"Do you know why you've been called here, Denham?"
Sitting in the staff meeting room, Jack gave Kyle a funny look, before saying "No – of course not. All the information, Nikolai said was 'see us in the meeting room at noon'. And, before you say that doesn't really sound like what Nikolai would say, I'm paraphrasing. However, I'm guessing it's important since you told me not to tell anyone and that you two have, apparently, decided not to tell Drew about it, given he isn't here. What, am I being let in on some sort of conspiracy?"
Kyle gave Denham an irritated look and moved to open his mouth, before Nikolai gave him a glare, "Denham has every right to be suspicious of the circumstances. Having said that… tone, please, Denham." Jack sighed, "Sorry. But, really, why am I here? And why all the secrecy?"
At this, Nikolai sighed, "We have been hearing positive news about your training the dromas – you have bonded with them rather closely. Khatin's studies have indicated that the dromas are incredibly intelligent and show complex co-ordinated behaviours, you have also proved that they can understand and obey commands. And we are going to need that in the future."
Jack gave him a confused look, "What'd you mean by that?"
Kyle rolled his eyes and Nikolai said, "After the Torvosaurus escape, I got thinking", he said, "and realised that I made a few errors". He turned to look at Jack, "I had been preparing for every eventuality, except for one – what would happen if all our precautions failed and an animal was running loose. My failure to consider that almost caused disaster – I don't believe I need to remind you of what might have happened if the Torvosaurus had gotten into the Everglades".
Jack shuddered at the implication – he knew all about invasive species. In Australia, introduced rats, cane toads and cats were one of the biggest threats to the native reptiles, unaccustomed to such animals. Feral cats alone killed over 600 million reptiles each year, driving multiple species to the brink of extinction. Cane toads, foolishly introduced to control the populations of a sugar cane beetle, were, somehow, an even worse threat - indigenous snakes and monitors, unaware of the cane toad's toxicity, died when they ate the poisonous amphibians. With all that, who knew what damage a forty-foot Torvosaurus could do to the Everglades ecosystem? Christ, Burmese pythons were already wrecking the place!
Hell, it wasn't just the Torvosaurus itself that could cause damage – it was what it might end up carrying with it. In Costa Rica, escaped African clawed toads (shipped over to be used as living pregnancy tests in hospitals) had spread a fungal disease that had devastated the rare and unique amphibians living in the cloud forests. When he'd been stationed in Costa Rica, Jack had been to a stagnant pond that was positively swarming with clawed toads, shipped in by irresponsible doctors. Who knew what pathogens a Torvosaurus could unleash upon the alligators and birds of the Everglades, whose immune systems were not adapted for Jurassic pathogens
Jack shook his head – they needed to focus. He raised an eyebrow and looked at Nikolai, "How is all that relevant to my training the dromas?" Nikolai gave Jack a serious look, "Having predatory dinosaurs on our side tips the balance in our favour; in case anything happens and an animal ends up wreaking havoc, we can use the dromaeosaurus to stop it."
Jack still looked sceptical, "And what convinced you to use them, specifically?" Leon smiled at Nikolai, "They were the perfect candidates; whilst for the biggest animals, they will be ineffective, for smaller animals they will be a boon."
Jack pondered this for a moment – training dromas as, basically, sheepdogs sounded absolutely insane on paper. However, Nikolai had made a good point – and if it would help the park… Jack sighed "Fine – I'll do it. But, just warning, you're not going to get total domestication. These are still wild animals – and they're going to be unpredictable." Nikolai mused on this, before saying, "Denham, all we are asking for is your best efforts. I have confidence in your ability and I know you can carry out the plan to a measure of success." Jack nodded and said, "So… can I get on with my day now? The Hell Creek crocodilians are probabkly wondering where their lunch is." At this, Kyle nodded and said, "Fine – get on with your day. As Jack got up, Nikolai shot Jack a curious look, "So, what are you going to do?" Jack smiled, "I'm gonna do the best I can. For the park." He got up and left.
Kyle turned to Nikolai, "Are you sure this is a good idea? Not the plan, but who you're entrusting to carry it out? I mean, I have doubts of Denham's ability…" Nikolai gave Kyle a look, "He may play the fool, but there's more to him than what he presents on the outside – he's skilled, clever and has a strange affinity for the animals he works with. However, he needs to understand that – I believe he suffers from a great deal of emotional inadequacies, which he overcompensates in order to hide, combined with his obsession with pleasing authority figures. You've seen how he's been acting to Drew." Kyle snorted, "The sad thing is, Drew probably wouldn't notice – Drew hasn't noticed at all that Jack and Leon have spent the past weeks at each other's throats. And who knows where that's all going to end?" Nikolai said, tensely, "One issue at a time, Kyle, one issue at a time."
At this, Kyle shot Nikolai a disproving look. Even after weeks, he and Nikolai still didn't fully like each other – this plan was probably the first thing they'd ever agreed on. And Kyle wasn't really in the mood for changing that. He gave Nikolai a glare and said, "One of these days, Nikolai. One of these days, before he got up and left, leaving Nikolai alone in the meeting room.
Once he was sure Kyle was out of earshot, Nikolai snorted, "Best of luck with that, Kyle. Best of luck with that."