10Stealing the Animals of the ARC
Author's note- Takes place two weeks after season 5 finale.
Becker finished work almost two hours after he had sent his men home. He was making one last pass through the ARC before he would finally leave. It wasn't paranoia, Becker thought, not when bad things happened on a weekly basis, if not more often. He considered what he would call this obsessive checking and rechecking. Preparedness, he concluded.
It had been two weeks since the Convergence. The death toll country-wide was bad, but not as bad if the ARC hadn't been there to help. There hadn't been an anomaly open in that time, which was a blessing. There were enough dinosaurs left behind when the multitude of anomalies had suddenly closed without adding even more to the mix.
There were lights on in the Operations Room. Captain Becker headed in that direction and was only mildly surprised to see Jess still there. Jess Parker worked harder than anybody, and Becker frequently saw her long after most of the others had left. Becker checked his watch. It was eleven. Even he was ready to turn in, but Jess looked like she had no plan on finishing soon.
He approached the Field Coordinator. Today, she was wearing a blue dress with small white polka dots, a white belt, a chunky white necklace, and blue heels also with white polka dots. Becker didn't think about shoes often, the ease his boots allowed him to run was the extent of his thoughts on the matter, but seeing Jess's unusual choice of footwear made him reflect on the topic more often of late.
Becker came up behind her, his boots making no sound on the floor. Jess didn't notice him. She was too busy muttering to herself as she typed on the Anomaly Detection Device. "Still here?" he asked quietly from a few feet away so he wouldn't startle her.
It didn't work. Jess flinched and twirled around in her swivel chair. "Becker! You frightened the life out of me. What are you doing here?"
"I work here," he replied wryly. "Although I'm ready to call it a night. Can I walk you to your car?"
Jess shook her head. "I'm in the middle of something. I didn't see that one Dimetrodon come up behind Matt today when you were all in the field. So I'm recalibrating the city's video feeds so I can get a more complete look. Next time we have a team in the field, I'll be better able to watch their six."
Becker gave her a small smile, proud of her for spending the extra time doing something to protect the team, as well as her using military slang correctly. "How long until you finish?"
"Shouldn't be more than two or three more hours," she replied absently, already turned back to the ADD.
"It's after eleven," Becker pointed out. "You should get to a stopping point and finish up tomorrow."
"I need to get it done tonight. Matt could have died."
Captain Becker noticed the slight crack in her voice. "But he didn't."
"He could have!" Jess raised her voice and turned back around to face the captain.
Becker stepped closer and put a hand on her shoulder. "He didn't," he repeated gently. "I get that you want to protect the people in the field. I do too. But if you wear yourself out by staying too late every night, then you're no good to us during the day when you're too exhausted to think straight."
Now it was Jess's turn to smile. "I think I could give you the same speech."
"I don't need as much sleep," Becker answered defensively.
"Good to know," Jess said so quietly Becker thought he imagined it.
Becker thought better of commenting on that remark. "Time to go. That's an order."
"You're bossy when you don't get enough sleep," Jess said, grinning cheekily. She gave one last look at the ADD. "Fine." She furrowed her brow in annoyance as she shut the device down for the night. She stood and picked up her purse.
"Ready?" Becker asked, and she nodded. They walked down the corridor. "You've been staying after hours a lot lately."
"There's really no such thing as after hours in our line of work," Jess said. "An anomaly could open at any time. It could open now." Their footsteps slowed as they both waited for the alarm to sound. It didn't. "Besides, you stay late too."
"I'm head of security. It's my responsibility to protect the ARC."
"And I'm Field Coordinator. Pretty sure it's my responsibility too."
"I wasn't trying to say that you aren't-" Becker started, but Jess interrupted.
"I know you weren't. I'm just pointing out that we both have reason to stay late." Jess smiled at him, and Becker found himself returning the smile. He tried to think of a compliment for her that would show how much he respected her without letting her see how much he liked her. They took several more steps in silence and Becker had almost come up with something when he heard footsteps coming from in front of them. He drew his sidearm without thinking. Of course it was probably someone who worked at the ARC, but he had found the building empty on his walk through before meeting up with Jess. When four unknown armed men in full uniform turned the corner, Becker raised the gun and pulled Jess behind him with his free arm.
"Identify yourself," he commanded. The men ignored his order and continued forward, their own guns now raised. "Stop, or I'll shoot!"
