CHAPTER 59
"Dr. Johnson, please get out of the vehicle!" Joan Murdock had her hands sprawled over the front of the hood of the pickup truck that Dianna was attempting to drive off in.
Dianna revved the motor. Her eyes were furious. "Joan, I swear to God I'll tranq
you if you don't get the hell aside!" She reached for the glovebox and pulled out the tranquilizer pistol from within. Waving it from behind the windshield she hollered, "get in, or get out of the way!"
Dr. Conners came charging out of the main operations building with a rifle slung on his shoulder. He ran down the front steps so fast he skipped every other stair. "Dianna!Dianna! Jesus, hold up." He ran to the passenger door and flung it open. "Joan, are you coming?"
Joan looked from Bryce to Dianna. "Doctors, we need to handle this rationally. You're too valuable an asset to INGEN for me to-"
Dianna slammed on the horn. "Damn it, Joan! You don't have a team left. I'm not leaving my son in the hands of you and a jeep full of general laborers who don't speak a lick of english. They're not trained for this."
Dr. Conners slid into the truck. "Joan, get in."
Ms. Murdock's face contorted and she slammed her palm on the hood. "Move in, Dr. Conners." She came around the side of the truck and shoved him to the middle seat.
As soon as the door was shut Dianna sped towards the front gate of the main operations compound with her hand on the horn. "Open the gate!" She screamed at the guards. "Hurry up!" She had to slow down to wait for them to move the doors aside. When the opening was wide enough she threw the stick shift into second and floored the gas.
"Watch it." Bryce moved a hand in front of his groin.
Dianna's elbow had jammed straight into his crotch when she shifted. There was no apology, and Bryce didn't expect one either. He could tell that Dianna was in no mood for formalities. As they raced away from the operations complex Bryce craned his neck around to make sure the other half of the rescue party was following. An open top jeep rumbled through the gate after them. The shapes of four gun toting men filled the seats. Bryce recognized their faces but didn't know any of them personally. They were all locals from Costa Rica. INGEN had hired a number of them to cut back on labor costs. Through the windshield of the jeep Bryce could see them handing around a large liquor bottle of which the driver was presently partaking.
"Oh, great. This is going to be a blast." Bryce couldn't help but see the humor in the fact that they were driving under the sign above the front gate that read: INGEN, We make your future.
Joan had rallied together four volunteers from the general labor crew. These men had been hired to do landscaping, change lightbulbs, and shovel shit out of the pens. They were hardly the ideal rescue squad.
Bryce shook his head and turned back to the front. At an intersection in the dirt road Dianna was making a sharp turn toward the seaside ptero-dome. Around the bend a crossing herd of stegosaurus came up suddenly.
"Watch out!" Dr. Conners slammed his palms against the dashboard.
Dianna swerved and missed the nearest animal. Each herbivore was the size of a large box truck. As they sized up the vehicle the dinosaurs side sauntered around it, aiming their spike wielding tails in its direction. One of the stegosaurs charged alongside the truck and swiped the front quarter panel with its quadruple spined weapon.
"Holy hell!" Dr. Conners braced himself as Dianna swerved again.
Dr. Conners observed as the herbivores now inched aside on their four muscly legs to let them through. That had been a warning shot. The herd was letting them off easy.
Ms. Murdock shifted in her seat. "You're not going to do your son any good if you don't get to him alive, Dr. Johnson."
Dianna remained silent.
"I'm compelled to agree with Ms. Murdock on this one." Bryce settled uncomfortably. "Please get us there in one piece, Dianna."
Dianna wove through the remainder of the stegosaurs. The two rows of large boney plates that protruded off the dinosaurs' backs swayed back and forth as they meandered into the jungle.
Dr. Conners heard a blaring horn. Behind them the jeep was weaving between the herd. A different stegosaurus swung its tail and ruptured the spare tire on the rear of the vehicle. Bryce could hear the locals shouting and swearing in Spanish as the jeep dodged two more dinosaurs. From the back passenger side one of the men was propped outward in his seat and pissing over the edge of the jeep at the stegosaurs as the others around him roared up a laughter.
Dr. Conners said, "Christ, Joan. We hired these people?"
"INGEN wanted to save money wherever they could. Cloning dinosaurs is an expensive business, so they cut some corners." Joan shrugged. "You get what you pay for."
Dr. Conners shook his head. "They must have scraped them off the floor of some bar in San José."
"If you're concerned about their ability to handle a firearm under a stressful situation I can assure you-"
"Joan, I'm concerned about their ability to handle a firearm under an inebriated situation."
Ms. Murdock kept a straight face. "They're not bad people. I play strip poker with them on Friday nights."
"Was that supposed to be comforting?"
Joan was silent for a minute, then said,"what happens in Hector's bungalow stays in Hector's bungalow." she paused. "I might have to kill you now."
Dr. Conners didn't know how to respond to that. He felt like he'd gotten into the truck and was now hurling down some strange and dangerous rabbit hole, and there was no turning back. He felt uncomfortable sitting beside Ms. Murdock now. He directed his eyes to the windshield, trying not to imagine her playing strip poker with a handful of rowdy drunks. On top of that he tried not to think about the fact that those same rowdy drunks were the ones who were about to help him save his daughter.