SITE B
BOOK 2:
THRESHOLD OF CHAOS
CHAPTER 92
Two days before the Jurassic Park incident…
Some time after midnight Dr. Conners found himself sitting on the front steps of the main operations building. He was staring off into space and just feeling numb. He had been careless. People had died. He couldn't help thinking that if he'd done things differently at least one more person would still be alive.
Over the past several hours extreme measures had been taken to ensure that the operations compound was secure. Ms. Murdock had had every available hand searching the premises for lava tubes and filling them in. People were patrolling the perimeter non stop. Dr. Conners was beginning to feel like he was in a war zone every time a jeep full of gun toting locals made its rounds. Then he would just get lost in his thoughts again.
"Amigo?"
An unlabeled bottle of liquor dangled in front of Dr. Conner's face. He looked up to see Hector's bulky physique looming over him. Parked at the base of the steps was a skid steer loader with a bucket full of fill dirt. No doubt, Hector had been using it to help block off the lava tubes. Dr. Conners was surprised he hadn't noticed the clunky diesel powered machine pull up.
With a groan Hector seated himself next to Dr. Conners. He was notably cautious about placing his rump with care.
Bryce said, "how's your ass?"
"I'm still alive to laugh about it." Hector took a swig from the bottle and passed it to Dr. Conners.
This time Bryce accepted with less hesitation. He only turned the bottle in his hands for a moment before having a sip. "That's really smooth." He exhaled as a warmth rushed down his gullet. "I was expecting battery acid."
Hector retrieved the bottle and kicked back another swig. "Maybe now you and I have some trust eh."
Dr. Conners stared off in silence as Hector continued to take occasional sips. After a while he broke the quiet. "Joan was right. Why in God's name didn't I listen?"
Hector gave the bottle back to Bryce. "You were only trying to do what was good by you. If everyone had a heart like hers people would die just as well. The two of you are gonna have to find a way to meet in the middle I think." He took the bottle back from Dr. Conners and started to get back to his feet. "Don't beat yourself up too much, Amigo. We got a lot of shit to handle. You're no good to your hija if you're down on your ass."
Dr. Conners bit his lip. "Thanks for the drink, Hector."
"Any time, Amigo."
"You can just call me Bryce, you know."
Hector smiled as he climbed over the bucket and back into the boxy cab of the skid steer loader. Pulling down the safety bar with a squeal and a thud he said, "I think I'll stick with Amigo."
With a turn of the key the diesel machine roared to life, and Hector rumbled off to keep working through the night.