Cooper leaned out the window of the passenger seat of the Humvee as the convoy started down the path. It was hot. Very hot, he thought as he scratched his stubble, looking out at the scenery. They'd left the road a bit ago, and now they were heading down some disused service trails. You'd think there'd be a proper road here, but it was still relatively bumpy and disused. It was good enough at the very least to get the trailer set up, which was good. Cooper hadn't really wanted to ride the ATV with the raptors beside him anyway.
Made him nervous, as he knew the chips were in place, but after whatever Grady had done...well it had messed everything up for that lead raptor, Blue. But that was why they were here, to fix that problem, make it all better. That was good. He didn't need Jessica breathing down his neck. Looking down, he didn't need to see the last few voicemails, they were all pretty much the same flavour. But they had things under control, the tip line had worked out.
As the cars halted, he got out, looking around and stretching. He couldn't see anything unusual. There was a low hill ridge to the front, and to his right there was a small copse of trees, and he could see there was only one way in or out of this area. If Blue was in here, they'd find her. Taking out his rifle from the back, he watched as the other trainers started to mill out of their own cars, heading over to the trailer.
Beta, Delta, and Echo were all that were left. From five to four. With Beta being a new addition to the team. He hadn't been so sure about bringing her in , but he'd had little choice, so that was maybe more like two and a half raptors now. He brought out the radio device from his belt pocket as he would turn it on. The chips were active. Good, good, he thought.
These things could be a pain and a half to deal with, he thought as he pressed a button, and the trailer started to open. The men fell back as they got their shock prods out. Raptors could always be tricky after all. He knew that Grady had a special knack for them, and had always known just what to do. Maybe if things had been different they wouldn't be here, it wouldn't be this way.
Raptors were much different from other animals, they responded differently he knew. Just being out here, he hadn't thought that he would be returning so soon. Not after that thing he'd had to pull in Vegas. The cleanup job. The Compys had done their work well, in a way that had impressed him. But at the same time, it had been rather basic. No real training required, just using the chips, and planting a homing beacon on Mills at some point. It was easy to get to the guards to do that. But it had been more than enough. It had been pulled off with Masrani and had worked the same way here.
"How much longer until they're ready?" He asked the handlers. The men were still at work doing final checks, prepping their shock sticks, and some already had on their protective gear. Remnants of the Masrani program, where there had at least at the beginning been an intent to make sure the handlers didn't interface with the animals without some sort of protection. Unlike Owen, who had always gone out to work with the animals wearing whatever he came to work in.
"Five minutes, sir. Believe me, we are doing our best," the man said, as he worked diligently to get things ready.
He looked around, just making sure that everything was in place. Just walking the convoy up and down, doing final checks. He didn't like this place. The desert. He looked over, checked his watch. It wasn't like they were in a hurry, or at least he didn't think that he was. The tree grove, that's where Blue was hiding he figured. Had to be. He knew what he would do then, as the last time they'd captured a raptor, it had been easy. But back then, it had been with Owen, as he kept being reminded.
He shook his head, taking a drink of water. No, no more second guessing himself. Turning, he would hear the doors sliding open as the raptors were being primed. The buzzing of the shock prods as they were unloaded. The snarls as they bit and snapped at their handlers. They really were not feeling co-operative today, that was for sure, he thought with a slight frown.
Cooper got on the ATV, even as the raptors were now ready. Delta, Echo, Beta. He repeated that in his head, as he sighed, revving the engines. The chips were now activated, and he knew now that he was ready to begin. The handlers stayed back as he started driving towards the tree grove, feeling confident in himself. The raptors followed him, snarling, as he knew that they should be picking up Blue's scent quite quickly, they had placed one of her skin samples before them, and the shock prods had done the rest, so they would get the idea.
The trainers were staying behind. They needed to because once Blue was captured, they'd need to corral her quickly and place her in the transport. Also, he was not confident in leaving the convoy, even with the isolation of this place. He hadn't done so during the capture of the Rex, nor that giant bird...and he wasn't about to start now. He entered the trees, and immediately, it was almost as if the light was obscured by the way the trees were so close together.
He pressed forward, and the raptors continued snarling, picking up their pace, even as he tried to maneuver the ATV through the trees. It was difficult still, but he managed it fair enough- working his way over to the trail. They should be able to catch her- he was brought out of his thoughts by the sound of barking, the raptors were on alert, and they had come to a standstill already. He blinked, not having expected it to be that easy, as he picked up his radio. Almost about to tell the other handlers to be ready, even as he saw the shadow move out of the trees. There she was, there was Blue.
She snarled, and turned, disappearing into the trees just as fast as she had arrived. Cooper smirked, revving the ATV as he pressed the button, the other raptors were following him as well, and he would figure they had her now. Sure the raptor probably thought she was leading them on a merry chase, but now, now this was just too good, he thought. Everything was coming together, and he accelerated. As he sped through, the trees would get thicker.
He had not anticipated that the grove would be this thick, at least seeing it from the road. There was not much in the way of a path here, as he figured he must be following some game trail. No matter. Blue would eventually run out of forest, and then he'd have her. The raptors had never failed to capture their quarry once out in the open anyway, they had a fairly impressive record. He would feel his holster beside him, with the tranquilizer darts. He knew what he would do. At least, it seemed to be a good routine every time, he thought, as he turned, maneuvering the ATV through the gap between two trees.