"I don't think you would do that," said a voice from behind Becker and Jess. "My men would take you out before you got off a single shot." The men in front of them stopped, so Becker kept his gun trained on them while quickly sparing a glance behind him. The voice belonged to another man Becker had never seen. This man was an older, distinguished gentleman. He appeared unarmed, but then again, he didn't need a weapon when he had four trained combatants at his command against one soldier and an unarmed civilian.
"What are you doing here? And how did you get in? This is a restricted building," Becker said angrily. He was not going to show fear to these intruders, but it didn't look good for them. If Jess hadn't been here, he would try to take the leader hostage and then call for backup. But he did have Jess, and as capable as she was at her job, she was no marksman. That is, even if he had a spare gun to give her, which he didn't. At least he had a full magazine. He felt Jess grab a hold of the back of his shirt. He was glad for that. He had enough to concentrate with the men in front of him and the man behind him. Her touch allowed him to keep track of her without looking. Becker scanned for doors between him and the man behind him. His plan was to retreat far enough to get Jess into a room that she could lock while he took care of the intruders. Unfortunately, the only door was behind the leader. Becker didn't think he could get to it subtly enough to keep the leader from ordering his men to shoot.
"It doesn't matter how we got in, Captain Becker," the older man said. Becker flinched at the use of his name.
"How do you know who I am?" he asked.
"That does not matter either. We will be gone in no more than an hour, and if you cooperate, you and Miss Parker will still be alive to see us leave." The leader seemed unconcerned with the possibility of ordering their deaths if they did not cooperate. Becker was a bit more concerned. He used his free hand to reach behind him to check that Jess was still there. He found her and she touched his hand.
"It's going to be okay," he whispered to her, knowing that he was lying but needing her to stay calm.
"Put your gun on the floor," the leader commanded. Becker hesitated. He knew there was no way he could take down all his opponents and guarantee Jess's safety, but everything in him balked at surrendering his weapon and leaving him and Jess at this man's mercy.
"She is not to be harmed," Becker insisted, knowing it was impossible to make this man keep this promise once he was unarmed.
"If you both cooperate, neither of you will be harmed," the leader said. That was the best Becker was going to get. With a scowl, he set the gun down. "Kick it away." Becker did so, but he didn't move from his position in front of Jess.
The leader nodded, and the four armed men advanced again. Becker tensed as they got closer. The next few minutes would show whether or not he had made a huge mistake that would cost both of them their lives. "Phoenix, remove his jacket and search him," the leader commanded. The head of security forced himself to remain still as the ginger man followed the order. Finding no other weapons, the man turned Becker around and zip-tied his hands behind his back. "Grumpy, his gun." The shortest guard claimed Becker's gun and gave it to his boss.
"Let's go," the leader said. Two of the guards, Phoenix and Grumpy, followed behind their boss, and the other two, the tall one and the one Becker mentally called "Muscles," prodded Jess and Becker into moving before trailing behind. The captain looked over at Jess to see how she was holding up. He was proud of her composure. Although it was obvious from her breathing that she was scared, Jess refused to show her fear in any other way. When he caught her eye, she gave him a brave smile, and he tried to give her his most reassuring one in return. The tall guard behind him pushed him forward and Becker had to quickly find his balance so he wouldn't end up sprawled on the floor.
The men ushered them back into the Operations Room. Jess was guided back to her chair and the tall guard and "Muscles" kept Becker about eight feet away. The leader stood behind Jess's chair. Phoenix and Grumpy took up watch by the door. "Bring up the cameras," the boss ordered Jess. She looked to Becker to see if he objected, but when he remained silent, she did what the leader commanded. "Let me see the Menagerie."
Once again the leader knew something he shouldn't. Becker had a bad feeling about the information leak. Where was this man getting his intel? Once again, Jess looked to her coworker, but his face betrayed nothing. For now, Becker thought they should go along with what this man wanted. It would reveal the boss's plan, and then Becker could come up with a counter-mission. "Unlock the door to the outer room," the boss said.
"What are you going to do?" Jess asked, speaking for the first time since their capture.
The boss smiled. "We're going to take the dinosaurs you have and sell them on the black market. The profit will make me very rich."
"You're insane!" Jess exclaimed. "Some of those dinosaurs are incredibly dangerous, and all of them are wild animals. Not to mention they don't belong in this time. The general public-"
"The general public will not be purchasing them," the boss interrupted. "My buyers will be looking for weapons, not pets."
"You think you're going to sell dinosaurs to criminals?" Jess said, disbelieving.
