CHAPTER 9
Jim clipped the radio back to his hip and looked back into the raptor cage. All three adolescents were sprawled on their sides breathing shallow.
"Dr. Conners and Dr. Johnson are on their way. Bill, tell me again. What did you feed them this morning?"
Bill looked up from the nearby bench. His head had been resting face down in his hands. He was beyond nervous. He was practically in tears. Bill had only started with the company a matter of months ago, but he knew that every animal was worth millions. It was his ass if he'd screwed up.
"I fed them the same cuts of beef we feed them every morning, Jim!" Bill grabbed two fistfuls of his own hair and pulled up anxiously.
"And there was no chance of contamination?" Jim prodded. "We have to be able to rule out food allergens."
"I did everything the same as I have the last four months, Jim!" Bill buried his face in his hands again.
Jim wasn't paying attention to him any more. His eyes were focused on one of the raptors in the cage. It had stopped breathing. Its head was cocked back with its tongue hanging loosely from its mouth.
"Shit." Jim put his hands on his hips.
The other two raptors were starting to convulse. Jim quickly made up his mind. He pulled two taser prods off a wall rack and shoved one into Bill's arms.
"Get up." Jim ordered.
"What are you going to do?" Bill's eyes were shaking as he spoke.
"We have to check for throat obstructions and swollen airways." Jim said bluntly. He stretched on a pair of sterile rubber gloves and a paper air mask.
"Shouldn't we wait for the doctors?" Bill stammered as he fumbled with the taser prod in his hands.
"We don't have time. If there's something we can do its not going to happen after they're dead." Jim swiped his key card to open the gate. "If anything goes wrong lock the cage."
As he cautiously swung the door open he gave Bill a light pat on the shoulder. With a deep breath he stepped inside the enclosure.