He could see Blue now. She was weaving and waving through the trees as if she were used to it. But she really was not going to be able to get away. He would direct Delta and Echo to run forward, trying to get them to corner her. Pincer movement, that was how you did it after all. That way she wouldn't be able to get away. He took a deep breath as they both ran forward, with Beta still at his side.
He would swerve then, as the trees broke, and he could see Blue clearly now, she was in between Delta and Echo and he felt confident. Owen had always oversold how difficult it was to capture animals. After all, he had managed to capture a Rex without Owen not a month ago, so why should this be any different. Blue was snarling at him, as the other two raptors snapped back at her. They weren't going to let her pass. As it should be, as he activated the dial, and Beta ran forward, two feet from Blue she stopped, but Cooper didn't notice, as he was looking down to undo his strap for his holster. When he looked up, he saw why she had stopped.
Right behind Blue, there was another raptor standing in the clearing. He blinked as he processed it, trying to realize what had just happened. Another raptor? He kenw that raptor sightings were rare. Usually they had been dismissed as hoaxes, the only one that had ever actually panned out had been Beta. Beta...and she had been found...he tried to think. She had been found in this general area. He turned the dial carefully on the radio transmitter, and Delta and Echo swerved to face the new raptor. No big deal, but maybe he ought to call for backup? No, this would not change his plans, not in the slightest.
The two raptors lunged forward, but even as they did so, suddenly more shapes emerged from the trees. He saw them at the same moment as Delta and Echo did, and they would almost screech to a halt, chips or no chips. As they came into focus, he could see there were two more raptors next to them. Cooper felt his breath catch inside of his throat, as he would stare down the barrel of his tranquilizer. There was a bit of a cold sweat now, as he would be weighing the odds.
Four raptors now. No. More. He saw as two more shadows emerged, and he could see now that there were five...six... more shadows seemed to emerge from the sides, even as he slowly brough the communications radio to his mouth. "There's a situation here. I need backup. Call headquarters. There's a situation." he could feel himself strangely calm, almost as if it were happening to someone else. Still though, he blinked, and the raptors were still there.
Delta and Echo were now turning around, looking in all directions, and he realized what had just happened. He'd been led into a trap. Blue had been the bait, and he'd walked right into it. All because he had not once considered the possibility that she might not be alone. He groaned as he looked up at the raptors. Turning on his ATV, he did a sudden spin, even as he heard the yelping of the raptors. He could certainly try- yes, but he had no wish to die here.
Just as he spun, he could hear the yelping of the other raptors. If his luck held, the others would be occupied enough with the three raptors to allow him to make his escape, as he weaved his way through the trees. He was putting the ATV on full throttle now, not wanting to get stuck here, knowing what would happen, even so, it seemed like the creatures were very close behind him now. If he looked, he imagined he would probably see the raptors in all too sharp of a focus breathing down his neck. So, he wouldn't look, he would just stay ahead. That was all he could do for now.
Not that he had to wait long, as the howling and screaming of the raptors was apparent right behind him. They were so close, he thought, as he suddenly seemed to acutely notice the perspiration on his hands, even as he gripped the handlebars tighter. He was not going fast enough, no...he needed to go faster still. He breathed out slowly, taking multiple deep breaths, as he would maneuver through the trees. Trying to remember what route he'd taken. Damn, these trees all seemed the same from here.
He dared a glance back, and immediately regretted doing so, as he immediately could see a snarling raptor head barely on his heels. He turned, realizing that he couldn't see what was in front of him, and made a hard right. He could see the treeline now, as he would increase his speed, his heart pounding out of his chest now, as he made a break for the trees. Another snarl, this time to his left, as he sped up, yelling, as he broke out into the open.
"I need backup, Now, dammit, now!" Cooper shouted, as he spun to a hard right, already just eager to finally get some backup. But as he looked up, he could hear nothing, silence greeted him, a cold silence indeed. He blinked as he looked out, seeing the trucks and the cars there standing still, but there was nothing, He looked back at the treeline, nothing either. Or was that shadows moving in the dim light? He couldn't see, but he quickly drove towards the convoy, making a semi-circle, while trying to keep one eye on the grove. Nothing. No one.
His mind was not comprehending what he was seeing. All these trainers. Nowhere to be seen. The cars were still here as well, and then he sniffed, properly sniffed as the wind changed. He could smell it now, the smell of something baking in the sun, it was something he hadn't smelt back when he'd gone out. Strange, he mused, even as he'd drive to the side, completing the circle, as he would finally get behind the last car. What he saw made him stop.
There was a splotch of blood on the ground, From the looks of it, they had been surrounded, maybe as soon as he'd gotten into the grove. He looked around again, nothing, except the growing shadows from the trees. He frowned, and he suddenly realized that he was more alone than ever. Looking at the convoy, he looked down at the bodies, trying to remember who he'd given the key to.
Just at the very moment that he'd stop the ATV, the first shape would appear out of the trees. Stopping, waiting. Waiting for him to bend down, he realized. "Fuck." Cooper swore, as he got on the ATV, and sped off. This ATV didn't have as much gas in it, and he knew it. His best bet was to get to the freeway, and from there, try to make it to Vegas. Vegas...
Because that's where Jessica King would be.