"I don't think it, I know it. Unlock the door."
"No," Jess said, folding her arms over her shoulders. "I won't do it."
The boss nodded to the muscular man guarding Becker, who punched the unarmed man in the face. Becker felt the pain in his cheek as his head turned with the blow. Then the man hit him again, this time in the stomach. The breath left Becker's lungs leaving him winded. When he was hit again, his legs gave out and he fell to his knees. He was aware of Jess crying out his name, but at the moment, his primary concern was breathing.
"That's enough, Brick," the boss said. So "Muscles" was Brick. Becker mentally cataloged the names. They were obviously using codenames, which hinted that they might allow their prisoners to live once they had accomplished their goal. Then again, Becker and Jess had seen their faces and would be able to identify them later.
"You said you wouldn't hurt him," Jess said, tears in her eyes.
"I said I wouldn't hurt him if you did what I told you. Will you cooperate now, Miss Parker?"
Jess angrily wiped her tears away. "You're an awful person."
The boss grabbed Jess's chin and turned her head so she was looking up at him. "You have not yet begun to see how awful I can be."
"Get your hands off her," Becker said breathlessly. It hurt to talk. The boss held on for another few seconds to show that he didn't have to listen to Becker, then released his hold on Jess.
"Open the outer door to the Menagerie," the boss commanded again. Jess did so. "Now open the door to the loading bay."
Jess looked up at the security monitor. "There's a semi out there!" she exclaimed.
"Transport for the animals," the boss said. "Let's go."
"I don't have the clearance to unlock those doors," Jess bluffed. "Only Lester does."
"Beanstalk," the leader said, and the tall man guarding Becker grabbed his hair and pulled it back, exposing his neck. Then Beanstalk pulled out a knife and held it to the captain's throat.
"Wait!" Jess said. "Maybe... maybe I can bypass the security. Just give me a minute."
Becker wondered what Jess was doing. Of course she had the clearance to open the loading bay doors. Was she stalling? Stalling would only work if there was a chance someone would come for them. No one would be coming until 6 a.m. at least, unless an anomaly alert went off. But if Jess triggered an anomaly alert, the intruders would know. It was hard to miss the siren and flashing lights.
Jess typed quickly and soon the doors opened. Beanstalk put his knife away and released his hold on Becker but didn't move from his position behind his prisoner. Everyone watched the screen as the semi backed into the loading bay and a man hopped out of the driver's side. As the man walked closer to the monitor, Becker squinted at the black and white picture. "That looks like Todd."
Becker looked at the boss, who didn't give any indication if he was right or wrong. Then Jess looked more closely and said, "Oh my gosh, it is."
Todd Harper had just been hired two weeks earlier, the day after the Convergence. Becker had run the same security background that he did on all prospective employees. Nothing had hinted that the man would be a traitor. Becker felt a stab of anger at the betrayal, followed by guilt for not seeing it coming. "That's where you got you information," Becker said.
"It helps to have a man on the inside." The boss removed a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Brick. "See that these animals make it inside the semi. Don't be afraid to tranq them more than necessary. We wouldn't want a carnivore to wake up in transit and eat the rest of the cargo."
Brick nodded and started for the door. "Wait," the boss said. "Take him with you." He gestured towards Becker.
Jess was worried. "No, you don't have to do that. Leave him here."
The boss shook his head. "I'm going to need all hands available to get those animals moved before they wake up. All of you, go now."
Beanstalk pulled Becker to his feet. "Don't worry, Jess," Becker said. "We're going to get through this." Jess nodded silently. She watched as the men filed out of the room.
"Close the loading bay doors. Now, I need you to lock all the outer doors. We're going to make sure no one can come in," the boss told Jess.
His beeper was going off. Lester groaned and turned over in bed. Eleven fifteen. The one night this week he had gone to bed before midnight and work had to interrupt his sleep. He snatched it up and squinted at the small screen. Code 5. What was that again? Not an anomaly. Not dinosaurs loose in the ARC. He rolled his eyes as he thought back to the list of possible catastrophes Jess had come up with and assigned each one a number. It wasn't likely they would ever have a Code 14. Then again Code 27- a possible apocalypse- should have been closer to the beginning of the list. Wait, Code 5? That meant intruders in the ARC.
Lester sat up quickly, which disturbed his wife. She moaned and opened her eyes sleepily. "What is it, James?" she asked.
"Nothing important, darling. Just work. Go back to sleep." She was asleep before he even finished talking.
