Takakura appeared disturbed, but he did not dispute Hunter's words. "Can you discern anything else? We must know as much as possible. What about its fight with the grizzly? Did you learn anything of its methods?"
"I told you most everything I could read. It was short but ferocious. All I can say for sure is that it fights pure, with no hesitation. It doesn't have any mercy. But some part of it…" Hunter shook his head. "Some part of it thinks like a man."
Takakura also shook his head, openly frustrated.
Hunter continued as they moved quickly. "Generally a bear won't fight on the ground because nothing is big enough to take it down. Even another bear. They fight on their back legs, strike with their forelegs." His face tightened. "No, I've never seen anything strong enough to take a grizzly to the ground and kill it like that."
"I see," said the Japanese. He hoisted his rifle and adjusted a leather strap holding the katana. His dark eyes narrowed at the distant ridge, still lit by the crimson light of a descending sun. "We cannot make the ridge before dark. We will estab-"
Suddenly a thunderous god-roar of shocking animal might erupted violently from the ridge to crash over them, and they raised aim as one. And for the faintest split second an enormous manlike silhouette was half visible — snarling, raging, challenging. And then it was gone, turning and disappearing beyond the rocky ridge like a vaporous apparition.
Staring up, feeling the racing of his breath, the pounding of his heart, Hunter almost couldn't believe what he had seen — something he surely saw more clearly than the others because he had almost instantly separated it from the green mossy ferns and gloom.
He heard himself whispering, "God Almighty…"
Vicious expletives were hurled up and down the rank, Taylor overpowering them all with, "What the hell was that! What the hell was that?"
Hunter lowered his rifle long before the others, knowing it wouldn't reveal itself again.
No, that hadn't been for conflict. That had been to officially announce the battle and the war about to come. And, probably most of all, to satisfy some kind of pure bestial pleasure, some latent need to display its superiority.
Hunter was certain: tonight.
And if it attacked them here in the open ground when they were without a defensible perimeter, they would be slaughtered as quickly as the grizzly.
"Move quickly!" Takakura hissed. "We must make camp. Quickly! Quickly!"
Hunter was already moving, searching for clearing with easy access to the stream. They had covered a little more than three hundred yards when he found it, a fairly level section ringed on three sides by a wall of forest. Hunter didn't like the size of the perimeter and searched for a better place to camp, but they were out of time. This would have to suffice.
"This is the best we're gonna get for the night," he said, casting a glance at the low full moon, hazy and hauntingly large on the horizon. "In thirty minutes it'll be pitch dark."
"Fuck that!" Buck said, throwing a pile of wood he'd already grabbed down in the center of the clearing. "This place is gonna look like daylight!"
In two minutes he had a blazing fire going and was still feeding more wood. And he returned to the woods with his rifle close, quickly gathering more scattered branches to hurl a mound into a bonfire that would easily illuminate the small clearing through the night.
Takakura was hurling terse instructions for incendiaries, motion detectors, listening devices, occipital laser locaters and random intruder scanning devices to be set for the perimeter.
Working quickly, they had everything in place within twenty minutes.
Hunter, not involved in the military procedures, examined Tipler as they settled, concerned that the old man was breathing heavily and holding his left arm at the wrist. And Bobbi Jo stood watch in the center of the glade. She scanned left, right and back again like a machine, cold and focused.
Hunter knew that if the creature pierced the gloomy veil imprisoning them, especially while she still had light, she would hit it dead center before it made ten feet.
"You all right, Doc?" he whispered.
Breathing heavily, Tipler patted his hand. "I am fine, my boy. You'd best make your preparations as quickly as possible. You have little time. Hurry. You will need food in the morning."
"Forget the food. No time for it tonight."
Takakura spoke sternly to the team. "Buck! You take first watch with Wilkenson! We don't know what we are up against but we can be certain that it knows our location! From now, there will be a double guard on all shifts. The rest will sleep close to the fire with weapons ready at all times!"
Takakura expended the clip to the MP-5, tapped it, reset it quickly, and opened the bolt. His face was fierce as he turned to the surrounding forest. "A fortress of guards and security devices could not stop it from attacking the research facilities! Likely, this defense shall not stop it either! Our best strategy will be a concentrated wall of ordnance that might dissuade it from a full frontal attack."
Wilkenson spoke. "We actually have an advantage in the clearing that they did not possess at the compounds, Commander. For one, we can observe its approach. And, for the first attack, at least, we can target it easily. But that is an advantage that will exhaust itself after we hit it once or twice. More than likely, if it is effective, it will adopt a different strategy to avoid direct contact." The Englishman gazed about, seeming to measure distances. "I would project that we will defeat it earlier in the battle, but as the night progresses, I believe it will find a means of penetrating the perimeter."
Hunter felt a touch at his thigh and knew the silent familiar presence. Without looking he reached down and ruffled Ghost's mane, but the wolf didn't move. As usual, it had been scouting ahead and doubling back to ensure that Hunter was safe. But now they were making camp and Hunter knew Ghost wouldn't leave his side until morning.
No matter what.
"Rebecca?"
Gina s voice contained an edge of suppressed excitement and Rebecca Tanus turned. She saw the younger woman staring up at the electron microscope display screen. The power was set at three-quarter magnification for cytosine and thymine molecules. The pulsating blue light of the screen flicked as she adjusted half a dozen dials.
Holding a clipboard heavily laden with notes, Rebecca walked forward. "What is it, Gina?"
"This." Gina leaned back. "I think there's some sort of residue on the cast. Something indigenous."
Rebecca put down the clipboard and stared. It took her only a moment to see the microscopic tendril set against a blue-gray electric background. "What is it?" she asked quietly.
"I think it's hemoglobin," Gina said. "I've got heme tone and what appear to be iron atoms and some protein."
"Protein?"
"Looks like it."
"Well, what makes you think that it's not a blood particle from one of the victims?"
"Because of this." Gina adjusted the screen again, and an amazing blaze of electrons and virtual protons could be seen flickering in and out of focus as she gently turned the dials. Rebecca was reminded that mastering an electron microscope was as much an art as a science. After a moment a cluster of atoms was isolated. Then Gina increased magnification and after another fifteen minutes Rebecca saw the beginning of a DNA chart. She stared at it.