to console him.
He stood up and surveyed the scene. What would Cutter, with his cool and collected attitude, have done? What about Abby? Remembered which way they came from.
"Okay, so..." he began hopefully, but everywhere looked the same; a ceaseless ground of overgrown shrubs and rotting tree trunks. He'd been lost in the future for a year, yes, but Abby had been there. It'd been different.
A crackle of twigs came from behind him, and he spun around, gasping as his eyes took in the cause. He didn't need to be adept with feelings to understand this. For there, in front of him, with a menacing snarl in its jaws, was a Dracorex. And that wasn't good.
XxXxX
"Connor? Matt?" Jess pleaded, her new-found joy drowned in worry as she frantically searched the screens in front of her for anything fundamental in finding them. With a broken arm, she wasn't quite as perfect as she had been, but she still managed pretty flawlessly to control the entire team.
Lester stood behind her, both confused by the technology, and slightly in awe of her speed and agility in using it, "How many times have I told them to stay in the zone?"
"They should be back by now anyway; it was only a routine inspection of the area." Jess mumbled, tapping something into the keyboard swiftly, "Oh, come on..."
"Miss Parker? There's a telephone call for you in Mr Lester's office," a smartly dressed young man hung over the banister of the upper floor, shouting down towards her. She frowned, confused and embarrassed, and he added in an even louder tone, "Private line, apparently."
"I think she gets the idea," Lester grumbled deprecatingly. He wasn't a total monster (if you excused the pun, given his line of work); he did care for his staff, and attempted to shield them from trouble.
She gave him a half-hearted smile and strolled off towards the office, walking unusually smoothly since she'd opted for flat shoes – very abnormal for Jess. Before today, she'd felt uncomfortable without heels, as if she needed them to prove herself. Now, though, she felt altered; safer in her own skin. What a difference Becker's input made to her emotional state.
The overenthusiastic employee closed the door behind her as she entered, simultaneously locking out the buzz of contented working as colleagues wandered past with mugs of coffee, or swapped notes in the corridors. Lester's office, with its immaculately ordered files and tactful colour scheme, gave out vibes of negativity, as though it were a different world to the relaxed chaos outside.
Jess lifted the awaiting phone apprehensively, "Hello?"
As the caller spoke, her cheeks were drained of all colour, and her large, empathetic eyes welled with tears. The phone slipped from her fingers and fell to the floor with a crash, the line clicking to a dull, repetitive bleep as she bent her head and sobbed.
XxXxX
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I don't own Primeval...I just like to write stories about it xxx