Lester changed in the bathroom so he could call people on speakerphone without waking his wife again. Jess didn't answer. Neither did Becker. Lester cursed. The two of them had been working late. If there were intruders in the ARC and Lester got the message by beeper and not text or a phone call, then the two of them were probably trapped inside.
Next, Lester tried Matt Anderson. After the third ring, Lester started to worry that the entire team had been captured, but then Matt answered with a sleepy, "Yeah?"
"Matt, it's Lester. We have a Code 5- intruders in the ARC. "
The team leader was awake instantly. "How many?"
"I don't know. I got the message by beeper. I think Jess set up some kind of program that can be triggered to send me warnings. I can't get in touch with her or Becker."
"I'll call Connor and Abby and we'll get there as soon as we can," Matt promised.
"I'll get some reinforcements and meet you there. "
"There's one problem."
"What's that?" asked Lester as he put on his tie.
"All the weapons will be in the armory. What will we use to fight off the intruders?"
They met up with Todd in the outer room of the Menagerie. Todd had five EMD's at his feet. Becker growled the second he saw him. "Traitor. How much are they paying you for this?"
"More than several years' worth of pay I'd get here, worrying about being eaten by a dinosaur on a daily basis."
"Just wait. There's still time for that to happen tonight." The threatening glare Becker gave his former subordinate was ruined by Beanstalk shoving him forward.
"I don't have time for office disputes," Beanstalk told Becker. "I'm going to cut you loose and you're going to help me load up the animals."
"Why would you trust that I'll help you?" Becker said.
"One, you don't get a gun or an EMD. Two, the security camera up there," Beanstalk jerked his head towards it, "shows our boss what you're up to. Let's pretend you can get the drop on all five of us. There's no way you'd be able to make it back to Operations before he can hurt her. Understand?"
Becker gritted his teeth and nodded. Beanstalk cut his bonds. The captain rubbed his wrists to get the circulation going. "So what's the plan?"
"We stun the animals, you help drag them into the semi and put them in the cage we tell you to. You go home and sleep in your own bed tonight."
"I'm not a fool. I know there's a good chance you'll kill me even if I cooperate," Becker said.
Beanstalk snickered. He made no effort to convince Becker otherwise. "Let's get moving. What does it say on the list, Brick?"
"The boss wants the herbivores in first. There's also an estimate on how many shots we'll need to take to keep each creature out. First is the Dracorex." Brick led the way easily to the pens, making Becker wonder if Todd had drawn a floor plan for the intruders. Beanstalk motioned for Becker to go next, and then the others followed behind. It didn't escape Becker's notice that Todd was last in line, probably trying to stay as far away from the captain as he could. Becker made a mental note that the former member of the ARC was intimidated by him, determined to use that to his advantage later.
Brick checked the signs until he found the Dracorex. "Nasty looking beast, innit? You sure he's an herbivore?"
"It's a she, and yes, she's a herbivore," Becker said.
"Well, someone's a dinosaur expert," Brick said sarcastically. Becker remained silent. He didn't want to tell this man about how Abby had almost died protecting this creature, or how Sarah had come up with information that had helped calm the medieval knight bent on killing the "demons." That was too personal to share with the people who invaded his work and held his friend captive. Thinking of Sarah was also too painful, even two years later.
"Let's get a move on," Phoenix said. "The sooner we get done, the sooner we get paid." The Dracorex came up to the cell door, hoping to be fed. Phoenix shot her twice, and the creature went down with a squeal of pain.
"That wasn't necessary. Once would have been enough," Becker argued.
"I'm not going to listen to you second-guess everything we do," Phoenix said angrily. "You're not in charge here. You're a prisoner. Shut up and let us do our job."
"I've got the blankets," Beanstalk said. He arranged the blanket on the floor and then pulled out his walkie-talkie. "Okay, boss. Ready for the Dracorex door to be unlocked." Becker thought back to the day when Jess accidentally let the Dracorex out of its cage. He wondered how she was doing in Operations.
The door opened with a whine and a click. Phoenix shoved Becker forward. He was really getting tired of being pushed around by these guys. "Get it on the blanket," Phoenix ordered. Becker rolled the herbivore onto the blanket.
"I'll get it to the truck," Beanstalk said.
"Take him with you," Phoenix said, indicating Becker.
The two men lifted the blanket with some measure of difficulty. They walked several dozen steps around the other cages before Becker finally said breathlessly, "Couldn't we use a cart or something?"
"Over here," was the other man's reply. They took another ten steps before they reached the cart and set the dragon on it.
"Why wasn't the cart moved closer so we didn't have to carry a dinosaur?" Becker asked.
"Wanted to see how strong you were. And how long you'd go before complaining." Becker considered asking if he'd passed this test, but decided he didn't care enough to ask it, even sarcastically. "Come on. The truck's up ahead."
"This job could be done by one man. We don't need both of us to go the rest of the way," Becker said.
"Nice try. You stay in someone's line of sight until this operation is over."
"Hello?" Connor said groggily. "Say that again?"
"What is it, Connor?" Abby asked from beside him. He waved at her to wait as he listened to Matt's voice.
"Jess and Becker are probably trapped in the ARC with hostile forces?" he repeated for Abby's sake. She leaned closer so she could hear, and Connor moved the phone so it was between the two of them.
"I need the two of you at the ARC immediately," Matt continued. "I'm in the car already with Emily. ETA 10 minutes. Lester's already been informed and he's getting us some soldiers."
"That's good," Connor said.
"If these men knew how to get into the ARC, there's a chance they know how to work the security feeds. They'll see us coming. We need to think of a plan."
"I can create a loop with my laptop that will make us invisible on the monitors," Connor offered. "I might be able to open some doors without it registering in Ops."
"Connor, I'm so glad you're one of the good guys," Matt said.
"That's been mentioned before."
Although Jess had gotten used to people hovering over her shoulder at work- Connor, Becker, Matt, Lester- this was different. None of those men had ever threatened to hurt her or someone she cared about. She was growing more uncomfortable by the minute as the leader stood behind her. "Listen," she said, surprising herself. "It's really hard to work with you breathing down my neck. Could I get another foot or so of personal space?"
As soon as she finished speaking, the woman tensed up. That was probably not the best thing to say to one's captor. There were several seconds of uneasy silence, then the boss backed away half a step. Jess let out a breath. "Thank you."
"Pull up the feeds for outside," he said, ignoring her thanks.
Jess did so, albeit worriedly. Lester should have gotten her distress signal, and there would be men on the way. What would happen when the man behind her saw the rescue? She didn't know whether to be relieved or disappointed when the monitor didn't pick up any activity on the perimeter.
"Now inside," he said. He and Jess watched as Becker and the other men loaded up the dinosaurs. After a few minutes, the boss ordered her to change the view to the outside. Jess sighed quietly. This was going to get boring very fast. She almost joked that she should teach him how to change the views, but was afraid he would take her up on the offer. Her fingers itched to send out the distress signal again, but she didn't want her captor to catch on.
Connor had called Matt back almost as soon as his feet hit the bedroom floor. "The intruders could have access to our security feeds. We need to stop outside the range of the cameras to make a plan."
"Good thinking. I'll pass that along to James."
Abby drove so Connor could get started on his laptop. She knew where each WiFi hotspot started and ended based on Connor's cheers and cries of frustration. She suppressed a smile.
"No!" he cried out again. "Why does this keep happening?"
"Connor, we'll be there in five minutes. It will be okay." Connor didn't seem to hear her. A second later he cheered again.
"Yes, yes! Okay, if I can..." his voice trailed off as he typed furiously on the keyboard. Abby smiled fondly at her fiancé then concentrated on getting them to the ARC as quickly as possible.
They reached the ARC to find Matt, Emily, and Lester were gathered just out of range of the video cameras. Abby parked, and she and Connor hurried to join them. Connor walked with one arm cradling his computer.
"How's it going with that?" Matt said by way of greeting, indicating the computer.
Connor spared a look up before returning his gaze to the screen. "I've gotten into the security feeds. We can see what's going on inside."
"That's good news," Lester said.
"What about making us invisible to the cameras?" Matt asked.
"I'm working on that. I need to record what it looks like now so I have something to loop. I have to do that for each area we are going to be in." Connor continued to type one handed.
"For goodness' sake, Connor put the laptop down on something so you can type properly," Abby said.
Emily found a crate for Connor to set his computer down on and the young computer whiz knelt down beside it.
"Pause what you're doing, Connor," Lester said. "I want to see what the situation is inside."
Connor nodded and pulled up a security feed. He flipped through images of empty hallways until he came to the loading bay. "Is that Becker?"
"And another man. It looks like they're loading dinosaurs into that semi," Abby said leaning closer.
"Becker's working with the intruders?" Lester asked incredulously.
"I don't think so," Emily said, peering closer at the screen. "The other man has a gun and Becker's unarmed. They must be threatening him."
"Jess," Abby said instantly. Connor kept going through the cameras until he found Operations. Jess was sitting in her chair with an unknown man standing behind her. They were also looking at security feeds. There was an unnerving moment when the screen in Operations displayed outside the ARC, close to where Connor and the others were hiding. They tensed, but their hiding spot was secure. The strange man pointed at the screen and Jess typed something. The screen displayed an empty corridor. Matt let out a sigh of relief.
"James, how are we on backup?" he asked.
"I've got a dozen men on their way. Some of them have personal sidearms that they're bringing, but we have no EMD's at our disposal."
"Look," Connor said suddenly. "There's a bunch of men in the Menagerie."
Everyone crowded around to look. Matt pointed at the screen. "Does that look like Todd Harper to anyone?"
"Is he a prisoner too?" Connor asked.
"I don't think so. He's got a gun. He must be how the intruders got in," Abby said.
"We're going to need a way in if we're going to be any good to Becker and Jess," Lester said.
Becker and Beanstalk were back in the Menagerie. "Just the coelurosauravus and we're done with the herbivores," Brick said.
"Wait, I thought your boss wanted weapons, not pets. What's he going to do with a coelurosauravus?" Becker asked.
"It'll fetch a fair price. Besides, since it's small it won't take up much room," Brick answered.
Becker thought fast. Abby would kill him if he let these men take away Rex. "That little lizard really is a pain. He's always escaping from his cage, and he once triggered a lockdown. You don't want to mess with taking him."
"Listen," Phoenix said angrily. "I told you before, I'm tired of your smart comments. We know what we're doing, and we don't take orders from you, so put a lid on it!"
"Besides," Brick said. "It'd be a waste of a bullet to kill him."
"What do you mean, kill him?" Becker asked.
"The creatures that don't get taken, get killed," Todd said. "Creates a monopoly. No more anomalies opening, no dinosaurs in the ARC, we're the only ones you can buy a dinosaur from."
Becker glared at Todd. "You're going to kill a bunch of these dinosaurs?" Although the soldier would never classify himself as an animal lover, three years around Abby Maitland tended to nudge you in that direction. Besides, Becker had a personal philosophy of only killing things that were a danger to himself or others. These dinosaurs were caged and monitored. They weren't a threat to anyone if they were left alone.
Todd tried to glare back. "I'm not afraid of you," he said, lifting his gun to point at Becker. "You can't do anything to me."
"Put down the gun and we'll see how it turns out," Becker replied.
"Stop it," Beanstalk commanded. "Todd, the coelurosauravus isn't in its cage. Go find it." He pushed a pet carrier into the other man's arms. Todd took it and stalked off. "Brick, what have we got for the carnivores?"
The muscular man looked down at the list. "Gorgonopsid."
Becker winced. He had captured it a week ago. It was a nasty beast, and difficult to take down. "You're going to want a large dose of sedative to knock that one out," he said.
Phoenix looked like he was ready to argue again, so Beanstalk stepped in. "We have reliable notes for each creature we take."
"I just don't want to get eaten by a dinosaur tonight. I'm hoping that's your plan too."
"Grumpy, prepare the sedative. Phoenix, take Becker to get a cart for this one."
They returned with the cart to see the Gorgonopsid's cage door open. Becker tensed and reached for a gun that wasn't there. He relaxed only slightly when he saw the creature lying on its side. "How much sedative did you give it?"
"Enough," Grumpy said. "Stop worrying."
"Becker and I'll take this one to the semi. Get the next one ready," Beanstalk said.
The captain watched the creature carefully as they transported it to the loading bay. Beanstalk's walkie-talkie crackled to life when they had just reached the semi. "What is it?" the man asked, turning away from Becker, as if to keep him from hearing the conversation.
"We're having some trouble with the Kaprosuchus. It moves every time we try to knock it out," he heard Grumpy's voice say.
"Beanstalk," Becker said warningly. He was positive the Gorgonopsid had twitched. The other man waved him off and concentrated on his conversation with Grumpy.
"We don't have enough time for you lot to be mucking about. Just dose it and move on."
"Beanstalk," the captain said more urgently. He was afraid to raise his voice too much, but he didn't like the fact the only armed person in the room was distracted.
"What?" the tall man said angrily, turning around to see the dinosaur fully awake. It growled once, then leaped at Becker.
TBC